tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40102782609806836062024-02-02T15:57:32.548-07:00World War Two Daily 2World War II Day By DayUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger87125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4010278260980683606.post-74135910596875242862022-10-08T14:46:00.002-07:002022-10-08T14:46:51.126-07:00June 22, 1942: Rommel Promoted to Field Marshal<div itemscope="" itemtype="https://schema.org/Thing"><h1>Monday 22 June 1942</h1><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiESKykOR0rJX8eAl_9Aw4BUc8-QnGoFIb5iDT5_yFgzgre_d3Epe4NdswuGIrPQfDXQVIICcfp8TFNwRNnv3tvRAiJSxooPe3p75Ck-n5Qht7i6DS2vDv_Qc7ia-VdYlwLwdRBk-Xoja8Cgkf-X89QguuwspSr0EyjDsyzA4CkVs466oJCBCIykGAU/s800/Fleet_Air_Arm_22_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Fleet Air Arm, 22 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="611" data-original-width="800" height="488" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiESKykOR0rJX8eAl_9Aw4BUc8-QnGoFIb5iDT5_yFgzgre_d3Epe4NdswuGIrPQfDXQVIICcfp8TFNwRNnv3tvRAiJSxooPe3p75Ck-n5Qht7i6DS2vDv_Qc7ia-VdYlwLwdRBk-Xoja8Cgkf-X89QguuwspSr0EyjDsyzA4CkVs466oJCBCIykGAU/w640-h488/Fleet_Air_Arm_22_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="Fleet Air Arm, 22 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Fleet Air Arm planes starting out on an exercise carrying torpedoes." © IWM <a href="https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205144359" target="_blank">A 10683</a>.</td></tr></tbody></table><p><b>Eastern Front:</b> <b itemprop="name">June 22, 1942</b>, is the start of the second year in the Soviet Union, as General Halder notes in his war diary. Things look good for the Germans despite the failure to accomplish the end objectives of 1941. The grand offensive, Case Blau, that Adolf Hitlers sees as "clearing the table" in the East is ready and the Wehrmacht is reporting successes far and wide. Word of the Japanese defeat at Midway has not yet filtered through, and in any event, the Germans feel they can win the war on their own.</p><p>In Crimea, German troops continue cleaning out dwindling Soviet resistance on the north side of Severnaya Bay. On the southern and eastern fronts, the German 30th Corps remains stymied by fierce Soviet resistance backed by effective artillery fire on Sapun Ridge. Romanian 18th Infantry, 1st, and 4th Mountain Divisions continue slowly advancing along the Chernaya River toward Severnaya Bay. The Luftwaffe remains a dominant force, flying about 800 sorties and dropping about 700 tons of bombs every day.</p><p>General von Manstein, in command in Crimea, suddenly comes up with an innovative way to end the Sevastopol siege quickly. He asks General Halder for permission to parachute the captive Allied commander at Tobruk into Sevastopol to serve as a kind of object lesson on the futility of holding out. He predicts "a strong demoralizing effect." Halder does not even bother mentioning the crazy idea - which ignores practicality and the Geneva Convention - in his diary entry. </p><p>Luftwaffe General von Richthofen is ordered north to his new post helping out with Blau and given three days to get there. He wanted to remain for the ultimate victory, which now seems as far off as ever, and complains in his diary that he had originally been promised a full week to fly out. "It is a pity," he writes, "that one can never finish what one starts here in the east. After a while, it takes away all the pleasure."</p><p>Von Richthofen likes to dabble in ground operation strategy - all Luftwaffe generals are former army officers - and complains in his diary about Manstein's conservative approach (emphasis in original):</p><p></p><blockquote>"I wish that everyone would just push a little more energetically. The view that advancing cautiously avoids losses is simply <i>not</i> correct, because small losses each day soon mount up the longer it takes."</blockquote><p></p><p>Richthofen is a crony of Hitler and feels free to critique his peers freely in his diary. His assessments generally (but not always) appear quite reasonable.</p><p>Hitler finally returns to Fuhrer Headquarters in East Prussia after having been informed of the Reichel Affair on the 21st, and it is as though a dark raincloud has descended on the trapped generals. He summons Field Marshal von Bock, leader of Army Group South, to report on the situation. Halder reports "a great agitation conducted against the General Staff" about the loss of the plans for Blau to the Soviets. Nobody is quite sure what is going to happen to Blau, which today goes on four-days standby (so, projected to begin on 26 June). Halder notes that the pre-positioning of forces for Blau will take place today after dark.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsstkkHqoShvNNe8H27kkDRCLtio0148KDxTMBE7I7rD5FyLOooa9RPXQA_Cx8zu5o1ehekkOxrxjIu-V0TEHUBCsI-rRsiWStkqODdrGfSh1pnEaizi4bi59shYfnVJV3WmteO07p6TBJoORUup0JRkyEo4g8rUpCKgQn9r1SYkU3Hb75grMznKud/s480/Newsweek_22_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.webp" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Stalin on Newsweek cover, 22 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="356" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsstkkHqoShvNNe8H27kkDRCLtio0148KDxTMBE7I7rD5FyLOooa9RPXQA_Cx8zu5o1ehekkOxrxjIu-V0TEHUBCsI-rRsiWStkqODdrGfSh1pnEaizi4bi59shYfnVJV3WmteO07p6TBJoORUup0JRkyEo4g8rUpCKgQn9r1SYkU3Hb75grMznKud/w474-h640/Newsweek_22_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.webp" title="Stalin on Newsweek cover, 22 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="474" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin on the cover of Newsweek, 22 June 1942.</td></tr></tbody></table><p>On the Soviet side, Stalin has dismissed the Reichel Blau plans as disinformation, but not all of the Soviet generals are so sure. Colonel General Golikov, commanding the Bryansk Front, begins reinforcing his southern (left) flank. General Timoshenko further south, however, agrees with Stalin and believes that the papers were "fed to us deliberately in order to throw a veil over the true intentions of the German command." Golikov is taken aback by Timoshenko's head-in-the-sand approach and asks Stalin for a special commander to take over the sector in front of Voronezh. Stalin, however, still believes the German main effort will be toward Moscow to finish up the unfinished business of 1941 and turns him down flat. Since the Reichel papers indicated that the offensive would start on 22 June, at least so far the generals taking the papers seriously are starting to look foolish.</p><p>Operation Fridericus II, the remaining preliminary operation for Blau, jumps off in the morning. As with the recently concluded Operation Wilhelm, III Panzer Corps of Sixth Army carries the main load. It departs from the vicinity of Chuguyev heading toward Kupyansk, where it intends to turn south along the Oskol River. Further south, XXXXIV Corps of General Kleist's First Panzer Army crosses the Donets between Izyum and the mouth of the Oskol and heads north to close the pincer. It is still raining, as it has been for several days, and III Corps' panzers only make it halfway to Kupyansk. Halder notes that the operation:</p><p></p><blockquote>made substantial initial ground gains, but later encountered stubborn resistance west of Kupyansk. Crossing of the Donets from the south has been executed without major difficulties. </blockquote><p></p><p>An unexpected trend for the Germans is becoming apparent from these preliminary operations: the Soviets are not resisting. Rather than make defensive stands to stop or slow the German advances, the Red Army is simply giving ground. Nobody is quite sure what to make of this, and it is not entirely beneficial because the advancing troops are taking distressingly few prisoners. </p><p>Further north, things also are going well. Soviet Second Shock Army remains trapped west of the Volkhov River, though Halder notes that "Enemy tanks have penetrated into our 'bridge,' but... it is believed this will prevent the enemy from getting his forces out of the sac." He adds approvingly that "Starvation among the penned-up enemy is beginning to take its toll."</p><p><b>Battle of the Baltic: </b>Soviet submarine Shch-317 torpedoes and sinks 2399-ton Swedish iron ore freighter Ada Gorthon west of Gotland (off Bläsinge, Öland). The ship sinks in less than a minute, and there are 14 deaths and 8 survivors.</p><p>Danish 81-ton freighter Ruth hits a mine and sinks in the Småland Sea off Sweden. The crew survives and they are later picked up by another freighter.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH63BsVmk0dS7Y-YLnezrMLyYIuKtGJh39MqgA4KPEAWRBGvrwOX-zfZPg_IoFkwAw-L2YKYkHeVm_YyrnpyDPjtpI-prCemqaVWkDbH7mTBLiBkjl74uXp0bFlooxTRaApun0gSAviLO6htZELR23s50JbtuRY5oVlB8QxiUjkSBHDGVX6JlVTzdQ/s1600/USS_Meredith_22_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="USS Meredith near Fiji, 22 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="1198" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH63BsVmk0dS7Y-YLnezrMLyYIuKtGJh39MqgA4KPEAWRBGvrwOX-zfZPg_IoFkwAw-L2YKYkHeVm_YyrnpyDPjtpI-prCemqaVWkDbH7mTBLiBkjl74uXp0bFlooxTRaApun0gSAviLO6htZELR23s50JbtuRY5oVlB8QxiUjkSBHDGVX6JlVTzdQ/w640-h480/USS_Meredith_22_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="USS Meredith near Fiji, 22 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">USS Meredith (DD-434) at sea off the Fiji Islands, 22 June 1942. Note the camouflage painting (Naval History and Heritage Command <a href="https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/our-collections/photography/numerical-list-of-images/nara-series/80-g/80-G-10000/80-G-13134.html" target="_blank">80-G-13134</a>).</td></tr></tbody></table><p><b>Battle of the Pacific:</b> Port Moresby is now top of the agenda for both sides and can be considered the unofficial start of the battle for Port Moresby (which was the target of the failed Japanese invasion deterred by the Battle of the Coral Sea in May). Japanese forces of the Japanese 17th Army under Lieutenant General Harukichi Hyakutake in Papua, New Guinea begin the long 60-mile (100 km) trek over the mountains south toward Port Moresby. The terrain is rough and there are dense jungles along the way. Japanese forces use the Kokoda foot Track, which soars to 2190 meters (7,185 feet) at the peak of Mount Bellamy.</p><p>The Allies, in Operation Boston, send a garrison force from Port Moresby today to Milne Bay to develop an airfield. They also authorize another strip at Merauke, on the south coast of Dutch New Guinea, to protect the less-exposed western approaches. General Douglas MacArthur is the theater commander, while General Sir Thomas Blamey is the commander of Allied land forces for protection against Japanese overland attacks. Blamey is now in the process of deploying forces north to Kokoda.</p><p>Blamey's Allied Land Headquarters today orders Brigadier Basil Morris, commander of the 8th Military District of Australia, to deploy "Australian Infantry" to Kokoda (midway along the Trail) to block the Japanese advance (this takes a couple of days for Morris to undertake). The Allies also are in the process of building a vehicle track north toward Owers' Corner (38 miles, 61 km from Port Moresby), which generally is considered the southern terminus of the Kokoda Trail (completed late September).</p><p>USS Saratoga begins ferrying 18 Marine Dauntlesses of VMSB-231 and 25 Army Air Corps Curtiss P-40 Warhawks to Midway Island to replace aircraft lost during the Battle of Midway in early June. Admiral Fitch, the temporary commander of Task Force 11, is in command of the operation.</p><p>There is poor weather in the Aleutians, so some missions are canceled. A B-17 does manage a weather reconnaissance flight over the Japanese-held Kiska Island.</p><p>U.S. 44-foot tug Laura catches fire and sinks at Wood Island in Alaska.</p><p><b>European Air Operations: </b>The <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/79/a2748279.shtml" target="_blank">Luftwaffe raids</a> Southampton and neighboring Eastleigh during the early morning hours. Several homes are bombed and over a dozen people killed in the hardest raid in months.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw6z67XIMmpb95RnustX0XwaIabG113bccRU4DBwOCuMGHXsjlQn-yNvCDII08Sq7O3Jn1AFSovbikBnQHQun7mIrb1QveLwkXHvlZ9FlEY6wrMTAloBRZEpXK8ghLedRLJNgmhEqhWyuVj5oaNGaljuFZZOlDcLLL2TloDPwV1zdTMF3XOJ9JwNhR/s500/Japanese_landings_at_Borneo_22_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Japanese landings on Borneo, 22 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="500" height="492" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw6z67XIMmpb95RnustX0XwaIabG113bccRU4DBwOCuMGHXsjlQn-yNvCDII08Sq7O3Jn1AFSovbikBnQHQun7mIrb1QveLwkXHvlZ9FlEY6wrMTAloBRZEpXK8ghLedRLJNgmhEqhWyuVj5oaNGaljuFZZOlDcLLL2TloDPwV1zdTMF3XOJ9JwNhR/w640-h492/Japanese_landings_at_Borneo_22_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="Japanese landings on Borneo, 22 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Japanese troops land on Natuna Island, northwest Borneo, 22 June 1942.</td></tr></tbody></table><p><b>Battle of the Atlantic: </b>Luftwaffe Junkers Ju 87 Stuka dive bombers attack shipping in the Kola Inlet. They sink minesweeper HMS Gossamer within eight minutes. There are 23 casualties. The Germans are preparing for a major effort to disrupt the Arctic convoys during the long summer days. The Soviets also lose two Sh-4 motor torpedo boats, No. 73 and No. 83.</p><p>U-159 (Kptlt. Helmut Friedrich Witte), on its second patrol out of Lorient, uses its deck gun to sink 9639-ton U.S. tanker E.J. Sadler southeast of Santo Domingo (west of Dominica). All 36 crew are rescued by destroyer USS Biddle.</p><p>U-202 (Kptlt. Hans-Heinz Linder), on its sixth patrol out of Brest, torpedoes and sinks 5864-ton Argentinian tanker Rio Tercero 120 nautical miles (220 km) southeast of NYC. There are five deaths and 37 survivors.</p><p>German patrol boat Sperrbrecher 14 Brockenheim hits a mine off Royan in the Bay of Biscay and is severely damaged, though it is towed back to port. Eventually, it is written off and scuttled as a block ship on 25 August.</p><p>British 242-ton fishing trawler (now ferry) Bromelia is being watched by a U-boat off Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire, Lincolnshire, England, when it suddenly hits a mine and explodes. There are 13 deaths.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFuWWKiooSqfJhgDIrY7-QfRD3gv2NeT93W6Nn9dT8l5DUGK46uLoAepxwkD-Y5JVh6PmZdAd2TTZza1Dx2ZYmY1Q3T_jdlkh6Ia3mMsYvlTL--ebULR5eVGED6jO-4nKAam7K8b-1zYrWMiy64MD-ilxaNx-Bk-6HgYVq2dqHfhrnMQUsmQBlnk7w/s1550/Time_22_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Time magazine ad, 22 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="1550" data-original-width="1095" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFuWWKiooSqfJhgDIrY7-QfRD3gv2NeT93W6Nn9dT8l5DUGK46uLoAepxwkD-Y5JVh6PmZdAd2TTZza1Dx2ZYmY1Q3T_jdlkh6Ia3mMsYvlTL--ebULR5eVGED6jO-4nKAam7K8b-1zYrWMiy64MD-ilxaNx-Bk-6HgYVq2dqHfhrnMQUsmQBlnk7w/w452-h640/Time_22_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_2.jpg" title="Time magazine ad, 22 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="452" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Magazine ads are taking on a decidedly patriotic slant, such as this one from 22 June 1942 Time magazine p. 14.</td></tr></tbody></table><p><b>Battle of the Mediterranean: </b>General Rommel's promotion has some immediate consequences. While nominally under the command of Italian generals at Commando Supremo, Rommel now feels even less bound by their decisions. During the day, a senior Italian staff officer shows up at his headquarters with General Bastico's orders to halt and consolidate gain, but Rommel disagrees. He already is planning a quick sweep east to disrupt the British before they can build strong defenses at Mersa Matruh.</p><p>Rommel has good reason to act quickly. German intelligence services inform him from intercepted communications that a U.S. military attaché in Cairo, Bonner Fellers, has told his superiors that, "If Rommel intends to take the Delta, now is the time." One of the reasons the Italians had such difficulties against the British before the arrival of the Afrika Korps was their conservative approach. So, the idea of stopping at Tobruk is anathema to Rommel.</p><p>He thus resorts to an appeal directly to Mussolini. Bypassing the chain of command normally would be prohibited, but the complicated international nature of the situation gives Rommel some flexibility. He writes a letter to Mussolini that is hand-delivered by the German attaché in Rome, Enno von Rintelen, in which he requests permission to continue advancing. He further requests that the projected invasion of Malta, Operation Herkules, be postponed so that he can keep his vital Luftwaffe support (which Field Marshal Kesselring already has begun withdrawing to Italy for the operation). He sums it up: "the goddess of success passes generals only once."</p><p>It is a clever decision, and it works. Mussolini already is arranging for a suitable white charger on which he can make his triumphal entry into Cairo. He immediately forwards the letter to Hitler. </p><p>The Germans no longer consider the British a factor in their plans (a similar tendency develops in Russia). Eighth Army is fleeing to Egypt, and General Ritchie has already abandoned any thought of making a stand at the border. Mersa Matruh, a fortified base to the northeast, seems much more defendable. Shattered British troops make the long, hot drive that they sardonically call the "Mersa Matruh Stakes."</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiTc8m3VSxXQ0_LetDrzh1QjDo8GvucjS-rCzPjcL37ssiWIpJkd62wh5FMYP5u7t-FAg8SKnZXSzePmcdJdOfQ9fYDbDi53soMq6z8tTbppMmy4cPlM37ve0e8JEuyDbrt8niLGgS2fAlENdpt0zVv3n3YKZwrjsUVHRl5-r7uO8OGFQsb_MbfGF-/s800/Yak-7_22_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Soviet Yak-7B prototype, June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="426" data-original-width="800" height="340" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiTc8m3VSxXQ0_LetDrzh1QjDo8GvucjS-rCzPjcL37ssiWIpJkd62wh5FMYP5u7t-FAg8SKnZXSzePmcdJdOfQ9fYDbDi53soMq6z8tTbppMmy4cPlM37ve0e8JEuyDbrt8niLGgS2fAlENdpt0zVv3n3YKZwrjsUVHRl5-r7uO8OGFQsb_MbfGF-/w640-h340/Yak-7_22_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="Soviet Yak-7B prototype, June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yakovlev Yak-7B prototype no.22-03 during trials in June 1942.</td></tr></tbody></table><p><b>Partisans: </b>About 600 Italian police ("carabinieri") surround a home where three Albanian student communists (Branko Kadia, Perlat Rexhepi, and Jordan Misja) are holding out. They burn the building to the ground and execute the partisans. This becomes known as the Three Heroes of Shkodër (Shkrodra) and proclaimed as People's Heroes of Albania, with a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SoWukBxIhS0&ab_channel=Lenin502" target="_blank">patriotic song</a> written about them.</p><p>A German anti-partisan operation, Operation Zenica-Zavidovići, concludes in the puppet state of Croatia. Fighting occurred mainly around Vlasenica to the east of Zenica. Most of the partisans have escaped to the southwest.</p><p><b>German Military: </b>As a reward for victory at the Battle of Gazala and the capture of Tobruk, Hitler promotes Erwin Rommel to Generalfeldmarschall. This is not met with unanimous acclaim, as the Italian generals feel slighted after the very real contributions of Italian forces in the victory. Even Rommel is a bit indifferent, later confiding to his wife that he would have preferred being sent another division (throughout the campaign, he commands only three German divisions). Other German generals feel that the entire North African campaign is nothing but a sideshow and that Rommel is a reckless gambler - in their opinion, he should just hunker down and preserve his forces while the real work is done in Russia.</p><p>Rommel becomes famous in part for being Germany's youngest Field Marshal at the age of 50, though this is only partly true. Note that younger officers in the Luftwaffe, Generals Erhard Milch promoted on 19 July 1940 at age 48, and Wolfram von Richthofen on 16 February 1943 at age 47, become field marshals at younger ages. As a younger branch of the military, the Luftwaffe is well-known for having more room for advancement by younger men. This is also with the exception of Hermann Goering, chief of the Luftwaffe, promoted to field marshal at age 45 on 4 February1938 not for military feats but solely due to his position within the state hierarchy. Erwin Rommel, unlike the others, is famous for his overall generalship and ground victories rather than due to a position within the administrative apparatus.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglrmEDjEm1vYjCopGRvuL1AgTDdwvJC1rYwmu3huC5V-FoO6OQRATyQiZLQ1gqFYIMXrWZgI82djc_0sR22wBDkFfh32Z3_2mzAOzNwGwInx42Ih-IWShvVkkLL8t2wMPieOHfzko6FvZGTgc4-fvZ5MoZPN01YDxkUp3YTXJ-uwryeQANt-PU1vZE/s1550/Time_22_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Time magazine map of Eastern front, 22 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="1550" data-original-width="1095" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglrmEDjEm1vYjCopGRvuL1AgTDdwvJC1rYwmu3huC5V-FoO6OQRATyQiZLQ1gqFYIMXrWZgI82djc_0sR22wBDkFfh32Z3_2mzAOzNwGwInx42Ih-IWShvVkkLL8t2wMPieOHfzko6FvZGTgc4-fvZ5MoZPN01YDxkUp3YTXJ-uwryeQANt-PU1vZE/w452-h640/Time_22_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="Time magazine map of Eastern front, 22 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="452" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Time magazine, 22 June 1942 p.25, contains a prescient map of what will soon become Case Blau, the German offensive toward Stalingrad. Tellingly, it foresees quite modest goals for the Wehrmacht, with Stalingrad still far in the distance. It is actually a quite good prediction that the Germans will strike in the south and not, as Stalin and many others feel, again toward Moscow. </td></tr></tbody></table><p><b>US Military</b>: Rear echelon troops of the First Marine Division set out from San Francisco aboard M/S John Erickson. They pass the time playing cards.</p><p><b>Holocaust: </b>Adolf Eichmann <a href="https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/adolf-eichmann-letter-on-the-beginning-of-deportations-from-western-europe-june-1942" target="_blank">sends</a> an express letter to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirming a telephone call on the 20th in which he directed that Jewish resident of France, Belgium, and the Netherlands are to be sent to Auschwitz camp beginning "mid-July/the beginning of August." There are to be 40k from France, a similar number from the Netherlands, and 10k from Belgium. These are to be people "who are fit for labor, if they are not intermarried or hold the nationality of the British Empire, the USA, Mexico, enemy countries in Central or South America, or neutral or Allied countries." The "special trains" are to leave "every day."</p><p>In Plonsk, a Jewish Community in Warsaw Province, Poland, a 30-member communist group in the ghetto <a href="https://www.yadvashem.org/yv/en/exhibitions/communities/plonsk/jewish_resistance.asp" target="_blank">joins</a> the Polish Workers' Party, or PPR. A party committee is established in the ghetto. </p><p><b>French Homefront: </b>Prime Minister of France (aka Vice Premier) Pierre Laval, who is effectively running the French government as an ally of the Germans, makes a radio broadcast to the nation. He says in part:</p><p></p><blockquote><p>I wish for a German victory, because, without it, Bolshevism tomorrow would settle everywhere.</p><p></p></blockquote><p>Laval owes his return to the government in April to the German authorities, who view Premier Philippe Pétain as insufficiently supportive of the Axis. The way Laval frames his questionable reasoning as being more a stand against communism rather than simply blind support for the Reich becomes a common Axis theme and echoes common pre-war French political battles. </p><p>There is no question that Laval collaborates with the Reich, sometimes phrased more stringently as his being an "arch-collaborator."| However, Laval does now and then make a few small stands on behalf of France around this time that go unnoticed but make an impact on some people. For instance, in June 1942 he refuses a German demand for the forced deportation of 300,000 French workers as virtual slave labor in German war factories. Instead, he makes a counterproposal that one French POW be repatriated to France in exchange for every three French workers arriving in Germany. While a minimal gesture, it at least is something. Hitler accepts this, a rare concession to retain what support he has within the Vichy French government.</p><p>This is obviously not a major "victory for France" and does not excuse Laval's overall support of Germany during the war, but apparently does (or at least intends to) accomplish something positive for a very small sliver of Frenchmen that otherwise would not have happened. Laval's involvement in the Holocaust is murky, but he seems to go along with abhorrent German policies for the most part, though there are disputes about his participation and support.</p><p><b>American Homefront:</b> Congress, in a Joint Resolution, formally adopts the words of the Pledge of Allegiance in the U.S. Flag Code. It was composed to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus' arrival in the Americas. The author is Francis Bellamy, and it was originally published on 8 September 1892 in the children's magazine "The Youth's Companion." Reciting the Pledge in classrooms began spontaneously thereafter, and a surge of patriotism following the Pearl Harbor attack has made the Pledge popular among adults, too.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCeK8Yw3BNEOEC1rnXgGquxmOHHgAbpIN_-cAlFQPggnxa-m9QeVkFhb_Fp8GvkhZVk9MwhaZP-ol29Dpw_7miWwIxhKyBjSY2IOliv07Yhdz33PiYcrh7EO7RScfRk6GS4oVzO7qHG-MJ_6tnkG931uqy7LRcU8ecpsCilbxMWeT_Rtq-uibJStDC/s479/Life_22_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Life magazine, War Stamp Brides, 22 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="479" data-original-width="359" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCeK8Yw3BNEOEC1rnXgGquxmOHHgAbpIN_-cAlFQPggnxa-m9QeVkFhb_Fp8GvkhZVk9MwhaZP-ol29Dpw_7miWwIxhKyBjSY2IOliv07Yhdz33PiYcrh7EO7RScfRk6GS4oVzO7qHG-MJ_6tnkG931uqy7LRcU8ecpsCilbxMWeT_Rtq-uibJStDC/w480-h640/Life_22_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="Life magazine, War Stamp Brides, 22 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Life magazine, 22 June 1942, "War Stamp Bride."</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><span class="updated">2022</span>
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4010278260980683606.post-74713922204895475572022-09-11T12:43:00.000-07:002022-09-11T12:43:24.574-07:00June 21, 1942: Rommel Takes Tobruk, Allies Stunned<div itemscope="" itemtype="https://schema.org/Thing"><h1> Sunday 21 June 1942</h1><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh48gWRRJJXyQ6Cd1-70rHlensqRri4dOz7CkTXvypHtH2SwYMK17K7Uz6D5lXLy_K8_ADVw-OEK_qLMvz5fh2gJqBCwcCPkXhoi8CjASxZp-CnpWHGWM2Ni38XfrXNG5yL1aMVQqdWeeil4Hdf-J_IH7HF5MwoUwVbkGjUmdmUmRRHH2pSSyrBfi53/s800/Rommel_Bayerlein_Tobruk_21_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Rommel and Bayerlein in Tobruk, 21 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="528" data-original-width="800" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh48gWRRJJXyQ6Cd1-70rHlensqRri4dOz7CkTXvypHtH2SwYMK17K7Uz6D5lXLy_K8_ADVw-OEK_qLMvz5fh2gJqBCwcCPkXhoi8CjASxZp-CnpWHGWM2Ni38XfrXNG5yL1aMVQqdWeeil4Hdf-J_IH7HF5MwoUwVbkGjUmdmUmRRHH2pSSyrBfi53/w640-h422/Rommel_Bayerlein_Tobruk_21_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="Rommel and Bayerlein in Tobruk, 21 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">German generals Erwin Rommel and Fritz Bayerlein, Afrika Corps Chief of Staff, in Tobruk ca. 21 June 1942 (Moosmuller, Federal Archive <a href="https://www.bild.bundesarchiv.de/dba/de/search/?query=Bild+101I-785-0299-08A" target="_blank">Picture 101I-785-0299-08A</a>).</td></tr></tbody></table><p><b>Battle of the Mediterranean:</b> South African Major General Hendrik Klopper, commander of all Allied forces at Tobruk, spends the early hours of <b itemprop="name">21 June 1942</b> trying to figure out a strategy following the German breakthrough at the port perimeter. Klopper sends a message to Eighth Army Headquarters, "Am holding out but I do not know for how long." Army headquarters responds by suggesting a breakout on the night of the 21st/22nd. Eighth Army commander General Ritchie orders his 7th Armored Division to attempt a relief mission from the south. At 02:00, Klopper signals that he agrees with the breakout but somewhat cryptically adds that the garrison would "fight to the last man and the last round."</p><p>At dawn, though, Klopper reviews the situation and changes his mind. After Klopper informs HQ of this, Ritchie replies, "I cannot tell tactical situation and therefore leave you to act on your own judgment regarding capitulation. With this clearance, Klopper quickly invites some German staff officers to his headquarters in Tobruk to discuss terms. Klopper then orders a surrender which some units do not honor, and scattered fighting by holdouts continues in various places into the 22nd, but the surrender effectively ends the battle for the port. The Germans claim 25,000-33,000 (19,000 British) prisoners (sources differ) of the British 30,000-troop garrison. The Germans only suffer 3360 casualties.</p><p>It is a brilliant lightning attack, as the Axis forces only surrounded Tobruk on the 18th. Most German generals would have settled in and built up forces over a long period of time for a set-piece attack against such a formidable target, as Erich von Manstein has done in Crimea regarding Sevastopol. However, Rommel proves here that speed of attack and strategy is sometimes more important than weight of numbers.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqrNmdQxpwypLZSCbgn9zMEiirBTy2cRVp665f3giviuZwFZLm7gCmlhWPIpk27oRwCaPLL9Om7oR63gq4HWC4Gg-nHSz8AdEpW0lhRb9tbZosY2Q_9KA7spd9YPl2lgRZADuO2gQoO_scgnfHiQh9F3ia0QXUfVocSSNnl0i5bXR6sQfjHbu6PJuH/s800/Tobruk_21_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_3.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Italian medium tank of Ariete Division at Tobruk, 21 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="579" data-original-width="800" height="464" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqrNmdQxpwypLZSCbgn9zMEiirBTy2cRVp665f3giviuZwFZLm7gCmlhWPIpk27oRwCaPLL9Om7oR63gq4HWC4Gg-nHSz8AdEpW0lhRb9tbZosY2Q_9KA7spd9YPl2lgRZADuO2gQoO_scgnfHiQh9F3ia0QXUfVocSSNnl0i5bXR6sQfjHbu6PJuH/w640-h464/Tobruk_21_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_3.jpg" title="Italian medium tank of Ariete Division at Tobruk, 21 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div>Italian medium tank of the Ariete Division advancing on Tobruk, ca. 2 June 1942.</div></td></tr></tbody></table><p>In the United States, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill is meeting with President Franklin Roosevelt when an aide come in with a message for the President. FDR then passes the note to Churchill, who has his own military aide confirm the news from London. Churchill later writes that this is the greatest shock he receives during the entire war. He says to FDR, "Give us as many Sherman tanks as you can spare and ship them to the Middle East as quickly as possible." These tanks will prove important - perhaps decisive - at El Alamein in October and November.</p><p>On the German side, there is tempered joy., as noted below with General Halder's official reaction. Theater Commander Field Marshal Albert Kesselring visits Rommel's headquarters in the afternoon and reminds him of a previous understanding that an invasion of Malta would follow. To that end, Kesselring informs Rommel that he is withdrawing Luftwaffe units from North Africa to Italy.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQY7X2dbDznyWGXafAtRSDAKRXUYYjrINxRFO2t0PqEFX5ELrCybr0NJoQqDkAc1ZFOxk3rY3E_FrrecYiMYZkBndv4iy02hNFcna6R52rqdHhAdaPpLYGHUZbrgg7KIDQh_bzjVbvS0Ea2Js0-0SIwpnt-jjar5k9ci37CXdkH_MgdVZEqSC-h1WX/s800/British_POWS_Tobruk_21_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="British POWs marched out of Tobruk, 21 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="800" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQY7X2dbDznyWGXafAtRSDAKRXUYYjrINxRFO2t0PqEFX5ELrCybr0NJoQqDkAc1ZFOxk3rY3E_FrrecYiMYZkBndv4iy02hNFcna6R52rqdHhAdaPpLYGHUZbrgg7KIDQh_bzjVbvS0Ea2Js0-0SIwpnt-jjar5k9ci37CXdkH_MgdVZEqSC-h1WX/w640-h400/British_POWS_Tobruk_21_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="British POWs marched out of Tobruk, 21 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">British POWs marched out of Tobruk ca. 21 June 1942.</td></tr></tbody></table><p>German E-boats are operating off Tobruk to forestall an evacuation by sea and they claim 250-ton South African Navy auxiliary minesweeper HMSAS Parktown. There is one death.</p><p>RAF bombers attack and sink 7744-ton German freighter Reichenfels, which is bringing supplies for Rommel's panzers, north of Tripoli. </p><p>British submarine Turbulent torpedoes and destroys Italian destroyer Strale. The Italian ship had run aground due to attacks by Royal Navy Fairey Swordfish) at Ras el Amar on 21 March 1942. There are one dead and 221 survivors. There are alternate dates for all of these events at various places online (this sinking is sometimes fixed on 6 August), but the basic facts are confirmed.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmFvkoGOYp51hbzshCkQ9GH_bqXoNXrsb-ySjt-Hhe9NunS-6UWe2w58RE0JM4xd9-XnVwsszmn3WMMJYmD6yP9cDwya-FRceheHTtUv46yVqxkt8U-LJoaBtpfMsGc9cAJUh3VdAQcvROg_j-wlXfBYsRWzb2b8ump13h-cdngUiqThVVvtQ72QKS/s1600/Soviet_troops_21_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Soviet Cossack commander near Kharkov, 21 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="1029" data-original-width="1600" height="412" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmFvkoGOYp51hbzshCkQ9GH_bqXoNXrsb-ySjt-Hhe9NunS-6UWe2w58RE0JM4xd9-XnVwsszmn3WMMJYmD6yP9cDwya-FRceheHTtUv46yVqxkt8U-LJoaBtpfMsGc9cAJUh3VdAQcvROg_j-wlXfBYsRWzb2b8ump13h-cdngUiqThVVvtQ72QKS/w640-h412/Soviet_troops_21_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="Soviet Cossack commander near Kharkov, 21 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> A Soviet commander of a Cossack unit in the Kharkov sector of the Eastern Front, 21 June 1942 (AP Photo).</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>Eastern Front:</b> The German 24th Infantry Division continues clearing the north side of Severnaya Bay at Sevastopol. At 11:20, the Soviet North Fort falls and about 182 Soviet prisoners surrender. The Soviet holdouts at the Maxim Gorki fort also have surrendered. There remains scattered Soviet resistance in the area that takes a couple of days to overcome. Holdouts that attempt to escape across the 1000-meter wide bay in small boats become target practice for German artillery.</div><p>To the south and east of Sevastopol, the Axis forces remain stuck. The Romanian 18th Infantry, 1st, and 4th Mountain Divisions are advancing slowly up the Chernaya River toward Severnaya Bay, with LIV Corps on its left providing flank protection. Soviet artillery on Sapun Ridge provides good counter-battery fire that destroys Axis artillery pieces.</p><p>The Germans are preparing Operation Fridericus II, a shallow envelopment by Sixth Army and First Panzer Army near Kupyansk, to begin on the 22nd. It is one of a series of small preliminary operations to Operation Blau. Heavy rains in this portion of the front have delayed German operations.</p><p>At Fuhrer Headquarters in East Prussia, General Franz Halder barely mentions the fall of Tobruk, or indeed North Africa at all. There is only a succinct "Tobruk taken" at the bottom of his summary. This is more evidence that the General Staff doesn't think much of the North African campaign or, for that matter, of Rommel. They view him as a loose cannon who "rushes around frittering away his forces." Rommel was not their first choice for command there and he is viewed as a prima donna. That Rommel has succeeded is thus not a cause for joy there. However, Hitler does like Rommel, and the general is considered somewhat of a Fuhrer favorite - another cause for resentment by the other staff officers.</p><p>Halder does provide a brief update on the Major Reichel incident:</p><p></p><blockquote><p>Major Reichel's plane has been found. He probably is dead. The documents, filled with vital information, must by now be in enemy hands.</p><p></p></blockquote><p>Halder is absolutely correct: Stalin has the Blau plans sitting on his desk. However, the Soviet premier believes the plans are faked by the Germans to lead him in the wrong direction and thus completely disregards them.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicslrqA6Vh5dar4P-ZCHmQAWbI4MZKO1LYEgoVDRz9Jado12zwMdv4N6rNm1KVt5gqY2BA10gqAHXLckB45N4IeljiQUmyqHSmi5K5vFNKzpdw6mAHYcbbaEEE9Ck0PxbUG56dgnPaqrKuqXCg6NF-JRI0U2p0_qeqInXVb8SSiwnLa63_wF1y2zsG/s800/Tobruk_21_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Italian medium tank of Ariete Division at Tobruk, 21 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="495" data-original-width="800" height="396" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicslrqA6Vh5dar4P-ZCHmQAWbI4MZKO1LYEgoVDRz9Jado12zwMdv4N6rNm1KVt5gqY2BA10gqAHXLckB45N4IeljiQUmyqHSmi5K5vFNKzpdw6mAHYcbbaEEE9Ck0PxbUG56dgnPaqrKuqXCg6NF-JRI0U2p0_qeqInXVb8SSiwnLa63_wF1y2zsG/w640-h396/Tobruk_21_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_2.jpg" title="Italian medium tank of Ariete Division at Tobruk, 21 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div><span style="font-weight: normal;">Italian medium tank M13/40 of the Italian 132nd Panzer Division "Ariete" at Tobruk Harbor ca. 21 June 1942.</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The German generals, though, naturally don't know about Stalin's reaction. Halder and his staff's attention is completely preoccupied with the upcoming Operation Blau. Field Marshal Fedor von Bock, whose troops will carry out Blau, fears the worst and urges Halder to tell the Fuhrer - who apparently is still on holiday at the Berghof - about the Reichel incident (about which apparently Hitler does not yet know). Hitler predictably is shocked and arranges to fly back to East Prussia immediately.</p><p>Halder does have a lot to say about Sevastopol, though, which arguably is a lot less important to the overall war effort than North Africa:</p><div></div><blockquote><div>At Sevastopol, the Battery Headland peninsula is in our hands and consequently we are now controlling almost the entire north shore (LIV Corps). Good progress by 30 Corps. The enemy appears to be abandoning the front opposite the Romanians in order to concentrate his forces against 30 Corps. On the Volkhov, heavy attacks supported by tanks, which were repelled with difficulty. Otherwise, no change.</div><div></div></blockquote><div>The war at sea off Sevastopol remains hot as well. Luftwaffe attacks sink two Soviet patrol boats, CKA-125 and CKA-155, off Musketeer's Bay near Sevastopol. </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEX5Rx2prMPrrzN4v43Fv5dhfmDUZ3Dly1bcwICpygli16mDweJO299SbOAyGs3OmSKFZCdLdkDb6E8h4uDXqHIpowxi8TGmOfi4Vm5qOmW21S3LaMgGpDS0oe-bdogUeSIa-yCnXYRLze3W_VEPaJHWiPOBn4koOKwMaFgb3-KQBw0FQF6hwlOyv_/s1600/Shell_crater_Fort_Stevens_21_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Shell crater at Fort Stevens, 21 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="1082" data-original-width="1600" height="432" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEX5Rx2prMPrrzN4v43Fv5dhfmDUZ3Dly1bcwICpygli16mDweJO299SbOAyGs3OmSKFZCdLdkDb6E8h4uDXqHIpowxi8TGmOfi4Vm5qOmW21S3LaMgGpDS0oe-bdogUeSIa-yCnXYRLze3W_VEPaJHWiPOBn4koOKwMaFgb3-KQBw0FQF6hwlOyv_/w640-h432/Shell_crater_Fort_Stevens_21_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="Shell crater at Fort Stevens, 21 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shell crater at Fort Stevens from I-25 shelling, 21 June 1942 (<a href="https://catalog.archives.gov/id/299678" target="_blank">National Archives 299678</a>).</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>Battle of the Pacific:</b> For the second day in a row, a Japanese submarine bombards North America. Yesterday, it was HIJMS I-26 shelling Estevan Point, Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Today, it is I-25 (Meiji Tagami), which follows some fishing vessels coming home after a day's work through minefields to the mouth of the Columbia River, Oregon. It then fires 17 14 cm shells from its deck gun at Battery Russell, an artillery installation within Fort Stevens, Washington.</div><p>The failure to return fire or take any other action causes a scandal. The commander, Colonel Doney, forbids any counterfire despite numerous requests from the batteries. The reason why is a bit of a mystery, but Doney - who is only in temporary command of the post while the real commander is away - may be trying to assert his authority and "show who is boss" to his troops.</p><p>No counter-fire is attempted because the defenders are unable to spot the submarine in the dark. The shells only create craters and destroy power/telephone lines and a baseball field, but this marks the first time during the war that an enemy shells a military installation in the United States.</p><p>US Navy submarine USS S-44 torpedoes and sinks 2626-ton Japanese auxiliary gunboat Keijo Maru south of Guadalcanal (a dozen miles west of Gavutu) in the Solomon Islands. There are 63 deaths and 62 survivors, rescued by the Japanese minesweeper W-20.</p><p>Two men from Torpedo Squadron Six off of USS Enterprise who have been adrift in a liferaft since 4 June are rescued by a USN PBY-5A 360 miles north of Midway. They had ditched their TBD Devastator during the battle.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVbRzWTDcQXTv2KDPjr2uDQObfE05Fn1XHJFuiRiU3S3FqexXIPcq92jvNFybPmQHi_qjOb8eH_bYEJOgy2m5PTEb5GPYXZqQKqY7l0JWWWQaRB9oU1ovcQnPNJXOBTLq1Q3d3QrdIPyoldMGiZrrcPnzyslgpvTvblObHCaNC7rvuRlS7K3cxptvQ/s976/Downed_Stirling_21_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.webp" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="German soldiers inspected downed Stirling bomber, 21 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="549" data-original-width="976" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVbRzWTDcQXTv2KDPjr2uDQObfE05Fn1XHJFuiRiU3S3FqexXIPcq92jvNFybPmQHi_qjOb8eH_bYEJOgy2m5PTEb5GPYXZqQKqY7l0JWWWQaRB9oU1ovcQnPNJXOBTLq1Q3d3QrdIPyoldMGiZrrcPnzyslgpvTvblObHCaNC7rvuRlS7K3cxptvQ/w640-h360/Downed_Stirling_21_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.webp" title="German soldiers inspected downed Stirling bomber, 21 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">German sentries inspecting the Stirling bomber downed on 21 June 1942 near Hoorn, The Netherlands (COR KOOMEN).</td></tr></tbody></table><p><b>European Air Operations: </b>A Stirling bomber flying out of Norfolk on a raid to Emden is downed over the Netherlands by a night fighter in the early morning hours, killing three of the eight crewmen. Flight Lt. Alan Green is briefly hidden by Dutch farmers before being captured and sent to Stalag Luft 3. The three dead crewmen are buried near Hoorn.</p><p>NF Oblt. R. Sigmund of II/NJG 2 shoots down another Stirling I bomber, No. W7472, in the North Sea about 3 km west of Bergen aan Zee. All 8 crewmen perish.</p><p><b>Battle of the Atlantic: </b>U-128 (Kptlt. Ulrich Heyse) torpedoes and sinks 5681-ton U.S. freighter West Ira southeast of Barbados. The ship sinks in 15 minutes after the U-boat stalks it for about six hours. There are one death and 48 survivors. Some survivors are picked up by the Dutch freighter Macuba, others reach shore in their lifeboats.</p><p>Royal Navy submarine HMS P.514 - formerly U.S. submarine R-19 that had been transferred under Lend-lease - is sailing on the surface off St. Johns, Newfoundland, when it is mistaken for a U-boat and rammed by a Royal Canadian Navy minesweeper, HMCS Georgian. P.514 sinks with all hands.</p><p>Yugoslavian (Croatian) 2317-ton freighter S.S. Lina Matkovic hits a mine and sinks about 1000 yards north of the Cristobal East Breakwater Light near the Panama Canal. The craneship U.S. Atlas salvages the valuable parts of the cargo. This sinking is sometimes listed on the 20th.</p><p>Swedish 1847-ton ore freighter SS Eknö hits a mine and sinks in the Weser River.</p><p>U.S. 4823-ton freighter Alcoa Cadet hits a mine and sinks in the Kola Inlet near Murmansk. Everyone survives.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8nrx2k6FlMxKO_9jshSp98O4dKaMEjyjMZH7CRzh-EmQ26Zm7V-j1oyqc7uoxy8o5AGlQ7evoB0X2q-8BDUlqHvuiE3Y0p3TsEh6YsYmffgUNQFAjCL2w4EE5HgprXBGOagvBx6gbXGJog-sFSRimO210v_0ZVJFQ15t-tpL0U2ovKGeB6OaVMktj/s800/Rommel_Bayerlein_Tobruk_21_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Rommel and Bayerlein in Tobruk, 21 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="528" data-original-width="800" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8nrx2k6FlMxKO_9jshSp98O4dKaMEjyjMZH7CRzh-EmQ26Zm7V-j1oyqc7uoxy8o5AGlQ7evoB0X2q-8BDUlqHvuiE3Y0p3TsEh6YsYmffgUNQFAjCL2w4EE5HgprXBGOagvBx6gbXGJog-sFSRimO210v_0ZVJFQ15t-tpL0U2ovKGeB6OaVMktj/w640-h422/Rommel_Bayerlein_Tobruk_21_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_2.jpg" title="Rommel and Bayerlein in Tobruk, 21 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div>Generals Rommel and Bayerlein survey the port of Tobruk ca. 21 June 1942. That appears to be a Type 40 medium off-road passenger car with an inside spare. (Moosmuller, Federal Archive <a href="https://www.bild.bundesarchiv.de/dba/de/search/?query=Bild+101I-785-0299-22A" target="_blank">Picture 101I-785-0299-22A</a>).</div></td></tr></tbody></table><p><b>Partisan Stuff: </b>Following the German victory against the Belov partisans south of Vyazma on the 20th, Germany Fourth Army commander General Kluge ends the ongoing Hannover II anti-partisan operation. Meanwhile, German Second Army winds up Operation Vogelsang, which began on 6 June, near Kirov. It does not discontinue its operations, though, and will begin Vogelsang II on the 22nd. An upcoming anti-partisan operation will be Ninth Army's Operation Seydlitz that begins on 2 July near Rzhev. These anti-partisan operations usually produce little and occupy a lot of troops throughout the summer.</p><p><b>US Military: </b>The War Department elevates the Alaskan Provisional Service Command to XI Air Force Services Command. It will maintain and supply all of 11th Air Force's bases. </p><p><b>Israel Homefront: </b>Israel records its highest temperature to date at Tirat Avi, 129.2 degrees Fahrenheit (54 Celsius).</p><p><b>American Homefront:</b> President Roosevelt and Winston Churchill travel to Washington, D.C., from FDR's Hyde Park, New York residence. There, they continue their talks during the Second Washington Conference. King Peter II of Yugoslavia also is visiting the United States.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ1ZBaf23-423DOCEhuWw5rsWHxQ-MFXf8fymz-0ekfouGPvxazsPa2-9xo4NBdIvBj2Mt8CFNTKdiqQyAQ3UJCezeDPOfZyBjV7CWEA0B5Sp6Ftv77NKfTh2c4hfk3BNYIFG9E82ZQy6elnmgen3QarIOinfTWb03NfituMsIfpO35CV9lOW2QflJ/s800/Tobruk_21_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="German Panzer I at Tobruk, 21 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="603" data-original-width="800" height="482" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ1ZBaf23-423DOCEhuWw5rsWHxQ-MFXf8fymz-0ekfouGPvxazsPa2-9xo4NBdIvBj2Mt8CFNTKdiqQyAQ3UJCezeDPOfZyBjV7CWEA0B5Sp6Ftv77NKfTh2c4hfk3BNYIFG9E82ZQy6elnmgen3QarIOinfTWb03NfituMsIfpO35CV9lOW2QflJ/w640-h482/Tobruk_21_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="German Panzer I at Tobruk, 21 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">German light tank Pz. Kpfw. I Ausf. A enters Tobruk ca. 21 June 1942.</td></tr></tbody></table><span class="updated">2022</span><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4010278260980683606.post-38856229380273524562022-09-05T17:42:00.001-07:002022-09-05T17:42:46.632-07:00June 20, 1942: Rommel Breaks Through At Tobruk<div itemscope="" itemtype="https://schema.org/Thing"><h1>Saturday 20 June 1942</h1><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgEJK_uTrV8vuZnMtbrBqDwKupPeevBIVsJSVB8AO5tWaPO1sNJ5td2o0OhJf4frlwmWdi-mP8Z20-TnZH8BHZqZMc3nJR6rPo-_STluGfjHefwnTtpTwe-qTRd8RCh6gYLTgKGh7tvlmSyBCsugTDhDzI1yM96O0TwI7rhb4Djk-c-NNVYqCmPRBbr" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="British troops in North Africa riding a captured German Kubelwagen, 20 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" data-original-height="262" data-original-width="320" height="524" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgEJK_uTrV8vuZnMtbrBqDwKupPeevBIVsJSVB8AO5tWaPO1sNJ5td2o0OhJf4frlwmWdi-mP8Z20-TnZH8BHZqZMc3nJR6rPo-_STluGfjHefwnTtpTwe-qTRd8RCh6gYLTgKGh7tvlmSyBCsugTDhDzI1yM96O0TwI7rhb4Djk-c-NNVYqCmPRBbr=w640-h524" title="British troops in North Africa riding a captured German Kubelwagen, 20 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">British troops drive a captured German Kubelwagen in North Africa, 20 June 1942.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><b>Eastern Front:</b> In Moscow on <b itemprop="name">20 June 1942</b>, Joseph Stalin is in possession of the plans for the upcoming German Operation Blau, the planned offensive to capture the Soviet oil fields in the Caucasus. These papers were recovered from Major Joachim Reichel (now deceased) on 19 June 1942 after his plane was shot down by ground fire behind Soviet lines. While the plans are completely authentic and genuine, Stalin decides to disregard them because he believes they have been planted to deceive him.<p>In Crimea, both sides are experiencing supply shortages. Among other things, this compels a reduction in Luftwaffe flights by 40% and precise targeting of all bombs. The crews also are getting overworked, with some flying 25-30 missions per day. Fortunately for the Germans, Soviet resistance is crumbling and Luftwaffe war casualties are plummeting.</p><p>North of Severnaya Bay, the German 24th Infantry Division attacks the Lenin anti-aircraft and Northern Fort. While the Lenin position surrenders today, the Northern Fort holds out throughout the day despite the Germans using Goliath remote-controlled bombs and other techniques. In the south, the stalemate continues, with the Soviets retaining a firm grip on the critical Sapun Ridge and battering the nearby Wehrmacht forces with heavy artillery fire.</p><p>The Reichel Affair apparently has an immediate effect on German dispositions in Crimea. After many threats and indications that he would abandon the attempt to capture Sevastopol and turn it into a siege by transferring the essential Luftwaffe units to support Blau near Kharkov, Hitler suddenly tells Luftwaffe commander General von Richthofen that he can keep his air units in Crimea for the time being to finish the job. Richthofen joyfully writes in his diary, "Therefore, I feel reassured and can continue fighting in peace until we achieve final victory." This conclusion will turn out to be a bit premature but does reflect the upset and disequilibrium at Fuhrer Headquarters.</p><p>Luftwaffe attacks sink Royal Navy Landing Craft Tank HMS LCT-119 and LCT 150 off Tobruk.</p><p>Off Ak Mechet, Crimea, Romanian barge Danubius hits a mine laid by Soviet submarine L-6 and sinks.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3wv7duhrxjt2q6-qj7AJaDgYwly9qgoZFlFdoeT2vP4LuUisNVKkxTgcE1zUas0RKaLDZBkkTqWjp7_wdtHNhQiY1Uv1Hkjs9hpujt7Eph0BG7YRm_6-D0EXolKCMDbiUDYTgNMLYHdiocH79QAAUaqGoVWWhWgDsMvgJeCuzzNK3BQ3dhQI5J98x/s500/Women_in_Paris%2020%20June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Two women wearing the yellow Star of David badges in Paris, 20 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="372" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3wv7duhrxjt2q6-qj7AJaDgYwly9qgoZFlFdoeT2vP4LuUisNVKkxTgcE1zUas0RKaLDZBkkTqWjp7_wdtHNhQiY1Uv1Hkjs9hpujt7Eph0BG7YRm_6-D0EXolKCMDbiUDYTgNMLYHdiocH79QAAUaqGoVWWhWgDsMvgJeCuzzNK3BQ3dhQI5J98x/w476-h640/Women_in_Paris%2020%20June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="Two women wearing the yellow Star of David badges in Paris, 20 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="476" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Women in Paris wearing the yellow Star of David badge, 20 June 1942 (Federal Archives <a href="https://www.bild.bundesarchiv.de/dba/en/search/?channelid=dcx-channel-channel_barch_bilder&query=&day=20&month=06&yearfrom=1942&yearto=&imageid=&title=&farbe=&kostenfrei=&ausrichtung=&view=gallery&submit=" target="_blank">Picture 183-B21356</a>).</td></tr></tbody></table><p><b>Battle of the Pacific:</b> Japanese submarine I-26 (Yokota Minoru) shells the Estevan Point lighthouse on Vancouver Island in British Columbia. Accuracy is poor and nothing significant is hit. At the same time, I-26 first 25-30 5.5-inch (140 mm) rounds, then quickly escapes to the north and evades pursuit by five Royal Canadian Navy patrol vessels and a RCAF Supermarine Stranraer flying boat.</p><p>I-25 (Akiji Tagami) is also close to the North American coast and soon similarly will shell Fort Stevens, located at Columbia River, Oregon. During the early morning hours, it torpedoes Canadian freighter SS Fort Camosun off the coast of Washington. The freighter is badly damaged but survives to be towed into Puget Sound for repairs. It returns to service and the entire crew survives after abandoning the ship.</p><p>The U.S. Navy is still occupied with reorienting operations on an offensive footing following the dramatic success at Midway. So, local operations are the order of the day. Primarily, these are in the Aleutians, the one area of success for the Japanese. USAAF 11th Air Force sends a bombing raid over Japanese-held Kiska Island that is hampered by poor weather conditions. Only three of nine bombers complete the mission, while three others abort and the final three divert to looking for a B-24 lost at sea on the 19th.</p><p>The crew of U.S. submarine USS S-27 (SS-132), which grounded and broke up on the 19th off Amchitka Island, makes it to a deserted village and awaits rescue. Much further south, B-17s of 5th Air Force bomb Lae Airfield on New Guinea. At Mubo, New Guinea, the 17th Australian Brigade repels a Japanese attack.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSs8Ly7I8XQv-wnfDmqcDXgEFdxLkTRQmaMOYWdtDTZ7nzvVg23QkIzVA6oVpmqUvVyKaBcJIKnCl9zPnxgRQUq7Zw5kdj7nOlq4N2GIFX4PmwF5rN9605nVH2x5NeVh3Zs26tPhT4JcxW0DRsGDCM4K9Hr89GGsltVXP9F9FVw51erg6abkNXJepU/s948/Pix%2020%20June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Janet Blair on the cover of Pix magazine, 20 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="948" data-original-width="687" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSs8Ly7I8XQv-wnfDmqcDXgEFdxLkTRQmaMOYWdtDTZ7nzvVg23QkIzVA6oVpmqUvVyKaBcJIKnCl9zPnxgRQUq7Zw5kdj7nOlq4N2GIFX4PmwF5rN9605nVH2x5NeVh3Zs26tPhT4JcxW0DRsGDCM4K9Hr89GGsltVXP9F9FVw51erg6abkNXJepU/w464-h640/Pix%2020%20June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="Janet Blair on the cover of Pix magazine, 20 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="464" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Singer/actress Janet Blair on the cover of Pix Magazine, 20 June 1942. Her most famous role was in "My Sister Eileen" (1942), for which undoubtedly this was some indirect publicity.</td></tr></tbody></table><p><b>European Air Operations: </b>During an RAF raid from Bourn to Emden, NF Oblt. G. Friedrich of III/NJG 1 shoots down British Wellington III bomber X3669 about 5 km southwest of Zandvoort. All four crew die.</p><p><b>Battle of the Atlantic: </b>It is an oddly quiet day at sea in the Atlantic after many months of constant activity. There are no U-boat sinkings or major disasters at sea.</p><p>British 988-ton coaster Afon Dulais hits a mine and sinks near Beachy Head, East Sussex. There are no casualties.</p><p>German patrol boat V-1916 (Weser I) sinks from unknown causes somewhere in the Norwegian Sea.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4Z8cNciKAp1Mzfhz-g4PydG_zAqJGaO21YqWnMZ5Bj_x8pLOz48Oq4bSyMINCg-x3mFi5V1cwEpISQl4KNNEQgkMnHlBTXa6dUD267bCPEbjCpaLbuRQE9c26QomPfjKzoYRMaFltmBJrrNHOwPaQCNtLprCMDf4CszkawCD0NCCPJzxpcuYM8UWp/s727/Tobruk%2020%20June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Map of Tobruk battle, 20 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="727" height="528" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4Z8cNciKAp1Mzfhz-g4PydG_zAqJGaO21YqWnMZ5Bj_x8pLOz48Oq4bSyMINCg-x3mFi5V1cwEpISQl4KNNEQgkMnHlBTXa6dUD267bCPEbjCpaLbuRQE9c26QomPfjKzoYRMaFltmBJrrNHOwPaQCNtLprCMDf4CszkawCD0NCCPJzxpcuYM8UWp/w640-h528/Tobruk%2020%20June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="Map of Tobruk battle, 20 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The battle of Tobruk, 20-21 June 1942.</td></tr></tbody></table><p><b>Battle of the Mediterranean: </b>General Erwin Rommel's Afrika Korps launches its assault on Tobruk only two days after reaching the port's perimeter. The Luftwaffe opens the attack at 05:20 by bombing the point of attack on Tobruk's southeastern defensive positions, with a theater-high 588 sorties. The Regia Aeronautica chips in with another 177 sorties. At 07:00, Gruppe Menny, positioned between the 15th and 21st Panzer Divisions, attacks in conjunction with a fierce artillery barrage. This achieves a breakthrough within 15 minutes, and the German 900th Engineer Battalion quickly enables a crossing of the port's anti-tank ditch. Panzers were rolling across by 08:30, and the infantry expands the breach.</p><p>The British defenders have not yet organized their defenses and are slow to respond to the unexpected onslaught. The defending 5th Mahratta Light Infantry immediately gives ground, and expected tank reinforcements never appear. The nearby Cameron Highlanders launch a counterattack, and then the 32nd Army Tank Brigade is ordered in, but it is too late. The British defensive effort is dispersed and overrun, aided by close German ground coordination with the Luftwaffe. By noon, the Germans have 113 tanks inside the perimeter, and by 13:30 they seize the critical Kings Cross road junction on Pilastrino Ridge. The British make a last stand by using 3.7-inch anti-aircraft guns as ground artillery, but this is ineffective. By 16:00, the port commander's headquarters, General Klopper, is under assault, and he has to escape hurriedly, losing contact with his command.</p><p>Having overcome the outer defenses, the panzers reach the port outskirts by 18:00. Realizing the developing catastrophe, British units begin blowing up port installations and ammunition dumps. By nightfall, the British defenses are in a chaotic state of disarray and the German 15th and 21st Panzer Divisions are poised to overcome all remaining defenses on the morrow.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP2Puk9xInsMv2DYtzgOKOWdAfluUl7AXu7ZR_NPb0OlmIdPeZJ-SjlBEIL_T-DeV0kC7O8WSUQjbJcmu4u5ncx86__W3x6JnYi31_7EJCIYAN_ecaRuk1f6lscJaTEd-VKvKsGXPmyshyf0NFcidC40jOlOWyAvqWE-rmKMqux-grMkEa55B7NJ3C/s1599/USS_Meade%2020%20June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="USS Meade off NYC, 20 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="954" data-original-width="1599" height="382" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP2Puk9xInsMv2DYtzgOKOWdAfluUl7AXu7ZR_NPb0OlmIdPeZJ-SjlBEIL_T-DeV0kC7O8WSUQjbJcmu4u5ncx86__W3x6JnYi31_7EJCIYAN_ecaRuk1f6lscJaTEd-VKvKsGXPmyshyf0NFcidC40jOlOWyAvqWE-rmKMqux-grMkEa55B7NJ3C/w640-h382/USS_Meade%2020%20June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="USS Meade off NYC, 20 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">U.S Navy destroyer USS Meade (DD-602) off New York City, 20 June 1942. This is during her delivery voyage from the Bethlehem Steel Company shipyard at Staten Island (Bureau of Ships Collection in the U.S. National Archives 19-N-30842).</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Oddly, Fuhrer headquarters seems almost indifferent to Rommel's success. General Halder doesn't even mention it first in his list of the day's events, instead listing it fourth after "no change" on the Eastern Front, a mundane conference with the logistics chief, General Wagner, and a cursory description of the Reichel incident (which reflects poorly on OKH). When he finally does get to it, Halder writes:</p><p></p><blockquote><p>Tobruk captured. Thus, the heavy battle in Cyrenaica has culminated on a victory that is of equally great value from the military and the political aspect.</p><p></p></blockquote><p>This is one of the oddest entries in Halder's diary, completely distanced and remote from the actual state of affairs (Tobruk is not yet captured) and may reflect an underlying truth that seldom is brought out into the open. Halder and rest of OKH don't think highly of Rommel. He was not their first choice for command in Africa - General Paulus, now commander of Sixth Army, was. They view Rommel as a "loose cannon" whose victories are the result of insubordination and gambles. Rommel also has a reputation of not seeking approval for his operations. Finally, the OKH views the entire Mediterranean Theater as a sideshow that simply draws off forces that would be better employed on the theater of decision - the Eastern Front, which (not coincidentally) is completely under the control of the OKH and not the OKW (which controls western operations.</p><p>Thus, Rommel's successes are of far lesser import to the German High Command than to post-war Western accounts. Rommel only controls the equivalent of one corps, while OKH controls entire Army Groups. As long as Rommel stays out of trouble and doesn't require excess reinforcement, OKH really couldn't care less what he does. As to Hitler (who today, Halder notes, is back in East Prussia), he likely has a similar attitude but is simply happy that Rommel is keeping the Western Allies busy and giving him enough time to clear the table in the East.</p><p><b>Spy Stuff: </b>The FBI picks up the German spies staying at a New York hotel following the surrender by leader George Dasch at FBI headquarters in Washington D.C. on the 19th. </p><p><b>Allied Diplomacy: </b>During discussions between Winston Churchill and President Roosevelt at the latter's Hyde Park, New York, estate, an agreement is reached to postpone an invasion of France (the Americans' preference) and instead invade North Africa (the British plan). This becomes Operation Torch and takes place in November 1942. </p><div><b>US Military: </b>Brigadier General Dwight D. Eisenhower is ordered to replace Major General James E. Chaney as Commanding General European Theater of Operations. This is a controversial choice, as Eisenhower thus leapfrogs over many more senior officers for such a prominent command. General George C. Marshall instructs Eisenhower to integrate all U.S. air units in the UK into the 8th Air Force and gives as the mission to attain "air supremacy over Western Continental Europe" in preparation for a future invasion of the Continent.</div><p>US Ninth Army under General Krueger establishes its headquarters at Milne Bay, New Guinea.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJt7El8FLv7NLbpLvoEFNQX9luuxjjW9DpRNTZO_hLPG7MqrLswLbzWxWc9Zinpwo5D8Pfb4dH1Wdva1O0E8p4tfk9iLS0K8PtixDpq6HIe2rzEUyxTUkHBUT2B4qYXHE4DhvF1JoM1vmLF_EkET19594-JOKcP1dHEHgZpBjplu242bOKdwDO1Z7H/s622/Colliers%2020%20June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Collier's, 20 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="622" data-original-width="466" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJt7El8FLv7NLbpLvoEFNQX9luuxjjW9DpRNTZO_hLPG7MqrLswLbzWxWc9Zinpwo5D8Pfb4dH1Wdva1O0E8p4tfk9iLS0K8PtixDpq6HIe2rzEUyxTUkHBUT2B4qYXHE4DhvF1JoM1vmLF_EkET19594-JOKcP1dHEHgZpBjplu242bOKdwDO1Z7H/w480-h640/Colliers%2020%20June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="Collier's, 20 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Collier's, 20 June 1942 (Arthur Szyk).</td></tr></tbody></table><p><b>Holocaust: </b>Anne Frank discloses in her diary that she writes because she is lonely - there is nobody with whom she can share her secrets. She christens her diary "Kitty." Anne writes that she has a mother, father, and sister Margot, that they used to live in Frankfurt, Germany, and that they fled to Holland because of the persecution of people like them.</p><p>Four Polish prisoners at Auschwitz steal SS officer uniforms and drive a staff car out through the front gates. These are Eugeniusz Bendera, Stanisław Gustaw Jaster, Józef Lempart, and Kazimierz Piechowski. They are never recaptured and the last survivor, Piechowski, passes away on 15 December 2017 at the age of 98.</p><p><b>American Homefront:</b> Comic book villain "Two-Face" is introduced in Detective Comics (the predecessor of DC Comics) issue #66 (the cover date is August 1942).</p><p>"Sleepy Lagoon" by Harry James and His Orchestra" becomes No. 1 on The Billboard National Best Selling Retail Records chart. It tops the chart for four weeks and becomes a standard.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVJUp_6YBlyjD5Wr5i1WdKVolxcOVjGK1Gv3Gr3qTbvgBBcBNmJCCHBMDDVX0vQLhmDpBVVa9KJlt07XY2lHUSqZm02KMW_oUIKtl8PtyyOUQ7q15wV8YgWxMrzSbAywjnSZK8fF-9Visf7dxaowo9NhEfelIb2NvXEYZ3WPiDZP5KKfS3Dz5SPW3g/s900/Saturday_Evening_Post%2020%20June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Saturday Evening Post, 20 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="676" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVJUp_6YBlyjD5Wr5i1WdKVolxcOVjGK1Gv3Gr3qTbvgBBcBNmJCCHBMDDVX0vQLhmDpBVVa9KJlt07XY2lHUSqZm02KMW_oUIKtl8PtyyOUQ7q15wV8YgWxMrzSbAywjnSZK8fF-9Visf7dxaowo9NhEfelIb2NvXEYZ3WPiDZP5KKfS3Dz5SPW3g/w480-h640/Saturday_Evening_Post%2020%20June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="Saturday Evening Post, 20 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Women at Dude Ranch," Saturday Evening Post, 20 June 1942 (Fred Lukekens).</td></tr></tbody></table><p><b>Future History: </b>Brian Douglas Wilson is born in Inglewood, California. After moving to Hawthorne, California, Wilson begins to exhibit a special musical ability. He and his two younger brothers (Dennis, born 1944, and Carl, 1946) begin singing harmonies together while Brian plays the accordion or piano. At nine, Brian writes (or, more accurately, adapts) his first song, and writes his first independent song for a 4th-grade school project. He obsessively plays the piano and listens to the radio. After playing sports in high school, including being the quarterback of the Hawthorne football team, Brian attends El Camino Junior College, but drops out when he is disappointed at his teachers' attitudes toward pop music. In 1961, Brian and his brothers, cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine form a musical group. With father Murry Wilson serving as manager, the group continues developing their skills. Brian's composition "Surfin," recorded by another act, becomes their first local LA hit. Their label, Candix Records, now changes the group's name to the "Beach Boys," but the label soon sells their contract to another label, but Murry decides to terminate it. They then attract the attention of Capitol Records, which begins releasing their tracks as singles, including "Surfin' Safari" and "409." When these become national hits, the future of the Beach Boys is assured and they become legendary performers, with their most famous album "Pet Sounds." Brian is recognized as a positive influence on The Beatles, whose Paul McCartney was born exactly two days before Brian on 18 June 1942. He thereafter battles mental health issues but largely overcomes them, with occasional relapses and continuing manageable stresses. As of writing, Brian Wilson continues touring and songwriting. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijeZy-RT7TRX_dEO5dvT28vIKzIGCbVjWogfngGyMmk3uIsX47qX7aevFk51wia5s1SkOP1z4BoClc18DmB1jN0dMVbExpfH8Bcto_yOjxc53MV1WSkXaxSnYKT5eGMlqyaKULB1LTT6IJsLO95R0jw21pKOUVm6x6bvsW9Zu5EGLh4XC8bPFw06GY/s799/New_Yorker%2020%20June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="The New Yorker, 20 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="799" data-original-width="584" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijeZy-RT7TRX_dEO5dvT28vIKzIGCbVjWogfngGyMmk3uIsX47qX7aevFk51wia5s1SkOP1z4BoClc18DmB1jN0dMVbExpfH8Bcto_yOjxc53MV1WSkXaxSnYKT5eGMlqyaKULB1LTT6IJsLO95R0jw21pKOUVm6x6bvsW9Zu5EGLh4XC8bPFw06GY/w468-h640/New_Yorker%2020%20June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="The New Yorker, 20 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="468" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New Yorker, 20 June 1942 (Constantin Alajalov).</td></tr></tbody></table><p><span class="updated">2022</span>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4010278260980683606.post-22003199047372763212022-09-04T19:35:00.002-07:002022-09-11T13:05:10.867-07:00June 19, 1942: The Reichel Affair Threatens Blau<div itemscope="" itemtype="https://schema.org/Thing">
<h1>Friday 19 June 1942</h1><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxj1fd9vEw3KKHCNlRzUnqFUBU5j3LvjlGNJfIovrz01dYx_QwQFzjOuMzNbJCCGOrn_knEPcwXiM7K9Or0_WLqHz7dhlpHNnhsBt97SETIhpOWmAbI_eO5Hk0HDWqwEDy0V-UWKIkDyeVut04KLYSfYMoV8IETvS9ESJeYy-41BYYBghsETcVAASG/s1200/Japanese_prisoners_from_Hiryu_19_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Japanese POWs from the sunken Hiryu, picked up on 19 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1200" height="410" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxj1fd9vEw3KKHCNlRzUnqFUBU5j3LvjlGNJfIovrz01dYx_QwQFzjOuMzNbJCCGOrn_knEPcwXiM7K9Or0_WLqHz7dhlpHNnhsBt97SETIhpOWmAbI_eO5Hk0HDWqwEDy0V-UWKIkDyeVut04KLYSfYMoV8IETvS9ESJeYy-41BYYBghsETcVAASG/w640-h410/Japanese_prisoners_from_Hiryu_19_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="Japanese POWs from the sunken Hiryu, picked up on 19 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Survivors of Japanese aircraft carrier Hiryu, sunk on 5 June, after being picked up by the U.S. Navy on 19 June 1942 (U.S. Navy).</td></tr></tbody></table><p><b>Eastern Front:</b> Adolf Hitler has been placing all of his hopes on the coming Summer offensive (Case Blau (Blue)) to capture the Soviet oil fields in the Caucasus and finally secure plentiful energy supplies. However, on <b itemprop="name">19 June 1942</b> the Germans receive terrible news that places the entire success of the offensive in question. Hitler himself, though, is kept in the dark about it <a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2022/09/june-21-1942-rommel-takes-tobruk-allies.html" target="_blank">until the 21st</a>.</p><div style="text-align: left;">Contrary to well-known standing orders both in general and specifically put in place for Blau (War Directive ), a 23rd Panzer Division staff officer, Major Joachim Reichel, boarded a light transport aircraft (apparently a Fieseler FI-156 Storch) carrying a complete outline for the Blau offensive and specific plans for General der Panzertruppe Georg Stumme's Fortieth Panzer Corps. The pilot for some reason flies over the front lines, perhaps due to getting lost. A lucky shot by a Soviet rifleman pierces the fuel tank and forces the plane to crashland intact. </div><p>Within hours, a German patrol finds the downed plane 4 km behind the Soviet lines but cannot find either Reichel or the pilot (they were shot after a brief firefight by a Soviet patrol and their bodies will be found by another German patrol two days from now). Most importantly, they do not find the briefcase containing the Blau plans.</p><p>The German high command now must assume that the plans for Blau have been compromised (they have, the plans are on Stalin's desk within a day). Field Marshal von Bock, commander of Army Group South, has the immediate reaction to start Blau immediately before the Red Army can react. OKH (General Franz Halder) agrees and tells him to put everything in readiness for a start on 26 June. However, the final decision is up to Hitler, and he is furious. He summons Bock to the Wolfschanzee in East Prussia for an explanation. Everything is now in doubt and nobody knows whether the grand offensive will even happen.</p><p>In his daily war diary, Halder's notes today do not mention the Reichel affair but do reflect upon more basic problems with the offensive:</p><p></p><blockquote><p>The discussion with the top command on the efficient conduct of the Kupyansk-Izyum offensive follows a familiar and unpleasant pattern. Whereas von Bock, because of the terrain, wants to launch his tank drive directly from the west, top command considers that a mistake but feels no change ought to be ordered at this advanced stage of preparations, and approves von Bock's plan against its better judgment.</p><p></p></blockquote><p>What Halder carefully skirts is identifying who this "top command" actually is - a sure sign it is Hitler himself, who according to Halder's notes (which may, of course, be inaccurate) briefly returned to headquarters in East Prussia on the 18th but now is back in Bavaria. This continues a pattern of Hitler doubting von Bock's judgment that began during the May Soviet counteroffensive at Kharkov and ultimately will lead to von Bock's final dismissal in mid-July.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibU95Hx8XWFdSgyZaFaT7Cue7EzAqxa_wNq-RTdjm2yY3P2jLdSQgz2VODCVY3DX3-0d2_YVeg6Heni5RoeB-TK4CQD11vcBfMu3ihCBO5t2Nre95U0YxhKZUH4Co4rhZBcyuG_PpgDS43Fkd0IgeiKIIStbbMsdEmcP0I7ARXxqSyczRiBXKFaArw/s981/Marilyn_Monroe_19_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Marilyn Monroe wedding day portrait 19 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="981" data-original-width="755" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibU95Hx8XWFdSgyZaFaT7Cue7EzAqxa_wNq-RTdjm2yY3P2jLdSQgz2VODCVY3DX3-0d2_YVeg6Heni5RoeB-TK4CQD11vcBfMu3ihCBO5t2Nre95U0YxhKZUH4Co4rhZBcyuG_PpgDS43Fkd0IgeiKIIStbbMsdEmcP0I7ARXxqSyczRiBXKFaArw/w492-h640/Marilyn_Monroe_19_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="Marilyn Monroe wedding day portrait 19 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="492" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The future Marilyn Monroe on her first wedding day, June 19, 1942.</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Halder also mentions "very heavy economy attacks with local successes" from the trapped Soviet pocket on the Volkhov River in the north. This is Soviet General Andrei Vlasov's trapped 2nd Shock Army's last major attempt to break out. The attacks are aided in part by "adverse weather" that grounds the Luftwaffe.</p><p>In Crimea, General Manstein's 11th Army continues clearing out pockets of Soviet resistance, primarily a few remaining fortresses on "Battery Headland," the peninsula that dominates the bay's entrance. This is in preparation for the final assault on Sevastopol, but first, the 54th Army must take that peninsula. The final outcome in the sector north of Severnaya Bay is not in doubt following the fall of the key Soviet fortress Maxim Gorki. Luftwaffe air strikes are much less hazardous following the destruction of a key Soviet anti-aircraft platform in the bay. From first light, bombers based nearby conduct "rolling attacks" against all remaining valuable targets within the city. First, they use high explosive bombs, then, after noontime, incendiaries. </p><p>Luftwaffe General von Richthofen, who is still in the theater prior to his transfer north to help with Blau, notes in his diary that Sevastopol is "a sea of flames," with smoke clouds stretching all the way to Feodosia, 150 km away. However, the chaotic supply situation soon will force a reduction in Luftwaffe sorties by around 40%.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8iSeDQTrctN_Uh2eIKjC145edbt-tbM0hzB_z5wAd4K9xRphqc2A7uopxGYNOlp6UxR_Avxeku2nOcnROs1cJlKLdN1XeSzQ3E4owfMoF4iCgpT4AnhETcuaqyPxnERPB5puXq2ICFMyNeM1fa-ExINh1uFbS8rhxyfsh8TCodqocj4XDaMGxqDmJ/s750/Serbian_partisans_19_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Serbian partisans, 19 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="640" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8iSeDQTrctN_Uh2eIKjC145edbt-tbM0hzB_z5wAd4K9xRphqc2A7uopxGYNOlp6UxR_Avxeku2nOcnROs1cJlKLdN1XeSzQ3E4owfMoF4iCgpT4AnhETcuaqyPxnERPB5puXq2ICFMyNeM1fa-ExINh1uFbS8rhxyfsh8TCodqocj4XDaMGxqDmJ/w546-h640/Serbian_partisans_19_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="Serbian partisans, 19 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="546" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Partisan soldiers of the 4th Proletarian Montenegrin Brigade and the Herzegovinian Detachment in the village of Lubina near Vrbnica on Zelengora, Serbia, June 19, 1942.</td></tr></tbody></table><p><b>Battle of the Black Sea: </b>Italian motor torpedo boat ("MTB") MAS-571 torpedoes and sinks Soviet 3000-ton transport evacuating wounded troops from Sevastopol. submarine Shch-214 off Crimea in the Black Sea. There are no survivors.</p>Separately, two other Italian MTBs based in Yalta chase a Soviet submarine, Shch-214, that has been spotted by reconnaissance aircraft near Cape Ay-Todor (five km west of Yalta). They catch up to it and sink the submarine near Cape Sarych. Everybody aboard, estimated at 39 crew and between 40-65 evacuees from Sevastopol, perishes. There are two survivors taken as POWs, one of whom perishes in captivity.</div><div itemscope="" itemtype="https://schema.org/Thing"><br /></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="https://schema.org/Thing">The two sinkings continue a series of similar Italian naval victories in the theater at little cost to themselves. These aggravating losses have forced Soviet Admiral Oktyabrskii to sharply curtail naval missions to Sevastopol, leading to German Admiral Schwarzes Meer (Black Sea Naval Command) war diary to include the entry today that "Enemy naval activity has greatly decreased."</div><div itemscope="" itemtype="https://schema.org/Thing"><br /><div><span style="font-weight: normal;">The German Navy also gets a success when MTB S 102 torpedoes and sinks 2048-ton Soviet transport Belostok near Balaklava. There are 388 deaths. It is unclear if this happens on the 18th or 19th, so entries for this sinking are on both pages.</span></div><p>The Soviets have noticed the Italian successes, and after dark they send bombers of the <i>Voyenno-vozdushnyye si/y </i>(Soviet Air Force, or VVS)<i> </i>to attack German shipping at Yalta. The attack severely damages two Italian mini-submarines and cripples an MTB. </p><p>German fishing schooner MFK-2263 hits a mine and sinks off Mariupol, Ukraine. Two men perish.</p><p><b>Battle of the Baltic:</b> Soviet submarine Shch-317 torpedoes and sinks 2405-ton Danish freighter Orion off Visby, Sweden. There are one death and 21 survivors.</p><p>Danish 117-ton coaster Anna hits a mine and sinks in the Kattegat, off Paludian Flak. All four crewmen perish.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLzhE1tbzbxmJd3kofIMP2VADZE_y64juFInaczYI5aB5JNi-VVeXvJZ9LHU8fwmz0yack-x6w0dD7ItiGJ0oEVMvLy4BSeWA0QNVrIkyEsx2FkHANRRFBaUfdGABNYzYqo1jlXaYMOutwLr1PDFtIe8POKsp0GeBmxD6IbLXwd5Z2VgSKyO3Xye2S/s841/Relocation_Notice_19_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Canadian relocation notice, 19 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="841" data-original-width="563" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLzhE1tbzbxmJd3kofIMP2VADZE_y64juFInaczYI5aB5JNi-VVeXvJZ9LHU8fwmz0yack-x6w0dD7ItiGJ0oEVMvLy4BSeWA0QNVrIkyEsx2FkHANRRFBaUfdGABNYzYqo1jlXaYMOutwLr1PDFtIe8POKsp0GeBmxD6IbLXwd5Z2VgSKyO3Xye2S/w428-h640/Relocation_Notice_19_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="Canadian relocation notice, 19 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="428" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A relocation notice to Japanese Canadians issued in British Columbia newspapers on 19 June 1942 (<a href="https://www.vpl.ca/historicalphotos" target="_blank">Canadian government</a>).</td></tr></tbody></table><p><b>Battle of the Pacific:</b><span> In one of the last direct consequences of the Battle of Midway, a U.S. PBY Catalina search plane spots a lifeboat east of the island and directs the destroyer U.S.S. Ballard to it. The lifeboat contains 35 sailors from the engineering room of fleet carrier </span>Hiryū, sunk on 5 June 1942. After two weeks of exposure, one of the men passes away almost immediately. The POWs are taken to Midway, and then Pearl Harbor aboard the cargo ship USS Sirius.</p><p>U.S Navy submarine USS S-27 drifts toward shore during the night while recharging its batteries and at 00:43 grounds on rocks off St. Makarius Point, Kiska. The sub is gradually ground to pieces, and the crew abandons ship by 15:50 today.</p><p>The 11th Air Force sends B-24s to bomb Kiska but are forced to abort the mission due to heavy fog. One of the planes must make a crash-landing in the sea and two men are lost.</p><p>B-17s of the 5th Air Force attack Vunakanau Airfield, Rabaul, and nearby shipping.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhln2uD4IH5Xm5C3Hmsmp6e7Im-602kQfeub2fSLvKFM-RbuAOu0T0YpjPIA1_NQAwntdIc_usPubkoMX82HQoE6f_VjZ8uaMDiL9XHQ5ub6RaOf1Bx2hfZNpkJDQgXcxQlZXN0PW5bGDB-gSITBTrR9044upgZEwNCg9p2tmTdpXFdvEp0q7j-id3l/s500/U-552_returns_to_port_19_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="U-552 returns to port, 19 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="348" data-original-width="500" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhln2uD4IH5Xm5C3Hmsmp6e7Im-602kQfeub2fSLvKFM-RbuAOu0T0YpjPIA1_NQAwntdIc_usPubkoMX82HQoE6f_VjZ8uaMDiL9XHQ5ub6RaOf1Bx2hfZNpkJDQgXcxQlZXN0PW5bGDB-gSITBTrR9044upgZEwNCg9p2tmTdpXFdvEp0q7j-id3l/w640-h446/U-552_returns_to_port_19_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="U-552 returns to port, 19 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">U-552, its <i>Roter Teufel</i> ("Red Devil") mascot plainly visible on the conning tower, returns to the typical warm welcome from German maidens at Saint Nazaire, France. Erich Topp is visible in the tower, with crew on deck. It has been a successful patrol, sinking five ships of 15,858 tons (Kramer, Federal Archive <a href="https://www.bild.bundesarchiv.de/dba/en/search/?channelid=dcx-channel-channel_barch_bilder&query=&day=19&month=06&yearfrom=1942&yearto=&imageid=&title=&farbe=&kostenfrei=&ausrichtung=&view=gallery&submit=" target="_blank">Image 101II-MW-6443-16A</a>).</td></tr></tbody></table><p><b>Battle of the Atlantic: </b>Allied shipping losses off the American coast have been heavy for months now, and Allied leaders are starting to take notice. Today, U.S. Army Chief of Staff George Marshall writes to Admiral King:</p><p></p><blockquote><p>The losses by submarines off our Atlantic seaboard and in the Caribbean now threaten our entire war effort....I am fearful that another month or two of this will so cripple our means of transport that we will be unable to bring sufficient men and planes to bear against the enemy in critical theaters to exercise a determining influence on the war.</p><p></p></blockquote><p>Winston Churchill, currently visiting with President Roosevelt, is known to have this view as well, so it probably is not a coincidence that Marshall writes this grim note on this particular day.</p><p>U-701 (Kptlt. Horst Degen), on its third patrol out of Lorient, shells and sinks U.S. Navy trawler USS YP-389 (Lt R.J. Philips) 20 miles southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. The trawler is at a disadvantage because its main gun is out of commission due to a faulty firing spring. The U-boat's shelling starts a fire forward and floods the engine room, and the ship sinks by the stern at 10:15. There are six deaths and 18 survivors (some sources say 4 deaths and 21 survivors).</p><p>U-159 (Kptlt. Helmut Friedrich Witte), on its second patrol out of Lorient, shells and sinks 2710-ton Yugoslavian freighter Ante Matkovi in rough weather just north of Riohacha, Colombia. The ship quickly catches fire and sinks at 18:10. Rescue is not forthcoming because one of the first shells took out the radio mast, so the men must make shore in Colombia in their lifeboats. There are six dead and 23 survivors.</p><p>U-107 (Kptlt. Harald Gelhaus), on its sixth patrol out of Lorient, shells and sinks 35-ton U.S. schooner Cheerio eight miles off Mona, Puerto Rico. The crew sets the ship on fire after the first few shells and abandons ships - the flames attract the attention of a PBY Catalina. All nine crewmen, clinging to driftwood, then are rescued by USS CG-459.</p><p>British 758-ton passenger steamer Dalriada hits a mine in the Edinburgh Channel and sinks while clearing a wreck.</p><p>German 125-ton minesweeper R-41 is torpedoed and sunk in the Seine Estuary, France. It is unclear who did this, perhaps British MTBs, which have been in the general vicinity in recent days. In the same action, German surface units shell and sink British gun boat HM SGB-7 in the Seine Estuary.</p><p>A U.S. mine in the Gulf of Mexico sinks 3009-ton Yugoslavian freighter Boslijka northwest of Key West, Florida. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPaHAE3uaPBl0CdOoJw8ob_YF_5fAJpYQaf2iStAA-x3ZA6Fvp4n2lFwuv0OCBTohboknxrd7bK6o-eY9cMaFDEW_z9mj9MM0nHXI0UY50g4UHLUew7d8URZ8lBC1xvSRs__rRiJTNYf0Dn113M62bDISDrR4TISBTCwql8OeWzGz6tm60CJvxg-kc/s500/U-552_returns_to_port_19_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="U-552 returns to port showing her Red Devil mascot, 19 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="347" data-original-width="500" height="444" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPaHAE3uaPBl0CdOoJw8ob_YF_5fAJpYQaf2iStAA-x3ZA6Fvp4n2lFwuv0OCBTohboknxrd7bK6o-eY9cMaFDEW_z9mj9MM0nHXI0UY50g4UHLUew7d8URZ8lBC1xvSRs__rRiJTNYf0Dn113M62bDISDrR4TISBTCwql8OeWzGz6tm60CJvxg-kc/w640-h444/U-552_returns_to_port_19_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_2.jpg" title="U-552 returns to port showing her Red Devil mascot, 19 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Good view of U-552's deck gun as it comes into Saint Nazaire following its successful patrol on 19 June 1942 (Kramer, Federal Archive Image 101II-MW-6443-07A).</td></tr></tbody></table><p><b>Battle of the Mediterranean: </b>Having effectively surrounded the critical Allied port of Tobruk on the 18th, General Erwin Rommel begins final preparations for an assault to take it quickly. Reconnaissance of deployment areas takes place in the morning, and in the afternoon he sends his armored formations (15th and 21st Panzer Divisions on the right, the Italian Trieste and Ariete Divisions on the left) to the southeastern corner of the perimeter where he plans to make his main effort. The 90th Light Division occupying that area moves further east toward the coast to assume a defensive posture in case the British Eighth Army attempts a relief effort from its positions further south.</p><p>The attack is scheduled to begin early on the 20th. The plan is for a feint by XXI corps in the west before the two panzer divisions - 15th on the left and 21st on the right, with a motorized infantry group left behind by 90th Light commanded by Generalleutnant Erwin Menny in between - makes the main effort. The Germans are astonished when they arrive to find German ammunition depots left behind during their retreat from the area in November 1941 still in place and useable.</p><p>On the British side, the inexperienced 2nd Battalion, 5th Mahratta Light Infantry holds the key area in the southeastern corner of the perimeter. Inland from them are the 2/7th Gurka Rifles, while on the other side along the coast are the 2nd Cameron Highlands. The two panzer divisions are to attack the Mahrattas, while the two Italian armored divisions will take on the Cameron Highlands.</p><p>The British are confident, given how long they were able to hold the port in 1941, but the command is disorganized after the frantic retreat from the Gazala Line and does not yet have its forces properly disposed for counterattacks. The upcoming battle is a clear example of the value of speed in continuing offensive operations rather than pauses that allow the defenders to dig in and recover from past defeats.</p><p>Italian 778-ton coastal freighter Carlotta SS hits a mine and sinks off Cape Platamone, south of Cattaro.</p><p><b>Partisans: </b>The Germans, in Operation Hannover and Hannover II, have been trying to eliminate a major partisan force led by Soviet general Below in the Bryansk region for some time. On the 18th, a patrol found orders on a dead Soviet officer stating that a breakout east across the "Rollbahn" (highway) that the Germans loosely control back toward Soviet-held territory will take place at a specific point at midnight on 18/19 June. With nothing else to go on, the Germans have reinforced the area with three lines of defense comprised of infantry and artillery. General Heinrici, a defensive specialist, is in command.</p><p>The partisan breakout begins right on time as the clock ticks into 19 June. The breakout force is massive, and fighting lasts into daylight. The Russians get about 1500 troops across the first defensive line, 500 across the second, and perhaps a few across the third line. Having taken massive casualties, the remaining Soviets are forced back into the pocket, and at noon, Heinrici orders immediate pursuit. However, it then begins to rain, and in the confusion and dense forests, Belov and his remaining troops (about 3000) find an undefended portion of the Rollbahn and cross over unmolested.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoEG2idC6GDsmITBM7Q9VM7AMG1bU2S3SlI4v_yeaAuP6-SZWn11tvl2sVTRXJu_V5mr6AXB1jbqErJifIioBPhm9Xu5k3X9D0tCqpF0Pl_M8j05KZUi6rrpCPO-aZN31pYq5autMxAMrRMMptlVpcnkr9z7Cq_EBbHfL0g5N1yX-8Mqyw-3UY55U2/s864/El_Cajon_Boulevard_19_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Cajon Blvd in San Diego, 19 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="490" data-original-width="864" height="362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoEG2idC6GDsmITBM7Q9VM7AMG1bU2S3SlI4v_yeaAuP6-SZWn11tvl2sVTRXJu_V5mr6AXB1jbqErJifIioBPhm9Xu5k3X9D0tCqpF0Pl_M8j05KZUi6rrpCPO-aZN31pYq5autMxAMrRMMptlVpcnkr9z7Cq_EBbHfL0g5N1yX-8Mqyw-3UY55U2/w640-h362/El_Cajon_Boulevard_19_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="Cajon Blvd in San Diego, 19 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking west on El Cajon Boulevard from Alabama Street, San Diego, June 19, 1942 (<a href="https://theboulevard.org/home/landmarks-on-the-boulevard/looking-west-on-el-cajon-blvd-from-alabama-street-june-19-1942/" target="_blank">The Boulevard</a>).</td></tr></tbody></table><p><b>Spy Stuff: </b><span>The leader of the Operation Pastorius German saboteur group in New York City, George John Dasch, takes a train down to Washington, D.C., and walks into FBI headquarters. He experiences some skepticism until he shows Assistant Director D.M. Ladd a sack full of $84,000 of the operation's funds. FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover then begins arresting the German spies, which takes about two weeks. Hoover takes full credit for the arrests and neglects to mention to others that Dasch turned himself in.</span></p><p><b>Allied Relations:</b> With Winston Churchill now in the United States, the Second Washington Conference begins. It actually begins today in Hyde Park, New York, where Churchill travels to meet with President Roosevelt at his private residence. As he arrives, Churchill notices old warships from World War I tied up along the shoreline. In a flash of inspiration, he mentions to FDR that these sorts of obsolete vessels would be quite useful if sunk offshore to protect invasion landings from weather effects. FDR agrees and tells his naval authorities to make appropriate plans. This idea turns into the useful Mulberry Harbor at the D-Day (6 June 1944) landings.</p><p>The actual discussions revolve around the pressing question of where in Europe or Africa (and whether) the Western Allies should invade in 1942. The Americans want to open a Second Front in France, but Churchill and his generals demur. They prefer instead landings in the Mediterranean Theater - echoing German military experts such as Grand Admiral Raeder who have been advising Hitler to concentrate on the Mediterranean. This will remain the topic for discussion until the Second Washington Conference concludes (in Washington) on 25 June.</p><p><b>U.S. Military: </b>Vice Admiral Robert L. Ghormley, USN, who has been recalled from a London post as "Special Naval Observer" for President Roosevelt for the assignment, assumes command of the South Pacific Area with headquarters at Auckland, New Zealand. He is the choice of both Admiral Nimitz, CINCPAC, and Admiral King. While Ghormley has a lot of experience, he has not commanded at sea since 1938 on the battleship Nevada and has no experience with aircraft carriers.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheIzBcEIjMYOyfTy6zfWmUIyAWL8G2a_S4NijOR4jf3GQibannaf20Akh02sO4keVj8xT6I5sT5umt1V_k9TSW-OTbMPyzgE4VHxxDEkhxmHevnHiKgc9NuJAN4rg0AVyjwB808n1a9LGu8eRA0OJ3fCWqJg3bG0VArGSw7BLpGk9R0y5aUZdrsmII/s692/Picture_Show_magazine_19_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Picture Show Magazine, 19 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="692" data-original-width="539" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheIzBcEIjMYOyfTy6zfWmUIyAWL8G2a_S4NijOR4jf3GQibannaf20Akh02sO4keVj8xT6I5sT5umt1V_k9TSW-OTbMPyzgE4VHxxDEkhxmHevnHiKgc9NuJAN4rg0AVyjwB808n1a9LGu8eRA0OJ3fCWqJg3bG0VArGSw7BLpGk9R0y5aUZdrsmII/w498-h640/Picture_Show_magazine_19_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_2.jpg" title="Picture Show Magazine, 19 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="498" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Picture Show Magazine for June 19, 1942, has Ray Milland and Paulette Goddard on the cover.</td></tr></tbody></table><p><b>German Homefront:</b> Alois Eliáš, the former Prime Minister of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia who was arrested for partisan activities on 27 September 1941, is executed at the Kobylisy Shooting Range after a lengthy time on death row. Eliáš is the only head of state executed by the Germans during World War II. He receives a full state funeral on 7 May 2006 and is reburied at the National Monument in Vitkov, Prague.</p><p>The 1st Ranger Battalion is activated in Carrickfergus, North Ireland. It is led by William Orlando Darby, and his troops are sometimes called "Darby's Rangers." The unit is composed of approximately 500 volunteers chosen from units training in Ireland, and the vast majority of Darby's Rangers come from the five midwestern states of Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, North Dakota, and South Dakota. This unit is designed to be elite, so elite that they use live ammunition during training.</p><p><b>American Homefront:</b> Boston Braves outfielder Paul Waner collects his 3,000th career hit on June 19, 1942.</p><p>New York Yankees outfielder Joe DiMaggio strikes out three times in one game for the only time in his career against Mel Harder of the Cleveland Indians, who pitches a complete game victory.</p><p>The U.S. government urges United States pharmacies to turn in quinine supplies over 10 oz. Quinine is considered the best current cure for malaria, and heavy fighting in the southwest Pacific is set to take place in areas where malaria is prevalent.</p><p>At 432 S. Bentley Ave, in the West Los Angeles neighborhood of Westwood, the 16-year-old Norma Jeane Mortensen marries the 21-year-old "Big Jim" James Dougherty. Norma Jeane becomes better known in the 1950s by her stage name Marilyn Monroe. The house is still in existence and currently is valued at $2 million.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6YqyXoF_72EIfupe2eHdYFSH9uucqgbs31_msa5_U19RqQyuf4vyUngRFyM13ep_KsYIVtxHmAYvwOGd-lqiCL_qE5Vk9iOzs3UlJ-r4x1jYieeS06X-5UZPg25C9N7fGM24bNLEJKK6JzU5tusGMppMYSaJ75HgwMRVGVKenGtazK2_oS1b8uUCb/s1470/Marilyn_Monroe_19_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Marilyn Monroe wedding photo, 19 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="1470" data-original-width="980" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6YqyXoF_72EIfupe2eHdYFSH9uucqgbs31_msa5_U19RqQyuf4vyUngRFyM13ep_KsYIVtxHmAYvwOGd-lqiCL_qE5Vk9iOzs3UlJ-r4x1jYieeS06X-5UZPg25C9N7fGM24bNLEJKK6JzU5tusGMppMYSaJ75HgwMRVGVKenGtazK2_oS1b8uUCb/w426-h640/Marilyn_Monroe_19_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_2.jpg" title="Marilyn Monroe wedding photo, 19 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="426" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The future Marilyn Monroe gets married on 19 June 1942 to James Dougherty in her Los Angeles home. They remain married throughout the war.</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><span class="updated">2022</span>
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4010278260980683606.post-78242791483699186482022-08-28T22:57:00.001-07:002022-08-28T22:57:31.212-07:00June 18, 1942: Rommel Reaches Tobruk<div itemscope="" itemtype="https://schema.org/Thing"><h1>Thursday 18 June 1942</h1><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1VaWjalqVGawF4LH5X4temvpSbph0k4r3XcKotG9Z5qxfvVwWITpVhRJqbIr2lpJ1dXJEehZRjoptzU_q6M1U55Xq_QiSSL3GFq8d3R7m2OAGIaZLJrA499Wp0JBGKfAQzvchHlCxILzDk7s3anCg7aWbKlVucWa0UB7i8EbT9pHsVyzalXxZu2De/s500/Rommel_North_Africa_18_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="General Erwin Rommel, North Africa, 18 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="370" data-original-width="500" height="474" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1VaWjalqVGawF4LH5X4temvpSbph0k4r3XcKotG9Z5qxfvVwWITpVhRJqbIr2lpJ1dXJEehZRjoptzU_q6M1U55Xq_QiSSL3GFq8d3R7m2OAGIaZLJrA499Wp0JBGKfAQzvchHlCxILzDk7s3anCg7aWbKlVucWa0UB7i8EbT9pHsVyzalXxZu2De/w640-h474/Rommel_North_Africa_18_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="General Erwin Rommel, North Africa, 18 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Erwin Rommel in North Africa, 18 June 1942 (Gemini, Ernst A., Federal Archives <a href="https://www.bild.bundesarchiv.de/dba/en/search/?channelid=dcx-channel-channel_barch_bilder&query=&day=18&month=06&yearfrom=1942&yearto=&imageid=&title=&farbe=&kostenfrei=&ausrichtung=&view=gallery&submit=" target="_blank">Image 146-2002-010-05A</a>).</td></tr></tbody></table><p><b>Eastern Front:</b> The German advance toward Sevastopol, Crimea, gains a second wind on <b itemprop="name">18 June 1942</b> following the fall of key Soviet fortress Maxim Gorki north of Severnaya Bay. Luftwaffe operations over the port become much less hazardous as bombers of KG 51 destroy an effective Soviet anti-aircraft platform in the bay.</p><p>The Germans continue their mopping up of Soviet resistance north of the bay. The 132nd Infantry Division accepts the surrender of the Soviet 95th Rifle Division and Coastal Battery 12 at 09:00, while the 24th Infantry Division captures Bartenyevka at the mouth of the bay and the 22nd ID catches up with them. The Soviet defenders counterattack with the 138th Naval Brigade, which has no artillery or air support and is wiped out. In the south, the Wehrmacht attack remains stalled before Sapun Ridge, though Romanian troops are moving up the Chernaya River toward Sevastopol.</p><p>At Fuhrer Headquarters, Hitler has returned from his vacation. General Franz Halder briefly notes in his war diary the success at Sevastopol, but lavished much more ink on the partisan situation farther north:</p><p></p><blockquote><p>In [Army Group] Center, [Soviet] Corps Belov ... has been split into several groups. We must reckon with the ability of some elements to fight their way through the forests toward Kirov, and that the enemy at Kirov will support these breakout attempts by launching an attack of his own.</p><p></p></blockquote><p>He also notes in passing that the Soviet troops trapped on the Volkhov "are running short of food."</p><p><b>Battle of the Black Sea:</b> German Kriegsmarine motor torpedo boat S 102 torpedoes and sinks 2048-ton Soviet freighter Belostok near Balaklava, Crimea. There are 388 deaths.</p><p>An Italian mini-submarine scores another success when it sinks another Soviet submarine sailing on the surface near Cape Sarych, Crimea. This is the second such sinking in four nights.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyFy4CIJUVk6LlLwH5NT86tlXahJdVRmeXC-yYFziW8kWwc3veiQI2t6LaTIgLnnQnzzkFCNCwN3iJF-HMqD_UHE6N75xlPWj85DZXECMEvBHZL5g3QAA9VqNUnFe73RgP_SsuKF-n5ku2-vgY3LLvICSThb4S4iSzCQmMyrByTBQRG4waefb-U8J8/s500/British_POWs_North_Africa_18_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="British POWs in North Africa, 18 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="349" data-original-width="500" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyFy4CIJUVk6LlLwH5NT86tlXahJdVRmeXC-yYFziW8kWwc3veiQI2t6LaTIgLnnQnzzkFCNCwN3iJF-HMqD_UHE6N75xlPWj85DZXECMEvBHZL5g3QAA9VqNUnFe73RgP_SsuKF-n5ku2-vgY3LLvICSThb4S4iSzCQmMyrByTBQRG4waefb-U8J8/w640-h446/British_POWs_North_Africa_18_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="British POWs in North Africa, 18 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">British POWs under guard behind barbed wire, near Bir Hacheim, North Africa, 18 June 1942 (Bockelmann, Werner, Federal Archives <a href="https://www.bild.bundesarchiv.de/dba/en/search/?channelid=dcx-channel-channel_barch_bilder&query=&day=18&month=06&yearfrom=1942&yearto=&imageid=&title=&farbe=&kostenfrei=&ausrichtung=&view=gallery&submit=" target="_blank">Picture 101I-443-1583-11</a>).</td></tr></tbody></table><p><b>Battle of the Pacific:</b> Three 11th Air Force USAAF B-17s, an LB-30, and four B-24 bombers attack Japanese shipping at Kiska in the Aleutian Islands and sink 6537-ton Japanese oiler Nissan Maru. There is one death. One B-24 is lost with casualties, the Japanese possibly lose two scout planes.</p><p>Japanese aircraft raiding Port Moresby bomb and badly damage 4561-ton Australian passenger ship MV Macdhui. There are 10 deaths. The ship's remains are still visible on the reef south of Tatana Island.</p><p>Japanese 2206-ton freighter Tairyu Maru runs aground and is wrecked off Gyoji Island, Korea. Casualties are unknown.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2biXxd3yZcZ9Zm_opRRuUZaubato3dUFpUeTlyAYLL7JITfjGXSt6v5XxmVqx4YPIEBGb3clBqGaKQbDYCxy2pwLK8_81g8RqswDarOyxAcEm2vkDfO9GUBgBXv90x5NTdkZbQVbImguWfxl4xmGyyKAtUmhRczYdb6STb3bxI3KWursTX-AbULns/s500/Bf-109_North_Africa_18_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Luftwaffe Bf 109 over North Africa, 18 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="500" height="448" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2biXxd3yZcZ9Zm_opRRuUZaubato3dUFpUeTlyAYLL7JITfjGXSt6v5XxmVqx4YPIEBGb3clBqGaKQbDYCxy2pwLK8_81g8RqswDarOyxAcEm2vkDfO9GUBgBXv90x5NTdkZbQVbImguWfxl4xmGyyKAtUmhRczYdb6STb3bxI3KWursTX-AbULns/w640-h448/Bf-109_North_Africa_18_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="Luftwaffe Bf 109 over North Africa, 18 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Bf 109 fighter of JG 53 escorting a reconnaissance plane in North Africa (Bockelmann, Werner, Federal Archive <a href="https://www.bild.bundesarchiv.de/dba/en/search/?channelid=dcx-channel-channel_barch_bilder&query=&day=18&month=06&yearfrom=1942&yearto=&imageid=&title=&farbe=&kostenfrei=&ausrichtung=&view=gallery&submit=" target="_blank">Picture 101I-443-1588-09</a>).</td></tr></tbody></table><p><b>Battle of the Atlantic: </b>U-159 (Kptlt. Helmut Friedrich Witte), on its second patrol out of Lorient, uses its deck gun to sink 1417-ton Dutch freighter Flora north of Manaure, Colombia. Conserving torpedoes is important on these missions far from home port, so U-boat captains like to use their gun instead of torpedoes even though it is somewhat riskier and less certain. There are one death and 36 survivors, who are briefly questioned by the U-boat crew and then land on the Colombian coast on 19 June. The ship is only in this location because it picked up some survivors from two other recently sunk ships, Surrey and Ardenvohr, and dropped them off at Cristobal.</p><p>U-172 (Kptlt. Carl Emmermann), also on its second patrol out of Lorient, similarly uses its deck gun to sink a ship in the Caribbean, this one 1958-ton British tanker Motorex northwest of Colón, Panama. There are one death and 20 survivors. This is a continuation of a quite successful patrol for U-172, which now has sunk seven ships and is running low on torpedoes.</p><p>U-124 (Kptlt. Johann Mohr), on its ninth patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and badly damages U.S. tanker Seattle Spirit south of Greenland/ east of Newfoundland and Labrador. Seattle Spirit is sailing with Convoy ONS-102 in rough seas. The ship is armed, but the sinking takes place too quickly to use the guns. One of four torpedoes hits in the engine room and the ship quickly floods, but the crew and seven Canadian passengers manage to get off in three lifeboats. There are four deaths and 51 survivors, who are picked up by HMCS Agassiz. The Canadian corvette then scuttles Seattle Spirit. After this, Mohr heads back to base having sunk seven ships of 32,429 tons on this patrol.</p><p>Royal Navy destroyer HMS Albrighton, accompanied by steam gun boats HM SGB 6, 7, and 8, sinks German minesweeper R 41 during a sweep of the Seine Bay. The British lose SGB 7 during the raid. </p><p>During the same action, German 810-ton freighter Turquoise is running from the gunboats when it runs aground six nautical miles (11 km) from Port-en-Bessin-Huppain, Lower Normandy, France. The ship is a total loss.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkCjd4VLD5VBcsvV8o9tFtWOXYlaZtLHFrHE4j25AwzWiEpkA-m3vKouarH8juWVQquQRWW4faE5wPCrGmaqya2PjktM_uyLJybD6iytpJnPDsXWVNdrfHuC16CSwqmnd8wxUWgHWYkaNhgTvIf-rsgwc8t8zKuKtX1cDOvZ8wlRh0hNZ4hdrvSYCh/s500/Me-110_North_Africa_18_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Luftwaffe Me 110 in North Africa, 18 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="349" data-original-width="500" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkCjd4VLD5VBcsvV8o9tFtWOXYlaZtLHFrHE4j25AwzWiEpkA-m3vKouarH8juWVQquQRWW4faE5wPCrGmaqya2PjktM_uyLJybD6iytpJnPDsXWVNdrfHuC16CSwqmnd8wxUWgHWYkaNhgTvIf-rsgwc8t8zKuKtX1cDOvZ8wlRh0hNZ4hdrvSYCh/w640-h446/Me-110_North_Africa_18_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="Luftwaffe Me 110 in North Africa, 18 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Luftwaffe Lieutenant on the field telephone in front of an Me 110 fighter plane in North Africa near Bir Hacheim, 18 June 1942 (Bockelmann, Werner, Federal Archives <a href="https://www.bild.bundesarchiv.de/dba/en/search/?channelid=dcx-channel-channel_barch_bilder&query=&day=18&month=06&yearfrom=1942&yearto=&imageid=&title=&farbe=&kostenfrei=&ausrichtung=&view=gallery&submit=">Picture 101I-443-1588-11</a>). </td></tr></tbody></table><p><b>Battle of the Mediterranean: </b>German General Erwin Rommel's panzers advance rapidly against fading British resistance, reaching Gambut (Kambut), Libya. This is the site of a major RAF base, and the airfield is perfectly positioned for the Luftwaffe to bomb Tobruk.</p><p>Now on the outskirts of the port, Rommel's troops advance with their 2 German and one Italian armored divisions for a frontal assault after clearing out any pockets of resistance. Rommel's plan is to attack the southeastern perimeter, held by the 2/7th Gurka Rifles at the coast and the 2/5th Mahrattas and 2nd Cameron Highlands further inland, in a couple of days. He will use his two German panzer divisions, 15 and 21 Panzer, near the coast and the Italian Trieste and Ariete Divisions further inland.</p><p>British tug SS Vsion sinks at Mersa Matruh, Egypt, of unknown causes. No casualties.</p><p>An unusual German rescue concludes when U-83 makes port in Messina, Italy. The U-boat rescued the crew of a downed DO-24T-2 of Seenofstaffel 7 based at Suda (Souda), Crete. The Dornier had rescued a downed Bf-109 pilot, Lt. Heinrich Hesse of 7./JG 53, but then lost its tail while trying to take off and been left floating aimlessly in the Mediterranean. U-83 then was vectored to the Dornier by a passing Heinkel He 111.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtBi100JhM1Dv8EeQ9GjcHtl9hrA7h5GIg_ARPIpcYVvauFNQqPSCHZDlpWmZ7AJ0WfBclYXY_XRWofw_kxFh8Fd-oo3wFGSswHpnHdq9u0_vrTk9NbJVn7PcH0TtrQ4UwxUTXc71Dgt0Ns75bmWHVDbWRpa3Jos1qnA8IX11JOvOAxnnXwp4cfLyd/s1600/NY_Times_18_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="New York Times, 18 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtBi100JhM1Dv8EeQ9GjcHtl9hrA7h5GIg_ARPIpcYVvauFNQqPSCHZDlpWmZ7AJ0WfBclYXY_XRWofw_kxFh8Fd-oo3wFGSswHpnHdq9u0_vrTk9NbJVn7PcH0TtrQ4UwxUTXc71Dgt0Ns75bmWHVDbWRpa3Jos1qnA8IX11JOvOAxnnXwp4cfLyd/w640-h480/NY_Times_18_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="New York Times, 18 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The 18 June 1942 NY Times manages to get every key fact in its headlines wrong in a jingoistic sort of way.</td></tr></tbody></table><p><b>Spy Stuff:</b> There are now two German spy rings in the United States operating as Operation Pastorius. One ring is in a Manhattan hotel, while the other is traveling north by train from their landing at Ponte Vedra, Florida. The leader of the New York group, George John Dasch, already has begun the process of turning himself and his confederates over to the FBI, but for now, both groups remain unrestrained and with full freedom of action.</p><p><b>POWs: </b>The first of two wartime prisoner exchanges between the Allies and Japan begins today. The U.S. government has chartered the Swedish cruise ship M.S. Gripsholm for such exchanges, and today it leaves with a load of Japanese civilians for Rio de Janeiro and then Mozambique, where the exchange is to be made. Spain represents Japan and Switzerland represents the Allies in these negotiations. The Gripsholm's passengers are mainly Japanese diplomats or businessmen who happened to be in the U.S. when war broke out. The Japanese have brought1554 Allied prisoners there to be picked up by the Gripsholm. The Japanese prisoners are picked up in Mozambique and taken to Japan aboard the Asamu Maru and Conte Verde. The Gripsholm will arrive back in New York on 25 August with its exchanged Allied prisoners. The next exchange will be in August 1943.</p><p><b>German Military:</b> Luftwaffe squadron 7./JG 54 moves to Kotly near Leningrad and begins sweeps to protect German minesweepers in the Gulf of Finland.</p><p>Having been placed on leave for getting his 100th victory, Luftwaffe ace Oblt. Hans-Joachim Marseille of 3./JG 27 is informed that he has been awarded the Schwerter (swords) to his Ritterkreuz (Iron Cross). Marseille departs from North Africa for Fuhrer Headquarters on a Junker Ju 52/3m.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglATDC6BDtJqJ1S-_lO5cg8hIJFWGtqJdA_i_TQV2mbEAlQCoYidUVZxDLYb1ImCNOWYFPxvyE_-rf1Kygd8HyvyWhyRzjfQ9WsjBn1Mp4hGFzGQiBZp7f2pgWw-pXLzO_1ucRo2OIosoJItYjoCgx2FkIbl8ONaYb5aot15tZdb-CKIqkgNojQI0i/s800/Stuart_tanks_North_Africa_18_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="British Army Stuart tanks in North Africa, 18 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="795" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglATDC6BDtJqJ1S-_lO5cg8hIJFWGtqJdA_i_TQV2mbEAlQCoYidUVZxDLYb1ImCNOWYFPxvyE_-rf1Kygd8HyvyWhyRzjfQ9WsjBn1Mp4hGFzGQiBZp7f2pgWw-pXLzO_1ucRo2OIosoJItYjoCgx2FkIbl8ONaYb5aot15tZdb-CKIqkgNojQI0i/w636-h640/Stuart_tanks_North_Africa_18_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="British Army Stuart tanks in North Africa, 18 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="636" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Two Stuart tanks advancing in the Western Desert, 18 June 1942 © <a href="https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205203831" target="_blank">IWM E 13534</a>.</td></tr></tbody></table><p><b>US Military: </b>Bernard Whitfield Robinson becomes the first black U.S. Navy commissioned officer.</p><p>The air echelon of the 69th Bombardment Squadron, 38th BG (Medium) flies from Hickam Field in Hawaii with its B-26s to New Caledonia. It will fly reconnaissance missions for the rest of the year.</p><p>Major General Carl Spaatz arrives in London to formally take command of Eighth Air Force.</p><p>The U.S military begins developing the first medical air evacuation service. This will begin operation later in the year during the construction of the Alcan Highway and in Burma, New Guinea, and Guadalcanal.</p><p><b>German Homefront:</b> Following a lengthy investigation when a partisan provides information in exchange for cash, German troops find and gun down the two assassins of Reichsprotektor of Bohemia and Moravia Reinhard Heydrich. The two men, Jan Kubiš and Jozef Gabčík, are found in Cyril and Methodius Cathedral in Prague. After a ferocious six-hour gun battle, German security troops overcome the opposition at a cost of 14 of their own number. This follows a brutal two-week period during which 13,000 Czechs are arrested and tortured. The two men, flown into the Reich as part of British/Czech Operation Anthropoid, receive many posthumous honors.</p><div><b>British Homefront: </b>Free French leader Charles de Gaulle gives a "unity" speech at the Royal Albert Hall in London.</div><p><b>American Homefront:</b> British Prime Minister Winston Churchill arrives in Washington, D.C. The Americans want to invade France, but Churchill convinces them that invading French North Africa makes more sense. The two sides also discuss atomic research and agree to share information. This is not the best time for Churchill to be visiting, with his troops struggling in North Africa, but everything seemed fine when he left London.</p><p><b>Future History: </b>James Paul McCartney is born in Liverpool, England to a volunteer firefighter, James, and a licensed nurse. Both parents are of Irish descent. An excellent student, McCartney tests into the Liverpool Institute grammar school in 1953, and around this time his father encourages him to embrace music. One day on the bus to the Institute, he meets younger student George Harrison. McCartney's mother passes away on 31 October 1956, and on 6 July 1957 he meets older John Lennon at a church festival. Lennon leads a band, the Quarrymen, and McCartney soon joins, followed a year later by Harrison. The band has some local success and in 1960 gets a gig in Hamburg, Germany. After several personnel changes, the band renames itself The Beatles and goes on to international success, with McCartney and Lennon writing the vast majority of their oeuvre. As of this writing, McCartney remains a performer, songwriter, and influencer in the music scene while leading his own band.</p><p>Roger Joseph Ebert is born in Urbana, Illinois. He becomes a celebrity film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times until his death on 4 April 2013, hosting television review shows along with Chicago Tribune critic Gene Siskel. </p><p>Nicholas John Tate is born in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. He becomes a character actor best known for roles in "Space: 1999" in the 1970s and the Australian soap opera "Sons and Daughters." He remains active as an actor as of this writing.</p><p>Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki is born in Mbewuleni, Eastern Cape, South Africa. He becomes the second president of South Africa, following Nelson Mandela, from 14 June 1999 to 24 September 2008. He remains active in South African politics as of this writing.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNBmFKr8SYBSvABuvrFTxNwNDenoC0zGVoD_D7t8v1ubHUJYfs4qSj8S_Dfn4FLhumQ2HV9fV6gaNGJZMmjL9CO8tCHXS7QjNnzakxKeoA5TXUmsSbzDZk1keMvA-2x1CNRNyTn6zZjrfGL9wQJNUytnUvA1gTI-s3M8V_GhWUCvWcYe94etEWFmAq/s960/Japanese_decoys_18_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="A Japanese decoy airfield on Kiska in the Aleutians, 18 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="665" data-original-width="960" height="444" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNBmFKr8SYBSvABuvrFTxNwNDenoC0zGVoD_D7t8v1ubHUJYfs4qSj8S_Dfn4FLhumQ2HV9fV6gaNGJZMmjL9CO8tCHXS7QjNnzakxKeoA5TXUmsSbzDZk1keMvA-2x1CNRNyTn6zZjrfGL9wQJNUytnUvA1gTI-s3M8V_GhWUCvWcYe94etEWFmAq/w640-h444/Japanese_decoys_18_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="A Japanese decoy airfield on Kiska in the Aleutians, 18 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Japanese decoy "aircraft" on Kiska Island in the Aleutians, 18 June 1942 (U.S. Navy).</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p><span class="updated">2022</span>
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4010278260980683606.post-34975480923484047782022-08-21T17:24:00.004-07:002022-08-21T17:24:47.249-07:00June 17, 1942: The Mersa Matruh Stakes Begin<div itemscope="" itemtype="https://schema.org/Thing"><h1>Wednesday 17 June 1942</h1><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_kv7tIRSeoq-FYSkg9_CKBW1tXPVdhVrrQ3CgwCbulsEaHHxAlsdDorJ3h467cTUxPJ-J8F8h_mvV0wlIyvaL4TEUiORnjV4PzBXdYUXtkSWsuqlyRq84oW81o7zwQD8YAWqQKFzdiDmZ9avvAJESGGBx9YTXfCs-lD9A_b6uEyDY7TV01XHzL1vT/s500/Germans_at_Maxim_Gorki_fortress-17_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Maxim Gorki fortress after the German capture 17 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="374" data-original-width="500" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_kv7tIRSeoq-FYSkg9_CKBW1tXPVdhVrrQ3CgwCbulsEaHHxAlsdDorJ3h467cTUxPJ-J8F8h_mvV0wlIyvaL4TEUiORnjV4PzBXdYUXtkSWsuqlyRq84oW81o7zwQD8YAWqQKFzdiDmZ9avvAJESGGBx9YTXfCs-lD9A_b6uEyDY7TV01XHzL1vT/w640-h478/Germans_at_Maxim_Gorki_fortress-17_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_2.jpg" title="Maxim Gorki fortress after the German capture 17 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Maxim Gorki fort after the German capture, 17 June 1942 (Glanz, Federal Archive <a href="https://www.bild.bundesarchiv.de/dba/en/search/?channelid=dcx-channel-channel_barch_bilder&query=&day=17&month=06&yearfrom=1942&yearto=&imageid=&title=&farbe=&kostenfrei=&ausrichtung=&view=gallery&submit=" target="_blank">RH 82 Bild-00146</a>). </td></tr></tbody></table><p><b>Battle of the Mediterranean: </b>The North African campaign breaks wide open on <b itemprop="name">17 June 1942</b> as British attempts at forming a new defensive line east of Tobruk fail. The British 8th Army continues to lose its grip on the approaches to Tobruk. Before dawn, it evacuates the defensive box at El Adem, and later in the day at Sidi Rezegh. A counterattack by the British 4th Armored Brigade at Sidi Rezegh loses 30% of its tanks.</p><p>Afrika Korps commander General Erwin Rommel leads the 21st Panzer Division personally in his command car. They take RAF Gambut by 22:00, capturing 15 flyable aircraft and fuel supplies. The panzers reach the coastal road south to Bardia at 23:30, effectively encircling Tobruk and cutting its defenders off from Egypt except by naval resupply. </p><p>June 17, 1942, is usually considered the start of the second siege of Tobruk (the first being a successful British/ Australian defense from 10 April - 17 December 1941). This is a disaster that stuns Winston Churchill and makes him look around for yet another military commander in North Africa.</p><p>The situation is chaotic for the British, and General Ritchie orders the complete abandonment of Libya by any British forces that can escape. They are to head for Mersa Matruh, Egypt - if they can make it there ahead of General Rommel's panzers (a garrison of 30,000 is left in Tobruk). This becomes known sarcastically within the 8th Army as the "Mersa Matruh Stakes" (after horseracing Stakes races) and the "Gazala Gallop." Mersa Matruh is a full 100 miles/ 160 km to the east and the Afrika Korps appears to be unstoppable, so the need for speed is evident.</p><div>The Staffelkapitaen of 3./JG 27, Oblt. Hans-Joachim Marseilles, raises his victory score to 99 early in the day. Toward sunset, his fellow pilots convince him to fly another mission to hit the century mark, and indeed that is what happens. Marseilles shoots down a lone Hawker Hurricane south of Gambut Airfield,, becoming only the 11th Luftwaffe fighter to hit that mark and the first to do so entirely against the Western Allies (victories against the Russians are considered much easier). But Marseilles does not stop there, he also climbs from his first "low victory" to claim a high-flying Photo-reconnaissance Spitfire for victory 101. He claims another six RAF planes in total during the day. JG 27 is aided by recaptured airbases closer to the front, its new Ain-el-Gazala base was recaptured only on 16 June.</div><div><br /></div><div>Having become a propaganda hero now when not long ago he was considered something of a malcontent and screwup, Marseilles now is put on a 2-month leave and sent to Fuhrer Headquarters to receive a new decoration.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSKuDzPiSvnTXRCtk21c_cah_9cW2OLsKEWKEC5pFcYqUjJQVmvXBD1Lijmp3GvziFIlwrMlLy7Jlrsoa34g-YdF3DTPLQzhV22GEILK1ixdYNnvuY8d0g-1QMbT5eGW5V9E8HfOdiY8yFrvaoMsftLudn_e8LuwKCJXov0Q0-aR_R8sRuQafdmTAC/s500/Germans_at_Maxim_Gorki_fortress-17_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Germans at Soviet Fort Maxim Gorki 17 June 1942 Worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="375" data-original-width="500" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSKuDzPiSvnTXRCtk21c_cah_9cW2OLsKEWKEC5pFcYqUjJQVmvXBD1Lijmp3GvziFIlwrMlLy7Jlrsoa34g-YdF3DTPLQzhV22GEILK1ixdYNnvuY8d0g-1QMbT5eGW5V9E8HfOdiY8yFrvaoMsftLudn_e8LuwKCJXov0Q0-aR_R8sRuQafdmTAC/w640-h480/Germans_at_Maxim_Gorki_fortress-17_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="Germans at Soviet Fort Maxim Gorki 17 June 1942 Worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Germans enter shattered Fort Maxim Gorki, 17 June 1942 (Glanz, Federal Archive <a href="https://www.bild.bundesarchiv.de/dba/en/search/?channelid=dcx-channel-channel_barch_bilder&query=&day=17&month=06&yearfrom=1942&yearto=&imageid=&title=&farbe=&kostenfrei=&ausrichtung=&view=gallery&submit=" target="_blank">RH 82 Bild-00150</a>).</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>Eastern Front:</b> There are still Soviet holdouts in the Maxim Gorki fortress in Crimea who control underground passages and some gun emplacements. These need to be eliminated to clear the way to Severnaya Bay and take Sevastopol from the north. A Junkers Ju 87 Stuka pilot, Oberleutnant Maue, scores a direct hit on the fort's 30.5cm eastern naval gun, knocking it out. Heavy siege howitzers (such as the massive Dora and Karl guns) are working on the other heavy Soviet guns and Wehrmacht engineers who reach the fort late in the day. There still are about 1000 Soviets hiding out in the three-level fortress.</div><p>Luftwaffe General Wolfram von Richthofen, already ordered to report to a new assignment but still in the theater until the 23rd, writes:</p><p></p><blockquote>During the night, the 54th Army Corps positioned itself, then overran the Red front lines and took the majority of the forts north of Severnaya Bay. We [the Luftwaffe] pin down the artillery east of Sevastopol and at the front and destroy much. We [hit] the forts again and again.</blockquote><p></p><p>Richthofen is not exaggerating - the Luftwaffe has flown a total of 3899 sorties and dropped 3086 tons of bombs since 13 June. Later in the day, he adds in typical WWII German Nietzschean rhetoric that "our giant fire-magic fell on Battery Headland. The infantry were very enthusiastic!"</p><p>Around this date - the German and Soviet versions differ on several key points, including the dates - Soviet General Belov, who is leading a large mixed force of Soviet troops and partisans, escapes a huge German dragnet for him. He escapes with some of his men (again, how many is unclear) across the <i>Rollbahn</i> (main road) that the Germans control about ten miles east of Roslavl. Reflecting an enduring and somewhat bizarre German fascination with some adversaries, General Franz Halder writes in his war diary:</p><p></p><blockquote><p>Cavalry Corps Belov is now floating around the area west of Kirov. Quite a man, that we have to send no less than seven divisions after him.</p><p></p></blockquote><p>Halder does not mention that Belov has accomplished little beyond making the Germans ignore other important things to focus on him as he hides out in the woods and swamps near Bryansk.</p><p>The remaining Soviet pocket in the north near Velizh also receives attention in Halder's notes for the day:</p><p></p><blockquote>In [the] North, we have neither positive nor negative evidence on the enemy's intention of giving up the Velizh pocket. In any event, [Army Group] North has freed the larger part of Eight Armored Divisions for a southward drive through Demyansk. On the Volkhov, attacks were again repelled and the sack further compressed.</blockquote><p></p><p>Unknown to Halder, who has been paying little attention to this sector (which probably reflects the same about Hitler), the Volkhov pocket contains a very big prize: Soviet General Andrey Vlasov, the leader of Second Shock Army. His forces penetrated deep into the German lines during the latter stages of the winter counteroffensive, but now they are trapped. Unlike Belov, he has little hope of escape on the ground, and he refuses to abandon his men and fly out. Unknown to anyone but himself, Vlasov also is an anti-Bolshevist who believes that Stalin is an enemy of the people. Or, perhaps he is just the ultimate opportunist. In any event, with no way to fight out of the trap his army is in and little hope of rehabilitating his career following this complete defeat, Vlasov soon must make important and far-reaching decisions about his allegiance.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaQeb2KlQC2CFReYj-ToIfUSgJem7kM-1Ldto6mbOVdixpoY8xzHISxcx2EEMe_z_X87TIvRkPJChpOA4irENWqVsMCkkSW64M9_bGWlfrUJMI1-mJ-day4ckGU8GtNFztqZbwmTJY6EtHgFkKD64Z7tHqkPcfH4lZUD_6d82AEuEbISIx1DT7Yljd/s1600/USS_Long_Island_17_June_17_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Hangar deck of USS Long Island, 17 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="1084" data-original-width="1600" height="434" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaQeb2KlQC2CFReYj-ToIfUSgJem7kM-1Ldto6mbOVdixpoY8xzHISxcx2EEMe_z_X87TIvRkPJChpOA4irENWqVsMCkkSW64M9_bGWlfrUJMI1-mJ-day4ckGU8GtNFztqZbwmTJY6EtHgFkKD64Z7tHqkPcfH4lZUD_6d82AEuEbISIx1DT7Yljd/w640-h434/USS_Long_Island_17_June_17_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="Hangar deck of USS Long Island, 17 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Grumman F4F-4 Wildcat on the hangar deck of escort carrier USS Long Island (AVG-1), 17 June 1942. Also visible are other Wildcats and a Curtiss SOC-3A Seagull (Naval History & Heritage Command <a href="https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/our-collections/photography/numerical-list-of-images/nara-series/80-g/80-G-10000/80-G-14524.html" target="_blank">80-G-14524</a>).</td></tr></tbody></table><p><b>Battle of the Pacific:</b> The USAAF 11th Air Force plans a bombing run on the Japanese positions on Kiska Harbor, but it is scrubbed due to bad weather. Other patrol missions also are canceled.</p><p>US Navy aircraft carrier USS Saratoga flies off P-40s of the 73rd Fighter Squadron, 18th Fighter Group to Midway Island. These replace planes lost during the Battle of Midway. The P-40s immediately commence dawn to dusk patrols that last until 23 June 1943.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirJfEa7M-50y5SzdcRP8ZoNdZ1ZTJCjKFaLy8ag5a15HJCBJnZOSg4OeicfjA5rN7qouORWKK4XhxlBJXJ1_dtJD2TSdMwKk_iYvb47irLoHnK5lwLNBDMuZxcsUHtAFUhCP5TsJQ3Gy3ycKu1l7NkRTAHVZ-G3lYVFaQuqtxgMS-jWvZOKp__iSXu/s500/Post_Standard_June_17_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Syracuse Post-Standard, 17 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="344" data-original-width="500" height="440" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirJfEa7M-50y5SzdcRP8ZoNdZ1ZTJCjKFaLy8ag5a15HJCBJnZOSg4OeicfjA5rN7qouORWKK4XhxlBJXJ1_dtJD2TSdMwKk_iYvb47irLoHnK5lwLNBDMuZxcsUHtAFUhCP5TsJQ3Gy3ycKu1l7NkRTAHVZ-G3lYVFaQuqtxgMS-jWvZOKp__iSXu/w640-h440/Post_Standard_June_17_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="Syracuse Post-Standard, 17 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Syracuse, New York, Post-Standard has quite a fanciful headline about a supposed battering of the Italian Fleet. In fact, there were no "U.S. Fliers" involved in the battle of 15 June 1942, and it was the British Fleet, not the Italian, that was "battered." This particularly egregious headline reflects the standards during the first year of the (U.S.) war, when there were insufficient "good" military successes and so some were just fabricated by the press to sell newspapers.</td></tr></tbody></table><p><b>European Air Operations: </b>The Bay of Biscay is of vital importance to the Axis as the route of U-boats to the open ocean, so it maintains constant patrols. British destroyer HMS Wild Swan, sailing through a pack of Spanish trawlers after refueling as a convoy escort (not of the trawlers, the convoy is over the horizon), is spotted and attacked by a dozen Luftwaffe Junkers Ju 88 bombers. At the cost of six of their own planes, the bombers score four near-misses that destroy Wild Swan's steering control. It collides with one of the trawlers, and both ships sink. The bombers also sink three other trawlers. There are 31 dead due to exposure after the sinking, with 133 survivors and 11 additional survivors from the trawler Wild Swan had collided with (some sources say there are 158 total survivors, perhaps including some from the other sunk trawlers, all picked up in any event by HMS Vansittart). Wild Swan commander Claude Sclater receives the DSO for the gallant action despite losing his ship.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrMIg16d_CXc2vFADvNJ2VZDQgPRcR01Iw03SGF4a-U964jtvwn9gxM2_G6SjN_NjZ21JGjQrh74Cyl2PN60H2esq0T9NKitP120dImkxpzqp8tR9AmxeyfSsai_WM7TmmnRgTJq5huWG-HHL5cNW4KinE0qrrw_KQLDO56tWPaCJrhfWYI1L99BZV/s1857/Michigan_Daily_17_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Michigan Daily, 17 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="1857" data-original-width="1618" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrMIg16d_CXc2vFADvNJ2VZDQgPRcR01Iw03SGF4a-U964jtvwn9gxM2_G6SjN_NjZ21JGjQrh74Cyl2PN60H2esq0T9NKitP120dImkxpzqp8tR9AmxeyfSsai_WM7TmmnRgTJq5huWG-HHL5cNW4KinE0qrrw_KQLDO56tWPaCJrhfWYI1L99BZV/w558-h640/Michigan_Daily_17_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.png" title="Michigan Daily, 17 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="558" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Michigan Daily of 17 June 1942 buries a gripping story of tourists in Virginia Beach, Virginia, watching U-boat sinkings. Much more prominence is given on the same page to a water main break in Seattle. </td></tr></tbody></table><p><b>Battle of the Atlantic: </b>U-129 torpedoes and sinks 3274-ton U.S. freighter Millinocket north of La Isabela, Cuba. There are 11 dead and 24 survivors, who are picked up by Cuban fishing boats.</p><p>U-158 torpedoes 1560-ton Norwegian tanker Moira southeast of Port Isabel, Texas. There are one dead and 18 survivors, who are rescued by U.S. fishing boats. </p><p>U-158 gets a second victim, 3601-ton Panamanian freighter San Blas, east of Matamoros, Mexico/McAllen, Texas. There are 30 deaths and 14 survivors, who are picked up by a U.S. Navy Consolidated PBY Catalina.</p><p>Axis mines laid in the Chesapeake Bay by U-701 (Kptlt. Horst Degen) early on 13 June 1942 claim another victim, 7177-ton U.S. collier Santore. The ship capsizes and sinks in less than two minutes. The burning ship can be seen from shore. There are three deaths and 43 survivors, who are rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard. The wreck is raised and scrapped in 1954. This mining of Chesapeake Bay claims five ships (only 15 mines were laid) and is considered the most successful mining operation in American waters during World War II.</p><p><b>Spy Stuff: </b>Either later on 16 June or early on 17 June, U-202 lands four German agents at Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. They follow four other German spies who landed on Long Island on 12/13 June as part of Operation Pastorius. The New York group (or at least their leader) already is planning to defect to the FBI. Unlike the other group, the Florida spies do not wear their uniforms ashore, only bathing suits and their military caps. They promptly put on civilian attire and board trains to Chicago, Illinois, and Cincinnati, Ohio.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYlwellBUrCWCbK1msUybYI-AuUHzBndk30xqiWtX2ua9v43DYrWiBHM7a9EmyuFrX1_lTOgFQ8nNvU6ke874vF9qpx2RsPlvllN9oXFaA-nsEMwQjaZHNA_aInyfV3FJwahTrYMptLB26RHqc_wAxsRmc2AxPs9GuNSJnkT1D2Qeip9bw6Ewd1TfD/s400/Jane_Randolph_in_Yank_magazine_June_17_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Joyce Randolph on cover of first issue of Yank, 17 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="317" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYlwellBUrCWCbK1msUybYI-AuUHzBndk30xqiWtX2ua9v43DYrWiBHM7a9EmyuFrX1_lTOgFQ8nNvU6ke874vF9qpx2RsPlvllN9oXFaA-nsEMwQjaZHNA_aInyfV3FJwahTrYMptLB26RHqc_wAxsRmc2AxPs9GuNSJnkT1D2Qeip9bw6Ewd1TfD/w508-h640/Jane_Randolph_in_Yank_magazine_June_17_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="Joyce Randolph on cover of first issue of Yank, 17 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="508" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Actress Joyce Randolph on the premiere cover of "Yank" magazine, 17 June 1942. Randolph, 97 as of the time of writing, becomes famous as Trixie Norton on "The Honeymooners." </td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p><b>US Military: </b>Flight Captain Jackie Cochran, RAF Air Transport Auxiliary, who will go on to form the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs), begins a mission that will see her become the first woman to ferry a bomber across the Atlantic. She leaves Montreal to pick up her plane at Gander, Newfoundland and will arrive in the British Isles on 19 June aboard her twin-engine Lockheed Model 414 Hudson Mk.V. </p><p>Today is the first issue of "Yank, the Army Weekly." It is written by enlisted rank soldiers. Never available for public purchase, "Yank" eventually reaches a circulation of over 2.5 million in 41 countries. It lasts until the last day of 1945. Popular cartoons include "G.I. Joe," "Sad Sack," and work by Bil Keane of Family Circus. The 1st Armored Division at Fort Bliss revives the magazine in 2014.</p><p>President Roosevelt signs a bill raising the minimum service pay to $50 per month.</p><p><b>Japanese Homefront: </b>Japanese Prime Minister Hideki Tojo survives an assassination attempt by 31-year-old Park Soowon of Korea. Tojo is hit in the left arm near the old war ministry building in Tokyo. Soowon is immediately dispatched in a hail of bullets.</p><p>Radio Tokyo today finally acknowledges the Doolittle Raid of mid-April, calling it a “stunt raid of very little consequence.” While this, in actuality, is quite true, it was a great morale boost for the Allied side. The propaganda newscaster goes to great lengths to point out that only 11 crewmen escaped to Cairo and the remaining 61 were being hunted down or were dead already (a great exaggeration). The Americans are warned that further "pointless stunts" will result in harsh reprisals and "100% loss" of the enemy fliers. </p><p><b>American Homefront:</b> President Roosevelt orders the Army to oversee the construction of an atomic weapons complex. This will be done by the US Army Corps of Engineers. This is the first step in the building of the Oak Ridge, Tennessee nuclear facility, Hanford, Washington, reactor, and the weapons lab at Los Alamos, New Mexico as part of the Manhattan Project. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFUFyCpkO5AmZ1CcsJj4onF-0TotIkm-21P5T1u_1O0GxrLbiXlQJqcFoRQHgTwMcEjQkgOnEzKCquy9AwXT765oX1rLvyoxYrw1NqA-RyyOw90Ar6fF1dgFniUJ8VV50U8nj4T3SUP-tN3-qzkuTKc97XP2Z1yqVvSiB1I5RLsgeFjzQL8wL7WTpY/s1600/Green_Bay_Packers_17_June_17_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Green Bay Packers newsletter, 17 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFUFyCpkO5AmZ1CcsJj4onF-0TotIkm-21P5T1u_1O0GxrLbiXlQJqcFoRQHgTwMcEjQkgOnEzKCquy9AwXT765oX1rLvyoxYrw1NqA-RyyOw90Ar6fF1dgFniUJ8VV50U8nj4T3SUP-tN3-qzkuTKc97XP2Z1yqVvSiB1I5RLsgeFjzQL8wL7WTpY/w480-h640/Green_Bay_Packers_17_June_17_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="Green Bay Packers newsletter, 17 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Green Bay Packers newsletter dated 17 June 1942. Reflecting the times, it contains a "Packers Honor Roll" of players now serving in the armed forces.</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><span class="updated">2022</span>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4010278260980683606.post-2622999145545538532022-08-21T10:11:00.002-07:002022-08-21T10:31:36.904-07:00June 16, 1942: German Breakthrough in Crimea<div itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Thing"><h1>Tuesday 16 June 1942</h1><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLrVsvWhexUOOYJP7jJyg8pso8PSEDknKvsbTEK_gWiJDbWUB0G0Z3ywK1CqoHESvko9A4V9c9OnmHnbPSssNNyhRRRPUU3k_dalS5Ryy2UCqSrDLf47zqqW7CoumFqIkVAW8N74gpuL7sg1B1dSz1bFvuwjJFCg_dRbPam7CKczgaOdxqmS0k3F_o/s1200/FW-190A_16_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Focke Wulf Fw 190A, 16 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="693" data-original-width="1200" height="370" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLrVsvWhexUOOYJP7jJyg8pso8PSEDknKvsbTEK_gWiJDbWUB0G0Z3ywK1CqoHESvko9A4V9c9OnmHnbPSssNNyhRRRPUU3k_dalS5Ryy2UCqSrDLf47zqqW7CoumFqIkVAW8N74gpuL7sg1B1dSz1bFvuwjJFCg_dRbPam7CKczgaOdxqmS0k3F_o/w640-h370/FW-190A_16_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="Focke Wulf Fw 190A, 16 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Focke Wulf Fw 190A 3.JG2 Yellow 13 Josef Heinzeller WNr 325 France June 16 1942.</td></tr></tbody></table><p><b>Eastern Front:</b> As <b itemprop="name">16 June 1942</b> begins in Crimea, General Manstein's 11th Army is still blocked on the approaches to Sevastopol. However, there are glimmers of hope for the Wehrmacht in the northern axis of attack. The main remaining obstacle there is the Soviet Maxim Gorky fort. At dawn, 27 Stukas from II./StG 77 attack, and then the 132nd Division breaks through the decimated Soviet line and takes the fort in a stunningly swift attack. The Soviet holdouts, unwilling to accept defeat, do as others before they have done at Kerch, Brest-Litovsk, and elsewhere and retreat to underground galleries rather than surrender. They hold out until the 20th.</p><p>This begins a general crumbling of the entire Soviet line. Using heavy artillery and remote-controlled Goliath tracked bombs and Nebelwerfer rockets, the 22nd, and 24th Infantry Divisions capture the nearby forts named Molotov, Schishkova, Volga, and Siberia. </p><p>Soviet commander Petrov is horrified. he rushes the newly arrived 138th Naval Brigade to the breach, and this is the only thing that prevents the Germans from reaching Severnaya Bay on the 16th. But now the Soviets are badly outnumbered in the sector - the Brigade only has 2600 men - and the path into the port is now open for the Germans.</p><p>German III Panzer Corps of Field Marshal von Bock's and General Paulus' Sixth Army completes Operation Wilhelm, a small preliminary offensive across the Burluk River begun on 10 June. It meets up with VIII Corps near Belyy Kolodez. While the firstsuccessful preliminary operations sete stage for Case Blau, Wilhelm does not live up to expectations because the jaws of the pincer movement are too shallow. This allows most of the Soviet defenders of the 28th Army to escape to the east. The Germans count 24,800 prisoners. </p><p>The German Sixth Army and First Panzer Army are now preparing for Operation Fridericus II, a similar operation slightly to the south toward Gorokhvatka on the Oskol River northeast of Izyum. It is scheduled to begin on the 17th, but Hitler is still vacationing at the Berghof, and the generals kind of assume it will be forgotten about. Hitler, however, is sending messages that he wants it done anyway, so preparations are underway to begin it on the 22nd - which is uncomfortably close to the planned start date for Blau, which was to be ready to start beginning on the 23rd.</p><div>Luftwaffe General Wolfram von Richthofen, architect of the successful (so far) air campaign in Crimea, hands over command to Oberst von Wild (he remains in the theater until 23 June), as Richthofen is heading to the main front to help with Case Blau. The two men have a meeting in which Richthofen insults von Wild, telling him he "lacked experience in every respect" and needs to share power with Richthofen's (and von Wild's) subordinate Oberstleutnant Christ. Von Wild, who has been in charge of anti-shipping operations, agrees to place Christ in charge of daily operations.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGOiRs39hG1Rpr8DxCMUqwf6U5sO1qvD1VxtSRDQ1J_WzPfKp1aJGNVeqkF9KTQ6c20JRgY-EEaD_Gqo4_8YetOFELF-EqpBL3m7PUqjn5q2bN14v6wLk8eU5RCdC3THQWVsGA7A7FWCIa8nF1BcdGlbmfeQ9HdTqwb41bf0TKWUYVLmHbnxViTjXN/s850/Deportation_of_Jewish_residents_of_Lazy_16_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Jewish residents of Lazy, Poland, being deported, 16 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="620" data-original-width="850" height="466" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGOiRs39hG1Rpr8DxCMUqwf6U5sO1qvD1VxtSRDQ1J_WzPfKp1aJGNVeqkF9KTQ6c20JRgY-EEaD_Gqo4_8YetOFELF-EqpBL3m7PUqjn5q2bN14v6wLk8eU5RCdC3THQWVsGA7A7FWCIa8nF1BcdGlbmfeQ9HdTqwb41bf0TKWUYVLmHbnxViTjXN/w640-h466/Deportation_of_Jewish_residents_of_Lazy_16_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="Jewish residents of Lazy, Poland, being deported, 16 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Deportation of Jewish residents of the mining town of Lazy, Poland (near Katowice) on 16 June 1942. They are destined for Auschwitz or, for a few, to labor camps in Bedzin and Sosnowiec (as the photo caption shows). Yad Vashem Photo Archives <a href="https://www.yadvashem.org/holocaust/this-month/june/1942-2.html" target="_blank">757/1</a>. </td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>With the Fuhrer off in Berchtesgaden and victory messages pouring in from all fronts, General Franz Halder, writing in East Prussia, is in a good mood. He captions his daily diary entry "Fuhrer away. Victories in Africa and the Mediterranean." He notes:</div><div><blockquote>Notwithstanding Eleventh Army's contention that the assault had little chance of success in the absence of infantry reinforcements, the enemy's situation at Sevastopol seems to deteriorate progressively. Good gains in the southern sector. Sixth Army is regrouping preparatory to Fridericus II. They are quite short on infantry. Romanian participation is rather embarrassing. </blockquote></div><p>He also notes that General Belov's partisan force "has again broken out," which is "Nothing that we could brag about!" The Germans have a certain admiration for Belov, who has evaded multiple attempts to catch him.</p><p><b>Battle of the Baltic: </b>Soviet submarine ShCh-317 torpedoes and sinks Finnish 2513-ton freighter Argo in the Gulf of Finland between Bogskär and Utö, Finland. There are nine deaths.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJdEuUWgF9J7-FsosvfZ4lyNMnxk21URtT4wTFMo0VcnxpwmY9VqvWfU18GZY_-5uIZzonAaA8-If-tX84ITS5x-YTIRjpsnxfOuQPSrELBtt0z5iyPDRP_1EsrutHdrUwjEoKrkjfungtTWwkwZJSJ-w8R-pPlxKq5xQg6XB6CfQxT5iFldNzmzyM/s433/Namola_16_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Lt. Chester Namola, KIA 16 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="330" data-original-width="433" height="488" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJdEuUWgF9J7-FsosvfZ4lyNMnxk21URtT4wTFMo0VcnxpwmY9VqvWfU18GZY_-5uIZzonAaA8-If-tX84ITS5x-YTIRjpsnxfOuQPSrELBtt0z5iyPDRP_1EsrutHdrUwjEoKrkjfungtTWwkwZJSJ-w8R-pPlxKq5xQg6XB6CfQxT5iFldNzmzyM/w640-h488/Namola_16_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="Lt. Chester Namola, KIA 16 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lt. Chester Namola a few days before his death on 16 June 1942. he had previously survived another crash landing on 28 March 1942, but today his luck runs out. There is a plaque dedicated to him at the Berridale State School in Australia, the site of that previous crash landing.</td></tr></tbody></table><p><b>Battle of the Pacific:</b> Japanese forces near Middleton Island, 75 nautical miles (139 km) south of Cordova, Alaska, destroy 5094-ton U.S. freighter Coldbrook. It is unclear what happens to her, either outright sunk or beached and written off.</p><p>27 Japanese Zero A6M2 fighters of the Tainan Kokutai make a sweep over Port Moresby, accompanied by an equal number of B4M ("Betty") bombers. 32 P-39 and P-400 (export version) Aircobras of the 39th and 40th Fighter Squadrons rise to the bait. A wild dogfight ensues, during which the Japanese Zeros shoot down four Aircobras and heavily damage two others (the Japanese pilots claim 17 victories) while losing none themselves (some sources say they lose two bombers and two fighters). One Allied pilot (Lt. Chester Namola) is lost (officially MIA) and the three others return to duty.</p><p>B-26 bombers of the 22nd BG and B-17s of the 19th BG bomb Lae, while B-25s of the 3rd BG attack Salamaua. The target is airfields, and good results are achieved. One escorting P-39 is lost. </p><p><b>European Air Operations: </b>The mid-war lull continues with no major operations.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdftrmvf66X4IKBVuCyIMqyicviCQ5Ph0tI4HT6f0KKgJhELZBg7cjqGy0DYm0uefcLL9_Tqwk2Cf5Pkl5TpSbrPe5vS6m42pGsM8KAhn4UqmmydleJhxKACdgN10ArFXzMGliv1BFtJ5-d4L58Iwee1B13MWKgfSgGzz7hk5ArH3sTVQFdoN_9uHY/s500/U-455_16_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="U-455 returning from a mission, 16 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="346" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdftrmvf66X4IKBVuCyIMqyicviCQ5Ph0tI4HT6f0KKgJhELZBg7cjqGy0DYm0uefcLL9_Tqwk2Cf5Pkl5TpSbrPe5vS6m42pGsM8KAhn4UqmmydleJhxKACdgN10ArFXzMGliv1BFtJ5-d4L58Iwee1B13MWKgfSgGzz7hk5ArH3sTVQFdoN_9uHY/w442-h640/U-455_16_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="U-455 returning from a mission, 16 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="442" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">U-455 returns to Saint-Nazaire, France after its third wartime patrol, 16 June 1942, during which it sunk 13,908 tons of shipping (two British freighters, British Workman and Geo H. Jones, off the coast of Canada). As is customary, the commander (Kptlt. Hans-Heinrich Giessler) is presented with a bouquet of flowers. Waiting for the submarine would be mothers, wives, girlfriends, etc. (Kramer, Federal Archives <a href="https://www.bild.bundesarchiv.de/dba/en/search/?channelid=dcx-channel-channel_barch_bilder&query=&day=16&month=06&yearfrom=1942&yearto=&imageid=&title=&farbe=&kostenfrei=&ausrichtung=&view=gallery&submit=&page=2" target="_blank">Bild 101II-MW-6435-38A</a>).</td></tr></tbody></table><p><b>Battle of the Atlantic: </b>U-87 (Kptlt. Joachim Berger), on its third patrol out of St. Nazaire, torpedoes and sinks 5896-ton U.S. passenger ship Cherokee northeast of Cape Cod and Provincetown, Massachusetts, using two torpedoes. There are 86 deaths and 83 survivors, who are rescued by USCGC Escanaba and freighter Norlago.</p><p>U-87 gets a second victim, 8402-ton UK freighter Port Nicholson, in the same general vicinity 30 nautical miles (56 km) east of Provincetown. This is an "accidental" sinking because Berger was firing at another ship and missed - but the errant torpedo apparently hit this ship. The Port Nicholson and Cherokee are part of Convoy XB 25. Carrying automobile parts and military stores, the Port Nicholson is a major loss. It sits in 700 feet (210 m) of water. There are six deaths and 85 survivors.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBXcWeP-mPR32QUaZniYsDk73eLj0VoKefQWTiFHvKYvvx-s_cFct3ZfmqgY4Z1HR9O8X3v7FW3TUXCn8zpWaSZtNR93ENYANjMMugrS-zR7R_oogDWBAzcWXHd3xqG11zcFZRZt_zGELIWxrKjSb5NpBMWyXZbvikV1wvGpYP2w9_reyz_MRSoF6g/s500/U-455_16_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="A slight mishap aboard U-455 as it enters port, 16 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="347" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBXcWeP-mPR32QUaZniYsDk73eLj0VoKefQWTiFHvKYvvx-s_cFct3ZfmqgY4Z1HR9O8X3v7FW3TUXCn8zpWaSZtNR93ENYANjMMugrS-zR7R_oogDWBAzcWXHd3xqG11zcFZRZt_zGELIWxrKjSb5NpBMWyXZbvikV1wvGpYP2w9_reyz_MRSoF6g/w444-h640/U-455_16_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_2.jpg" title="A slight mishap aboard U-455 as it enters port, 16 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="444" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Somewhat embarrassingly, one of the crew of U-455 falls into the water as it sails into port in front of the crowd of onlookers, the brass band, and top naval brass on 16 June 1942 (Kramer, Federal Archive, <a href="https://www.bild.bundesarchiv.de/dba/en/search/?channelid=dcx-channel-channel_barch_bilder&query=&day=16&month=06&yearfrom=1942&yearto=&imageid=&title=&farbe=&kostenfrei=&ausrichtung=&view=gallery&submit=&page=1" target="_blank">Bild 101II-MW-6435-34A</a>).</td></tr></tbody></table><p>U-126 (Kptlt. Ernst Bauer), on its fourth patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 6997-ton U.S. freighter Arkansan 70 nautical miles (130 km) west of Grenada in the Caribbean. The freighter crew was alert and spotted the surfaced U-boat at 02:30. Almost immediately, however, a torpedo hit, and the ship sinks in 20 minutes. There are four deaths and 36 survivors, who are picked up by USS Pastores.</p><p>U-126 gets a second victim when it torpedoes and sinks 6062-ton U.S. freighter Kahuku west of Grenada. There are 17 dead and 92 survivors, who are picked up by USS Opal, USS YP-63, and Venezuelan freighter Minataora.</p><p>U-67 (Kptlt. Günther Müller-Stöckheim), on its fourth patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 2220-ton Nicaraguan freighter Managua southeast of Key West in the Strait of Florida. The torpedo is spotted about 300 feet away but there is nothing the crew can do. The U-boat approaches a lifeboat, takes two men aboard to question them, and then returns the men and departs. All 25 aboard survive when the two lifeboats make landfall in Cuba and Pigeon Key.</p><p>U-161 (Kptlt. Albrecht Achilles), on its third patrol out of Lorient, comes across Dominican Republic 30-ton sailing vessel Nueva Altagracia northeast of Curacao and shells and sinks it. All eight crew survive because the U-boat takes them (and their cargo of fresh fruits and chickens) aboard and releases the crew to another Dominican sailing vessel they encounter, the Comercio.</p><p>Royal Navy trawler 294-ton HMT Tranquil sinks after colliding with freighter Deal east of the town of Deal in "The Downs."</p><p>German 2449-ton freighter Plus hits a mine and sinks in the Weser River.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1DhXHl79T2YrIcvKoYqmZIvZEPCen9D4716BfQREhtJLggk6hfZJ3Xws7XSIpzZAzKLO-5zRGTAv4yyw1g_phHfu7wZ-lDqmkdTKYbZhHG0XMH9BIWEllD3XdQhUDnhNSNOGP3PvZEeNARhqw5L7pyGBaSyKECgCVmnhz1F7BHhTUFbeES6J5S7zX/s450/HMAS_Nestor_sinking_16_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="HMAS Pribilof shortly before being scuttled, 16 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="321" data-original-width="450" height="456" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1DhXHl79T2YrIcvKoYqmZIvZEPCen9D4716BfQREhtJLggk6hfZJ3Xws7XSIpzZAzKLO-5zRGTAv4yyw1g_phHfu7wZ-lDqmkdTKYbZhHG0XMH9BIWEllD3XdQhUDnhNSNOGP3PvZEeNARhqw5L7pyGBaSyKECgCVmnhz1F7BHhTUFbeES6J5S7zX/w640-h456/HMAS_Nestor_sinking_16_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="HMAS Pribilof shortly before being scuttled, 16 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">HMAS Nestor sitting low in the water with bomb damage prior to being scuttled south of Crete, 16 June 1942 (Australian War Memorial <a href="https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C230571" target="_blank">301085</a>)</td></tr></tbody></table><p><b>Battle of the Mediterranean: </b>The British disaster that is Operation Vigorous is heading back toward Alexandria in tatters, but before it reaches safety it suffers another crushing loss. U-205 (Korvettenkapitän Franz-Georg Reschke) torpedoes and sinks the Royal Navy cruiser HMS Hermione south of Crete. The cruiser quickly capsizes, with 88 dead and about 400 survivors. </p><p>Air attacks (unclear if by Stukas or the Italians) during the evening of the 15th crippled the Australian destroyer HMAS Nestor. While under tow on the 16th, the ship settles too low in the order and the tow line breaks twice - due to fears of enemy action, it must be scuttled. Built by a Scottish shipbuilding company on the Clyde, Nestor never sees Australia, the only major HMAS warship with that claim. </p><p>After this, Operation Julius (the combined convoy operation from both ends of the Mediterranean to Malta) is over. Only two of six freighters sailing from Gibraltar as part of Operation Harpoon have made it to Malta, while none from Operation Vigorous sailing from Alexandria have made it. The shattered remnants reach port in the evening. While quickly forgotten like a bad dream by the British, it is the greatest victory of the war for the Italian Navy. Admiral Harwood writes today that "We are outnumbered both in surface ships and Air Force and very gallant endeavor of all concerned cannot make up for...the deficiency." He later blames the loss on insufficient RAF support.<br /></p><p>Polish Navy destroyer OPR Kujawiak hits a mine near Malta and sinks. There are 13 deaths and 147 survivors.</p><p>On land, the German advance toward Tobruk is achieving its objectives. Today, it forces British defenders at Point 187 to evacuate and puts two other defensive positions at El Adem and Sidi Rezegh under extreme pressure. This is the last line of defense before the port itself.</p><p>South African Major John Frost, the highest-scoring ace of the SAAF with 15 victories (some South Africans flying with the RAF have more), goes missing after being shot down while escorting Douglas Bostons near Bir Hakeim. He may have fallen victim to Luftwaffe ace Hans-Joachim Marseille, who is credited with 6 victories during the day, or Günter Steinhausen with 4 victories today. Frost and his plane have never been found.</p><p><b>US Military</b>: Congress authorizes an increase in the number of US Navy airships to 200. These are used primarily for coastal reconnaissance and convoy protection, and sometimes for tasks such as the one that delivered important supplies to the ships heading for Japan during the Doolittle Raid in April 1942.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5henIqzSxKunyCxFhT7XIe3SRuq1jKsve8C0ogxnFXmjXPgaQDxpweQjhJ_h181VelPqOXtevWONRAPjaeqBAzg0mZlKC6j5uU6h3Fkuw7lS5g1XyAv9qBWFHC3LO17R2XwxjnIHTqeSqEuKYXT0O-tnzJVQpD-qxhVoT13HNl205rVfL5JNCAoww/s994/Refugees_16_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.webp" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Refugees of the Pribilof Islands being taken to camps in Alaska, 16 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="791" data-original-width="994" height="510" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5henIqzSxKunyCxFhT7XIe3SRuq1jKsve8C0ogxnFXmjXPgaQDxpweQjhJ_h181VelPqOXtevWONRAPjaeqBAzg0mZlKC6j5uU6h3Fkuw7lS5g1XyAv9qBWFHC3LO17R2XwxjnIHTqeSqEuKYXT0O-tnzJVQpD-qxhVoT13HNl205rVfL5JNCAoww/w640-h510/Refugees_16_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.webp" title="Refugees of the Pribilof Islands being taken to camps in Alaska, 16 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Unangan people from the Pribilof Islands travel to Southeast Alaska aboard the USAT Delarof, 15-16 June 1942. These evacuations to internment camps are "for their own protection." (Image titled “nara_80_g_12163”: National Archives and Records Administration, <a href="https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/documented-rights/exhibit/section3/detail/st-paul-residents.html" target="_blank">NARA-80-G-12163</a>).</td></tr></tbody></table><p><b>US Government: </b>Executive Order 9181 is published in the Federal Register today. It provides for the administration of federal government services in Alaska, specifically the establishment of the Alaska War Council to be headed by the Governor. EO 9181 orders that military leaders "to the fullest extent possible, give consideration to civilian needs and problems arising from the war situation in Alaska." It is obvious from the text that the military now has the final say over policy in Alaska.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOWiTFlmkbJFQHDU9jqqAv9rR7YjYPFLwnbICgX7sPxbyMs4mfLfumYeMPsqr8op8ekGbZKOhvXkS-ur_z2U5dNzNSOchKJg9heK7ywIeOx_cuWW-2lBO26y0r2B8TGuCAGByBvonGxCSbLgeywFuYsFY5WvI962q2lIrfnPPP51dqwShSqbfJEufU/s500/U-455_16_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_3.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="U-455 returning from a mission, 16 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="347" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOWiTFlmkbJFQHDU9jqqAv9rR7YjYPFLwnbICgX7sPxbyMs4mfLfumYeMPsqr8op8ekGbZKOhvXkS-ur_z2U5dNzNSOchKJg9heK7ywIeOx_cuWW-2lBO26y0r2B8TGuCAGByBvonGxCSbLgeywFuYsFY5WvI962q2lIrfnPPP51dqwShSqbfJEufU/w444-h640/U-455_16_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_3.jpg" title="U-455 returning from a mission, 16 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="444" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The crew of U-455 assembled for its return to port, 16 June 1942 (Kramer, Federal Archive <a href="https://www.bild.bundesarchiv.de/dba/en/search/?channelid=dcx-channel-channel_barch_bilder&query=&day=16&month=06&yearfrom=1942&yearto=&imageid=&title=&farbe=&kostenfrei=&ausrichtung=&view=gallery&submit=&page=1" target="_blank">Image 101II-MW-6434-27</a>).</td></tr></tbody></table><p><b>American Homefront: </b>Universal Pictures releases "Eagle Squadron," a standard patriotic offering for the time based on a story by C.S. Forester (of Horatio Hornblower fame). The film, directed by Arthur Lubin and starring Robert Stack, Diana Barrymore, and John Loder, is a big success. Alan Hale Jr. (later star of "Gilligan's Island"), who enters the U.S. Coast Guard around this time, appears in a small role.</p><div><b>Future History: </b>John Rostill is born in Birmingham, England. He begins performing with bands in the 1950s and achieves his greatest fame as bassist and composer for The Shadows. John Rostill passes away on 26 November 1973, aged 31, after overdosing on barbituates in a death ruled a "suicide while in a depressed state of mind." </div><p>Giacomo Agostini is born in Brescia, Italy. He becomes a top motorcycle racer, with 122 Grand Prix wins and 15 World Championship titles in the 1960s and 1970s. He appears to be retired as of this writing.</p><p>Eddie Levert is born in Bessemer, Alabama. He becomes the lead vocalist of the singing group The O'Jays and currently still performs with that group.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZch0FMKvsPEfBeWIuv7Jcs8PfDRcM99qdhcbnzD32ablMQaKFtNUnJ501r8lrSvSnI9h0m1KcqldR5xvv_3JZdhWq5uu7TrBKr39cz3Q7bnDNsbitKTir6gvLlgKZlvaQ-q2a_iwQhBSQPdNY7tvops55gUdEauCBaJpjE55zoQurPSHwPs0LD67X/s500/U-455_16_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_4.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="German patrol boats off St. Nazaire, 16 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="347" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZch0FMKvsPEfBeWIuv7Jcs8PfDRcM99qdhcbnzD32ablMQaKFtNUnJ501r8lrSvSnI9h0m1KcqldR5xvv_3JZdhWq5uu7TrBKr39cz3Q7bnDNsbitKTir6gvLlgKZlvaQ-q2a_iwQhBSQPdNY7tvops55gUdEauCBaJpjE55zoQurPSHwPs0LD67X/w444-h640/U-455_16_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_4.jpg" title="German patrol boats off St. Nazaire, 16 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="444" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A German patrol vessel at sea off St. Nazaire, 16 June 1942 (Kramer, Federal Archive <a href="https://www.bild.bundesarchiv.de/dba/en/search/?channelid=dcx-channel-channel_barch_bilder&query=&day=16&month=06&yearfrom=1942&yearto=&imageid=&title=&farbe=&kostenfrei=&ausrichtung=&view=gallery&submit=&page=1" target="_blank">Picture 101II-MW-6435-04A</a>).</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p><p></p><span class="updated">2022</span>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4010278260980683606.post-90524759395245525402022-08-14T19:21:00.001-07:002022-08-14T19:21:49.573-07:00June 15, 1942: Great Day For The Italian Navy<div itemscope="" itemtype="https://schema.org/Thing"><h1>Monday 15 June 1942</h1><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVAllfE0FgkWV0ZQNIcxMwOjdDhRlyweLkCCDGyyTBFG82DFIyfhn4sgGURbbwaJ0R5qG7jMI-Pk8BtxEm5HLIVOR4HSQmcTSQjTVnieNngAn9zW33Y31Xw5DTVbbtWf-Ee3FmBi5pHk5cy-LEdb7ARJrpEkzKZ9Zsd-yZAxAm5dqZNKcCIXpFBSWd/s635/HMS_Bedouins_sinkinsg_15_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="HMS Bedouin sinks near Pantelleria, 15 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="207" data-original-width="635" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVAllfE0FgkWV0ZQNIcxMwOjdDhRlyweLkCCDGyyTBFG82DFIyfhn4sgGURbbwaJ0R5qG7jMI-Pk8BtxEm5HLIVOR4HSQmcTSQjTVnieNngAn9zW33Y31Xw5DTVbbtWf-Ee3FmBi5pHk5cy-LEdb7ARJrpEkzKZ9Zsd-yZAxAm5dqZNKcCIXpFBSWd/w640-h208/HMS_Bedouins_sinkinsg_15_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="HMS Bedouin sinks near Pantelleria, 15 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Royal Navy Tribal-class destroyer HMS Bedouin sinking during Operation Harpoon, 15 June 1942 (Ministero Della Difesa-Aeronautica, Regia Aeronautica). </td></tr></tbody></table><p><b>Battle of the Mediterranean: </b>The Italian military gets a lot of grief from post-war armchair generals, but the navy proves it can fight and inflict heavy damage on <b itemprop="name">15 June 1942</b>. This becomes known as the Battle of Pantelleria and merits a later visit (25 June) by Mussolino to congratulate the crews. Of course, the Battle of Pantelleria (In Italy, "Battaglia di Mezzo Giugno") is not played up in Allied post-war histories, rarely mentioned except occasionally as just another convoy battle.</p><p>The disaster that is Operation Julius, a conventional British resupply of Malta from both ends of the Mediterranean simultaneously, continues with more Allied losses. The situation has become so chaotic and untenable that the eastern half of the operation, Operation Harpoon, is temporarily called off, but then the order is reversed due to the "fog of war" - overly optimistic reports from Allied aircrews sent to attack the Italian fleet. </p><p>It is a day of repeated Axis air attacks, many near misses and bombers shot down, and lost opportunities. After dark, Admiral Harwood finally cancels Operation Vigorous. Most of the ships are lost due to mines and the Italian surface fleet - two of the original six freighters make it to Malta despite the cancellation, delivering 15,241 tons of supplies. The failure of the tanker Kentucky to make port causes a fuel crisis on the island.</p><p>Italian Regia Aeronautica aircraft, which have been particularly effective during these attacks, bomb and severely damage Australian destroyer Nestor off Crete. It survives until the 16th, when it must be scuttled.</p><p>German E-boat S-56 (some sources say S-66) torpedoes Royal Navy light cruiser HMS Newcastle, severely damaging it. Newcastle does not become operational again until March 1943. British destroyer Hasty, damaged in the same way by E-boat S-55 before dawn, must be scuttled off Crete.</p><p>The Italian surface fleet also gets into the act. At dawn, Italian cruisers aided by the Regia Aeronautica hit the British off Pantelleria south of Sicily. Air attacks disable British tanker Kentucky (9457 tons) and freighters Chant, Bedouin, and Burdwan - all eventually sink due to naval gunfire or torpedoes. </p><p>The British are able to strike back, though the weight of arms is heavily against them. Four Wellingtons out of Malta attack the Italian ships and score a torpedo hit on the cruiser Trento. Royal Navy submarines Maydon and Ultimatum spot battleship Vittorio Veneto and attempt attacks, but with no success due to the effective screen of cruisers. Submarine Umbra later finds Trento, dead in the water, and sinks it with two torpedoes.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkKHePD6uXSEfo65wz5Waaxn9abXXu_J-m1rodPmNldKW0yxtsieD42XaUQqAZB271UogYrVtHzw4Ud_2U5Rxa-xZZJkRQnr3w-R6f2ej2l8-JV6Cfj0UOApKN5eOXdREYEbd7rn3NQjqoCJn26CQj_zJGKcUvnx6S-W7AIJm2XDUNkSqv5EAYc2SD/s960/Littorio_15_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.webp" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Littorio bomb damage 15 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="930" data-original-width="960" height="620" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkKHePD6uXSEfo65wz5Waaxn9abXXu_J-m1rodPmNldKW0yxtsieD42XaUQqAZB271UogYrVtHzw4Ud_2U5Rxa-xZZJkRQnr3w-R6f2ej2l8-JV6Cfj0UOApKN5eOXdREYEbd7rn3NQjqoCJn26CQj_zJGKcUvnx6S-W7AIJm2XDUNkSqv5EAYc2SD/w640-h620/Littorio_15_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.webp" title="Littorio bomb damage 15 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Damage to battleship Littorio from a 500-lb bomb hit by a USAAF B-24. The bomb apparently hit Turret No. 1, killing one man and injuring 12 but causing only superficial damage to the turret.</td></tr></tbody></table><p>The Italian fleet, less Trento, continues south and is attacked by B-24 bombers, with battleship Littorio taking a hit from a 500-lb bomb and, much later, a torpedo hit that causes little damage. A later RAF attack and a dogfight ensues, the Luftwaffe shooting down two Beauforts and badly damaging five others (one crashes).</p><p>Ships Lost:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Trento (Italian cruiser) - 570 dead, 581 survivors.</li><li>HMS Airedale (destroyer) - 45 dead, 133 survivors</li><li>HMS Bedouin (destroyer) - 28 dead, 213 survivors</li><li>HMAS Nestor (destroyer) - four dead, scuttled 16 June.</li><li>Burdwan (6,069-ton British freighter) </li><li>Chant (5601-ton U.S. freighter) - four dead, 81 survivors.</li><li>Kentucky (9308-ton British tanker) - damaged by Stukas, finished off by Italian surface fleet.</li><li>Burdwan (6069-ton British freighter) - damaged by Stukas, finished off by Italian surface ships.</li><li>HMS Newcastle (Town-class cruiser) - torpedoed and damage by S 56, towed to port and returned to service in March 1943.</li><li>Italian 215-ton minesweeper RD 7 - hits a mine and sinks off Saronikus, Greece.</li></ul><p></p><p>On land, the situation is even worse for the British. Their struggling forces are pushed out of Knightsbridge, the Point 650 box lost, and General Erwin Rommel's 21st Panzer Division reaches Sidi Rezegh. The 15th Panzer Division cuts the road east of Tobruk, but the South African Division escapes before then. The struggling British Eighth Army does get some relief because the Luftwaffe is occupied with the convoys out at sea. This is one of the darkest days of the Mediterranean campaign for the British, with the certainty of more bad days to follow as they draw back on Tobruk.</p><p>The Fuhrer's staff apparently is pleased, and in any event he is still at the Berghof, so it is a good day at headquarters in East Prussia. General Franz Halder notes in the war diary that "Army Corps 'Africa' has broken through to the coast west of Toburk. Cheering success!</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitccFsjNvmsfCGPBY2fV9LRzKIqGjwBKqEgmNKp37DzKvXP7juX1b4k6f9xQ7O8uJ4u64CjizSod2zEEyw2jRy4i1nzHbo0adLOkNBCf8V5aljmp5tFbyT3qP8-SsYX-eEnFurZ3xVI4a0c_gJPUCJ0evsqDLIv8aEGxQcJtbcOA0EK4xW4DcIv0Q5/s500/Rommel_15_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="General Erwin Rommel, June 1942 North Africa worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="348" data-original-width="500" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitccFsjNvmsfCGPBY2fV9LRzKIqGjwBKqEgmNKp37DzKvXP7juX1b4k6f9xQ7O8uJ4u64CjizSod2zEEyw2jRy4i1nzHbo0adLOkNBCf8V5aljmp5tFbyT3qP8-SsYX-eEnFurZ3xVI4a0c_gJPUCJ0evsqDLIv8aEGxQcJtbcOA0EK4xW4DcIv0Q5/w640-h446/Rommel_15_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="General Erwin Rommel, June 1942 North Africa worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Colonel-General Erwin Rommel with Major-General Georg von Bismarck, commander of the 21st Panzer Division, ca. 15 June 1942 (Otto, Albrecht Heinrich, Federal Archive <a href="https://www.bild.bundesarchiv.de/dba/en/search/?channelid=dcx-channel-channel_barch_bilder&query=&day=15&month=06&yearfrom=1942&yearto=&imageid=&title=&farbe=&kostenfrei=&ausrichtung=&view=gallery&submit=" target="_blank">Picture 101I-785-0286-31</a>).</td></tr></tbody></table><p><b>Eastern Front:</b> General Manstein's attack toward Sevastopol continues making good progress, especially in the north. The Soviets are still fighting hard, though, and have plenty of ammunition remaining. Heavy operations continue on land, air, and sea, where an Italian mini-submarine has an unusual success when it torpedoes and sinks a surfaced Soviet submarine sailing off Cape Sarych. at Fuhrer Headquarters, General Franz Halder notes blandly in his war diary, "Advancing in southern and northern sector Sevastopol, and at Volchansk."</p><p>The German 132nd Division is leading the main attack in the north and now is within 900 meters of the Maxim Gorky fortress perimeter. The Soviet defenders of the 95th Rifle Division and 7th Naval Brigade are down to just 1000 men - basically, a single regiment. However, the Wehrmacht also has taken a staggering number of casualties just to get this far.</p><p>In the south, the Germans are stopped before Balaklava and the Soviets still hold the critical Sapun Ridge. Somewhat dismaying for the Germans is that they have captured only about 1000 Soviet soldiers but a staggering 1500 mortar projectiles, suggesting the defenders have plenty of ammunition while they themselves are always short.</p><p>The Luftwaffe, though, is making up for the German deficiencies on the ground. It has been averaging about 780 sorties a day since the start of the offensive with virtually no let-up. Attacks on Sevastopol cause first that can be seen in Feodosiya, 150 km away. From 13-17 June, the planes drop 3,086 tons of bombs.</p><p>Luftwaffe General Wolfram von Richtofen, a chief architect of the brewing German success at Sevastopol (and who rightfully deserves as much credit as Manstein), gets news that disgusts him. Reichsmarschall Goering phones him - usually quite an honor - and informs him that he is to be transferred north to Kursk to prepare for Case Blue - the summer attack toward Stalingrad. He will retain control of Fliegerkorps VIII, but his chief of staff, Oberstleutnant Torsten Christ, will remain behind and guide operations henceforth. </p><p><b>Battle of the Baltic: </b>Soviet submarine M-95 hits a mine east of Suursaari Island around this date, when she is declared missing. All hands are lost, the wreck is discovered in 2015. Also lost on this date is Soviet G-5-class motor torpedo boat No. 61.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghPibr_bsX7rhH3Jb_5hvgZP2bQp1iic-f6JlNu77rH1FoMuA7-GSzUZoYA3z5Ls7kS4bO2Bgc-rtNj0nZc3mnM5rLEhVlecQ0G6w5-DJcSJEGTpByYJSVi7eZxbz3Sgcu7S3pZbj8FtVXER7vcYPze-138b9ASTh0dBE3Qw8XIG46tEFZPc2Oatss/s846/Pantelleria_15_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Battle of Pantelleria 15 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="846" data-original-width="500" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghPibr_bsX7rhH3Jb_5hvgZP2bQp1iic-f6JlNu77rH1FoMuA7-GSzUZoYA3z5Ls7kS4bO2Bgc-rtNj0nZc3mnM5rLEhVlecQ0G6w5-DJcSJEGTpByYJSVi7eZxbz3Sgcu7S3pZbj8FtVXER7vcYPze-138b9ASTh0dBE3Qw8XIG46tEFZPc2Oatss/w378-h640/Pantelleria_15_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="Battle of Pantelleria 15 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="378" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The crew of Italian cruiser Raimondo Montecuccoli watches tanker Kentucky and freighter Burdwan burn, 15 June 1942 (Regia Marina).</td></tr></tbody></table><p><b>Battle of the Pacific:</b> Following the decisive victory at Midway, the Americans are reorganizing and making new plans. Admiral Nimitz reorganizes his carrier force, making Admiral Fitch temporarily commander of Task Force 11 in place of Admiral Fletcher, who takes a badly needed break for a couple of weeks. The first plan for Task Force 11 is to resupply Midway with aircraft. Later it is to head to the Southwest Pacific in July.</p><p>In the Aleutian Islands, bad weather aborts a bombing mission to Kiska Island by 3 B-17 and 2 B-24 bombers of the 11th Air Force.</p><p>US Navy submarine USS Seawolf torpedoes and sinks Japanese auxiliary gunboat Nampo Maru off Corregidor.</p><p><b>European Air Operations: </b>Major General Carl Spaatz, new Commanding General of the USAAF's 8th Air Force, arrives to take up his command in the UK. The VIII Bomber Command establishes the 1st Bombardment Wing (Provisional) at Brampton Grange, England.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBQ8ppzNgcUdCK0mB2neNLg0uPPMOfGucCVtmaSy0yeN-fpuLA8j4cVc6B0LEyoCMJMWDIskdv8IBa2xAIenf1_G_66J-4LD7f4cJDhEMJ95fyFtQVDnRlVT06E7YSjcGqLdS7Td_4FmerMCA7POAra4JVaTtOHAmfO6ddMD97ZDCPc1Lrgh31d752/s696/Bigalk_15_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="U-751 commander Gerhard Bigalk, 15 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="696" data-original-width="440" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBQ8ppzNgcUdCK0mB2neNLg0uPPMOfGucCVtmaSy0yeN-fpuLA8j4cVc6B0LEyoCMJMWDIskdv8IBa2xAIenf1_G_66J-4LD7f4cJDhEMJ95fyFtQVDnRlVT06E7YSjcGqLdS7Td_4FmerMCA7POAra4JVaTtOHAmfO6ddMD97ZDCPc1Lrgh31d752/w404-h640/Bigalk_15_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="U-751 commander Gerhard Bigalk, 15 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="404" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">U-751 commander Gerhard Bigalk at St. Nazaire, 15 June 1942. He has just this day returned from U-751's sixth war patrol, during which it has sunk two American ships totaling 4555 tons of shipping (Federal Archive <a href="https://www.bild.bundesarchiv.de/dba/en/search/?channelid=dcx-channel-channel_barch_bilder&query=&day=15&month=06&yearfrom=1942&yearto=&imageid=&title=&farbe=&kostenfrei=&ausrichtung=&view=gallery&submit=" target="_blank">Bild 101II-MW-6433-39</a>).</td></tr></tbody></table><p><b>Battle of the Atlantic: </b>U-172 (Kptlt. Carl Emmermann), on its second patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 2438-ton Norwegian freighter Bennestvet in the Caribbean. There are 12 dead and 13 survivors, who are rescued by USS PC-458.</p><p>U-552 (Kptlt. Erich Topp), on its ninth patrol out of St. Nazaire, has a big day against a British convoy, with five ships sunk. This is one of the top totals of the war. He sinks 15,858 tons of shipping in one day in one convoy not too far from his base and then quickly heads back to port to stock up again on torpedoes.</p><p>First, it torpedoes and sinks 2759-ton British freighter City of Oxford west of Cape Finisterre, Spain. It is part of convoy HG 84. There are one death and 42 survivors, who are picked up by freighter Stockport.</p><p>U-552 gets another one in the same convoy in the same general vicinity west of A Coruña, Spain. This victim is 1943-ton British freighter Etrib. There are four deaths and 41 survivors, who are rescued by HMS Marigold.</p><p>U-552's third victim in the convoy is 1346-ton British freighter Pelayo. There are 17 deaths and 30 survivors, rescued by freighter Copeland.</p><p>U-552's fourth ship is the 2436-ton British freighter Thurso. There are 13 deaths and 28 survivors, rescued by HMS Marigold.</p><p>U-552 also gets a fifth victim, Royal Navy 7374-ton tanker Slemdal, also 400 nautical miles northwest of A Coruña. All 37 crew survive. It is unconfirmed whether this was by U-552.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfeOgZWDRzlVIZTIZk_Dm5zXNwlt10UJml_H1VoM3ewADA__rzwvYNuSXboyw421BB2M15tZp4tHYnQJywmVp_sgsS07ETvDKU-ky7yBADy6xfw_I_YvKV7wsunIpQWiuPqAsfxosbYEGXXXLeeQCsRnb9MVlH22Tj1WrjNr2TDG5YwoLpVMj8AJES/s640/Italian_destroyers_approach_to_Harpoon_convoy's_stragglers_15_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Battle of Pantelleria 15 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="327" data-original-width="640" height="328" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfeOgZWDRzlVIZTIZk_Dm5zXNwlt10UJml_H1VoM3ewADA__rzwvYNuSXboyw421BB2M15tZp4tHYnQJywmVp_sgsS07ETvDKU-ky7yBADy6xfw_I_YvKV7wsunIpQWiuPqAsfxosbYEGXXXLeeQCsRnb9MVlH22Tj1WrjNr2TDG5YwoLpVMj8AJES/w640-h328/Italian_destroyers_approach_to_Harpoon_convoy's_stragglers_15_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="Battle of Pantelleria 15 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Italian destroyers watch Allied ships burn, 15 June 1942. Photo taken from destroyer Oriani, with Ascari and Oriani ahead.</td></tr></tbody></table><p>U-502 (Kptlt. Jürgen von Rosenstiel), on its fourth patrol out of Lorient, also has a big day. It sinks three ships to end its patrol with 54,045 tons of shipping sunk.</p><p>First, it torpedoes and sinks 5010-ton Panamanian freighter Cold Harbor 100 nautical miles (190 km) northwest of Trinidad. There are seven deaths and 44 survivors, who are rescued by U.S. ships Exmouth and Kahlua and U.S.S. Opal.</p><p>U-502 also torpedoes and sinks 8001-ton U.S. freighter Scottsburg 90 nautical miles (170 km) west of Grenada. There are five dead and 46 survivors, rescued by U.S. ship Kahuku.</p><p>U-502 also torpedoes and sinks 5702-ton U.S. Freighter West Hardaway 30 nautical miles (56 km) west of Grenada. All 50 crew are rescued by Venezuelan ship Maracaibo.</p><p>U-68 (KrvKpt. Karl-Friedrich Merten), on its fourth patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 9242-ton Vichy French tanker Frimaire northeast of Santa Maria, Columbia. All 60 crewmen perish.</p><p>U-126 (Kptlt. Ernst Bauer), on its fourth patrol out of Lorient, shells and sinks 125-ton British sailing freighter Dutch Princess east of St. Lucia and northwest of Barbados. All nine crewmen survive.</p><p>In the South Atlantic off the coast of Brazil, Italian submarine Archimede torpedoes and sinks 5586-ton Panamanian freighter Cardinia.</p><p>U-701 (Kptlt. Horst Degen), on its third patrol out of Lorient, recently has laid mines at the entrance to Chesapeake Bay, and today they pay off dramatically with multiple hits.</p><p>Royal Naval trawler HMT-Kingston Ceylonite hits a mine and sinks in the Chesapeake Bay off Virginia Beach, Virginia while with Convoy KN 109. There are 18 deaths and 14 survivors. U.S. 11,615-ton tanker Robert C. Tuttle also hits a mine in the same vicinity and sinks, with one dead and 46 survivors. Tuttle, however, is later raised, repaired, and returned to service.</p><p>U.S. 9310-ton tanker F.W. Abrams sinks after hitting a U.S. mine off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, on 11 June. The tanker had been hiding in the minefield for safety when it blundered into one in heavy rain, then drifted into a second one. Attempts to salvage have failed, and it finally sinks today about 20 km off Ocracoke. Every one of the 36-man crew survives, with one injured.</p><p>Royal Navy motor torpedo boat (MTB) 201 is badly damaged by German surface warships off Dover and sinks while under tow.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvNDps1vZ0d9KdvTO6j87rnXzc0lzulv1u27nG74w29IXxg5RubWlurRG6i0_yVrZVtQ4hmEkA_KWi3oqy3S7abwoBN5oxBH5YTzYDPxkNXPgEaWg3qmwiTOM6e_z2xBBi_r2R6zJpaGJHD-xIhhf0chV8dgdvbG4cM6xf_mhi1RE5pqPxbkL_OYEp/s1029/FW-Abrams_sinkinsg_15_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="F.W. Abrams sinking, 15 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="1029" data-original-width="1024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvNDps1vZ0d9KdvTO6j87rnXzc0lzulv1u27nG74w29IXxg5RubWlurRG6i0_yVrZVtQ4hmEkA_KWi3oqy3S7abwoBN5oxBH5YTzYDPxkNXPgEaWg3qmwiTOM6e_z2xBBi_r2R6zJpaGJHD-xIhhf0chV8dgdvbG4cM6xf_mhi1RE5pqPxbkL_OYEp/w636-h640/FW-Abrams_sinkinsg_15_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="F.W. Abrams sinking, 15 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="636" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">U.S. tanker F.W. Abrams sinking off Cape Hatteras, 15 June 1942 (The Mariner's Museum).</td></tr></tbody></table><p><b>Spy Stuff: </b>The leader of the German spy ring that is staying at a Manhattan hotel, George Dasch, has called the New York office of the FBI and told them about his operation in an effort to surrender. Displeased at the result, however, he sits and brews, waiting until the weekend to take a train down to Washington, D.C., to surrender.</p><p><b>U.S. Military: </b>63d Bombardment Squadron, 43d BG, 5th Air Force moves from Sydney to Charleville with its B-17s.</p><p><b>American Homefront:</b> Exiled Greek King George II addresses the U.S. Congress in Washington, D.C.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLaWwtl6IfxCZBg7DOi1aSE6obSu6YsD4Ntdo78mYB8ZD9rHLlxqvtydzlYsftnfr7wUWY46QmzbNo5lbK9uh-t0qiPdKw-BijtWcODQhJ2TWxSblBoRLsTvpPMW-ZEerc18egJTNR2DsWSAyOUP6WVoLJoI4WSoumYEJ01WN6tsc7weN5kYexMgPw/s1024/Coogee_Beach_15_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Coogee Beach, Sydney, 15 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="818" data-original-width="1024" height="512" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLaWwtl6IfxCZBg7DOi1aSE6obSu6YsD4Ntdo78mYB8ZD9rHLlxqvtydzlYsftnfr7wUWY46QmzbNo5lbK9uh-t0qiPdKw-BijtWcODQhJ2TWxSblBoRLsTvpPMW-ZEerc18egJTNR2DsWSAyOUP6WVoLJoI4WSoumYEJ01WN6tsc7weN5kYexMgPw/w640-h512/Coogee_Beach_15_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="Coogee Beach, Sydney, 15 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Coogee Beach, Sydney, Australia, 15 June 1942, taken 13,000 feet by an Adastra Airways plane as part of a survey (Royal Australian Historical Society).</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p><span class="updated">2022</span>
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4010278260980683606.post-42001861139519784882022-07-31T13:57:00.001-07:002022-07-31T13:58:03.735-07:00June 14, 1942: British Withdraw Toward Tobruk<div itemscope="" itemtype="https://schema.org/Thing"><h1>Sunday 14 June 1942</h1><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC9ds-UiIoZ5onHTSGeJxW8xEP0ohsK61Y_28aM-nNMOsf10PEz5kJyCbLwALVEU-6Nie6kq1HS6r26zrG1Ygx0iSw7RaEEhGq-vapJjK5lTLNSroVo1fGAJpynZf2akHw2dRWZNsNSCJRW3a7Ff1gTJIT5j6n7kIu1zE5SzhHBn72I2jI9fqGEHMg/s800/Hitler_and_Eva_14_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Hitler and Eva Braun, Berghof, 14 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="594" data-original-width="800" height="476" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC9ds-UiIoZ5onHTSGeJxW8xEP0ohsK61Y_28aM-nNMOsf10PEz5kJyCbLwALVEU-6Nie6kq1HS6r26zrG1Ygx0iSw7RaEEhGq-vapJjK5lTLNSroVo1fGAJpynZf2akHw2dRWZNsNSCJRW3a7Ff1gTJIT5j6n7kIu1zE5SzhHBn72I2jI9fqGEHMg/w640-h476/Hitler_and_Eva_14_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="Hitler and Eva Braun, Berghof, 14 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun relaxing with their dogs at the Berghof, Berchtesgaden, 1<span itemprop="name">14 June 1942. Hitler is taking a break from the war before the beginning of "Case Blue," the summer offensive in the Soviet Union that he thinks will end the war. (Federal Archive B 145</span><b itemprop="name"> <a href="https://www.bild.bundesarchiv.de/dba/en/search/?channelid=dcx-channel-channel_barch_bilder&query=&day=14&month=06&yearfrom=1942&yearto=&imageid=&title=&farbe=&kostenfrei=&ausrichtung=&view=gallery&submit=" target="_blank">Bild-F051673-0059)</a>.</b></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Eastern Front:</b> General Erich von Manstein's 11th Army troops have scored a deep penetration into Soviet lines on the northern front of the Sevastopol perimeter on <b itemprop="name">
14 June 1942</b>. Manstein's forces have captured Fort Stalin, opening a wedge into the Soviet lines. The German 24th, 50th, and Romanian 4th Mountain Division advance through the central valley. The first objective is the Maxim Gorky fortress, defended by the greatly weakened Soviet 95th Rifle Division and 7th Naval Brigade.</div><div><br /></div><div>The German also make some progress in the south, where the German 72nd and 170th Infantry Divisions advance along north the coast. The Romanian 18th Mountain Division attacks the Soviet 386th Rifle Division to keep pressure off their flank. The Luftwaffe is flying from fields just behind the front, averaging 780 sorties a day, many against Sevastopol itself.</div><div><br /></div><div>At Fuhrer headquarters in East Prussia, General Franz Halder receives an updated casualty list for Operation Barbarossa through 10 June 1942. It shows total Heer (army) losses of 1,268,434 soldiers (39.58% of the army's establishment strength of 3.2 million). There have been 9,915 offices and 256,302 of other ranks killed, 27,282 officers and 915,575 of other ranks wounded, and 38,084 officers and 230,350 of other ranks missing. While things appear to be going well on the battlefield, the Wehrmacht in the USSR is shrinking fast.</div><div><br /></div><div>Halder also has a conference with supply chief General Wagner. He writes: "On the whole quite satisfactory. Situation difficult in fuel and tank and AT [antitank] ammunition." Ammunition shortages plagued the Wehrmacht throughout Operation Barbarossa.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS6fyAvv-oHV_Ohd6wkpkxIkevCBvqG1XcDqUdB8QyIg1zRBHIuz0j6ybhbuaeuglBnr5RFQTf09xBWniAtVYkak1bE25192jR_0vwB2WzH3wd3kO3UXbGdJ6eEFvcVRjcxS4IedOoe-_z_1P1A7ibiKwmoQY-ZdT4AUrrPYj6PImdK6PJhyvVD4td/s492/USS_Wakefield_14_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="USS Wakefield arrives in New Zealand, 14 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com." border="0" data-original-height="492" data-original-width="400" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS6fyAvv-oHV_Ohd6wkpkxIkevCBvqG1XcDqUdB8QyIg1zRBHIuz0j6ybhbuaeuglBnr5RFQTf09xBWniAtVYkak1bE25192jR_0vwB2WzH3wd3kO3UXbGdJ6eEFvcVRjcxS4IedOoe-_z_1P1A7ibiKwmoQY-ZdT4AUrrPYj6PImdK6PJhyvVD4td/w520-h640/USS_Wakefield_14_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="USS Wakefield arrives in New Zealand, 14 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com." width="520" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> USS Wakefield arrives at King's Wharf in Wellington, New Zealand, carrying U.S. troops of the 1st Marine Division, on 14 June 1942.</td></tr></tbody></table><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Battle of the Pacific:</b> Following its devastating losses at the Battle of Midway, the remaining Japanese fleet arrives at Hashirajima. This completes the events directly related to the battle and this date is sometimes given as the end of the Battle of Midway.</div><div><br /></div><div>Wounded sailors are immediately taken to naval hospitals, placed in isolation, and classified as "secret patients" so word of the disaster will not get out. The men on the ships are quickly transferred to other postings, many in remote locations in the South Pacific, without being able to see their families or give accounts of the battle. The flag officers retain their positions and are not disciplined, with Admiral Nabumo given command of the new carrier force, as his old one was completely sunk, and he begins implementing new policies such as refueling aircraft on the flight deck and not taking the extra time to bring them down to the hangar.</div><div><br /></div><div>On the American side, of course, it is quite different. They cannot talk enough about the battle. Admiral Chester Nimitz begins drawing up an offensive campaign in the southern Solomon Islands to protect supply lines to Australia.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Japanese public is kept completely in the dark about the epic loss. Emperor Hirohito is one of the few people outside of the military who receives accurate information.</div><div><br /></div><div>In the Aleutians, the USAAF 11th Air Force sends four B-17s and three B-24 Liberators to attack Japanese shipping in Kiska Harbor. To B-17s are heavily damaged, and a scout seaplane is shot down - the attackers claim hits on Japanese cruisers that are not verified. A long USN PBY Catalina attacks shipping southwest of Kiska, but only scores a near-miss on light cruiser HIJMS Tama. Japanese bombers bomb Nazan Bay on Atka Island, and the Japanese send the light cruiser Abukuma accompanied by four destroyers to investigate Amchitka Island.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Battle of the Indian Ocean:</b> German raider Thor shells and sinks 6307-ton Dutch tanker Olivia midway between Madagascar and Perth, Australia (far south of India). There are 41 deaths, with one crewman taken captive and four crewmen making landfall in Madagascar.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyZOCIKDc9v0fAp8OJ1lOtPBtmGnYD3EA3slrYCnGth0fSIpzrWbbcFjceokY3m4WemaaFnzvuo6K76YcKSWUngzxEu5nsFksQscK3jjXhMpndPipwDn30YDrts0r39_Z6WU3R5hiaf0BudWpVksFswgJMVeelxys-VMCTNcIuMuxlDz9vFW8TjTQw/s400/LA_Times_14_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="LA Times 14 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="280" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyZOCIKDc9v0fAp8OJ1lOtPBtmGnYD3EA3slrYCnGth0fSIpzrWbbcFjceokY3m4WemaaFnzvuo6K76YcKSWUngzxEu5nsFksQscK3jjXhMpndPipwDn30YDrts0r39_Z6WU3R5hiaf0BudWpVksFswgJMVeelxys-VMCTNcIuMuxlDz9vFW8TjTQw/w448-h640/LA_Times_14_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="LA Times 14 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="448" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Society Section of the 14 June 1942 LA Times is full of bathing beauties.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>European Air Operations:</b> It is a quiet day on the Channel Front with no major operations.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Battle of the Atlantic:</b> U-172 (Kptlt. Carl Emmermann), on its second patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 8289-ton U.S. bulk carrier Lebore 200 nautical miles (370 km) north of Cristóbal, Panama. There are one death and 93 survivors, rescued by USS Erie and Tattnall.</div><div><br /></div><div>U-504 (KrvKpt. Hans-Georg Friedrich Poske), on its third patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 3280-ton Latvian freighter Regent 200 nautical miles (370 km) southwest of the Cayman Islands. There are 11 deaths and 14 survivors.</div><div><br /></div><div>Norwegian 1942-ton freighter Gunvor hits a mine and sinks 25 nautical miles (46 km) north of Key West Lighthouse, Florida. There are two deaths and 20 survivors.</div><div><br /></div><div>While forming up for Convoy HX 194 at Halifax, Nova Scotia, Swedish 3386-ton freighter Kaaparen collides with Norwegian freighter Tungsha and sinks. All 36 crew survive.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4n078S3suZ2jhiD0hoTbhirWAd03kOC9Vp1rOsL9YxSlLhtty3yauzhlFeXd7DRHD-nMGtJuiDagreg9osuau3l9jh7mutFGSiK8lwGYBk9dx1DveE8LZtwdDu7QUFweaB0CWqVd3GtbGIKylo2MdxBCdFkeZv_jcqG2jIv-RGVTyY3kFVARfxQyV/s1600/Arizona_Daily_Star_14_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Arizona Daily Star, 14 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4n078S3suZ2jhiD0hoTbhirWAd03kOC9Vp1rOsL9YxSlLhtty3yauzhlFeXd7DRHD-nMGtJuiDagreg9osuau3l9jh7mutFGSiK8lwGYBk9dx1DveE8LZtwdDu7QUFweaB0CWqVd3GtbGIKylo2MdxBCdFkeZv_jcqG2jIv-RGVTyY3kFVARfxQyV/w640-h360/Arizona_Daily_Star_14_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="Arizona Daily Star, 14 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Arizona Daily Star of Tucson, Arizona, 14 June 1942. The Battle of Midway is still being celebrated. </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>Battle of the Mediterranean:</b> German General Erwin Rommel continues his breakout from "the Cauldron," sending his panzers north to the Libyan coast. The British command reacts quickly, with Auchinleck authorizing General Ritchie, 8th Army commander, to withdraw his forces from the Gazala line west of the German advance. The retreat is not easy, as the remnants of the 50th (Northumbrian) Division must break through Italian forces (27th "Brescia" and 17th "Pavia" Divisions) to the south to make their escape. Auchinleck, under pressure from London, orders Ritchie to hold a new line. The defensive position is to run to the west of Tobruk, running southeast from Acroma through El Adem to Bir El Gubi. </div><div><br /></div><div>It is a day of heavy and continuous Axis air and naval attacks against British convoys that are quite successful. Italian Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 bombers attack Operation Harpoon, heading east from Gibraltar (part of Operation Julius, a Malta resupply effort from both ends of the Mediterranean simultaneously). They torpedo the Royal Navy cruiser HMS Liverpool, which is part of Force W escorting convoy WS.19. The torpedo hits the starboard side at the engine room, reducing her speed to 4 knots. The Italian attacks then focus on Liverpool, and while it survives, it is further damaged by near-misses. There are 15 dead and 22 wounded</div><div><br /></div><div>Liverpool must be towed to Gibraltar, then on to Rosyth, Scotland, for repairs and is out of service until October 945. This is despite the actual battle damage being repaired by July 1943 - there just are not enough crew available to staff her. Liverpool has had several instances of heavy battle damage, including a torpedoing on 14 October 1940 that also was done by an SM.79 and numerous bombings.</div><div><br /></div><div>Also sunk during the SM.79 attacks is the 8169-ton Dutch freighter Tanimbar, which is part of the Gibraltar convoy, sunk south of Sardinia. In a separate action, A German motor torpedo boat (S-55) torpedoes the Royal Navy destroyer HMS Hasty off Sirte and damages her so badly that the ship must be scuttled on 15 June. Also destroyed by Luftwaffe air attacks is 6811-ton Dutch freighter Aagtekirk, which is hit after it develops engine trouble, runs aground, and burns out, with several freighters badly damaged. British 6104-ton freighter Bhutan also is sunk by the Luftwaffe. Near Malta, air attacks sink HM MTB 259 as it is being towed to Alexandria. The Italians only lose about five bombers.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Axis attacks could have been worse, but the Luftwaffe in North Africa is grounded for most of the day by dust storms. In an illustration of the wide scope of operations, British land forces are hampered when the RAF must divert its Hawker Hurricanes and Kittyhawks to protect the convoys.</div><div><br /></div><div>After dark, Admiral Harwood, after receiving an update from Admiral Vian sailing with the convoy, orders Operation Vigorous to be abandoned. The ships head back toward Alexandria but are harassed along the way by both Italian aircraft and the Italian surface fleet, with the battleship Littorio receiving a minor torpedo hit. Operation Harpoon, the convoy heading east from Gibraltar, continues on toward Malta, but the covering force retires to Gibraltar today, leaving the freighters on their own.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF8hHyPOiqApV_qIrprwXjDiVP-nij8_RUA_hbirfjh9LLSVcgQkzOCKYfLhR3ypjWa1y3rVAwpyeXHUCn0kVG8box7a18tFHf_UX3Vm2tE1W4m6W2jjBcPhRve68tWjNYIeTaOoJ8NgpMtPkmdd4erxu0yYB_sQjOT4wEvSpawdfSgTPLEGEib-OJ/s640/FDR_Mexico_Philippines_14_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="FDR and representatives of Mexico and The Philippines sign the United Nations Declaration, 14 June 1942" border="0" data-original-height="402" data-original-width="640" height="402" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF8hHyPOiqApV_qIrprwXjDiVP-nij8_RUA_hbirfjh9LLSVcgQkzOCKYfLhR3ypjWa1y3rVAwpyeXHUCn0kVG8box7a18tFHf_UX3Vm2tE1W4m6W2jjBcPhRve68tWjNYIeTaOoJ8NgpMtPkmdd4erxu0yYB_sQjOT4wEvSpawdfSgTPLEGEib-OJ/w640-h402/FDR_Mexico_Philippines_14_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="FDR and representatives of Mexico and The Philippines sign the United Nations Declaration, 14 June 1942" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">President Roosevelt, Manuel Quezon, and the Mexican Ambassador sign the United Nations Declaration. FDR Library Photograph Collection. <a href="http://www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/daybyday/resource/june-1942/" target="_blank">NPx 48-22:3868(473)</a>.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>Spy Stuff:</b> German spy George John Dasch calls the New York Office of the FBI and gives details of his sabotage mission - how he and several others landed on a Long Island beach a couple of days ago and are saboteurs. He identifies himself as "Pastorius" (After the codename for his mission) and states that he will travel down to FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C., to turn himself in.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Allied Diplomacy:</b> Mexico and the Philippines government in exile sign the "Declaration by United Nations," begun during the Arcadia Conference in January 1942. This binds them to employ all resources against the Axis powers and forbids a separate peace. President Quezon is particularly pleased because he interprets this as the U.S. recognizing the Philippines as a separate nation and no longer a U.S. colony.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>U.S. Miltary: </b>General Electric Corporation in Bridgeport, Connecticut, finalizes the development of the M1 bazooka anti-tank rocket launcher. This is the equivalent of the Wehrmacht <i>Panzerschreck </i>(but not the more famous <i>Panzerfaust</i>), which is apparently based on a captured bazooka in North Africa in November 1942.</div><div><br /></div><div>The U.S. 1st Marine Division begins arriving at Wellington, New Zealand.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic0YROGGjycie1Uzn0ow1HndfM0AHNKh2y2KZ20oIyvTgGzlCpWj2nUhen6K4p_m9ZGUCfbqo0KpyzzaLtyyuJpj63PddzFj6kTPIkFwCBKmO172td2vBT69fbPPuCvy9MEyWHefw3Qj38FQ4egEZiytj3dN2aePg59b4qCFI6E0HErTKQv04LwQWw/s1600/Bazooka_14_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="M1A1 Bazooka replica worldwartwo.filminspector.com." border="0" data-original-height="466" data-original-width="1600" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic0YROGGjycie1Uzn0ow1HndfM0AHNKh2y2KZ20oIyvTgGzlCpWj2nUhen6K4p_m9ZGUCfbqo0KpyzzaLtyyuJpj63PddzFj6kTPIkFwCBKmO172td2vBT69fbPPuCvy9MEyWHefw3Qj38FQ4egEZiytj3dN2aePg59b4qCFI6E0HErTKQv04LwQWw/w640-h186/Bazooka_14_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="M1A1 Bazooka replica worldwartwo.filminspector.com." width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An M1A1 Bazooka replica at the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum in McMinnville, Oregon. </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>Holocaust: </b>In Amsterdam, Anne Frank makes her first entry in the diary she received for her 13th birthday on 12 June.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Italian Homefront: </b>Roma beats Modena 2-0 to become Scudetto champions of Italy (Serie A). Roma will not repeat the feat until 1983.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Japanese Homeland:</b> There is a magnitude 7.0 earthquake at a depth of 15.0 km 231 km (144 miles) east southeast of Saipan. There are no reports of anyone noticing it.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>American Homefront:</b> Today is Flag Day, and President Roosevelt gives a national radio address to commemorate the occasion. He <a href="https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/radio-address-united-flag-day" target="_blank">says</a> that "The four freedoms of common humanity are as much elements of man's needs as air and sunlight, bread and salt. Deprive him of all these freedoms and he dies—deprive him of a part of them and a part of him withers."</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF8adsf28Rs4ipTE3JOHnlnQYNkmGXUgRwMzWUA-ZjnhAG7o1tJPML4NmmKVw6wZ7OAXL7RdoBCbSaR5HtBlejHItZM6Oe7NKrmmID8a6AV13ZKJfWd_TDNIeqatBGLmEIPW5JFh6PF9wejvNGjyocyaTYIBplrZcAblMwoTvdb8bxqJn43JOYEGoH/s564/Block_Bros_14_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Kenosha, Wisconsin, Block Bros Store, 14 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="307" data-original-width="564" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF8adsf28Rs4ipTE3JOHnlnQYNkmGXUgRwMzWUA-ZjnhAG7o1tJPML4NmmKVw6wZ7OAXL7RdoBCbSaR5HtBlejHItZM6Oe7NKrmmID8a6AV13ZKJfWd_TDNIeqatBGLmEIPW5JFh6PF9wejvNGjyocyaTYIBplrZcAblMwoTvdb8bxqJn43JOYEGoH/s16000/Block_Bros_14_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="Kenosha, Wisconsin, Block Bros Store, 14 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Block Brothers Store in Kenosha, Wisconsin, southeast corner of Sixth Avenue and 58th Street, Sunday morning, 14 June 1942 (<a href="https://search.library.wisc.edu/digital/APWDR77XLIJUPB8G" target="_blank">UW-Madison Libraries</a>).</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><span class="updated">2022</span>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4010278260980683606.post-64882662643167937802022-04-17T12:34:00.001-07:002022-04-17T12:34:37.240-07:00June 13, 1942: British Disaster in North Africa<div itemscope="" itemtype="https://schema.org/Thing"><h1>Saturday 13 June 1942</h1><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbZc_0Y9ez8VTCfaJJHhpAEI654rzBL305C37C_jXZ4DC0lKOx4J9U0CTksFIX5puCQWoxrj0U4vXXmJ1JTJfKwdf3GVr3EKsZHGqUEskuBTNuHXhAVxHSeDU3NYpVfAnAEHgMYWjFrOtaRRarZYaCeRo22qmDYhELMKUT-iQs9zAzcSv5mfGMztth/s1800/Bf-109_North_Africa_13_June_1932_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Bf-109 of Luftwaffe ace Hans-Joachim Marseille 13 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="882" data-original-width="1800" height="314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbZc_0Y9ez8VTCfaJJHhpAEI654rzBL305C37C_jXZ4DC0lKOx4J9U0CTksFIX5puCQWoxrj0U4vXXmJ1JTJfKwdf3GVr3EKsZHGqUEskuBTNuHXhAVxHSeDU3NYpVfAnAEHgMYWjFrOtaRRarZYaCeRo22qmDYhELMKUT-iQs9zAzcSv5mfGMztth/w640-h314/Bf-109_North_Africa_13_June_1932_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="Bf-109 of Luftwaffe ace Hans-Joachim Marseille 13 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Bf-109F4Trop of Luftwaffe ace Hans Joachim Marseilles (WNr 10137) of 3.JG27 near Bir Hackeim in North Africa, 13 June 1942. Note planes taking off in the background (Optiz, Richard, Federal Archive <a href="https://www.bild.bundesarchiv.de/dba/de/search/?channelid=dcx-channel-channel_barch_bilder&query=&day=13&month=6&yearfrom=1942&yearto=&imageid=&title=&farbe=&kostenfrei=&ausrichtung=&view=gallery&submit=" target="_blank">Picture 101I-443-1567-19</a>).</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>Eastern Front:</b> The Germans continue grinding forward toward the port of Sevastopol on <b itemprop="name">13 June 1942</b>. In the northeast sector, the German 22nd Infantry Division attacks at 03:00 with the goal of taking the important Soviet fortress Fort Stalin. The Soviets have just 200 men to hold it. After brutal hand-to-hand fighting, the Germans take the critical fort, which controls the way to Severnaya Bay.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Soviets counterattack, but the Germans, now in possession of the fort, hold it and wipe out a company of Soviet soldiers. The Germans lose 32 dead, two missing, and 126 wounded and now have a clear path into the port of Sevastopol. At Fuhrer Headquarters in East Prussia, General Halder notes with satisfaction that "According to reports from frontline commands, the enemy is beginning to soften." This is a good thing for 11th Army Commander General Erich von Manstein (undoubtedly the source of this "news") because Hitler has been threatening to withdraw attack forces and convert the battle into a siege due to its slow progress. This would rob Manstein and the 11th Army of the glory of a quick, victorious campaign, so he needs results soon.</div><div><br /></div><div>Local Luftwaffe commander Wolfram Von Richtofen, though, is more concerned about turf wars. His flak guns (primarily 88mm) are also useful against ground targets, so the army keeps "borrowing" them without asking his permission. This has been a constant source of friction throughout the campaign that has reached the highest levels of local leadership. He vents his frustration in his diary today:</div><div></div><blockquote><div>I keep all flak guns subordinate and deploy them together in great concentration at <i>Schwepunkte</i> [the point of attack] against ground targets. The army wants formally to control them and spread them throughout divisions and, therefore - as always, like last time at Kerch - fritter them away. The most basic reason: the competitive jealousy of the army's artillery [soldiers], to whom I cannot give my flak guns because they have obsolete ideas and want to deploy them according to the tactical viewpoints of Wallenstein [from the 17th Century]. I remain stubborn, and the army continues to rage.</div><div></div></blockquote><div>While this sort of thing may seem minor, it is a vivid illustration of the inter-service rivalries and jealousies that characterize the Wehrmacht (and other armies to one extent or another).</div><div><br /></div><div>In general, the Luftwaffe is having a great time over Crimea. The front is so confined that Richtofen can actually see the remaining Soviet airfields from his observation tower. He personally can see when they are preparing to take off (dust clouds erupt when the engines start) and alerts his own fighter units, which can shoot them down as they take off. "Destroyed 18 Russian [aircraft] in this manner today," he writes today in his diary, "four by bombing. It is great fun!"</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS2pw0rpNeco4QTjy4AVy87J3cye_wEPc7ZOw-HSLxzKEAF69XUYA2-0GouQNWMWJv5CGqO5l63l_dN2eai3olH30km_JxqUNQj7CVyofLdVIAX8Oe1MxfTsbdCWgAJc52xw7VkEx4FGm1v2JKXF0fvGCUr4LZF6iO3qrNUGbqtChS1QdahuCxY-lW/s2025/P-40_13_June_1932_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="P-40E in the Aleutian Islands, 13 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="1272" data-original-width="2025" height="402" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS2pw0rpNeco4QTjy4AVy87J3cye_wEPc7ZOw-HSLxzKEAF69XUYA2-0GouQNWMWJv5CGqO5l63l_dN2eai3olH30km_JxqUNQj7CVyofLdVIAX8Oe1MxfTsbdCWgAJc52xw7VkEx4FGm1v2JKXF0fvGCUr4LZF6iO3qrNUGbqtChS1QdahuCxY-lW/w640-h402/P-40_13_June_1932_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_2.jpg" title="P-40E in the Aleutian Islands, 13 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">P-40 "Aleutian Warhawk," 13 June 1942. This 11th Fighter Squadron Curtiss P-40E, ship #19 and named "Ruthie Babe," taxis out on Umnak's steel matting to takeoff for patrol duty in the Aleutian Islands.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>Farther north on the front, the Germans have been trying to corner a large partisan force led by Soviet General Mayor Belov in the vicinity of Bryansk. Operating in a heavily wood area, Belov has a heterogeneous force composed of partisans, airborne troops, regular army soldiers, trucks, wagons, and tanks. The weak link in the German effort is a thinly held road on the east (the <i>Rollbahn</i>) which Belov's forces have been able to cross basically at will because the Germans do not have enough troops to close it. The Germans finally succeed in building a screening line along the entire road about this date and await a breakout attempt.</div><div><br /></div><div>The main concern among German leadership, though, is not these minor operations, but the looming main offensive on the southern front. General Halder notes with satisfaction success in one of the preliminary operations for Operation Blau. Operation Wilhelm is a shallow pincer operation launched by the Sixth Army on June 10th east of Kharkov by VIII Corps in the north near Volchansk and III Panzer Corps in the south near Chuguyev. The aim was to cross the Donetsk River and meet near Belyy Koloez. Today the pincers meet after III Panzer Corps fights through several lines of Soviet tanks. Halder notes with satisfaction, "Operation Volchansk has scored a fine success. Large enemy bodies encircled, 20,000 PWs [prisoners] so far." The total POW count after all the counting is done comes to 24,800. Another preliminary attack, Operation Fridericus II, is planned to begin in about a week.</div><div><br /></div><div>Not everything is rosy in Rastenburg, however. Halder records a meeting with General Quartermaster (supply chief) Eduard Wagner regarding Blau. "Fuel problems. Computations indicate that the fuel reserve for 'Blau' will last only until mid-September." He also has a meeting with General Blumentritt about "Preparations for next winter," though nobody has any idea where the front will be then.</div><div><br /></div><div>A more ominous entry is a meeting that Halder has with General Ochsner about the Crimean campaign. "Approach to chemical warfare of the part of the enemy powers (increasing interest)," Halder writes, and the conversation then turns to "Conditions for gas warfare on the Volkhov river." The implication here is that Allied preparations for chemical warfare (some is being manufactured in Canada, for instance) may be used by the Germans as a pretext for actually using gas on the battlefield.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf4Rz7Sz6fj6elymZtRhfSc5lK2jXiBkclmy5Imwep8DNSZCS_pdrVd2kO7JcgM23CFBNZtVA1OdA9hrpiMOON_abxD-zXGmLW2DLT24VdlsPCxJVCsk-ZdFxfXWkGL_EHQpqrSFBWnVrHODP_gpfkL9MF5hxb5m_TC7Wtlesy-qBJBljqSMFQvFMf/s500/Sevasopol_13_June_1932_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Luftwaffe reconnaissance of Sevastopol, 13 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="473" data-original-width="500" height="606" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf4Rz7Sz6fj6elymZtRhfSc5lK2jXiBkclmy5Imwep8DNSZCS_pdrVd2kO7JcgM23CFBNZtVA1OdA9hrpiMOON_abxD-zXGmLW2DLT24VdlsPCxJVCsk-ZdFxfXWkGL_EHQpqrSFBWnVrHODP_gpfkL9MF5hxb5m_TC7Wtlesy-qBJBljqSMFQvFMf/w640-h606/Sevasopol_13_June_1932_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="Luftwaffe reconnaissance of Sevastopol, 13 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Luftwaffe aerial reconnaissance of Sevastopol (Karantinna Bay, Artilleryskaya Bay, scale 1:8000), 13 June 1942 (Federal Archive <a href="https://www.bild.bundesarchiv.de/dba/de/search/?channelid=dcx-channel-channel_barch_bilder&query=&day=13&month=6&yearfrom=1942&yearto=&imageid=&title=&farbe=&kostenfrei=&ausrichtung=&view=gallery&submit=" target="_blank">Picture 168-278-020</a>).</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>Battle of the Pacific:</b> The victorious U.S. Navy carriers of Task Force 11 from the Battle of Midway return to Pearl Harbor, now commanded by Admiral Frank Fletcher aboard USS Saratoga. Fletcher's command is short-lived, however, as he disembarks today and is soon replaced. The Japanese fleet - what remains of it - is still a day away from a safe anchorage at Hashirajima.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Japanese send 27 "Betty" bombers against the RAAF airfield at Port Darwin. Led by Lieutenant Commander Goro Katsumi of the Takao Ku, the bombers leave Koepang at 08:12, escorted by 45 "Zeke" fighters of the 3rd Ku. They are intercepted by 36 P-40 Warhawks of the 49th Fighter Group. The Americans lose three planes in the encounter, while the Japanese lose two Zekes. There are multiple accusations by American pilots that the Japanese strafed U.S. pilots in parachutes, though everyone survived. The bombers do get through and drop 19,980 kgs of bombs on the airfield, damaging the runways, water pipeline, fuel dum, and telephone poles. One Lockheed Hudson is damaged on the ground.</div><div><br /></div><div>In Alaska, the USAAF 11th Air Force continues to harass the new Japanese presence on Kiska Island. Despite bad weather, it sends five B-17s three B-24 Liberators, and PBY Catalinas to bomb shipping there.</div><div><br /></div><div>US submarine USS Sargo torpedoes and sinks Japanese troopship Konan Maru off Yap, Caroline Islands.</div><div><br /></div><div>US Submarine Drum (SS-228) torpedoes and sinks Japanese freighter Shonan Maru northeast of Mikimoto, Honshu.</div><div><br /></div><div>Japanese freighter Nagasaki Maru hits a Japanese mine and sinks off Nagasaki, Japan.</div><div><br /></div><div>RAAF Hudsons attack Japanese shipping off Ambon, NEI (Indonesia), sinking auxiliary patrol boat Taifoku Maru and damaging gunboat Taiko Maru.</div><div><br /></div><div>The USAAF 5th Air Force once again sends B-17 bombers to attack Lakunai Airfield at Rabaul.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Battle of the Indian Ocean:</b> An unidentified Japanese submarine torpedoes and sinks 3748-ton Yugoslavian freighter Supetar in the Mozambique Channel about 100 nautical miles (190 km) south of Beira, Mozambique.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqvgfwAWlyWDKchofJ2yYHe-OoyA6R7udvmYClFoLk51-bllMrE6kDwB-co3GGORKHTLUG4NQgGhbpd61PJ1p6WQWl-hYJZ965lMjvSZLlAjKLziIu4Mfa7OjqL0Rdad6OzuGU52zGi4j8YkmJJz5F2KqFU6Q0gKtji8hcQGUFEBFj-L8JABxUBVeu/s839/P-40_13_June_1932_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Crashed P-40, 13 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="416" data-original-width="839" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqvgfwAWlyWDKchofJ2yYHe-OoyA6R7udvmYClFoLk51-bllMrE6kDwB-co3GGORKHTLUG4NQgGhbpd61PJ1p6WQWl-hYJZ965lMjvSZLlAjKLziIu4Mfa7OjqL0Rdad6OzuGU52zGi4j8YkmJJz5F2KqFU6Q0gKtji8hcQGUFEBFj-L8JABxUBVeu/w640-h318/P-40_13_June_1932_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="Crashed P-40, 13 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A downed P-40 after the 13 June 1942 Japanese raid on Port Darwin (Credit: "49th Fighter Group: Aces of the Pacific" by William N Hess).</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>European Air Operations:</b> The weather continues to be poor on the Channel Front ("10/10ths" in pilot-speak). Many RAF units occupy themselves throughout the day with practice bombing, gas drills, aerobatics and formation flying, and similar exercises. There are some convoy patrols that do not find any enemy ships. </div><div><br /></div><div>Luftwaffe planes find 345-ton Dutch freighter Brabant off the coast of north Cornwall and sink it. there are no known casualties.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Battle of the Baltic:</b> Soviet submarine Shch-405 has hit a mine and sinks in the Gulf of Finland off Someri Island, and today the Soviet Navy writes it off. The wreck is found in 2018. The Finns have an observation post on the island and the Soviets are considering sending a force to occupy it.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Battle of the Atlantic:</b> US Coast Guard cutter USS Thetis drops depth charges on U-157 (KrvKpt. Wolf Henne), on its second patrol out of Lorient, northeast of Havana, Cuba, sinking it with all hands. All 52 aboard perish. U-157 ends its career with one victory of 6401 tons.</div><div><br /></div><div>Italian submarine Leonardo Da Vinci torpedoes and uses its deck gun to sink 6438-ton British freighter Clan Macquarrie in the general vicinity of Freetown. There is one death, the Chief Engineer.</div><div><br /></div><div>Before dawn, U-159 (Kptlt. Helmut Friedrich Witte), on its second patrol out of Lorient, pumps two torpedoes into 4693-ton US passenger ship / freighter Sixaola 50 miles off Bocas Del Toro, Panama. There are 29 deaths and 172 survivors. Most of the survivors are picked up by American gunboat USS Niagara (PG-52) and US Army tug Shasta, while 42 make landfall in a lifeboat.</div><div><br /></div><div>U-159 gets another victim at sunset when it sends another two torpedoes into 6762-ton American freighter Solon Turman 100 miles north of Cristobal, Canal Zone. There are one death and 52 survivors. In both of these sinkings, the U-boat surfaces and offers assistance to the survivors before departing.</div><div><br /></div><div>U.S. tanker Gulfprince has a close call six miles south of the Ship Shoals Sea Buoy off the coast of Louisiana when U-506 attacks it. The tanker evades two torpedoes, then evades a third. A fourth hits it but does not explode. Gulfprince scoots into New Orleans.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Vichy French agree to immobilize aircraft carrier Béarn, light cruiser Emile Bertin, and training cruiser Jeanne D'Arc at Martinique, French West Indies.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBBVtmIfbkW5B4T5dajzgKtyXyG6PUQbCrIOmSDJu2kwUAVoDLifHX48EUCy48JbqoA-nBLinCK1nCLOmRFWlVYgCHEBPlfBSNyhEMiiEQEugXRkR9KYljLgplUFPfjP0NS6G-TNvj3T91CakYNTn9b72CNUPOSUxdkJCOVyG_o_fn3_--Y-LnwTEp/s3600/Allied_convoy_13_June_1932_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Allied convoy forming up, 13 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="2683" data-original-width="3600" height="476" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBBVtmIfbkW5B4T5dajzgKtyXyG6PUQbCrIOmSDJu2kwUAVoDLifHX48EUCy48JbqoA-nBLinCK1nCLOmRFWlVYgCHEBPlfBSNyhEMiiEQEugXRkR9KYljLgplUFPfjP0NS6G-TNvj3T91CakYNTn9b72CNUPOSUxdkJCOVyG_o_fn3_--Y-LnwTEp/w640-h476/Allied_convoy_13_June_1932_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="Allied convoy forming up, 13 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An Allied convoy forms up to cross the Atlantic Ocean, 13 June 1942. (Naval Supply Corps Newsletter/Library of Congress).</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>Battle of the Mediterranean:</b> German General Erwin Rommel's forces break out of the "Cauldon," routing British and South African forces trying to hold the Gazala Line. This becomes known as "Black Saturday" in the British Army.</div><div><br /></div><div>The breakout begins when the 21st Panzer Division uses the cover of a sandstorm to attack the 2nd Scots Guards and 6th South African Anti-tank battery (eight guns) at Rigel Ridge, a key defensive position on the "Knightsbridge Box." The Guards Brigade is forced to withdraw after dark. Ultimately, the South African artillery unit is overrun, with the gunners firing at the approaching panzers over open sights. The Germans capture over 3000 prisoners and destroy 138 Allied tanks. </div><div><br /></div><div>British 8th Army now has only 75 armored vehicles remaining. This disaster compels British commander General Auchinleck to order a general retreat from the Gazala Line. This once again exposes Tobruk to attack. Auchinleck also is quickly falling out of favor with Prime Minister Winston Churchill.</div><div><br /></div><div>At sea, Axis forces continue their attacks on two Royal Navy convoys converging on Malta from opposite ends of the Mediterranean. The convoy heading from Gibraltar is Operation Harpoon, while that from Palestine and Egypt is Operation Julius.</div><div><br /></div><div>The three separate convoys of Operation Julius assemble off of Mersa Matruh, Egypt, during the afternoon as the weather deteriorates. As a side effort, a submarine accompanying the convoy lands five commandos on Crete, and they destroy about 20 Luftwaffe aircraft at Maleme Airfield. This does not stop Axis air attacks, however, which begin after dark and last through the night, with the convoys illuminated by flares.</div><div><br /></div><div>U-83 (Kptlt. Hans-Werner Kraus), on its eighth patrol out of Salamis, while patrolling off Al-Ramkin Island, Lebanon, uses its deck gun to sink 91-ton British schooner HMS Farouk. There are nine deaths and nine survivors.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2HR3DJfdERAZCuLH1uIV0-pYlwDpKdey0bvqRhdT5ukh2oiJHDbljvy88pBJ_vYYpDwZq8TsbKP3pnVST00gUP7_CmT-8X4KVXzlYf2J_MTuiWX8wKs22-oZIZ7ce-Z38s1Om6hYySzCa5d0mx9jqb79G7JO9ULsPeCIUh_K9rG9epWnvf8oHQRcz/s800/Malta_convoy_13_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Allied convoy heading toward Malta, 13 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="545" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2HR3DJfdERAZCuLH1uIV0-pYlwDpKdey0bvqRhdT5ukh2oiJHDbljvy88pBJ_vYYpDwZq8TsbKP3pnVST00gUP7_CmT-8X4KVXzlYf2J_MTuiWX8wKs22-oZIZ7ce-Z38s1Om6hYySzCa5d0mx9jqb79G7JO9ULsPeCIUh_K9rG9epWnvf8oHQRcz/w436-h640/Malta_convoy_13_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="Allied convoy heading toward Malta, 13 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="436" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Scene from one of the convoys to Malta on or about 13 June 1942 (© IWM <a href="https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205144523" target="_blank">A 10853</a>).</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>Battle of the Black Sea:</b> The Luftwaffe, which is once again permitted to operate over the Black Sea due to a secret deal between the local Luftwaffe commander and the head of local naval forces (and contrary to a standing order of overall Luftwaffe commander Wolfram von Richthofen), bombs and sinks Soviet transports Gruzyia and TSch-27, patrol boat SKA-092 and minesweeper T-413 off Cape Fiolent, motor ship SP-40, five barges, and a floating crane, most in Sevastopol Harbor.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Soviets get one back with a pre-dawn attack on the German naval base at Yalta. Bombers hit the port while a Soviet MTB slips in and fires three torpedoes at the crowded port. It sinks the Italian mini-submarine CB-5 and causes damage to other vessels. This attack alarms local naval commander Konteradmiral Schweinitz and causes the Germans to send additional flak batteries to the port and for the Kriegsmarine to install anti-torpedo nets.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Spy Stuff:</b> The four German saboteurs landed by U-2020 on Amagansett Beach (Operation Pastorius) on 12 June arrive in New York City and book hotel rooms in Manhattan. Up to now, they have strictly followed protocol and assumed that everyone else in their unit is devoted to the Third Reich. However, during the evening two of the men have a heart-to-heart and confess to each other that they oppose the regime and the mission.</div><div><br /></div><div>Meanwhile, the Coast Guardsman who spotted the Germans during his normal foot patrol as they arrived, Seaman 2nd Class John C. Cullen, alerts his superiors. A search of the beach reveals their buried uniforms and equipment. The Coast Guard alerts the FBI and the White House. This begins a manhunt, but the authorities have no idea where to look. The incident is kept secret so as to not alarm the public.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUzHsCD6PgY2aDGatv9Ki0OH4RZKuHvLt0TYaZ4pX5_ncOx7PqvbuP_iUR75N_q69wWRtumtp2A3R1YdG0V-q51yinNG6uF4lOUX3mS3HCtr6jLVJ7hKsJIcZyOGblYTmNLUyKiu6wzKYp0D6GuvNUJz50hqIEqsA9axAhv5cXW1Lv5_NSsQsiGsZ2/s254/OSS_created_13_June_1932_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="The U.S. O.S.S. is formed by Executive Order on 13 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="193" data-original-width="254" height="486" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUzHsCD6PgY2aDGatv9Ki0OH4RZKuHvLt0TYaZ4pX5_ncOx7PqvbuP_iUR75N_q69wWRtumtp2A3R1YdG0V-q51yinNG6uF4lOUX3mS3HCtr6jLVJ7hKsJIcZyOGblYTmNLUyKiu6wzKYp0D6GuvNUJz50hqIEqsA9axAhv5cXW1Lv5_NSsQsiGsZ2/w640-h486/OSS_created_13_June_1932_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="The U.S. O.S.S. is formed by Executive Order on 13 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The OSS, the predecessor of the CIA, is created on 13 June 1942.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>Applied Science: </b>The US Navy uses non-rigid airship K-2 to test the Long Range Navigation (LORAN) system from the airship base at Lakehurst, New Jersey. This first airborne test is a success, as the equipment guides the airship from 50-75 miles offshore to, as the pilot says, "the middle of the hangar." </div><div><br /></div><div><b>US Military:</b> The first issue of Yank magazine is published, dated 17 June 1942. The final issue is 28 December 1945.</div><div><br /></div><div>The US 1st Armored Division in Northern Ireland receives the last of its tanks. The Americans hold a parade through town, and Sir Archibald Sinclair gives a speech. The US presence in Ireland is intended not just to build up an American military presence in the British Isles, but also to play on Irish sympathies for America. Americans, for instance, financed much of the Irish fight for independence and there are many Irish-Americans in the U.S. armed forces.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Bureau of Navigation is renamed the Bureau of Naval Personnel.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>German Military:</b> Munitions Minister Albert Speer, General Adolf Galland, and General Erhard Milch visit Peenemunde to observe a test flight of the Me 163A. Three aircraft take off at once in a formation takeoff. The Me 163 Komet is a revolutionary rocket plane already has set a new world speed record (on 2 October 1941). While very fast, the plane still has some issues, such as a jettisonable undercarriage that makes landing an adventure.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>US Government:</b> President Roosevelt issues Executive Order 9182, creating the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) and Office of War Information (OWI). The former, which coordinates overseas espionage activities, is ultimately succeeded by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The latter is a major propaganda initiative that results in the Voice of America (VOA), numerous patriotic radio programs that glorify the new U.S. ally Russia (such as "An American in Russia,"), and pro-war effort films and documentaries (such as "This is Our Enemy"). </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmIEXDF97t3kegysZqsgsCGakaws7V0R6uaDgEQMPlOAJE_3ROYUWnFJUmlhIJOfWVW49WnzltQvthWNZNpaPe9v1vZaACJIavTFczQoM2OBhbLThshM9A7yqrXqndzv2Jz8Ib4gno8QZB3yV_IlFPBT2ZZbkS8UixAEzeEDf74n1k9St2yqBSjULy/s421/New_Yorker_13_June_1932_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Typical ad in the The New Yorker, 13 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="421" data-original-width="300" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmIEXDF97t3kegysZqsgsCGakaws7V0R6uaDgEQMPlOAJE_3ROYUWnFJUmlhIJOfWVW49WnzltQvthWNZNpaPe9v1vZaACJIavTFczQoM2OBhbLThshM9A7yqrXqndzv2Jz8Ib4gno8QZB3yV_IlFPBT2ZZbkS8UixAEzeEDf74n1k9St2yqBSjULy/w456-h640/New_Yorker_13_June_1932_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="Typical ad in the The New Yorker, 13 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="456" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Advertisement in The New Yorker, June 13, 1942 p. 9.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>American Homefront:</b> In her syndicated "My Day" column, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt writes:</div><div></div><blockquote><div>In the morning paper I read that, not satisfied with wiping out the village of Lidice, the Germans have gone further and killed 34 more people in the cities of Prague and Bruenn ‘in reprisal.’ It does not seem to cross their minds that they are imprinting the name of this village on the minds of the people of the world. None of us will ever forget a little village named Lidice. Reprisals of this kind only bring more reprisals, so that it is an unending spiral of murder.</div><div></div></blockquote><div>Roosevelt is correct that the name of Lidice will be long-remembered. The Germans have placed a bounty on the assassins of Reinhard Heydrich and given local communities until 18 June to turn them in.</div><div><br /></div><b>Future History:</b> Abdulsalami Abubakar is born in Minna, Northern Region, British Nigeria. He joins the new Nigerian Air Force in 1964, later transfers to the Nigerian Army, and becomes the 11th President of Nigeria in 1998 due to the military coup of 1983.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidYlMFI5--c370bz5G5zKQlsfbpV_Gv-YAah2GniQb14vWt3O-CpvktVy4JS_juM-MuiMoZApf23AQRHaNi1me21RnTM-rlT1GJw6-cDNo0fx9U19PJBS8WnUQYxUfpxinM13mYbFMYf1amKImDMKrvRD_c0mSPAod1fbakIPOoBUkoHcf0iQC1LNS/s1500/Saturday_Evening_Post_13_June_1932_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="The Saturday Evening Post, 13 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1125" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidYlMFI5--c370bz5G5zKQlsfbpV_Gv-YAah2GniQb14vWt3O-CpvktVy4JS_juM-MuiMoZApf23AQRHaNi1me21RnTM-rlT1GJw6-cDNo0fx9U19PJBS8WnUQYxUfpxinM13mYbFMYf1amKImDMKrvRD_c0mSPAod1fbakIPOoBUkoHcf0iQC1LNS/w480-h640/Saturday_Evening_Post_13_June_1932_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="The Saturday Evening Post, 13 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Saturday Evening Post of 13 June 1942.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><span class="updated">2022</span>
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4010278260980683606.post-18706573298152999822022-04-13T17:45:00.005-07:002022-04-17T09:19:29.077-07:00June 12, 1942: First US Air Raid On Occupied Europe<div itemscope="" itemtype="https://schema.org/Thing"><h1>Friday 12 June 1942</h1><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA9u5sIv6p_A0zu9sLXCl9G-xpVEvt6STbUK0zD8CFNmcDdGwcfg0BPo8A8X4Ze_Qa15q1aVcZf0iVMYaxBa1bxasrXlwieIFUFLEbOFSxp_qQLZdVazIviKwFiDqfExbR_6TYrxMI8TL70EQTMOuQeVHtFpyTY7sVrrj402fZD4ujmeM0AhxQwzm1/s606/North_Africa_12_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img alt="Free French attack in North Africa, 12 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="606" height="634" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA9u5sIv6p_A0zu9sLXCl9G-xpVEvt6STbUK0zD8CFNmcDdGwcfg0BPo8A8X4Ze_Qa15q1aVcZf0iVMYaxBa1bxasrXlwieIFUFLEbOFSxp_qQLZdVazIviKwFiDqfExbR_6TYrxMI8TL70EQTMOuQeVHtFpyTY7sVrrj402fZD4ujmeM0AhxQwzm1/w640-h634/North_Africa_12_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="Free French attack in North Africa, 12 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Free French on the attack near Bir Hackeim, 12 June 1942 © IWM <a href="https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205196268" target="_blank">E 13313</a>.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>Eastern Front:</b> On vacation in Berchtesgaden, Adolf Hitler is full of hope and secret dread for the coming "decisive" summer offensive in the Soviet Union. The whole point of the attack, he muses, is to "clear the table" and win the war. "If I do not get the oil of Maikop and Grozny, then I must end this war," Hitler admits to his cronies.</div><div><br /></div><div>The current attacks are not going well, let alone ones in the future. The assault on entrenched Russian defenses at the Crimean port of Sevastopol continues on 12 June 1942 without much progress by either side. The Soviets receive reinforcements when cruiser Molotov and destroyer Bditel'nyy evade the Axis blockade and deliver 2,314 soldiers, 190 tons of ammunition, and 28 artillery pieces to the besieged garrison.</div><div><br /></div><div>German ground attacks continue without much success. In the critical northeast sector, LIV Corps continues its relentless attacks and loses 1957 men in the fighting of 11-12 June, but the Soviet defenders also are in bad shape. </div><div><br /></div><div>The Germans, though, are determined. Super-heavy artillery piece "Dora" and eleven 420 mm mortars open fire on Fort Stalin, which guards the approaches to Severnaya Bay but have little impact. Finally, a dive-bombing attack by Junkers Ju-87 Stukas of StG 77 knocks out three of the fort's main 76.2 mm guns, and General Erich von Manstein's 11th Army assembles an attack force to take the fort for early on the morning of 13 June.</div><div><br /></div><div>Resistance to superior orders is fairly common within the Wehrmacht, but everyone in uniform knows that it must be done "the right way." An example occurs today in Crimea. Luftwaffe General Wolfram von Richtofen has forbidden all air attacks in the Black Sea for fear of hitting Axis naval vessels. The local German naval commander, Vizeadmiral Gotting, vehemently disagrees, but von Richtofen's order is final and he will not listen to any complaints.</div><div><br /></div><div>Accordingly, Gotting meets today in private with von Richtofen's naval liaison, Koneradmiral von Eyssen - who gives von Richtofen all of his naval information. Together they secretly agree that the order prohibiting Luftwaffe operations at sea is counterproductive and they jointly limit the order to a very small restricted zone directly off Crimea - without, of course, telling von Richtofen. Von Eyssen then coordinates this with Luftwaffe Oberst Wolfgang von Wild, who commands Lufftwaffe forces (<i>Fliegerfuhrer Sud</i>) operating over the Black Sea. Von Wild also agrees that von Richtofen's order is nonsense, and all three men subvert von Richtofen's direct order. This is the "right" way to disobey orders in the Third Reich and is done by different commanders throughout the war.</div><div><br /></div><div>At Fuhrer Headquarters in East Prussia (Hitler is on vacation on the Obersalzberg), General Franz Halder has a disturbing conference with Vice Admiral Fricke and his aide. It is disturbing because, as Halder records in his diary, "Those people are dreaming in terms of continents." He writes that they "assume without another thought" massive German land victories that will obtain ports on the Persian Gulf and on the East African coast. "The problems of the Atlantic," Halder notes with incredulity, "are treated with off-hand superiority and those of the Black Sea with criminal unconcern." Halder, of course, has first-hand information on just how precarious the Axis position in the USSR really is.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Battle of the Pacific:</b> Both sides are heading for home following the decisive American victory at Midway Island. Admiral Frank Fletcher, in command aboard USS Saratoga, is one day's sail from Pearl Harbor, while Admiral Nagumo is still two days' sail from Hashirajima. the Americans are eagerly publicizing their victory, while the Japanese are keeping their losses a guarded secret known only to the Emperor and a small number of high-ranking naval personnel.</div><div><br /></div><div>USS Swordfish (Lt. Cdr. Chester C. Smith SS-193), operating northwest of Poulo Wai in the Gulf of Siam (later Gulf of Thailand), torpedoes and sinks Japanese freighter Burma Maru. The wreck is discovered in February 2017.</div><div><br /></div><div>Japanese submarine I-21, operating off the east coast of Australia, torpedoes and sinks 5527-ton Panamanian coke freighter Guatemala while on the surface. The freighter is traveling in an eight-ship convoy from Newcastle to Whyalla, such convoys having been organized only recently due to the recent submarine assault on Sydney Harbor. HMAS Doomba picks up the crew, all of whom survive.</div><div><br /></div><div>In China, the American Volunteer Group (Flying Tigers) has a big day. At dawn, the 1st Squadron shoots down four Ki-27 Nate bombers and five other twin-engine plans over Kweilin (Guilin, on the west bank of the Li River).</div><div><br /></div><div>B-17s of the 5th Air Force bomb Lakunai Airfield and Vunakanau at the Japanese main overseas base of Rabaul.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMj5sytPzI_UJ_p_l8z8D21MpgG9N5T_yhDGuD3MvcC-Nat8sre3fc4Mj8W43bkS8WpqyT9hZ_U1RnQbXqZ6EGDvczdVDVxv4ZATgHfNr2FooSMztdBzbkhBaQFVmF44CCP1TgvLOpEqful7CaA380695Ne7lprL_yw-SoXH-tbhse2EISFD2TPnek/s461/NY_Times_12_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="NY Times 12 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="461" data-original-width="360" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMj5sytPzI_UJ_p_l8z8D21MpgG9N5T_yhDGuD3MvcC-Nat8sre3fc4Mj8W43bkS8WpqyT9hZ_U1RnQbXqZ6EGDvczdVDVxv4ZATgHfNr2FooSMztdBzbkhBaQFVmF44CCP1TgvLOpEqful7CaA380695Ne7lprL_yw-SoXH-tbhse2EISFD2TPnek/w500-h640/NY_Times_12_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="NY Times 12 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="500" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">NY Times, 12 June 1942.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>Battle of the Indian Ocean:</b> Japanese submarine I-10 shells and sinks 2052-ton Panamania freighter Hellenic Trader in the northwestern Mozambique Channel near Bahla de Cruz. Later in the day, I-10 torpedoes and sinks 5064-ton British freighter Cliftonhall.</div><div><br /></div><div>Japanese submarine I-16 torpedoes and sinks 3748-ton Yugoslav freighter Supetar in the Mozambique Channel near Cabo de Sao Sebastiao.</div><div><br /></div><div>Japanese submarine I-20 shells and sinks 5063-ton British freighter Clifton Hall in the Mozambique Channel off Angoche, Mozambique.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>European Air Operations: </b>A small force of a dozen U.S. Army Air Force B-24 Liberators flying from northeast Egypt <a href="https://www.abmc.gov/news-events/news/striking-oil-first-american-bombing-raid-over-europe-world-war-ii" target="_blank">bomb</a> the Ploesti, Romania, oil fields after taking off at 22:30 on 11 June. The bombing is extremely inaccurate due to poor weather and no appreciable damage is caused. The bombers encounter flak and a few enemy fighters. Altogether, the planes drop 24 tons of bombs, with a thirteenth bomber attacking the port of Constanta. The bombers then proceed on to Habbaniyah, Iraq, making this an early example of shuttle bombing. Four bombers make it to Habbaniyah, while the others land at other fields in Iraq and Syria. Four of the bombers land in Turkey and their crews are interned. </div><div><br /></div><div>This is the first offensive mission by U.S. planes over Europe during World War II. General Dwight D. Eisenhower comments drily that the failed attack "did something to dispel the illusion that big planes could win the war." The bombers are from the Halverson Project 63, or HALPRO and have flown across the Atlantic for the mission. This small force forms the genesis of the 1st Provisional Bombardment Group (PBG) and the 376th Heavy Bombardment Group, completing another 450 missions.</div><div><br /></div><div>The poor weather of spring 1942 continues and gets worse throughout the day on the Channel Front, but it is mild enough in the morning and early afternoon for some operations.</div><div><br /></div><div>Group Captain Ken Gatward and navigator Flight Sargeant George Fern conduct The Beaufighter Raid on Paris, or Operation Squabble. This has been delayed for a month due to poor weather. This is a daring propaganda strafing run on a German parade down the Champs-Élysées that includes dropping Tricolor flags on prominent monuments (the Arc de Triomphe and the French Naval Ministry, currently being used as Kriegsmarine headquarters).</div><div><br /></div><div>The two men take off from RAF Thorney Island in rain and clouds, but the weather clears sufficiently to carry out the mission. Flying at an extremely low altitude, the Beaufighter circles the Eiffel Tower at 12:27 and then heads for the Champs-Élysées. It turns out there is no German military parade (it hasn't begun yet), but the men drop the flags as intended. After strafing the Ministry building, the men return to RAF Northolt at 13:53. During the strafing run, the plane suffers a birdstrike, and the French crow is found in the starboard radiator. Gatward receives the DFC and Fern the DFM for their efforts.</div><div><br /></div><div>RAF aircraft of Coastal Command engage in routine convoy patrols. They bomb and sink 1497-ton Swedish freighter Senta 30 nautical miles Cuxhaven, Germany (near the Weser River). There are no casualties.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTPmf5YfGmdzVSmRgYuG-Gf0U8-VanJUDWSS4Z8eHid2HkzTWMw5jgFm9TsLOkngmb4xTSgp92MUUJwaZsMRg_M4Hj5mnYjR-nSMYwlq2cjZg66Aqlnrmoko70M15IVaPZCjisJTqtYvz8wIoq4aYEgtXjBsfj5eyQnHeYrAJvXignvVfxTCdq8_LX/s800/British_Beaufighter_12_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="RAF Beaufighter, 12 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="546" data-original-width="800" height="436" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTPmf5YfGmdzVSmRgYuG-Gf0U8-VanJUDWSS4Z8eHid2HkzTWMw5jgFm9TsLOkngmb4xTSgp92MUUJwaZsMRg_M4Hj5mnYjR-nSMYwlq2cjZg66Aqlnrmoko70M15IVaPZCjisJTqtYvz8wIoq4aYEgtXjBsfj5eyQnHeYrAJvXignvVfxTCdq8_LX/w640-h436/British_Beaufighter_12_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="RAF Beaufighter, 12 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beaufighter Mk IC T4800 code ND-C of No. 236 Squadron RAF on the ground at Wattisham Suffolk 12 June 1942.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>Battle of the Baltic: </b>Swedish 1046-ton Bojan hits a mine and sinks off Saßnitz, Germany.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Battle of the Atlantic: </b>German cruiser Michel, operating off the coast of Brazil, on 6 June had spotted the disabled 7176-ton U.S. freighter George Clymer and launched its MTB Esan. The MTB torpedoed the freighter and the crew abandoned ship. However, the ship remained afloat, and the crew re-embarked. British armed merchant cruiser HMS Alcantara has remained in the vicinity of the badly damaged ship since arriving on the scene on 8 June, but today departs, leaving the freighter still afloat. It is assumed that George Clymer eventually sinks.</div><div><br /></div><div>U-158 (Kptlt. Erwin Rostin), on its second patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks US 8192-ton tanker Cities Service of Toledo 20 miles east of the Trinity Shoal Buoy in the Gulf of Mexico. There are 15 deaths.</div><div><br /></div><div>U-124 (Kptlt. Johann Mohr), on its ninth patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 4093-ton British freighter Dartford south of Cape Race. There are 17 survivors and 30 deaths.</div><div><br /></div><div>U-129 (Kptlt. Hans-Ludwig Witt), on its fifth patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 9005-ton refrigerated cargo freighter Hardwicke Grange 120 nautical miles (220 km) north of Puerto Rico. There are three deaths and 78 survivors. The survivors are in four lifeboats for two weeks, and each lifeboat lands in a different country: Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, and Haiti.</div><div><br /></div><div>German 125-ton minesweeper M-4212 (formerly Belgian trawler Marie-Frans) hits a mine and sinks south of Vieux-Boucau-les-Bains, France. The mine was laid previously by French submarine Rubis.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiU5mEi-8Q0W95aLwXVZlccHcnyWGwcnAMJVM3oHSZWWMqjfWR8r89Zf7KrihV2R5FNmue3h2nJvEUIvRQNRtl-Ev9odaMCwPwr6pnEFkzFQrL2FEU0Ozr-hxxrt7eZ9FFTCc7jIN9ZRODDZwkzOm7iHic5Y0HXHXnVPm3kK6VaACeJgGIrA8CCmBE/s700/North_Africa_map_12_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Map of North African campaign, 12 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="543" data-original-width="700" height="496" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiU5mEi-8Q0W95aLwXVZlccHcnyWGwcnAMJVM3oHSZWWMqjfWR8r89Zf7KrihV2R5FNmue3h2nJvEUIvRQNRtl-Ev9odaMCwPwr6pnEFkzFQrL2FEU0Ozr-hxxrt7eZ9FFTCc7jIN9ZRODDZwkzOm7iHic5Y0HXHXnVPm3kK6VaACeJgGIrA8CCmBE/w640-h496/North_Africa_map_12_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="Map of North African campaign, 12 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Map of North African campaign, 12 June 1942.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>Battle of the Mediterranean: </b>The British in the El Adem "box" are under intense pressure by General Erwin Rommel's 15th Panzer Division and give ground as the Germans attempt to break out of "the Cauldron." The 2nd and 4th Armoured Brigades retreat 6 km (3.7 miles) in disarray, leaving only the 29th Indian Infantry Brigade holding its ground. Rommel orders the 21st Panzer Division to join the attack on the 13th. A breakthrough here would open a pathway to Tobruk.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Allies are only in as good a situation as they are due to the previous stout Free French defense at Bir Hakeim. Now that the fortress has fallen, the Germans can bring much greater pressure to bear on the British. Today, General Auchinleck praises the French, saying, "The United Nations need to be filled with admiration and gratitude in respect of these French troops and their brave General Kœnig."</div><div><br /></div><div>While the intense Luftwaffe air campaign against Malta has eased in recent weeks, it remains in a precarious position due to supply shortages. Today, the Royal Navy begins Operations Harpoon and Vigorous, typical convoy missions to the embattled island. Harpoon sets out from Haifa, Palestine, while Vigorous begins at Gibraltar.</div><div><br /></div><div>Convoy MW4 leaves Gibraltar heading east with six merchantmen (the British Troilus, Burdwan and Orari, the Dutch Tanimbar, the American Chant, and the tanker Kentucky) carrying 43,000 short tons (39,000 t) of cargo and oil. It is protected by Force X, which includes distant cover by battleship HMS Malaya and aircraft carriers Argus and Eagle.</div><div><br /></div><div>The westward operation is a little more complicated. Convoy MW-11a embarks from Haifa with five merchantmen (British Ajax, City of Edinburgh, City of Pretoria, City of Lincoln, and Elizabeth Bakke) heading west. It is escorted by the 7th destroyer flotilla. This convoy has trouble immediately when Elizabeth Bakke is ordered back to port because it cannot maintain station due to overloading and its poor condition. Convoy MW11b departs from Alexandria, Egypt, with a tanker (Bulkoil), a merchantman (Potaro), and a decommissioned battleship (Centurion) being used as a freighter. It is escorted by five destroyers, four corvettes, and two rescue ships (Antwerp and Malines). There also is a third convoy from this direction that departs from Port Said, MW-11C, composed of freighters Aagtekirk, Bhutan, City of Calcutta, and Rembrandt.</div><div><br /></div><div>The objective is to confuse and disperse the Axis defenses with all of these simultaneous convoys. In theory, this should enable maximum resupply of the island despite inevitable losses.</div><div><br /></div><div>Unknown to the British, the Axis knows all about these operations already due to a major security breach by the US Military Attaché in Egypt, Colonel Bonner Fellers. Italian military intelligence (Servizio Informazioni Militare) has broken the American code and thus has deciphered Fellers' detailed reports to Washington. While not strictly Fellers' fault, better precautions could have avoided this. In any event, this incident proves that codebreaking during World War II was not just a one-way street that benefited only the Allies.</div><div><br /></div><div>With the Axis ready and waiting, the attacks begin almost immediately. In the evening, 15 Junkers Ju 88 bombers of I Kampfgeschwader 54 based in Crete attack MW-11c. They score a near-miss on City of Calcutta, which slows it and forces the freighter to divert to Tobruk along with its towed MBT, escorted by two escorts. During the night, MW-11c slows to arrange a rendezvous with the other two convoys off Mersa Matruh.</div><div><br /></div><div>Separately, U-77 (Kptlt. Heinrich Schonder), on its sixth patrol out of La Spezia, torpedoes and sinks the Royal Navy destroyer HMS Grove (L77) off Sollum, Egypt. The ship sinks in 14 minutes with 110 deaths and 79 survivors. Escort destroyer HMS Tetcott picks up the survivors.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4LC2iHpA5hVG4XjVkZuhwFdymHYHBCz3sjidwD6GH8d4la2i0b789eSPPyBw9c6iI5mjwv7kp9rrCFQ8vk-udM-Hwfaermeg-MZMU9hBw4PUQFNGjG168LBuy0ihezKAbelUhkQJ_u9EPqR1jsuPMKGkohr6CJnQLVHOh6gegG5EmQLT54fONmNVC/s600/Hardwicke_Grange_12_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="SS Hardwicke Grange, sunk on 12 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="375" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4LC2iHpA5hVG4XjVkZuhwFdymHYHBCz3sjidwD6GH8d4la2i0b789eSPPyBw9c6iI5mjwv7kp9rrCFQ8vk-udM-Hwfaermeg-MZMU9hBw4PUQFNGjG168LBuy0ihezKAbelUhkQJ_u9EPqR1jsuPMKGkohr6CJnQLVHOh6gegG5EmQLT54fONmNVC/w640-h400/Hardwicke_Grange_12_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="SS Hardwicke Grange, sunk on 12 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">British refrigerated freighter Hardwicke Grange, sunk by U-129 on 12 June 1942.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>Spy Stuff:</b> U-202 (Kptlt. Hans-Heinz Linder), on its sixth patrol out of Brest, arrives off the south coast of Long Island, New York, in early-morning darkness and disembarks four German spies/saboteurs. The four men land at Amagansett. This is Operation Pastorius, one of a series of such operations planned to disrupt the economy of the United States. They are wearing German Navy uniforms to avoid being shot as spies if captured during the landing. However, upon landing and finding themselves alone on the beach, they quickly change into civilian clothes and bury their uniforms and other equipment.</div><div><br /></div><div>A problem quickly develops when Coast Guardsman John C. Cullen spots the men posing as fishermen on a raft. Cullen also notices the submarine and sees that the men are armed. He approaches them, and the spies give Cullen $200 to keep quiet. Cullen takes the money but alerts his superiors later in the day, by which time the four spies have taken the LIRR into Manhattan.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqn4osgwsIURvok1PRecuVKUAfLXfiv5bWAbKjexKt16jDJ_Pnwq3E7wqamXDeHmwvmnf65yBiQwc-eBUhhI1qxbD-g9mWAE7urs0FB8P-1SGAKcPTQRDL41z60McKdYBBnUhOfx-Fe4-YY1AxfxbyMIFdI1inhIqoi13KKBSdf0RPW2QUidHL7hcJ/s3195/Anne_Frank_diary_12_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Anne Frank's diary, begun on 12 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="2396" data-original-width="3195" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqn4osgwsIURvok1PRecuVKUAfLXfiv5bWAbKjexKt16jDJ_Pnwq3E7wqamXDeHmwvmnf65yBiQwc-eBUhhI1qxbD-g9mWAE7urs0FB8P-1SGAKcPTQRDL41z60McKdYBBnUhOfx-Fe4-YY1AxfxbyMIFdI1inhIqoi13KKBSdf0RPW2QUidHL7hcJ/w640-h480/Anne_Frank_diary_12_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="Anne Frank's diary, begun on 12 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The first page of Anne Frank's diary, written on 12 June 1942.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>Holocaust:</b> In Amsterdam, Anne Frank is gifted a red-and-white plaid diary on her thirteenth birthday. The Franks, German Jewish refugees, have not yet gone into hiding. Her first entry begins, "On Friday, June 12th, I woke up at six o’clock and no wonder; it was my birthday." Later in the entry, she says, "I hope I will be able to confide everything to you, as I have never been able to confide in anyone, and I hope you will be a great source of comfort and support."</div><div><br /></div><div><b>US Military:</b> The US Army activates the 100th Infantry Battalion, composed of Japanese-Americans from Hawaii.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>German Military:</b> Oblt. Egon Albrecht becomes Staffelkapitaen of 1./ZG 1.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNqL37xwaA6mldeCgerrQmPnMoPN16ocWeHHx_lpnChGk77763H5-mPyOrA2CNEBYh1gyWrX7p3MNrEmv3V9ClKZh1Nq4eZeT40NN5qzX2XAKtA33OIp1yML1jItYqXxqTKW4aHCR1HP5J0vA2QSYM_r88uftzl6Jcr19QdsFhZOLhlWPzY9C8keK4/s400/George_Bush_12_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="George Bush joins the US Navy, 12 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="328" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNqL37xwaA6mldeCgerrQmPnMoPN16ocWeHHx_lpnChGk77763H5-mPyOrA2CNEBYh1gyWrX7p3MNrEmv3V9ClKZh1Nq4eZeT40NN5qzX2XAKtA33OIp1yML1jItYqXxqTKW4aHCR1HP5J0vA2QSYM_r88uftzl6Jcr19QdsFhZOLhlWPzY9C8keK4/w524-h640/George_Bush_12_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="George Bush joins the US Navy, 12 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="524" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">George Bush during World War II.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>Russian Homefront:</b> Russian revolutionary Anna Yakimova dies in Novosibirisk, aged 86. She was a prime early agitator against the Tsar around the turn of the 20th Century.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>American Homefront:</b> In the evening, a tornado hits the southwest section of Oklahoma City near Will Rogers Airfield. <a href="https://stormtrack.org/community/threads/june-12th-1942-oklahoma-city.29700/">Local sources</a> (the Ada Evening News) report 21 dead, 25 critically injured, and 250 made homeless.</div><div><br /></div><div>Future President George Herbert Walker Bush graduates from high school and immediately enlists in the U.S. Navy despite already having been admitted to Yale University.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Future History: </b>Bert Sakmann is born in Stuttgart, German Reich. He grows up to become a noted cell physiologist who wins the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Erwin Neher in 1991. As of this writing, Sakmann leads an emeritus research group at the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology in Heidelberg, Germany.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir92froye3CvMQIZ-SYScr1rW8YbJJjPfhnueXEBGxpkXBri-APoTK6qGNmQMvAa8ynR3Ty7vwFBhSBrPVCXsrp_yN8D8alm2hQjtJOfGEPre0gIKE9FTkZaLkcQHnT_XsDFvHb5jV3-KPE3E_udhpHQ4kThVI6_Xo-tL7uxD9ns73CYVPr6DM6mc2/s1024/Monument_12_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Memorial to the 100th Infantry Brigade, activate on 12 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="786" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir92froye3CvMQIZ-SYScr1rW8YbJJjPfhnueXEBGxpkXBri-APoTK6qGNmQMvAa8ynR3Ty7vwFBhSBrPVCXsrp_yN8D8alm2hQjtJOfGEPre0gIKE9FTkZaLkcQHnT_XsDFvHb5jV3-KPE3E_udhpHQ4kThVI6_Xo-tL7uxD9ns73CYVPr6DM6mc2/w492-h640/Monument_12_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="Memorial to the 100th Infantry Brigade, activate on 12 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="492" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brothers in Valor Monument in Honolulu, Hawaii, commemorating the 100th Infantry Battalion and other Japanese-American units in World War II (<a href="https://www.sarahsundin.com/today-in-world-war-ii-history-june-12-1942/">Photo: Sarah Sundin</a>).</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><span class="updated">2022</span>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4010278260980683606.post-68168453659144163642021-12-24T01:44:00.000-07:002021-12-24T01:44:03.650-07:00June 11, 1942: U.S-Soviet Lend-Lease Agreement<div itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Thing"><h1>Thursday 11 June 1942</h1><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh_dMffn0mYN_c2_7c0aEs0_RSPWpIab32DX0b-PaE5URVgrwu7oookRLYTQwlu2RjMslorEjj0hvOjq0VAYMYrhMq4LAGtJoCKFrtM0WfwQAqacFdrnxAGhd6IRR6mfbESQBmqyNsm7XeK5bly5hxhyO5vzN3UXUqE1fKcRqSl9zlEgn_egWy13nLG=s640" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Rommel in North Africa worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="479" data-original-width="640" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh_dMffn0mYN_c2_7c0aEs0_RSPWpIab32DX0b-PaE5URVgrwu7oookRLYTQwlu2RjMslorEjj0hvOjq0VAYMYrhMq4LAGtJoCKFrtM0WfwQAqacFdrnxAGhd6IRR6mfbESQBmqyNsm7XeK5bly5hxhyO5vzN3UXUqE1fKcRqSl9zlEgn_egWy13nLG=w640-h480" title="Rommel in North Africa worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">German General Erwin Rommel in his command vehicle in North Africa, 11 June 1942 (Zwilling, Ernst A., Federal Archive <a href="https://www.bild.bundesarchiv.de/dba/de/search/?channelid=dcx-channel-channel_barch_bilder&query=&day=11&month=6&yearfrom=1942&yearto=&imageid=&title=&farbe=&kostenfrei=&ausrichtung=&view=gallery&submit=" target="_blank">Image 101I-443-1589-08</a>).</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>Eastern Front:</b> General Erich von Manstein's 11th Army continues battering away at Red Army defenses outside Sevastopol, Crimea, on <b itemprop="name">11 June 1942</b>. His troops of the LIV Corps are having the most success north of the port, where the heaviest German artillery is located. The Soviet 345th Division counterattacks on the borderline between the Wehrmacht 132nd and 50th Divisions, but quick Luftwaffe intervention (1070 sorties while dropping 1000 tons of bombs today) prevents a rupture. The Red Army and LIV Corps, however, continue taking heavy casualties.</div><div><br /></div><div>While progress is still being made at Sevastopol, the local commanders are getting concerned at the high cost of the small local gains. Luftwaffe General Wolfram von Richthofen, in command at Fliegerkorps VIII, comments sourly in his war diary that his forces have "only enough left for 1.5 more days of bombing." His mood is black, and he adds that "the specter of failure now seriously looms." On the spur of the moment, Richthofen decides that his bombers are dispersing their efforts too widely. He thus changes bombing procedures to conserve resources. The new tactic of "column bombing" involves bomber attacks on only specifically designated targets while the aircraft fly one after another in narrow air corridors.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Red Air Force also is proving to be a nuisance, though not to the Luftwaffe. Instead, the Soviets are making nightly raids on German positions in the "rear" to the east at places like Simferopol, Theodosiya, Eupatoria, and Yalta. The Luftwaffe can see the attacks coming on their radar but do not have any night fighters to intercept them. Fortunately for the Germans, the Red Air Force bombing runs are very inaccurate, so the raids for the most part are ineffective.</div><div><br /></div><div>Off the Crimean coast, a mini-war at sea also is brewing. The Soviets are running fast convoys to Sevastopol every night, and early in the morning, the Kriegsmarine decides to do something about it. For the first time, Axis small craft (MTBs and motorboats) manned by Italians attack a Soviet convoy near Cape Khersones. It is believed, but not absolutely certain, that they sink a Soviet ship. </div><div><br /></div><div>Back at Fuhrer Headquarters in East Prussia, General Halder also is getting impatient with Manstein's progress. He notes that the Soviet artillery at Sevastapol "is quite troublesome." However, further north, "The Voshansk attack is making very satisfactory progress." Meanwhile, the situation at Ninth Army is "unclear," with the Soviets "unaccountably" abandoning territory. This new Red Army tactic of not fighting for every inch of ground but instead trading space for time and tactical regrouping will befuddle and mislead the German High Command throughout the summer.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Battle of the Black Sea: </b>Soviet submarine A-5 torpedoes and sinks 5695-ton Romanian freighter Ardeal off Odessa. Ardeal's captain beaches the ship to avoid sinking but is later repaired and returned to service.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjqFs6DzwAMDcMMft1ue7lcfaQyqU6WrHO4KPjGGTrvXDJ6Chr7KyeYFgyFTk4l0eg4GEnK5aFXQCE51L4x2aZJmaY7SD9412pbv8i3gEodFwPnTwL0eaeqjM_gaP0ytiuHba0H-aSPXJd9M6N32ABlXAA5CC_8-JEXbjoWzbNBCwCx8PlESJbCxYUf=s914" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="British POWs in North Africa worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="914" data-original-width="640" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjqFs6DzwAMDcMMft1ue7lcfaQyqU6WrHO4KPjGGTrvXDJ6Chr7KyeYFgyFTk4l0eg4GEnK5aFXQCE51L4x2aZJmaY7SD9412pbv8i3gEodFwPnTwL0eaeqjM_gaP0ytiuHba0H-aSPXJd9M6N32ABlXAA5CC_8-JEXbjoWzbNBCwCx8PlESJbCxYUf=w448-h640" title="British POWs in North Africa worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="448" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">British POWs in North Africa, 11 June 1942 (Farmer, Federal Archive <a href="https://www.bild.bundesarchiv.de/dba/de/search/?channelid=dcx-channel-channel_barch_bilder&query=&day=11&month=6&yearfrom=1942&yearto=&imageid=&title=&farbe=&kostenfrei=&ausrichtung=&view=gallery&submit=" target="_blank">Image 101I-443-1564-28A</a>).</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>Battle of the Pacific:</b> USS Saratoga rendezvouses with fellow carriers Enterprise and Hornet. It transfers 19 SBD Dauntless, five TBD Devastator of VT-5, and 10 VT-8 Avenger planes to the two other carriers to replace their losses at the Battle of Midway. The ships then turn head to Pearl Harbor in foul weather.</div><div><br /></div><div>Reinforcements for the Pacific Fleet are on the way. USS Wasp and battleship North Carolina, along with escorting destroyers, pass through the Panama Canal. Battleships just barely fit through the channel with mere feet (sometimes only inches) to spare on each side. The Japanese know the importance of the Canal and have plans to block it throughout the war.</div><div><br /></div><div>The U.S. 11th Air Force make their first attack on the Japanese on Kiska Island in the Aleutian chain. The attack is made by five B-24 and five B-17 bombers flying from Cold Bay and loading their bomb racks at Umnak Island. PBY Catalinas also participate in the attack. on Kiska Harbor. The attack only scores some near misses on the Japanese ships while losing a B-24 (Captain Jack F. Todd) to anti-aircraft fire. This begins a 48-hour period during which the Catalinas make repeated attacks without much success.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhr7VONisLURIf05k15jrerzkO0N5ol-QGv1TsZLdetnYq3LjOZ27_x9F1NfjeHXW1RLiWiLTxCe8PdjuZeZo_z4SvEUTzB9NW989GUxkHs-bC_b8SquGD0f972B4mrQu7C5KHU4V7A0eitktHfbVWfIRgBRJD05RYv2ZrsW6mvcRTku9fCsULjKVLF=s640" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="British POWs in North Africa worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="445" data-original-width="640" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhr7VONisLURIf05k15jrerzkO0N5ol-QGv1TsZLdetnYq3LjOZ27_x9F1NfjeHXW1RLiWiLTxCe8PdjuZeZo_z4SvEUTzB9NW989GUxkHs-bC_b8SquGD0f972B4mrQu7C5KHU4V7A0eitktHfbVWfIRgBRJD05RYv2ZrsW6mvcRTku9fCsULjKVLF=w640-h446" title="British POWs in North Africa worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">British and South African POWs in North Africa, 11 June 1942 (Zwilling, Ernst A., <a href="https://www.bild.bundesarchiv.de/dba/de/search/?channelid=dcx-channel-channel_barch_bilder&query=&day=11&month=6&yearfrom=1942&yearto=&imageid=&title=&farbe=&kostenfrei=&ausrichtung=&view=gallery&submit=" target="_blank">Image 101I-443-1589-34A</a>).</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>Battle of the Indian Ocean:</b> German raider Michel (HSK-9) uses its guns to sink 5186-ton British freighter Lylepark southeast of Cocos Islands (northwest of Perth, Australia). Michel is on her way from Japan for a hunting raid off the coast of South America.</div><div><br /></div><div>Japanese submarine I-20 torpedoes and sinks 7926-ton British freighter Mahronda in the Mozambique Channel. There are two deaths and 40 survivors. The survivors are rescued by the Royal Indian Navy ship HMIS Orissa. This is an unusual situation where a German ship sinks a ship further west than a Japanese submarine in the Indian Ocean on the same day.</div><div><br /></div><div>Australian corvette HMAS Wallaroo (J 222) sinks after colliding with a ship it is escorting, U.S. Liberty Ship Henry Gilbert Costin. The sinking ironically occurs because the ships are sailing without navigation lights in overcast weather to avoid detection by the enemy. Wallaroo sinks while trying to return to Fremantle, while the other ship makes it back. There are three deaths.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>European Air Operations: </b>The foul weather that has characterized the spring of 1942 continues today. It is 10/10ths clouds during the morning, but visibility clears a bit by noon. RAF fighters attack Koksijde and the Furnes Canal, sinking and damaging barges. The attacks are broken off after encountering heavy anti-aircraft fire at Nieuport. These attacks in low visibility are quite hazardous, and several planes narrowly avoid collisions or hitting ground obstructions.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Battle of the Baltic</b>: German support ship MRS-11 Osnabruck hits a mine and sinks off Tallinn, Estonia. There are 84 deaths. The ship is later salvaged.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjvrsnFltkaiEbY-sp0w0rVQLtUSOZlafSH5COONliQUjAQQ6BfdhI61pH7qfLF0XOUwvlEFBFuZ1IphvV7Fdps8tOxuBuAf3oGsmsWln-beX61-A9vm660Cqv22O9otrpr73Xy1fan06BH0X6q-STe2ehhAVnq5N3Vvx1F-KwSboMKV_9aEayiilfY=s759" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="German cruiser Lutzow spotted by Allied air reconnaissance 11 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="759" data-original-width="640" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjvrsnFltkaiEbY-sp0w0rVQLtUSOZlafSH5COONliQUjAQQ6BfdhI61pH7qfLF0XOUwvlEFBFuZ1IphvV7Fdps8tOxuBuAf3oGsmsWln-beX61-A9vm660Cqv22O9otrpr73Xy1fan06BH0X6q-STe2ehhAVnq5N3Vvx1F-KwSboMKV_9aEayiilfY=w540-h640" title="German cruiser Lutzow spotted by Allied air reconnaissance 11 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="540" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">German heavy cruiser Lutzow photographed by Allied air reconnaissance, 11 June 1942 (Naval History and Heritage Command <a href="https://www.history.navy.mil/our-collections/photography/numerical-list-of-images/nhhc-series/nh-series/NH-110000/NH-110843.html" target="_blank">NH 110843</a>).</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div><b>Battle of the Atlantic: </b>Italian submarine Leonardo da Vinci uses torpedoes and gunfire to sink 5483-ton Dutch freighter Alioth in the Atlantic Ocean near Freetown, Sierra Leone. Everyone survives.</div><div><br /></div><div>U-504 (Kptlt. Hans-Georg Friedrich Poske), on its third patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 4282-ton Dutch freighter Crijnssen 85 miles southwest of the Cayman Islands. There are one death and 93 survivors, who abandon the ship in four lifeboats and a gig. The sinking is especially traumatic for some on board because there are a dozen survivors of Sylvan Arrow (sunk by U-155 on 20 May 1942) and one from U.S. tanker T.C. McCobb (sunk by Italian submarine Pietro Calvi on 31 March 1942). The survivors in one lifeboat and the gig from Crijnssen are picked up by the U.S. freighter Lebore, which itself is sunk by U-172 a few days later. The other lifeboats make landfall in Mexico aside from four crewmembers on a raft who are picked up by the Panamanian tanker J.A. Mowinckel.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhC8uDG6tzXyjHQnACGnAuPCyZXrisKeS33dPzn5Q4iIwL6c2IcbZPyOr1NhlOmobLkWyTcHzCzyH5DjveLer_Eej7oaXILPRo8cf3-OnbBn54c7oh5r64Lz6kurkt6ezAM6aijCfZmv8sUc1PrM2mopPOvEDmmxzDNg-o7T0ftvNWU7A5c8H6ry1Sl=s640" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Freighter American sunk on 11 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="640" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhC8uDG6tzXyjHQnACGnAuPCyZXrisKeS33dPzn5Q4iIwL6c2IcbZPyOr1NhlOmobLkWyTcHzCzyH5DjveLer_Eej7oaXILPRo8cf3-OnbBn54c7oh5r64Lz6kurkt6ezAM6aijCfZmv8sUc1PrM2mopPOvEDmmxzDNg-o7T0ftvNWU7A5c8H6ry1Sl=w640-h400" title="Freighter American sunk on 11 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">SS American, originally the Santa Barbara, was sunk by U-504 on 11 June 1942. </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>Much later in the day, U-504 also torpedoes and sinks 4846-ton U.S. freighter American off Honduras. The ship is hit by two torpedoes and sinks within 25 minutes. There are four deaths and 34 survivors, who are picked up by British freighter Kent. One survivor perishes after being picked up.</div><div><br /></div><div>U-159 (Kptlt. Helmut Friedrich Witte), on its second patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 7130-ton British freighter Fort Good Hope northwest of Colon, Panama. Two torpedoes hit and sink the freighter (carrying wheat, timber, lead, and zinc) within half an hour. There are two deaths and 45 survivors, who are picked up by U.S. gunboat USS Erie (PG 50).</div><div><br /></div><div>U-455 (Kptlt. Hans-Heinrich Giessler), on its third patrol out of St. Nazaire, torpedoes and sinks 6914-ton British tanker Geo H. Jones northeast of the Azores. The tanker is a straggler from Convoy SL-111 heading from Aruba to Freetown. There are two dead and 40 survivors, who are picked up by HMIS Orissa (J 200).</div><div><br /></div><div>U-157 (KrvKpt. Wolf Henne), on its second patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 6401-ton U.S. tanker Hagan five miles off the north coast of Cuba. Hagan is simply steaming a straight course independently and thus is an ideal target. Two torpedoes hit the engine room and fuel bunkers, sinking the ship, which is carrying 2,676 barrels of blackstrap molasses, fairly quickly. There are six dead and 38 survivors, who make landfall in Cuba in two lifeboats. This is the only victory for U-157 in its career, which ends a couple of days later when it is sunk.</div><div><br /></div><div>U-94 (Oblt. Otto Ites), on its ninth patrol out of St. Nazaire, torpedoes and sinks 4458pton British freighter Pontypridd northeast of St. John's, Newfoundland. Pontypridd is a straggler from Convoy ONS-100. There are two dead and 46 survivors, who are picked up by HMCS Chambly (K 116).</div><div><br /></div><div>U-158 (Kptlt. Erwin Rostin), on its second patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 13,467-ton Panamanian tanker/transport Sheherazade 20 miles west of Ship Shoal Buoy, Louisiana. Sheherazade is a French ship turned over to the U.S. War Shipping Administration (WSA). There are one dead and 58 survivors, who are rescued by shrimp boat Midshipman and fishing vessel 40 Fathoms. The rescue happens quickly enough that nine men are found swimming after having jumped overboard.</div><div><br /></div><div>Norwegian 6049-ton freighter Haugarland hits a mine and sinks off Terschelling, Netherlands. It appears that everyone survives.</div><div><br /></div><div>U.S. 9310-ton tanker F.W. Abrams hits a U.S. defensive mine and sinks east of Morehead City, North Carolina (near Cape Hatteras). The 36 men on board make it to shore near Morehead City. A tug ("Relief") attempts salvage of the floating wreck without success.</div><div><br /></div><div>U-87 mines the waters off Boston, Massachusetts, while U-373 mines the area near Delaware Bay.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgTHCw0a1qsFm90-lCI_mVF6H7kAoIQho2DMeXuxuumFlHOQUvejOdPEDMrHk-jCi6BddigD_3mbCMBhOwXEPAg6lZbMEjGqs-XR2CRigmr9o-Y4LQJbZaMzZ4U-7ni80-AYdMfgD-oduOzIZUicqlyim_KZrDORVe8PAjx7OsgbT80EgEmI2F06aPi=s640" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Rommel in North Africa worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="409" data-original-width="640" height="410" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgTHCw0a1qsFm90-lCI_mVF6H7kAoIQho2DMeXuxuumFlHOQUvejOdPEDMrHk-jCi6BddigD_3mbCMBhOwXEPAg6lZbMEjGqs-XR2CRigmr9o-Y4LQJbZaMzZ4U-7ni80-AYdMfgD-oduOzIZUicqlyim_KZrDORVe8PAjx7OsgbT80EgEmI2F06aPi=w640-h410" title="Rommel in North Africa worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">General Rommel in his Sd.Kfz. 250 command truck, 11 June 1942 (Zwilling, Ernst A., Federal Archive <a href="https://www.bild.bundesarchiv.de/dba/de/search/?channelid=dcx-channel-channel_barch_bilder&query=&day=11&month=6&yearfrom=1942&yearto=&imageid=&title=&farbe=&kostenfrei=&ausrichtung=&view=gallery&submit=" target="_blank">Image 101I-443-1589-09</a>).</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div><b>Battle of the Mediterranean: </b>German General Erwin Rommel's Afrika Korps occupies the fortress of Bir Hakeim, which has been a roadblock in his advance toward Tobruk. The Free French defenders have almost all escaped to British lines to the south save for a small rear guard left to delay the attackers. The French and British pull back from their advanced position outside the fortress to Gasr-el-Arid early in the morning, completing the breakout by 2700 men and women (there are some female nurses).</div><div><br /></div><div>After finally clearing this obstacle, about which he later comments "seldom in Africa was I given such a hard-fought struggle," Rommel quickly resumes his offensive, sending the 15th Panzer and 90th Light Divisions toward El Adem. The British 201st Guard Brigade in the Knightbridge Box, which blocks the way to Tobruk to the east, comes under severe pressure. While the Allied defense of Bir Hakeim has seriously disrupted Rommel's overly ambitious timetable, his advance now regains momentum.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi17gQgVJs7j4ZzE7sRUPT6tP2AclGZ3R6qHgfyOQekPcxAIDR6LxuWS-7C19LxSG9algBRuZ11NvhclbtqPtsQC0sJGGunLk-8Hh4lKuoofQTWFTX9J7RLzGOMAvnricLvhPg1TKkPGSuZmldmHVFvC2e9tSuV9Vu8uu278bztDU0ynvpLfQdbnFCq=s640" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Molotov and FDR in Washington on 11 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="456" data-original-width="640" height="456" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi17gQgVJs7j4ZzE7sRUPT6tP2AclGZ3R6qHgfyOQekPcxAIDR6LxuWS-7C19LxSG9algBRuZ11NvhclbtqPtsQC0sJGGunLk-8Hh4lKuoofQTWFTX9J7RLzGOMAvnricLvhPg1TKkPGSuZmldmHVFvC2e9tSuV9Vu8uu278bztDU0ynvpLfQdbnFCq=w640-h456" title="Molotov and FDR in Washington on 11 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov and U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt meet in Washington, D.C., to finalize the lend-lease agreement, 11 June 1942 (<a href="https://alliance.rusarchives.ru/vyacheslav-molotov-and-franklin-d-roosevelt-meet-washington-june-1942">Alliance.rusarchives.ru</a>).</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>US/Soviet Relations:</b> The United States and Soviet Union <a href="https://avalon.law.yale.edu/wwii/amsov42.asp" target="_blank">sign a lend-lease agreement</a>. The agreement contemplates "mutually advantageous economic relations" between the two powers, with the agreement to continue in force "until a date to be agreed upon by the two governments." U.S. Secretary of State Cordell Hull and Soviet Ambassador Maxim Litvinov sign for their respective governments.</div><div><br /></div><div>Article 1 sets out the main purpose of the agreement:</div><div><div></div><blockquote><div>The Government of the United States of America will continue to supply the Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics with such defense articles, defense services, and defense information as the President of the United States of America shall authorize to be transferred or provided.</div><div></div></blockquote><div>This agreement, however, is not specific on certain key points. These become a lingering bone of contention during the post-war era. Significantly, <a href="https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1948v04/d651" target="_blank">the title to the equipment</a> supplied by the U.S. is not transferred to the Soviet Union. The U.S. believes it still "owns" the items and retains rights to them, while the USSR believes it now owns them because they were freely given.</div><div><br /></div><div>Technically, under the U.S. interpretation of the agreement, the Soviet Union is obligated to return any intact equipment or compensate the United States for it after the war. The USSR, perhaps understandably, has a vastly different interpretation. This leads to awkward exchanges between the two governments in the late 1940s in which the United States demands either the return of the intact equipment or payment for them, including limitations on the equipment's transfer to other countries. Ultimately, the United States simply demands payment for the "civilian-type articles remaining in existence."</div><div><br /></div><div>Of course, the United States already has abandoned military equipment of its own at bases around the world because it is obsolete and considered too expensive to return to the homeland. Thus, there seem to be deeper reasons underlying the disagreement. It is entertaining to ponder the reactions of the Soviets when they receive these petty and abrasive demands for payment for goods they always assumed were given for free to win the war at the cost of Soviet blood. These pointless and unproductive "negotiations" help to poison the relations between the two nations and contribute to the growth of the Cold War, a hostile relationship that more or less continues to the present day.</div></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh6P4kgkOenLZp_jhwv3ypsGMRD9Pu8jkg4RhbXjKJgmWwnPQ9A7N2nyPADd-ZsTJ8p4IoQmf5v7m7JSKh0J-C_muol9j9zOqjkB3U_awqYZYaoBULZaSQUih8WaoAiQBz0Oo9okxu0OBEsB1IXjJ6KNppVVJ1YgeunS5Aa4tiB0A_z4zmIr5nY7avc=s640" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="An Avro Lancaster and its crew on 11 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="410" data-original-width="640" height="410" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh6P4kgkOenLZp_jhwv3ypsGMRD9Pu8jkg4RhbXjKJgmWwnPQ9A7N2nyPADd-ZsTJ8p4IoQmf5v7m7JSKh0J-C_muol9j9zOqjkB3U_awqYZYaoBULZaSQUih8WaoAiQBz0Oo9okxu0OBEsB1IXjJ6KNppVVJ1YgeunS5Aa4tiB0A_z4zmIr5nY7avc=w640-h410" title="An Avro Lancaster and its crew on 11 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An Avro Lancaster and the personnel and equipment needed to keep it flying. This photograph was taken at Scampton, Lincolnshire, on 11 June 1942. © IWM <a href="https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205210717" target="_blank">CH 15362</a>.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>German Military:</b> Adolf Hitler issues Führer Directive 32. It sets out operations to be undertaken after the defeat of the Soviet Union, including the capture of Gibraltar with or without Spain's cooperation and resumption of the "siege of England." It is a curious mixture of far-sighted planning and mundane objectives such as the capture of Tobruk. It presupposes the quick defeat of the USSR in the coming Case Blue summer offensive and, like many of Hitler's grand strategies, assumes launch conditions that do not yet exist.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>U.S. Military: </b>With the threat to the U.S. west coast vastly reduced due to the Japanese defeat at Midway, the 97th Bombardment Group deployed for emergency purposes on the coast is transferred back to New England for eventual movement to join the Eighth Air Force in Great Britain.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Holocaust: </b>Adolf Eichmann holds a meeting for his underlings controlling Jewish Affairs in France, Belgium, and Holland. This meeting sparks a systemic deportation scheme for Jewish residents of those areas to the extermination camps in the East that affects tens of thousands of people.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>German Homefront: </b>Michael Kitzelmann, 26, is executed at Orel Prison after being court-martialed and convicted of crimes against the state. Kitzelmann, a Wehrmacht lieutenant, was denounced by a sergeant for saying things that "undermined the military." He was in a hospital being treated for wounds when the allegations against him were made, but apparently, he made them previously while serving on the Eastern Front. The statements apparently concerned certain atrocities that Kitzelmann witnessed against the Russian population. While Kitzelmann became outspoken, he also had earned the Iron Cross Second Class and the Wound Badge in Gold.</div><div><br /></div><div>TheGerman Bundestag rehabilitated Kitzelmann on 8 September 2009. A plaque in his memory is at the Johann-Michael-Sailer-school in Dillingen an der Donau.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>American Homefront:</b> The New England Journal of Medicine <a href="https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM194206112262404" target="_blank">reports a case of "internal anthrax,"</a> which is considered quite novel because the vast majority of cases are of the cutaneous type. The patient died after showing progressively worse symptoms and a full autopsy was performed. Penicillin, still in its experimental phase, will become the accepted treatment for anthrax in 1944. </div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhzY0EwyY8VMI1z51VUqO9H7pAiLb9cBqizn6ubP81_UZSXe-fL1cDa7picXCuPK7yaWQNxEQ9m-qjpK_uq79XefahwDJ7h9irZWwtpbN0fXiukDQRsFPzg0CNcD3tpbO7XDFxv5TBUzlbmHsFqnWRvw5Szhm1E_vnLzVM_-hGcN2hZyJDs3nXzgmR3=s877" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="German Signal magazine from June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="877" data-original-width="640" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhzY0EwyY8VMI1z51VUqO9H7pAiLb9cBqizn6ubP81_UZSXe-fL1cDa7picXCuPK7yaWQNxEQ9m-qjpK_uq79XefahwDJ7h9irZWwtpbN0fXiukDQRsFPzg0CNcD3tpbO7XDFxv5TBUzlbmHsFqnWRvw5Szhm1E_vnLzVM_-hGcN2hZyJDs3nXzgmR3=w468-h640" title="German Signal magazine from June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="468" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Signal magazine, June 1942.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span class="updated">2021</span>
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4010278260980683606.post-64844741632442111242021-11-26T10:03:00.008-07:002022-08-21T11:50:57.623-07:00June 10, 1942: Germans Destroy Town of Lidice to Retaliate for Heydrich Assassination<div itemscope="" itemtype="https://schema.org/Thing"><h1>Wednesday 10 June 1942</h1><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhSqGUhAlYjQtbpaEggFFkNFw04RH3R29j-8H8DvumTTcqdfLeYZHlUZVtB-mxSEDgGMtoNnkar1qJpSz8Zq6mvXCtK3h1HAZ9o3Dg1GdbUj2WdhSJ_v2kjYRVfiH70F_ciXVeWZSeKqTHoNOEthz7c_K3MAmmc1FRxWkOaGozP9pJdtgijun_CLh3C=s640" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img alt="Elephants rescuing refugees in Burma, 10 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="640" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhSqGUhAlYjQtbpaEggFFkNFw04RH3R29j-8H8DvumTTcqdfLeYZHlUZVtB-mxSEDgGMtoNnkar1qJpSz8Zq6mvXCtK3h1HAZ9o3Dg1GdbUj2WdhSJ_v2kjYRVfiH70F_ciXVeWZSeKqTHoNOEthz7c_K3MAmmc1FRxWkOaGozP9pJdtgijun_CLh3C=w640-h384" title="Elephants rescuing refugees in Burma, 10 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A still from a film taken by Gyles Mackrell, the tea planter who used elephants to save refugees in Burma. (Source: Cambridge University/PA).</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><div><b>Eastern Front:</b> Army Group South begins Operation Wilhelm, a short envelopment across the Donets River east of Kharkov, on <b itemprop="name">10 June 1942</b>. This is not the opening of the main summer offensive, but just a preliminary attack to improve the launching pad for Case Blue. The offensive launches in rainy weather when III Panzer Corps captures two bridges across the Burluk River and turns upstream. The VIII Corps attacks north of Volchansk, taking three bridges on the Donets and bypassing Volchansk on the northeast.</div><div><br /></div><div>While Army Group South commander Field Marshal Fedor von Bock calls the day's results "gratifying" and General Halder notes the attack has "started off well," the rain slows down the tanks and disrupts the tight timeline. Only the infantry keeps trudging along. The plan is for Sixth Army's VIII Corps to turn south once east of Volchansk to meet First Panzer Army's III Panzer Corps heading up from the south. Speed is of the essence, both because this is only one of a sequence of operations on the docket that all depend on each other's success and because the Germans want to trap the Soviet 28th Army west of the pincers before it can escape to the east.</div><div><br /></div></div><div>Meanwhile, General Erich von Manstein's siege of Sevastopol continues to stumble. The Red Army forces in the port launch a counterattack today that is stopped with the heavy assistance of the Luftwaffe dropping anti-personnel bombs on them. No Axis progress at all is made in the south, where the 30th Corps is stopped by the 109th Rifle Division. Soviet defenses on the Sapun Ridge (Sapun-gora) prove highly resistant to Axis attacks. The German bright spot is in the north, where the 132d Infantry Division clears the Haccius Ridge, while the Soviets hold the Maxim Gorky fort only due a fierce defense put up by the Soviet 1st Battalion of the 241st Rifle Regiment.</div><div><br /></div><div>At Fuhrer Headquarters, General Halder has a lot to say today, mostly coming across as a pundit who has no personal stake or influence on what he is describing, like a football announcer who has no impact on what he is saying:</div><div></div><blockquote><div>Notwithstanding heavy enemy counterattacks, good progress at Sevastopol. It appears that the enemy has moved artillery and infantry from the southern sector to the threatened northern sector; the attack tomorrow, therefore, is to be launched with maximum surprise.</div><div></div></blockquote><div>In other words, the initiative is no longer completely in German hands. In any event, the whole campaign in Crimea is a sideshow and is not expected to have a significant effect on the larger war.</div><div><br /></div><div>The stress is getting to Luftwaffe commander General Wolfram von Richthofen. He becomes obsessed that there will be "friendly fire" incidents on Kriegsmarine ships and submarines. The commander of the German Black Sea Fleet (<i>Admiral Schwarzes Meer</i>) Vice-Admiral Friedrich Götting obligingly orders ships to sport prominent large Swastika flags as identification.</div><div><br /></div><div>However, this good-faith gesture does not mollify Richtofen. <i>Konteradmiral </i>(Rear-Admiral) Robert Eyssen then sends Götting a message:</div><div><div></div></div><blockquote><div><div>As it is impossible always to be informed if and when submarines and light forces of the German and Italian navies are in Crimean waters, Commanding General, 8th Air Corps [von Richthofen], has given orders prohibiting his planes from making any attacks whatsoever on any submarines or light forces, including Russian vessels in the entire Black Sea.</div></div><div></div></blockquote><div>This is a strange situation, as there haven't been any friendly-fire incidents involving the ships. It leaves everyone but Richthofen shaking their heads. Götting is confused and exclaims:</div><div></div><blockquote><div>There is no valid reason why these air attacks on submarines and light forces should be prohibited in the whole Black Sea area, as at present the German and Italian E-boats and submarines are only operating in the Crimean area.</div><div></div></blockquote><div>Working behind von Richthofen's back, Götting then has Eyssen discreetly talk the matter over with the commander of Luftwaffe planes operating out to sea and not near Sevastopol where mistakes are likeliest, General Wolfgang von Wild. Eyssen and Von WIld privately agree that the prohibition makes no sense. Von Wild agrees to disobey this clear order and continue air attacks at sea (which the Kriegsmarine wants) outside of a small zone near Sevastopol.</div><div><br /></div><div>This is a classic case of how these types of matters are handled in the Wehrmacht, technically insubordinate but just adapting to reality. It happens more and more as the war goes on, Wehrmacht fortunes deteriorate, and the German situation does not match up with Adolf Hitler's perception of reality.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgX14moo8L-ps3sV1VvqGAsFMJzXBF2-CLywK6x5A_Za2Vp6zZPj-k0b5CwltQM5gdUXGEdbVe_aSYb32fmd1Cj3scfCoN0y_uNBGrTEXOQvF6hFwVBtZIY97rxab8VGxjbL_QaVPCyoHMKmd19VQSamPYmnI_0mB8AoerXEHkQFjTtHFEA3m1uOvEm=s640" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Sunken Soviet ship at Sevastopol, 10 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="343" data-original-width="640" height="344" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgX14moo8L-ps3sV1VvqGAsFMJzXBF2-CLywK6x5A_Za2Vp6zZPj-k0b5CwltQM5gdUXGEdbVe_aSYb32fmd1Cj3scfCoN0y_uNBGrTEXOQvF6hFwVBtZIY97rxab8VGxjbL_QaVPCyoHMKmd19VQSamPYmnI_0mB8AoerXEHkQFjTtHFEA3m1uOvEm=w640-h344" title="Sunken Soviet ship at Sevastopol, 10 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Abkhaziya after the 10 June 1942 Luftwaffe attack.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>Luftwaffe Junkers Ju-88 bombers catch Soviet passenger/ cargo ship Abkhaziya at port in Sevastopol and sink it. Eight people lose their lives. The ship is raised after the war and broken up. The bombers also sink Soviet destroyer Svobodny (or Svobodney) at the south bay at Sevastopol. Svobodny has a crew of 271, but casualties are unknown.</div><div><br /></div><div>Operation Kreml, a Wehrmacht deception campaign, shifts into high gear today. Army, corps, and division staffs begin holding meetings to discuss resuming the offensive toward Moscow by 1 August. The Luftwaffe also increases reconnaissance flights over Moscow and surrounding areas. Only the top people such as chiefs of staff and branch chiefs know the entire concept of an offensive toward Moscow is a complete sham and that the true orientation of the summer offensive is toward Stalingrad.</div><div><br /></div><div>Operation Wilhelm, a Sixth Army operation near Izyum, begins today. It is a shallow pincer movement across the Burluk River intended to trap Soviet forces and set the stage for Case Blau. This minor local offensive is sometimes grandly styled as the beginning of the German summer offensive, but it is more a local, preliminary operation to secure a better launching pad for the main offensive. The operational plan is for VIII Corps in the north (south of Belgorod) to meet up with III Panzer Corps (east of Chuguyev/Kharkov) near Belyy Kolodez. A quick look at the map shows that the Germans have further to travel north and south than to the east, giving the Soviet forces plenty of time to escape the jaws of the pincer - which is exactly what happens.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgQDyD-w8IftadhoHk6FLZmSZ9wv4DikHuJ8SzydmaGs8j4zKwYKW9yWGCcX1FQo2iBQ0LhCajeWsC5JTkBLe3ZwQOi2Ehqqu6jH5CnDW-vbqfHjdlBBPEU6MojGlyM_l2upXY7gjkDEOs4KNnsakUFJCXW39Vzlo9hpgtpZN2_BuuK0Iu-7HjxVdFg=s640" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="USS West Virginia at Pearl Harbor, 10 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="521" data-original-width="640" height="522" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgQDyD-w8IftadhoHk6FLZmSZ9wv4DikHuJ8SzydmaGs8j4zKwYKW9yWGCcX1FQo2iBQ0LhCajeWsC5JTkBLe3ZwQOi2Ehqqu6jH5CnDW-vbqfHjdlBBPEU6MojGlyM_l2upXY7gjkDEOs4KNnsakUFJCXW39Vzlo9hpgtpZN2_BuuK0Iu-7HjxVdFg=w640-h522" title="USS West Virginia at Pearl Harbor, 10 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">USS West Virginia (BB-48) is shown still in a Pearl Harbor drydock getting its damage from the 7 December 1941 raid repaired. Photo was taken 10 June 1942. In a few months, it will sail to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard for permanent repairs. (US Navy). </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>Battle of the Pacific:</b> The Imperial Japanese Navy today reports the results of the Battle of Midway to the military liaison conference in deliberately vague terms in order to not lose face after its staggering losses there. Admiral Chūichi Nagumo is not present and will not submit a detailed report until 15 June. The main Japanese goal now is to hide the results of the defeat as completely as possible, and elaborate steps are planned to do this once the fleet returns to Japan.</div><div><br /></div><div>As part of this deception campaign, Tokyo radio today grandly announces the unopposed occupation of Attu and Kiska in the Aleutians as a "great victory." US Patrol Wing 4 is flying patrols over the two islands and now knows that they are occupied, but this silly broadcast could have given the US significant information under slightly different circumstances. In any event, this is an example of the blatant propaganda of World War II. Just to be fair, the Allies sometimes hide their own losses as long as possible, too (see, for example, the sinking of HMS Barham, sunk on 25 November 1941), but this takes disinformation that is not outright lying (what is broadcast is reasonably accurate, it's just the emphasis and omissions that make this pure deception) to another level.</div><div><br /></div><div>Some practical steps based on the failed tactics of the battle are taken. From now on, returning planes will be refueled and re-armed on the flight deck rather than taken below to the hangars. All unused fuel lines are to be drained in order to reduce the chance of catastrophic fires. New carrier designs are prepared to incorporate only two flight deck elevators, which proved to be a severe vulnerability of the old designs. Enhanced training in damage control and firefighting is mandated, but this is commonly seen as "unheroic" and instituted more in theory than actual practice. </div><div><br /></div><div>The Japanese reaction is understandable and does contain some good ideas, but the Japanese economy cannot replace the losses with nearly the capability of US industry. It is a classic case of "shutting the barn door after the horses have escaped." Training of replacement pilots must be accelerated, and this causes a drop in quality right when USAAF pilots are benefiting from their combat experience. The experienced crews, meanwhile, become overworked and dispirited, adding to the problems. The ships can and will be replaced, but the veteran pilots cannot.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Japanese practice of mistreating prisoners that has permeated the war in the Pacific to date continues. While the Japanese attempt to cover their tracks carefully, they savagely execute the three U.S. Navy airmen taken prisoner during the battle in medieval style. Two are killed by tieing them to water-filled gasoline cans and then throwing them overboard.</div><div><br /></div><div>Fifth Air Force raids Rabaul, bombing airfields and buildings.</div><div><br /></div><div>In Sydney Harbour, Australian authorities use a crane to raise mini-submarine M-21 from the depths. Four Japanese crew members of the submarines are <a href="https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/48869769">cremated and buried</a> today with full naval honors at the Eastern Suburbs Crematorium.</div><div><br /></div><div>Convoy OC 1, the first from Melbourne to Newcastle, begins today. This is part of tightened control over commercial sea traffic around Australia as a result of the Japanese attacks at Sydney Harbour and elsewhere.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEie3YK4_yAJYU2XTip9pfr4xvx2YOpKkLCQTfPT_8hzRNO-aXSUE-CNsKzsIw40z9C8lckb6cpIQN3M8Xp2LtzIC-G6WdgB5LA4Cf2ZL0q6XBa6C_rsyVXjkYnZ_Q4lemQ9b1G0CDaNzgjzRIkbpfASxxqWbJkxTs90b2f9wsUd3ny7Q11GCD6esiTw=s640" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="USRaising a sunken Japanese mini-submarine at Sydney Harbor, 10 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="486" data-original-width="640" height="486" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEie3YK4_yAJYU2XTip9pfr4xvx2YOpKkLCQTfPT_8hzRNO-aXSUE-CNsKzsIw40z9C8lckb6cpIQN3M8Xp2LtzIC-G6WdgB5LA4Cf2ZL0q6XBa6C_rsyVXjkYnZ_Q4lemQ9b1G0CDaNzgjzRIkbpfASxxqWbJkxTs90b2f9wsUd3ny7Q11GCD6esiTw=w640-h486" title="USRaising a sunken Japanese mini-submarine at Sydney Harbor, 10 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A floating crane raising mini-submarine No. 21 in Sydney Harbour, 10 June 1942. Source: Australian War Memorial <a href="https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/305088" target="_blank">30588</a>.</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div><b>Battle of the Indian Ocean:</b> Gyles Mackrell, a 53-year-old British tea exporter in the Indian provinces of Assam, uses about 20 elephants with Indian drivers <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/nov/01/elephant-man-gyles-mackrell-invasion-burma" target="_blank">to rescue at least 68 Burmese refugees</a> (his own claim in his diary) or perhaps over 200 people (modern scholarship) fleeing the Japanese invaders across the treacherous Daphna River (swollen by monsoon rains) to India. Some are trapped on an island in the middle of the river that later washes away after the rescue. The elephants must walk more than 100 miles to even reach the river. The operation continues through the summer in spite of an order from British authorities to end it. Mackrell becomes known as "The Elephant Man" and is awarded the George Medal.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>European Air Operations: </b>The weather is 7/10th Cumulus clouds at 1500 feet (meters), so missions for the day are mostly scrubbed. The pilots spend the day watching combat films by Station Intelligence and the men find other ways to occupy themselves.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiQdHcRCkmcTnNH3AuFgx5vIX08kvXRNHiIUsK7b6rvbku5gk0tHCfwaRsm8bNfHkRnyTA9JtqhcwCR4diOhrcWvXeUkArntngYvNox3qr3LiLw2-o8NoVS-70KHmZWWSMj1stV51rVT5iu0IJkLB-JeKJU-f6HMHPsiPD1ls9iHqoYoS8Qq9mNfFTX=s640" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="SS Surrey, sunk by U-68 on 10 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="438" data-original-width="640" height="438" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiQdHcRCkmcTnNH3AuFgx5vIX08kvXRNHiIUsK7b6rvbku5gk0tHCfwaRsm8bNfHkRnyTA9JtqhcwCR4diOhrcWvXeUkArntngYvNox3qr3LiLw2-o8NoVS-70KHmZWWSMj1stV51rVT5iu0IJkLB-JeKJU-f6HMHPsiPD1ls9iHqoYoS8Qq9mNfFTX=w640-h438" title="SS Surrey, sunk by U-68 on 10 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">SS Surrey, sunk by U-68 on 10 June 1942, under way.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>Battle of the Atlantic: </b>U-68 (KrvKpt. Karl-Friedrich Merten), on its fourth patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks three British freighters, 8581-ton Surrey, 5025-ton Ardenvohr, and 5882-ton Port Montreal, all northeast of the Panama Canal.</div><div><br /></div><div>In the first action, Merten fires three torpedoes at Surrey, two of which hit, and one at Ardenvohr. Of the two ships, Ardenvohr sinks quicker, within about eight minutes. About 45 minutes after the first strikes on Ardenvohr, Merten fires a coup de grâce that fails to explode, and then a second that does. There is an unusual incident when Merten picks up a British seaman from Surrey found clinging to a buoy to rescue him, then finds a lifeboat and lets the man join his crewmates. There are a dozen dead and 55 survivors of Surrey and one dead and 70 survivors from Ardenvohr.</div><div><br /></div><div>Five or six hours later, Merten spots Port Montreal about 178 miles north of Cristobal, Panama. The ship's crew also spots U-68, but it is too late. As it turns to run, the freighter is hit by a torpedo in the stern and this causes it to sink fast. Merten describes it in his personal war diary as a lucky hit. It may have been luckier than that for the ship's crew, because Port Montreal is carrying 7500 tons of ammunition that could have created quite an explosion if the ship had been hit broadside. There are two dead and 86 survivors, who are picked up on 16 June by Colombian schooner Hiloa.</div><div><br /></div><div>U-94 (Oblt. Otto Ites), on its ninth patrol out of St. Nazaire, also makes a convoy attack and hits multiple ships, this time southeast of Cape Farewell. All three torpedoes strike, though it is unclear which ship got hit twice. In any event, both ships sink. The victims are two British freighters, 4855-ton Ramsay and 6147-ton Empire Clough. There are eight survivors and 40 dead on Ramsay and five dead and 44 survivors on Empire Clough. Survivors of the ships are picked up by Portuguese trawler Argus, escort destroyer HMS Vervain (K 190), and the escort destroyer HMS Dianthus (K 95).</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgj_jqefysIrsp1Lq5np3oz3VRSD94NrcgD6ZFRKD-Gnc8wC54MYJ7yyQ4tqJRHuYIUxdSv-QfUPBl2z49GlJdQgjxBn28R1xfPi6-4EFjB_1nKsspQ3cGV8kXhSh21ttgOSWe2zqsv_4MYExm5Zu3fTdKpuxn32Jv7syavb8nkihXrp5wBAp43IBDE=s800" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Allied soldiers enjoying a day at the club in Beirut on 10 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="611" data-original-width="800" height="488" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgj_jqefysIrsp1Lq5np3oz3VRSD94NrcgD6ZFRKD-Gnc8wC54MYJ7yyQ4tqJRHuYIUxdSv-QfUPBl2z49GlJdQgjxBn28R1xfPi6-4EFjB_1nKsspQ3cGV8kXhSh21ttgOSWe2zqsv_4MYExm5Zu3fTdKpuxn32Jv7syavb8nkihXrp5wBAp43IBDE=w640-h488" title="Allied soldiers enjoying a day at the club in Beirut on 10 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Original wartime caption: The British swimming club at Beirut is a popular rendezvous for both Free French and British forces." 10 June 1942. © IWM <a href="https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205612134" target="_blank">E 13191</a>.</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>U-129 (Kptlt. Hans-Ludwig Witt), on its fifth patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 4362-ton Norwegian freighter L.A. Christensen well east of Miami while en route from Durban to Philadelphia. The ship sinks within 12 minutes, but the crew has enough time to launch the lifeboats and all 31 crewmen survive. They are picked up after 12 hours by Norwegian freighter Bill. This is the first victory in a very successful cruise by U-129 during which it sinks over 40,000 tons of shipping.</div><div><br /></div><div>U-107 (Kptlt. Harald Gelhaus) is usually credited with the sinking of 2606-ton US freighter Merrimack about 60 miles from Cozumel Island, Mexico. I have my doubts, because my records show that U-107 is in between patrols on 10 June 1942, but it's possible. More likely in my view is that an unidentified Italian submarine did the deed. Anyway, most of the crew abandons ship in one overcrowded lifeboat (the other is destroyed by the explosion). Unfortunately, all in the boat perish when it is sucked into the freighter's still-spinning propeller. Other men, including the master, simply jump overboard and make it to rafts. This proves to be the more successful strategy. Overall, 31 crewmen survive and 43 perish, with the lucky men in the water spotted by a PBY Catalina and picked up by USS Borie (DD 215).</div><div><br /></div><div>Speaking of Italian submarines, Leonardo da Vinci uses its deck gun and a torpedo to sink 5483-ton Dutch freighter Alioth the ship is en route from Birkenhead to Capetown. I can't find a more precise location, but Italian submarines tend to operate south of the Mediterranean and often in the general vicinity of Sierra Leone. I'm guessing this was near Freetown. Everybody survives. This sinking is sometimes listed as occurring on 11 June 1942. Italian submarine captain records tend to be much spottier than their more precise and detailed Kriegsmarine counterparts.</div><div><br /></div><div>Soviet submarine D-3 ("Krasnovgardeyets") mysteriously sinks with all hands in Varangerfjord, Norway (at the most northeastern portion of Norway, north of Finland). One theory is that the submarine hit a mine.</div><div><br /></div><div>Norwegian 6049-ton freighter Haugarland hits a mine and sinks in the North Sea off Terschelling, Netherlands. The ship takes a day to sink, so this is usually listed as occurring on 11 June 1942.</div><div><br /></div><div>Royal Navy 96-ton drifter Groundswell, being used as minesweeper under the name Trusty Star, either hits a mine and sinks off Malta or is sunk there in an air raid. Either way, casualties are unknown.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhtkeRnygBfiQcdqGYUOSNyxKKYz4v5Q6Ny7PIZe6erMR1JPI2RxdYeA94z688GZcxjSHFNe7XI7pknBWg9GLwJKkcGXoUfLXfQbeb6v7LOOeQOpVu9Mmp3Je3vQdnoHk_o7z_6OOa6X-ayZvcP-cDLtufoqsXdVrqRRFE7n70JnkYN-y6hh-rjSN5H=s800" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="British Army war maneuvers near Sudbury on 10 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="797" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhtkeRnygBfiQcdqGYUOSNyxKKYz4v5Q6Ny7PIZe6erMR1JPI2RxdYeA94z688GZcxjSHFNe7XI7pknBWg9GLwJKkcGXoUfLXfQbeb6v7LOOeQOpVu9Mmp3Je3vQdnoHk_o7z_6OOa6X-ayZvcP-cDLtufoqsXdVrqRRFE7n70JnkYN-y6hh-rjSN5H=w638-h640" title="British Army war maneuvers near Sudbury on 10 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="638" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Universal carriers and infantry of 10th Battalion, Royal Berkshire Regiment advance 'under fire' during training near Sudbury in Suffolk, 10 June 1942." © IWM <a href="https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205198439" target="_blank">H 20536</a>. </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>Battle of the Mediterranean: </b>Fierce air battles continue above the fortress of Bir Hakeim, with the RAF's Desert Air Force flying more slightly more sorties than the Axis but also losing more planes. The Free French at Bir Hakeim begin retreating in small groups from Bir Hakeim during the early morning hours but continue to maintain the defense of the fortress throughout the day. The French are almost out of ammunition but manage to hold their lines against a determined Afrika Korps attack in the north. The Messmer and Lamaze units counterattack to restore the line, supported by Bren Gun Carriers, but expend their last mortar rounds during the day. The French are reduced to searching the corpses of their comrades for rifle ammunition.</div><div><br /></div><div>After dark, the French send sappers to clear mines from the western side of the fortress to open an escape route and General Kœnig drives out around 20:30 in a Ford ambulance driven by Susan Travers, the only (unofficial at this time) female member of the French Foreign Legion who is assigned tot he medical detail. Kœnig and Travers barely make it out in their bullet-ridden vehicle. A small force of the Foreign Legion remains behind at the fort to disguise the retreat.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Axis troops quickly get wind of this retreat and send up a flare, showing the column of French vehicles heading west and south. The 90th Light Division tries to block the road, but Kœnig orders the column to blast through, which it does during a wild mêlée in the dark. British troops of the 550 Company Royal Army Service Corps (RASC), escorted by the 2nd King's Royal Rifle Corps (KRRC) and the 2nd Rifle Brigade, assist the breakout from the south. Despite suffering many casualties, including the day's hero, Lamaze, Capitaine Charles Bricogne, and Lieutenant Dewey, most of the French manage to escape to British lines at Bir el Gubi. Foreign Legion commander Amilakhvari performs the sacrificial duty of remaining in command of a skeleton force holding out in the fortress.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>Everyone with a map can see that Tobruk is in danger, so the British ramp up their supply activities to the port. That leads to a great deal of activity along the convoy route and some Allied losses today.</div><div><br /></div><div>U-559 (Kptlt. Hans Heidtmann), on its eighth patrol out of Salamis, attacks two ships in Convoy AT-49 heading to Tobruk. At 04:56, Heidtmann attacks the convoy by firing three torpedoes and reports hits on a tanker and freighter. The former is 4681-ton Norwegian tanker Athene, which blazes for a full day before sinking due to its cargo of 600 tons of aviation fuel. There are 14 dead and 17 survivors. The latter ship is 5917-ton British oiler Brambleleaf, whose crew abandons ship and are picked up by RHS Vasilissa Olga (D 15) (seven dead and 53 survivors). Brambleleaf is towed to Alexandria, where it is used as an oil hulk until it suddenly sinks on 15 September 1944.</div><div><br /></div><div>U-81 (Kptlt. Friedrich Guggenberger), on its seventh patrol out of Salamis, torpedoes and sinks 2073-ton British freighter Havre in the same Tobruk convoy. There are 20 dead and 30 survivors, who are picked up by British armed trawler HMS Parktown.</div><div><br /></div><div>Operation Harpoon, another complicated convoy operation with British ships sailing from both ends of the Mediterranean to resupply Malta and British forces in Egypt, begins today. It is under the command of Admiral Vian on the Alexandria side and Admiral Curteis on the Gibraltar side. Some freighter sail independently, depending on the convoys to distract the Axis defenses.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEizcKr66ipdtTEdPDPHHKwyzNZ0EJVgFxnBA-Ygtrwppc6jPoTegw1tW2tASDLqrJS2iwl7DOeoVYWPlqbiQqZeAvrpkrqGmS5zf6ZUzll6WSS5pQjti3DPdaTP4UcuMXfqIIMnRUsXSyuJxWF-oqtYQYPRMygtZlWooUwGkoYSLD482N8DH0uiyWXo=s640" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="HMS Trusty Star, sunk on 10 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="353" data-original-width="640" height="354" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEizcKr66ipdtTEdPDPHHKwyzNZ0EJVgFxnBA-Ygtrwppc6jPoTegw1tW2tASDLqrJS2iwl7DOeoVYWPlqbiQqZeAvrpkrqGmS5zf6ZUzll6WSS5pQjti3DPdaTP4UcuMXfqIIMnRUsXSyuJxWF-oqtYQYPRMygtZlWooUwGkoYSLD482N8DH0uiyWXo=w640-h354" title="HMS Trusty Star, sunk on 10 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">HMS Trusty Star, sunk 10 June 1942, on the seafloor. Source: Gration, Dave, <a href="https://heritagemalta.org/" target="_blank">Heritage Malta</a>. </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>Partisans: </b>German and Ustaše authorities begin the Kozara Offensive, an attack against partisan forces around the mountain of Kozara in the former Yugoslavia. The Germans supply 15,000 soldiers and the Independent State of Croatia over 20,000. The Hungarians supply five monitor ships.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>As with most anti-partisan operations, the Kozara Offensive suffers from the difficulty of telling actual partisans from ordinary civilians. The mountainous, forested terrain also gives the defenders ample opportunities to take potshots at the advancing Axis forces from concealment. This leads to several times as many casualties on the Axis side. The partisan forces concentrate their units in the city of Široka Luka, with a major formation led by Josip Broz Tito. The Axis troops take many captives, but it is difficult to tell the partisans and civilians apart and the Germans wind up shipping them from Kozara to Sajmište concentration camp.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Applied Science:</b> The US Navy establishes Project Sail at NAS Quonset Point, Rhode Island. This program will perform airborne testing of Magnetic Anomaly Detection (MAD) and other advanced projects such as 10 cm radar.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>US/Soviet Relations:</b> Soviet Foreign Minister Molotov is in Washington, D.C., as the Allies attempt to iron over some differences in strategy. Stalin wanted an invasion of northwestern Europe in 1941, and Molotov now presses home the urgent need for one in 1942. However, President Franklin Roosevelt fobs him off with vague phrases and unenforceable "wishes" and "hopes" that it might happen. In fact, Roosevelt knows that the Joint Chiefs of Staff have no plans whatsoever for an invasion of France in 1942. Instead, they are beginning to look at North Africa as the place to start. As a sign of good faith and comity among allies despite their other disagreements, Secretary of State Cordell Hull and Foreign Minister Maxim Litvinov jointly sign a new Lend-Lease Agreement.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>US Military:</b> The second contingent of the 1st Armored Division arrives at Belfast on passenger ship Oriente. The division still does not have its full complement of tanks. Other soldiers from the 141st Armored Signals Company arrive on Dutchess of York, and the 47th Armored Medical Battalion arrives on SS North King.</div><div><br /></div><div><div><b>German Military:</b> Bernhard Woldenga, Geschwaderkommodore of JG 27, is promoted to a staff posting. The Luftwaffe often does this with officer pilots who are considered too valuable to lose in combat (Adolf Galland is the best example of this) or too vulnerable to keep flying for some reason. Woldenga is ill, so this case is probably the latter reason. Replacing him is Major Eduard Neumann replaces Woldenga, Hptm. Gerhard Homuth replaces Neumann as Gruppenkommandeur of I./JG 27, and Oblt. Hans-Joachim Marseilles replaces Homuth as Staffelkapitaen of 3./JG 27. This is quite a change of fate for Marseilles, who began his Luftwaffe career as a virtual outcast due to his unorthodox ways.</div></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhI5_daEsBmN1TJw8CbtSCjoOOdqtxsnV6SdM-0ppbA2wNG5wBm0nZ1VXKRg5U-7JbIDoc9nzAU2v8sXCQO8bhO3RNJ5jNtiT2BDBJWKTRW5kEqGRo_R5tQuZk_T_YW-qvcJQhGGdQQF1JGG-j0V9Q2cpfa5wfyJZPzrUfJx5BwIVrANx4xzQqMnI99=s640" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Germans destroy Lidice on 10 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="457" data-original-width="640" height="458" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhI5_daEsBmN1TJw8CbtSCjoOOdqtxsnV6SdM-0ppbA2wNG5wBm0nZ1VXKRg5U-7JbIDoc9nzAU2v8sXCQO8bhO3RNJ5jNtiT2BDBJWKTRW5kEqGRo_R5tQuZk_T_YW-qvcJQhGGdQQF1JGG-j0V9Q2cpfa5wfyJZPzrUfJx5BwIVrANx4xzQqMnI99=w640-h458" title="Germans destroy Lidice on 10 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">German occupation authorities blow up the town of Lidice, 10 June 1942. Source: <a href="https://www.lidice-memorial.cz/en/memorial/memorial-and-reverent-area/history-of-the-village-lidice/" target="_blank">Lidice Memorial</a>.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>German Homefront:</b> Having decided for spurious reasons that the Czech village of Lidice (20 km west of Prague) harbored the assassins of Reinhard Heydrich, <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/story-lidice-massacre-180970242/" target="_blank">the local authorities destroy the town</a>. The operation is savage and permanent. The town has 503 residents and all who are found are disposed of in some fashion. </div><div><br /></div><div>The Germans arrive right after midnight and herd all the villagers into the main square. The Germans shoot all 173-199 men aged 14 to 84 that they find at a local farmhouse and send 195 women to Ravensbrück concentration camp (four pregnant women are forced to have abortions and then are sent to the camp). Women who refuse to leave their husbands are shot with them. The women are not told what happened to their husbands. The Germans make a point of tracking down village residents who happen to be out of town that day and kill them, too. The authorities then destroy every building and even dig up the town cemetery. </div><div><br /></div><div>The men are stood in long rows and there they fall. The photos show them laid out in eerily precise order in rows outside the farmhouse awaiting burial. Inmates at local concentration camp Terezin are made to dig mass graves for the victims.</div><div><br /></div><div>Of the 95 children in Lidice, 81 are sent to Chelmno extermination camp in Łódź, Poland, to die, while eight or nine who have Germanic features are adopted by German families after first being brought to Puschkau, Poland, to learn German ways. In all, only 17 children survive the war. One of them, Václav Zelenka, later becomes mayor of the rebuilt town of Lidice.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Germans carefully the results of the operation. They show it proudly widely to illustrate to anyone thinking of challenging their rule what might happen to their homes, too. It becomes worldwide news and helps harden hearts against the Third Reich.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Germans also plan to destroy the smaller Czech village of Ležáky, which actually does have a connection to the Allies as evidenced by a forbidden radio transmitter belonging to Operation Silver A, a three-man Czech squad trained and inserted by the British SOE and RAF that is separate from, but assisted, Operation Anthropoid (the mission to assassinate Heydrich). All adults in Ležáky are to be killed and the leader of Silver A, Alfréd Bartoš, commits suicide.</div><div><br /></div><div>The two agents who assassinated Heydrich, Jozef Gabčík, Jan Kubiš, remain at large despite a massive German manhunt. They are being shuttled between safe houses provided by the Jindra group. Frustrated, the Germans have adopted a carrot-and-stick approach to this problem, offering a huge reward and threatening further savage reprisals if the men are not betrayed. This is being heard with receptive ears.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiBmIleP7Mu6BjXJ4CTjXSuLl-i5azLu4jd5nbB4XVe4k-xgsPOjwDozZnMuqtL6mCgbS1VMsSO7O9OeKy9T7BJOJiFcrtr2mXvIEhwiSVzHfBZ1S86w1TTYgHcdcmbZ9d-ENd8cEsA77hB1UWLy2kpzMJnrEWQL7box3siUYRvr_WPCNPPG31FGLYs=s678" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Jewish residents assembling at the Dneipr River for transport to concentration camps, 10 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="678" data-original-width="640" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiBmIleP7Mu6BjXJ4CTjXSuLl-i5azLu4jd5nbB4XVe4k-xgsPOjwDozZnMuqtL6mCgbS1VMsSO7O9OeKy9T7BJOJiFcrtr2mXvIEhwiSVzHfBZ1S86w1TTYgHcdcmbZ9d-ENd8cEsA77hB1UWLy2kpzMJnrEWQL7box3siUYRvr_WPCNPPG31FGLYs=w604-h640" title="Jewish residents assembling at the Dneipr River for transport to concentration camps, 10 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="604" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jewish inhabitants are assembled on the western bank of the Dneister River. They await deportation by Romanian authorities, who control the area based on ancient claims, to the Transnistria region across the river. <a href="https://www.yadvashem.org/holocaust/this-month/june/1942-3.html" target="_blank">Yad Vashem</a>.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>British Homefront: </b>As announced in the King's Birthday Honours on 5 June 1942, economist John Maynard Keynes receives a hereditary peerage. He acquires the title "Baron Keynes, of Tilton, in the County of Sussex," and now is entitled to sit in the House of Lords on the Liberal Party benches.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>American Homefront:</b> Congress gives final approval to the "Big Inch" pipeline. This will transport crude oil from its production site in Texas to the northeast. This has become necessary due to U-boat successes against tankers along the east coast of the United States.</div><div><br /></div><b>Future History: </b>Gordon Henry Burns is born in Belfast, Northern Ireland. He becomes a popular Northern Irish journalist and broadcaster. Notable jobs include serving as the host of "The Krypton Factor" from 1977-1995 and serving as the chief anchorman of the BBC regional news show "North West Tonight" from January 1997 to October 2011. Burns, who is the second cousin of popular British singer/songwriter Ed Sheeran, enters retirement in 2013.<br /><br />Ernest Preston Manning is born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. He becomes a member of Parliament for Calgary Southwest in 1993 under the Reform Party and leads the party until it is abolished in 2000. He then switches to the Canadian Alliance from 2000 to 2003 and has been in the Conservative Party since 2003.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj_vWAIKb3KtL3P0U9UYWe7TyXIVpEZDd12EnyjfYLEtRK4haAtKG7mJFDb3slPi8Zu2OsJZGiP46kfUM2_LfiYNRePi9eA-sNjVSe6iQuRPHY66pmXYtxWsTYOuukbFYp4glM_0fjxoDjoUgRb478KaZ_vwGKw5tkOvP3ORceGGgXvL7HNb1AvFizi=s640" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Allied soldiers at a swimming club in Beirut, Lebanon, 10 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="489" data-original-width="640" height="490" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj_vWAIKb3KtL3P0U9UYWe7TyXIVpEZDd12EnyjfYLEtRK4haAtKG7mJFDb3slPi8Zu2OsJZGiP46kfUM2_LfiYNRePi9eA-sNjVSe6iQuRPHY66pmXYtxWsTYOuukbFYp4glM_0fjxoDjoUgRb478KaZ_vwGKw5tkOvP3ORceGGgXvL7HNb1AvFizi=w640-h490" title="Allied soldiers at a swimming club in Beirut, Lebanon, 10 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Original wartime caption: A British and Free French soldier set out in search of another diversion from the British Swimming Club." 10 June 1942. © IWM <a href="https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205612136" target="_blank">E 13193</a>.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span class="updated">2021</span><br />
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4010278260980683606.post-6093049337995169892021-11-18T22:55:00.016-07:002021-11-27T05:51:20.383-07:00June 9, 1942: Nimitz Changes Strategy<div itemscope="" itemtype="https://schema.org/Thing"><h1>Tuesday 9 June 1942</h1><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjMoGkherfQ7GcTdHmwUZUNaMpFJtMBUtxXECX_6vE8tuQhlbE1DTLgJSN384046eTsxXDekn8JuDoRXrm1sEq2PMrA6rbhN1aFbjLhwRhZSBBgGn6B5Yb82MNLfLI_ObQ3RLdnIxnXJcxiXCJtJBBh0_ohOBoejQohHvIpGFMUd-BOYFi6hof53hQQ=s640" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Hitler at Reinhard Heydrich's funeral, 9 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="462" data-original-width="640" height="462" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjMoGkherfQ7GcTdHmwUZUNaMpFJtMBUtxXECX_6vE8tuQhlbE1DTLgJSN384046eTsxXDekn8JuDoRXrm1sEq2PMrA6rbhN1aFbjLhwRhZSBBgGn6B5Yb82MNLfLI_ObQ3RLdnIxnXJcxiXCJtJBBh0_ohOBoejQohHvIpGFMUd-BOYFi6hof53hQQ=w640-h462" title="Hitler at Reinhard Heydrich's funeral, 9 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Adolf Hitler at Reinhard Heydrich's funeral (Narodowe Archiwum Cyfrowe, <a href="https://audiovis.nac.gov.pl/obraz/36731/eae38d76af88c979084acf2115310347/" target="_blank">sygn. 2-13241</a>).</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>Battle of the Pacific:</b> Learning of the Japanese capture of Kiska on <b itemprop="name">9 June 1942</b>, Admiral Chester Nimitz cancels his orders to Admiral Jack Fletcher to take his three aircraft carriers (USS Enterprise, Hornet, and Saratoga) north to the Aleutians. Nimitz now does not want them exposed to Japanese land bombers operating from Kiska and Attu. This unknowingly frustrates a Japanese plan to ambush them with the reinforced fleet of Admiral Boshirō Hosogaya.</div><div><br /></div><div>Nimitz now is thinking offensively (as is General Douglas MacArthur in Melbourne, who submitted his own proposal for an advance led by the Army on <a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/11/june-8-1942-japanese-submarines-shell.html" target="_blank">8 June 1942</a>). He wants to keep his carrier force intact for a thrust due west across the central Pacific. This Nimitz and his team in Hawaii see as the main Allied strategy from now on. This is contrary to MacArthur's proposal to advance north from Australia, setting up a classic "turf war" between the US Army and Navy.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Japanese high command, despite the minor successes in the Aleutians, is reeling from the early June results at Midway. The solution is denial and a coverup. The Imperial Japanese Navy prepares a vague and unrealistic summary of the battle to the military liaison conference. Admiral Chūichi Nagumo takes his time preparing an accurate summary of Japanese losses. He remains completely unaware that the Americans knew his complete battle plan in May and thinks his force was only discovered on the 5th. The Japanese public is kept completely in the dark, with media focusing entirely on the Aleutians.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEio4slUWOzB6FQk16sZ2N8RM54XJJ4P_uBwj-3rrPK-F7hnjQ5k2WVjXIOKOXWxMYqXZMvl5r2P8H1LG6dPYYot6vvsVFptJNmq8-Doqkg2ukPJj_III0LoVYiJu7Sws6zMRcEC0xx8WDE753I2f0B7V87KZ4n8JkxI47ycogSC1GvcU8RK0eXQ7KBp=s640" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="The Swoose ferried LBJ to Port Moresby on 9 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="426" data-original-width="640" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEio4slUWOzB6FQk16sZ2N8RM54XJJ4P_uBwj-3rrPK-F7hnjQ5k2WVjXIOKOXWxMYqXZMvl5r2P8H1LG6dPYYot6vvsVFptJNmq8-Doqkg2ukPJj_III0LoVYiJu7Sws6zMRcEC0xx8WDE753I2f0B7V87KZ4n8JkxI47ycogSC1GvcU8RK0eXQ7KBp=w640-h426" title="The Swoose ferried LBJ to Port Moresby on 9 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Artwork depicting "The Swoose" on the B-17D aircraft that carried Lyndon Baines Johnson to Port Moresby on 8 June 1942. The aircraft is currently being restored in Dayton, Ohio (U.S. Air Force photo courtesy of the <a href="https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Visit/Museum-Exhibits/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/196864/boeing-b-17d-the-swoose/" target="_blank">National Museum of the United States Air Force</a>).</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><a href="https://worldwartwo.filminspector.com/2014/04/us-presidents-at-war.html" target="_blank">Navy Reserve Lieutenant Lyndon B. Johnson, the future President</a>, makes an aerial inspection tour from his location in Townsville, Australia. Johnson already has had an interesting time Down Under, having <a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/06/may-22-1942-af-is-midway.html" target="_blank">helped to quell a mutiny by African-African troops on 22 May 1942</a>. The B-26 Marauder flying the mission has engine trouble after departing from Port Moresby and has to return to base, but the USAAF 19th Bombardment Squadron of the 22nd Bomber Group completes its mission (flying from Townsville to Port Moresby for refueling) to bomb Lae, New Guinea. The Port Moresby stage of the mission has to be delayed for an hour to accommodate LBJ, who arrives from Townsville in General Brett's VIP B-17D "The Swoose." </div><div><div><br /></div><div>The mission is hazardous even though Johnson misses out on the actual bombing run. LBJ narrowly escapes death because he switches bombers at the last minute due to a pilot change, and the plane he leaves crashes into the sea off Salamaua, killing everyone on board. LBJ then also escapes potential harm when the B-17 on the flight back to Townsville gets lost and almost runs out of fuel. It has to make an emergency landing at remote Carisbrooke Station near Winton. This B-17D, incidentally, survives and is the property of the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. The strange sequence of events results in General MacArthur awarding Johnson a Silver Star, the Army's third-highest decoration. Johnson soon after heads back to D.C. in accordance with FDR's requirement that all members of Congress return to their legislative duties. He remains in the US Naval Reserve until January 1964.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Japanese complete their occupation of the Philippines and declare it secure.</div></div><div><br /></div><div>US 24-ton freighter Husky founders two miles off Cape Constantine in Nushagak Bay, Aleutian Islands. Everyone survives.</div><div><br /></div><div>US submarine USS Trout (SS-202) picks up two survivors of the sunken Japanese heavy cruiser Mikuma.</div><div><br /></div><div>There is fierce fighting near the town of Chuhsien, China. Both sides take heavy casualties.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjMqtqPStjNYBET6T6Ak9TmJDZElu4jRkTCrLCqxWP-LpsWQwanyMcT8DtSUcCH2pCvtE-tt0VbgHKEpqfvs5viO_2RMxMzonaJX5tDu-cvfDo-L1DgzYH1OjvHYyNzO9_f-2ixpQuhMojsi8BOXqdVkb7JWdLYXrvJpRwhv1pk0bqTGMFlcP-Ydvk1=s640" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="B-17 crash site in New Zealand, 9 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="414" data-original-width="640" height="414" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjMqtqPStjNYBET6T6Ak9TmJDZElu4jRkTCrLCqxWP-LpsWQwanyMcT8DtSUcCH2pCvtE-tt0VbgHKEpqfvs5viO_2RMxMzonaJX5tDu-cvfDo-L1DgzYH1OjvHYyNzO9_f-2ixpQuhMojsi8BOXqdVkb7JWdLYXrvJpRwhv1pk0bqTGMFlcP-Ydvk1=w640-h414" title="B-17 crash site in New Zealand, 9 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crash site of a B-17 near Whenuapai Aerodrome, Auckland, New Zealand, 9 June 1942. All 11 men on board are killed (Archives New Zealand Reference: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/archivesnz/35018397501" target="_blank">ADQA 17211 AIR1 572 25/2/588</a>).</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>Battle of the Indian Ocean:</b> The Japanese Divine Dragon Operation No. 2 submarine force, in which the Japanese high command placed high hopes, remains operational in the Mozambique Channel. However, it is now clear to the local commanders that the operation now has turned into a standard submarine patrol and that initial plans to target the British Far Eastern Fleet are obsolete. Accordingly, Lieutenant Commander Otani Kiyonori of I-18 has his men destroy and jettison mini-submarine M-18b, effectively ending the operation.</div><div><br /></div><div>Around this time, British divers discover the remains of M-20b, which carried out the most successful attack at Diego Suarez. It is sitting upright on a reef in heavy surf (remnants remain there to this day). They salvage the propellers, now on display at the gravesite of its occupants, Lieutenant (j.g.) Akieda Saburo and POIC Takemoto Masami. They were killed on <a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/09/june-2-1942-german-artillery-barrage-on.html" target="_blank">2 June 1942</a> by a British patrol on the mainland while attempting to rendezvous with I-20.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Japanese have not given up on the Indian Ocean by any means. On <a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/10/june-5-1942-last-moments-of-admiral.html" target="_blank">5 June 1942</a>, auxiliary cruisers Aikoku Maru and Hokoko Maru caught 6757-ton British passenger ship Elysia 350 miles northeast of Durban. They torpedoed it, and today it sinks, causing 22 deaths. </div><div><br /></div><div>Battleship HMS Ramillies, previously damaged by a Japanese mini-submarine in late May 1942, arrives in Durban for repairs accompanied by light cruiser Emerald and three destroyers. The damage ultimately will require a return to the UK at Portsmouth on 8 September that will last until the summer of 1943.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhi_eawVNs68V1iX58TOst42bUdu2e-aRJI8RJst28s72h8yOHK80MwhiXgLHB98jIasL0XC9dfcaFPtZ4TNngLFil6g8_aJETdwuDxow1fhbO0I9ui3bvhZ3Za1TDnQN5YhSXDZchapdn8SwOKuPCmtTKcvzPx_mHSVx3QNZSVSB5ppO5NYdrwEjKF=s640" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="A new recruit for the Royal Navy, age 62, 9 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="482" data-original-width="640" height="482" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhi_eawVNs68V1iX58TOst42bUdu2e-aRJI8RJst28s72h8yOHK80MwhiXgLHB98jIasL0XC9dfcaFPtZ4TNngLFil6g8_aJETdwuDxow1fhbO0I9ui3bvhZ3Za1TDnQN5YhSXDZchapdn8SwOKuPCmtTKcvzPx_mHSVx3QNZSVSB5ppO5NYdrwEjKF=w640-h482" title="A new recruit for the Royal Navy, age 62, 9 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A new recruit, age 62, joins the Royal Navy, 9 June 1942. ""Owd Bob" drawing his petty officer's rig on board the Armed Merchant Cruiser Depot ship HMS MERSEY. Behind him is Tommy Harding, age 18, another new entry who volunteered for this special naval service." © IWM <a href="https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205142728" target="_blank">A 8807</a>.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>Eastern Front:</b> German General Erich von Manstein's assault on Sevastopol has shown signs of turning into a battle of attrition, exactly what he didn't want. The priority is to take Sevastopol before the Case Blue offensive on the main front begins, and that now is looking doubtful. Luftwaffe General Wolfram von Richtofen begins changing attack priorities from assisting the front-line troops to attacking Soviet supply lines, a bad sign that the plan is faltering. The Luftwaffe is fully committed, flying 1044 sorties and dropping 954 tons of bombs, putting a strain on men, equipment, and logistics.</div><div><br /></div><div>However, the German offensive is not dead, not by any means. General Franz Halder, remaining in East Prussia while the Fuhrer attends the Reinhard Heydrich funeral (see below), comments:</div><div></div><blockquote><div>At Sevastopol, good progress despite strong enemy counter-attacks. Otherwise, all quiet. Army Group Center reports breakout of Cavalry Corps Belov to the south.</div><div></div></blockquote><div>Halder does have his own grips about the Storfang operation. Writing about a meeting during the day with General Buhle, he comments acidly, "Report on Sevastopol. My suspicion that the Artillery Command is not of the best is confirmed."</div><div><div><br /></div><div>The Red Navy is doing what it can to help its comrades ashore. Early in the morning, Soviet destroyers spot Axis mini-submarines operating from Yalta on their radar screens and unsuccessfully attack them. This new development induces Vice-Admiral Oktyabrskii to order his naval captains to concentrate less on offshore gunfire support of the army and more on keeping the sea lanes to Sevastopol clear. He also tells them to switch to area fire rather than targeted fire and cuts back on the number of surface vessel supply missions. This forces an increase in submarine supply missions. While they don't know it, the Axis mini-submariners thus achieve a tactical victory without sinking a single ship.</div><div><br /></div></div><div>LIV Corps continues to make slow progress in the north, assisted greatly by an intense artillery bombardment laid down by the biggest guns ever used in combat. The 132nd Infantry clears a key obstacle, the Haccius Ridge, and the 22nd Infantry Division destroys the elite Soviet 79th Naval Infantry Brigade.</div><div><br /></div><div>General Paulus' Sixth Army counterattacks against Red Army forces in the Kharkov sector. Paulus has plenty of troops because Sixth Army is fated to lead the Case Blue offensive toward Stalingrad. During this attack, Uffz. Wilhelm Crinius of 3./JG 53 shoots down two Soviet Il-2 Shturmovik ground-attack planes for his first two victories.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>European Air Operations: </b>Weather is poor on the Channel Front, with 10/10ths cloud cover down to 1500 feet and getting worse as the day proceeds.</div><div><br /></div><div>A Polish squadron raids Essen. British Wellington IV R1725 crashes into the North Sea, 20 km west of Texel, Netherlands, while en route to bomb Essen. All six crewmen perish. Another Wellington targeting Essen, IV Z1412, is shot down by the nightfighter pilot Oblt. L.Fellerer of II/NJG 2. it crashlands on the beach 2 km west of St. Maartensvlotbrug. The five crewmen survive. A Wellington manages to make it back for a crashlanding after being attacked three times by Me-110 night fighters from below and astern, and the odds of survival are so iffy that the copilot bails out 20 miles west of Essen after the bombing run.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg5Xs9fZx6VSk7YwalemfbkjGEgDTx5o75fRQQmHdVnh9lNf_jd_3GXqkXzECvtFDyWrIkTou-otDiMDULYxgCLq2txRaeuVS5-HSAcWWY5uf5moCpPmipaUOujLK5bcaNHw2DKKs60zGG4hgnDgT9CRkFkShKoY6Zom3Qu3t3vUVWyVQG33YO9AkUm=s640" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="USAAF bombers in Alaska, June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="374" data-original-width="640" height="374" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg5Xs9fZx6VSk7YwalemfbkjGEgDTx5o75fRQQmHdVnh9lNf_jd_3GXqkXzECvtFDyWrIkTou-otDiMDULYxgCLq2txRaeuVS5-HSAcWWY5uf5moCpPmipaUOujLK5bcaNHw2DKKs60zGG4hgnDgT9CRkFkShKoY6Zom3Qu3t3vUVWyVQG33YO9AkUm=w640-h374" title="USAAF bombers in Alaska, June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"36th Bombardment Squadron LB-30 Liberator and a Boeing B-17E Fortress (41-9126) at Fort Glenn Army Air Base, Alaska, June 1942. 9126 was lost Aug 28, 1942." USAAF photo via Chloe, John Hale, (1984), Top Cover for America. the Air Force in Alaska. 1920–1983, Pictorial Histories Publishing Company, ISBN 0-933126-47-6.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>Battle of the Atlantic: </b>U-124 (Kptlt. Johann Mohr), on its ninth patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 940-ton French corvette FFL Mimosa (K11, Captain Roger R.L. Birot) 600 miles southeast of Cape Farewell in the British Isles. The Mimosa is an escort for Convoy ONS-100 and sinks within three minutes because the depth charges falling off the ship explode. The other escorts don't even notice the ship is missing until dawn breaks. There are 65-67 deaths and only four surviving French sailors, who are picked up by HMCS Assiniboine.</div><div><br /></div><div>U-502 (Kptlt. Jürgen von Rosenstiel), on its fourth patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes 6589-ton US tanker Franklin K. Lane 35-40 miles (65 km) northeast of La Guiara and Cape Blanco, Venezuela. It is scuttled by the British destroyer HMS Churchill. The ship, a member of Convoy TO-5, is carrying 73,000 barrels of crude oil to Aruba for processing. There are four deaths and 37 survivors.</div><div><br /></div><div>U-502 also gets another victim from the same convoy today, 5085-ton Belgian freighter Bruxelles. The ship manages to evade two torpedoes, but a third one blows a seven-meter (yard) hole in the side and the ship sinks within four minutes. The crew acts quickly and manages to launch lifeboats. Destroyer Churchill picks them up quickly. There are 53 survivors and one death.</div><div><br /></div><div>U-432 (Kptlt. Heinz-Otto Schultze), on its fifth patrol out of La Pallice, torpedoes and damages 7073-ton Norwegian freighter Kronprinsen of Convoy BX-23A south of Cape Sable. The ship is taken in tow and beached at West Pubnico, Nova Scotia. Ultimately, the ship is repaired and returned to service.</div><div><br /></div><div>U-432 also damages 8593-ton British freighter Malayan Prince with a torpedo that misses the Kronprinsen. The ship manages to remain with the convoy and is later repaired and returned to service in July 1942.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEihdYXwy-X7paDA1gOp2wFHtc9PmNvQgn6VbpGfeFf3qLTgNxQHOkLNZ2SxRpYh9PYlNQzKljFH43b65ulHKtrWrpS61ZANv7z7dO7ZWu2Tn5d8hZA3Y4WeGog4-BZgy27yl339hUwuWI-7v0CouoePjVNnm3cS1k36_DmXDy-9GoIi7Exb4SLtGNmv=s809" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="USS Southard at Mare Island, 9 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="809" data-original-width="640" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEihdYXwy-X7paDA1gOp2wFHtc9PmNvQgn6VbpGfeFf3qLTgNxQHOkLNZ2SxRpYh9PYlNQzKljFH43b65ulHKtrWrpS61ZANv7z7dO7ZWu2Tn5d8hZA3Y4WeGog4-BZgy27yl339hUwuWI-7v0CouoePjVNnm3cS1k36_DmXDy-9GoIi7Exb4SLtGNmv=w506-h640" title="USS Southard at Mare Island, 9 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="506" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Four-stack destroyer USS Southard (DMS-10), Mare Island, 9 June 1942. She has just been converted into a minesweeper (<a href="http://www.historyofwar.org/Pictures/pictures_USS_Southard_DMS10_1942.html" target="_blank">Rickard, J (15 September 2018), USS Southard (DMS-10), Mare Island, 9 June 1942)</a>.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>Battle of the Mediterranean: </b>Early in the morning, the Luftwaffe sends 20 Junkers Ju 88 and 40 Ju 87 Stukas escorted by 50 Bf 109 and Me 110 fighters against the Free French in Bir Hakeim. However, thick smoke and dust force them to turn back. A second attack around noontime by 124 Stukas and 76 Ju 88s, escorted by 168 Bf 109s, has more luck. During this attack, Oblt. Hans-Joachim Marseilles of 3./JG 27 downs four RAF planes.</div><div><br /></div><div>German artillery also opens up on the fortifications in the morning as General Erwin Rommel readies a final assault. After the planes and big guns have softened up the defenses, units of the 15th and 21st Panzer Divisions, the 90th Light Division, and Italian infantry launch a two-pronged attack.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rommel's objective is the "high ground" near the fortress, a small rise called Point 186. The Italian Trieste Division makes good progress, overrunning a reinforced French force that is hampered by supply issues. The German advance gains steam in the afternoon when the 15th Panzer breaches the French line in the center, forcing a desperate counterattack with Bren Carriers that succeeds. Oberstleutnant Ernst-Günther Baade leads the Rifle Regiment 115 to within 200 meters (yards) of the fortress by dusk.</div><div><br /></div><div>Overhead, the Luftwaffe establishes dominance due to previous losses in the RAF Desert Air Force despite frantic pleas for cover from French General Kœnig. The French are low on supplies and everyone can see the writing on the wall. British Major-General Frank Messervy, commander of the 7th Armoured Division, reports that a breakout should be attempted, and at 23:00 Kœnig signals for permission to evacuate the fortress. Lieutenant-General Neil Ritchie, commander of the 8th Army, replies that he'll prepare a thrust from the south but the fortress will have to hold out for another day or two. </div><div><br /></div><div>With water and ammunition running out and casualties mounting, Kœnig orders a breakout anyway. The French formation quickly loses coherence in the darkness and the Axis forces react quickly. The retreat turns into desperate hand-to-hand combat but does make progress into the early morning hours of the 10th.</div><div><br /></div><div>Italian Caproni bombers catch 1584-ton Swedish freighter Stureborg in the eastern Mediterranean and sink it with torpedoes and bombs. There are 20 deaths and only one survivor, whose raft reaches land near Gaza. Ten men in total started out on the raft but nine perished because it drifted for 19 days and they had no food or water.</div><div><br /></div><div>U-83 (Kptlt. Hans-Werner Kraus), on its eighth patrol out of Salamis, shells and sinks 175-ton Palestinian sailing ship Typhoon four miles southeast of Sidon, Lebanon. Everyone survives.</div><div><br /></div><div>RAF Catalinas of No. 240 Squadron sinks Italian submarine Zaffiro in the western Mediterranean southeast of Palma de Mallorca, Balearic Islands. There are no survivors.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhEoB3gVCS5fvX0GWcThub2kIV1afhkY5lD4w8ixY6tlTpE-riIPOPOIxyjTNGD3u_WLV0vwfN16ANis5hm3N9MerFpQkPdQvOMUJTDp0dvkIfpe9AWMIQ5k3Vv4nPA4yWR1KxJyt1wOc4ZN7kwnB276tzJYuIcNhVqriAU-pDG_I6ls0krHe3IgBuT=s640" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="USS Hammann survivors arrive at Pearl Harbor, 9 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="446" data-original-width="640" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhEoB3gVCS5fvX0GWcThub2kIV1afhkY5lD4w8ixY6tlTpE-riIPOPOIxyjTNGD3u_WLV0vwfN16ANis5hm3N9MerFpQkPdQvOMUJTDp0dvkIfpe9AWMIQ5k3Vv4nPA4yWR1KxJyt1wOc4ZN7kwnB276tzJYuIcNhVqriAU-pDG_I6ls0krHe3IgBuT=w640-h446" title="USS Hammann survivors arrive at Pearl Harbor, 9 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Survivors of the destroyer USS Hammann (DD-412), torpedoed and sunk on <a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/10/june-6-1942-japanese-invade-aleutian.html" target="_blank">6 June 1942</a> at the Battle of Midway, are brought ashore at Pearl Harbor, 9 June 1942 (Naval History and Heritage Command <a href="https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/our-collections/photography/wars-and-events/world-war-ii/midway/80-G-312064.html" target="_blank">80-G-312064</a>).</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>Joint Allied Planning: </b>The United States and British governments form the Combined Production and Resources Board. The purpose is to plan and coordinate production in each country to best serve war needs. It operates independently and competes with the Combined Munitions Assignment Board, which is under the jurisdiction of the Combined Chiefs of Staff. President Roosevelt's crony Harry Hopkins is the American leader behind the scenes, though Donald Nelson is the chair. </div><div><br /></div><div>While sometimes criticized as ineffective, the Board changes the military procurement process based on statistical analysis and perceived priorities. It provides some order to the former chaotic ordering system directly to industry used by the militaries of the respective countries. British representatives tend to feel the Board favors the US and prefer to exert their influence through the Munitions Board because they feel the Combined Chiefs give them more of an equal say. Canada feels left out and eventually is admitted to the Board as an equal partner. </div><div><br /></div><div>The real weakness of the Board is that its leaders don't really have much of an idea themselves of what the war effort needs or where the war is going until it is really too far along to matter. As the military strategy and objectives change - sometimes at the last minute - the Board must follow along and thus always is a step behind actual needs. Its findings also have to be implemented by the respective governments which may not necessarily agree completely with its decisions and thus may not treat them with a sense of urgency.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>US Military: </b>The Navy establishes a naval operating base at Kodiak, Alaska.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjnHmA40uTUZKksTiNgHJ7zj15TG7Ct8gfD57RbcjXTPE7lVApqPiHhKvLufRC5C850fWscvfHZfKoE1H1BlgYgpIhIjR4vtOYvFRn4Nj2Dse_pXIWL0SV8ia5mFwUgB8Vn9wyDAI0CbhTuGXd-vjQbzam9UzHHu8RTxexZTx-AV-YpTL2dRzfsOgAn=s741" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Heinrich Himmler leads the parade at the Reinhard Heydrich funeral, Berlin, 9 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="527" data-original-width="741" height="456" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjnHmA40uTUZKksTiNgHJ7zj15TG7Ct8gfD57RbcjXTPE7lVApqPiHhKvLufRC5C850fWscvfHZfKoE1H1BlgYgpIhIjR4vtOYvFRn4Nj2Dse_pXIWL0SV8ia5mFwUgB8Vn9wyDAI0CbhTuGXd-vjQbzam9UzHHu8RTxexZTx-AV-YpTL2dRzfsOgAn=w640-h456" title="Heinrich Himmler leads the parade at the Reinhard Heydrich funeral, Berlin, 9 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reichsfuhrer-SS Heinrich Himmler leads the procession at Reinhard Heydrich's Berlin funeral on 9 June 1942. Visible in the front row from left are Robert Ley, Karl-Hermann Frank, Erhard Milch, Sepp Dietrich, Sergeant Heinz Heydrich (Reinhard's younger brother), police chief Kurt Daluege (Heydrich's successor in Bohemia and Moravia), and Wilhelm Frick (Federal Archive Picture <a href="https://www.bild.bundesarchiv.de/dba/de/search/?channelid=dcx-channel-channel_barch_bilder&query=&day=9&month=6&yearfrom=1942&yearto=&imageid=&title=&farbe=&kostenfrei=&ausrichtung=&view=gallery&submit=" target="_blank">121-1344</a>).</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>German Homefront:</b> The government holds the second funeral for Reinhard Heydrich, who was shot by British agents on <a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/09/may-27-1942-heydrich-fatally-wounded-in.html" target="_blank">27 May 1942</a>. This second funeral is in Berlin (the first, on <a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/11/june-7-1942-manstein-attacks-sevastopol.html" target="_blank">7 June</a>, was in Prague). All of the top Reich officials attend, including Adolf Hitler and Hermann Goering. Hitler awards Heydrich the German Order, the highest honor in the Third Reich, posthumously. After the ceremony, <a href="https://worldwartwo.filminspector.com/2014/05/heinrich-himmler-hitlers-executioner.html" target="_blank">Heinrich Himmler</a> tells his subordinates to ramp up the Holocaust.</div><div><br /></div><div>Heydrich is interred in a plot at the Invalidenfriedhof in Berlin. The location, once well known, since the war has become secret to prevent fascist gatherings.</div><div><br /></div><div>Privately, Hitler blames Heydrich's own lax security precautions on his demise. He tells his cronies that a man as important to the war effort as Heydrich never should have been driving in an unguarded open-air car through streets filled with people. Hitler, of course, is (rightly) paranoid about his own personal security and routinely changes his routes and timing to frustrate would-be assassins. This already has saved his life at least once, when he evaded a bomb planted at the Munich Brown House (<i>Braunes Haus</i>) on 8 November 1939.</div><div><br /></div><div>Due to the Gestapo's mistaken belief that the Heydrich assassins operated from the town of Lidice, the local German authorities begin to obliterate it today. Today and tomorrow, they kill 199 men and deport 195 women to the Ravensbrück concentration camp. There are 95 children in the town, 81 of whom later perish at the Chelmno camp. Eight are adopted by German families. The German security forces also prepare to destroy the town of Ležáky.</div><div><br /></div><div>The two agents who assassinated Heydrich, Jozef Gabčík and Jan Kubiš, remain at large despite a massive German manhunt. The local authorities make it clear to the Czech people that if they are not turned over, more blood will be spilled. They also promise a bounty of a million Reichsmarks. Since everyone knows the German threats are not just empty words and Lidice is the proof, this reaches some receptive ears.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgmOREgYOi7mhzxYllcCd7igA0uIGeeTMHf6iAjRMG6WPE7MdmlvUA6isZAUMclTzbW9t3BYZC7Thk4o2aAPdvDoGyJi9vAsVYLyi5R47soang2TgJ7XcT3BzF_0hqU1T61o71GExbnUUc54elJKVbUMUSDcuobwkSCwFmjzDxYb7uc3BdVbK4dhwoM=s640" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Paddington Station, London, UK, 9 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="486" data-original-width="640" height="486" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgmOREgYOi7mhzxYllcCd7igA0uIGeeTMHf6iAjRMG6WPE7MdmlvUA6isZAUMclTzbW9t3BYZC7Thk4o2aAPdvDoGyJi9vAsVYLyi5R47soang2TgJ7XcT3BzF_0hqU1T61o71GExbnUUc54elJKVbUMUSDcuobwkSCwFmjzDxYb7uc3BdVbK4dhwoM=w640-h486" title="Paddington Station, London, UK, 9 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Platforms 2 and 3 of Paddington Station, London, UK, 9 June 1942 (Science & Society <a href="https://www.ssplprints.com/image/115983/paddington-station-london-9-june-1942" target="_blank">10442395</a>).</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>American Homefront:</b> Lord Louis Mountbatten, Chief of the British Commandos, arrived in Washington for tactical conversations with US officers. Also returning from London are Generals Dwight D. Eisenhower, Henry "Hap" Arnold, and Mark Clark.</div><div><br /></div><div>Ronald Reagan, who enlisted in the USAAF on <a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/04/march-15-1942-germans-take-kerch.html" target="_blank">15 May 1942</a> as a private, receives a transfer to become the public relations officer for the First Motion Picture Unit in Burbank, California, under director John Ford. In this role, Reagan will be instrumental in "discovering" a young aviation worker in Burbank who will turn into film star Marilyn Monroe. He ends the war with the rank of Captain.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Future History:</b> Heydrich's death leads to a series of prolonged court cases in the 1950s by his widow, Lina. She successfully argues to the West German government that she is entitled to a full pension as she widow of a German general. She writes a 1976 memoir, <i>Leben mit einem Kriegsverbrecher </i>(Living With a War Criminal), remarries, and passes away in 1985. Three of their four children survive the war.</div><div><br /></div><div>Raymond "Ossie" Clark is born in Warrington, Lancashire, England. He becomes a top fashion designer during the "Carnaby Street" height of British fashion in the Swinging Sixties. He passes away on 6 August 1996 after being stabbed by a former lover.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgPwSS38lynzx2P5Qm-FMCis64VAYZFDMK8aEi0ETotrCFL-hx3rpSc65MKSBdNYSB0I3eQZEMxgaAhaRBKeuTpgKVrYjynJqlsW99U2mDs3W3dCvbAF31GCM6QzCXb2N0yevILfxBT5tplhb62tRJvxKPbdloMAwrRTkqD4q5Y2Xyt4YvCf0n0z1em=s640" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Adolf Hitler speaks at the Reinhard Heydrich funeral, 9 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="454" data-original-width="640" height="454" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgPwSS38lynzx2P5Qm-FMCis64VAYZFDMK8aEi0ETotrCFL-hx3rpSc65MKSBdNYSB0I3eQZEMxgaAhaRBKeuTpgKVrYjynJqlsW99U2mDs3W3dCvbAF31GCM6QzCXb2N0yevILfxBT5tplhb62tRJvxKPbdloMAwrRTkqD4q5Y2Xyt4YvCf0n0z1em=w640-h454" title="Adolf Hitler speaks at the Reinhard Heydrich funeral, 9 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Adolf Hitler gives a memorial address at the funeral of Reinhard Heydrich in the New Reich Chancellery, 9 June 1942 (Federal Archive <a href="https://www.bild.bundesarchiv.de/dba/de/search/?channelid=dcx-channel-channel_barch_bilder&query=&day=9&month=6&yearfrom=1942&yearto=&imageid=&title=&farbe=&kostenfrei=&ausrichtung=&view=gallery&submit=" target="_blank">Image 146-1969-052-69</a>).</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span class="updated">2021</span>
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4010278260980683606.post-25189043408694383222021-11-12T20:26:00.031-07:002022-02-15T10:54:52.060-07:00June 8, 1942: Japanese Submarines Shell Australia<div itemscope="" itemtype="https://schema.org/Thing"><h1>Monday 8 June 1942</h1><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgDIgCxxJvztVjCcQc7aveDRTpc-csEcbRPhEcP8FU2IiCj_5su_0aENOqHMPKZz-2F5TD7GN9re7Jr-c3pAL7_VSkb0MTf2ZcpzGSHzm6hgEdu3StrLzpM5kGUj_fvBRQjow-Ta8uhJMqJ49o46RT5nADL7BCxHpHocjsL2cdvMhzW1590ZXqCYnW8=s640" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Italian submarine beached in Spain, 8 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="383" data-original-width="640" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgDIgCxxJvztVjCcQc7aveDRTpc-csEcbRPhEcP8FU2IiCj_5su_0aENOqHMPKZz-2F5TD7GN9re7Jr-c3pAL7_VSkb0MTf2ZcpzGSHzm6hgEdu3StrLzpM5kGUj_fvBRQjow-Ta8uhJMqJ49o46RT5nADL7BCxHpHocjsL2cdvMhzW1590ZXqCYnW8=w640-h384" title="Italian submarine beached in Spain, 8 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Italian submarine Luigi Torelli lying beached near Santander, Spain, on <b itemprop="name">8 June 1942</b>. The submarine commander beached it after suffering damage from Allied aircraft on <a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/10/june-6-1942-japanese-invade-aleutian.html" target="_blank">6 June 1942</a> using Leigh Lights. It is ultimately repaired and restored to service.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>Battle of the Pacific:</b> In a coordinated attack in the early morning hours of <b itemprop="name">8 June 1942</b>, two Japanese submarines fire their 140 mm deck guns at Sydney and Newcastle, Australia. The purpose is more symbolic than militarily effective, but it certainly catches the attention of a lot of people.</div><div><br /></div><div>I-24 opens the attack by firing ten shells targeting the Sydney Harbour Bridge. They land in the suburbs of Bellevue Hill, Rose Bay, and Woollahra, with one shell landing in the harbor. One person is injured by falling masonry and debris even though only one of the ten shells explodes. There is no response from shore batteries due to the brevity of the attack.</div><div><br /></div><div>Two hours later, Japanese submarine I-21 (Cdr Matsumura Kanji) shells the Australian city of Newcastle, New South Wales, on 8 June 1942 from a distance of 9 km (5.6 miles) northeast of Stockton Beach. The target this time is the BHP steelworks. It fires 34 shells, including 8 illumination rounds, but once again only one shell detonates. The attack does no significant damage, aside from destroying a house on Parnell Place. Fort On the alert due to the previous Sydney attack, Scratchley gunners respond with four shells but have little chance of scoring a hit on the submarine in the dark.</div><div><br /></div><div>The only fatality from these attacks is a US Army Air Force pilot, Lieutenant Georg Cantello, who disobeys orders and takes off from Bankstown airport in a P-39 Aircobra to attack the submarines. He perishes when his plane crashes due to mechanical issues in Hammondville paddock. There is a memorial park, Lt. Cantello Reserve, in the City of Liverpool with a monument in his honor.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi_YjnFQ5VbB--egBHW2rBkGstT2jpE-nqRZu_bBNVen_iuAKGA5KoZ6tIALu6aXxT9ute3W2sZl6kME6HbtuyXR6VZHQNnhV3rwU6GCondF7eLLWm36Jiy6tlODeSoedp770diSOu3N1MRNRlbO45SUpUH7VPycnxbAFQqs1mlsfR5s5kNVt9jMNW1=s640" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Japanese bombardment of Sydney, 8 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="462" data-original-width="640" height="462" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi_YjnFQ5VbB--egBHW2rBkGstT2jpE-nqRZu_bBNVen_iuAKGA5KoZ6tIALu6aXxT9ute3W2sZl6kME6HbtuyXR6VZHQNnhV3rwU6GCondF7eLLWm36Jiy6tlODeSoedp770diSOu3N1MRNRlbO45SUpUH7VPycnxbAFQqs1mlsfR5s5kNVt9jMNW1=w640-h462" title="Japanese bombardment of Sydney, 8 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Australian "Action" magazine, the Official Journal of the National Emergency Services, has photos and a description of the 8 June 1942 shelling of Sydney in its July issue.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>In response to the Japanese offensive in Australian waters that began with the attack on Sydney Harbour on <a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/09/may-31-1942-attack-on-sydney-harbour.html" target="_blank">31 May 1942</a>, the Australian government begins convoy operations on the east coast. Today, the first one, Convoy CO 1, departs from Newcastle bound for Whyalla.</div><div><br /></div><div>The crew of a US Navy PBY-5A Catalina based at Dutch Harbor, Unalaska Island, spots two destroyers and four transport ships in Kiska Harbor. The crew then fly on to Attu and spot the Japanese presence there, too. This is the first news that the Japanese have invaded Alaska. An LB-30 of 11th Air Force also spots the Japanese.</div><div><br /></div><div>In Hawaii, Admiral Chester Nimitz has ordered USS Enterprise and Hornet, now free due to the victory at Midway, to sail north to the Aleutian Islands in response to the attacks on Dutch Harbor. However, he quickly countermands this order when informed of the invasions at Attu and Kiska, fearing attacks on his carriers by land-based aircraft. The Japanese, meanwhile, are digging in on the islands and building airfields. Admiral Frank Fletcher, now aboard the aircraft carrier USS Saratoga, resumes command of the three-carrier task force northwest of Hawaii from Raymond Spruance. His carriers and the 11th Air Force in Alaska search for the remaining Japanese fleet but the planes spot only open water.</div><div><br /></div><div>General Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in the Southwest Pacific Area (SWPA) in Melbourne, submits his first proposal for an Allied counteroffensive in the Pacific. He lists New Guinea, New Ireland, and New Britain as the initial objectives. It receives immediate opposition from Admiral Ernest King, Commander in Chief, United States Fleet (COMINCH), and Chief of Naval Operations (CNO), who, among other objections, does not like the idea of an Army general commanding an amphibious force. Negotiations over a compromise plan begin shortly. Another issue is that the Japanese remain on the offensive despite their recent defeat at Midway and that will affect operational choices.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi4JaWNLjvr_1jPej6lpUEBumvYvS7myXYBVJuBRDAgl3bPw9fXHFvMUruGB3Gig_IDDAaFYx8RIR4Woz5sGa_5qLrhsg63wOAGw6E0obVrCsWfbnVa8A_QP_2y0E2JWqJdXYo5ZJK3dhJlW_NR4Ji3lBGlqx7Fsiz9KP_G-M-xJTqZN64lzn7Sehgh=s640" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="The Boston Daily Globe, 8 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="606" data-original-width="640" height="606" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi4JaWNLjvr_1jPej6lpUEBumvYvS7myXYBVJuBRDAgl3bPw9fXHFvMUruGB3Gig_IDDAaFYx8RIR4Woz5sGa_5qLrhsg63wOAGw6E0obVrCsWfbnVa8A_QP_2y0E2JWqJdXYo5ZJK3dhJlW_NR4Ji3lBGlqx7Fsiz9KP_G-M-xJTqZN64lzn7Sehgh=w640-h606" title="The Boston Daily Globe, 8 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Boston Daily Globe of 8 June 1942 is full of cheery news about the US victory at the Battle of Midway. The very careful wartime manipulation of war news is evident in the header "American Destroyer Is Sunk, Crew Saved." That is absolutely true, but there is no mention of the far more consequential sinking of the USS Yorktown. </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>Battle of the Indian Ocean:</b> Japanese submarine I-16 uses its deck gun to sink 4847-ton Greek freighter Aghios Georgios IV between Aden and Table Bay in the Mozambique Channel. There are seven deaths.</div><div><br /></div><div>I-20 torpeoes and sinks 5209-ton Greek freighter Christos Markettos off Mombassa. There are two deaths.</div><div><br /></div><div>I-10 (Cdr Otani) torpedoes and sinks 5224-ton British freighter King Lud in the Mozambique Channel 350 miles east of Beira. All 39 people on board perish. This is I-10's third victory in the vicinity.</div><div><br /></div><div>I-10 also uses its deck gun to sink 2158-ton Norwegian freighter Wilford in the Mozambique Channel in the same general vicinity east of Beira. There are nine deaths. Some sources place this sinking on <a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/11/june-7-1942-manstein-attacks-sevastopol.html" target="_blank">7 June 1942</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiHWajxXkFhHvprn6g8fujTutJmlYdeRApWq1F6_f4qPkDCYYCYhEllB-mi-8O8V-Tb7B6xgF7dk7fwQ_7yGwQo_JPM0-jTeOOE4aftvtAbLHFzIzQqasf24YW29b9WwMvtdq6Ugy12zhpBWyVFl6hbeoQJSCvOldylQwf9YRnGlz6KKn2IGD_RQhrL=s640" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Norwegian freighter Wilton, sunk on 8 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="640" height="350" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiHWajxXkFhHvprn6g8fujTutJmlYdeRApWq1F6_f4qPkDCYYCYhEllB-mi-8O8V-Tb7B6xgF7dk7fwQ_7yGwQo_JPM0-jTeOOE4aftvtAbLHFzIzQqasf24YW29b9WwMvtdq6Ugy12zhpBWyVFl6hbeoQJSCvOldylQwf9YRnGlz6KKn2IGD_RQhrL=w640-h350" title="Norwegian freighter Wilton, sunk on 8 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Norwegian freighter Wilford, sunk by I-10 in the Mozambique Channel on 8 June 1942.</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Eastern Front:</b> German General Erich von Manstein's 11th Army continues its attack on Sevastopol in Crimea but makes little progress. Soviet counterattacks also fail, leading to a virtual stalemate. The German LIV Corps, aided by strong artillery fire and furious Luftwaffe attacks, do make some progress in the northern sector where the largest artillery batteries are located. Already the corps has lost 1700 casualties in exchange for a shallow bulge into the Red Army lines that is 3 km deep and 5 km wide. German 30 Corps in the south has suffered 496 casualties for minor penetrations into the out Soviet defensive line.</div><div><br /></div><div>There are fierce dogfights over Sevastopol, with both sides represented by veteran ace fighter pilots. The Luftwaffe gets the better of the encounters. Lt. Ludwig-Wilhelm Burckhardt of 6./JG 77 downs 2 Soviet fighters and Oblt. Anton Hackl of 5./JG 77 destroys three Russian planes to bring his score to 57 victories. Hptm. Kurt Ubben of Stab III./JG 77 brings his score to 70 victories after he downs a Russian fighter.</div><div><br /></div><div>There is growing frustration in Manstein's headquarters with the pace of the offensive. Luftwaffe General Wolfram von Richtofen observes that his planes fly 1200 sorties during the day without achieving much and lamely explains, "We hope gradually to beat down the enemy by mass bombing." He complains that flying so many missions is 'extremely strenuous." Conditions are made worse on both men and equipment by sweltering 105° Fahrenheit (40° Celsius) heat.</div><div><br /></div><div>At Fuhrer Headquarters in East Prussia, General Halder is okay with the progress, but there is a hint of concern in his diary entry:</div><div></div><blockquote><div>Assault of Sevastopol makes satisfactory progress on the first day against stiff opposition; high ammunition expenditures and severe losses. All other fronts quiet. Successful counterattacks at Kirishi. </div><div></div></blockquote><div>Kirishi, meanwhile is a town 115 kilometers (71 mi) southeast of St. Petersburg on the Volkhov River that defends Lyuban. The front has stayed stagnant there since the fall of 1941, a sign of the stalled German offensive into the USSR.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>European Air Operations: </b>The weather remains unsettled throughout the day, getting worse as time goes by. During RAF air patrols along the continent coast, they sink 7003-ton German patrol boat Sperrbrecher 15 Taronga off Scharhörn. The ship makes port but is a complete loss and written off.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgmvem52gi-N9wKbB5s1m-C_N2XlC6MMe0FVLiLTPJ-BGy-WNGr4ftWrMOw8D3W31kSTlUPSu9mZzP32scE35zJ7_mv34QYwD8PkGuwb29F5kwlKxgP-Esd7LJe3sSrliHP73m9rEfskM3NWywm9SvWAeni_iNnA2iqqnmVdJmjTFCuOKogyaW8YlAI=s640" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Auschwitz victim executed on 8 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="282" data-original-width="640" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgmvem52gi-N9wKbB5s1m-C_N2XlC6MMe0FVLiLTPJ-BGy-WNGr4ftWrMOw8D3W31kSTlUPSu9mZzP32scE35zJ7_mv34QYwD8PkGuwb29F5kwlKxgP-Esd7LJe3sSrliHP73m9rEfskM3NWywm9SvWAeni_iNnA2iqqnmVdJmjTFCuOKogyaW8YlAI=w640-h282" title="Auschwitz victim executed on 8 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Polish teacher Władysław Dobija, executed at Auschwitz on 8 June 1942 (<a href="https://twitter.com/auschwitzmuseum/status/1263575426506637312" target="_blank">Auschwitz Memorial</a>). </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>Battle of the Atlantic: </b>U-135 (Kptlt. Friedrich-Hermann Praetorius), on its third patrol out of Brest, torpedoes and sinks 4549-ton Norwegian freighter Pleasantville 200 miles northwest of Bermuda. There are two dead and 45 survivors, 10 of whom who are picked up about 24 hours later by freighter Chickasaw City while the remaining 35 are picked up by freighter Paderewski on 11 June.</div><div><br /></div><div>U-504 (KrvKpt. Hans-Georg Friedrich Poske), on its third patrol out of Lorient, uses its deck gun to sink 3901-ton Honduran freighter Tela in the Gulf of Mexico near Rio Bravo. The ship sinks by the stern within five minutes There are 11 dead and 43 survivors, who abandon ship in two lifeboats and two rafts and are picked up twelve hours later by freighter Port of Montreal. Their adventure is not over, as U-68 sinks Port of Montreal in turn on 10 June 1942, during which two of the Tela survivors perish.</div><div><br /></div><div>U-504 also uses its deck gun to sink 1512-ton British freighter Rosenborg in the same general area east of the Yucatan Peninsula. This is after Poske misses with two torpedoes. He must use 60 shots to sink the ship. There are four dead and 23 survivors, who are picked up by Norwegian freighter Geisha.</div><div><br /></div><div>U-172 (Kptlt. Carl Emmermann), on its second patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 1654-ton US freighter Sicilien 10 miles south of Cape Beata, Dominican Republic. There are 46 dead and 31 survivors, who get in rafts and make it to Barahona, Dominican Republic.</div><div><br /></div><div>U-128 (Kptlt. Ulrich Heyse), on its third patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 9234-ton Norwegian tanker South Africa 400 miles east of Trinidad. The ship breaks in two and sinks within two minutes. Survival is made difficult due to the tanker's full load of 9614 tons of lube distillate and 4146 tons of diesel oil. Heyse surfaces and points out a man in the water that the lifeboats then pick up, gives the men some cans of bread and two bottles of rum, and directs them toward land. There are six dead and 36 survivors in two lifeboats. The subsequent sequence of events almost defies belief. One lifeboat (14 men) is spotted by freighter Plaudit, but the men refuse rescue after getting some supplies because it is heading to Pernambuco on 12 June and sail on toward Trinidad. They then decline another rescue offer from sailing vessel Minnie M. Mosher before making landfall at Galara Light (Toko Bay) on 16 June. The other lifeboat (25 men) is spotted by tanker Acastra on 12 June, but the men also refuse rescue after taking on supplies because it is heading for Freetown. They also decline an offer on the 13th from Argentinian tanker 13 de Diciembre after taking on supplies. They are picked up by an American seaplane tender on 14 June 45 miles east of Trinidad.</div><div><br /></div><div>U-107 torpedoes and sinks 3249-ton US freighter Suwied 140 miles southeast of Cozumel Island. the ship sinks within three minutes, preventing a distress call. There are six dead and 33 survivors, who are picked up by USCGC Nemesis (WPC 111) after 19 hours. Some sources place this sinking on <a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/11/june-7-1942-manstein-attacks-sevastopol.html" target="_blank">7 June 1942</a>, where I also discuss this sinking.</div><div><br /></div><div>British patrol boat HMT Catherine founders off Scapa Flow. Casualties are unknown.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj-oZJw2LirtajkENBj6-7KD1AtFLZUiP_0Urkx4Zn20Z0ZxSi3N9_ByjWVn7aweWpYgU_2ugbFxIypYQW0Oe7W5RiGixGMDHjO5mfsT2JRMuT2c6jGWRrQgZuYduKiYP7QM0hSlnoBE8BS6trMR4E9FIy8OekLYQAZb3myCwYNNQVRVD64qwpJcy2h=s640" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Admiral Chester Nimitz and his staff on 8 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="515" data-original-width="640" height="516" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj-oZJw2LirtajkENBj6-7KD1AtFLZUiP_0Urkx4Zn20Z0ZxSi3N9_ByjWVn7aweWpYgU_2ugbFxIypYQW0Oe7W5RiGixGMDHjO5mfsT2JRMuT2c6jGWRrQgZuYduKiYP7QM0hSlnoBE8BS6trMR4E9FIy8OekLYQAZb3myCwYNNQVRVD64qwpJcy2h=w640-h516" title="Admiral Chester Nimitz and his staff on 8 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Admiral Chester Nimitz (second from left) and his party await the arrival of survivors of USS Yorktown aboard Fulton (As-11), 8 June 1942. Also visible are Rear Admiral William L. Calhoun in the right front and Rear Admiral Lloyd J. Wiltse, of Nimitz' staff, in the center background (Naval History and Heritage Command <a href="https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/OnlineLibrary/photos/events/wwii-pac/midway/mid-10h3.htm" target="_blank">80-G-312025</a>).</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>Battle of the Mediterranean: </b>The situation in Libya remains unchanged today. The Germans continue their attack on the fortress of Bir Hakeim but make no progress, while the British 7th Motor Brigade and 29th Indian Infantry Brigade attempt raids on the Axis supply lines.</div><div><br /></div><div>Time is on General Erwin Rommel's side because the Free French at Bir Hakeim cannot be resupplied and they are running low on everything. Today, Rommel personally leads an attack on the fortress from the north beginning at 10:00, supported by a massive Luftwaffe assault by 45 Ju 87 Stukas, 3 Junkers Ju 88 medium bombers, and ten Messerschmidt Me-110 fighter-bombers escorted by 54 Bf-109 fighters (3 losses two German and one Italian).</div><div><br /></div><div>While the attack continues throughout the afternoon supported by another attack by 60 Stukas, the defenses hold. The British Desert Air Force (DAF) flies 478 sorties (8 fighter losses) during the day and drops supplies to the garrison after dark. The Italian Macchi C 202 fighters are particularly effective, shooting down three RAF planes.</div><div><br /></div><div>In a friendly fire incident, the Italian submarine Alagi (Cdr Serio Puccini) spots a convoy 20 nautical miles north of Cape Bon, Tunisia. Captain Puccini assumes it is an Allied one, but it is a typical Axis convoy from Naples to Tripoli. Puccini fires three torpedoes and sinks 5085-ton Italian destroyer Antoniotto Usodimare. There are 141 killed and 165 survivors. This sinking is sometimes listed as occurring on 8 August 1942.</div><div><br /></div><div>U-83 (Kptlt. Hans-Werner Kraus), on its eighth patrol out of Salamis, gets two victories today. First, it uses its deck gun to sink 100-ton Palestinian sailing ship Esther six miles northwest of Sidon, Lebanon. There are no survivors.</div><div><br /></div><div>U-83 then uses its deck gun to sink 231-ton Egyptian freighter Said 15 miles southwest of Jaffa. This is after U-83 missed with two torpedoes, and it takes 50 rounds to sink the ship. There are five dead and nine survivors.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhKsF-iDjSmPUE0l8ESpdffB7u-1S2dxDQyOJHt3ONC14JFfw8z8JNyWkZ4d8k66Wd32WbLf82yKvoqq4iM1ogks5kBAM3epIG0BzzL_CHEjuWHDj0tXhrON72OYwyj34OLprfK7hegRvdkOmLctvbij5lFVx-Ft8dKjIoVSygKcKPNMJJw1reItmYO=s990" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="A US Naval blimp of the type involved in a fatal crash on 8 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="990" data-original-width="640" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhKsF-iDjSmPUE0l8ESpdffB7u-1S2dxDQyOJHt3ONC14JFfw8z8JNyWkZ4d8k66Wd32WbLf82yKvoqq4iM1ogks5kBAM3epIG0BzzL_CHEjuWHDj0tXhrON72OYwyj34OLprfK7hegRvdkOmLctvbij5lFVx-Ft8dKjIoVSygKcKPNMJJw1reItmYO=w414-h640" title="A US Naval blimp of the type involved in a fatal crash on 8 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="414" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">US Navy blimp L-1. This is of the same class as L-2, which crashed in a fatal accident on 8 June 1942. It is shown above Panamanian freighter Musa.</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div><b>US/Soviet Relations: </b> Soviet Ambassador to the United States Maxim M. Litvinov informs Harry Hopkins that the Soviet Union is agreeable to the establishment of a Lend-Lease air corridor between Alaska and Siberia. Since Japan is not at war with the USSR, it could not interfere with such flights without instigating a conflict with the Soviets.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>US</b><b> Military: </b>The<b> </b>European Theater of Operations, United States Army (ETOUSA) is formed by the Department of War, though it doesn't begin operation officially until 4 July 1942. Its organizational divisions are Army Ground Forces (AGF), United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), and Army Service Forces (ASF) operations north of Italy and the Mediterranean coast. It replaces United States Army Forces in the British Isles (USAFBI) and its first commander for a brief period of time is Maj. Gen. James E. Chaney. The AGF currently has the 34th Infantry Division in Northern Island, which has released British troops from duties by patrolling the border between British Northern Ireland and the neutral Irish Free State.</div><div><br /></div><div>Brigadier General Howard C Davidson, commander of VII Fighter Command, is promoted to Commanding General, 7th Air Force.</div><div><br /><b>Canadian Military:</b> Royal Canadian Air Force's No. 111 (Fighter) Squadron flies its Curtiss P-40 Kittyhawk fighters to Elmendorf Field, Alaska. This is part of the RCAF effort to reinforce Allied defenses on its western flank.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>German Homefront:</b> Following the elaborate funeral of Reinhard Heydrich on <a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/11/june-7-1942-manstein-attacks-sevastopol.html" target="_blank">7 June 1942</a>, the Prague authorities embark on vicious reprisals. The Gestapo, with little to go on, receives a spurious report that the small town of Lidice is the hiding place of Heydrich's assassins and plans an operation to destroy it. This report is based on nothing but the town's reputation as the home of some Czech army officers who are now in hiding in Great Britain. A radio transmitter belonging to the Silver A team (a three-man Allied infiltration team that supported Operation Anthropoid, the assassination of Heydrich) is found in the village of Ležáky and so it, too, is targeted. Heydrich's two assassins, Jozef Gabčík and Jan Kubiš, remain at large shuttling between safe houses in Prague. A second Heydrich funeral is scheduled for Berlin on 9 June.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg98R8GfPrhcvXP0Vmq7Vh2M-9xrk4KAVDP-e3bYjLqeg3unikQ5TzE1di8TfyJEvTI1JxfMPA29XuFaF6XwRF8vt_vzJM61wnGDpTtNYcONz_Nhn3z9HUp3KJA8ooDneFrUCqh0jve25E0Y241dlEsCzf23pneNqsXvJ8ua4LgkkfxpLckx_G4tfeo=s843" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Time magazine 8 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="843" data-original-width="640" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg98R8GfPrhcvXP0Vmq7Vh2M-9xrk4KAVDP-e3bYjLqeg3unikQ5TzE1di8TfyJEvTI1JxfMPA29XuFaF6XwRF8vt_vzJM61wnGDpTtNYcONz_Nhn3z9HUp3KJA8ooDneFrUCqh0jve25E0Y241dlEsCzf23pneNqsXvJ8ua4LgkkfxpLckx_G4tfeo=w486-h640" title="Time magazine 8 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="486" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Mountbatten of the Commandos" is on the cover of the 8 June 1942 Time magazine (cover credit: Ernest Hamlin Baker).</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>British Homefront:</b> The Guardian publishes an editorial today noting increasingly harsh living conditions in the Reich "since last winter." Its main theme is that "since last autumn’s clear failure to “annihilate” the Russians, the German civilian front has been increasingly tired and dispirited." This reflects the wishful thinking of RAF Bomber Command led by General Arthur"Bomber" Harris, who believes that his forces can crush the Reich from the air by destroying its people's will to fight. In this sole and strict sense, the Allied bombing campaign is proving to be a massive failure, as people in Germany may be down but the bombing is not making them demand surrender as they did in 1918.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEga7WDOkEl08jjuu95-VyjuRBoBDz-9kVskEb0KVxNfI5wR44EIgKoziXpxkMMjxnPul6BPx9RCeuXbfJNUr4CRJQ3RZEvdPoX-kOtBNU_fsq4qhq3SHTqKQ_TGb88ufPQnxDT7wyyigQP1NyzDcuUKZpscnEu6vvLiuReWAwYRKEVGauYLNyaN8W4b=s640" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Naval airship G-1, involved in a fatal crash on 8 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="501" data-original-width="640" height="502" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEga7WDOkEl08jjuu95-VyjuRBoBDz-9kVskEb0KVxNfI5wR44EIgKoziXpxkMMjxnPul6BPx9RCeuXbfJNUr4CRJQ3RZEvdPoX-kOtBNU_fsq4qhq3SHTqKQ_TGb88ufPQnxDT7wyyigQP1NyzDcuUKZpscnEu6vvLiuReWAwYRKEVGauYLNyaN8W4b=w640-h502" title="Naval airship G-1, involved in a fatal crash on 8 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">US Navy Airship G-1, involved in a fatal crash on 8 June 1942. It is shown dropping a parachutist.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>American Homefront:</b> During the night, two U.S. Navy airships (G-1 and L-2) collide five miles north of Manasquan, New Jersey, while performing experimental visual and photographic reconnaissance at 400 feet. Twelve men, naval personnel and civilian technicians, perish. The blimps fall into the sea and only the co-pilot of L-2, Ensign Howard Fahey, survives. Only three bodies are recovered.</div><div><br /></div><div>Due to the victory at the Battle of Midway, the US government cancels the invasion alert for the West Coast.</div><div><br /></div><div>Bing Crosby makes a new recording of "Silent Night," which he first recorded on 21 February 1935, for his holiday compilation album "Merry Christmas." This is one of four recordings Bing makes of the "Silent Night." One of the reasons Crosby keeps returning to the song is that the recordings are so popular that the music label, Decca, complains that repeated stampings quickly wear out the master tapes.</div><div><br /></div><div>Model Jane Greer models women's uniforms in the 8 June 1942 issue of Life magazine (see below), posing in a "Nurse's Aide" uniform on the cover. Movie producer and inventor Howard Hughes spots her and decides to make her an actress. He signs her to a personal services contract, which was somewhat customary for actresses at the time but gave him inordinate control over her career which he fully exploited. This begins Greer's decades-long Hollywood acting career and a very turbulent relationship with Hughes wherein he alternately helps and hurts her career and personal relationships. Greer is best known for film noirs, particularly with RKO, such as "Out of the Past" (1947), "The Big Steal" (1949), "Run for the Sun" (1956), and "Man of a Thousand Faces" (1957). Greer passes away on 24 August 2001.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Future History:</b> Peter Grimwade is born in Ayr, Ayrshire, Scotland, UK. he becomes a noted television director, particularly on the Doctor Who series in the early 1980s. He passes away on 15 May 1990.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhQTNT8k4RKRP3TMrUqPpI4c-NAam2lJhxbx702jPpI5Qs_mcoZkxbjuBSr8tXtBxh3hNvCeUo9Z0cbSRWz5ds_EorjlLE_T68FlgeZ62Bq4VbqmSvtrp3uzy_x3QXpN1joYN_0Noo_rhEt5ynM_yePjtnfT-juJ_qMki66odv28RSr3SrJNaTVzE-8=s853" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Life magazine, 8 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="640" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhQTNT8k4RKRP3TMrUqPpI4c-NAam2lJhxbx702jPpI5Qs_mcoZkxbjuBSr8tXtBxh3hNvCeUo9Z0cbSRWz5ds_EorjlLE_T68FlgeZ62Bq4VbqmSvtrp3uzy_x3QXpN1joYN_0Noo_rhEt5ynM_yePjtnfT-juJ_qMki66odv28RSr3SrJNaTVzE-8=w480-h640" title="Life magazine, 8 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Life magazine, 8 June 1942, features a "Nurse's Aid" on the cover. It is actually model Jane Greer, who parleys this break into a memorable acting career.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><span class="updated">2021</span>
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4010278260980683606.post-84923399008167918172021-11-08T19:14:00.002-07:002021-11-12T22:42:16.612-07:00June 7, 1942: Manstein Attacks Sevastopol in Crimea<div itemscope="" itemtype="https://schema.org/Thing"><h1>Sunday 7 June 1942</h1><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgi6o_HQwEQwMtbJ8LBSiWZ_htc3OuhFO1jzfe44khkUdoBfsuhdpdA3y7qAnjdVibYiWzwSAgtjxKN7NCZidLul9StVgFEUu-mQtTa0z2tQH_ly3rujs8RPqKkGoWcph2vsYv2_LZnYchrVAoXf6aW0DbsJQA7mCY_gAoQOITQ8bIoEhk_kZyiaDN2=s640" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Transfer of Yorktown survivors at sea, 7 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="495" data-original-width="640" height="496" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgi6o_HQwEQwMtbJ8LBSiWZ_htc3OuhFO1jzfe44khkUdoBfsuhdpdA3y7qAnjdVibYiWzwSAgtjxKN7NCZidLul9StVgFEUu-mQtTa0z2tQH_ly3rujs8RPqKkGoWcph2vsYv2_LZnYchrVAoXf6aW0DbsJQA7mCY_gAoQOITQ8bIoEhk_kZyiaDN2=w640-h496" title="Transfer of Yorktown survivors at sea, 7 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"USS Portland (CA-33), at right, transfers USS Yorktown survivors to USS Fulton (AS-11) on 7 June 1942, following the battle of Midway. Fulton transported the men to Pearl Harbor." Naval History and Heritage Command <a href="https://www.history.navy.mil/our-collections/photography/wars-and-events/world-war-ii/midway/80-G-312028.html" target="_blank">80-G-312028</a>.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>Battle of the Pacific:</b> US aircraft carrier USS Yorktown (CV-5) sinks just after dawn on <b itemprop="name">7 June 1942</b>, marking the definitive end of the Battle of Midway. Yorktown capsizes due to the combined effects of previous Japanese naval air strikes and torpedoes from I-168. The Battle of Midway has been a decisive American victory, with the Japanese losing four fleet aircraft carriers and a cruiser.</div><div><br /></div><div>Continuing with their grand operational plan whose main component already has been thwarted at Midway, the Japanese occupy Attu Island in the Aleutians. There is no opposition to the 1143 men of the North Sea Detachment, and it is unclear if the US even knows about this latest invasion for a day or two. There are only 44 US civilians and 42 Aleut natives on Attu. One US civilian, Charles Jones, dies during the Attu invasion of unknown causes. The Japanese send everyone to camps in Japan, with only 25 of the 86 inhabitants surviving the war. The Japanese also capture nine of ten US Navy sailors manning a weather station on Kiska, with the tenth man (wearing a summer uniform) evading capture in the interior for 45 days.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Japanese now occupy two islands at the extreme end of the Aleutian Island chain (Attu and Kiska). The Japanese high command anticipates that the US Navy will intervene and sends two light carriers to the vicinity in order to stage an ambush. In fact, Admiral Chester Nimitz does intend to send USS Enterprise and Hornet to the Aleutians, but he has not yet issued the necessary orders.</div><div><br /></div><div>While Admiral Raymond A. Spruance has chosen not to pursue the retreating Japanese fleet - a decision for which he receives criticism - the US Army Air Force decides otherwise. Major General Clarence L. Tinker, Commander, 7th Air Force, personally leads a bomber strike from Hawaii. He perishes when his plane crashes near Midway.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhV13A_umVQB6hw5jJ3wALSvaoUvoa5dPufvsj2cps5YJA-AlX_BX0ju_vd58-qu37CJiw23xK3Jg3Ok7SXs_f0skj_bHA8fVy2ztLMCb1DtND76Zglh97zQkHXGfyvvfyFzagrlbwcTCaUJsKPAMIyGJcYHv_NBhqRYjpsZVHT3J6fbcIdmeymCSgM=s1280" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Map of Battle of Midway June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="792" data-original-width="1280" height="396" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhV13A_umVQB6hw5jJ3wALSvaoUvoa5dPufvsj2cps5YJA-AlX_BX0ju_vd58-qu37CJiw23xK3Jg3Ok7SXs_f0skj_bHA8fVy2ztLMCb1DtND76Zglh97zQkHXGfyvvfyFzagrlbwcTCaUJsKPAMIyGJcYHv_NBhqRYjpsZVHT3J6fbcIdmeymCSgM=w640-h396" title="Map of Battle of Midway June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Located in the southeast room of the visitors building of Manila American Cemetery and Memorial. Map was designed by Margaret Bruton and fabricated by P. Grassi American Terrazzo Company of South Francisco." Naval History and Heritage Command <a href="https://www.history.navy.mil/our-collections/photography/numerical-list-of-images/nhhc-series/nh-series/NH-114000/NH-114452.html" target="_blank">NH 114452</a>.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>Admiral Frank Fletcher, who ceded command of US Task Force 18 around Midway Island due to the loss of his ship, the Yorktown, transfers his flag to aircraft carrier Saratoga, which has recently arrived from the US west coast. Saratoga departs Pearl Harbor today carrying replacement aircraft for the two remaining carriers involved in the battle. Fletcher thus is able to resume command of the task force on 8 June. He learns that Spruance has withdrawn to the east in order to refuel his ships and quickly orders search missions for the Japanese, who are heading back to Japan. However, the opportunity to continue the battle and "finish off the Japanese" has been lost.</div><div><br /></div><div>While he has presided over the dramatic victory off Midway, Spruance manages to destroy much of the reputation he could have gained. This is due to his perceived lack of aggressiveness following the heat of the battle. Spruance's "discretion is the better part of valor" approach is controversial - then and now - and contrasts poorly with the aggressive tactics of Admiral "Bull" Halsey, who was unable to command the fleet at Midway due to health concerns. Now that Fletcher is back in command, Spruance is quickly reassigned from his field command to serve as Admiral Nimitz's chief of staff, though he does recover to have some important commands in 1943-1945.</div><div><br /></div><div>Japanese submarine I-26 (Cdr Yokota) torpedoes and sinks 3545-ton US refrigerated freighter Coast Trader thirty miles off the Strait of Juan de Fuca on the US west coast. The ship is carrying refrigerated ammonia, which leaks due to the explosion and incapacitates some of the crew. There is one death. The remaining 56 men make it to a lifeboat, which local fishing vessel Virginia I tows to Neah Bay, and two rafts that Canadian corvette Edmunston (K-106) finds.</div><div><br /></div><div>US submarine Grouper (SS-214) is mistakenly bombed by USAAF B-17 bombers looking for the Japanese fleet. It escapes undamaged, reflecting typical poor aim by level bombers against shipping in the Pacific.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhRZi4l_dynKyz-EqOGb8IFs5DKSmZTtaLXwGGVT2npoNMW1_A5lA6aA7pmL2WZcoWAHTX87M8gXU4dWf0PXE-4Bf2KHdAvwKbk5VD_hdgTGRemQ9E0673NbuhYkwESELk_5_thW3-C8gbZ5q182WW0kAS6OlggJgfDhu0CryfYTW5JRY4-3FgtoCac=s640" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="USS Yorktown sinks at Battle of Midway 7 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="504" data-original-width="640" height="504" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhRZi4l_dynKyz-EqOGb8IFs5DKSmZTtaLXwGGVT2npoNMW1_A5lA6aA7pmL2WZcoWAHTX87M8gXU4dWf0PXE-4Bf2KHdAvwKbk5VD_hdgTGRemQ9E0673NbuhYkwESELk_5_thW3-C8gbZ5q182WW0kAS6OlggJgfDhu0CryfYTW5JRY4-3FgtoCac=w640-h504" title="USS Yorktown sinks at Battle of Midway 7 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"USS Yorktown (CV-5) sinking, just after dawn on 7 June 1942, as seen from an accompanying destroyer." Naval History and Heritage Command <a href="https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/our-collections/photography/wars-and-events/world-war-ii/midway/NH-106000.html" target="_blank">NH 106000</a>.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>Battle of the Indian Ocean:</b> Japanese submarine I-18 shells and sinks 2158-ton Norwegian freighter Wilford in the Indian Ocean off the Mozambique Coast. There are nine deaths and 34 survivors. All but two of the survivors, who are picked up by a Marinha Portuguesa gunboat, reach land in their lifeboats.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Eastern Front:</b> In Crimea, German General Erich von Manstein begins Unternehmen Störfang (Operation Sturgeon Catch), the assault on Sevastopol. The port is well-defended, surrounded by rugged forests and bunkers that include 11 batteries and strong points north of Severnaya Bay.</div><div><br /></div><div>The German 11th Army is weak, with many divisions seriously understrength. This is because Adolf Hitler is husbanding his fresh troops for the grand offensive, Case Blue, that he plans to launch in a few weeks. There are many fresh divisions and thousands of idle troops just north of the Crimea. It is an artificial manpower shortage, as opposed to the real one that are to come. Thus, Manstein must rely heavily on his artillery and airpower to make up for a weak thrust on land. Assisting the Germans are units of the Romanian Army, including the 1st Mountain Division and 18th Division, which are strong but lack their own artillery and air support.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgMfoPZ1qbmnbaE55aQohNm8JM6mNPVs15Hh2IU-dFvtOADloCZJPqBz9V2hJI1dR_47VvvPUwoUIuLoF6V2Eo25rsRPRdc5sqkuzYwJJUx_4qm8Xwy_UfwY8aVp39mforCHnyd5MLuy1fFEC4SnDjcFcXh9hLX1LJhMWXPqRreu4_hsF-g82wCueoz=s640" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Finnish Lahti L-39 antitank gun in use, 7 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="442" data-original-width="640" height="442" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgMfoPZ1qbmnbaE55aQohNm8JM6mNPVs15Hh2IU-dFvtOADloCZJPqBz9V2hJI1dR_47VvvPUwoUIuLoF6V2Eo25rsRPRdc5sqkuzYwJJUx_4qm8Xwy_UfwY8aVp39mforCHnyd5MLuy1fFEC4SnDjcFcXh9hLX1LJhMWXPqRreu4_hsF-g82wCueoz=w640-h442" title="Finnish Lahti L-39 antitank gun in use, 7 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lahti L-39 anti-tank gun in use, 7 June 1942 (Martin Persson, <a href="https://finna.fi/Record/sa-kuva.sa-kuva-11349" target="_blank">SA-kuva</a>).</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>Aiding the assault are the Germans' heavy artillery that includes an 800 mm gun (<i>Schwere Gustav</i>), three 600 mm guns (<i>Karl-Gerät</i> self-propelled mortars), two 280 mm railway guns, two 420 mm guns, two 355 mm howitzers, and four 305 mm mortars. These massive artillery pieces have been firing at the Soviet defenses for days and have destroyed some key Soviet bunkers. The Luftwaffe's 8th Air Corps already has flown 3,069 sorties against the port, dropping 2,264 tons of high explosives and 23,800 incendiary bombs.</div><div><br /></div><div>Following the massive preparatory bombardment, German 30 Corps attacks in the south while LIV Corps does so in the north. The southern attack stalls, but the LIV Corps makes good progress (this is the sector where the heaviest artillery has is located). The 132nd Infantry Division heads down the river while the 22nd Infantry Division attacks further east. The Soviets have planted numerous minefields that slow the Axis troops down. </div><div><br /></div><div>For Manstein, it is a mixed picture, with some advances in the north, few gains in the south, and failed attacks by the German 24th and 50th Infantry Divisions. In LIV Corps' four divisions alone there are 2,357 casualties, including 340 men killed. In addition, some of the units are running low on ammunition. However, the Germans take the key Red Army defensive position at Belbek, and Red Army casualties also have been severe. With his attempt at a quick victory a failure, Manstein now is looking at a depressing battle of attrition against the numerous enemy forces unless he can get the attack moving in the coming days.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhwT5YanWlv3X9JmGNjpyQ0urpbVXXmJwKy7E0vlDSCtTW5bHJxvhUfCpD5_47Bpd-NAmBI9ojwLfP7QqwXFBWNlZVjNiJcYiJKpMl9ItJyvFihx4wU5UKA4FJcUd-SzlIzHkgBE8MZVBGKdkPeIvwJTy5k8lBGNpwUR9jSdEHJoz1ELhBjYPHSfSB5=s640" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Fw-190 in France, June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="396" data-original-width="640" height="396" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhwT5YanWlv3X9JmGNjpyQ0urpbVXXmJwKy7E0vlDSCtTW5bHJxvhUfCpD5_47Bpd-NAmBI9ojwLfP7QqwXFBWNlZVjNiJcYiJKpMl9ItJyvFihx4wU5UKA4FJcUd-SzlIzHkgBE8MZVBGKdkPeIvwJTy5k8lBGNpwUR9jSdEHJoz1ELhBjYPHSfSB5=w640-h396" title="Fw-190 in France, June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Focke-Wulf Fw-190A-2, 7./JG2, Theville, France, June 1942. The plane is still a bit of a mystery to Allied forces at this time.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>European Air Operations: </b>The weather is poor (10/10), with clouds down to 2000 feet. There are few operations during the day, typical during a relatively quiet spring 1942 on the Channel Front.</div><div><br /></div><div>After dark, RAF Bomber Command attacks the German port of Emden. On the way back to base at 00:47, Luftwaffe pilot Oblt. Ludwig Becker of 6./NJG 2 in a Bf 110 shoots down a Wellington III (X3279) into the Waddenzee. All six crewmen perish.</div><div><br /></div><div>Hptm. Johannes Seifert of I./JG 26 (KIA 25 November 1943) is awarded the Ritterkreuz (Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross) for 36 victories.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgfLbCR0NBsAMojTTDY7SrqBuuInbXhC1OWqTd2-zm_h8enFs3hfixtXRUW9UcoyrzGRL7wAM4a2Cw8yVfTEcS1k2RsNwJSXlCDZhzaK4OssSUe5rCmcUBWZbDKFcc69f2f087sPsHYrQ_JIIBq4SPeBQt99xtrDgfVfPYG1WXN_Wy2icPTflljSBlQ=s640" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Kingfisher seaplane in Jacksonville, Florida, 7 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="498" data-original-width="640" height="498" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgfLbCR0NBsAMojTTDY7SrqBuuInbXhC1OWqTd2-zm_h8enFs3hfixtXRUW9UcoyrzGRL7wAM4a2Cw8yVfTEcS1k2RsNwJSXlCDZhzaK4OssSUe5rCmcUBWZbDKFcc69f2f087sPsHYrQ_JIIBq4SPeBQt99xtrDgfVfPYG1WXN_Wy2icPTflljSBlQ=w640-h498" title="Kingfisher seaplane in Jacksonville, Florida, 7 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A US Navy Vought OS2U Kingfisher seaplane on the ramp at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Florida, 7 June 1942 (US Navy). </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>Battle of the Atlantic: </b>U-653 (Kptlt. Gerhard Feiler), on its third patrol out of Brest, torpedoes and sinks seaplane tender USS Gannet (AVP-8) northwest of Bermuda. The ship sinks within four minutes. PBM Mariner seaplanes of VP-74 rescue 22 men, while USS Hamilton picks up 40 more. There are 16 deaths. </div><div><br /></div><div>U-159 (Kptlt. Helmut Friedrich Witte), on its second patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 3382-ton US freighter Edith 200 miles southeast of Kingston, Jamaica. The ship sinks within twelve minutes. Witte surfaces after the attack to question the survivors and give them direction. He also, in an unusual move, scavenges various supplies that are bobbing in the water such as food, clothing, and even toys. The ship's survivors make it to Black River, Jamaica, in a week.</div><div><br /></div><div>Italian submarine Leonardo da Vinci torpedoes and sinks 6956-ton British freighter Chile 350 miles southwest of Monrovia, Liberia. There are five deaths and 39 survivors.</div><div><br /></div><div>U-107 (Kptlt. Harald Gelhaus), on its sixth patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 3910-ton Honduran freighter Castilla near Jamaica. The ship sinks within minutes and no lifeboats can be launched. There are 24 dead and 35 survivors, who are picked up by USS Nike (WPC 112).</div><div><br /></div><div>U-107 also torpedoes and sinks 3249-ton US freighter Sterling Steel Bridge (formerly Suwied) near Cozumel, Mexico. The ship sinks within three minutes, preventing any distress calls. There are six dead and 27 survivors. The survivors are picked up after 19 hours by USCGC Nemesis (WPC 111). This sinking, which occurs around midnight, is sometimes cited as occurring on 8 June.</div><div><br /></div><div><div>U-158 (Kptlt. Erwin Rostin), on its second patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 5234-ton Panamanian freighter Hermis due west of Havana, Cuba and due north of the extreme western tip of Cuba. Despite being hit by two torpedoes, the ship remains afloat and steaming in a circle, so Rostin surfaces and shells the freighter, setting it on fire, but it remains afloat for 12 more hours. There are one death and 46 survivors, who are picked up by US Army transport Toloa and taken to Kingston, Jamaica.</div><div><br /></div></div><div>German 2967-ton freighter Joao Pessoa strikes rocks and sinks two miles from San Sebastian, Spain. Casualties are unknown.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhmjtlf2k5raRDaG1NpHeV-h38Kku47bbQED8Kr9pWqLv9pCwo7EQ_7VDE5p9yxMcKz39mP8Team1LmwINJ4yGZa7dNOUueNqV28r4-88T5wFVX4_0fTao5oANC4ZkDCbg0rEfYPN47XvF3UlFMB551yR_9IAcfRPAkAO_slODwLGj9zMNrWEmlszGP=s669" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="USS Taylor being launched in Maine, 7 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="669" data-original-width="640" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhmjtlf2k5raRDaG1NpHeV-h38Kku47bbQED8Kr9pWqLv9pCwo7EQ_7VDE5p9yxMcKz39mP8Team1LmwINJ4yGZa7dNOUueNqV28r4-88T5wFVX4_0fTao5oANC4ZkDCbg0rEfYPN47XvF3UlFMB551yR_9IAcfRPAkAO_slODwLGj9zMNrWEmlszGP=w612-h640" title="USS Taylor being launched in Maine, 7 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="612" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Launch of USS Taylor (DD-468) at the Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine, on 7 June 1942. The ship is named after Rear Admiral William Rogers Taylor (<a href="https://usstaylor468.org/world-war-2/ship-history/launch-of-uss-taylor/" target="_blank">US Taylor Reunion Association</a>).</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>Battle of the Mediterranean: </b>The Axis forces around Bir Hakeim continue small-scale attacks. The 90th Light Division has managed to send pioneers through one minefield and into an interior minefield within about 800 meters (900 yards) of the fortress. The Free French garrison, while low on supplies, continues to hold out. During the day, the British Desert Air Force (DAF) launches several attacks against the exposed pioneers, while Luftwaffe Stukas pound the fort.</div><div><br /></div><div>Much of the fighting at this stage of the battle revolves around supply lines, which are of vital concern in the desert. The British launch minor attacks by the 7th Motor Brigade and 29th Indian Infantry Brigade against Axis supply lines without much success. One last convoy manages to get through to Bir Hakeim in heavy fog after dark. Meanwhile, German General Erwin Rommel use the fog to reposition his forces for a determined assault on Bir Hakeim from the north on the 8th.</div><div><br /></div><div>Besieged within Bir Hakeim, Brigadier General Marie-Pierre Koenig requests permission to withdraw due to his supply problems. Lieutenant-General Neil Ritchie, commanding the British Eighth Army, denies the request. Ritchie has his reasons - he anticipates the loss of Libya and needs to buy time while he builds a last-ditch defensive position at the little Egyptian town of El Alamein. Koenig, knowing that he can't hold out much longer, begins contemplating a breakout.</div><div><br /></div><div>Italian submarine Sebastiano Veniero (Cdr Elio Zappetti) is lost due to two Catalina attacks of RAF No. 240 Squadron between the Balearic Islands and Sardinia around noontime. All 57-58 men on board perish.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgTdpxloCheyuWcrU5jT81p8AawHf9FBqAUoamjZlsm9I6eZCVSo8GAjs6AVg6NuiG1J_8A22sdyBF-e4YLjGr-h7i-P1hElOZV9tjcKc4K8nwweo1Gn5IUX2kivPWAuH0sZxGb8wgkXhP9jxV790Y8u-HkW7VeaTuJQhP7IPayOz1n2XN5JQLIMX35=s640" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="USS Gannet, sunk on 7 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="640" height="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgTdpxloCheyuWcrU5jT81p8AawHf9FBqAUoamjZlsm9I6eZCVSo8GAjs6AVg6NuiG1J_8A22sdyBF-e4YLjGr-h7i-P1hElOZV9tjcKc4K8nwweo1Gn5IUX2kivPWAuH0sZxGb8wgkXhP9jxV790Y8u-HkW7VeaTuJQhP7IPayOz1n2XN5JQLIMX35=w640-h500" title="USS Gannet, sunk on 7 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">USS Gannet, sunk by U-653 on 7 June 1942.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>Special Operations: </b>British Commandos execute Operation Albumen, another in a long sequence of overnight operations against Axis coastal targets. This one is on the Greek island of Crete, where Luftwaffe forces have been supporting the currently successful campaign of German General Erwin Rommel in Libya. Operation Albumen has several different coordinated sabotage operations.</div><div><br /></div><div>Led by Captain G.I.A. Duncan of the Black Watch and assisted by local partisans, the Commandos destroy five aircraft and damage 29 others, along with several vehicles and stores, at Kastelli. At Heraklion, George Jellico leads members of the Free French Forces and Hellenic Army to plant Lewes bombs, destroying about 20 Junkers Ju 88 medium bombers. Similar attacks at Tympaki and Maleme do not accomplish anything because there were no aircraft at the former location and the latter was too well guarded. The Germans lose a dozen soldiers.</div><div><br /></div><div>Aside from the damage caused directly by Operation Albumen, there are some lasting consequences. While the Commandos escape, the German authorities take and execute 50 local hostages. German Crete commander General Alexander Andrae ultimately is replaced by General Bruno Bräuer in November 1942 partly as a consequence of this raid.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgb8DZJWlsHCXFFwxtueNvwB3-T-LoPraftQJRGK8K1lY39K7zKQ8p-mZQtI0VfJk_U-ZxeKRaY1zGAM3zdFVoLG20nw04dXKcDPtKzV1w4AOnY0fRRQHvqU67myZxQCuyuMRjJz0fsm4iLN5kYCoDvEcSxEKI_NJrJ7KcvrZ5M9SNX3sZEGIl8wIGk=s640" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Funeral in Prague of Reinhard Heydrich, 7 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="618" data-original-width="640" height="618" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgb8DZJWlsHCXFFwxtueNvwB3-T-LoPraftQJRGK8K1lY39K7zKQ8p-mZQtI0VfJk_U-ZxeKRaY1zGAM3zdFVoLG20nw04dXKcDPtKzV1w4AOnY0fRRQHvqU67myZxQCuyuMRjJz0fsm4iLN5kYCoDvEcSxEKI_NJrJ7KcvrZ5M9SNX3sZEGIl8wIGk=w640-h618" title="Funeral in Prague of Reinhard Heydrich, 7 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Funeral procession of Reinhard Heydrich in Prague, 7 June 1942. Note his flag-draped coffin on a caisson on the left.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>German Homefront: </b>The German authorities in Prague hold a massive, ostentatious funeral for assassinated <i>Reichsprotektor</i> Reinhard Heydrich. Afterward, the coffin is sent by train to Berlin for a second funeral to be held on 9 June. The second funeral is planned to be even more elaborate and ostentatious and is to be attended by the entire Reich leadership including Adolf Hitler. The Prague authorities continue to search for the assassins, who remain in the city moving between safe houses. Severe reprisals are in progress, with many more planned.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>British Homefront: </b>Scientist Alan Blumlein, the inventor of stereo sound recording among many other things, dies when a Halifax bomber in which he is testing H2S airborne radar crashes in Herefordshire. The crash apparently is due to improper aircraft maintenance. Due to Blumlein's importance to the war effect, the British government does not announce Blumlein's death until 1945. This delay leads to various conspiracy theories about the true cause of Blumlein's death. In 2017, the US Recording Academy posthumously awards Alan Blumlein a Technical Grammy for his contributions to the recording field.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi3jvFMI4EfIRKxSF6fiUtSJeLYnbMOqfS5xXeo6_a-JwBO2DAxOLq0Qep_WNYU_aDnGBf7y774oZq7XwhRTXhRQcjTEOgxJ8C9kSGcVehs4uCwRPYUlc8qBHj2tfPio-D8o4pjas33swh0ViWx43jRZdV0_YwsnfdUfp9Kkc6kTmjwfPCVRZNqFmi1=s800" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Chicago Sunday Tribune, 7 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi3jvFMI4EfIRKxSF6fiUtSJeLYnbMOqfS5xXeo6_a-JwBO2DAxOLq0Qep_WNYU_aDnGBf7y774oZq7XwhRTXhRQcjTEOgxJ8C9kSGcVehs4uCwRPYUlc8qBHj2tfPio-D8o4pjas33swh0ViWx43jRZdV0_YwsnfdUfp9Kkc6kTmjwfPCVRZNqFmi1=w640-h360" title="Chicago Sunday Tribune, 7 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The 7 June 1942 Chicago Sunday Tribune, featuring the article in the center "Navy Had Word of Japanese Plan to Strike at Sea" which almost got the reporter and newspaper in big trouble.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>American Homefront:</b> In a remarkable journalistic coup, the Chicago Tribune breaks the news of the codebreaking that contributed heavily to the US Navy victory in the Battle of Midway. Under the headline "Navy Had Word of Japanese Plan to Strike at Sea," the article describes how Naval Intelligence allowed Admiral Nimitz to pre-position his forces to ambush the Japanese fleet. While this article displays a clear breach of critical military security that might aid the Japanese, nothing comes of it. The Japanese military shows no signs of becoming aware that the Americans have broken their codes.</div><div><br /></div><div>In Great Britain, Winston Churchill is known for having a short fuse with regard to sensitive press leaks like this. His government engages in many displays of censorship and attempted censorship. However, the US government ultimately lets the matter pass because events show that the disclosures do not interfere with the war effort.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Future History: </b>Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi is born in Qasr Abu Hadi, Sirte, Italian Libya. From a poor tribal family, he joins the Libyan military in 1963. In 1964, Muammar Gaddafi forms the "Central Committee of the Free Officers Movement," a revolutionary group styled after the teachings of a former Egyptian leader. In mid-1969, while Libyan King Idris is on vacation in Turkey and Greece, Gaddafi leads a bloodless coup and established the Libyan Arab Republic. Self-styled as the "Brotherly Leader and Guide of the Revolution of Libya," Muammar Gaddafi thereafter rules Libya as a dictator. He develops a cult of personality and remains in power until 20 October 2011, when Muammar Gaddafi perishes while trying to flee from an insurrection.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj26PQW7Z437QLIJlCuQregLtgTX0E5GBXcnoLDSp3lzqM6G_lkPwa9tdO_DO5TvHGhIXfSXM_H9v3BfJ_TNRc_uEpjxaMF_XxM9bPaK_OpstrnESzR130JqtByXjjylmgMZ4AiydlPqbol1fOQF_EFSSToJ56Q_ya66ONLRyd1rJOR7y2A7QXZJMvQ=s832" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Cincinnati Enquirer, 7 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="832" data-original-width="640" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj26PQW7Z437QLIJlCuQregLtgTX0E5GBXcnoLDSp3lzqM6G_lkPwa9tdO_DO5TvHGhIXfSXM_H9v3BfJ_TNRc_uEpjxaMF_XxM9bPaK_OpstrnESzR130JqtByXjjylmgMZ4AiydlPqbol1fOQF_EFSSToJ56Q_ya66ONLRyd1rJOR7y2A7QXZJMvQ=w492-h640" title="Cincinnati Enquirer, 7 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="492" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The 7 June 1942 Cincinnati Enquirer headlines the Battle of Midway as "Avenging" Pearl Harbor. It even reprints its front page from the Pearl Harbor report on this front page to hammer home that point. Unusually for this stage of the war, the report actually underplays the American victory, claiming only "2 or 3" Japanese carriers sunk when actually four were sunk. Still, this is very accurate reporting this close to the actual battle.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span class="updated">2021</span>
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4010278260980683606.post-35246710520422523732021-10-18T20:47:00.009-07:002021-11-27T05:51:57.375-07:00June 6, 1942: Japanese Invade Aleutian Islands<div itemscope="" itemtype="https://schema.org/Thing"><h1>Saturday 6 June 1942</h1><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjoDOu0xd-V_gmLUJZN3RZrKsXjc1dct5HrWH76KqfU5obFVazlsx0nAy4PWF9zP3DxjTVr5ftWtqu9QmzVIgwCsvmobIQppmB-WNgPgYzhMDTmL4Br5XW2Fc30MpqKv1-fjjHgz8bFBlCw3kn2CzQC4YTQtBdfgkDzSXSC8CUGfFWj5QEV3ZFJLqVE=s640" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Battle of Midway 6 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="505" data-original-width="640" height="506" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjoDOu0xd-V_gmLUJZN3RZrKsXjc1dct5HrWH76KqfU5obFVazlsx0nAy4PWF9zP3DxjTVr5ftWtqu9QmzVIgwCsvmobIQppmB-WNgPgYzhMDTmL4Br5XW2Fc30MpqKv1-fjjHgz8bFBlCw3kn2CzQC4YTQtBdfgkDzSXSC8CUGfFWj5QEV3ZFJLqVE=w640-h506" title="Battle of Midway 6 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"SBD Dauntless dive bombers from USS Hornet (CV-8) approaching the burning Japanese heavy cruiser Mikuma to make the third set of attacks on her, during the early afternoon of 6 June 1942. Mikuma had been hit earlier by strikes from Hornet and USS Enterprise (CV-6), leaving her dead in the water and fatally damaged." Naval History and Heritage Command <a href="https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/our-collections/photography/wars-and-events/world-war-ii/midway/80-G-17054.html" target="_blank">80-G-17054</a>.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>Battle of the Pacific:</b> Despite having suffered staggering losses off Midway Island on 4 June, the Japanese follow through on their subsidiary campaign in the Aleutian Islands on <b itemprop="name">6 June 1942</b>. The Japanese Northern Area Fleet, commanded by Vice-Admiral Boshiro Hosogaya, lands 500 troops of the elite Maizura 3rd Special Landing Force and 700 laborers on Kiska Island at 10:27. </div><div><br /></div><div>This is the first invasion of the continental United States since the War of 1812, though Alaska is not yet a state. The local Unangax (Aleuts) offer virtually no resistance and no U.S. military forces intervene at this time despite some fruitless bombers searching for the Japanese. There are U.S. soldiers of the U.S. Navy meteorological service on Kiska, but they disappear into the rugged interior. The Japanese rename the island Narukami.</div><div><br /></div><div>Eight P-38s do spot and attack a ship, but it turns out to be a Soviet freighter. The Americans, though, are quite concerned about both a Japanese land invasion south toward Washington State through Canada and Japanese bombing raids from the Aleutians (neither of which the Japanese plan) and begin preparing a response.</div><div><br /></div><div>Off Midway Island, things just keep getting worse for the Japanese. Having lost four irreplaceable aircraft carriers to the U.S. Navy's one, they now lose another important ship. Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bombers attack and sink cruiser Mikuma, already damaged in previous days' raids. Mikuma and fellow cruiser Mogami are heading for refuge at Wake Island when 31 SBDs from <a href="https://worldwartwo.filminspector.com/2021/01/uss-enterprise-galloping-ghost-of-wwii.html" target="_blank">USS Enterprise</a> and Hornet attack and hit Mikuma with five bombs and Mogami with six.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh1-0HRCXAI6yoWas1IzioxlMV0auT-iINUHMynzhqDWYuQYZDOYjyRXcXUwV8r9j7jmALA7qey0MVTLzjfZGsfAZ_0N63vmXNz7-5q51rD2f3GWCgmPhlCecLETs1QHM0aNwraC6ljd01dTVLNd4ttRkPk1HpSKqGkWs9DFhQkVxSktayptHw4XN1D=s640" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Japanese cruiser Mikuma under attack, 6 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="508" data-original-width="640" height="508" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh1-0HRCXAI6yoWas1IzioxlMV0auT-iINUHMynzhqDWYuQYZDOYjyRXcXUwV8r9j7jmALA7qey0MVTLzjfZGsfAZ_0N63vmXNz7-5q51rD2f3GWCgmPhlCecLETs1QHM0aNwraC6ljd01dTVLNd4ttRkPk1HpSKqGkWs9DFhQkVxSktayptHw4XN1D=w640-h508" title="Japanese cruiser Mikuma under attack, 6 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Japanese heavy cruiser Mikuma, photographed from a USS Enterprise (CV-6) SBD aircraft during the afternoon of 6 June 1942, after she had been bombed by planes from Enterprise and USS Hornet (CV-8). Note her shattered midships structure, torpedo dangling from the after port side tubes and wreckage atop her number four eight-inch gun turret." Naval History and Heritage Command <a href="https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/our-collections/photography/wars-and-events/world-war-ii/midway/80-G-414422.html" target="_blank">80-G-414422</a>.</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>While the Mikuma may theoretically have survived that many bomb hits, one of them sets off the torpedoes it is carrying and they destroy the ship. There are 650 deaths and 240 survivors, who are picked up by destroyers Asashio and Arashio (both also hit by one bomb each. U.S. Navy submarine Trout investigates the scene on 9 June and picks up an additional two Japanese crewmen and makes them POWs.</div><div><br /></div><div>An example of the "fog of war" almost causes a tragedy for the U.S. forces. A late-morning B-17 raid by 26 bombers based on Midway (led by Lt. Col. Brooke Allen) against the fleeing Japanese cruisers fails to find them. However, they do spot a target and six B-17s drop their loads on it thinking it is one of the cruisers. In fact, it is U.S. submarine Grayling. Fortunately for the Americans, level-bombing accuracy at sea lives down to its terrible reputation, no harm is done, and Grayling quickly dives before any bombs come close. </div><div><br /></div><div>The Japanese do "get one back" when submarine I-168, which previously shelled Midway Island, spots crippled USS Yorktown and attacks. In addition to pumping one more torpedo into the badly listing aircraft carrier, the submarine torpedoes and sinks the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Hammann (DD-412) around noon. Hammann has been providing auxiliary power to USS Yorktown as a damage control party desperately tries to keep it from sinking. Only one of four torpedoes hits the destroyer, but it is enough to break the ship in half. The destroyer sinks in just four minutes, and after it slips under, its armed depth charges explode, causing a violent underwater explosion and killing many men in the water. There are 80 deaths from the 192-man crew. I-168, despite being surrounded by U.S. Navy screening destroyers, escapes with minor damage.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjal9Z7OB4ywJUgCFHsSzvZQZRCwBE8J_Sg6dV7VhyHCwFLC0DKDqOdYXp6wZtazL2R02WRO7mXELziJ5XY8CsOyXLzIXvZhcXjgbzwZoGkGYuwCjerhNqEnpE5f2oY_EqJMmcwHmaWmfxeOYfqjfaJTgUeix4_zS1W2HtPOTiAXn350GpNxud3nwJU=s640" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="US destroyer Hammann sinking, 6 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="518" data-original-width="640" height="518" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjal9Z7OB4ywJUgCFHsSzvZQZRCwBE8J_Sg6dV7VhyHCwFLC0DKDqOdYXp6wZtazL2R02WRO7mXELziJ5XY8CsOyXLzIXvZhcXjgbzwZoGkGYuwCjerhNqEnpE5f2oY_EqJMmcwHmaWmfxeOYfqjfaJTgUeix4_zS1W2HtPOTiAXn350GpNxud3nwJU=w640-h518" title="US destroyer Hammann sinking, 6 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"USS Hammann (DD-412) sinking with stern high, after being torpedoed by Japanese submarine I-168 in the afternoon of 6 June 1942. Photographed from the starboard forecastle deck of USS Yorktown (CV-5) by Photographer 2nd Class William G. Roy. Angular structure in right foreground is the front of Yorktown's forward starboard 5-inch gun gallery. Note knotted lines hanging down from the carrier's flight deck, remaining from her initial abandonment on 4 June." Naval History and Heritage Command <a href="https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/our-collections/photography/wars-and-events/world-war-ii/midway/80-G-32320.html" target="_blank">80-G-32320</a>.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>With ships on both sides still sinking (such as Yorktown) and already sunk, there are hundreds of men struggling to survive in the waters around Midway. The island's PT-boats and PBY Catalinas spend this and surrounding days picking up 27 men.</div><div><br /></div><div>U.S. fleet carrier Saratoga, which missed the Battle of Midway due to repairs and upgrades being performed on the West Coast, arrives in Honolulu today. It quickly prepares to depart on the 7th to ferry replacement aircraft and crew to Enterprise and Hornet still stationed northeast of Midway. While most histories record <a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/11/june-7-1942-manstein-attacks-sevastopol.html" target="_blank">7 June 1942</a> as the final day of the Battle of Midway, today effectively marks the end of major hostilities.</div><div><br /></div><div>The state-controlled Tokyo press quickly informs the public of the "great victory" in the Aleutian Islands. However, no mention is made of the catastrophic events for the Japanese Navy off of Midway Island until the war is over.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj80OHIcPzkUAW0raZg4Fkho07myUioYhO55NlumQoMYboqLQaODncNqkGa6F8gwWKcKN79NZaUJeQpucuwqhdxt1HZbvqxfzhckqr2_n4WMiv5gMIbKT5hwKfrNfbIgj__4nVo3OBGTotpFaKQF7Tac2YcVRpyGVvoOpFedNaKFPe-IVf9R9sC1We5=s640" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Japanese submarine U-168 which sank US destroyer Hammann on 6 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="468" data-original-width="640" height="468" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj80OHIcPzkUAW0raZg4Fkho07myUioYhO55NlumQoMYboqLQaODncNqkGa6F8gwWKcKN79NZaUJeQpucuwqhdxt1HZbvqxfzhckqr2_n4WMiv5gMIbKT5hwKfrNfbIgj__4nVo3OBGTotpFaKQF7Tac2YcVRpyGVvoOpFedNaKFPe-IVf9R9sC1We5=w640-h468" title="Japanese submarine U-168 which sank US destroyer Hammann on 6 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"I-168. (Japanese Submarine, 1933-1943) Underway in March 1934, probably during her trials. This submarine was renamed I-168 in May 1942. She torpedoed USS Yorktown (CV-5) on 6 June 1942, causing damage that led to the carrier's sinking the following morning." Naval History and Heritage Command <a href="https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/our-collections/photography/numerical-list-of-images/nhhc-series/nh-series/NH-73000/NH-73054.html" target="_blank">NH 73054 I-68</a>.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>Battle of the Indian Ocean:</b> Japanese submarine I-16 torpedoes, shells, and sinks 3839-ton Yugoslav freighter Susak in the Mozambique Channel. There are seven deaths.</div><div><br /></div><div>I-10 torpedoes and sinks U.S. freighter Melvin H. Baker 45 miles off the mainland coast. All 48 men aboard survive and are picked up by British freighter Twickenham.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Eastern Front:</b> German General Erich von Manstein makes his final preparations for Operation Stoerfang ("Sturgeon Catch"), the land assault against Sevastopol. Meanwhile, the Luftwaffe continues an overpowering assault against the port, facing virtually no opposition from airports almost within sight of the defenders. Between 3 and 6 June, the Luftwaffe has flown 2355 sorties, dropping 1800 tons of high explosives 23,800 1.1kg incendiary bombs. In the two weeks from 24 May to 6 June, the Luftwaffe also has dropped 638,000 propaganda leaflets (50,000 per day) with instructions on how to surrender.</div><div><br /></div><div>The massive artillery barrage that includes the biggest guns in military history, including the Karl and Gustav guns, shifts its targeting today to the defenses south of the city that face the German 30th Army Corps.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rather than evacuating the port, the Soviets actually make every effort to reinforce it, slipping flotilla leader Tashkent, the destroyer Bezuprechnyi, and transport Abkhaziya through the blockade to deliver 2,785 more Red Army defenders.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjMy5Pap1jczuY1KUm8xr02QWYXr1Apr7g7giFKPrVlG5gjB3N4VehG3sS4_tqbluT-639xRKWx6jWDTwaqypLI4dSSwgN39m7Fc4s6XkJY0Q-h2FnCawDnAiM6pGq9nlj7HXG8y9AwUJ3wnZkEk_XPX-tgzG6AkZ7VoUNtlmqNBSLZsQTvd1WX1tNG=s640" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Illustrated London News, 6 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="476" data-original-width="640" height="476" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjMy5Pap1jczuY1KUm8xr02QWYXr1Apr7g7giFKPrVlG5gjB3N4VehG3sS4_tqbluT-639xRKWx6jWDTwaqypLI4dSSwgN39m7Fc4s6XkJY0Q-h2FnCawDnAiM6pGq9nlj7HXG8y9AwUJ3wnZkEk_XPX-tgzG6AkZ7VoUNtlmqNBSLZsQTvd1WX1tNG=w640-h476" title="Illustrated London News, 6 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Illustrated London News of 6 June 1942 features photos of German General Erwin Rommel, left, and recently deceased General Reinhard Heydrich, right (with <a href="https://worldwartwo.filminspector.com/2014/05/heinrich-himmler-hitlers-executioner.html" target="_blank">Heinrich Himmler</a>). Rommel is shown pushing his command car out of some trouble.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>European Air Operations: </b>The weather is warm, with plenty of ground haze below 1500 feet. The RAF focuses mainly on convoy protection.</div><div><br /></div><div>R.A.A.F. Catalinas of RAF No. 10 Squadron, using Leigh Lights, bomb and damage Italian submarine Luigi Torelli in the Bay of Biscay. The submarine's crew manages to beach it at Santander, Spain, to prevent sinking. There is one death and one wounded crewman. The ship is temporarily repaired and sailed to France on 14 July for permanent repairs.</div><div><br /></div><div>Hptm. Helmut Lent, Gruppenkommanduer of II./NJG 2, is awarded the Eichenlaub (No. Ninety-eight) after 34 night victories and 8 by day.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiIBq3u-FcCCtmyZKa4lmhbjPAKegzg7EunndUvzZrsspS8_0VqfEi8PgARt0Q-nS0kyakMygbc3ym6lFbBznR9yC4rX5I2fNh0aL5qgn1d6u_S59Fls5LjM2b82KRhhU4G7TX4Z4x-zHre_tsqewKm4Ay8Z2HE7SpLZefHZa4ByMySj6u3smDOjhy7=s640" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="USS Atlanta with Hornet in the background, 6 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="476" data-original-width="640" height="476" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiIBq3u-FcCCtmyZKa4lmhbjPAKegzg7EunndUvzZrsspS8_0VqfEi8PgARt0Q-nS0kyakMygbc3ym6lFbBznR9yC4rX5I2fNh0aL5qgn1d6u_S59Fls5LjM2b82KRhhU4G7TX4Z4x-zHre_tsqewKm4Ay8Z2HE7SpLZefHZa4ByMySj6u3smDOjhy7=w640-h476" title="USS Atlanta with Hornet in the background, 6 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"A close-up of USS Atlanta (CL 51) with USS Hornet (CV 8) and USS Phelps (DD 360), all of Task Force 16, in background. Picture was made during the third day of the battle as Atlanta came up to offer assistance to the destroyer, which had broken down temporarily because of fuel shortage." 6 June 1942. Naval History and Heritage Command <a href="https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/museums/nmusn/explore/photography/wwii/wwii-pacific/turning-the-japanese-tide/1942-june-battle-of-midway/1942-june-7/80-g-88908.html" target="_blank">80-G-88908</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>Battle of the Atlantic:</b> It is a busy day for two German raiders operating in the South Atlantic east of Brazil. The 1940-41 glory days of the raiders are over and now they have to operate in remote areas to avoid detection. That doesn't mean they don't get the occasional moment of excitement. This happens during the Action of 6 June 1942.</div><div><br /></div><div>In one incident, German raider Michel (Schiffe 28) spots disabled and drifting 7176-ton U.S. freighter George Clymer midway between Brazil and Africa. The Michel launches its motor torpedo boat Esan, which torpedoes and badly damages the freighter. One man perishes in the attack. The crew abandons the ship but reboards it on the 8th when it does not sink. however, the situation is hopeless and the crew is picked up by the British armed merchant cruiser HMS Alcantara. That is the last anyone sees of George Clymer, which remains stubbornly afloat. Exactly when and where the George Clymer sinks is unknown.</div><div><br /></div><div>German raider Stier (Schiffe 23) has been quietly operating in the South Atlantic with limited success since leaving Royan, France in late May 1942. Today, Stier is cruising 500 miles (800 km) east of Pernambuco, Brazil, in overcast weather when it spots 10,170-ton U.S. tanker Stanvac Calcutta. Appearing suddenly out of a squall, Stier fires a warning shot and signals the tanker's crew to prepare to be boarded.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Stanvac Calcutta, however, is heavily armed for a tanker. It has one 4-inch (102 mm)/50-caliber naval gun salvaged from World War I and a 5 inch (127 mm)/25-caliber anti-aircraft gun. Stier, meanwhile, has six 150-millimeter (6 in) guns, one 37 mm (1.5 in) gun, two 20 mm (0.79 in) cannons, and two torpedo tubes. So, there's a lot of firepower on both sides, though Stier outguns the tanker by a substantial margin.</div><div><br /></div><div>The tanker's crew, led by Captain Gustav O. Karlsson, decides to not comply with the Stier's order to stop and opens fire. Led by Ensign Edward L. Anderson, the tanker's gunners get off several shots with both guns (the larger gun in the gun, smaller in the bow). Despite missing with most of their shots, the gunners do hit and disable one of Stier's 150mm guns. The Stier's crew then returns fire with 148 shells.</div><div><br /></div><div>The battle lasts for 15 minutes, during which the Germans score a hit on the tanker's bridge, killing Captain Karlsson and several others. The Americans continue firing until their ammunition is exhausted. At this point, Stier Captain Horst Gerlach fires a torpedo that strikes Stanvac Calcutta on the port side. This kills several sailors and causes damage that leads to a sharp list and eventual sinking. The tanker's crew then abandons ship. Gerlach's men lower their own boats and rescue the Americans struggling in the water.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Action of 6 June 1942 shows several hard truths about the Battle of the Atlantic. One is that merchant ships armed with a few guns stand little chance against raiders like Stier that are designed for combat even if they aren't true warships. Another is that these surface combats kill a lot of crewmen, as Stanvac Calcutta has 16 men killed in action, one dying later onboard Stier, fourteen men wounded, and 37 prisoners taken (the Stier only suffers two wounded men).</div><div><br /></div><div>Actions like that of 6 June 1942 call into question the whole concept of arming merchant ships, which requires a lot of effort and dedicated gunners on hundreds of ships. However, later events involving Stier will redeem this idea somewhat. For their pains, the Stanvac Calcutta's crew later are awarded the Merchant Marine Gallant Ship Citation and Ensign Anderson is promoted (while a POW) to the rank of lieutenant commander. The tanker crew winds up in a Japanese POW camp.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg5EF_ppR9rdVXT0O52PdbGumENVz4NfFS1W9QqsOyaVvtSUY-hNUJ8D6lsYXCSc0jkMdH4Qm21vDogOWvRFveF-tEaIJdLHrDOQVc2JOeRa1-ACfrEhndkZLL6iD2GiY78hi2d4Akfqbq9BHxO_KiawhXehGbWUCi9pCXEP1V0HS_O4E3Q9vgP517b=s1046" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Freighter Hermis in the background, sunk on 6 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="518" data-original-width="1046" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg5EF_ppR9rdVXT0O52PdbGumENVz4NfFS1W9QqsOyaVvtSUY-hNUJ8D6lsYXCSc0jkMdH4Qm21vDogOWvRFveF-tEaIJdLHrDOQVc2JOeRa1-ACfrEhndkZLL6iD2GiY78hi2d4Akfqbq9BHxO_KiawhXehGbWUCi9pCXEP1V0HS_O4E3Q9vgP517b=w640-h316" title="Freighter Hermis in the background, sunk on 6 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Coal-burning freighter Hermis is shown at left while still called "Ada O." Hermis was an Italian vessel anchored in New Orleans when seized in 1941 and pressed into U.S. service. Sunk on 6 June 1942.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>There are also the usual U-boat sinkings, these days confined to the Caribbean.</div><div><br /></div><div>U-68 (KrvKpt. Karl-Friedrich Merten), on its fourth patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 13,006-ton Panamanian tanker C.O. Stillman 60 miles southwest of Puerto Rico. There are three deaths and 55 survivors, most of whom are picked up by US Coast Guard patrol boat #83310 while 30 sail their lifeboats to Puerto Rico.</div><div><br /></div><div>U-107 (Kptlt. Harald Gelhaus), on its sixth patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 3910-ton Honduran freighter Castilla east of Cancun and south of western Cuba. One torpedo hits and causes the ship to sink quickly stern-first. The crew can't launch lifeboats and take to three rafts. There are 24 deaths (including one who dies on a raft) 35 survivors, who are picked up by USS Nike (WPC-112) after six days. Some sources place this sinking on <a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/11/june-7-1942-manstein-attacks-sevastopol.html" target="_blank">7 June 1942</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>U-158 (Kptlt. Erwin Rostin), on its second patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 5234-ton Panamanian freighter Hermis west of Havana and northeast of Cancun. Two torpedoes strike the ship on the port side but the engines continue running due to an inability to stop them due to damage. Rostin surfaces and uses his deck gun to finish off the freighter, setting it on fire. There is one death and 46 survivors, who are picked up by US Army transport Toloa. The ship does not sink for at least 12 hours and this sinking is sometimes listed as occurring on <a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/11/june-7-1942-manstein-attacks-sevastopol.html" target="_blank">7 June 1942</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>Dutch 197-ton freighter Antares hits a mine and sinks off the Dutch coast.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiJFS1DHnQtp7_levoDUzAfvuTxK_nBOJ4jw6jNj87-S5XIS-RvtKyvLKT-wKhn4sugq5e-bz9gLrPC3Y-ez5gR3Yfia-P3uaHNSLtTBobxoyLE8B7QWNdU63jrmh99rG1gYFXkd6cGtpJ3Rmfy6pCxKKBzUQRFEeOkwJGmklJW9IMb3C4CbMhCYYR4=s640" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt=""Battle of Knightsbridge 6th June 1942" worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="441" data-original-width="640" height="442" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiJFS1DHnQtp7_levoDUzAfvuTxK_nBOJ4jw6jNj87-S5XIS-RvtKyvLKT-wKhn4sugq5e-bz9gLrPC3Y-ez5gR3Yfia-P3uaHNSLtTBobxoyLE8B7QWNdU63jrmh99rG1gYFXkd6cGtpJ3Rmfy6pCxKKBzUQRFEeOkwJGmklJW9IMb3C4CbMhCYYR4=w640-h442" title=""Battle of Knightsbridge 6th June 1942" worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"The Battle of Knightsbridge, 6th June 1942," by Terence Cuneo (1907-1996). Shown are the 426th Battery of the 107th Regiment Royal Horse Artillery and the South Nottinghamshire Hussars, panzer of the Afrika Korps attacking. The 426th ultimately was forced to surrender.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>Battle of the Mediterranean: </b>After a wild day of attack and counter-attack between German and British troops on 5 June, the front settles down again today. However, German General Erwin Rommel retains command of the battlefield after his forces destroyed dozens of Allied tanks. He sends out armed reconnaissance to test the British lines and maintains pressure on the surrounded Free French garrison at Bir Hakeim. For their part, the British engage in harassing attacks against the German supply lines using the 7th Motor Brigade and 29th Indian Infantry Brigade.</div><div><br /></div><div>The main action of the day is an attack at 11:00 by the German 90th Light Division against Bir Hakeim. This involves a determined effort by troops and pioneers to clear a way through the minefields surrounding the fortress, which are divided into two perimeters. By nightfall, the Germans manage to get through the outer minefield and into the inner minefield to within 800 meters (900 yards) of the fortress. The advance, while threatening to the Free French, also leaves the German troops exposed to Desert Air Force attacks on the 7th.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Battle of Knightsbridge proceeds as the 15th Panzer Division attacks northward. The British 22nd Armoured Brigade continues to give ground after having lost dozens of its tanks. The German objective is El Adem, but the 201st Guard Brigade is ferociously defending the approaches to Tobruk.</div><div><br /></div><div>Operation Aberdeen, the Eighth Army's counterattack begun on 4/5 June against the German Afrika Korps panzers, ends today after having accomplished nothing but the loss of numerous British troops and tanks. British Eighth Army commander General Neil Ritchie and Middle East Commander-in-Chief Claude Auchinleck now face the prospect of not only losing the battle but also all of Libya and much of Egypt unless they can find some way to stop Rommel's attacks. Among the desperate options considered are withdrawing the Free French from Bir Hakeim to free up the 7th Motor Brigade. However, this is rejected as the French seem to be in a good defensive situation.</div><div><br /></div><div>Oblt. Hans-Joachim Marseille of 3./JG 27, currently operating in North Africa, receives the Eichenlaub for achieving 75 victories. Marseille once was considered a disciplinary problem but now is revered by his colleagues as a legend.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgOzZIFP_tzI3PB_GF5PnB6tXtvRJqrPimAFhhTgLlKH1QDwyrwa33ixvWCnvVlLbNfOQ4pGjj4zkz_yw7lB7KtyopYRcI9pJ66n11VuLA3br4RzqxSwFp1aC2eQwqqx1Goor1H7_PDANa-75UskEMxk2x1ljJrSUqfwIPKdrXDccN2xUouHlxBlFxw=s640" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Battle of the Gazala Line, 6 June 1942" worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="471" data-original-width="640" height="472" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgOzZIFP_tzI3PB_GF5PnB6tXtvRJqrPimAFhhTgLlKH1QDwyrwa33ixvWCnvVlLbNfOQ4pGjj4zkz_yw7lB7KtyopYRcI9pJ66n11VuLA3br4RzqxSwFp1aC2eQwqqx1Goor1H7_PDANa-75UskEMxk2x1ljJrSUqfwIPKdrXDccN2xUouHlxBlFxw=w640-h472" title="Battle of the Gazala Line, 6 June 1942" worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A map showing the military situation in Libya ca. 6 June 1942. The 15th Panzer Division thrust through the British Knightsbridge defensive position is shown by the upward arrow in the center, with a separate thrust to the south of Tobruk at the upper right. The map makes clear the extreme jeopardy of the Allied position at Tobruk, though nobody on either side is thinking about it just yet.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>American Homefront:</b> At the Belmont Stakes, the third jewel of the Triple Crown, the chestnut stallion Shut Out is the winner. Having also won the Kentucky Derby, Shut Out just misses immortality by having lost the Preakness Stakes to Alsab. Shut Out continues racing until 1944, when it is retired and put out to stud until passing away in 1964.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Future History: </b>Klaus Bednarz is born in Falkensee, Province of Brandenburg, Germany. Bednarz becomes a popular West German correspondent, author, and television host, particularly of the TV show Monitor. Klaus Bednarz passes away on 14 April 2015.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgrkKo_ImmtSP5_6HqQgkfalpfvv4n9e5_PAddfA82kXTxZXALAElxlxh_lJ7GMHugOxt22eCpZoyhx0zQ4ekQgozqzoLVLWkwvCtW6qleKMVZRzT5m87eqkj9QFwL_GmYDcdpRzuBpddVwzVS8676lrrplHsslyCKfjEgAdqWgcmGJqD-Y67kgrfc3=s819" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="L'Illustration, 6 June 1942" worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="819" data-original-width="640" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgrkKo_ImmtSP5_6HqQgkfalpfvv4n9e5_PAddfA82kXTxZXALAElxlxh_lJ7GMHugOxt22eCpZoyhx0zQ4ekQgozqzoLVLWkwvCtW6qleKMVZRzT5m87eqkj9QFwL_GmYDcdpRzuBpddVwzVS8676lrrplHsslyCKfjEgAdqWgcmGJqD-Y67kgrfc3=w500-h640" title="L'Illustration, 6 June 1942" worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="500" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>L'Illustration, 6 June 1942.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span class="updated">2021</span>
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4010278260980683606.post-67761899429435256032021-10-12T22:33:00.011-07:002021-11-12T22:58:39.133-07:00June 5, 1942: Last Moments of Admiral Yamaguchi<div itemscope="" itemtype="https://schema.org/Thing"><h1>Friday 5 June 1942</h1><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEghoGOckWD9Vq22QWitPb6Xqg-eudOIEiiViDn_O8ahJrqo7nxJfiVtZ3Jkv5DOhZirruORItLfoTkulopjyt39ny5HSk0jdQXOxRxXKsyjrRDwcvGj8fSbnH2lCATkK5cSDw2Sc2kn4sezwzKR7s8nfB1LiGlzsPrbIanhpq_X87nw58KlBVzrWAN0=s640" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Hiryu sinking 5 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="419" data-original-width="640" height="420" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEghoGOckWD9Vq22QWitPb6Xqg-eudOIEiiViDn_O8ahJrqo7nxJfiVtZ3Jkv5DOhZirruORItLfoTkulopjyt39ny5HSk0jdQXOxRxXKsyjrRDwcvGj8fSbnH2lCATkK5cSDw2Sc2kn4sezwzKR7s8nfB1LiGlzsPrbIanhpq_X87nw58KlBVzrWAN0=w640-h420" title="Hiryu sinking 5 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Japanese aircraft carrier Hiryu ("Flying Dragon") burning shortly after sunrise on 5 June 1942, a few hours before she sank. Photographed by a plane from the carrier Hosho. Note collapsed flight deck at right. Part of the forward elevator is standing upright just in front of the island, where it had been thrown by an explosion in the hangar." It is Admiral Yamaguchi's funeral pyre. (US Naval History and Heritage Command <a href="https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/our-collections/photography/wars-and-events/world-war-ii/midway/NH-73064.html" target="_blank">NH 73064</a>).<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>Battle of the Pacific:</b> Admiral Chester Nimitz takes the unusual step of announcing the results of the Battle of Midway to the press on <b itemprop="name">5 June 1942</b> even as the battle continues. It is clear to everyone that this has been a complete debacle for the Japanese. It can only get worse for them now that the U.S. Navy has an overwhelming advantage due to the sinking of the four Japanese aircraft carriers.</div><div><br /></div><div>Following the 4 June destruction of the four Japanese fleet carriers, Midway Island's defenders receive a vague report at 04:15 from the submarine USS Tambor (Cdr John Murphy), first sent to Hawaii, that the remaining Japanese fleet is approaching. Murphy later makes a half-hearted attack run on the ships, but misses. Upon receiving the report from Pearl, the island's defenders quickly launch eight B-17 bombers from Eastern Island, but the crews cannot spot anything in the early morning haze.</div><div><br /></div><div>At 06:30, another report comes in from a Midway-based PBY Catalina that it has sighted "2 battleships" heading away from the island. A follow-up message says "Ships damaged, streaming oil." Marine Aircraft Group 22 then sends up two flights VMSB-24, six Dauntlesses (Capt. Marshall A. Tyler) and six Vought SB2U Vindicators (Captain Richard E. Fleming). The "battleships" turn out to be heavy cruisers Mikuma and Mogami. They are streaming oil because they collided during the night. The planes spot the oil slick, which allows them to zero in on the cruisers.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjk9lHmLniMfYeKBc4qaUMtMwXKp-UBs-IGUc_to2Kp64DPIxhUtecsu6kW9_gzJxfZoFkEoCPM7N_QInlQxDOXnvzIY18X-yObzkKPZ-l4xBBH7aMWhz4vjl-SoI3rf75lcJCH9uVSr8tsZNGhPhMbBR9DkWbDWVzdj7KxfmHqPJchEE5eRRN5GwFQ=s640" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Admiral Yamaguchi's last moments 5 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="536" data-original-width="640" height="536" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjk9lHmLniMfYeKBc4qaUMtMwXKp-UBs-IGUc_to2Kp64DPIxhUtecsu6kW9_gzJxfZoFkEoCPM7N_QInlQxDOXnvzIY18X-yObzkKPZ-l4xBBH7aMWhz4vjl-SoI3rf75lcJCH9uVSr8tsZNGhPhMbBR9DkWbDWVzdj7KxfmHqPJchEE5eRRN5GwFQ=w640-h536" title="Admiral Yamaguchi's last moments 5 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Last moments of Admiral Yamaguchi," war art painting by Kita Renzo. "Rear Admiral Tamon Yamaguchi, commander of the Japanese Carrier Striking Force's Carrier Division Two, elected to remain aboard his flagship Hiryu when she was abandoned during the early morning of 5 June 1942. He is depicted here in the middle of the scene as he bids farewell to his staff." Naval History and Heritage Command <a href="https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/OnlineLibrary/photos/events/wwii-pac/midway/mid-4n.htm" target="_blank">SC 301067</a>. </td><td class="tr-caption"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>Tyler and his men attack Mogami but only score some near misses. Fleming then dives on Mikuma from out of the sun. Fleming does not survive - there is contradictory evidence whether his plane crashes into the Mikuma or the water nearby. The attack starts a fire that kills the men in Mikuma's engine room.</div><div><br /></div><div>With the Mikuma crippled, eight B-17s (Lt. Col. Brooke Allen) then attack Mogami, but only score some near misses. Mikuma and Mogami ten head westward to escape, with Mikuma eventually sinking on the 6 June. Late in the day, Admiral Yamamoto orders all ships in the vicinity of Midway to retire. Japanese destroyers scuttle blazing carriers Hiryu and Akagi early in the day. The leader of the carrier force, Rear Admiral Tamon Yamaguchi, having lost his entire command, refuses to leave Hiryu and goes down with the ship.</div><div><br /></div><div><div>For his heroism in leading the successful attack on Mikuma, U.S. Marine Richard Eugene Fleming will be posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, the highest U.S. military decoration. President Franklin D. Roosevelt gives it to his mother on 24 November 1942.</div><div><br /></div></div><div>To the northeast of Midway, Admiral Raymond Spruance, in charge of the combined task force 16 that includes aircraft carriers <a href="https://worldwartwo.filminspector.com/2021/01/uss-enterprise-galloping-ghost-of-wwii.html" target="_blank">USS Enterprise</a> and Hornet, seeks out but cannot find the Japanese surface fleet. Late in the day, he sends out scout planes, but they narrowly miss spotting Admiral Nagumo's main fleet. They do spot a destroyer and attack it, but miss. The planes return after dark, and the carrier crews must turn on their lights for the planes to land.</div><div><br /></div><div>Spruance is extremely put out at the unacceptably vague report from submarine Tambor early in the day because it is vague and unhelpful. He also is upset at Commander Murphy for a lack of aggressiveness in not attacking the ships he spotted. He will have Murphy relieved of his command when Tambor returns to Pearl Harbor.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhxfXawa1XZKLLJWIQ8WgEUzL3iTcfgaR7EEI4fd7mnusfBko_Zt2vyTtF7aw0srRRotryV5FpV8pSRCB3npiuvWzOhvCcQHgmg-ViC7cQS6WZrZ--rewOl-97hk3AZP8ARd7TzEXTz_ASrpmubm60g4m8sglvPr0y7Ok41Av5UuF31ntKvJ0BBqxmi=s1445" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Map of Battle of Midway 5 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1445" height="472" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhxfXawa1XZKLLJWIQ8WgEUzL3iTcfgaR7EEI4fd7mnusfBko_Zt2vyTtF7aw0srRRotryV5FpV8pSRCB3npiuvWzOhvCcQHgmg-ViC7cQS6WZrZ--rewOl-97hk3AZP8ARd7TzEXTz_ASrpmubm60g4m8sglvPr0y7Ok41Av5UuF31ntKvJ0BBqxmi=w640-h472" title="Map of Battle of Midway 5 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Map of the Battle of Midway 4-5 June 1942 (<a href="https://www.onwar.com/wwii/maps/pacific/12pacific.html">Onwar.com</a>).</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>Rear Adm. Robert A. Theobald, in command of Task Force 8, which has been stationed uneventfully about 400 miles south of Kodiak Island in the Aleutians, receives a report of enemy warships in the Bering Sea. The report states that they are heading south toward Unalaska Island. Theobald sends his task force, which has no aircraft carriers, to investigate.</div><div><br /></div><div>Intended U.S. air attacks using land-based bombers fail due to weather conditions. While six B-17 Flying Fortresses do report bombing enemy shipping, it turns out that in the hazy conditions they actually bomb some uninhabited islands (Pribilof Islands). While all these failed air attacks are going on, the Japanese order 1200 men of the Adak-Attu Occupation Force under Rear Admiral Omori Sentaro to proceed toward Attu for a landing on the 6th.</div><div><br /></div><div>In reality, the Japanese force near the Aleutian Islands under the command of Vice Adm. Boshiro Hosogaya is moving south, but only to join Admiral Yamamoto's remaining fleet in the general vicinity of Midway Island. They are to join Yamamoto's forces in a desperate effort to lure the U.S. Navy carriers into surface combat. However, late in the day, Yamamoto decides that this plan will not work and sends Hosogaya back north to complete the landings in the western Aleutians. The Japanese high command in Tokyo dispatches two aircraft carriers from Japan to reinforce Hosogaya. Their hope is that the U.S. carriers might try to intervene in the Aleutian Island landings and be destroyed.</div><div><br /></div><div>USS Yorktown remains afloat, though listing badly. At great hazard, a salvage party of 29 officers and 141 enlisted men board the sinking ship to see if anything can be done to save it. After the damage it has taken from multiple strikes, it is amazing that Yorktown still floats.</div><div><br /></div><div>U.S. Navy submarine Pompano torpedoes and damages Japanese 131-ton guard ship Sumiyoshi Maru No. 8 off Truk Island. The entire crew survives by transferring to nearby ship Shoko Maru.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Fifth Air Force sends B-17s to bomb a coal jetty, wharves, and a warehouse at Rabaul.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjcOS-cbMziF148XrSuwWG8DC3ut018Fo485LnhuHF-iURUqxuq6I2hlc5Y45IjZcIxC7jU7P0Z21IEISoojeexeiPQBi9ZQZA9ZqKkWk04meuKUWZq4je7FqoVM9ztvEaOMGROcuSwZ0rhSxqrsh3-p1Dyf-zBxq_VzBlwrXwuwFlLtDhI_hOIzhNo=s801" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Bombay Chronicle 5 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="801" data-original-width="640" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjcOS-cbMziF148XrSuwWG8DC3ut018Fo485LnhuHF-iURUqxuq6I2hlc5Y45IjZcIxC7jU7P0Z21IEISoojeexeiPQBi9ZQZA9ZqKkWk04meuKUWZq4je7FqoVM9ztvEaOMGROcuSwZ0rhSxqrsh3-p1Dyf-zBxq_VzBlwrXwuwFlLtDhI_hOIzhNo=w512-h640" title="Bombay Chronicle 5 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="512" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The 5 June 1942 Bombay Chronicle headlines "Poison Gas Attack on Chinese Troops."</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>Battle of the Indian Ocean:</b> There is a lot of Japanese naval activity off the west African coast today. The Japanese high command has sent a large force of submarines and other vessels to the vicinity of Madagascar in an attempt to decimate the British Far Eastern Fleet, and today that concentration of power pays off for them.</div><div><br /></div><div>Japanese armed merchant cruisers Hokoku Maru and Aikoku Maru, operating 350 nautical miles (650 km) northeast of Durban, shell and sink 6757-ton British freighter Elysia. There are 22 dead. Elysia takes four days to sink. Hokoku Maru and Aikoku are there primarily to resupply the large number of Japanese submarines in the area.</div><div><br /></div><div>Off the coast of Mozambique in the Mozambique Channel, Japanese submarine I-10 gets two successes. It sinks 2639-ton Panamanian freighter Atlantic Gulf (2 dead), and also 4999-ton US armed freighter Melvin H. Baker. British freighter Twickenham rescues the crew of Melvin H. Baker.</div><div><br /></div><div>Japanese submarine I-20 torpedoes and sinks 5086-ton Panamanian freighter Johnstown off Mozambique. There are two deaths.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjJzifYO_KYDTfQh8rK8hABk1opoMN3BQiGzKiNv3tTCwriWKVfUEZprRFaaDPSyh9wjU4AUpqyzBnS6if2f3LHwTSd4j_ClTrh9-DgKLoANz_ddK9JlZUEmOU9jhU8AIlhAUXuOgHbg6DlzC5eNpN8sJkZYfoCI26x6L3U7zZ8glOfNTqDRPSXfuym=s640" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Dutch Harbor 5 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="422" data-original-width="640" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjJzifYO_KYDTfQh8rK8hABk1opoMN3BQiGzKiNv3tTCwriWKVfUEZprRFaaDPSyh9wjU4AUpqyzBnS6if2f3LHwTSd4j_ClTrh9-DgKLoANz_ddK9JlZUEmOU9jhU8AIlhAUXuOgHbg6DlzC5eNpN8sJkZYfoCI26x6L3U7zZ8glOfNTqDRPSXfuym=w640-h422" title="Dutch Harbor 5 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A damaged U.S. ship at Dutch Harbor following Japanese air attacks, Alaska, on 5 June 1942.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>Eastern Front:</b> In the Crimean Peninsula, General Erich von Manstein prepares to launch his long-awaited attack on the Soviet holdouts at Sevastopol. His 11th Army has LIV Corps to the north, 30th Corps (General Maximilian Fretter-Pico) to the south, and Romanian Mountain Corps 3 (General de divizie Gheorghe Avramescu) to the east. </div><div><br /></div><div>The Luftwaffe (Generaloberst Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen) attacks throughout the day, as do 700 large German artillery pieces. Manstein's 203,800 men, including 65 Sturmgeschütz III self-propelled assault guns, oppose 118,000 Red Army troops holding the port. Today, the German bombardment, which has been rotating each day, shifts to the northern Red Army defensive line facing LIV Corps.</div><div><br /></div><div>Fw. Anton "Toni" Hafner of 8./JG 51 claims 7 Soviet planes today to bring his score to 43 victories.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>European Air Operations: </b>It is a very hot day with some ground haze. The RAF engages in mostly convoy patrols with a few going along the French to Dutch coasts. RAF No. 141 Squadron pilot Warrant Officer Hamar shoots down a Dornier Do 217 E 20 km west of Leiden.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjOTwNVwBKVW0YoVmael4F2EQwY3IMPdGQ8VyXNWIYnr31h_ai_fCjzfIkjS3QbQ1GlmDceOJVGIhBdgJxoeASJyaA4TNLDPZVNx0IjtaUmadLNF_Wf74a2vcPYPQj9zay6XQPwl2rKGdz8vo507c_FBJBILYQwVwHlwcNh4PCHAwEszxWPEACpoNjf=s640" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Yak-7B prototype 5 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="341" data-original-width="640" height="342" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjOTwNVwBKVW0YoVmael4F2EQwY3IMPdGQ8VyXNWIYnr31h_ai_fCjzfIkjS3QbQ1GlmDceOJVGIhBdgJxoeASJyaA4TNLDPZVNx0IjtaUmadLNF_Wf74a2vcPYPQj9zay6XQPwl2rKGdz8vo507c_FBJBILYQwVwHlwcNh4PCHAwEszxWPEACpoNjf=w640-h342" title="Yak-7B prototype 5 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yakovlev Yak-7B prototype no.22-03 during trials in June 1942. It will become a useful close support fighter that serves first with the 42nd Fighter Aviation Regiment (IAP) at the North-Western front and then at Stalingrad and in the Caucasus.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>Battle of the Atlantic: </b>U-68 (KrvKpt. Karl-Friedrich Merten), on its fourth patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 6693-ton U.S. tanker L.J. Drake in the Caribbean southeast of Santo Domingo. Merten uses three torpedoes, all of which hit and create a huge fireball. All 41 men aboard perish.</div><div><br /></div><div>U-172 (Kptlt. Carl Emmermann), on its second patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 3480-ton US freighter Delfina 130 miles northwest of San Juan, Puerto Rico. Emmerman has to follow the freighter for seven hours, during which he misses the ship with three torpedoes (due to malfunctions, not poor aim). The ship sinks within 20 minutes. There are four dead and 27 survivors, some of whom make landfall at Montecristi, Dominican Republic, and others are quickly picked up by US patrol boat USS YP-67.</div><div><br /></div><div>U-94 (Oblt. Otto Ites), on its ninth patrol out of St. Nazaire, uses its deck gun and sinks 320-ton Portugues three-masted sailing ship Maria da Glória in codfish fishing grounds off Greenland. Ites does not see any markings so assumes it is an enemy vessel. Once the ship raises the Portuguese flag, Ites stops shooting, but it is too late for the ship. Once the crew abandons the ship, Ites resumes firing and sinks it. There are 36 dead and 8 survivors.</div><div><br /></div><div>U-159 (Kptlt. Helmut Friedrich Witte), on its second patrol out of Lorient, uses its deck gun against 265-ton Brazilian sailing ship Paracury southeast of Santo Domingo in roughly the same area as where U-68 sinks L.J. Drake. The seas are rough, so the U-boat uses its 20mm anti-aircraft gun to punch holes in the waterline, causing it to capsize. Casualties are unknown. The ship remains afloat long enough for someone to find it, salvage it, and return it to service.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg3ze-y3b_OLAHUQeouC9VmeNNZhuXkqaVZeQtU6yPIcuHCJKc4w9cfNBtmVVOv6t3e6ciMlnbk-xxxKTACY4G6gggj4kV12FwEDBxVtlQnva7rTMWrHmhNu8R7dRjlNsQi-eJlrEN0T_mX1LWJaZoNCtkyvhsh5Wc7-spejiDTD1Xt8kjdlrR9-kGp=s640" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="US freighter Velma Lykes, sunk 5 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="343" data-original-width="640" height="344" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg3ze-y3b_OLAHUQeouC9VmeNNZhuXkqaVZeQtU6yPIcuHCJKc4w9cfNBtmVVOv6t3e6ciMlnbk-xxxKTACY4G6gggj4kV12FwEDBxVtlQnva7rTMWrHmhNu8R7dRjlNsQi-eJlrEN0T_mX1LWJaZoNCtkyvhsh5Wc7-spejiDTD1Xt8kjdlrR9-kGp=w640-h344" title="US freighter Velma Lykes, sunk 5 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">U.S. freighter Velma Lykes, sunk on 5 June 1942 by U-158 in the Caribbean (Bowling Green State University).</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>U-158 (Kptlt. Erwin Rostin), on its second patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 2572-ton U.S. freighter Velma Lykes off Puerto Juarrez, Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. The ship sinks within one minute. There are 15 dead and 17 survivors, who cling to rafts and are picked up on the 6th by freighter Ardenvorhr after being spotted by a Catalina. The men of the Velma Lykes have further troubles when U-68 torpedoes and sinks their rescue ship, but they all survive that sinking, too.</div><div><br /></div><div>British 1798-ton freighter Sonja Maersk runs aground and sinks off Ketch Harbor, Nova Scotia, due to heavy fog. There are no casualties.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhd_QtNKbYgBDvvIveKWg6N6ewHbeTM1ijrlpVBFLUsHsC3KhvN7e5ZSvZQRU6zkhTTZzNy57D5AEPIr2u95UwYo1x6-Dh7Xj3ixlHZfrJkQ1uAPLoQGJ88Qfvl19wW_h5DGOHWFBnJrzRbxqeDWkZElcs6C6-o8iSiMFAUo1gNGB9ZH_gAOPo4TzT4=s640" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Stukas and Bf 109s June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.cmo" border="0" data-original-height="380" data-original-width="640" height="380" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhd_QtNKbYgBDvvIveKWg6N6ewHbeTM1ijrlpVBFLUsHsC3KhvN7e5ZSvZQRU6zkhTTZzNy57D5AEPIr2u95UwYo1x6-Dh7Xj3ixlHZfrJkQ1uAPLoQGJ88Qfvl19wW_h5DGOHWFBnJrzRbxqeDWkZElcs6C6-o8iSiMFAUo1gNGB9ZH_gAOPo4TzT4=w640-h380" title="Stukas and Bf 109s June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.cmo" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Messerschmitt Bf 109F4 JG5 Black 1 and 5 escorting Ju 87 Stukas of SG5.1 in Russia, June 1942</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>Battle of the Mediterranean: </b>The land battle in Libya has been deadlocked for a week, and today the British Eighth Army decides to do something about it. General Neil Ritchie's forces launch Operation Aberdeen, an attempt to encircle German General Erwin Rommel's forces in "the Cauldron." Rommel's forces, meanwhile, still encircle the Free French outpost at Bir Hakeim.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Axis forces in the Cauldron, however, have had time to prepare killing zones with their tanks and anti-tank gun positions. The British make no progress with their early-morning attacks from the north and only slight progress by the 7th Armoured and 5th Indian divisions from the east. The British 32nd Army Tank Brigade in the north loses 50-70 tanks.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rommel, fortified by the morning success against the British tanks, reacts quickly. In the afternoon, he splits his forces, counterattacking east toward Bir el Hatmat with Ariete and 21st Panzer divisions and to the north with elements of the 15th Panzer Division. The attack to the east has great success, forcing the headquarters of two British divisions, two brigades, and others to flee in a panic. This effectively decapitates the British response. The 15th Panzer attack to the north also has success, forcing the 22nd Armoured Brigade back with a loss of 60 of its 156 tanks. This turns into a wild retreat in which the British abandon three Indian infantry battalions, a reconnaissance regiment, and four artillery regiments to be captured. The front then settles down for the night.</div><div><br /></div><div>At Bir Hakeim, the surrounded Free French remain safe within their fortifications but are running out of supplies such as food and water. The Desert Air Force flies cover overhead to disperse Luftwaffe attacks, but Axis artillery continues to batter away at the fort. The German 90th Light Division prepares to attack the fort on 6 June using pioneers to clear the minefields around it.</div><div><br /></div><div>Convoy WS-19Z, which carries Force X, sails from the Clyde for Gibraltar. This is the prelude to Operation Harpoon, or the Battle of Pantelleria, when an eastbound convoy sailing from Gibraltar will pass a westbound convoy out of Alexandria (Operation Vigorous) in mid-June. Unknown to the Allies, who have been reading German codes with Operation Ultra, the Italian military intelligence service (<i>Servizio Informazioni Militare</i>) has broken the U.S. code being used in the Mediterranean. The Axis thus has an early warning of these two joint operations due to communications made by the U.S. Military Attaché in Egypt, Colonel Bonner Fellers.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgWVKFCqQn0hWAgnbE_c_upMjuDSMaAoWCefpHFSYjyjPzDdtf5CKkGFl3kjc6sNg91__i9U6a__zsT7c-J9InApnIWzJOqtGImfDE4ZXyC0BeS7-LTX50Ik3FkX1WmZVu2zPUvV3IjCC-5WxsYHi09EuFni4HY7LBG4BfzMQJQAlSV032UvjDAwm3l=s640" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="NY Times headlines June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.cmo" border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="640" height="512" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgWVKFCqQn0hWAgnbE_c_upMjuDSMaAoWCefpHFSYjyjPzDdtf5CKkGFl3kjc6sNg91__i9U6a__zsT7c-J9InApnIWzJOqtGImfDE4ZXyC0BeS7-LTX50Ik3FkX1WmZVu2zPUvV3IjCC-5WxsYHi09EuFni4HY7LBG4BfzMQJQAlSV032UvjDAwm3l=w640-h512" title="NY Times headlines June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.cmo" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">For once, the U.S. media actually downplays the real war news. The 5 June 1942 NY Times headlines that "Japanese Battleship and Carrier Damaged" when, in fact, the Japanese have lost four carriers. However, the truth comes out today as Admiral Nimitz lists the real successes at the Battle of Midway.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>US/Axis Relations: </b>The United States declares war on Bulgaria, Hungary, and Romania. Relations also now are strained with Finland due to its hosting Adolf Hitler to celebrate Marshal Mannerheim's 75th birthday on 4 June.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>US Military: </b>General Brehon B. Somervell, commander of the Army Service Forces, completes an inspection of US forces in Northern Island.</div><div><br /></div><div>Two Douglas A-24 Dauntless dive bombers collide at Charters Towers, Queensland, Australia at 1000-1500 feet during a training flight. Three of the four men survive by parachuting out, but pilot 2nd Lt. Norman J. Davidson, whose plane was hit by the other plane's propeller from underneath, perishes.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhW_t2lRv6zG4X3SbvJ6zdOgHVoN4Izz-R5vTSG7YVEGk9pNf39lt46UFmM6TxAxEWE7UvzNlOpJpXLMLGsAWDC3W83ZbnaF2Fg6PxBTeTVr4GjbPv6M17X9kjkw3RTdEBI1iApwI7O6W7huH2VIKW-8VKqCc4iTSUCzUUC-ohmYuJOSQkaZqQwq_y3=s640" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Auschwitz victim June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.cmo" border="0" data-original-height="291" data-original-width="640" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhW_t2lRv6zG4X3SbvJ6zdOgHVoN4Izz-R5vTSG7YVEGk9pNf39lt46UFmM6TxAxEWE7UvzNlOpJpXLMLGsAWDC3W83ZbnaF2Fg6PxBTeTVr4GjbPv6M17X9kjkw3RTdEBI1iApwI7O6W7huH2VIKW-8VKqCc4iTSUCzUUC-ohmYuJOSQkaZqQwq_y3=w640-h292" title="Auschwitz victim June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.cmo" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sloveč cabman Vaclav Novotny perishes in Auschwitz on 5 June 1942. Auschwitz Memorial (colorized).</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>Holocaust: </b>Train Convoy No. 2 deporting people from France departs today for the East. The edict authorizing this train specifies that it should "deport Communists, Jews and anti-social elements to the East, in retaliation." Helmut Knochen (March 14, 1910 – April 4, 2003), the senior commander of the Sicherheitspolizei (Security Police) and Sicherheitsdienst in Paris, oversees the operation. SS Captain (<i>Hauptsturmführer</i>) Theodor Dannecker, leader of the <i>Judenreferat</i> at the SD office in Paris, has composed the list of deportees. </div><div><br /></div><div>This batch is composed of about 1000 mostly Jewish men aged 18 to 54, primarily Poles who fled the occupation there. They were arrested at Drancy, Beaune-la-Rolande, and Pithiviers and then taken to Compiègne between 14 May and 20 August 1941. Many of these men have been found unfit for work. Of these men, roughly 800 are taken to Auschwitz and are dead within ten weeks.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjqTZwqNEzhppxBlXOe6-zxYTGtHnwywEf5BMUvOSs3FFZeMeaTNSnXIkdbBhu4FLhNrDUXJBj4kATJ35P7din2wgF1eOroGHR3TYBDLVpqe75l5qNL8ohqsHSFseZzPAt7r8pv9L3mQhEVt1PkyDhs3X8U8tjxOKt9G5weXdmv33u03xwl1PR__XF5=s640" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Map of Pacific battles in NY Times 5 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.cmo" border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="640" height="512" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjqTZwqNEzhppxBlXOe6-zxYTGtHnwywEf5BMUvOSs3FFZeMeaTNSnXIkdbBhu4FLhNrDUXJBj4kATJ35P7din2wgF1eOroGHR3TYBDLVpqe75l5qNL8ohqsHSFseZzPAt7r8pv9L3mQhEVt1PkyDhs3X8U8tjxOKt9G5weXdmv33u03xwl1PR__XF5=w640-h512" title="Map of Pacific battles in NY Times 5 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.cmo" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A war map in the 5 June 1942 NY Times helpfully shows American readers where the sites of three recent battles in the Pacific, at Midway, Sydney, and the Aleutians, are.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>British Homefront: </b>King George VI publishes his 1942 Birthday Honours. This involves various awards, rewards, appointments, and bestowing of honors. Among many other announcements, the economist John Maynard Keynes is made a Baron, filmmaker Alexander Korda is made a Knight Bachelor, and RAF Air Chief Marshal Charles Portal is awarded the Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB).</div><div><br /></div><div><b>American Homefront:</b> Former child actress Virginia Lee Corbin, known at the start of her career as Baby Virginia Corbin, passes away at the age of 31 in Chicago, Illinois from tuberculosis. She is one of many silent film actors unable to transition to the talkies and retired shortly before her death. </div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh_3EfXzPn6Xe_GEOoxcNxyr-zsMkFwuhAErsn-rPzpy9nWAKaqbebOJwYVvSHcy9CsKmkl0DQUvA0_dFji_sns9zmwRYb9FQqAeZQxTKEorswUbniBTIrf7V6vHTwLoDoMN1Qj8yCLa4X24o8D1zFh9G3WeF5LSU2p191Th2GTDzWu6G9jOWJKsDtq=s840" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Amazing Stories June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.cmo" border="0" data-original-height="840" data-original-width="640" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh_3EfXzPn6Xe_GEOoxcNxyr-zsMkFwuhAErsn-rPzpy9nWAKaqbebOJwYVvSHcy9CsKmkl0DQUvA0_dFji_sns9zmwRYb9FQqAeZQxTKEorswUbniBTIrf7V6vHTwLoDoMN1Qj8yCLa4X24o8D1zFh9G3WeF5LSU2p191Th2GTDzWu6G9jOWJKsDtq=w488-h640" title="Amazing Stories June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.cmo" width="488" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This June 1942 edition of Amazing Stories features the short story "The Avengers" by William P. McGivern. Hey, whatever happened to them? Actually, these Avengers are different than the Stan Lee ones, which debuted in Avengers #1 issued September 1963.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br />
<span class="updated">2021</span>
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4010278260980683606.post-28159758864530047532021-10-05T01:58:00.002-07:002021-10-25T13:34:30.767-07:00June 4, 1942: Japanese Lose Four Carriers to One U.S. Carrier<div itemscope="" itemtype="https://schema.org/Thing"><h1>Thursday 4 June 1942</h1><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9b66LRNOvUmOmIsM_mB3xKJuiuH0qt-qUI5z9nN66dOr0Y537qOPOPe20aH3EDrYjtk8fQCFSXm86HFuQgNwwuL32or2BiS6r2MbJPR4eAJjIjq_uZK_R91-jXWrANddDHQ5rjQyAPpI/s640/USS_Yorktown_%2528CV-5%2529_listing_and_abandoned_on_4_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="USS Yorktown sinknig 4 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="454" data-original-width="640" height="454" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9b66LRNOvUmOmIsM_mB3xKJuiuH0qt-qUI5z9nN66dOr0Y537qOPOPe20aH3EDrYjtk8fQCFSXm86HFuQgNwwuL32or2BiS6r2MbJPR4eAJjIjq_uZK_R91-jXWrANddDHQ5rjQyAPpI/w640-h454/USS_Yorktown_%2528CV-5%2529_listing_and_abandoned_on_4_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="USS Yorktown sinknig 4 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"The U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Yorktown (CV-5) lists heavily after she was abandoned during the afternoon of <b itemprop="name">4 June 1942</b>. Note that two Grumman F4F-4 Wildcat fighters of Fighting Squadron 3 (VF-3) are still parked on her flight deck, aft of the island." Naval History and Heritage Command <a href="https://www.history.navy.mil/our-collections/photography/wars-and-events/world-war-ii/midway/80-G-21666.html" target="_blank">80-G-21666</a>.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>Battle of the Pacific:</b> Japan loses three aircraft carriers on 4 June 1942 during one of the pivotal days of World War II.</div><div><br /></div><div>The day begins with the Japanese Fleet approaching Midway Island and three U.S. Navy aircraft carriers, unknown to the Japanese, waiting for them to the northeast of the island. Reveille on Midway sounds a 03:00, with battle stations ordered. At 04:00, six F4F Wildcats of VMF-221 (Major Floyd B. “Red” Parks) take off, followed by 11 PBY Catalinas of VP-44. In addition, 16 B-17 bombers get in the air, ready to bomb the Japanese.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Initial Japanese Carrier and Midway Island Aircraft Attacks</b></div><div><br /></div><div>On the Japanese side, Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo’s First Striking Force, composed of fleet carriers Akagi, Kaga, Hiryu, and Soryu, begin launching their aircraft at 04:30. By 04:45, 36 Nakajima B5N2 Kate torpedo bombers, 36 Aichi D3A1 Val dive bombers, and 36 Mitsubishi A6M2Zero fighters were on their way to Midway.</div><div><br /></div><div>A U.S. pilot, Lieutenant Howard P. Ady, spots the approaching Japanese planes at 05:30 and gets off a detailed radio report. Radar on Midway picks up the Japanese planes at 05:53. This alerts the defenders, who rush to man their positions. Twenty-one Buffalo fighters, six Wildcats, six TBFs, and four B-26 bombers follow suit, along with all available dive bombers. Every one of the 66 planes based at Midway is in the air by 06:16.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Buffaloes and Wildcats intercept the approaching Japanese bombers. The Japanese Zeros make quick work of the first six Buffaloes, destroying all but one that barely limps back to Midway. The Zeroes then begin picking off the remaining Buffaloes, opening a path for their bombers, losing three Kate bombers in the process.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX6ueg3ooHVjXMpuKH4acYXEfdgeFlm6tgb-bdeWp3VrDDHBmwwsST2Ww76uktLyCnRPVnTzhPaGSANBNQTK8iUPtZ80oN22neI_pOUMXXxBijjviG6DIa6zEvLJnxmXs_74b12FOM4Cs/s1200/Midway_Island_4_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Midway Island fires, 4 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="865" data-original-width="1200" height="462" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX6ueg3ooHVjXMpuKH4acYXEfdgeFlm6tgb-bdeWp3VrDDHBmwwsST2Ww76uktLyCnRPVnTzhPaGSANBNQTK8iUPtZ80oN22neI_pOUMXXxBijjviG6DIa6zEvLJnxmXs_74b12FOM4Cs/w640-h462/Midway_Island_4_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="Midway Island fires, 4 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oil tanks burning on Midway Atoll after the Japanese attack, 4 June 1942. Note the birds in the foreground. (US National Archives).</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>At 06:31, the Japanese are over Midway Island and the anti-aircraft guns on the island open fire. The Kate bombers destroy three oil tanks and set fire to a seaplane hanger while losing two of their number. Val dive bombers attack the airfield, killing four mechanics and setting off eight 100-lb bombs and some .50-caliber ammunition. The island's electricity goes out when a Val bombs Eastern Island's powerhouse. This causes a real interruption of the island's water supplies, as opposed to the fake problem radioed by Midway Island in May that enabled U.S. Navy cryptographers to pinpoint Midway as the Japanese objective.</div><div><br /></div><div>The attack is over by 06:48, and the all-clear sounds at 07:15. Only six Buffalo fighters make it back to the island and only 20 of the original force of U.S. fighter planes. They are almost all badly damaged, with one Buffalo and one Wildcat still serviceable. Casualties on the ground are 11 dead and 18 wounded.</div><div><br /></div><div>Meanwhile, Midway's own bombers find the Japanese carriers and launch their own attack at 07:10. Six TBFs attempt a torpedo run but five are shot down by defending Zero fighters. Only one TBF launches its torpedo at a cruiser and then barely makes it back to the island.</div><div><br /></div><div>Four B-26 Marauder bombers then attack. Two get within 850 yards and 450 yards, respectively, of carrier Akagi and launch their torpedoes. Only two of the Marauders survive the defending fighters. The torpedo attacks have done one thing extremely well, however, in that they have drawn the defending fighter cover down to sea level.</div><div><br /></div><div>At 07:48, sixteen Dauntless and Vindicator dive bombers of VMSB-241 (Major Lofton Henderson) arrive at the scene and begin their attacks. The fighters quickly get up to 4000 feet and begin shooting down the arriving planes, but there is enough cloud cover for the U.S. planes to evade most of the attacks. The Zeros shoot down Henderson's Dauntless, but ten get through to drop their bombs at low altitude. The planes then return to Midway, losing eight SBDs in total and with only six making it back to base.</div><div><br /></div><div>Next, 15 B-17 Flying Fortress bombers led by Lt. Col. Walter C. Sweeney arrive at 08:10, just as the Dauntlesses are completing their attacks. These bombers have no success, finishing their attack by 08:20 and returning to Midway.</div><div><br /></div><div>Just as the B-17s are completing their bomb runs, 11 Vindicators (Major Benjamin Norris) arrive and are immediately swarmed by Zero fighters. They attack battleship Haruna, losing two planes to anti-aircraft fire and three others on the way back to Midway. These attacks also completely fail.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYos5segGvFb5nXQ2Lasj7lKswpb4-Te3RCIN0aeFHcyfgKWoNn_Ln2L53ztA0JVrPoAxjPGMHRDi9HC0cmZWHF844gMPvwzLZ4tdd6nDw72vvA-YxPUS8tSn36kxY4y3_U_UbcHdkPoY/s640/SBD_4_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="A damaged Douglas SBD, 4 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="435" data-original-width="640" height="436" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYos5segGvFb5nXQ2Lasj7lKswpb4-Te3RCIN0aeFHcyfgKWoNn_Ln2L53ztA0JVrPoAxjPGMHRDi9HC0cmZWHF844gMPvwzLZ4tdd6nDw72vvA-YxPUS8tSn36kxY4y3_U_UbcHdkPoY/w640-h436/SBD_4_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="A damaged Douglas SBD, 4 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A battle-damaged SBD from carrier USS Enterprise on the flight deck of carrier USS Yorktown after having to land there due to fuel exhaustion, 4 June 1942 (US Naval History and Heritage Command).</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>At this point, in mid-morning, the U.S. attacks have achieved no hits on the Japanese ships despite a wave of attacks. They have lost 19 planes, and only six Dauntlesses, seven Vindicators, one Buffalo, and a single Wildcat remain usable on Midway. The Japanese essentially have beaten the defenders of Midway Island and it is ripe for invasion.</div><div><br /></div><div>However, the presence of three U.S. Navy aircraft carriers (USS Yorktown, <a href="https://worldwartwo.filminspector.com/2021/01/uss-enterprise-galloping-ghost-of-wwii.html" target="_blank">Enterprise</a>, and Hornet) remains unknown both to the island's defenders and to the Japanese. Admiral Nagumo is convinced that he has defeated the Americans, so he throws caution to the winds and has his reserve force armed with contact bombs for use against land targets to soften the island's defenders up for his invasion.</div><div><br /></div><div>However, midway through this process, at 07:40, a scout plane from cruiser Tone reports that it has sighted a U.S. fleet to the east. Critically, the pilot does not mention that there are any aircraft carriers, and the report does not reach Nagumo until 08:00. He immediately orders the bombs changed to general-purpose bombs. </div><div> </div><div>Massive confusion now overcomes the Japanese commanders. Nagumo knows he has must recover his planes from the morning strike against Midway Island before launching any attacks on the U.S. ships, which he thinks are almost all non-carriers (the Tone pilot eventually reports seeing only one carrier). Bringing up his reserve planes from the hangar to the flight deck and launching them would take 30-40 minutes, and the strikes still would go off in a ragged fashion. Torn between sending an immediate strike or recovering his planes from the Midway raid, Nagumo ultimately decides on the latter. This also would give his crew time to arm the reserve planes with torpedoes.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJKt1ug5oKePpR0hc6LxhKEQcWydXFMRWFLtGghZPQXca5LYZGy-O9YX13SQEeby9rLEvxeeFvlILG5WNoNGNrNGQhyr4DZRtcM9uRsnlD5HrW_36UyqCDhwBcJNoDhQfkDhXqqaAZ_gQ/s640/SBD_Ditching_4_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="An SBD ditches, 4 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="501" data-original-width="640" height="502" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJKt1ug5oKePpR0hc6LxhKEQcWydXFMRWFLtGghZPQXca5LYZGy-O9YX13SQEeby9rLEvxeeFvlILG5WNoNGNrNGQhyr4DZRtcM9uRsnlD5HrW_36UyqCDhwBcJNoDhQfkDhXqqaAZ_gQ/w640-h502/SBD_Ditching_4_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="An SBD ditches, 4 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"U.S. Navy LCdr Maxwell F. Leslie, commanding officer of Bombing Squadron 3 (VB-3), ditches his Douglas SBD-3 Dauntless next to the heavy cruiser USS Astoria (CA-34) after successfully attacking the Japanese carrier Soryu during the Battle of Midway, 13:48 hrs, 4 June 1942." Naval History and Heritage Command <a href="https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/our-collections/photography/wars-and-events/world-war-ii/midway/80-G-32307.html#" target="_blank">80-G-32307</a>.</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div><b>U.S. Navy Carrier Attacks</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Meanwhile, on the U.S. Navy side, there is no indecision at all. Admiral Frank Fletcher launches his planes beginning at 07:00 and completes this by 07:55 for Enterprise and Hornet and by 09:08 for Yorktown. The planes are well on their way toward the Japanese ships while Nagumo is making up his mind.</div><div><br /></div><div>The U.S. carriers are roughly 155 nautical miles (287 km, 178 miles) from the Japanese carriers at launch. The planes from Enterprise and Hornet do not form up, but instead, fly piecemeal toward the targets. Some of the planes follow an incorrect heading and miss the carriers, having to ditch, but one formation of TBD Devastator torpedo bombers (Torpedo Squadron 8, or VT-8 (Lt Cdr John C. Waldron) heads on the correct heading.</div><div><br /></div><div>Waldron's planes arrive over the Japanese carriers at 09:20 and immediately attack. Unfortunately, they have no fighter escort and the defending Japanese Zeros shoot down all 15 Devastators before they can make any hits (one ensign survives after launching a torpedo that misses carrier Sōryū).</div><div><br /></div><div>At 09:40, VT-6 from Enterprise, composed of 14 Devastators, arrives and attacks. It fares only a little better, losing nine planes without any hits. At 10:10, another wave of Devastators (VT-3 from Yorktown) arrives and 10 of these 12 planes also are shot down. So far, the defending Japanese combat air patrol is having a field day and the Japanese fleet remains unscathed despite all the attacks. Zero fighters clearly outclass the obsolete U.S. Navy torpedo bombers. Another problem for the attackers is that their torpedoes seem surprisingly ineffective given how close some of the planes get to the carriers.</div><div><br /></div><div>However, everything is not as it seems. As in the earlier attacks, the torpedo attacks have drawn the defending Zeros down to sea level. The carriers, meanwhile, have had to execute extreme maneuvers to evade the torpedo attacks and are out of position. Furthermore, the defending fighters are low on fuel and ammunition.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2fYqzw8xeqs2lJ0NVPddHFD5eR0OknhOR1ve8REtQdgO-s7Z_oAtVk1DU6XFUHU3aeHODPnfp0auVxhwaTgOtgUSVECDiNsI9oKrhIJy846ocqb49ZeLXuRxbk2Ldx3NWPh0RBmRFaKg/s640/Wildcat_4_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="A Wildcat takes off from USS Yorktown, 4 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="489" data-original-width="640" height="490" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2fYqzw8xeqs2lJ0NVPddHFD5eR0OknhOR1ve8REtQdgO-s7Z_oAtVk1DU6XFUHU3aeHODPnfp0auVxhwaTgOtgUSVECDiNsI9oKrhIJy846ocqb49ZeLXuRxbk2Ldx3NWPh0RBmRFaKg/w640-h490/Wildcat_4_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="A Wildcat takes off from USS Yorktown, 4 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Lt. (jg) William Leonard’s F4F-4 Wildcat taking off from carrier USS Yorktown during Battle of Midway, 4 June 1942 (US National Archives).</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>The stage is now set for one of the epic attacks in naval history.</div><div><br /></div><div>Air Group Commander C. Wade McClusky, Jr. from Yorktown commands three dive-bomber squadrons from U.S. carriers (VB-6, VS-6, and VB-3). McClusky knows his SBD dive bombers are running low on fuel due to heading on the incorrect course. However, he does not give up looking and by chance spots a lone Japanese destroyer sailing toward the Japanese fleet and pointing at it like an arrow. The planes are so low on fuel that some have to ditch before they make it to the Japanese carriers.</div><div><br /></div><div>However, fortune smiles on McClusky. He splits his planes up to attack carriers Kaga and Akagi. Despite some confusion and miscommunication, the dive bombers attack both carriers within minutes of each other. Basically, Kaga is attacked by two squadrons of dive bombers while Akagi is attacked by one.</div><div><br /></div><div>It is at this point that the Japanese luck runs out. Their defensive aircraft are out of position, the carriers are full of planes being fueled and armed, and the carriers themselves are poorly protected by their accompanying ships because of the evasive maneuvers they have been forced to make to evade torpedo attacks.</div><div><br /></div><div>Three to five 500-lb bombs hit their mark on Kaga, starting fires and hitting the bridge, killing Captain Jisaku Okada and most of Kaga's senior officers. This leaves the ship leaderless and out of control. The carrier deck tears and bends into the air, exposing the hangar deck and its fueling aircraft to more bombs.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAMaC0l4MPMWWiM99GizoCAcr4_Q2JlV88muAMkYM7A8VFSmQQghS5B1X6edxvxNIoSSQK2Qa4saEN0pzySrFneZcZ0kWRbTPB4iJu_Ldckt3BL7v9bkCaBlCwOCa_uKJMdMWOHLV4Jfg/s640/The_End_of_Akagi_4_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="The End of Akagi, 4 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="419" data-original-width="640" height="420" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAMaC0l4MPMWWiM99GizoCAcr4_Q2JlV88muAMkYM7A8VFSmQQghS5B1X6edxvxNIoSSQK2Qa4saEN0pzySrFneZcZ0kWRbTPB4iJu_Ldckt3BL7v9bkCaBlCwOCa_uKJMdMWOHLV4Jfg/w640-h420/The_End_of_Akagi_4_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="The End of Akagi, 4 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"The End of Akagi." Painting by John Hamilton (1919-1993), original is displayed in The Pentagon, Washington, D.C.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>Due to miscommunication, only three dive-bombers led by Lieutenant Richard H. Best, who has decided not to attack Kaga because it is blowing up, attack Akagi. The bombers have unbelievable luck, as there is almost no defensive fire. One of the bombs hits the edge of the mid-ship elevator and penetrates to the hangar deck, where it explodes. The armed and fueled aircraft there detonate in a fireball, creating an explosion that rips the interior of the carrier apart. The crew has no hope of bringing the raging inferno under control.</div><div><br /></div><div>VB-3 (Max Leslie) sees Kaga and Akagi blowing up and, still armed, now turns its attention toward a third carrier, Sōryū. They achieve at least three hits, igniting the gasoline being used to fuel the planes and detonating ammunition as with the other two carriers. VT-3 attacks the fourth carrier, Hiryū, but has no luck.</div><div><br /></div><div>The fires on Akagi, Sōryū, and Kaga seal their fates. The fires expand and cause more bombs and fuel to explode and burn. Admiral Nagumo leaves Akagi and transfers his flag to light cruiser Nagara. The Japanese give up on all three carriers and scuttle them.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNIRQSoJE6Pyfzv1p2xjuk1x46momkA9DSwSYNBkowaPvEv5StOMkguPC-96WoQWrlIKSwPUUbT_j-A40U1QZ7MryBjgcNrtYka4LGoqUp4bW9GUiJZOqJmv5qlh7l2x_tCz33iWR86wE/s512/USS_Yorktown_%2528CV-5%2529_listing_and_abandoned_on_4_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="USS Yorktown sinking, 4 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="426" data-original-width="512" height="532" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNIRQSoJE6Pyfzv1p2xjuk1x46momkA9DSwSYNBkowaPvEv5StOMkguPC-96WoQWrlIKSwPUUbT_j-A40U1QZ7MryBjgcNrtYka4LGoqUp4bW9GUiJZOqJmv5qlh7l2x_tCz33iWR86wE/w640-h532/USS_Yorktown_%2528CV-5%2529_listing_and_abandoned_on_4_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_2.jpg" title="USS Yorktown sinking, 4 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">USS Yorktown listing and about to sink, 4 June 1942 (US Navy).</td></tr></tbody></table><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Japanese Counterattack</b></div><div><br /></div><div>With three of his four carriers gone, Nagumo orders Hiryū to launch its own immediate attack on the U.S. carriers with whatever is available. It sends 18 D3A Vals and six fighter escorts, a relatively small attack considering the forces battling earlier but the most the Japanese fleet can now muster. The planes follow the retreating U.S. planes back to their carriers and immediately attack when within range. The dive bombers sight Yorktown first and attack it, hitting it with three bombs. The Japanese lose 13 dive bombers and three fighters in this attack.</div><div><br /></div><div>The damage does not seem too bad at first, with all but one boiler put out of operation and a hole in the flight deck. However, it is bad enough for Fletcher to transfer his own flag to heavy cruiser Astoria.</div><div><br /></div><div>Yorktown's crew works quickly. They patch the flight deck and get several boilers back in operation within an hour. Soon, Yorktown is steaming at 19 knots (22 mph, 35 km/h) and everything seems under control. It resumes air operations and Captain Buckmaster gets a little cocky, hoisting a huge American flag from the foremast and returning operations to normal.</div><div><br /></div><div>An hour later, the second wave of Hiryū planes arrives. This is composed of ten Nakajima B5N torpedo bombers and six escorting Zeros. Again, this is not much of an attacking force, but the U.S. defense are strained from the earlier attacks and they hit Yorktown with two torpedoes. The Japanese lose five more bombers and two Zeroes in this attack. Yorktown is left afloat but in very poor condition.</div><div><br /></div><div>The few Japanese planes that make it back to Hiryū report having sunk two U.S. carriers. They mistakenly believe that the first and second waves attacked different carriers, when, in fact, both hit Yorktown. Nagumo believes that if he can launch one more coordinated attack, he can sink the third and last U.S. carrier, leaving him with the sole remaining carrier near Midway and able to complete the invasion of the island.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0TyUcuArvneNvs7QwKGSFdf_XLR-UYg6AycugqVOa-ww2LTTsCQl9NgXdN-I8IMgLqjIxCtpNvLyfEk0foqrcIrAD7Zm3BAh-nYyQ2DYVKJPLJdZJCFVnpAnlTMocVfc84GIsJGplAdU/s700/Midway_Island_4_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Map of Battle of Midway. 4 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="633" data-original-width="700" height="578" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0TyUcuArvneNvs7QwKGSFdf_XLR-UYg6AycugqVOa-ww2LTTsCQl9NgXdN-I8IMgLqjIxCtpNvLyfEk0foqrcIrAD7Zm3BAh-nYyQ2DYVKJPLJdZJCFVnpAnlTMocVfc84GIsJGplAdU/w640-h578/Midway_Island_4_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_2.jpg" title="Map of Battle of Midway. 4 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The general outline of the Battle of Midway. Source: United States Military Academy, Department of History.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>The Final U.S. Counterattack</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Fletcher and Admiral Spruance, in tactical command of Enterprise and Hornet, are ready to launch their own attack on Hiryū, but first they have to know where it is. Fortuitously, a Yorktown scout plane sights it late in the afternoon and the Enterprise immediately gets a strike force in the air. It is composed of 24 dive bombers (six SBDs from VS-6, four from VB-6, and 14 of VB-3 recovered from Yorktown.</div><div><br /></div><div>The 24 dive bombers finish the day's work by blowing through the defending 12 Zero fighters and hitting Hiryū with four or five bombs. The same pattern as earlier repeats, with the bombs setting the Japanese carrier ablaze and the fires quickly getting out of control. The damage is so obviously bad that a later raid by Hornet's aircraft decides to skip Hiryū and attack other ships, though with no success.</div><div><br /></div><div>All four Japanese carriers are now flaming wrecks and must be scuttled (Akagi, Kaga, Soryu) or sink unaided (Hiryū). On the U.S. side, the only carrier that has been hit is Yorktown, but, following the two torpedo strikes, it now is a total loss. The crew abandons ship and it, too sinks. That leaves the score at one U.S. Navy carrier lost to all four Japanese carriers sunk. The U.S. still has two carriers completely undamaged and incorporating planes recovered from Yorktown in addition to their own.</div><div><br /></div><div>As night falls, the Japanese ships attempt to find the U.S. ships and bring them to battle. Spruance, now in command of operations because Fletcher cannot command from a cruiser, decides the better part of valor is a hasty retreat to the east. The day ends with Yamamoto's heavy ships chasing the U.S. carriers to the east but never spotting them.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKWzgXHdaISrmRHIQ0NvKxy_Xgze7mvdNCURSf46T9V1haTZ_jPEsTS5I91HTHdFiq75BnnZKP5JmW9f3ZNMTzAWSpUGMX14soayvbTAo0yoEDt1y9YqtImA0QcE1S_sLN32Pj0Htsg7Y/s640/USS_Enterprise_4_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="USS Enterprise operating at flank speed. 4 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKWzgXHdaISrmRHIQ0NvKxy_Xgze7mvdNCURSf46T9V1haTZ_jPEsTS5I91HTHdFiq75BnnZKP5JmW9f3ZNMTzAWSpUGMX14soayvbTAo0yoEDt1y9YqtImA0QcE1S_sLN32Pj0Htsg7Y/w640-h480/USS_Enterprise_4_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="USS Enterprise operating at flank speed. 4 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"The U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CV-6) steaming at high speed at about 0725 hrs, 4 June 1942, seen from USS Pensacola (CA-24). The carrier had launched Scouting Squadron Six (VS-6) and Bombing Squadron Six (VB-6) and was striking unlaunched SBD aircraft below in preparation for respotting the flight deck with torpedo planes and escorting fighters. USS Northampton (CA-26) is in the right distance, with SBDs orbiting overhead, awaiting the launch of the rest of the attack group." Naval History and Heritage Command <a href="https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/our-collections/photography/wars-and-events/world-war-ii/midway/80-G-32225.html" target="_blank">80-G-32225</a>.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>Aleutians Campaign</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Things go much better for the Japanese further north.</div><div><br /></div><div>Following a successful raid on Dutch Harbor in the Aleutian Islands on 3 June, Japanese Vice Adm. Boshiro Hosogaya sends off a second raid from his carriers Junyō and Ryūjō. The attacking planes get through again, destroying oil storage tanks and damaging a hospital and a beached barracks ship. U.S. Navy Task Force 8, under the command of Rear-Admiral Robert A. Theobald, is nearby but does not intervene. Only late in the day do U.S. forces locate the two light Japanese carriers, but their attempts to sink them fail due to poor weather. The weather does help the Americans, though, because it causes the Japanese to cancel plans to invade Adak Island. Instead, they now plan only to land troops at Attu and Kiska. U.S. 3094-ton passenger/barracks ship Northwestern, bombed and damaged during the 3 June raid, is declared a total loss.</div><div><br /></div><div>U.S. 15-ton halibut schooner King Fisher sinks from unknown causes five nautical miles (9.3 km, 5.8 miles) off Lazaroff Island and Pilot Point, Alaska. There are one survivor and three dead, the survivor rescued by a U.S. Navy patrol boat.</div><div><br /></div><div>I-27 torpedoes and sinks 3353-ton Australian iron-ore carrier Iron Crown in the Bass Strait. There are 37 deaths. This sinking, combined with one on 3 June by I-24, convinces the Australian authorities to restrict shipping north of Melbourne until they can institute a convoy system on the east coast.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Battle of the Indian Ocean:</b> HMS Trusty (Lt. Cdr. E. F Balston) torpedoes and sinks the 7031-ton Japanese merchant cargo ship Toyohashi Maru in the Strait of Malacca. Casualties are not recorded.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Tenth Air Force sends two heavy bombers to attack Rangoon, Burma. The ten defending Japanese fighters shoot down one of the bombers and badly damage the other. This is the last raid on Rangoon for some time, as the monsoon rains ground the heavy bombers on their dirt runways.</div><div><br /></div><div>The 11th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 7th Bombardment Group (Heavy) is established with B-25 bombers at Kunming, China.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr6rH7WF2Z67rW21LM0X-6tJDkCL79N1GgwgQ8fGwVm3eZosq9FcFPRqIvez2EbAdE2x8SdAe1w_RfxsxSAnqz4uJ-cSRlLdMLNzrubQWXhH1hPvndEQnbjAuFTzFgG4IwW1WxsBGJ8b4/s654/Hitler_4_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Mannerheim, Hitler, and Ryti. 4 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="654" data-original-width="640" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr6rH7WF2Z67rW21LM0X-6tJDkCL79N1GgwgQ8fGwVm3eZosq9FcFPRqIvez2EbAdE2x8SdAe1w_RfxsxSAnqz4uJ-cSRlLdMLNzrubQWXhH1hPvndEQnbjAuFTzFgG4IwW1WxsBGJ8b4/w626-h640/Hitler_4_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="Mannerheim, Hitler, and Ryti. 4 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="626" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Field Marshal Carl Mannerheim, Adolf Hitler, and Finnish President Ryti walk to Mannerheim's command train parked in a forest, 4 June 1942 (Finnish Military Museum SA-Kuva).</td></tr></tbody></table><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Eastern Front:</b> At Sevastopol, the Wehrmacht bombardment continues unabated. The rolling barrage shifts today to the line facing the Romanian troops in the east. the Luftwaffe remains very active, flying hundreds of sorties.</div><div><br /></div><div>Overall, it is a quiet day on the Eastern Front. With Hitler away and nothing going on, General Franz Halder doesn't even bother listing a daily summary in his war diary, simply noting that he is flying to Berlin. When the Fuhrer's away, the mice will play.</div><div><br /></div><div>Of much greater importance is what Adolf Hitler is doing. While seemingly an informal visit to a friend, it actually is a calculated attempt to shore up the Reich's fraying "co-belligerency" with Finland. The Finns are fighting the same enemy, the Soviet Union, but increasingly are refusing to engage in battles desired by the German high command. Hitler decides a little personal diplomacy is in order.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXoIjahGspQOepsp4rGw4mJaSl8VU0F83Ds_durBaz-PsL38QmT27tMHuWlhIF3psxja7cybCEcsml2vGuDsCms744CgCvEzAvHrSAXHH5Zvh0md0G3KKk_9Y6GLXdwFzvcpVsL5qVwoU/s640/Hitler_4_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_6.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Hitler and Keitel walk to Mannerheim's command train. 4 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="440" data-original-width="640" height="440" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXoIjahGspQOepsp4rGw4mJaSl8VU0F83Ds_durBaz-PsL38QmT27tMHuWlhIF3psxja7cybCEcsml2vGuDsCms744CgCvEzAvHrSAXHH5Zvh0md0G3KKk_9Y6GLXdwFzvcpVsL5qVwoU/w640-h440/Hitler_4_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_6.jpg" title="Hitler and Keitel walk to Mannerheim's command train. 4 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Adolf Hitler, followed by Field Marshal Keitel, "walks the plank" to Finnish Field Marshal Carl Mannerheim's command train. Mannerheim can be seen smirking in the background (SA-Kuva).</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>Hitler, seemingly on a whim and with only one day's notice, <a href="https://worldwartwo.filminspector.com/2016/02/hitlers-meeting-with-mannerheim.html" target="_blank">flies to Finland to wish Field Marshal Carl Mannerheim a happy birthday</a> on 4 June 1942. It is Mannerheim's 75th birthday. The visit is a very rare journey outside the Reich for Hitler, who almost never leaves areas of German control. While Hitler does eventually establish a headquarters in the occupied Soviet Union and visited Vichy France in 1940, German troops are always nearby. Finland is a co-belligerent but by no stretch of the imagination is under German control except in isolated areas such as the far north.</div><div><div><br /></div><div>Hitler is greeted warmly by Mannerheim and treated properly, but the visit causes the Finns a great deal of anxiety. For one thing, it complicates Finland's diplomatic relations with the United States, with whom Finland is not at war. Mannerheim purposefully does not greet Hitler at his headquarters, but rather says that he is "in the field" and that Hitler should visit him where his command train is parked, at Imatra in Southern Finland.</div><div><br /></div><div>Hitler's Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Kondor flies across the Gulf of Finland in great secrecy. When it lands at the small Immola Airfield (about 9 kilometers (6 mi) northeast of Imatrankoski), hard use of the brakes causes an issue with the left landing gear. A fire breaks out, apparently caused by brake fluid spraying over the hot brakes. The Kondor is known to have poorly designed brake hubs, causing the brakes to lock sometimes. Fortunately for Hitler, the fire is quickly extinguished with a fire extinguisher, the damage is slight, and the aircraft is quickly repaired (new bolts are quickly manufactured and installed). Hitler completely ignores the incident and may, in fact, not even know about it.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOFeBKZ5iozwA5sExKgbsPAwrKjqs7QqOPKrMrHOkC6k_aIHHe75eOztql4zymPXi841UlFehx5diZywOJ6VSJJZaa3eP6m3PBCH_1GT5vmLI9BPSpc6n8oNhFXoPmsjNN_jokBToToUw/s640/Hitler_4_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Hitler, Keitel, Mannerheim, and Ryti. 4 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="482" data-original-width="640" height="482" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOFeBKZ5iozwA5sExKgbsPAwrKjqs7QqOPKrMrHOkC6k_aIHHe75eOztql4zymPXi841UlFehx5diZywOJ6VSJJZaa3eP6m3PBCH_1GT5vmLI9BPSpc6n8oNhFXoPmsjNN_jokBToToUw/w640-h482/Hitler_4_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_2.jpg" title="Hitler, Keitel, Mannerheim, and Ryti. 4 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">June 4, 1942. Dining in the train wagon: Adolf Hitler (left), Finnish Prime Minister Jukka Rangell, President Risto Ryti (back toward the camera), Finnish military commander, Marshal Carl Gustav Mannerheim (right). Source: Finnish Military Museum SA-Kuva.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>There are some odd moments during the visit, which lasts much of the day. For one thing, Mannerheim has Hitler and Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel walk a plank from a hillside to his command train. Both men navigate it without incident, but this could have ended in an embarrassing disaster. Another peculiar moment is when an SS officer bursts into the carriage where Hitler and Mannerheim (along with Finnish State President Risto Ryti and Keitel) are discussing strategy to inform them that Finnish intelligence has been taping their conversation with a hidden microphone. The microphone is located and disabled.</div><div><br /></div><div>Fortunately for posterity, the 11-minute recording (on a phonograph record) survives the war despite Finnish assurances that it will be destroyed or remain sealed. It is rediscovered (mislabeled) and later released to the public. It is a rare recording of Hitler using his normal speaking voice, as opposed to the louder and more strident voice he uses during speeches. While there is some question whether the recording is genuine, an official investigation verified it.</div><div><br /></div><div>During the conversation, Hitler confides why he invaded the Soviet Union. He says that he had nightmares of the Romanian oil fields, the source of most of the Reich's oil, "burning from end to end" due to Soviet attacks. To Hitler, Operation Barbarossa is a defensive operation to protect essential assets from a Soviet attack. He admits to being surprised by the Soviet ability to produce so many tanks.</div><div><br /></div><div>Hitler leaves the meeting and flies back to Germany late in the day, blissfully unaware of the fateful events occurring in the Pacific.</div><div></div></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRwK-SiYMwOZKbuYZF_2XEptPUUWG2E2gXBjcUC3jcgb8bMArRCVvzwUz9KED30RMc_00kP7dPZ-BWOw2iwL0eReoeeAXGTkrfrc7KrjWaJzEGwD0cUCREYsB47wc_jWXvjwNu-up88qE/s640/Hitler_4_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_5.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Hitler arrives in Finland. 4 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="435" data-original-width="640" height="436" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRwK-SiYMwOZKbuYZF_2XEptPUUWG2E2gXBjcUC3jcgb8bMArRCVvzwUz9KED30RMc_00kP7dPZ-BWOw2iwL0eReoeeAXGTkrfrc7KrjWaJzEGwD0cUCREYsB47wc_jWXvjwNu-up88qE/w640-h436/Hitler_4_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_5.jpg" title="Hitler arrives in Finland. 4 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Adolf Hitler arrives in Finland and is greeted by President Ryti on 4 June 1942. Hitler's Focke Wulf Fw-200 Kondor is in the background.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>European Air Operations: </b>The Luftwaffe engages in scattered bombing and mine-laying around Durham County, Yorkshire, and in general the northeast of England. The bombers show poor accuracy and drop bombs in fields west of Ryhope and at Tunstall Poultry Farm and the Turnstall Burdon District in Durham. Other bombs fall on a golf course and along the foreshore at Seaton Carew and Seaton Snooks. Many of these bombs are delayed-action bombs that must be handled by bomb experts and safely exploded. Other bombs fall in the riverside area near Sunderland. There are two men wounded and minimal damage, though an unexploded bomb does delay the loading of two coaling ships.</div><div><br /></div><div>Both sides lose a plane over the Waddenzee today. The RAF shoots down a Junker Ju 88 over the Waddenzee 1 km south from Ameland Island. All four men aboard perish. Meanwhile, night-fighter pilot Oblt. Zur Lippe Weissenfeld of II/NJG 1 shoots down a British Wellington III from Marham on a raid to Bremen. All five crewmen perish.</div><div><br /></div><div>Luftwaffe bombers attack and sink 555-ton British patrol boat HMY Sona (FY 027) off Poole Quay, Dorset, England. The ship poses a hazard to navigation, so it later is raised and sunk at Handfast Point.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqwBnxcEYOkwUgwJ2WucnhVVeQPhYpvn3QyyXMuRJYgohuRyynVo4X8z-55jJZol8plejZ_GZFBNcnMMxNfWFDK1A8mbCHZVZLjNBK-vXDebo7ppkBaUiBUbVAyxDFOTAKAGdAU2aNp3k/s640/USS_Yorktown_%2528CV-5%2529_listing_and_abandoned_on_4_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_3.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="USS Yorktown hit during the Battle of Midway. 4 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="479" data-original-width="640" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqwBnxcEYOkwUgwJ2WucnhVVeQPhYpvn3QyyXMuRJYgohuRyynVo4X8z-55jJZol8plejZ_GZFBNcnMMxNfWFDK1A8mbCHZVZLjNBK-vXDebo7ppkBaUiBUbVAyxDFOTAKAGdAU2aNp3k/w640-h480/USS_Yorktown_%2528CV-5%2529_listing_and_abandoned_on_4_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_3.jpg" title="USS Yorktown hit during the Battle of Midway. 4 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>USS Yorktown (CV-5) immediately after an aerial torpedo hit, 4 June 1942. The sky is full of planes and anti-aircraft bursts (U.S. Navy).</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>Battle of the Atlantic: </b>German raider Stier, operating 200 miles east of St. Paul's Rocks off the coast of Brazil, spots 4986-ton British freighter Gemstone. It fires a warning shot across the bow, but Gemstone does not stop. Instead, it heads directly away from Stier and tries to make a run for it. However, Stier does not give up and continues firing. Eventually, the Gemstone's crew abandons the ship, which is carrying iron ore. The Stier makes the crew prisoners of war and sinks Gemstone with a torpedo.</div><div><br /></div><div>U-158 (Kptlt. Erwin Rostin), on its second patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 2647-ton Norwegian freighter Nidarnes in the Yucatan Strait (southwest of Cuba). Nidarnes is carrying military stores to Brazil and sinks within a minute, with the 11 survivors (13 dead) having to literally jump for their lives as the ship goes under. Someone manages to launch a raft, which the survivors reach a few hours later. They are picked up later in the day by U.S. freighter Curaca.</div><div><br /></div><div>German 7978-ton freighter Katharina Dorothea Fritzen hits a mine and sinks near Borkum. Casualties are not recorded.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfKyn38w11GCb5v1JoExtHmm_VuimEgywYQZaIuexcUD_KsVfa7t_CH7Q7TXHgZZhabE4uFX0V-aakK7eWVfATaocb4EwRD0UmuRJzqfYdcqe08l090ZttEgLI7fCuIobWTDWQFoteA4c/s640/Hiryu_4_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Japanese carrier Hiryu dodges bombs. 4 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="640" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfKyn38w11GCb5v1JoExtHmm_VuimEgywYQZaIuexcUD_KsVfa7t_CH7Q7TXHgZZhabE4uFX0V-aakK7eWVfATaocb4EwRD0UmuRJzqfYdcqe08l090ZttEgLI7fCuIobWTDWQFoteA4c/w640-h360/Hiryu_4_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="Japanese carrier Hiryu dodges bombs. 4 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Japanese carrier Hiryu successfully evading bombs dropped by B-17 bombers early on 4 June 1942. The war in the Pacific proves the futility of using level bombers against agile ships. 4 June 1942 (U.S. Navy).</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>Battle of the Mediterranean: </b>The two opposing field commanders in Libya, German General Erwin Rommel and British General Neil Ritchie, spend the day resupplying and preparing offensive operations. RAF Desert Air Force (DAF) fighters and fighter-bombers have a mixed day, scoring some success against Luftwaffe Junkers Ju-87 dive bombers and destroying some Axis vehicles, but losing seven planes.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Free French troops under General Kœnig continue to hold out at Bir Hakeim, disrupting Rommel's plans to sweep east toward Tobruk. He is grateful for the support of the DAF, which is destroying Axis vehicles surrounding his fortress, so he sends Air Vice-Marshal Arthur Coningham the message, "Bravo! Merci pour la R.A.F" Coningham responds in kind, "Merci pour le sport." However, all is not rosy on the Allied side, as Kœnig's men are surrounded and running low on water and other supplies.</div><div><br /></div><div>German submarine S-57 torpedoes and sinks 305-ton Royal Navy anti-submarine ship HMS Cocker off Tobruk, Libya. There are 15 dead and 16 survivors.</div><div><br /></div><div>RAF aircraft torpedo and badly damage 6837-ton Italian freighter Reginaldo Giuliani 120 miles northeast of Benghazi. An Italian destroyer, Partenope, later scuttles it. Casualties are not recorded. </div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir8EehWh6IRRty0vi1vl0ImL-xGQttCqsYVXNR0ertDfDJ6lmHmkgkUtfiEFYFDDqyG4UZVGCfaMFrVaZMKBY1IOrvoY51khdA7LlWICtC3nzXClCC7QrDJJPpqH8lZmSo4Acg_siIk_E/s640/Midway_4_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Badly damaged aircraft at Midway Island. 4 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="483" data-original-width="640" height="484" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir8EehWh6IRRty0vi1vl0ImL-xGQttCqsYVXNR0ertDfDJ6lmHmkgkUtfiEFYFDDqyG4UZVGCfaMFrVaZMKBY1IOrvoY51khdA7LlWICtC3nzXClCC7QrDJJPpqH8lZmSo4Acg_siIk_E/w640-h484/Midway_4_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="Badly damaged aircraft at Midway Island. 4 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> The badly damaged aircraft of Lt(jg) Albert Earnest, the sole survivor of VT-8 during a morning attack on the Japanese Fleet, after landing at Midway (U.S. Navy).</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>Special Operations:</b> Eight days after being wounded during an assassination attempt, Reinhard Heydrich dies in a Prague hospital. Heydrich for a time appeared to be improving, but lapsed into a coma on 3 June and never regained consciousness. The cause of death is variously attributed to sepsis and an embolism. The Germans plan a massive funeral for 7 June.</div><div><br /></div><div>Heydrich's death makes the British/Czech Operation Anthropoid a resounding success. The two Special Operations Executive agents who staged the attack on him, Jan Kubiš and Jozef Gabčík, remain at large but are the subject of an intense manhunt. The two men are hiding out in Czech safe houses, but the Germans have offered both inducements and threats for his capture. At least one Czech resistance member knows their whereabouts and is planning to reveal it to the Germans.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>U.S. Military: </b>Brigadier General Lucian K. Truscott, Jr. (Chief of the American Section attached to the Combined Operations Headquarters) completes an inspection of Northern Ireland. He submits a report on plans to activate the 1st Ranger Battalion at Carrickfergus. Lieutenant General Breton Somervell, Commanding General of the Army Service Forces, also carries out an inspection in Northern Ireland.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>American Homefront:</b> Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer releases "Mrs. Miniver," starring Greer Garson, Walter Pidgeon, and Teresa Wright. It is the highest-grossing film of 1942 and earns six Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director (William Wyler), and Best Actress (Garson). Teresa Wright, who was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her debut film "The Little Foxes" and also as Best Actress for 'Pride of the Yankees" for work in 1941, this time earns the Best Supporting Actress Oscar. It is one of the most dazzling debuts by any actor or actress in history, but her success quickly peters out after this and "Mrs. Miniver" is her last nomination.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_znzAK-0xrE2RWuqEoslAQJkoJSnl4l-0SBBvICXIcw_wsKdAxTcTieBanvFdbp0_HYZNNMEZzxR0TDRniFCHbaBAzSZVM3ZW6OPvi4eGnyjOsMa3VnWs5nVNtAbGSiMBClEFsRJTwBw/s640/Hiryu_4_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Japanese carrier Hiryu dodges bombs from B-17 bombers on 4 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="511" data-original-width="640" height="512" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_znzAK-0xrE2RWuqEoslAQJkoJSnl4l-0SBBvICXIcw_wsKdAxTcTieBanvFdbp0_HYZNNMEZzxR0TDRniFCHbaBAzSZVM3ZW6OPvi4eGnyjOsMa3VnWs5nVNtAbGSiMBClEFsRJTwBw/w640-h512/Hiryu_4_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_2.jpg" title="Japanese carrier Hiryu dodges bombs from B-17 bombers on 4 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Japanese aircraft carrier Soryu circles while under high-level bombing attack by USAAF B-17 bombers from the Midway base, shortly after 8AM, 4 June 1942. This attack produced near misses, but no hits. U.S. Air Force Photograph.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br />
<span class="updated">2021</span>
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4010278260980683606.post-6524660531012068172021-10-03T17:08:00.003-07:002021-10-03T17:12:10.156-07:00June 3, 1942: Start of Battle of Midway<div itemscope="" itemtype="https://schema.org/Thing"><h1>Wednesday 3 June 1942</h1><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAdDE5b3NhFs9wrESX3M6FNsr08QNmtVfVgfNjA6O7aL0EZu66U1G0E1Wz7JYvbgbKau_wIzGUz0iFY1IqTWKuHtgaaas-Paa0lFW_W_L3Ru_E0UJARd0B22u1F27oa7J970xv3hLb25Y/s640/Dutch_Harbor_3_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Dutch Harbor on fire, 3 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="505" data-original-width="640" height="506" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAdDE5b3NhFs9wrESX3M6FNsr08QNmtVfVgfNjA6O7aL0EZu66U1G0E1Wz7JYvbgbKau_wIzGUz0iFY1IqTWKuHtgaaas-Paa0lFW_W_L3Ru_E0UJARd0B22u1F27oa7J970xv3hLb25Y/w640-h506/Dutch_Harbor_3_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="Dutch Harbor on fire, 3 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fires burning at Dutch Harbor after the 3 June 1942 Japanese air raid (<a href="https://history.army.mil/brochures/aleut/aleut.htm" target="_blank">US Army</a>).</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>Battle of the Pacific:</b> At 09:04 on <b itemprop="name">3 June 1942</b>, Ensign Charles R. Eaton, patrolling 470 miles from Midway Island, spots three Japanese ships. The Japanese quickly fire on him with anti-aircraft guns but he escapes and radios in his sighting. This is the first encounter of what will become the Battle of Midway.</div><div><br /></div><div>At about the same time, another airman, Ensign Jack Reid, is patrolling 500 nautical miles (580 miles, 930 km) southwest of Midway in his PBY-SA when he also spots some ships in the distance. At 09:25, he radios in, "Sighted main body." He follows up with more details, ultimately reporting 11 ships at 11:00 before being ordered to return to base. Reid has not spotted the main Japanese force but rather transport ships commanded by Admiral Tanaka.</div><div><br /></div><div>Lt. Col. Walter C. Sweeney leads a force of nine B-17 bombers stationed at Midway against the ships spotted by Reid at 12:30. Sweeney's force scores no hits and barely makes it back to Midway, landing at 21:45.</div><div><br /></div><div>Another U.S. strike departs at 21:15, this time four PBY Catalinas bent on a night attack. Arriving over the target at 01:00 on 4 June, they score one hit on the Japanese force, a torpedo strike on the bows of tanker Akebono Maru that kills 13 sailors. Transport Kiosumi Maru also sustains some strafing damage that kills four crewmen. This attack features the only successful U.S. air-launched torpedo strike of the Battle of Midway.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFHNiZy8WD5-cX2BcWQhSYqT_EEfGszT51hYW3amx1Nf58KTgBWYr3mcoiHcACNMxHjYVDNdWhFnhkyRT45UmAPI4pONXBCAdUOb8VYY2bOfCXMS085ADeW6H31ni9pI_3Xo9jj0cHFgo/s640/Battle_of_Midway_3_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Battle of Midway painting, 3 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="318" data-original-width="640" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFHNiZy8WD5-cX2BcWQhSYqT_EEfGszT51hYW3amx1Nf58KTgBWYr3mcoiHcACNMxHjYVDNdWhFnhkyRT45UmAPI4pONXBCAdUOb8VYY2bOfCXMS085ADeW6H31ni9pI_3Xo9jj0cHFgo/w640-h318/Battle_of_Midway_3_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="Battle of Midway painting, 3 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Battle of Midway, 3 June 1942" - "US Navy aircraft carrier USS Yorktown and its escorts defend themselves from incoming Japanese aircraft, one of which has splashed down into the ocean" (Rodolfo Claudus ca. 1950) (<a href="https://www.history.navy.mil/our-collections/art/exhibits/conflicts-and-operations/wwii/art-of-the-battle-of-midway/battle-of-midway--3-6-1942.html" target="_blank">Naval History and Heritage Command</a>).</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>The second prong of the Japanese strategy (Operation AL) is an invasion of some of the Aleutian Islands. The Americans know about this from their codebreaking but have concentrated the bulk of their naval forces at Midway. Planes from two light Japanese aircraft carriers (Ryujo and Junyo) under the command of Vice-Admiral Boshiro Hosogaya take off in a dense fog and rough seas to raid the Dutch Harbor Naval Operating Base and Fort Mears at Dutch Harbor on Amaknak Island, Alaska. Only about half of the planes make it to the target. Despite some heavy anti-aircraft fire, the Japanese Nakajima B5N, Navy "Kate," Bombers drop 16 bombs on Fort Mears, then get clean away before P-40s stationed at Cold Bay arrive. There are 25 dead and many other casualties, while the Japanese lose only one plane.</div><div><br /></div><div>The attack on Dutch Harbor is only a distraction from the main Japanese objective in the Aleutians, which is to occupy islands Kiska and Attu further down the chain. During this raid, the Japanese planes sink the 3497-ton U.S. passenger ship Northwestern (no casualties). Japanese cruisers launch four Nakajima E8N2 Navy Type 95 reconnaissance seaplanes, Allied Code Name "Dave," to fly over Umnak, losing one to U.S. ground fire. A PBY-5A Catalina of VP-42 locates the Japanese ships, while the Japanese shoot down another PBY and take three of its crew as prisoners aboard the cruiser Takao. A Japanese "Zeke" bomber crashlands in a bog on Akutan Island and U.S. forces later recover it and the dead pilot.</div><div><br /></div><div><div>The five Japanese submarines waiting off the coast of Australia near Sydney to pick up the crews of the mini-submarines that attacked Sydney Harbour give up hope and disperse. The mini-sub crews are all dead, though two men nearly made it to the rendezvous point before being killed by troops. I-24, one of these five submarines, then torpedoes and sinks 4812-ton Australian ore carrier Iron Chieftain in the Tasman Sea 35 miles east of Manly (there is a monument to the 12 dead crewmen of Iron Chieftain outside Newcastle railway station). There are 27 survivors. The sinking of Iron Chieftain helps lead to the formation of convoys along the Australian coast between New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia.</div></div><div><br /></div><div>I-20 is the last of the five Japanese submarines to depart from the recovery area. During the afternoon, it surfaces and fires flares and sends radio signals, but nobody appears. Finally, at 18:00, it, too, departs.</div><div><br /></div><div>U.S. Navy 115-ton patrol boat Vagabond collides with patrol craft PC-569 while patrolling west of the Golden Gate Bridge and sinks. There are no casualties.</div><div><br /></div><div>U.S. 16-ton fishing trawler sinks in Sitka Sound in the Alexander Archipelago in Southeast Alaska near Saint Lazaria Island off of Cape Edgecumbe in Kruzof Island. The cause of the sinking is unidentified, but it may be due to enemy action.</div><div><br /></div><div>B-17 bombers of the 5th USAAF Air Force bomb Rabaul. They hit a wharf, a warehouse area, and a military camp.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaY-C6QWmGqHbfs-dIe6Gu_ZaubFSBJDnjdYrug_1h7PDr_R7GL1mSzCJEljcalpgM7PbNLkBhwimr7RYU56QznRnscqHeDB_T9hWtYt69CUNP4WqTPJALgDgpuTkTGpnnWhhk3SRzuVA/s640/Dutch_Harbor_3_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Marines waiting out the bombing of Dutch Harbor, 3 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="511" data-original-width="640" height="512" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaY-C6QWmGqHbfs-dIe6Gu_ZaubFSBJDnjdYrug_1h7PDr_R7GL1mSzCJEljcalpgM7PbNLkBhwimr7RYU56QznRnscqHeDB_T9hWtYt69CUNP4WqTPJALgDgpuTkTGpnnWhhk3SRzuVA/w640-h512/Dutch_Harbor_3_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_2.jpg" title="Marines waiting out the bombing of Dutch Harbor, 3 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Japanese attack on Dutch Harbor, June 3, 1942. Group of Marines on the "alert" between attacks. Smoke from burning fuel tanks in the background had been set afire by a dive bomber the previous day. Alaska." (National Archives <a href="https://catalog.archives.gov/id/520589" target="_blank">80-G-12076</a>).</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>Battle of the Indian Ocean:</b> The 10th USAAF Air Force sends 6 B-25s of the 11th Bombardment Squadron, 7th Bomber Group, from Dinjan, India, to bomb Lashio, Burma. They then continue on to Kunming in perhaps the first example of "shuttle bombing." The mission turns into a disaster when three bombers crash into the Himalayas at 10,000 feet in heavy overcast conditions and a fourth runs out of fuel and crashes near Chan-i, China. Only two of the bombers actually reach Kunming, where they are fired upon by Chinese fighter planes that have not been informed of the operation and one radio operator is killed..</div><div><br /></div><div>At Diego Suarez, the British complete emergency repairs to the 30x30-foot hole blown in battleship HMS Ramillies from a mini-sub attack and it departs for more permanent repairs at Durban.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9YGb5lxojOdcm0Vgk1_Mps5zL4idbPPDo6vl9g-1O3UZ7UCkvSh56pkIKxzIxfV5ArdwPnI3vE2zsHxykzjmlGLMju9WNpeYLSrfLGJ4x6KtYPE2k1nT-HE6-LfRIvoL-3zLlGiBBooQ/s640/Finnish_gunners_3_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Finnish anti-tank gun being used, 3 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="446" data-original-width="640" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9YGb5lxojOdcm0Vgk1_Mps5zL4idbPPDo6vl9g-1O3UZ7UCkvSh56pkIKxzIxfV5ArdwPnI3vE2zsHxykzjmlGLMju9WNpeYLSrfLGJ4x6KtYPE2k1nT-HE6-LfRIvoL-3zLlGiBBooQ/w640-h446/Finnish_gunners_3_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="Finnish anti-tank gun being used, 3 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finnish Lahti L-39 anti-tank gun in use on 3 June 1942 (Military Museum of Finland (<a href="https://finna.fi/Record/sa-kuva.sa-kuva-11324" target="_blank">Kuva</a>)).</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div><b>Eastern Front: </b>The German artillery fire and air assault on Sevastopol continue today as the Germans try to weaken the Soviet defenses for a full-scale assault. The target area today for the rolling bombardment is the defensive area facing the German 30th Army Corps south of the city.</div><div><br /></div><div>General Franz Halder at Fuhrer Headquarters notes in his war diary: </div><div></div><blockquote><div>The enemy has reacted to our artillery attack on Sevastopol with counterbattery fire. Work on fortification in progress. Ship movements. No important changes on the other fronts.</div></blockquote><div>General von Manstein, commander of 11th Army, plans to begin his attack on Sevastopol (Operation Sturgeon Catch (<i>Störfang</i>)) on 7 June. He is quickly redeploying troops from the eastern half of Crimea, where some Soviet holdouts in caves are causing trouble, to the west to participate in the Sevastopol assault. It is a very peculiar situation for the Germans on the Eastern Front where the hot spot is to the west and not the east.</div><div><br /></div><div>Oblt. Siegfreid Freytag of 6./JG 77 claims his 50th victory. He soon will transfer to the Mediterranean Theater.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLC_Pg7MBHR6dXqZ8cZuFlt9nokDXunsC6IwPA7Ddb_f8a1E1gxphm9YMB1Tyf2LgNY7HdQHt3jrF3rTomhkt8QTj1xkIQqKq9Ag1EtI5_lbOMq8bpJe-ricL2vgkFbxXPCi68smCwO9I/s640/Dutch_Harbor_3_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_3.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Dutch Harbor fires, 3 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="525" data-original-width="640" height="526" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLC_Pg7MBHR6dXqZ8cZuFlt9nokDXunsC6IwPA7Ddb_f8a1E1gxphm9YMB1Tyf2LgNY7HdQHt3jrF3rTomhkt8QTj1xkIQqKq9Ag1EtI5_lbOMq8bpJe-ricL2vgkFbxXPCi68smCwO9I/w640-h526/Dutch_Harbor_3_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_3.jpg" title="Dutch Harbor fires, 3 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Siems Drake warehouse afire, following the attack by Japanese carrier aircraft. Note fire fighting parties at work, and S. S. NORTHWESTERN burning at left." Dutch Harbor, 3 June 1942. (Naval History and Heritage Command <a href="https://www.history.navy.mil/our-collections/photography/numerical-list-of-images/nhhc-series/nh-series/80-G-12000/80-G-12056.html" target="_blank">80-G-12056</a>).</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>European Air Operations: </b>The weather over the Channel Front is clear and warm. There are no major attacks today. RAF No. 403 Squadron (RCAF) moves from Southend to Martlesham. At RAF Chelveston, a small Hotspur glider of the Airborne Forces Experimental Establishment (AFEE) 14th Operational Training Unit breaks up mid-air near Greetham Village, Ruland, and the crew bales out (one killed and one uninjured).</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiooCRMtto7YXgwiFxYwhvf_OJOrcIpt10WsVyHVnxJnppp4cvPuJy_0t7Eell3D4P2ZE5K-VB-0t6Bo4x5u0sgJi_o2vIKZ_yGx1BMI-mAAB56VdyJryfYAtQOY833r3oXqpgp17y_47I/s640/City_of_Alma_3_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Ore freighter City of Alma, sunk on 3 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="354" data-original-width="640" height="354" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiooCRMtto7YXgwiFxYwhvf_OJOrcIpt10WsVyHVnxJnppp4cvPuJy_0t7Eell3D4P2ZE5K-VB-0t6Bo4x5u0sgJi_o2vIKZ_yGx1BMI-mAAB56VdyJryfYAtQOY833r3oXqpgp17y_47I/w640-h354/City_of_Alma_3_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="Ore freighter City of Alma, sunk on 3 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">U.S. ore freighter City of Alma, sunk by U-172 on 3 June 1942.</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div><b>Battle of the Atlantic: </b>U-404 (Kptlt. Otto von Bülow), on its third patrol out of Brest, torpedoes and sinks 1345-ton Swedish freighter Anna 210 miles northwest of Bermuda. Von Bülow begins his attack with two torpedoes at 03:09 and 04:50 but misses with both. Finally, at 05:10, he surfaces and uses his deck gun. The attack is a little controversial because von Bülow's crew clearly sees Swedish (neutral) markings, but he decides to attack anyway because the ship is acting suspiciously (zig-zagging and without navigational lights). There are no dead among the 32-man crew, though two men are wounded in the attack. The survivors take to the boats and are picked up within 13 hours by Swiss freighter Saentis, which also picks up survivors of freighter West Notus, sunk by the same U-boat on 1 June.</div><div><br /></div><div>U-172 (Kptlt. Carl Emmermann), on its second patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks the 5446-ton U.S. freighter City of Alma 400 miles northeast of San Juan, Puerto Rico. The ship is carrying manganese ore and sinks within three minutes. The radio operator remains on board to send a distress call but the ship sinks so quickly that he goes down with the ship without sending any messages. There are 29 dead and 10 survivors, who survive in a lifeboat and are picked up by U.S. patrol boat USS YP-67. Third Mate Hugh Parks Brown, Jr. the Merchant Marine Distinguished Service Medal for saving other crewmen.</div><div><br /></div><div>U-156 (Kptlt. Werner Hartenstein), on its third patrol out of Lorient, stops 80-ton British schooner Lillian near Grenada and Barbados (40 miles south of Barbados) after the ship first ignores a command to stop (warning shot through the rigging). A few crew remain aboard the ship and attempt to sail away while others take to the boats. The U-boat chases the fleeing ship after questioning the men in the boats and finally sinks it with gunfire. Hartenstein apparently uses the incident for target practice, or maybe he is just angry (and tired, as he already has sunk or damaged 11 ships on this patrol), as he uses an astounding 52 rounds of 37mm and 270 rounds of 20 mm) to sink the wooden ship. There are three dead and 22 survivors.</div><div><br /></div><div>U-502 (Kptlt. Jürgen von Rosenstiel), on its fourth patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 6940-ton U.S. freighter M.F. Elliott 150 miles northwest of Trinidad (west of St. George's Island). The ship, carrying just water ballast, sinks within six minutes. There are 13 dead and 32 survivors, who are picked up by Brazilian tanker Santa Maria after five days adrift.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0KrUy8bWcJpVgKcA3yM6qnOb-OCgHGLd5iwUaHGUW16n6Gm4yc64Cx5Y-aF4CekLOJcXKJlqPjQfTtjRliSHYck1mlKfviac_ZpIZuV4tuD5_XTf_0v7kdf-WKKUnk5MZTFn5EuwAoJc/s871/Die_Wehrmacht_3_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Die Wehrmacht magazine, 3 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="871" data-original-width="640" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0KrUy8bWcJpVgKcA3yM6qnOb-OCgHGLd5iwUaHGUW16n6Gm4yc64Cx5Y-aF4CekLOJcXKJlqPjQfTtjRliSHYck1mlKfviac_ZpIZuV4tuD5_XTf_0v7kdf-WKKUnk5MZTFn5EuwAoJc/w470-h640/Die_Wehrmacht_3_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="Die Wehrmacht magazine, 3 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="470" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Die Wehrmacht Magazine, 3 June 1942.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>U-432 (Kptlt. Heinz-Otto Schultze), on its fifth patrol out of La Pallice, spots two fishing trawlers 170 miles east of Thatchers Island in the Bay of Fundy (northeast of Boston) and surfaces. After allowing the crewmen to leave their vessels, Schultze uses his deck gun on the trawlers. Sunk are 41-ton Aeolus and 102-ton Ben and Josephine. All of the fishermen (14 men total) survive, making landfall at Mount Desert Coast Guard Light Station after 36 hours.</div><div><br /></div><div>U-126 (Kptlt. Ernst Bauer), on its fourth patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 10,990-ton Norwegian tanker Høegh Giant 400 miles east of Guiana. Bauer attacks at 11:24 and hits with one of three torpedoes, but the ship continues sailing. He then surfaces, but the tanker crew use the deck gun to fire at the U-boat, forcing Bauer to submerge and chase it. A long ordeal results, with Bauer finally getting into firing range at over 14 hours later 01:40 on 4 June. Two torpedoes hit, and the crew abandons the ship. The tanker finally sinks at 04:24 after Bauer has to fire a coup de grâce. Bauer clearly is furious about the entire incident. He surfaces and, when he does not get the answers he wants from the men in the lifeboats, he has his men fire over the boats, wounding one survivor with a stray bullet. The survivors spend at least ten days at sea, with most landing at Devil Island after ten days and the rest being picked up after 15 days. While the survivors are being transported to New Orleans aboard freighter Robert E. Lee, that ship also is sunk (by U-166), but all the survivors of Høegh Giant survive that sinking, too.</div><div><br /></div><div>U.S. 5686-ton freighter Steel Worker hits a mine and sinks 3000 yards from Mishayampi, Murmansk. The ship has traveled all the way from Philadelphia with foodstuffs only to be sunk less than two miles from its destination. There are no casualties.</div><div><br /></div><div>German Navy whaler V-1510 Unitas VI, being used as a patrol boat, strikes a wreck and sinks at the entrance of Dieppe, France. No known casualties. This incident is sometimes claimed to have occurred on 2 June 1942.</div><div><br /></div><div>RAF Vickers Wellington bombers of No. 172 Squadron damage Italian submarine Luigi Torelli near Aviles, Spain. The ship is towed to Aviles and beached. After temporary repairs, it is refloated and taken to Spain for permanent repairs.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPXWodQAbjLZEj_KqHpvcmbShT53TpZPqQx5CtVHSKwg741yQkJzNSyMo3n3SuHKyIA_ao5r_mdiPNpFgwbWavL-KYF9DxGKkEFkGCYjX-NBGiAoeG5efw_MZj2zroqzQPU84vnUNPiOI/s640/Orari_3_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Damaged freighter Orari being patched at Malta, 3 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="474" data-original-width="640" height="474" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPXWodQAbjLZEj_KqHpvcmbShT53TpZPqQx5CtVHSKwg741yQkJzNSyMo3n3SuHKyIA_ao5r_mdiPNpFgwbWavL-KYF9DxGKkEFkGCYjX-NBGiAoeG5efw_MZj2zroqzQPU84vnUNPiOI/w640-h474/Orari_3_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="Damaged freighter Orari being patched at Malta, 3 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Freighter Orari having a temporary patch installed at Malta on 3 June 1942. © IWM <a href="https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205144446" target="_blank">A 10774</a>.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>Battle of the Mediterranean: </b>German General Erwin Rommel and the bulk of the Afrika Korps remain bottled up in The Cauldron, a defensive position west of Tobruk. However, while no longer on the offensive, they now have cleared supply lanes to the west and are receiving reinforcements. The siege of Free French forces at the fortress of Bir Hakeim continues with little change in the situation today as the Axis forces bombard the entrenched French with artillery and Luftwaffe attacks.</div><div><br /></div><div>The air war is going surprisingly poorly for the RAF. The pilots of III./JG 53 claim three victories over the British in the vicinity of El Alamein. One of the issues is that the Luftwaffe has brought elite units to North Africa.</div><div><br /></div><div>Air activity over the front is ferocious. Oblt. Hans-Joachim Marseille of 3./JG 27 claims 6 Tomahawks of SAAF No. 5 Sqdn. and damage to two others in 12 minutes. Among his victims is an ace with five victories, Captain Botha, who himself had just shot down three Junkers Ju-87 Stuka dive bombers. Marseilles and the other planes clear the skies, opening them up for more Stuka attacks on Bir Hakeim. Joachim Marseilles now has 75 victories and will receive the <i>Eichenlaub</i> (oak leaves) to his Iron Cross on 6 June as a reward. He quickly is becoming a legend, and one of the men in his unit, Hans-Arnold Stahlschmidt, writes in a letter home, "Marseille is able to shoot like a young God. Above all, he is able to do what only a few can - to shoot with perfection while turning."</div><div><br /></div><div>U-331 (Kptlt. Hans-Diedrich Freiherr von Tiesenhausen), on its seventh patrol out of Messina, torpedoes and sinks Royal Navy trawler HMT Cocker off Bardia, Libya. There are 15 missing/dead, with one wounded man (Ty/Lt D M Engeler RANVR) surviving.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Battle of the Black Sea: </b>German Navy ferry barge (<i>Marinefahrprahm</i>) F 145 hits a mine and sinks in the Black Sea southeast of Odesa. there are nine deaths.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTQZXD3PfwdIniwkQU893EITz6rZ8gDJ8KXYzpUdM9NQLGtVn1SvVU-asKbSaag03fcHZ6NuG2RTEZUabcPoUBXw31ImJ48Cax-nOBsyacEdZWAbPGnTifLLA_w5HYkSZb76CkfE7Y4oI/s640/Pindos_3_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Greek freighter Pindos being commisssioned, 3 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="490" data-original-width="640" height="490" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTQZXD3PfwdIniwkQU893EITz6rZ8gDJ8KXYzpUdM9NQLGtVn1SvVU-asKbSaag03fcHZ6NuG2RTEZUabcPoUBXw31ImJ48Cax-nOBsyacEdZWAbPGnTifLLA_w5HYkSZb76CkfE7Y4oI/w640-h490/Pindos_3_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="Greek freighter Pindos being commisssioned, 3 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Greek destroyer Pindos being commissioned at Swan Hunters, Wallsend on Tyne, 3 June 1942. © IWM <a href="https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205142605" target="_blank">A 8677</a>.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>Special Operations: </b>British special forces (No. 6 Commando) stage an overnight raid on the German radar site at Plage-Ste-Cecile, France (between Le Touquet and Boulougne). This is Operation Bristle, one of a number of Commando missions during 1942 designed to give the special forces training and experience. The Germans, however, prevent the Commandos from achieving their objectives. Empty-handed, the Commandos depart and are still at sea at dawn when the Luftwaffe appears overhead and causes damage to two motor launches and a motor gunboat. One Commando and two naval personnel are killed and 19 others are wounded. The force manages to make it back to port only due to the fortuitous arrival of RAF forces to scatter the attacking Luftwaffe planes.</div><div><br /></div><div>Reinhard Heydrich, shot by British/Czech Special Operations Executive agents on 27 May during Operation Anthropoid, appears to be recovering from the attack when he suddenly collapses while eating lunch around noon. He lapses into a coma from which he never recovers. One theory is that this relapse is caused by a systemic infection, another by a pulmonary embolism.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhIGi5w15ZzWTuIgzKjhstYnpLaprcAgr0ninPJbROgg-LWJdC6W5qD3KzMNeK60y4a0YLhOJVtU8Xm2DSro-aU5b0f054PueV94aTwnmz8GupP4lU8S-4Br0SarcOWJH2rnpiJe-i7h8/s640/Auschwitz_3_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="New Auschwitz prisoner on 3 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="279" data-original-width="640" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhIGi5w15ZzWTuIgzKjhstYnpLaprcAgr0ninPJbROgg-LWJdC6W5qD3KzMNeK60y4a0YLhOJVtU8Xm2DSro-aU5b0f054PueV94aTwnmz8GupP4lU8S-4Br0SarcOWJH2rnpiJe-i7h8/w640-h280/Auschwitz_3_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="New Auschwitz prisoner on 3 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chaskel Bittner, shown, is transferred from Montelupich prison in Cracow to Auschwitz on 3 June 1942. Bittner becomes No. 37249. He perishes at the camp on 26 June (Auschwitz Memorial).</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>British Homefront:</b> The British government nationalizes the milk industry and coal mines.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>American Homefront:</b> The Rodgers & Hart (Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart) musical "By Jupiter" premieres at the Schubert Theater on Broadway. Starring Ray Bolger and Vera-Ellen, the play is set in the land of the Amazons, who do battle with a Greek army led by Theseus and Hercules and then engage in romantic complications. Nanette Fabray later joins the cast. The play is a big hit and runs for 427 performances until 12 June 1943. While little remembered, "By Jupiter" is Rodgers and Hart's longest-running Broadway hit and final original full-length work.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Future History:</b> Curtis Lee Mayfield is born in Chicago, Illinois. He begins a musical career in a gospel choir, then joins the vocal group The Impressions in the mid-1950s. He also becomes a songwriter, including the hit "People Get Ready" in 1965. Mayfield turns solo in 1970 and engages in various projects, including creating the soundtrack to the film "Super Fly" in 1972. While performing in 1990, Mayfield is paralyzed during an accident involving lighting equipment, but he continues recording. Curtis Mayfield passes away on 26 December 1999.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxSewmg5On8pNdpV32dXm6dRuRLJ5AmBZP5rLPjCWqTyM71fz2P5wQgPPlDmhxWzi8L5djex0n7mqe9nJdxsCn9LHozQwCwMdtWYH3n2xTskMDEGDGLQYE8P7kN-QjX8S7m5t_zHVZAoI/s640/Die_Wehrmacht_3_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Flak guns shown in the 3 June 1942 Die Wehrmacht magazine worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="422" data-original-width="640" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxSewmg5On8pNdpV32dXm6dRuRLJ5AmBZP5rLPjCWqTyM71fz2P5wQgPPlDmhxWzi8L5djex0n7mqe9nJdxsCn9LHozQwCwMdtWYH3n2xTskMDEGDGLQYE8P7kN-QjX8S7m5t_zHVZAoI/w640-h422/Die_Wehrmacht_3_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_2.jpg" title="Flak guns shown in the 3 June 1942 Die Wehrmacht magazine worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flak batteries shown in the 3 June 1942 Die Wehrmacht Magazine.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><span class="updated">2021</span>
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4010278260980683606.post-58863844916523674802021-09-30T00:09:00.013-07:002021-11-27T05:52:16.646-07:00June 2, 1942: German Artillery Barrage on Sevastopol<div itemscope="" itemtype="https://schema.org/Thing"><h1>Tuesday June 2 1942</h1><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvGqzDwuipXxZfJOjzafuXa_DG0EDThbSrONav12UfKRCDdLzNttR2CazIIM9S7OjVoMsL1lD1a3JJJK0lZK1Y9rpeqQQgWxOPRFqiCUf86r3ml8CM-M_Y0Rr9vYc0rg3qIqtkhPBEt_U/s640/Libya_2_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="British capture supply truck in Libya, 2 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="634" data-original-width="640" height="634" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvGqzDwuipXxZfJOjzafuXa_DG0EDThbSrONav12UfKRCDdLzNttR2CazIIM9S7OjVoMsL1lD1a3JJJK0lZK1Y9rpeqQQgWxOPRFqiCUf86r3ml8CM-M_Y0Rr9vYc0rg3qIqtkhPBEt_U/w640-h634/Libya_2_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="British capture supply truck in Libya, 2 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"An infantryman takes the surrender of the crew of an enemy supply truck in the Western Desert, 2 June 1942." © IWM <a href="https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205203804" target="_blank">E 12810</a>.</td><td class="tr-caption"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Battle of the Pacific:</b> About 350 miles (648 km) northeast of Midway Island, US Navy Task Force 16 (carriers <a href="https://worldwartwo.filminspector.com/2021/01/uss-enterprise-galloping-ghost-of-wwii.html" target="_blank">USS Enterprise (CV-6)</a> and Hornet (CV-8)) joins with Task Force 17 (Yorktown (CV-5)) on <b itemprop="name">2 June 1942</b>. Rear Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher aboard Yorktown assumes tactical command of the entire force, with Rear Admiral Raymond A. Spruance in charge of TF16. </div><div><br /></div><div>Altogether, the three US carriers carry 234 aircraft. There also are 110 fighters, bombers (including B-17s, though six of the sixteen there are sent back to Hawaii today), and patrol planes on Midway itself, giving the US a slight numerical advantage in planes over the approaching Japanese fleet. In the waters nearby are 25 US Navy submarines. Only a few key officers on Midway know of the presence of the US carriers. The Navy pilots stationed on Midway are told not to "expect any help from the U.S. carriers; they’re off defending Hawaii."</div><div><br /></div><div>The 11th Air Force in Alaska has been moving assets toward the Aleutian Islands in preparation for an expected Japanese invasion. Today, two PBY-5A Catalinas of the USN's Patrol Squadron Forty One (VP-41) flying out of Dutch Harbor spot the incoming invasion force. They report Japanese aircraft carriers HIJMS Ryujo and Junyo about 210 miles (644 km) away from Dutch Harbor. The Japanese on the carriers also spot the PBYs, and Zeros quickly shoot them down. One crewman is taken prisoner while the rest on the two planes perish.</div><div><br /></div><div>Admiral Kakuta in command of the two Japanese light carriers is preparing to raid Dutch Harbor, which is now alerted. However, this is only a feint, as the invasion force is heading for islands further west in the Aleutians.</div><div><br /></div><div>Fifth Air Force raids the Japanese base at Rabaul.</div><div><br /></div><div>Japanese 5822-ton freighter Kofuku Maru hits a mine and sinks off Rangoon, Burma.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM1ZR7pwJ7V2s9G9LGjnp9UvqmKK4Z5TxuuFQm6l52WnO_5_lHg5aKIA8N01s1ZusiCTAx6WKGEwa2umD4uEzhUd3xvzQE5D38GAarvMlhyphenhyphenzSVvLUGMI1FqQ4SB7O2bKRhMaS_5CBBwGs/s640/USS_Long_Island_2_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="USS Long Island, 2 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="505" data-original-width="640" height="506" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM1ZR7pwJ7V2s9G9LGjnp9UvqmKK4Z5TxuuFQm6l52WnO_5_lHg5aKIA8N01s1ZusiCTAx6WKGEwa2umD4uEzhUd3xvzQE5D38GAarvMlhyphenhyphenzSVvLUGMI1FqQ4SB7O2bKRhMaS_5CBBwGs/w640-h506/USS_Long_Island_2_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="USS Long Island, 2 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The U.S. Navy escort carrier USS Long Island (AVG-1) moored at Naval Air Station North Island, California (USA), on 2 June 1942, shortly before she sortied with Task Force 1 (TF-1) under Vice Admiral William S. Pye. Aircraft on deck include six Grumman F4F-4 Wildcat and three Curtiss SOC-3A Seagull of Auxiliary Scouting Squadron 1 (VGS-1). Naval History and Heritage Command <a href="https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/our-collections/photography/numerical-list-of-images/nara-series/80-g/80-G-30000/80-G-31839.html" target="_blank">80-G-31839</a>.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>Battle of the Indian Ocean:</b> The two Japanese survivors of the attack on Sydney Harbour on 30 May 1942, Lt Akieda Saburo and PO1C Takemoto Masami, have traveled 48 miles on foot when they are intercepted and killed in a gunfight with Royal Marines Commando No. 5 at Amponkarana Bay. One Marine also is killed and four more wounded by a sword wielded by one of the Japanese. The two fleeing men were betrayed by a local in a village where they stopped to get food. I-20, submerged off Amber Bay, will wait for another 36 hours before giving up hope of picking up any of the men.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Eastern Front:</b> Harko (<i>Hoeheres Artillerie Kommando</i>) 306, Eleventh Army's artillery command, gives the order today to open fire on the Red Army's Sevastopol defense with everything. And by everything, they mean <i>everything</i>. </div><div><br /></div><div>This includes 17-inch (420mm) GAMMA, known to the world as "Big Bertha" during World War I, and 21-inch KARL. The biggest gun of all, though, is DORA, a 31.5-inch (800mm) artillery weapon that fires a 7-ton shell and can penetrate 90 inches of steel. It has taken a month, a crane, and thousands of soldiers to get DORA ready. These artillery weapons are massive and extremely vulnerable to air attack, but they can be deployed because the Luftwaffe has complete control of the skies over Crimea. It is a one-off situation where there is no fear of retaliation and the biggest weapons ever made can just fire as many rounds as they are able (which isn't that many per day due to technical issues).</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2AuxzG3iGfnhxQMvlkuaRBGGDBXqS0EjL8I_HfWb_bT3DA9LZJPea7bntrHQ0RtC9e5VLP7bt9vwaXn4_N6_Ozp-NvejunXmk40IajgYylShKBBkuQ9zCYYXQF7y03pbl0INQBdjcYc0/s640/Dora_2_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="DORA at Sevastopol worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="379" data-original-width="640" height="380" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2AuxzG3iGfnhxQMvlkuaRBGGDBXqS0EjL8I_HfWb_bT3DA9LZJPea7bntrHQ0RtC9e5VLP7bt9vwaXn4_N6_Ozp-NvejunXmk40IajgYylShKBBkuQ9zCYYXQF7y03pbl0INQBdjcYc0/w640-h380/Dora_2_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="DORA at Sevastopol worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">DORA finally ready to fire.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>The firing of 600 large artillery pieces (1300 total) controlled by Harko 306 is joined by air attacks by VIII Air Corps, concentrating on Soviet forts to the north of the port. Luftwaffe General von Richtofen awakens at 03:30 and at daybreak flies over the cloudless combat zone in his personal Fieseler Storch observation plane. He is aloft when the artillery opens fire.</div><div><br /></div><div>VIII Air Corps has been greatly reinforced by stripping South Air Corps based in Kerch. Its planes fly from airfields at Saki, Sarabus, and Simferopol, all within 70 km of the port. The planes arrive for their first sortie of the day between 06:00 and 06:30. The area of bombardment is scheduled to shift from one area to another each day to soften up the entire Red Army line. Today's area of attack is against barracks northeast of the city and mobilization points in the villages of Schabykina and Balossowa to the southeast. At 07:00, a full attack using everything in the arsenal begins and lasts for twelve hours. All told, the Luftwaffe flies 723 sorties today and drops 525 tons of high explosives while shooting down six enemy planes. The Red Army pilots are completely outmatched, and four of their planes are shot down while they are trying to flee from Crimea to airfields in the Caucasus. The Germans only lose one Junkers Ju 87 Stuka.</div><div><br /></div><div>DORA does not have to make many direct hits to achieve results, because every single one that does hit the target completely destroys the pillbox or fort. At Fuhrer Headquarters, General Franz Halder simply notes in his war diary, "Artillery assault of Sevastopol has started... On the whole, a day without important events or changes on the front."</div><div><br /></div><div>While it is a quiet day at Fuhrer headquarters, Halder does have several meetings today. One of them is with Major Count Stauffenberg. They discuss issues with the troops that just won the victory southeast of Kharkov near Izyum, which includes a disturbing shortage of horses in a place where the great summer offensive is to be launched within a few weeks.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuTk9MeqfLJJwmX1M5nY0LOP1uDaxO8jPWIXVOBfPrXp6wILl251vFoyOqgSgbvGGtNNDC3gJQSPnKMeopeh-_NNyx6kTbw89561070aVNQdUoRr-pwlCvx2YPDrEHK5ICE3pMUlNBL9E/s663/RAF_Beaulieu_2_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="RAF Beaulieu Airfield, 2 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="663" data-original-width="640" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuTk9MeqfLJJwmX1M5nY0LOP1uDaxO8jPWIXVOBfPrXp6wILl251vFoyOqgSgbvGGtNNDC3gJQSPnKMeopeh-_NNyx6kTbw89561070aVNQdUoRr-pwlCvx2YPDrEHK5ICE3pMUlNBL9E/w618-h640/RAF_Beaulieu_2_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="RAF Beaulieu Airfield, 2 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="618" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Aerial photograph of Beaulieu airfield, looking north 2 June 1942. Photograph taken by No. 1 Photographic Reconnaissance Unit, sortie number RAF/HLA/567. English Heritage (RAF Photography)." <a href="http://www.americanairmuseum.com/media/5652" target="_blank">American Air Museum in Britain</a>.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>European Air Operations: </b>It is a fairly quiet day on the Channel Front at first as both sides recuperate from their recent bombing missions (RAF Bomber Command to Cologne and Essen, the Luftwaffe to Canterbury). At first light, there are RAF patrols along the French coast between Gravelines and Dunkirk at 20-25,000 feet without incident. A second sweep at 09:30, however, turns into a massive dogfight over Le Touquet, where the Luftwaffe has an airbase. RAF No. 403 Squadron finds itself facing 40-50 enemy Focke Wulf 190s. The Allies (Canadians) lose six out of twelve pilots. The Luftwaffe also loses planes but seems to have gotten the better of the encounter. In a sign of the resiliency of the RAF, the six lost planes are replaced by nine new Spitfires by dinner time.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Battle of the Atlantic: </b>In one of the more unusual events of the Battle of the Atlantic, U-213 (Oblt. Amelung von Varendorff), on its second patrol out of Lorient, spots 6826-ton Norwegian freighter Berganger southeast of Cape Cod at 03:32. Varendorff has bad luck, however, and all five torpedoes that he fires miss. However, the freighter also has very bad luck, as during the evening U-578 (KrvKpt. Ernst-August Rehwinkel), on its fourth patrol out of St. Nazaire, also spots the freighter and pumps a torpedo into the ship at 20:27. Rehwinkel then pumps a coup de grâce into the freighter, whose gunners have begun firing at his submarine. After the ship sinks Rehwinkel surfaces, questions the survivors, and takes pictures of them. There are 4 dead and 43 survivors, who occupy three lifeboats and are rescued by several different ships on 4 June.</div><div><br /></div><div>U-156 (Kptlt. Werner Hartenstein), on its third patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes 5970-ton Brazilian freighter Alegrete between St. Lucia and St. Vincent. All 64 aboard the ship survive. This sinking is sometimes listed as happening on 1 June because it happens right around midnight on 1 June, so I mention it on both dates.</div><div><br /></div><div>U-158 (Kptlt. Erwin Rostin), on its second patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 5686-ton US freighter Knoxville City 50 miles southeast of Cape Corrientes, Cuba. There are two dead and 53 survivors. This sinking also is sometimes listed as occurring on 1 June 1942.</div><div><br /></div><div>U-159 (Kptlt. Helmut Friedrich Witte), on its second patrol out of Lorient, sports 5403-ton U.S. transport Illinois 400 miles northwest of Puerto Rico. Witte hits the freighter with two torpedoes that cause the ship to capsize and sink within 40 seconds. The time is too short for a distress call or for the crew to launch any lifeboats. There are only six survivors and 32 dead. The survivors find a capsized lifeboat and manage to right it, then sail to the southwest until picked up on 8 June by US tanker Esso Montpelier.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigxsPTn_2lvLrV7IV-F7H8ML4LJ_YUY5Uif29k-31Hik0YrA_3j4ejb9biUZbJJPUI3iQV0mL_MZS_jUrvDl3bBjvl7MpdXm6oRoRGG3DyO1cpHM-1GOJiqgpokggdj_lDCeg52IViYzE/s640/French_Admiral_2_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Admiral Aboyneau, 2 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="486" data-original-width="640" height="486" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigxsPTn_2lvLrV7IV-F7H8ML4LJ_YUY5Uif29k-31Hik0YrA_3j4ejb9biUZbJJPUI3iQV0mL_MZS_jUrvDl3bBjvl7MpdXm6oRoRGG3DyO1cpHM-1GOJiqgpokggdj_lDCeg52IViYzE/w640-h486/French_Admiral_2_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="Admiral Aboyneau, 2 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Free French Navy Admiral Aboyneau's barge coming alongside the Free French ship Amiens at Porsmouth for an inspection, 2 June 1942. © IWM <a href="https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205142725" target="_blank">A 8804</a>.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>U-553 (Kptlt. Karl Thurmann), on its seventh patrol out of St. Nazaire, torpedoes and sinks 6019-ton British freighter Mattawin 190 miles southeast of Nantucket. The U-boat chased the freighter for three and a half hours and missed with two torpedoes before finally having success with one (of two) at 07:18. All 71 men aboard the freighter survive, including a sailor blown off the forecastle and into the water when the torpedo hit. Thurmann fires a coup de grâce at 07.30 that sinks the ship in five minutes. The rescue of the survivors is a bit unusual in that the crews in three lifeboats turn down offers of rescue from Norwegian freighter Torvanger because it is heading to Capetown. However, the master of the vessel then discusses the matter with his own crew, who claim they are fearful of traveling independently with U-boats around. The master agrees to take the survivors to Halifax. Incidentally, the crew of the Torvanger is right to be fearful, as U-84 (Horst Uphoff) later sinks Torvanger west of the Azores while it is on its way to Capetown.</div><div><br /></div><div>U-558 (Kptlt. Günther Krech), on its seventh patrol out of Brest, uses its deck gun because it is out of torpedoes and sinks 2078-ton Dutch freighter Triton 470 miles southeast of Bermuda. The first shot destroys the ship's stern gun and the German radio operator jams the ship's distress signals. There are 6 dead and 30 survivors, who are picked up after three days by US freighter Mormacport.</div><div><br /></div><div>Italian submarine Da Vinci (Capt Luigi Longanesi-Cattani) uses its deck gun and torpedoes to sink 1087-ton Panamanian four-masted freighter Reine Marie Stewart 40 miles southwest of Freetown, Sierra Leone. All 11 crewmen survive after being picked up by the British freighter Afghanistan.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>A Luftwaffe bomber finds 903-ton Irish freighter City of Bremen en route from Lisbon to Holyhead, Wales, and bombs it. While the City of Bremen does not sink immediately, the blast causes enough damage for the crew to abandon the ship at 23:30. Nobody sees the ship sink. Everybody survives.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>Dutch 197-ton freighter Antares hits a mine and sinks. There is one death.</div><div><br /></div><div>German 341-ton flak ship V 1510 Unitas 6 hits a sunken wreck and sinks near Dieppe in the English Channel.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-KnvW-bITmhAev17BylzkijoAGAjBEBOAHJBa0rTgEYShyZCSkgVirtuxTA3nCXDKyo-OTWklvJ2JzIKleAYulCYqKKVuTuszp_Gv_ehCqaSOWYiKMTb1djEK7t_iFabpzSXyMf4TfQw/s667/Field_guns_2_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="British 25-pounder firing, 2 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="640" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-KnvW-bITmhAev17BylzkijoAGAjBEBOAHJBa0rTgEYShyZCSkgVirtuxTA3nCXDKyo-OTWklvJ2JzIKleAYulCYqKKVuTuszp_Gv_ehCqaSOWYiKMTb1djEK7t_iFabpzSXyMf4TfQw/w614-h640/Field_guns_2_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="British 25-pounder firing, 2 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="614" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"British 25 pounder guns fire at Erwin Rommel's Afrika Korps on the night of 2 June 1942 during the battle of Gazala, Libya." © IWM <a href="https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205196587" target="_blank">E 12789</a>.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>Battle of the Mediterranean: </b>The Axis forces resume their blockade of the French fortress at Bir Hakeim after the Free French there briefly broke it to receive badly needed supplies. The Afrika Korps begins shelling the fortress at 10:00, accompanied by attacks from Axis planes. This includes twenty attacks by Junkers Ju 87 Stuka dive bombers. The Italian Ariete division then launches an attack on the fort, which the French repel.</div><div><br /></div><div>The British Desert Air Force also is active. It bombs the easily observed Axis forces surrounding the fortress in the desert, blowing up a lot of vehicles and leaving them burning wrecks. The Allies launch small-scale raids by the 7th Motor Brigade and the 29th Indian Infantry Brigade that cause more destruction but can't end the blockade. The military draw at the fort, however, is bad news for the Free French, who are rapidly running low on essential supplies such as water.</div><div><br /></div><div>U-652 (Oblt. Georg-Werner Fraatz), on its ninth patrol out of Pola, sustains heavy damage in the Gulf of Sollum from depth charges dropped by British Fairey Swordfish torpedo bombers of RAF No. 815 Naval Air Squadron. The submarine is able to surface and the entire crew survives, but it is a total loss. U-81 (Kptlt. Friedrich Guggenberger<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>) happens to be nearby and torpedoes it to ensure the Allies don't come into possession of the hulk. U-652 ends its career with a total of 34,907 of Allied tonnage to its credit. After this, U-81 breaks off its own patrol and takes the survivors to Salamis.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Battle of the Black Sea: </b>Soviet submarine SHCH-214 continues its string of successes against neutral Turkish vessels, sinking 100-ton sailing ship Kaynarea. It does this by ramming the sailing ship east of Rezovo, Bulgaria. Why the Soviet sub destroys so many Turkish vessels is a mystery, but there are many suspicions that Turkish war profiteers are transporting cargo in violation of neutrality.</div><div><br /></div><div>Luftwaffe aircraft bomb and sink 836-ton Soviet transport Mikhail Gromov near Yalta while it is en route from Tuapse to Sevastopol to supply the trapped Red Army soldiers there.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>German Military: </b><a href="https://worldwartwo.filminspector.com/2014/05/heinrich-himmler-hitlers-executioner.html" target="_blank">Reichsfuhrer-SS Heinrich Himmler</a> visits Reinhard Heydrich in the hospital at Prague. Heydrich appears to be recovering satisfactorily but is not out of the woods yet. He tells Himmler that he is ready for whatever happens, saying, "The world is just a barrel-organ which the Lord God turns Himself. We all have to dance to the tune which is already on the drum."</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPw3l7XzZmXfHDLgVOmdZ6WTPR8-wpN96u4FmO6XO-wEF3nCBvmSUCpbdJ2OysFLdzXjDLnfpGo1Lh87toyoNPYMD_RQRUMF1HYEAkODARFOKdj9P8kpPRjTIgG3b5k91iNYmRLlBb61w/s1129/Asahi_Shimbun_2_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Asahi Shimbun, 2 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="1129" data-original-width="640" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPw3l7XzZmXfHDLgVOmdZ6WTPR8-wpN96u4FmO6XO-wEF3nCBvmSUCpbdJ2OysFLdzXjDLnfpGo1Lh87toyoNPYMD_RQRUMF1HYEAkODARFOKdj9P8kpPRjTIgG3b5k91iNYmRLlBb61w/w362-h640/Asahi_Shimbun_2_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="Asahi Shimbun, 2 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="362" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An article in the Asahi Shimbun on 2 June 1942 describes "a gift from the front." Soldiers in southeast Asia have sent home this leopard for Ueno Zoological Garden, a Tokyo zoo. Captain Shigetaka Yoshimura is shown petting the leopard.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>Australian Government:</b> Apparently stung by the recent attack on Sydney Harbour, Prime Minister John Curtin defiantly says, "I defy the enemy to land large forces in Australia."</div><div><br /></div><div><b>British Government: </b>Prime Minister Winston Churchill <a href="https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1942/jun/02/libyan-battle-and-bombing-of-germany#S5CV0380P0_19420602_HOC_270" target="_blank">gives a speech</a> in the House of Commons primarily about the ongoing German attack in Libya. "From captured documents, it is clear that Rommel's object was to defeat our armored forces and capture Tobruk," he says. He gives an estimate that 260 enemy tanks have been destroyed or captured, and mentions that "we have retained control of the battlefield." Churchill also states that General Claude Auchinleck, in charge of North Africa, has complimented "the excellent performance of the American Grant tanks."</div><div><br /></div><div>Churchill also gives a brief update on the air war, noting that "no fewer than 1,130 British-manned aircraft" attacked Cologne on the night of 30/31 May, and "1036 machines of the Royal Air Force" attacked Essen on the following night. "[T]hese two great night-bombing raids mark the introduction of a new phase in the British air offensive against Germany."</div><div><br /></div><div>While it is all well and good for Churchill to crow about British successes, this speech also makes it quite awkward later in June when it turns out that the British in fact have not "retained control of the battlefield" and Rommel's forces capture Tobruk in a lightning assault. His government almost falls due to the heightened expectations and depressing results. To save face, Churchill has to fire Auchinleck. This shows the danger of being too overconfident and self-congratulatory. But that is looking ahead and I try not to do that too often.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>American Homefront:</b> There are <a href="https://www.honorstates.org/index.php?do=q&date=06-02-1942&p=9" target="_blank">89 known US war dead</a> today, a "quiet" day in the war.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Western Defense Command warns citizens on the west coast to be on the alert for Japanese infiltrators wearing U.S. Army uniforms.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqpYEjXBmCRikDjRTyxtbNkIlAUDXO0HDggRzYPLK9tFzTb4QKtqiZjaygDxhLxRcP6QFF3tPgTtIxi1Px9JeR-WB-p4WUD-Wc-L1nhZTo2epfp0Tcei970PuhFIqMpalW14KAwzo26Qo/s853/Veronica_Lake_2_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Veronica Lake on the cover of Look Magazine, 2 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="640" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqpYEjXBmCRikDjRTyxtbNkIlAUDXO0HDggRzYPLK9tFzTb4QKtqiZjaygDxhLxRcP6QFF3tPgTtIxi1Px9JeR-WB-p4WUD-Wc-L1nhZTo2epfp0Tcei970PuhFIqMpalW14KAwzo26Qo/w480-h640/Veronica_Lake_2_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="Veronica Lake on the cover of Look Magazine, 2 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Actress Veronica Lake on the cover of Look Magazine, 2 June 1942. </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br />
<span class="updated">2021</span>
</div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4010278260980683606.post-32545551980481159342021-09-28T11:47:00.004-07:002021-11-12T23:47:39.805-07:00June 1, 1942: Hitler at Poltava<div itemscope="" itemtype="https://schema.org/Thing"><h1>Monday 1 June 1942</h1><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiCOpsv_6f2xFGEqky5d5yuOWoMufpZL11mmCO21cbEjCLyetUWMV7d6I5feRvcYotJHClX46_dAkWdnDgqqvC1l0iyEFy6wZ6m1tqvWGn1ahjUie2WntKAr9w8yjcVMVBZJu3qkd8Ryg/s640/Hitler_at_Poltava_1_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector_com_2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img alt="Hitler at Poltava 1 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="462" data-original-width="640" height="462" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiCOpsv_6f2xFGEqky5d5yuOWoMufpZL11mmCO21cbEjCLyetUWMV7d6I5feRvcYotJHClX46_dAkWdnDgqqvC1l0iyEFy6wZ6m1tqvWGn1ahjUie2WntKAr9w8yjcVMVBZJu3qkd8Ryg/w640-h462/Hitler_at_Poltava_1_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector_com_2.jpg" title="Hitler at Poltava 1 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hitler at Poltava, 1 June 1942. From left to right: Lieutenant General Adolf Ernst Heusinger, General of the Infantry von Sodenstern, Colonel General Max Freiherr von Weichs, Adolf Hitler, General of the Panzer Force Friedrich Paulus, Colonel General Eberhard von Mackensen and Field Marshal Feodor von Bock. Federal Archive <a href="https://www.bild.bundesarchiv.de/dba/de/search/?query=Bild+183-B24543" target="_blank">Image 183-B24543</a>.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>Battle of the Pacific:</b> On <b itemprop="name">1 June 1942</b>, a Japanese invasion force departs from Kashiwabara on Paramushiru Island in the Kurile Islands heading for Kiska Island in the Aleutians. Meanwhile, the US Navy sends Task Force 8.6 centered around the light cruiser USS Nashville (CL-43) to patrol 400 miles (741 km) south of Kodiak Island. The US 11th Air Force now has 12 P-40s, six B-26 bombers, and a B-17E at Otter Point on Umnak Island.</div><div><br /></div><div>Pursuant to Admiral Nimitz's orders, aircraft carrier Saratoga sails from San Diego for Pearl Harbor following repair of torpedo damage suffered on 11 January 1942 and some modernization. It carries 14 Wildcats of VF-2 Detachment and 23 Dauntlesses of VS-3, along with four Wildcats, 43 Dauntlesses, and 14 Avengers as cargo. The cargo aircraft are carried as future replacements for aircraft expected to be lost at Midway Island by carriers <a href="https://worldwartwo.filminspector.com/2021/01/uss-enterprise-galloping-ghost-of-wwii.html" target="_blank">Enterprise</a>, Hornet, and Yorktown.</div><div><br /></div><div>Five Japanese submarines (I-21, I-22, I-24, I-27, and I-29) lie off Port Hacking, Australia, waiting for the crewmen of the mini-submarines that attacks Sydney Harbour on 31 May to reach their rendezvous point. The men never arrive, having all been killed either during the attack or afterward.</div><div><br /></div><div>The US Fifth Air Force sends B-17s to attack the Japanese base at Rabaul, while others raid Lae and Salamaua, New Guinea.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHl7MlyBT35dodRYzJlq8JH-2QuL4zQEbUpg6b1WFA87vvrVHsO00lGyjLd1Vc7wVrPimUyckyF3n0VmBI8u3-NC3k-nQrpSXh0GDBcLtAh-hyYGyKBcKXBjwhpKMjft-eDt7Dq73VcoY/s640/Hitler_at_Poltava_1_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector_com_4.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Hitler at Poltava 1 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="453" data-original-width="640" height="454" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHl7MlyBT35dodRYzJlq8JH-2QuL4zQEbUpg6b1WFA87vvrVHsO00lGyjLd1Vc7wVrPimUyckyF3n0VmBI8u3-NC3k-nQrpSXh0GDBcLtAh-hyYGyKBcKXBjwhpKMjft-eDt7Dq73VcoY/w640-h454/Hitler_at_Poltava_1_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector_com_4.jpg" title="Hitler at Poltava 1 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hitler driving from the airfield to his meeting with the leaders of Army Group South in Poltava, Ukraine, 1 June 1942.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>Battle of the Indian Ocean:</b> Following their successful mini-sub attack on the British fleet at Diego Suarez, Madagascar, two Japanese sailors (Lt Akieda Saburo and PO1C Takemoto Masami) have abandoned their mini-sub at Nosy Antalikely (Antali Keli) islet. Having gotten to the mainland on the boat of some friendly locals, they are proceeding on foot to the pickup point at Cape Amber. Hungry, they stop at a village, Anijabe village, to buy some food. They obtain the food from the friendly locals, but one of them contacts the British in hopes of getting a reward.</div><div><br /></div><div>Japanese submarine I-10 launches its "Glen" seaplane for a reconnaissance mission over Diego Suarez, Madagascar. Even though this is the third straight day of such flights, the British do not notice it.</div><div><div><br /></div><div>The US 10th Air Force raids the Rangoon dockyards with five bombers. The bomber crews claim to sink one tanker and damage another. </div></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLKky3qOORlvQXYpTGLtoQYct2c8A094RiE23t1-AmqsEtDFS-uzwGaqtp7rVBGGHpQcJugqw0irEuCiNatVnlMRjfLvpu-hpn6L6BmhcQJXCRDK8qgSIHNou4FVZkQmfFeVGLsMIDBkI/s914/Hitler_at_Poltava_1_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector_com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Hitler at Poltava 1 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="914" data-original-width="640" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLKky3qOORlvQXYpTGLtoQYct2c8A094RiE23t1-AmqsEtDFS-uzwGaqtp7rVBGGHpQcJugqw0irEuCiNatVnlMRjfLvpu-hpn6L6BmhcQJXCRDK8qgSIHNou4FVZkQmfFeVGLsMIDBkI/w448-h640/Hitler_at_Poltava_1_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector_com_1.jpg" title="Hitler at Poltava 1 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="448" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Adolf Hitler, center, greets soldiers after getting off of his Focke Wulf Fw 200 Kondor at Poltava airfield, 1 June 1942.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>Eastern Front:</b> Adolf Hitler makes a rare visit to Army Group Center headquarters at Poltava in the Reichskommissariat Ukraine. He is there to discuss the upcoming Case Blue with Field Marshal Fedor von Bock. Hitler flies in at 9 a.m. and is gone by noon. Afterward, everyone is a little mystified why he visited, but Hitler shows a bit of wanderlust in early June 1942, flying to Poltava, then to Finnland to wish Marshal Mannerheim a happy 75th birthday, and then down to Berchtesgaden for a holiday. This is the first of Hitler's two visits to Poltava, the second being on 3 July.</div><div><br /></div><div>These visits accomplish nothing that could not also be done via simple teletype messages and phone calls. However, they serve Hitler's purposes in terms of reminding the generals and soldiers at the front who is really in charge. They also serve as good propaganda tools to show the same thing to the German public. Hitler fully expects Case Blau to be a resounding victory and the final German triumph over the USSR, so he wants to be seen prominently at the point of its inception.</div><div><br /></div><div>At Sevastopol, General von Manstein's 11th Army bombards the Soviet holdouts throughout the day. He is preparing to finally take the port. The Red Army troops know they have no hope of relief and Stalin has not authorized a withdrawal using ships.</div><div><br /></div><div>The action is heating up in the air over Sevastopol, too. II./JG 77's Lt. Ludwig-Wilhelm Burckhardt is shot down near enemy lines while flying an escort mission for Generaloberst Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen's Fiesler Storch. He crash-lands near the Soviet lines, gets out of the plane, and runs for his life from advancing Soviet infantry. Burckhardt barely survives and makes it back to German lines but gets chewed out by his commander, Major Gordon Gollob, for not destroying his Bf 109 before leaving.</div><div><br /></div><div>Back at Fuhrer Headquarters, General Franz Halder simply writes "Unchanged" in his war diary, adding "The mopping-up operation in the rear of Fourth Army [anti-partisan operation Hannover] is making good progress." Halder talks to General Hoth, the new commander of the 4th Panzer Army, about his role in Case Blue.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPllv9HyfbuIwbEQ11uGBU9M-mZEY8UHKbS41kExT4HwVf6EwUkSmG761rhhNXtaqvRzpc-V_M8fK4noQbXd7w2CRqbQeJKN2c-cR0-L7JImWqdcdBnLUMnckf4TNZRLqDVrfc-o7rrTU/s640/Hitler_at_Poltava_1_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector_com_3.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Hitler at Poltava 1 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="430" data-original-width="640" height="430" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPllv9HyfbuIwbEQ11uGBU9M-mZEY8UHKbS41kExT4HwVf6EwUkSmG761rhhNXtaqvRzpc-V_M8fK4noQbXd7w2CRqbQeJKN2c-cR0-L7JImWqdcdBnLUMnckf4TNZRLqDVrfc-o7rrTU/w640-h430/Hitler_at_Poltava_1_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector_com_3.jpg" title="Hitler at Poltava 1 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Adolf Hitler exits his Focke-Wulf 200 in Poltava, Ukraine, 1 June 1942.</td></tr></tbody></table><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>European Air Operations: </b>German flak batteries at Ostend down an RAF Spitfire. The Belgian pilot survives two days and three nights in his dinghy before being picked up by the Germans and imprisoned.</div><div><br /></div><div>RAF Bomber Command takes a rest after two major raids on consecutive nights, one against Cologne and the other over Essen. It considers the Cologne raid a success although the RAF lost 40 bombers. The Essen raid by 956 bombers, however, achieved little due to poor bombing accuracy.</div><div><br /></div><div>Fires rage in Canterbury, England, after the latest "Baedeker Blitz" attack by the Luftwaffe.</div><div><br /></div><div> Lt. Heinz-Wolfgang Schnaufer of NJG 1 gets his first victory during the Essen raid. He will become known as "The Night Ghost of St. Trond."</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Battle of the Baltic: </b>German 981-ton freighter Malmö hits a mine in the Drogden area of the Skagerrak and sinks in Øresund southwest of Malmö, Sweden. On 8 August 1942, a Danish salvage company raises it, brings it to Copenhagen, repairs it, and returns it to service. It survives the war.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7xfZiNzDdoDtrroVXZObCkYXk_s37pXvcUnh7gdJ15-Fwrg3wkUCRLfeIugZg-JdUM6R38-MTbNechmUcvJ5U9Sq-P9prqVsBUzwRy6Zxxk-C6DGczFq7rulW4G0ZINLJesSYrz-msYE/s640/Hitler_at_Poltava_1_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector_com_5.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Hitler at Poltava 1 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="444" data-original-width="640" height="444" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7xfZiNzDdoDtrroVXZObCkYXk_s37pXvcUnh7gdJ15-Fwrg3wkUCRLfeIugZg-JdUM6R38-MTbNechmUcvJ5U9Sq-P9prqVsBUzwRy6Zxxk-C6DGczFq7rulW4G0ZINLJesSYrz-msYE/w640-h444/Hitler_at_Poltava_1_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector_com_5.jpg" title="Hitler at Poltava 1 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hitler arrives at the headquarters of Army Group South, 1 June 1942.</td></tr></tbody></table><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Battle of the Atlantic: </b>U-156 torpedoes and sinks 5970-ton Brazilian freighter Alegrete between St. Lucia and St. Vincent. The attack is made after dark at 23:51, making the (neutral) Brazilian flag difficult to see. The crew quickly abandons ship and the U-boat uses its deck gun to send it under by 03:00 on the 2nd. All 64 on the freighter survive, with three lifeboats making landfall in Trinidad and Venezuela and the fourth being rescued by USS Tarbell (DD 142).</div><div><br /></div><div>U-158 (Kptlt. Erwin Rostin), on its second patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 5686-ton US freighter Knoxville City near the Isle of Pines and 50 miles southeast of Cape Corrientes, Cuba. This sinking is sometimes listed as having sunk early in the morning on 2 June. A torpedo strikes the engine room, killing two men instantly and stopping the ship. After an hour the ship is still afloat, so Rostin fires another torpedo that sinks it. Aside from the two men in the engine room, all 53 other crewmen survive. The crew's story is a little unusual because a Brazilian freighter, Jamaica, stops and asks the men in the boats if they want to be rescued, but they decline because they fear that this ship will be torpedoed, too. They ultimately make landfall in La Calina, Cuba, after 48 hours.</div><div><br /></div><div>U-106 (Kptlt. Hermann Rasch), on its sixth patrol out of Lorient, sinks 2689-ton US freighter Hampton Roads northwest of Cape San Antonio, Cuba. Rasch fires two warning shots with his deck gun, causing the freighter to stop. He waits for the crew to disembark, then fires one torpedo that sinks the ship. Five men remain on board and perish, but the other 23 men take to the boats and are picked up seven hours later by Alcoa Pathfinder.</div><div><br /></div><div>U-404 (Kptlt. Otto von Bülow), on its third patrol out of Brest, torpedoes and sinks 5492-ton US freighter West Notus 320 miles east of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. The U-boat chases the ship for two hours and 45 minutes, using its deck gun and scoring about 20 hits in 55 shots. The crew is unable to send a distress call because one of the first shells destroys the radio. Finally, one of the shots disables the steering, causing the ship to sail in circles. The crew abandons ship after firing some rounds with a machine gun that causes minor damage to the U-boat. The U-boat then surfaces, questions the men, gives them some Perrier mineral water bottles, and directs them to Cape Hatteras. The burning freighter, meanwhile, takes a long time to sink, so in an unusual move, von Bülow sends a party on board to plant scuttling charges. There are four dead and 36 survivors, who are picked up after a couple of days by two separate freighters (Greek Constantinos H. and Swiss Saentis).</div><div><br /></div><div>U-566 (Kptlt. Dietrich Borchert), on its fifth patrol out of Brest, torpedoes and later uses gunfire to sink 9512-ton British freighter Westmoreland northeast of Bermuda 240 miles northeast of Bermuda. The ship takes a long time to sink, and remains afloat even after a coup de grâce torpedo is used, so Borchert surfaces and uses the deck gun to sink it after a five-hour ordeal. There are three dead and 65 survivors, who are picked up by two different freighters (Canadian Cathcart and U.S. Henry R. Mallory). This is U-566's only victory on this patrol.</div><div><br /></div><div>Some sources place the sinking of 4536-ton Panamian freighter Bushranger today by U-107, but others do so on 31 May 1942, so I covered it there.</div><div><br /></div><div>Luftwaffe Junkers Ju 87 Stuka bombers sink 6850-ton British freighter Empire Starlight in Murmansk Harbor. The Soviets refloat and repair it in 1945, renaming the freighter Murmansk. The planes also sink 235-ton Soviet freighter Subbotnik in the harbor, with eight dead.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpefG2D9sd94B5g1CV00D6Rc4qppiOUFKgApZb4Dtg-3n_8wa-_WwPoIruHROthDoezIDRu1XnoVY8h3opvkNvp-rDocrRjTqnvnHKt62awXt5JDsyiUXggZJVE3750Lec-RNo7e2hOsw/s640/USS_Juneau_1_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector_com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="USS Juneau, 1 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="248" data-original-width="640" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpefG2D9sd94B5g1CV00D6Rc4qppiOUFKgApZb4Dtg-3n_8wa-_WwPoIruHROthDoezIDRu1XnoVY8h3opvkNvp-rDocrRjTqnvnHKt62awXt5JDsyiUXggZJVE3750Lec-RNo7e2hOsw/w640-h248/USS_Juneau_1_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector_com_1.jpg" title="USS Juneau, 1 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The U.S. Navy light cruiser USS Juneau (CL-52). "Photographed off New York City, 1 June 1942. She has a barge alongside her starboard quarter. Her superstructure retains its original camouflage scheme, but her hull has been repainted to a different pattern." Juneau will be sunk on 13 November 1942 at the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal with the loss of 687, including the five Sullivan brothers. Naval History & Heritage Command <a href="https://www.history.navy.mil/our-collections/photography/numerical-list-of-images/nara-series/19-n/19-N-30000/19-N-31264.html" target="_blank">19-N-31264</a>.<br /><br /></td><td class="tr-caption"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div><b>Battle of the Mediterranean: </b>Following heavy Stuka attacks on British defenders of the 150th Infantry Brigade at the Sidi Muftah box (Got el Ualeb, due west of Tobruk), German soldiers of the Afrika Korps resume their attack west against them that began on the 31st of May. The British Eighth Army attempts to relieve the embattled soldiers, without success. Fierce fighting continues throughout the day into the early afternoon, when the last British soldiers surrender. The Germans claim 3000 prisoners, the destruction of 101 tanks and armored cars, and the capture or destruction of 124 artillery pieces. </div><div><br /></div><div>This enables the Germans to make contact with the Italian X Corps, advancing through the minefield from the west. This Axis victory clears two desperately needed pathways through the British minefields to the west so that supplies can be trucked in by the Italian Ariete and Trieste divisions.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Spy Stuff:</b> The Wehrmacht begins a secret disinformation campaign, Operation Kreml (Kremlin). Working on the assumption that the Red Army has sources within the German army, Operation Kreml involves a phony plan by Army Group Center to mount a large-scale offensive to capture Moscow. The plan is put in motion today with the Army Group's distribution down to the regimental level of sealed maps of Moscow with instructions not to open them until 10 June, when meetings to discuss the offensive will be held. In fact, the only Wehrmacht offensive planned for the summer is the one in the south, Case Blau. Kreml is a classic misdirection counterintelligence operation.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEr4QQJeScCSX4AWV7Iq9hNHk5QwmyRRpHL7VB4o3ZVStBrBVI_WEisxidEFD5yg-eXhVSrSaqYnE_yMb9bOFzM7v2dt0GpwwoOKvLAWjxHEh5-N2M6SQRACc6AKSlndybbtKuyPzf3vQ/s853/Goering_1_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector_com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Hermann Goering as shown in Time Magazine, 1 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="640" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEr4QQJeScCSX4AWV7Iq9hNHk5QwmyRRpHL7VB4o3ZVStBrBVI_WEisxidEFD5yg-eXhVSrSaqYnE_yMb9bOFzM7v2dt0GpwwoOKvLAWjxHEh5-N2M6SQRACc6AKSlndybbtKuyPzf3vQ/w480-h640/Goering_1_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector_com_1.jpg" title="Hermann Goering portrayed in Time Magazine, 1 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A photo of <a href="https://worldwartwo.filminspector.com/2014/06/hermann-goering-reichsmarshall-and.html" target="_blank">Hermann Goering</a> in the 1 June 1942 issue of Time Magazine.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>German Military:</b> Generals Hermann Hoth of 17th Army and Richard Ruoff of 4th Panzer Army switch commands. Hoth is considered a top panzer general is tasked with preparing the 4th Panzer Army for its critical role in the upcoming Case Blue offensive into southern USSR toward Stalingrad.</div><div><br /></div><div>Oblt. Heinrich Kraft of 8./JG 51 becomes Gruppenkommandeur of I./JG 51.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>US Military: </b>Headquarters, United States Army Northern Ireland Force and Headquarters, V Corps (both commanded by MG Hartle) transfer from Wilmont House to Lurgan. Meanwhile, the Headquarters of Northern Ireland Base Command (Provisional) is activated at Wilmont House under the command of BG Leroy P. Collins.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Brazilian Homefront: </b>Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (CRVD) is founded in Itabira, Minas Gerais, Brazil. It is a metals and mining corporation that eventually evolves into Vale S.A., one of the most valuable companies in Latin America. It is also is controversial due to its impact on the environment and various accidents resulting in deaths and injuries.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoon8BPtcRh2YZKDSZnuxqU2edgp0feVRUEgphzeyosZ-wUkMGBTAHHtlSna-KqGc90yQo0gn82Sq31xkZfuqfwenYPXwXp81BTB9mLqM-jJlWP5wULIbu_gVCWH954haxHbxlBq4ijD8/s884/Time_magazine_1_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Time magazine, with Chiang Kai-shek on the cover, 1 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="884" data-original-width="640" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoon8BPtcRh2YZKDSZnuxqU2edgp0feVRUEgphzeyosZ-wUkMGBTAHHtlSna-KqGc90yQo0gn82Sq31xkZfuqfwenYPXwXp81BTB9mLqM-jJlWP5wULIbu_gVCWH954haxHbxlBq4ijD8/w464-h640/Time_magazine_1_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="Time magazine, with Chiang Kai-shek on the cover, 1 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="464" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chinese leader Chiang Kai-shek on the cover of Time magazine, 1 June 1942.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>Holocaust: </b>Carl Oberg officially takes up his post as Higher SS and Police Leader (Höherer SS-und Polizeiführer, HSSPF) "Frankreich" (France) with authority over German police and security forces in France, including the SD and the Gestapo. Oberg now is the ultimate authority in France for anti-partisan operations and Holocaust activities. He will earn the nickname "Butcher of Paris." </div><div><br /></div><div>Reinhard Heydrich accompanied Oberg to his new post in France in early May (before the Heydrich assassination attack on 27 May). Already, even before his official installation, Oberg has instituted the policy of requiring Jews in Paris to wear a yellow badge. One of Oberg's defining characteristics will be ordering mass executions of hostages as reprisals for Resistance activities.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>American Homefront:</b> The Grand Coulee Dam, which has been under construction since the ceremonial driving of the first stake on 16 July 1933, opens on the Columbia River. The reservoir fills completely and the first waters overtop the spillway. Over 21,000 acres (85 square km) of land have been flooded</div><div><br /></div><div>The dam's first generator has been in operation since January 1941. Getting the dam into full operation is a very slow and gradual process, with the last of its 18 generators not being switched on until 1950. The total cost of the dam in 2020 dollars: $2 billion.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Future History: </b>Thomas Frank Mankiewicz is born in Los Angeles, California. The son of Joseph Mankiewicz and nephew of Herman Mankiewicz, both power players in Hollywood, Tom Mankiewicz goes on to become an American screenwriter, director, and producer of motion pictures and television. His most famous credits include "Superman: The Movie" (1978) and some James Bond films, including "Live and Let Die" (1973). Tom Mankiewicz was famous within Hollywood insider circles as a "script doctor" brought in to "fix" shaky movie scripts. He passes away in Los Angeles on 31 July 2010 from pancreatic cancer.</div><div><br /></div><div>Cecil Randolph Hundley Jr. is born in Martinsville, Virginia. He becomes a top catcher, particularly defensively, in Major League Baseball from 1964-1977. He is most famous for playing with the Chicago Cubs. His son, Todd, also becomes a Major Leaguer. Hundley originated the idea of baseball "fantasy camps," where fans get to play with former pros. He apparently still operates some as of this writing in 2021.</div><div><br /></div><div>Fernando Atzori is born in Ales, Province of Oristano, Italy. He goes on to become a champion boxer before retiring in 1975. He passes away on 9 November 2020.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJuVLKbdlnKFJMTBtUPNYOsdQ8Uf6Tp8a5rOEJIVaCa7bDqDHSYfwUNOjZKpN0ewm9y_l87D1zqPITd6un0xsUZRBXbzNAyKbINgwtpULQvBB-eey5bFEXk4k2lJuq5Lnka6KLJvXZqzc/s480/Life_magazine_1_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector_com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Life magazine with Hedy Lamarr on the cover, 1 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="360" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJuVLKbdlnKFJMTBtUPNYOsdQ8Uf6Tp8a5rOEJIVaCa7bDqDHSYfwUNOjZKpN0ewm9y_l87D1zqPITd6un0xsUZRBXbzNAyKbINgwtpULQvBB-eey5bFEXk4k2lJuq5Lnka6KLJvXZqzc/w480-h640/Life_magazine_1_June_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector_com_1.jpg" title="Life magazine with Hedy Lamarr on the cover, 1 June 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Life magazine, 1 June 1942, with actress Hedy Lamarr on the cover.</td></tr></tbody></table><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><h2>May 1942</h2></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/04/may-1-1942-japanese-take-mandalay.html" target="_blank">May 1, 1942: Japanese Take Mandalay</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/04/may-2-1942-cruiser-edinburgh-sunk.html" target="_blank">May 2, 1942: Cruiser Edinburgh Sunk</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/04/may-3-1942-japanese-take-tulagi.html">May 3, 1942: Japanese Take Tulagi</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/04/may-4-1942-fletcher-attacks-at-tulagi.html" target="_blank">May 4, 1942: Fletcher Attacks at Tulagi</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/04/may-5-1942-british-invade-madagascar.html">May 5, 1942: British Invade Madagascar</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/04/may-6-1942-corregidor-falls-to-japan.html">May 6, 1942: Corregidor Falls to Japan</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/04/may-7-1942-scratch-one-flattop.html" target="_blank">May 7, 1942: Scratch One Flattop!</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/04/may-8-1942-death-and-destruction-in.html">May 8, 1942: Lexington Sunk in the Coral Sea</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/04/may-9-1942-manstein-on-attack-in-crimea.html">May 9, 1942: Manstein on the Attack in Crimea</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/04/may-10-1942-spitfires-rule-over-malta.html">May 10, 1942: Spitfires Rule Over Malta</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/04/may-11-1942-first-japanese-retreat-at.html" target="_blank">May 11, 1942: First Japanese Retreat at Deboyne</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/04/may-12-1942-soviets-attack-at-kharkov.html">May 12, 1942: Soviets Attack At Kharkov</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/04/may-13-1942-crisis-at-kharkov.html">May 13, 1942: Crisis at Kharkov</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/04/may-14-1942-where-in-world-is-af.html" target="_blank">May 14, 1942: Where in the World is AF</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/04/march-15-1942-germans-take-kerch.html" target="_blank">May 15, 1942: Germans Take Kerch</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/05/may-16-1942-sobibor-begins-operation.html" target="_blank">May 16, 1942: Sobibor Begins Operation</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/05/may-17-1942-germans-counterattack-at.html" target="">May 17, 1942: Germans Counterattack at Kharkov</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/05/may-18-1942-soviet-command-confusion.html">May 18, 1942: Soviet Command Confusion </a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/05/may-19-1942-soviet-panic-at-kharkov.html">May 19, 1942: Soviet Panic at Kharkov</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/05/may-20-1942-churchill-and-molotov.html">May 20, 1942: Churchill and Molotov Negotiate</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/05/may-21-1942-u-106-sinks-wrong-tanker.html">May 21, 1942: U-106 Sinks the Wrong Tanker</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/06/may-22-1942-af-is-midway.html">May 22, 1942: AF is Midway!</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/08/may-23-1942-german-forces-surround.html">May 23, 1942: German Forces Surround Soviet Armies at Kharkov</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/09/may-24-1942-german-anti-partisan.html">May 24, 1942: German Anti-Partisan Operations in Full Swing</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/09/may-25-1942-soviet-breakout-at-kharkov.html">May 25, 1942: Soviet Breakout at Kharkov Fails</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/09/may-26-1942-rommel-pounces-in-north.html">May 26, 1942: Rommel Pounces in North Africa</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/09/may-27-1942-heydrich-fatally-wounded-in.html">May 27, 1942: Heydrich Fatally Wounded in Prague</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/09/may-28-1942-german-victory-at-kharkov.html">May 28, 1942: German Victory At Kharkov</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/09/may-29-1942-japanese-at-madagascar.html">May 29, 1942: Japanese at Madagascar</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/09/may-30-1942-first-raf-thousand-plane.html">May 30, 1942: First RAF Thousand-Plane Raid</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/09/may-31-1942-attack-on-sydney-harbour.html">May 31, 1942: The Attack on Sydney Harbour</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><br /></div><br /><span class="updated">2021</span>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4010278260980683606.post-43356552856621563972021-09-26T21:41:00.001-07:002021-09-28T13:01:21.989-07:00May 31, 1942: The Attack on Sydney Harbour<div itemscope="" itemtype="https://schema.org/Thing"><h1>Sunday 31 May 1942</h1><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnNPhLOSSo6KTxCknpejKv_i4qB5bIVnjihGQt3S1RlXpt5CzH7ivhN5BwtvIEXCmT5mgjOU8tuVBS6EWEC7Y9SvtWIPfWwf7UlMk3CM46xgR-teQCgUt7UNqP8I0YSgWfgffKybU1TVI/s640/Japanese_mini-sub_at_Sydney_31_May_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Sydney Harbour mini-sub attack 31 May 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="640" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnNPhLOSSo6KTxCknpejKv_i4qB5bIVnjihGQt3S1RlXpt5CzH7ivhN5BwtvIEXCmT5mgjOU8tuVBS6EWEC7Y9SvtWIPfWwf7UlMk3CM46xgR-teQCgUt7UNqP8I0YSgWfgffKybU1TVI/w640-h360/Japanese_mini-sub_at_Sydney_31_May_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="Sydney Harbour mini-sub attack 31 May 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Japanese mini-sub that entered Sydney Harbour on the night of <b itemprop="name">31 May 1942</b> but got caught in netting. The crew, unable to escape, scuttled it with themselves inside (Gordon Short, <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/from-the-archives-1942-enemy-submarines-enter-sydney-harbour-20190523-p51qk3.html" target="_blank">The Sydney Morning Herald</a>).</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>Battle of the Pacific:</b> After dark on 31 May 1942, three Japanese <i>Kō-hyōteki</i>-class mini-submarines, (M-14, M-21, and M-24) and their two-man crews enter Sydney Harbour, Australia. Only one of the subs, M-24, makes a successful attack, firing its two torpedoes to sink converted ferry HMAS Kuttabul (21 dead, 19 Australians and 2 British). The M-24 crew then attempts to exit the harbor only to wreck off Sydney's Northern Beaches at Bungan Head (sub discovered in 2006).</div><div><br /></div><div>This begins a two-week-long campaign by the "mother" submarines to disrupt shipping in the area, during which they sink three ships and kill 50 sailors. The "Attack on Sydney Harbour," which includes submarines shelling Sydney and Newcastle on 8 June 1942, is the only time those cities have been attacked.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3CPFqRO5hLPTHK96UENSRlVgFQMw8a6olKfIXFT3GycXnm4qjRbEwaMvBCZruV697PXoDzEUEHfH3L6E2IaqijyMlvhqiss08Qgze-1BdjGjTmuZ3hfHMycDHnuAtI4K8tBr2dulk76I/s640/B-17E_at_Midway_31_May_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="B-17E taking off at Midway, 31 May 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3CPFqRO5hLPTHK96UENSRlVgFQMw8a6olKfIXFT3GycXnm4qjRbEwaMvBCZruV697PXoDzEUEHfH3L6E2IaqijyMlvhqiss08Qgze-1BdjGjTmuZ3hfHMycDHnuAtI4K8tBr2dulk76I/w640-h480/B-17E_at_Midway_31_May_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="B-17E taking off at Midway, 31 May 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"U.S. Army Air Force Boeing B-17E Flying Fortress bombers of the 431st Bombardment Squadron take off from the airfield on Eastern Island, Midway Atoll, on the afternoon of 31 May 1942. The plane in the center is an early-model B-17E-BO (s/n 41-2397), with a Bendix remotely controlled belly turret, flown by 1st Lt. Kinney." Naval History and Heritage Command <a href="https://www.history.navy.mil/our-collections/photography/wars-and-events/world-war-ii/midway/USAF-22635-AC.html" target="_blank">USAF-22635-AC</a>.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>In the Central Pacific, both Japanese and US carriers are converging on Midway Island. The Japanese intend to invade, but they don't know the US Navy has discovered their plans and is lying in wait. The sides are roughly equal, with four Japanese fleet carriers opposing three US fleet carriers and land aircraft based on Midway. At Midway, B-17 bombers begin flying search operations looking for the Japanese ships. These searches, which include PBY Catalinas, focus on the seas to the north.</div><div><br /></div><div>Admiral Nimitz is not taking any chances regarding the outcome of the upcoming confrontation at Midway. He already has ordered his only reserve aircraft carrier, USS Saratoga, to complete its repairs at San Diego and head to Pearl Harbor ASAP. Today, the navy shifts two battleships, Colorado and Maryland, to San Francisco to protect the west coast in case of a Japanese breakthrough.</div><div><br /></div><div>US Navy submarine USS Pollack (SS-180) torpedoes and sinks Japanese auxiliary submarine chaser Shunsei Maru No. 5 off Murotosan, Japan.</div><div><br /></div><div>B-17s of the 5th Air Force attack Lae and Salamaua, New Guinea.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIs6Vyyklvp7NEZoIRGdn6tUn4kI_v5KGMhd75ohNQG_Ra7PByx_b0mG-8FYYqGevn7Gjf0aK1Uq-GRPYchnikNGX35G1mlZjbXGNlrjTibSIX43njqYXCEnn4ZFCV2JCA-d4IVRwyvEE/s640/HMAS_Kuttabul_31_May_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Australian ship sunk in Sydney Harbour, 31 May 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="640" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIs6Vyyklvp7NEZoIRGdn6tUn4kI_v5KGMhd75ohNQG_Ra7PByx_b0mG-8FYYqGevn7Gjf0aK1Uq-GRPYchnikNGX35G1mlZjbXGNlrjTibSIX43njqYXCEnn4ZFCV2JCA-d4IVRwyvEE/w640-h360/HMAS_Kuttabul_31_May_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="Australian ship sunk in Sydney Harbour, 31 May 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Australian Navy depot ship (former ferry Kuttabul) sunk by a Japanese mini-submarine in Sydney Harbour on the night of 31 May 1942 (Gordon Short, The Sydney Morning Herald). </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>Battle of the Indian Ocean:</b> As one group of Japanese mini-subs attacks Sydney Harbour, another group has been attacking Royal Navy warships at Diego Suarez, Madagascar. Having blown a 30x30 foot hole in battleship HMS Ramillies and sunk freighter British Loyalty, the two subs exit the bay and head northwest. M-16b is lost and never found, while M-20b - the one that made the attacks - winds up beached at Nosy Antalikely (Antali Keli) islet after its battery runs out. The two crewmen receive help from friendly locals, make it to the mainland, and head for their recovery area at Cape Amber on foot.</div><div><br /></div><div>With their cover blown, Japanese submarine I-10 launches its "Glen" seaplane for the second day in a row to fly over Diego Suarez. The British, oblivious, fail to notice.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiL2gtTyE8PUN8UaGUry3aq9nAX6rdpH9wKx7jv7DqN8ivgro-yny67DlknOD5aybfwZqZlvMJzZS0uCBzCkBF6lv-exRz4qEmXiCrD-303kBCCLY_HgJ-wm3CLand2sfbfHzFi1g9T4o/s640/HMAS_Kuttabul_31_May_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Australian ship sunk in Sydney Harbour, 31 May 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="463" data-original-width="640" height="464" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiL2gtTyE8PUN8UaGUry3aq9nAX6rdpH9wKx7jv7DqN8ivgro-yny67DlknOD5aybfwZqZlvMJzZS0uCBzCkBF6lv-exRz4qEmXiCrD-303kBCCLY_HgJ-wm3CLand2sfbfHzFi1g9T4o/w640-h464/HMAS_Kuttabul_31_May_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_2.jpg" title="Australian ship sunk in Sydney Harbour, 31 May 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kuttabul lying on the bottom in Sydney Harbour after being torpedoed on 31 May 1942.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>Eastern Front:</b> The front has settled down since the German victory southeast of Kharkov, where the victors are busy counting prisoners. At Fuhrer Headquarters in East Prussia, General Franz Halder comments about the upcoming Case Blue that "Build-up is proceeding according to plan."</div><div><br /></div><div>The Germans have another big opportunity to the north, where large Soviet forces are essentially trapped on the wrong side of the Volkhov River. Halder comments, "The enemy's intention to pull out of the Volkhov bulge is now quite obvious; not clear about Pogostye bulge."</div><div><br /></div><div>What Halder doesn't know is that General Lieutenant A. A. Vlasov, commander of the 2nd Shock Army in the bulge, has repeatedly asked for permission to retreat but has been denied. Now, Vlasov's army is so weak that it doesn't matter whether he is allowed to retreat or not. Vlasov is preparing a final, desperate breakout at Myasnoi Bor that will decide the fate of his army.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY1Wb6p6G6WfohAoo9EWKZaKkFL9VLDT0KKc3GcEOumiEibV5O7tf4-GlM_GOPlM60MzrIGxbojsAoaFOm7NWFOoatz6YMXjN207D516eLu5j_SUJ_1BysrhC4YH8_RqoPQMXV5_Fkh04/s640/HMS_Highlander_31_May_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="HMS Highlander at sea, 31 May 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="624" data-original-width="640" height="624" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY1Wb6p6G6WfohAoo9EWKZaKkFL9VLDT0KKc3GcEOumiEibV5O7tf4-GlM_GOPlM60MzrIGxbojsAoaFOm7NWFOoatz6YMXjN207D516eLu5j_SUJ_1BysrhC4YH8_RqoPQMXV5_Fkh04/w640-h624/HMS_Highlander_31_May_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="HMS Highlander at sea, 31 May 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">British destroyer HMS Highlander at sea, 31 May 1942 (© IWM <a href="https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205016581" target="_blank">FL 1984</a>).</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>European Air Operations: </b>While Cologne recovers from the stunning 1000-plane RAF Bomber Command raid of 30/31 May, the British try again with a massive raid against Essen. This one, however, achieves little in comparison to the firestorm created at Cologne.</div><div><br /></div><div>The de Haviland Mosquito bomber makes its operational debut today. Four of the bombers of RAF No. 105 Squadron visit Cologne to drop a few more bombs and take some reconnaissance photos.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Luftwaffe retaliates for the Cologne raid with a "Baedecker Raid" against Canterbury. It causes large fires that lead to heavy damage.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeDxZx_6OzsmEfMqveMj6lgm4ZHAhSnxeHn2D_5fe__xX1L2ylfL9NWI9CLVMnPHwS83QpJ_gV-Fhyphenhyphen6o3TnlFbO-rdDc0xpHXXdff_wKLTu9n2hRtSlsWtdb_dLPE9n-MvoQ4JAcNAy_c/s1000/Cologne_bomb_damage_31_May_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Artist depiction of RAF attack on Cologne, 31 May 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="565" data-original-width="1000" height="362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeDxZx_6OzsmEfMqveMj6lgm4ZHAhSnxeHn2D_5fe__xX1L2ylfL9NWI9CLVMnPHwS83QpJ_gV-Fhyphenhyphen6o3TnlFbO-rdDc0xpHXXdff_wKLTu9n2hRtSlsWtdb_dLPE9n-MvoQ4JAcNAy_c/w640-h362/Cologne_bomb_damage_31_May_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_2.jpg" title="Artist depiction of RAF attack on Cologne, 31 May 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mass bomber raid on Cologne (The National Archives UK, <a href="http://worldwar2poetry.blogspot.com/2017/05/two-laments-for-cologne-30th-may-1942.html" target="_blank">artist unknown</a>).</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>Battle of the Atlantic: </b>The final six ships of Convoy PQ-16 make port in Archangel, ending the convoy. PQ-16 lost eight ships, six to air attack, one to a mine, and one to U-703. Despite the losses, the Allies consider the convoy a success because of the badly needed war supplies brought to the Soviet Union. It also includes Heavy Lift Ships including SS Empire Elgar that remain in the USSR to facilitate convoy unloading for 14 months.</div><div><br /></div><div>U-107 (Kptlt. Harald Gelhaus), on its sixth patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 4536-ton Panamanian freighter Bushranger west of Jamaica. This sinking is sometimes said to have occurred on 1 June, as different accounts have the torpedo hitting before or after midnight on the 31st. There are 17 dead and 26 survivors, who are picked up on 12 June by UCGS USS Nike.</div><div><br /></div><div>U-506 (Kptlt. Erich Würdemann)g, on its second patrol out of Lorient, gets its final victory of a patrol during which it has sunk eight ships of 39,906 tons and damaged three more of 23,358 tons. This victim is 2292-ton British freighter Fred W. Greene, which sinks 200 miles southeast of Bermuda. The ship is carrying 725 tons of military stores and general cargo, including 48 motor trucks, construction equipment, beer, cigarettes, and 48 bags of mail. Würdemann has to use his deck gun because he is out of torpedoes. There are five dead and 36 survivors, who are picked up on the 1st by two different US destroyers, Bernadou (DD 153) and Ludlow (DD 438).</div><div><br /></div><div>U-432 (Kptlt. Heinz-Otto Schultze), on its fifth patrol out of La Pallice, torpedoes and sinks 1188-ton Canadian freighter Liverpool Packet 15 miles west of Seal Island (near Cape Sable), Nova Scotia. There are two deaths and 19 survivors, who make it to shore in their lifeboat at Seal Island.</div><div><br /></div><div>Italian submarine Comandante Cappellini torpedoes and sinks 8214-ton British tanker Dinsdale southwest of St. Paul Rocks off Brazil. There are thirteen deaths.</div><div><br /></div><div>Comandante Cappellini also torpedoes and sinks 8214-ton British Royal Fleet Auxiliary RFA Dinsdale northeast of Pernambuco. There are five dead and 52 survivors.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXiAN2zl2sXQfPZcmQx4iS9o3Xb4FzSeUWHXFWVzvi9_CClwZNyzamsaplKmka_ottVZr7B9Afyanyq_pvF8vSf-G-Fvd2f3MSIlKKqp9cbDLSNFQeHeg2QlY1fRZZiPW0nkFxcDi1Srs/s587/British_truck-mounted_6-pdr_31_May_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="British anti-tank gun in North Africa, 31 May 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="587" data-original-width="564" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXiAN2zl2sXQfPZcmQx4iS9o3Xb4FzSeUWHXFWVzvi9_CClwZNyzamsaplKmka_ottVZr7B9Afyanyq_pvF8vSf-G-Fvd2f3MSIlKKqp9cbDLSNFQeHeg2QlY1fRZZiPW0nkFxcDi1Srs/w614-h640/British_truck-mounted_6-pdr_31_May_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="British anti-tank gun in North Africa, 31 May 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="614" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Truck-mounted 6-pdr anti-tank gun in the Western Desert, 31 May 1942.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>Battle of the Mediterranean: </b>With German General Erwin Rommel's Afrika Korps having pulled back into a defensive position called "The Cauldron," the battle along the Gazala Line has entered a new phase. The key factor for both sides is supplies for thirsty men and tanks. To solve this problem, Rommel sends the 90th Light Division and the Italian Trieste Division to assault the British 150th Infantry Brigade blocking the supplies in the 'Sidi Muftah box." The attack, launched in the morning, continues throughout the day, making good progress but not breaking through the British defenders.</div><div><br /></div><div>In Rome, General Albert Kesselring is tired of having the British sink his supply ships to Rommel. Today, he submits a plan to invade Malta to the Italian Commando Supremo. However, the ultimate decision rests with Hitler, and he isn't ready to repeat a Crete-style invasion.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie2Cuqib5d_GS0l4mK3apmn9_l2w6dahKm3W86Vd-IInm6516kIL9Jq3WiY3Z_wpx3P9_3MKPXw88lEKeEsfP2Z39RtvZLbLOkK-DqFBR52pBKgWcG9wy480O0i31ZPqq9hmojxwwTQWI/s1600/Arizona_Daily_Star_31_May_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="The Arizona Daily Star, 31 May 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie2Cuqib5d_GS0l4mK3apmn9_l2w6dahKm3W86Vd-IInm6516kIL9Jq3WiY3Z_wpx3P9_3MKPXw88lEKeEsfP2Z39RtvZLbLOkK-DqFBR52pBKgWcG9wy480O0i31ZPqq9hmojxwwTQWI/w640-h360/Arizona_Daily_Star_31_May_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="The Arizona Daily Star, 31 May 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Arizona Daily Star for 31 May 1942 headlines the previous day's Memorial Day celebrations. Off to the side is a column about the British counterattack against Rommel in Libya.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>On the Allied side, the supply situation of the Free French holding out at the fortress of Bir Hakeim is alleviated when fifty supply trucks of the 101st Transport Company break through the German encirclement. A French raid from the fort destroys five tanks and a German armored vehicle repair shop. In the air overhead, things do not go as well for the Allies. They lose fifteen fighters and a bomber, their worst losses of the battle, to nine Luftwaffe losses. </div><div><br /></div><div>British submarine HMS Proteus and Taku torpedo and badly damage 6836-ton Italian freighter Gino Allegri about 80 miles west of Benghazi. The ship remains afloat until finished off by RAF aircraft.</div><div><br /></div><div>HMS Proteus also torpedoes and sinks 1571-ton Italian freighter Bravo northwest of Benghazi.</div><div><br /></div><div>Obfw. Erich Krenzke of 6./JG 27 is captured after he is forced to crash-land his Bf 109F-4 behind British lines near Acroma and El Adem. He finishes his career with eight victories.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2GNC1McPwWL2F_Tn78pCuaLDhRyjsehMhhh3uC5bJP7UaUiyShqBzb5QJIDQk337UKoHr5ZD3zSzrBsRV1ETCWgDmg8EmWa8hqe0yJ036hxn039ahp6dpEaSCFPvjqSdjg0wK00g8sIE/s640/Fascist_hikers_31_May_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Fascist hikers in France, 31 May 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="430" data-original-width="640" height="430" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2GNC1McPwWL2F_Tn78pCuaLDhRyjsehMhhh3uC5bJP7UaUiyShqBzb5QJIDQk337UKoHr5ZD3zSzrBsRV1ETCWgDmg8EmWa8hqe0yJ036hxn039ahp6dpEaSCFPvjqSdjg0wK00g8sIE/w640-h430/Fascist_hikers_31_May_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.jpg" title="Fascist hikers in France, 31 May 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An Italian hiking group organized by the Fascists in Mulhouse, France, hike through Upper Alsace, 31 May 1942 (Proietti, Ugo, Federal Archive <a href="https://www.bild.bundesarchiv.de/dba/de/search/?channelid=dcx-channel-channel_barch_bilder&query=&day=31&month=05&yearfrom=1942&yearto=&imageid=&title=&farbe=&kostenfrei=&ausrichtung=&view=gallery&submit=" target="_blank">Image 212-357</a>)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>Battle of the Black Sea: </b>Soviet submarine SHCH-214 shells and sinks 85-ton Turkish sailing ship Mahbubdihan northeast of Cape Igneada, Turkey.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>US Military: </b>US ration strength in Northern Ireland as of this date is 32,202, including 1626 officers, 102 nurses, 16 warrant officers, and 30,458 enlisted men.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>American Homefront:</b> Golfer Sam Snead, known as "Slammin' Sammy Snead," wins the PGA Championship at Seaview Country Club in Galloway Township, New Jersey. It is the first of what become seven major titles. Immediately after this event, which is the last major championships held until 1944, Snead joins the US Navy and serves in it for the remainder of World War II. Following his honorable discharge, Snead resumes winning tournaments (a record 82 PGA Tour events) until he retires in 1987. As of this writing, Snead remains tied for the most lifetime PGA Tour events won.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI2NfxgCmOX9rTXdHsU7nZt1cwPkRBFWYKzhoZvqB2ADc9STTR79LqMECFOYMBJJ9_fpUaD9yi-UVAzg0KQIoUHspofDxAY7Zh2MDB0NdtnJ-KOtfKLC8Utw3GQ4QM26Myv9ZZONW58_Q/s877/Cologne_bomb_damage_31_May_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Bomb damage in Cologne from raid of 30/31 May 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="877" data-original-width="640" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI2NfxgCmOX9rTXdHsU7nZt1cwPkRBFWYKzhoZvqB2ADc9STTR79LqMECFOYMBJJ9_fpUaD9yi-UVAzg0KQIoUHspofDxAY7Zh2MDB0NdtnJ-KOtfKLC8Utw3GQ4QM26Myv9ZZONW58_Q/w468-h640/Cologne_bomb_damage_31_May_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="Bomb damage in Cologne from raid of 30/31 May 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="468" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bomb damage in Cologne city center from the May 30/31 RAF 1000-plane raid. This is Unter Goldschmied (Federal Archive <a href="https://www.bild.bundesarchiv.de/dba/de/search/?channelid=dcx-channel-channel_barch_bilder&query=&day=&month=&yearfrom=1942&yearto=&imageid=121-1334&title=&farbe=&kostenfrei=&ausrichtung=&view=gallery&submit=" target="_blank">Picture 121-1334</a>).</td></tr></tbody></table><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><h2>May 1942</h2></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/04/may-1-1942-japanese-take-mandalay.html" target="_blank">May 1, 1942: Japanese Take Mandalay</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/04/may-2-1942-cruiser-edinburgh-sunk.html" target="_blank">May 2, 1942: Cruiser Edinburgh Sunk</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/04/may-3-1942-japanese-take-tulagi.html">May 3, 1942: Japanese Take Tulagi</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/04/may-4-1942-fletcher-attacks-at-tulagi.html" target="_blank">May 4, 1942: Fletcher Attacks at Tulagi</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/04/may-5-1942-british-invade-madagascar.html">May 5, 1942: British Invade Madagascar</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/04/may-6-1942-corregidor-falls-to-japan.html">May 6, 1942: Corregidor Falls to Japan</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/04/may-7-1942-scratch-one-flattop.html" target="_blank">May 7, 1942: Scratch One Flattop!</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/04/may-8-1942-death-and-destruction-in.html">May 8, 1942: Lexington Sunk in the Coral Sea</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/04/may-9-1942-manstein-on-attack-in-crimea.html">May 9, 1942: Manstein on the Attack in Crimea</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/04/may-10-1942-spitfires-rule-over-malta.html">May 10, 1942: Spitfires Rule Over Malta</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/04/may-11-1942-first-japanese-retreat-at.html" target="_blank">May 11, 1942: First Japanese Retreat at Deboyne</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/04/may-12-1942-soviets-attack-at-kharkov.html">May 12, 1942: Soviets Attack At Kharkov</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/04/may-13-1942-crisis-at-kharkov.html">May 13, 1942: Crisis at Kharkov</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/04/may-14-1942-where-in-world-is-af.html" target="_blank">May 14, 1942: Where in the World is AF</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/04/march-15-1942-germans-take-kerch.html" target="_blank">May 15, 1942: Germans Take Kerch</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/05/may-16-1942-sobibor-begins-operation.html" target="_blank">May 16, 1942: Sobibor Begins Operation</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/05/may-17-1942-germans-counterattack-at.html" target="">May 17, 1942: Germans Counterattack at Kharkov</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/05/may-18-1942-soviet-command-confusion.html">May 18, 1942: Soviet Command Confusion </a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/05/may-19-1942-soviet-panic-at-kharkov.html">May 19, 1942: Soviet Panic at Kharkov</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/05/may-20-1942-churchill-and-molotov.html">May 20, 1942: Churchill and Molotov Negotiate</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/05/may-21-1942-u-106-sinks-wrong-tanker.html">May 21, 1942: U-106 Sinks the Wrong Tanker</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/06/may-22-1942-af-is-midway.html">May 22, 1942: AF is Midway!</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/08/may-23-1942-german-forces-surround.html">May 23, 1942: German Forces Surround Soviet Armies at Kharkov</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/09/may-24-1942-german-anti-partisan.html">May 24, 1942: German Anti-Partisan Operations in Full Swing</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/09/may-25-1942-soviet-breakout-at-kharkov.html">May 25, 1942: Soviet Breakout at Kharkov Fails</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/09/may-26-1942-rommel-pounces-in-north.html">May 26, 1942: Rommel Pounces in North Africa</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/09/may-27-1942-heydrich-fatally-wounded-in.html">May 27, 1942: Heydrich Fatally Wounded in Prague</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/09/may-28-1942-german-victory-at-kharkov.html">May 28, 1942: German Victory At Kharkov</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/09/may-29-1942-japanese-at-madagascar.html">May 29, 1942: Japanese at Madagascar</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/09/may-30-1942-first-raf-thousand-plane.html">May 30, 1942: First RAF Thousand-Plane Raid</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/09/may-31-1942-attack-on-sydney-harbour.html">May 31, 1942: The Attack on Sydney Harbour</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><br /></div><br />
<span class="updated">2021</span>
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4010278260980683606.post-78627471385646985192021-09-26T01:06:00.004-07:002021-11-12T23:48:04.291-07:00May 30, 1942: First RAF Thousand-Plane Raid<div itemscope="" itemtype="https://schema.org/Thing"><h1>Saturday 30 May 1942</h1><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht3uERH96eKWjGSSapNwhLhtvMUSa7Gxi8fLlEgM225Em7VeYGPB6rBH_1il-DYlzm6EvoDG0CdzVDw64DX2BGHy9ZnJx8pFZAuL_TYNKBMof9mjUENkNHfuRQt2RaqBk7fX53TLDECIM/s640/Cologne_30_May_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Operation Millenium 30 May 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="430" data-original-width="640" height="430" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht3uERH96eKWjGSSapNwhLhtvMUSa7Gxi8fLlEgM225Em7VeYGPB6rBH_1il-DYlzm6EvoDG0CdzVDw64DX2BGHy9ZnJx8pFZAuL_TYNKBMof9mjUENkNHfuRQt2RaqBk7fX53TLDECIM/w640-h430/Cologne_30_May_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="Operation Millenium 30 May 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cologne Cathedral illuminated during Operation Millenium, 30-31 May 1942.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>Battle of the Pacific:</b> Having spent 72 hours in drydock, during which its flight deck was patched and whole sections of internal frame were replaced, USS Yorktown (Task Force 17) departs Pearl Harbor on <b itemprop="name">30 May 1942</b> to join <a href="https://worldwartwo.filminspector.com/2021/01/uss-enterprise-galloping-ghost-of-wwii.html" target="_blank">Enterprise</a> and Hornet near Midway Island. Repairmen from repair ship Vestal, damaged on 7 December 1941, remain on the ship and continue to work as it sails. Yorktown's depleted air group is replenished with units from aircraft carrier Saratoga, which is under repair in San Diego. The carriers plan to rendezvous northeast of Midway.</div><div><br /></div><div>Admiral Nimitz, meanwhile, has not forgotten about Saratoga. Today, he orders Captain Ramsey to sail from San Diego as soon as possible even if not 100% ready for action. The 7th Air Force dispatches six B-17 bombers from Hawaii to Midway to reinforce the 15 already there.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Japanese invasion fleet bound for Midway already is at sea. Today, a task force of two light aircraft carriers and two troop transport ships departs from northern Honshu for the Aleutian Islands part of the plan.</div><div><br /></div><div>The US 11th Air Force based in Alaska brings a new airfield at Umnak, Aleutian Islands, into operation with B-26 bombers of the 77th Bombardment Squadron (Medium).</div><div><br /></div><div>Japanese patrol planes approach the French Frigate Shoals, but they spot two US Navy ships anchored there and are forced to turn back. Their mission was to rendezvous with a submarine there, refuel, and fly reconnaissance over Pearl Harbor. This is now impossible and the Japanese do not find out with certainty that the US Navy carriers have left. The US ships are stationed at the shoals because they know the Japanese have used them in the past as transit points for bombing missions against Hawaii.</div><div><br /></div><div>US Navy submarine Pompano (SS-181) torpedoes and sinks Japanese troop transport Atsuta Maru in the East China Sea east of Okinawa. There are 39 crew and 37 passengers killed. Pompano escapes a depth charge attack by the transport's destroyer escort.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEbmFkt4RKQqbMNX8IzqKEbhwQkXpSj5WZUhrKQZORfMvCUNQgNreG6BPGahLcfMAzhfrNPKK3djomUfxPI5gpSqPaJf4N2F4d_Vn7NyPN6MxbBZBQIr6NLNvaBsbtPbxTmB34ql8FHhk/s875/Pix_30_May_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img alt="Pix magazine 30 May 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="875" data-original-width="640" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEbmFkt4RKQqbMNX8IzqKEbhwQkXpSj5WZUhrKQZORfMvCUNQgNreG6BPGahLcfMAzhfrNPKK3djomUfxPI5gpSqPaJf4N2F4d_Vn7NyPN6MxbBZBQIr6NLNvaBsbtPbxTmB34ql8FHhk/w468-h640/Pix_30_May_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="Pix magazine 30 May 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="468" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pix magazine, 30 May 1942.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>Battle of the Indian Ocean:</b> Two Japanese submarines (I-16 and I-20) stationed about ten miles off Diego Suarez, Madagascar, launch mini-subs to penetrate the harbor. Both subs make it into the harbor, which the British have left unguarded despite having spotted a Japanese floatplane on the 29th. At 17:10, the I-20 mini-sub M-20b (Lt. Akieda Saburo) launches a torpedo that hits Royal Navy battleship HMS Ramillies. The torpedo blows a 30x30 foot hole in the port bulge forward of "A" turret. This cuts off the entire ship's electrical system and floods the forward magazines and shell rooms.</div><div><br /></div><div>Saburo is not done yet. He and the other sub remain in the harbor and, at 21:20, Saburo fires his second and last torpedo, which sinks 6,993-ton tanker British Loyalty in 65 feet of water (later raised and used as a hulk at Addu Atoll, Maldives). The subs remain in the harbor until the 31st.</div><div><br /></div><div>B-17 bombers of the 10th Air Force again bomb the airfield at Myitkyina, Burma. This is the last attack against this target for the time being. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Eastern Front:</b> The final, weak Soviet attempts to break out of the encirclement southeast of Kharkov end today. Less than 10% of the trapped men have managed to escape. The Germans march the roughly 250,000 (the exact number is a matter of scholarly debate) Red Army prisoners in long columns through Kharkov and then on to prison camps. At Fuhrer Headquarters in East Prussia, General Franz Halder notes in his war diary "All fronts equally quiet. On the Volkhov, the access to the bulge has been narrowed down."</div><div><br /></div><div>The loss of the Kharkov battle irreparably destroys Marshal Semyon Timoshenko's military reputation. Stalin will replace him as commander of the Stalingrad Front on 22 July 1942 with Vasily Gordov. Thereafter, Timoshenko will be given only one more command before being basically cashiered.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-0r4-oFnPkzD74bFSr4lVbizVTVN-wQ3YznWb0BWeoPOHyWDdvLY0d7dPbwmbqr8OXNX02CRyVuKorpiABXiOepqwhbT8rrgRErONdloGVL8SFRDUQXpiy7aW3gkXtvKSzlbeJwu_grM/s640/Boeing_B17F_30_May_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Boeing B17F 30 May 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="508" data-original-width="640" height="508" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-0r4-oFnPkzD74bFSr4lVbizVTVN-wQ3YznWb0BWeoPOHyWDdvLY0d7dPbwmbqr8OXNX02CRyVuKorpiABXiOepqwhbT8rrgRErONdloGVL8SFRDUQXpiy7aW3gkXtvKSzlbeJwu_grM/w640-h508/Boeing_B17F_30_May_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="Boeing B17F 30 May 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Boeing B-17F Flying Fortress makes its first flight at Boeing Field, Seattle, on 30 May 1942. This is a new series of B-17 bombers that incorporated 400 improvements learned from missions to date in the war. </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>European Air Operations: </b>After a lengthy period of preparation, RAF Bomber Command launches Operation Millenium at dusk. It sends over 1000 bombers to raid Cologne, the first 1000-plane raid of the war. The main targets are the city's chemical and machine-tool factories. The planes drop 1455 tons of bombs and incendiaries during a 90-minute attack. The firestorm kills 469 people and leaving 45,000 homeless.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://worldwartwo.filminspector.com/2014/06/hermann-goering-reichsmarshall-and.html" target="_blank">Hermann Goering</a> is having dinner at Veldenstein Castle when he gets a call from Josef Grohe, the Gauleiter of Cologne. During Grohe's explanation of the severity of the attack, Goering calls him a liar and hangs up. Soon after, another call comes in - this time from Adolf Hitler, who is in Berlin and has heard the same reports. Goering assures Hitler that at most 70 bombers attacked. When Goering learns later that air and flak defenses claim to have shot down 40 bombers, he claims it was a great defensive victory. Another 116 RAF bombers are damaged.</div><div><br /></div><div>Winston Churchill, meanwhile, knows exactly how many bombers were sent - 1046 planes - and announces to the press that it was over 1000. Hitler, speaking to an aide, comments to an aide:</div><div></div><blockquote><div>It is out of the question that only seventy or eighty bombers attacked. I never capitulate to an unpleasant truth. I must see clearly if I am to draw the proper conclusions.</div><div></div></blockquote><div>Aside from the devastation to the city, the raid begins a rift between Hitler and Goering that only grows with time.</div><div><br /></div><div>During an RAF Coastal Command patrol off Terschelling, the planes bomb and sink 2956-ton Swedish ore carrier Värmdö in the North Sea off Den Helder, North Holland. The ship was carrying ore to Rotterdam. There are seven deaths.</div><div><br /></div><div>A German flak ship shoots down an RAF Hudson III (AM842) out of North Coates during a convoy attack in the Waddenzee, South of Schiermonnikoog. All four crewmen perish.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLC0oclvU2TQuIMTKPFtWmBalJ6xaZ9Y_mPQ5XsQYbKrmhLPIoIuA0nFXI0h86BH7HT_uBQ3Ddo1EaVZ1gDEStvfDjsBv2CoiX-R2dWtz5XH2-rm1vokUq6P4TY6dTJw983tHPaiHYTWg/s640/German_ship_shot_down_hudson_am842_30_May_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="German flak ship that shot down an RAF bomber on 30 May 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="620" data-original-width="640" height="620" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLC0oclvU2TQuIMTKPFtWmBalJ6xaZ9Y_mPQ5XsQYbKrmhLPIoIuA0nFXI0h86BH7HT_uBQ3Ddo1EaVZ1gDEStvfDjsBv2CoiX-R2dWtz5XH2-rm1vokUq6P4TY6dTJw983tHPaiHYTWg/w640-h620/German_ship_shot_down_hudson_am842_30_May_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="German flak ship that shot down an RAF bomber on 30 May 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The crew of a German flak ship showing off the wheel of an RAF Hudson III they shot down on 30 May 1942.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><b>Battle of the Baltic: </b>German 1354-ton freighter Orkan hits a mine laid by Soviet submarine Lembit and sinks near Greifswalder Oie, Swinemunde. Casualties are unknown.<br /><br /><div><b>Battle of the Atlantic: </b>Having lost seven ships to air raids, Convoy PQ 16 makes port in Murmansk (eight ships continue on to Archangelsk and reach that port safely). The Luftwaffe sends Junkers Ju 88 bombers of II./KG 30 against the Murmansk-bound ships, and during these attacks Hero of the Soviet Union Leonid Ivanovich Rodionov is shot down and killed after claiming two planes himself.</div><div><br /></div><div>German auxiliary cruiser Michel (HSK-9), operating in the South Atlantic, spots 6800-ton US Liberty ship George Clymer. The Liberty ship is stopped with engine trouble and makes an easy target. The raider hits the ship with two torpedoes (actually, it launches a motor torpedo boat that scores the hits), but is then chased off by nearby Royal Navy AMC Alcantara (which doesn't see Michel and assumes it was torpedoed by a U-boat). The George Clymer is so badly damaged that the crew has to abandon it, and Alcantara later scuttles it on 6 July 1942. Everybody survives.</div><div><br /></div><div>U-404 (Kptlt. Otto von Bülow), on its third patrol out of Brest, torpedoes and sinks 5491-ton US freighter Alcoa Shipper 500 miles east of Cape Charles, Virginia. The lookouts on the freighter spot the U-boat well before the attack, but evasive maneuvers do not prevent a torpedo strike. The ship, carrying 8340 tons of bauxite ore, sinks within five minutes. The U-boat surfaces after the sinking, questions the men in their lifeboat, and leaves them bottles of rum, cigarettes, and a pair of dungarees for a sailor who was undressed. There are seven dead and 25 survivors, who are picked up just over two days later by Norwegian freighter Margrethe Bakke.</div><div><br /></div><div>An unidentified submarine torpedoes and sinks the 2161-ton Norwegian freighter Baghdad east of Martinique. The ship sinks within minutes. There are nine deaths and 21 survivors. U-155 (KrvKpt. Adolf Cornelius Piening), on its sixth patrol out of Lorient, is usually credited with this sinking, but some records indicate that it was still in port at Lorient on this date.</div><div><br /></div><div>German 1592-ton minesweeper Sperrbrecher-166 Schirmeck sinks after a collision with training ship Obra. The ship apparently is refloated and returned to service.</div><div><br /></div><div>French 288-ton trawler Edmond René is lost off Boulogne-sur-Mer, Pas-de-Calais, of unknown causes (perhaps a mine).</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg22r5hB_icL72gq6X2DxSX39M5qILt46EAe3SNCTmoPU3c3UDz3FZQ6R3wC7pAzt9z9oOdkGoVtnaE82Pik9hyphenhyphens_2YQLHZhTAe11RPsxbojBA0g5R7l6lwHli6rXiWovsYCTEkSb_eTbs/s640/Schirmeck_30_May_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Sperrbrecher 166, sunk on 30 May 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="399" data-original-width="640" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg22r5hB_icL72gq6X2DxSX39M5qILt46EAe3SNCTmoPU3c3UDz3FZQ6R3wC7pAzt9z9oOdkGoVtnaE82Pik9hyphenhyphens_2YQLHZhTAe11RPsxbojBA0g5R7l6lwHli6rXiWovsYCTEkSb_eTbs/w640-h400/Schirmeck_30_May_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="Sperrbrecher 166, sunk on 30 May 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sperrbrecher 166, sunk on 30 May 1942 after a collision but refloated and repaired.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>Battle of the Mediterranean: </b>In Libya, the Axis offensive is struggling. German General Erwin Rommel, low on supplies and facing determined Free French resistance at the fortress of Bir Hakeim, pulls back the leading tanks of the Afrika Korps to the west. This forms a defensive perimeter, dubbed "The Cauldron," that is protected by British minefields on its western side.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rommel sends some brave men through the minefield to make contact with Italian X Corps to the west and open a supply lane. These troops run into the British 150th Brigade at the "Sidi Muftah box" and destroy it early on the 31st to establish a connection with the Italian Corps. Meanwhile, fierce battles erupt near Bir Hakeim as the French attempt to close the supply lane there opened through the minefield on the 29th, while the Germans attempt to defend it.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Germans previously captured 620 soldiers of the 3rd Indian Motor Brigade but, unable to watch over them, simply let them loose in the desert. These men make it to the Bir Hakeim fortress today. This only adds to the French supply issues, especially of water. </div><div><br /></div><div>British submarine HMS Proteus torpedoes and sinks 1571-ton Italian freighter Bravo in the Gulf of Sidra. Casualties are unknown.</div><div><br /></div><div><div>British 72-ton utility tug HMS St. Angelo hits a mine off Grand Harbour, Malta, and blows up. There are at least four deaths.</div><div><br /></div></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiwE3YIeLfZvqXJujlobzUFWKVJD0h1XEY1zpcMUhh5100OZHMJLp_l8oAHJ2flbmsXaODM7LV6eXfMKrV66be6G-rXDzoltGHLRfwfV82IoHI6IfTVS4ODF0KKDtK9J6u3hhokrXRdh0/s640/Munich_30_May_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Colonial League Day in Munich on 30 May 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="465" data-original-width="640" height="466" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiwE3YIeLfZvqXJujlobzUFWKVJD0h1XEY1zpcMUhh5100OZHMJLp_l8oAHJ2flbmsXaODM7LV6eXfMKrV66be6G-rXDzoltGHLRfwfV82IoHI6IfTVS4ODF0KKDtK9J6u3hhokrXRdh0/w640-h466/Munich_30_May_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="Colonial League Day in Munich on 30 May 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Colonial Union day in Munich, at which Governor of Bavaria Franz Ritter von Epp gives a speech (Denzel, Federal Archive <a href="https://www.bild.bundesarchiv.de/dba/de/search/?channelid=dcx-channel-channel_barch_bilder&query=&day=30&month=05&yearfrom=1942&yearto=&imageid=&title=&farbe=&kostenfrei=&ausrichtung=&view=gallery&submit=" target="_blank">Image 146-2008-0172</a>).</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>Partisans: </b>Félix Otto Cadras, a leading French partisan and communist (participating in organizing the National Front partisan organization), is executed by a German firing squad at Fort Mont-Valérien, Paris, along with Arthur Dallidet, Louis Salomon, and Jacques Decour. These executions are in reprisal for an attempted assassination at Le Havre on 23 May 1942. Cadras will be made a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor by a decree of 17 January 1961, and a school and a street are named after him.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Allied Relations: </b>RAF Air Chief Marshall Sir Charles F Portal and Lieutenant General Henry H "Hap" Arnold, Commanding General USAAF, meet to discuss the basing of US planes in Great Britain. Arnold's plan calls for 66 combat groups and additional observation squadrons by March 1943.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>American Homefront:</b> It is Memorial Day in the United States.</div><div><br /></div><div>Attempting to evade being sent to an intern camp, Fred Korematsu has had plastic surgery on his eyelids. However, today he is arrested on a street corner in San Leandro, California. He will begin a court case, <u>Korematsu vs. United States</u>, 323 U.S. 214 (1944), that reaches the US Supreme Court. It upholds the exclusion of those of Japanese ancestry from the US West Coast. The conviction is overturned in a case filed in 1983 and disavowed by the Supreme Court in <u>Trump vs. Hawaii</u> (2018), though this latter opinion is not binding, being merely <i>dictum</i>.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFaGAdt2kgsJpPK65mdYWIHdMX6oHuCLTX2Fx-9O6HDxZPx2UDeXY5BDvOTUQ2iQFVd4ZaCpcI90-sZtS4IozAwmQ27jNdWOVq_I1otzWNRO1AVY73eJyDeW9K5orfboVKUCidrV_I4vI/s640/USS_Runner_30_May_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="USS Runner is launched, 30 May 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="430" data-original-width="640" height="430" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFaGAdt2kgsJpPK65mdYWIHdMX6oHuCLTX2Fx-9O6HDxZPx2UDeXY5BDvOTUQ2iQFVd4ZaCpcI90-sZtS4IozAwmQ27jNdWOVq_I1otzWNRO1AVY73eJyDeW9K5orfboVKUCidrV_I4vI/w640-h430/USS_Runner_30_May_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="USS Runner is launched, 30 May 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Launching of submarine Runner, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, Maine, United States, 30 May 1942 (US Navy).</td></tr></tbody></table><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><h2>May 1942</h2></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/04/may-1-1942-japanese-take-mandalay.html" target="_blank">May 1, 1942: Japanese Take Mandalay</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/04/may-2-1942-cruiser-edinburgh-sunk.html" target="_blank">May 2, 1942: Cruiser Edinburgh Sunk</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/04/may-3-1942-japanese-take-tulagi.html">May 3, 1942: Japanese Take Tulagi</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/04/may-4-1942-fletcher-attacks-at-tulagi.html" target="_blank">May 4, 1942: Fletcher Attacks at Tulagi</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/04/may-5-1942-british-invade-madagascar.html">May 5, 1942: British Invade Madagascar</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/04/may-6-1942-corregidor-falls-to-japan.html">May 6, 1942: Corregidor Falls to Japan</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/04/may-7-1942-scratch-one-flattop.html" target="_blank">May 7, 1942: Scratch One Flattop!</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/04/may-8-1942-death-and-destruction-in.html">May 8, 1942: Lexington Sunk in the Coral Sea</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/04/may-9-1942-manstein-on-attack-in-crimea.html">May 9, 1942: Manstein on the Attack in Crimea</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/04/may-10-1942-spitfires-rule-over-malta.html">May 10, 1942: Spitfires Rule Over Malta</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/04/may-11-1942-first-japanese-retreat-at.html" target="_blank">May 11, 1942: First Japanese Retreat at Deboyne</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/04/may-12-1942-soviets-attack-at-kharkov.html">May 12, 1942: Soviets Attack At Kharkov</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/04/may-13-1942-crisis-at-kharkov.html">May 13, 1942: Crisis at Kharkov</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/04/may-14-1942-where-in-world-is-af.html" target="_blank">May 14, 1942: Where in the World is AF</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/04/march-15-1942-germans-take-kerch.html" target="_blank">May 15, 1942: Germans Take Kerch</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/05/may-16-1942-sobibor-begins-operation.html" target="_blank">May 16, 1942: Sobibor Begins Operation</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/05/may-17-1942-germans-counterattack-at.html" target="">May 17, 1942: Germans Counterattack at Kharkov</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/05/may-18-1942-soviet-command-confusion.html">May 18, 1942: Soviet Command Confusion </a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/05/may-19-1942-soviet-panic-at-kharkov.html">May 19, 1942: Soviet Panic at Kharkov</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/05/may-20-1942-churchill-and-molotov.html">May 20, 1942: Churchill and Molotov Negotiate</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/05/may-21-1942-u-106-sinks-wrong-tanker.html">May 21, 1942: U-106 Sinks the Wrong Tanker</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/06/may-22-1942-af-is-midway.html">May 22, 1942: AF is Midway!</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/08/may-23-1942-german-forces-surround.html">May 23, 1942: German Forces Surround Soviet Armies at Kharkov</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/09/may-24-1942-german-anti-partisan.html">May 24, 1942: German Anti-Partisan Operations in Full Swing</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/09/may-25-1942-soviet-breakout-at-kharkov.html">May 25, 1942: Soviet Breakout at Kharkov Fails</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/09/may-26-1942-rommel-pounces-in-north.html">May 26, 1942: Rommel Pounces in North Africa</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/09/may-27-1942-heydrich-fatally-wounded-in.html">May 27, 1942: Heydrich Fatally Wounded in Prague</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/09/may-28-1942-german-victory-at-kharkov.html">May 28, 1942: German Victory At Kharkov</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/09/may-29-1942-japanese-at-madagascar.html">May 29, 1942: Japanese at Madagascar</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/09/may-30-1942-first-raf-thousand-plane.html">May 30, 1942: First RAF Thousand-Plane Raid</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/09/may-31-1942-attack-on-sydney-harbour.html">May 31, 1942: The Attack on Sydney Harbour</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><br /></div>
<span class="updated">2021</span></div><br />
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4010278260980683606.post-57847394713013420432021-09-25T16:59:00.004-07:002021-11-27T05:52:39.778-07:00May 29, 1942: Japanese at Madagascar<div itemscope="" itemtype="https://schema.org/Thing"><h1>Friday 29 May 1942</h1><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCxNsBr1-zncNUKR_UioMt1yEN2Rzp_uNUsWNPWSehCoF4crR02omJURUkk4JUFHzfnnmDa8CRa3oyUKujxqrYOxVdPUUjmHopy1qOEOp4E59zhTUVFWIJGA4BCx3RGF0FljVHU3T3FA4/s640/USS_Yorktown_29_May_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="USS Yorktown in dry dock, 29 May 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="517" data-original-width="640" height="518" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCxNsBr1-zncNUKR_UioMt1yEN2Rzp_uNUsWNPWSehCoF4crR02omJURUkk4JUFHzfnnmDa8CRa3oyUKujxqrYOxVdPUUjmHopy1qOEOp4E59zhTUVFWIJGA4BCx3RGF0FljVHU3T3FA4/w640-h518/USS_Yorktown_29_May_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.jpg" title="USS Yorktown in dry dock, 29 May 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">USS Yorktown in Dry Dock #1 of the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard, 29 May 1942 (Naval History and Heritage Command <a href="https://www.history.navy.mil/our-collections/photography/wars-and-events/world-war-ii/midway/80-G-13065.html" target="_blank">80-G-13065</a>).</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>Battle of the Pacific:</b> Frantic repairs on USS Yorktown in a Pearl Harbor drydock continue on <b itemprop="name">29 May 1942</b> as two other US aircraft carriers, <a href="https://worldwartwo.filminspector.com/2021/01/uss-enterprise-galloping-ghost-of-wwii.html" target="_blank">Enterprise</a> and Hornet, approach Midway Island. The US Navy has only one other aircraft carrier in the Pacific, Saratoga, but it is undergoing repairs at San Diego and is unavailable for the expected battle about to occur at Midway.</div><div><br /></div><div>US Navy submarine tender Thornton (AVD-11) arrives at the French Frigate Shoals to relieve minelayer Preble (DM-20). The Americans know that the Japanese have been using this location as a staging location for attacks on Hawaii. Japanese submarine I-123 arrives late in the day with fuel for a reconnaissance plane that is scheduled to arrive soon but is unable to set up the operation due to the US presence.</div><div><br /></div><div>US Navy seaplane tender Ballard (AVD-10) arrives at Midway with eleven motor torpedo boats (PT boats) of Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron MTBRon 1 (Lt. Clinton McKellar Jr.). They are there to supplement the local defense forces, which are under the command of Captain Cyril T. Simard.</div><div><br /></div><div>Japanese naval intelligence (COMINT) is monitoring US naval communications and suspects from radio chatter there that a US naval task force has departed recently (TF 16 recently left for Midway). Admiral Yamamoto's strict radio silence order, however, prevents this information from being forwarded to Admiral Nagumo, whose carriers are approaching Midway.</div><div><br /></div><div>Admiral Yamamoto sails out of the inland sea today with a support force for the Midway operation. His radio intelligence has identified six US Navy submarines nearby, but none are spotted.</div><div><br /></div><div>US Navy submarine USS Swordfish (Lt Cdr Chester C. Smith SS-193) attacks a Japanese army convoy at the southwestern entrance to Balabac Strait, Philippines. It sinks 1946-ton freighter Tatsufuku Maru. Swordfish also damages freighter Rio de Janeiro Maru.</div><div><br /></div><div>PBY-5 Catalinas based at Noumea, New Caledonia join RAAF Catalinas in bombing Tulagi Island, the site of a Japanese seaplane base near Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands.</div><div><br /></div><div>Japanese submarine I-21 launches its E14Y "Glen" seaplane for an uneventful reconnaissance mission over Sydney, Australia.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi94yoI9pYKjkiql2InIHrqn7GwibcTujczjpUOxfMe4IOSUWq2ZypUgguk5wDU8StYi9946Oa02AwRCu15n87vMJ7ILDa_sxqotNabpFzBsCV9IyZwxyW79U8uHveJFtvTBmTLcI-lj9s/s841/HMS_Warspite_29_May_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="HMS Illustrious, 29 May 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="841" data-original-width="640" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi94yoI9pYKjkiql2InIHrqn7GwibcTujczjpUOxfMe4IOSUWq2ZypUgguk5wDU8StYi9946Oa02AwRCu15n87vMJ7ILDa_sxqotNabpFzBsCV9IyZwxyW79U8uHveJFtvTBmTLcI-lj9s/w488-h640/HMS_Warspite_29_May_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="HMS Illustrious, 29 May 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="488" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;">"The aircraft carrier HMS ILLUSTRIOUS is seen ahead of HMS WARSPITE." The photo was taken in the Indian Ocean on 29 May 1942. (© IWM </span><a href="https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205144336" style="text-align: start;" target="_blank">A 10655</a><span style="text-align: start;">).</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>Battle of the Indian Ocean:</b> A large Japanese submarine force takes up station off Madagascar after a long and arduous journey across the Indian Ocean. They are there to launch mini-submarines to attack the British Far Eastern Fleet. This is "Divine Dragon Operation No. 2."</div><div><br /></div><div>I-10 launches its E14Y "Glen" floatplane (crewed by Lt. (j.g.) Araki Toshio and Ito Yoshiharu) for a reconnaissance mission above the harbor at Diego Suarez. The men spot numerous targets in the harbor, including battleship HMS Ramillies and numerous destroyers, corvettes, troopships, a tanker, an ammunition ship, a freighter, and a hospital ship. Three submarines - I-16, I-18, and I-20 - attempt to launch a mini-sub attack today, but only two of the mini-submarines are launched properly. The other two proceed toward the harbor.</div><div><br /></div><div>Unlike many other such flights, the British spot this one and sound the alert. The British battleship quickly changes its anchorage in the harbor. After the floatplane returns, I-10 Captain Ishizaki orders a mini-submarine attack of his own for 0230 on 31 May.</div><div><br /></div><div>Four B-17 bombers of the 10th Air Force bomb Myitkyina Airfield in Burma.</div><div><br /></div><div>Eighteen Japanese Zeros and 17 P-39 Aircobras have a furious dogfight over Hood Bay southeast of Port Moresby. The Japanese lose four planes to one P-39F. One of the Japanese pilots crash-lands and is shot and killed while resisting arrest.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLvb5rlEZG5mq2bWTHYyBvjON2VbtqYmjklHv_31qLelhbD438yiFeiGVfS4Z69Rw8-FozItnt-9xKrwaQYQ0dG7_sY94V4fAHCVuQrJkaPJ6eyRuYF_Lx97X-bHhaXZrRi1i-YWlZuHY/s640/USS_Quincy_29_May_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="USS Quincy in NYC, 29 May 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="522" data-original-width="640" height="522" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLvb5rlEZG5mq2bWTHYyBvjON2VbtqYmjklHv_31qLelhbD438yiFeiGVfS4Z69Rw8-FozItnt-9xKrwaQYQ0dG7_sY94V4fAHCVuQrJkaPJ6eyRuYF_Lx97X-bHhaXZrRi1i-YWlZuHY/w640-h522/USS_Quincy_29_May_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="USS Quincy in NYC, 29 May 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Heavy cruiser USS Quincy (CA-39) at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, 29 May 1942.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>Eastern Front:</b> The German victors at Kharkov count Soviet prisoners as mass surrenders continue. At Fuhrer Headquarters, General Franz Halder writes simply, "All quiet along the entire front (including Byeloi)."</div><div><br /></div><div><b>European Air Operations:</b> Despite continued poor weather, the RAF sends planes on patrols late in the day. RAF planes bomb and sink 1839-ton Danish (German) freighter Niels R. Finsen, carrying a load of coke, west of Borkum. They also sink 750-ton German minesweeper Sperrbrecher-150 (Viriato) near the Dutch West Frisian island of Ameland. The RAF planes also sink 285-ton German patrol boat V-1103 off Ameland (three deaths). An RCAF sweep over Cap Gris-Nez to Dunkirk encounters heavy flak.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL7MDO47cBOiY1JG52CwsBITmsPp1c8GybKi0QLs_GUhyTGbZOQITQ1rY1YNiCbo-pD_8gkBQlXOhF8YmI6bBoZLerbNUspfdvMUOhiQTRpuTZdG9X9eEUDmhL7K7cz4U3YSlX_76EOWc/s640/Allister_29_May_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="British freighter Allister, sunk on 29 May 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="401" data-original-width="640" height="402" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL7MDO47cBOiY1JG52CwsBITmsPp1c8GybKi0QLs_GUhyTGbZOQITQ1rY1YNiCbo-pD_8gkBQlXOhF8YmI6bBoZLerbNUspfdvMUOhiQTRpuTZdG9X9eEUDmhL7K7cz4U3YSlX_76EOWc/w640-h402/Allister_29_May_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="British freighter Allister, sunk on 29 May 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">British banana boat Allister, sunk on 29 May 1942.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>Battle of the Atlantic: </b>As it continues toward the Soviet Union, Convoy PQ-16 divides in half with six ships making for Archangel and the rest for Murmansk. The Germans, having sunk seven of its ships, have no more success against it.</div><div><br /></div><div>U-504 (KrvKpt. Hans-Georg Friedrich Poske), on its third patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 1597-ton British banana boat Allister 54 miles south of Grand Cayman Island. The ship breaks in half and sinks quickly. There are 15 dead and 8 survivors, who spend eight days at sea before being picked up by an unidentified passing ship and landed at Port au Prince, Haiti.</div><div><br /></div><div>U-156 (Kptlt. Werner Hartenstein), on its third patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 1913-ton British freighter Norman Prince 70 miles west of Martinique. Hartenstein chased the ship for eight hours before getting into firing position. There are 16 dead and 33 survivors, who are picked up by Vichy French freighter Angoulême and interned at Martinique. While on the island, they meet Lt.z.S Dietrich von dem Borne, who was injured in a gun explosion on U-156 in February and put ashore for humanitarian reasons. One survivor clings to a door for three days before being picked up by USCGC Unalga (WPG 53).</div><div><br /></div><div>U-107 (Kptlt. Harald Gelhaus), on its sixth patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 2599-ton British freighter Western Head in the Windward Passage 50 miles east of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. There are 24 deaths and six survivors, who are picked up by a US Navy patrol ship and taken to Guantanamo Bay.</div><div><br /></div><div>Italian submarine Barbarigo, on patrol in the South Atlantic near Brazil, torpedoes and uses its deck gun to sink 4836-ton British freighter Charlbury.</div><div><br /></div><div>German 750-ton <i>Sperrbrecher </i>(literally, mine barrage breaker, or minesweeper) 150 Viriato hits a mine and sinks off Dunkirk.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiOJD8M17tCHZo0baI1KRTv1XcqGsWD45_ru_N6zKUMp_u7ZcleAqBZ7VAPEhIn6vBu8jLEI1pgH_BKyHO8jSQYEVfKG6icldsgLYYuunwJfLZVwGiqqEY3SIvv5NAqotvyCGZxQ5LPS4/s1600/Kansas_City_Star_29_May_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Kansas City Star, 29 May 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="1131" data-original-width="1600" height="452" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiOJD8M17tCHZo0baI1KRTv1XcqGsWD45_ru_N6zKUMp_u7ZcleAqBZ7VAPEhIn6vBu8jLEI1pgH_BKyHO8jSQYEVfKG6icldsgLYYuunwJfLZVwGiqqEY3SIvv5NAqotvyCGZxQ5LPS4/w640-h452/Kansas_City_Star_29_May_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="Kansas City Star, 29 May 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kansas City Star, 29 May 1942. One of the headlines states, "Smash Deep Axis Thrust" at Tobruk, which is a bit of an overstatement.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>Battle of the Mediterranean: </b>With the Afrika Korps advance into the British Gazala Line stalled at Bir Hakeim, badly needed supply trucks of the Trieste and Ariete divisions reach the Axis forces after clearing a path through minefields. The British Desert Air Force (DAF) is active, intercepting two raids by Luftwaffe Junkers Ju 87 Stuka dive-bombers and also attacking Axis supply vehicles.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Free French men in the fortress of Bir Hakeim also need supplies. However, the Axis forces have them surrounded and one breakout attempt already has failed. A detachment led by Capitaine Gabriel de Sairigné sorties out and destroys three German tanks today.</div><div><br /></div><div>General Erwin Rommel, having lost the initiative and still facing supply issues, cleverly uses Allied minefields to protect his flanks and assumes a defensive posture even as his forces continue to reduce Bir Hakeim. Uncoordinated British attacks achieve nothing. A British armored brigade attacks the Ariete Division near the fortress, but the Italians beat them off. This becomes known as "The Cauldron."</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>British destroyers HMS Hero, Eridge, and Hurworth, after being alerted to a U-boat's presence by a patroling Blenheim bomber of RAF No. 203 Squadron, use depth charges to sink U-568 (Kptlt. Joachim Preuss), on its fifth patrol out of La Spezia, northeast of Tobruk. All 47 crewmen survive.</div><div><br /></div><div>British submarine Turbulent has a big day, sinking two ships. It torpedoes and sinks 3175-ton Italian freighter Capo Arma 70 miles northwest of Benghazi. Casualties are unknown.</div><div><br /></div><div>Turbulent also torpedoes and sinks Italian destroyer Emanuele Pessagno 85 miles northwest of Benghazi. There are 140 deaths and 85 survivors.</div><div><br /></div><div>Italian 1160-ton freighter Penelope, torpedoed on 19 May 1942 by British submarine Thrasher, finally sinks.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicEMDzLGZi24VfcJnNk82lXRplUFxe88-O9OqpcjHGTgh0iGgc6EuImkjzruR75w6G7s4UZHx_OxbiE52T3ylIOpCVGAicWj97kM60dodU4SjbFO3Oow2k_3ko3fbdvu7LTn6plWFMeZA/s640/Walrus_29_May_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Supermarine Wlarus, 29 May 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="453" data-original-width="640" height="454" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicEMDzLGZi24VfcJnNk82lXRplUFxe88-O9OqpcjHGTgh0iGgc6EuImkjzruR75w6G7s4UZHx_OxbiE52T3ylIOpCVGAicWj97kM60dodU4SjbFO3Oow2k_3ko3fbdvu7LTn6plWFMeZA/w640-h454/Walrus_29_May_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="Supermarine Wlarus, 29 May 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"A Supermarine Walrus taxiing up to WARSPITE after returning from anti-submarine patrol. In the background are HMS ILLUSTRIOUS and the destroyer HMS LOOKOUT, 29 May 1942." Note the crewman on top of the plane to attach the hook to lift it.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>Battle of the Black Sea: </b>Soviet submarine SHCH-214 rams and sinks 90-ton Turkish sailing vessel Hudavendiar east of Cape Igneada, Turkey. This is one of several sinkings of neutral Turkish vessels in the Black Sea during 1942, but they do not provoke a diplomatic crisis.</div><div><br /></div><div>Soviet submarine A-3 torpedoes and sinks 3595-ton Romanian freighter Sulina off Odessa.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Partisans:</b> Reinhard Heydrich remains in critical care in a Prague hospital following an assassination attempt by British/Czech agents. <a href="https://worldwartwo.filminspector.com/2014/05/heinrich-himmler-hitlers-executioner.html" target="_blank">Heinrich Himmler's</a> personal physician, Dr. Karl Gebhardt, assumes responsibility for Heydrich's care, which includes large doses of morphine for the pain. Gebhardt does not (according to his own account) administer the antibacterial drug sulfanilamide despite its recommendation by Hitler's personal doctor, Theodor Morell.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjERGrOeUD-DNCszyD2JTiqVquA3WAXr0KXSCXkWkF4b-ZbvpMxO6QUbt6e99up5QoSwhTDHGPZDvwJl-AkFwE6bLFB7-3MoyLOR7-UGuPYuYinKG7beQXOzIbEUep8IRYT5Bg8mbQzM1I/s819/Newlywed_29_May_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Newlywed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, 29 May 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="819" data-original-width="640" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjERGrOeUD-DNCszyD2JTiqVquA3WAXr0KXSCXkWkF4b-ZbvpMxO6QUbt6e99up5QoSwhTDHGPZDvwJl-AkFwE6bLFB7-3MoyLOR7-UGuPYuYinKG7beQXOzIbEUep8IRYT5Bg8mbQzM1I/w500-h640/Newlywed_29_May_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="Newlywed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, 29 May 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="500" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A newlywed, Mrs. Robert Cramer, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, 29 May 1942 © The Ann Arbor News.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>German Military: </b>Adolf Hitler issues <a href="http://www.alternatewars.com/WW2/WW2_Documents/Fuhrer_Directives/FD_42.htm" target="_blank">Fuhrer Directive No. 42</a>. This cancels Operation Isabella, a wishful plan to invade Spain and Portugal. It also refines a projected plan to invade Vichy France, Operation Attila, and replaces it with Case Anton (which ultimately is executed). Fuhrer Directive No. 42 is issued due to a "continual shifting of our forces in the West." It suggests that Spanish leader Francisco Franco's appeasement of Hitler by sending troops to the Eastern Front is working and that he views the lukewarm support offered by the Vichy government and French partisan activities as a growing nuisance.</div><div><br /></div><div>The directive also states that "The Italians may also, if the situation requires, have to take action in Tunisia." The situation <i>will </i>require this later in 1942, but the Germans will take care of matters themselves.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Australian Military: </b>Today is the first flight of the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation CA-12 Boomerang fight. It is the only Australian-produced plane of World War II.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Holocaust: </b>The Germans extend their requirement that Jews over six years of age wear a yellow badge to Paris. This is the eighth German decree on the subject of anti-Jewish measures and comes into effect on 7 June 1942.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQSdEPjAvvLNAGL9aXGcMqBdA65eASf7TentfsGgJIC6be4ptfUNdcBU6P6GQNqYV0o88wuI03kULpRcmSQP471Qqqi7KkG2wSe2-KsKFNcBrc2nYd5NBihl49YMXHFNQUmJx5janyLTQ/s640/Soldiers_29_May_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="US Army soldiers, 29 May 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="497" data-original-width="640" height="498" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQSdEPjAvvLNAGL9aXGcMqBdA65eASf7TentfsGgJIC6be4ptfUNdcBU6P6GQNqYV0o88wuI03kULpRcmSQP471Qqqi7KkG2wSe2-KsKFNcBrc2nYd5NBihl49YMXHFNQUmJx5janyLTQ/w640-h498/Soldiers_29_May_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="US Army soldiers, 29 May 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">African-American US Army 2nd lts. Henry Harris, Frank Frederick Doughton, Elmer B. Kountze, and Rogers H. Beardon pinning on their new brass rank insignias, Ft. Benning, Georgia, US, 29 May 1942 (National Archives).</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div><b>American Homefront:</b> Warner Bros. premiere "Yankee Doodle Dandy" in New York City. Featuring songs by George M. Cohan and starring James Cagney, Joan Leslie, and Walter Huston, the film is a huge success and the company's biggest box-office success to date. Cagney wins the Academy Award for Best Actor, and the film wins other awards for its music and sound recording. Congress selects it for preservation in 1993. In a patriotic gesture, Warner Bros. sells war bonds for entrance to the premiere ranging in value from $25 to $25,000.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Future History: </b>Actor John Barrymore, born John Sidney Blyth in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (and buried there), passes away in Los Angeles, California from illness. Barrymore is known as one of the great stage and film actors of the early 20th Century and is sometimes referred to as "The Great Barrymore." However, he is probably best remembered most these days for his wildly eccentric life that involved alcoholism, bankruptcy, four marriages, and a life largely led in the pages of tabloid magazines. He also founds the "Barrymore family of actors" that continues down to the present day with his granddaughter, Drew Barrymore.</div><div><br /></div>Yosano Akiko passes away in Tokyo, Japan, from a stroke. She is remembered as a poet and feminist. While sometimes called a pacifist, in fact, many of Akiko's later works support the wars against China, the United States, and the United Kingdom. One of her poems even praises <i>Bushido</i>, or the samurai code urging men to die in battle for the Emperor. Akiko has enjoyed a resurgence in popularity in recent years.<div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKIxuXt6A1NVm9r2c7LHnhVvV6IxVMUBOiwqUMUsToQQjyrS8-m9mH58GIIfhHPD_o8Qzncqn8bHquM_LC24LwUiNo8az-nxNYJtSPKz1zwoDp1afWH1dNhX1hfaYXolFGVFLcuOQtQvQ/s640/San_Francisco_29_May_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Traffic accident in San Francisco, 29 May 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" border="0" data-original-height="465" data-original-width="640" height="466" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKIxuXt6A1NVm9r2c7LHnhVvV6IxVMUBOiwqUMUsToQQjyrS8-m9mH58GIIfhHPD_o8Qzncqn8bHquM_LC24LwUiNo8az-nxNYJtSPKz1zwoDp1afWH1dNhX1hfaYXolFGVFLcuOQtQvQ/w640-h466/San_Francisco_29_May_1942_worldwartwo.filminspector.com_1.jpg" title="Traffic accident in San Francisco, 29 May 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A traffic accident at Folsom and Army Streets in San Francisco, 29 May 1942 (San Francisco Police Department Photograph Bureau Negatives / Bureau of Accident Investigation and Prevention, San Francisco Police Department Records, via <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/sfplsanfranciscohistoricalphotographcollection/7687501072" target="_blank">San Francisco Public Library</a>).</td></tr></tbody></table><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><h2>May 1942</h2></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/04/may-1-1942-japanese-take-mandalay.html" target="_blank">May 1, 1942: Japanese Take Mandalay</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/04/may-2-1942-cruiser-edinburgh-sunk.html" target="_blank">May 2, 1942: Cruiser Edinburgh Sunk</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/04/may-3-1942-japanese-take-tulagi.html">May 3, 1942: Japanese Take Tulagi</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/04/may-4-1942-fletcher-attacks-at-tulagi.html" target="_blank">May 4, 1942: Fletcher Attacks at Tulagi</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/04/may-5-1942-british-invade-madagascar.html">May 5, 1942: British Invade Madagascar</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/04/may-6-1942-corregidor-falls-to-japan.html">May 6, 1942: Corregidor Falls to Japan</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/04/may-7-1942-scratch-one-flattop.html" target="_blank">May 7, 1942: Scratch One Flattop!</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/04/may-8-1942-death-and-destruction-in.html">May 8, 1942: Lexington Sunk in the Coral Sea</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/04/may-9-1942-manstein-on-attack-in-crimea.html">May 9, 1942: Manstein on the Attack in Crimea</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/04/may-10-1942-spitfires-rule-over-malta.html">May 10, 1942: Spitfires Rule Over Malta</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/04/may-11-1942-first-japanese-retreat-at.html" target="_blank">May 11, 1942: First Japanese Retreat at Deboyne</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/04/may-12-1942-soviets-attack-at-kharkov.html">May 12, 1942: Soviets Attack At Kharkov</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/04/may-13-1942-crisis-at-kharkov.html">May 13, 1942: Crisis at Kharkov</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/04/may-14-1942-where-in-world-is-af.html" target="_blank">May 14, 1942: Where in the World is AF</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/04/march-15-1942-germans-take-kerch.html" target="_blank">May 15, 1942: Germans Take Kerch</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/05/may-16-1942-sobibor-begins-operation.html" target="_blank">May 16, 1942: Sobibor Begins Operation</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/05/may-17-1942-germans-counterattack-at.html" target="">May 17, 1942: Germans Counterattack at Kharkov</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/05/may-18-1942-soviet-command-confusion.html">May 18, 1942: Soviet Command Confusion </a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/05/may-19-1942-soviet-panic-at-kharkov.html">May 19, 1942: Soviet Panic at Kharkov</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/05/may-20-1942-churchill-and-molotov.html">May 20, 1942: Churchill and Molotov Negotiate</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/05/may-21-1942-u-106-sinks-wrong-tanker.html">May 21, 1942: U-106 Sinks the Wrong Tanker</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/06/may-22-1942-af-is-midway.html">May 22, 1942: AF is Midway!</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/08/may-23-1942-german-forces-surround.html">May 23, 1942: German Forces Surround Soviet Armies at Kharkov</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/09/may-24-1942-german-anti-partisan.html">May 24, 1942: German Anti-Partisan Operations in Full Swing</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/09/may-25-1942-soviet-breakout-at-kharkov.html">May 25, 1942: Soviet Breakout at Kharkov Fails</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/09/may-26-1942-rommel-pounces-in-north.html">May 26, 1942: Rommel Pounces in North Africa</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/09/may-27-1942-heydrich-fatally-wounded-in.html">May 27, 1942: Heydrich Fatally Wounded in Prague</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/09/may-28-1942-german-victory-at-kharkov.html">May 28, 1942: German Victory At Kharkov</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/09/may-29-1942-japanese-at-madagascar.html">May 29, 1942: Japanese at Madagascar</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/09/may-30-1942-first-raf-thousand-plane.html">May 30, 1942: First RAF Thousand-Plane Raid</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><a href="https://worldwartwodaily2.filminspector.com/2021/09/may-31-1942-attack-on-sydney-harbour.html">May 31, 1942: The Attack on Sydney Harbour</a></div><div itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Thing"><br /></div>
<span class="updated">2021</span>
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