Showing posts with label Metaxas Line. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Metaxas Line. Show all posts

Monday, April 17, 2017

April 10, 1941: USS Niblack Attacks

Thursday 10 April 1941

10 April 1941 worldwartwo.filminspector.com USS Niblack
USS Niblack (DD-424), which launches depth charges today, 10 April 1941.

Operation Marita/Operation 25: The Germans of the XL Panzer Corps continue to roll in Yugoslavia on 10 April 1941. By the morning, the Germans have regrouped and now are ready to advance south toward Kozani. Capturing Kozani would put the Wehrmacht troops in position to drive to the coast at Larissa or nearby, cutting off the British forces holding on the Aliakmon Line near Thessaloniki. However, there is a lot of rough terrains to cover, things are a little different now than in the drive west against light opposition.

The 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (LSSAH), under the command of Hitler's former chauffeur Josef "Sepp" Dietrich, captures Vevi in southern Macedonia and immediately turns to clear the enemy from the Kleisoura Pass southwest of Vevi. pass This leads to the town of Klidi in the south (it also is known as the Klidi Pass or Kirli Derven). The plan is to take Klidi and then drive downhill to Kastoria in northwest Greece.

SS-Sturmbannführer Kurt "Panzer" Meyer leads LSSAH's reinforced Aufklärungs-Abteilung (reconnaissance battalion) south into the pass, which is defended by scratch forces mixed Australian/New Zealand/Greek formation known as the "Mackay Force" under the Australian General Iven Mackay. Meyer's forces, backed by the 73rd Infantry Division, attack Glava Hill and Delinski Dol, but the Mackay Force is under orders from General Henry Maitland Wilson to "stop a blitzkrieg down the Florina Valley." Today, it does that, stopping the Germans cold.

In the north of Yugoslavia, the 14th Panzer Division of General von Kleist's 2nd Army takes Zagreb. Colonel Slavko Kvaternik of the Ustasa within the city declares an Independent State of Croatia (Nezavisna Drzava Hrvatska - NDH). Croatian fascist strongman Ante Pavelic returns from his exile in Italy to join in the proclamation, illustrating its Fascist orientation. This declaration of independence triggers an unexpected result, causing Hungary to decide that the Tripartite Pace to which both it and Yugoslavia are signatories no longer bars it from invading the now-dismembered country. Hungary prepares to send its tanks across the border tomorrow, the 11th.

10 April 1941 worldwartwo.filminspector.com Hitler Pavelic
Adolf Hitler and Ante Pavelic' at the Berghof.
Meanwhile, local Communist Party Secretary-General Josep Broz "Tito" (Tito is one of his assumed names taken when the Communist Party in Yugoslavia is outlawed) forms a Military Committee.

To the southeast in Greece, the battle of the Metaxas Line is over. The Greek commander of the Eastern Macedonian Army Section, Lieutenant General Konstantinos Bakopoulos, has ordered the forces holding out behind German lines to surrender. As of yet, the Germans at Thessaloniki and the British on the other side of the Aliakmon River have not engaged in any battles aside from a minor encounter between a German patrol and defending New Zealanders. Both sides took minor casualties, relatively speaking, during the battle, the Germans about 500 men killed.

The German government grows sensitive about the image it is projecting by bombing Belgrade in Operation Punishment. It ends the bombings, and the Ministry of Propaganda warns the media to "omit" sensational comments such as "its streets are covered with corpses of women and children." In fact, Luftflotte IV stops bombing northern Yugoslavia altogether - it hasn't bombed any Croatian areas at all - and turns its attention solely to southern Yugoslavia and Greece.

The Royal Hellenic Navy loses patrol boat A-2 to unknown causes. Axis troops seize Yugoslavian minesweeper Kobac at Sebenico.

Convoy AG 12 departs from Alexandria bound for Phaleron Bay. Previous convoys have gone to nearby Piraeus, which is the ordinary modern port for Athens, but German bombing temporarily has put the port out of commission. Convoy AS 25 (five Greek ships) departs from Piraeus.

British 3791-ton troopship HMS Ulster Prince, part of Convoy AC 3 which departed from Alexandria bound for Tobruk on the 6th, returns to Alexandria and grounds in Great Pass as it enters. It suffers minor damage.

10 April 1941 worldwartwo.filminspector.com Hungarian tanks
Hungary decides to join the invasion of Yugoslavia today, 10 April 1941, due to the declaration of independence by Croatia - until then, Hungarian leader Admiral Horthy felt bound by the fact that both it and Yugoslavia were signatories to the Tripartite Pact.
European Air Operations: Adolf Hitler is very upset at last night's bombing that gutted the Berlin Opera House. He confronts Luftwaffe boss Reichsmarschall Hermann Goering about antiaircraft defenses, then departs from his Fruhlingssturm headquarters south of Vienna to oversee Operation 25/Operation Marita. While he just as easily could review the operations from Berlin, Hitler likes to give the appearance of being at the front with his troops.

The Luftwaffe attacks Birmingham on the night of 10/11 April, with 206 bombers dropping 246 tons of high explosives and 1183 incendiaries. After dark, it attacks Coventry again. Overall, about 475 people are killed and 700 seriously wounded in the two Coventry raids of two nights earlier and tonight.

East African Campaign: The British now hold the key points in Italian Somaliland, Eritrea, and Abyssinia. However, many Italian strongholds remain in far-flung places. The British 11th African Division advances southwest from Addis Ababa to attack one of them, Jimma. They have to halt at Abaiti on the Omo River, where the Italians have blown the bridges.

At Assab, Eritrea, the Italians watch British troops approach and do what Italians in other ports have done in that situation: they start scuttling their ships:
  • 6366-ton freighter India
  • 7565-ton tanker Piave
  • 9834-ton Sannio
  • 57-ton coastal freighter Scillin
  • 59-ton coastal freighter Circeo
  • 80-ton coastal freighter Dante
  • 64-ton coastal freighter Sicilia
The British later salvage India, Piave, and Sannio.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-52 (Kptlt. Helmut Möhlmann) torpedoes 6563-ton Dutch freighter Saleier east of Greenland. The ship goes down extremely quickly, in a  matter of seconds, but all 63 men on board survive pickup by the destroyer USS Niblack - unusual for a ship sinking so fast and during the colder months so far north. Saleier had been dispersed from Convoy OB 306. The Niblack, which is on its way to Iceland and nearby strictly by chance - then unsuccessfully attacks an (apparently false) submarine contact by dropping three depth charges. This apparently is the first US naval combat involvement in the Battle of the Atlantic - though nobody on the German side is aware of it and nothing comes of it, and thus it passes virtually unnoticed by anyone. But it most definitely is the first US combat incident of World War II, and shows just how close the US is coming to open conflict.

The Luftwaffe attacks shipping in the Tyne. A bomb strikes Royal Navy light cruiser HMS Naiad, already under repair, and damages it slightly some more.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 4887-ton British freighter Thirlby about 140 miles northwest of the Butt of Lewis. It is brought in to Loch Ewe in tow.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 943-ton British freighter Busiris off Runnel Stone in Mount's Bay, Cornwall.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 397-ton Dutch freighter Virgo five miles northwest of Bar Light Vessel. It is towed to Liverpool.

The Admiralty, happy that the RAF damaged German heavy cruiser Gneisenau in Brest over the night with four bomb hits, transfers six of its submarines to the Mediterranean.

British Convoy DS 1 departs from Scapa Flow, the first of the DS convoys. It is composed of two troopships and two escorts, bound for Reykjavik. Return convoys are SD convoys.

Convoys T-10 and HX 120 depart from Halifax. Convoy TC-10 is a two-transport Canadian troop convoy that is escorted the entire way by battleship HMS Rodney and other ships as well.

U-401 (Kapitänleutnant Gero Zimmermann) and U-565 (Oberleutnant zur See Johann Jebsen) are commissioned.

10 April 1941 worldwartwo.filminspector.com Australian troops Tobruk
Australian soldiers defend Tobruk, 10 April 1941. Just three months earlier, they captured the fortress, today they are defending it themselves. It is one of numerous such reversals during World War II.
Battle of the Mediterranean: Lieutenant General Erwin Rommel records his thoughts today:
I am convinced the enemy is retreating, we have to push after him with all forces. Target to be made clear to every man is the Suez canal. To prevent a breakout of the enemy from Tobruk, an encirclement has to be pursued by all means.
Forward Detachment Prittwitz (led by Major General von Prittwitz) advances south on the Via Balbia, which runs east of Tobruk and is the main road in the region. At noon, the detachment encounters British troops. Everything is extremely fluid with no clear battle lines, and, just as with British Generals Neame and O'Connor recently, the Germans lose one of theirs due to the confusion. Prittwitz perishes when he is fired upon by them - his driver had driven past the lead elements of his detachment without noticing. Lieutenant Colonel Graf Schwerin takes over the detachment.

Rommel orders the Italian Brescia Division forward from Mechili to take over for Schwerin's force. He also orders the Ariete Division forward toward El Adem. Due to all these troop movements, today is often cited as the start of the siege of Tobruk. The port city is defended by the 9th Australian Division, with overall command under General Morshead. The British strengthen their defenses at Halfaya Pass to the south by bringing up the 22nd Guards Brigade.

Moving his headquarters forward to Gazala airfield, Rommel's biggest problem is one of supply. Some detachments have run out of food and water.

The Royal Navy sends off four destroyers from Suda Bay to be based in Malta. The purpose is to interdict Axis supply convoys operating between Naples and Tripoli. Rommel's advances on land, the British believe, can be stopped - at sea.

Royal Navy minesweeper HMS Abingdon is damaged by mines at Malta. Repairs will take until June. It is the second ship damaged or sunk by mines there recently.

Royal Navy gunboats HMS Aphis and Gnat bombard German positions at Gazala and Bomba.

An Italian convoy of four ships (Bosforo, Ogaden, Persiano, and Superga) departs from Palermo, Sicily for the final leg of its trip from Naples to Tripoli. Another convoy arrives at Tripoli.

The War Office transfers Special Service troops from Malta back to Alexandria. They have been among the troops guarding Gozo Island pursuant to Operation Picnic.

10 April 1941 worldwartwo.filminspector.com El Paso Herald-Post
The war is creeping closer. Notice that the news of the capture of British Generals O'Connor and Neame now is being made public. The El Paso (Texas) Herald-Post, 10 April 1941.
Anglo/Irish Relations: Visiting Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies is an advocate of less rigid English relations with Ireland. He has prepared a memo on the matter, and Prime Minister Winston Churchill finds it "very readable." Menzies continues in his diary:
Winston and Kingsley Wood exhibit the blank wall of conservatism. There is triangular prejudice on this matter. Winston is not a receptive or reasoning animal. But they will come to it! [Emphasis in original].
In this instance, Menzies' liberal instincts clash with Churchill's conservative ones. Throughout his diary, Menzies is alternately attracted and repelled by Churchill's very strong personality, and this is an instance of the latter. The bottom line is that Churchill has very definite ideas about how to handle the Irish question, and those ideas do not include being "soft" or "lenient."

Anglo/US Relations: President Roosevelt authorizes the transfer of ten Coast Guard cutters to the Royal Navy. The British will work up the cutters in Long Island Sound through the end of May.

Anglo/Turkish Relations: President Inonu once again declines to join the Allies.

US/Polish Relations: Having met with President Roosevelt, General Sikorski concludes his brief visit to the United States and returns to England.

10 April 1941 worldwartwo.filminspector.com Imperial Japanese Navy B5N Kate
An IJN B5N in early 1941. The "VI-324" on the tail would change to AII-324 due to today's changes (Famous Airplanes of the World - B5N "Kate", number 32, page 44, January 1992, by Bunrin Do Company via Japanese Aviation.).
Japanese Military: The Imperial Japanese Navy forms the First Air Fleet, composed of all seven of its aircraft carriers. Altogether, they can launch 474 aircraft. The carriers are arranged as follows:
  • Kaga - Carrier Division 1
  • Akagi - Carrier Division 1, also flagship of the First Air Fleet
  • Soryu - Carrier Division 2
  • Hiryu - Carrier Division 2
  • Hosho - Carrier Division 3
  • Ryuo - Carrier Division 4
  • Shoho - Carrier Division 4 (when it joins the fleet)
  • Shokaku - Carrier Division 5
  • Zuikaku - Carrier Division 5
Admiral Chuichi Nagumo is the First Air Fleet's first commander. Of interest to modelers is that the IJN changes all carrier aircraft tail codes are changed to reflect this

US Military: Admiral John Newton brings his fleet back into Pearl Harbor, concluding its "goodwill" missions to Australia and Fiji.

Japanese Government: War hawks Musatsume Ogura, Admiral Teijiro Toyoda, and Lieutenant General Teiichi Suzuki join the cabinet. Admiral Osami Nagano becomes the new chief of the Naval Staff, replacing Prince Hiroyasu Fushimi, who has resigned (but technically remains in the cabinet). Seiichi Ito becomes the new chief of staff of the Imperial Combined Fleet.

Iraq: The British at Habbaniyah Airfield outside Baghdad are getting increasingly nervous about the new government of Rashid Ali. While there haven't been any attacks on the base yet, the Ali government is distinctly anti-British and pro-German. The British War Cabinet authorizes troop transfers from General Claude Auchinleck's command in India to Iraq.

In Berlin, meanwhile, Reichsmarschall Hermann Goering has his eye on Iraq as well. The country fits into the, shall we say, larger war aims of the Third Reich. However, it is far away over air space largely controlled by the British, so even getting airplanes to it is a chore. Goering believes that supporting the Ali government with his Luftwaffe would increase his own prestige within the hierarchy - which of course he is almost at the top of already, but there is a lot of infighting that he worries about nonetheless - so he is thinking of sending some units there. The main problem is that there is no ground support for Luftwaffe planes in Iraq because it is all controlled by the British, so capturing the RAF facilities is somewhat of a prerequisite to Luftwaffe operations. However, the facilities likely can't be captured without the Luftwaffe's assistance.

American Homefront: The Anthony and William Esposito trial begins in New York City. They are accused of the 14 January 1941 killing of a police officer and a holdup victim. The case receives a lot of media attention because the incident happened near the Empire State Building and a visiting photographer was on the scene to snap some pictures right after it happened. The Esposito brothers enter an insanity plea and exhibit odd "insane" conduct in the courtroom.

Hooverville, in Seattle's Pioneer Square, burns down today. A Depression-era shantytown begun about 1931, its burning causes the Seattle Port Commission to condemn all shacks and other rudimentary habitations in the area.

10 April 1941 worldwartwo.filminspector.com War Ambulance Birch Cliff Public Schools
Toronto Birch Cliff Public Schools teachers and students pose with an ambulance they have purchased for the Canadian Armed Forces. The school raised the money for the ambulance and an extra $200, both of which were presented today to the Department of National Defense, 10 April 1941.  
April 1941

April 1, 1941: Rommel Takes Brega
April 2, 1941:Rommel Takes Agedabia
April 3, 1941: Convoy SC-26 Destruction
April 4, 1941: Rommel Takes Benghazi
April 5, 1941: Rommel Rolling
April 6, 1941: Operation Marita
April 7, 1941: Rommel Takes Derna
April 8, 1941: Yugoslavia Crumbling
April 9, 1941: Thessaloniki Falls
April 10, 1941: USS Niblack Attacks
April 11, 1941: Good Friday Raid
April 12, 1941: Belgrade and Bardia Fall
April 13, 1941: Soviet-Japanese Pact
April 14, 1941: King Peter Leaves
April 15, 1941: Flying Tigers
April 16, 1941: Battle of Platamon
April 17, 1941: Yugoslavia Gone
April 18, 1941: Me 262 First Flight
April 19, 1941: London Smashed
April 20, 1941: Hitler's Best Birthday
April 21, 1941: Greek Army Surrenders
April 22, 1941: Pancevo Massacre
April 23, 1941: CAM Ships
April 24, 1941: Battle of Thermopylae
April 25, 1941: Operation Demon
April 26, 1941: Operation Hannibal
April 27, 1941: Athens Falls
April 28, 1941: Hitler Firm about Barbarossa
April 29, 1941: Mainland Greece Falls
April 30, 1941: Rommel Attacks

2020

Wednesday, April 12, 2017

April 6, 1941: Operation Marita Begins

Sunday 6 April 1941

6 April 1941 worldwartwo.filminspector.com Operation Retribution Belgrade
Operation Retribution, Belgrade, Yugoslavia, 6 April 1941.
Operation 25: Operation 25 is the German codename for the invasion of Yugoslavia on 6 April 1941. Despite signals from Yugoslavia that it is willing to respect its obligations under the Tripartite Pact, Adolf Hitler has his troops invade Yugoslavia and Greece. At 05:15, the Germans unleash 15 divisions, including two Panzer divisions, and 800 aircraft. While Italy and Hungary also will contribute troops to the effort, they do not invade yet - with the small exception that the Italians in Albania continue to tie down virtually the entire Greek Army and the Italians at Trieste take a few local objectives in Venezia Giulia near Trieste. This is a companion to the invasion of Greece, "Operation Marita," with the specific attack on Yugoslavia called "Operation 25."

Hitler's order of the day to the troops reads in part (it is quite lengthy, usually they are maybe a paragraph long):
Since early this morning the German people are at war with the Belgrade Government of intrigue. We shall only lay down arms when this band of ruffians has been definitely and most emphatically eliminated, and the last Briton has left this part of the European Continent. These misled people realize that they must thank Britain for this situation, they must thank England, the greatest warmonger of all time.
Hitler reveals his real reason for Operation Marita in this order's opening paragraph. The Yugoslavs and Greeks pose no threat to Germany. However, Hitler worries about the British presence in that region of the continent. His worry is not about British land forces, but rather the RAF - as he later tells Marshall Mannerheim, he has nightmares of the Romanian oil fields burning from end to end from RAF attacks.

German Foreign Minister Joachim Ribbentrop is pithier: he notes that "a clique of conspirators" is the only reason Germany has had to unleash hell upon Yugoslavia. Italy declares war on Yugoslavia, while Hitler doesn't even bother.

6 April 1941 worldwartwo.filminspector.com LA Times headline
Los Angeles Times, 6 April 1941, "Yugoslavia and Greece Invaded As Hitler Launches Balkan War."

On the ground, things go smoothly for the Wehrmacht. The XL Panzer Corps (Lieutenant-General Georg Stumme) of Panzer Group Kleist of the 12th Army (Field Marshal Wilhelm List) crosses the Yugoslavian frontier from Bulgaria at dawn and, by evening, has reached the vicinity of Prilep, cutting the railway line. This is a huge achievement because Prilep is on the mainline from Belgrade to Thessaloniki. By severing the rail link, the Germans effectively cut the capital off from outside aid - or escape - except by air. The 2nd Panzer Division advances through the Struma Valley and is only slowed by poor roads. It captures Strumica right on schedule.

In addition, the German 2nd Army (General Maximillian von Weichs) is to drive south from Austria toward Belgrade. This eventually, if all goes well, form a giant pincer cutting the country in two. The Yugoslav Army is large (28 divisions) but no match for the German Heer (army). The Yugoslavs have inherited the racial and regional disparities of the old Austro-Hungarian Empire, and many divisions have no interest in fighting anyone. Only a handful of divisions actively resist the Wehrmacht invasion, and these primarily are composed of ethnic groups opposed to the Germans (Serb, Montenegrin and Albanian.

The Yugoslav Air Force is largely destroyed on the ground, losing an estimated 600 planes in the first wave of attacks. Creaky Luftwaffe planes such as the Dornier Do 17 and Junkers Ju 87 Stuka that have become liabilities over England retain their technological edge in the Balkans.

The Wehrmacht drive across southern Yugoslavia serves two purposes: it isolates Yugoslavia, and it also provides a springboard into Greece that is far to the west of the British. Once they get far enough west, the panzers can turn due south and drive straight to the port of Thessalonica (Thessaloniki), cutting the British troops off from their supply bases in southern Greece.

6 April 1941 worldwartwo.filminspector.com Operation Marita motorcycle troops
Wehrmacht motorcycle troops enter Greece, 6 April 1941.
Operation Marita: The Wehrmacht also attacks Greece at dawn. However, for the moment, the main action is north of the border in Yugoslavia, where the German panzers are sidestepping the Allied defenses facing Bulgaria and effectively outflanking the British and Greeks.

The Greeks have their troops far forward on the Metaxas Line, while the British are grouped further back in a natural switch position on the Aliakmon River. The Greek Army of Eastern Macedonia (Lieutenant General Konstantinos Bakopoulos) defends. The British are under the overall command of General Henry Maitland Wilson, commanding W Force, and have three Greek divisions, a New Zealand division, the Australian 6th division, and the British 1st Armored Brigade.

German XVIII Corps hits the Greek left flank, while XXX Corps attacks the right flank. The Germans make only limited progress on their invasion into Greece directly from Bulgaria, but that invasion is distinctly secondary to the operations in Yugoslavia for the time being. Realistically, the only point of the Germans attacking at all at this point and time is to hold the Allies in place and not allow them to shift troops to the west to meet the real thrust. In that sense, these troops serve the same purpose as the Italians along the coast.

Seven RAF squadrons support the Allied effort in Greece and, to a much lesser extent, Yugoslavia. The Greeks have 15 excellent divisions in Albania, but they are fully occupied by the Italians - an oft-overlooked service for those who think the Italians never helped Germany with its military.

6 April 1941 worldwartwo.filminspector.com Kenneth Campbell VC
"Portrait of Kenneth Campbell RAF, awarded the Victoria Cross: France, 6 April 1941." Campbell presses home his attack against the Gneisenau despite intense Flak and puts a torpedo into it. He is killed immediately after. © IWM (CH 4911).
European Air Operations: The Luftwaffe begins Operation Bestrafung ("Retribution" or "Punishment," and also known as "Operation Castigo"), which is a concentrated attack on Yugoslavian airbases and major cities. The operational code name itself reflects the anger that the Germans continue to feel about the abrupt 27 March 1941 coup that compelled (in their eyes) the expansion of Operation Marita to include Yugoslavia.

Having learned its lessons over London, the Luftwaffe puts them to use over Belgrade. It flies 500 sorties of Junkers Ju 87 Stukas and medium bombers over the Yugoslav capital, taking the city by surprise and pounding it. Huge fires erupt, destroying hospitals, public buildings and the royal palace. It is possibly the worst single aerial assault in the war so far, and perhaps of the entire war because it is against a completely undefended urban center and imbued with the lessons learned from the Luftwaffe's seven months of practice in terror-bombing British cities. An estimated 17,000 people perish during the next few days - nobody will ever know how many died each day.

The Luftwaffe (KG 307) also raids Piraeus, and this raid also is one of the classics of World War II. This is the main disembarkation point for Operation Lustre, the British expeditionary force on mainland Greece. The Germans get a lucky hit on munitions ship Clan Fraser. The ship is carrying 350 tons of high explosives and explodes in a massive fireball, killing six men, destroying 13 ships, wrecking the port facilities and inflicting massive casualties ashore.

During the Luftwaffe attack on Piraeus and explosion of the Clan Fraser, the casualties include, but are not limited to:
  • Greek tug Elpis (sunk)
  • Corvette HMS Hyacinth (damaged, two officers ashore killed).
  • 7108-ton British freighter City of Roubaix (sunk)
  • 1988-ton British freighter Cyprian Prince (sunk, four deaths)
  • 1706-ton British freighter Patris (sunk)
  • 1393-ton Greek freighter Acropolis (sunk)
  • 3256-ton Greek freighter Styliani (sunk)
  • 4792-ton Greek freighter Evoikos (sunk)
  • Greek caique Halcyon (sunk)
  • 6565-ton Greek freighter Petalli (on fire, scuttled outside the port)
  • 5314-ton British freighter Goalpara (damaged)
  • 7264-ton freighter Clan Cumming (damaged)
  • 8474-ton British tanker Cingalese Prince (damaged)
  • 6054-ton British freighter Devis (damaged, one death)
  • 3100-ton British freighter Katie Moller (damaged)
  • 1656-ton Greek freighter Agailiani (damaged)
  • 4697-ton Greek freighter Constantinos Louloudis (damaged)
  • 496-ton Royal Navy armed yacht HMY Surf (sunk)
  • 386-ton British salvage vessel Viking (sunk)
  • 146-ton Greek auxiliary Georgios (sunk)
The loss of ships obviously is horrendous. However, the port is virtually destroyed and made unusable. As the main port of entry - and exit - to mainland Greece for the British expedition force, this poses a real problem for further reinforcement - or evacuation - of the British troops. It is not accurate that the British abandon the use of the port, but they withdraw what ships they can and send them to Suda Bay on Crete.

US Secretary of State Cordell Hull weighs in on the German invasion, calling it "barbarous." The Yugoslavian military attache in Washington asks for as much immediate support as possible, including 700 aircraft, 100 tanks and so forth. The US is not in a position to supply anything immediately.

The RAF units based in Greece sends Wellington bombers against Sofia, Bulgaria.

The 2nd RAF Group raids a power station at Ijmuiden, Holland.

6 April 1941 worldwartwo.filminspector.com Piraeus Harbor Greece
This picture apparently was taken during the KG307 raid on Piraeus Harbor by Hptm Hajo Herrmann of 6 April 1941.
East African Campaign: The 1st South African Brigade of the 11th (African) Division under Major-General H. E. de R. Wetherall, along with the 22nd East African Brigade (Brigadier Charles Fowkes) drives into Addis Ababa. The Italians under the Duke of Aosta have abandoned the city, fleeing to mountain redoubts from which they hope to carry on the fight. The Italian citizens of the city remain behind with elements of the local Italian police. General Agenore Frangipani, the Governor of Addis Ababa, commits suicide.

A telling political incident reflects the sensitivity of the situation and of the times. Lieutenant General Alan Cunningham, Commander in Chief of East Africa Command, orders Fowkes to slow down and let Wetherall enter the city first. He has to do this by a special order dropped directly on his position by an RAF plane, as Fowkes refuses to acknowledge radio orders telling him to let Wetherall have the glory of the capture. The reason for the stop order? Fowkes commands largely black African troops, while Wetherall commands white South Africans. It would "look bad" for the black Africans to get their first. Yes, this is completely racist and everyone knows exactly what is going on. That's the real world of the times, folks.

At Massawa, the Italians scuttle a number of ships before the nearby British take the port:
  • 5877-ton freighter Antonia C.
  • 2136-ton freighter Riva Ligure
  • 8150-ton tanker Nazario Sauro
  • 2722-ton freighter Tripolitania
  • 2316-ton freighter Capitano Bottego
All of the ships are later salvaged. In addition, the Italians scuttle freighter Capitano Bottego off the Dahlak Archipelago.

6 April 1941 worldwartwo.filminspector.com Hans-Joachim Marseille
Hans-Joachim Marseille in his Messerschmitt Bf-109E JG27, 6 April 1941.

Battle of the Atlantic: With the RAF now sending regular bombing missions overhead targeting cruisers Gneisenau and Scharnhorst, the German naval authorities decide to do something to protect them. Accordingly, they move the two ships out of their drydocks and anchorages in the harbor. They do so just at the wrong time.

The British are under the misapprehension that the two German cruisers are on the verge of another sortie into the Atlantic. Desperate to stop this, the RAF quickly takes note of their change of positions and switches from bombs to torpedoes for another attack while they are still in port. They send a massive formation of 71 Bristol Beauforts against the ships, and one, piloted by Flying Officer Kenneth Campbell (KIA, receives the VC posthumously), makes a successful torpedo run and gets a hit on the Gneisenau. While not threatening to the survival of the ship, the hit roughly beneath the aft main turret causes 3000 tons of water to enter the ship. There is tremendous internal damage due both to the concussive effects of the detonation on electronic components and stresses on the centerline propeller shafts. The ship quickly is returned to dry dock.

In addition to the attack on Brest itself, RAF Coastal Command attacks three German destroyers sailing off Brest on unrelated business. A couple of near misses do not cause any appreciable damage, nor does a failed submarine attack.

In addition to the RAF attacks, the Royal Navy puts its major surface vessels out to sea to confront the expected escape by the Gneisenau and Scharnhorst. However, since the two ships do not leave Brest, the British ships - led by battlecruiser HMS Hood in Scapa Flow and HMS King George V at Gibraltar - return to port.

U-94 (Kptlt. Herbert Kuppisch) is operating in the Atlantic southwest of Iceland when it spots a 5580-ton Norwegian freighter, Lincoln Ellsworth. Kuppisch puts a torpedo into the ship, then surfaces and finishes it off with his deck gun. Everyone survives.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 5149-ton Norwegian tanker Lincoln Ellsworth northwest of Scotland in the general vicinity of Rockall. There are two deaths.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 7156-ton Greek tanker Nicolaou Zografia in the Northwest Approaches a bit to the southwest of the Lincoln Ellsworth. Everyone survives.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 2252-ton British freighter Olga in the Northwest Approaches. Four crew perish.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 289-ton British trawler Daneland just west of Rathlin O'Birne Island off the west coast of Ireland. Everyone survives.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 352-ton Faroes trawler Naeraberg south of the Faroes Islands. Everyone survives.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 7525-ton British tanker Glenfinlas off Harwich. There are eleven deaths. The tanker is towed to Harwich, and then to the Tyne for repairs.

Royal Navy 336-ton armed yacht HMY Torrent hits a mine and sinks off Falmouth. There are a number of deaths on the yacht, including the commander, Lieutenant K. Sinclair RNR.

Royal Navy 15,400-ton armed merchant cruiser HMS Comorin suffers an accidental fire and is wrecked off Freetown. There are fourteen deaths, but 405 men survive. Destroyer HMS Broke scuttles the blazing cruiser.

Convoys OB 308 and OB 58 depart from Liverpool, Convoys HX 119, 119A and 119B depart from Halifax.

6 April 1941 worldwartwo.filminspector.com Belgrade bomb damage
Damage in Belgrade caused by the 6 April 1941 raid.
Battle of the Mediterranean: It is one of the most successful days of the North African campaign for the Afrika Korps, but all the worldwide attention is directed toward events on the other side of the Mediterranean. The Afrika Korps continues rolling forward in a day marked by dust storms that keep the Luftwaffe grounded. The Germans capture the fortress of Mechili, south of Derna. However, bad as it is, that is not the worst loss of the day for the British.

British Middle East Commander General Archibald Wavell has become increasingly worried about the course of the campaign in Libya under new General Officer Commanding & Military Governor of Cyrenaica Lieutenant-General Philip Neame. Wavell has sent the man that Neame replaced, Lieutenant-General Richard O'Connor, who arrived yesterday, to see if he can be of help. Nobody at Neame's headquarters really knows where the Afrika Korps panzers are, but everyone knows they are getting closer. Accordingly, Neame and O'Connor lead a small convoy of vehicles to a new headquarters further back. However, the Afrika Korps is even closer than they obviously thought, because advance motorcycle units under Gerhard von Schwerin capture the convoy and the two generals. The Germans quickly spirit the two bemused officers to imprisonment in Italy, along with a travelling companion and now fellow prisoner Brigadier John Combe.

The 9th Australia Division, which starred in Operation Compass against the Italians, now is in rapid retreat against the Germans. It falls back into Tobruk, considered the most defensible position in Libya. Joining it are what remains of the 2nd Armored Division which had been holding the front, along with the 3 Indian Motor Brigade. The Australians and others have no interest in evacuating through the port, but rather intend to make a stand in the same place that they themselves captured in January.

Rommel's forces close the pincer on Mechili between Italian and German troops and capture about 3000 British soldiers. Rommel leads from the front, as is his habit. Afrika Korps also takes Msus. One might think that this would be viewed by headquarters as a monumental victory - but in Berlin, the high command is dismayed that so many British have escaped to Tobruk.

Convoy AC 3 departs from Alexandria bound for Tobruk, Convoy AG 11 (five British ships) departs from Alexandria bound for Suda Bay. The latter convoy, AG 11, is intended to beef up the British military presence on Crete.

6 April 1941 worldwartwo.filminspector.com Joseph Goebbels radio broadcast
Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels reads out Adolf Hitler's Order of the Day, 6 April 1941.
Battle of the Indian Ocean: Operation Marita has repercussions around the globe. The Vichy French on Madagascar seize a number of Greek freighters:
  • 4669-ton freighter Maroussio Logotheti
  • 4391-ton freighter Yiannis
The French impress the ships into their own service and rename them Duquesne and Amiral Pierra, respectively.

Battle of the Pacific: Australian Heavy cruiser HMAS Australia has an accident while launching its Seagull floatplane. The catapult fails and the plane crashes, killing the pilot and seriously injuring the two others on board.

Soviet/Yugoslavian Relations: While the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia date their friendship/nonaggression treaty document 5 April 1941, it is not until 01:30 today that the two parties actually sign it. This is not unusual in diplomatic circles; in fact, the famous Ribbentrop/Molotov Agreement of 23 August 1939 actually was signed at 02:00 on the 24th. However, some read hidden meaning into this date issue, viewing it as a way for the USSR to avoid appearing to time the document during the German invasion of Yugoslavia. There are two problems with this: the Soviets like to have versions typed and dated and signed later as their typical practice (it takes a lot of typist time and effort to keep reformatting things in multiple copies), and there is no evidence whatsoever that the Soviets know that the Germans will launch their Balkans invasions about 4 hours later. It is, though, a possibility that they do know and want to avoid offending Germany.

Holocaust: The Germans in Poland transfer 1021 prisoners incarcerated at Pawlak Prison in Warsaw to Auschwitz. This includes many prisoners who are there for ordinary crimes. For instance, five famous actors (in Poland) incarcerated for murdering a pro-German actor are among those transferred to the death camp.

American Homefront: Craig Wood, 39, wins golf's Masters Tournament. It is his first Major victory after losing all four Majors at various times in extra holes.

6 April 1941 worldwartwo.filminspector.com Yugoslavians surrendering
Yugoslavian infantry surrendering, 6 April 1941 (German Federal Archive: Bild 146-1975-036-24).
April 1941

April 1, 1941: Rommel Takes Brega
April 2, 1941:Rommel Takes Agedabia
April 3, 1941: Convoy SC-26 Destruction
April 4, 1941: Rommel Takes Benghazi
April 5, 1941: Rommel Rolling
April 6, 1941: Operation Marita
April 7, 1941: Rommel Takes Derna
April 8, 1941: Yugoslavia Crumbling
April 9, 1941: Thessaloniki Falls
April 10, 1941: USS Niblack Attacks
April 11, 1941: Good Friday Raid
April 12, 1941: Belgrade and Bardia Fall
April 13, 1941: Soviet-Japanese Pact
April 14, 1941: King Peter Leaves
April 15, 1941: Flying Tigers
April 16, 1941: Battle of Platamon
April 17, 1941: Yugoslavia Gone
April 18, 1941: Me 262 First Flight
April 19, 1941: London Smashed
April 20, 1941: Hitler's Best Birthday
April 21, 1941: Greek Army Surrenders
April 22, 1941: Pancevo Massacre
April 23, 1941: CAM Ships
April 24, 1941: Battle of Thermopylae
April 25, 1941: Operation Demon
April 26, 1941: Operation Hannibal
April 27, 1941: Athens Falls
April 28, 1941: Hitler Firm about Barbarossa
April 29, 1941: Mainland Greece Falls
April 30, 1941: Rommel Attacks

2020

Thursday, November 10, 2016

November 7, 1940: Galloping Gertie

Thursday 7 November 1940

7 November 1940 worldwartwo.filminspector.com Tacoma Narrows Bridge Galloping Gertie
"Galloping Gertie" in its last moments.
Italian/Greek Campaign: The slow Italian advance against stiffening Greek resistance reaches its point of maximum advance along the coast on 7 November 1940. The Italians that have crossed the Kalamas River reach Margariti, Greece. On the Greek side, the Thesprotia Sector begins receiving reinforcements from Katsimitros. On the other fronts, the situation remains unchanged, with the Greeks gradually destroying the remnants of the Julia Division on the Pindus front.

The RAF raids Valona, Albania, a big Valona airbase. The planes come in low and strafe the field in addition to bombing it.

European Air Operations: After dark, RAF Bomber Command sends 50 bombers against the Krupp munitions factory at Essen, synthetic oil installations at Cologne, Dusseldorf blast furnaces, the Oberhausen docks in the Dortmund-Ems Canal, the port of Duisburg, Dunkirk Harbor, Lorient U-boat installations, and various airfields in northwestern Europe.

The Luftwaffe attacks across the Thames Estuary and sends two attacks against Portsmouth. The attacks accomplish little. After dark, the Luftwaffe concentrates on London, hitting a children's hospital, and sends a few bombers against the Midlands and southwest. Overall, the Luftwaffe loses seven planes and the RAF five.

Ten-victory ace Wilhelm Müller is killed in combat over England.

7 November 1940 worldwartwo.filminspector.com Tacoma Narrows Bridge Galloping Gertie
The Tacoma Narrows Bridge giving a vivid demonstration of the aeroelastic principle and resonance.
Battle of the Atlantic: The Luftwaffe (KGr 506) attacks Convoy FS 28. It bombs and damages 1673 ton British freighter Astrologer. The crew manages to beach the ship, but a storm wrecks it on the 15th. Everyone survives. Other ships in the convoy also are damaged: 1993 ton British freighter Dago II and 2163 ton British freighter Medee. The Germans lose a Junkers Ju 88 to gunfire from sloop HMS Egret, which takes some damage.

British 2645 ton freighter Herland hits a mine and sinks in the Thames Estuary northeast of Sheerness, Kent. There are 18 deaths.

Free French 350 ton auxiliary minesweeper Poulmic hits a mine and sinks in the English Channel off Plymouth, Devon. There are 7 survivors and 11 men perish.

Royal Navy 99 ton trawler HMT Reed hits a mine and sinks in the North Sea off Clacton-on-Sea, Essex. All 15 onboard perish.

Royal Navy 364 ton trawler HMT William Wesney hits a mine and sinks in the North Sea off Felixstowe, Suffolk. There are five men dead, the survivors are picked up by HMS Sheldrake and two nearby trawlers.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Swordfish hits a mine and sinks in the English Channel off St. Catherine's Point, Isle of Wight. All 41 crew perish.

Working in conjunction, an RAF Supermarine Walrus and destroyer HMS Milford damage Vichy French submarine Poncelet off Gabon. The submarine manages to surface, and then the crew scuttles the sub later. The crew is picked up by HMS Foxhound and Fortune except for Commander de Saussine, who intentionally goes down with his ship.

Early in the morning just past midnight, German torpedo boat T-6 hits a mine and sinks in the North Sea forty miles off Kinnaird Head, Aberdeenshire. The torpedo boat is traveling with several other torpedo boats ( T.1, T.4, T.9, T.10 of the 1st Torpedo Boat Flotilla and T.6, T.7, T.8 of the 2nd Torpedo Boat Flotilla) operating out of Trondheim on a sweep off the Scottish coast. T=7 and T-8 pick up the survivors and then head back to France.

Royal Navy submarine Utmost, damaged in the Bay of Biscay on the 6th in a "friendly fire" incident by HMS Encounter, makes it to Gibraltar.

Convoy FS 330 departs from Methil.

U-551 (Kapitänleutnant Karl Schrott) is commissioned.

Royal Navy minesweeper HMS Bangor (J 00, Commander Jack Peterson) is commissioned.

American submarine USS Gar is launched. It has been sponsored by the wife of  Rear Admiral George Pettengill.

7 November 1940 worldwartwo.filminspector.com USS Gar
USS Gar is launched.
Battle of the Mediterranean: The Italians attempt to retake Gallabat, on the Abyssinia/Sudan border, which the British have just taken. There are fierce dogfights overhead. The 10th Indian Brigade which took the base finally retreats under pressure due to tank losses and RAF losses. At the end of the day, the Italians occupy the town.

Force H departs from Gibraltar, led by the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal and battleship HMS Barham. The Barham actually leads a separate group that will split off from Force H. This is Force F, and it is carrying 2000 troops to Malta. The Italians are aware of these movements and send three destroyers to intercept Force F.

At Malta, Governor Dobbie sends a letter to Secretary of State for War. He expresses the impression that "it would not take a great deal to get the Italians to quit." He suggests replacing the large Wellingtons operating on the island with Blenheims (two of the Wellingtons recently crashed upon take-off).

7 November 1940 worldwartwo.filminspector.com Soviet T-35 tank
A multi-turret Soviet tank T-35 Model 1939, in the 7 November 1940 October Revolution parade.
Battle of the Pacific: British refrigerated freighter Cambridge hits a mine in eastern approaches of the Bass Strait. The mine recently was laid by German raider Pinguin. There are 55 survivors and one man perishes. HMAS Orara picks up the survivors.

The Pinguin and the Passat head for a pre-arranged meeting 700 miles west of Perth in the middle of the Indian Ocean.

Spy Stuff: Tyler Kent, a cipher clerk at the US Embassy, is convicted of espionage in the Central Criminal Court in the Old Bailey. He is sentenced to seven years.

Anglo/Irish Relations: Irish Taoiseach Éamon de Valera refuses a British request that it be allowed to use naval ports and airfields in Ireland.

7 November 1940 worldwartwo.filminspector.com Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford takes in the National Horse Show. 7 November 1940. Say what you will about the old days, folks knew how to dress.
German Military: OKH Chief of Staff General Franz Halder has a meeting with Colonel Heusinger and his adjutant, Major Gehlen. They review Heusinger's preliminary plans to invade Greece from Bulgaria, as adjusted by Halder. Key issues are the fact that German troops would have a long march through Poland or Hungary and through Romania. Once they reached Bulgaria, moreover, the launching points themselves would be remote and conspicuous to the enemy. In addition, the Greeks have fortified the border with the "Metaxas Line" chain of barriers and fortresses. Even after the German troops broke through this line, they would be far removed from their allies, the Italian troops in the west, and require breaking out of Thrace over inhospitable terrain. This would create supply issues, no small matter with an advance by 100,000 men or more. Thus, the Wehrmacht would face large problems even before they began the campaign.

All of these issues point to a single solution: take the short route through Yugoslavia. That is something that Hitler already has considered, and of course, the decision rests with him. This all eventually comes under the rubric of Operation Marita.

Gabon: Free French troops of the Foreign Legion land at Libreville. They arrive in troopships Fort Lamy, Casamance, and Nevada. These troops are necessary to complete the conquest of the territory, as Vichy French troops still control key areas. The Free French forces are under the command of Colonel Leclerc.

The Vichy naval forces are operating in the area. Submarine Poncelet attacks troopship Milford but misses. It then is attacked as described above under "Battle of the Atlantic."

Australia: In the "Blue Draft," which is the training of RAAF pilots in Canada, Draft No. 3, which had embarked at Sydney on 16 October, arrives in Vancouver.


7 November 1940 worldwartwo.filminspector.com Tacoma Narrows Bridge Galloping Gertie

American Homefront: Pursuant to the meeting between engineering Professor F. Bert Farquharson of the University of Washington and state engineers on 6 November, state bureaucrats are drafting up contracts to modify the brand-new Tacoma Narrows Bridge. Farquharson recommends installing wind deflectors in order to disperse the effect of the strong gales that sweep down the river valley during the fall change of seasons.

Professor Farquharson has found from studying scale models of the bridge that these winds can cause extreme oscillations in the bridge deck, vertical wave motions that cause the roadway to "bounce." Well, you learn something new every day, right? Farquharson's studies, however, have taken about eight months to complete and lasted into the high-wind autumn season that is most dangerous.

The condition, which has given the bridge the nickname "Galloping Gertie," has been noticed by bridge workers and others even before the bridge was completed. Now, with all of their boxes checked - formal study completed, a conference held to discuss the issue, higher officials notified and so forth - state engineers finally take steps to correct the issue. They understand the urgency and plan to implement the remedies within ten days, which is an extreme speed for such a massive project which requires making architectural sketches, obtaining steel and other materials, and finding workers.

At this point, Mother Nature intervenes. Before dawn, the winds pick up from the southwest. As it has before, the Tacoma Narrows bridge begins undulating, or "galloping." These are not small waves - some are as high as 5 feet high. The wind speed increases after daylight and reaches 38 miles per hour at 07:30 and 42 mph at 09:30. The chief bridge engineer drives across the bridge at 08:30 and decides that the undulations, while noticeable, are not as large as in some previous instances.

Professor Farquharson arrives at 09:30 from Seattle and begins filming the bridge for his engineering study, with no notification that anything unusual is in store. The undulations are so intense that a college student walks out on the bridge around this time "for a thrill" and to watch a coast guard ship, the Atlanta, pass under it. Just before 10:00, the last few vehicles pay their tolls and start driving across. At 10:30, the bridge adds a lateral twisting motion to the vertical oscillations. The movements seem to feed on each other (resonance), and the undulations reach 28 feet, with the roadway tilting 45 degrees.

The State Police close the bridge, but there are people still on it, some clinging to the railings for their lives. One of the cars gets tossed against the curb, and the driver crawls on the roadway toward one of the towers. The Tacoma News Tribune hears about the situation and sends out a photographer. At 10:30, the bridge starts coming apart, with concrete chunks falling into the river.

The winds die down for a little while but soon pick back up again. At around 11:00, the bridge span begins to rip apart. The entire span then starts ripping from the cables which hold it up. Farquharson, who has run onto the bridge to save a dog left in a car, runs for his life as the bridge starts oscillating in 60-foot waves (the dog, Tubby, wedges himself under the seat, biting the owner who tries to get him out). The entire bridge then twists apart and crashes into the river at around 11:10.

The event receives world-wide attention due to the excellent color filming of the collapse. American POWs in the jungles of southeast Asia a few years later report being ribbed about the incident by their guards, who find it quite amusing. The bridge only lasted four months. Incidentally, the concrete remains of the bridge that fell into the river remain in situ, forming a natural reef. New bridges with better wind tolerance have replaced the collapsed bridge.


November 1940

November 1, 1940: Hitler Irate
November 2, 1940: U-31 Sunk - Again
November 3, 1940: Kretschmer's Master Class
November 4, 1940: Spain Absorbs Tangier
November 5, 1940: Jervis Bay Meets Admiral Scheer
November 6, 1940: San Demetrio Incident
November 7, 1940: Galloping Gertie
November 8, 1940: Italian Shakeup in Greece
November 9, 1940: Dutch Fascists March
November 10, 1940: Fala and Doc Strange
November 11, 1940: Taranto Raid
November 12, 1940: Molotov Takes Berlin
November 13, 1940: Molotov Foils Hitler
November 14, 1940: Moonlight Sonata
November 15, 1940: Warsaw Ghetto Sealed
November 16, 1940: France Keeps Battleships
November 17, 1940: Malta Hurricane Disaster
November 18, 1940: Hitler Berates Ciano
November 19, 1940: Birmingham Devastated
November 20, 1940: Hungary Joins Axis
November 21, 1940: Dies White Paper
November 22, 1940: Italians Take Korçë
November 23, 1940: U-Boat Bonanza!
November 24, 1940: Slovakia Joins In
November 25, 1940: Molotov's Demands
November 26, 1940: Bananas Be Gone
November 27, 1940: Cape Spartivento Battle
November 28, 1940: Wick Perishes
November 29, 1940: Trouble in Indochina
November 30, 1940: Lucy and Desi Marry

2020