Clark Gable Actor

 

A film legend who went AWOL from Hollywood in favor of the USAF

Hollywood has plenty of actors and actresses who have served their 
country in the United States military over the years. Jimmy Stewart, 
Humphrey Bogart, Paul Newman, Charlton Heston, Kirk Douglas, Henry Fonda... 
the list is lengthy.

Elvis Pressley probably had the highest-profile stint in the Army. 
The King of Rock and Roll got plenty of attention from the international 
press when he did an 18-month hitch in Germany in the 1950s.

But it’s doubtful any Hollywood actor — A-lister or otherwise — 
could quite match the unique military legacy of leading man Clark 
Gable. Gable had already soared to the peak of the acting world, 
starring in “Gone with the Wind” and winning an Academy Award for 
“It Happened One Night” by the time the United States was forced 
to jump into the World War II fray.

Gable was 41 years old and had recently lost his third wife, Carole 
Lombard, in a plane crash when he made the startling decision to halt 
his film career and join the Air Force. He was past the draft age at 
the time, but enlisted as a private in August of 1942 in Los Angeles. 
It was shocking news in Hollywood — can you picture Tom Cruise or Brad 
Pitt pulling the plug today and saying they wanted to give up their 
day jobs and head  to Basic Training?. Why would a Hollywood

Gable was sent to Officer Candidate School at Miami Beach, Fla., 
graduating as a second lieutenant. From there he went to aerial 
gunnery school and was eventually assigned to the 351st Bomb 
Group at Polebrook, England. Though he could have opted out of 
flying on any combat missions, Gable flew in at least five such
missions in B-17s, at least some of which he used to get footage 
for a film he was making for the military.

             |

His overseas stint ended in October of 1943 and he was relieved 
from active duty in June of 1944 after reaching the rank of major. 
By that point he was over the maximum age for combat. When he 
resumed his movie career, he was no longer able to fulfill all his 
AAF Reserve time commitments and resigned his commission in September 
1947.

One thing is certain about Gable, he knew how to pose for a photo!
He no doubt was the subject of many more portrait photo shoots 
than the average Air Force crewman, and the Hollywood alpha male 
knew how to look great in front of a camera. In addition to his 
posed studio shots, there are many fabulous photos of him hanging 
out of plane windows, saluting and doing other cool stuff that 
collectors and enthusiasts can enjoy. Nice photos of Gable in 
his uniform can be found for as cheap as $9.99, all the way up 
to $200-plus for vintage originals. Clark Gable, Hollywood stud, 
and military man. No matter how you treated Scarlett O'Hara, we salute you! *

HOW BRITAIN IS WINNING THE U-BOAT WAR

Remarking how strange a thing it was for him to sit at the Admiralty again after a
quarter of a century and find himself ‘* moving over the same course against the same
enemy,’’ Mr. Winston Churchill on 26th September  gave the House of Commons
this spirited and highly encouraging account of the anti-submarine campaign.

R. CHURCHILL began by saying that the war at sea opened with some
intensity. Then he reviewed in masterly fashion the various aspects of
the campaign, extracts from his speech being printed here.

All our ships were going about the world in the ordinary way when they were set upon
by lurking U-boats carefully posted beforehand. In the first week our losses in tonnage were
half the weekly losses of the month of April, 1917, which was tho peak year of the
U-boat attack in the late war.

That was a very serious proportion. We immediately replied in three ways. First. we
set in motion the convoy system. This could be very quickly done for all the outgoing ships, but
it took a fortnight to organize from the other end a convoy of homeward-bound ships. This
convoy system is now in full operation both ways.

The convoy system is a good and well-tried defence against U-boat attack, but no one can
pretend that it is a complete defence. Some degree of risk and a steady proportion of losses
must be expected

There are also other forms of attack besides U-boats—attack by surface craft and attack
from the air—against which we must be upon our guard. Every precaution is being made to
cope with such attack, but we cannot guarantee immunity. We must expect further losses.

Arming the Mercantile Marine
Our second reply to the U-boat attack is to arm all our merchant vessels and
fast liners with defensive armament both against the U-boat and the aeroplane. For a
fortnight past armed ships have been continually leaving the harbours of this
island in large numbers. Some go in convoy, some go independently.
This applies not only to the United Kingdom but to our ports all over the world.

Thus, in a short time, the immense mercantile marine of the British Empire will be armed.
As we usually have 2,000 ships in salt water every day, this is a considerable operation.
All the guns and equipment are ready at the various arming stations, together with a pro-
portion of trained gunners to man them and give instruction ...

Our third reply is, of course, the British attack upon the U-boat. This is being delivered with
the utmost vigour and intensity.

A large number of attacks have been made by our flotillas and hunting craft. There are, of
course, many false alarms, some of them of a comical character, but it is no exaggeration to
say that attacks upon German U-boats have been five or six times as numerous as in any equal
period in the Great War, when, after all, they did not beat us.

The Prime Minister mentioned last week the figure of six or seven U-boats destroyed. That
was, as he said, probably an under-estimate, and since then we had some fruitful days.

One-Tenth of U-Boat Strength Destroyed
But even taking six or seven as a safe figure, that is one-tenth of the total enemy sub-
marine fleet destroyed during the first fortnight of the war, and it is probably o quarter,
or perhaps even a third, of all U-boats which are being actively employed. All these vessels—
those sunk and those which have escaped—have subjected themselves to what is said to be the
most trying ordeal any man can undergo in wartime. A large proportion never return home,
and those who do have grim tales to tell.

The British attack upon the U-boats is only just beginning. Our hunting forces are getting
stronger every day. By the end of October we expect to have three times the hunting forces
which operated at the outbreak of war, while at the same time the number of targets open to
U-boats upon the vast expanse of the seas and oceans will be greatly reduced by the use of
convoys, and the U-boats’ means of attacking them will become heavily clogged and fettered.

In all this very keen and stern warfare the Royal Air Force and Fleet Air Arm have
played an important part, both in directing and hunting destroyers upon their quarry and in
actually attacking it themselves,

It was to bridge the gap between what we had ready at the beginning and what we have
ready now that the Admiralty decided to use the aircraft carriers with some freedom in
order to bring in the unarmed, unorganized, unconveyed traffic which was then approaching
our shores in large numbers . . .

In the first week our losses by U-boat sinkings amounted to 65,000 tons, in the second to
46,000 tons, and in the third to 21,000 tons.
In the last six days we have lost 9,000 tons...
 Meanwhile, the whole vast business of our world-wide trade continues without appreciable
diminution or interruption. Great convoys of troops are escorted to their various destinations.
The enemy ships and commerce have been swept from the seas. Over 2,000,000 tons of German
shipping is sheltering in German or interned in neutral harbours.

Our system of contraband and control is being perfected, and so far as the first fortnight
of the war is concerned we have actually arrested, seized and converted to our own use
67,000 tons more German merchandise than have been sunk in ships of our own.

Even in oil, where we were unlucky in losing some tankers, we have lost 60,000 tons in the
first fortnight and have gained 50,000 tons from the enemy, apart from the enormous additional
stores brought safely in in the ordinary way.

Again I reiterate my caution against over-sanguine deductions. We have, however, in
fact got more supplies in this war, this afternoon, than we should lave had if no war had been
declared and if no U-boats had come into action. I am not going beyond the limits of prudent
statement when I say that at that rate it will take a long time to starve us out.

Hard and Bitter U-Boat War
Now I must speak about the character of this warfare. From time to time the German
U-boat commanders have tried their best to behave with humanity. We have seen them
give good warning and also endeavour to help the crews to find their way to port.
One German captain signaled to me personally the position in which the British ship was
sunk, and urged that rescue should be sent. He signed his message ‘‘ German submarine.”’
I was in doubt at the time to what address I should direct the reply. However, he is now in
our hands, and is treated with all consideration.

But many cruel and ruthless acts have been done, continued Mr. Churchill. There was the
“Athenia” .... There was the “ Hazelside,” 12 of whose sailors were killed by surprise gunfire
in an ordinary ship, whose captain died in so gallant a fashion, going down with his vessel.

We cannot at all recognize this type of warfare as other than contrary to all the long-
accepted traditions of the sea and to the laws of war to which the Germans have in recent
years so lustily subscribed. . . .

In all the far-reaching control that we ourselves are exercising upon the movements of
contraband no neutral ship has ever been put in danger and no law recognized among civilized
nations has been contravened. Even when German ships have deliberately sunk themselves
we have so far succeeded in rescuing their crews.

All the more we respect the resolute spirit of the officers and men of the mercantile marine,
who put to sea with alacrity, sure that they are discharging a duty indispensable to the life of
their island home.

Massacre at Malmedy 17th December 1944

Malmedy, Belgium -- In a snow covered field three miles from this town lie the bodies
of 100 or more American soldiers - prisoners of war who were murdered by the Germans
on the first day of Marshal Karl von Rundstedt's counter-offensive along the Western Front.
Their frozen corpses may still be where they fell; with "some of the bodies lying across other
bodies," as German PWs later described the scene. We do not know whether the Nazis even
extended them a decent burial. for the region is still in enemy hands. But we do know the details
of the massacre carried out in open violation of the Geneva Convention.

Early in the afternoon of 17th December 1944, a convoy of Battery B of a Field Artillery observation
battalion was moving along three miles south of Malmedy on the road leading to St. Vith
about 300 yards beyond the crossroad of the cut-off to St.Vith, the convoy was hit by enemy
rifleman, machinegunners and mortarmen hidden in the surrounding woods. All the Americans
vehicles halted immediately.

The men jumped off and took cover in the ditches lining both sides of the road. Several minutes
later they were flushed out from their hiding places by Tiger Tanks from a German armoured
column which lumbered along the ditches spraying machine-gun fire. Other tanks quickly
knocked out some 24 American trucks and other vehicles. Armed with only small weapons,
the Americans were taken prisoner.

The Germans had earlier captured some other Americans, among them five MPs, two ambulance
drivers, a mess sergeant, several medical members of an armoured reconnaissance outfit.
All the prisoners - there were about 150 - were herded up the road where they were searched
and stripped of their pocketbooks, watches, gloves, cigarettes and weapons. There captors
ordered them to line up in a snow cover field !!south of the crossroads.

While the Americans were lining up, an enemy half-track mounting an 88 gun tried to swing
around to cover them but couldn't. Instead the Germans parked tanks at either end of the field,
the prisoners. Just then a German command car drew up. The German officer in the car stood up,
took deliberate aim with a pistol at an American medical officer in the front rank of the
prisoners and fired. As the medical officer fell, the German fired again and another American
dropped.

Immediately two tanks at the end of the field opened up with their machine guns on the
defenseless prisoners, some of them noncombatant Medical Corps men with medic brassards
and Red Cross - marked helmets. All of the prisoners in the field were standing with
their hands raised over their heads.

When the massacre started, the unwounded dropped to the ground along with those who had
been shot. Flat on their stomachs with their faces pushed into the snow and mud, the Americans
were raked by machine - gun and small-arms fire from a column of tanks which had begun to
move along the road 25 yards away. Each of the 25 to 50 Tiger Tanks and half-tracks took
its turn firing on the prostrate group.

One tank and several German soldiers were left behind to finish off those who had not been killed.
killed. The Nazi guards walked among the American soldiers shooting those who were groaning
in agony. They kicked others in the faces to see if they were really dead or just faking. Those
who moved were shot in the head.

One American medic got up to bandage the wounds of a seriously injured man from his own
company-aid unit. The Nazis permitted him to finish the work, shot both him and the patient.
Fortunately the guards were not too thorough in their search for American who were
not pretending to be dead. Several of the prisoners had not been wounded at all and
others were only slightly wounded. About an hour after the armoured column left, several
survivors -including some of the wounded - decided to make a break for freedom. Fifteen
men made the first attempt. While the guards were some distance away they jumped up and ran
north along the road to Malmedy amid machine gun fire from their surprised guards. At the
crossroads they were fired on by another machine-gun crew stationed there. This frightened
12 of the escapees to take cover in a nearby house while the other three continued to the woods.
The house was a death trap for the 12 Americans. Closing in on their victims, the Germans
set up a machine gun in front of the building which they then set on fire. As the Americans
tried to escape through the door and windows of the blazing building, they were mowed down.
All died there, buried beneath the falling walls.
The three who had continued running hid in the woods until dark, then made their escape.
After the first break, several other prisoners made similar attempts. Some succeeded in getting
back to the American lines while others were killed. Most of the successful breaks were
made after dark. Some of the wounded did not make the attempt until midnight, after lying in
snow for 11 hours or longer.

Or the approximately 150 American prisoners rounded up as human targets for the Nazi
marksmen, only 43 are definitely known to have escaped the German. slaughter, and more
than three-quarters of these were wounded. Only 25 men of Battery B's roster of 138 have been
reported safe.
There may be others but this is improbable, as the area is still in German hands.
As is customery in all atrocity cases, the Inspector General's Department of the Army made
an immediate investigation to determine the authenticity of the stories told by the survivors. Five
wounded soldiers were interviewed less than 12 hours after their ordeal when the details were
still fresh in their minds. Thirty-two men were found to coincide in all except minor details. The
Inspector General's Department has released some of the survivors statements with the
guarantees that they are an essentially correct account of want happened on 17th December in the
snow-covered field 13 miles south of Malmedy. Questioning of German prisoners later verified
most of the story told by the Americans.

Here is the testimony of Theodore Jay Paducah, as recorded and certified by the Inspector
General's Department: "Battery B of a Field Artillery observation battalion was in a convoy
going south from Malmedy. They stopped the convoy at 1330 when mortar fire was heard. We
got out of the trucks and jumped in a ditch beside the vehicles. Then some men took off when
they saw they were being captured. They (the Germans) took watches gloves and cigarettes from
prisoners, then put us inside a fence. Tanks passed for 15 minutes.
Everything was all right until a command car turned the corner. At that time an officer in the
command car fired a shot with his pistol at medical officer who was one yard to my left.
Then he fired another shot to my right. At that time a tank following the command car opened
fire on approximately 175 men inside the fence.
We all fell and lay as still as we could. Every tank that passed from then on would fire into
the group laying there. At one time they came around with pistols and fired at every officer
that had bars showing. An officer put mud on his helmet to cover his bars.
The tanks stopped passing about 1445, at 1500 someone said : 'Let's go.' At that time 15
men got up and started to run north from where we were lying on the other side of the road.
Twelve of the men ran into a house (at the north-western part of the crossroads) and three of us
kept going.
There was a machine gun at the crossroads plus four Germans. When we got in back of the
house they couldn't fire the machine gun at us. They burned the house down into which the 12 men ran.
When the three of us were in back of the house we played dead again because a German
in a black uniform came around with a pistol, looking us over. We lay there until dark when
we rolled to a hedgerow where we weren't under observation. Laying there was a staff sergeant
from -- Division, shot in the arm. We started to walk but stayed 200 to 300 yards from the main
road. In about a quarter of a mile we met a medic who was shot in the foot and also a fellow from
my outfit. Four of us came into Malmedy."

A first lieutenant who was wounded and therefore must remain unidentified was the only
Battery B officer available for questioning by the Inspector General's Department. Here is the summary:
"We made a turn to the right of the crossroads to head to St. Vith. We got about 300 yards
down the road and at that time artillery, mortar and small-fire opened up on our echelon.
The fire seemed to come from the east and southeast. Some of the men got out on the road with
their hands up. They told me a (German) tank was coming down the road. Naturally, small arms
was all we had. We put our hands up and they approached.
One of the Officers in the tank stuck his head out and was going to shook me, but I changed my
position and started to shoot at the captain instead. He missed both times. I jumped into a
ditch which was nearby.

At this time about three or four tanks came down the road. They told us to take off to the
rear of the column and questioned some of the men about watches jewelery and such things. My
medical corporal requested permission to give first aid to the wounded was refused.
While we were in the field an officer shot into those of us who were not wounded. We fell
to the ground and lay there motionless while they continued to shoot into the crowd. It was
withering fire. I was wounded twice in the foot while lying on the field. Apparently satisfied that
group left. Then after a while more German soldiers came up the road. As they passed the field
they took pot shots at us. We were lying in the field about an hour or hour and a half. Then
we made a break for it. I found shelter in a barn.
No man in our group tried to make a break before we were first fired upon. We had our arms
over our heads. None of us had any weapons while in the field."

One member of a Field Artillery unit, T-5 Warren R. Schmitt, escaped the massacre by
crawling into a small stream and covering himself with grass and mud. After his convoy was
stopped, Schmitt jumped into a ditch along with his battery mates. But as motar and machine-gun
fire increased, he sought shelter in a stream only one foot deep. He reached this stream, 40
feet from the road, by crawling on his stomach. Estimating that the Germans had 40 Tiger Tanks,
Schmitt said in a sworn statement:
"They stopped our convoy, and men in black uniforms dismounted and began rounding up
prisoners. I submerged myself in the stream and covered myself with grass and mud so that I
wasn't captured. All during this time I was laying in a stream and playing dead. I don't know
whether they saw me or not. For about an hour after they first started firing into the group of
prisoners all of the tanks that passed fired into them. Forty half-tracks that passed fired also.

The testimony of the German PWs captured after the massacre has substantiated the account
of these atrocities given by the Americans who escaped. Here is an extract
of the testimony given by one German prisoner of the 1st Panzer Division:
"On 17th December 1944 at around 3:30p.m., I saw approximately 50 dead
American soldiers lying in a field near an intersection where paved roads radiated in three
directions. This point was near Malmedy and between two or three kilometers from Stavelot.
The bodies were between 30 and 40 metres from the road and were lying indiscriminately on the
ground. In some instances the bodies were lying across each other. There was a burning house at
the intersection and a barn and a shed. I also saw a line of disabled Jeeps and trucks on the
 road near this house. I did not stop at the scene, but continued on with my organization."
Questioning of the German PWs together with the description of SS uniforms and insignia supplied
by Americans, has convinced First Army officials that members of the SS Panzer Division are
responsible for this atrocity at Malmedy.


Most of the Germans in the particular company involved are believed to have been
killed in the recent battle against Americans forces in eastern Belgium.
One German prisoner, a member of the 1st SS Panzer Division, but not of the particular outfit
that carried out the massacre, when asked if the appearance of the bodies had made any
impression on him, replied: "It was such an unusual sight. I thought it was murder." Another
German, told of the killing by fellow prisoners, said: "I have no idea why this was done, There
are people among us who find joy in such atricities."

THE BITTER BAYONET OF COLONEL BIDDLE

 Cold Steel!

Sixteen inches of steel at the end of a rifle can be a lease on life when
“Assault Fire" comes and men tight hand-to-hand, no holds barred.
The bayonet is the last souvenir of days when men slugged it out
with sword and battle-axe. Artillery and automatic weapons kill at
a distance. chemicals sometimes inflict casualties days after first released.

There is nothing delicate or deceiving about a bayonet. Grooved
for blood letting and cast for bitter service, it is a fearful weapon in the
hands of a trained fighter. It is the weapon of the individual
soldier. It is vicious. And it is still important in warfare of tanks and
mechanized equipment. Today we fight not in masses but in combat
teams in which every man is a unit within himself.

The supposedly-expert Jap felt American steel burn on Bataan.
Those same Japs have been accused by Chiang Kai-Shek's guerillas of
refusing the challenge of man-to-man fight. But if the Jap‘s courage
to face steel is questioned, his training in the weapon is not. He is
drilled incessantly in its use. British Commandos have developed the
bayonet and a dozen variations of it. Their use of steel is as
great as the German's aversion to it.
The long, thin blade of the Russian soldier has helped withstand
Hitler on the Eastern Front.

The bayonet cannot and does not pretend to be more effective than
fire power. But as long as there are armies there will be bayonets, be-
cause where there are armies men will come together in personal combat.

In that kind of fight steel wins. From time immemorial, it has
been the same. Caesar had his battle pikes, and what were they but
bayonets when you come to think of it. In the Middle Ages, they had
their swords, and swords slash like bayonets.

You know the part the bayonet played in the World War_ The part
it played in China.

A pot-bellied fellow with eagles on his shoulders and store teeth
upstairs pointed his bayoneted Springfield Id toward a hard boiled
infantry regiment at Ft. Bragg.
“All right, now," he shouted,
"kill me."
Nobody moved.
The chicken-claws pointed to the ranks.
“You, come and get me.“ But the kid he singled out was scared.
“Dammit, I want you to cut my throat.“
The Private made a half hearted bayonet thrust. .

Don't Be Yellow “You're yellow," the Colonel
yelled, prancing up and down in his black sneakers. “I want a man
who's not afraid to kill. Step out, you there," he commanded a tough-
looking 30-year-old sergeant. The buck stepped from the ranks.

“Now come running at me with your bayonet," he ordered, "and go
for my throat."
The sergeant wet his lips. He clenched his gun and lunged full
speed at the Colonel's neck. Col. Anthony J. Drexel Biddle,
who knows more about bayonets, knives and ju jitsu than any other
man, partied the thrust with his own bayonet. Before the sergeant
could mumble, “Holy smoke," Biddle had his own bayonet alongside
the sergeant’s throat, and the big buck was sweating.
“That‘s how it‘s done," the Colonel said. “Now let’s all try it."

A leatherneck

Ever since World War I in which he saw actual service on a half
dozen fronts, Marine Corps Colonel Biddle, now 67, has been risking
his Adam's Apple on behalf of recruit training. Loaned to the Army
by the Marines, the former world's amateur heavyweight boxing
champion has taught the fundamentals of in-fighting to para-
chutists at Lakehurst, raider battalions at Quantico, and thousands
of camp trainees along the Eastern seaboard.

Of the scores of ambitious recruits who've tried to beat the old boy,
either in jiujitsu, wrestling, boxing, or bayoneting, only one succeeded.
A marine at Quantico supposedly got him in the groin with a knife.
Thus far no one has been able to locate a witness to the event or find
out the |narine's name. Marine Headquarters says, “So far as we
can determine, it never happened."

Biddle ls McCoy

The present crop of Army men he's trained swear by the Colonel.
“Biddle is the real McCoy,“ they say. “In one hour this old guy
teaches us more about bayonets and self-defense than we've learned
in a whole year. He really knows how to kill. Some of us who've been
in the artillery shooting shells five miles away never realized that
death could be dished out to us six inches away."

Private Joe Hill of Ft. Bragg, N. C., said: “I tried to get him my-
self today. You know what the old geezer did? He knocked the damn
gun outa my hand. I think this Biddle is nuts.
““Nuts?” another yardbird asked.
"Yeah," Hill answered. “Look at him. He's a Philadelphia Biddle.
He's got more money than you could shake a stick at. He's old
enough to be our grandfather. And still he wantsa risk his neck. I tell
you he's nuts. Only trouble with Army is that we ain't got more
nuts just like him.“

A Sentimental Cuss

At the other end of the pole, Biddle, despite his outward leatherneck
hard-heartedness, is sentimental about his charges. “All the
men in this new Army," he says, “are a great bunch of fellows, fine
boys to teach."

“Do you find many of them gun-shy," we asked, “or reluctant to use
a bayonet?"

Biddle reflected for a moment, closing his right eye. “Not many of
them. They're not like Mussolini's soldiers. When I come across a man
 who looks as if he might hesitate to use the knife on the enemy, I tell
him, ‘Son, when you meet a Jap in battle, say to him real fast, “How is
your dear old mother?" Then cut his throat.‘ "
“Does that help any?“
“Don't know exactly," replied the Colonel. “But it's good for their
conscience. . .special1y on Mother‘s Day."

 

Actor Jimmy Stewart USAAF

 

 

 

Colonel James Maitland Stewart - 8th USAAF
Jimmy Stewart, one of Hollywood’s biggest stars,
served with distinction as a bomber pilot in the U.S.
Army Air Forces during World War ll. Enlisting in 1941
Stewart was initially assigned to stateside training
roles but pushed for combat duty. He eventually
joined the 8th Air Force in England, commanding a
squadron of B-24 Liberators within the 445th Bomb
Group.

Stewart flew 20 combat missions over occupied
Europe, including dangerous bombing raids over key

targets such as Berlin and other industrial facilities in
Germany. Known for his leadership and humility, he
earned several commendations, including the
Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with
oak leaf clusters. He later served as the chief of staff
for the 2nd Combat Bombardment Wing.

Marienberg 1941

 Photo caption: "Sgt. [William] Loveland
operates a flame thrower as Sgt. [Ashley] Petit stands
by to assist him - near Aachen, Germany." This photo
was staged and likely taken in early November to show
the use of flamethrowers earlier in the Siegfried Line
campaign

An excerpt from the text of an actual employment of a
flamethrower by B Co.,117th Infantry. "The flamethrower
was carried by Private Andrew Chuckalovchak and
operated by Private Henry E. Hansen.

Hansen tested the flamethrower before he moved out,
and then advanced to the south side of the pillbox.
Hugging the wall, he worked around to the west side.
‘Two squirts did the trick there,‘ stated Hansen.

He then went to the north side and gave that embrasure
two additional squirts. Both Hansen and Chuckalovchak
decided it would be expedient to return at this point, but
Hansen, after he had reached the south side of the
pillbox, decided to take a quick look at the rear (east)
side again. One German seemed to be lying in wait there
for him, with raised pistol. Hansen was in position to
burn the German from the rear. One squirt caused the
enemy to whirl and one more full in the face caused him
to pitch forward into the open door of the pillbox."

Photo and text from "History of the 117th Infantry
1944-1945," published 1946, Army & Navy Publishing
Company

Who Was Violette Szabo?

 

During the Second World War, Szabo was recruited by
the Special Operations Executive (SOE) to work as an
agent in German-occupied Europe. She spoke fluent
French and was sent to France in 1944, having been
recruited as an agent in 1942.


Szabo joined the SOE’s ‘F’ Section after the death of
her husband Etienne, who had been fighting as part
of the French Foreign Legion in North Africa. On her
first mission to France in April 1944, she acted as
courier to Philippe Liewer, whose resistance network
in the Rouen area of France had been uncovered by
the Gestapo. Violette’s job was to try to and
re-establish contact with members of the network
and gather vital intelligence.

Her second mission began on 07th June 1944, the day
after D-Day. She, Liewer and another agent
parachuted into south-west France, near Limoges, to
set up a new network with local resistance groups.

Three days later Szabo was on a courier trip with a
resistance leader known as ‘Anastasie’ when they
encountered German forces. Their car was stopped
at a road block and a gun battle took place. \/iolette
was captured but helped ensure that Anastasie was
able to escape. After capture, Szabo was brutally
interrogated in Fresnes prison in Paris before being
deported by train to Germany. During the journey the
train was attacked by British aircraft, and Violette and
another female prisoner took the opportunity - at
great personal risk - to take water to the male
prisoners.

Szabo was executed at Ravensbruck concentration
camp in early 1945.

Szabo’s story and those of other SOE agents feature
in our exhibition ‘Spies, Lies and Deception’, currently
on at IWM London. See the link in our bio for more.

The first photo shows Szabo and the second shows
her daughter, Tania, receiving her mother's
posthumous George Cross, 28th January 1947.

Shifty Powers 101st US Airborne

 Band of Brother 101st Airborne 506

Born: 13th March  1923, Clinchco, Virginia, United States...
Died:  17th June 2009, Wellmont Bristol Regional
Medical Center
Place of burial: Temple Hill Memorial Park,
Castlewood, Virginia, United States

Award: Bronze Star Medal
Powers was born in Clinohoo, Virginia. His father was
an excellent rifle and pistol shot, and taught him how
to shoot when he was young. Shifty spent a great
deal of time in the outdoors, hunting game. He got to
the point where he could throw a coin in the air and
hit it with a rifle. Many of the skills he obtained helped
him as a soldier.

Powers graduated from high school and took
a machinist course in a vocational school in Norfolk
There he befriended Robert 'Popeye' Wynn, and the
two went to work in the shipyards in Portsmouth,

Virginia after finishing the course. When they found
out that they were about to be frozen to the jobs,

clarification needed] they went to sign up for the
Army. Powers enlisted on 14th August 1942,
at Richmond, Virginia.

Powers‘ nickname "Shifty" originated from his
basketball days and his ability to be 'shifty' on his
feet.
Staff Sergeant Darrell Cecil "Shifty" Powers (13th March
1923 — 17th June 2009) was a non-commissioned
officer with Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th
Parachute Infantry Regiment, in the 101 st Airborne
Division during World War ll. Powers was portrayed in
the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers by Peter
Young blood Hills.

Powers followed Easy Company to station
in Aldbourne, England. He was shocked to see that
the residents there were prepared to defend
themselves against the Germans with only garden
implements. He thought it would have been a
massacre if the Germans had indeed invaded
Aldbourne.

Powers jumped into Normandy on D-Day. Missing
his drop zone, he joined two others from the
company and the three linked up with Easy Company
several days later to fight in Carentan. Powers
participated in the Allied military operation Operation
Market Garden in the Netherlands.
Powers also fought in the Battle of the
Bulge in Belgium. On 29th December 1944, when Easy
Company was staying in the woods, Powers noticed
a tree that was not there just the day before and
reported it to First Sergeant Carwood

Alphonse Joseph Georges French Forces

 Alphonse Joseph Georges 

(15th, August 1875 in Allier, Montlucon - 24th April , 1951 in Paris)

 was a French army officer. He was commander in chief of the
North East Front in 1939 and 1940. Opposing the plan by
supreme commander Maurice Gamelin to move the best
Allied forces into the Low Countries, he was overruled.
Georges tried to allow as much initiative to his
subordinates as possible to improve operational
flexibility.
 

Kaiapit, Morobe, Papua New Guinea

Kaiapit, Morobe, Papua New Guinea

Members of the Australian 2/6th
Independent Company display Japanese flags they
captured at Kaiapit, 1943.

- The Battle of Kaiapit was an action fought in 1943
between Australian and Japanese forces in New
Guinea during the Markham and Ramu Valley —
Finisterre Range campaign of World War ll. Following
the landings at Nadzab and at Lae, the Allies attempted
to exploit their success with an advance into the upper
Markham Valley, starting with Kaiapit. The Japanese
intended to use Kaiapit to threaten the Allied position
at Nadzab, and to create a diversion to allow the
Japanese garrison at Lae time to escape. The Australian
2/6th Independent Company flew in to the Markham
Valley in 13 USAAF C-47 Dakotas, making a difficult
landing on a rough airstrip. Unaware that a much larger
Japanese force was also headed for Kaiapit, the
company attacked the village on 19 September to
secure the area so that it could be developed into an
airfield. The company then held it against a strong
counter-attack. During two days of fighting the
Australians defeated a larger Japanese force while
suffering relatively few losses. The Australian victory at
Kaiapit enabled the Australian 7th Division to be flown in
to the upper Markham Valley. It accomplished the 7th
Division's primary mission, for the Japanese could no
longer threaten Lae or Nadzab, where a major airbase
was being developed. The victory also led to the capture
of the entire Ramu Valley, which provided new forward
fighter airstrips for the air war against the Japanese.
 

B17 Bomber

 

 

 Months before the USA started its
participation in WW2, the B-17 four-engine bomber had
seen combat and had been shot down.
RAF’s Bomber Command acquired 20 B-17C ‘Fortress
I’ (photo) from the US in late 1940, flying their first
combat mission on 8th July 1941, (6 months before Pearl
Harbor), when three B-17C departed RAF Watton to
bomb the German naval base at Wilhelm
shaven from
high altitude (30,000 ft) in broad daylight.

The Germans fighters failed to intercept the high-flying
bombers, but the engine of one of them failed and it
diverted to a secondary target. The other two bombers
proceeded to the German port but at the high altitude
they were flying the low temperature congealed the
machine guns’ lubricant rendering them non-operational
Bombing is reported as ‘ineffective’.

By September, eight B-17Cs had been lost in operations
(combat and accidents). Bomber Command retired the
bomber due to numerous mechanical breakdowns and
its vulnerability to fighters caused by light defensive
armament and light armor. Relatively small bomb loads
and low aiming accuracy are sometimes reported -it
seems the B-17C did not employ the Norden bombsight-
The remaining bombers were handed out to Coastal
Command for anti-submarine patrols.

The Luftwaffe claimed to have shot down nine RAF
B-17s but three of the claims precede the Fortress
debut, so they are probably misidentified.
The first B-17 shot down can probably be attributed to
Uffz. Karl Pfeiffer, flying a Bf 109E-7 or F (1 or 2) from
3./JG 2 over La Pallice in France on 23rd July 1941 at
sunset

The B-17C (see picture) lacked the machine gun turrets
later installed in the B-17E. It had one MG in the dorsal,
nose, and ventral (bathtub) positions and one each in
the port and starboard side blisters. Its empty weight of
30,900 pounds was 1351 pounds lighter than the B-17E,
the model initially used by the USAAF in Europe.
 

Aircraft, Gliders

A glider is an aircraft without an engine that is most often
released into flight by an aerial tow aircraft. During World
War II, both the Axis and Allied Militaries developed gliders
to transport troops, supplies, and equipment into battle. This
technique had been discussed prior to the war but never
implemented. These motorless aircraft would crash-land
behind enemy lines, often at night, and the men aboard them
would then become infantrymen on the ground.

The Germans were first to recognize the potential of gliders
 in the war, in large part because of extensive pre World
War II scientific research and sport use of them. The Germans
embraced gliding because it did not violate military prohibi-
tions in the 1919 Treaty of Versailles. Soaring clubs, which
developed in other countries as well, increased interest in glid-
ing worldwide. Sport gliders used air currents to climb and
soar for extended periods, while military gliders descended on
release from aerial tows.

By the late 1930s, Germany had developed a military
glider, the DFS-230. Built of plywood, steel, and fabric, it had
a wingspan of 68 ft 5.5 inches, length 0f 36 ft 10.5 inches, and
height of8 ft 11.75 inches. It weighed 1,896 lb empty and had
a maximum weight loaded with troops and cargo of 4,630 lb.
A total of 1,022 were produced. This glider was designed to
mount a machine gun, which the crew could use for defense.
DPS-230 gliders were employed in the invasion of Belgium
and the Netherlands in May 1940, especially in securing Fort
Eben Emael, which was the key to securing Belgium. The Ger-
mans also used gliders in the invasion of Crete and during
fighting in the Soviet Union at Stalingrad.



The Gotha 242 glider was larger than the DPS-230 and
could carry more troops. It had a wingspan of80 ft 4.5 inches,
length of 51 ft 10 inches, and height of 14 ft 4.5 inches. It
weighed 7,056 lb empty and 13,665 lb fully loaded. A total of
1,528 were built. Some were launched by rockets, but most
were simply towed by aircraft. Approximately 1,500 Go-242s
were produced, of which 133 which adapted into Go-244s,
which had twin engines. The huge Messerschmitt Me-321
glider had a wingspan of 180 ft 5.5 inches, length of 92 ft 4.25
inches, and height of 33 ft 3.4 inches. It weighed 27,432 lb
empty and 75,852 lb fully loaded. lt could perform level flight
after rocket-assisted takeoff. A total of 200 were built. The Me-
321 could transport 200 troops but was difficult to launch, and
most were transformed into the six»engine Me»323.

Great Britain was the first Allied nation to deploy gliders.
The Air Ministry’s Glider Committee encouraged the use of
the Hotspur to transport soldiers in late 1940. The Hotspur
had a wingspan of 61 ft 11 inches, length of 39 ft 4 inches, and
height of 10 ft 10 inches.It weighed 1,661 lb empty and 3,598
lb fully loaded. The Hotspur was designed to transport 2
crewmen and 6 soldiers. A total of 1,015 were built.

In 1941, the British developed the Horsa. It had a wing-
span of 88 ft, length of68 ft, and height of 20 ft 3 inches. It
weighed 8,370 lb empty and 15,750 lb fully loaded. It was
capable of carrying 2 crewmen and 25-28 passengers or 2
trucks. In all, Britain manufactured some 5,000 Horsas. They
were employed in Operations Overlord and Market-Garden.

The largest Allied glider was the British Hamilcar. With a
wingspan of 110 ft, length of 68 ft 6 inches, and height of 20
ft 3 inches, it weighed 18,000 lb empty and 36,000 lb fully
loaded. It could transport 40 troops, a light tank, or artillery
pieces. A total of 412 were built. It was employed during
Operation Overlord.

The Soviet Union introduced the A-7 glider in 1939. It had
a wingspan of 62 ft 2 inches and length of 37 ft 7 inches. It
weighed 2,000 lb empty and carried a pilot and eight passengers
A total of 400 were manufactured. The Soviets, however,
had few aircraft available for glider tows, and following the
German invasion of the Soviet Union, their priority was with
other weaponry. They used the A-7 chiefly to transport sup-
plies to partisans working behind German lines.

The U.S. Navy explored the possibility of military applications
 for gliders as early as the 1930s. In February 1941, Chief
of the Army Air Corps Major General Henry H. Arnold
ordered that specifications be drawn up for military gliders.
The Waco Aircraft Company in Troy, Ohio, received the first
U.S. government contract to build training gliders, and the
army began organizing a glider training program. Constructed
 of plywood and canvas with a skeleton of steel tubing
 the Waco CG-4A had a wingspan of83 ft 6 inches, length
of 48 ft 4 inches, and height of I2 ft 7 inches. Its empty weight
was 3,300 lb, and its loaded weight was 7,500 lb. It could carry
15 troops or 3,800 lb of cargo, including artillery pieces, a
bulldozer, or a jeep. The Ford Motor Company plant at Kings-
ford, Michigan, manufactured most of the U.S. gliders,
although 15 other companies also produced the Waco. In all
13,908 Wacos were built, making it the most heavily produced
 glider of the entire war by any power.

Because the gliders were so fragile, soldiers dubbed them
“canvas coffins.” Men and cargo were loaded through the
wide, hinged nose section, which could be quickly opened.

Moving at an airspeed of 110-150 mph at an altitude of several
thousand feet, C-47s towed the gliders with a 300 ft rope
toward a designated landing zone and then descended to
release the glider several hundred feet above ground. En route
to the release point, the glidermen and plane crew commu-
nicated with each other either by a telephone wire secured
around the towline or via two-way radios. This glider duty
was hazardous indeed; sometimes gliders were released pre-
maturely and did not reach the landing zones, and on occasions
 gliders collided as they approached their destination.
The U.S. 11th, 13th, 17th, 82nd, and 101st Airborne Divisions
were equipped with two glider infantry regiments, a
glider artillery battalion, and glider support units. U.S. gliders
ers were sent to North Africa in 1942 and participated in the

July 1943 Sicily invasion, accompanied by British gliders.
High casualties sustained in that operation led General
Dwight D. Eisenhower to question the organization of air-
borne divisions and to threaten to disband glider units. A
review board of officers convinced the military authorities to
retain them, however. Improvements were made in structural
reinforcement of the glider and personnel training.

By mid-1944, gliders had become essential elements of
Allied invasion forces. Occasionally they were used to trans-
port wounded to hospitals. During Operation NEPTUNE, U.S.
glider men with the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions flew
across the English Channel in 2,100 gliders to participate in
the D day attack. Many gliders and crews were lost during that
mission. New gliders were manufactured for Operation
MARKET GARDEN, the assault on the Germans in the Netherlands,
three months later.

Initially, the military did not distribute hazardous-duty
pay to glider men. These soldiers also did not qualify for wing
insignia worn by parachutists. Some of the men created
posters; one read: “loin the Glider Troops! No Jump Pay. No
Flight Pay. But Never A Dull Moment.” By July 1944, glider
wings were authorized for glider soldiers, and they received
hazardous-duty pay. Also in 1944, the modified Waco CG-
15A appeared, offering improved crash absorption. The
Waco CG-18A could carry 30 soldiers and was deployed during
the 1945 Rhine campaign.

Gliders were also used in the Pacific and China-Burma-
India Theaters. The final U.S. glider mission of the war
occurred on Luzon Island, the Philippines, in June 1945. 

In July, IX Troop Carrier Command Commander Brigadier General
Paul L. Williams issued an order to grant an Air Medal to
Normandy glider pilot veterans. Gliders were gradually
phased out of military inventories after the war, although the
Soviets retained them through the 1950s.

 

The Eastern Front Chronology 1941 -1945

 

                                                        Germans at the gates of Stalingrad

1941.

22nd June. Germany invades Italy and Romania declares war on the Soviet Union.

24th June. Germans take Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania.

26th-27th June. Finland and Hungary declare war on the Soviet Union.

28th June. Minsk the capital of Belorussia, taken.

1st July. Riga, capital of Latvia taken.

8th July. Soviet West Front encircled south east of Minsk, 290.000 captured.

16th July. Germans take Kishinev, capital of Moldovia.

August.  Stalin appointed Supreme Commander in chief. Germans take 103,000 prisoners in Uman 'pocket'.

13th Aug. Siege of Odessa begins.

28th Aug. Talenn, capital of Estonia falls.

30th Aug. German cut rail routes out of  Leningrad.

8th Sept. Leningrad isolated except across Lake Ladoga.

10th Sept. Smolensk battle ends with Soviet retreat Zhukov takes command at Leningrad.

10th Sept Smolensk battle ends with Soviet retreat; Zhukov takes command in Leningrad.

16th Sept Germans encircle Soviet southwest front, claim 665,000 prisoners.

17th Sept. Compulsory military training increase for all Soviet males ahed 16 - 50.

19th Sept Germans take Kiev, seige of Leningrad (until 27th January 1944) begins, Germans launch Moscow offensive. (Typhoon).

October. Germans encircle Bryansk front, Stalin recalls Khukov to Moscow and he arrives on the 7th Oct.

7th Oct. Soviet west and reserve fronts encircled west of Vyazma.

8th Oct. Bryansk Front breaks out east, but 50,000 captured.

10th Oct. Zhukov appointed to command defence of Moscow.

13th Oct. Vyazma pocket liquidated; Germans claim 673,000 prisoners.

15th Oct. Decree on evacuating most of the government from Moscow. Rain, snow, mud, made the advance slow.

16th Oct. Last Odessa defenders evacuated by sea.

19th Oct. "State of siege" (martial law) proclaimed in Moscow.

25th Oct. Germans take Kharkov in the Crimea, Soviets retreat to Sevastopol.

30th Oct Siege of Sevastopol (until 4th July 1942) begins.

15th Nov. German Moscow offensive resumes.

17th Soviet counter offensive in south begins.

22nd Nov. First supplies to Leningrad over ice Lake of Ladoga.

23rd Nov. Germans reach a point less than 19 miles from Moscow. 31km.

29th Nov. Soviets retake Rostov-on-Don.

5th Dec. Soviet Moscow offensive begins; continues until 20th April.

19th Dec. Hitler dismisses 19 generals and appoints himself Army Commander in Chief.

25th Dec. Threat to encircle Moscow from the north eliminated; Kerch - Feodosia Soviet amphibious assault begins.

1942.

2nd Jan Kerch-Feodosia assault ends; advanced 60 miles.  100km.

7th Jan.  Battle of Moscow ends after advancing 60-150 miles.  100-240km.

8th Jan. Soviet general offensive begins; continues until 20th April.

3rd Feb. Germans encircle Soviet 33rd army at Yukhnov.

6th Feb. Germans IX army encircle 29th army near Rzhev.

20th Feb. Two German corps encircle at Demyansk; supqplied by air until relieved 21st-23rd April.

19th March. Soviet 2nd shock and 59th armies encircle in Volkhov 'pocket.'

17th April. Soviet 33rd army destroyed.

20th April. End of Soviel general offensive; Germans push back up to 200miles. 320km from Moscow.

3rd May. Soviets attempt to re-encircle Germans at Demyansk.

12th May. Soviet southwest front attacks towards kharkov.

16th May. Soviet Crimean front, less 176,000 casualties abandons all Crimea except Sevastopol.

23rd May. Germans 1st panzer army closes trap behind south west, front.

29th May. Battle of Kharkov ends, Soviet losses 230,000.

28th June. Army Group South begins summer offensive.

29th June. Encircled 2nd shock and 59th armies destroyed 33,000 captured.

8th July. Army group south begins advance along river Don.

12th July. Stalingrad front formed.

25th July. Battle of Caucasus begins.

28th July. Stalin's order 227, 'Not one step back.'

10th Aug. German VI army reaches Maikop oilfields.

23rd Aug. German VI army reaches north  Volg of Stalingrad.

26th Aug. Zhukov appointed deputy Supreme Commander.

12th Sept. Germans reach centre of Stalingrad.

20th Sept. Germans driven back across Caucasus mountain passes.

30th Sept. German advance along Caucasus west coast toward Tuapse.

9th Oct Red Army Political Commissioners replaced by 'Deputy Commanders for Political Matters.'

23rd Oct. Germans advance on Tuapse halted.

6th-12th Nov. Transcaucaus Front defeats last German attempt to reach Soviet oil fields.

11th Nov. Last German offensive in Stalingrad fails.

19th Nov. Southwest and Don Fronts Stalingrad launch Stalingrad counteroffensive's north pincer.

20th Nov. Stalingrad Front launches south pincer

23rd Nov. Pincers meet at Kalach, encircling twenty German and two Romanian divisions.

24th Nov. Kalinin front begins offensive ti prevent German transfers south.

12th Dec. German Stalingrad relief attempt begins.

16th Dec. Southwest and Voronezh Fronts attack on Middle Don; German Tuapse group defeated.

30th Dec. German Stalingrad relief force repulsed, Middle Don campaign ends. Italian VIII. Romanian III and Hungarian II armies defeated. Army Groups Don and A threaten in rear.

1943.

3rd Jan Army Group A begins withdrawal from Caucasus, except Taman Peninsula and Novorossiiska area.

8th Jan. Germans in Stalingrad reject surrender terms

10th Jan. Reduction of Stalingrad 'pocket' starts.

12th Jan. Attempt to lift seige of Leningrad begins.

18th Jan. Soviets clear south shore of Lake Ladoga and build railway along it to supply Leningrad.

24th Jan. Army Group A complete withdrawal from Caucasus.

30th Jan. South 'pocket' at Stalingrad surrenders; Field Marshall Paulus captured..

2nd Feb. All remaining forces in Stalingrad surrender.

16th Feb. Manstein lauches Kharkov counteroffensive.

15th March. Manstein retakes Kharkov, Soviet retreat 60-90 miles. 100-145km. To northern Donets river line.

8th April. Zhukov predicts German summer offensive and Kursk salient and recommends defense followed by counteroffensive.

12th April. Stalin accepts Zhukov's proposal

15th April. Hitler issues directive for 'Citadel' offensive against Kurst salient.

26th April. Soviets attack residual German forces in Caucasus.

5th July. Army group centre begins 'Citadel.'

10th July. Allied landings in Sicily create threat to Germany in the west.

12th July. Germans lose Prokhorouka tank battle - largest of war.

13th July. Hitler abandons 'Citadel' and orders several divisions to the west; Bryansk Central and West Fronts began Operation Kuruzov joined on by the 17th by south and southwest fronts, on the 22nd by Volkov and Leningrad Fronts.

27th July Southwest Front held after taking bridgeheads over over northern Donets.

2nd Aug. South Front offensive ended, small gains, heavy casualties.

3rd Aug. Voronezh Steppe and Southwest Fronts attack South of Sailenk.

7th Aug. Western and Kalinin Fronts attack on Smolensk sector.

13th Aug. Kalinin Front offensive temporary halted.

18th Aug. Operation Kutuzov ends after advances of up to 95 miles. 155km.

22nd Aug. Leningrad and Volkhov fronts end offensive with few gains.

23rd Kalinin front resumes offensive; Voronezh and Steppe fronts halt, after advancing of up to 90 miles. 145km.

25th Aug. Battle for Dnepr began on all five Fronts from central southwards.

6th Sept. West front halted after advancing 25 miles, (40 km).

9th Sept North Caucasus Front begins Novorossiisk-Tamon offensive.

22nd Sept. Voronezh front seizes Bukrin bridgehead over Dnepr south of Kiev; South and Southwest Fronts halt after advancing to 180 miles. 300km and liberating industrial Donbass.

30th Sept. Central Front halts after seizing several bridgeheads over Dnepr.

2nd Oct. Western and Kalinin Fronts end offensive after advancing 125-160 miles. 200-260km and beginning reconquest of Belorussia.

9th Oct. End of Novorossiisk-Taman operation. Germans expelled from Caucasus.

10th Oct. Voronezh Front forces seize Lyutezh bridgehead over Dnepr north of Kiev; South Front begins clearing lower Dnepr's east bank of Germans.

14th Oct. South Front offensive successfully concluded.

30th Oct. Stalin signals readiness to join war against Japan after victory in Europe.

31st Oct. 4th Ukrainian (ex-South) Front reaches northern approach to Crimea; Transcaucaus Front begins landing at Kerch, on eastern edge of Crimea.

3rd Nov. 1st Ukrainian (ex Voronezh) Front attacks to take Kiev.

6th Nov. Kiev taken.

13th Nov. Army group south pushes 1st Ukrainian back.

28th Nov. Tehran Conference of Allied leaders opens; ends on 1st December.

19th Dec. Germans pushes 2nd Ukrainian Front back 12 miles. (19km.)

22nd Dec. 1st Ukrainian Front stabilizes line after 25 miles retreat. (40km).

24th Dec. Offensive by 2nd Belorussian and all four Ukrainian fronts begins.

0000 Dec. Kalmyks deported for alleged collaboration.

1944.

14th Jan. Start of offensive to end seige of Leningrad.

27th Jan. Seige of Leningrad ends.

28th Jan. Around 70,000 Germans encircled at Korsun-Shevchenkovsky.

3rd Feb. Leningrad Front forces enter Estonia.

17th Feb. Korsun- Shevchenkovsky battle ends, roughly 50,000 Germans killed, and over 18,000 captured.

1st March. Leningrad offensive ends; Germans forced back over 130 miles. 210km.

28th March. 2nd Ukrainian front crosses river Prut into Romania.

0000 March The Chechens and Ingush deported for alleged collaboration with the Germans.

0000 April. The Balkans deported for alleged collaboration with the Germans.

8th April. 1st Ukrainian Front reaches Czechoslovakia and Romanian borders; the 4th Ukrainian Front and Independent Coastal Army attack in Crimea.

17th April. Offensive on Right Bank (of Dnepr) Ukraine ends after advances of almost 300 miles on the front. 480km on a front of 920 miles 1,0490km.

9th May. 4th Ukrainian Front takes Sevastopol.

10th June. Leningrad and Karelian Fronts start offensive against Finland.

23rd June. Main Soviet 'Bagration' offensive begins.

3rd July. Minsk liberated, about 100,000 Germans encircled.

13th July. 3rd Belorussian Front forces take Vilnius, capital of Lithuania.

28th July. 1st Belorussian Front reaches Vistula and nears Warsaw

1st Aug. 1st Belorussian Front seizes bridgeheads over Vistula north and south of Warsaw. Polish Home Army launches Warsaw rising.

7th Aug. 4th Ukrainian front enters Czechoslovakia.

23rd Aug. 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian Fronts encircle most of Army Group South Ukraine at Yassy-Kishinev.

24th Aug. Romania declares war on Germany.

28th Aug. 3rd Baltic Front reaches German East Prussia border.

29th Aug. Official conclusion of 'Bagration' and associated offensives; anti-German rising begins in Slovakia.

31st Aug. 2nd Ukrainian front enters Bucharest.

4th Sept. Finland breaks with Germany.

5th Sept. Cease-fire on Finnish front, Soviet union declares war on Bulgaria.
2nd and 3rd Ukrainian Fronts reach Yugoslavia and Bulgarian borders

8th Sept. 3rd Ukrainian Front enters Bulgaria; anti-German rising begins there.

9th Sept. Bulgaria declares war on Germany; 4th Ukrainian front begins East Carpathians offensive.

14th Sept. Offensive by five fronts launch in Baltic area.

15th Sept. Soviet troops enter Sofia; Finland declares war on Germany.

20th Sept. 4th Ukrainian front enters Czechoslovakia, 2nd Ukrainian Hungry.

26th Sept. Leningrad front forces capture Tallinn, occupies all mainland Estonia, reaches Baltic coast, and isolates Army Group  North.

28th Sept. 3rd Ukrainian, Yugoslav and Bulgarian forces begin Belgrade offensive; 2nd and 4th Ukrainian Fronts begin Budapest offensive.

7th Oct. Karelin Front begins drive to Norway.

10th Oct. 1st Baltic front reaches coast and cuts army group North off from East Prussia.

11th Oct. Hungry signs preliminary armistice.

16th Oct. German backed coup in Hungry; army ordered to fight on.

20th Oct. 3rd Ukrainian front and Yugoslav forces take Belgrade.

22nd Oct. Karelian front enters Norway and liberaters Kirkenies.

27th Oct. 3rd Belorussian front enters East Prussia.

29th Oct. Karelian front halts and hands over to Norwegian resistance.

2nd Nov. 2nd Ukrainian front reaches southern approaches to Budapest.

9th Nov. 3rd Ukrainian front seizes bridgehead over Danube.

24th Nov. Baltic offensive ends army group north isolated in Kurland.

3rd Dec. Ukrainian attacks North Budapest.

26th Dec. 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian fronts encircle Budapest.

31st Dec. Soviets enter western suburbs of Budapest.

1945

6th Jan. Churchill asks Stalin for for offensive to ease pressure on Allies in the Ardennes, Stalin brings Vistula-Oder operation forward by eight days.

12th Jan. 1st Belorussian and 1st Ukrainian Fronts open Vistula-Oder offensive.

[12th Jan. 1st Belorussian corps attacks in Hungary, reaches Danube south of Budapest on the 20th, but repulsed on the 27th, 2nd Ukrainian takes Pest (Budapest east of Danube).]

17th Jan. 1st Belorussian Front takes Warsaw.

18th Jan. IV SS Panzer Corps attacks in Hungary, reaches Danube south of Budapest on 20th, but repulsed on the 27th; 2nd Ukrainian takes Pest (Budapest east of Danube).

25th Jan. 2nd Belorussian front reaches Baltic coast [Frisches Haff] cutting army group centre's main supply or withdrawal routes.
1st Ukrainian front seizes Bridgehead across Oder.

28th Jan. 1st Baltic Front and Navy take Memel. (Klayeda).

31st Jan. 1st Belorussian Front seizes bridgehead over Oder north and south of Kuestrin.

3rd Feb. Vistula-Oder offensive ends, advance on Berlin to follow after removal of risk of flank attack from the north.

13th Feb. Budapest taken.

15th Feb. 1st Ukrainian Front crosses Neisse, encircling 40,000 Germans at Breslua.

16th Feb. Germans counter attack south east of Stettin gain 5-8miles. 8-13km.

18th Feb. Germans stop 4th Ukrainian West Carpathian offensive.

19 Feb. Germans stop 2nd Belorussian Front in East Prussia.

23rd Feb. 1st Belorussian front takes Poznan; Turkey declares war on Germany and Japan.

24th Feb. 1st Ukrainian front ends Lower Silesia campaign  -- heavy losses inflicted on IV Panzer and 17th armies, Neisse river crossed in wide fronts in Pomerania, 2nd Belorussian front attacks.

In Hungary VI SS Panzer army drives Soviets back over the Hron river.

4th March. 1st and 2nd Belorussian Front forces reach Baltic coast, cutting German Pomeranian forces in two.

6th March. Army group South attacks in Hungry

16th March. 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian fronts counterattack in Hungary.

22nd March. Belorussian front widens bridgeheads over Oder.

26th March. 3rd Belorussian front wipes out encircled Germans at Frisches Haff.

30th March. 3rd Ukrainian front enters Austria

2nd April. 3rd Ukrainian Front on southern approach Vienna.

5th April. Soviet Union inform Japan that 1941 Neutrality pact will not be renewed.

6th April. 3rd Belorussian Front begins storm of Koerisgsberg: front falls on 9th April.

13th April. Vienna taken.

16th April. 1st and 2nd Belorussian and 1st Ukrainian fronts open in Berlin suburbs.

30th April. Hitler commits suicide.

2nd May. Berlin garrison surrenders.

3rd May. 2nd Belorussian front meet British, 1st Belorussian, Americans  along Elbe, German forces in Bavaria and western Austria surrender to Americans.

5th May. Anti German up rising in Prague; Stalin orders 1st, 2nd, and 4th Ukrainian fronts to assist.

7th May. German high command representatives sign unconditional surrender at Eisenhower's HQ in Reims. Stalin insists on a signing in Berlin.

8th May. Surrender ceremony in Berlin. (Karlshorst).

9th May. Army group north surrenders in Kurlard.

11th May. Germans in Prauge surrender.

0000 June. The Crimean Tatars forcibly deported for alleged collaboration with the Germans.

17th July. Potsdam Conference of Allied leaders begins.

26th July. Potsdam Declaration by USA, Britain, and China demands Japan surrender unconditionally.
Stalin endorses demand.

30th July. Marshall Vasilevsky appointed Commander in Chief for campaign against Japan.

8th Aug. Soviet Union declares war on Japan and invades Manchuria, Korea, South Sakhalin and Kurile islands.

10th Aug. Japan accepts Potsdam Declaration and offers surrender provided Emperor retained.

14th Aug. Emperor of Japan proclaims surrender.

15th Aug. Anglo - American forces cease fire.

17th Aug. General Yamada commanding Kwantung army, ask Soviet terms.

19th Aug. Yamada unconditionally surrenders Kwantung army.

The beginning of the Cold War.