THE THREAD!!!

[RangerJoe]

Good morning folks!

World War II Today: November 18

1939 (Saturday)
The Dutch ship Simon Bolivar hits an ‘un-notified’ mine in the North Sea, killing 80. Several other neutral ships also sunk by mines.

IRA (Irish Republican Army) detonates four small bombs in Piccadilly, London, but no one is injured.

Martial Law is declared in Prague and a number of other Czech towns.

German aircraft sighted off the east coast of Britain and over the Firth of Forth.

1940 (Monday)
Heavy fighting takes place around Koritza. The Italians are forced back across the River Kalamas.

Luftwaffe carries out daylight raids on the West Country and widespread night attacks.

RAF attacks the synthetic oil works at Leuna.

1941 (Tuesday)
At 6am ‘Operation Crusader’, the British Eighth Army, an assortment of British, Commonwealth, Indian, and other Allied servicemen commanded by Lt. Gen. Alan Cunningham (from November 26 by Lt. Gen. Neil Ritchie), launched a surprise military operation from Egyptian territory against Axis forces in Eastern Libya (Cyrenaica). Operation Crusader, part of the wider Western Desert Campaign in North Africa (June 1940 to February 1943), had as its goal lifting the siege of Tobruk, put in place by the Axis on April 10, 1941. Tobruk was an important Libyan Mediterranean supply port for whoever held it. At the moment it was still in the hands of the British 70th Infantry Division, a stubborn contingent of largely British, Australians, and Poles, after German and Italian forces under German Gen. Erwin Rommel, commander of Panzergruppe Afrika, which included the German Afrika Korps and the Italian XXI Corps, had expelled most of the British Eighth Army from Libya in Operation Sunflower (Unternehmen Sonnenblume, February to May 1941). Rommel, who arrives back from Rome that day, is caught by surprise, allowing the British XXX Corps to advance 50-miles and capture the axis airfield 10 miles south of Sidi Rezegh. The Germans, believing that the British are about to encircle Bardia, send the Afrika Korps on a wild goose chase in that direction.

Gen. Sir Alan Brooke replaces Field Marshal John Dill as British Chief of the Imperial General Staff.

Diet passes hostility resolution against United States.

1942 (Wednesday)
Laval is given absolute power by Vichy in Africa.

Eighth Air Force Heavy Bomber Mission No. 21: 65 aircraft dispatched to attack U-boat base at La Pallice, and 26 on a diversionary sweep. 19 aircraft attack La Pallice, 13 attack Lorient and 19 attack the U-boat base at St. Naizaire. One aircraft lost.

British 8th Army enters Cyrene.

1943 (Thursday)
A German counter offensive recaptures Zhitomir.

Eighth Air Force Heavy Bomber Mission No. 132: 102 aircraft sen to attack the airfield at Oslo/ Kjeller and industrial areas at Oslo. Nine aircraft lost.

Heaviest RAF Bomber Command raid over Germany to date sees 350 4,000lb bombs dropped on Berlin. Other areas also pounded in the biggest RAF operation so far.

German submarine U-718 sunk after a collision with U-476 off Bornholm.

1944 (Saturday)
A German hospital ship, Tubingen is sunk accidentally by allied aircraft in the Adriatic, but luckily no wounded were onboard. The British express regret to the German authorities about the mistake.

Inmates of Janowska concentration camp near Lwów (at this time in German-occupied Poland), staged an uprising that ultimately failed. Leon Weliczker and several other prisoners had run errands for the camp guards, and were accustomed to bringing firewood into the guard houses. On the evening of the 19th, two groups of prisoners attacked guards in two different locations, stole their machines guns, and started a breakout. The 6,000 remaining Jewish residents of Janowska camp were killed over the next four days and on November 23, Lwów (now Lviv in the Ukraine) was declared Judenrein (“clean of Jews”).

The U.S. Third Army crosses the German frontier. Metz is cut off and surrounded by the U.S. Third Army’s, XX Corps.

Submarine USS Blackfin picks up captured Japanese cryptographic equipment, technical equipment, and secret documents from Filipino resistance fighters on Mindoro.

Japanese submarine I-41 was sunk off Leyte by American warships and aircraft.

A few other things that happened on that day, some of the pertain to the focus of the WITP:AE game . . .

18 Nov 1931

China

Chinese troops under General Ma Zhanshan withdrew from Qiqihar, Nenjiang Province, China. ww2dbase [Battle of Qiqihar | Qiqihar, Nenjiang | CPC]

18 Nov 1936

Italy and Germany officially recognized General Franco's government in Spain. On the same day, Benito Mussolini authorized an Italian expeditionary corps to be sent to Spain. ww2dbase [The Spanish Civil War | AC, CPC]

18 Nov 1941

Japanese luxury ocean liner Hikawa Maru arrived at Yokohama, completing her 74th and last round trip across the Pacific. ww2dbase [Hikawa Maru | CPC]
Five large Japanese carrier submarines, each containing midget submarines, departed from Kure Naval Base, Japan for Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii. Meanwhile, Joseph Rochefort's US Navy cryptanalytic team reported no Japanese carrier movement. ww2dbase [Attack on Pearl Harbor | Detailed Timetable | CPC]

German 4th Panzer Army launched a 400-tank attack 70 miles west of Moscow, Russia, supported by 3 infantry divisions; Soviet 30th Army fell back northward to Klin, while Soviet 16th Army was pushed south to Istra. 120 miles south of Moscow, German 3rd Panzer Army was held up at Tula, with its latest attempt to surround the Soviet garrison there foiled by the newly-arrived Soviet 413th Rifle Division. ww2dbase [Battle of Moscow | CPC]

18 Nov 1942

Men of the US Army and US Marine attacked Japanese positions near Kokumbona and the Poha River at Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands. ww2dbase [Guadalcanal Campaign | CPC]

Australian Papua

After an arduous march over rugged mountainous terrain, during which the Commanding Officer had suffered a heart attack, 2nd Battalion of US 126th Infantry Regiment reached Pongani, southeast of Buna, Australian Papua. Less than half the battalion were still fit for action. ww2dbase [New Guinea-Papua Campaign, Phase 2 | AC] I read about that march, I don't think that many soldiers today could make it although anti-bug spray would help. But it does explain the fatigue, disruption, and disabled devices when units move through the jungle. That route was not used again for troop movements if I remember correctly.

18 Nov 1943

Chinese 57th Division attacked and recaptured the city of Changde. ww2dbase [Battle of Changde | CPC]

British Western Pacific Territories

Lieutenant Colonel Joe Smoak dismissed Gregory Boyington as the commanding officer of US Marine Corps squadron VMF-214. Fellow squadron mate Frank Walton advised Boyington to see the chief of staff of the wing Brigadier General James Moore; Moore would reinstate Boyington immediately. ww2dbase [CPC]

Pacific Ocean

USS Bluefish sank Japanese destroyer Sanae and damaged an oiler in the Celebes Sea, hitting Sanae with 3 of 3 torpedoes fired and the oil with 1 of 3 torpedoes fired. ww2dbase [Bluefish | Celebes Sea | CPC] Torpedoes that actually worked!

18 Nov 1944

The Ki-83 heavy fighter took its first flight. ww2dbase [Ki-83 | CPC]

18 Nov 2010

United States

The commissioners of Port of Los Angeles, California, United States approved Berth 87 as the future home of battleship Iowa. ww2dbase [Iowa | Los Angeles, California | CPC]

https://ww2db.com/event/today/11/18

"Goddam it, you'll never get the Purple Heart hiding in a foxhole! Follow me!"

Captain Henry P. Jim Crowe, Guadalcanal, 13 Jan 1943

[Apollo11]

Hi all,

Good morning!


Leo "Apollo11"

[Zovs]

Good morning Folks!

World War II Today: November 19

1939 (Sunday)
Chiang Kai-shek’s Nationalist Chinese forces begin winter offensive against Japanese.

Grenade attacks take place on the Western Front.

Six German aircraft sighted off the South East Coast, other aircraft seen off the Firth of Forth.

British steamer Pensilva torpedoed and six ships reported sunk by mines.

It is reported that 120 Czech students have been executed following protests on Independence Day.

Baseball player Joe DiMaggio marries movie actress Dorothy Arnold in San Francisco.

1940 (Tuesday)
Greek successes continue in northern Greece and Albania. The Italians are driven back across the Kalamas River. Heavy fighting develops around Koritsa.

The Canadian government approves initiation of mass production of war bacteria.

The Luftwaffe launches a major raid against Birmingham, inflicting heavy damage in places.

1941 (Wednesday)
The Times newspaper’s report on Occupied Europe estimates that 82,000 Poles have been shot or hanged since Poland’s occupation by the Germans.

The cruiser HMAS Sydney and German raider Kormoran sink each other off Western Australia. There are no survivors from HMAS Sydney.

Operation Crusader: British troops reach Sidi Rezegh.

1942 (Thursday)
The Soviets kicked off Operation Uranus, Phase I of the Red Army’s encirclement of General Friedrich Paulus’ Sixth Army (the single-largest German troop formation), as well as the German Fourth Panzer Army and the Third and Fourth Romanian armies at Stalingrad (today’s Volgograd). The Soviet high command had waited for the arrival of subzero temperatures (‑22°F/‑30°C) to harden the ground for their rolling armor and for the November landings of their Western Allies in North Africa (Operation Torch) to tie down German reserves on a second front before beginning their offensive on Germany’s Eastern Front.

Two RAF Horsa gliders carrying 34 British Royal Engineer Commandos, crashes in Norway en route to their mission of destroying the German ‘heavy water’ plant at Telemark. The survivors are captured by the Germans, questioned, tortured and shot, although they were all in uniform.

British troops engage a German tank column only 30 miles from Tunis.

1943 (Friday)
Eighth Air Force Heavy Bomber Mission No. 134: 161 aircraft sent to attack targets of opportunity in Western Germany. 127 aircraft find targets. No aircraft lost.

German submarine U-211 sunk with all hands off the Azores.

German submarine U-341 sunk with all hands south west of Iceland.

Final Allied bombardment of the Gilbert Islands, Marshall Islands and Nauru before the start of the American invasion of the Marshalls.

1944 (Sunday)
The U.S. 95th Division fights its way into the suburbs of Metz.

The French 1st Armoured Division reaches the Rhine at Rosenau—the first Allied troops to reach the Rhine, but on a narrow front. French artillery shells German soil for the first time since 1940. French troops reach Belfort.

The RAF’s destruction of Drina bridge at Visegrad causes an 85-mile German traffic jam in Yugoslavia.

Albanian partisans liberate the capitol of Tirana as Germans evacuate.

British troops combine with partisans to harry the Germans as they withdraw from Herzegovina and Montenegro.

British Fourteenth Army opens drive in Burma and crosses the Chindwin River at Sittaung.

The British Second Army captured Geilenkirchen.

The American submarine Sculpin was scuttled off Truk after being damaged by Japanese destroyer Yamagumo.

[RangerJoe]

On this day, 19 November 1863 . . .

The Bliss version:

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate—we can not consecrate—we can not hallow—this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

—Abraham Lincoln

[BBfanboy]

Zovs: The Canadian government approves initiation of mass production of war bacteria.

WTH! What were they thinking?! How and where would they ever use such a weapon when it can spread in all directions! Now if they are talking about yeast to make beer, that's OK by me!

[BBfanboy]

Zovs: The French 1st Armoured Division reaches the Rhine at Rosenau—the first Allied troops to reach the Rhine

Zovs: The British Second Army captured Geilenkirchen

The second item seems to conflict with the first item as Geilenkirchen is in Germany on the east side of the Rhine, while the Netherlands and Belgium come to a point on the west side of the river. My guess is that the French were eager to show they were getting back at the Germans and the Allies did not want to contradict their claim to fame for morale reasons.

[RangerJoe]

Zovs: The Canadian government approves initiation of mass production of war bacteria.

WTH! What were they thinking?! How and where would they ever use such a weapon when it can spread in all directions! Now if they are talking about yeast to make beer, that's OK by me!

black cat and butterfly.jpg (28.48 KiB) Viewed 410 times

Yeast are considered a fungi . . .

[btd64]

Good afternoon everyone....GP

[Orm]

Hey.

[btd64]

Hey.

Hey Hey....GP

[RangerJoe]

all i said was boo.jpg (45.39 KiB) Viewed 372 times

On this day . . .

20 Nov 1917

At the Battle of Cambrai in France, the British Army launched its first full-scale offensive that was designed exclusively to accommodate a new British secret weapon, the Tank (so-called because when the first shipment came from England they were described as water tanks to maintain secrecy). Following a surprise artillery barrage 476 tanks, packed tightly for a mass attack moved against the German lines. Supported by infantry and 289 British aircraft the gains were dramatic, breaching the almost impregnable Hindenberg Line to a depth of 4-5 miles in some places. However, these gains seemed to surprise British High Command equally as much as the Germans and the following cavalry failed to take advantage. Ultimately most of the captured ground would be retaken within a few weeks. Nevertheless, Cambrai demonstrated how a well-thought out attack, combining tanks en masse with surprise, could be used to break the trench deadlock. ww2dbase [AC] Hope for the best, expect the worst, and you won't be disappointed. Apparently the British did not do that.

China

The order for Chinese government ministries to evacuate the capital city of Nanjing to Hankou, originally ordered by Chiang Kaishek on 16 Nov 1937, was publicly announced at 1200 hours. ww2dbase [Battle of Nanjing and the Rape of Nanjing | Nanjing | CPC] aka, Nanking . . .

20 Nov 1939

German submarine U-33 sank three small British trawlers (Thomas Hankins at 1030 hours, Delphine at 1600 hours, and Sea Sweeper at 1700 hours) off Tory Island, Ireland. ww2dbase [Start of the Battle of the Atlantic | CPC]

China

Chiang Kaishek was made the head of the Executive Yuan. ww2dbase [Chiang Kaishek | CPC]

United States

The US Navy Chief of Naval Operations ordered the Commandant of the US Marine Corps Fourteenth Naval District to plan a Marine garrison at Midway. ww2dbase [CPC]

20 Nov 1940

Hungarian Prime Minister Teleki and Foreign Minister Csaky signed a protocol in Vienna, Austria, joining the Tripartite Pact. ww2dbase [The Tripartite Pact | TH]

Italian torpedo boat Confienza sank after colliding with Italian armed merchant cruiser Capitano A. Cecchi off Brindisi, Italy. ww2dbase [CPC]

German armed merchant cruiser Pinguin stopped British ship Maimoa with gunfire in the southern Indian Ocean after a long chase. The crew of 87 were taken prisoner and the ship was scuttled. ww2dbase [Pinguin | CPC]

20 Nov 1941

German troops captured Rostov, Russia. ww2dbase [Battle of Moscow | TH]
The Norwegian government-in-exile officially endorsed the resistance movement Milorg. ww2dbase [TH]
Japanese ambassador to the US Nomura presented Japan's final proposal to keep peace in Asia and the Pacific. ww2dbase [Kichisaburo Nomura | CPC]
HMAS Sydney sank some time after midnight from the damage sustained in the engagement with German raider Kormoran; all 645 aboard were lost. Kormoran, likewise heavily damaged, was abandoned at 1900 hours and was scuttled three hours later; 81 were killed and 318 survived. ww2dbase [Sydney | CPC]
The daily bread rations in besieged Leningrad, Russia was reduced to 500 grams for military personnel, 250 grams for engineers and technical workers, 125 grams for other workers and children. The situation was hoped to be improving soon, however, as the first successful crossing of the frozen Lake Ladoga was made with horse-drawn sleighs, hoping to bring back food from Kobona. ww2dbase [Siege of Leningrad | CPC] If I remember correctly, there was food that was in wooden warehouses that were hit and burned. I do believe that some people were evacuated during the seige but the evacuation should have been done before the seige started. Cannibalism did occur during the seige.

Libya

The British 7th Armoured Brigade repulsed a counter attack launched by the German 90th Light Infantry Division and the Italian Bologna Division. In the afternoon, the British 4th Armoured Brigade engaged with heavier tanks of the German 15th Panzer Division, losing several American-built M3 tanks. After dark, British cruisers HMS Ajax and HMS Neptune and Australian cruiser HMAS Hobart bombarded Bardia, Libya. ww2dbase [Operation Crusader | CPC]

20 Nov 1942

British troops entered the city of Benghazi, Libya, and found ports and facilities destroyed by Germans before their withdrawal. ww2dbase [Second Battle of El Alamein | CPC]
The Alaska-Canadian Highway was dedicated. ww2dbase [CPC]

Atlantic Ocean

While escorting Allied convoy QP-15, a severe storm severed the stem of Soviet destroyer Sokrushitelny, killing six men. Most of the officers abandoned ship before the crewmen; the captain was shot for cowardice and the executive officer was sent to a penal battalion. The same storm also seriously damaged Soviet destroyer Baku. ww2dbase [Arctic Convoys | Norwegian Sea | CPC]

Russia

One day after the first Soviet offensive was launched at Stalingrad, Russia, a second one was launched south of the city against positions held by Romanian 4th Army Corps. ww2dbase [Battle of Stalingrad | Stalingrad | CPC]

Tunisia

The 3rd Battalion of the "San Marco" naval infantry regiment of Italian Navy began arriving in Tunisia from Corsica, France. ww2dbase [CPC]
German paratroop Engineer Battalion "Witzig" and Itlaian 1st Paratroop Battalion were deployed together at Djebel Abjod, Tunisia. ww2dbase [Djebel Abjod | CPC]

United Kingdom

British government scientist Dr. Reginald V. Jones warned Assistant Chief of Air Staff (Intelligence) of possible new German weapons, ie. rockets, that could threaten Britain. ww2dbase [Reginald Jones | CPC]

20 Nov 1943

US Army soldiers invaded Makin Atoll and US Marines invaded Tarawa Atoll in the Gilbert Islands. ww2dbase [Gilbert Islands Campaign | TH]

On Samos Island, Greece, nearly 5,000 British prisoners were taken by the Germans. ww2dbase [Dodecanese Campaign | TH]

The Soviet Army began an advance on Kirovograd, Ukraine after breaking through German lines near Kremenchug. ww2dbase [TH]

Hitler refused permission for the German Armeegruppe Nord to withdraw to the Panther-Wotan Line. ww2dbase [TH]

Switzerland

Alexander Foote, a young English adventurer and International Brigade veteran, who had been recruited by Moscow as a spy with the Lucy Ring, was arrested by the Swiss Police. ww2dbase [AC]

20 Nov 1944

For the last time, Hitler left the Wolfsschanze Headquarters for Berlin, Germany. ww2dbase [Adolf Hitler | TH]

Chinese troops captured Mangshih, Yunnan Province, China. ww2dbase [Salween Offensive | CPC]

China

He Yingqin stepped down as Chiang Kaishek's chief of staff for military affairs. ww2dbase [He Yingqin | CPC]

Gao Youxin, leading seven P-40 Warhawk fighters, was shot down by anti-aircraft fire over Jianjiang County, Hubei Province, China. He would spend the next 40-some days attempting to return to friendly lines. ww2dbase [Gao Youxin | Jianjiang, Hubei | CPC]

Philippines

Patrol Boat No. 102 departed Currimao on the northwestern coast of Luzon, Philippines at 1057 hours, arriving at San Fernando further down the coast at 1550 hours, and departed again at 1821 hours. ww2dbase [Stewart | Currimao | CPC]

Russia

1,014 arrested Polish Home Army and other partisan fighters arrived at the NKVD-run Ostashkov Special Camp in Tver Oblast, Russia by a special train after an 8-day journey. ww2dbase [Ostashkov Special Camp | Ostashkov, Tver | CPC]

20 Nov 1945

French Indochina

The French flag lowered for the final time at treaty port of Kouang-Tchéou-Wan (Chinese: Guangzhouwan) in southern China. ww2dbase [Guangzhouwan | CPC]

Germany

Trial of the Major War Criminals of the Nuremberg Trials began. Soviet SMERSH officers Leonid Kozlovtsev, Krasilnikov, and Khelipsky arrived in Nürnberg, Germany, presumably to help oversee the Soviet prosecution team. ww2dbase [Nuremberg Trials and Other Trials Against Germany | Nürnberg, Franken | CPC] The Soviet KKK people!

20 Nov 1975

Francisco Franco passed away. ww2dbase [Francisco Franco | CPC]

20 Nov 2024

Danny Boy had to lay on me. He would step on the computer keyboard until I would move it out of the way so he could lat on me which I rubbed his neck and chest, if I tried to touch something on the computer with my right hand, his left front leg would push it down so I would keep rubbing him. He is such a big baby . . .

[BBfanboy]

Ranger Joe: HMAS Sydney sank some time after midnight from the damage sustained in the engagement with German raider Kormoran; all 645 aboard were lost.

Kormoran's survivors were in boats because their ship sank slowly. Heavily burning CL Sydney had gone over the horizon but as night fell there was a big flash of light from the direction Sydney was taking. It seems the cruiser's magazines must have exploded. That helps explain why her crew all perished.

[RangerJoe]

Ranger Joe: HMAS Sydney sank some time after midnight from the damage sustained in the engagement with German raider Kormoran; all 645 aboard were lost.

Kormoran's survivors were in boats because their ship sank slowly. Heavily burning CL Sydney had gone over the horizon but as night fell there was a big flash of light from the direction Sydney was taking. It seems the cruiser's magazines must have exploded. That helps explain why her crew all perished.

its windy today.jpg (184.45 KiB) Viewed 359 times

I did not know that about the CL Sydney. I do know that they did not prepare the ship for combat when the officers knew that the Kormaran's disguise was wrong, the ship that they were claiming to be was known to be in another area. The CL Sydney was not in "action stations" or a combat ready status if I recall correctly. See my comment about the battle at Cambrai . . .

M60A3.jpg (37.08 KiB) Viewed 359 times

I included the battle at Cambrai since it was the first use of tanks and its effect, tanks had so much effectiveness in certain areas during World War II. I always thought that if the cavalry was ready to move through the enemy lines to attack the German rear areas along with armored cars for the mobile machine guns, then there could have been a true breakthrough and a German defensive collapse in that area. Repeat as often as necessary and attack into Germany . . .

[BBfanboy]

Ranger Joe: I do know that they did not prepare the ship for combat when the officers knew that the Kormaran's disguise was wrong, the ship that they were claiming to be was known to be in another area. The CL Sydney was not in "action stations" or a combat ready status if I recall correctly.

In the account I read from Kormoran's survivors, Sydney had Kormoran 'heave to' (stop) and came up behind her per SOPs for such encounters. Then for some reason the captain decided to move up alongside Kormoran. Sydney's crew may have been at action stations because the main gun turrets rotated to train on Kormoran as the CL drew alongside. Regardless of the Sydney's guns the Kormoran's captain dropped his disguise 'walls' that hid his guns and let loose with both guns and torpedoes (which is why SOPs are for the intercepting ship NOT to come broadside to the stopped one!). Sydney was hit hard but after about 15 seconds her guns fired and hit Kormoran hard too. Then the torps hit Sydney and she was pretty much out of action, on fire and flooding. Kormoran may have fired a few more shots at Sydney but the German captain had already decided the ship could not be saved and ordered the crew to abandon ship while they could still launch boats.
The mistake Sydney's captain made ranks up there with the one made my the Captain of CV Glorious after it embarked RAF aircraft in Norway to take them back to England as the British withdrew from Norway in 1940. Glorious's captain was supposed to wait for the rest of the embarking force, which included a battleship, and go back to England with them. Instead he set out on his own with only 2 DDs to escort him. Once he bumped into Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, their fate was sealed. One theory for his imprudent haste is that he had a hot date with his girlfriend back in London and the rest of the British force was delayed in embarking troops and equipment. Some jobs require that you think with your big head, not your little one!

[RangerJoe]

Ranger Joe: I do know that they did not prepare the ship for combat when the officers knew that the Kormaran's disguise was wrong, the ship that they were claiming to be was known to be in another area. The CL Sydney was not in "action stations" or a combat ready status if I recall correctly.

In the account I read from Kormoran's survivors, Sydney had Kormoran 'heave to' (stop) and came up behind her per SOPs for such encounters. Then for some reason the captain decided to move up alongside Kormoran. Sydney's crew may have been at action stations because the main gun turrets rotated to train on Kormoran as the CL drew alongside. Regardless of the Sydney's guns the Kormoran's captain dropped his disguise 'walls' that hid his guns and let loose with both guns and torpedoes (which is why SOPs are for the intercepting ship NOT to come broadside to the stopped one!). Sydney was hit hard but after about 15 seconds her guns fired and hit Kormoran hard too. Then the torps hit Sydney and she was pretty much out of action, on fire and flooding. Kormoran may have fired a few more shots at Sydney but the German captain had already decided the ship could not be saved and ordered the crew to abandon ship while they could still launch boats.
The mistake Sydney's captain made ranks up there with the one made my the Captain of CV Glorious after it embarked RAF aircraft in Norway to take them back to England as the British withdrew from Norway in 1940. Glorious's captain was supposed to wait for the rest of the embarking force, which included a battleship, and go back to England with them. Instead he set out on his own with only 2 DDs to escort him. Once he bumped into Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, their fate was sealed. One theory for his imprudent haste is that he had a hot date with his girlfriend back in London and the rest of the British force was delayed in embarking troops and equipment. Some jobs require that you think with your big head, not your little one!

Oh yes, Glorious had other problems as well. There were no aircraft in the air which just might have spotted a couple of rather large enemy ships and then report those ships to the aircraft carrier. Once the enemy ships were spotted, Glorious maintained a constant course and speed just like a good target should.

[RangerJoe]

On this day . . .

21 Nov 1916

Emperor Francis Joseph of Austria died. He was succeeded by Charles, son of the Archduke Otto. One of Charles's first actions on becoming Emperor was to issue a declaration that he wished to end Austria's participation in the war. ww2dbase [AC]

21 Nov 1917

Lenin ordered General Dukhonin to begin armistice negotiations with representatives of the Central Powers. Dukhonin refused to obey and was dismissed. ww2dbase [AC]

21 Nov 1930

Douglas MacArthur became the Chief of Staff of the US Army at the rank of general. ww2dbase [Douglas MacArthur | CPC]

21 Nov 1932

Germany

Adolf Hitler again attempted to argue for his appointment as German Chancellor with the power to dissolve the Reichstag; President Paul von Hindenburg again refused to grant him such powers. ww2dbase [Adolf Hitler | CPC]

21 Nov 1939

Heinrich Himmler announced that the United Kingdom was responsible for the 8 Nov 1939 attempt on Adolf Hitler's life. Two British agents were kidnapped in the Netherlands several days prior, who were blamed for plotting the attack. The attack, however, was actually planned by the Germans as means to raise Hitler's standing within Germany. ww2dbase [CPC]

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom declared an embargo on Germany, seizing all goods in the UK en route to Germany. ww2dbase [TH] Why wasn't this done a little bit sooner?

21 Nov 1940

Greek troops defeated the Italian IX Army and captured Koritza, Albania. The Greeks took 2,000 prisoners and captured 135 field guns and 600 machine guns. The surviving elements of the Italian IX Army was able to escape without being harassed as the Greeks were poorly motorized and could not give chase. ww2dbase [Balkans Campaign | TH]
German warships Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, Köln, and Leipzig departed for a sweep against Allied shipping between Iceland and the Faroe Islands. ww2dbase [Scharnhorst | CPC]
The German 6th Army exercised a simulated invasion of Ireland. ww2dbase [CPC] I don't think that Paddy would have liked this.
German armed merchant cruiser Pinguin attacked British freighter Port Brisbane in the southern Indian Ocean after sundown, killing the radio operator in the process; 67 were taken prisoner and 27 escaped in a lifeboat. Port Brisbane was sunk by torpedo after scuttling charges failed to sink her. ww2dbase [Pinguin | CPC]
German submarine U-103 fired torpedoes from a surfaced position at Allied convoy OB-244 200 miles northwest of Ireland at 0740 hours, sinking British ship Daydawn (2 killed, 36 survived) and Greek ship Victoria (entire crew of 27 survived). A ship in the convoy attempted to ram U-103, but U-103 dodged the ramming attack; U-103 fired a torpedo at her attacker, but that torpedo, though striking the target, failed to detonate. ww2dbase [CPC] A German Mark 14?

United Kingdom

A German aircraft bombed the British Government Code and Cypher School at Bletchley Park, Buckinghamshire, England, United Kingdom, damaging the diplomatic section, the telephone exchange, and the typists room. There were no casualties. The attack was almost certainly accidental, as the Germans did not know of the importance of this site. ww2dbase [Battle of Britain | Bletchley Park | Milton Keynes, England | CPC]



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Home » Events » WW2 Timeline » Today in WW2 History

21 Nov 1887

Dutch East Indies

Hein ter Poorten was born in Buitenzorg, Java, Dutch East Indies (now Bogor, Indonesia). ww2dbase [Hein ter Poorten | Buitenzorg | CPC]

United States

Clarence Tinker was born near Pawhuska, Oklahoma, United States. ww2dbase [Clarence Tinker | Pawhuska, Oklahoma | CPC]

21 Nov 1887 Interactive Map
21 Nov 1905

Japan

Kichisaburo Nomura was made a navigation instructor. ww2dbase [Kichisaburo Nomura | CPC]

21 Nov 1908

Japan

Chuichi Nagumo graduated from the Japanese naval academy and was promoted to the rank of midshipman. ww2dbase [Chuichi Nagumo | CPC]
Masaichi Niimi graduated from the Japanese Navy Academy at Etajima, Japan. ww2dbase [Masaichi Niimi | Etajima, Hiroshima | CPC]

21 Nov 1908 Interactive Map
21 Nov 1914

Three British RNAS Avro 504 aircraft led by Wing Commander E. F. Briggs bombed the Zeppelin sheds at Friedrichshafen, Germany. ww2dbase [AC]

21 Nov 1916

Emperor Francis Joseph of Austria died. He was succeeded by Charles, son of the Archduke Otto. One of Charles's first actions on becoming Emperor was to issue a declaration that he wished to end Austria's participation in the war. ww2dbase [AC]

21 Nov 1917

Lenin ordered General Dukhonin to begin armistice negotiations with representatives of the Central Powers. Dukhonin refused to obey and was dismissed. ww2dbase [AC]

Russia

Chung Il-kwon was born in Primorsky Krai, Russia. ww2dbase [Chung Il-kwon | Primorsky Krai | CPC]

21 Nov 1920

Umrao Singh was born. ww2dbase [Umrao Singh | CPC]

21 Nov 1929

China

Sun Du was named the chairman of Yunnan Province, China. ww2dbase [Sun Du | Yunnan | CPC]

21 Nov 1930

Douglas MacArthur became the Chief of Staff of the US Army at the rank of general. ww2dbase [Douglas MacArthur | CPC]

21 Nov 1932

Germany

Adolf Hitler again attempted to argue for his appointment as German Chancellor with the power to dissolve the Reichstag; President Paul von Hindenburg again refused to grant him such powers. ww2dbase [Adolf Hitler | CPC]

21 Nov 1935

Japan

Captain Michiaki Kamata was named the commanding officer of Tenryu. ww2dbase [Tenryu | CPC]
Chiaki Matsuda was made a faculty member at the Naval War College in Kamiosaki, Shinagawa, Tokyo, Japan. ww2dbase [Chiaki Matsuda | Tokyo | CPC]

Russia

Russian test pilot V. Kokkinaki flying a specially modified TsKB-3 raised the world altitude record to 47,818 feet. ww2dbase [I-15 | AC]

21 Nov 1937

China

Gao Zhihang, while at Zhoujiakou Airfield in Henan Province, China, awaiting his mechanics to start the engine of his I-16 fighter during a Japanese raid conducted by G4M2 bombers, a bomb struck near his aircraft, killing him. ww2dbase [Gao Zhihang | Zhoujiakou, Henan | CPC]
Mao Yingchu, flying a Hawk III biplane fighter, shot down a Japanese G3M bomber. He was wounded during the action. ww2dbase [Mao Yingchu | CPC]

Japan

Kaga departed Sasebo, Japan. ww2dbase [Kaga | Sasebo, Nagasaki | CPC]

21 Nov 1939

Lufthansa's Do 18F flying boat, upgraded with BMW 132N radial engines and redesignated Do 18L, took its first flight after the upgrade work. After two days of testing, it was found that the BMW engine suffered overheating problems. ww2dbase [Do 18 | CPC]
Heinrich Himmler announced that the United Kingdom was responsible for the 8 Nov 1939 attempt on Adolf Hitler's life. Two British agents were kidnapped in the Netherlands several days prior, who were blamed for plotting the attack. The attack, however, was actually planned by the Germans as means to raise Hitler's standing within Germany. ww2dbase [CPC]

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom declared an embargo on Germany, seizing all goods in the UK en route to Germany. ww2dbase [TH]

21 Nov 1940

Greek troops defeated the Italian IX Army and captured Koritza, Albania. The Greeks took 2,000 prisoners and captured 135 field guns and 600 machine guns. The surviving elements of the Italian IX Army was able to escape without being harassed as the Greeks were poorly motorized and could not give chase. ww2dbase [Balkans Campaign | TH]
German warships Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, Köln, and Leipzig departed for a sweep against Allied shipping between Iceland and the Faroe Islands. ww2dbase [Scharnhorst | CPC]
The German 6th Army exercised a simulated invasion of Ireland. ww2dbase [CPC]
German armed merchant cruiser Pinguin attacked British freighter Port Brisbane in the southern Indian Ocean after sundown, killing the radio operator in the process; 67 were taken prisoner and 27 escaped in a lifeboat. Port Brisbane was sunk by torpedo after scuttling charges failed to sink her. ww2dbase [Pinguin | CPC]
German submarine U-103 fired torpedoes from a surfaced position at Allied convoy OB-244 200 miles northwest of Ireland at 0740 hours, sinking British ship Daydawn (2 killed, 36 survived) and Greek ship Victoria (entire crew of 27 survived). A ship in the convoy attempted to ram U-103, but U-103 dodged the ramming attack; U-103 fired a torpedo at her attacker, but that torpedo, though striking the target, failed to detonate. ww2dbase [CPC]

United Kingdom

A German aircraft bombed the British Government Code and Cypher School at Bletchley Park, Buckinghamshire, England, United Kingdom, damaging the diplomatic section, the telephone exchange, and the typists room. There were no casualties. The attack was almost certainly accidental, as the Germans did not know of the importance of this site. ww2dbase [Battle of Britain | Bletchley Park | Milton Keynes, England | CPC]
The British No. 2 Commando Battalion was redesignated 11th Special Air Service Battalion for training as paratroopers. ww2dbase [CPC]

Photo(s) dated 21 Nov 1940
Karl Wolff, Reinhard Heydrich, Adelchi Serena, Heinrich Himmler, Emilio de Bono, Rodolfo Graziani, and Hans Georg von Mackensen at the funeral of Arturo Bocchini, Rome, Italy, 21 Nov 1940

21 Nov 1941

Hawaii

Joseph Rochefort's US Navy cryptanalytic team in Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii detected the arrival of a Japanese submarine squadron in the Marshall Islands. ww2dbase [Attack on Pearl Harbor | Pearl Harbor Navy Base and Ford Island Naval Air Station | Honolulu, Oahu | Detailed Timetable | CPC]

Libya

The Allied garrison at Tobruk, Libya attempted a breakout to link up with the main attack force coming from Egypt, which engaged with German 15th Panzer Division in a large-scale tank battle that would last for the next three days near Sidi Rezegh. Pressed for fuel, Erwin Rommel dispatched Italian cruiser Cardona from Brindisi, unescorted, to bring fuel to Benghazi. ww2dbase [Operation Crusader | CPC]

Pacific Ocean

Destroyer USS Shaw and fleet oiler USS Sabine suffered a collision at sea that required Shaw to put into Pearl Harbor for repairs. ww2dbase [Shaw | CPC] Bumper ships!

21 Nov 1942

Colonel General Eberhard von Mackensen replaced Paul Ludwig Ewald von Kleist as the commander of the German 1.Panzerarmee. ww2dbase [CPC]

Atlantic Ocean

Soviet destroyer Sokrushitelny, which was disabled on the previous day after a severe storm tore off its stem, sank. The skeleton crew of 16 men which remained aboard was lost. ww2dbase [Arctic Convoys | Norwegian Sea | CPC]

21 Nov 1943

Feldmarschall Kesselring was appointed commander of all German forces in Italy. ww2dbase [Albert Kesselring | TH]
Feldmarschall Rommel was placed in command of Atlantikwall defenses in France. ww2dbase [Erwin Rommel | TH]

21 Nov 1944

Albanian partisan units liberated the capital city of Tirana, Albania. ww2dbase [TH]

Philippines

Patrol Boat No. 102 arrived at Manila, Philippines at 1524 hours. ww2dbase [Stewart | Manila | CPC]

Yugoslavia

Bulgarian troops captured Pristina, Yugoslavia. ww2dbase [Belgrade Strategic Offensive Operation | Pristina, Serbia | CPC] Bulgaria was working with the Soviets and Tito's partisans.

21 Nov 1945

All accused at the Trial of the Major War Criminals of the Nuremberg Trials pleaded not guilty. ww2dbase [Nuremberg Trials and Other Trials Against Germany | CPC]

United States

Lieutenant General Alexander Patch died of pneumonia at Brooke General Hospital, Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio, Texas, United States where he had been hospitalized with lung problems. ww2dbase [San Antonio, Texas | AC]

https://ww2db.com/event/today/11/21

[Apollo11]

Hi all,

Good morning!


Leo "Apollo11"

[Zovs]

Good morning folks!

World War II Today: November 22

1937 (Monday)
Nanking (today’s Nanjing), China’s capital at the time, 15 foreign businessmen, missionaries, and journalists under the leadership of German national and Nazi Party member John Rabe organized the International Committee for the Nanking Safety Zone. The mission of the committee was to shelter Chinese refugees against the looming Japanese assault on the city, which had a prewar population of between 200,000 and 250,000. The Japanese had laid siege to the coastal city of Shanghai (they would enter that city on November 26) and had begun bombing the terrified inhabitants of Nanjing, nearly 200 miles/322 km inland, in August.

1939 (Wednesday)
German aircraft parachute mines into the Thames Estuary.

Six German aircraft raid the Shetlands. One RAF seaplane is set on fire.

One German aircraft shot down over the south east coast of England, seven more claimed over the Western Front.

France decides to put in place reprisal measures in response to the German war at sea.

1940 (Wednesday)
The Luftwaffe’s heaviest raid on Birmingham; 11-hr raid causes 600 fires.

Italian IX Army defeated. Greek troops capture Koritsa.

1941 (Saturday)
All operational U-boats ordered to proceed to the Mediterranean or its approach.

A confused battle continues around Sidi Rezegh, with XXX Corps being forced to stop it advance towards Tobruk after the loss of many tanks and for the Tobruk break-out to be halted. Better news for XIII Corps though as it captures Sidi Omar and Capuzzo.

German auxiliary cruiser Atlantis is sunk in the South Atlantic by heavy cruiser HMS Devonshire after having sunk 22 Allied merchant ships.

Luftwaffe ace Werner Mölders killed in landing accident while a passenger on a German He 111 bomber, the first pilot in the world to achieve over 100 victories.

Soviets open supply route to Leningrad across ice of Lake Ladoga.

German troops reach Rostov.

1942 (Sunday)
The Soviet 4th Mechanized Corps from the south and the 4th Tank Corps from the north, join hands at Kalach on the Don, thus establishing the complete encirclement of the 300,000 men of 6th and 4th Panzer Army’s. The Russians report gains of up to 50 miles south of Stalingrad.

Eighth Air Force Heavy Bomber Mission No. 22: 76 aircraft dispatched to attack U-boat base at Lorient. Only eleven attack the target but no aircraft are lost.

1943 (Monday)
German troops complete the occupation of the islands of the Dodecanese in the eastern Mediterranean.

The RAF give Berlin the worst pounding so far, with more than 2,300 tons of bombs dropped in less than 30 minutes for the loss of just 26 planes.

Start of the First Cairo Conference. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Chinese leader Chiang Kai-shek met in Cairo to discuss measures for defeating Japan. The French discuss accepting Lebanese independence and release the President and his ministers.

1944 (Wednesday)
Fighting in Metz is over but seven forts still hold out.

The RAF makes a second breach in the Dortmund-Ems Canal.

US Third Army takes crucial town of Metz, France.

Canadian Parliament assembled in a special meeting to debate the conscription crisis. Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King said that it had not become necessary to require drafted troops to serve overseas and that to do so "would occasion the most serious controversy that could arise in Canada. I can think of no course fraught with greater danger to our war effort, to say nothing of the unity and strength of Canada today and for generations to come, than a general election at this late stage of the war on the conscription issue. Until it is apparent conscription for overseas forces is necessary, the government would not be justified in taking the risk of widespread national dissention."

The British submarine Stratagem was depth charged and sunk in the Strait of Malacca by the Japanese submarine chaser CH 35.

The film Henry V, adapted from the William Shakespeare play of the same name premiered in the United Kingdom. The film starred Laurence Olivier, who also directed.

The musical film Meet Me in St. Louis starring Judy Garland and Margaret O'Brien premiered in St. Louis, Missouri.

1945 (Thursday)
Thanksgiving is celebrated in America; Macy’s parade resumes after being cancelled 1942-44.

The Hollywood Canteen closes after having entertained 4 million servicemen; 3000 volunteers included many movie stars.

[Zovs]

Good second morning folks!

Lets try a new one (not sure if I should combined WW2 and WW1 or not?)...

The Great War Today: November 22

1914 (Sunday)
Battles of Ypres, 1914, ends.

War Office assume control of the British operations in East Africa.

Basra (Mesopotamia) occupied by British forces. [Formal occupation took place on the 23rd.]

Keupri-Keui (Armenia) again taken bY Russian forces.

1915 (Monday)
Battle of Ctesiphon (Mesopotamia) begins.

General Sir H. Smith-Dorrien appointed Commander-in-Chief of British forces in East Africa [Did not take over command owing to illness.].

1916 (Wednesday)
Orsova (Hungary) taken by Austro-German forces.

German commerce raider "Seeadler" leaves Germany [Approximate date.].

1917 (Thursday)
M. Lebrun succeeds M. Jonnart as French Minister for Blockade.

German airship "L.-.59" reaches East Africa, but turns back without alighting [Evidence for this event rests on German statements only.].

[btd64]

INP....GP