The Second World War.

[Ennath]

September 3, 1939
Diplomatic Relations Hitler is astounded at the Anglo-French ultimata.He had expected a feeble response like that of Munich. When Ribbentrop tells him of the new situation, he asks, surprised “So now what?” The British ultimatum to Germany expires at 1100 hours and at 1115, Chamberlain broadcasts to announce that Britain is at war with Germany. “This morning the British Ambassador in Berlin handed the German Government a final note stating that unless we heard from them by eleven o'clock that they were prepared at once to withdraw their troops from Poland, a state of war would exist between us. I have to tell you that no such understanding has been received and that consequently this country is at war with Germany. This is a sad day for all of us, and to none is it sadder than to me. Everything that I have worked for, everything that I have believed in during my public life, has crashed into ruins. There is only one thing left for me to do: That is, to devote what strength and powers I have to forwarding the victory of the cause for which we have to sacrifice so much... I trust I may live to see the day when Hitlerism has been destroyed and a liberated Europe has been re-established." This is not exactly a model of inspiration to rally the public to war. India, Australia and New Zealand follow with declarations of war of their own. In the afternoon, at 1700 hours, the French follow suit and declare war in fact before their ultimatum expires.
The Allies announce their intention to abide by the Geneva Protocols banning gas warfare. Although there is some evidence for the use of gas in China, it will not be used on any other battle front.
Belgium proclaims neutrality. King Leopold III assumes command of the army.
Britain, Home Front Chamberlain forms a War Cabinet which includes Churchill as First Lord of the Admiralty and Eden as Secretary for the Dominions. Both have been among the most prominent critics of the appeasement policy. At 1135 hours, as if to confirm the state of war, there is an air raid warning in London, but it is a false alarm.
British Command Ironside becomes Chief of the Imperial General Staff.
Ireland Neutrality is proclaimed, but citizens are permitted to enlist in the British forces. Strict censorship of the press and radio insist that the war be referred to as “The Emergency.”
Poland The Polish Lodz Army is now in retreat after being beaten in the frontier battles with Army Group South. General Reichenau’s forces have crossed the Warta in some areas while List’s troops are converging on Krakow. Czestochowa falls. 3rd Army has penetrated the Polish antitank defenses at Mlawa. Some Polish units penetrate into East Prussia but their position becomes untenable as German forces advance to threaten their rear. The Polish Air Force has ceased to be a factor. Such is the confusion caused by the speed of the German advance that some 20% of Polish reserves are never mobilized.
War at Sea Britain announces a naval blockade of Germany. German ships start mining operations in the North Sea, especially along the German coast. German Stukas sink the Polish destroyer Wicher and minelayer Gryf at Hela.
Battle of the Atlantic The liner SS Athenia is torpedoed off the northwest coast of Ireland by U-30 as it is believed to be an auxiliary cruiser. There are 112 dead, including 28 Americans. Britain believes that this is the start of unrestricted submarine warfare but in fact after this the German naval authorities impose even stricter controls. The controls are gradually removed after about the middle of October.
At this stage, 39 of the German fleet of 58 U-Boats are at sea. Dönitz, the submarine chief, had hoped for a fleet of 300 before war with Britain. Two U-Boats are sunk this month. Allied shipping losses are 53 ships, of which 41 (153,800 tons) are sunk by submarines.
Germany, Home Front Jews are forbidden to be out of doors after 2000 hours in winter or 2100 in summer. All radios owned by Jews are confiscated.

September 3, 1940
Germany, Planning The operational orders for the invasion of Britain are issued. It is confirmed that the decision to go will be taken 10 days before the invasion takes place. S-Day is now scheduled for September 21.
The Sealion plan now provides for elements of 11 divisions to make the assault. Two airborne divisions are to be sent in at once, but the other nine will start 6700 strong and will only reach full strength after several days. About 250 tanks are to accompany the assault. Four divisions of 16th Army with airborne support will land near Folkstone, two of the 9th Army near Eastbourne, and three more of 9th Army, also with airborne support, at Brighton. These beachheads will not be mutually supporting in the early stages.
At this time, the defending British forces have only made a partial recovery from the equipment losses in France. There are perhaps four divisions fully equipped and about eight more in a reasonable state. In addition, there are various mobile brigade groups. There are about 350 cruiser and heavy tanks and about 500 anti-tank guns.

September 3, 1941
War Crimes The Germans first make use of Zyklon-B gas for human extermination purposes, using it to kill 600 Soviet POW’s at Auschwitz.
Eastern Front Under threat of encirclement the Germans begin withdrawing from the Yelnya salient while maintaining resistance on the flanks.

September 3, 1942
North Africa The New Zealand Division, around Alam Nayil, is ordered to attack southward to threaten Rommel’s retreat, but fails to get far in heavy fighting during the next two days.
Spain There is a major government shake-up. Following a bloody clash between Falangists and Carlists, Jose Serrano Suñer, the pro-Nazi foreign minister and head of the Falange (and Franco’s brother-in-law) is dropped. The pro-British General Count Gomez-Jordana becomes foreign minister. The Falange is greatly downgraded in importance and power.

September 3, 1943
Diplomatic Relations General Castellano signs the Italian surrender. No announcement is made until arrangements can be worked out to forestall a German takeover.
Italy At dawn units of British XIII Corps from Montgomery’s 8th Army cross the Strait of Messina north of Reggio after a heavy bombardment. There is almost no resistance. By the end of the day Reggio, Catona, and San Giovanni are taken by the main forces and Melito and Bagnara by commandos.
Eastern Front The Soviets take Putivl to the northeast of Konotop. They have now cut the Bryansk-Konotop railroad. In the south Ilovask in the Donets Basin is taken.

September 3, 1944
Western Front British troops enter Brussels without opposition. Tournai and Abbeville are also liberated. The US 3rd Army has advance units across the Moselle. US 1st Army takes Mons. French troops take Lyons. German 1st Army has managed to withdrawn from the Biscay coast and southwest, leaving only a few garrisons behind around Bordeaux. The escape of 1st and 19th Armies from south France adds 100,000 men to the German strength in the main theater.
Italy Canadian units cross the Conca and continue their advance.
Eastern Front Soviet forces north of Warsaw finally cross the Bug and close up to the Narew River the following day.

September 3, 1948
Poland Wladyslaw Gomulka is removed as Communist head of state; he felt to be too nationalist and after Yugoslavia’s “defection”, Stalin is taking no chances. There are similar crackdowns in the other satellite states.

[Ennath]

September 4, 1939
Europe, Air Operations The first attacks by RAF Bomber Command go in against German warships in the Heligoland Bight. The Admiral Scheer is hit three times but the bombs do not explode. Of the 24 attacking aircraft, six are lost. There is no question at this stage of attacking targets in Germany. For the next few months, only leaflets are dropped and when the question is raised in Parliament in October, the government reply is that there can be no thought of bombing industry in the Ruhr because it is private property.
Western Front The first skirmishes occur between French and German troops.
Poland In the north, the Polish Modlin Army begins to retreat after putting up a stubborn defense around Mlawa. 3rd Army’s mechanized forces have been badly hurt and the advance on Modlin itself is delayed by several days. In the south, Reichenau’s forces have already advanced more than 50 miles.
Germany, Politics The Völkischer Beobachter declares that the sinking of the Athenia was arranged by Churchill to create an incident between Germany and the United States.
South Africa, Politics Prime Minister Herzog, anti-British and pro-Afrikaner nationalist, is deposed as head of the United Party for his desire to keep South Africa neutral. General Smuts replaces him the following day.
Diplomatic Relations Japan declares her neutrality and will “concentrate her efforts on a settlement of the China affair.” Spain also proclaims neutrality. Nepal declares war on Germany.

September 4, 1940
United States, Politics The United States warns the Japanese government against making aggressive moves in Indochina.
Isolationists found the America First Committee to oppose US involvement in the war. At its peak it will boast some 800,000 members, mostly in the Midwest, but sympathy for it is strong throughout the country. Lindbergh is a prominent spokesman.
Germany, Politics Referring to the British raid on Berlin, Hitler declares, “I have tried to spare the British. They have mistaken my humanity for weakness and have replied by murdering German women and children. If they attack our cities we will simply erase theirs.”
France, Politics Petain dismisses Weygand as Minister of Defense, making him general delegate of the government in Africa.
Diplomatic Relations The Japanese and French are negotiating Japanese bases in Indochina. The Japanese intercept a French cable to the US and UK, signaling that they still have influence in Indochina. The Japanese army argues that force must now be used before the British or Americans assert a presence.

September 4-6, 1940
Rumania There are political upheavals following the recent losses of territory by the Vienna Award. Army officers refuse to fire on the Iron Guard rioters. On the 4th, King Carol gives General Ion Antonescu full powers. Parliament is dissolved on the 5th and the constitution suspended, and on the 6th the king abdicates in favor of Prince Michael. Later in the month it is announced that the Fascist Iron Guard is to be the only legal political party.

September 4, 1941
Battle of the Atlantic In a convoy operation, the US destroyer Greer is attacked by a U-Boat but is not damaged and in return attempts to sink the submarine with depth-charges. In fact, the Greer has been brought into action by the reports of a British aircraft and has been mistaken, not unreasonably, for a British ship by the German commander. Roosevelt, however, presents the incident to the American public as an example of German aggression.
Eastern Front The Finns take Beloostrov, a frontier station 20 miles from Leningrad, but are driven out again the next day.
Jodl visits Mannerheim to try to persuade him to continue his offensive, but the old general refuses. Instead the Finns open an offensive in East Karelia, north of Lake Ladoga.
Guatemala The government cracks down on Nazi propaganda; the country has one of Latin America’s largest German immigrant populations.

September 4, 1942
Eastern Front Over 1000 German planes carpet bomb Stalingrad. The Germans reach the Volga south of the city and penetrate into the western suburbs. The Leningrad offensive comes to a halt; a German counterattack on the salient is cancelled later in the month.
New Guinea The Australians continue to advance at Milne Bay and take Goroni.

September 4-5, 1942
Guadalcanal Again the Japanese on Guadalcanal are reinforced. Two old American destroyers being used as fast transports are sunk by the Japanese destroyers.

September 4, 1943
New Guinea The Allies land at Huon Gulf east of Lae. The troops are from 9th Australian Division.
Solomons The US forces on Arundel which have been quietly consolidating their beachhead begin to move out into the rest of the island.
Eastern Front The Germans are conducting a fighting withdrawal from the vital mining region in the Don basin.

September 4, 1944
Western Front British troops enter Antwerp but fail to push forward to take the important canal crossings which lead to ground dominating the approaches to the vital port. Other towns freed today are Lille, Louvain, Malines, and Etaples. The Hitler Youth Panzer Division (12th SS), which entered combat in June with almost 20,000 troops, now has only 600 left.
Eastern Front In the Carpathians the Soviets take Brasov. Senaia also falls.
Finland A cease-fire is agreed between the Soviets and Finns and comes into effect immediately.
Burma Slim directs XV Corps to engage the enemy in Arakan, while XXXIII Corps will launch a major offensive across the Chindwin at the beginning of December. Meanwhile 11th East African Division occupies Sittaung without opposition and sends units forward to Kalemyo.

September 4, 1945
Russia, Politics The State Defense Committee disbands.

September 4, 1948
The Netherlands Queen Wilhelmina, on the throne since 1890, abdicates in favor of her daughter Juliana.

[palo5]

Originally Posted by Ennath

...
September 2, 1944
Finland Finland breaks relations with Germany and demands that all German troops be withdrawn...

Except they didn't want to go, so the Lapland War started. Few people in Germany today seem to know about this, but they had bigger troubles elsewhere, so it's probably understandable

Unfortunately, during the war/withdrawal, the Germans burned or blew up most of the buildings in the major towns, and there were only seven buildings left in the entire Lapland capital of Rovaniemi

[scoundrel]

Originally Posted by palo5

Except they didn't want to go, so the Lapland War started. Few people in Germany today seem to know about this, but they had bigger troubles elsewhere, so it's probably understandable

Unfortunately, during the war/withdrawal, the Germans burned or blew up most of the buildings in the major towns, and there were only seven buildings left in the entire Lapland capital of Rovaniemi

The German commander was General Lothar Rendulic,a singularly unsubtle and maladroit character. After he had refused to withdraw his forces when the Finns asked him to do so, he reacted to the first Finnish victory in the Battle of Tornio by taking 132 civilians hostage at Kemi (plus 130 from Rovaniemi) and threatening to execute them in 3 days unless the Finns withdrew from the territory they had just recaptured and handed back the POWs they had just taken.

Prior to this the Finns had been acting dutifully and with no enthusiasm, forced to do what they had to do in order not to violate their peace agreement with Stalin, which they dared not break. But Rendulic offended and deeply angered them with this crude ultimatum. Their response was to point out that they had hundreds of Germans in custody, including many in their hospitals still being cared for because they were wounded fighting for Finland when Finland had still been on their side. Every Finn murdered by Rendulic would be paid back by a German POW executed in retaliation. Who can say whether this was a real offer or merely a bluff; but the Germans assessed it on their own terms, possibly because they had experience of Finland and appreciated that the Finns weren't much in the habit of making empty threats. Also it was a big mistake in propaganda terms, hardening the attitude of many people in Finland against their erstwhile co-belligerents.

The German side in the Lapland War acted spitefully and with great malice. They also salted the ground with mines and booby traps, which were still killing innocent people a long time after VE Day. But ironically, Rendulic may be entirely innocent on the specific charge of destroying the town of Rovaniemi. The records show that he ordered the destruction of the public buildings but specifically and explicitly ordered that the civilian homes should be spared. However an ammunition train exploded in the sidings of the town's railway station (a Finnish long range penetration commando unit blew it up)...and the town was made of wood.

Rendulic wised up and released his hostages unhurt. Had he executed them, he would almost certainly have been hanged for it. Instead he got 20 years for various war crimes (none of which involved out and out murder, though he was indirectly involved in deaths in Yugoslavia); he was out in ten. He settled in Lech in Austria and became a minor politician. Nice chap.

[palo5]

Originally Posted by scoundrel

...However an ammunition train exploded in the sidings of the town's railway station (a Finnish long range penetration commando unit blew it up)...

There's more than one version of this story, but I haven't heard that one before. For me it seems more likely that it was an accident, or the Germans did it deliberately. What motive the Finns would have to blow it up, is unclear to me. Why do you believe it?

...and the town was made of wood

A lot of it still is, even after it was rebuilt. Wood is a prime building material almost everywhere, except in deserts

[scoundrel]

Originally Posted by palo5

There's more than one version of this story, but I haven't heard that one before. For me it seems more likely that it was an accident, or the Germans did it deliberately. What motive the Finns would have to blow it up, is unclear to me. Why do you believe it?

The Finns themselves made this claim. They had a lot of sucessful experience with similar long distance patrols against the Soviet Army in both of their wars with Russia, it was a method they had thoroughly mastered; and here they were fighting on their own manor. It does make sense that they would mount such an operation and in purely millitary terms it paid off, because many Germans were killed and wounded in the explosion (Franz Schreiber: War Beneath The Northern Lights) and of course in a rather remote location the Germans lost significant supplies. The train explosion and town fire also destroyed the explosives which were intended for the main bridge over the River Kemjoki, south of the town. The Germans managed to blow the bridge but the delay meant that they nearly lost a battalion trapped on the wrong side, fighting to delay the advancing 11th Finnish Infantry Regiment.

Presumably no one on either side foresaw how extensive the fire was going to be. The many German injured by flying glass when the train blew certainly didn't realise in advance that it was about to happen.

Originally Posted by palo5

A lot of it still is, even after it was rebuilt. Wood is a prime building material almost everywhere, except in deserts

Well yes, but Rovaniemi was almost 100% built of wood, which is logical in Lapland, but more flammable than say a timber-framed brick-built town such as many in Germany; and heaven knows, some of these burned pretty well with encouragement from RAF Bomber Command.

[palo5]

Originally Posted by scoundrel

The Finns themselves made this claim...

This is new to me, and it doesn't seem to make sense. After all, the Finns really only wanted the Germans to leave, so blowing up the only railroad out would be counter-productive. The big picture was not about killing or capturing Germans, but getting them out (and keeping the Soviets happy)

I don't think anyone would want to admit responsibility for Rovaniemi, unless they wanted to be controversial. Traditionally, Finns blame the Germans, and it's true they burned a lot in Lapland, so such a conclusion is easy

But Rovaniemi is a sort of "gray area". It doesn't make sense to me that either side did it deliberately. So I believe it was an accident

Admittedly, I've only read Finnish histories. And the biggest doesn't give blame to anyone, but just says it happened. I've never seen a German account. Maybe I should read your suggestion "Kampf unter dem Nordlicht" by Schreiber (great name for a writer, btw)

[Ennath]

September 5, 1925
Germany, Home Front The Völkischer Beobachter hails Chamberlain’s Foundations of the Nineteenth Century as “the Gospel of the National Socialist Movement.”

September 5-10, 1934
Germany, Home Front The Party Rally of Unity is held in Nuremberg. Filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl records the event and releases it as a three-hour film, Triumph of the Will.

September 5, 1938
Chile An attempted coup by German-backed rebels fails.

September 5, 1939
Diplomatic Relations The United States proclaims its neutrality. Roosevelt states in a radio address, “This nation will remain a neutral nation, but I cannot ask that every American remain neutral in thought as well.” On September 8, he proclaims a state of limited emergency. On September 12, naval patrols to enforce neutral status are begun.
Poland Some German spearheads force the line of the Vistula. The Polish Corridor is completely cut and the Pomeranian Army crippled. The hills around Lodz are cleared of Polish troops. German troops occupying Bydgoszcz find hundreds of ethnic Germans killed by the fleeing Poles. German troops entering Piotrkow set fire to the Jewish district. In all some 5000 ethnic Germans will be killed; SS retaliations will kill at least 50,000 Poles by the end of October.
Britain, Politics The government creates a Ministry of Information.

September 5, 1940
English Channel German minelayers are active that night the Dover Straits.
Indochina After some Japanese border crossings, the French suspend talks.

September 5, 1941
Russia, Home Front Children under 12 are to be evacuated from Moscow.

September 5, 1942
New Guinea The Japanese evacuate 1300 men from Milne Bay, leaving 600 to oppose the Australians.
Soviet Air Operations Soviet bombers raid Budapest. Little damage is done.

September 5, 1943
Eastern Front The main Soviet drives in the Bryansk and Donets sectors make considerable gains. Artemovsk in the south and Khutov and Mikhailovsky farther north are all in Soviet hands.
New Guinea The US 503rd Parachute Regiment lands in the Markham Valley at Nadzeb, in the rear of Lae. They are joined by Australian units from Tsili Tsili. The complete Australian 7th Division is to be flown in.

September 5, 1944
Western Front US 1st Army takes Namur and Charleroi. Hitler brings Rundstedt back to command in the west.
Italy 8th Army’s attacks continue but they are now up against the strong German positions on the Coriano and Gemmano ridges. Attacks fail to break through. In the west, US IV Corps captures Lucca.
Bulgaria The Bulgarian attempts to stay out of the war prove unsuccessful. The Soviet Union today declares war. Bulgaria immediately surrenders.
Eastern Front The German-allied Hungarian 2nd Army attacks the Soviet-allied Rumanian 4th Army.
Diplomatic Relations The Benelux Customs Union, between Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg, is established by agreement of the exile governments. This is the first move that will eventually lead to the European Economic Community and, eventually in the 1990’s to the European Union.

September 5, 1945
Cold War Igor Gouzenko, a clerk at the Soviet Embassy in Ottawa, defects and provides proof of a Soviet spy network in Canada and other Western nations. The Gouzenko affair helps change perceptions of the Soviet Union from an ally to a foe.

[scoundrel]

This weekend I visited the De Havilland Mosquito Museum near Watford, a place full of really remarkable artifacts of Britain’s aviation history.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Havi...eritage_Centre
One of the exhibits is a very large (for a aeroplane) cannon, a 57mm 6 pounder, which weighed 1.5 tons even before counting in the 25 rounds of ammunition in a belt which it could fire in 20 seconds. It was a fearsome weapon, and the fact that a Mosquito could carry it, at over 400mph, and could cope with the force of the recoil, is astonishing to me. The Mosquito was made with a wooden airframe and wings; the strength of this construction was remarkable.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M00f5RxhxLY


This cannon was mainly used to attack U Boats and light surface ships in the North Sea, off the Texel Islands and in the Bay of Biscay. A visit from one of these could totally spoil your whole day.

The Mosquito was powered by two Rolls Royce Merlin engines and there were several Merlins on display. Here is an image of an intact Merlin engine to give an idea.


The most startling and poignant of the Merlins in this collection was in Hanger E. It was retrieved from the crash site of a USAAF Mosquito. I had not been aware that the Americans ever bought or operated Mosquitoes, but there was a factory making them in Canada so they were available, and clearly the USAAF did in fact have some. The Merlin engine is a V12 inline engine cast in steel and aluminium alloy, 2.25m long and weighs 1,640lbs; not much less than a ton. It is a very solid object. This one was bent like a banana through at least 10 degrees and with large splits in the case and body of the engine where it was folded back upon itself by the force of the impact. It was twisted as well. One knows, theoretically, that war is violent, but seeing is believing. Sadly, but not surprisingly, the two Americans in that Mosquito died in the crash.

I have seen German cannons on Utah Beach with their barrels split like peeled bananas where American soldiers blew them with satchel charges, just in case they might be re-captured and used to fire on the beach for a second time. The metal was/is very thick and high grade steel; it takes a lot of force to literally smash it like that. Men, on the other hand, are flimsy and easy to break and destroy. This is food for thought.

[squigg58]

Originally Posted by scoundrel

One of the exhibits is a very large (for a aeroplane) cannon, a 57mm 6 pounder, which weighed 1.5 tons even before counting in the 25 rounds of ammunition in a belt which it could fire in 20 seconds.

Speaking of big guns ...

The Henschel HS129 B-3 and the North American B-25G/H were equipped with 75mm cannon!




The HS129 was a remarkable design, although it's potential was limited by underpowered engines; the prototype having two Argus AS410 air-cooled V-12's, and the production aircraft having 14-cylinder radial Gnome-Rhône 14M's.

The pilot sat in an armoured steel "bathtub", and space in the cockpit was so limited that the gunsight and some of the instruments were located externally.



Early models of the HS129 had 30mm centreline guns (MK101 or MK 103) but an auto-loading version of the 75mm Pak 40 was fitted to the B-3 variant.


30mm MK103 and 75mm Pak 40 installations

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henschel_Hs_129

***********

An excellent photo-tribute to the B-25H

http://helios.augustana.edu/~kla/web..._pictures.html