This day in the war in Europe 65 years ago

[syscom3]

21 October 1942

ATLANTIC OCEAN: In the North Sea, the 3,974 ton cargo/passenger ship SS 'Palatia' departs Kristiansand, Norway. On board are 999 Russian POWs and 135 ships crew and guards, a total of 1,134 men. About an hour after sailing, the ship is torpedoed by a Hampden Mk. I torpedo bomber from No. 489 Squadron, Royal New Zealand Air Force, based at Wick, Caithness, Scotland. The 'Palatia' sinks near the Sangnvaar Lighthouse, with the loss of 954 men.

EASTERN FRONT: A combined German, Finnish and Italian force launched an unsuccessful attack on Suho Island on Lake Ladoga to break the Soviet supply route to Leningrad. 12 'Seibel' ferries were dispatched on this operation. If it had succeeded, it would have posed a major threat against the Soviet sea-line to Leningrad. But the attack was beaten back by the island's Russian garrison.

German street fighters make gains in the Red October area of Stalingrad and over the next two days more than half of the Barrikady Factory and housing project in the north are taken in a series of vicious attacks.

The first FW 190 claimed shot down by Soviet fighters appears to have been a case of mistaken aircraft idenity. When six I-16s of the Soviet naval Guards fighter aviation regiment, 4 GvIAP/VVS-KBF, led by 1st Eskadrilya's ace Kapitain Ovchinnikov, attempted to intercept a formation of Ju 88s over the Gulf of Finland, the Soviets came under attack by "two finger-four groups" of "air-cooled-engined fighters" - identified as FW 190s. Ovchinnikov was hit and barely managed to withdraw from combat with severe wounds. Two of the German fighters immediately pursued his Ishak. Kapitain Petr Kozhanov and his wingman immediately turned to Ovchinnikov's assisstance. Kozhanov aimed carefully and fired all his six RS rockets at the German plane. The explosion threw the leading"FW 190" into a spin and the triumphant Soviet pilot saw it crash into the water. The confusion among the surviving Axis fighters enabled the I-16s - including Ovchinnikov - to withdraw and return to base. No such loss can be found in the German records for this date. One possibility is that the aircraft downed by Kapitain Kozhanov in fact was a Finnish Brewster Buffalo.

After a seven-day action, 20,000 Jews have been sent from the Piotrkow ghetto to Treblinka for gassing. Treblinka, established in 1941 as a forced labor camp for those accused of crimes by the occupation authorities, is located 50 miles (80 kilometers) northeast of Warsaw, Poland.

MEDITERRANEAN : German submarine U-431 is sunk about 75 nautical miles (139 kilometers) east of Cartagena, Spain, by depth charges from an RAF Wellington Mk. XIV, of No. 179 Squadron based at Gibraltar; all 53 crewmen are lost.

NORTH AFRICA: In advance of the Allied North African landings, U.S. Major General Mark W. Clark, Deputy Commander in Chief Allied Expeditionary Force; Brigadier General Lyman M. Lemnitzer, Assistant Chief of Staff to Supreme Allied Commander Mediterranean; two additional Army officers; and Navy Captain Jerauld Wright are landed at Cherchel, about 49 miles (79 kilometers) west of Algiers, from British submarine HMS/M 'Seraph' to meet with a French military delegation to ascertain French attitudes toward impending Allied operations. Among issues discussed is the French request for an American submarine to evacuate General Henri-Honere Giraud, a POW in occupied France. Since none is available for that mission, a British submarine under temporary U.S. command will be substituted. The meeting comes to an abrupt halt after a servant tips off police who happen to belong to the resistance. Clark's party gets a good soaking when their boat capsizes on return to HMS/M 'Seraph'.

US Army, Middle East Air Force B-24 Liberators dispatched against shipping at Bengasi fail to locate target because of bad weather; during the return flight, several B-24s bomb tent areas along the coast and also hit landing grounds; B-25 Mitchells, cooperating with the RAF, bomb a landing ground and tent area.

NORTHERN FRONT: In the Gulf of Bothnia between Finland and Sweden, the Soviet submarine S-7 surfaces in the open sea at 1926 hours and is located by the Finnish submarine 'Vesihiisi' 8 000 meters (4.3 nautical miles) away. A single torpedo is fired from 2 000 meters (1.1 nautical miles), hitting the Soviet boat in the stern and sinking it. Only the four men standing in the bridge, including the captain survive, and are made POWs.

WESTERN FRONT: The USAAF Eighth Air Force flies Mission 15 against two targets; three B-17 Flying Fortresses are lost: 83 B-17s from the USAAF 97th, 301st and 306th BG along with 24 B-24s from the 93rd BG, were dispatched to attack the U-Boat pens at Keroman and an airfield in France. 17 B-17s from the 11th CCRC were sent to bomb Cherbourg. Heavy cloud cover forced a recall of the bombers but 15 Fortresses from the 97th BG continued to its target. After bombing the target, the formation was bounced by 36 FW 190s over the French coast. 3 B-17s were shot down and another 6 badly damaged. 5 bombers were claimed as destroyed by fighters from JG 2. The bombers claimed have shot down 10 Luftwaffe fighters. The second mission consisting of eight of 17 B-17s bomb Cherbourg Airfield; they claim 10-4-3 aircraft without loss.

During the day, three RAF Bomber Command Mosquitos are dispatched to Germany but only two are able to bomb targets, the Stork diesel engine factory at Hengelo and the airfield at Leeuwarden. No losses.

During the night of 21/22 October, RAF Bomber Command dispatches seven Stirlings and seven Wellingtons to lay mines off Denmark and in the Frisian Islands of the Netherlands but the Wellingtons are recalled. Six of the seven Stirlings lay their mines in the Frisian Islands with the loss of one aircraft.

 

[Njaco]

22 October 1942

ATLANTIC OCEAN: German submarine U-412 (Type VIIC) is sunk about 231 nautical miles north of Lerwick, Shetland Islands, U.K., by depth charges from an RAF Wellington Mk. VIII, aircraft of No. 179 Squadron based at Skitton, Caithness, Scotland; all 47 crewmen are lost. (Syscom)

EASTERN FRONT: The first snow of the winter fell at Stalingrad. At Stalingrad, against fierce Soviet resistance, units of the German 6.Armee capture most of the Red October and Barricades factories in the northern part of the city. (Syscom)

Oblt. Gunther Rall of III./JG 52 reached the 100 kill mark and was awarded the Eichenlaub.

The retreating ferries from the small Lake Ladoga island of Sukho came under repeated attacks from Soviet aircraft. Throughout the day, the ferries were harrassed by Russian aircraft and torpedo and gunboats, who pursued them back to their own base. I./JG 54 largely failed to provide the German vessels with air cover. Although the Gruppe claimed 7 Soviet airctaft shot down (actual Soviet losses were 3 IL-2s and 2 I-15s) four ferries were sunk and one infantry boat was captured by the Russians. 3 of the ferries were lost because they ran aground near the island during the German attack. 1. and 3./LeLv 26 claimed 4 Soviet aircraft during the retreat. Soviet 3 GIAP/VVS-KBF's Kapitain Georgiy Kostylev, who commanded the Soviet fighters that participated during the operation, was appointed Hero of the Soviet Union. All 3 Italian 12th Naval flotilla MASs co-operated with German pontoons in the attack on the Sukho islet.

GERMANY: RAF Bomber Command dispatches 22 Wellingtons on cloud-cover raids to Essen, the Ruhr and the Dortmund-Ems Canal at Lingen. Thirteen aircraft bombed estimated positions through cloud, nine at Essen and four at Lingen . One of the Wellington's came down low and machine-gunned a train near Lingen, setting some of the carriages on fire. No aircraft are lost. (Syscom)

MEDITTERANEAN: US Army, Middle East Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses sent to bomb Candia, Crete abort because of weather. (Syscom)

During the night of 22/23 October, 112 RAF Bomber Command Lancasters and the Pathfinders are dispatched to Genoa to recommence the campaign against Italy to coincide with the opening of the Eighth Army offensive at El Alamein, Egypt; 100 aircraft bomb the city. It is a perfectly clear moonlight night and the Pathfinder marking is described as "prompt and accurate." The bombing by this comparatively small force of aircraft, carrying only 180 tons (163 metric tonnes) of bombs, could hardly have been carried out under more ideal conditions. No Lancasters are lost. Details from Genoa are not precise but very heavy damage is caused in the city centre and in the eastern districts. Provisional estimates of casualties are 39 dead and 200 injured but the actual figures may have been higher. Local reports mention the severe effect on the morale of the people of Genoa. (Syscom)

NORTH AFRICA: B-25s bombed dispersal aircraft. In Egypt, P-40s escorted bombers, attacked tent areas and motor transport along the coastal road near El Hammam and made fighter sweeps west of El Daba, and bombed artillery positions. P-40s claimed two German fighters destroyed.

The British Eighth Army moves secretly into assault positions during the night of 22/23 October.

Advance U.S. Air headquarters of the US Army, Middle East Air Force, previously attached to the RAF Advanced Air HQ, Western Desert, to gain field experience, becomes Headquarters, Desert Air Task Force (DATF), located at Burg el Arab, Egypt, with Lieutenant General Lewis H Brereton as Commanding General.

NORTH AMERICA: The Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company, by amendment to a USN design study contract, is authorized to construct two 19A axial flow turbojet powerplants. Thereby, fabrication is initiated of the first jet engine of wholly American design. (Syscom)

UNITED KINGDOM: The first echelon of Headquarters, USAAF Twelfth Air Force begins a movement from the U.K. to North Africa. (Syscom)

WESTERN FRONT: Vichy Radio, quoting a Stockholm, Sweden, telegram, states that Germany and her allies are planning to denounce the Geneva Convention of 1864, re the Red Cross and prisoners of war. According to the telegram, the Axis declares that "England, by her methods of war, has been the first to cast off the obligations arising from this Convention." (Syscom)

During the night of 22/23 October, 11 RAF Bomber Command Stirlings laid mines off the southern Biscay coast without loss. Five laid mines in the Gironde Estuary, four off Bayonne and two off St. Jean de Luz. (Syscom)

Douglas DC-3-268, msn 2132, registered SE-BAG by the Swedish airline ABA (AB Aerotransport or Swedish Air Lines), is shot down by a Luftwaffe Ju-88 near Hallo. Thirteen of the 15 people aboard are
killed in the ensuing crash. (Syscom)

 

[syscom3]

23 October 1942

ATLANTIC OCEAN: The invasion transports are bound from the U.S. and U.K. for North Africa and the "Torch" landings. There are 21 German U-Boats operating in the Gibraltar area but due to their pre-occupation with convoy SL-125 (Sierra Leone to the U.K.), they do not sight the invasion ships.

GERMANY: Berlin radio states that Britain would be excluded from the post-war "European Charter" because;

"....she has estranged herself from Europe more and more under Churchill's regime."

During the day, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 26 Wellingtons to bomb two targets in the Ruhr: seven bomb Essen and four bomb Krefeld. These aircraft bombed estimated positions through cloud without loss.

MEDITTERANEAN: US Army, Middle East Air Force bombers sent to attack Candia turn back short of the target due to bad weather.

During the night of 23/24 October, RAF Bomber Command sends 122 aircraft, 53 Halifaxes, 51 Stirlings and 18 Wellingtons, to bomb Genoa; 92 bomb the target with the loss of two Halifaxes and a Stirling. The target area is found to be almost completely cloud-covered and it is later discovered that the raid has actually fallen on the town of Savona, 30 miles (48 kilometers) along the coast from Genoa. Four aircraft bomb Turin where two people are killed and ten injured.

NORTH AFRICA: Operation LIGHTFOOT/Second Battle of El Alamein: General Montgomery, British Eighth Army, started the last and decisive campaign against Axis forces in the desert. At 21.40 hours precisely the assault opened with an artillery barrage by 1,000+ guns aimed at Axis batteries; the desert silence was rent by the crash of 1,000 heavy guns, so powerful that the ground shook under the feet of the engineers who moved forward into the "Devil's Garden" - Rommel's 5 mile deep minefields - clearing lanes and marking them with white tape. The first barrage lasted for 15 minutes. At 2200 hours, the barrage switches to the forward positions as British troops move forward. For a few seconds before 22.00 hours, the skirl of bagpipes could be heard down the lines before an even more intensive bombardment opened up. This was the cue for the infantry to begin its advance with the 51st Highland, 1st South African and New Zealand Divisions, their bayonets fixed, going forward at a steady 75 strides a minute to clear the way for the waiting armoured divisions. The speed of the Highlander's advance brought them under fire from their own artillery as well as the German's. Casualties were high but they managed to storm their first objective, the heavily-defended Miteiriya Ridge. Everything depended on the tanks of XXX Corps, - new Grants and Shermans -breaking through. But so many tanks were trying to get through that a massive traffic snarl-up was blocking the lanes, a perfect target for German artillery. Monty intervened and soon the tanks were moving again. The 12 Italian and German divisions amounted to 80,000 men (53,000 of which are Italian). The Commonwealth forces amount to 230,000 men divided among ten divisions. As far as the tanks are concerned, only the German Panzer IV (35 total) are equal to the Commonwealth' s American M4 Sherman (252 total) and M3 Grant (170 total) tanks. The British attack the sector defended by the Italian Folgore Parachute Division. The Italian forces include 3,500 paratroopers, 1,000 Guastatori d'Africa, 80 artillery pieces and five tanks of German origin. The Folgore prepare their defenses among a 15 kilometer (9.3 mile) barrier and realize they are the last defense before the rear of the Italo-German Army. The British are thrown back after every attempt with a considerable loss of life and are ordered a stop any further initiatives on that front. Total dead, wounded or missing amount to 1,100 for the Folgore. Progress was slow at first and the battle became a straight slogging match. Australian troops played an important part with a thrust in the north near the sea. In the build-up to the battle, Royal Navy submarines and RAF aircraft, especially those based in Malta, were sinking more than a third of Axis supplies setting out for North Africa. As the offensive got underway, the Inshore Squadron continued to support and supply Eighth Army along its right, seaward flank. Heavy fighting continued during the night of 23/24 October with XXX Corps on the north making the main effort and XIII Corps conducting diversionary actions on the south.

At 1500 hours Oblt. Paul Sommer, a Dane serving in 4./JG 27 flying a Bf 109F west of El Daba, shot down a Kittyhawk for his first score. In the morning, a pair of "P-46s" brought down east of El Alamein, took the Staffelkapitaen of 8./JG 27, Lt. Werner Schroer's tally to 51.

US Army, Middle East Air Force bombers sent to attack and Bengasi turn back short of the target due to bad weather. RAF and USAAF fighter aircraft maintain constant air patrols over Axis airfields after a four-day bombing campaign wipes out most of the opposing forces.

Admiral Francois Darlan, Commander in Chief of the Armistice (Vichy) Army, arrives in Rabat to rally Vichy colonies.

UNITED STATES: Forces from the U.S. begin a movement to North Africa in preparation for Operation TORCH, the invasion of northwest Africa. The first detachment of the Western Naval Task Force, under Rear Admiral Henry K. Hewitt, sails from Hampton Roads, Virginia.

A commercial airliner and a USAAF bomber collide in the air over Mount Jacinto, Palm Springs, California, at 1715 hours local killing all 12 aboard the airliner. The commercial airliner is Douglas DC-3-178, msn 1555, registered NC16017 by the U.S. airline American Airlines; the bomber is a Lockheed (Model 137-27-02) B-34-VE Lexington. The midair collision at 9,000 feet (2 743 meters) destroys the rudder of the DC-3 causing it to crash, the B-34 lands safely with minor damage. The accident report blames the reckless and irresponsible conduct of the bomber pilot in deliberately maneuvering a bomber in dangerous proximity to an airliner in an unjustifiable attempt to attract the attention of the first officer, his friend aboard the airliner. Composer and song writer Ralph Rainger, 41, is among the dead . Rainger's compositions include "Thanks for the Memory," "June in January," "Blue Hawaii" and "Ebbtide."

WESTERN FRONT: Eight RAF Bomber Command Wellingtons lay mines off La Pallice.

During the day, three RAF Bomber Command Mosquitos hit the Stork diesel engine factory at Hengelo with the loss of one aircraft.

During the night of 23/24 October, six RAF Bomber Command Wellingtons lay mines off Stavanger; one aircraft is lost.

 

[Njaco]

24 October 1942

ATLANTIC OCEAN: German submarine U-599 is sunk about 500 nautical miles (927 kilometers) southwest of Cork, County Cork, Eire, by depth charges from an RAF Liberator Mk. II, aircraft of No. 224 Squadron based at RAF Bealieu, Hampshire, England; all 44 crewmen are lost.(Syscom)

EASTERN FRONT: The Cafe Club (a German Army recreation center in Warsaw) is bombed by members of the Communist Gwardia Ludowa (People's Guard) in retaliation for the public execution of 50 of its members.(Syscom)

MEDITERRANEAN: The first daylight attack on Italy was mounted by British-based RAF Lancaster Bombers (Whitley's first bombed Italy, staging through the Channel Islands in 1940), when bombers of RAF No. 5 Group were dispatched to attack Milan. During the previous night, 100 Lancasters attacked Genoa and today a total of 112 machines flew below barrage balloons to hit Milan in broad daylight. The aircraft proceed independently by a direct route across France, using partial cloud cover, to a rendezvous at Lake Annecy, France. The Alps are then crossed and Milan bombed in broad daylight. Defences are weak and accurate bombing takes place. The raid came as a complete surprise in Milan. One hundred thirty five tons (122 metric tonnes) of bombs fall in 18 minutes and 30 large fires are started; 441 houses are destroyed or damaged. R.A.F. reconnaissance photographs later discover that a number of commercial and industrial buildings are also hit, including the Caproni aircraft factory. At least 171 people are killed. Three Lancasters were lost enroute, 1 near the target and 2 over northern France. Another crashed in the UK. A Lancaster pilot said later;

"We crossed the Channel at almost zero altitiude and over France in one enormous mass at 50 feet. The French waved to us."

They flew over the Alps below the summit of Mont Blanc, found Italy under cloud and emerged through this at 4,000 feet over Milan railway station. Another crew flew over the football stadium at half-time, the ball clearly visible in the net. When they released their 4,000 lb "cookies", there was panic below them. One pilot described hitting a facory;

"That's a factory, that was!"

The sun was setting over the Alps as they began the 750 mile flight home. Fw. Gerhard Schmalenberg and Uffz. Walter Leber from 3./JG 2 claimed 2 of the Lancasters. This raid formed part of a series aimed at Italian targets, timed to coincide with the opening of Eighth Army's El Alamein offensive.

During the night of 24/25 October, Milan is again hit; 71 aircraft, 25 Halifaxes, 23 Stirlings and 23 Wellingtons, are dispatched; 43 bomb the city. Four Wellingtons and two Stirlings are lost, 8.5 per cent of the force. Storms en route disperse the bomber force; some aircraft fly over Switzerland and are "warned" by anti-aircraft fire. Local reports say that little further damage is caused.

NORTH AFRICA: Around midnight last night, General Montgomery and 195,000 Allied troops of the British Eighth Army began their long awaited attack against German positions and Feldmarschall Rommel. The British hold a 2:1 advantage in tanks, men, guns and air support. The XXX Corps will push its infantry through the minefields; X Corps with the 2nd Armoured Divisions will follow and hold off counterattacks while the infantry widens the hole in the German line. British forces make progress but do not keep to the timetable. The intial British attack was by 4 infrantry divisions of XXX Corps (2 NZ, 51 Highland, ( Aust., and 3 South African) abreast on a narrow front. But they encountered very thick minefields and well prepared Axis positions. The German 164 Division and Italian Trento Division with support from 15.Panzerdivision and Littorio Division recieved the main attack. The German armor is grouped in two areas due to lack of fuel. German and Italian units have been mixed on the line by Rommel to provide reliable German contingents everywhere. British forces did not achieve their objectives but were not far short. Rommel was in Germany and General Stumme was in command. During a visit to the front, Stumme died of a heart attack. The German reaction to the attack was delayed and inconsistant. XXX Corps secured the 2 corridors through the German minefields on the northern flank while XIII Corps on the southern flank broke through minefield north of Himeimat and established a small bridgehead. By 0700 hours, Freyburg (GOC 2 NZ Division) felt that the armoured breakout was still possible, but only if;

"....a supreme and immediate effort were made."

He recced the routes and made the plan himself - X Corps' 8th Armoured brigade would open the way. X Corps and its division commanders dithered, then decided that more support was needed for such an attack to be assured of success. The opportunity slipped away.

B-25s supported the British offensive west of El Alamein between the Med Sea and the Qattara Depression. The B-25s hit troop concentrations, tent areas, gun emplacements and vehicles. P-40s, working with the RAF and SAAF, escorted medium and light bombers and hit motor transports and tanks.

A trio of P-40s downed over the battlefield on the opening morning of the offensive were numbers 63, 64 and 65 for Hptm. Gustav Rodel, Gruppenkommandeur of II./JG 27. Three Boston bombers were brought down by Fw. Alfred Heidel of 4./JG 27, Uffz. Erich Krainik of 8./JG 27 and Ofw. Johannes Scheit of 9./JG 27.

NORTH AMERICA: The final detachment of the Western Naval Task Force sails from Hampton Roads, Virginia for North Africa. The covering group of warships sails from Casco Bay, Maine.(Syscom)

Spike Jones and his City Slickers' record of "Der Fuehrer's Face" with vocal by Carl Grayson makes it to the Billboard Pop Singles chart. The song is from the Walt Disney animated short "In Nutzi Land.." This is the first of his records to make the charts and it stays there for ten weeks and rises to Number 3. (Syscom)

WESTERN FRONT: During the night of 24/25 October, RAF Bomber Command Wellingtons lay mines off three ports and drop leaflets over three cities. Five each aircraft lay mines off La Pallice (two aircraft lost) and Lorient and three off St. Nazaire. Leaflet drops are made by five aircraft over Paris, four over Lille and two over Lens.(Syscom)

During the night of 24/25 October, six RAF Bomber Command Wellingtons lay mines off Stavanger without loss.(Syscom)

 

[syscom3]

25 October 1942

EASTERN FRONT: The German III.Panzerkorps begins their attack south of the Terek River in the Caucasus.

NORTH AFRICA: The Battle of El Alamein continues as General Bernard L Montgomery, General Officer Commanding British Eighth Army, decides to make the main effort on the northern flank of XXX Corps; the Australian 9th Division drives north toward the coastal road to Rahman; It makes impressive gains which attract Field Marshal Erwin Rommel's attention when he returns from Germany. By the end of the day the British X Corps has lost about 250 tanks, but the German 15.Panzerdivision has only 40 tanks left. The British 1st Armoured Division, attempting to push west in the Kidney Ridge area, is unable to advance. A series of determined Axis counterattacks with strong tank support is repulsed. In the XIII Corps sector, the 50th Division attempts to improve their positions in the Munassib area with little success.

U.S. Army, Middle East Air Force B-25's disperse motor transport and other targets in support of ground forces; P-40s on escort attack vehicles and other targets; fighters claim several airplanes destroyed in combat.

UNITED KINGDOM: RAF Bomber Command forms No. 6 (Royal Canadian Air Force) Group, Bomber Command. All squadrons in the Group are manned by Canadian airmen. (Jack McKillop)

WESTERN FRONT: During the day, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 12 A-20 Bostons to Le Havre to attack the large merchant ship there but they have to turn back because of lack of cloud cover.

 

[syscom3]

26 October 1942

EASTERN FRONT: Nalchik in the Caucasus falls to the German Heeresgruppe A. Again, the Romanian 2nd Mountain Division plays a central role in these operations, taking 3,000 Soviet prisoners (and helping the Germans to trap an even larger Soviet force) while suffering 820 casualties. The 2nd Mountain Division also fought off a rather understrength Soviet offensive in the Nalchik area in January '43.

MEDITERRANEAN: Over 30 U.S. Army Middle East Air Force B-17's and B-24's attack shipping off the coast of Libya.

NORTH AFRICA: The momentum of the British Eighth Army's drive decreases in the El Alamein battle; XXX Corps takes Kidney Ridge, and General Bernard L Montgomery, commander of the Eighth Army, decides to regroup for a breakout assault. British General Montgomery halts most of his forces to regroup, after making little headway during the second day of his offensive at El Alamein. Most of the action has revolved around Rommel's reactions and German counterattacks, as Rommel moves his forces north.

Allied aircraft continue strong support to ground forces and disperse enemy concentrations preparing for an attack. U.S. Army Middle East Air Force B-25's hit transport, troop concentrations, and tanks while P-40s fly sweeps over the El Daba area and attack motor transport and other targets. German air action increases and considerable aerial combat ensues and USAAF fighters claim four airplanes shot down.

Captain Thomas W. Clark, a P-40 pilot with the 65th Fighter Squadron, 57th Fighter Group, USAAF, shoots down two Italian Macchi MC.202 Folgores (Lightnings) and becomes the first USAAF fighter pilot in the European Theater of Operations or North Africa to score a double victory.

WESTERN FRONT: During the night of 26/27 October, 39 RAF Bomber Command aircraft lay mines off French ports: 12 in the Gironde Estuary, six each off Brest and Lorient and St. Nazaire, five off Bayonne, and four off St. Jean de Luz.

During the night of 26/27 October, two RAF Bomber Command aircraft lay mines in the Frisian Islands.

 

[syscom3]

27 October 1942
ATLANTIC OCEAN: The 11,330 ton passenger/cargo liner MS 'Abasso' is sunk while on its way from Cape Town, South Africa, to Liverpool, England, by the German submarine U-575 about 589 nautical miles (1 091 kilometers) north of Lagens Field, Azores Islands. There are only 31 survivors; a total of 168 crew and 83 passengers are lost. Among the passengers are 44 newly trained pilots from a training school in Southern Rhodesia; only one, a Canadian, survives. Survivors are picked up from the freezing Atlantic on 1 November by the sloop HMS 'Bideford'.

Late in the evening, the 5,620 ton U.S. freighter SS 'West Kehar' is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-129 about 367 nautical miles (680 kilometers) east-northeast of Bridgetown, Barbados, while en route from Freetown, Sierra Leone, to St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. Three merchant seamen are killed; the survivors take to two lifeboats and one raft.

GERMANY: During the day, two RAF Bomber Command aircraft bomb the city and airfield on Wangerooge Island.

INDIAN OCEAN: East African troops capture Fianarantsoa, the most important town in the south of the island of Madagascar. They continue their advance towards the remaining pockets of Vichy French resistance.

MEDITTERANEAN: US Army, Middle East Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses and B-24 Liberators strike Maleme Airfield, Crete.

NORTH AFRICA: The Australians withstand a determined Axis attacks against their wedge in the northern sector of XXX Corps and the British Eighth Army front. In view of the strong German reinforcements on his northern flank near the coast, General Bernard L Montgomery, General Officer Commanding Eighth Army, alters the breakout plan; instead of pushing west along coast, he decides to shift the point of advance south in order to attack against Italian troops. US Army, Middle East Air Force B-25 Mitchells bomb landing grounds, motor transports, and tanks; P-40s fly escort, then bomb and strafe road east of El Daba, and attack troop concentration and vehicles.

NORTH AMERICA: President Franklin D. Roosevelt offers to send an American division from the Territory of Hawaii to the Southwest Pacific Area. Roosevelt claims that the "common cause" would best be served by the retention of the Australian 9th Division in the Mid East.

A 1943 production objective of 107,000 aircraft is given top priority by President Roosevelt in his instructions to Donald M Nelson, Chairman of the War Production Board.

WESTERN FRONT: During the day, one each RAF Bomber Command Mosquitos attack the Den Helder port area and Langeoog Airfield.



28 October 1942
MEDITERRANEAN: US Army, Middle East Air Force B-17's, dispatched to attack a convoy at sea, fail to locate the target but attack cruisers in Pylos Bay.

NORTH AFRICA: Robert Murphy, US Consul in Northwest Africa, tells French Major General Charles Mast, Deputy Commander of the French XIX Corps stationed in Algiers, that the invasion will occur in November. Mast insists that he does not have enough time to organize the Allied sympathizers and to arrange for General Henri Giraud to be accepted as commander of French forces in Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia after the invasion of North Africa.

After probing British positions in the Kidney Ridge area, Axis forces begin forming for an attack but are forced by Allied aircraft to abandon it. During the night of 28/29 October, the Australian 9th Division of XXX Corps, British Eighth Army, begins a northward attack toward the sea in an effort to eliminate German's coastal salient and secure the coastal road and railroad. A narrow wedge is driven almost to the road despite stubborn opposition from Thompson's Post, a key point in the German's coastal positions.

US Army, Middle East Air Force B-25 Mitchells attack tanks, motor transports, and landing grounds; P-40's fly medium and light bomber escort, bomb and strafe landing grounds and other targets, and engage aircraft in combat, mostly in the area between El Alamein and El Daba, claiming three Bf 109s destroyed.

NORTH AMERICA: After completing Officer Candidate School, former Hollywood actor Clark Gable is commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army Air Forces.

Procurement of the expendable radio sonobuoy for use in antisubmarine warfare is initiated as the Commander-in- Chief, U.S. Fleet, Admiral Ernest J. King, directs the Bureau of Ships to procure 1,000 sonobuoys and 100 associated receivers.

WESTERN FRONT: During the night of 28/29 October, three RAF Bomber Command Wellingtons lay mines off St. Nazaire; one aircraft is lost.

During the night of 28/29 October, two RAF Bomber Command Wellingtons lay mines off Stavanger without loss.



29 October 1942
ATLANTIC OCEAN: German submarine U-627 is sunk about 296 nautical miles (549 kilometers) south of Reykjavik, Iceland, by depth charges from an RAF Fortress Mk. II, aircraft of No. 206 Squadron based at Benbecula, Outer Hebrides Islands, U.K.: all 44 crewmen are lost.

German submarine U-117 lays some mines off Iceland, but no sinkings result from this field.

EASTERN FRONT: German forces continue to gain ground between the Red October and Barrikady Factories in Stalingrad. Those parts of Stalingrad still held by Soviet forces are strongly held and fortified. The Soviet policy at Stalingrad has been to feed new divisions in slowly, gaining experience. In the Moscow area new divisions are committed as a unit. Faulty intelligence allows the Germans to assume the northern policy is followed in Stalingrad. They therefore overestimate losses and underestimate remaining strength.

GERMANY: During the day, two RAF Bomber Command Mosquitos bomb the U-boat yards at Flensburg.

NORTH AFRICA: Generalfeldmarschal l Erwin Rommel, Commander of German-Italian Panzer Forces in Africa, mounts an intended major counterattack by the 21.Panzerdivision to push the attacking British forces back into the German minefields. They are held off by a small British force at Kidney Ridge and lose 50 Panzers. This leaves the axis forces with just 81 operational tanks.

U.S. Army, Middle East Air Force B-25 Mitchells, with fighter escorts, bomb Matruh and attack motor transports, tanks, and other ground targets. Axis reinforcements brought up from the south, counterattack Kidney Ridge and are repulsed; the British Eighth Army continues regrouping for an assault.

USAAF First Lieutenant Lyman Middleditch Jr., 64th Fighter Squadron, 57th Fighter Group, becomes the first USAAF fighter pilot in the U.K. or North Africa to score a triple victory when he downs three Bf 109s. Middleditch will end the war as an ace with five victories.

NORTH AMERICA: The Army Air Forces School of Applied Tactics (AAFSAT) is established at Orlando, Florida, tasked with testing and demonstrating tactical unit organization, equipment and techniques; training of select USAAF, Army and Navy personnel in air tactics and doctrine; and training of air intelligence officers and air inspectors.

UNITED KINGDOM: Prime Minister Winston Churchill sends a message to Australian Prime Minister John Curtin commenting on the opening of the "great battle in Egypt" noting that;

"...you will have observed with pride and pleasure the distinguished part which the 9th Australian Division are playing in what may be an event of the first magnitude."

WESTERN FRONT: Two RAF Bomber Command bombers lay mines in the Frisian Islands.

In the North Sea during the night of 27/28 October, five RAF Bomber Command lay mines in the Kattegat, the broad arm of the North Sea between Sweden and Denmark.

 

[syscom3]

30 October 1942

ATLANTIC OCEAN: German submarine U-604 torpedoes and sinks the 11,898 ton troopship, SS 'President Doumer', an ex-French passenger liner now a Ministry of War Transport, about 151 nautical miles (280 kilometers) north of Portugal's Madeira Islands; 260 people aboard are lost. The ship is sailing in Convoy SL-125 from Freetown, Sierra Leone, to the U.K.

Two German submarines are sunk east of Newfoundland by Canadian aircraft:
- U-520 is sunk about 116 nautical miles (214 kilometers) east of Saint John's by four 250-pound (113 kilogram) depth charges from a Douglas B-18 Digby, aircraft of No. 10 (Bomber Reconnaissance) Squadron based at Gander, Newfoundland. The aircraft is returning from a patrol of convoy ON 140 (U.K. to North America). All 53 crewmen are lost.
- U-658 is sunk about 301 nautical miles (557 kilometers) northeast of Saint John's by depth charges from a Hudson Mk. III, aircraft "784" of No. 145 (Bomber Reconnaissance) Squadron based at Torbay, Newfoundland; all 48 crewmen are lost.

GERMANY: During the day, one RAF Bomber Command Mosquito bombs Lingen .

MEDITTERANEAN: Thirteen US Army, Middle East Air Force B-24 Liberators bomb Maleme Airfield and a B-24 bombs the main jetty in Suda Bay.

German submarine U-559 is sunk about 83 nautical miles (153 kilometers) NNE of Port Said, Egypt, by depth charges from the British destroyers HMS 'Pakenham', 'Petard', 'Hero', the escort destroyers HMS 'Dulverton' and 'Hurworth', and an RAF Wellesley Mk. I of No. 47 Squadron based at Shandur, Egypt; 38 of the 45 crewmen survive. The U-boat is boarded by three RN men who have swum over to the sinking wreck. They went into the boat and captured several vital secret documents which greatly helped (some say, enabled) breaking the German coded messages. Two of the three man boarding party drowned inside the boat while still handling out files. The two men are Lieutenant Francis Anthony Blair Fasson (b.1913) and Able Seaman Colin Grazier (b.1920), both of HMS 'Petard', who are posthumously awarded the George Cross.

NORTH AFRICA: The British Eighth Army renews the assault on the north flank of XXX Corps during the night of 30/31 October. The Australian 9th Division drives north to the sea, then pushes east, trapping a large Axis force. Allied planes provide excellent tactical support, attacking accurately in small area to neutralize Thompson's Post. Most of the pocketed Axis force subsequently succeeds in escaping when tanks from the west break through to assist. US Army, Middle East Air Force B-25 Mitchells attack landing grounds at Fuka-Bagush and El Daba while P-40s fly escort.

WESTERN FRONT: During the day, three RAF Bomber Command Mosquitos bomb two targets with the loss of one aircraft: two bomb Leeuwarden Airfield, 2.2 miles (3,5 kilometers) south of the town, and one bombs the port area at Den Helder.

During the night of 30/31 October, three RAF Bomber Command Wellingtons lay mines in the Frisian Islands without loss.

 

[syscom3]

31 October 1942

EASTERN FRONT: After 35,000 persons have been executed in Riga, SS General Eirch Bach-Zelewski wrote: "Today, there are no more Jews in Estonia."

The Luftwaffe launches 45 separate attacks on Moscow.

In Leningrad, the air evacuation of 17,614 factory specialists and 8,590 wounded Sovet Army soldiers is completed.

GERMANY: During the day, RAF Bomber Command dispatches eight Wellingtons to Emden, seven bomb, and six to Essen, two bomb. Two aircraft are lost over Essen.

MEDITTERANEAN: US Army, Middle East Air Force B-24 Liberators sent to bomb the Maleme dispersal area fail to locate the target because of overcast.

NORTH AFRICA: The German 90th Light Division continues to slog it out with the Australians north and east of Tell el Eisa in the Battle of El Alamein. US Army, Middle East Air Force B-25 Mitchells hit a landing ground and claim one fighter shot down while P-40s flying escort claim three.

NORTH AMERICA: The auxiliary aircraft carrier, ex-'Altamaha' ( ACV-6, ex-Maritime Commission Hull 160 ) is completed and purchased by the USN and immediately transferred to the British Royal Navy under Lend-Lease. She is renamed HMS 'Battler' (D 18 ) and is returned to the USN on 5 January 1946. This is the sixth ACV transferred to the Royal Navy.

UNITED KINGDOM: Waves of German bombers blast the cathedral city of Canterbury in the biggest daylight raid since the Battle of Britain.

USAAF Eighth Air Force: Major General Spaatz, Commanding General Eighth Air Force, informs Lieutenant General Henry H "Hap" Arnold, Commanding General USAAF, that operations against submarine pens may prove too costly for results obtained; believing the pens impervious to normal high-altitude bombing, Spaatz plans to operate as low as 4,000 feet (1219 meters) and accept higher casualty rates.

WESTERN FRONT: During the day, RAF Bomber Command sends 17 (A-20) Bostons in low-level cloud-cover raids on power stations. Cover is sparse and four aircraft attack mostly minor targets with three aircraft bombing the power station at Pont a Vendin and one hitting a power station at Mazingarbe.

During the night of 31 October/1 November, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 22 Wellingtons and Stirlings to mine the waters off Biscay Bay ports; one Wellington is lost. Nine aircraft mine the waters off La Pallice, four off St. Nazaire, three off Lorient and one in the Gironde Estuary.

 

[Njaco]

1 November 1942

EASTERN FRONT: At Stalingrad, in November, after 3 months of carnage and slow and costly advance, the Germans finally reached the river banks, capturing 90% of the ruined city and splitting the remaning Soviet forces into 2 narrow pockets. Close combat between the Soviet garrison of Stalingrad (62d and 64th Armies) and the German 6. and 4. Panzerarmee of Heeresgruppe B continues, but the garrison has proved itself capable of weathering maximum effort of the Germans. In addition, ice floes on the Volga now prevented boats and tugs from supplying the Soviet defenders scross the river. Nevertheless, the fighting - especially on the slopes of Mamayev Kurgan and inside the factory area in the northern part of the city - continued as fiercely as ever. The battles for the Red October steel factory, the Dzerzhinsky tractor factory and the Barrikady gun factory became world famous. While Soviet soldiers defended their positions and took the Germans under fire, factory workers repaired damaged Soviet tanks and other weapons close to the battlefield, sometimes on the battlefield itself.

In their advance toward Ordshonikidse in the Caucasus, units of 3.Panzerkorps (von Mackensen) captured Alagir on the upper Terek river. The Red Army has frustrated every German effort to reach Grozny and is containing attacks toward Tuapse, but German Heeresgruppe A captures Alagir, blocking the Ossetian Highway, which extends from Alagir to Kutais.

Dietrich Hrabak left JG 54 to become Geschwaderkommodore of JG 52 located in the southern sector of the Russian front. Major Hans "Assi" hahn of III./JG 2 took Hrabak's place as Gruppenkommandeur of II./JG 54. Hptm. Friedrich-Karl Muller was appointed Gruppenkommandeur of I./JG 53 and readied the unit for a transfer to Tunisia, North Africa.

INDIAN OCEAN: SS 'Mendoza', an 8,234 ton British Ministry of War Transport which sailed from Mombasa, East Africa, is torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-178 about 70 nautical miles ENE of its destination, Durban, South Africa. This ex-Vichy French ship is carrying 153 crew and some 250 passengers when it blew up taking the lives of 28 of her crew and 122 service personnel. (Syscom)

MEDITTERANEAN: Eight US Army, Middle East Air Force B-24 Liberators strike the airfield and dispersal areas at Maleme. (Syscom)

NORTH AFRICA: US Army, Middle East Air Force P-40s escort RAF bombers and hit ground targets in the battle area around El Alamein. (Syscom)

III./KGzbV 1 reported 27 Ju 52s on strength. Following the British Eighth Army counterattack at El Alamein, the Gruppe departed Tobruk and moved back to Maleme, Crete.

WESTERN FRONT: Six RAF Bomber Command (A-20) Bostons bomb Ft. Rouge Airfield at St. Omer; three others bomb the docks at Calais as an alternative target. One Boston is lost.

 

[syscom3]

2 November 1942

ATLANTIC OCEAN: Pre-war, the 10,909 ton Dutch cargo-passer liner MV 'Zaandam' had sailed from Java, Netherlands East Indies, to New York; the vessel escaped from the Southwest Pacific in March 1942. Today, she is sailing from Capetown, South Africa, to New York when she is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-174 about 334 nautical miles (618 kilometers) NNE of Fortaleza, Ceara, Brazil. Her cargo includes 8,600 tons (7 802 metric tonnes) of chrome and copper ore. Also on board are 299 persons including 112 crew members and 18 U.S. Naval Armed Guards plus 169 passengers, most of them survivors from five Allied ships previously sunk off Capetown. Ten minutes after the first torpedo hit, another slams into the port side sinking the 'Zaandam' in less than two minutes. A total of 134 men lose their lives, leaving 165 survivors. A U.S. tanker picks up 106 survivors from two lifeboats on 7 November. A third lifeboat, containing around 60 persons, makes landfall near the town of Barreirinhas, Brazil, some days later. Two men from this lifeboat died.

German submarine U-518 attacks targets off Bell Island in Conception Bay, Newfoundland. The sub's first torpedo is fired at a coal boat tied up at the Scotia Pier. It misses its original target, but strikes the pier causing heavy damage. The sub then fires three torpedoes at the 7,803 ton Canadian freighter SS 'Rose Castle' which is fully loaded with iron ore and waiting for a convoy; the ship sinks with the loss of 28-crewmen. The next target is the 5,633 ton Free French freighter P.L.M. 27 which is struck by one torpedo and sinks with the loss of 12 crewmen.

EASTERN FRONT: One of the most carefully organized and intensive Jewish roundups takes place in the Bialystok region when 110,000 Jews, who had been strictly confined to their villages, are now seized and eventually transported to Treblinka and Auschwitz concentration camps.

In the Caucasus, the German 13.Panzerdivision of 3.Panzerkorps approaches the outskirts of Ordshonikidse, the southeastern- most point ever reached by the Wehrmacht on the entire Eastern front.

Bitter street fighting continued in Stalingrad with neither side making much progress.

NORTH AFRICA: The British Eighth Army's XXX Corps opens a breakout assault, called Operation SUPERCHARGE, at 0100 hours. During the opening moves for Operation Surcharge, the movement by Montgomery's forces drew the last of the German armour into a counterattack, which was then countered by attacks by 1st Armoured Division. The New Zealand 2nd Division, in the lead, advances west under cover of an artillery barrage and secures a new corridor through the Axis mine fields. The 9th Armoured Brigade passes through the corridor in the mine field and establishes a bridgehead across the track extending south from Rahrnan. At daybreak, the armoured brigade meets furious opposition from an Axis antitank screen and sustains over 75% casualties, but maintains the bridgehead. X Corps armor begins debouching through the bridgehead, and the 1st Armoured Division becomes strongly engaged near Tel el Aqqaqir. By evening Rommel was down to 35 tanks and signalled Hitler that he could no longer prevent a breakthrough. Rommel decided to begin his retreat from El Alamein. More than 200 British tanks were put out of action. But at the end of the day, the Allies still had over 600 servicable tanks against the barely 30 available for the Germans. With fuel for even these tanks desperately short, Rommel ordered a retreat, leaving the way open for the British Eighth Army.

At 06.30 hours, on a coastal road between El Alamein and Mersa Matruh, a RAF No. 260 sqdn Kittyhawk II collided with a Bf 109G-2/trop, cutting the fuselage in half. The Kittyhawk lost a left wing and the pilot was badly hurt in the thigh from the antenna while bailing out. Fw. Horst Schlick of 1./JG 77 in the Bf 109, survived after a parachute landing. The Kittyhawk was claimed as his 9th victory. Another pilot from JG 77, Uffz. Heinrich Stockmann of 9./JG 77, was captured and made a prisoner after combat with a Spitfire near El Alamein.

U.S. Army, Middle East Air Force B-25's bomb a track extending south from Rahman as the British 9 Armoured Brigade establishes bridgeheads across the track; other B-25 Mitchells attack tanks and other targets in support of the assault; P-40s fly escort and strafing missions in the battle area.

U.S. Army, Middle East Air Force B-17's bomb shipping and jetties in Tobruk harbor.

UNITED KINGDOM: Brigadier General Robert C Candee, Commanding General USAAF Eighth Air Force's VIII Air Support Command, states that the effort expended and personnel lost in organizing the Twelfth Air Force and preparing for its move from the U.K. to North Africa has severely retarded organization of his headquarters and staff.

 

[syscom3]

3 November 1942

EASTERN FRONT: Premier Joseph Stalin describes U.S. military aid as of little effect.

GERMANY: During the day, RAF Bomber Command dispatches three Stirlings to Lingen to bomb a factory.

NORTH AFRICA: The 1st Armoured Division of X Corps, British Eighth Army, is unable to penetrate the Axis' antitank screen. Since the Axis is obviously withdrawing, General Bernard Montgomery, General Officer Commanding Eighth Army, orders an attack to outflank the screen. During the night of 3/4 November, the 51st Infantry Division and a brigade of the Indian 4th Division drive quickly to the Rahman track south of Tel ci Aqqaqir, breaking through the screen in the southern sector and forcing the Axis to turn it. Allied aircraft fly over 400 sorties against enemy retreating along coastal road. Rejecting out of hand Field Marshal Rommel's proposal to withdraw the Afrika korps, now down to about 40 tanks, to the Fuka line, German Chancellor Adolf Hitler orders him to stand and fight.

Five US Army, Middle East Air Force B-24 Liberators bomb the port area at Tobruk.

US Army, Middle East Air Force B-25's bomb tanks, motor transport, landing ground, ammunition dumps, mainly in the Rahman Track area and on the road between Fuka and El Daba, and also hit town of Fuka and Ghazal station; P-40s fly several escort and fighter-bomber missions, attacking ground targets in support of the British Eighth Army. Allied aircraft fly 400+ sorties against Axis troops retreating along the coastal road.

Because of the Allied advances at El Alamein, I./JG 27 was rushed back from Sicily, but even this most experienced of the desert Jagdgruppen could do nothing to influence events on the ground. It had claimed its final 13 victories over Egypt this day, 2 of which were credited to Gruppenkommandeur Hptm. Gerhard Homuth, raising his total to 61.

WESTERN FRONT: During the night of 3/4 November, RAF Bomber Command sends 29 Wellingtons to mine Biscay ports; one aircraft is lost. Nine aircraft lay mines off La Pallice and five each off Brest, Lorient and St. Nazaire.

The Lockheed (PV-1) Ventura Mk. I flies its first mission with RAF Bomber Command. Three aircraft are unable to find their primary target, a factory at Hengelo, and bomb railways instead. No aircraft lost on this day.

 

[Njaco]

4 November 1942

INDIAN OCEAN: On Madagascar, the Vichy French Governor General again seeks peace terms from the British and accepts those rejected on 17 September. (Syscom)

MEDITERRANEAN: II./JG 51 was ordered from the middle sector of the Eastern Front to Sicily. 3./JG 1 was ordered to Sicily and later to Africa.

USN submarines USS 'Shad', 'Gunnel', 'Herring', 'Barb', and 'Blackfish' are deployed to reconnoiter French North African waters off Rabat, Fedala, Casablanca and Safi, French Morocco, and Dakar, French West Africa, in advance of Operation TORCH (the invasion of Northwest Africa). (Syscom)

Following up on shipping concentrations at Gibraltar, there are ten German and 21 Italian submarines on patrol in the western Mediterranean. They will have some success during the next two weeks. Italian torpedo boat 'Centauro' is sunk off Benghazi, Libya, by British bombers. (Syscom)

NORTH AFRICA: 4 November was the day British and Commonwealth forces broke through the Axis front at El Alamein. Rommel's great retreat had begun. British X Corps reached open ground. The fighting caused heavy loses of the Axis Ariete, 90th Light and HQ units before they broke off the action and retreated. The Axis forces retreated toward Fuka.The Afrika Korps was forced from the Fuka Line in the face of massive attacks by the British Eighth Army. Despite Eighth Army commander General Bernard Montgomery's orders, the British fail to advance. The Italian 20th Motorized Corps was destroyed. Rommel re-issued his orders for retreat with only 12 tanks left. 10,724 Axis prisoners were taken by the British, including 9 generals. German General Von Thoma, acting commander of Panzerkorps Africa, is captured. As Panzerarmee Afrika was being ground into dust and bones, General von Thoma rode a tank of his headquarters unit directly into the fire of the British lines and after having it shot out from under him, he climbed out of the burning hilk and waited for capture. He dined with Montgomery that same night. British Commonwealth Forces lose 13,500 troops, but win in a decisive victory over the Axis Forces.

B-25s and P-40s attacked motor transports and troops retreating west from the El Alamein battleline with the British in pursuit. Further to the west of the battle, one of a pair of B-24s claimed by III./JG 27 provided the now Oberleutnant Werner Schroer with his 60th score. 9 B-24s bombed Benghazi harbour, hitting 3 ships and claiming one German fighter shot down. 12 Kittyhawks from RAF No. 260 Sqdn, while escorting bombers, met 4 Bf 109s, one of which F/O Gilboe collided with. Both fighters crashed.

Lieutenant General Frank M Andrews replaces Brigadier General Russell L Maxwell as Commanding General USAFIME. (Syscom)

Twenty five US Army, Middle East Air Force B-24's bomb Bengasi harbor, hitting three ships and claiming one Axis fighter shot down. (Syscom)

French Admiral Jean Darlan, Head of the French Armed Forces and High Commissioner in North Africa, is told that his son has been hospitalized with polio in Algiers. The situation is so serious that a coffin has been ordered and the admiral rushes from Vichy France to Algiers to be with him. (Syscom)

UNITED KINGDOM: Prime Minister Winston Churchill takes the chair of the Cabinet Anti-U-Boat Warfare Committee. Including the service chiefs, some government ministers and scientists in radar and operational research, this type of committee is unmatched by the Axis powers. (Syscom)

WESTERN FRONT: A Ju-88A-14 belonging to I./KG 60 on a transfer flight made an emergency landing at 11.40 hours just west of Hjorring due to engine failure. It touched down in a field and skidded along until it ended up in a garden next to the Hjorring Electricity Works. On the way it destroyed several trees, some fences and a field of green cabbage. It carried a 5 man crew and four of these were unharmed while one suffered from a broken leg according to Danish police.

 

[syscom3]

5 November 1942

ATLANTIC OCEAN: German submarine U-408 is sunk about 121 nautical miles (223 kilometers) north of Akureyri, Iceland. The sub is caught on the surface by a USN PBY-5A Catalina of Patrol Squadron VP-84 based at Fleet Air Base Reykjavik, Iceland; the aircraft dropped four depth charges which land aft of the conning tower while the sub is submerging. All 45 hands were lost.

EASTERN FRONT: The German attacks begin to lose steam south of Terek in the Causasus, but nevertheless continue already nearing Ordzhonikidze.

The scoring career of the greatest of all fighter pilots began well but ended badly. Shortly after noon, 10 Russian LaGG-3 fighters and 18 IL-2 fighter-bombers were spotted flying over Digora. A schwarm from 7./ JG 52 was sent to intercept with Erich Hartmann flying as wingman to Fw. Eduard "Paulie" Rossmann. Hartmann's first shots on a IL-2 of Soviet GAP 7 did little damage so he broke away and returned from underneath the Russian plane. As he fired on the Sturmovik, the Russian exploded. Hartmann was slow in breaking away and debris damaged Hartmann's Bf 109. He was forced to make a belly-landing in a field where Werhmacht personnel picked him up. Hartmann recounted the adventure;

"That was a day I will never forget, 5 November 1942, a Sturmovik IL-2, which ws the toughest aircraft to bring down because of the heavy armour plate. You had to shoot out the oil cooler underneath, otherwise it would not go down. That was also the day of my second forced landing since I had flown into the debris of my kill. I learned two things that day: get in close and shoot and break away immediately after scoring the kill..."

His luck was to hold unlike that of other young pilots assigned to 7./JG 52 at the same time as Hartmann.

5./SchG 1 at Jessau in East Prussia, departed for North Africa.

INDIAN OCEAN: Troops of the British East African Command complete their occupation of the French colony island of Madagascar. Fearing that Vichy might hand over the island to the Japanese in case Ceylon fell, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill ordered Operation IRONCLAD to proceed on 5 May when the naval base at Diego Suarez was secured. Hostilities against French Vichy forces on the island ceased at 1400 hours.

MEDITERRANEAN: Lieutenant General Dwight Eisenhower, Commander-in-Chief Allied Expeditionary Force (AEF), arrives at Gibraltar in a B-17 piloted by Major Paul Tibbets who piloted the B-29 Superfortress that dropped the first atomic bomb. His headquarters includes Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham, Naval Commander-in- Chief, AEF; Major General James H. Doolittle, Commanding General USAAF Twelfth Air Force; Air Marshal Sir William Welsh, Air Officer Commanding British Eastern Air Command; and Lieutenant General Sir Kenneth General Officer Commanding, British First Army, the main ground formation.

British submarine HMS 'Seraph', under the temporary command of U.S. Navy Captain Jerauld Wright, embarks General Henri Giraud and a party of French officers in the Gulf of Lyons. The general will transfer to a (PBY) Catalina on the 7 November for further transportation to Gibraltar.

NORTH AFRICA: General Bernard L Montgomery, General Officer Commanding British Eighth Army, announces that the British have won a complete and absolute victory in Egypt and General Erwin Rommel's armies are in full retreat. The Eighth Army regroups and continues pursuit of the Axis forces. X Corps, now consisting of the 1st and 7th Armoured Divisions and the New Zealand 2d Division, pushes rapidly west, overcoming rear guard resistance near Fuka. XXX Corps takes up positions between El Alamein and Matruh while XIII Corps is given the task of mopping up battle zone. While the Italian Infantry takes heavy losses, the main British pursuit is held up by a shortage of fuel and a minefield. The minefield is a dummy field laid out previously by the British themselves.

US Army, Middle East Air Force P-40s bomb targets on the Fuka road and patrol the Sidi Hanaish area while B-25 Mitchells also bomb motor transport.

 

[Njaco]

6 November 1942

ATLANTIC OCEAN: German submarine U-68 Commander Karl-Friedrich Merten torpedoes and sinks the 8.034 ton British passenger ship SS 'City of Cairo' about 453 nautical miles (840 kilometers) south of the British island of St. Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean or 1,401 nautical miles (2 595 kilometers) west-northwest of Cape Town, South Africa. About 100 of the 300 passengers and crew survive. Merten believed the ship was a cargo vessel and after the sinking, the U-boat commander helps rescue survivors still in the water and has them placed in the lifeboats. He then departs the scene with an apology for the sinking but not before he provides the survivors with precise details of how to reach St. Helena. However, one lifeboat drifts for 51 days before reaching the coast of Brazil; only two of its original 18 occupants survive. Some years later the British survivors hold a reunion in London and Merten is invited to attend having previously published his own account of the sinking. At the reunion, one of the survivors is heard to remark; "

We couldn't have been sunk by a nicer man.

" Merten died of cancer in May, 1993. (Syscom)

EASTERN FRONT: Halted before Ordshonikidse in the Caucasus, 13.Panzerdivision was fighting to prevent being cut off by superior Soviet forces attacking its flanks and rear.

In a speech to the Congress of Soviet Deputies, Premier Joseph Stalin warns the U.K. and U.S. that the absence of a second front against Fascist Germany may end badly for all freedom-loving countries, including the Allies themselves. He declares that the aim of the coalition is to save mankind from reversion to savagery and mediaeval brutality. (Syscom)

Fighting continues in Stalingrad area but on a diminishing scale. (Syscom)

GERMANY: During the day, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 14 Wellingtons and five Lancasters on cloud-cover raids: four each bomb Osnabruck and Wilhelmshaven and one each hits Emden and Norden.

MEDITTERANEAN: During the night of 6/7 November, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 72 Lancasters to bomb Genoa; 67 bomb the target with the loss of two Lancasters. The attack is concentrated but most bombs fall in residential areas. (Syscom)

NORTH AFRICA: B-24s hit the harbours of Tobruk and Benghazi, scoring hits on 2 vessels. Heavy rains delayed the British pursuit of the retreating Germans in the Matruh area although further progress was made by the British Eighth Army with 20,000 further Axis prisoners being claimed. The confusion around El Alamein continued to delay fuel supplies to the British front-line units. What was left of German 21.Panzerdivision was out of fuel and thus stranded. It was caught by the British 7th Armoured Division and destroyed. The Eighth Army's X Corps, continues close pursuit of the Axis forces, advance elements approaching Matruh bottleneck as heavy rains begin.

Lt. Col. McGoldrick of the newly arrived 79th FG leads six P-40Fs against German convoys near Charing Cross, Eygpt. McGoldrick's second pass ended in disaster as he met intense ground fire, he kept control of the aircraft for a forced landing only to hit a land mine which exploded and took his life. Lead of 79th FG passed to Lt. Col. Earl E. Bates. (Plan D)

57th FG flew 34 sorties against German transport this day. (Plan D)

Twenty six US Army, Middle East Air Force B-24 Liberators bomb the harbors of Tobruk and Bengasi scoring hits on two vessels. (Syscom)

NORTH AMERICA: First USN officer and enlisted women from training schools report for shore duty around the country. (Syscom)

NORTHERN FRONT: Finland expels eight Jewish refugees to Tallinn, Estonia, where they are handed over to Gestapo. Ultimately they all end in concentration camps, and only one survives the war. To this day it is not known why these particular Jews are chosen, and whether the Chief of the State Police acted on his own initiative or did the Minister of Interior sanction the act (these men naturally had all the reasons to obfuscate their part after the war). The Jews are officially suspected of crimes, but apparently on very weak grounds. However, this act causes an uproar in Finland, and the government steps in to prevent any further expulsions. It is thought that Finland's reputation as a civilized country is at stake. These unfortunate eight are the only Jews Finland handed to the Germans. (Syscom)

WESTERN FRONT: During the day, ten RAF Bomber Command (PV-1) Venturas in fours and twos carry out low-level raids including hitting a steel mill at Ijmuiden and the port area at Rotterdam; three aircraft are lost. 21 Sqdn. RAF dispatches four Venturas in an attack against shipping at Maasluis. The weather was misty and they made landfall in the wrong area. The leader, Wg. Cdr. Werfield, chose to bomb a ship in Rotterdam while another bombed barges in Maasluis, one abandoned the mission and Ventura YH-X disappeared. (Plan D)

During the day, 12 (A-20) Bostons bomb Carpiquet Airfield, 3.5 miles (5,6 kilometers) west of Caen. During the night of 6/7 November, RAF Bomber Command sends bombers to mine areas off three seaports: 11 mine the Gironde Estuary, ten lay mines off La Pallice and five lay mines off Lorient. Two Stirlings are lost.

During the night of 6/7 November, ten RAF Bomber Command lay mines in the Frisian Islands. One Stirling is lost. (Syscom)

 

[syscom3]

7 November 1942

GERMANY: During the day, one each RAF Bomber Command medium bombers attack Duisburg and Gelden.

INDIAN OCEAN: The 5,642 ton U.S. freighter SS 'La Salle' is torpedoed and sunk with all hands (including 13 Armed Guard) by German submarine U-159 about 394 nautical miles (730 kilometers) SSE of the Cape Town, South Africa. When the merchantman, which is carrying ammunition, explodes, the cataclysmic blast rains debris on her U-boat's decks nearby, wounding three German submariners.

MEDITERRANEAN: French General Henri-Honer Giraud arrives at Gibraltar for a conference with Lieutenant General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Commander Allied Expeditionary Force, having traveled from France by submarine and airplane. Giraud assumes he will be placed in command of all Allied forces and that in addition to the invasion of Algeria and Morocco, the Allied forces will land in southern France. Eisenhower tells Giraud that he has been chosen by the Allies to minimize French resistance to the Allied invasion of Northwest Africa and he is offended and angry. After hours of discussions, Giraud demands to be taken back to France and is made painfully aware that he is not going anywhere.

During the night of 7/8 November, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 175 aircraft, 85 Lancasters, 45 Halifaxes, 39 Stirlings and six Wellingtons, to bomb Genoa; 147 aircraft hit the city with the loss of six aircraft, four Halifaxes, a Lancaster and a Wellington. Returning crews claim a very successful and concentrated raid and this is confirmed by photographs. One aircraft bombs Turin as a target of opportunity.

The Operation TORCH invasion armada from U.S. and U.K. closes in along the northern African coast. The U.S. transport USS 'Thomas Stone' is torpedoed about 150 miles from Algiers and disabled; troops aboard are transferred to landing boats but do not reach Algiers until after its surrender.

NORTH AFRICA: The British Eighth Army's pursuit of Axis forces is delayed in the Matruh area as heavy rainfall immobilizes supporting vehicles. The Axis forces seize the opportunity to withdraw some forces. Allied troops entered Mersa Matruh, which had been deserted by the Germans. By this time, four German and eight Italian divisions are ineffective as fighting units. The British have taken 30,000 prisoners, among them nine generals.

Two Ju 52s from 10. and 12./KGzbV 1 were shot down by RAF Kittyhawks between Sollum and Sidi Barrani. Both were totally destroyed with 1 crewman killed and 2 crew wounded. In a seperate incident, a He 111H-6 supposedly belonging to the Gruppe ditched in Suda Bay, Crete and another He 111H-6 was severely damaged in a crash landing at Tobruk. The Gruppe was not shown in official documents as having any Heinkels so these may have been "borrowed" from another unit. (Njaco)

II./JG 77 was moved from Russia / HG Sud(Stary Oskol) to North Africa. (Njaco)

Italian submarine 'R. Smg Antonio Sciesa' is sunk by USAAF aircraft off Tobruk.

NORTHERN FRONT: The Swedish Foreign Minister declares in the Riksdag (Parliament) that Sweden is determined to maintain her neutrality, meeting force with force if necessary, and that a free Finland and a free Norway are indispensable for the survival of Sweden as a free State.

UNITED KINGDOM: The air movement of the USAAF Twelfth Air Force from the U.K. to North Africa begins. Other elements of the Twelfth Air Force moving from the U.K. and U.S. are aboard Allied ships approaching the Algerian and Moroccan coasts.

RCAF Squadrons 427, 428, 429 are formed with the Wellington III in the UK. (pbfoot)

WESTERN FRONT: RAF 2 Group dispatches Ventura pairs against Ghent and Terneuzen. The aircraft were to approach to the enemy coast at low-level and attack a low or medium altitudes. Flt. Sgt. Hoggarty attacked Flushing airfield, Sqn. Ldr. Ray Chance attacked a 'large' ship in the Scheldt Estuary scoring a near miss and Ventura # AE734 YH-P (W. Off. V. R. Henry) failed to return. (Plan D)

107 Sqdn. of RAF 2 Group dispatches nine Boston IIIs against several targets in Europe St.Omer/ Longuenesse Airfield, Courtrai Marshalling Yards, Werlchuseck coke ovens and Swimmelden power station. (Plan D)

During the day, two RAF Bomber Command medium bombers attack the marshalling yard at Courtrai with the loss of one aircraft.

During the night of 7/8 November, six RAF Bomber Command Wellingtons lay mines in the Little Belt, the 30-mile (48 kilometer) strait between Fyn Island and the Danish mainland, without loss.

The USAAF Eighth Air Force's VIII Bomber Command flies Mission 16: 23 B-17's and 11 B-24's attack the U- boat pens at Brest; they claim 4-3-7 Luftwaffe aircraft. Seven B-24 Liberators fly a diversion. 68 B-17s and B-24s of the USAAF 91st BG made their first raid into German Occupied Europe with a raid on the U-Boat pens at Brest. Only 8 of the B-17s dropped their loads and all the bombers returned to bases in England without loss. 7 B-24s flew a diversion raid. One B-17 was damaged beyond repair and 12 damaged. Oblt. Bruno Stolle from 8./JG 2 claimed a B-24 at 17.02 hours. (Njaco)

Major General Spaatz, Commanding General, 8th AF, informed Lieutenant General Henry "Hap" Arnold, that operations against submarine pens may prove too costly for the results obtained. Believing the pens impervious to normal high-altitude bombing, Spaatz planned to operate as low as 4,000 feet and accept higher casualty rates.

During the day, six RAF Bomber Command Mosquitos carry out a successful low-level attack on the 5,000 ton German ship SS 'Elsa Essberger' in the mouth of the River Gironde. The merchant ship is escorted by an armed naval vessel. The Mosquitos claim to have hit both ships but one Mosquito is shot down.

During the night of 7/8 November, RAF Bomber Command Wellingtons lay mines off three ports without loss: six aircraft lay mines off Brest, five off St. Nazaire and two off Lorient.

 

[Njaco]

8 November 1942

EASTERN FRONT: Soviet forces began an attack on the Terek front in the Caucasus. This threatened to cut off some units in the German III Panzer Corps.

NORTH AFRICA: Operation TORCH - The Allies launched Operation Torch with amphibian landings at Algiers, Oran and French Morocco. At Casablanca, US troops landed at three points along a 200 mile stretch of Atlantic coastline. Within the Mediterranean, the landings to the west and east of Oran were followed by an attempt to smash through the harbour boom and land troops directly from ex-US Coast Guard cutters. US troops fought their way into Oran. A similar opening attack was mounted at Algiers by the old destroyers "Broke" and "Malcolm". The latter was badly damaged but "Broke" eventually broke through the boom to land her troops. Algiers was soon in Allied hands. Four carriers provided air cover over the invasion area while reinforcements swelled the lodgements. The spearheads quickly thrust inland despite resistance by a handful of forts and coastal defense batteries. At 11.00 hours, RAF Hurricanes from Gibraltar flew into Maison Blanche airfield after its capture by the Americans. The Algiers landings made good progress capturing the town of Algiers and French Admiral Darlan, Commander-in-Chief Vichy French forces. The Oran landings were not so successful but by nightfall the landing was well established and the Tafaraiu airfield was in Allied hands and operational following a military combat parachute jump by the US 509th Parachute Infantry Brigade. The French battleship, "Jean Bart", armed and anchored, fought a gunnery duel with the USS "Massachusetts". "Jean Bart" had some near misses but no hits. The American battleship hit her 5 times in return and damaged her, followed by an attack by American dive-bombers. The landings at Safi went well while those at Port Lyautey were resisted.

The ground echelon of the USAAF 31st FG landed at the Arzeu beach in Algeria and the pilots flew their aircraft to Tafaraiu airfield to join the 52nd. One 309th FS Spitfire was shot down in the landing pattern by Vichy French fighters and its pilot killed. The survivours of the squadron shot down three of the four DeWoitine D.520 fighters.

The Germans were forced to send fighter units from Western Europe to defend this new front. The first of these transfers were the two Bf 109 equipped Staffeln of 11(Hoehen)./JG 2 and 11(Hoehen)./JG 26 and the FW 190 equipped II./JG 2, ordered to new bases in Tunisia. On the flight from Sicily, 3 of the 4 Ju 52 transports carrying the ground crew of 11(Hoehen)./JG 26 were shot down. Led by Hptm. Helmut-Felix Bolze, the Focke-Wulfs of II./JG 2 flew to Beaumont-Le-Roger airfield in preparation of the transfer to North Africa.

WESTERN FRONT: 53 USAAF B-17s attacked Abbeville and Lille. 11 of 15 B-17s bombed the Abbeville/drucat airfield and 31 of 38 B-17s bombed the Atclier d'Hellemmes locomotive works at Lille. Although attacked by Fw 190s from JG 2 and JG 26 (who claimed 2 B-17s) only one bomber was actually shot down. 5 bombers from the 369th BS were badly damaged in the heavy attacks by 30 Luftwaffe fighters but returned to England. 9 of the escorting Spitfires were claimed by defending German fighters. Given credit for kills were Oblt. Siegfried Schnell and Lt. Gunther Behrendt of 9./JG 2 and Lt. Heinz Hoppe and Uffz. Gerhard Vogt from 6./JG 26. 2 bombers were claimed by Lt. Gerhard Seifert of 9./JG 26 and the JG 26 Geschwaderkommodore, Major Gerhard Schopfel for his 43rd kill.

 

[Njaco]

9 November 1942

EASTERN FRONT: In air combat with numerically superior Russian fighters over Welish, Ofw. Franz-Josef Beerenbrock of 10./JG 51 downed 3 Russian fighters (victories 115 to 117), but his Bf 109F-2 "Weiss 12" recieved a hit in the radiator and he went down over Russian-held territory. After an emergency landing he was captured and made a POW. A few days later, the Russian fighter units in the area suddenly started using the very same tactics as Beerenbrock had used with such success. Beerenbrock's old friends in JG 51 were certain that Beerenbrock, who had a Russian mother, had gone over to the Russian side. The truth may never be known. But it is a fact that while in Russian captivity, Beerenbrock was one of the founders - together with General von Seydlitz and others - of a well-known pro-Soviet German prisoner's organization "Bund Deutscher Offiziere" or BDO.

GERMANY: RAF Bomber Command dispatches 213 aircraft, 74 Wellingtons, 72 Lancasters, 48 Halifaxes and 19 Stirlings, to bomb Hamburg; 155 aircraft hit the target. Fifteen aircraft, five Lancasters, four Stirlings, four Wellingtons and two Halifaxes, are lost, 7.0 per cent of the force. The bombers encounter cloud and icing and winds which had not been forecast. No clear identification or marking of Hamburg is made. Hamburg reports thick cloud and heavy rain and says that many bombs fall in the Elbe River or in open country. There are 26 fires in Hamburg of which three are large ones. Casualties are three people killed and 16 injured. Four other aircraft bomb Bremen and one each attack Husum and Sylt Island. (Syscom)

MEDITERRANEAN : In the Tyrrhenian Sea, the British submarine HMS/M 'Saracen' sinks the Italian submarine 'R.Smg Granito' about 63 nautical miles (117 kilometers) west-northwest of Palermo, Sicily. (Syscom)

NORTH AFRICA: US troops advanced on both sides of Oran, taking 20,000 French prisoners after stiff resistance. A flanking attack on Oran continues to meet resistance as it reaches the outskirts of the city, but La Senia Airport, located 4.6 miles (7,4 kilometers) south of Oran, is captured and French resistance at St Cloud is bypassed and contained. French General Henri Honer Giraud arrives in Algiers. Since Admiral Jean-Francois Darlan, High Commissioner in Vichy French North Africa, is in Algiers, U.S. Major General Mark Clark, Deputy Commander Allied Expeditionary Force, is pressing him to declare for the Allies. Marshal Henri-Philippe Petain, Head of the Vichy French Government, is secretly giving Darlan some encouragement to negotiate. General K. A. N. Anderson takes command of the British First Army at Algiers and prepares to move light forces as rapidly as possible to Tunis and Bizerte, Tunisia, in order to forestall the German seizure of these important objectives. The Western Task Force establishes headquarters at Fedala, where Rear Admiral H. Kent Hewitt, USN, transfers to Major General George S. Patton, Jr., USA, command of troops ashore. The beachheads were secured at Casabalanca. Heavy fighting continued at Port Lyautey. The 3d Infantry Division delays their advance on Casablanca to await unloading of heavy equipment and artillery. Regimental Combat Team 47, 9th Infantry Division, organizes the Safi beachhead. (Syscom)

On news of the 'Torch' landings, the first German troops were flown across from Sicily to Tunisia on the 9th and within two days started a large buildup. After Montgomery's Eighth Army chased Rommel's Afrika Korps across the Lybian desert into Tunisia, the Axis was in a better position than the newly arrived Allied forces. Troops and supplies were being rushed into Tunis and Bizerte from Sicily and Sardinia. Feldmarschall Kesselring was able to bring 3 German divisions; the 10.Panzerdivision, the Herman Goring and the 334th Infantry and 2 Italian divisions into Tunisia as reinforcements. By the end of the month, a total of 1,867 troops and officers, 12,549 tons of supplies and 1,256 tanks, armoured cars and vehicles were amassed due to airlifts.

Vichy French Admiral Platon arrives in Tunis with orders for the Resident General, Admiral Esteva and the Port Director of Bizerte, Admiral Derrien, to permit German troop landings. The Germans invade Tunisia without opposition from the French, initial elements landing on El Aouina airport in Tunis. (Syscom)

In Algeria, Spitfires of the 31st FG attacked and halted an armoured column moving north toward Tafaraoui and also attacked artillery and flak batteries southeast of Tafaraoui and along the coastal road. major Joachim Muncheburg, Geschwaderkommodore of JG 77, downed a Spitfire for his 117th victory. Major General James H Doolittle, Commanding General USAAF Twelfth Air Force, arrives in Algeria from Gibraltar by B-17 Flying Fortress, escorted by 12 Spitfires of the 52d Fighter Group. (Syscom)

The USN transport 'Leedstown' (AP-73), bombed and torpedoed by German planes yesterday, is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-173 about 12 nautical miles (22 kilometers) off Algiers. (Syscom) The British corvette HMS 'Gardenia' is sunk off Oran, Algeria, in a collision with the minesweeping trawler HMS 'Fluellen'. (Syscom)

The British Eighth Army resumes the pursuit of Axis forces as the weather improves. The New Zealand 2d Division reduces opposition at Sidi Barrani and continues west.

NORTH AMERICA: The first German agent, Werner Alfred von Janowski, a trained German saboteur, comes ashore from German submarine U-518 off the Gaspo town of New Carlisle, Quebec. (New Carlisle is located on the north coast of Chaleur Bay between the provinces of Quebec and New Brunswick.) His strong accent and out-of-place possessions lead to his capture within twelve hours. Once the counter-spy section of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) takes him into custody, they decide to "turn" him and so produce their first double agent, code-named "Watchdog." (Syscom)

UNITED KINGDOM: Bomber Command authorizes planning for the bombing of the Philips radio and valve works at Eindhoven named Operation Oyster. The works were the largest in Europe and provided over one-third of German valves and certain radio equipment. 2 Group were ordered to begin the planning for the precision daylight raid. (Plan D)

Lieutenant General Carl Spaatz, Commanding General USAAF Eighth Air Force, in a memo to Lieutenant General Dwight D Eisenhower, Supreme Commander Allied Expeditionary Force, agrees that any increase in air commitments to Northwest Africa must necessarily be made at the expense of U.S. forces in the U.K. as U.S. forces in other theaters are considered irreducible. (Syscom)

WESTERN FRONT: 31 of 33 B-17s and 12 of 14 B-24s attacked the U-Boat base at Saint Nazaire, France from a reduced altitude. New orders requiring the bombers to fly at a lower level - 7,000 to 8,000 feet - allowed the defending AA guns to score hits on the oncoming formations. Ony one of the 12 Liberators bombing from 17,500 to 18,300 feet suffered AA damage, but the 31 B-17s at the lower altitude lost 3 of the bombers and had 22 damaged by AA fire. This ended the experiment with low-level attacks of heavy bombers against submarine bases.

More transfers were ordered for I./JG 2, led by Hptm. Erich Leie, and 10(Jabo)./JG 2 and 10(Jabo)./JG 26. The formations flew to Marsellies to support the German occupation of Vichy France and to guard against an Allied invasion on southern France. The aerial defense of the Channel coast was now left to I./JG 26, II./JG 26, III./JG 26 and III./JG 2.

In Vichy France, Prime Minister Pierre Laval agrees to allow the German use of airfields in Tunisia. (Syscom)

Allen Dulles arrives in Bern on the last train from Vichy France, only hours before the Germans occupy southern France and cut the rail link. Ostensibly taking up a post as assistant to the American minister in Bern, Dulles's real job is to organize the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) Mission in Switzerland. He soon begins setting up a professional intelligence outpost on Germany's southern border. (Syscom)

During the day, 12 RAF Bomber Command (A-20) Bostons bomb Le Havre and score a hit on the large German merchant ship which has been the objective of recent raids. The ship is put out of action for several months. No Bostons are lost. (Syscom)

During the night of 9/10 November, 15 RAF Bomber Command Stirlings drop leaflets over France without loss. (Syscom)

 

[Njaco]

10 November 1942

EASTERN FRONT: Units of XLVIII Panzer Corps were sent north from around Stalingrad to reinforce reserves in the area of the 3rd Rumanian Army. This action came in response to reports of a Soviet build-up in the area.

GERMANY: German Chancellor Adolf Hitler, Pierre Laval, Chief of Government in the French State, and Italian Foreign Minister Count Galeazzo Ciano meet in Munich to discuss the situation in Africa. Hitler decides to hold on. (Syscom)

MEDITERRANEAN : French submarine 'Le Tonnant' unsuccessfully attacks USN aircraft carrier USS 'Ranger' and submarines 'Meduse' and 'Antiope' conduct similarly fruitless attacks against battleship USS 'Massachusetts' and heavy cruiser USS 'Tuscaloosa'. (Syscom)

Six US Army, Middle East Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses bomb the port area at Candia, Crete. (Syscom)

British destroyer HMS 'Martin' is struck by three torpedoes fired by German submarine U-431 and sinks about 88 nautical miles NNE of Algiers, Algeria. Only 63 of the 224 crewmen on the destroyer survive. (Syscom)

Italian submarine R.Smg 'Emo' is scuttled after an attack by antisubmarine trawler HMS 'Lord Nuffield' (FY 221). (Syscom)

NORTH AFRICA: Americans captured Oran after heavy fighting. Heavy fighting was also reported at Port Lyautey in Morocco. Further landings were made to the east of Algiers along the coast, where there was little air cover. Attacks by German aircraft on these and other Algierian targets, sank or damaged a number of ships. The sloop "Ibis" was hit by an aerial torpedo and went down off Algiers. At this point Allied forces in Tunisia were outnumbered. Due to prolonged negotiations with the Vichy French, they were unable to cross the Tunisian border quick enough. Almost two thirds of the over 107,000 Allied force was still in French Morocco. Vichy French airfields remained open to Axis forces because its government was in disarray. It was being pressured by both the Allies and the Germans to come to terms. In some instances both Allied resistance and Axis resistance and at other times there was neutraility towards both. The neutraility and resistance helped the Axis more than it helped the Allies. French Admiral Francois Darlan, commander of the Vichy French military, acting on the advice of General Alphonse Pierre Juin, Commander-in- Chief French Morocco, orders a general cease fire of Vichy troops throughout French North Africa. U.S. Major General Mark Clark, Deputy Commander Allied Expeditionary Force, on receiving news of Darlan's cease fire order, announces that;

"all civil and military authorities will be maintained in their present functions."

French General Henri Honeré Giraud arrives at Dar Mahidine and is received by Darlan who offers to turn command over to him. Giraud agrees to accept Darlan's leadership with the proviso that Giraud be named commander of the troops. Darlan orders Lieutenant General Georges Barré, commander of French forces in Tunisia, to group his forces in the vicinity of Medjez el Bab, Tunisia, and prepare to engage the Germans. Troops of the U.S. 1st Infantry Division and of Combat Command B, U.S. 1st Armored Division, converge on Oran; Regimental Combat Team 16 has leading elements within the city by 0830 hours; Combat Command B columns enter Oran from the before French surrender at 1230 hours. French resistance in the Port Lyautey area ends. U.S. forces from Fedala close in on Casablanca and prepare for concerted assault at dawn tomorrow. Combat Command B, 2d Armored Division, breaks off their drive toward Marrakech from the Safi area and marches toward Mazagan in order to conserve strength for the attack on Casablanca. (Syscom)

Off French North Africa, aircraft escort vessel USS 'Chenango' flies off 76 USAAF P-40Fs into Port Lyautey and they are landing on the airfield by 1200 hours.(Syscom)

The British Eighth Army clears the Halfaya Pass. The British Eighth Army takes Sidi Barrani recently evacuated by Panzerarmee Afrika. (Syscom)

Middle East Air Force B-24 Liberators bomb the port area at Bengasi. (Syscom)

USAAF Twelfth Air Force Spitfires escort a convoy, fly reconnaissance, and attack tanks and other vehicles in the Oran area. (Syscom)

NORTH AMERICA: German submarine U-608 lays mines off New York City, east of Ambrose Light. Ambrose Light is located about 10 nautical miles (18 kilometers) east-northeast of Highlands, New Jersey. (Syscom)

UNITED KINGDOM: Prime Minister Winston Churchill describes the landings in Africa as "the end of the beginning" for the Allies. (Syscom)

WESTERN FRONT: Eighteen RAF Bomber Command Bostons are dispatched to continue attacks on the large German ship at Le Havre but it had been moved. Sixteen aircraft bomb the dock area. Two Bostons crash in the sea. (Syscom)

During the night of 10/11 November, RAF Bomber Command aircraft lay mines off three Biscay ports: five lay mines in the Gironde Estuary and one each off Bayonne and St. Jean de Luz. (Syscom)

Pilot Ofw. Rudolf Blutbarsch of 10./NJG 3 experienced an engine failure during a test flight and emergency landed his Do 217J-1 at Fliergerhorst Grove at 16.16 hours. The Dornier was 60% damaged while Ofw. Blutbarsch, wireless operator Fw. Gerhardt Bohm, Gunner Uffz. Adolf Fleschner and Uffz. Theodor Kramer were all wounded and taken to Hald Lazarett. A civilian died from the crash, but it was not known if he was onboard the aircraft or if he was hit by it. On 13 November, Ofw. Blutbarsch passed away due to broken ribs.

During the night of 10/11 November, 30 RAF Bomber Command aircraft lay mines in the Frisian Islands.

 

[syscom3]

11 November 1942

ATLANTIC OCEAN: Construction of a LORAN (long range aids to navigation) station begins at Fredericksdaal on the southwest coast of Greenland.

EASTERN FRONT: At Stalingrad, German 6.Armee (von Paulus) launches its last major attack to capture the city and succeeds in reaching the Volga River near the Red October factory on a frontage of 600 yards (549 meters). The heavy attacks in the factory district resulted in the capture of the Red October factory and cutting off the Barrikady factory. The Germans also captured another 500 yards of precious ground along the Volga River. Ice was beginning to form on the Volga and the floating chunks brought shipping to a standstill. The Soviets fragment the German effort and within two days the offensive degenerates into a series of unconnected actions. Both sides suffer heavy casualties. While some German units penetrate to the Volga River, others are cut off. Floating blocks of ice in the Volga cause problems with Soviet resupply efforts.

In the Caucasus, 13.Panzer-Division (von der Chevallerie) of III.Panzerkorps (von Mackensen) begins to disengage its units halted before Ordshonikidse to avoid being cut off by heavy Soviet attacks against its rear communications.

GERMANY: The German armored ship 'Admiral Scheer' returns to Kiel from Norway.

MEDITERRANEAN : German submarine U-515 torpedoes and sinks the 10,850 ton British destroyer depot ship HMS 'Hecla' about 182 nautical miles NW of Rabat, French Morocco. A total of 279 crewmen went down with the ship and 568 men are rescued by escorting destroyers.

German submarine U-173 torpedoes and sinks transport USS 'Joseph Hewes' and torpedoes destroyer USS 'Hambleton' and oiler USS 'Winooski' off Fedala Roads, French Morocco.

German submarine U-407 torpedoes and sinks the 19,627 ton British merchant freighter SS 'Viceroy of India' about 47 nautical miles NNE of Oran, Algeria.

The British minelayer HMS 'Manxman' makes a dash from Alexandria, Egypt, to Malta delivering vitally needed supplies.

NORTH AFRICA: The Vichy French representative for North Africa, Admiral Jean-Francois Darlan, arranges an armistice with the Allies which ends the fighting in French Morocco and Algeria effective at 0700 hours local. Admiral Darlan also helps the Allied governments to gain control over French West Africa, which eliminates the threat to Allied convoys operating along the African coast. The U.S. Western Task Force canceled an attack on Casablanca because of the armistice and the 3d Infantry Division entered the city at 0730 hours. Combat Command B of the 2d Armored Division received the surrender of Mazagan and established a bridgehead at Azemmour without opposition. The British First Army lands elements of the 36th Brigade, 78th Division, at Bougie, 110 miles (177 kilometers) east of Algiers, without opposition. The Hart Force, a mobile task force based on the 11th Brigade of the 78th Division, moves out of Algiers toward Bône, traveling overland.

The last German and Italian troops had been chased out of Egypt and Libya. In Libya the X Corps, British Eighth Army retook Sollum and Bardia while Panzerarmee Afika continued its withdrawl towards Tripoli.

Fifteen US Army, Middle East Air Force B-24's bomb shipping north of Bengasi, claiming four direct hits and several near misses on a vessel. P-40s fly a sweep over the Gambut area, claiming three Luftwaffe Ju 87 Stuka dive bombers destroyed.

USAAF Twelfth Air Force fighters fly reconnaissance over the Oran-Tafaraoui area and escort C-47 Skytrains carrying paratroops from Gibraltar to Algiers.

NORTH AMERICA: Henry J. Kaiser readies the launch of a Liberty ship in San Francisco Bay. The ship's keel was laid in Richmond at midnight 7 November and completed in 4 days, 15 hours, 26 minutes.

UNITED KINGDOM: RCAF No.431 Sqn is formed on Wellingtons. (pbfoot)

WESTERN FRONT: In the Bay of Biscay, the British submarine HMS/M 'Unbeaten', en route from the U.K. to Gibraltar, is sunk about 132 nautical miles SW of Brest, France, by an RAF Wellington Mk. VIII of No. 172 Squadron based at RAF Chivenor, Devonshire, England. All hands on the submarine are lost.

German troops occupy Vichy France, which had previously been free of an Axis military presence. Since July 1940 the autonomous French state has been split into two regions. One is occupied by German troops, and the other was unoccupied, governed by a more or less puppet regime centered in Vichy, a spa region about 200 miles SE of Paris, and led by Marshal of France Henri Philippe Pétain, a World War I hero. Publicly, Petain declares that Germany and France have a common goal, "the defeat of England." Privately, Pétain hoped that by playing mediator between the Axis power and his fellow countrymen, he could keep German troops out of Vichy while surreptitiously aiding the antifascist Resistance movement. However, Pétain receives a letter from German Chancellor Adolf Hitler informing him that all the German efforts to preserve the armistice and to improve relations with France proved futile. According to Hitler;

"When information had been received that the next objectives of Anglo-American invasion were to be Corsica and the south of France, Germany and Italy were forced to take all measures to "arrest the continuation of the Anglo-American aggression."

Pétain protested against the German invasion of occupied France as a;

"decision incompatible with the armistice agreement."

Italian troops land on Corsica and move into mainland France.

During the night of 11/12 November, RAF Bomber Command Wellingtons lay mines off Bay of Biscay ports: ten lay mines off St. Nazaire; nine off Lorient; six off La Pallice; and four off Brest.

Lt. Erich Rudorffer was appointed Staffelkapitaen of 6./JG 2.