Unternehmen Zitadelle
The Battle of Kursk was a Second World War engagement between German and Soviet forces on the Eastern Front near Kursk (450 kilometres or 280 miles south-west of Moscow) in the Soviet Union, during July and August 1943. The battle began with the launch of the German offensive, Operation Citadel (German: Unternehmen Zitadelle), on 5 July, which had the objective of pinching off the Kursk salient with attacks on the base of the salient from north and south simultaneously. After the German offensive stalled on the northern side of the salient, on 12 July the Soviets commenced their Kursk Strategic Offensive Operation with the launch of Operation Kutuzov (Russian: Кутузов) against the rear of the German forces in the northern side. On the southern side, the Soviets also launched powerful counterattacks the same day, one of which led to a large armoured clash, the Battle of Prokhorovka. On 3 August, the Soviets began the second phase of the Kursk Strategic Offensive Operation with the launch of Operation Polkovodets Rumyantsev (Russian: Полководец Румянцев) against the German forces in the southern side of the Kursk salient.
The battle was the final strategic offensive that the Germans were able to launch on the Eastern Front. Because the Allied invasion of Sicily had begun, Adolf Hitler was forced to have troops training in France diverted to meet the Allied threat in the Mediterranean, rather than use them as a strategic reserve for the Eastern Front. Hitler canceled the offensive at Kursk after only a week, in part to divert forces to Italy. Germany's extensive losses of men and tanks ensured that the victorious Soviet Red Army enjoyed the strategic initiative for the remainder of the war.
The Germans hoped to weaken the Soviet offensive potential for the summer of 1943 by cutting off the forces that they anticipated would be in the Kursk salient. The Kursk salient or bulge was 250 kilometres (160 mi) long from north to south and 160 kilometres (99 mi) from east to west. The plan envisioned an envelopment by a pair of pincers breaking through the northern and southern flanks of the salient. Hitler believed that a victory here would reassert German strength and improve his prestige with his allies, who were considering withdrawing from the war. It was also hoped that large numbers of Soviet prisoners would be captured to be used as slave labour in the German armaments industry.
The Soviet government had foreknowledge of the German intentions, provided in part by the British intelligence service and Tunny intercepts. Aware months in advance that the attack would fall on the neck of the Kursk salient, the Soviets built a defence in depth designed to wear down the German armoured spearhead. The Germans delayed the offensive while they tried to build up their forces and waited for new weapons, mainly the new Panther tank but also larger numbers of the Tiger heavy tank. This gave the Red Army time to construct a series of deep defensive belts. The defensive preparations included minefields, fortifications, artillery fire zones and anti-tank strong points, which extended approximately 300 km (190 mi) in depth. Soviet mobile formations were moved out of the salient and a large reserve force was formed for strategic counter-offensives.
The Battle of Kursk was the first time in the Second World War that a German strategic offensive was halted before it could break through enemy defences and penetrate to its strategic depths. The maximum depth of the German advance was 8–12 kilometres (5.0–7.5 mi) in the north and 35 kilometres (22 mi) in the south. Though the Red Army had succeeded in winter offensives previously, their counter-offensives following the German attack at Kursk were their first successful strategic summer offensives of the war.
Monday, February 26, 2018
Saturday, February 24, 2018
43-5-16 Dambusters - Operation Chastise
Dambusters - The Race to Smash the German Dams > .
Dambusters Declassified > .
Barnes Wallis - Dambusters Revealed > .
Nova | Bombing Hitler's Dams PBS Documentary > .
Barnes Wallis - Bouncing Bomb Tests, Dambusters > .
Secret german film of destroyed eder dam 1943 - Deutsch > .
Dambusters Declassified > .
Barnes Wallis - Dambusters Revealed > .
Nova | Bombing Hitler's Dams PBS Documentary > .
Barnes Wallis - Bouncing Bomb Tests, Dambusters > .
Secret german film of destroyed eder dam 1943 - Deutsch > .
43-5-16 Dambusters
"At 7.30am on 17 May 1943, Flying Officer Jerry Fray took off in his photo-reconnaissance Spitfire for a damage assessment sortie over Germany. At 30,000 feet and about 100 miles from the Ruhr, he could see what looked like a bank of cloud to his east, but as he flew closer he realised it was the sun glinting on the mass of water that filled the valley below the Möhne dam.
He was stunned by the fact that the floodwater was about a mile wide in the valley and was still gushing through a massive breach in the dam wall. He was overcome by the immensity of the destruction below him and wondered ‘if the powers that be realised just how much damage had been done’.
He took a series of photos and then went on to the Eder valley, where the damage and flooding looked even more extensive. He took a second set of photos and then spotted two enemy aircraft approaching. So he turned and in his un-armed photo-recon Spitfire headed for home at full speed."
The pin-sharp aerial photos Fray took were on the front page of every British newspaper the following morning. A short communiqué issued by the Air Ministry outlined the targets as three Ruhr dams and added, ‘The attacks were pressed home from a very low level with great determination and coolness in the face of fierce resistance.’
Realising how important the dams were to the supply of water and hydro-electric power for the coke ovens and steel mills at the heart of the German war economy, the press went into overdrive. The Daily Telegraph proclaimed on its front page, ‘With one single blow the RAF has precipitated what may prove to be the greatest industrial disaster yet inflicted on Germany in this war.’ The legend of the Dam Busters was born.
The story of how a brilliant but whacky inventor, Barnes Wallis, comes up with the idea of a bouncing bomb and of how a new squadron of some of the best fliers in the RAF, 617 Squadron, is put together under Wing Commander Guy Gibson to carry out the daring, high-risk mission to bomb the dams is well known. The raid has probably become the most famous RAF bombing mission of the war. That is partly down to the success of one of the best British war films ever produced. The Dam Busters was premiered on the 12th anniversary of the raid in May 1955. It still feels real and is compelling viewing nearly 60 years later.
Gliders at Fort Eben-Emael
https://youtu.be/hkBLJoWz-ew?t=37s
St Nazaire Raid
https://youtu.be/hkBLJoWz-ew?t=2m30s
Operation Frankton
https://youtu.be/hkBLJoWz-ew?t=4m
Alexandria Raid
https://youtu.be/hkBLJoWz-ew?t=5m20s
Doolittle Raid
https://youtu.be/hkBLJoWz-ew?t=6m30s
Telemark Raid
https://youtu.be/hkBLJoWz-ew?t=8m4s
Operation Vengeance
https://youtu.be/hkBLJoWz-ew?t=9m46s .
Dambusters
https://youtu.be/hkBLJoWz-ew?t=11m6s
BBC Timewatch - Dambusters - The Race to Smash the German Damshttps://youtu.be/hkBLJoWz-ew?t=11m6s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DHtLkx6f6M
Johnny Johnson talks about Guy Gibson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KL0ptasNvtE
The Last Dambuster - Johnny Johnson - Dan Snow's History Hit
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwl5uebP_5E .
Rescuing Mussolini
https://youtu.be/hkBLJoWz-ew?t=12m52s
Sinking Tirpitz
https://youtu.be/hkBLJoWz-ew?t=14m28s
Dambusters raid took place 75 years ago – here’s how they made a bomb bounce
http://theconversation.com/the-dambusters-raid-took-place-75-years-ago-heres-how-they-made-a-bomb-bounce-96653
Dam Busters Premier And Re-Union (1955)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59R3BhpiTBw
The Dambusters - Gibsons attack
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1DCxpMz8aU
Short
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IeGYkwVIWw
Long
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IeGYkwVIWw
https://youtu.be/hkBLJoWz-ew?t=12m52s
Sinking Tirpitz
https://youtu.be/hkBLJoWz-ew?t=14m28s
Dambusters raid took place 75 years ago – here’s how they made a bomb bounce
http://theconversation.com/the-dambusters-raid-took-place-75-years-ago-heres-how-they-made-a-bomb-bounce-96653
Dam Busters Premier And Re-Union (1955)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59R3BhpiTBw
The Dambusters - Gibsons attack
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1DCxpMz8aU
Short
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IeGYkwVIWw
Long
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IeGYkwVIWw
Monday, February 19, 2018
Tuesday, February 13, 2018
42-8-19 Dieppe Raid
The Raid on Dieppe: Dieppe, France, 19 August 1942 .
"The Dieppe Raid, also known as the Battle of Dieppe, Operation Rutter during planning stages, and by its final official code-name Operation Jubilee, was an Allied attack on the German-occupied port of Dieppe during the Second World War. The raid took place on the northern coast of France on 19 August 1942. The assault began at 5:00 a.m., and by 10:50 a.m. the Allied commanders were forced to call a retreat. Over 6,000 infantrymen, predominantly Canadian, were supported by The Calgary Regiment of the 1st Canadian Tank Brigade and a strong force of Royal Navy and smaller Royal Air Force landing contingents. It involved 5,000 Canadians, 1,000 British troops, and 50 United States Army Rangers.
Objectives included seizing and holding a major port for a short period, both to prove that it was possible and to gather intelligence. Upon retreat, the Allies also wanted to destroy coastal defences, port structures and all strategic buildings. The raid had the added objectives of boosting morale and demonstrating the firm commitment of the United Kingdom to open a western front in Europe.
Virtually none of these objectives were met. Allied fire support was grossly inadequate and the raiding force was largely trapped on the beach by obstacles and German fire. Less than 10 hours after the first landings, the last Allied troops had all been either killed, evacuated, or left behind to be captured by the Germans. Instead of a demonstration of resolve, the bloody fiasco showed the world that the Allies could not hope to invade France for a long time. Some intelligence successes were achieved, including electronic intelligence.
Of the 6,086 men who made it ashore, 3,623 (almost 60%) were either killed, wounded or captured. The Royal Air Force failed to lure the Luftwaffe into open battle, and lost 106 aircraft (at least 32 to anti-aircraft fire or accidents), compared to 48 lost by the Luftwaffe. The Royal Navy lost 33 landing craft and one destroyer. The events at Dieppe influenced preparations for the North African (Operation Torch) and Normandy landings (Operation Overlord)."
GC+ blunders.
"From conception to execution, the Dieppe raid was filled with unclear objectives and poor planning. Why did the Allies undertake such an ill-fated attack on this German-occupied French city? Find out here, along with a detailed account of what went wrong—from bad timing to overambitious strategies to unexpectedly difficult terrain."
Dieppe 1942 - Slaughter on the Shingle - MaFe > .
*World War Two heroine 'Angel of Dieppe' *
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-43844090
42-8-19 Dieppe Raid
The Dieppe Raid, also known as the Battle of Dieppe, Operation Rutter during planning stages, and by its final official code-name Operation Jubilee, was an Allied attack on the German-occupied port of Dieppe during the Second World War. The raid took place on the northern coast of France on 19 August 1942. The assault began at 5:00 a.m., and by 10:50 a.m. the Allied commanders were forced to call a retreat. Over 6,000 infantrymen, predominantly Canadian, were supported by The Calgary Regiment of the 1st Canadian Tank Brigade and a strong force of Royal Navy and smaller Royal Air Force landing contingents. It involved 5,000 Canadians, 1,000 British troops, and 50 United States Army Rangers.
Objectives included seizing and holding a major port for a short period, both to prove that it was possible and to gather intelligence. Upon retreat, the Allies also wanted to destroy coastal defences, port structures and all strategic buildings. The raid had the added objectives of boosting morale and demonstrating the firm commitment of the United Kingdom to open a western front in Europe.
Virtually none of these objectives were met. Allied fire support was grossly inadequate and the raiding force was largely trapped on the beach by obstacles and German fire. Less than 10 hours after the first landings, the last Allied troops had all been either killed, evacuated, or left behind to be captured by the Germans. Instead of a demonstration of resolve, the bloody fiasco showed the world that the Allies could not hope to invade France for a long time. Some intelligence successes were achieved, including electronic intelligence.
Of the 6,086 men who made it ashore, 3,623 (almost 60%) were either killed, wounded or captured. The Royal Air Force failed to lure the Luftwaffe into open battle, and lost 106 aircraft (at least 32 to anti-aircraft fire or accidents), compared to 48 lost by the Luftwaffe. The Royal Navy lost 33 landing craft and one destroyer. The events at Dieppe influenced preparations for the North African (Operation Torch) and Normandy landings (Operation Overlord).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dieppe_Raid
"From conception to execution, the Dieppe raid was filled with unclear objectives and poor planning. Why did the Allies undertake such an ill-fated attack on this German-occupied French city? Find out here, along with a detailed account of what went wrong—from bad timing to overambitious strategies to unexpectedly difficult terrain."
Dieppe Raid: Catastrophe on the Beach—1942 | The Great Courses Plus
Monday, February 5, 2018
42-2-8 to -15 Battle of Singapore
Singapore - Graydations >> .
The Battle of Singapore, also known as the Fall of Singapore, was fought in the South-East Asian theatre of World War II when the Empire of Japan invaded the British stronghold of Singapore—nicknamed the "Gibraltar of the East". Singapore was the major British military base in South-East Asia and was the key to British imperial interwar defence planning for South-East Asia and the South-West Pacific. The fighting in Singapore lasted from 8 to 15 February 1942, after the two months during which Japanese forces had advanced down the Malayan Peninsula.
The campaign, including the final battle, was a decisive Japanese victory, resulting in the Japanese capture of Singapore and the largest British surrender in history. About 80,000 British, Indian and Australian troops in Singapore became prisoners of war, joining 50,000 taken by the Japanese in the earlier Malayan Campaign. The British prime minister, Winston Churchill, called it the "worst disaster" in British military history.
The Battle of Singapore, also known as the Fall of Singapore, was fought in the South-East Asian theatre of World War II when the Empire of Japan invaded the British stronghold of Singapore—nicknamed the "Gibraltar of the East". Singapore was the major British military base in South-East Asia and was the key to British imperial interwar defence planning for South-East Asia and the South-West Pacific. The fighting in Singapore lasted from 8 to 15 February 1942, after the two months during which Japanese forces had advanced down the Malayan Peninsula.
The campaign, including the final battle, was a decisive Japanese victory, resulting in the Japanese capture of Singapore and the largest British surrender in history. About 80,000 British, Indian and Australian troops in Singapore became prisoners of war, joining 50,000 taken by the Japanese in the earlier Malayan Campaign. The British prime minister, Winston Churchill, called it the "worst disaster" in British military history.
42-2-11 Unternehmen Donnerkeil - Operation Thunderbolt
.Operation Cerberus - Channel Dash; Scharnhorst, Gneisenau - Blockade - OpRo > .
42-2-11 Unternehmen Donnerkeil (Operation Thunderbolt)
On 11 February 1942, the Kriegsmarine ships left Brest at 9:14 p.m. and escaped detection for more than twelve hours, approaching the Strait of Dover without discovery. The Luftwaffe conducted Unternehmen Donnerkeil (Operation Thunderbolt) to provide air cover and as the ships neared Dover, the British belatedly began operations against the German ships. The RAF, the Fleet Air Arm, Navy and coastal artillery operations were costly failures but Scharnhorst and Gneisenau hit mines in the North Sea and were damaged (Scharnhorst being put out of action for a year). By 13 February, the ships had reached German ports, Winston Churchill ordered an inquiry into the debacle and The Times denounced the British fiasco. The Kriegsmarine judged the operation to have been a tactical success and a strategic failure, by exchanging a threat to Atlantic convoys by German surface ships for a hypothetical threat to Norway. On 23 February, Prinz Eugen was torpedoed off Norway, repaired and spent the rest of the war in the Baltic. Gneisenau went into a dry dock and was bombed on the night of 26/27 February, never to sail again; Scharnhorst was sunk at the Battle of the North Cape on 26 December 1943.
Background
A Kriegsmarine (German navy) squadron of both of the Scharnhorst-class battleships, the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen and escorts, ran a British blockade from Brest in Brittany. Scharnhorst and Gneisenau had arrived in Brest on 22 Mar 1941 after the successful Operation Berlin in the Atlantic. Further anti-commerce raids were planned (until late May 1941) and the ships used the dockyard facilities at Brest for refit and repair. They represented a substantial threat to Allied trans-Atlantic convoys, so a series of air raids were carried out by the Royal Air Force (RAF) against the two ships from 30 Mar 1941 (and also targeting Prinz Eugen, which arrived on 1 June 1941). Serious damage was inflicted on Gneisenau on 6 April 1941 and on Scharnhorst on 24 July 1941 after dispersal to La Pallice. As the repair of this damage reached completion in August, consideration was given to evacuating the ships.
In late 1941, Adolf Hitler ordered Oberkommando der Marine (OKM German Navy high-command), to plan an operation to return the ships to German bases, to counter a possible British invasion of Norway. A meeting was held in Paris on 1 January 1942, for the final planning of the operation. The short route up the English Channel was preferred to a detour around the British Isles, to benefit from surprise and from air cover by the Luftwaffe and on 12 January 1942, Hitler gave orders for the operation to be conducted.
The British exploited decrypts of German radio messages coded with the Enigma machine, air reconnaissance by the RAF Photographic Reconnaissance Unit (PRU) and agents in France run by the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) to keep watch on the ships and report the damage caused by British bombers. Operation Fuller, a joint Royal Navy-RAF contingency plan, was devised to counter a sortie by the German ships against Atlantic convoys, a return to German ports by circumnavigating the British Isles or a dash up the English Channel. The concentration of British ships in southern waters was inhibited by a need to keep ships at Scapa Flow in Scotland, in case of a sortie by the German battleship Tirpitz from Norway. The RAF had been required to detach squadrons from Bomber and Coastal commands for overseas service and also kept torpedo-bombers in Scotland ready for Tirpitz, which constrained their ability to assemble large numbers of aircraft against a dash up the Channel, as did the winter weather which reduced visibility and unpredictably blocked airfields with snow.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Channel_Dash
Winds of War & WW2 Blunders - Tony Blake
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtakTnKQQMCzR04v6PVlQtBkXlJ9DB2Za
42-2-11 Unternehmen Donnerkeil (Operation Thunderbolt)
On 11 February 1942, the Kriegsmarine ships left Brest at 9:14 p.m. and escaped detection for more than twelve hours, approaching the Strait of Dover without discovery. The Luftwaffe conducted Unternehmen Donnerkeil (Operation Thunderbolt) to provide air cover and as the ships neared Dover, the British belatedly began operations against the German ships. The RAF, the Fleet Air Arm, Navy and coastal artillery operations were costly failures but Scharnhorst and Gneisenau hit mines in the North Sea and were damaged (Scharnhorst being put out of action for a year). By 13 February, the ships had reached German ports, Winston Churchill ordered an inquiry into the debacle and The Times denounced the British fiasco. The Kriegsmarine judged the operation to have been a tactical success and a strategic failure, by exchanging a threat to Atlantic convoys by German surface ships for a hypothetical threat to Norway. On 23 February, Prinz Eugen was torpedoed off Norway, repaired and spent the rest of the war in the Baltic. Gneisenau went into a dry dock and was bombed on the night of 26/27 February, never to sail again; Scharnhorst was sunk at the Battle of the North Cape on 26 December 1943.
Background
A Kriegsmarine (German navy) squadron of both of the Scharnhorst-class battleships, the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen and escorts, ran a British blockade from Brest in Brittany. Scharnhorst and Gneisenau had arrived in Brest on 22 Mar 1941 after the successful Operation Berlin in the Atlantic. Further anti-commerce raids were planned (until late May 1941) and the ships used the dockyard facilities at Brest for refit and repair. They represented a substantial threat to Allied trans-Atlantic convoys, so a series of air raids were carried out by the Royal Air Force (RAF) against the two ships from 30 Mar 1941 (and also targeting Prinz Eugen, which arrived on 1 June 1941). Serious damage was inflicted on Gneisenau on 6 April 1941 and on Scharnhorst on 24 July 1941 after dispersal to La Pallice. As the repair of this damage reached completion in August, consideration was given to evacuating the ships.
In late 1941, Adolf Hitler ordered Oberkommando der Marine (OKM German Navy high-command), to plan an operation to return the ships to German bases, to counter a possible British invasion of Norway. A meeting was held in Paris on 1 January 1942, for the final planning of the operation. The short route up the English Channel was preferred to a detour around the British Isles, to benefit from surprise and from air cover by the Luftwaffe and on 12 January 1942, Hitler gave orders for the operation to be conducted.
The British exploited decrypts of German radio messages coded with the Enigma machine, air reconnaissance by the RAF Photographic Reconnaissance Unit (PRU) and agents in France run by the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) to keep watch on the ships and report the damage caused by British bombers. Operation Fuller, a joint Royal Navy-RAF contingency plan, was devised to counter a sortie by the German ships against Atlantic convoys, a return to German ports by circumnavigating the British Isles or a dash up the English Channel. The concentration of British ships in southern waters was inhibited by a need to keep ships at Scapa Flow in Scotland, in case of a sortie by the German battleship Tirpitz from Norway. The RAF had been required to detach squadrons from Bomber and Coastal commands for overseas service and also kept torpedo-bombers in Scotland ready for Tirpitz, which constrained their ability to assemble large numbers of aircraft against a dash up the Channel, as did the winter weather which reduced visibility and unpredictably blocked airfields with snow.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Channel_Dash
Winds of War & WW2 Blunders - Tony Blake
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtakTnKQQMCzR04v6PVlQtBkXlJ9DB2Za
Saturday, February 3, 2018
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igitur quī dēsīderat pācem praeparet bellum
igitur quī dēsīderat pācem praeparet bellum therefore, he who desires peace, let him prepare for war sī vīs pācem, parā bellum if you wan...
