Date                Time   Location         Damage

01/09/1942    14.00  Ramsden       2 small boys were playing with a cartridge

Bellhouse      (believed 303) when it exploded and caused slight injuries to both boys.

01/09/1942    Found  South            1 – H.E. unexploded bomb found 50 yards North

Benfleet       East of Boyce Golf Club House.  Believed to have fallen 7.11.40.  (Disposed of BDS 5.9.42).

05/09/1942    15.00  Great              2 – H.Es exploded in open fields 300 yards N.W. of

                                    Wakering       Abbott’s Hall.  No casualties or damage.

09/09/1942    07.00  Foulness       Found on shore off Eastwick Head part of a

barrage balloon with poles 8ft long and balloon fabric attached.  RAF informed.

12/09/1942    Found  South            1 – H.E. unexploded bomb found in the garden of

Benfleet       253 Philmead Road.  Report Centre informed.  (Disposed of BDS 6.10.42).

13/09/1942 Found  South              1 – Unexploded A.A. Shell found in a field 120

Benfleet           yards S.W. of Railway Bridge South Benfleet.  Date and time of falling unknown.  (Disposed of B.D.S. 28.9.42).

15/09/1942    15.00  Paglesham    1 – Unexploded A.A. Shell found in the garden of

“Red Croft” East End.  Time and date of falling unknown.  (Disposed of BDS 22.9.42).

Sailing alone in the Atlantic Ocean the armed RMS Laconia, a converted civilian ocean liner which had been requisitioned by the Royal Navy, was transporting Italian prisoners of war from Cape Town in South Africa to Freetown, Sierra Leonne. On board Laconia there were 1,793 Italian prisoners, a guard of 103 Polish soldiers, 286 British soldiers, 87 civilians and the Laconia crew consisting of 463 officers and men.German U-boat U-156 was patrolling off the west coast of Africa when her commander Werner Hartenstein spotted the lone vessel. Armed troopships and merchantmen were legitimate targets for attacks without warning, and as such U-156 attacked Laconia at around 10 pm on the 12^th September 1942.

At 10.22 pm Laconia transmitted the “SSS” message and gave her position. “SSS” was the code sign signifying “under attack by submarine”. Although there were sufficient lifeboats for the ships complement including the prisoners, Laconia was listing heavily preventing half the lifeboats from being launched until the ship had settled. Most prisoners managed to escape from their locked cargo holds by battering down the hatches or climbing ventilator shafts. By the time the last lifeboat had been launched most of the survivors were in the water. When Laconia began to sink U-156 surfaced in order to capture the ship’s surviving senior officers but to their surprise they saw over 2,000 people struggling in the water. Once the captain of U-156 realised the passengers were mostly POW’s and civilians, he sent a coded message to Admiral Karl Dönitz, head of U-boat operations, for further orders. Whilst waiting for a reply he flew a Red Cross flag and began rescue operations. U-156 rescued nearly 200 survivors including 5 women who were crammed above and below decks. He towed 4 lifeboats with another 200 on board. At 6 am on the 13^th September 1942 U-156 broadcasted a message in English, not in code, requesting assistance with the rescue mission. U-156 gave her position and an assurance he would not attack providing he was not attacked by ship or air.

Dönitz immediately ordered seven U-boats to divert to the scene to pick up survivors. Fuhrer Adolf Hitler was furious and ordered the rescue to be abandoned and Admiral Erich Raeder ordered Dönitz to disengage. However, Raeder did order U-boats U-506, U-507 and Italian submarine Comandante Cappelli to rendezvous with U-156 and rescue any Italians they could find. Raeder requested the Vichy French to send warships from the Ivory Coast to rescue Italian survivors, and the French who in turn sent one cruiser and two sloops. As ordered Dönitz disengaged the original U-boats and issued another order to U-156 to remain on station. U-156 remained on the surface for the next two and half days and by mid-day on the 15^th September 1942 she was joined by U-506, U-507 and Comandante Cappellini. The four submarines with lifeboats being towed headed for the African coast and a rendezvous with the Vichy French warships.

The British in Freetown, Sierra Leone intercepted the open message from U-156 but refused to take any action believing it to be a ruse by the Germans. On the 15^th September 1942 a message was passed on to the Americans which implied Laconia had been sunk that day and a British merchant vessel was the way to pick up survivors. However, there was not a mention of the German rescue involvement under a ceasefire or that Vichy French ships were heading toward the rescue area.

During the night of the 16^th September 1942 U-156 became separated from the other three Axis submarines and was spotted by an American B-24 Liberator bomber.

The U-boat had a Red Cross flag draped across her gun-deck and signalled the pilot for assistance in both Morse code and English. A British RAF officer on board U-156 also signalled that Laconia survivors were on board. The B-24 pilot turned away without responding, but notified his airbase on Ascension Island of the situation. The American airbase had been set-up in secret as it provided vital fuel supplies to aircraft patrolling the Atlantic, also to resupply the air route to British forces in Egypt and Soviet forces in Russia.  Later claiming he knew nothing about the Red Cross-sanctioned German rescue operation the senior officer of the day ordered the B-24 to “sink the sub”. He had assumed the German U-boat would attack the two Allied freighters diverted by the British to the site, and would only rescue Italian POWs. The Liberator flew back to where U-156 was spotted and attacked her with bombs and depth charges. Dozens of survivors were killed when a bomb landed among the lifeboats being towed by U-156. A number of bombs landed either side of U-156 but caused very little damage. However the captain of U-156 cast adrift the remaining lifeboats still floating. Laconia’s survivors who were travelling on the gun-deck were ordered into the water and the U-boat submerged slowly in order they may escape being sucked down. Two of the lifeboats being towed by U-156 decided to head for Africa ignoring the captain’s request to stay in the area and be rescued by Vichy French ships. One of the lifeboats reached the coast of Africa 27 days later with only 16 survivors out of 68 who began the journey. A British trawler rescued the second lifeboat but only 4 of the 52 occupants survived after 40 days at sea.

U-506, U-507 and Cappellini continued to pick up survivors having been totally unaware U-156 had been attacked. The captain of Cappellini received a message to put the shipwrecked into rafts, with the exception of women, children, Italian POWs and British survivors and meet the French ships. German headquarters confirmed the attack on U-156 and requested the number of survivors held on each of the U-boats. U-507 replied they had 491, of whom 15 were women and 16 were children. U-506 reply was 151 including 9 women and children. The two U-boats chose to ignore the order from headquarters to cast adrift all British and Polish survivors, mark their positions and instruct them to remain where they were. Instead they began to tow them to the rescue rendezvous.

The American airbase on Ascension Island despatched five B-25s to search for the submarines. On the 17^th September 1942 one B-25 located Laconia’s rafts and informed British merchant ship Empire Haven of their position. The original B-24 sighted U-506 and attacked. U-506 crash-dived but the B-24s bombs failed to drop. However, on the second run two 500 lb (237 kg) bombs and two 350 lb (159 kg) depth charges were dropped but not cause any damage. The commander of the Ascension Island airbase received an ambiguous message from the British in Freetown that three French ships were en route from Dakar. He assumed the French intended to invade the Ascensions and in order to prepare for an invasion he cancelled the submarine hunting.

The French cruiser Gloire picked up 52 British survivors whilst still 54 miles (100 km) from the rendezvous point. At approximately 2 pm on the 17^th September 1942 she met up with the French sloop Annamite as well as U-507 and U-506 at the point of rendezvous. All survivors on the U-boats were transferred to the rescue ships with the exception of two British officers who were kept on board U-507. After the transfer Gloire sailed off on her own and within four hours had rescued another eleven lifeboats and by 10 pm she found another lifeboat then proceeded to the planned rendezvous. At about 1 am a light was spotted on the horizon and Gloire investigated and rescued another 84 survivors.

However, this meant Gloire had to arrange a new rendezvous of 9.30 am whereby Annamite transferred her survivors to Gloire. The survivors were recorded as 373 Italians, 70 Poles and 597 British which included 48 women and children. Gloire departed for Dakar to resupply on the 21^st September 1942 then on to Casablanca. Arriving at Casablanca on the 25^th September 1942 British Colonel Baldwin presented the captain of Cappellini with a letter of gratitude for the welfare to the survivors of Laconia.

The Italian submarine Cappellin radioed for instructions and waited for a reply as they were unable to locate the French warships. The French sloop Dumont d’Urville was sent to rendezvous with Cappellini, she stopped and rescued a lifeboat from torpedoed British cargo ship Trevilley en route which had been sunk on the 12^th September 1942. They did not have any luck searching for other Trevilley survivors and proceeded to rendezvous with Cappellini on the 20^th September 1942. The remaining survivors with the exception of six Italian and two British officers were transferred from Cappellini to Dumont d’Urville. In the meantime, the Italian POWs had been transferred to Annamite and arrived at Dakar on the 24^th September 1942. Of the original 2,732 complement on board Laconia only 1,113 survived. Of the 1,619 who died, 1,420 were Italian POWs.

The Laconia Incident had far-reaching consequences because Dönitz issued an order prohibiting U-boat crews from attempting rescues and all survivors were to be left in the sea. Occasionally U-boat crews ignored the order and did provide aid for survivors by giving them food, water, simple medical kits for the wounded, and a compass bearing to the nearest landmass.

The Laconia Incident was a series of events and a lack of communications following the legitimate attack by U-156. The only person to come out of the incident with any credit was the commander of U-156, Korvettkapitän Werner Hartenstein. For his actions during the rescue mission he received a radio message, on the 17^th September 1942, to say he had been awarded the Knights Cross of the Iron Cross.

Unfortunately he did not survive the war as he and his crew were killed in action, east of Barbados, on the 8^th March 1943 by depth charges dropped from an American PBY Catalina aircraft.  

———————————-

Operation Agreement was a disastrous raid by British, Rhodesian and New Zealand forces on the Axis held Tobruk in Libya.  To undermine the Axis war effort in North Africa was the object of Operation Agreement. This entailed destroying airfields, harbour facilities, supply ships, large oil stores and lorries. To achieve this Operation Agreement was assisted by three separate diversionary actions which were carried out on the 12^th/13^th September 1942.

The main attack on Tobruk was carried out by an amphibious force of about 700 Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders, Royal Northumberland Fusiliers and Royal Marines. The attack was split into two forces (“A” and “C”), and Royal Navy support which consisted of one cruiser, six destroyers and one submarine. Completing the complement were sixteen motor torpedo boats (MTB), 3 motor launches and thirty landing craft.

The intention was for Force “A” to land troops north of Tobruk while Force “C” were to defend the perimeter east of Tobruk. Force “B” consisted of approximately 150 Special Air Service (SAS) troops approaching from the desert. Bad sea conditions had contributed to submarine HMS Taku’s commandos of Force “A” failing to set up guiding beacons on the shore for the main attack force. Consequently the two destroyers bringing in the seaborne troops landed them on the wrong beach, west of the intended landing place.

The Axis garrison at Tobruk had been reinforced and guns of the Italian shore batteries hit and sank destroyer HMS Sikh, which led the landing attempt of Force “A”. She lost 122 crew members killed and the survivors rescued by landing craft of the attack force were eventually captured. The second destroyer HMS Zulu, alongside cruiser HMS Coventry and the remaining destroyers were returning to Alexandria on the 14^th September 1942. Coventry was badly damaged by German dive bombers and finally scuttled by Zulu with the loss of 63 crew members. A short time after Zulu was damaged by German dive bombers and whilst under tow she sank and 39 crew members lost their lives.

There does not appear to be any records of the fate of the SAS troops of Force ”B” other than their commander Lt. Col. John Haselden was killed in action.

Of the motor launches and landing craft, only two launches landed the remnants of Force “C” at the target cove. Extremely heavy fire from Tobruk harbour, boom defences and a flotilla of Italian torpedo boats forced back three motor launches and seventeen MTBs. Three MTBs launched torpedoes at enemy naval vessels moored in the harbour but without success. One MTB was set on fire and scuttled, four were lost to Axis aircraft, and one was damaged and ran aground. 117 seamen and soldiers were captured by a German minesweeper. The remaining MTBs and surviving motor launch reached Alexandria despite being dive-bombed during their journey.

Operation Bigamy was a raid by the SAS on Benghazi, led by Lieutenant Colonel David Stirling. The SAS were supported by the Long Range Desert Group (LRDG) with the intention of destroying the harbour and storage facilities. This was to be followed up by a raid on the airfield at Benina in cooperation with the RAF. An Italian reconnaissance unit discovered Stirling’s attack force at a road block during the gruelling journey around Libya’s southern edge of the Great Grand Sea. Stirling decided to withdraw to Kufra in S.E. Libya. On the barren terrain during the withdrawal the Luftwaffe accounted for the loss of 70 vehicles. The raid was a complete failure and the raid on Benina was never attempted.

The only successful action was Operation Caravan, the attack on the Italian held Barce airfield 1,155 miles (1,859 km) west of Tobruk. Forty-seven British and New Zealand troops reached and attacked the airfield where they destroyed 16 aircraft and damaged another 7. Motorised transport, military equipment and buildings were also destroyed or damaged. The success came at a cost with eight wounded, ten captured and missing were two Senussi “spies” who belonged to the Libyan Arab Force. Two 30 cwt. trucks and four jeeps were also destroyed. The troops retreated along the same route in vehicles and abandoned them once they broke down. The RAF airlifted the wounded to Kufra. The remainder marched and unconfirmed reports fail to show how many arrived back safely. Two DSOs, six MCs and two MMs were awarded following this action and were the only gallantry medals awarded during the whole Operation Agreement.                       

The capture of the Jalo oasis was another target which would deny the Axis forces access to a rendezvous point for retreating German/Italian troops at the forthcoming Second Battle of Alamein. The attack on Jalo Oasis, codenamed Operation Nicety, was an attempt to support the withdrawal of the forces involved in Operation Agreement, Operation Caravan and Operation Bigamy. The Italian garrison at Jalo had been forewarned and reinforced after the Germans had discovered the plans for all the operations. The attack was carried out by a battalion of the Sudan Defence Force (SDF). The SDF was a locally recruited British-led force formed to assist the police in the event of civil unrest in the Sudan and to maintain the Sudanese borders. The Italians easily repelled the attack and the SDF withdrew on the 19^th September 1942 to avoid the Italian relief column approaching.

On 19^th September 1942 the Allied attack on Tobruk had been repulsed by the Germans and Italians. Including naval personnel the Allies failure cost 800 killed in action and 576 taken prisoner. They also lost one cruiser, two destroyers, four MTBs, two MLs and several landing craft. On the Axis side they lost 15 Italian and 1 German, 43 Italian and 7 Germans wounded and 30 aircraft were destroyed or damaged.

——————————————-

September 1942

(Britain)

During March 1942 Éamon de Velara, as head of the government of the Irish Free State, had complained about the arrival of American soldiers in Northern Ireland. The northern command of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) were encouraged to organise a new campaign against the British military and war effort in Northern Ireland. On Easter Sunday the 5^th April 1942 the IRA engaged in a gunfight in Belfast with the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC). During the course of the gunfight a constable of the RUC was killed and two others wounded, and the response from the RUC was that six members of the IRA were arrested. At their trial all six members were sentenced to death for the murder of the RUC constable. The executions were scheduled to take place on the 2^nd September 1942 and a few days before that date five of the six had their sentence commuted. This was the result of a petition signed by two hundred thousand people calling for a reprieve. At Crumlin Road gaol in Belfast Tom Williams was hanged on the 2^nd September 1942. As a result the IRA intensified their attacks against the RUC. On the same day, Patrick Dermody led twenty members of the IRA against the British Army barracks in Crossmaglen, County Armagh. Their aim was to capture a British officer and hang him but it would appear to have been unsuccessful. Throughout September 1942 police barracks were bombed in County Antrim, an IRA patrol was ambushed in Belfast. County Fermanagh police barracks were attacked but a mine failed to detonate. Attacks were launched against RUC officials in County Tyrone and County Dublin which resulted in the RUC and Irish Special Branch stepping up their campaign against the IRA. On the 30^th September 1942 Patrick Dermody was killed by a member of the Irish Special Branch following a gun battle in County Cavan. A member of the Garda (Irish police) also died in the gunfight. The IRA campaign continued until December 1944 when the IRA was defeated,

Bomber Command of the Royal Air Force (RAF) continued their raids on Germany which were beginning to have the impact that was hoped for. RAF bombers made a concentrated heavy attack on Saarbrücken, the centre of Germany’s iron, coal and steel industries in the Saar Valley on the 2^nd September 1942. The weather was good with the target clearly seen and the raid was an outstanding success. However, success came at a price as Bomber Command lost three aircraft. It has not been possible to record the number of aircraft involved in the raid. On the 10^th September 1942 a total of 479 bombers blasted Düsseldorf with incendiary bombs and by 11pm when aerial photographs were taken the area was covered by widespread fire. Rising flames and smoke obscured the target area and did not permit the photographs to record the damage incurred. Of the 479 bombers involved in the operation it has not been possible to record how many aircraft returned from the raid. 

During the month of September 1942 Allied shipping lost 567,332 tons of supplies from America. Admiral Karl Dönitz as commander of the U-boat fleet, soon realised his U-boats would have more success by concentrating his fleet in the North Atlantic. He ordered the U-boats to the North Atlantic to attack the convoys from Canada to Britain and convoy losses quickly increased. 76% of the losses were attributed to German U-boats with over 250,000 tons sunk between Greenland and Iceland, where there was no air cover. Of the remainder, 10% were lost to aircraft and 4% to warships. Brazil had entered the war on the side of the Allies in July1942. Their navy joined with the American navy as escorts for the merchant shipping bringing supplies to Britain across the mid-Atlantic. With the increased number of escort vessels, merchant ship losses to the German U-boats quickly dropped. However, German U-boat losses also escalated, with one U-boat sunk for every 10 merchant vessels. Whereas in the first six months of September 1942 the losses were one U-boat for every 40 merchant vessels.                       

(America)

Three Russian students, female Lyudmila Pavlichenco, plus two males Vladimir Pchelintsev and Nikolai Krassavchenco arrived in Washington on the 27^th August 1942. They had been invited by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to attend an international student assembly and were guests of the President and his wife Eleanor at the White House. The students had been selected because they had combat experience. Lyudmila Pavlichenko was included as she was the Soviet Union’s highest-scoring female sniper with 309 kills.

On the 2^nd September 1942, dressed in their Red Army uniforms for the first session of the international student assembly at the White House, they immediately attracted journalistic attention. Eleanor Roosevelt was there to greet them and the other foreign delegates. Eleanor was persuaded by the press to have her photograph taken with their Soviet guests. The First Lady was happy to oblige and stood between Second Lieutenant Pchelintsev and Lyudmila and for the photograph Eleanor took both the delegates by the hand and this gesture symbolised the Russian-American military alliance against Fascism. Later that day, whilst still at the White House, Eleanor introduced the Soviet group to President Franklin D. Roosevelt. He was particularly interested in the Soviet Union’s battles with Germany. He asked Lyudmila to convey to Dictator Joseph Stalin the U.S. was not yet in a position to open a second front, but would do everything in their power to do so.

On the 6^th September 1942 Lyudmila and her companions were informed their American partners had offered to extend their stay. On the same day they travelled to Eleanor and the President’s family home estate and spent a week there. Lyudmila and Eleanor had become friends and their friendship developed even further during this period. Upon returning to Washington the Soviet ambassador informed them the delegation, would be split into two. Lyudmila would go to the West and Midwest. The two men would set-off on a tour of the cities in the NE of the U.SA.

On the 24^th September 1942, Lyudmila and Eleanor Roosevelt made a separate tour of the United States.

At the end of the tour Lyudmila corresponded regularly with Eleanor Roosevelt and they met a further three times. Once in England during November 1942 and twice in the Soviet Union in 1957 and 1958.

—

On the 15^th August 1942 Japanese submarine I-25, carrying the two seater “Glen”, left Yokosuka, Japan and travelled east toward the west coast of America. Submarine I-25 was a B1 type vessel with a surface displacement of 2,584 tons and 356 ft. long (109 m) with a range of16, 000 miles (26,000 km.) The B type submarine was fitted with a water-proof hanger located in front of the conning tower. The “Glen” was disassembled for storage in the hanger and reassembled prior to the mission.  For armament I-25 carried 17 conventional torpedoes and 6 incendiary bombs, sufficient for the planned three raids.

The only time mainland United States of America was ever bombed was on the 9^th September 1942. A Japanese Yokosuka E14Y observation seaplane dropped two incendiary bombs over a forest in Oregon.  The mission of the seaplane, known to the Allies as “Glen”, was to trigger wild fires in the forest along the coast. However, light winds, wet weather conditions and two vigilant fire look-outs kept the fire under control. Following the raid the “Glen” returned and landed beside its transporting Japanese submarine. Later, on the same day, the submarine was bombed by a United States Army A-29 Hudson aircraft causing minor damage. A second raid on the 29th September 1942 was treated with more caution and the “Glen” was reassembled and launched in the pre-dawn darkness. A work crew on the Oregon coast heard the approaching “Glen”. No evidence has been found that the “Glen” dropped incendiary bombs. Upon returning to submarine 1-25 the Glen was reclaimed, but the commander of I-25, Captain Meiji Tagami, decided not to risk a third raid. He took I-25 to lie on the bottom of Port Orford harbour until night fall and evacuated the area. Less than a year later submarine I-25 was sunk by an unknown American vessel off the New Hebrides islands in the Pacific.

Three American Eagle Squadrons were officially transferred from the Royal Air Force (RAF) to the Eighth Air Force of the United States of America Army Air Force (USAAF) on the 30^th September 1942.  After the transfer the pilots automatically became officers in the USAAF. Prior to America officially entering the war in December 1941 the Eagle Squadron was formed in September 1940 to serve in three fighter squadrons of the RAF which comprised volunteer pilots from the United States. The requirements of the RAF for pilots were a school diploma, good eyesight and aged between 20 and 31 years old. These requirements were not as strict as those for the same position in the United States Air Corp, but 300 hours certified flying time was essential to both forces. Once in Britain the pilots passed basic flight training then went for advanced operational training on Hurricane and Spitfire fighters. They were commissioned as RAF officers and posted to front-line RAF fighter squadrons. They retained their U.S. citizenship but wore standard RAF uniforms, which included the Eagle Squadron patch flanked by the letters “ES”. Only 244 Americans served in the Eagle Squadrons out of the thousands who volunteered, and served with distinction in the Battle of Britain in September 1941. The only time the three squadrons saw action together was at the Dieppe raid of August 1942. About 100 Eagle pilots had been killed, were missing or were captured and prisoners-of-war in the two years the squadron was in existence. During that period the Eagle pilots were awarded 12 Distinguished Flying Crosses and one Distinguished Service Order. A number of issues needed to be resolved between the USAAF and RAF regarding the transfer of the Eagle Squadron. When the volunteer pilots arrived in Britain they had not served in the USAAF therefore did not have US pilot wings. It was agreed they would be awarded USAAF pilot wings upon transfer. The USAAF permitted the Eagle Squadron to retain their reduced sized RAF wings on the opposite side of their uniform at the insistence of the pilots. It was also agreed the pilots would assume the equivalent rank in the USAAF to their RAF rank. Heavily investing in the three front-line squadrons the RAF wanted some compensation for the loss of the Eagle Squadrons but there is no evidence of compensation.

(France)

The Service du Travail Obligatoire (STO) was created on the 4^th September 1942 by Vichy France whereby thousands of French workers were forcibly enlisted and deported to Nazi Germany. The STO law was signed by Philippe Petàin, Marshall of France and Chief of State of Vichy France, also Pierre Laval, Prime Minister in the Vichy region. The STO required all able-bodied men, aged 18 to 50 and single women aged 21 to 35 to be available to undertake any work the government deemed necessary. The German government promised that one French prisoner of war would be released for every three French workers sent. The Germans used the STO to replace the manpower who were enlisted into the German army and served on the Eastern Front.

(Eastern Front)

In the Caucasus the German army established a defensive line on the Volga River by the 23^rd August 1942. The 3^rd September 1942 is the recognised date for the start of the Battle of Stalingrad when the Luftwaffe heavily bombed the city killing many thousands of civilians. On the same day the Soviets ordered that everyone who could hold a rifle should join in the fight. The Soviet leadership had plenty of warning of the German advance. Realising how critical the situation was, Dictator Joseph Stalin ordered Soviet cattle, grain and railway cars be shipped across the Volga out of reach of Nazi troops. However, the 400,000 resident civilians of Stalingrad were refused permission to evacuate but to be prepared to defend the city. Stalin rushed all available troops, some from as far away as Siberia, to the east bank of the Volga. Once the reinforcements arrived at the Volga the Luftwaffe quickly destroyed the regular river ferries and then targeted troop barges being towed by tugs. On the 5^th September 1942 two Soviet armies, the 24^th and 66^th, engaged in a massive attack against the German Panzers. However, within a few hours, the Luftwaffe helped to repel the offensive and the Soviets were forced to withdraw. Of the 120 Soviet tanks committed, 30 were lost to air attacks. By the 13^th September 1942 Stalingrad was totally surrounded by the Germans. By the 18^th September 1942 the German Luftwaffe had total control of the skies over Stalingrad. The Soviets were getting desperate as all supplies were subjected to dozens of daily air strikes by the Luftwaffe on the city and the perilous crossing of the River Volga.

General Vasily Chuikov was appointed commander of the 62^nd Army on the 11^th September 1942 and charged with the defence of the city of Stalingrad. He immediately set about preparing the defences by stabilising the threatened 62^nd Army. He achieved this by his determination to instil confidence in the troops to defend the city against all odds. Chuikov encouraged his forces to adopt the tatic of “hugging the enemy” which entailed keeping the German army as close as possible to minimise the airpower enjoyed by the Luftwaffe. He had previously witnessed the blitzkrieg tactics the Nazis had employed so he drew the panzer units into the rubble of the city. Close range attacks on the panzer units by soviet artillery impeded the panzer advance and the Luftwaffe could not attack the soviet troops without endangering their own forces.

On the eastern coast of the Black Sea the city and port of Novorossiysk provided a stronghold against the Germans during the summer offensive of 1942. With the German advance in the Caucasus they reached Novorossiysk in August 1942. Bitter and intensive resistance by the Soviet army failed to stop the Germans from capturing the city on the 6th September 1942. The Soviets did however, retain possession of the eastern part of the bay thus denying the Germans the use of the port for supplies. The Soviet forces retook Novorossiysk in September 1943 after the German withdrew their army which effectively ended that period of fighting in the Caucasus. The title of “Hero City” was bestowed on Novorossiysk in 1973.

(The Mediterranean and Desert War)

Erwin Rommel, as commander of the Afrika Korps, launched the Battle of Alam el Halfa on the 30^th August 1942. Owing to the terrain he was forced to order similar tactics to those he had used at the First Battle of El Alemein.  His tactics were to sweep round the south while a secondary attack was launched on the rest of the front line. The newly appointed commander of the British Eighth Army, Lieutenant-General Bernard Montgomery, by some unknown means, had allowed Rommel to acquire a falsified map of the terrain. The British had fortified the defensive line from El Alemein on the Mediterranean coast to the Qattara Depression on the edge of the Sahara Desert 35 miles to the south. By using the falsified terrain maps Rommel’s tanks became stranded in the unexpected patches of quicksand. British artillery from the well prepared positions, aircraft and increased number of mines laid in the southern sector took longer than Rommel’s plans allowed. He realised he could not outflank the British for lack of fuel. By the 2^nd September 1942 the attack stalled and Rommel decided to withdraw as he realised it was impossible to win the battle. The New Zealand contingent of the Eighth Army launched an attack on the retreating Afrika Korps on the night of the 3^rd September 1942. The rear-guard of the Afrika Korps repelled the attack and Montgomery called off any further action in order to preserve his strength. The Afrika Korps suffered 2940 casualties and lost 50 tanks during the attack. They also lost a similar number of guns and over 400 lorries which were vital for supplies. With the exception of the loss of 68 tanks the British losses were fewer. At this point Rommel realised the war in Africa could not be won owing to the numerical supremacy of the Allies over the Afrika Korps.

On the 23^rd September 1942 Rommel left North Africa for medical treatment in Germany. Following the retreat from Alam el Halfa he needed to recover his health as he was physically exhausted as well as suffering from a liver infection and low blood pressure. In Rommel’s absence General Georg Stumme was left in command.

Operation Agreement was a disastrous raid by British, Rhodesian and New Zealand forces on the Axis held Tobruk in Libya. The object of Operation Agreement was to undermine the Axis war effort in North Africa. This entailed destroying airfields, harbour facilities, supply ships, large oil stores and lorries. The capture of the Jalo oasis would deny the Axis forces access to a rendezvous for retreating forces elsewhere. To achieve this Operation Agreement was assisted by three separate diversionary actions which were carried out on the 12^th/13^th September 1942. For additional information on the raid see the separate article of “Operation Agreement” dated 12^th September 1942.                           

(Pacific)

On the 15^th September 1942 aircraft carrier USS Wasp (CV-7) together with carrier USS Hornet, battleship USS North Carolina and ten other warships were escorting transport ships carrying troops to Guadalcanal. At about 14.45 a Japanese B1 Type Submarine 1-19 was patrolling the area when they spotted the escort vessels. Submarine 1-19 fired a spread of six torpedoes, three of which hit Wasp.  Wasp was a smaller version of the Yorktown-class aircraft carrier employed initially in the Atlantic campaign. She supported the occupation of Iceland in 1941 after which she transferred to the British Home Fleet in April 1942. Twice she ferried British fighters from Britain to Malta after which she was transferred to the Pacific in June 1942. The three torpedoes struck in quick succession in the vicinity of the fuel tanks and magazines which created a rapid series of explosions in the hanger deck. Fire almost instantaneously broke out in the hanger deck which detonated the ammunition of the forward anti-aircraft guns. Water was unavailable to fight the fires as the mains had been rendered inoperable by the explosions and Wasp listed to about 10 degrees to starboard. All firefighting was proving to be ineffective and, Captain Sherman of the Wasp, gave the order to abandon ship at about 16.00. Once all the injured had been lowered into rafts and rubber inflatable boats, the remaining crew and Captain Sherman abandoned the ship. Destroyer USS Lansdowne was ordered to torpedo Wasp as she was drifting on fire. Lansdowne fired 3 torpedoes at Wasp who stayed afloat for a considerable time and she finally sank at 21.00. 193 men died and 386 men were injured during the attack but 1946 men were successfully rescued following the abandonment. All the 46 aircraft remaining in the hanger deck were lost when the ship sank and all but one of the 26 airborne fighters made it safely to another carrier. The remaining three torpedoes fired by Submarine I-19 struck USS North Carolina and destroyer USS O’Brien. North Carolina was hit by one torpedo which tore a large hole in the port side of the ship causing her list 5.5 degrees. By counter-flooding the list was corrected and little serious damage occurred. After withdrawing from the area North Carolina was able to sail to Pearl Harbour for repairs. Two torpedoes were aimed at O’Brien, one passing close astern but the other hit her port bow. Other than severe structural stresses throughout the ship the explosion did very little obvious damage. After receiving temporary repairs she headed toward San Francisco Bay. She steamed nearly 3,000 miles when her bottom suddenly split open not too far away from Pago Pago on American Samoa. At about 07.00 on the 19^th October 1942 the crew abandoned ship and about 08.00 she sank. All the crew members were saved. Submarine I-19 escaped safely avoiding the 80 depth charges despatched by the remaining U.S. destroyers,

During the Guadalcanal Campaign in the Solomon Islands, the Battle of Edson’s Ridge was fought between the Japanese army and the U.S. Marine Corps from the 12^th to 14^th  September 1942. U.S. Marines had taken Guadalcanal in August 1942 and set up defences on the island primarily at Henderson Field. The Japanese 35th Infantry Brigade was sent to Guadalcanal in response to the U.S. landings. The mission was expected to recapture the airfield and drive the Americans off the island. Edson’s Ridge was named after Lieutenant Colonel Merrill A. Edson who commanded the U.S. defenders. The Japanese underestimated the U.S. forces on the island, which was about 12,000 troops and the 6,000 Japanese assault troops conducted several night time frontal attacks south of Henderson Field. However, they almost overran the U.S. defenders but the attack was ultimately defeated with heavy Japanese losses. After Edson’s Ridge the Japanese continued to send troops to Guadalcanal for further attempts to retake Henderson Field. In the meantime another major Japanese offensive along the Kokoda track in New Guinea was being launched. By the 14^th September 1942 they were 30 miles from Port Moresby when they were ordered to withdraw until the “Guadalcanal matter” was resolved. Following the Japanese withdrawal the Americans sent troops to Port Moresby to re-inforce the Australian defenders on the 15^th September 1942. The Japanese were aware they did not have sufficient troops and materials to defeat the Allies at Guadalcanal and support the Port Moresby campaign. Whilst the U.S. forces concentrated on shoring up their defences and by bringing in additional support units and their equipment, the Japanese were regrouping west of the Matanikau River. Japanese survivors from the battle along Edson’s Ridge faced a 5 day march to meet up with their main forces at the river. The U.S. conducted a series of small units to mop up the scattered Japanese troops to prevent them from meeting up with the main forces at the Matanikau. The first of two “Battle along the Matanikau” occurred between 23^rdand 27^th September 1942. The 1^st U.S. Marines attacked Japanese troops west of the Matanikau River but were repulsed by the Japanese. During this action the Marines were surrounded by Japanese troops and took heavy losses. They barely escaped but with the assistance from destroyer USS Monssen and landing craft manned by the U.S. Coast Guard they were evacuated. One of the landing craft was piloted by Douglas Munro, who was killed as he maneuvered his craft to protect the escaping Marines, and was the only member of the Coast Guard to be awarded the Medal of Honour. A second “Battle along the Matanikau River” occurred between the 6^th to 9^th October 1942.

(Other Theatres)

Sailing alone in the Atlantic Ocean the armed RMS Laconia was transporting Italian prisoners of war from Cape Town in South Africa to Freetown, Sierra Leonne. On board Laconia there were 1,793 Italian prisoners, a guard of 103 Polish soldiers, 286 British soldiers, 87 civilians and the Laconia crew consisting of 463 officers and men. German U-boat U-156 was patrolling off the Africa coast when her commander Werner Hartenstein spotted the lone vessel. Armed troopships and merchantmen were legitimate targets for attacks without warning, and as such U-156 attacked Laconia at around 1O pm on the 12^th September 1942. The sinking and subsequent rescue attempts came to be known as the “Laconia Incident”. The series of events and a lack of communications surrounding the “Laconia Incident” involved German U-boats, an Italian submarine and two war ships. Three Vichy French war ships were also involved, as were an American bomber attack force. Of the original 2,732 complement on board Laconia only 1,113 survived. Of the 1,619 who died, 1,420 were Italian POWs. The only person to come out of the incident with any credit was the commander of U-156, Korvettkapitän Werner Hartenstein.  He received a radio message, on the 17^th September 1942, to say he had been awarded the Knights Cross of the Iron Cross for his actions during the rescue mission. Unfortunately he did not survive the war as he and his crew were killed in action, east of Barbados, on the 8^th March 1943 by depth charges dropped from an American PBY Catalina aircraft. For additional information see the separate article on the “Laconia Incident” dated the 12^th September 1942.

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