December 1943
(Britain)
In December1943, following the Trident Conference in Washington the Allied leaders proposed a general Allied Expeditionary Force be formed for the invasion in Europe. American Dwight D. Eisenhower, was from June 1942, Supreme Commander Allied Expeditionary Force of the North African Theatre of Operations. The leaders appointed Eisenhower as Supreme Allied Commander of Europe on the 11th December 1943. Eisenhower officially became Supreme Allied Commander in Europe on the 24th December 1943. Eisenhower was also named as head of Overlord in Normandy and this was made official the following month.
Ed Murrow, America’s premier broadcast correspondent who was employed by CBS News and transferred to Britain, was in the London studios of the BBC on the 3rd December 1943. He sat in front of his microphone waiting for his programme to begin. The programme was to be known as “Orchestral Hell” and was probably his most famous wartime report. His opening statement was “Last night, some of the young gentlemen of the RAF took me to Berlin”. The eighteen minute broadcast was to CBS listeners in America about his experience in accompanying a bombing raid on Berlin the previous evening. His report stated how cold it was in the interior of a Lancaster bomber. When the bomber reached Germany they began to encounter flak exploding which he described as “like a cigarette lighter on a dark night that won’t light. Sparks but no flame”. He also described the cloud cover, the dazzling gleam of the searchlights and Berlin wreathed with smoke from bombs dropped ahead of them. He described the gentle uplift of the Lancaster after the payload had been released. Murrow went on to say the British crew appeared to treat the raids as a job to be completed. But his biggest statement was that Berlin appeared to turn into “a thing of Orchestral Hell, a terrible symphony of light and flame”. In all he flew on about twenty five missions and allowed himself to be in dangerous positions to ensure the accuracy of reporting to his listeners.
(Germany)
German Fuhrer Adolf Hitler appointed Field Marshall Erwin Rommel as head of Fortress Europa on the 12th December 1943. Following his campaigns in the deserts of North Africa and the Italian Campaign in Greece, Rommel, known as the Desert Fox, was to oversee the defence of the Atlantic Wall. Built to withstand the invasion of Europe by the Allies, based in Britain, the Atlantic Wall stretched along the European coastline. Stretching from Scandinavia to the heavily fortified Channel Islands and France, the wall was constructed by Vichy French workers and slave labour from 1942. Rommel’s role was to examine and make suggestions as to how to improve the defences. Upon his arrival in Northern France he was dismayed by the lack of completed works. Being in a staff position Rommel could not issue the orders that would allow his suggestions to become reality. In any case the appointed defensive officers senior to Rommel made sure his suggestions were slowed down, thereby nothing changed. After submitting a request to be made commander he was promoted in 1944.
(Mediterranean)
During the Italian Campaign the Germans were victorious with the air raid on Bari on the 2nd December 1943. The Italians had surrendered to the Allies in early September 1943 leaving their previous Axis partners to continue the fight alone. Bari is a harbour city on the eastern coast of Italy which was in the British sector during the invasion of Italy. The defensive arrangements of Bari both ground and air defences were totally inadequate. Confident that the Bari Harbour would not be attacked from the air, the harbour was busy unloading supplies. These supplies were intended for the forthcoming Battle of Monte Casino. At night the harbour was lit up to facilitate unloading. There were thirty British, American, Polish, Norwegian and Dutch ships being unloaded in the harbour as well as the 250,000 civilian population in the city. On the afternoon of the 2nd December 1943 a German reconnaissance flight was conducted over Bari. This resulted in the Commander-in-Chief Albert Kesselring ordering an air attack against Bari. Kesselring and General Field Marshall Wolfram von Richtofen agreed that 150 Junkers Ju 88A-4 twin-engine dive bombers would attack the harbour. Only 105 were available to attack the harbour in order to slow the advance of the British Eighth Army. The attack began at 19:25 when three German aircraft dropped Duppel (foil strips) to confuse Allied radar. Flares were dropped but were not necessary as the harbour was well illuminated. The German bombers were able to bomb the harbour with great accuracy. The defenders of the port were surprised at the attack and offered little resistance. Two ammunition ships exploded after being hit by bombs. A sheet of blazing fuel spread across the harbour after a bulk petrol pipeline was severed on a quay. 34,000 tons of cargo was lost when 28 merchant vessels were sunk. A further twelve were damaged. Of the sunken vessels one was U.S. Liberty Ship John Harvey. Included in her cargo, and secretly kept quiet, were 2,000 mustard gas bombs, each holding 60-70 lb (27-32 kg) of the agent. Apparently the mustard gas shells were intended to be used as a retaliatory response should the Germans use chemical warfare in Italy. Waters in the harbour were already contaminated by oil and the liquid sulphur mustard became part of that oily mixture. Chemical reaction caused rescued sailors to suffer from mustard gas poison symptoms. The casualties for the British were 28 ships sunk, 12 damaged and extensive damage to the harbour. 1,000 military and merchant marine personnel, together with 1,000 civilians were killed. The Germans had a victorious day losing only one aircraft
In Greece, during October 1943, 78 German soldiers had been taken prisoner by the resistance guerrilla fighters and on the 10th December 1943 were executed by their captors. In response to the guerrilla’s actions, the German commanding officer ordered the “severest measures” be taken. The German troops were based in six cities in Greece and converged on Kalavryta. The Kalavryta Massacre was conducted on the 13th December 1943. The orders were that the German 117th Jäger Division were to encircle the Greek guerrillas in the mountains surrounding Kalavryta. They burnt 11`villages and monasteries and shot civilians on the way. Rounding up all the residents of Kalavryta in the early hours of the 13th December 1943 the Germans forced the residents into the school building. Older boys and men were separated from the women and children. Following the citizen separation the Germans looted the town and set it ablaze. The 438 men and boys were escorted to a nearby field and killed by machine gun. Because they hid under the dead bodies of the massacred men, thirteen survived. The women and children were locked into a local primary school, after which the Germans set the school alight. Fortunately the majority of the women and children found a way to escape after the school was on fire. As a In Greece, the Kalavryta Massacre was conducted on the 13th December 1943. The orders were that the German 117th Jäger Division were to encircle the Greek resistance guerrilla fighters in the mountains surrounding Kalavryta. During October 1943, 78 German soldiers had been taken prisoner by the guerrilla and on the 10th December 1943 were executed by their captors. In response to the guerrilla’s actions, the German commanding officer ordered the “severest measures” be taken. The German troops were based in six cities in Greece and converged on Kalavryta. They burnt 11`villages and monasteries and shot civilians on the way. Rounding up all the residents of Kalavryta in the early hours of the 13th December 1943 the Germans forced the residents into the school building. Older boys and men were separated from the women and children. Following the citizen separation the Germans looted the town and set it ablaze. The 438 men, boys and seniors were escorted to a nearby field and killed by machine gun. Because they hid under the dead bodies of the massacred male population, thirteen males survived. The women and children were locked into a local primary school, after which the Germans set the school alight. Fortunately the majority of the women and children found a way to escape after the school was on fire. As a landmark of the Greek War of Independence, the monastery Agia Lavra was burnt down by German troops the following day of the 14th December 1943. The Germans went on to destroy 28 communities which include towns, villages, monasteries and settlements. During the reprisals of Operation Kalavryta 693 civilians were massacred. More than 1,000 homes in Kalavryta were looted and burned down and more than 2,000 livestock were seized by the Germans. There doesn’t appear to be any evidence that any German was convicted of war crimes after the war.
(Pacific)
On the island of New Britain, the Battle of Cape Gloucester began on the 26th December 1943. The island was defended by the Japanese and the attackers were U.S. Marines whose objective was to capture two Japanese airfields. The island of New Britain is partially semi-circular in shape and fairly narrow running east to west. Cape Gloucester is located on the tip of the north-west coast. The airfields, which were the prime target, and the coast around Cape Gloucester were heavily bombed by the Allies for several months before the battle. The bombardment was mainly by the U.S. Fifth Air Force. Just before dawn on the 26th December 1943, a naval shell barrage was directed onto the Japanese positions at the cape, this was the beginning of the battle. Following the barrage, United States Army Air Force (USAAF) and Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) attacked the Japanese. A total of 14 mixed squadrons provided air support. Nine squadrons were bombers and five were attack aircraft. Fighter squadrons were employed as attack aircraft and provided cover on the landing beaches. Just prior to the attack there were nearly 4,000 Japanese troops in the vicinity of Cape Gloucester, together with field and anti-aircraft artillery support. The Allied plan was for a two-pronged landing, east and west of Cape Gloucester.
The main landing area was on the coast east of Cape Gloucester and the area was designated as yellow beach. Three separate U.S. Marine Divisions, plus supporting naval equipment, took part in the assault on yellow beach. The assault was carried out by three Combat Teams, “A, B and C”. The 5th Marines formed Combat Team “A”, the 1st Marines formed Combat Team “B” and the 7th Marines formed Combat Team “C”. At about 08:00 Combat Team “C” were the first to land on shore and were assigned to secure the beach-head. After the initial assault Combat Team “B”, minus the 2nd Battalion, would begin the northern advance toward the airfields. Each Combat Team was transported by landing craft from the naval vessels assigned to them. Also landed was the support equipment which included 30 days of supplies of food and ammunition. Combat Team “A” remained on board their landing craft as a floating reserve. Japanese aircraft attacked the Allied ships around the landing beaches, which resulted in the sinking of destroyer USS Brownson. The crew were successfully rescued by two U.S. destroyers. Despite this setback about 13,000 troops and around 7,600 tons of equipment were landed beginning about 14:30. Opposition in the main landing area by the original defenders had been easily overcome. Japanese 2nd Battalion, 53rd Infantry Regiment reinforcements counter-attacked and slowed the U.S. advance until the evening of the first day, U.S. artillery was landed and the beach was secured. The Combat Teams began the slow advance toward Cape Gloucester along the narrow swamp lined beach road. Owing to bad weather the Japanese air attacks had ended and by the end of the month the airstrip at Cape Gloucester was over-run by the Marines.
Green beach was to the west of Cape Gloucester and was designated to be a diversionary attack. The assault troops were the 2nd battalion of Combat Team “B” and a battery of artillery from the 11th Marines. Around 7:30, after a preliminary naval and aerial bombardment, the marines landed. There was no opposition as the Japanese had abandoned their defences. The beach-head was secured and all the first day’s objectives were achieved by 10:00. Shortly after the U.S. troops landed on green beach, the Japanese responded by sending two companies of the 53rd Infantry Regiment. By the 31st December 1943 various small clashes occurred between the two sides. In the jungle environment the Japanese sought mainly to avoid contact. Most of their forces were ordered to withdraw to support the fighting on yellow beach.
The Battle of Cape Gloucester ended with an Allied victory on the 16th January 1944.
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The Andaman Islands are located in the north-eastern Indian Ocean and serve as maritime barrier between the Bay of Bengal and Burma. Most of the Andaman Islands are individual small islands, as are the Nicobar Islands to the south. They are part of the Union Territory of India. During the Burma Campaign, beginning December 1941, the Japanese had occupied the Andaman Islands. When the Japanese left on the 29th December 1943 the authority was handed over to Arzi Hukuma-e-Azad Hind of the Provisional Government of Free India. The Provisional Government was headed by Subhas Chandra Bose, who was allied to the Japanese during the occupation. On the 30th December 1943 Bose first raised the flag of Indian independence. Unconfirmed rumours indicate that before leaving the islands, the Japanese rounded up and executed 750 civilians.
(Other Fronts)
On the northern coast of Norway in the Arctic Sea, the Battle of North Cape was fought on the 26th December 1943. The battle was the last big-gun naval battle between Britain and Germany in the European theatre of the war. The western Allies, since August 1941 had been regularly supplying the Soviet Union with convoys and escorting warships. German battleships Scharnhorst was based on the northern coast of German-occupied Norway. German Admiral Karl Dörnitz and Hitler were at a conference to discuss the problem on the 19th – 20th December 1943. It was decided Scharnhorst would be employed against the next Allied convoy. Scharnhorst was ordered to be ready to go to sea at three hours’ notice. British/Polish Intelligence had broken the German Enigma Code and were aware of the German plans. The next convoy to leave for the Soviet Union was JW55B which departed on the 20th December 1943. On the 22nd December1943, German reconnaissance aircraft located the convoy. Two days later the convoy was spotted again heading for the Soviet Union. Scharnhorst was ordered into action at 09:00 on the 25th December 1943 after a report of the convoy’s position by a U-boat. Being pre-warned of Scharnhorst’s intentions, Commander-in-Chief Admiral Sir Bruce Fraser of the Home Fleet, left Loch Ewe, escorting the convoy, in his flagship battleship HMS Duke of York. He was also accompanied by one cruiser and four destroyers. Fraser also brought into the encounter the returning escorting warships of convoy RA55A and additional protection from Group 1 which consisted of flagship HMS Belfast and two destroyers HMS Norfolk and HMS Sheffield. Scharnhorst was unable to locate the enemy owing to stormy weather on the morning of the 26th December 1943. To increase the search area the commander of Scharnhorst, Konteradmiral Erich Bey, sent his escorting destroyers off to the south. Scharnhorst was now completely separated from her escorting destroyers. Shortly after 09:00 Belfast was the first to obtain radar contact on unescorted Scharnhorst. Rapidly closing the range to approximately 13,000 yds. (12,000 m) the three British cruiser/destroyers open-fired on the battleship. Scharnhorst was hit by two British shells, one of which destroyed the forward radar controls. In response she fired salvoes at the British warships but failed to hit any. She was now virtually blind in a mounting snowstorm. Bey turned south in an effort to escape whereby his superior speed soon out-paced his pursuersand then turned northwest in an attempt to attack the convoy from another direction. Radar contact located Scharnhorst again as she was approaching the convoy. Exchanging gun-fire Scharnhorst scored two hits on Norfolk. Following this exchange Bey ordered his escorting destroyers to attack the convoy, while he returned to his port. However, the destroyers could not locate the convoy. Scharnhorst turned south again and her superior speed outpaced Sheffield and Norfolk, whose speed had slowed after suffering engine problems. The out-gunned Belfast was the sole pursuer. However, they soon located Scharnhorst on the radar. At 16:48 Belfast fired a starlight shell which illuminated Scharnhorst. She was now facing the British warships alone which consisted of one battleship, one heavy cruiser, three light cruisers and eight destroyers. By turning north then south and east whilst using her superior speed Bey was unable to shake off his pursuers. Scharnhorst now was being fired on from all the British warships and finally capsized and sank, 36 Germans survived the attack out of a complement of 1,968 officers and men. The British by contrast lost 11 sailors killed, 11 wounded, one damaged battleship, one cruiser and one destroyer damaged. The sinking of Scharnhorst was a major victory for the Allies in the Arctic Theatre. It also demonstrated the importance of radar in modern naval warfare. With the sinking of the Scharnhorst the Allied navies were able to be relocate their resources away from the Arctic Theatre. The remaining fleet of German battleships were either out of service or being repaired. The Battle of the North Cape was the last battle involving battleships in European waters. The final battle of the war involving battleships was at the Battle of Surigao Strait in October 1944 in the Pacific. For further information see the separate essay of the Sinking of Scharnhorst.
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The Bay Museum & Research Facility 