Air Raid Damage Reports Brentwood Division Essex Fire Service June 1942.

Date Time Location Damage

01/06/1942 Found Shenfield A portion of a German Meteorological Balloon on a

tree in Alwynne Avenue. Subsequently sent to H.Q.

16/06/1942 Found South 1 – 2″ British Trench Mortar Shell near the

Benfleet seaplane obstruction. (Removed by BDS 22.6.42).

20/06/1942 11.30 Wallasea Norman Sidney Hales of 4 Dogget’s Close

Island Rochford an employee of the Stambridge Thrashing Machine Coy. Ltd. Was working on the Island when he was tampering with a German Cannon Shell which he had found at Hockley a few days previously which exploded. Hales received the following injuries:- Tops of 3 fingers and thumb of left hand and ( Rest of entry on original missing).

22/06/1942 17.00 Hadleigh 1 – 2″ British Trench Mortar found in the creek near

the Old Jetty, opposite the Salvation Army Colony, removed to South Benfleet Police Station (removed BDS 14.7.42).

SECOND WORLD WAR

Jul26

JUNE 1942

(Britain)

The “Thousand Bomber Raid”, was a term used as propaganda for the Royal Air Force (RAF), to describe three heavy bombing attacks on German cities in the summer of 1942. The bulk of the aircraft were twin-engine medium bombers such as the Vickers Wellington (Wimpy). To reach the number of aircraft required for the attack existing operational aircrew from RAF Bomber Command were reinforced by aircrews from Operational Training Units (OTU). Commander-in-Chief of Bomber Command Sir Arthur “Bomber” Harris had successfully sent the first “Thousand Bomber Raid” against Cologne on the 30^th May 1942. For the second raid on the 2^nd June 1942 the Krupp Steel Works in Essen was the prime target. 956 aircraft were dispatched but the target was obscured by industrial haze and the bombing was not very effective. For the third “Thousand Bomber Raid”, on the 25^th June 1942 Bomber Command had assembled 960 aircraft to which RAF Coastal Command had added another 102 aircraft to attack Bremen. The assembly shop of the Focke-Wulf factory was flattened and 17 buildings receiving varying degrees of damage. Shipyards, two large dockside warehouses and the Korff oil refinery were also damaged. 572 houses were completely destroyed and 6,108 damaged. A total of 85 people were killed, 497 injured and 2,308 bombed out. The RAF were using the radio navigational GEE system which afforded them limited success. But the success came at a cost. 48 Bomber Command aircraft were lost, of which 23 were from the OTU and 5 from Coastal Command. Following the third raid never again were one thousand bombers sent against a single target.

As he was about to leave for America by air on the 16^th June 1942, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill took the unusual step of writing a letter to King George VI. Churchill advised the King that should he not arrive in Washington for his talks with President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the King should make Anthony Eden Prime Minister.

On the 24^th June 1942 Dwight D. Eisenhower arrived in London as Commanding General, European Theatre of Operation USA (ETOUSA). Since America’s entry into the war Eisenhower had been assigned to the General Staff in Washington. Upon arrival he took over the position from James E. Chaney and was based in London. He was provided with a house at Kingston-on-Thames.

(America)

On the 5^th June 1942 the United States of America declared war on Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania. Bulgaria and Hungary had allied with Germany and Romania was under German occupation. The relationship between the U.S. and Germany was not one of mutual trust. Germany viewed America’s lease-lend policy to Britain as being a partial act of war from a neutral state. The attack on Pearl Harbour by Japan on the 7^th December 1941 brought America into the Second World War. On the 11^th December 1941 Germany declared war against the U.S. with the immediate response that America declared war against Germany on the same day. President Franklin D. Roosevelt thought it improper to engage in hostilities without a formal declaration of war against another country. On the 5th June 1942 Roosevelt signed the declaration of war against Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania, being allies of Germany.

The United States Office of War Information (OWI) was created on the 13^th June 1942 when the U.S. government agency opened an office based in Washington. Communication between the various battle fronts and civilian population were established through radio broadcasts, newspapers, posters, photographs and films. Large scale information and propaganda campaigns became effective when several overseas branches were incorporated into the agency.

The Manhattan Project was a research and development undertaking that eventually produced the first atomic bomb. When the project document was placed before Roosevelt on the 17^th June 1942 he approved it by writing “OK FDR” on the document. German chemists had discovered nuclear fusion in 1938 which made the development of an atomic bomb theoretically possible. Refugee scientist from Nazi Germany had fears that a German atomic bomb could be produced. Albert Einstein signed the Einstein-Szilard letter on the 2^nd August 1939 which warned of the potential development of extremely powerful bombs. A breakthrough investigation by British scientists of the University of Birmingham indicated the critical mass of uranium-235 could be turned into an atomic bomb. The critical mass breakthrough occurred in June 1939 and by July 1940 Britain offered the United States its scientific research. By this stage the American project was smaller and not as far advanced as the British. America and Britain exchanged nuclear information but did not initially combine their efforts. Although America was prepared to meet the development costs Britain was reluctant to agree. On the 18^th June 1942 America started the Manhattan Project which was the beginning of the scientific approach to nuclear weapons.

Having flown from Stranraer in Scotland to Baltimore, Winston Churchill arrived in Washington for talks with Roosevelt on the 18^th June 1942. This round trip was the only time Churchill had crossed the Atlantic by air during the course of the war. During the talks of 20^th/25^th June 1942 the two agreed the priority should be the opening up of the front in North Africa. They also agreed the invasion of Europe across the English Channel would be postponed. The United States began direct military assistance in North Africa on the 11^th May 1942 and troops were deployed on the 30^th June 1942.

(The Eastern Front)

In Prague, following an assassination attempt to kill Reinhard Heydrich, he was in hospital having been operated on and apparently making a recovery from his wounds. He was the chief high-ranking S.S. Officer in German occupied Czechoslovakia and was on his way to meet Fuhrer Adolf Hitler in Berlin. On the 3^rd June 1942 he fell into a coma and never regained consciousness and died aged 38 on the 4^th June 1942. Heydrich was buried in Berlin’s military cemetery on the 9^th June 1942 with Hitler in attendance. Infuriated by Heydrich’s death Hitler ordered reprisals to be carried out against the Czech people. On the 10^th June 1942 the villages of Lidice and Ležáky were burned to the ground and at least 1,300 Czechs including 200 women were killed in reprisal for Heydrich’s assassination. The assassins hid in a safe house but rather than surrender they killed themselves after they had been betrayed.

(Mediterranean)

The war in the desert had been ongoing since June 1940 with the major problem being the distance from either side’s headquarters to the front line. The Axis HQ was in Libya while the Allied HQ was in Egypt. The length of the battle front was something like 1,300 miles with supplies and communications dictating the success or failure of the actions which tended to go in fits and starts. German General Erwin Rommel (The Desert Fox) had set up a defensive line west of Tobruk at the end of May 1942. German supplies to the Western Desert had been reduced owing to the success of the Allied aerial bombardment and torpedo attacks, from Malta, on the Axis convoys. However, sufficient supplies had arrived to enable Rommel to prepare for an assault to capture Tobruk. He had at his disposal 90,000 men, 560 tanks of which 332 were German and 228 were Italian. He also had available 497 serviceable aircraft. Facing Rommel was the British Eighth Army under the command of General Sir Claude Auchinleck (known as The Auk) whose forces consisted mainly of Dominion, Indian and Free-French troops. The Eighth Army had at their disposal 100,000 men, 843 tanks and 604 aircraft stationed along the Gazala Line which protected Tobruk. The Gazala Line consisted of huge mine-fields from Gazala on the coast and 50 miles south into the desert at Bir Hakeim. Between the mine-fields were a series of “Keeps” which housed a large number of men and equipment. The 1^st South African Division was garrisoned on the Gazala Line near the coast with the50^th(Northumberland) Infantry Division to the south and central section. The 1^st Free French Brigadewere concentrated at the southern end of the line at Bir Hakeim and the 5^th Indian Infantry Division were held in reserve. By the end of May 1942 Rommel was ready to begin his offensive. He made a decoy attack in the north and central areas while Italian engineers cleared some of the mine-fields. His main attack force moved south in a sweeping movement around the left flank of the Gazala Line at Bir Hakeim then moved north behind it. On the 1^st June 1942 Rommel launched his attack on the British 50^th Infantry Division who were soon overcome.

By the 5^th June 1942 British forces of the 8^th Army counter-attacked Rommel. In the meantime on the 9^th June1942 Rommel renewed his attack on the 1^st Free French Brigade and by the 10^th June 1942 he had forced the Free French out of Bir Hakeim. From Rommel’s launch date to evacuation 3,700 French soldiers immobilised 40,000 Axis troops, losing 800 either killed or missing. Also on the 10^th June 1942 the 1^st Free French Brigade were ordered to withdraw and on the 14^th June 1942 The Auk authorised a British withdrawal from the Gazala Line. South African Major-General Hendrick Klopper had been appointed commander to defend Tobruk. By 17^th June 1942 Tobruk was surrounded and The Auk viewed Tobruk as being expendable but expected it could be besieged and hold out for two months, by which time he planned to return and relieve Tobruk within this period. On the 21^st June 1942, 35,000 Eighth Army troops surrendered to the Afrika Korps. The perimeter for the defence of Tobruk was approximately 35 miles plus another 20 miles of coastline. Klopper concluded any value gained by continuing the fight would not be worth the additional casualties and thought it more expedient to surrender. The fuel and equipment stored there had been allocated for an Allied advance and Churchill did not want it to fall into Rommel’s hands.

The surrender allowed the Axis Powers the ability to use British supplies, and resupply the Afrika Korps, in their pursuit of the Eighth Army into Egypt. The British Command ordered the retreating Eighth Army to prepare a decisive action at Mersa Matruh to halt the Axis advance. On the 28^th June 1942 the Afrika Korps captured Mersa Matruh, took 6,000 prisoners along with a great deal of supplies and equipment. The remainder of the Eighth Army survived to arrive at El Alamein in time for Rommel to begin the assault at the First Battle of Alamein on the 1^st July 1942.

It would appear, but not confirmed, that Churchill had informed Roosevelt that Tobruk would be held. Churchill was desperate for a victory to boost British morale as the Allies were not doing well against the Axis forces or the Japanese in the Far East. He concentrated his frustration on The Auk who he considered was not aggressive enough with his strategy. The Auk offered to resign but the offer was refused. The two men were on a collision course. On the 14^th June 1942 The Auk received a message from Churchill saying that a “retreat would be fatal” and added “comply or resign”.

On the morning of the 15thJune 1942 another message from Churchill confused matters more by using the phrase “Presume there is no question in any case of giving up Tobruk”. The Auk sent a reply to say there were sufficient troops to hold Tobruk. At the time of the fall of Tobruk Churchill was a guest of Roosevelt at the White House, and it was the President who gave him the news. So close was the relationship between the two leaders, when Churchill heard of the fall of Tobruk he said “I am ashamed”, to which Roosevelt replied very quietly “What can I do to help?” His offer was to send 250 new M4 Sherman Tanks to the Eighth Army. However, for Churchill the stunning American victory at the Battle for Midway, caused him concern. Would Roosevelt give in to the popular American enthusiasm and give priority to the Pacific? Politically Roosevelt needed to get the GIs into the fighting as soon as possible and would therefore stick to the agreed “Europe First” strategy.

—

Aircraft carrier HMS Eagle undertook a total of five deliveries of Spitfires to Malta by the 8^th June 1942. 64 Spitfires had been despatched to Malta with the assistance of American carrier USS Wasp for the first two deliveries. Eagle undertook her three final deliveries of Spitfires when a further 78 were despatched. Between the two carriers 164 Spitfires were launched of which 135 successfully reached their destination. By the middle of June 1942 the Germans were forced to divert many of their aircraft from Malta to the Eastern Front to replace losses sustained during the Battles of the Kerch Peninsular and the Second Battle of Kharkov. Aircraft were required to support Rommel’s offensive in the desert campaign which took precedence over continued attacks on Malta. The pressure on the island decreased with the removal of the German aircraft. The arrival of the latest variant Spitfire, contributed to German sorties against the island being drastically reduced. Although slower than the German Messerschmitt ME-109, the Spitfire with its greater manoeuvrability and fire power was soon the master of the Malta skies. Malta was desperately short of food and fuel and a decision was taken to send two separate convoys from two separate locations to bring relief to the island. Convoy “Operation Harpoon” sailed from Gibraltar on the 11^th June 1942, consisting of five freighters and a tanker. On the same day eleven freighters forming convoy “Operation Vigorous” sailed from Alexandria in Egypt. Both freighter convoys were heavily escorted by the Royal Navy. Both convoys ran the gauntlet of German and Italian aircraft, U-boats, Italian submarines and MTB’s. In addition “Vigorous” faced the Italian fleet including the battleship Littorio while “Harpoon” faced two Italian cruisers and two Italian destroyers. Air cover for “Harpoon” was non-existent and they encountered almost constant air attacks by German and Italian aircraft. By the time the convoy reached Malta on the 16^th June 1942 only two freighters had survived. However, they arrived with 15,000 tons of desperately needed supplies. None of the freighters from “Operation Vigorous” reached Malta. The Royal Navy lost or received damage to a number of the escorting ships. Despite only two of the seventeen freighters who survived the journey reaching their objective, the tide of events were turning against the Axis powers. The arrival of the Spitfires enabled future convoys to receive vital air cover as they approached Malta.

In Nazi occupied Greece, the Greek Communist Party (KKE) called for national resistance. Various minor left-wing parties joined the KKE to form the military arm of the left-wing National Liberation Front (EAM). Permission had been given to a communist veteran Athanasios Klaras (later to be known as Aris Velouchiotis) in February 1942 to examine the possibility of a successful armed resistance movement. The movement was to become the Greek People’s Liberation Army (ELAS), led by Aris Velouchiotis, a journalist, a politician and a communist. ELAS began action against the occupation. Velouchiotis with a small group of 10 – 15 guerrillas entered the village of Domnist on the 7^th June 1942. In front of the surprised villagers Velouchiotis proclaimed the guerrillas had begun to “start the war against the forces of Axis and their local collaborators”. He also recruited local mountain bandits who helped to create a small group of experts in guerrilla fighting.

(Pacific)

The Midway Islands are located roughly equidistant between North America and Asia. The Americans first had a presence on the islands in 1903 and in the mid-1930s they had gained importance as a seaplane stop for Pan American Airways Clipper planes. By August 1941 a naval presence began to build up and the Naval Air Station Midway Island was established. The Japanese objective was to force America to evacuate the islands. This would also have the advantage of denying America a base from which they could attack Japan. Unbeknown to Japan the Americans had broken the Japanese code and were aware of the forthcoming attacks. The Aleutian Islands are part of the American Territory of Alaska and are located almost directly north of the Midway Islands. One of the reasons the Japanese attacked the Aleutian Islands was to draw American forces to that theatre, and therefore not be available for the defence of Midway Island. They also thought that they had destroyed the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown, unaware she had retired to Pearl Harbour for repairs. On the 3^rd June 1942 Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto’s Japanese North Area Fleet launched a two day air attack against the base at Dutch Harbour in the Aleutians. Hampered by fog and bad weather only seventeen Japanese torpedo bombers reached their objective. Confronted by anti-aircraft guns and the 11^th Air Force fighters, the Japanese released their bombs and returned to their carriers having inflicted little damage in the harbour. The following day, the 4^th June 1942, the second air attack on Dutch Harbour was more successful as the Japanese pilots were better prepared and organised. At the end of the raid the hospital was partly destroyed and the Dutch Harbour oil storage tanks were burning. When the American pilots located the Japanese carrier fleet, attempts to sink them failed as contact was lost due to bad weather. The Japanese carrier fleet cancelled any plans to continue the air raids on the Aleutian Islands. The Japanese invasion and occupation of the Aleutian islands of Kiska on the 6^th and Attu on the 7^th June 1942 met with very little resistance from the local population. The successful landing and occupation was mainly due to the fact that Admiral Chester Nimitz, newly promoted Commander-in-Chief Pacific Fleet, did not send naval reinforcements to defend the Aleutian Islands. Instead he concentrated on the defence of the Midway Islands. The American nation was shocked at the occupation of Kiska and Attu as American soil had not been invaded for over a hundred years.

When the Battle of Midway began on the 4^th June 1942 Nimitz had at his disposal 3 fleet carriers, 7 heavy cruisers, 1 light cruiser, 15 destroyers and 16 submarines. He also had 233 carrier-based aircraft and 126 land-based aircraft. The Japanese attack force comprised of 4 fleet carriers, 2 battleships, 2 heavy cruisers, 1 light cruiser, 12 destroyers, 16 float planes and 248 carrier-based aircraft. In addition Yamamoto had many ships with varying functions either as reserve support vessels but they did not take part in the battle. The Japanese had a two to one advantage over the Americans but with the Japanese code broken Nimitz, with all that was left of the United States Navy after Pearl Harbour, was able to position the fleet between Midway and Hawaii. Yamamoto knew that he needed to destroy the U.S. carriers which comprised the USS Enterprise, USS Hornet and repaired USS Yorktown, of which he was not aware. He was expecting to lure the American fleet into a trap and occupy Midway to extend Japanese defensive perimeters. Early on the morning of the 4^th June 1942 the Japanese launched their initial attack on Midway Island with a total of 110 dive bombers, torpedo bombers and fighter aircraft. On the Midway Atoll the U.S. garrison had a compliment of over 3,000 men, 115 aircraft and was bristling with anti-aircraft guns. At 06.20 am the Japanese bombed and damaged the U.S. base on Midway. The fighters left to defend the island suffered heavy losses and only two remained airworthy. American anti-aircraft fire was heavy and accurate, and combined with the fighters they destroyed or damaged 54 of the 110 Japanese aircraft involved in the attack. The Japanese failed to neutralise Midway as most American aircraft could still use the airbase to refuel. Nearly all the land based defences were intact. Japanese pilots reported that a second aerial attack would be necessary if troops were to go ashore on the 7^th June 1942. Yamamoto assumed Nimitz would not commit his fleet to a major sea battle until the 7^th/8^th June 1942. What he didn’t know was Nimitz knew of his battle plans and was therefore surprised to learn from submarines that the U.S. ships were already at sea. The Japanese were 240 miles off Midway when 26 U.S. fighters took off to engage them, but they lost 17 of the 26. Reports reached USS Enterprise of the attack on Midway and the aircraft on the three carriers were scrambled to attack the Japanese carrier fleet. After a two hour search the Japanese carriers, Soryu, Hiryu, Akagi and Kaga were located. The bombers launched their attack on the Japanese carriers which left three of them on fire. At about 11.00 am aircraft from carrier Hiryu attacked Yorktown, which received three direct hits on her flight deck. The aircraft which flew from Yorktown were therefore required to land on Enterprise. A second torpedo attack on Yorktown, later in the day, caused her to heavily list to port. Yorktown Had to be abandoned as it was in danger of sinking. In the meantime dive bombers from Enterprise and Yorktown attacked the remaining Japanese carrier Hiryu. A direct hit tore her bow apart and spread fires below deck. Yamamoto ordered his fleet to finish off Hiryu and Akagi with torpedoes. The entire Japanese carrier fleet had been lost. With his fleet widely scattered Yamamoto ordered the abandonment of the assault on Midway. His fleet’s troubles were not over as two of his cruisers collided during the night. Badly damaged Mogani was out of action until mid-1943, Cruiser Mikuma sank on the 7^th June 1942. Later the same day, the disabled Yorktown was being towed by destroyer USS Hamman to Pearl Harbour. A Japanese submarine sank both vessels with torpedoes. The Battle of Midway came to a close on the 7^th June 1942. The final toll for the Battle of Midway for the Americans was the loss of 1 carrier, I destroyer, 307 men and 147 aircraft. For the Japanese their losses were 4 carriers, 1 cruiser, 3,500 men and 352 aircraft. The battle proved the Japanese could be beaten, and gave the Allies hope they would eventually be defeated. Japanese strategy following the Battle of Midway, was one where they were generally not in a position to attack but they needed to defend their conquests.

It was during the Battle for Midway Island that the newly introduced Grumman TBF Avenger saw its first action. There were six new Avengers stationed at Midway out of a total of 126 aircraft including seventeen B-17 Flying Fortresses. Five of the sixAvengers were lost at the Battle for Midway. TheAvenger was an American torpedo bomber developed for the United States Navy and Marine Corps which first flew in August 1941. The Avenger was the heaviest single-engine aircraft in the Second World War capable of carrying a torpedo or a single 2,000 lb (900 kg) bomb or four 500 lb (207 kg) bombs. The Wright Twin Cyclone fourteen cylinder radial engine was capable of carrying its 3 man crew and fully loaded up to a range of 1,000 miles (1,600 km) with a ceiling of 30,000 ft. (9,000 m).

The Japanese attacked Sydney Harbour in Australia with submarines on the 8^th June 1942 which was more of psychological exercise to create fear of an impending invasion. The attack was also intended as a diversion ahead of the attack on Midway Island in the North Pacific. The Allies failed to respond to several warnings of Japanese activity in the area prior to the attack. Sydney Harbour’s anti-submarine boom nets were incomplete and on the day of the attack the inner and outer loop nets were inactive. Three Japanese 2 man midget submarines entered Sydney Harbour avoiding anti-submarine boom nets on the 1^st July 1942. Two midget submarines were detected, attacked and sunk before they could engage any Allied vessels. The midget submarine crews were killed. The third submarine attempted to attack USS Chicago but instead sank the converted ferry HMAS Kuttabul killing 21 sailors. The fate of this midget submarine was unknown until 2006 when the wreck was discovered off Sydney’s northern beaches. With the failure of the midget submarine raid five Japanese fleet submarines embarked on a campaign to disrupt merchant shipping in Eastern Australian Waters. Over the next month at least eleven merchant ships were attacked and three were sunk with the loss of 50 sailors. It was during this period that on the 8^th June 1942 two submarines bombarded the ports of Sydney and Newcastle. Submarine I-24 surfaced and her commander ordered the gun crew to target Sydney Harbour Bridge. Ten shells were fired of which nine landed on the eastern suburbs and one landed in the water. Only one shell exploded which caused minimal damage. Crash-diving allowed I-24 to avoid retaliation by coastal artillery batteries. Submarine I-21 shelled Newcastle when she fired 34 shells primarily the BHP steelworks but the shells landed over a large area causing minimal damage and no fatalities. The only time an Australian land fortification fired against an enemy was when Fort Scratchly returned fire. Submarine I-21 escaped unscathed.

(Other Theatres)

On the 1^st June 1942 a Warsaw underground newspaper first reported that gas was being used to kill Jews. The newspaper, the Liberty Brigade, made public the news of the gassing of tens of thousands of Jews at a Nazi-operated death camp at Chelmno in Poland. The news leaked nearly seven months after the extermination of the inmates of the camp had begun. The killing of Jews was not denied by the Germans. They wrote very little down and most orders were verbal in order to maintain a state secret of the extermination. Hitler’s orders to gas the Jews was on a need-to-know basis.

Convoy PQ17 sailed from Hvalfjord, Iceland on the 27^thJune 1942 bound for the port of Arkhangelsk in the Soviet Union. Under British command the convoy was the first large joint Anglo-American naval operation. When the Germans launched Operation Barbarossa against the Soviet Union in June 1941 the British and American governments agreed to send unconditional aid to their Soviet allies. PQ17 consisted of 35 merchant ships and 6 auxiliary ships and their escort vessels. On the 1^st July 1942 German forces located the convoy and began shadowing it. From information received the Allies believed they would be facing the German battleship Tirpitz, but in fact Tirpitz was not amongst the German fleet. The British Admiralty ordered the escort vessels away from the convoy to intercept the German raiders. The same order told the convoy to scatter and as the escort vessels withdrew the convoy was left defenceless. The undefended merchant ships were attacked by the Luftwaffe and U-boats which created such carnage that only eleven of the 35 merchant ships reached their destination on the 4^th July 1942. Convoy PQ17 suffered the worst losses of any convoy during the Second World War. The delivery of only 70,000 short tons of cargo demonstrated how difficult it was to arrange for adequate supplies through the Arctic waters. A standard ton weighs 2,240 lbs while a short ton weighs 2,000 lb.

—————————————————————

Air Raid Damage Reports Brentwood Division Essex Fire Service May 1942.

Jul26

Air Raid Damage Reports Brentwood Division Essex Fire Service May 1942.

Date Time Location Damage

02/05/1942 Found Warley 1 – Unexploded bomb believed to have fallen on

the 8.8.40 found in Magpie Wood Warley (near refuse dump). No damage or casualties. Report Centre informed.

21/05/1942 Found Foulness 1 – Yellow Metrological Balloon about 6ft in

Island circumference with a tin can attached containing paraffin found in a tree at Ridge Marsh Farm, Foulness Island. Removed to Rochford Police Station.

25/05/1942 Barling 1 – Deflated Naval Barrage Balloon grounded at

Barling Hall 500 yards N.E. of Barling Hall Dock. Number on Balloon 6162, R.N. (Naval Authorities informed).

27/05/1942 11.40 Rayleigh 1 – Smashed Aircraft at Rayleigh at junction of

Eastwood Rise and Hillside Road. Map Ref. 275096. Machine completely smashed. British Spitfire. Occupant Pilot Officer Woodhead 81st Squadron, Hornchurch killed. Number of plane B.467 RAF Hornchurch informed.

Air Raid Damage Reports Brentwood Division Essex Fire Service April 1942.

Apr30

Air Raid Damage Reports Brentwood Division Essex Fire Service April 1942.

Date Time Location Damage

01/04/1942 13.53 Canvey Barrage Balloon broke adrift and drifting towards

Island Hadleigh. No damage.

01/04/1942 Found Great 1 – Small Yellow U.X.B. found with wire fouling

Wakering electric cables at Wick Farm. 1 slight casualty suffering shock.

01/04/1942 Found Great 2 – Small Yellow Bombs. 1 unexploded and 1

Wakering exploded whilst being interfered with causing 3 casualties, 2 serious and 1 slight 200 yards West of D.F. Wireless Station. 2 boys Burgess and Mott were conveyed Rochford Hospital where they died the same day from injuries received.

01/04/1942 Found Great 1 – Small Yellow U.X.B. exploded whilst being

Wakering examined by BDS at Halfway House Marshes causing 1 slight and 2 serious casualties to BDS personnel. Lieut. Walton died of injuries the 1.4.42 and Lanc/Sergt. Bristow died the 4.4.42 in Southend Municipal Hospital Rochford.

04/04/1942 Found Nevendon 1 – H.E unexploded in a field opposite Wickford

Drive Burnt Mills Road. No damage or casualties. Date and time of falling not known. (Disposed of BDS 25.4.42).

08/04/1942 Great All Small Yellow U.X.Bs found in the Great and

Wakering Little Wakering areas between the 31.3.42 and 8.4.42 (aprox 50) have been disposed of by BDS.

Found Paglesham 1 – A.A. unexploded Shell in the garden of “Milton House” Waterside. No damage or casualties. Date and time of falling not known. (disposed of BDS 3.5.42). Shown in text as 8/8/42.

10/04/1942 Found Great 1 – Small Yellow U.X.B. with wire attached in a

Wakering meadow at Oxenhams Farm. No damage or casualties. (Disposed of BDS 23.4.42).

11/04/1942 Found Great 1 – A.A. unexploded Shell in the front garden of

Wakering Fletcher’s Grocer, of High Street. No damage or casualties. Date and time of falling not known. (Disposed of BDS 21.4.42).

11/04/1942 Found Childerditch 1 – A.A. Shell in a meadow 400 yards North of

Brickfields. No damage or casualties. Date and time of falling not known. (disposed of BDS 27.4.42).

12/04/1942 Found Sutton 1 – H.E unexploded found in the garden of Sutton

Hall, 50 yards East of Sutton Church. No damage or casualties. Date and time of falling believed 7.10.40. (disposed of BDS 21.4.42).

12/04/1942 Found Foulness A Metrological Balloon at Nazewick Farm.

Island Deposited at Rochford Police Station.

15/04/1942 13.00 Canvey 1 – Deflated Barrage Balloon washed ashore at the

Island point Canvey Island. Removed to Canvey Island Police Station. Markings “MK VI” (F.I) 30510 RAF Hornchurch informed. Then collected by the Royal Naval Control Southend.

24/04/1942 10.30 Billericay 1 – Smoke float fell from a British Aircraft and

landed in a garden at rear of E.C.C. Clinic, Laindon Road and burnt itself out. No damage or casualties. Remains of float removed to Billericay Police Station.

25/04/1942 Found Hutton 1 – Unexploded H.E. found near back gate of “Red

Heath” Ridgeway Hutton Mount. Date and time of falling not known. Report Centre informed (Disposed of BDS 2.5.42).

26/04/1942 Found Great 1 – U.X. Small Yellow Bomb found in a field 200

Wakering yards South of links and Mepburns Nurseries in the main Southend to Great Wakering Road. Date and time of falling 21-29 hours the 31.3.42. No damage or casualties. Report Centre informed. (Disposed of BDS 4.5.42).

28/04/1942 Found Wickford 1 – U.X.A.A. Shell found in a meadow 300 yards

S.W. goods yard (L.N.E.R.) Wickford Station. Date and time of falling not known. Report Centre informed.

Air Raid Damage Reports Brentwood Division Essex Fire Service March 1942.

Apr1

Air Raid Damage Reports Brentwood Division Essex Fire Service March 1942.

Date Time Location Damage

02/03/1942 Found Childerditch 1 – Unexploded A.A. Shell found in a field 500

yards South of The Greyhound P.H. No casualties or damage. Time of occurrence not known.

04/03/1942 08.45 Great A navy blue parachute 4 feet in circumference with

Wakering 12 white cords attached found by Wardens and claimed by the Director of Experiments, Shoeburyness Garrison.

17/03/1942 11.00 Wallasea Found under the sea wall near the old Pool. A

Island deflated Barrage Balloon No. K.B/M.K. 6 & No A.499 with letters “R.N.” & “Evelyn” thereon. Removed by Naval Authorities 18.3.42.

17/03/1942 Found Childerditch 1 – A.A. unexploded Shell in a field 600 yards

South East of the Greyhound P.H. Childerditch Common. No damage or casualties. (Disposed of BDS 31.3.42).

21/03/1942 Found Dunton 1 – A.A. unexploded Shell in the garden of

“Kimoiey” Lower Avenue. No damage or casualties. Date and time of falling not known. (Disposed of BDS 3.4.42).

24/03/1942 Found Rayleigh 1 – H.E unexploded in a meadow at junction of

Victoria and Alexander Avenues. No damage or casualties. Date and time of falling not known.

31/03/1942 21.29 Great 2 – Small Yellow U.X.Bs exploded in High Street

Wakering and a of Small Yellow U.X.Bs fell in the area. 2 serious and one slight casualties. Damage to roofs, tiles and windows of property. Telephone wires down.

SECOND WORLD WAR (March 1942)

Mar1

SECOND WORLD WAR (March 1942)

Britain

The British government extended the conscription laws on the 5^th March 1942. For the first time unmarried women between the ages of 20 to 30 years of age were included in the new laws. Married women with children were excluded. Women were not used in combat but served in a range of non-combat activities. However, there are occasions were some women served as overseas spies or took an active role in the Special Operations Executive (SOE). The upper age limit for men was extended to 45 years and the existing laws still remained in force.

When America entered the war in December 1941, a joint meeting between the U.S. and U.K. commanders agreed that defeating Germany was the first priority. Sir Arthur Harris had been appointed Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C) of RAF Bomber Command in February 1942. Later during the height of the Anglo-American bombing campaign he was given the name of Bomber Harris by the press. The Krupp factory in the industrial town of Essen was a prime target for Allied strategic bombings. The Krupp factory had a near monopoly in the production of steel, artillery, ammunition and other armaments. Beginning on the 8/9^th March 1942 the RAF launched air raids with over 800 British bombers in total, attacking the town during the month of March 1942. Beginning on the 20^th March 1942 the RAF carried out Operation Outward by attacking Germany with free-flying balloons. Nearly 100,000 surplus naval weather balloons were launched during the course of the war. In an effort to damage high voltage power lines, approximately half of them carried trailing steel wires. The intention was that the trailing wires would cause a short circuit in the power lines and subsequently causing electrical power to fail. The remaining balloons carried incendiary devices intended to start fires in fields, forests and heathland. Operation Outward was successful because of the harassment created on German air defences. German fighters were having to be deployed in an effort to shoot the balloons down thereby using additional fuel and wear and tear on their aircraft. On the night of the 28/29^th March 1942 the RAF launched an attack on the medieval city of Lübeck on the Baltic coast. The city had a port and submarine yards nearby and the object was for the RAF to learn how effective an initial wave of aircraft could guide a second wave into a successful attack. The first wave dispatched 144 tons of incendiary bombs to set buildings alight and half an hour later a second wave dropped 160 tons of high explosives. At least half of the city was destroyed mainly by fire. However, the attack was costly for the RAF. Of the 234 bombers sent on the raid 13 aircraft were shot down along the route. Knowing that Adolf Hitler was outraged at the attack on Lübeck, Bomber Harris stated that the Nazis had “sowed the wind and now they are going to reap the whirlwind”. He was referring to the German bombing of British strategic targets during the period known as “The Blitz”. Like Lübeck, Coventry was a medieval town with an industrial centre, and Harris had no scruples about attacking a similar target in Germany. Althou gh outraged Hitler should not have been surprised that the Allies retaliated.

Operation Chariot or the Raid on St. Nazaire was a combined attack by the Royal Navy and British Commandos on the 28^th March 1942. St. Nazaire is located in Loire estuary on the French coast and was chosen because of its dry dock facility and its loss meant large German warships in need of repair would have to return to home waters. This would require the Germans to either negotiate the English Channel or the North of Scotland. Either way they would have to run the gauntlet of the Home Fleet. The obsolete destroyer HMS Campbeltown was chosen to ram the dock gates at St. Nazaire. She was packed with well-hidden delayed-action explosives that detonated later in the day. Leaving Falmouth in Cornwall on 26^th March 1940 Campbeltown crossed the English Channel escorted by 18 smaller craft then made their way along the Atlantic coast of France to St. Nazaire. They formed into a three-lane convoy with the destroyers operating in the middle lane. They received a signal from Plymouth that five German torpedo boats were in the area, and a further signal to say that two additional destroyers had been dispatched at full speed to join the convoy. Just before midnight on the 27^th March 1942, two squadrons of RAF bombers began to attack St. Nazaire in order to divert the Germans attention away from the naval raid. In the meantime the convoy was spotted by a German submarine who sent a message to say that British warships were heading toward the docks. When the convoy reached St. Nazaire the destroyers headed for the dock entrance. Just prior to entering the dock Campbeltown raised the German naval ensign in an attempt to deceive the dock defenders she was one of their own destroyers. The port lane of the convoy headed for the Old Mole whilst the starboard lane headed for the old entrance in order to despatch their relevant contingents of Commandos. In the confusion of the air attack and the message about warships approaching, the Germans received orders for all guns to cease firing and searchlights to be extinguished. A German lookout had reported seeing some activity at sea and the searchlights were switched on illuminating the entire convoy. Immediately a German signal light demanded the identification and the convoy replied “Ship being fired on by friendly forces” following a few bursts being fired from the shore batteries. With the convoy about one mile from the dock gates the German flag was lowered on Campbeltown and the White Ensign raised. As Campbeltown increased her speed the dock searchlights were illuminated and they began to take heavy fire from the Germans. They cut through the anti-torpedo netting and rammed the dock gates with such a force that drove her thirty three feet into the gate. Two commando assault teams and five demolition teams disembarked from Campbeltown. The demolition team’s objectives were to destroy dock pumping machinery and associated dry dock installations. Campbeltown’s explosive charges detonated at noon on the 28^th March 1942 which destroyed the dry docks. On board the Campbeltown at the time of the explosion were 40 senior German officers and civilians who were killed. The explosion killed approximately 360 men in total. The raid was successful but came at a high cost. Most of the motor launches were destroyed on the run in and were burning. Of the 622 men of the Royal Navy and Commandos who took part in the raid only 228 returned to England. They were on board the attacking fleet on the return journey. Five Commandos managed to escape through Spain and Gibraltar where they took a ship to England. A total of 169 men were killed (105 were RN and 64 were Commandos). The remaining 215 men were captured and became prisoners of war. The British raid on St. Nazaire infuriated Adolf Hitler who immediately sacked the chief-of-staff Generaloberst Carl Hilpert. However, the raid refocused the German’s attention on the prevention of any repeats on the various ports of the Atlantic Wall. 15,000 bunkers were ordered to be built to defend the Atlantic coast to extend from Norway to Spain. The German battleship Tirpitz never entered the Atlantic partly due to the raid on St. Nazaire. Out of five Victoria Crosses awarded during the St. Nazaire raid, one was slightly unusual. Thomas Frank Durrant was posthumously awarded the VC partly on the recommendation of an enemy officer, who singled him out for his bravery. Durrant was a sergeant serving in the Corps of Royal Engineers attached to N^o 1 Commando and was in charge of a Lewis gun on board H.M. Motor Launch 306. The launch engaged with a German destroyer, at about 50-60 yards range and searchlights illuminated the launch exposing Durrant. He fired his gun into the bridge and although severely wounded he stayed at his post and when called upon to surrender he replied with a burst from his gun. The launch was boarded and those still alive were taken prisoner. Sgt Durrant died of his wounds the following day. Of the other four recipients of the VC, one was a Commando and the remaining three were naval. Lieutenant Colonel Augustus Newman was serving in the Essex Regiment attached to N^o 2 Commando. As overall commander of the assault force he need not have been involved in the attack but chose to lead his men from the front. He organised a defence against German reinforcements until all the demolition parties had completed their tasks. With evacuation by sea not possible they charged into the new town hoping to reach the surrounding countryside but were eventually surrounded. When their ammunition had been expended they surrendered and were taken into captivity. Newman survived the war. Lieutenant Commander Stephen Beattie was the commander of HMS Campbeltown who despite being blinded by searchlights and under heavy fire steamed his ship into the dockyard gates. Beattie survived the war and the VC was awarded not only for his bravery and his citation also mentioned the bravery of the ship’s company. Royal Naval Commander Robert Ryder was in command of the Naval Force aboard motor boat MGB314 who assisted in the evacuation of men from Campbeltown following the ramming of the dock gates. While exposed to heavy fire from the Germans he remained at station until he could no longer be of use and withdrew under heavy fire. Ryder survived the war Able Seaman William Savage served in the Royal Navy on board the Motor Gun Boat 314. He was totally exposed to enemy fire as the gun layer of the Lewis gun. He engaged with enemy positions on shore with accuracy and on the way out of the harbour he maintained the same accuracy against enemy ships until he was eventually killed at his post. Savage’s posthumous VC was awarded for his gallantry and his citation also mentioned the gallantry of his fellow comrades. The operation has been called “The Greatest Raid of all” within British circles as the dry dock facility at St. Nazaire was out of action until 1948.

Mediterranean

The island of Malta, a British colony, had been under siege by the Axis Powers since the summer of 1940. Failure of the February 1942 convoy from Alexandria to reach the island left Malta in a desperate position. Acute shortages of everything, food, ammunition, fuel, spare parts and aircraft were made worse by the constant Axis bombardment. Squadron Leader Stan Turner arrived in Malta in February 1942 after being appointed to take over 249 Squadron. He quickly realised that the existing Hurricane fighters faced unacceptable odds against German and Italian bombers and fighters. He urgently requested a squadron of Spitfire fighters be despatched and the request was approved. The Spitfires for the Malta squadron were the first to be deployed outside of Britain. The only option for the delivery of the Spitfires was that they would have to be transported from Britain by aircraft carriers. Upon reaching Algiers on the 6^th March 1942 fifteen Spitfires were flown from HMS Eagle the 650 miles to Malta. All fifteen Spitfires, accompanied by seven Blenheim aircraft, reached Malta safely and by the 1Oth March 1942 they were ready for action. Aircraft carrier HMS Argus had originally been assigned, along with HMS Eagle, to deliver the Spitfires. Unfortunately the lift from the lower deck on Argus was too small to accommodate the fixed-wing aircraft which left Eagle as the only feasible option. By the 21^st March 1942 HMS Eagle had returned to Algiers with an additional nine Spitfires and these were flown on to the island as before.

On the 22^nd March 1942 four cruisers and sixteen destroyers escorted three merchant ships plus a Navy oiler to Valletta harbour on the island. A cruiser and its covering destroyers sailed from Malta to meet them and successfully kept an Italian battleship, and its escorts away from the convoy. German bombers attacked the convoy and one merchantman and the oiler were sunk before reaching Malta. Arriving at the harbour to the cheers of the locals the remaining merchantmen were sunk in the harbour with only a fraction of their cargo unloaded.

Pacific

For the most part the Pacific War for the Japanese was highly successful. Their ambition to be masters of the Far East depended on their ability to obtain the raw materials Japan did not possess. They had been at war with China for years and were an experienced military force. The Allies did not appreciate Japan’s ability to invade so much territory so quickly and therefore were totally unprepared. This was a major reason for Japans success.

On the 4^th March 1942 the Imperial Japanese Navy launched Operation “K” on a reconnaissance mission to Pearl Harbour. Two Kawanishi HK8 “Emily” flying boats flew from the Marshall Islands. Their mission was to assess the damage and the American repairs to the dock area. The flying boats had been loaded with four 500 lb (250 kg) bombs and landed at the French Frigate Shoals to refuel. In addition to their reconnaissance mission the Japanese pilots were to bomb the “Ten-Ten” dock to disrupt salvage and repair efforts. The dock was named for its 1,010 ft. (310 m) length. American radar stations picked up and tracked the two planes but thick cloud over Pearl Harbour prevented the defenders spotting the Japanese aircraft. American Curtiss P-40 fighters and Catalina flying boats were despatched to search for the assumed Japanese aircraft carriers. The same clouds confused the Japanese pilots who lost contact in the clouds and were separated. The Japanese leading pilot, Hisao Hashizume was only able to see small patches of the island. He dropped his bombs on the slopes of the extinct volcano on Tantulus Peak assuming it to be Pearl Harbour. The second Japanese aircraft was flown by Ensign Shosuke Sasao appears to have dropped his bombs into the ocean. Both Japanese aircraft returned on the long journey back to base. There were no American casualties but the raid raised the fears of a potential Japanese invasion of Hawaii. Operation “K” was only partially successful for the Japanese as they bombed Hawaii but they did not obtain the information regarding Pearl Harbour they were seeking.

By mid-March 1942 the Japanese had attacked and occupied Singapore, the Dutch East Indies, Java and Malaya. American-British-Dutch-Australian Command (ABDA) or ABDACOM was formed by the four nations involved in late December 1941. This decision was agreed at the Arcadia Conference in Washington in early December 1941. The command was led by General Sir Archibald Wavell, and was devised to maintain control of the Malaya Peninsular from Singapore to the Dutch East Indies which included the Philippine Islands. Wavell’s command was thinly spread over such a large area and Japanese supremacy soon overwhelmed the region. Although part of ABDACOM the Philippines were in reality commanded by American General Douglas MacArthur. He in turn was commander of the U.S. Army Forces in the Far East (USAFFE). With the Japanese over-whelming the whole of the region and following the fall of Singapore ABDACOM was dissolved in February 1942. The Philippine Islands were being overwhelmed by the Japanese and MacArthur attempted to slow the Japanese advance. Fearing the Philippines would also be over-run American President Franklin D. Roosevelt did not want his commander of USAFFE captured and he ordered MacArthur and family to evacuate to Australia. On the 17^th March 1942 MacArthur had landed in Australia and arrived in Melbourne on the 21^st March 1942. From Melbourne he made his famous speech, “I came through this and I shall return”. He refused Washington’s request to amend his speech to “We shall return”.

The French New Caledonia lay east of Australia. The island was also a stop-over for the supply route from America. The Japanese had possible intentions to occupy the island because it had a harbour and an airfield, easy access to Australia and also the French and Australian defences were minimal. On the 12^th March 1942 the American Task Force 6814 arrived at the harbour of Noumea. As the harbour did not have deep water facilities the Task Force was transferred to the island on a flotilla of small vessels. The Task Force dispersed inland with the 132^nd Infantry Regiment assigned to defend the northern portion of the island. The 182^nd Infantry Regiment was assigned to defend the southern section including Noumea.

Following the closing down of ABDACOM in February 1942, Wavell returned to India. He was Commander-in-Chief India and had been C-in-C ABDACOM as well. Field Marshal William (Bill) Slim was promoted to command the Fourteenth Army the 1^st Burma Corps in March 1942. He inherited a disastrous situation. Morale was low within the British conscripts, the Burmese auxiliaries and the Indian troops. Slim turned the morale round by visiting each of his units and re-assuring them he valued them. His speeches created a pride in the units and he managed to rebuild the fighting spirit which he brought about by his military skill and his own personal charisma. Heavily outnumbered he was forced to withdraw to India. By leading a controlled military withdrawal he made sure the 900 mile (1,400 km) retreat did not turn into a rout. The Japanese rapid advance overstretched their ability to supply their army giving Slim the opportunity to organise his forces. Burma’s unforgiving terrain forced Slim into changing his transportation methods where he used mules instead of vehicles and his army was supplied by air transport. The Japanese began to pay a heavy price for their advance as the encounters were better organised by the Allies.

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Air Raid Damage Reports Brentwood Division Essex Fire Service February 1942.

Feb28

Air Raid Damage Reports Brentwood Division Essex Fire Service February 1942.

Date Time Location Damage

15/02/1942 Found Rayleigh A piece of balloon fabric with cords attached

believed to be part of an experimental balloon found in the garden of 6 Station Crescent. Removed to Rayleigh Police Station.

16/02/1942 08.40 Foulness A British Hurricane ‘plane crashed 300 yards East

of Haven Gore Bridge. Plane completely wrecked. Pilot from RAF Harwich sustained slight injuries to head and chest. (Removed to Shoeburyness Hospital, Number unobtainable due to damage) RAF informed. Military guard mounted.

SECOND WORLD WAR January 1942

Jan1

SECOND WORLD WAR January 1942

Desert War and Mediterranean

Malta was beginning to experience more severe problems on top of being besieged since June 1940. When a number of ships of the British Mediterranean “Force K” Fleet was sunk in December 1941 the navy withdrew the remaining ships from central Mediterranean on the 7^th December 1941. With the loss of the British warships, together with around 20 RAF bombers and reconnaissance aircraft having been shot down the success against the Axis convoys soon died up. German convoys were beginning to get through to Tripoli in Libya. The withdrawal of “Force K” coincided with the Italian bombing campaign which was proving to be successful. German Messerschmitt 110 and JU88 night fighters were flown into Sicily to assist in the bombing campaign. The RAF defensive arm was under pressure when Germany attacked airfields and civilian areas on the 1^st January 1942. Eight Hurricane fighters were shot down during the battle and a further fifty destroyed on the ground. British naval and air commanders argued for more aircraft especially Spitfires to be sent to Malta. It was pointed out that the inferiority of the Hurricane against the Messerschmitt was affecting morale and Spitfires began arriving in March 1942.

Following the Allied capture of Benghazi in Libya (See Desert War Dec 1941) the Allies advanced and reached El Aghelia on the 6^th January 1942. When Generalleutnant Erwin Rommel, commander of the Afrika Korps, retreated from El Aghelia on the 15^th December 1941 he moved closer to his supply line in Tripoli, Libya. He had also received reinforcements which had started to arrive at Tripoli on the 5^th January 1942. Rommel’s 120 mile counter-offensive began on the 21^st January 1942 and the Afrika Korp captured Agedabia and began the push to Beda Fomm. On the 29^th January 1942 Rommel’s Afrika Korp had recaptured Benghazi. He established his new front line east of Benghazi from Tmimi to Mechili. The two sides were able to rest and rearm until Rommel was finally ready to attack the Gazala Line in the spring of 1942.

Eastern Front

The Soviet Dictator Joseph Stalin transferred General Georgi Zhukov from Leningrad to Moscow in October 1941. Zhukov was a master tactician and a respected leader of men, and recognised the German Operation Barbarossa had failed. By the 7^th January 1941 the German Army was suffering from the lack of proper winter clothing and equipment owing to the onslaught of the Soviet winter. Combined with the lack of proper winter shelter the morale of the German Wehrmacht was badly affected. The Germans, at what was their worst hour, began to suffer an appalling loss of experienced commanders. This was mainly because of the commander’s inability to agree with Adolf Hitler who then assumed the role of Commander-in-Chief of the Army thus relieving many of the generals of their command. By the 31^st January 1942 the German Army was in retreat following the Soviet offensive. The effect Zhukov had on the defender offensives of Moscow was boosted. The Soviet Army had regrouped with artillery, armour and reserve manpower and the Soviet offensive began on the 5^th January 1942. The Russian Bear had awakened.

Stalin had ordered a thousand mile offensive against the Germans of which Medya was the furthest city east of Moscow. Following the German retreat from Moscow and the beginning of Zhukov’s Offensive the Soviet Army took the cities of Kirov and Medya on the13^th January 1942. From intelligence received, Hitler believed the Soviet Army was ready to collapse. He ordered the remainder of the German Army in the Soviet Union to the Eastern Front. The exception being the troops at the Siege of Leningrad. His ultimate aim was the capture of the mineral resources of southern Soviet Union.

Meanwhile, in Poland, German authorities began to deport Jews from the Lodz Ghetto on the 15^th January 1942.This Ghetto was established by the Germans for the internment of Polish and Roma (gypsies) following the invasion of Poland. The gates of the ghetto, which housed nearly 164,000 residents, were closed in April 1940. Lodz was the second largest ghetto in all German occupied Europe with Warsaw being the largest. The ghetto was designed to starve the people and over 20% of the population died from hard work, overcrowding and starvation. The deportation of the inmates to the Chelmno extermination camp from Lodz began with a special S.S. detachment carrying out the operation. During the course of January 1942 approximately 10,000 Jews and Roma were deported to Chelmno.

The Vilna Ghetto in Lithuania was established by the Nazis in August 1941. Abba Kovner, an inmate of the ghetto was a Jewish poet and writer who raised a Jewish resistance fighting force, in order that an organisation for a revolt needed to be assembled. On the 21^st January 1942 Kovner released a manifesto titled “Let us not go like lambs to the slaughter” and was the first to target the German plan to murder all Jews. Kovner had heard rumours of the killings and mass graves in nearby Ponary and his manifesto pleaded with all Jews of Vilna to join an uprising saying it “Was better to fall as free fighters” rather than be slaughtered by the Nazis.

The Pacific War

Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour in December 1941 the invasion of the islands of the Far East was the next on their agenda. These invasions would ensure the continuation of much needed supplies of raw materials. America and the Allies were unaware that the Japanese were in a position to mount a simultaneous invasion of Southeast Asia.

Occupation of the Philippines was planned by the Japanese as of their plan for a “Greater East Asia War”. The main aim was to seize the sources of raw materials of Malaya and the Dutch East Indies while the navy neutralised the United States Pacific Fleet. On the 2^nd January 1942 Japanese troops captured the city of Manila, capital of the Philippine Islands. On the same day the Japanese occupied the Naval Station Sangley Point which was a U.S. communications and hospital facility and the Cavite Naval Yard. The facility was the headquarters of the U.S. Navy Asiatic Fleet. America had officially occupied Sangley as a coaling station when they defeated the Spanish at the Battle of Manila Bay in 1898. Approximately eight miles southwest of Manila the Cavite City peninsula is surrounded by the Manila Bay. Cavite Naval Yard was used by the Japanese for the same purpose after the occupation.

On the 2^nd January 1942 the Japanese controlled nearly all of Southeast Asia. Opposing the invasion was American General Douglas MacArthur, Commander-Chief of all U.S. and Filipino troops. MacArthur had consolidated all his forces into the units based at Luzon in the Bataan Peninsula. As they were the only remaining Allied stronghold in the region of the Bataan Peninsula and the island of Corregidor the American and Filipino troops were besieged on the 7^th December 1942. Despite the lack of supplies the defenders managed to fight the Japanese for three months before their surrender at Bataan.

Japan gradually occupied Malaya from the 8^th December 1941 until the Allied surrender at Singapore on the 16^th February 1942. By the 8^th January 1942 the Japanese had defeated the British 11^th Indian Infantry Division at the Battle of Slim River thus penetrating the defences and affording easy access to Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaya. Lieutenant-General Arthur Percival, General Officer Commanding Malaya, decided to withdraw all British and Commonwealth troops from Malaya and the Japanese captured Kuala Lumpur on the 11^th January 1942. Fighting continued until the 18^th January 1942, by which time the Japanese had taken many prisoners, when the remaining Allied troops had to retreat to the Johor Causeway as the defensive line had collapsed. By the 31^st January 1942 the last organised Allied forces left Malaya, heading for Singapore, thus ending the 54 day battle. The whole of Malaya had fallen into Japanese hands.

With the occupation of Malaya, the island of Singapore was next on the Japanese invasion agenda. Singapore was part of the British Empire and was considered to be the “Gibraltar” of the Far East, which was and remains, the gateway to the rest of Asia. By controlling Singapore a huge portion of the gateway to the Far East was controlled. Singapore was considered to be impregnable as its fortress was designed to be formidable. When the Japanese invaded Pearl Harbour on the 8^th December 1941 they simultaneously bombed the Royal Air Force (RAF) bases to the north of Singapore. With the air base destroyed the RAF were unable to protect the British army and the civilian population on the island or to retaliate against an invasion. The Japanese sinking of the British battleship HMS Prince of Wales and the battle cruiser HMS Repulse on the10^th December 1941 together with the air cover destroyed, Singapore was defenceless to an assault from the air and the sea. The British Army and Commonwealth troops stationed at Singapore were their only hope of defence. The expected invasion against the island was considered to be a naval attack in which the island defences would result in a victory for the British defenders. However, Singapore’s naval guns were positioned to aim out to sea and could not be turned inland. Complacency and an underestimation of the enemy by the British High Command was their downfall. With the loss of Malaya, on the 18^th December 1941, Percival’s army retreated to Singapore on the 31^st January 1942. By blowing bridges across the Johor Causeway the British High Command assumed the Japanese would not easily be able to negotiate a jungle attack. Adequate preparations for the defence of an assault through the jungle was thought not to be necessary, as the jungle was considered to be sufficient.

The Netherlands, together with America, Britain and New Zealand declared war on Japan on the 8^thDecember 1941. The Netherland government in the Dutch East Indies began immediately to prepare for war against Japan. Upon receipt of the declaration the Japanese government decided to halt any hostilities in the Dutch East Indies in the hope that the Dutch would not destroy their oil installation before Japan was ready to invade. By the 11^th January 1942 Japan was ready and declared war on the Netherland. The Dutch East Indies amalgamated all the American-British-Dutch East Indies troops in the region under the command of British Field Marshall Archibald Wavell. The Japanese when they did attack on the 17^th January 1942 adopted the strategy whereby they always had air cover. Their aim was conquer and control of the Dutch East Indies. The advance was designed so that the Allied forces could not consolidate into a defensive position before having to retreat. Owing to the greater number of Japanese troops the combined Allied defenders were unable to halt the Japanese advance and on the 9^th March 1942 the Dutch East Indies surrendered.

The Japanese invasion of Borneo was planned on the 16^th December 1941. By the 23^rd December 1941 the Sarawak region of the island was occupied by the Japanese whose aim was to gain access to the oilfields. The government and oil officials destroyed the oilfields and refineries before evacuating the island on the 17^th December 1941. In order to attack the Sandakan seat of British North Borneo, the Japanese landed in small fishing boats on the 18^th January 1942. The 650 men of the North Borneo Army Constabulary were not able to provide sufficient resistance to halt the Japanese advance. Governor Charles Robert Smith surrendered British North Borneo on the 23^rd January 1942 and he and rest of the staff were interned until the end of the war. The remaining British and Dutch troops retreated into the jungle from where they finally surrendered on the 1^st April 1942. In the meantime the Japanese forces had fully occupied Borneo on the 29^th January 1942.

The Battle of Rabaul was fought in the Australian Territory of New Guinea on the island of New Britain. Rabaul was significant to the Japanese owing to its proximity to the Caroline Islands, the site of the Imperial Japanese Naval base at Truk. Following the capture of Guam on the 10^th December 1941, Japanese Major-General Tomitaru Horii was given the task of capturing Rabaul. Japanese carrier-based aircraft began attacking Rabaul on the 4^th January 1942.The Australians had despatched a small garrison to Rabaul, as tensions had increased with the Japanese, in March 1941. This garrison was formed into the Lark Force with a total maximum number of 1,400 men and commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel John Scanlon. The force included personnel from a local militia group, a coastal defence battery, an anti-tank battery and a detachment of the Field Ambulance Service. The garrison’s main task was the protection of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) airbase near Rabaul. Nearby Simpson Harbour was the RAAF anchorage for Catalina flying boats which acted as an important part of the surveillance observing Japanese movements in the region. The RAAF air defence consisted of ten lightly armed CAC Wirraway training aircraft and four Lockheed Hudson light bombers plus the flying boats. Wing Commander John Lerew had very little offensive capability. When the Japanese first attacked on the 4^th January 1942 he realised the odds were stacked against him. He sent a signal to RAAF HQ in Melbourne with the phrase used by gladiators in ancient Rome quoting the Latin motto “Nos Morituri Te Salutamus” (“we who are about to die salute you”). Part of the Japanese naval task force embarked from Truk on the 14^th January 1942 heading toward Rabaul. Over one hundred Japanese aircraft attacked Rabaul on the 20^th January 1942 and eight Wirraway planes engaged the oncoming Japanese assault. During the course of the battle one Japanese bomber was shot down by artillery fire, but three RAAF aircraft were shot down, two crash-landed and one was damaged. As a result six Australian airmen were killed in action with a further five wounded. The air attack destroyed the Australian coastal artillery and the Australian infantry withdrew from Rabaul. The following day the Japanese invasion fleet, commanded by Vice-Admiral Shigeyushi Inoue, was located off Kavieng on the island of New Ireland by a Catalina flying boat. Before being shot down the crew of the Catalina managed to send off a signal informing RAAF HQ of the approaching invasion fleet. The Australian troops took up positions where they prepared to confront the expected landings. The remaining two Wirraway and one Hudson aircraft were withdrawn from the area taking some of the wounded with them. Rabaul airfield was destroyed by the Australians once the RAAF had departed. Rabaul was still being bombed on the 22^nd January 1942 and early morning of the same day the Japanese landed on New Ireland and took Kavieng without too much opposition. The same night the invasion fleet approached Rabaul and entered Simpson Harbour in the early hours of the 23^rd January 1942. Approximately 5,000 Japanese troops began to land and the Australians attempted to halt the attack. Sensing the situation was hopeless Scanlon ordered his soldiers and civilians to retreat through the jungle. The cost to the Australians on the 23rd January 1942 was the loss of two officers and twenty six other ranks killed in action. Early on the morning of the 24^th January 1942 Japanese troops began a mopping up operation in the jungle area where the Australian troops remained at large for many weeks. With the Australian soldier’s line of retreat severed, lacking guerrilla warfare tactics, over 1,000 Australian troops were captured or surrendered on the 9^th February 1942.

The Japanese launched a five hour attack on Thailand in mid-December 1941. This led to an armistice and a military alliance treaty between Thailand and the Japanese Empire. In order to allow the Japanese troops to invade British-held Malaya and Burma, the Japanese Empire put pressure on the Thai government into agreeing to the engagement. Thailand, now allied to Japan, declared war on the United Kingdom and the United States of America on the 25^th January 1942.

Other Theatres

From December 1941 to January 1942 the Arcadia Conference was held in America’s capital city of Washington. The top British and American military leaders were brought together for the conference. As leaders of their respective countries Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt endorsed a series of major decisions that shaped the war effort. On New Year’s Day, the 1^st January 1942 the “Allied Big Four” (America, Britain, the Soviet Union and China) signed a short document and it was called the “Declaration by United Nations”. On the following day, the 2^nd January 1942, representatives of 22 other countries added their signature to the document which eventually became the United Nations.

The final Luftwaffe raid on Liverpool was on the 10^th January 1942. A lone German bomber pilot was being harassed by British fighter aircraft. In order to escape he dropped his bomb load on Liverpool’s Stanhope Street and Upper Stanhope Street which received a direct hit. The street had an undamaged air raid shelter but the 13 people who died were sheltering in the houses. The bombing campaign on Liverpool ended, life was still hard, but at least the threat from the skies was over. After visiting Liverpool and its surrounding area in May 1942 British Prime Minister Winston Churchill stated, “I see the damage done by the enemy attacks but I also see the spirit of an unconquered people”. The fate of the German bomber is not known.

Along the Eastern Seaboard of America, a German U-boat offensive officially began against merchant ships on 13^th January 1942. Operation Drumbeat (Paukensclag) was the code name given for the attacks. The German High Command had received a message that Japan had invaded Pearl Harbour and on the 11^th December 1941 Nazi Germany declared war on the United States. Five U-boats capable of attacking America 3,000 nautical miles away were already in the vicinity. The U-boats dominated the waters of the Eastern Coast of America and were within sight of the shoreline. This enabled them to sink fuel tankers and cargo ships with impunity. British Intelligence had warned the U.S. Navy that a group of U-boats were heading for America. The U.S. Navy’s attention was searching for enemy aircraft attacks. As a consequence very few New Englanders were aware of the carnage being carried out in home waters as the details of the U-boat attacks were being withheld from the public. The navy did not wish to admit to the military incompetence by not heeding the British Intelligence and hid this information from the public.

The Wannsee Conference was held in the Berlin suburb of Wannsee in Germany on the 20^th January 1942. Director Reinhardt Heydrich of the S.S. Reich Main Security office called for the conference which was for the implementation of the “Final Solution to the Jewish question”. The conference was to ensure the cooperation of administration leaders of all government departments for European Jews to be rounded up and sent to extermination camps in Poland. Heydrich emphasised the S.S. would ensure the fate of the Jews would be an internal affair once the process was completed. A secondary aim of the conference was to arrive at the definition of what makes a Jew. One copy of the conference minutes survived the war and it was found and seized among files at the German Foreign Office. During the subsequent Nuremburg Trials of November 1945 to October 1946, the conference minutes were used as evidence against the perpetrators. A memorial now stands on the conference site in Wannsee.

American troops began arriving in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on the 26th January 1942 as the first contingent to fight in the European theatre of war. During the Arcadia Conference in Washington, American and British heads of state agreed that Europe should be the priority despite the gravity of the situation in the Pacific. When they started to arrive in large numbers the Americas were stationed from Scotland to Cornwall. Sent in advance of the planned invasion of Europe the American troops were anxious to join the fight against Hitler. The British on the most part were glad to see the American servicemen but resentment soon began to spoil the relationship. When the Americans arrived they had full stomachs and full pockets of money, whereas the British had been at war for two years and were used to fighting alone and going without. In order to defeat Hitler the U.S. War Department sent all service a pamphlet called “Instruction for American Servicemen in Britain”. As most American servicemen had not been abroad the pamphlet was designed to familiarise then with British history, culture and the local slang of the various regions. Eventually the British civilians began to portray the American servicemen as being “Over paid, Over sexed, Over here”.

Brazil agreed the U.S.A. could set up air bases in the northeast of her territory on the 28^th January 1942. They also agreed to break off relations with the Axis powers. For this privilege the Americans agreed for the investment in Brazil’s iron industry. When Nazi Germany invaded Poland in 1939 Brazil declared herself neutral in the event of war. That neutrality was broken when German submarines torpedoed Brazilian vessels off Brazil’s shores. Brazil was to finally declare war on the Axis Powers of Germany and Italy in August 1942.

In Germany on the 30^th December 1941, Dictator Adolf Hitler made a speech at the Berlin Sportpalast and threatened all Jews of the world with total annihilation. The Berlin Sportpalast was a multi-purpose indoor arena on the outskirts of the city. It was well known for the speeches and rallies the Third Reich took advantage of. On the same day Hitler, as Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the German Army, blamed the failure of Operation Barbarossa on the weather. The Axis powers had failed to prepare for a longer campaign. This inevitably should have included winter clothing and winter lubrication for their mechanical equipment. During Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union had ground to a halt with both cities of Leningrad in the north and Sevastopol in the north ending up by being besieged. By which time Hitler’s attention was them directed at Moscow but dogged Soviet defences and heavy rain halted the German advance on the city. Hitler’s original belief that the Germans only had to “kick open the door” to defeat the Soviet Union proved to be totally wrong

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Air Raid Damage Reports Brentwood Division Essex Fire Service December 1941.

Jan1

Air Raid Damage Reports Brentwood Division Essex Fire Service December 1941.

Date Time Location Damage

02/12/1941 08.10 Canewdon 2 – Landmines exploded in minefield bordering

Creaksea Road (near entrance to Lion Wharf). No casualties. Overhead telephone wires damaged. (Thought to have been due to a fox running across the field).

13/12/1941 Found Ingrave 1 – H.E. unexploded in a wood 600 yards to rear of

Hatch Farm, Thorndon Park. No damage or casualties. (date and time of falling not known). (Discredited by BDS 6.1.42).

15/12/1941 15.00 North A linen target kite about 100 yards of cord

Benfleet attached found at Bonville Farm, Arterial Road. RAF informed.

20/12/1941 17.50 Great 1 – Para mine exploded on War Department land

Wakering near Cupid’s Corner. No casualties. Slight damage to 12 houses.

20/12/1941 17.55 Foulness 1 – H.E exploded 450 yards West of Hyde Corner.

No damage or casualties.

SECOND WORLD WAR December 1941

Dec2

SECOND WORLD WAR December 1941

(Britain)

On the 1^st December 1941 Malta sustained its 1000^thraid by Fascist German and Italian air forces. The Axis powers recognised the importance of Malta in the Mediterranean and the island was besieged from June 1940 to November 1942. British air and sea forces were able to attack Axis shipping which was sending vital supplies and reinforcements from Europe. The Afrika Korp commander General Irwin Rommel knew that without acquiring Malta the Axis would not be able to control North Africa because they would not be able to get supplies through. The solution for the Axis powers was to bomb or starve and besiege the island into submission. Malta was one of the most intensely bombed areas during the war but valiant efforts by Allied shipping supplied the island.

With the possibility of war against Nazi Germany, a plan for limited conscription for single men aged between 20 and 22 years, was considered in the spring of 1939. This form of conscription would be for the men to undertake 6 months military training. 0n the 3^rd September 1939 the day Britain declared war on Germany the National Service (Armed Forces) Act imposed conscription to all men aged between 18 and 41 years to register for service. On the 3^rd December 1941 the U.K. Parliament passed a second National Service Act. This act extended compulsory conscription for men to be liable for some form of National Service up to the age of 60 years. Only men up to the age of 51 years would be considered eligible for military service. The act also widened the scope of conscription to include all unmarried women and childless widows between the ages of 20 and 30 years. Exemption rules remained in place which included the medically unfit, reserved occupations and conscientious objectors.

On the 6^th December 1941 Britain declared war on Finland, Hungary and Romania in support of its ally, the Soviet Union. Finland entered military co-operation with Nazi Germany in late 1940 following Soviet aggression during the Winter War of 1940. For Finland the German’s Operation Barbarossa began the Continuation War which lasted until June 1944. Finland signed the Anti-Comintern Pact and Germany suggested Finland sign the Tripartite Pact. The Finnish government declined the offer as they wished to maintain diplomatic relations with the United States of America. The Tripartite Pact was an agreement entered into by Germany, Italy and Japan in September 1940.

In the South China Seas off the coast of Malaya on the 10^th December 1941 the Royal Naval battleship HMS Prince of Wales and battlecruiser HMS Repulse were sunk. These warships formed part of “Force Z” whose objective was to intercept the Imperial Japanese Navy and convoys following Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbour on the 7^th December 1941. “Force Z” had a close encounter with the Japanese heavy surface vessels but failed to locate and destroy the main convoy. On the return to Singapore, without the assistance of air support they were attacked in open waters and Repulse and Prince of Wales were sunk by Japanese long-range torpedo bombers. The lack of air cover illustrated the effectiveness of aerial attack against the heaviest of naval warships. The sinking of these two warships seriously weakened the British Eastern Fleet in Singapore.

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(Eastern Front)

In Nazi-occupied Lithuania on the 1^st December 1941 S.S. Officer Karl Jäger wrote a report that “Lithuania was clear of Jews”. Lithuania was overrun by Nazi-Germany at the beginning of the war and by December 1941 95% of the Jewish population had been massacred, most of them between June and December 1941. There have been unconfirmed reports that the genocide was with the collaboration of the Non-Jewish local militia groups. Jäger was a mid-ranking S.S. officer (Standentendenfuher) and was commander of Einstazkommando 3 zone in Lithuania. His responsibility was for the systematic killing of Jews during the aftermath of Operation Barbarossa.

By early December 1941 the German army had stalled outside Moscow. Germany had underestimated the Soviet resistance which was particularly active on the northern and southern side of Moscow. On the 1^st December 1941 the Germans attempted a direct offensive from the west but the offensive stalled and was driven back.On the 2^nd December 1941 a reconnaissance patrol reached the town of Khimki 30 km (19 miles) from central Moscow. The temperature in Europe was the coldest it had been for over 40 years and by the 4^th December 1941 the temperature in Moscow was recorded as minus 37^o C (minus 31^o F) and the German army was still without winter clothing and equipment. Despite all the temperature problems German General Heinz Guderian, who commanded the 2^nd Panzer Army, had succeeded in getting close to Moscow on the western flank. However, over 130,000 cases of frostbite were reported among German soldiers and on the 5^th December 1941 Guderian disobeyed his orders to continue the offensive and called off the attack to avoid total catastrophe. On the 8^h December 1941 German Dictator Adolf Hitler had signed his directive N^o 39 ordering the German army to assume a defensive line on all fronts and the army was forced to pull back to consolidate their lines. On the 16^th December 1941 permission was given by the Generals, without Hitler’s approval, for a limited withdrawal to the west of the Alka River as the front line could not be held. Hitler declared himself Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the German Army on the 19^th December 1941 (See Other Theatres). On the 20^th December 1941 the order to withdraw was cancelled by Hitler and he ordered his troops to remain where they were and defend every inch of ground. As the Eastern Front was now in Hitler’s personal control Guderian along with commanders of the 4^th Panzer and 9^th Army were dismissed on the 25^th December 1941.

In the Western Ukraine, the town of Stanislawow was incorporated, from the Polish Republic, into the district of Galicia following the German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941. There were more than 50,000 Jews living in and around Stanislawow when the German SS Hans Krueger took control of the town. During the Bloody Sunday of October 1941 thousands of Jews were ordered to the market for separation selection. Approximately 30,00O Jews were escorted to a nearby cemetery and murdered. The remainder were ordered on the 1^st December 1941 to the prepared ghetto area. By the 24^th December 1941 Stanislawow Ghetto was set up officially and closed from the outside. Approximately 20,000 Jews were crammed into a limited space, and rationing was enforced with very little food. Workshops were set up to support the German war effort and the Jews were forced to work them.

The Vilna Ghetto in Lithuania was established on the 31^st August 1941. Lithuania was a German occupied state who wished for all Jews to be confined to a ghetto area. A two-ghetto system was organised which enabled the Nazis to control the Jewish inmates who were aware of their fate. Subjected to uninhabitable and insanitary conditions, disease and daily death, the intentions were to dehumanise the inmates and to exploit them as slave labour. On the 3^rd December 1941 the first Criminal Aktion began when 157 Jews were killed at Ponary. The town of Ponary was selected as the area for the massacre of the Jews transported from Vilna. An Aktion provided Jews with a work permit (schiens). German and Lithuanian forces entered the ghetto on the 3^rd/4^th December 1941 and rounded up about 150 Jews with a criminal past and transported them to Ponary where they would be executed. On the 15^th December 1941 the “Gestapo block” Aktion arranged for 300 Jews to be shot at Ponary. The 20^th December 1941 the Lithuanian militia killed 400 Jews.

The Ukrainian village of Bogdanovka had a concentration camp as part of the German inspired Holocaust. In December 1941 a few cases of typhus broke out in the camp. Typhus is a disease spread by squalid conditions, lice and fleas. The camp was run by a Romanian administration. On the 21^st December 1941 a German adviser to the Romanian administration authorities suggested the only way to quell the Typhus outbreak would be to murder all the inmates. Thousands of ill and disabled were forced into two stables by Romanian soldiers and gendarmes. The stables were locked and dowsed in kerosene then set alight burning alive all those inside. Of the remaining inmates some were led off in batches to a nearby wood and shot. Freezing to death the rest of the inmates were forced to dig pits with their bare hands and pack them with frozen corpses. The killing stopped for a Christmas break but resumed again on the 28^th December 1941. Over 40,000 Jews were massacred and by the 31^st December 1941 the Typhus outbreak had been eliminated.

As an architect of the Holocaust, Reichsfuhrer of the SS Heinrich Himmler, on the 24^th December 1941, ordered that all Jewish fur coats, furs and hides of any description would be confiscated. The Holocaust was the German version of total destruction of the Jewish race. The order was to be carried out immediately in all Jewish quarters particularly in the ghetto areas throughout Nazi occupied Europe. The various Jewish Councils and councillors were warned that they along with any Jews found still to have furs of any description would be shot.

Sevastopol is a port in the Crimea on the Black Sea and during the summer of 1941 the Soviet Red Air Force had been using the Crimea as a base to attack targets in Romania. The Axis Powers of Germany, Italy and Romania had invaded the Soviet Union on the 22^nd June 1941 during Operation Barbarossa. Their forces reached the Crimea in the summer of 1941. However, the only objective not in the Axis hands was Sevastopol and despite several attempts to secure the city Sevastopol was still in Soviet hands. A major attack was planned for late November 1941 but heavy rains delayed it until the 17^th December 1941. The attack was unsuccessful as the Axis Powers failed to capture Sevastopol and siege warfare was conducted which lasted until the middle of June 1942. On the 25th December 1941 Soviet forces launched an amphibious landing on the Crimean peninsular at Kerch to relieve the siege and force the Axis Powers to defend their gains. The operation was only able to save Sevastopol for the short term as the Axis Powers captured the port after the remaining Soviets were encircled and they surrendered on the 4^th July 1942.

The 872 day Siege of Leningrad began on the 8^th September 1941 and lasted until the 27^th June 1944 and was the longest and most destructive siege in history. The city of Leningrad was completely devastated. On Christmas Day the 25^th December 1941, 5,000 civilian deaths were recorded but many more deaths went unregistered and their bodies left unburied under the snow until it melted in 1942. The daily death toll was 5,000-7,000 civilians with the total deaths in the first year of the siege as being 780,000 civilians.

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(Desert War and the Mediterrainian)

Generalleutnant Erwin Rommel was commander of the Axis forces in North Africa (German and Italian). He ordered a complete withdrawal of his forces to El Aghelia on the 15^th December 1941. Following a surprise attack, known as Operation Crusader, by the Commonwealth troops on the 18^th November 1941 advantage was obtained by both sides as the battle brought individual successes and failures. The New Zealand element of the 8^th Army reached the garrison at Tobruk and relieved the siege on the 27^th November 1941. By the 7^th December 1941 Rommel was forced to narrow his front and shorten his lines of communication when he experienced supply shortages. By the 25^th December 1941 Allied forces had reached and captured Benghazi in Libya.

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HMS Galatea was a Royal Navy Arethusia-class light cruiser and joined the Mediterranean Fleet on commissioning and based at Malta. At the outbreak of war she was ordered home to patrol home waters and returned to the Mediterranean in July 1941 and was again based at Malta. Her task, with Force “K”, was to operate against the Axis supply convoys who were shipping supplies to North Africa. On the 15^th December 1941 Galatea was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-557 off Alexandria Egypt. Captain E.W.B. Sim, 22 officers and 447 ratings were killed with approximately 100 survivors being picked up by destroyers HMS Griffin and HMS Hotspur. U-557 was rammed by mistake by an Italian torpedo boat and sank with all hands less than 24 hours later.

Using “human torpedoes” Italian Navy divers attacked and disabled two Royal Naval battleships in the harbour of Alexandria, Egypt on the 19^th December 1941. A submarine of the Italian Royal Navy (Regia Marina) left La Spezia, their base in northern Italy, on the 3^rd December 1941 carrying 3 manned torpedoes. They picked up the torpedo divers in the Greek island of Leros. When on the 19^th December 1941 the torpedoes were released from the submarine they entered Alexandria harbour when the British defence gates were opened to allow three destroyers to pass. With the British fleet in harbour the Italian targets were the battleships HMS Valiant and HMS Queen Elizabeth plus an aircraft carrier that was expected to be there. Instead they attacked a Norwegian tanker Sagona. When the limpet mines were attacked and exploded severe damage was afforded to both Valiant and Queen Elizabeth Who also lost eight members of her crew. Although not sunk both battleships were out of action for a long time. Sagona lost her stern section and the explosion badly damaged the destroyer HMS Jervis who was alongside for refuelling. For the next six months the Royal Navy lost naval supremacy in the eastern Mediterranean to the Italian fleet. All six of the Italian divers were captured but they had succeeded in their mission to disrupt the harbour.

During 1941 HMS Neptune led “Force K” which was a raiding squadron of cruisers in the Mediterranean. The cruisers involved were HMS Neptune, HMS Aurora and HMS Penelope steaming in line ahead. In support was HMS Kandahar, HMS Lance, HMS Lively and HMS Havlok. The squadron were based in Malta. The task of “Force K” was to intercept and destroy German and Italian convoys supplying troops and equipment to Rommel’s Afrika Korp in Libya. On 19^th December 1941 with Neptune leading the line they ran into an uncharted minefield. Neptune struck a mine just after 1.00 a.m. Aurora, second in line, took avoiding action and struck another mine. Minutes later Penelope was buffeted by an explosion on her port side. Neptune was immobilized and severely damaged and the crew made arrangements to be taken in tow. As the wind freshened Neptune drifted helplessly into a second mine then struck another mine, bringing her to a complete stop. Aurora and Penelope withdrew from the minefield although Aurora was reduced to 10 knots maximum, owing to the damage inflicted by the explosion. Although the two ships were correct in leaving the area the need to save lives was imperative. Penelope stood by as Aurora departed for Malta with Lance and Havlok as escorts. Kandahar and Lively entered the minefield in an attempt to tow Neptune out. When Kandahar struck a mine, Neptune’s Captain Roy O’Connor flashed a warning to “Keep Away”. Just after 4.00 a.m. Neptune struck a forth mine and slowly turned over and sank. 764 officers and men were lost and only one man was rescued by an Italian torpedo boat after he had been 5 days in the water. At dawn Kandahar was still afloat but partially submerged and the tide took her clear of the minefield. HMS Jaguar appeared at 4.00 a.m. after being sent out on a Kandahar rescue mission from Malta. Kandahar’s officers and men jumped overboard and 8 officers and 170 men were rescued although 73 men had perished. With dawn approaching Jaguar fired a torpedo into Kandahar which sank her and headed back to Malta.

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(Japan)

The basic concept for the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour was to destroy the American fleet while at anchor. The idea was adapted from the British all aircraft attack on the Italian naval base at Taranto during November 1940. Japanese Emperor Hirohito had approved the attack on America’s Pearl Harbour on the 5^th November 1941. America’s proposed Peace Agreement between the USA and Japan had been presented to the Japanese government on the 26^th November 1941. This was perceived by Japan to be an ultimatum to withdraw from the Second Sino-Japanese War. Japanese Prime Minister Tojo rejected the “peace feelers” from USA on the 2nd December 1941. In the meantime the Japanese fleet had set sail for the attack on Pearl Harbour on the 26^th November 1941. The attack could have been recalled but no further diplomatic progress was made and by the 4^th December 1941 the Japanese Naval attack force was heading steadily towards Pearl Harbour. At 7.48 a.m., local time, on the 7^th December 1941 the Imperial Japanese Navy’s carrier air force launched an attack on Pearl Harbour. Located in the Pacific Ocean the dock at Pearl Harbour served as an American port and base facility on the Hawaiian island of Honolulu. The Japanese battle fleet, under the command by Admiral Isokoru Yamamoto, consisted of 6 aircraft carriers, 2 battleships, 2 heavy cruisers, 1 light cruiser, 9 destroyers, 8 tankers, 23 submarines, 5 midget submarines and 414 aircraft. The base was attacked in two waves by 353 Japanese fighters which included level, dive and torpedo bombers. In these two waves the Japanese damaged all eight of the battleships moored, of which four sank in the harbour. Three destroyers, one anti-aircraft training ship and one mine-layer were also sunk or destroyed. 188 U.S. aircraft were destroyed on the ground. Fuel dumps and torpedo storage facilities together with dry-dock, shipyard and manufacturing workshops were also attacked. During the course of the attack the Americans suffered 2,403 military and civilians killed and a further 1178 wounded. By comparison the Japanese losses were fairly light. Of the 353 Japanese aircraft which took part in the raid 29 were lost with a further 74 damaged by anti-aircraft fire from the ground. Japanese personnel losses were recorded as being 55 airmen and 9 submariners killed and one airman captured. The Japanese achieved their aim of crippling the American pacific fleet. However, the prime target were the 3 American aircraft carriers assigned to the U.S. Pacific Fleet based at Pearl Harbour. It was pure luck that the carriers were out at sea and whose location was unknown. Ninety minutes after the attack began the aircraft returned to their individual carriers. On the day of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour Japan announced a declaration of war on the U.S.A. Yamamoto’s intention had been to commence the attack 30 minutes after the formal declaration of war. Notice of the declaration was delayed and the Japanese Ambassador to Washington only received the message an hour after the attack had begun. Upon being presented with declaration of war notice the U.S. Congress declared war on Japan on the 8^th December 1941. Because the attack on Pearl Harbour was carried out whilst peace negotiations were being discussed, President Franklin D. Roosevelt proclaimed that the 7^th December 1941 was “a date which will live in infamy”. The attack would eventually be judged as a war crime.

The Americans believed the Japanese were not capable of mounting more than one major naval operation at a time. Japan’s planned military action began when they launched their invasion of Southeast Asia on the 7^th December 1941. The attack on Pearl Harbour had been planned as a preventative action to keep the US Pacific Fleet from interfering in Southeast Asia. The simultaneous attack by Japan was launched against The Philippine Islands, Thailand, Malaysia, Guam, the Chinese city of Shanghai, Singapore and Wake Island.

The Japanese also launched an attack on the Philippine Islands on the 7^th December 1941 as part of the operation to occupy Southeast Asia. Capture of the Philippines was essential to protect shipping routes between Japan and their eastern suppliers of raw material. The bombing offensive began when the Japanese attacked the American Clark Field on the 8^th December 1941. Thirty-five Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bombers were assigned to Clark Field and at the time of the attack seventeen B-17’s were on the ground. Twelve were totally destroyed, four were damaged and one did not receive any damage at all. Thirty-four P-40 fighters were also based at Clark Field, and were either destroyed by aerial combat or whilst still on the ground. Questions were asked as to why Clark Field was caught by surprise nine hours after receiving news of the Pearl Harbour attack. There was not a satisfactory answer. On the 12^th December 1941 Japanese troops had landed in the Philippines and by the 13^th December 1941 they were firmly established. On the 22^nd December 1941 the Japanese army had landed at Lingayan Gulf. On the 23^rd December 1941 the United States commander of the Philippines General Douglas MacArthur declared Manilla to be an “Open City”. In wartime an open city is a settlement which announces it has abandoned its defensive efforts in a bid to avoid destruction. However, the Japanese ignored the declaration and bombed the city. On the 23rd December 1941 MacArthur made one of the most difficult decisions of his career. Under the threat of impending disaster he decided to withdraw his forces to the Bataam Peninsular. The plan was successful and had far reaching results. 75,000 American troops based at Luzon were saved from defeat. It also kept a large number of Japanese troops tied up in the Philippines and not releasing them for further invasions in the region.

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The Japanese attacked Thailand without warning on the 8^th December 1941. The prime target was the airfield at Prachuap Khri Khan. When the wing commander was informed of the invasion he gave orders to resist. Equipped with six heavy and two light machine guns he turned on the Japanese troops surrounding the area. Of the four aircraft that attempted to take off three were shot down and the fourth who managed to take off was armed with four 50 kg bombs. Due to heavy rain and fog the pilot could not locate the Japanese transport in Ao Manao harbour. With the airfield surrounded and as the Japanese proceeded to occupy the airfield orders were issued to destroy instruments in the control tower and the tower set alight. Resistance by the Thai air force lessened as night fell. With ammunition running low the following morning the exhausted Thais received a telegram ordering the defenders to cease fighting as an armistice had been arranged. The defenders suspected it was trick and continued to resist. With renewed vigour the invaders mounted further attacks and slowly pushed the defenders back. At 10.00 am the wing commander ordered the command building and all military documents to be burned. Whilst this was happening the senior medical officer ordered the hospital building evacuated and set on fire. A civilian car bearing a small white flag arrived containing a number of Thai government officials. A direct order from the Prime Minister was handed to the wing commander ordering him to cease fire and fighting ended at 12.35 p.m. on the 9^th December 1941. The Thais suffered 42 killed and 27 wounded. The Japanese losses were estimated to be 217 killed and 300 wounded but cannot be confirmed as they cremated the bodies.

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The British Crown colony of Hong Kong was attacked on the 8th December 1941, the same day as the attack on Pearl Harbour. As Japan had not declared war on the British Empire, the attack was in violation of international law. When the attack began the British were outnumbered by nearly four to one. The British was commanded by Major-General Christopher Maltby consisting British, Canadian, Indian, local Hong Kong Chinese Regiment and the Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps. A total of approximately 14,000 men opposed the 50,000 Japanese troops attacking them. The battle commenced just after 8.00 a.m. and Maltby organised the defence of the island, splitting it into an Eastern and Western Brigade. The Japanese began a systemic bombardment on the island’s North Shore on the 15^th December 1941. Demands for surrender on the 13^th and 17^th December 1941 were rejected and on the evening of the 18^th Japanese troops crossed the Harbour and landed on the island. The Japanese advanced inland and on the 18^th December 1941 approximately 20 Commonwealth gunners were executed, although they had surrendered. The morning of the 19^th December 1941 a further massacre of medical staff took place in the Salesian mission. Such was the ferocity of the attack they annihilated the headquarters of the Western Brigade. Brigadier John Lawson was the commander of the Western Brigade and was killed. A British counter-attack on the 20^th December 1941 did not meet with any success and the island became split in two and with British Commonwealth troops doggedly hanging on. Water supplies began to run out as the Japanese had captured the countries reservoirs. On the morning of the 25th December 1941 Japanese soldiers entered the British field hospital and in the St. Stephens College began to torture and kill a large number of injured soldiers and medical staff. With further resistance futile the governor of Hong Kong Sir Mark Aitchison-Young surrendered in person to the Japanese on the 3^rd floor of Peninsular Hong Kong Hotel. The garrison held out for 17 days. The loss to British forces were unconfirmed but were officially recognised as being 1,111 killed, 1,167 missing and 1,362 wounded. 10,000 men were captured and the equipment losses were one destroyer captured, four gunboats, one minelayer and three MTB’s sunk. A total of five aircraft were lost. The Japanese suffered 675 killed, 2079 wounded and one aircraft damaged. The civilian casualties amounted to approximately 4,000 killed and another 300 severely wounded. This day is known in Hong Kong as “Black Christmas,

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Britain had the British Commonwealth, while America, the Dutch and the French had established colonies in the Far East and Pacific. On the 8^th December 1941 the Japanese attacked the Gilbert Islands in order to gain control of the raw materials in the region. The Gilbert Islands, which consists of a chain of sixteen islands, were completely occupied by the 10^th December 1941.

Wake Island was simultaneously attacked by Japan to coincide with the attack on Pearl Harbour on the 8^th December 1941. The Japanese over-ran the island and the invasion ended on the 23^rd December 1941 with the surrender of American Forces.

The Malayan Campaign began on the 8^th December 1941 when the Japanese launched an amphibious assault on the northern shoreline. For the British and her allies defending the colony the campaign was a complete disaster. The Japanese had air and naval supremacy and the infantry had bicycles allowing them to move quickly through thick jungle terrain. As the Japanese advanced the British were forced to retreat and despite the Royal Engineers destroying over one hundred bridges it did little to delay the Japanese advance.

On the 16th December 1941 the Japanese attacked Borneo to enable them to occupy the oilfields in Sarawak. They had encountered very little resistance from the British as the terrain wasn’t very suitable for a proper defensive arrangement. In 1941 Borneo was divided between the Dutch East Indies and the British protectorate. The Brooke family, the so called “White Rajahs” had ruled Sarawak northwest Borneo for almost a century and by 1888 had become a British protectorate. The government was aware of the forthcoming attack on Borneo and by the 23rd December 1941 Japanese forces had landed and occupied the area. To combat this the Brooke government had ordered the complete and total destruction of the oilfields and refineries. After hearing of the attack on Pearl Harbour on the 8^th December 1941 they knew Borneo would soon be a target. By the evening of the 8^th the destruction was complete and the landing grounds around the oilfields were made unfit for use on the 9^th December 1941. The government and oil officials evacuated by sea to Kuching on the 13^th December 1941. The destruction of the oilfields and refineries had been carried out just in time before the invasion.

In Burma on the 24^th December 1941 Rangoon was subjected to a series of air raids by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service. Rangoon, in 1941, was the capit of Burma and the first city to be attacked after air raids on various locations on the mainland. These air raids were in preparation for the invasion of the country in 1942. Japanese General Michio Sugawara had planned for a heavy raid on Rangoon on the 23^rd December 1941. With eighty bombers and thirty fighters available the Japanese commenced to attack on the morning of the 23^rd. When the Japanese attack group reached Rangoon there were clear skies and a light breeze giving excellent vision for the attack on the selected targets. Once news reached the British operations room at Mingalow airfield the defenders were ordered to scramble to enable them to intercept the enemy bombers, who arrived forty minutes after the first warning. Fifteen of the slower Japanese bombers attacked Mingalow airfield of which five were lost. The defenders were unable to prevent the Japanese from dropping high-explosive and incendiary bombs on the city. The docks were paralyzed, public transport halted and the district near the docks was burnt-out. The civil service broke down although the firemen performed well in the crisis. According to Japanese records seven bombers were shot down and one crashed on the return journey. The British Buffalo fighters did not sustain any losses but four Tomahawk fighters were shot-down and two pilots killed in the battle. Seventeen Allied military personnel were killed on the Mingalow airfield and approximately 1,000 to 2, OOO civilians were killed during the raid.

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(Other Theatres)

Following the attack by Japan on Pearl Harbour, various Declarations of War brought about the beginning of global warfare.

(1) Canada and Australia declared war on Japan on the 7^th December 1941.

(2) America, Britain, the Netherlands and New Zealand declared war on Japan on the 8^th December 1941.

(3) Australia and South Africa declared war on Japan, and China officially declared war on Japan, Germany and Italy on the 9^th December 1941.

(4) Germany and Italy declared war on America who immediately responded by declaring war on Germany and Italy on the 11^th December 1941.

(5) India declared war on Japan on the 12^th December 1941.

(6) Romania declared war on the USA & UK who both reciprocated by declaring war on Romania on the 12^th December 1941.

(7) On the 13^th December 1941 when Bulgaria and Hungary declared war on America and Britain, retaliation was immediate when both countries issued reciprocal declarations of war.

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In Africa, the involvement of the Belgian Congo during the Second World War began with the German invasion of Belgium in May1940. Despite Belgium’s surrender, the Congo remained in the conflict on the Allied side, administered by the Belgian government in exile. The Belgian Congo provided much needed raw materials such as copper and rubber to the United Kingdom and the United States. The Belgian colonial authorities demanded greater efforts to increase productivity which led to strikes from the workforce. A lack of European skilled labour forced the colonial government for the first time to train the native Congolese workforce into skilled labour positions. On the 3^rd December 1941 local mine workers went on strike demanding more pay, as they were paid less than their white colleagues and at the same time living costs were rising. The following day 1400 workers had downed tools and refused to go back to work when requested by the colonial government. 15 were shot dead by the military. On the 9^th December 1941 the strikers and their leader Leonard Mpoyi were invited to negotiations and despite various concession including a 30% pay rise being offered the strikers refused. The governor Amour Baron shot and killed Mpoyi and then ordered his soldiers to fire on the strikers. Officially there were approximately 30 workers killed and the miners went back to work on the 10^th December 1941.

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In Germany, the “Night and Fog” Decree was issued by Hitler on the 7^th December 1941. The secret decree was signed by Field Marshall Wilhelm Keitel, Chief of the German Armed Forces High Command. The decree allowed German authorities to abduct individuals alleged to be endangering German security in German occupied territories. Political Activists and resistance helpers were the most targeted. They were arrested and either shot or spirited away under cover of “Night and Fog” to concentration camps so they effectively vanished without a trace.

Hitler personally took command of the German Army on the 19^th December 1941. General Field Marshall Walther von Bravchitsch performed the function before Hitler took control. Owing to his defeats on the Eastern Front, his failure to capture Moscow in the winter months and his heart attack led Hitler to become Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the German Army. Hitler was often criticised over his military operation on the Eastern Front.

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Rosa Dainelli was an Italian doctor who was working in Ethiopia after the last regular Italian forces surrendered at Gondar in November 1941. She became an active member of Fronte di Resistenza (Resistance Front) who fought the Allies in the Italian guerrilla war in Ethiopia from December 1941 to summer of 1943. The resistance fought in the hope of an Italian victory with Rommel’s help in Egypt.

The French island of St. Pierre and Miquelon is located off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada. In the election of the 24^th December 1941, for the first time a free expression of the male population voted better than 98% for the policy of Free France. Frenchman of the island had been governed since 194O by the Henri Philippe Petain, Head of the State of Vichy-France regime. The island from then on was governed by the Free French who were Allies of the United States and Britain.

On the island of Vågsøy off the west coast of Norway a British/Norwegian Combined Operations raid was conducted against German positions on the 27^th December 1941. A combined force of British commandos plus 12 Norwegians from the Norwegian Independent Company gave a total of 570 troops on the raid known as Operation Archery. The raid was supported by the Royal Navy who provided the fire power. Also in support were Royal Air Force bombers and fighter bombers. The objective of the raid was to subdue, secure and eliminate the Germans on Måløy Island which dominated the town. A very effective naval bombardment preceded the dawn landing and all objectives were achieved. The German opposition in the town of Måløy was greater than expected as a unit of experienced German troops were on leave from the Eastern Front. Bitter house to house fighting ensued. Having destroyed four factories, the fish oil stores, ammunition/fuel stores, the telephone exchange and various military installations the commandos began their withdrawal at about 2.00 pm. Most of the town was in flames and the naval assault force sank 10 vessels. The German Coastal Artillery was prevented from being effective owing to technical difficulties but one of the 130 mm guns scored a hit on the cruiser HMS Kenya. The Royal Navy suffered no losses to their ships but they did lose four men killed and four wounded. Eight RAF aircraft were shot down. The commandos suffered 17 men killed and 53 men wounded but took 98 prisoners and a complete copy of the German Naval Code. This raid was enough to persuade Hitler to divert 30,000 troops to Norway and build more coastal and inland defences.

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(U.S.A.)

Civil Air Patrol was created on the 1^st December 1941 with Major-General John F. Curry as the first National Commander. In his capacity as Director of the Officer of Civilian Defence Fierllo H. LaGuardia issued, through Congress, the Administration Order N^o 9 thereby creating the organisation. CAP was seen as a way to use America’s civilian resources to aid the war effort. Civilian aviation would otherwise be grounded. CAP carried out many missions including anti-submarine patrols and warfare, border patrols and courier services throughout the Second World War.

On the 12^th December 1941 the French built liner SS Normandie had been in New York Harbour since the outbreak of the war in 1939. She was moored up in New York after completing her 139^th transatlantic crossing from her home port of Le Havre in France and was compelled to seek haven there. The American government interred her on 3^rd September 1939 under the “Right of Angary” and the American Coast Guard took possession of her. “Angary in the Oxford English Dictionary is defined as “A BELIGERENT’S RIGHT (SUBJECT TO COMPENSATION FOR LOSS) TO SEIZE OR DESTROY IN CULTURAL PROPERTY UNDER MILITARY NECCESSITY”. At the outbreak of war, although interred, Normandie remained in French hands with Captain Hervé Lehvédé and his French crewmen aboard to maintain the ship. Approximately 150 U.S. Coast Guardsmen were detailed to go aboard to prevent any sabotage. On the 12^th December 1941 the Coast Guard removed Captain Lehvédé and the crew and the ship was transferred to the U.S. Navy and renamed USS Lafayette. Plans were approved on the 20th December 1941 to convert her to a troop carrier. When she was built as an ocean liner in 1935 Normandie was the largest and fastest passenger liner afloat and remains the most powerful steam turbo-electric liner ever built. Her main rival on the pre-war transatlantic crossing was the British liner RMS Queen Mary.

The conference of top British and American leaders, codenamed Arcadia, headed by Prime Minister Winston Churchill and President Franklin D. Roosevelt met in Washington from the 22^nd December 1941 to 14^th January 1942. The conference led to a series of major decisions that shaped the war effort. Coming two weeks after America entered the Second World War the major policy of the Arcadia Conference was to defeat Germany in Europe. Based in Washington the establishment of the “Combined Chiefs of Staff” was set up to approve of the military decisions of both the U.S. and Britain and would be under one Supreme Commander. Arcadia also drew up proposals to keep China in the war, a system for coordinating shipping and to find reinforcements to be sent to the Pacific. With the exception of the conference drafted the “Declaration by United Nations” all the decisions were secret. The declaration committed the Allies to not making a separate peace with the enemy and to employ all resources until victory was achieved. Arcadia included an immediate invasion of North Africa, sending American bombers to bases in England and the British to increase their military strength in the Pacific. Combined military resources under one command in the “European Theatre of Operations” was also agreed.

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At the end December 1941 most of the world was at war.

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