Remembering History by day WW2

[Peter Clare]

Originally Posted by spidge

Got to get an answer to this!

Anybody got a clue??

14 October 1942.

The 'Southern Empress' ex- whale factory ship / tanker of 12,398 tons was torpedoed and sunk on this day with the loss of 44 crew by U 221 (Hans-Hartwig Trojer) The vessel had on board the following Landing Craft :-
LCT 2006
LCM 508
LCM 509
LCM 519
LCM 522
LCM 523
LCM 532
LCM 537
LCM 547
LCM 620

The 'Sourthern Empress' was on passage from the US to the UK in convoy SC 104. U 221 accounted for the following ships, on 13th October, Ashworth; Fagersten; Senta and on the 14th, Southern Empress and Susana. In all 8 merchant ships were lost along with 2 U-boats.
U 221 was lost on 27 September 1943 in the North Atlantic, SW of Ireland, depth-charged by Halifax B of No.58 Squadron (F/O. E L Hartley) the crew of 50 were lost.

[spidge]

Originally Posted by Peter Clare

14 October 1942.

The 'Southern Empress' ex- whale factory ship / tanker of 12,398 tons was torpedoed and sunk on this day with the loss of 44 crew by U 221 (Hans-Hartwig Trojer) The vessel had on board the following Landing Craft :-
LCT 2006
LCM 508
LCM 509
LCM 519
LCM 522
LCM 523
LCM 532
LCM 537
LCM 547
LCM 620

The 'Sourthern Empress' was on passage from the US to the UK in convoy SC 104. U 221 accounted for the following ships, on 13th October, Ashworth; Fagersten; Senta and on the 14th, Southern Empress and Susana. In all 8 merchant ships were lost along with 2 U-boats.
U 221 was lost on 27 September 1943 in the North Atlantic, SW of Ireland, depth-charged by Halifax B of No.58 Squadron (F/O. E L Hartley) the crew of 50 were lost.

Well done Peter.

An interesting poser!

[Peter Clare]

1941 : Konoye government falls

On this day in 1941, the government of Prince Fumimaro Konoye, prime minister of Japan, collapses, leaving little hope for peace in the Pacific.

Konoye, a lawyer by training and well studied in Western philosophy, literature, and economics, entered the Japanese Parliament's upper house by virtue of his princely status and immediately pursued a program of reform. High on his agenda was a reform of the army general staff in order to prevent its direct interference in foreign policy decisions. He also sought an increase in parliamentary power. An antifascist, Konoye championed an end to the militarism of Japanese political structures, especially in light of the war in Manchuria, which began in 1931.

Appointed prime minister in 1933, Konoye's first cabinet fell after full-blown war broke out between Japan and China. In 1940, Konoye was asked to form a second cabinet. But as he sought to contain the war with China, relations with the United States deteriorated, to the point where Japan was virtually surrounded by a U.S. military presence and threats of sanctions. On August 27, 1941, Konoye requested a summit with President Roosevelt

in order to diminish heightening tensions. Envoys were exchanged, but no direct meeting with the president took place. (The U.S. government believed it could send the wrong message to China-and that Japan was on the losing end of that war anyway.)

In October, Konoye resigned because of increasing tension with his army minister, Tojo Hideki. Tojo succeeded Konoye as prime minister, holding on to his offices of army minister and war minister. Imperial Japan's foreign policy was now formally controlled by the military. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Konoye was put under military surveillance, his political career all but over until 1945, when the emperor considered sending him to Moscow to negotiate peace terms. That meeting never came off.

When Saipan fell to the U.S. Marines and Army, Tojo's government collapsed. Upon Japan's surrender, Tojo shot himself to prevent being taken prisoner by the United States. He lived and was tried by an international war-crimes tribunal--and hanged on December 22, 1948. As for Konoye, the grand irony of his career came when he was served with an arrest warrant by the U.S. occupying force for suspicion of war crimes. Rather than submit to arrest, he committed suicide by drinking poison.

[Peter Clare]

1942 : Vice Admiral Halsey named new commander of the South Pacific

On this day in 1942, Vice. Adm. William F. Halsey replaces Vice Adm. Robert L. Ghormley as commander, South Pacific.

The man nicknamed "Bull" by the press began his military career as a destroyer commander during World War I. Halsey was made a captain at the age of 53, earned his naval aviator's wings, and was promoted to vice admiral in 1940. But it was the bombing of Pearl Harbor that would mark out his future for him. Halsey's task force was one of the few functioning battle groups left after the destruction of so much of the American fleet, placing him in the position of making the unpredictable and aggressive strategic decisions for which he would become renowned.

In 1942, he led surprise attacks on the Marshall and Gilbert Islands and supported the American reinforcement of troops on Samoa. It was his task force (a temporary organization of a fleet for a specific operation) that carried the 16 B-25 bombers for Jimmy Doolittle's raid on Tokyo in April 1942. By this time, Halsey's reputation for being where the action was had made him arguably the most famous American admiral of the war. And so it is ironic that he missed two major Naval engagements: the Battle of the Coral Sea (his fleet was not strategically positioned to participate) and the Battle of Midway (a severe case of dermatitis put him out of commission).

But by October 1942, Halsey was back just in time to be appointed commander of South Pacific operations by Admiral Nimitz, who wanted Vice Admiral Ghormley replaced. (Ghormley had suffered several defeats militarily and severe cases of indecision and anxiety personally.) Brilliant work in the capture of the Solomon Islands and New Guineas led to Halsey's promotion to full admiral. His career continued to strike awe in his admirers and terror in his enemies, as he succeeded in destroying the Japanese fleet in the Battle of Leyte Gulf in 1944, and commanding U.S. forces in the operations that led to the capture of Okinawa and the surrender of the Japanese there.

[Peter Clare]

1944 : U.S. forces land at Leyte Island in the Philippines

On this day in 1944, more than 100,000 American soldiers land on Leyte Island, in the Philippines, as preparation for the major invasion by Gen. Douglas MacArthur. The ensuing battles of Leyte Island proved among the bloodiest of the war in the Pacific and signaled the beginning of the end for the Japanese.

The Japanese had held the Philippines since May 1942, when the awful defeat of American forces led to General MacArthur's departure and General Wainwright's capture. MacArthur was back, as he promised, but his invasion of Luzon required a softening up of the enemy. Thus, the amphibious landing of the American forces at Leyte and the concomitant goal of destroying the Japanese fleet in the gulf was undertaken.

The Japanese anticipated the American landing by launching Operation Sho-Go, an attempt to divert the U.S. 3rd Fleet north and away from the fighting on the island. The Japanese fleet assembled was the largest ocean task force assembled during the war, including seven battleships, 11 heavy cruisers, and 19 destroyers. American submarines and aircraft carriers met the Japanese fleet and the Battle of Leyte Gulf began on October 23.

Meanwhile on Leyte Island, the American troops took on the Japanese garrison, which was composed of 80,000 soldiers. It took 67 days to subdue the island, with extraordinary acts of physical bravery and courage demonstrated on both sides. Even after the Americans had taken control of the island, Japanese soldiers who had been hidden away continued to emerge and fight on, preferring to die than surrender. All told, the Japanese lost more than 55,000 soldiers during the two months of battle and approximately another 25,000 in mopping up operations in early 1945. The U.S. forces lost about 3,500-compared with the Japanese loss of 80,000 total.

The sea battle of Leyte Gulf was the same story. The loss of ships and sailors was horrendous for both sides. The sinking of the American carrier Princeton resulted in the drowning deaths of 500 men. When the Japanese battleship Musashi was destroyed by a massive American aerial attack, more than 1,000 sailors died, including the captain who stood on his bridge and literally went down with his ship. Three days of sea battle saw the destruction of 36 Japanese warships-compared with America's three. It also saw the introduction of the Japanese kamikaze-"divine wind"--suicide bombers. The St. Lo, an American aircraft carrier, was one of the first casualties, when one kamikaze pilot drove his plane straight into its flight deck.

More than 5,000 kamikaze pilots died in this gulf battle-taking down 34 ships. But when all was said and done, the Japanese had not been able to prevent the loss of their biggest and best warships, signaling the virtual end of the Japanese Imperial Fleet. The American victory on land and sea opened the door for General MacArthur's invasion and the recapture of the Philippines.

[Peter Clare]

1941 : Germans massacre men, women, and children in Yugoslavia

On this day in 1941, German soldiers go on a rampage, killing thousands of Yugoslavian civilians, including whole classes of schoolboys.

Despite attempts to maintain neutrality at the outbreak of World War II, Yugoslavia finally succumbed to signing a "friendship treaty" with Germany in late 1940, finally joining the Tripartite "Axis" Pact in March 1941. The masses of Yugoslavians protested this alliance, and shortly thereafter the regents who had been trying to hold a fragile confederacy of ethnic groups and regions together since the creation of Yugoslavia at the close of World War I fell to a coup, and the Serb army placed Prince Peter into power. The prince-now the king--rejected the alliance with Germany-and the Germans retaliated with the Luftwaffe bombing of Belgrade, killing about 17,000 people.

With Yugoslavian resistance collapsing, King Peter removed to London, setting up a government-in-exile. Hitler then began to carve up Yugoslavia into puppet states, primarily divided along ethnic lines, hoping to win the loyalty of some-such as the Croats-with the promise of a postwar independent state. (In fact, many Croats did fight alongside the Germans in its battle against the Soviet Union.) Hungary, Bulgaria, and Italy all took bites out of Yugoslavia, as Serb resisters were regularly massacred. On October 21, in Kragujevac, 2,300 men and boys were murdered; Kraljevo saw 7,000 more killed by German troops, and in the region of Macva, 6,000 men, women, and children were murdered.

Serb partisans, fighting under the leadership of the socialist Josef "Tito" Brozovich, won support from Britain and aid from the USSR in their battle against the occupiers. "The people just do not recognize authority...they follow the Communist bandits blindly," complained one German official reporting back to Berlin.

[spidge]

1944 - Battle of Leyte Gulf.

On October 22nd a Japanese naval force left Borneo to rendezvous with other Japanese forces in a last ditch effort to defeat the allied forces. (US / British & Australian). The Japanese were mauled and the end of their once superiority was at hand. The Japanese suffered a crushing defeat through the 23rd to the 26th.

Date 23 October 1944 – 26 October 1944 Location The Philippines Result Decisive Allied victory
Combatants
United States British Empire Australia various others	Empire of Japan
Commanders
William Halsey, Jr	Jisaburo Ozawa
Strength
17 aircraft carriers 18 escort carriers 12 battleships 24 cruisers 141 destroyers and destroyer escorts Many PT boats, submarines and fleet auxiliaries About 1,500 planes	4 aircraft carriers 9 battleships 19 cruisers 34 destroyers About 200 planes
Casualties
3,500 dead; 1 aircraft carrier, 2 escort carriers, 2 destroyers, 1 destroyer escort sunk	10,000 dead; 4 aircraft carriers, 3 battleships, 8 cruisers, 12 destroyers sunk

[spidge]

Quite amazing to see the comparisons of ships and aircraft leading into this battle.

[Gotthard Heinrici]

Thats some line up Spidge. And some casualties taken by the Japanese.

[Peter Clare]

The Philippines 23 - 26 October 1944.
Timetable of US and Japanese losses.

23rd.
0330 hrs. The Japanese Cruiser 'Aoba' Torpedoed by the US submarine 'Bream' (damaged and not repaired. Sunk July 1945)

0533 hrs. The Japanese Cruiser 'Atago' Torpedoed by the US submarine 'Darter'

0534 hrs. The Japanese Cruiser 'Takao' Torpedoed with' Atago' (Reached Singapore but was not repaired. The 'Darter' ran aground on Bombay Shoal while pursuing the damaged 'Takao' and had to be abandoned)

0556 hrs. The Japanese Cruiser 'Mayer' Torpedoed near 'Atago' By US submarine 'Dace'

24th.
0938 hrs. The US Light Carrier 'Princeton' Damaged by Japanese land based aircraft, abandoned by all but firefighters at 1020 hrs the torpedo room blew up inflicting 600 casualties and extensive damage to the cruiser 'Birmingham'

1026. The Japanese Battleship 'Musashi' Attacked by US carrier based aircraft. Sank at 1935 hrs.

Japanese Destroyer 'Wakaba' Sunk by US carrier aircraft ('USS Franklin')

25th.
0330 hrs.The Japanese Battleship ' Fuso' sunk by torpedoes from US destroyer.

0301 hrs. he Japanese Destroyer 'Michisio' Damaged by US destroyer 'Hutchings'

0315 hrs. The Japanese Battleship 'Yamashiro' Torpedoed by the US destroyer 'McDermut'

0330 hrs. The Japanese destroyer 'Yamagumo' Torpedoed by the US destroyer 'McDermut'

0407 hrs. The Japanese Destroyer ' Asagumo' Torpedoed by the US destroyer 'Denver'

0418 hrs. the japanese Crusier ' Mogami' Damaged by gunfire and scuttled.

0720 hrs. US Destroyer 'Johnston' damaged by Japanese gunfire. One of her torpedoes blew the bows off the cruiser 'Kumano'

0725 hrs. The US Destroyer 'Hoel' Damaged by Japanese gunfire.

25th.
US Escort Carrier 'Gambier Bay' Damaged by Japanese gunfire and sank.

0851 hrs. US destroyer 'Samuel B. Roberts' Damaged by major calibre shell and sank.

0853 hrs. The Japanese Cruiser 'Chikuma' Torpedoed by US carrier aircraft.

0905 hrs. The Japanese Cruiser 'Chokai' Torpedoed by US carrier based aircraft.

1050 hrs. The US Escort Carrier 'St. Lo' Hit by Kamikaze and sunk.

0800 hrs. The Japanese Light Carrier 'Chitose' Torpedoed by US carrier based aircraft.

0815 hrs. The Japanese Carrier 'Zuikaku' Torpedoed by US carrier based aircraft.

0945 hrs. Japanese Light Cruiser 'Chiyoda' Damaged by US based aircraft and sunk by gunfire of US cruisers.

1310 hrs. The Japanese Light Cruiser 'Zuiho' sunk by US carrier based aircraft.

2046 hrs The Japanese Destroyer 'Hatsutsuki' sunk by US gunfire.

The Japanese Destroyer 'Akizuki' Torpedoed by the US submarine 'Halibut'

The Japanese Cruiser 'Tama' Torpedoed by the US submarine 'Jallao'

26th.
0030 hrs. The Japanese Destroyer 'Nowaki' Torpedoed by the US destroyer Owen.

0910 hrs. The Japanese Light Cruiser 'Noshiro' sunk by US carrier based aircraft.

The Japanese Light Cruiser 'Kinu' sunk by US carrier based aircraft.
The Japanese Light Cruiser ' Abukuma' sunk by US carrier based aircraft.

Warship Losses of WWII by David Brown