Axis
2 JULY 1942 ā ROMMEL TRIES AGAIN PartĀ II
As the story reached the bemused but doubting Germans, British bombers and British tanks added to the woes of the men in āThe Hotboxā, and Pienaar was reported to have called Auchinleck and said that if he was to be treated as an enemy he could take Alexandria within 48 hours. A heavy bombardment hit the South Africans in āThe…
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The Swedish QuestionĀ II
Dƶnitz was even more wary of Sweden than Raeder. When he assumed command of the navy in January 1943 Hitler wanted him to scrap the surface fleet, but Dƶnitz pointed out that powerful German naval forces in the Baltic would help influence Swedenās attitude. A major irritant to Dƶnitz was…
āLA CADUTA DEGLI DEIā PartĀ I
THE FALL OF THE GODS For the watching Bernard Freyberg the barrage for Operation Supercharge was disappointing. He had envisaged something more spectacular than Lightfoot. The anti-climax was almost certainly because, despite the barrageās use of 192 field guns with 168 further guns employed on other tasks like counter-battery fire,…
āLA CADUTA DEGLI DEIā PartĀ II
At first light, the attacking tanks came under fire from the arc of anti-tank guns. These were engaged by all three regiments and the 6-pounder of 7th New Zealand and 73rd Anti-Tank Regiments. Nevertheless, tank casualties climbed rapidly. Len Flanakinās Sherman was hit: The first enemy shell to hit us…
āLA CADUTA DEGLI DEIā PartĀ III
Churchill III tanks of āKingforceā, 1st Armoured Division, 5 November 1942. The unit was named Kingforce after its commander, Major Norris King MC. The mixed fortunes of the infantry operations meant that Lumsden revised Briggsā orders; at 0530hrs. 2nd KRRC was to be supported by 2nd Armoured Brigade whilst 8th…
Unternehmen Wintergewitter (Operation WinterĀ Storm)
The operations plan to extricate the Sixth Army Meanwhile, the OKH had informed Manstein that it would provide other forces for Army Group Donās mission. Two panzer divisions (the 6th and the 23rd) and a Luftwaffe field division (the 15th), would be attached to Colonel General Hothās Fourth Panzer Army,…
Hitler in Paris
Hitler pictured alongside Speer, Breker and Giesler. The Eiffel Tower can be seen in the background. On Sunday 23 June 1940 Adolf Hitler returned to France for his infamous visit to Paris. He was accompanied by his favoured architects Albert Speer and Hermann Giesler. The artistic aspect of the party…