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WWII - 65 Years Ago


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Nov. 25, 1944

 

A US naval force including 7 carriers sink the cruisers Yasoshima and Kumano off Luzon.

 

In the photo - US B-25 bombers blast a Japanese destroyer at Ormoc Bay in late 1944.

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November 27, 1944

 

The three month long battle for Peleliu ends with almost 1,800 US and 10,000 Japanese dead.

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November 29, 1944

The US submarine Archer-Fish sinks the huge Japanese aircraft carrier Shinano. The Shinano was 10 days out of Tokyo on it’s maiden voyage.

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  • 3 weeks later...

December 16, 1944

 

An early morning artillery barrage in the Ardennes marks the beginning of the Battle of the Bulge.

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December 19, 1944

 

In the Ardennes, the Germans have reached the Stavelot and Houffalize areas but US forces hold their ground around Gouvy and St. Vith.

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December 20, 1944

 

US forces hold on to the vital road junctions at St. Vith and Bastogne as the Battle of the Bulge continues.

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December 21, 1944

 

Bastogne is now almost completely surrounded as the US 82nd Airborne Division has been pushed out of Houffalize.

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December 22, 1944

 

General McAuiffe, the commander of the US forces in Bastogne, rejects the German's demand for surrender with the reply "Nuts".

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kiam.jpg

Pfc. Hartselle B. Scholl

 

On Christmas Eve, 1944, the

Belgian Troopship, S.S

Leopoldville was torpedoed

by the German sub U-486.

The ship sank just 5 1/2

miles from Cherbourg, France.

 

The ship held 2,235 American

soldiers. 763 were confirmed

dead in the official

Leopoldville Disaster List.

Pvt. Hartselle B. Scholl,

Co. K, 264th Infantry was

one of the casualties.

 

Many mistakes were made that

night, but the worst one was

the descision of the U.S.

government to cover it up.

It wasn't until 1996 that

those files were declassified

and made available to the

families of those who died.

 

Hartselle was one of only a

few whose body was found and

buried. He lies in Normandy

American Cemetery, Section

C, Row 28, Grave 27.

 

These families struggled for

years to find out how their

loved ones died. Hartselle

left behind his parents,

a wife, Renata, an infant

son, Jerry and many others

who loved him. Some of

these people died never

knowing the fate of this

bright, young man.

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December 24, 1944

 

The German Ardennes offensive is halted as the 2nd Panzer Division is stopped outside of Dinant.

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December 25, 1944

 

The Allies begin their counteroffensive against the German forces in the Ardennes.

 

Merry Christmas Everyone ! ! ! !

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December 26, 1944

 

"As company commander, I would be in the lead tank (Cobra King) and I would set the speed of the attack - I would fire straight ahead. Lt. Wrolson would be in the second tank firing to the right, the following tank to the left - and so on down. Each man was given the route and the objective - each tank was to continue the attack to the last tank, if necessary, and with that, we were ready. LTC. Creighton Abrams gave us the familiar hand signal and we started to roll toward Bastogne.

 

We moved at full speed, pumping heavy fire straight ahead and to the right and left of the road. As soon as my tank cleared Clochimont, I called for artillery fire on Assenois - almost immediately, the town seemed to erupt. Still maintaining fire and speed, the column neared Assenois and I called Battalion for them to raise the artillery fire 200 yards. Due to the speed of the tanks and the time lapse of getting the command to the gun crews - our tanks entered Assenois under our own artillery fire. After clearing the town, the first four tanks ran into enemy resistance coming from both sides of the road.

 

I saw a large pillbox ahead and ordered Dickerman to throw several rounds into it - it was obviously demolished. I saw the enemy in confusion on both sides of the road. Obviously, they were surprised by an entry of this road, as some were standing in a chow line. They fell like dominoes. As we cleared the woods, we came upon a small open field, where we saw multicolored parachutes - these had been recently used to drop supplies of food and ammo to the 101st Airborne Division. This meant that we were near the line defending the town. I slowed the tanks down and we cautiously approached what seemed to be a line of foxholes, spaced about 50 feet apart. Out of each hole, a machine gun was leveled at my tank, with a helmeted figure behind each gun.

 

The men of the 101st knew full well that the enemy had been using American uniforms and equipment during the last few weeks and they were taking no chances. I called out to them, "Come on out, this is the 4th Armored!", but no one moved. I called again and again and finally, an officer emerged from the nearest foxhole and approached the tank. He reached up a hand, and with a smile said, "I'm Lt. (Duane) Webster of the 326th Engineers, 101st Airborne Division - Glad to see you. As I shook his hand, I knew that Company "C" of the 37th Tank Battalion, 4th Armored, 3rd Army, had broken through the bulge and that the seige of Bastogne was over."

 

From "The Battered Bastards of Bastogne" by George Koskimaki

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December 31, 1944

 

The Japanese launch vicious counterattacks on Leyte. US forces repel them but with heavy losses.

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January 2, 1945

 

US forces in the Bulge make advances as Hitler denies permission for withdrawals from the Houffalize area.

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As the fighting in the Bulge continues, there is one more story from "The Battered Bastards of Bastogne" by George Koskimaki I would like to share. It is from around Christmas in 1944.

 

"Pvt. Albert Gramme remembered that men of his battery "rescued" some beer and liquor and surprised one of the glider pilots who had just flown through heavy flak and machine gun fire to bring relief to the beleaguered troops at Bastogne. He wrote:

 

Prior to the arrival of the gliders, some of us had gone into town and rescued a keg of beer and returned with it to our gun positions on the perimeter. As the gliders were landing, we were standing around drinking some beer. One of the gliders landed near us, smashed through some fences and came to a hard stop in the grove of trees where our guns were positioned. The pilot, slightly hurt and not knowing exactly where he was, staggered out of his glider, pistol in hand, looking for trouble. We immediately offered him a mess cup of beer. I'll never forget the look on his face. He had just flown over a hundred miles to bring supplies through enemy flak and machine gun fire, landed in unknown territory and remembering all the horror stories he had heard about how desperate we were and now, there we were, standing around drinking beer."

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I like it :lol: :thumbsup:

They could answer glider pilot that beer was treatment advised them by doctor Howard P. Serrell. Maj. Serrell was carried by an L-4 plane to Bastogne on December 24th, 1944.

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January 12, 1945

 

A major Soviet offensive begins all along the Eastern Front from the Baltic to the Carpathians. The Germans are outnumbered 4 to 1 by the Red army in all classes of equipment.

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January 13, 1945

 

The German defensive lines all along the front in Poland are shattered by the Soviet attacks.

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