Subject: WWII-L Digest - 6 May 1994 to 7 May 1994

From: Automatic digest processor <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 8 May 1994 00:00:26 -0400

There are 11 messages totalling 545 lines in this issue.

Topics of the day:

  1. Russo-Japanese Border Clashes (3)
  2. machine guns vs cannons.
  3. MEDIA:Prime Time Search for Nazis
  4. INF: FDR Online (fwd from H-Teach)
  5. REF: TIME LIFE BOOKS ON WWII? (2)
  6. NOST: 50 years ago this week
  7. YTRIV" Coastal Defense Guns
  8. ARC: German Antiguerrilla Operations in the Balkans (1941-1944)

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Date:    Sat, 7 May 1994 00:01:26 -0400
From:    Emery Ford <[email-masked]>
Subject: Russo-Japanese Border Clashes

Howdy folks,

        I'm reading _A_World_At_Arms_ and the author describes briefly
the border clashes between the Soviet and Japanese Armies.  Can anyone
give a clear picture as to the scale, duration and intensity of these
skirmishes?  Wasn't Zhukov in charge of the Soviet forces?  These clashes
were known as the Nomonhan Incident, and alternatively as the Khalkin-gol
Incident.  The author cites a book by someone named Coox called _Nomonhan_
Has anybody read, or heard of, this book?
        Also, does anyone know what rank and the circumstances surrounding
Zhukov at the time of, and subsequent to,  Stalin's purge of the military?

        Thanks,
                --Emery

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Date:    Sat, 7 May 1994 04:09:28 -0400
From:    "Mark A. Campbell" <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Russo-Japanese Border Clashes

Alvin Coox's _Nomonhon_ is the standard account of the Russo-Japanese
encounter; 2 volumes, about a thousand pages, as I recall!
A superb work.
                         Mark A. Campbell

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Date:    Sat, 7 May 1994 07:23:31 GMT-6
From:    Terry Moore <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: Russo-Japanese Border Clashes

Hello, Emery!

>         I'm reading _A_World_At_Arms_ and the author describes briefly
> the border clashes between the Soviet and Japanese Armies.  Can anyone
> give a clear picture as to the scale, duration and intensity of these
> skirmishes?  Wasn't Zhukov in charge of the Soviet forces?  These clashes

    Yes. Zhukov was in charge of those border forces at the time of
Khalkin-Gol. That was in 1939, I believe.

 > were known as the Nomonhan Incident, and alternatively
as the Khalkin-gol
> Incident.  The author cites a book by someone named Coox called _Nomonhan_
> Has anybody read, or heard of, this book?

    No, not familiar with that one.

>         Also, does anyone know what rank and the circumstances surrounding
> Zhukov at the time of, and subsequent to,  Stalin's purge of the military?

    Zhukov was a Colonel-General at the time of that clash with the
Japanese. BTW, Zhukov beat the Japanese so severely at that time,
that they never again posed a serious threat to the Russians
thereafter.

    Will have to research an answer to your last question. I know
that Rokossovski was imprisoned during the purges but rehabilitated
quickly because of the worsening political situation in the West. I
am not certain that Zhukov was, either, but if not, then he was sent
to command in areas as remote as the Chinese-Russian border, which
amounted, I suppose, to a sort of exile. I will check on that.

    Hope this helps.

    Terry

Terry Moore, Professor of German and French, Amarillo College
P.O. Box 447, Amarillo, Texas 79178, voice 806-371-5077
fax 806-371-5370

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Date:    Sat, 7 May 1994 08:58:42 -0400
From:    Christopher Morton <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: machine guns vs cannons.

>
> >
> > Interesting article in the April issue of Air International about gun develop-
> > ment for aviation...there is apparently now a cannon of 12.7 m.m. I guess that
> > this is an issue which will never be settled to everyone's satisfaction.
>
> I'm not sure that it is really a cannon.  I haven't read the article yet, but
> the current "Soldier of Fortune" describes an explosive projectile for the
> .50BMG which contains a PETN filling.

Correction, make that RDX instead of PETN.

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Date:    Sat, 7 May 1994 21:17:27 +0700
From:    "Peter E. Beal" <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: MEDIA:Prime Time Search for Nazis

On Fri, 6 May 1994, David Rising wrote:

> On Fri, 6 May 1994, Kevin Kamphaus wrote:
>
> --non-contextual material deleted--
> > They asked one gent if he thought he was a war criminal,
> > he responded "no".  Which made me wonder why then was he living in Argentina?
> > And, why was he living under a different name?
>
> To give a speculative answer to this hypothetical question, could it be
> perhaps that he had been a member of the Nazi party or SS or any other
> organization deemed criminal by the allies? While many in these
> organizations were indeed criminals (before you hit that reply key
> Sidney), many others (read Oskar Schindler et. al.) were not. They were,
> nonetheless, guilty by association, but not of any "war crime". Just a
> thought.

Nah.  They were just following orders!

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Date:    Sat, 7 May 1994 12:04:58 EST
From:    Larry & Kim Jewell <[email-masked]>
Subject: INF: FDR Online (fwd from H-Teach)

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Date:    Fri, 6 May 1994 10:19:53 -0500
From:    "H-Teach (Mark Kornbluh)" <[email-masked]>
Subject: FYI: INFORMA conference & FDR on line (fwd)

Date: Thu, 5 May 1994 14:48:41 -0600
From: H-NET (Richard Jensen) <[email-masked]>

IMAGE INFORMATION RESOURCE FOR HISTORIANS

INFORMA is a forum for users of IBM technology in libraries. This
year's INFORMA Conference, titled "Images as Information
Resources--Moving Ahead of the Curve," explored the opportunities and
problems of integrating image information into electronic library
collections and services. While the Internet is a great resource for
bibliographical and textual information collections, there are few
image collections currently available. Based on what I saw at the 1994
INFORMA Conference, we should expect, in the next couple of years, more
projects combining image information storage with online delivery.

One of the projects presented at the conference was "FDR: Day by Day,"
a joint undertaking between the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library, Marist
College, and IBM. The project will present a chronology of FDR's
presidency and deliver, via telecommunications technology, texts of
speeches (including images of original drafts with FDR's handwritten
changes), newspaper accounts, handwritten letters received by FDR,
newsreel footage of FDR's speeches, and other documentary film from the
World War II era.

The project will be a model for how other presidential libraries may
someday make their research materials available to students, teachers,
and researchers. March 1995 is the target date for getting the first
stage of the chronology on the Internet. Nearly 1000 scholars have been
invited to submit additions, annotations, or challenges to entries. An
email address has been set up for historians who are interested in this
project. If you would like to be included, send email to:
[email-masked]

==========================================================

[email-masked]; Co-Moderator: BYRD.MU.WVNET.EDU (Historical docs)
"Sunday's horoscope is note worthy because of its strange, sudden and wholly
unpredictable and inexplicable occurrences, affecting all phases of life."
Your Horoscope" L.A. Evening Herald Express, Sat, 12/06/41

------------------------------

Date:    Sat, 7 May 1994 17:36:19 EDT
From:    Robert E George <[email-masked]>
Subject: REF: TIME LIFE BOOKS ON WWII?

Some time ago(circa 1976?) Time Life published a multivolume set
of books ( 9.5" by 11.5" ) on the 2nd World War. Lavish illustrations,
short articles, et cetera. Titles like "Battle of Britain" "Prelude to
War", "The Rising Sun", "Home Front U.S.A." and so forth.

     Can anybody please give me a list of all the titles and/or tell me how
many volumes there were?

     Thanks,

          Rob George

------------------------------

Date:    Sat, 7 May 1994 18:01:40 -0500
From:    GEORGE BAUER <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: REF: TIME LIFE BOOKS ON WWII?

I recommend you check your local library for the series on WWII.

They should have it.

George Bauer
U.S.A.:  [email-masked]

------------------------------

Date:    Sat, 7 May 1994 22:31:35 EDT
From:    "Jonah Triebwasser, Adjunct Instructor,
         Marist Coll" <[email-masked]>
Subject: NOST: 50 years ago this week

I have obtained two calendars, one from the International Churchill
Society and one from the US Department of Defense which highlights
some of the events of WWII. As time permits, I will post some of
these events:

Fifty Years ago this week:
Sources: (c) = Churchill society; (d) = Defense Dept.

8 May - Eisenhower sets June 5 for D-Day (c).
9 May - Churchill says of the Soviets: "I fear that very great evil
may come upon the world." (c)
11 May - 8th Army attacks at Cassino. (c)
12 May - Germans abandon Crimea. (c)
13 May - Allied bombing cuts Brenner Pass Railway (c).

Happy Mothers Day all (Is Mothers Day celebrated outside of the US?)

Jonah Triebwasser
Adjunct Instructor
Marist College
Dyson Building (Adult Education)
Poughkeepsie, New York12601
Tel: (914) 575-3331, ext. 7037
E-Mail: [email-masked]

------------------------------

Date:    Sat, 7 May 1994 22:52:26 EST
From:    "CARL WERNKE (TCWERNC@VCCSCENT)" <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: YTRIV" Coastal Defense Guns

 X-TO: [email-masked]
 TO: Multiple recipients of list WWII-L ([email-masked])
 In-Reply-To: ([email-masked])

 On Thu, 5 May 1994 15:44:24 -0700, Jim Benn wrote:
 > Didn't the coastal defense guns at Wake Island turn back a Japanese landing
 > attempt and sink/damage some vessels ? I'm not sure; can somebody enlighten?

 What is called Wake is actually a group of three islands: Peale, Wilkes, and
 Wake islands, the last being a low-ground atoll formed by a volcano with all
 its top submerged. The circumference of Wake (the three-island group) is less
 than three miles. The Japanese wanted Wake so that it could not serve as a
 base for American attacks on the Japanese-held MarshallIslands. Furthermore,
 the capture of Wake, along with Guam, would block the United States'
 mid-Pacific line of supply to the Philippines. In addition, possession of
 Wake would give the Japanese another link in their defense perimeter, and
 would provide a base for air reconnaissance and a possible steppingstone in
 an invasion of Midway Island.

 THe Fourth Fleet at Truk assigned the following ships to the Wake Island
 invasion: the light cruiser YUBARI (flagship of RADM Sadamichi Kajioka), the
 destroyers MUTSUKI, KISAGARI, YAOI,MOCHIZUKI, OITE, and HAYATE, escorting two
 transports (converted destroyers) with 450 Special Naval Landing Force (SNLF)
 personnel and two MARU transports carrying garrison troops. The light cruisers
 TENRYU and TATSUTA, OLD cruisers commissioned in 1919, would act as a support
 group. This definitely was not the Japanese first team, as events were soon to
 prove. The Wake Invasion Force sailed from Ruotta anchorage, Kwajalein,
 Marshall Islands, on 8 December, arriving off Wake two days later. The
 cruisers' Action Reports and the tactics of the invading force indicate little
 resistance was anticipated; the Japanese apparently assumed that the two days
 of bombing had rendered Wake relatively defenseless. The Japanese ships began
 their approach on 11 December shortly before 0500. In a typical destroyer
 squadron, the YUBARI would have been at the head of her six destroyers;
 this arrangement was modified, however, by situating the light cruisers
 TATSUTA and TENRYU between the YABURI and the destroyers, in a column
 formation. On the starboard side of the column were the two converted
 destroyers, on the port side were the two MARUS. Seas were running high, which
 would make the launching of assault craft slower and more difficult.

 The defenders at Wake had been blinking lights to the south shortly after
 midnight, so available defenses had been readied. The four remaining
 Grummanans took to the air as the approach was spotted, and the Marines stood
 to their three batteries of 5-inch guns, on battery on each of the three
 islands.

 The Japanese column opened fire at 0522, after having turned to port to make
 its firing run, paralleling Wake's southern perimiter at 6,000 yards from
 shore. The Marines on Wake held their fire, and the records of the TENRYU
 indicate that the Japanese bombardment target was the "Wake residential area"
 and "housing in the West area." Their target was definitely not the defense
 batteries. Oil tanks at the southwest end of Wake Island were hit, however,
 and set on fire. As the column advanced to the west, the transports began to
 prepare to land their troops. After twenty minutes, having reached the west
 edge of Wilkes Island, the YUBARI closed range to 4,500 yards  and reversed
 for another firing run. The Marine defenders still held their fire. At 0600
 the YUBARI reversed again, once more closing range for a third firing run,
 and at 0610, the island's batteries opened fire. Battery A, at southeast tip
 of Wake Island claimed to have hit the YUBARI with its second salvo,
 although the YUBARI's Action Report makes no mention of any damage. One of the
 conerted destroyers, carrying half of the SNLF troops, received a fatal hit
 from Battery A, at about the same time, and eventually drifted ashore at
 Wake Island.

 RADM Kajioka immediately retired his command ship to the southwest, escorting
 the remaining converted destroyers. The transports came under the fire of
 Battery L on Wilkes Island, and one of the MARUS was hit. The destroyers
 HAYATE, OITE, and MOCHIZUKI, in order to screen the transports and to deliver
 counterbattery fire, charged directly toward Battery L and thus proved once
 again the truth of an old naval dictum: fixed ground defense guns can usually
 outshoot attacking ships. The HAYATE, in the lead, was hit squarely by three
 salvos and blew up, with no survivors: 168 men were killed. The OITE was hit,
 with nineteen men wounded; along with the MOCHIZUKI, she turned
 south-southwest of Wilkes Island.

  Meanwhile, a reconstructed column made up of the YAYOI, MATSUKI, and
  KISARAGI, backed up by the TATSUTA and TENRYU, got into a fire fight with
  Battery B on Peale Island. the YAYOI was hit (one man killed, seventeen
  wounded), but she returned fire and did considerable damage to Battery B.

  The YUBARI's Action Report sums up the battle succinctly. "Although the
  enemy sustained heavy damage from the numerous attacks by the medium-attack
  bombers of the 24th Air Flotilla, he still retained intact several fighters,
  ground batteries, etc.-- he fiercely counterattacked and we were temporarily
  forced to retire." The total Japanese casualty list was 340 killed, 65
  wounded, and one converted destroyer transport, returned to Ruotta anchorage
  to repair its damages and to await reinforcements before a new effort. On
  Wake, the defense batteries were still intact, but there were only two planes
  left. Amazingly, only one U.S.Marine was killed. This battle certainly showed
  that warships should not charge into the point-blank range of 5-inch guns.

  Carl Wernke
  [email-masked]

------------------------------

Date:    Sat, 7 May 1994 22:29:33 EST
From:    Larry & Kim Jewell <[email-masked]>
Subject: ARC: German Antiguerrilla Operations in the Balkans (1941-1944)

I have uploaded to

byrd.mu.wvnet.edu, /pub/history/military/wwii/special.studies

the U.S. publication

GERMAN ANTIGUERRILLA OPERTIONS IN THE BALKANS (1941-1944).

The text is available now, maps and charts will be made available as soon
as I get them. I have included the foreword and index for those who wish to
get an idea of the content of the booklet.

The names of the towns will be familiar to anyone who watches the news
these days, and the situation will be familiar to anyone who has read much
about Vietnam. And since this booklet was written in 1954 I can only
shake my head in wonder.

Larry J

[email-masked]; Co-Moderator: BYRD.MU.WVNET.EDU (Historical docs)
"Sunday's horoscope is note worthy because of its strange, sudden and wholly
unpredictable and inexplicable occurrences, affecting all phases of life."
Your Horoscope" L.A. Evening Herald Express, Sat, 12/06/41
Page i

GERMAN ANTIGUERRILLA OPERATIONS IN THE BALKANS (1941-1944)

SUDOC D 114.19/3:G31/7

* This Publication replaces DA Pam 20-243, August 1954

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government
Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402

Page ii

Facsimile Edition, 1989

Center of Military History
United States Army
Washington, D.C.

Page iii

FOREWORD

The purpose of this study is to describe briefly the German
campaign against the guerillas in the Balkans during the period
of the European Axis occupation, from the end of hostilities
against Greece and Yugoslavia in April 1941 to the capture of
Belgrade by the Soviet forces and the Partisans in October 1944.
The activities of Germany s Italian, Bulgarian, Croatian, and
other allies, as well as the British, Soviet, and United States
forces in the area, are treated only to the extent that they
affected German operations. In sequence of time, this study is a
continuation of Department of the Army CMH Pub 104-18, The
German Campaign in the Balkans (Spring 1941), of November 1953.

The material for this study was obtained from German military
records now in the custody of The Adjutant General, Department
of the Army. In addition to these official records, monographs
by former German officers who participated in these operations
furnished considerable general information and were of
assistance in supplementing the terse official reports of
specific actions. The authors of these monographs, prepared for
the Historical Division, United States Army, Europe, include
General der Gebirgstruppen (Lieutenant General) Hubert Lanz,
former commander of the XXII Mountain Corps, and Polizeioberst
(Colonel of Police) Karl Gaisser, German technical adviser to
the Croatian Police.

The work of preparing this study was done by Major Robert M.
Kennedy of the Office of the Chief of Military History. In its
presentation, every effort was made to give an accurate account
of the protracted attempt by the German occupation forces to
destroy their elusive guerrilla enemy in this secondary theater
of war from 1941 through 1944.

Page iv Blank

Page v

Part One. THE BALKAN AREA AND ITS PEOPLES................  1

Chapter 1. Physical Geography.

  I. Topography..........................................  2
 II. Climate.............................................  3

        2. National States

  I. General.............................................  4
 II. Greece..............................................  4
III. Yugoslavia..........................................  5
 IV. Albania.............................................  6
  V. Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, and Turkey..............  7

        3. Transportation and Communications

  I. General.............................................  8
 II. Main Rail Lines.....................................  8
III. Principal Highways..................................  9
 IV. Waterways, Airfields, and Signal Facilities.........  9

Part Two. THE OCCUPATION OF THE BALKANS AND THE RISE OF
          THE GUERRILLA MOVEMENT (1941-42)............... 10

Chapter 4. The Occupation Zone and Forces

  I. Division and Dismemberment.......................... 13
 II. The Italians........................................ 13
III. The Germans......................................... 15
 IV. The Bulgarians and Hungarians....................... 17
  V. The Puppet Governments.............................. 18

        5. The Early Movement and Axis Countermeasures

  I. Yugoslavia.......................................... 20
 II. Greece.............................................. 27

        6. Organization of Guerrilla Units

  I. Unit and Command Structure.......................... 31
 II. Communications and Supply........................... 32
III. Training and Tactics................................ 33

Part Three. THE GUERRILLA MOVEMENT IN GREECE, YUGOSLAVIA,
            AND ALBANIA (1943-44)........................ 35

Chapter 7. Operations (January-August 1943)

  I. Yugoslavia.......................................... 36
 II. Greece.............................................. 38
III. The German Situation by Mid-1943.................... 40

        8. The Defection of Italy and its Effects

  I. General............................................. 44
 II. Yugoslavia and Albania.............................. 44
III. Greece.............................................. 45

Page vi

Part Three. THE GUERRILLA MOVEMENT IN GREECE, YUGOSLAVIA,
AND ALBANIA (1943-44)-Continued

Chapter 9. Operations to the End of 1943

  I. General............................................. 47
 II. Yugoslavia and Albania.............................. 50
III. Greece.............................................. 52

        10. Operations in 1944

  I. General............................................. 53
 II. The Area of Army Group E............................ 54
III. The Area of Army Group F............................ 64

        11. GEMSBOCK and STEINADLER...................... 70

Part Four. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS....................... 73

Appendix I. Chronology of Events......................... 79
        II. Bibliographical Note......................... 82

MAPS

No.
1. General Reference Map...........................Facing  1
2. The Partition of Greece............................... 12
3. The Partition of Yugoslavia........................... 14
4. German Dispositions in the Balkans as of
   Mid-August 1944....................................... 53
5. German Estimate of Guerrilla Strength and Dispositions
   in Greece as of Mid-August 1944....................... 61
6. German Estimate of Guerrilla Strength and Dispositions in
   in Yugoslavia and Albania as of Mid-August 1944.Facing 67
7. Operation GEMSBOCK..............................Facing 70
8. Operation STEINADLER............................Facing 72

CHARTS

No.

1. German Ground Force in Occupied Greece and Yugoslavia
   as of July 1941....................................... 17
2. German Ground Forces in Occupied Greece and Yugoslavia
   as of 1 December 1942................................. 27
3. German and Bulgarian Ground Forces in Occupied Greece,
   Yugoslavia and Albania as of 26 December 1943......... 51
4. German Ground Forces in Occupied Yugoslavia and Albania
   as of the Fall of Belgrade 20 October 1944............ 68

Page vii Map 1. General reference map.

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End of WWII-L Digest - 6 May 1994 to 7 May 1994
***********************************************