Subject: WWII-L Digest - 5 Aug 1994 to 6 Aug 1994

From: Automatic digest processor <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 7 Aug 1994 00:00:56 -0400

There are 6 messages totalling 458 lines in this issue.

Topics of the day:

  1. GEN: RECOLLECTIONS OF WAR IN BELGIUM NO. 1
  2. GEN: RECOLLECTIONS OF THE WAR IN BELGIUM NO. 2
  3. INF: USN Chronology 08-06-94
  4. INF: 50 Years Ago - 07-AUG-1944
  5. Jews in Poland
  6. [INF] USAAF 7 AUG 44

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Date:    Sat, 6 Aug 1994 18:02:27 +0200
From:    JOHN AUSLAND <[email-masked]>
Subject: GEN: RECOLLECTIONS OF WAR IN BELGIUM NO. 1

  August 6, 1994

  Philippe Watelet, a Belgian, is sending a series of message to the Military
Forum on CIS, which I think may interest the users of this list.  The following
is the first of these:

#: 260086 S4/WWII/Commemorative  [MILITARY]
    04-Aug-94  19:01:11
Sb: #WWII recollections
Fm: Philippe Watelet 100041,3346
To: all

From: Philippe Watelet, 100041,3346

Date: Thu, Aug 4, 1994, 6:54
Subject: WWII recollections/1

In the following days, I would like to contribute to this Forum by sharing a
few recollections of a typical Belgian family relating events of WWII. While
there may be little historical value in these recollections, they do represent
experiences of many Belgian families in occupied Belgium as seen through the
eyes of a boy who was only 10 years old when our city was liberated by the US
Army.
The subjects of these recollections will be:
[1] The War begins, we flee but then return home,
[2] The resistance in our city,
[3] Food, gas and coal: the Belgian "Home Front",
[4] Local arrests,
[5] My father taken hostage,
[6] the Air War reaches our city: we are bombed
[7] Liberation at last.

I start to day with the first subject: the War begins, we flee and then return
home.
My first recollection goes back to early 1940 before the nazi invasion of
Belgium. My father was a doctor in ophtalmology and he was ordered to rejoin a
medical military Unit in Gent. I was sitting in the staircase and he was there
in the hall in uniform. My mother was crying softly. I remember the feeling
that something serious was happening but I could not really understand. For
me, in his military uniform, it seemed that my father was great! And then he
said good bye to all of us and left. At that time, I had 3 brothers and I was
5 years old.

He has instructed my mother to leave our home with her sons for France if the
war really started. This advice was based on their experience of the previous
war WWI , some 25 years before. At that time, my father had just started his
medical studies but he went as a simple volunteer soldier in the  belgian
infantry for 4 years. The germans in WWI were brutal with the civilians. They
had put cities and villages on fire in several place in Belgium. Since now it
was again the germans who were threatening our country, many people were
thinking that the nazis would most probably behave according to the same
pattern. Therefore the best way to avoid the brutality and the possible
killing was to flee away, if possible.

So, one day, we left La Louviere in our car: my mother, her 4 sons and some
luggages on the top of the car attached with belts and strings. I do not
remember how many Kms she drove but, still in Belgium, some luggages falled
down from the top of the car on the road. Some repair work done, we continued.
The road was rather crowded with civilians in some parts of it. But once again
some luggages falled down and then my mother said " I think we stop here and
we are going back home". So we did, she drove us back home. She certainly took
the right decision. We learnt later from people who went to France that  enemy
aircrafts were sometimes gunning the roads full of military convoys mixed with
civilians. Some or many were wounded or killed. It was really a confused
situation for me and for my brothers. We could not understand this whole
situation, we were too young.

 When I talked recently to my mother, I asked her why she took that decision.
She said that she had the real feeling that she left La Louviere too late and
that she heard friends saying that the german tanks were quite fast in their
offensive and she was afraid to be in a combat area. She also said that an
german aicraft has been flying very low above the road ( I have no memory of
that but I trust her) and she was sure to be safer in our home than somewhere
on the roads to France. So we were back in our house and my brothers and I
were quite happy to see and play with our toys left behind.

Then the Germans arrived and our city of La Louviere was occupied by the
werhmacht. No school any more for a few weeks. For us it was fun. But we had
no news from our father. Several weeks later he came back. His Unit went to
Gent, Ostende, Dunkerque and finally the orders were to go to Nantes in France
but it never made it. The nazis first line troops were indeed quite fast and
one day his Unit was found almost surrounded in the north of France. The
germans were victorious and since a medical Unit did not have arms they could
not care less about prisonners. They simply wanted to go on and on. A german
officer ordered the belgian major in charge of the medical Unit to wait there
for the second line troops which would then organise the transfer into a POW
camp. Then several members of the Unit including my father decided wait until
dark late in the evening and to run away through the fields, sleeping during
the day and walking during the night. By doing so and avoiding any
concentration of enemy troops, he came back home exhausted but alive. Our
family was re-united. The local administration was in a sort of chaos and it
was never asked how and why my father was back, the belgiam city employees
were not ready to inform the nazis about the names of persons who did escaped
from their hands.

Life would continue in the occupied Belgium. I will continue about that in
another message. Philippe Watelet.

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

Date:    Sat, 6 Aug 1994 18:05:48 +0200
From:    JOHN AUSLAND <[email-masked]>
Subject: GEN: RECOLLECTIONS OF THE WAR IN BELGIUM NO. 2

  Oslo, July 6, 1994

  This is the second of Philippe Watelet's recollections of the war in Belgium:

#: 260449 S4/WWII/Commemorative  [MILITARY]
    05-Aug-94  23:24:21
Sb: WWII recollections
Fm: Philippe Watelet 100041,3346
To: All

From: Philippe Watelet, 100041,3346
To: All
Topic: WWII recollections

Date: Fri, Aug 6, 1994, 18:38:14

Subject: WWII recollections/2: the resistance in our city.

In this second story on some recollections of a belgian family during the
WWII, I will say a few word on the local resistance in our city. As I said in
the 1st story, there is no historical value in these recollections of WWII.
They simply are memories of a belgian family in occupied Belgium as seen
through the eyes of a boy of 5/10 years old during that war.

 There was local resistance in the area of La Louviere, building up from 1942
to 1944-45. There were two organizations. One called "secret Army" recruited
its members mainly from former reserve Officers and soldiers who did escape in
the early days of the war from being POW's. They had no political ambition.
They wanted to fight the enemy and were in contact with London for
instructions on sabotages to be made. The other organization called FI for
Front de l'Independance if I do remember correctly was more of a political
nature. They wanted also to fight the nazi's with the same courage and, in
addition, had the ambition of preparing the new public administration if the
war was eventually won.

I remember that my father although he was not a regular resistant himself was
sometimes in contact with friends in the Secret Army. One day he was asked if
he would help them in a coup. They got the information that there was an
important Gestapo meeting in Mons (+/- 25 Kms from La Louviere). The Gestapo
Officer (the Nazis'secret police) reponsible of the La Louviere area would be
attending the meeting. In particular, they thought that the Officer would most
probably be accompanied by a belgian collaborator who was a traitor hated by
the local population. His name was Duquesne. He and the Gestapo Officer would
come back late in the evening or at night from Mons to La Louviere and would
use an official german car. On his way back to La Louviere, they would have to
cross a bridge above a canal (Canal du Centre) where a party of resistants
would fire at the car in order to kill both men. Since he was a doctor, they
asked my father if he could take care of any member of the resistance team if
the fight would result with wounded men. They also thought that the car would
be followed by another car with SS soldiers for protection and were prepared
for a small but serious fight.

So he went that evening to a small house just near the bridge according to the
intructions and with what was needed for such circumstances. He then organized
a room for possible casualties. A resistant and my father were waiting there
for several hours in a tense atmosphere listening for the expected noise of
the fight. But nothing happened until 4/5 in the morning. The resistants then
decided to leave the bridge while it was still dark. They  thought that the
Gestapo's car took probably another but longer road to La Louviere or worst
that the Gestapo might have been informed in advance about the danger of an
attack near the bridge. They were not sure. But my father learnt later that
both men remained that night in Mons and came back to La Louviere the day
after.

In the next message, in a few days, I will say a few words on how was the
every day life during that period ,in particular, on the difficulty, to find
the food. This could be called the "belgian home front".  Philippe Watelet

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

Date:    Sat, 6 Aug 1994 04:41:18 PST
From:    "Keller, Theron P." <[email-masked]>
Subject: INF: USN Chronology 08-06-94

UNITED STATES NAVY CHRONOLOGY
from:
//byrd.mu.wvnet.edu/pub/history/military/wwii/naval_chronology/chr4(4,5).txt

1944
08/06 Sun. Carrier BENNINGTON (CV-20) is commissioned at New York, N. Y
            German submarines sunk:
             U-471, U-642, U-952, and U-969, by Army aircraft, Toulon,
              France.

Theron P. Keller
Logicon, Inc.
Dahlgren, VA  22448 USA
[email-masked]

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

Date:    Sat, 6 Aug 1994 07:00:50 -0700
From:    John Davis <[email-masked]>
Subject: INF: 50 Years Ago - 07-AUG-1944

On 07-AUG-1944, the following occurred -

World War II - The Battlefronts
-------------------------------
Western Front - The Germans open up a counter-offensive in the Avranches area.
     German tanks penetrate into the American positions between the VII Corps
     and XIX Corps (1st Army), recapturing Mortain and reach Le Mesnil-Tove
     where they are halted with assistance from Allied aircraft. The VII and
     XIX Corps prepare to counter-attack. The 6th Armoured Division (VIII
     Corps, 3rd Army) reach Brest in the evening. The 83rd Division continues
     the battle for St Malo. On the south coast, the 4th Armoured Division
     attacks Lorient. The Canadian II Corps launches an offensive south of
     Caen, towards Falaise.

Eastern Front - The Russians are being contained by the Germans almost
     everywhere. The Russians suspend their summer offensive for a while after
     advancing nearly 450 mile so as to reorganize their over-stretched supply
     lines.

Marianas - On Guam, the 3rd Marine Division, the 77th Infantry Division and
     the 1st Marine Brigade, launch a strong attack against Yigo and Mount
     Santa Rosa. They are able to take Yigo but their advance to the peak of
     Mount Santa Rosa is slowed by fierce Japanese resistance. The Japanese
     counter-attack during the night but are driven back.

New Guinea - On Biak Island, the US 162nd Regiment advances along the track
     from Sorido to Korim Bay to link up with the 163rd Regiment.

Foreign Affairs
---------------
De Gaulle Asks French To Rise - Gen. Charles de Gaulle has broadcast an appeal
     from Angiers to all citizens in France to harass the Germans by fighting
     and sabotage and promises "a battle-hardened and well-equipped French
     Army will soon by fighting on French soil."

The Homefront
-------------
Penicillin Cures Gonorrhea Quickly - The U.S. Public Health Service says
     gonorrhea can be cured in seven and a half hours with penicillin.

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

Sources: "2194 Days of War" by Cesare Salmaggi and Alfredo Pallavisimi, "The
World Almanac Book Of WW II" by Peter Young, "United States Naval Chronology,
World War II" by Naval Historical Division - United States Navy, "Facts On
File Yearbook 1944, Person's Index Of World Events" edited by R.L. Lapica.

----------
John Davis  ([email-masked]/[email-masked])
Cary, N.C.
----------

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

Date:    Sat, 6 Aug 1994 10:52:00 PDT
From:    Julie Jenkins <[email-masked]>
Subject: Jews in Poland

Lou--the operative word is unit.  One unit here and there does not inspire con-
fidence.  If one must know in advance the safe units, why bother?  why not just
make up 100% trustworthy units--other escaping Jews.  Some HA units allowed
Jews, others killed Jews, do you want to risk choosing the wrong unit after
 you've just escaped?  It's not dubious, look at the expert testimony--survi-
vors.         .

As for the Soviets, of course they played on what was already there.  They're
trying to destablize a country and that country is an accident waiting to  hap-
pen.  Poland was notorious for being its own worst enemy.  The aristos come out
in 1863 but can't get the peasantry involved.  In 1919, Poland decides to in-
vade Russia and reclaim the old Grand Dutchy.  All the conflicts of the 30s:
urban vs. peasant; white collar vs. blue collar; academics vs. workers; aristos
vs. peasants are unresolved in '45 and the Soviets play every one.  While HA
units decide that it's better to fight a low key civil war against other Poles
than try  to unite against a common enemy in '46-47.  Only when self-con-
sciously do intellectuals & workers decide to work together in the late '70s
does anything start to happen.  And then in '89 /90 they break down again and
reading the news from '90 and '91 one wondered isPoland going to do it to her-
self again and then write more songs and poems about Poland's tragic fate?
The Catholic/Jewish split was one among many and one of the biggies.

But I don't think it can be suggested that being an urban Jew helped one to
survive unless you mean that by
being urban (= assimilated, by definition) one had a stronger
chance of getting out of Poland before the deluge, because one is perhaps more
hip to German intentions.  But that would mean that one would have been con-
vinced at the time, say, 1938 on, that Germany definitely intends to go to war
and that one must "quit Europe" to paraphrase the Indians.  Once the Germans
arrive, any Jew in Poland is in deep trouble, because the partition of the
country is instantaneous and suddenly passports are meaningless, one can't
"leave" one can only escape.  Then come the roundups, which are very efficient
whether urban or country--since everyone has ID cards & birth certificates.
Over and over, those who survived did so from a combination of circumstances
unique to that individual--friends, looks, language, where they were when,
presence of mind, luck.  Not even youth helped--Ann Frank dies of a disease,
w/out reaching Poland, her father goes the distance & survives.

Once the Germans arrive, any Pole is in deep trouble, period but Jewish Poles
are really in for it.

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

Date:    Sat, 6 Aug 1994 21:32:00 EDT
From:    mc killop <[email-masked]>
Subject: [INF] USAAF 7 AUG 44

COMBAT CHRONOLOGY OF THE US ARMY AIR FORCES
MONDAY, 7 AUGUST 1944
FTP SITES
  1. ftp.rutgers.edu in directory pub/wwii/usaf
  2. byrd.mu.wvnet.edu (129.71.32.152) in pub/history/military/airforce/
     wwii_chronology

AIRCRAFT MENTIONED IN THIS REPORT:
  A-20, Douglas Havoc
  B-17, Boeing Flying Fortress
  B-24, Consolidated Liberator
  B-25, North American Mitchell
  B-26, Martin Marauder
  C-47, Douglas Skytrain
  F-7, Consolidated Liberator
  L-5, Stinson Sentinel
  P-38, Lockheed Lightning
  P-40, Curtiss
  P-47, Republic Thunderbolt
  P-51, North American Mustang

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA (CBI) THEATER OF OPERATIONS

  BURMA-INDIA (Tenth Air Force): In Burma, B-25s destroy 2 bridges, damage 2
others, and hit targets of opportunity in areas around Naba and Mawhun;
fighter-bombers attack Mohnyin, Myothit, and Pinbaw, hit a motor pool at
Namana, damage 2 bridges S of Bhamo, and attack targets of opportunity during
sweeps of Onbauk Airfield and the town of Bhamo; fighter-bombers also support
ground forces in the Taungni area.

  CHINA (Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 37 P-40s hit Hengyang and trucks,
troops, and gun positions in the surrounding area; 21 P-40s bomb Changsha, 4
hit rivercraft at Siangsiang, 4 bomb the wall at Tengchung, and 6 attack
Hsiaoshuipu.

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): 4 missions are flown:
  Mission 527: 905 bombers and 471 fighters are dispatched to hit fuel dumps
and bridges in France but heavy cloud cover forces many aircraft to return
with bombs and other formations to be recalled; 1 bomber and 5 fighters are
lost; targets hit (number in parenthesis indicates bombers bombing) are:
  1. Of 112 B-17s, 71 hit Montbartier and 34 hit St Loubes; 1 B-17 is
damaged beyond repair and 26 are damaged; 2 airmen are WIA. Escort is
provided by 123 of 139 P-51s; they claim 1-0-3 Luftwaffe aircraft in the air
and 0-0-1 on the ground.
  2. The primary targets of 224 B-17s are Nanteuil Bridge (36), Sens (26), St
Florentin (25), Dueny (24), Bourron Marlotte (23) and Paris-St Quen (12);
other targets hit are Chartres Airfield (23), Maintenon Bridge (23), Houden
marshalling yard (14), Chateaudun Airfield (11) and Rouglaf (1); 1 B-17 is
damaged beyond repair and 80 damaged. Escort is provided by 96 of 97 P-51s.
  3. 1 of 182 B-17s hits Montdidier Airfield; 35 B-17s are damaged; 1 airman
is WIA. Escort is provided by 90 P-38s and P-51s.
  4. Of 51 B-24s, 10 hit Andenne Bridge, 8 hit Semuse and 8 hit targets of
opportunity; 1 B-24 is lost and 19 damaged; 11 airmen are MIA. Escort is
provided by 34 of 35 P-47s.
  5. The primary targets of 333 B-24s are Doullens Bridge (37), Saleux (24),
Recques-sur-Course (23), Frevent Bridge (15), Rieme/Ertveld (11) and
Langerbrugge (9); 12 also hit a factory near Wendelghem and 1 hits a target
of opportunity; 1 B-24 is damaged beyond repair and 45 damaged; 8 airmen are
KIA and 1 WIA. Escort is provided by 94 of 100 P-51s.
  Mission 528: 1 of 3 B-17s flies a Mico H test mission (Micro H was a radar
system which combined the Gee-H and H2X radar functionality for use by
pathfinders).
  Mission 529: 271 P-47s and P-51s fly fighter-bomber missions to marshalling
yards and railroads N and E of Paris; they claim 4-0-1 aircraft on the
ground; 3 P-47s and 2 P-51s are lost and 11 P-47s damaged; 5 pilots are MIA.
And, 5 of 5 B-17s fly a leaflet mission over France during the night.
  In the USSR, a shuttle mission is flown in accordance with a Soviet request;
55 B-17s and 29 P-51s attack an oil refinery at Trzebina, Poland without
loss; the aircraft return to Operation FRANTIC bases in the USSR.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): To maintain close association with
ground forces, HQ IX Tactical Air Command and HQ XIX Tactical Air Command
constitute mobile units to accompany Advance HQ of the US First and Third
Armies, respectively, as they advance rapidly to the E; Lieutenant General
Lewis H Brereton relinquishes command of the Ninth Air Force to become
Commanding General First Allied Airborne Army.
  In France, 380+ A-20s and B-26s bomb bridges at Nogent-sur-Seine and Neuvy-
sur-Loire; fighters escort IX Bomber Command aircraft, furnish defensive
cover in the Vire, Laval, and Rennes areas, and support ground forces in the
assault area; HQ 71st Fighter Wing moves from St-Pierre-Eglise to
Ecrammeville; and the 14th Liaison Squadron, XIX Tactical Air Command, moves
from Beauchamps to Poilley with L-5s. In England, the following squadrons
begin operating from Ramsbury with C-47s:
 - 93d Troop Carrier Squadron, 439th Troop Carrier Group, based at Upottery
 - 98th Troop Carrier Squadron, 440th Troop Carrier Group, based at Exeter
 - 301st Troop Carrier Squadron, 441st Troop Carrier Group, based at
     Merryfield
The 306th Troop Carrier Squadron, 442d Troop Carrier Group, based at Weston
Zoyland, begins operating from Ramsgate with C-47s.

MEDITERRANEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (MTO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Fifteenth Air Force): 353 B-17s and B-24s bomb 2
synthetic oil refineries at Blechhammer S (B-17s) and Blechhammer N (B-24s);
300+ fighters provide support; 76 B-24s hit Alibunar Airfield and Novi Sad
oil facilities, Yugoslavia; the bombers and fighters claim nearly 30
aircraft shot down.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Twelfth Air Force): In Italy, A-20s bomb shipping at
Genoa, Finale Ligure, and Alassio and Monaco, Monaco during the night of 6/7
Aug; during the day, B-25s and B-26s bomb bridges at Ventimiglia and Les
Censies, La Voulte-sur-Rhone, Livron, Avignon, and Pont-Saint-Esprit, France;
fighter-bombers hit rail and road bridges, marshalling yards at Alessandria
and Albenga, shipping at Imperia and Nice, and airfields in NW Italy and S
France.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA, Seventh Air Force): Saipan Island-based B-25s hit
Guam Island twice during the day.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: B-24s bomb power
plant, AA positions, and barracks area on Yap Island, a phosphate plant on Fais
Island, Caroline Islands, and airfields at Galela and Lolobata on Halmahera
Island, Moluccas Islands, where 35-50 aircraft are destroyed or damaged. In
New Guinea, the 20th Combat Mapping Squadron, 6th Photographic Reconnaissance
Group, based at Nadzab begins operating from Biak Island with F-7s; the 39th
Fighter Squadron, 35th Fighter Group, moves from Nadzab to Noemfoor Island
with P-47s; and the 390th Bombardment Squadron (Medium), 42d Bombardment
Group (Medium), moves from the Russell Islands, Solomon Islands to Hollandia
with B-25s.

SOURCES:
AIR FORCE COMBAT UNITS OF WORLD WAR II, Office of Air Force History,
  Headquarters USAF, 1961, ISBN 0-912799-02-1
COMBAT SQUADRONS OF THE AIR FORCE, WORLD WAR II, Office of Air Force
  History, Headquarters USAF 1982
THE ARMY AIR FORCES IN WORLD WAR II: COMBAT CHRONOLOGY, 1941-1945 by the
  Office of Air Force History, Headquarters USAF, 1973
THE MIGHTY EIGHTH WAR DIARY by Roger A. Freeman, ISBN 1-85409-071-2

Jack McKillop
USAF (Airways and Air Communications Service)
1955-59

-------------------------------------------------------------------
|  Jack McKillop         |  Those who have long enjoyed such      |
|  Bellcore              |  privileges as we enjoy forget in      |
|  Piscataway, NJ USA    |  time that men have died to win them.  |
|  [email-masked]  |                       FDR              |
-------------------------------------------------------------------

07/0134Z AUG

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End of WWII-L Digest - 5 Aug 1994 to 6 Aug 1994
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