August 23rd, 1942...Just before dawn in New York, destroyers USS Barton, USS Meade, and USS Nicholas heave to nearby USS Washington. The big ship lights off all boilers at 4 a.m., calls away sea and anchor details, and shifts colors at 6:15. The battleship sets course 179T at 20 knots, headed for the Panama Canal...and the Pacific Ocean.
In the Aleutians, the Americans decide to move into the island of Adak, 250 miles from Kiska, to use it as the forward airbase. The island is promptly codenamed "Fireplace." Adak is 300 square miles of mountain and tundra. Its residents are bald eagles and scavenger ravens. The Americans don't know if the Japanese have troops there, so the job of reconnoitering the place is given to Col. Lawrence Castner's Alaska Scouts, a unit of commando rangers drawn from Alaska, made of anthropologists, doctors, engineers, fishermen, hunters, prospectors, trappers, Aleuts, Eskimos, and Indians - the very model of a motion-picture commando unit.
All across the Caucasus, the German blitzkrieg drives on, paced by tanks and armored vehicles. But at Izbushensky in the bend of the River Don, warfare steps back in time for a moment when 600 Italians of the Savoy Cavalry unsheathe their sabers in the afternoon sun, and charge 2,000 Russians armed with mortars and machine guns. The Italian cavalry puts the Russians to flight. It is the last successful cavalry charge of the war, and one of the finer hours for the Italian Army.
That afternoon, more modern warfare hits Stalingrad, as Lt. Gen. Hans Hube's 6th Army panzers start driving into the city from the north. Simultaneously, another force from 4th Panzer Army drives in from the south. Hube's tanks overrun Soviet defenses with the usual speed and efficiency.
Gen. Andrei Yeremenko, Stalingrad's top defender, gets an early wake-up call...the Germans are attacking. Defense is the 62nd and 4th Tank Armies. The latter has no tanks. Yeremenko alerts his reserve, the 10th NKVD Division of political policemen. He has no time for breakfast.
By 8 a.m., the panzers are clearly heading for the city. battles rage at Malaya Rossoshka. Russian pilots report everything on the ground as burning, and two columns of 100 German tanks each, followed by dense infantry in trucks, headed for Stalingrad, and many enemy aircraft.
Yeremenko scrambles all his fighters at once and orders his light bombers to harass Hube's column. Amid this, Yeremenko's zampolit, Nikita Khrushchev, phones from his quarters. "What's new?"
"Not specially pleasant news."Breakfast arrives, but Yeremenko has no time to eat it. German tanks are so close to Stalingrad's AA guns their sound locators can her the treads squealing. Yeremenko orders the remnants of two tank corps (which are actually divisions) to regroup and block the German advance. These two corps have 50 obsolete T-70 tanks between them.
"I'll come to HQ at once."
10th NKVD Division and the two tank corps dig in around the Tractor Factory, using ruins to good advantage. Tanks and armored vehicles can't move through blasted streets, bomb craters, and ruined buildings. The fighting gains intensity amid the destruction. Hube's tanks rip through improvised defenses and flak guns manned by female workers of the "Barricades" factory.
By 11 a.m., Khrushchev has mobilized Stalingrad's Communist Party organizations for the defense. Yeremenko, who still hasn't eaten, stays calm.
Maj. Gen. Korshunov phones up to say that a trainload of ammunition, food, and reinforcements has been shot up by the Germans. "Enemy tanks are moving on Stalingrad. What are we to do?" Korshunov pleads.
"Your duty. Stop panicking," Yeremenko says. 4th Panzer Army captures Tinguta station by noon and the siding at the 74-kilometer marker. They surround 38th Rifle Division, but elsewhere German attacks are beaten off. Yeremenko scrapes up 56 Tank Brigade to counterattack. Waiters bring in lunch, but he has no time to eat.
Bad news continues. German troops of 6th Army tear up a regiment of 87th Rifle Division north of Malaya Rossoshka. Yeremenko starts reaching into his reserves, which include tanks being built at the Stalingrad Tractor Factory.
At the factory, the defenders can see the enemy. They have 2,000 men and 30 tanks. Maj. Gen. Feklenko calls Yeremenko to say, "I have decided to defend the factory."
"A correct decision," Yeremenko says. "I appoint you sector commander." Yeremenko sends Feklenko a tank brigade and an infantry brigade.
Amid the battle comes good news for the Russians, the pontoon bridge across the Volga, two miles long, is now complete, in 10 days instead of 12. Yeremenko says, "Thank the men who built it and the officers who supervised them. As for the bridge, I order it to be destroyed." The bridge is too close to the Germans.
By late afternoon, the Germans are being slowed down or dragged to a halt. Hube's tanks run smack into heavy antitank fire on the Sukhaya Mechetka Creek, half a mile north of the Tractor Factory. After hours of hard fighting, Hube's battered tanks withdraw, while the Soviets reinforce. The Germans have split Stalingrad Front in two and wrecked Soviet communications, but the Soviets are still in business.
At 6 p.m. Yeremenko gets word that the German offensive has been stopped. At last he can have his breakfast.
That evening, Gen. Wolfram von Richtofen hurls Luftflotte 4 at the city. Richtofen sends in everything he has in the heaviest bombardment by the Luftwaffe since June 22, 1941. Richtofen calls up Ju-52 transports as bombers. Pilots fly three missions per day. 2,000 sorties hammer Stalingrad with high explosive and incendiaries, shredding wooden workers' settlements that circle around factories. The raid goes on all night, and people can read newspapers by the blaze 40 miles away.
Wilhelm Hoffmann of the German 94th Division's 267 Regiment, writes, "The whole city is on fire; on the Fuhrer's orders our Luftwaffe has sent it up in flames. That's what the Russians need, to stop them resisting..."
The Guadalcanal battle moves to sea. Japanese carriers are moving to cover the journey of a group of transports to Guadalcanal. Amid gray clouds and squalls, American aircraft grope for Rear Adm. Raizo Tanaka's convoy. The Americans find it, but score no hits. Aviators from USS Saratoga fly to Guadalcanal for the night.
That evening, the American task force commander, Vice Adm. Frank Jack Fletcher, gets word that the Japanese are fleeing. He detaches one-third of his carrier strength, USS Wasp and her escorts, to refuel. "Always fuelling," sighs naval historian Samuel Eliot Morison in his analysis of the battle. As Wasp heads south, she takes out of the battle her 62 aircraft and America's best chance to have a decisive quantitative superiority in a carrier action.
That evening, destroyer USS Henley continues to tow her battered sister USS Blue to Tulagi. Blue can't move. Japanese ships are due in this evening for the usual shellfire. Adm. Richmond Kelly Turner orders Blue scuttled, and the Pearl Harbor survivor, which sailed out amid the air attack commanded by a young Jewish ensign, Nathan Asher, (her skipper was trapped ashore) sinks at 10:21 p.m.
USS Saratoga airmen bed down in Guadalcanal in foxholes, while their planes are refuelled by night. At 11:30 p.m., the Japanese destroyer Kagero turns up to light up the night with shells. After she leaves, Tanaka turns his transports back for Guadalcanal. The Battle of the Eastern Solomons is about to begin.
August 24th, 1942...Tyrone Power, 28, and Henry Fonda, 37, join the US military. Power joins the Marine Corps but doesn't go to boot camp until he finishes a Navy motion picture. Fonda, however, goes straight in as a Seaman Apprentice.
Along the Papuan north coast, coastwatchers report Japanese ships. Their target is Milne Bay, an airfield at the very eastern tip of Papua, about 370 kilometers from Port Moresby. The Japanese are sending in three cruisers, two transports, two tankers, and two minesweepers, loaded with troops of the 3rd and 5th Kure Special Naval Landing Forces and the 5th Sasebo Special Naval Landing Force, determined Japanese Sailors and Marines in ballcaps with sewn anchors. These men have swept the Pacific. Their orders: "At the dead of night quickly complete the landing and strike the white soldiers without reserve. Unitedly smash to pieces the enemy lines and take the aerodrome by storm."
Defending the area are 9,000 men, mostly Australians of 18th Brigade from 7th Division, veterans of Tobruk, and Australian militia. They are backed up by RAAF P-40 fighter-bombers and some US Army engineers. The boss is Australia's Brig. Cyril Clowes.
Off Guadalcanal, the Japanese Main Body under Vice Adm. Chuichi Nagumo, victor at Pearl Harbor and loser at Midway, advances, headed by fleet carriers Shokaku and Zuikaku. The Advance Force with the light carrier Ryujo is spotted at 7:13 am.
Both sides are bringing old and new weapons to the battle. The Japanese have their familiar Vals, Kates, and Zeros, but the new American toy is the Grumman TBF Avenger, a rugged plane with angular wings, husky fuselage, armor plating, self-sealing fuel tanks, and a unique turret gun. This powerful machine, however, still carries the useless Mark 13 torpedo. The Americans also have radar.
When Fletcher gets word that Ryujo is spotted, he doesn't believe the report. No airstrike. He waits until his planes from Guadalcanal are recovered.
Meanwhile, Ryujo launches a strike at Guadalcanal. They report the destruction of Henderson Field. Not likely: the airstrike consists of six planes. The air fight is a draw, but that's good enough for US morale on Guadalcanal.
At 1 p.m., American carrier radar picks off Ryujo's strike. Fletcher finally gets the idea, and orders Saratoga to attack the light carrier. At 2 p.m., a Japanese float plane sights the American carriers. Enterprise fighters splash it, but it gets off a signal in time. Nagumo orders his two carriers to attack immediately.
While this goes on, Ryujo does not even bother to spot her flight deck for combat air patrol. Capt. Tameichi Hara of the escorting tincan Amatsukaze blinkers the carrier, contacting Hara's academy pal, Cdr. Hisakichi Kishi, Ryujo's XO. "Fully realizing my impertinence, am forced to advise you of my impression. Your flight operations are far short of expectations. What is the matter?" Kishi blinkers back, "Deeply appreciate your admonition. We shall do better and count on your cooperation." Ryujo spots seven fighters on the flight deck.
Just as the Zeros are rolled out, the American strike arrives. Saratoga's planes swoop in on the carrier, but Ryujo's skipper, Cap. Tadao Kato, zigzags successfully. The torpedo planes move in for an "anvil" attack from both sides, and score fatal hits in the carrier's engines. Hara moves Amatsukaze in to save the carrier's crew.
At the same time, American pilots spot two "light cruisers." Lt. Ray Davis swings down and the cruisers turn out to be Shokaku's distinctive flight deck jammed with planes. The Americans launch a strike.
The Japanese reach Enterprise first, at 4:19 p.m. American F4Fs charge the Japanese. American aviators fill radio channels with frivolous patter, hampering air defense. Kill claims prove bizarre, as Ensign Francis R. Register claims an Me-109.
On Enterprise, everyone mans the guns as the ship cranks up to 27 knots. Machinist W.E. Fluitt drains the ship's avgas lines, filling them with firefighting carbon dioxide. The entire Japanese strike attacks Enterprise. Capt. Arthur C. Davis notes with icy professionalism the seven-second intervals between planes and the 70-degree dives. USS Portland's gunnery officer says the Japanese have done better in other attacks. Maybe so, the Shokaku and Zuikaku air groups, before Midway, were considered the worst in the Imperial Navy. The best have died at Midway.
The Japanese, however, prove tenacious, toggling bomb- release levers at 1,500 feet, splintering the wooden flight deck at 4:44. The bomb explodes in a petty officers' messroom and kills 35 men. PH2 Robert C. Read, his camera running, films the entire hit. A second bomb hits 15 feet away, killing 39 more men, including Read.
While damage control parties go to work, another bomb explodes on the flight deck near the number two elevator, leaving a 10-foot hole in the flight deck.
Other Japanese pounce on North Carolina, Washington's sister ship. Unlike the older ships caught at Pearl Harbor, North Carolina can do 27 knots and bristles with 107 AA guns. She sustains only superficial damage.
15 minutes later, the Japanese pull out. They have lost 17 Vals and three Zeros, while roughing up Enterprise and splashing eight F4Fs.
On Enterprise, Lt. Cdr. Herschel A. Smith, the damage control assistant, goes to work. American damage-control training proves the advantage. Sailors repair the ripped deck to take returning planes. Seaman Henry Dunn walks into the flaming aviation metal shop and saves two injured men. Chief Shipfitter Jim Brewer coolly searches for the sources of fires and directs teams until he passes out. Carpenter W.L. Reames builds a cofferdam of planks and packs it with mattresses and pillows to buy time until pumps are operating again.
An aviator goes to the starboard after 5-inch gun mount and finds the bodies still there. Most have died of concussion and are then roasted by the blast.
In the engine room, crews endure 170F temperatures to keep the ship moving.
At 5:46, exactly one hour after the last bomb hits, Enterprise turns into the wind at 24 knots and recovers her aircraft. At 5:50, the last F4F plummets onto the deck. Suddenly the carrier starts to twist and turn. Davis orders full left rudder. But Enterprise swings round at 20 degrees right rudder, heading for destroyer Balch. Davis leaps to a microphone and shouts, "All back emergency." Balch goes to flank and avoids the carrier's onrushing bow.
What has happened is that a ventilation trunk opened by remote control has burned out Enterprise's rudder motor. Before crewmen can switch over to the alternate, they become unconscious from the 170-degree temperature. SN William Marcoux has to keep his ship from hitting Balch. He turns a valve, engages a clutch, and throws the first of two switches...then passes out. The carrier grazes Balch and begins to circle.
MMC William A. Smith dons a rescue breathing apparatus, and plunges into the oven around the steering gear compartment. The 30-year veteran wades into the heat. Joined by MM1 Cecil Robinson, he pushes back jammed clutches and pours hydraulic oil to repair the steering motor. After 38 harrowing minutes, Enterprise regains control of her rudders, just as the second Japanese strike is inbound.
But the Japanese have messed up their navigation, and the force flies by 50 miles off, then goes home.
Fletcher still has two strikes out. One, led by Enterprise's Max Leslie launches a brilliant dusk attack on the Roncador Reef. Leslie aborts the attack, heads home to find Enterprise is not at the "Point Option." His radioman finds a weak signal, and the carrier is 100 miles south. With the last remaining gas, Leslie's pilots -- most of them brand-new -- stagger home.
The remaining strike pounces on a target they think is the battleship Mutsu. It's actually the seaplane tender Chitose. The Americans damage her with two near-misses that burn three seaplanes. The Americans lumber home.
Ryujo continues to blaze. Tameichi Hara thinks she can be repaired, but the ship is gutted. Amatsukaze deploys long poles and planks to transfer men. The carrier evacuates her wounded, her Sailors, and finally officers lugging classified documents. More than 300 board Amatsukaze.
As the ship sinks, Hara yells, "Everyone off?"
"Yes, sir!" shouts an officer on Ryujo. "Please cast off. It's getting dangerous!"
Amatsukaze moves off 500 meters. Then Ryujo sinks.
Hara hears a voice behind him say, "Commander Hara, I do not know how to thank you."
Hara turns to face Ryujo's skipper, Kato, who was last to leave. "Please accept my thanks on behalf of my men."
Hara feels sorry for Kato and asks about Kishi.
Kato turns back speechless, his haggard face wrinkled with sorrow. Hara knows the answer.
The third carrier battle of the war is over.
While Lt. Gen. Bernard Montgomery rebuilds the British 8th Army at El Alamein, Field Marshal Erwin Rommel struggles with exhaustion. At age 50, he has had 19 straight months of active service without leave or break. He is suffering from circulation problems, blood pressure, and nasal diphtheria, the last amid a climate full of heat, dust, grime, and grit. He also suffers fainting fits.
Rommel's condition mirrors that of Panzerarmee Afrika, which is worn out from battle and heat. German troops have excellent hygiene standards but a boring and unbalanced diet of "Alte Kokke." (Old Horse) They suffer jaundice, sores, trachoma, and dysentery.
The supply situation is also getting worse, as RAF bombers and submarines torpedo merchant ships. In August, the British sink seven ships, sending 1,660 tons of ammo, 2,120 tons of general supplies, 43 guns, 367 vehicles, and 2,700 tons of petrol to the bottom of the Mediterranean.
They are also at the end of a long land supply chain, 370 miles to Tobruk, 660 miles to Benghazi, more than 1,250 miles from Tripoli. They have been reinforced by the 164th Infantry Division, the Ramcke Parachute Brigade, and the Italian Folgore Parachute Division. But these formations have arrived in the desert by air, leaving all their trucks and heavy equipment back in Europe. Their rations, fuel, and ammunition must be brought in by the already overburdened Afrika Korps supply chain.
Worse, the haul of British guns and vehicles from Tobruk is now a burden. Rommel has run out of shells for his captured 25-lbr. guns, and replacement shells are not made in the Ruhr. 85 percent of his transport is captured, and is breaking down. Again Rommel has no spares.
Rommel has 82,000 Germans and 42,000 Italians in the line, but receives only 8,200 tons of supplies for the Germans, and 24,700 for the Italians.
Just to make matters worse, the newly-arrived Italian Pistoia Division, with 200 vehicles, has orders not to enter Egypt, while 164th German Division has only 60 with which to move its entire outfit...and those trucks are falling apart on desert tracks.
Rommel's biggest problem is lack of interest in Berlin. Hitler has gone to Vinnitsa in the Ukraine and all eyes are on the Stalingrad campaign. Rommel must make do with what he's got.
Realizing that he's nearly at the end of the line, he decides to launch one last offensive.
That day, 5 NZ Brigade CO Howard Kippenberger is asked to put on a raid. The 8th Army has taken no PoWs for a fortnight and needs fresh intelligence. Kippenberger gets the job, and 144 artillery pieces to support him.
Kippenberger assigns two companies of 28th Maori Battalion to do the job. He warns the hard-fighting Maoris that he wants PoWs and not scalps. The Maoris cheerfully prepare an extremely professional plan.
In Stalingrad, all hell is breaking loose. Stalingrad has had two months of sunny weather and no rain. Luftwaffe incendiaries (each a four-lb. strip) have torched rows of wooden workers' housing, leaving behind columns of chimney stacks, looking like huge tombstones. More substantial industrial buildings have been torn open by 1,000-lb. high explosive bombs (known to the British as "Satans") and burned inside by incendiaries. Oil storage tanks are burning, their oil streaming down the Volga, burning jetties and ships. Telephones are gone, too, as wooden poles have been consumed. Roadway asphalt has melted.
Firemen struggling to contain blazes discover that the bombs have torn open water and sewer lines. They are helpless. Thousands of civilians lie dead.
Hube's tanks attack again, along the Suchaya Mechetka, meeting a determined but mixed bag of opposition. Russian infantry counterattacks, forcing Hube back a mile and a quarter. The German bombing has turned Stalingrad into a heap of rubble, and panzers cannot advance through cratered streets, fires, and ruined buildings. Soviet troops turn the wreckage into perfect entrenchments.
The Germans will not reach their deadline of August 25th. Stalingrad sucks in more men and supplies, derailing the drive into the Caucasus.
War heats up at Leningrad, too, as Operation Sinyavino commences. The besieged defenders of Leningrad hurl the 55th Army at the town of the same name, seeking to break through and hook up with relieving forces of Volkhov Front. That front sends in 2nd Shock Army as its main punch.
Volkhov Front's attack runs into trouble from poor roads, but concentrates 100 artillery pieces and nine tanks per kilometer of front.
The assault goes in with a prolonged artillery bombardment on German fortifications. By day's end, the Soviets drive a mile deep. German troops counterattack with no success.
