Indeed Bagration was a huge loss but anyway, so was Falaise as Germans lost almost all their heavy weaponry and vehicles there and again crossing the Seine later on. As a potential collapse of the front I have started to see the Normandy situation after Falaise as difficult as the eastern front after Bagration , and von Rundstedt made a miracle making a front at all with the troops he gathered from everywhere possible. Germany was in total chaos on both fronts about at the same time.

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This one´s great!

From Williamson Murray "Luftwaffe":

In 1933 on the occasion of founding the Air Ministry, not only personnel with flying experience moved to the Ministry but also highly trained officers from the army´s general staff. Blomberg offered Göring a choice between Walter Wehrer and....wait a sec...Erich von Manstein (!) for the position of Chief of Staff of the Luftwaffe. You know who was chosen...

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http://www.military.com/Content/More...=dday_leaders8

During the buildup to Operation Overlord there were differing opinions on the best method of utilizing the Allied air power in support of the invasion troops. Leigh-Mallory, as AEAF Commander in charge of all tactical airforces based in England, was characteristically outspoken in support of his "Transportation Plan". The "Transportation Plan" was an interdiction campaign that would encompass all Allied tactical and strategic air power and bring it to bear on the Axis forces throughout France and Germany. It had the singular purpose of targeting the transportation systems linking France and Germany. By solely targeting rail marshalling yards and associated service depots, Leigh-Mallory felt that German military traffic could be brought to a stand still. This would support the invasion by preventing German High Command from deploying its mobile reserve to the landing site at Normandy. Leigh-Mallory felt that by implementing the "Transportation Plan" ninety days prior to D-Day would allow the necessary time needed to saturate infrastructure targets across France and Belgium. By championing this approach Leigh-Mallory came into confrontation with Lt. General Carl 'Tooey' Spaatz, commander of the U.S. Strategic Air Force (USSTAF). Spaatz felt that the strategic bombing of aircraft factories and oil refineries was the quickest way to support an invasion and bring the Axis to its knees. After much debate on these courses of the air campaign, the 'Transportation Plan' finally received the approval of General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Allied Commander. Leigh-Mallory took command of all Allied air power, both tactical and strategic, for Operation Overlord. His coordination of these air assets against the railroads and military traffic traveling over them proved to be of incalculable value to the success of the D-Day invasion. By June 6, 1944, rail traffic was sufficiently interrupted as to pose a logistical nightmare to the defending German army and the Luftwaffe units in France had been decimated to a point where they posed little threat to the invasion force. Through the implementation of the 'Transportation Plan' as part of the overall invasion, combined with the failure of the German High Command to recognize Normandy as the actual invasion site, the Allied forces were able to establish a firm foothold on the Continent and begin the drive east to Berlin.


What about Sir Arthur Harris?

Harris was, nevertheless, in full accord with Spaatz, the American strategic Commander, in totally rejecting Leigh-Mallory's transportation plan for Operation Overlord which demanded the diversion of the bombing force from its strategic offensive under the Pointblank directive tot he assault on German communications and supplies in and around the invasion area prior to D-Day itself. He, furthermore, felt an intense personal disregard for Leigh-Mallory who, although Commander in Chief of the Allied Expeditionary Air Force, he virtually ignored . Bomber Command, nevertheless, played an invaluable part in the D-Day preparations.

http://expage.com/wwiigen26

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More Air War WW2 facts:

From Bahnsen-O´Donnell: Die Katakombe- Das ende in der Reichskanzlei ( Finnish version though )

2/3 of the bombs dropped to Berlin in WW2 were dropped in February-April 1945!!

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Thunderbolt: General Creighton Abrams and the Army of His Times (Warriors)
by Lewis Sorley


Lewis Sorley quote Life magazine reporter Will Lang´s description of lieutenant colonel Creighton Abrams´37th Tank battalion headlong 58-hour-long drive to Rhine in March 1945:

Abrams and his outfit( 37th tank battalion )destroyed more than 300 German motor vehicles, 75 artillery pieces, 75 AT guns, 15 Tiger and Panther tanks, 20 "sreaming meemies" and overran a rear-area German hospital with 80 patients, three enemy ammunition dumps, one ordnance depot, one fuel dump and a German army headquarters where annoyed German lieutenant General ( Edwin Graf von Rothkirch und Trach ) and most of his staff were captured while still at their desks.

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From Griffiths "Marshal Petain" (1970)

On Churchill´s note on 11th June 1940 that the situation in war was like that in March 1918:

"Yes, the front was re-established. You, the English were routed. But I sent forty divisions to get you out of trouble.Today, it is we who are being broken to bits. Where are your forty divisions?" said Marshal Petain.

As recalled by De Gaulle.

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The Ju 87R-for Norway operations!!



Why was this ( extra fuel tanks ) not used for fighter planes in BoB??



http://1000aircraftphotos.com/Contri...bista/3110.htm

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Göring and art battles....

Göring imposed his own schedule of priority on the French seizures, establishing three arbitrary categories of confiscation (presumably for the record, since his own choices were never opposed): first, those works destined for Hitler and Linz; second, those for the Göring Collection at Carinhall; third, those desired "for purposes of the National Socialist Party."

http://www.theatlantic.com/unbound/f...old/hitler.htm

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Y stations

The 'Y' stations, were listening stations set up in various regions during World War 2, and consisted of several short wave communications receivers tuned into various frequencies. The 'Y' station operators had to have excellent Morse code skills, and would spend their time listening for unusual Morse code signals, usually sent in code by enemy radio operators. The operators would then write down the coded message as it was sent, the message would then find its way to a code breaking station such as Bletchley Park, where the code breaking teams would go to work on it attempting to break the enemy code.

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/dj.mapeley/park.html

Not just Ultra info was important!

The Kasserine Pass Fiasco

http://www.bletchleypark.org.uk/dchi...&sectioncode=3

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Victory Over Gold, by Nicolas Trudgian

Frustrated by the absence of Luftwaffe aircraft over the Normandy beaches on D-Day, Allied fighter pilots were spoiling for a fight. When a dozen JU88s appeared over Gold Beach on the following morning, June 7, 1944, the patrolling Spitfires of 401 Squadron wasted no time in getting into the fray.

In the ensuing dogfight 401 Squadron's Canadian pilots destroyed no fewer than six of the JU88s, and the attack on the beach was averted.

Nicolas Trudgian recreates the scene as Flying Officer Arthur Bishop, son of WW1 Ace Billy Bishop, brings down one of the JU88s that day.

http://www.aviatorart.com/trudgian/t-vic.htm

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Allied gun camera footage:

http://www.web-birds.com/8th/339/gun/gun.html

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Kai,
As an aside on the Y service stations, these were usually manned by impressed radio Hams who had a special permit to keep their own equipment. All other hams had their sets confiscated on outbreak of war.The stations themselves were administered by MI6 (I think).
Basically, the Y service stations operated in underground metal tanks (like petrol station tanks), to minimise interference from external sources as much as possible. Above ground, there would be an aerial tower and at least one hut for the relief operator, and cooking/sleeping etc.
The equipment ran on battery power, due to most of these stations being built in the back of beyond! Operators were required to listen to a predetermined set of frequencies for a set period every day, and stations were usually grouped in threes in order to get a triangulation on interesting signals.This was achieved using a piece of equipment called a Goniometer, which was basically two metal loops connected to air spaced capacitors for tuning. When the dial was turned, the loops moved in opposite directions and nulled out interference to allow the desired signal to be pinpointed.
About 15 years ago, there was an article in Shortwave Magazine about a farmer in England who decided to get rid of the underground obstruction which had interfered with ploughing on his land for decades.
He hired a JCB and started digging.....and eventually he found this big metal tank which turned out to be a lost Y station. No-one even knew it was there.

Regards,
Gordon GM0RMT

[ 06. March 2004, 01:16 PM: Message edited by: The_Historian ]

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Regards,

Gordon
http://www.freewebs.com/thehistoryvault/
http://s2.photobucket.com/albums/y20/Historian/

The Hague and V-2 launching sites:

Duindigt: from 13 September 1944 until mid March 1945, when the site was blown up by the Germans;

Ockenburg Airfield: from October 1944

Bloemendaal: from 3 October 1944

Oude Scheveningseweg (Kerkhoflaan, De Bataaf park): from early November 1944

Waterpartij (Van Stolkweg; Prof. P.S. Gerbrandyweg/Belvedèreweg, Kanaalweg, incl. Westbroekpark): from November 1944

Zorgvliet (Jacob Catslaan, Johan de Wittlaan): from 1 November 1944

Statenkwartier (Stadhouderslaan, Statenplein, Statenlaan, W. de Zwijgerlaan, Fred. Hendrikplein): from 1 November 1944

Haagse Bos (near Château Bleu/Roomhuis): from early March 1945 to replace the Duindigt site

Rijswijk (De Naald): from 23 to 27 October 1944.

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From mid October 1944 launches were also conducted from the Staalduinse Bos near Hoek Van Holland, about 25 km from The Hague

http://www.astronautix.com/articles/v2lhague.htm

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The book of Frederick the Great by Thomas Carlyle
is the one that Hitler and Göbbels read all the time, if you wish to know what they read...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Carlyle

His last major work was the epic life of Frederick the Great. In this Carlyle tried to show how an heroic leader can forge a state, and help create a new moral culture for a nation. For Carlyle, Frederick epitomised the transition from the liberal Enlightenment ideals of the eighteenth century to a new modern culture of spiritual dynamism: embodied by Germany, its thought and its polity. The book is most famous for its vivid portrayal of Frederick's battles, in which Carlyle communicated his vision of almost overwhelming chaos mastered by leadership of genius. However, the effort involved in the writing of the book took its toll on Carlyle, who became increasingly depressed, and subject to various probably psychosomatic ailments.

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But it seems that Hitler and Goebbels ignorned some facts about Friedrich 'der Große' like he was an enlightened monarch who believed in human rights and freedom —being personal friend of Voltaire, who the nazis despised along all the ideals of the French Revolution—, a man who relied on his subordinates, who liked, appreciated and expanded culture instead of destroying it. And of course they ignored the great King's weakness for tall and handsome lads...

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"War is less costly than servitude, the choice is always between Verdun and Dachau." - Jean Dutourd, French veteran of both world wars

"A mon fils: depuis que tes yeux sont fermes les miens n’ont cessé de pleurir." - Mère française, Verdun

And wasn´t it the same man Frederick the Great that said "He who defends everything defends nothing?" Hitler did´n think too much on that quote though...

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Indeed he was... That's why the Third Reich is so fascinating and funny... contradictions to everything!

And by the way, I forgot to mention this:

You're completely right, Kai. If you compare 'Bagration' with Normandy then Normandy doesn't look that awesome. But if you put on the table that nearly 1/3 of the Wehrmacht was there and 2/3 in the east you can see that 80% of that 1/3 in Normandy was destroyed as well as 80% of those 2/3 in Russia.

After those terrible annihilation battles —in proportion, of course— there remained almost nothing between the Allies and Germany.

After Falaise there were no German forces between Normandy and the German border and after 'Bagration' there were almost no German forces between the Vistula and Germany... Fortunately for the Germans there is logistics to stop the enemy!

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"War is less costly than servitude, the choice is always between Verdun and Dachau." - Jean Dutourd, French veteran of both world wars

"A mon fils: depuis que tes yeux sont fermes les miens n’ont cessé de pleurir." - Mère française, Verdun

http://www.goforbroke.org/history/hi..._champagne.asp

One day, a Japanese-American soldier was on guard duty in the hills overlooking the harbor at Menton. He spotted what looked like a big fish stuck near a sandbar. He called down, and some other Nisei investigated. Everyone was hoping for some sashimi (raw fish). Instead, the “big fish” turned out to be a one-man German submarine. The driver had mistaken Menton for a harbor five miles away in Italy. The driver motioned for the Japanese American soldier to push him off the sandbar. The Nisei pointed his Tommy gun and motioned for the German to surrender. Eventually the 232nd Combat Engineer Company pulled the sub ashore and sent it to the Navy. It was the only time in military history that the Navy received a captured submarine from the Army.(?)

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Vichy France facts:

It takes its name from the government's capital in Vichy, south-east of Paris.

The French Army was reduced to 100,000 men and the French prisoners of war would remain in captivity.

The French had to pay the occupation costs of the German troops, and prevent any French people leaving the country.

Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité (Freedom, Equality, Brotherhood), the French national motto, was replaced by Travail, Famille, Patrie (Labour, Family and Country).

http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionar...Vichy%20France

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