What happened today? Part two.

Sunday, October 29, 1939

From Berlin... OKH issues a revision to Fall Gelb (Operation Yellow) with the main thrust shifted slightly south and less strength being sent against Holland. There is an ongoing debate as to how it should be modified further. Also, German warships and U-boats are given permission to attack passenger ships in convoys.

In Latvia... The first contingent of Soviet troops begin occupation of bases allotted by the Latvian-Soviet agreement.

Tuesday, October 29, 1940 www.onwar.com


In the United States... The first draftees are selected by lottery from the Selective Service registrations. In New York, the first person chosen is Yuen Chong Chan.



In Britain... French General Legentilhomme arrives in London to joins the Free French forces.

Wednesday, October 29, 1941 www.onwar.com


On the Eastern Front... The first of the Soviet reserves from Siberia take position in the defensive lines west of Moscow.

Thursday, October 29, 1942

In North Africa... The Battle of Alamein. British General Montgomery is persuaded to alter the direction of attack in the next phase of his offensive

In Madagascar... East African Allied troops capture Fianarantsoa, the largest town in the southern portion of the island and continue to advance at the last of the Vichy French resistance.

Sunday, October 29, 1944

In the Philippines... On Leyte, elements of US 24th Corps capture Abuyag, south of Dulag, while Catmon Hill is cleared and the advance to Dagami continues. At sea, carrier groups under the command of Admiral Davison and Admiral Bogan conduct air strikes. In two days, they destroy almost 100 Japanese planes for a loss of 15 American aircraft. The carrier USS Intrepid is damaged by a Kamikaze attack.

 

Monday, October 30, 1939 www.onwar.com


In Moscow... The USSR formally annexes the occupied Polish territories.
In Berlin... A German-Latvian treaty for the evacuation of Germans from the Baltic regions is signed.

In the North Atlantic... U-56 hits the British battleship HMS Nelson, the flagship of the Home Fleet, west of the Orkneys but the two torpedoes fail to explode.

In Britain... The first war film of the conflict, The Lion Has Wings, is premiered, featuring newsreel of a British air attack on a German fleet.

In London... A government white paper exposes Nazi brutality towards dissidents and Jews, including the concentration camp system.

Saturday, October 30, 1943


In Italy... The US 5th Army captures Mondragone on the west coast after penetrating the German Barbara Line defenses in the area. Other elements of the army, further inland, continue their advance.

On the Eastern Front... Soviet forces advancing across the Nogaysk Steppe reach Genichesk, cutting one land route with the Crimea, where sizeable German forces are located.

Monday, October 30, 1944 www.onwar.com


In the Philippines... On Leyte, troops of US 7th Infantry Division (part of US 24th Corps) take Dagami. As sea, two carriers are badly damaged by Kamikaze attacks as the ships of US Task Force 38 begin to withdraw toward Ulithi.

On the Western Front... Elements of Canadian 1st Army fight across south Beveland and reach the Walcheren Channel.

From Liberated Italy... In Caserta, the Greek government in exile bans the ELAS National Militia -- the Communist resistance movement.

 

Add-on: Winston Churchill was on board...

Indeed a missed opportunity for the Germans!

 

October 30, 1931

Baldur von Schirach is assigned Reichsjugendführer. He will make the Hitler Youth a powerful instrument to support total nazi control & power.

 

Tuesday, October 31, 1939 www.onwar.com


In Britain... The Royal Navy begins a world-wide hunt for the German pocket-battleship Graf Spee. Four battleships, 14 cruisers and 5 aircraft carriers are engaged in the effort.

In Rome... Mussolini reshuffles his cabinet, replacing pro-Nazi members with neutral members. Six ministries and several secretariats change. Starace is no longer Secretary of the Fascist Party. Count Ciano remains Foreign Minister. Grandi, who is sympathetic to the British, remains head of the Department of Justice. Mussolini believes in occasional "shuffling" of government posts, and these changes are not believed to reflect a change in foreign policy.

Thursday, October 31, 1940


Over Britain... Day 114 of the battle of Britain. This day marks the end of the continuous Luftwaffe raiding campaign.

In the Mediterranean... British forces land on the Greek island of Crete.

Friday, October 31, 1941


In the North Atlantic... The USS Reuben James, an American destroyer is sunk off the coast of Iceland by a German U-boat with the loss of 100 of the sailors on board. It is the first sinking an American warship in the undeclared war against the Germans in the Atlantic.

Sunday, October 31, 1943


On the Eastern Front... Soviet forces capture Chaplinka, thereby cutting all the railroad lines leading to the Crimean. Substantial German forces in the Crimea must now be supplied by sea.


Tuesday, October 31, 1944


In Occupied Denmark... Gestapo Headquarters, the Shell House in Aarhus, is destroyed by a precision bombing raid by the RAF. The objective of the attack is to destroy as many records as possible, to aid resistance members.

In Greece... German forces withdraw from Salonika. Remaining German island garrisons are now trapped. During recent weeks, numerous German troops on the islands in the Aegean have been removed by small vessels, despite Allied patrols.

On the Eastern Front... German Army Group North is cut off in the Courland Peninsula in Lithuania.

 

Thursday, November 2, 1939 www.onwar.com


In Moscow... Part of eastern Poland is incorporated into Belorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, following the results of a plebiscite in which the majority of the inhabitants living in the territory reputedly favored annexation. This completes the incorporation of all Polish territory occupied by the USSR.

In Britain... King George decorates 5 RAF pilots, leaders of a raid on the Kiel Canal.

Saturday, November 2, 1940


In the North Atlantic... German submarine U-31 is attacked and sunk by the British destroyer HMS Antelope. This is the second sinking of this submarine (see March 11, 1940).

Tuesday, November 2, 1943


In the Solomon Islands... US Task Force 39 detects the approach of the Japanese cruiser squadron led by Admiral Omori (steaming from Rabaul in New Britain Island to Bougainville), shortly after midnight. In the engagement that follows the Japanese lose 1 cruiser and 1 destroyer and most of the other ships are damaged. The Americans suffer damage to 2 cruisers and 2 destroyers. However, the Japanese force abandons its mission. On Bougainville, the US 3rd Marine Division expands its beachhead. During the day, Japanese aircraft attack the ships of US Task Force 39 without success. Aircraft from US Task Force 38 raid Buna and Buka. Meanwhile, the US 2nd Marine Parachute Battalion on Choiseul continues to engage Japanese forces. This is a diversion from the attack on Bougainville.

Thursday, November 2, 1944 www.onwar.com


On the Western Front... The Canadian 1st Army continues the battle of the Scheldt. Intense fighting is recorded on the island of Walcheren. Elements of the British 52nd Division capture Flushing. To the rear, on the English Channel coast, Zeebrugge and Heyst are cleared of German resistance. Meanwhile, British 7th Armored Division (an element of British 2nd Army) begins new attacks and achieves a limited advance. Forces of US 3rd Army launch a new attack as well.

Over Germany... During the day, the US 8th Air Force attacks the Leuna synthetic oil plant at Merseburg. The Americans claim 183 German fighters (including 4 jets) destroyed for the loss of 40 bombers and 28 fighters (including losses to antiaircraft defenses). During the night, Bomber Command attacks Dusseldorf with 992 bombers as well as sending smaller forces to strike other targets. A total of 20 planes are reported lost in all operations.

 

the heavy sturm fighters of IV.Sturm/JG 3 and II.Sturm/JG 4 scored 22 kills this date and losing about the same amount of Fw 190A's. and 7 P-51's were downed to JG 27's P-51's. A total of 98 German ac/ were lost to combat ops.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

NJG 1 and Stab. and II./NJG 2 were active this night against RAF bombers with many oif the calims over and in the area of Düsseldorf. NJg 2 was in transition of it's Ju 88G-1's to Ju 88G-6 nf's.
German nf force claimed 28 victories with nearly all of NJG 1's un-identified..........

~E

 

Friday, November 3, 1939 www.onwar.com


In Moscow... Talks continue between the USSR and Finland on Soviet requests for an exchange of territory and border alterations. Finnish counterproposals were presented, stating it recognized Soviet security needs but that Finland has now gone as far as its "independence, security and neutrality permit." The Finns refuse to allow the Soviets a military base in Finland.


Hmmm..heading for Winter War...

Sunday, November 3, 1940 www.onwar.com

Over Britain... This is the first night since September 7th that there is no raid on London. There have been 57 consecutive nights of attack and after tonight 10 more will follow. An average of 165 planes has attacked each night dropping 13,600 tons of high explosive and many incendiaries.

Monday, November 3, 1941


On the Eastern Front... In the Leningrad area, German forces of Army Group North continue to attempt to isolate the city by taking Tikhvin a railway center 100 miles east of the city. Fighting is fierce and the Soviet counterattacks are ineffective. Further south, Kursk falls to German units at the junction of Army Group Center and Army Group South .

Tuesday, November 3, 1942

In North Africa... Battle of El Alamein. Axis forces begin to retreat but are stopped when Hitler's order is received. The Italians are already in the process of withdrawal. The British are unable to continue to pressure the beleaguered troops, much to Rommel's surprise. They are having difficulty moving men and equipment through the minefields at a rapid pace.

In Washington... Results of the American Congressional and Gubernatorial Elections, the Republicans make gains in both the House (42 seats), the Senate (9 seats) and the elections of state governors (4 additional). President Roosevelt is a Democrat and these wins foretell difficulties in American domestic politics as well as a dissatisfaction with the Democratic Party.

Friday, November 3, 1944


On the Western Front... German resistance at Breskens is eliminated by forces of Canadian 1st Army. On Walcheren, British and Canadian forces achieve limited advances. Polish 1st Division and Canadian 4th Armored Division also record limited advances. The US 1st Army captures Schmidt, near Aachen.

 

Saturday, November 4, 1939 www.onwar.com


In Washington... A modification of the neutrality legislation passes into law. Although by its terms the ban on American ships and civilians in clearly defined war zones is confirmed, it does provide for supply of arms to belligerents on a "cash and carry" basis. Such arms must be ordered from private companies, paid for up front and transported to the war zone in the in ships provided by the purchaser. British naval strength means that, as is intended, only the Allies will benefit from this. Within a few days both the British and the French establish purchasing missions in Washington.

In Oslo... The British naval attache in Norway receives an anonymous (by a "German scientist who wishes you well") report revealing secrets of German long-range rockets and radar -- the "Oslo Report." A prototype proximity mine fuse is also left on the windowsill, with the report.

Wednesday, November 4, 1942 www.onwar.com


In North Africa... Battle of El Alamein. The British 10th Corps (Armored) reaches open ground. Heavy fighting with the Italian Ariete, German 90th Light and even German headquarters units leads to great losses on the Axis side. They break off to retreat. German General Von Thoma is captured while leading an advance. During the night, while Rommel's forces are retreating to Fuka, the British 8th Army does not follow despite orders from General Montgomery to do so. The battle as been a great success for the British as they have taken 30,000 Axis prisoners, over 1000 guns and the remain of 450 tanks. The once proud German divisions are to regimental level strength and the Italian formations are destroyed. The victory has a cost however, 13,500 British and Commonwealth casualties, 150 tanks destroyed and 300 damaged.

From London... The first meeting of the Cabinet Anti-U-boat Warfare Committee. Prime Minister Churchill is the Chairman. Other members include the service chiefs, government ministers and scientists from the fields of radar and operational research. This single decision making body gives the Allies a great advantage for the sharing of information and operational planning and is representative of the type of working relationship which the two nations have built for the war effort.

In the Mediterranean... 19 German and 21 Italian submarines begin to patrol around Gibraltar due to the increase of Allied shipping traffic in preparation for Operation Torch. They will achieve some success, but 6 submarines will be sunk and the destination of the transports will not be discovered.

Saturday, November 4, 1944


On the Eastern Front... In Hungary, Soviet forces capture Szolnok and later Cegled, 40 miles southeast of Budapest. Long-range Soviet artillery bombards Budapest.

On the Western Front... Elements of British 1st Corps (part of Canadian 1st Army) continues to advance toward the Maas estuary with the capture of Geertruidenberg. The fighting on Walcheren continues. British minesweepers reach Antwerp in the ongoing effort to clear the port and approaches. Most Allied supplies continue to be landed in Normandy at this time. Meanwhile, a German counterattack recovers Schmidt from the US 1st Army.

 

November 5, 1939

Hitler establishes November 12 1939 as the start of the wetern offensive. It will be delayed 29 times until May 10, 1940.

 

Wednesday, November 8, 1939 www.onwar.com


In Germany... A bomb, concealed in a supporting pillar, explodes in the Burgerbraukeller in Munich (the famous beer hall of the 1923 Nazi putsch), 20 minutes after Hitler leaves, upon the conclusion of a vehement anti-British speech predicting a five year war. Eight persons are killed. The bomb is rumored to have been planted by the Nazis as an excuse for measures against what remains of the German opposition and as anti-British propaganda.

In the Occupied Poland... Hans Frank, Governor of the General Government, in that part of former Poland occupied by the Germans but not annexed, consolidates plans to transport 600,000 Jews and 400,000 Poles from the incorporated territories in the General Government. The operation is to begin December 1st.

Friday, November 8, 1940


In the Balkans... The Italian 3rd Alpini Division is trapped in the area of the Pindus Gorges by the Greek counterattacks. The Greeks take over 5000 prisoners by November 10th

Saturday, November 8, 1941


In the Mediterranean... The British naval Force K, out of Malta, comprised of two cruisers and two destroyers, attacks an Italian convoy for north Africa sinking 7 transports and 1 escort vessel.

Sunday, November 8, 1942

In Algeria and Tunisia... Operation Torch. The Allies land in French North Africa.

From Berlin... Upon hearing news of the invasion, all U-boats capable are ordered to North Africa. There are 25 in all. They have some successes in strikes on the escort forces.

On the Eastern Front... In the Caucasus, Soviet forces go on the offensive on the Terek front and threaten to cut off some units of 3rd Panzer Corps.

Wednesday, November 8, 1944

In Germany... Austrian fighter ace (258 victories), Major Walter Nowotny, is killed in his Me262 which crashes near Achmer.

In London... After the German propagandist Joseph Goebbels publicly announces the V2 rocket campaign on Britain, Prime Minister Churchill admits that the mysterious explosions in southeast England, in recent weeks, are in fact the result of the missile strikes.

 

This is, as well-known nowadays, not true.

 

Thursday, November 9, 1939 www.onwar.com


In Holland... Two British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) officers, Major Richard Stevens and Captain S. Payne Best, are kidnapped by the Gestapo while attempting to contact members of the German resistance to the Nazis.
The Venlo Incident is a serious setback for British Intelligence. Both officers remain imprisoned until April 1945.

In Germany... The press and radio accuse Britain of organizing the attempted assassination of Hitler in Munich on November 8th.

In Helsinki... The government restates its position that Finland "cannot grant to a foreign military power military bases on her territory and within the confines of her frontiers."

In South Africa... An alleged Nazi plot by armed black shirts to sabotage vital industries in Johannesburg and Pretoria is revealed.

German maritime bomber strikes liner

Saturday, November 9, 1940

In Britain... Neville Chamberlain, the former prime minister, dies at the age of 71.

Sunday, November 9, 1941


On the Eastern Front... Tikhvin falls to German forces of Army Group North, further isolating Leningrad. In the Crimea in the south, Yalta falls to the German 11th Army.

Monday, November 9, 1942


From Vichy France... Prime Minister Laval gives permission to the Germans to use airfields in Tunisia. Marshal Petain, while publicly denouncing the invasion, privately sends encouragement to Admiral Darlan to negotiate with the Allies.

In Algeria and Tunisia... The US forces at Casablanca secure their beachheads. At Port Lyautey there is heavy fighting between French tanks and General Truscott's troops. Oran, target of the Center Task Force is still holding out, however General Anderson, who has landed to take command of 1st Army at Algiers in the east, is able to send armored columns rushing to the area for support. German troops begin to be flown into Tunisia.

Thursday, November 9, 1944

On the Western Front... Elements of US 3rd Army cross the Moselle River around Metz. Further south, US 12th Corps continues advancing beyond the Seille River, capturing Chateau Salins.

In Japan... The Japanese hang the Soviet spy Richard Sorge at Sugamo Prison in Tokyo. Sorge has been working for 8 years as the Tokyo correspondent for a German newspaper and during that time he has sent detailed information concerning German and Japanese plans to the Soviet Union. Among the information sent is a warning of the German attack on the USSR in 1941.

 

Friday, November 10, 1939 www.onwar.com


In Holland... The Dutch reinforce border troops, cancel all Army leave and prepare to flood the "inundation area" by opening sluice gates. These steps are reported to be precautions against invasion.

Tuesday, December 10, 1940


In North Africa... Sidi Barrani falls to the British attack. There are 20,000 prisoners already in the offensive. The coast road to the west has been cut by 7th Armored Division at Buq Buq.

In Washington... Roosevelt announces an extension of the export-license system. Iron ore, pig iron and many important iron and steel manufactures are brought within the system. Like previous measures this is aimed at Japan. The changes come into effect at the end of the year.

From Berlin... OKW issues a directive ordering the transfer of German 10th Fliegerkorps to south Italy and Sicily. Field Marshal Milch has been in Rome during the last few days to discuss the measures to help the Italian navy.

Monday, November 10, 1941


In London... British Prime Minister Winston Churchill announces that "should the United States become involved in a war with Japan, a British declaration of war will follow within the hour."

Tuesday, November 10, 1942


In Algeria and Tunisia... Oran falls to the American attack. In the east, troops under General Patton begin to move into the town. Admiral Darlan, takes up the Allied cause and broadcasts orders for all the French forces to cease fighting and join the Allies. A similar appeal is sent to the powerful French Fleet at Toulon.

In Germany... Hitler, Vichy France President Laval and Italian Foreign Minister Count Ciano meet in Munich to discuss developments in Africa.

In London... British Prime Minister Churchill describes the events in North Africa as the "beginning of the end."

Wednesday, November 10, 1943


On the Eastern Front... Soviet paratroops drop near Cherkassy, south of the Dniepr River and link up with partisan forces in the area. The Soviet 2nd Ukrainian Front is attacking towards Cherkassy and ferries tanks across the Dniepr River on rafts and pontoons. German forces launch counterattacks.

In the Soviet Union... Two new military decorations are announced: the "Victory Order" for senior officers; and the "Order of Glory" for lower ranks.

 

I did not know that Neville Chamberlain died so early in the war. I know that he made a fool of his self with the " peace is in hand " treaty he made with Hitler.

I suppose this should go in the "what if category " , but if Chamberlain remained in power was he very much of a fighter or would he have given in to the Germans ? Also how well did he get along with Stalin ?

 

This is only the impression I have gained but it seems that Chamberlain was a highly-effective domestic peacetime politician who genuinely desired peace.

But war is very different and Chamberlain was, I think, a 'broken man' -

'Cometh the hour, cometh the man' indeed....

 

1942 - Germany Invades Vichy France

On this day, Germany invaded Vichy France, violating the 1940 armistice between the two countries. Vichy France was the French regime established on July 2, 1940, when Germany authorized it as the operative government of occupied France. Its capital was Vichy, a city known for its thermal springs, located 200 miles southeast of Paris. The government was established under secret terms with Germany, signed by Marshal Henri Philippe Petain. The secret pact outlined the shared intentions of the two countries: "The Axis Powers and France have identical interest in seeing the defeat of England accomplished as soon as possible. Consequently, the [Vichy] French Government will support, within the limits of its ability, the measures which the Axis Powers may take to this end." Hitler's decision to invade Vichy France was a reaction to the Allied North Africa invasion just two days before. Soon after the invasion, Admiral Jean Francois Darlan, the Vichy France representative in North Africa, agreed to an armistice with the Allies and ordered his troops to cease hostilities. Angered by this concession, Hitler immediately scrapped his agreement with Petain and invaded Vichy France. Ultimately, though, Hitler's rash decision on November 10 came to little end. From that point on through the beginning of the liberation of France in June 1944, the Vichy regime was ignored by Germany.

 

You people evidently do not know what day this actually is. I will enlighten you...

Dear Folk,

228 years ago, at a drinking establishment
( where else? ) called Tun Tavern in Philidelphia, PA., Captain Samuel Nicholas recruited the MARINE CORPS. As they say the rest is history.

All over the world, as they are allowed to by your enemies, you MARINE CORPS, dressed as best as circumstances allow, with as much POP and ceremony possible, will cut as beautiful a cake as can be found nearby with the "Old Man's" Mamaluke Sword. The first piece is served to the youngest MARINE present, and the second to the oldest MARINE Present...All you fellows in those "other " formations must forgive me today...... for this is THEIR Birthday!!!.

"IN CONGRESS. The Delegates of the United Colonies of New-Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, Rhode-Island, Connecticut, New-York, New-Jersey, Pennsylvania, the Counties of New-Castle, Kent, and Suffex on Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North-Carolina, South-Carolina, and Georgia, to Samuel Nicholas Esquire.

We, reposing especial Trust and Confidence in your Patriotism, Valour, Conduct and Fidelity, Do by these Presents, constitute and appoint you to be Captain of Marines in the service of the Thirteen United Colonies of North-America, fitted out for the defense of American Liberty . . . .

The term "Commandant" did not come into use for over a quarter-century. Notwithstanding technicalities, Samuel Nicholas is considered the first of the lineage, the first Commandant.

1 The Captain Commandant Samuel Nicholas 1775-1781

______________________________________________________________________

This says it better than I can......
______________________________________________________________________


Esprit de Corps
By Daniel E. Sims
GySgt, USMC (Ret.)


Ask a Marine what's so special about the Marines and the answer would be "esprit de corps", an unhelpful French phrase that means exactly what it looks like - the spirit of the Corps. But what is that spirit, and where does it come from? The Marine Corps is the only branch of the U.S. armed forces that recruits people specifically to fight.

The Army emphasizes personal development (an army of one), the Navy promises fun (let the journey begin), and the Air Force offers security (it's a great way of life). Missing from all of these advertisements is the hard fact that it is a soldier's lot to suffer and perhaps to die for his people, and to take lives at the risk of his own.

Even the thematic music of the services reflects this evasion. The Army's Caisson Song describes a pleasant country outing over hill and dale, lacking only a picnic basket. Anchors Aweigh, the Navy's celebration of the joys of sailing, could have been penned by Jimmy Buffet. The Air Force song is a lyric poem of blue skies and engine thrust. All is joyful and invigorating, and safe. There are no land mines in the dales nor snipers behind the hills, no submarines or cruise missiles threaten the ocean jaunt, no bandits are lurking in the wild blue yonder.

The Marines’ Hymn, by contrast, is all combat. "We fight our country's battles", "first to fight for right and freedom", "we have fought in every clime and place where we could take a gun, in many a strife we've fought for life". The choice is made clear.

You may join the Army to go to adventure training, or join the Navy to go to Bangkok, or join the Air Force to go to computer school. You join the Marines to go to war.

But the mere act of signing the enlistment contract confers no status in the Corps. The Army recruit is told from his first minute in uniform that "you're in the Army now, soldier". Navy and Air Force enlistees are sailors or airmen as soon as they get off the bus at the training center. The new arrival at Marine Corps boot camp is called recruit, or private, or worse (much worse), but not Marine. Not yet; maybe not ever.

He or she must earn the right to claim the title, and failure returns you to civilian life without hesitation or ceremony.

My recruit platoon, Platoon 2210 at San Diego, California, trained from October through December of 1968. In Vietnam the Marines were taking two hundred casualties a week, and the major rainy season operation, Meade River, had not even begun. Yet our drill instructors had no qualms about winnowing out almost a quarter of their 112 recruits, graduating eighty-one. Note that this was post- enlistment attrition; every one of those who were dropped had been passed by the recruiters as fit for service. But they failed the test of boot camp, not necessarily for physical reasons (at least two were outstanding high-school athletes for whom the calisthenics and running were child's play). The cause of their failure was not in the biceps nor the legs, but in the spirit. They had lacked the will to endure the mental and emotional strain, so they would not be Marines.

Heavy commitments and high casualties notwithstanding, the Corps reserves the right to pick and choose. But the war had touched boot camp in one way. The normal twelve week course of training was shortened to eight weeks. Deprived of a third of their training time, our drill instructors hurried over, or dropped completely, those classes without direct relevance to Vietnam. Chemical warfare training was abandoned. Swimming classes shrank to a single familiarization session. Even hand-to-hand combat was skimped. Three things only remained inviolate: close order drill, the ultimate discipline builder; marksmanship training, the heart of combat effectiveness; and classes on the history, customs and traditions of the Corps.

History classes in boot camp? Stop a soldier on the street and ask him to name a battle of World War One. Pick a sailor at random to describe the epic fight of the Bon Homme Richard. Everyone has heard of McGuire Air Force Base, so ask any airman who Major Thomas B. McGuire was, and why he is so commemorated. I am not carping, and there is no sneer in this criticism. All of the services have glorious traditions, but no one teaches the young soldier, sailor or airman what his uniform means and why he should be proud to wear it. But ask a Marine about World War One, and you will hear of the wheat field at Belleau Wood and the courage of the Fourth Marine Brigade.

Faced with an enemy of superior numbers entrenched in tangled forest undergrowth, the Marines received an order to attack that even the charitable cannot just call ill-advised. It was insane. Artillery support was absent and air support hadn't been invented yet, so the Brigade charged German machine guns with only bayonets, grenades and indomitable fighting spirit.

A bandy-legged little barrel of a Gunnery Sergeant, Daniel J. Daly, rallied his company with a shout. "Come on, you sons-a-bitches! Do you want to live forever?" He took out three of those machine guns himself, and they would have given him the Medal of Honor except for a technicality. He already had two of them.

French liaison officers, hardened though they were by four years of trench bound slaughter, were shocked as the Marines charged across the open wheat field under a blazing sun and directly into enemy fire. Their action was so anachronistic on a twentieth century battlefield that they might as well have been swinging cutlasses. But the enemy was only human; they couldn't stand up to this. So the Marines took Belleau Wood. Every Marine knows this story, and dozens more. We are taught them in boot camp as a regular part of the curriculum. Every Marine will always be taught them. You can learn to don a gas mask anytime, even on the plane en route to the war zone, but before you can wear the emblem and claim the title you must know of the Marines who made that emblem and title meaningful. So long as you can march and shoot and revere the legacy of the Corps, you can take your place in the line. And that line is unified in spirit as in purpose.

A soldier wears branch of service insignia on his collar, and metal shoulder pins and cloth sleeve patches to identify his unit. Sailors wear a rating badge that identifies what they do for the Navy. Marines wear only the Eagle, Globe and Anchor, together with personal ribbons and their cherished marksmanship badges. There is nothing on a Marine's uniform to indicate what he or she does, nor (except for the 5th and 6th Regiments who wear a French fourragere for Belleau Wood) what unit the Marine belongs to. You cannot tell by looking at a Marine whether you are seeing a truck driver, a computer programmer, or a machine gunner. The Corps explains this as a security measure to conceal the identity and location of units, but the Marines penchant for publicity makes that the least likely of explanations.

No, the Marine is amorphous, even anonymous (we finally agreed to wear name tags only in 1992), by conscious design . Every Marine is a rifleman first and foremost, a Marine first, last and always. You may serve a four-year enlistment or even a twenty-year career without seeing action, but if the word is given, you WILL charge across that wheat field.

Whether a Marine has been schooled in automated supply, or automotive mechanics, or aviation electronics, is immaterial. Those things are secondary - the Corps does them because it must. The modern battle requires the technical appliances, and since the enemy has them, so do we. But no Marine boasts mastery of them. Our pride is in our marksmanship, our discipline, and our membership in a fraternity of courage and sacrifice.

"For the honor of the fallen, for the glory of the dead", Edgar Guest wrote of Belleau Wood, "the living line of courage kept the faith and moved ahead."

They are all gone now, those Marines who made a French farmer's little wheat field into one of the most enduring of Marine Corps legends. Many of them did not survive the day, and eight long decades have claimed the rest. But their action has made them immortal. The Corps remembers them and honors what they did, and so they live forever. Dan Daly's shouted challenge takes on its true meaning - if you hide in the trenches you may survive for now, but someday you will die and no one will care. If you charge the guns you may die in the next two minutes, but you will be one of the immortals. All Marines die, in the red flash of battle or the white cold of the nursing home. In the vigor of youth or the infirmity of age all will eventually die, but the Marine Corps lives on.

Every Marine who ever lived is living still, in the Marines who claim the title today. It is that sense of belonging to something that will outlive your own mortality that gives people a light to live by and a flame to mark their passing. Marines call it Esprit de
Corps !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
_________________________________________________
( Me again ) Today, all across the world, the
U. S. MARINES enjoy the nickname given by their enemies at Belleau Wood, "de Teufel Hunden", or The Devil Dogs. The woods were renamed Wood of the MARINES.

228 years of kicking the enemy's rear end and good luck to the next unit facing U. S. MARINES. You will need it, but sorry, .....it will NOT be enough...

now you have been enlightened as to what happened on this day....

 

Thanks for the information on life in the Marines. I was wondering if you knew if any Marine groups that served in the European theater during WWII ? I have never read of any but I know on some large navy ships they had Marines for security.

Seems like they would have used the Marines in landing in Africa, Italy, and France since they were all amphibios landings but they did not as far as I know of.

Also one other question I have always wondered about the Marines and that is why are they still under the Navy ? The Air Force got away from the Army around 1947 and the Coast Guard is not under the Navy so why can't the Marines be an independent service in your opinion ? They seem to be pretty independent today with their own fleet of assualt ships and carriers for the Harriers and heliocopters which is a good sign that they are trying to get away from the Navy but still they are not totally free for some reason. Thanks for any information you have about this.

 

Saturday, November 11, 1939 www.onwar.com


In Berlin... The Reich foreign ministry repeats earlier assurances that the neutrality of Holland and Belgium will be respected.

On the Western Front... There is limited activity by German patrols and artillery. The BEF holds Armistice Day services amid the great battlefields of the First World War.


Monday, November 11, 1940 www.onwar.com


In the Mediterranean... The British Mediterranean Fleet attacks the Italian base at Taranto. During the night 21 Swordfish aircraft attack in two waves and gain three torpedo hits on the brand new battleship Littorio and one each on Caio Duilio and Conte di Cavour. Two other ships are damaged. The aircraft have come from the carrier Illustrious and only two are lost. This brilliant attack will certainly be studied by other navies and the potential for such an attack on an enemy fleet in harbor is clear to the Japanese.

Tuesday, November 11, 1941 www.onwar.com


In East Africa... The battle to push the Italians out of east Africa begins, Allied forces with support from local guerillas attack Chilga to the west and Kulkaber to the south east of the main Italian position at Gondar. The Italians repel the attacks.

Wednesday, November 11, 1942 www.onwar.com


On the Eastern Front... In Stalingrad, German General Paulus begins his last major attack on the city.

In Algeria and Tunisia... French officials sign an armistice. Casablanca is occupied. The British 11th Brigade moves east from Algiers and the harbor at Bougie is taken in a landing by the 36th Brigade. Unfortunately, these forward forces have little or no air cover and the Luftwaffe begins sinking ships carrying important equipment. The Germans have now amassed 1000 troops in Tunisia.

From Berlin... Hitler orders German troops to advance into Vichy France.

In the Indian Ocean... A notable mismatched sea battle takes place when two Japanese merchant raiders attack the Indian minesweeper Bengal and the tanker Ondina. The Bengal armed with only one 3 inch gun, sinks the Hokoku Maru and drives the other ship, Aikoku Maru off. Both Japanese ships are armed with six 6 inch guns.

Thursday, November 11, 1943

In the Mediterranean... An Allied convoy east of Oran is attacked by about 50 German aircraft. It loses 3 transports and 1 tanker.

In the Bismarck Archipelago... American Admiral Sherman and Admiral Montgomery lead two separate carrier task forces in an attack on the Japanese base at Rabaul on New Britain Island. Five carriers and 185 planes are involved. The Japanese lost almost 70 of their defending fighters as well as 1 light cruiser and 2 destroyers in the attack. A Japanese air strike on the carriers fails.

Saturday, November 11, 1944


In the Philippines... Aircraft from 8 carriers of US Task Force 38 attack a Japanese convoy off Leyte, near Ormoc. Four destroyers, 1 minesweeper and 5 transports (carrying nearly 10,000 troops) are sunk.