November 2011

Siege of Leningrad Day 84. A sudden warm up decreases the flow of trucks on the Road of Life. Only 61 tons of food arrives in Leningrad compared to the daily consumption of 600 tons. Soviet troopship Maya, 3 minesweepers, 2 submarine hunters and a gunboat leave Kronstadt to assist the evacuation of troops from Hango Peninsula, Finland. They are attacked by Finnish gunboats and patrol boats but reach Hango safely next day.

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Siege of Leningrad Day 83. Soviet destroyers Slavny & Stoiki and troopship Josif Stalin leave Kronstadt (escorted by 5 T-class minesweepers, 4 torpedo boats and 7 submarine hunters) to evacuate the remaining 12,000 troops from Hango Peninsula, Finland. Icebreaker Oktyabr is sunk by German bombers but the force reaches Hango next day.

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Operation Typhoon. At 3.30 AM 37 miles North of Moscow, 7th Panzer Division (3rd Panzer Army) crosses the Yakhroma bridge over the Moskva/Volga canal. The tanks are very exposed and fall back across the bridge at 10 AM. German infantry hold a small bridgehead all day despite fierce counterattacks from Soviet 1st Shock Army as well as aerial bombing, artillery and Katyusha rocket launchers. The backdoor to Moscow is open but this is the Easternmost point of the German advance.

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At 00.46 AM 40 miles Northeast of Tobruk, Libya, U-559 sinks Australian sloop HMAS Parramatta, escorting ammunition ship SS Hanne into Tobruk. 160 crew and 8 passengers from gunboat HMS Gnat are killed, 21 survivors are rescued by British destroyer HMS Avon Vale and 3 swim ashore behind British lines.

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Japanese carrier fleet departs Tankan Bay, Iturup Island in the South Kuril Islands, for the 3300 mile voyage to attack Pearl Harbour, Hawaii (6 aircraft carriers Akagi, Kaga, Soryu, Hiryu, Shokaku & Zuikaku, 2 battlecruisers Hiei & Kirishima, 3 cruisers, 9 destroyers and 3 submarines plus 8 tankers and supply ships). In Washington, US Secretary of State Cordell Hull responds to proposals from Japan, presenting Ambassador Kichisaburō Nomura with a counterproposal demanding withdrawal of Japanese troops from French Indochina and China. US government knows that the terms will not be accepted and that Japan is likely to attack, bringing USA into the war.

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British battleship HMS Barham is sailing with the Mediterranean Fleet from Alexandria hunting Italian convoys heading for Libya. At 4.29 PM 70 miles North of Sidi Barrani, Egypt, U-331 sinks HMS Barham with 3 torpedoes. HMS Barham rolls over in 4 minutes and her magazines explode (862 crew lost, 449 survivors rescued by destroyers HMS Jervis, Jackal, Nizam & Hotspur). VIDEO of sinking.

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Operation Crusader. While British tanks reorganize and repair after the battle at Sidi Rezegh, Rommel gambles that the Allied excursion into Libya can be routed by further disrupting the rear echelons and supply lines (a tactic Rommel used so successfully in France last year). His aim is a repeat of Crüwell’s ride around the British yesterday, although on a broader sweep – to swing his Panzers behind the British tanks from the South, scatter the Allied infantry, link up with the German garrisons at Bardia, Sollum & Halfaya Pass and then advance into Egypt. At 10.30 AM, he leads 15th and 21st Panzer Divisions in a “dash to the wire”.

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Operation Crusader. Confused fighting continues around Sidi Rezegh. Allied infantry arrive near Sidi Rezegh having covered 50 miles across the desert from the Egyptian border in 2 days. Rommel sends General Ludwig Crüwell with 15th Panzer and Italian Ariete Divisions circling around the British tanks from the South, to disorganize the Allied rear echelons and return next morning. Overnight, confused and beaten, British 7th Armored Division withdraws 20 miles having lost 60% of its tanks. Germans take control of Sidi Rezegh. General Cunningham commanding British 8th Army begins to doubt his ability to beat the Panzers.

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At 0.38 AM, a Swordfish of 830 Squadron torpedoes Italian cruiser Abruzzi which loses her stern but is able to reach Messina, Sicily, under her own steam. The Swordfish is shot down (1 killed, 1 aircrew taken prisoner by Italian destroyer Pessagno).

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Operation Crusader. A massive clash of armor begins, lasting 3 days, as 15th Panzer Division and British 7th Armored Division converge on the airfield at Sidi Rezegh (largest tank battle in North Africa so far). New Zealand 2nd and Indian 4th infantry Divisions bypass German garrisons at Bardia, Sollum and Halfaya Pass and march to the guns to support the battle at Sidi Rezegh. Simultaneously, the Tobruk garrison attacks East to link up with the forces coming from Egypt. German infantry block the breakout, holding the Allied troops at the El Duda ridge. Rommel is so desperate for fuel that Italian cruiser Cardona leaves Brindisi unescorted carrying fuel drums lashed to the deck, arriving at Benghazi next day.

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