1940 Chronology: 30 April

In Norway, the German troops advancing from Oslo and Trondheim join up at Dombas.
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Bibliography:
World War II Magazine Day-by-Day Desk Diary, 1989

Quotes: Benito Mussolini

"War is to man what maternity is to a woman. From a philosophical and doctrinal viewpoint, I do not believe in perpetual peace."

Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 1883 – 28 April 1945) was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism.

Mussolini became the 40th Prime Minister of Italy in 1922 and began using the title Il Duce by 1925. After 1936, his official title was "His Excellency Benito Mussolini, Head of Government, Duce of Fascism, and Founder of the Empire". Mussolini also created and held the supreme military rank of First Marshal of the Empire along with King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy, which gave him and the King joint supreme control over the military of Italy. Mussolini remained in power until he was replaced in 1943; for a short period after this until his death, he was the leader of the Italian Social Republic.

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"Wars and Why They Start,"
The Military Quotation Book: More than 1,200 of the Best Quotations About War, Leadership, Courage, Victory and Defeat, edited by James Charlton, 2002.

1940 Chronology: 28 April

In Norway, an attempt by the Allied XV Brigade under GEneral Sir Bernard Paget to advance on Gudbrandsdalen from Trondheim fails. General Paget tells the Norwegian Commander-in-Chief General Otto Ruge that withdrawal from central Norway seems inevitable.

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Bibliography:
World War II Magazine Day-by-Day Desk Diary, 1989

1940 Chronology: 27 April

Hitler tells General Keitel, Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, and General, Jodl, Chief of Staff of the Supreme Command of the Wehrmacht, that he intends to launch his offensive against France in the first week of May.

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Bibliography:
World War II Magazine Day-by-Day Desk Diary, 1989

Deceiving Hitler, by Terry Crowdy

Deceiving Hitler: Double Cross and Deception in World War II, by Terry Crowdy
Osprey Publishing, 2008
305 pages plus Appendices, Acronyms, Endnotes, Index and 16 pages of b&w photos
Library: 940.5486 CRO

Description
In the war against Hitler, the Allies had to use every ounce of cunning and trickery that they possessed. Combining military deceptions with the dounble agent network run by the intelligence services, they were able to send the enemy misleading information about Allied troops, plans and operations.

From moving imaginary armies around the desert to putting a corpse with fake papers floating in the Mediterranean, and from fabricating successful bombing campaigns to the convoluted deceptionsthat kept part of the German forces away from Normandy prior to D-Day, Terry Crowdy explores the deception war that combined the double agent network with ingenious plans to confuse and hoodwink the Fuhrer.

Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Preface
Prologue
1. Snow
2. The Invasion Spies
3. Burning Lies
4. The System
5. Snow Fall
6. The 'Dicky' Period
7. Spanish Intrigues
8. 'A' Force
9. The Controlling Officer
10. El Alamein
11. The Development of Agent Cases
12. Mincemeat
13. London Calling
14. The Fortitude Plan
15. By Special Means
16. Vindication
17. Mediterranean Swan Song
18. The final Deceits
Epilogue
Appendices
A - The Mastermind Memo
B - The Garbo Network
C - Spy Codenames
D - Operations and Plans
E - Acronyms
Sources and Further REading
Endnotes
Index

Ship of Ghosts, by James D. Hornfischer

Ship of Ghosts: The Story of the USS Houston, FDR's Legendary Lost Cruiser, and the Epic Saga ofher Survivors, by James D. Hornfischer
Bantam Books, 2006
431 pages, plus Acknowledgments, Bibliography, Notes, Men of the USS Houston and the Lost Battalion, KIA or died in captivity, index. 32 glossy b&w photos
Library: 940.542598 HOR

Description
"Son, we're going to Hell."

The navigator of the USS Houston confided these prophetic words to a young officer as he and his captain charted a course into US naval legend. Renowned as FDR's favorite warship, the cruiser USS Houston was a prize target trapped in the far Pacific after Pearl Harbor. Without hope of reinforcement, her crew faced a superior Japanese force ruthlessly committed to total conquest. It wasn't a fair fight, but the men of the Houston would wage it to the death.

Hornfischer brings to life the awesome terror of nighttime naval battles that turned decks into strobe-lit slaughterhouses, the deadly rain of fire from Japanese bombers, and the almost superhuman effort of the crew as they miraculously escaped disaster again and again--until their luck ran out during a daring action in Sunda Strait. There, hopelessly outnumbered, the Houston was finally sunk and its survivors taken prisoner. For more than three years their fate would be a mystery to families waiting at home.

In the brutal privation of jungle POW camps dubiously immortalized in such films as The Bridge on the River Kwai, the war continued for the men of the Houston--a life-and-death struggle to survive forced labor, starvation, disease and psycological torture. Here is the gritty, unvarnished story of the infamous Burma-Thailand Death Railway glamorized by Hollywood, but which in reality mercilessly reduced men to little more than animals, who fought back against their dehumanization with dignity, ingenuity, sabotage, will-power, and the undying faith that their country would prevail.

Using journals and letters, rare historical documents, including testimony from postawr Japanese war crimes tribunals, and the eyewitness accounts of Houston survivors, James Hornfischer has crafted an account of human valor so riveting and awe-inspiring, it's easy to forget that every word is true.

Table of Contents
1. On Asia Station
2. A Bloodstained Sea
3. The Emperor's Guests
4. In the Jungle of the Kwai
5. rendezvous with Freedom

Acknowledgments
Bibliography
Notes
Men of the USS Houston (CA-30) and the Lost Battalion Killed in Action or Died in Captivity (1942-1945)
Photo Credits
Index

1940 Chronology: 24 April

In Norway, the Germans advance on all fronts. The British attempt to reach Trondheim fails.

The French premeir, Paul Reynaud, urges Mussolini to not enter the war.

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Bibliography:
World War II Magazine Day-by-Day Desk Diary, 1989

Quote: Admiral Arleigh A Burke

"There never is a convenient place to fight a war when the other man starts it."

Admiral Arleigh Albert '31-knot' Burke (October 19, 1901 – January 1, 1996) was an admiral of the United States Navy who distinguished himself during World War II and the Korean War, and who served as Chief of Naval Operations during the Eisenhower and Kennedy administrations.


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"Wars and Why They Start,"
The Military Quotation Book: More than 1,200 of the Best Quotations About War, Leadership, Courage, Victory and Defeat, edited by James Charlton, 2002.

Former sailor recalls World War II service

WisconsinRapidsTribune.com: Former sailor recalls World War II service

Every time Ken LeMoine looks at his right arm, he thinks of World War II.

As an 18-year-old Navy medic aboard the USS Wilkes-Barre in the South Pacific, the Marshfield resident saw more bloodshed than most people see in a lifetime. But his right arm and its large tattoo of a Hawaiian girl make him smile. The tattoo reminds him of his short stop in Honolulu, Hawaii, where he and his comrades were able to get off the ship for a few hours of much-needed liberty.

"I had $9 left, and it cost me $9 for this tattoo. Believe me, I've had fun with it all these years," LeMoine, 85, said.

Years later when LeMoine opened a shoe store in Marshfield, he said children always wanted to see his tattoo.

"I'd make them dance (to see) it," he said.

It's been about 65 years since he returned home from the war, but he has vivid memories of his time overseas. Earlier this week, he recalled his experiences on a Never Forgotten Honor Flight. He traveled with about 100 other Wisconsin veterans to Washington, D.C., to see the World War II memorial.

LeMoine volunteered for the draft in 1943 after he graduated high school.

"We knew my number was coming up, so I volunteered for the draft. When I got to Milwaukee, the Army, Marines and the Navy were all trying to get me to come to their lines," he said.

Initially, LeMoine wanted to be a "tough Marine," but he had second thoughts before enlisting.

"I thought, well the Army sleeps in foxholes. The Marines sleep in foxholes. The Navy, as long as they're on a ship, they've got a clean bed and they've got good food. So I took the Navy," he said.

He was eventually assigned to commission the USS Wilkes-Barre, a Navy cruiser that served during the last year of the war in the Pacific.

Life aboard the ship
The crew first conducted a shakedown cruise in South America. The ship was new, so they had to make sure everything was working properly. Afterward, they picked up soldiers in Panama City, Panama, to take to San Diego. Then, they brought soldiers from San Diego to Honolulu, where he was disgusted to see the aftermath of the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, which prompted the U.S. to join the war on Dec. 7, 1941.

"It was very sickening when we pulled in there to see all those ships ... that the Japanese had bombed," LeMoine said.

After the short stop in Hawaii, the ship headed for the South Pacific in early 1944. During his time at sea, his ship, the "Willie Bee," took part in strikes and rescue missions in the Pacific.

LeMoine was one of about 15 pharmacists mates on board, and there also were two doctors and a dentist. He treated the wounded, and he gave morphine, stitches and whatever else was necessary.

Saving a pilotLeMoine's most poignant memory of the war is saving a pilot who almost died when the USS Bunker Hill was hit by two suicide planes near Okinawa, Japan.

"This plane came out of the sky and that was the first plane that hit the Bunker Hill and then the second plane hit. The gunners didn't get it. They shot at it but they didn't get it because they fly low," he said.

The Wilkes-Barre went alongside the Bunker Hill to fight the fires and help evacuate some of the crew. It took about 360 wounded patients on board, including the pilot who was burned from head to toe.

"Everything was exploding. A lot of them just jumped over the side and had to be picked up (by us)," he said.

He gave the pilot 28 blood and plasma transfusions in about five days, which saved the pilot's life.

"I tell you, it was a feather in my hat and I just felt real proud and I still feel proud today," he said.

But not all of the patients who were treated on the USS Wilkes-Barre were as lucky.

"If you didn't think there was a chance of saving them, you went to someWDH - Body Copy else you can save," he said. "There were just so many medical people. I wanted to save as many people as I could."

The tripLeMoine said he never feared for his life.

"I looked at it this way, and I look at it this way today; when God wants me, God'll take me. If God wanted me, he could have taken me out in the South Pacific," he said. "At 18 years old, I guess I didn't realize the dangers we were in."

Monday, as he and the veterans toured the war memorials in D.C., he said he couldn't believe all the thank yous and applause they received from tourists.

"I didn't think I was that important," he said.

1940 Chronology: 22 April

In Norway, the GErmans press northwards with two columns along the rivers Rena and Glomma.

During the afternoon German units attack in the Balbergkamp sector, a few miles north of Lillehammer.

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Bibliography:
World War II Magazine Day-by-Day Desk Diary, 1989

1940 Chronology: 21 April

In Norway, the German advance continues.

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Bibliography:
World War II Magazine Day-by-Day Desk Diary, 1989

1940 Chronology: 20 April

In Norway, French troops land. The GErmans make contact with the Norwegian defence lines in front of Lillehammer, Rena and Aamot.

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Bibliography:
World War II Magazine Day-by-Day Desk Diary, 1989

1940 Chronology: 19 April

In Norway, British troops land at Andalsnes.

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Bibliography:
World War II Magazine Day-by-Day Desk Diary, 1989

Women Pilots of World War II, by Jean Hascall Cole

Women Pilots of World War II, by Jean Hascall Cole
University of Utah Press, 1992
155 pages, plus Glossary and index
Library: 940.544 COL

Description
Collected by one of the forty-nine members of Class 44-W-2, Jean Hascall Cole's interviews with her former classmates document their valuable contribution to the history of women, aviation, and the military.

Women Pilots of World War II presents a rare look at the personal experiences of the Women Air Force Service Pilots (WASP) by recording the adventures from one of eighteen classes of women to graduate from the Army Air Force's flight training school during World WAr II. This unique oral history [transcriptions] verifies the flying accomplishments of these women from as early as 1943.

The women pilots of class 44-W-2 flew every type of aircraft, including heavy bombers, transports and pursuits. Their experiences included crashes on takeoff, midair collisions, forced landings, parachute jumps from sabotaged aircraft, and many other exciting tales.

Women Pilots of World War II starts with their training at Avenger Field in Sweetwater, Texas; follows them to their bases, and documents what happened once the WASP program was deactivated in December 1944. In conclusion, the pilots speculate on the changing roles of women in our society, the value of their service to their country, and their contribution to the women's movement and society in general.

Table of Contents
Foreword
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. How it began
2. Avenger Field and primary training
3. Ground school and basic training
4. Instrument training and Link
5. Cross-country and advanced training
6. B-26 School
7. Other bases, other planes
8. Test pilots and ferry pilots
9. Pursuit pilots and bomber pilots
10. Deactivation and beyond
Epilogue
Glossar
Index

1940 Chronology: 17 April

The British cruiser Suffolk shells Sola airfield, near Stavanger. Attacked and severely damaged by GErman aircraft, the Suffolk manages to return to Scape Flow.

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Bibliography:
World War II Magazine Day-by-Day Desk Diary, 1989

What are light and heavy cruisers?

Light cruiser
A light cruiser is a type of small-medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armoured cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armour in the same way as an armoured cruiser: a protective belt and deck. Prior to this smaller cruisers had been of the protected cruiser model, possessing armoured decks only.

Heavy Cruiser
The heavy cruiser was a type of cruiser, a naval warship designed for long range, high speed and an armament of naval guns roughly 203mm calibre (8 inches). The heavy cruiser can be seen as a lineage of ship design from 1915 until 1945, although the term 'heavy cruiser' only came into formal use in 1930. The heavy cruiser's immediate precursors were the light cruiser designs of the 1900s and 1910s, rather than the armoured cruisers of before 1905.

World War II

In the World War II era, light cruisers had guns ranging from 5 inch (127 mm), as seen in the Atlanta-class anti-aircraft cruiser, to 6.1 inch, though the most common size by far was 6 inch. Heavy cruisers usually had a battery of 8 inch (203 mm) guns. In the years leading up to World War II, with the London Naval Treaty making it impossible to build a balanced heavy cruiser design within tonnage limits, this led to the construction of a great number of light cruisers of 10,000 ton with twelve to fifteen 6-inch (152 mm) guns that were otherwise identical to heavy cruisers.

Heavy cruiser construction was phased out in Britain, France and Italy during the mid 1930s. However, the breakout of World War II allowed nations to skirt the London Treaty and exceed the 10,000 ton limit. By the end of the war, the US Navy's ships classed as "large cruisers" had displacements of nearly 30,000 tons (the Alaska-class cruiser), while light cruisers stayed in the region of 10,000 tons (although sometimes reaching 12,000 or 13,000 tons). Most modern guided missile cruisers have a similar displacement (10,000 tons for Ticonderoga, 12,000 for Slava, 28,000 for Kirov).

1940 Chronology: 15 April

In Norway, the first Allied contingents land near Narvik. This takes place in the early hours, between 15 and 16 April, 1940.

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Bibliography:
World War II Magazine Day-by-Day Desk Diary, 1989

World War II-era bunker found in central Warsaw

Monstersandcritics.com: World War II-era bunker found in central Warsaw

Warsaw - A construction crew in Poland uncovered a German bunker from World War II during work on a new tram line in central Warsaw, local media reported Thursday.

The bunker, discovered at the capitol's central Savior's Square, will be removed and taken to a museum, officials said.

The structure was one of several dozen built in the capital after the 1944 Warsaw Uprising against Nazi Germany. It was built by Germans to defend themselves from the advancing Soviet Red Army.

A similar bunker was found in 2004 during the construction of a skyscraper in central Warsaw. That bunker was later transported to the Warsaw Rising Museum.

1940 Chronology: 13 April

In Norway, the Second Battle of Narvik takes place and seven German destroyers are sunk.

The British government gives a new directive to the head of the RAF's Bomber Command, Sir Charles Portal; in the event of a German invasion of BElgium and Holland, bombing targets are to be troop concentrations and lines of communication and installations in the Ruhr; heavy bombers will operate mainly at night.

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Bibliography:
World War II Magazine Day-by-Day Desk Diary, 1989

1940 Chronology: 11 April

In Norway, the Commander-in-Chief of the Norwegian army, Major General Laake, resigns, and General Otto Ruge is appointed in his place.

In Belgium, all army leave is cancelled.

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Bibliography:
World War II Magazine Day-by-Day Desk Diary, 1989

Tuskegee Airmen: 'Rock Stars' Of American History

NPR.com: Tuskegee Airmen: 'Rock Stars' Of American History
Harry Stewart looks around the slowly filling ballroom in an Orlando, Fla., hotel and brightens.

"I haven't seen some of these guys in over 66 years," he says. "Some I haven't seen since I entered the service, and others since I left at the end of the war. This is very exciting."

The war Stewart is referring to is World War II, when the Army was still segregated. Stewart is part of a reunion of Red Tail pilots, members of the 332nd Fighter Group. They're part of the Tuskegee Airmen, an organization composed of World War II fliers and the thousands of people on the ground who made their missions possible.

The event's organizer, Leo Gray, says he realized earlier this year that time was zipping by. One of their members, Lee Archer, considered to be the country's only World War II black ace pilot (his plane was emblazoned with five swastikas, one for each confirmed German plane downed), died last year.

Gray wanted to bring the remaining pilots together again. "Nothing official," he explained. "I wanted this to be social, to give the guys plenty of time to spend with each other, because you never know what's going to happen, or when somebody's going to go next."

It's a pretty safe guess that "next" may not be too far off: The youngest Red Tail pilot is 86, the oldest 96. Many are infirm and unable to travel. Others could only come with the assistance of younger family members. But about a dozen ended up drinking a little, laughing a lot and sharing war stories.

Tales Of The Red Tails

Alexander Jefferson, a small, trim man with a silver mustache, told of being shot down on Aug. 12, 1944. He was strafing German radar stations when his plane was hit. He lost consciousness after the crash, and awakened to a German pointing a gun at him and shouting, "Naeger! Naeger!"

"I thought, 'Oh, crap — even in Germany!' " Jefferson laughed, shaking his head. "But it turned out he wasn't saying the other word — that was their word for negro."

In fact, the German soldier's commanding officer saluted Jefferson when he took the pilot into custody. "I was treated like an officer the whole time I spent in POW camp," Jefferson said.

Jefferson was poring over photos with Hiram Mann, an ebullient octogenarian whose impish personality earned him the nickname "Gremlin."

Mann said that when he entered the service, he was "a little older than some of the other guys."

"I was 21 and married," he said.

He was reporting back to base to fly an important mission when he was grounded by the base flight surgeon, who thought Mann and his buddies hadn't spent enough downtime before their next flight.

Mann's plane, Boss Lady (his affectionate nickname for his wife), was assigned to another pilot — who didn't make it back. "I often think about it," Mann said. "And I think, 'There but for the grace of God go I.' But he could have been in a different space than I would have been, I don't know."

The date for the gathering, March 24, was chosen to coincide with the 66th anniversary of the Mission to Berlin, the longest nonstop mission in the European theater. The Red Tails took off from their base at Ramitelli, Italy, and accompanied a group of bombers to Berlin, where they destroyed the Daimler Benz tank assembly plant. They returned covered in glory and citations — until they got back to the States.

"Coming back on the boat," Jefferson recalled, "got to New York Harbor, the flags waving, the Statue of Liberty. Walked down the gangplank, and a little soldier at the bottom said, 'Whites to the right, niggers to the left.' "

Welcome home.

A Delayed Salute


The Tuskegee Airmen, and especially the Red Tails, would be held up as examples of excellence in the black community for decades.

Robert Martin likes to say he flew 63 1/2 missions during the war. What would have been his 64th ended when he was shot down over then-Yugoslavia.


Coming back on the boat, got to New York Harbor, the flags waving, the Statue of Liberty. Walked down the gangplank, and a little soldier at the bottom said, 'Whites to the right, niggers to the left.'


- Red Tail pilot Alexander Jefferson
His daughter Noelle said that growing up, she sometimes had to sit on herself to not brag about her father. "I always wanted to say: There's my dad, and he's a Tuskegee Airman," she said.

Leo Gray's daughter, Kathy Bryant, said she'd think about her father when she was being racially harassed in her workplace and say to herself, "What he did was harder. If he can do it, you can do it."

But they were off much of America's radar screen. Say "war hero," and the visual that came to mind was automatically white. Many of the airmen became involved in the country's civil rights movement, fighting what historians now call a second front.

"We fought fascism and Nazism, and won," said one of the airmen firmly. "Then we had to come home and fight racism. And we were going to win that, too."

They did. The Red Tails' stellar war records demolished the canard that blacks weren't intelligent or coordinated enough to operate airplanes. It forever erased doubts about black pilots' patriotism and bravery. And, said
Col. George Hardy, when the Air Force became a separate branch of service after the war, "a lot of officers that had been in the Army Air Force were now in important positions in the Air Force, and they remembered what they'd seen."

The Air Force commissioned a study on integrating the branch in November 1947, and in April 1948, the Air Force announced it would integrate — this was before President Harry Truman signed Executive Order 9981, desegregating the armed forces.


Enlarge Courtesy of Craig Huntly Collection
Flight Officer John Lyle, a member of the famed Tuskegee Airmen.

Courtesy of Craig Huntly Collection
Flight Officer John Lyle, a member of the famed Tuskegee Airmen.
It was no small feat. And eventually, the Red Tails received accolades from beyond the black community: In 2007, President George W. Bush (the son of George H.W. Bush, a World War II fighter pilot) presented them with the Congressional Gold Medal in the Capitol Rotunda.

At the conclusion of his welcome, Bush told the airmen that he'd like to offer a gesture, a symbol "to help atone for all the unreturned salutes and unforgivable indignities" they had endured over the years. "So on behalf of the office I hold and a country that honors you, I salute you," he said. They saluted back.

Their heightened profile has made them rock stars. At their hotel, the Red Tails couldn't finish meals without being interrupted and asked to sign autographs. Eager parents pushed shy children toward them, asking if they'd take a picture.

"You don't get this now," one mother told her reluctant 4-year-old, "but you'll be glad you have this later on. This is history, honey."

Navy men and women meeting in the Red Tails' hotel asked if they'd speak to their group and take a few photos. The lines went through the lobby as men and women in uniform — and several retired military — waited patiently to have their picture taken with the pilots.

Looking on, Capt. Art Pruitt smiled. "It's funny, we were just watching everybody taking pictures of them — it's like the paparazzi: These guys are rock stars. And to be able to honor them this way, it's just an honor and a privilege."

Eight Survived, by Douglas A Campbeill

Eight Survived: The Harrowing Story of the USS Flier and the Only Downed World War II Submariners to Survive and Evade Capture, by Douglas A Campbell
Lyons Press, 2010
255 pages, plus acknowledgments, Bibliography, Sources, index, and 8 pages of glossy photos
Library: 940.5451 CAM

Description
The USS Flier hadn't even encountered the enemy, but already it had killed one of its own: In January 16, 1944, on the Pacific atoll of Midway, the Flier ran aground on a reef, resulting in a crewman's death. Nearly seven months later, back in service and having downed several enemy ships, it approached Sibutu Passage, and, beyond that, the Sulu Sea-nearly 90,000 square miles of unbroken blue water. Japanese soldiers and sailors had taken all the land around that passage two years earlier. Americans entered the Sulu Sea only by submarine, and when they did, they knew it was kill or be killed.

On August 13, 1944, the Flier struck a Japanese mine and sank, resulting in the loss of all but eight crewmembers-the only World WAr II submariners to survive the sinking of their ship and evade enemy capture.

Eight Survived tells the gripping tale of the doomed submarine through the stories of such young men as Al Jaconson, a 22-year-old ensign and the son of a Michigan industrialist, who survived, and Elton Brubbaker, eighteen, an enthusiastic high-school dropout from northern Florida, who perished. The book also includes a fascinating cast of characters-expatriate Americans and Europeans, local guerillas, and aborigines-who emerged from the jungle to help the survivors evade their Japanese enemies and finally reach safety.

Drawing on years of research and the author's interviews with the survivors themselves, Eight Survived fully captures the combination of extraordinary courage and luck that marked one of the most heroic episodes of World WAr II.

Table of Contents
Map of the World War II career of the USS Flier
1. Treacherous Passage
2. Pacific Peril
3. Missing from Action
4. A Gathering of Men
5. A Second Chance
6. Welcome to the War
7. Strangers in their Native Land
8. The Wages of Winners
9. Mines and mariners
10. Back toward Glory
11. Trapped in the Path of War
12. Changed Orders
13. In the Shadow of Death
14. Choosing Freedom
15. Spirits of the Land
16. By Land and By Sea
17. Into the Jungle
18. EScape
Map of the 8 submariners survival and rescue
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Bibliography
Sources
Index
About the Author

1940 Chronology: 10 April

Denmark accepts the German ultimatum.

King Haakon of Norway repudiates the puppet government of Vidkun Quisling.

In Norway, a British flotilla commanded by Captain Warburton Lee surprised ten German destroyers in Narvik fjord. He sinks two ships, but loses two of his own.

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Bibliography:
World War II Magazine Day-by-Day Desk Diary, 1989

1940 Chronology, 9 April

The German invasion of Denmark and Norway begins. The expeditionary force consists of seven infantry and two mountain divisions, with an air arm of over 400 fighters and bombers, 70 reconnaissance aircraft and 500 air transports.

The entire GErman navy takes part in the operation.

The army of occupation is divided into seven formations: two, commanded by General Kaupitsch, invade Denmark and take it in 48 hours. (Kaupitsch's troops enter Copenhagen, the capital, within 12 hours of landing.)

The other five formations land in Norway, at Oslo, Kirstiansand, Bergen, Trondheim and Narvik. In the course of the landing operations, the Germans lose the heavy cruiser Blucher off Oslo and two light cruisers, the Karlsruhe at Kristiansand and the Konigsberg off Bergen.

With the news of the German attack on Denmark and Norway, the French and British seek permission for their troops to enter Belgium. The request is refused by the Belgian government.


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Bibliography:
World War II Magazine Day-by-Day Desk Diary, 1989

Honor By Fire, by Lyn Crost

Honor By Fire: Japanese Americans at War in Europe and the Pacific, by Lyn Crost
Presidio, 1994
310 pages, plus Appendix, Endnotes, Bibliography and Index. No photos
Library: 940.548 CRO

Descriptions
Honor By Fire is a moving story of men who fought first for the right to fight, and then went on to show a rare courage and tremendous spirit. It is a story of moral heroism as well as physical sacrifice.

When President Truman personally welcomed home the Japanese-Americans of the 100th Battalion/442nd Regimental Combat Team, he said: "You fought not only the enemy, but you fought prejudice-and you have wom." It was not an easy rode for these American Nisei, caught in a no-man's land between their ancestral heritage and loyalty to their country.

After the bombing of Pear Harbor, Japanese Americans were singled out for the nation's suspicions. Yet, with their families incarcerated in internment camps, these men swallowed their pride and volunteered for military service. They fought gallantly, pitting their unique skills and knowledge against America's enemoes-in combat in Europe and as linguists with the Military Intelligence Service (MIS) in the Pacific.

War correspondent Lyn Crost witnessed the outstanding military service, and the horrendous casualties, of the Japanese American troops in Europe. She spoke with many high-ranking offivers who, initially opposed to the use of Nisei troops, later became their most enthusiastic advocates, considering them the best assault troops in the Army. Axis SAlly, in her radio broadcasts, called the Nisei "America's secret weapon."

In the Pacific theater, Nisei linguists participated in every battle from the Aleutians to Okinawa. Their work proved indispensable: they interrogated prisoners, translated captured orders and maps, and communicated with terrified civilians.

The high secrecy of this intelligence work meant censorship during the war years and for three decades after, preventing public acknowledgment of their deeds. Honor By Fire is the first book to tell of the MISers' incredible exploits, combined with the experiences of the 100th Battalion/442nd Regimental Combat Team.

Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Preface
1. Pu'uloa becomes Pear Harbor
2. Birth of the legendary battalion
3. Nisei of the MIS
4. The killing fields of New Guinea
5. The Proving Ground
6. The dtruggle against odds
7. The Mountains of Italy
8. The Purple Heart battalion of Cassino
9. Secret Warriors in Burma
10. Anzio to Rome - and Beyond
11. An Ocean REd with Blood
12. Forests of Death
13. The Phillipines Recaptured
14. Caves of Hell
15. The Champagne Campaign
16. Germany and tbhe Death Camps
17. Victory in Europe
18. Okinawa: Gateway to Japan
19. Pearl Harbor Avenged
20. Echoes from the past
Appendex - the REcord
Endnotes
Selected Bibliography
Index

World War II era planes at ABIA (Austin Texas, through Sunday)

Austin News KXANN.com: World War II era planes at ABIA
Wings of Freedom tour runs through Sunday
Updated: Friday, 08 Apr 2011, 6:40 PM CDT
Published : Friday, 08 Apr 2011, 5:41 PM CDT

AUSTIN (KXAN) - World War II veterans can relive part of their past ad others can get at least a glimpse of that era at Austin Bergstrom Airport this weekend when the Wings of Freedom Tour arrives to show off several restored bombers and fighter aircraft from the 1940s.

Visitors can tour through the aircraft and even fly in one. The even continues through Sunday and Veterans get in free, but for eveyone there's a fee: $12 for adults and $6 for children under 12 is requested for access to up-close viewing and tours through the inside of the aircraft.

Flights on either the B-17 or B-24 are $425 per person. Get some stick time in the worlds greatest fighter! P-51 flights are $2,200 for a half hour and $3,200 for a full hour.

1940 Chronology: 8 April

The Allies inform the Oslo government of the mine-laying operations in Norwegian waters.

11:50 am: The German ship Rio de Janeiro converted to a troop transport, is torpedoed by the Polish submarine Orzel off the coast of Norway, near Lillesand. The GErmans are picked up by an Allied ship. Although this makes it clear that the German invasion force is already at sea, the Norwegian government still does not order general mobilization.

During an evening meeting of the Council of Ministers, the Chief of Staff of the army, Colonel Rasmus Hatledal, informs the Defence Ministry that all officers of the general staff have taken up their posts. They decide on a most secret mobilization of five brigades in southern Norway.

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Bibliography:
World War II Magazine Day-by-Day Desk Diary, 1989

1940 Chronology: 7 April, 1940

In the early hours of the morning, German warships sail with the troops who will carry out the first landings in Norway.

The first contingents of the Allied expeditionary force to Norway are embarked in cruisers of the Royal Navy.

Towards evening, the British fleet leaves Scapa Flow for the Norwegian coast to intercept the German naval formation.

During the night, British destroyers lay three minefields in Norwegian waters.

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Bibliography:
World War II Magazine Day-by-Day Desk Diary, 1989

Glossary of WWII Terms

OCTU - Officer Cadet TRaining Unit

Panzerfaust - The German hand-operated anti-tank weapon; unlike the US bazooka it required only one man to use and its penetrative power was often devastating at close range.

PPA - Popski's Private Army. (Popski's Private Army, officially No. 1 Demolition Squadron, PPA, was an unit of British Special Forces founded in Cairo in 1942 by Major (later Lieutenant-Colonel) Vladimir Peniakoff DSO MC. Popski's Private Army was one of several raiding units formed in the Western Desert during the Second World War. They also served in Italy and the Adriatic before they were disbanded in September 1945)

REME - Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers

RSM - Regimental Sergeant Major

RTU - Returned to unit, for those men who fail to make the grade in the SAS

RV - rendezvous

Schmeisser - Standard German issue sub-machine gun with a 9mm calibre and capable of firing 500 rpm, effective at 150 yards.

SD - Sicherheitsdienst, the German Security Service, about 3,000 strong.

SFHQ - Special Forces Headquarters

SHAEF - Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force

SIG - Special Interrogation Group

SOE - Special Operations Executive formed in 1940 to foment clandestine warfare in Occupied Europe

Spandau - The German army machine gun

SS - Schutzstaffeln, Nazi military force whose stated mission was the protection oof the Fuhrer and the security of the REich, who were supposed to be racially pure Germans, swore an oath of loyalty to Hitler and wore their SS number as a tattoo.

Sten gun - Mass produced and unreliable 9mm caliber sub-machine gun effective only at close range.

Thompson - US-made sub-machine gun with a .45 calibre and a range of 300 yards, capable of firing 725 rounds a minute.

Vickers K - Guns taken from Gloster Gladiator fiighter planes mounted in the front and back of SAS jeeps, capable of firing 1,200 rounds per minute.

WAAF - Womens Auxiliary Air Force

Wadi - The Arabic name for a dried up river bed or dry ravine.

WRNS - Women's Royal Naval Service


Bibliography
Stirling's Men: The Inside History of the SAS in World War II, by Gavin Mortimer. Cassell Military Paperbacks, 2004

1940 Chronology: 5 April

For technical reasons the despatch of the first contingents of the Allied expeditionary force to Norway is postponed to April 8.

Neville Chamberlain makes a speech in which he declares, "Hitler has missed the bus."

WW II Glossary of Terms #2

FFI - Forces Francais d'Interieur - responsible for organizing armed resistance in France

Gestapo - Geheime Staatspolizei, a political police force whose mission was to eradicate political views incompatible with Nazism.

LCA - Landing Craft Assault, 12-m long vessel capable of carrying 35 men.

LCI - Landing Craft Infantry, 50m-long vessel capable of carrying nearlty 200 men.

LRDG - Long Range Desert GRoup

Maquis - The French resistance groups who fought against the GErman occupation.

MC - Military Cross, awarded to officers of the rank of major and below for gallantry in action

MEHQ - Middle East Headquarters

MGB - motor gun boat

Milice - French fascist organizations working with the GErmans

MM - military medal, awarded to NCOs and soldiers for gallantry in action.

Nebelwerfer - A multi-barrelled mortar known to the British as Moaning Minnie because of the ungodly noise made by the rockets.


Bibliography
Stirling's Men: The Inside History of the SAS in World War II, by Gavin Mortimer. Cassell Military Paperbacks, 2004

Secret Nazi saboteurs invaded Long Island during World War II, MI5 documents reveal

NYDailyNews: Secret Nazi saboteurs invaded Long Island during World War II, MI5 documents reveal
Bumbling Nazi secret agents slipped into the U.S. through Long Island to sabotage the American war effort, declassified British documents revealed Monday.

The spies were tasked with committing "small acts of terrorism" with "incendiary bombs in suitcases left in luggage depots and in Jewish-owned shops," the report said.

The not-so-subtle spies stormed the beach near Amagansett in the Hamptons on the morning of June 13, 1942. Each was dressed in German uniforms, the documents say, and disembarked from a Nazi U-boat.

Dubbed the "Franz Daniel Pastorious Undertaking" by British officials - named after an early German settler in the U.S. - a second batch of agents also came ashore in Florida four days later.

"It was not brilliantly planned," said Edward Hampshire, a historian at Britain's National Archives, which released the wartime intelligence documents Monday. "The Germans picked the leader for this very, very poorly. He immediately wanted to give himself up."

The mission was ultimately undermined by its leader, George John Dasch, who surrendered shortly after arriving in the U.S. and gave up his cohorts to authorities.

The German agents had lived in the U.S. before returning to aid their native country. They received training in "sabotage school" in Germany, where they learned about creating explosives, building timers, and using "secret writing."

"The task of the saboteurs was to slow down production at certain factories concerned with the American war effort," said the report, crafted by MI5 intelligence officer Victor Rothschild.

"The sabotage was not to be done in such a way that it appeared accidental," he noted. "The saboteurs were however told that they must avoid killing or injuring people as this would not benefit Germany."

The agents were also tasked with disseminating anti-war propaganda, and "point out that the USA had no reason to be at the war with Germany."

The mission was plagued with mistakes and poor planning, however.

The U-boat assigned to take the secret agents to Long Island ran aground several times.

"It was only owing to the laziness or stupidity of the American coastguards that this submarine was not attacked by USA forces," Rothschild wrote.

The agents were caught by a member of the Coast Guard as they made their way ashore in a rubber raft. The report suggests they paid off the man with $300, even though they were ordered to "overpower any person met on landing and send him back to the submarine."

The four agents caught a train into New York City, then separated.

Days later the team's leader, George John Dasch, called the FBI to alert them "he was a saboteur and wished to tell his story to Mr. Hoover."

The rest of the Nazi agents in New York and Florida were arrested shortly afterwards. They were tried and executed months later, while Dasch and another agent deported to Germany after the war.

1940 Chronology: 3 April

Churchill is appointed Chairman of the Ministerial Defence Committee and obtains the consent of the Cabinet to the laying of minefields in Norwegian territorial waters, in line with the decision of the Allied Supreme War Council on 28 March.

1940 Chronology: 2 April, 1940

Adolf Hitler gives orders for the start of Operation Weserubung against Norway and Denmark. Hostilities are timed to begin on April 9.

WW II Glossary of Terms #1

3-inch mortar: A range of 2,800 yards and fired 10 pound bombs. It weighed 44 pounds plus a baseplate of 37 pounds and a mounting of 45 pounds.

ATS - Auxiliary Territorial Service

Beretta - Italian-made sub-machine gun with a 9mm calibre

Bofors - A 40mm anti-tank gun favored by the British Army.

Bren gun - Czech-made light machine gun with a range of up to 2,000 yards.

DCM - Distinguished Conduct Medal, the equivalent of the DSO - second only to the VC - and awarded to NCOs and officers for exceptional gallantry.

Dingo - Wheeled and armored scout car with a two-man crew.

DSO - Distinguished Service Order, during WW2 awarded to junior officers for outstanding gallantry just below that of VC and to senior officers for outstanding leadership.

DZ - Dropping zone for parachutists and supplies.


Bibliography
Stirling's Men: The Inside History of the SAS in World War II, by Gavin Mortimer. Cassell Military Paperbacks, 2004

OSS, by R. Harris Smith

OSS: The Secret History of America's First Central Intelligence Agency, by R. Harris Smith
University of California Press, 1972
383 pages plus notes, bibliography and index. A few b&w photos scattered throughout the book
Library: 940.548673 SMI

Description
In this book read about the involvement of the man who was later to become Pope Paul VI in an American espionage network in Tokyo in 1943; the British plot to overthrow the Franco government of Spain in 1942, General Donovan's secret directive ordering OSS espionage against the Russians long before the end of World WAr II, and many similar clandestine operations never before described in detail.

Concieved in the military crisis of World War II, the US Office of Strategic Services was America's first central intelligence agency. All the triumphs - and disasters - of CIA espionage and covert action during the Cold War era had their historical antecedents in the topsy turvy world of OSS and the fertile imagination of its founder and director, General William "Wild Bill" Donovan.

The author has tracked down virtually all the available documents and other sources pertaining to the still-secret OSS operations in EUrope and Asia. He has corresponded iwth or interviewed most of the key figures in OSS exploits and pieced together their fascinating stories.

OSS was not a tidy, routinized bureaucracy. It did not function with military precision or efficiency. Policies and operations were sometimes contradictory and often improvised. Orders were given and forgotten or ignored.

The agency was wracked by ideological conflict, and the left hand did not know what the right hand was doing. Millions of dollars were spent without budgetary control, but there were also great espionage troops. OSS officers were typically young, brilliant, amateurs who dared to establish "unofficial" emotional rapport with such revolutionary leaders as Ho Chi Minh, tito, and Mao Tse-tung.

This study - the first to deal with OSS systemsatically and on a global scale - may spark a new academic interest in the subject of clandestine political subversion and its impact on US foreign policy.

What did Stewart Alsop, John Birch, David Bruce, Julia Child, Allen Dulles, John Gardner, Arthur Goldberg, Charles Hitch, Herbert Marcuse, Walt Rostow and Arthur Schlesinger Jr. have in common? They were all members of OSS.

Table of Contents
Preface
1. Donovan's Dreamers
2. The Torch of Reaction
3. Mediterranean Interlude
4. Italian Sunset
5. Of Communists and Kings
6. "Contre Nous de la Tyrannie"
7. Herrengasse
8. The Chinese Puzzle
9. "Save England's Asiatic Colonies"
10. Mission to Indochina
11. OSS and CIA: The Espionage Gap
Notes
Bibliography
Index