Battle of Biak

The Battle of Biak was part of the Western New Guinea campaign of World War II, fought between the United States Army and the Japanese Army from 27 May to 17 August 1944. Taking place on the island of Biak, in Geelvink Bay, in present-day Indonesia, it was part of General Douglas MacArthur's South West Pacific Area's offensive drive to clear New Guinea in preparation for an invasion of the Philippines. It was the first major effort by the Japanese to allow uncontested landings for the purpose of creating a kill zone inland. The main Allied objective was to capture the island so that they could construct airfields there. The battle resulted in the capture of the island by Allied forces, which were then used to support operations elsewhere in the Pacific.
Background.
The island of Biak forms part of the Schouten Islands, and dominates the entrance to Geelvink Bay, near the western end of New Guinea; its terrain and location about from Hollandia and from Sarmi (where the Japanese had begun concentrating supply bases and airfields), made it well suited to airfield construction, particularly in the flatter southeastern area. As a result, as the Allies began their advance towards the Philippines in 1944, General Douglas MacArthur's Southwest Pacific command began planning its capture. In conceptualizing the operation, Allied planners envisaged a week-long operation; estimating that there were up to 2,000 Japanese troops defending the area. Four landing beaches were chosen near Bosnek, designated Green 1, 2, 3 and 4. Allied planners considered these beaches to be poorer for landing operations, compared to those further away from the airfields, but they were chosen due to their proximity to the main Allied objectives and because aerial reconnaissance indicated that the beaches were not backed by cliffs or swamps, and that there were two jetties nearby that might facilitate deep-water port access.
The assault force consisted of five destroyer transports (APD), eight LSTs eight LCTs, and fifteen LCIs, supported by a myriad of smaller vessels including DUKWs, LCVPs and LVTs, which were chosen due to concerns about the coral reef opposite the landing beaches. These were protected by two heavy cruisers, three light cruisers, and twenty-one destroyers; several Australian vessels including the cruisers HMAS "Australia" and "Shropshire" and the destroyer "Warramunga" were included in this task force. The naval forces, designated Task Group 77.2, were commanded by Rear Admiral William Morrow Fechteler. Close air support for the Allied operation was provided by Lieutenant General George C. Kenney's Fifth Air Force, operating from Hollandia and Wakde Island, although elements of the Thirteenth Air Force, as well as Australian and Dutch squadrons operating from as far away as Darwin, also provided strategic air support.
Allied intelligence greatly under-estimated the number of troops holding the island. The island was held by 11,400 Japanese troops under the command of Colonel Kuzume Naoyuki. Initially, the majority of the combat troops (about 4,000 personnel), were drawn from the veteran 222nd Infantry Regiment which had previously served in China, along with tanks from the IJA 36th Division, supported by artillery, anti-aircraft, construction and naval guard and base troops under Rear Admiral Sadatoshi Senda. These troops were reinforced by elements of the 35th Division's 219th and 221st Infantry Regiments.
Due to the size of the coastline he had to defend, and based on an appreciation of the Allied objectives, Kuzume focused his defensive plans away from the water's edge. Instead, he decided to carry out a feint, allowing the Americans to come ashore unopposed so that they would advance into the trap he had prepared for them utilizing a series of caves that were located west of Mokmer and to the east of Bosnek. This defensive complex was intended to turn the area around the vital airfield into a honeycomb of defended caves and pillboxes filled with riflemen, automatic weapons, artillery, batteries of mortars, and a single company of Type 95 Ha-Go light tanks. The western caves were connected by a series of underground tunnels and were largely constructed for fighting purposes. Kuzume also stockpiled these positions with ammunition and other supplies, with several dumps located around the eastern cave area, along with living quarters for the defenders. Water was limited on Biak and had to be strictly rationed by the US troops, and heat and humidity would take a heavy toll during the fighting.
The Allies knew from an intercepted message dated 5 May 1944 that the IJA 2nd Area intelligence thought the next Allied landing would probably be on Biak, and a preliminary landing was made on 17 May at Wakde on the way to Biak. There a smaller airfield was available, which could be used as an advanced base until the Biak strips were ready. While initial Allied G2 estimates of Japanese troops was approximately 5,000, an intercepted message at the end of April gave the ration strength as 10,800, though it was thought this was a figure based upon projected, rather than, current strength.
Battle.
The invasion force assembled largely in the Humboldt Bay area near Hollandia, and after only limited rehearsals departed late on 25 May. After a 45-minute pre-landing naval bombardment, the 41st Infantry Division of the United States Army landed on Biak on 27 May 1944, initially with the 162nd Infantry Regiment, and soon followed by the remainder of the division, including the 163rd and 186th Infantry Regiments. By 5:15 in the afternoon 12,000 troops had landed, with 12 M4 Sherman tanks, 29 field guns, 500 vehicles, and 3,000 tons of supplies, including 600 tons aboard vehicles. Several minor Japanese air attacks took place against the US lodgment on the first day; initially these were not pressed too heavily, but in the afternoon two waves of aircraft attacked the LSTs around the western jetty. Several bombs were dropped, but failed to explode. Three aircraft were destroyed and one was badly damaged by anti-aircraft fire from the US ships and guns that had been brought ashore.
After a brief attack on the beachhead by a group of Japanese light tanks, which was defeated by a group of M4 Shermans in the first tank against tank engagement of the Pacific War, the US regiment moved inland quietly confident and expecting little opposition. This perception changed completely when they reached the airfield. From low-lying terrain and surrounding ridges came a storm of heavy weapons fire that pinned the US troops down. It was not until dark that amphibious tractors could be brought up to extricate them from the trap. The next day they reached the end of Mokmer airstrip. (Sorido airstrip was the objective.) The Japanese held firm, delaying its capture. With the slow progress the US command pulled their forces back, relieved Major General Horace Fuller of command of the 41st Division and reinforced the division with the 34th Regimental Combat Team (34th RCT) of the 24th Infantry Division.
On 5 June the 186th Infantry, with the 2nd Battalion of the 162nd Infantry attached, moved to the eastern bases of the ridges dominating Mokmer strip. A coordinated attack was launched on 7 June which resulted in the capture of Mokmer strip and the establishment of a beachhead south of the strip; however, Japanese resistance continued in the area, particularly in the caves overlooking the area, and prevented engineers from improving the airfield. The engineers recommenced their efforts on 13 June but were once again disrupted by the Japanese. General Robert L. Eichelberger assumed command of the Hurricane Task Force on 15 June, tasked with renewing the attack. The new attack plan was to drive the Japanese from all terrain upon which they could fire on Mokmer Drome. First the West Caves, the Japanese encampment area, was cleared by the 186th Infantry Regiment, who then moved up on the ridges. The 34th RCT, supported by the 167th Field Artillery Battalion, occupied Borokoe and Sorido Dromes almost without opposition.
The US forces had been delayed 10 days. With the delay, the Fifth Air Force Command looked for alternative sites from which they could operate. They arranged the capture of the nearby island of Owi on 2 June and built Owi Airfield comprising two 7,000-ft airstrips there. An advanced echelon was stationed there composed of a bombardment group, two fighter groups, a P-61 Black Widow night fighter group, and a garrison of 15,000 troops.
Control of Biak nearly became a critical turning point battle in the campaign for the Pacific. The Japanese had been seeking to engage the Americans in a decisive battle, the Kantai Kessen, that would enable them to win the war. Biak was not far from major Japanese fleet units and there were a number of land airfields nearby that could support the land-based aircraft the Japanese were hoping to concentrate to defeat the US fleet. The Imperial Navy's Chief of Staff, Admiral Ryūnosuke Kusaka, believed Biak represented the Allies' main effort, and a counterattack at Biak could provoke the US Navy into engaging in a major action. In response to the landing at Biak by US forces, the Japanese launched an operation to reinforce the area. Initially, for air support, the Japanese 23rd Air Flotilla initially only had 18 aircraft but was later reinforced with up to 166 aircraft, which were moved to Sorong, in Dutch New Guinea, arriving from Japan and the Marianas.
The Imperial Japanese Navy also began planning to reinforce the island under Operation KON. Planning for this operation began on 29 May. A total of 2,500 troops from the 2nd Amphibious Brigade were assigned for transport from Mindanao; they were to be escorted by a force under Rear Admiral Naomasa Sakonju, consisting of the battleship "Fuso", the heavy cruisers "Aoba", "Myoko" and "Haguro", the light cruiser "Kinu", and eight destroyers (five as part of the screen and three as part of the transport element). They were scheduled to reach Biak on 3 June; other forces were to be transported from Manokwari by barge.
Admiral Teijirō Toyoda, commander of the Japanese Mobile Fleet, initially attempted to reinforce Biak to hold the airstrips, but his first reinforcement sent 1 June was turned back when a Japanese scout plane mistakenly reported a US aircraft carrier in the vicinity. A second relief effort on 8 June was intercepted and driven off by American and Australian naval forces. A third attempt, with the support of the super-battleships and , was scheduled for 13 June, but the American invasion of the Marianas forced the Imperial Navy to redirect their forces to the Marianas for a major confrontation in the Philippine Sea.
These efforts were coupled with heavy air attacks. On 2 June, a heavy Japanese air attack was undertaken against LSTs around Biak in support of the reinforcement efforts; a total of 12 out of 54 attacking aircraft were lost, while one Allied LST suffered a near miss. The following day, another large scale air attack was undertaken by Japanese aircraft against Allied vessels around Biak, resulting in minor damage and the loss of 11 aircraft out of 41. In total, three reinforcement efforts were undertaken as part of Operation KON, as well as further barge operations; several large vessels and a number of aircraft were lost by the Japanese during these efforts, although about 1,200 personnel from the 219th, 221st and 222nd Infantry Regiments were landed throughout June.
No. 1 Wireless Unit RAAF, an Australian radio transmission intercept and monitoring unit, learned that, at the time of the invasion, Lieutenant General Takuzo Numata, the Chief of Staff of the 2nd Area Army, was on the island for an inspection tour. He sent messages to command requesting to be evacuated. A float plane was sent in from Korim Bay on the night of 20 June to bring him off. After two more days of intense fighting, Kuzume burned the regimental colors, indicating to his men that the regiment would make the defense of Biak their final battle. He then committed hara kiri, showing his men he did not fear death.
Allied engineers resumed their work on Mokmer airfield on 20 June. The Americans broke through the Japanese defenses on 22 June, with the coastal strip from Bosnek to Sorido being captured, including the three airfields at Sorido (4500 ft), Borokoe (4500 ft) and Mokmer (8,000 ft). There were about 3,000 Japanese remnants trying to organize a final counterattack up to 17 August.
Aftermath.
The capture of Biak Island cost the Allied ground forces 438 killed and 2,361 wounded or injured in action, while casualties amongst naval forces amounted to 22 killed, 14 missing and 68 wounded. In addition, US forces suffered 7,234 non battle casualties. The majority of these non battle casualties were caused by scrub typhus. About 600 British Indian and Javanese forced laborers were released from Japanese custody after the battle. From their good service on Biak and other Pacific islands, the 41st received another nickname: the Jungleers. The Japanese fought to annihilation, with 4,700 killed and 200 captured; the remainder faced death from disease and starvation in the following months. Biak was a grinding, shot-for-shot battle. The Japanese tactics of allowing the landing and delaying their firing until there were a great many targets were repeated at other battles including the Battle of Peleliu and the Battle of Okinawa.
The Allies subsequently developed Biak into a logistics base and constructed several airfields in the area. Several runways were constructed by US engineers on nearby Owi, while Mokmer Drome was operational by 22 June, and was further improved and expanded with hardstandings for over 100 aircraft throughout July and into August. Other fields were constructed at Borokoe and Sorido, although the latter field was not completed due to limited manpower and unsuitable terrain. These fields were not completed in time for use during operations to capture the Marianas in June, but they were utilized during follow on actions against the Palau Islands in September; Biak was also used to strike targets in Mindanao and in the Netherlands East Indies. The port facilities around Biak were also improved, with eight berths constructed for LSTs along the southern coast, while two floating docks were constructed to facilitate use by Liberty Ships at Biak and Owi. Several other docks and jetties were constructed or improved, while several roads – on Owi and on Biak – were constructed around the island to improve internal lines of communication; another of existing roads on Biak were also improved. A 400-bed hospital was also constructed, while another was planned but ultimately not completed.


Battle of Towton

The Battle of Towton was fought on 29 March 1461 during the English Wars of the Roses, near the village of Towton in Yorkshire. It was "probably the largest and bloodiest battle ever fought on English soil". An estimated 50,000 soldiers fought for hours during a snowstorm on that day, which was Palm Sunday. It brought about a change of monarchs in England, with Edward IV displacing Henry VI, establishing the House of York on the English throne and driving the incumbent House of Lancaster and its key supporters out of the country.
The incumbent King of England, Henry VI, on the throne since 1422, was a weak, ineffectual and mentally unsound ruler, which encouraged the nobles to scheme for control over him. The situation deteriorated in the 1450s into a civil war between the supporters of his queen, Margaret of Anjou, and those of his cousin Richard, Duke of York. In 1460 the English parliament passed an act to let York succeed Henry as king. The queen refused to accept the dispossession of her own son's right to the throne and succeeded in raising a large army of supporters, who then promptly defeated and killed York in battle. The late duke's supporters considered the Lancastrians to have reneged on the parliamentary act of succession – a legal agreement – and York's son and heir, Edward, found enough backing to denounce Henry and declare himself king. The Battle of Towton was to affirm the victor's right to rule over England through force of arms.
On reaching the battlefield the Yorkists found themselves heavily outnumbered. Part of their force under the Duke of Norfolk had yet to arrive. The Yorkist leader Lord Fauconberg turned the tables by ordering his archers to take advantage of the strong wind to outrange their enemies. The one-sided missile exchange, with Lancastrian arrows falling short of the Yorkist ranks, provoked the Lancastrians into abandoning their defensive positions. The ensuing hand-to-hand combat lasted hours, exhausting the combatants. The arrival of Norfolk's men reinvigorated the Yorkists and, encouraged by Edward, they routed their foes. Many Lancastrians were killed while fleeing; some trampled one another and others drowned in the rivers, which are said to have run red with blood for several days. Several who were taken prisoner were executed.
The power of the House of Lancaster was severely reduced after this battle. Henry fled the country and many of his most powerful followers were dead or in exile after the engagement, leaving a new king, Edward IV, to rule England. Later generations remembered the battle as depicted in William Shakespeare's dramatic adaptation of Henry's life – "Henry VI, Part 3", Act 2, Scene 5. In 1929 the Towton Cross was erected on the battlefield to commemorate the event. Various archaeological remains and mass graves related to the battle were found in the area centuries after the engagement.
Setting.
In 1461 England was in the sixth year of the Wars of the Roses, a series of civil wars between the houses of York and Lancaster over the English throne. The Lancastrians backed the reigning King of England, Henry VI, an indecisive man who had bouts of madness. The leader of the Yorkists was initially Richard, Duke of York, who resented the dominance of a small number of aristocrats favoured by the king, principally his close relatives, the Beaufort family. Fuelled by rivalries between influential supporters of both factions, York's attempts to displace Henry's favourites from power led to war. After capturing Henry at the Battle of Northampton in 1460, the duke, who was of royal blood, issued his claim to the throne. Even York's closest supporters among the nobility were reluctant to usurp the dynasty; the nobles passed by a majority vote the Act of Accord, which ruled that the duke and his heirs would succeed to the throne upon Henry's death.
The Queen of England, Margaret of Anjou, refused to accept an arrangement that deprived her son—Edward of Westminster—of his birthright. She had fled to Scotland after the Yorkist victory at Northampton; there she began raising an army, promising her followers the freedom to plunder on the march south through England. Her Lancastrian supporters also mustered in the north of England, preparing for her arrival. York marched with his army to meet this threat but he was lured into a trap at the Battle of Wakefield and killed. The duke and his second son, Edmund, Earl of Rutland were decapitated by the Lancastrians and their heads were impaled on spikes atop the Micklegate Bar, a gatehouse of the city of York. The leadership of the House of York passed to the duke's heir, Edward.
The victors of Wakefield were joined by Margaret's army and marched south, plundering settlements along the way. They liberated Henry after defeating the Yorkist army of Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, in the Second Battle of St Albans and continued pillaging on their way to London. The city of London refused to open its gates to Henry and Margaret for fear of being looted. The Lancastrian army was short of supplies and had no adequate means to replenish them. When Margaret learned that Richard of York's eldest son, Edward, Earl of March, and his army had won the Battle of Mortimer's Cross in Herefordshire and were marching towards London, she withdrew the Lancastrians to York. Warwick and the remnants of his army marched from St Albans to join Edward's men and the Yorkists were welcomed into London. Having lost custody of Henry, the Yorkists needed a justification to continue the rebellion against the king and his Lancastrian followers. On 4 March Warwick proclaimed the young Yorkist leader as King Edward IV. The proclamation gained greater acceptance than Richard of York's earlier claim, as several nobles opposed to letting Edward's father ascend the throne viewed the Lancastrian actions as a betrayal of the legally established Accord.
The country now had two kings — a situation that could not be allowed to persist, especially if Edward were to be formally crowned. Edward offered an amnesty to any Lancastrian supporter who renounced Henry. The move was intended to win over the commoners; his offer did not extend to wealthy Lancastrians (mostly the nobles). The young king summoned and ordered his followers to march towards York to take back his family's city and to depose Henry formally through force of arms. The Yorkist army moved along three routes. Warwick's uncle, Lord Fauconberg, led a group to clear the way to York for the main body, which was led by Edward. The Duke of Norfolk was sent east to raise forces and rejoin Edward before the battle. Warwick's group moved to the west of the main body, through the Midlands, gathering men as they went. On 28 March, the leading elements of the Yorkist army came upon the remains of the crossing in Ferrybridge crossing the River Aire. They were rebuilding the bridge when they were attacked and routed by a band of about 500 Lancastrians, led by Lord Clifford.
Learning of the encounter, Edward led the main Yorkist army to the bridge and was forced into a gruelling battle: although the Yorkists were superior in numbers, the narrow bridge was a bottleneck, forcing them to confront Clifford's men on equal terms. Edward sent Fauconberg and his horsemen to ford the river at Castleford, which should have been guarded by Henry, Earl of Northumberland, but he arrived late, by which time the Yorkists had crossed the ford and were heading to attack the Lancastrians at Ferrybridge from the flank. The Lancastrians retreated but were chased to Dinting Dale, where they were all killed, Clifford being slain by an arrow to his throat. Having cleared the vicinity of enemy forces, the Yorkists repaired the bridge and pressed onwards to camp overnight at Sherburn-in-Elmet. The Lancastrian army marched to Tadcaster, about north of Towton, and made camp. As dawn broke the two rival armies struck camp under dark skies and strong winds. Although it was Palm Sunday, a day of holy significance to Christians, the forces prepared for battle and a few documents named the engagement the Battle of "Palme Sonday Felde" but the name did not gain wide acceptance. Popular opinion favoured naming the battle after the village of Towton because of its proximity and it being the most prominent in the area.
Force compositions.
The armies gathered at Towton were among the largest at the time. Contemporary sources (like "Gregory's Chronicle") claimed that the soldiers on each side numbered in the hundreds of thousands. These figures are thought to be exaggerated, and modern historians believe that a combined figure of 50,000–65,000 is more likely, between one and two percent of the English population at the time. An analysis of 50 skeletons found in mass graves between 1996 and 2003 showed most were 24 to 30 years old and many were veterans of previous engagements.
Henry's physical and mental frailty was a major weakness for the Lancastrian cause, and he remained in York with Margaret. In contrast the 18-year-old Edward was a tall and imposing sight in armour and led from the front: his preference for bold offensive tactics determined the Yorkist plan of action for this engagement. His presence and example were crucial to ensuring the Yorkists held together through the long and exhausting struggle.
Approximately three-quarters of English peers fought in the battle; eight were with the Yorkist army, whereas the Lancastrians had at least nineteen.
Of the other Yorkist leaders, Warwick was absent from the battle, having suffered a leg wound at Ferrybridge. Norfolk was too old to participate and his contingent was commanded by Walter Blount and Robert Horne; this may have been an advantage, since he was regarded as an unpredictable ally. Edward relied heavily on Warwick's uncle, Lord Fauconberg, a veteran of the Anglo-French wars, highly regarded by contemporaries for his military skills. He demonstrated this in a wide range of roles, having captained the Calais garrison, led naval piracy expeditions in the Channel, and commanded the Yorkist vanguard at Northampton.
The senior Lancastrian general was Henry Beaufort, Duke of Somerset, an experienced leader credited with victories at Wakefield and St Albans, although others suggest they were due to Sir Andrew Trollope. Trollope was an extremely experienced and astute commander, who served under Warwick in Calais, before defecting to the Lancastrians at Ludford Bridge in 1459. Other notable Lancastrian leaders included Henry Holland, Duke of Exeter, and northern magnates the Earl of Northumberland, Lord de Ros and Lord Dacre. Another leading Lancastrian, Lord Clifford, had been killed by an arrow in the throat at Ferrybridge.
Deployment.
Very few historical sources give detailed accounts of the battle and they do not describe the exact deployments of the armies. The paucity of such primary sources led early historians to adopt Hall's chronicle as their main resource for the engagement, despite its authorship 70 years after the event and questions over the origin of his information. The Burgundian chronicler Jean de Waurin (c. 1398 – c. 1474) was a more contemporary source, but his chronicle was made available to the public only from 1891, and several mistakes in it discouraged historians at that time from using it. Later reconstructions of the battle were based on Hall's version, supplemented by minor details from other sources.
The battle took place on a plateau between the villages of Saxton (to the south) and Towton (to the north). The region was agricultural land, with plenty of wide open areas and small roads on which to manoeuvre the armies. Two roads ran through the area: the Old London Road, which connected Towton to the English capital, and a direct road between Saxton and Towton. The steeply banked Cock Beck flowed in an S-shaped course around the plateau from the north to west. The plateau was bisected by the Towton Dale, which ran from the west and extended into the North Acres in the east. Woodlands were scattered along the beck; Renshaw Woods lined the river on the north-western side of the plateau, and south of Towton Dale, Castle Hill Wood grew on the west side of the plateau at a bend in the beck. The area to the north-east of this forest would be known as Bloody Meadow after the battle.
According to Gravett and fellow military enthusiast Trevor James Halsall, Somerset's decision to engage the Yorkist army on this plateau was sound. Defending the ground just before Towton would block any enemy advance towards the city of York, whether they moved along the London–Towton road or an old Roman road to the west. The Lancastrians deployed on the north side of the dale, using the valley as a "protective ditch"; the disadvantage of this position was that they could not see beyond the southern ridge of the dale. The Lancastrian flanks were protected by marshes; their right was further secured by the steep banks of the Cock Beck. The width of their deployment area did not allow for a longer front line, depriving the Lancastrians of the opportunity to use their numerical superiority. Waurin's account gave rise to the suggestion that Somerset ordered a force of mounted spearmen to conceal itself in Castle Hill Wood, ready to charge into the Yorkist left flank at an opportune time in battle.
The Yorkists appeared as the Lancastrians finished deployment. Line after line of soldiers crested the southern ridge of the dale and formed up in ranks opposite their enemies as snow began to fall. Edward's army was outnumbered and Norfolk's troops had yet to arrive to join them. The Yorkist vanguard was commanded by Lord Fauconberg. Hall names John Wenlock and John Dinham and others as commanders of the Yorkist rearguard. Sources variously mention the Duke of Somerset, Trollope, the Earl of Northumberland and the Duke of Exeter as the commanders of the Lancastrian host, but show little agreement as to which portion of the host each of them was assigned.
Fighting.
As Somerset was content to stand and let his foes come to him, the opening move of the battle was made by the Yorkists. Noticing the direction and strength of the wind, Fauconberg ordered all Yorkist archers to step forward and unleash a volley of their arrows from what would be the standard maximum range of their longbows. With the wind behind them, the Yorkist missiles travelled farther than usual, plunging deep into the masses of soldiers on the hill slope.
The response from the Lancastrian archers was ineffective as the heavy wind blew snow in their faces. They found it difficult to judge the range and pick out their targets and their arrows fell short of the Yorkist ranks; Fauconberg had ordered his men to retreat after loosing one volley, thus avoiding any casualties. Unable to observe their results, the Lancastrians loosed their arrows until most had been used, leaving a thick, prickly carpet in the ground in front of the Yorkists.
After the Lancastrians had ceased loosing their arrows, Fauconberg ordered his archers to step forward again to shoot. When they had exhausted their ammunition, the Yorkists plucked arrows off the ground in front of them—arrows loosed by their foes—and continued shooting. Coming under attack without any effective response of its own, the Lancastrian army moved from its position to engage the Yorkists in close combat. Seeing the advancing mass of men, the Yorkist archers shot a few more volleys before retreating behind their ranks of men-at-arms, leaving thousands of arrows in the ground to hinder the Lancastrian attack.
As the Yorkists reformed their ranks to receive the Lancastrian charge, their left flank came under attack by the horsemen from Castle Hill Wood mentioned by Waurin. The Yorkist left wing fell into disarray and several men started to flee. Edward had to take command of the left wing to save the situation. By engaging in the fight and encouraging his followers, his example inspired many to stand their ground. The armies clashed and archers shot into the mass of men at short range. The Lancastrians continuously threw fresher men into the fray and gradually the numerically inferior Yorkist army was forced to give ground and retreat up the southern ridge. Gravett thought that the Lancastrian left had less momentum than the rest of its formation, skewing the line of battle such that its western end tilted towards Saxton.
The fighting continued for three hours, according to research by English Heritage, a government body in charge of conservation of historic sites. It was indecisive until the arrival of Norfolk's men. Marching up the Old London Road, Norfolk's contingent was hidden from view until they crested the ridge and attacked the Lancastrian left flank. The Lancastrians continued to give fight but the advantage had shifted to the Yorkists. By the end of the day, the Lancastrian line had broken up, as small groups of men began fleeing for their lives. Polydore Vergil, chronicler for Henry VII of England, claimed that combat lasted for a total of 10 hours.
Rout.
The tired Lancastrians flung off their helmets and armour to run faster. Without such protection, they were much more vulnerable to the attacks of the Yorkists. Norfolk's troops were much fresher and faster. Fleeing across what would later become known as Bloody Meadow, many Lancastrians were cut down from behind or were slain after they had surrendered. Before the battle, both sides had issued the order to give no quarter and the Yorkists were in no mood to spare anyone after the long, gruelling fight. A number of Lancastrians, such as Trollope, also had substantial bounties on their heads. Gregory's chronicle stated 42 knights were killed after they were taken prisoner.
Archaeological findings in the late 20th century shed light on the final moments of the battle. In 1996 workmen at a construction site in the town of Towton uncovered a mass grave, which archaeologists believed to contain the remains of men who were slain during or after the battle in 1461. The bodies showed severe injuries to their upper torsos; arms and skulls were cracked or shattered. One exhumed specimen, known as Towton 25, had the front of his skull bisected: a weapon had slashed across his face, cutting a deep wound that split the bone. The skull was also pierced by another deep wound, a horizontal cut from a blade across the back.
The Lancastrians lost more troops in their rout than from the battlefield. Men struggling across the river were dragged down by currents and drowned. Those floundering were stepped on and pushed under water by their comrades behind them as they rushed to get away from the Yorkists. As the Lancastrians struggled across the river, Yorkist archers rode to high vantage points and shot arrows at them. The dead began to pile up and the chronicles state that the Lancastrians eventually fled across these "bridges" of bodies. The chase continued northwards across the River Wharfe, which was larger than Cock Beck. A bridge over the river collapsed under the flood of men and many drowned trying to cross. Those who hid in Tadcaster and York were hunted down and killed.
A newsletter dated 4 April 1461 reported a widely circulated figure of 28,000 casualties in the battle, which Charles Ross and other historians believe was exaggerated. The number was taken from the heralds' estimate of the dead and appeared in letters from Edward and the Bishop of Salisbury, Richard Beauchamp. Letters from an ambassador and a merchant from the duchy of Milan broke this number down into 8,000 dead for the Yorkists and 20,000 for the Lancastrians; in contrast, bishops Nicholas O'Flanagan (Elphin) and Francesco Coppini reported only 800 dead Yorkists. Other contemporary sources gave higher numbers, ranging from 30,000 to 38,000; Hall quoted an exact figure of 36,776. An exception was the "Annales rerum anglicarum", which stated the Lancastrians had 9,000 casualties, an estimate Ross and Wolffe found to be more believable. A more recent analysis of the sources and archaeological evidence, which posits accounts of Towton were combined with those of the actions of Ferrybridge and Dintingdale, suggests total casualty figures in the range 2800 - 3800.
The Lancastrian nobility had heavy losses. The Earl of Northumberland, lords Welles, Mauley, and Dacre, and Sir Andrew Trollope fell in battle, while the earls of Devon and Wiltshire were afterwards taken and executed. Lord Dacre was said to have been killed by an archer who was perched in a "bur tree" (a local term for an elder). In contrast, the Yorkists lost only one notable member of the gentry—Horne—at Towton.
Aftermath.
On receiving news of their army's defeat, Henry fled into exile in Scotland with his wife and son. They were later joined by Somerset, Ros, Exeter, and the few Lancastrian nobles who escaped from the battlefield. The Battle of Towton severely reduced the power of the House of Lancaster in England; the linchpins of their power at court (Northumberland, Clifford, Ros, and Dacre) had either died or fled the country, ending the house's domination over the north of England. Edward further exploited the situation, naming 14 Lancastrian peers as traitors. Approximately 96 Lancastrians of the rank of knight and below were also attainted—24 of them members of parliament.
The new king preferred winning over his enemies to his cause; the nobles he attainted either died in the battle or had refused to submit to him. The estates of a few of these nobles were confiscated by the crown but the rest were untouched, remaining in the care of their families. Edward also pardoned many of those he attainted after they submitted to his rule.
Although Henry was at large in Scotland with his son, the battle put an end (for the time being) to disputes over the country's state of leadership since the Act of Accord. The English people were assured that there was now one true king—Edward. He turned his attention to consolidating his rule over the country, winning over the people and putting down the rebellions raised by the few remaining Lancastrian diehards. He knighted several of his supporters and elevated several of his gentry supporters to the peerage; Fauconberg was made the Earl of Kent. Warwick benefited from Edward's rule after the battle. He received parts of Northumberland's and Clifford's holdings, and was made "the king's lieutenant in the North and admiral of England." Edward bestowed on him many offices of power and wealth, further enhancing the earl's considerable influence and riches.
By 1464, the Yorkists had "wiped out all effective Lancastrian resistance in the north of England." Edward's reign was not interrupted until 1470; by then, his relationship with Warwick had deteriorated to such an extent that the earl defected to the Lancastrians and forced Edward to flee England, restoring Henry to the throne. The interruption of Yorkist rule was brief, as Edward regained his throne after defeating Warwick and his Lancastrian cohorts at the Battle of Barnet in 1471.
Literature.
In the sixteenth century William Shakespeare wrote a number of dramatisations of historic figures. The use of history as a backdrop, against which the familiar characters act out Shakespeare's drama, lends a sense of realism to his plays. Shakespeare wrote a three-part play about Henry VI, relying heavily on Hall's chronicle as a source. His vision of the Battle of Towton ("Henry VI", Part 3, Act 2, Scene 5), touted as the "bloodiest" engagement in the Wars of the Roses, became a set piece about the "terror of civil war, a "national" terror that is essentially "familial"". Historian Bertram Wolffe said it was thanks to Shakespeare's dramatisation of the battle that the weak and ineffectual Henry was at least remembered by English society, albeit for his pining to have been born a shepherd rather than a king.
Shakespeare's version of the battle presents a notable scene that comes immediately after Henry's soliloquy. Henry witnesses the laments of two soldiers in the battle. One slays his opponent in hope of plunder, only to find the victim is his son; the other kills his enemy, who turns out to be his father. Both killers have acted out of greed and fell into a state of deep grieving after discovering their misdeeds. Shakespearian scholar Arthur Percival Rossiter names the scene as the most notable of the playwright's written "rituals". The delivery of the event follows the pattern of an opera: after a long speech, the actors alternate among one another to deliver single-line asides to the audience. In this scene of grief – in a reversal of the approach adopted in his later historical plays – Shakespeare uses anonymous fictional characters to illustrate the ills of civil war while a historical king reflects on their fates. Michael Hattaway, Emeritus Professor of English Literature at the University of Sheffield, comments that Shakespeare intended to show Henry's sadness over the war, to elicit the same emotion among the audience and to expose Henry's ineptitude as king.
The Battle of Towton was re-examined by Geoffrey Hill in his poem "Funeral Music" (1968). Hill presents the historical event through the voices of its combatants, looking at the turmoil of the era through their eyes. The common soldiers grouse about their physical discomforts and the sacrifices that they had made for the ideas glorified by their leaders. They share their superiors' determination to seek the destruction of their opponents, even at the cost of their lives. Hill depicts the participants' belief that the event was pre-destined and of utmost importance as a farce; the world went about its business regardless of the Battle of Towton.
Legacy.
Obtaining an accurate figure for casualties has been complicated: remains were either moved or used by farmers as fertiliser, and corpses were generally stripped of clothing and non-perishable items before burial. However some survived when later buildings were constructed over their graves; the first were uncovered in 1996 and excavations have so far uncovered more than 50 skeletons from the battle. An analysis of their injuries shows the brutality of the contest, including extensive post-mortem mutilations.
15th-century documents confirm some casualties were reburied in graveyards at Saxton and a chapel constructed for the purpose by Richard III in 1484. His death at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485 meant the building was never completed and eventually collapsed. In 1929 stones allegedly from the chapel were used to create the Towton Cross, also known as Lord Dacre's Cross, which commemorates those who died in the battle.
Lord Dacre was buried at the church of All Saints in Saxton and his tomb was reported in the late 19th century to be well maintained, although several of its panels had been weathered away. The tree from which Dacre's killer was supposed to have shot his arrow had been cut down by the late 19th century. In 2010 fragments from what are some of the earliest known handguns found in Britain were discovered on the battlefield.
Views of the Wars of the Roses in general and of the battle as a charnel house were formed by Shakespeare and endured for centuries. However at the start of the 21st century the "largest and bloodiest battle ever fought on English soil" was no longer prominent in the public consciousness. British journalists lamented that people were ignorant of the Battle of Towton and of its significance. According to English Heritage the battle was of the "greatest importance": it was one of the largest, if not "the" largest, fought in England and resulted in the replacement of one royal dynasty by another. Hill expressed a different opinion. Although impressed with the casualty figures touted by the chroniclers, he believed the battle brought no monumental changes to the lives of the English people.
The Battle of Towton was associated with a tradition previously upheld in the village of Tysoe, Warwickshire. For several centuries a local farmer had scoured a hill figure, the Red Horse of Tysoe, each year, as part of the terms of his land tenancy. Although the origins of the tradition have never been conclusively identified, it was locally claimed this was done to commemorate the Earl of Warwick's inspirational deed of slaying his horse to show his resolve to stand and fight with the common soldiers. The tradition died in 1798 when the Inclosure Acts implemented by the English government redesignated the common land on which the equine figure was located as private property. The scouring was revived during the early 20th century but has since stopped.


Convoy SC 26

SC 26 was a North Atlantic convoy of the SC series which ran during the battle of the Atlantic in World War II.
Prelude.
SC 26 was an east-bound convoy of 23 ships which sailed from Halifax on 20 March 1941 bound for Liverpool. It carried war materials and was led by Commodore GTC Swabey in SS "Magician".
SC 26 comprised 23 ships and was escorted only by the Armed Merchant Cruiser (AMC) "Worcestershire" (Cdr J Cresswell). At this stage of the campaign escorts against U-boat attack could only be provided in the Western Approaches; the Ocean escort, usually an AMC, was provided to give some protection against surface raiders.
SC 26 was opposed by a patrol line of 9 U-boats, positioned at the limit of endurance to intercept east-bound convoys before the Western Approaches escort had joined.
These were "U-46", "U-69", , "U-74", "U-97", "U-98" and "U-101". Two other boats, "U-94" and "U-76", were moving west to join the line.
This patrol line was unnamed; at this stage of the campaign patrol lines did not carry identifying names, as they did later, though if a wolfpack formed it was referred to by the name of the sighting captain.
On 1 April 1941 an outbound U-boat, "U-76" (Hippel) on her way to join the newly formed patrol line south of Iceland sighted a west-bound convoy in the North-West Approaches. This was OB 305, of 51 ships. Hippel reported this, but U-boat Command (BdU) was reluctant to engage so close to Britain and within range of Coastal Command aircraft; he ordered Hippel to shadow OB 305 westwards and moved the patrol line to intercept. U-76 followed the convoy during the day, but lost contact when she was forced to dive by approaching trawlers. Hippel was ordered to follow west to try and regain contact.
As they did so, one of the boats on the patrol line, "U-74" (Kentrat), made contact with an east-bound convoy, SC 26, which BdU determined to attack. After sending a sighting report, Kentrat commenced shadowing, and was joined throughout the day by 3 other U-boats that were nearby.
Action.
After first sighting on 2 April 1941 "U-74" commenced shadowing, while the other boats in the area were drawn in for the attack. By evening of 2 April BdU had gathered a pack of 4 U-boats, ("U-46", "U-69", "U-74" and "U-76") who commenced a devastating attack.
The first assault, during the night of 2/3 April, was made by "U-46" (Endrass) just after midnight; She fired on "British Reliance", which sank; "Alderpool", which was damaged, to be sunk later by the newly arrived "U-73"; and "Thirlby", which had stopped to pick up survivors, but escaped harm.
Just after 4am the pack attacked again; "Leonidas Z Cambanis" was hit by "U-74" and sank, followed a few minutes later by and "Indier", both hit by "U-73" (Rosenbaum).
With the loss of 5 ships already, nearly a quarter of the convoy, Swabey determined the ships would be less vulnerable if they were dispersed, and at 4.21 am the decision was made to scatter the convoy.
As the convoy started to scatter, a 6th ship, the tanker "British Viscount", was hit by "U-73" and burst into flames, illuminating the scene. Shortly after, "Worcestershire" was hit by "U-74"; she was sustained severe damage, but remained afloat.
At dawn on 3 October saw ships and U-boats scattered across a wide area; ships were heading east, pursued by U-boats seeking to regain contact, while the warships detailed to escort SC 26 hurried west.
During the morning Swabey in "Magician" met a number of ships which he gathered together, to reform the convoy; these eight ships were met later in the day by destroyers "Wolverine" (LtCdr J Rowlands, as Senior Officer Escort), and "Veteran".
"Worcestershire", moving under her own steam, was met by the destroyer "Hurricane", which escorted her back to Liverpool.
Two other destroyers, "Havelock" and "Hesperus", arrived at the battle site and searched for survivors.
Six other ships remained scattered; just before midday "U-98", newly arrived, found "Helle", which she stalked and sank. In midafternoon "U-98" found and sank "Welcombe", also travelling alone.
Also on 3rd "U-76", still moving west, encountered "Daphne", a Finnish freighter sailing independently, and sank her.
At dusk on the evening of 3/4 April "U-94", also newly arrived, found the main body again. She attacked, sinking "Harbledown", but all further attacks were driven off.
During 4 April there were no further attacks on Swabeys group, and SC 26 was joined by 3 more destroyers ("Verity", "Vivien" and "Chelsea") and a corvette ("Convolvulus")
During the night of 4/5 April another ship from SC 26, "Athenic", was travelling alone ahead of the main body. She was intercepted by "U-76" and sunk. All of her crew were saved, including survivors from the "Liguria", whom "Athenic" had rescued some days before.
Another SC 26 ship, "Thirlby", also sailing alone, was found and fired on by "U-69". She was damaged, but not sunk, and was able to reach port.
In the main body, "Eelbeck" was damaged, but there were no other casualties.
At dawn on 5 April "U-76" was running on the surface when she was sighted by "Wolverine". As Rowlands approached "U-76" dived, and "Wolverine" attacked, assisted by "Scarborough" and "Arbutus". "Wolverine" dropped 2 depth charges, followed almost immediately by a full pattern of 8 from "Scarborough". "U-76" was forced to the surface, and the crew abandoned her. "Arbutus" rushed in to attempt to secure and capture the boat and its prized cypher equipment, but the boat was filled with chlorine gas from the batteries, and she quickly sank. All "U-76" crew but one were rescued.
The pack made no further attacks on the ships of SC 26, who made their way to port. Swabey's group of 8 ships arrived in Liverpool on 8 April 1941; "Worcester" and "Hurricane" arrived in port the same day.
"Thirlby", which was damaged, in company with "Loch Ewe", docked three days later on the 11th.
"Tennessee", carrying survivors from "British Reliance", put into port in Ireland, while "Tenax" and "Ethel R" docked in Britain.
Nearly half of SC 26 had been lost; 10 ships sunk, for 51,969 tons, with 2 ships and the ocean escort damaged.
Nearly 100 sailors lost their lives.
Against this one U-boat was destroyed; most of its crew were picked up./rescued.
Conclusion.
The U-boat arm had scored another victory, and by managing to shift its point of interception further west, beyond the range of the anti-submarine escorts, ensured a series of successes until Western Approaches Command could adjust.
"Arbutus" had been unable to capture "U-76" and her prized Enigma machine, but this breakthrough was just 4 weeks away with the seizure of "U-110" in May, with a profound effect on the course of the Atlantic campaign.


Dodge City Army Air Field

Dodge City Army Airfield, also known as Ford County Airport and Dodge City Municipal Airport, is an abandoned airfield located in Ford County, Kansas, northwest of Dodge City.
History.
The Dodge City Chamber of Commerce, through its president, Jess C. Denious, was active during early 1942 in encouraging the government to locate an airfield in Dodge City as part of the Army Air Forces 70,000 Pilot Training Program. Mr. Denious, editor of the Dodge City Daily Globe, and lieutenant governor of Kansas, 1943–1947, made several trips to Washington to interview the appropriate authorities. In order to demonstrate the advantages of the locality, Denious had compiled considerable information on such things as weather, terrain, and utilities.
The first public announcement of the government's intention to construct an airfield at Dodge City was made on 10 June 1942. The purpose of the field, as stated at the time, was to provide bomber training for the Royal Air Force. However, nothing further was heard of this, and the base was scheduled to be an advanced flying school, so that its original designation was "Army Air Forces Advanced Flying School" This remained the field's intended function until February 1943, when, three or four months before operations would begin, the mission was changed to B-26 Marauder medium bomber transition training.
Although the United States Engineers had surveyed the land desired for the field, bids for construction were let before the land was acquired. When the bids were opened it was discovered that only one bid had been submitted. A group of contractors, known as the Liston-Clarke, San-Ore, D. H. Hardman group, had joined to make the bid. The contract was awarded this group and the first truck load of building materials was unloaded on 6 August 1942.
Pending final settlement of the purchase, possession was obtained by Rights of Entry granted by the owners. On 15 August 1942 the Office of Chief of Army Engineers issued a directive authorizing the acquisition of approximately 2,520 acres at an estimated cost of $191,353.
Since the Division Engineers Real Estate Branch was unable to come to an agreement with the eight landowners involved, it was necessary to proceed by condemnation. A Declaration of Taking was consequently filed in the United States District Court for the District of Kansas at Topeka. This action of course vested title in the United States. At the same time the sum estimated by the War Department to be fair compensation was deposited with the District Court.
The principal construction of the facility consisted of building a cantonment, airdrome, roads, and facilities. The arrangement was standard rectangular, with building exteriors consisting of wood sheeting covered with 15-pound felt and asbestos-siding shingles. Housing was prepared for close to 4,000 men, while the hospital had a capacity of 177 beds. Warehousing was built to provide 71,186 square feet of space, and the airdrome could accommodate 165 aircraft.
Four runways (150 feet wide and 6,500 feet in length) were constructed, while six 75-foot taxiways connected the parking apron (600 x 5,300 feet) with the runway system. Work on the main construction project, begun on 5 August 1942, was completed by 31 December. Three or four days prior to completion of the main project, work was begun on the second most important project (principally concerned with completion of the runway system), which was finished by 31 March 1943. In addition to the main base and airfield, there are at least four auxiliary fields that were also constructed for emergency and training use in the area along with the use of Dodge City Municipal Airport
No records have been located on Dodge City AAAF 1,2,3 or the exact location of Dodge City AAAF.
Assigned units.
The first soldiers assigned to the new base consisted of a detachment of 27 enlisted men of the Quartermaster Corps, under Capt. J. M. Cooper, who arrived on 1 November 1942.
Somewhat over a month later, on 11 December, the base was formally activated with the official designation "Army Air Forces Advanced Flying School, Dodge City, Kansas." As a result of a change of mission for the
base, it was redesignated, 27 May 1943, "Army Air Forces Pilot School (Specialized 2-Engine), Dodge City Army Airfield, Dodge City, Kansas." After official activation of the base there was a rapid build-up of personnel strength, so much so that the local paper could observe on 2 February 1943: "Enlisted men are pouring into the new field by the hundreds."
Training at the base was under the immediate supervision of the director of training. The training function was broken up under the director into flying training under a director of flying, and ground school instruction under a director of technical training. In a re-organization of Army Air Force training units, the field came under the control of the 2515th Army Air Forces Base Unit, Army Air Forces Pilot School (Specialized 2-Engine), on 1 March 1944.
Advanced Twin Engine School.
Dodge City Army Airfield became one of three B-26 Marauder training bases, the others being Tarrant Army Airfield, and Laughlin Army Airfield, both in Texas. The first planes to be used for instruction, a dozen B-26's, were delivered to Dodge City Army Air Field on 26 April 1943. On the same day, the first group of officer students, 36 in all, reported for B-26 transition training. No time was lost, for on 28 April the first training flights began. Most of the graduates were sent overseas to Ninth and Twelfth Air Forces in England and the Mediterranean Theaters, although Tenth Air Force in the CBI also flew Marauders.
In addition to the regular category of officer students in training, several of the classes included Free French Air Force pilot trainees, as well as contingents of Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP's). The women pilots compared favorably with the men in all phases of the training, which was the same for both sexes.
During the active training period at the base, that is from 28 April 1943 to June 1945, an estimated 2,215 student officers, Free French, and WASP's received B-26 transition training.
The relations between the base and Dodge City were uniformly good. The limited size of the town created problems of housing for married officers and enlisted men, but this was the universal and normal wartime condition. The people of Dodge City showed themselves most co-operative in welcoming a large number of troops into their community. For example, during February 1943, various civic organizations co-operated in furnishing day rooms for the squadrons on the base. In March, the local Rotary, Kiwanis, and Lions Clubs presented a minstrel show which netted about $1,200 to aid in furnishing the day rooms.
Friendly co-operation was by no means a one-way street. During the Boot Hill Fair and Rodeo in September 1943, the Technical Training Department exhibited various types of equipment and instructional aids in a booth on the fair grounds. Outstanding for its co-operation was the Dodge City Daily Globe, which was consistently generous with publicity releases.
Inactivation.
As the war in Europe ground to a halt the need for B-26 transition training was sharply curtailed, as no B-26s were assigned to the Pacific Theater or CBI (the B-25 Mitchell was used instead). Consequently, all training activities ceased with the class which graduated on 28 June 1945.
Two days later the official inactivation announcement was made by Central Flying Training Command, whereupon the officer in charge began the inactivation process. By 9 July all property had been turned in. Inactivation was officially completed on 31 July 1945 and all personnel had been transferred as of that date. Whereupon, Dodge City Army Air Field was placed on the
inactive list.
The USAAF closed Dodge City AAF on 31 July 1945 and was placed reserve status. It was re designated as Dodge City Air Force Base in 1948, however it was not manned and was turned over to the Army's District Engineer, Seventh Service Command at Omaha, Nebraska who assumed jurisdiction over the base in 1949, pending disposition.
Excess buildings and demilitarized equipment were sold or transferred to other bases. The General Services Administration eventually turned the air base over to local government officials. The property was then opened as a civilian airport.
Postwar use.
The facility was listed as "Dodge City Municipal Airport (Ford County)". Within the next four years the airport apparently lost some of its runway length, as the June 1954 USAF Wichita Sectional Chart depicted the field's longest runway as having gone down to 4,200'. The airport was not attended, and the manager was listed as William Meade.
Dodge City Municipal Airport was evidently closed at some point between 1954–62, with civil air traffic now utilizing Dodge City Regional Airport.
Current status.
The airfield & its buildings were subsequently reused for a variety of commercial purposes. Today, the Stanley Feed Yard occupies the site.
There is little left of the World War II Dodge City Army Airfield. The unused facility slowly deteriorated over the years, and in the early 1990s, the concrete runways and taxiways were progressively removed for farming. Agricultural fields have largely replaced the airfield. The administrative/technical site is gated by the present owner and is on private property, not accessible to the general public. Aerial imagery shows most of the concrete aircraft parking apron remains, the expansion joints clearly visible and separating the poured sections; one hangar remains standing in a very deteriorated state, the remains of two others which collapsed on the ground. A few derelict buildings remain standing, a few concrete foundations of others are all that remain.
Dodge City Army Airfield is on private property and can not be accessed by the general public without the owner's permission. The field can be reached by driving on U.S. Route 400 west from Dodge City, then turning north on Airport Road, Ford County 106 to be viewed from the highway.


Operation Mo

 or the Port Moresby Operation was a Japanese plan to take control of the Australian Territory of New Guinea during World War II as well as other locations in the South Pacific. The goal was to isolate Australia and New Zealand from the Allied United States.
The plan was developed by the Imperial Japanese Navy and supported by Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, the commander-in-chief of the Combined Fleet, but the operation was eventually abandoned.
Background.
When the Japanese Navy was planning the New Guinea Campaign (air strikes against Lae and Salamaua, disembarkation in Huon Gulf, New Britain (Rabaul), New Ireland (Kavieng), Finch Harbor (also called Finschhafen), and the capture of Morobe and Buna), strategists envisioned those territories as support points to implement the capture of Port Moresby. The implementation of these operations was assigned to the Japanese Naval task force led by Admiral Chūichi Nagumo, after completing the Java campaign. Another important step was the occupation of Christmas Island to the south of Java. The Japanese Navy General Staff had been considering Operation Mo since 1938, as a step in the consolidation of the Southern Seas areas in the .
Strategy.
The Directive of Operation Mo was conceived in 1938, but with no specific time for its execution, pending earlier successes in the southern area during the first and second phases of the conquest.
In April 1942, the operation was organized into four large actions and was approved by the Army and Navy General Staffs:
Japanese planners took into account an Allied response to the operation by detaching one task force to the west of parallel between of Rennel and Deboyne Islands and another to the east of same point. These measures would permit a Japanese invasion force to use the Jomard Passage directly to Port Moresby. Japanese naval intelligence also suspected the presence of the American aircraft carrier in Coral Sea waters during this period.
A Japanese message on 9 April 1942 indicated that the "RZP Campaign" against Port Moresby was to be an invasion not an air raid and which would isolate Australia from America. USN codebreaker Rudy Fabian at FRUMEL briefed MacArthur who was "incredulous" as he expected the target would be New Caledonia, so Fabian explained the (JN-25) code-breaking process and showed him the Japanese commander’s intercepted message with the objectives to restrict enemy fleet movements and attack the north coast of Australia. So a transport due to leave the next day for New Caledonia was sent to Port Moresby. On 23 April Fabian showed MacArthur that the IJN was amassing a large force at Truk, and planned to occupy Tulagi also. MacArthur got an Australian reconnaissance plane to "discover" the Port Moresby invasion force on 5 May, leading to the Battle of the Coral Sea (see Central Bureau).
Order of battle.
The Tulagi assault force, led by Rear Admiral Kiyohide Shima, was composed of the following units:
The Port Moresby occupation force, led by Rear Admiral Sadamichi Kajioka, was composed of the following units:
Supporting these operations and intercepting any Allied interference, Rear Admiral Aritomo Goto commanded:
During the course of operation, Yamamoto sent the following heavy support force from Truk, led by Rear Admiral Chuichi Hara:
Supporting this force was the 25th Air Fleet, (Yokohama Air Corps) led by Rear Admiral Sadayoshi Yamada, based in Rabaul, Lae, Salamaua, Buna and Deboyne Islands, composed of 60 Mitsubishi A6M "Zero" fighters, 48 Mitsubishi G3M "Nell" and 26 Aichi E13A "Jake" and Mitsubishi F1M "Pete" reconnaissance seaplanes. This unit bombed Port Moresby on 5–6 May, ahead of the Japanese Army-Navy landing on 7 May.
Execution.
The Tulagi assault force began their landings on Tulagi on 3 May. On 4 May 1942, troopships bearing the South Seas Detachment set sail southward from Rabaul for Port Moresby. This same day US aircraft from "Yorktown" attacked the Tulagi assault force, inflicting heavy damage, but were unsuccessful in preventing the occupation of Tulagi, Gavutu, and Tanambogo islands.
Three days later, as a naval engagement appeared to be brewing in the Coral Sea, the Japanese Moresby transports immediately veered back to the north, in order to avoid combat. The resulting Battle of the Coral Sea inflicted significant aircraft losses on the Fourth Fleet, "Shōhō" was sunk, and "Shōkaku" was damaged. Air groups from the two carriers, including the relatively undamaged "Zuikaku", suffered such sizable losses, it was necessary they return to Japan to re-equip and train.
The Japanese abandoned their plans to land the South Seas Detachment directly at Port Moresby from the sea. The Japanese Army was making new preparations for combat when, on 11 July, High Command ordered the suspension of Operation FS the projected actions against New Caledonia, Fiji, and Samoa, after the remaining Japanese carrier strength was destroyed at the Midway.
These battles prevented the Japanese landings against Port Moresby. Instead the Japanese army commenced an ultimately unsuccessful campaign to take Port Moresby with an overland approach across the Owen Stanley Range via the Kokoda Track.


Alexai Point Army Airfield

Alexai Point Army Airfield is an abandoned World War II airfield with two runways laid across Alexai Point on Attu Island, Alaska. The remains of the Seabee built airbase are located about 4 miles east of the closed Casco Cove Coast Guard Station, directly across Massacre Bay.
History.
On the morning of 11 May 1943, American forces went ashore on Japanese-occupied Attu in the Aleutian Islands. The Japanese, who knew the Americans were coming, had pulled back from their shoreline positions and moved to defensive positions on higher ground above the fog.
On 30 May 1943, before the battle for Attu was completely over, the building of Alexai Point Airfield was initiated using Marsden Matting to pave the runways. Navy Seabees also began construction of an airfield at Casco Cove for Naval Air units. Also, on 28 May, a small detachment of Alaskan Scouts began reconnaissance of Shemya, a small, flat, uninhabited island 35 miles to the east of Attu. The following day, Army Engineers came ashore on Shemya to begin construction of another, much longer runway suitable for bombers.
The first landing at Alexai Point Airfield was made by an Eleventh Air Force C-47 arriving on 8 June 1943 to deliver fighter crews to Alexai Point, and to evacuate wounded soldiers. Shortly afterwards, P-40 Warhawks from the 344th Fighter Squadron arrived to provide air cover over the island.
USAAF units assigned to Alexai Point Army Airfield were:
Initially used for carrying out bombardment operations over Kiska Island during June and July 1943, Alexai Point and the new Shemya Army Airfield became forward bases for operations against the Kurile Islands of northern Japan, after the end of the Aleutian Islands Campaign in late August. Alexai Point became home of very long-range (VLR) P-38 Lightning squadrons, providing fighter escort for B-24 Liberators bombers based at Shemya. By mid-July fighters from Alexai Point Airfield had made their first strike against Japan, a raid against the northern Kuril Islands.
With the end of the war in 1945, combat units were gradually withdrawn; the 11th Weather Squadron and the 713th Air Warning Radar Squadron remained until June 1946 when the base was closed. The facility was abandoned, with most structures dismantled, the usable buildings being reassembled at Naval Air Station Attu.
Today many revetments, roads, anti-aircraft gun emplacements and the remains of the runways and taxiways remain, abandoned for almost seventy years.
Accidents and incidents.
On January 1, 1945 2nd Lt. Robert L. Nesmith flying from Alexai Point, crashed his Lockheed P-38G-10-LO Lightning in Temnac Valley, just west of Attu Station while on a low-level training mission over Attu. The aircraft was nominated to be added to the National Register of Historic Places but instead was recovered in 1999 and static-restored for display at Elmendorf AFB.


Campbell Industries

Campbell Industries or Campbell Machine Company was a shipbuilding company in San Diego, California, most construction was Fishing boats. To support the World War 2 demand for ships Campbell Industries shipyard switched over to military construction and built: US Navy Minesweepers. Campbell Industries was started in 1906 as the Campbell Machine Company as builder and repair yard for tuna seiners. Campbell Machine Company went public in 1960 and was renamed to Campbell Industries. In 1979 the yard was sold again to Marco. In 1982 Marco sold the yard to San Diego Marine Industries, Inc. (not the well known San Diego Marine Construction, Inc.). San Diego Marine Industries, Inc. later became Southwest Marine in 1985. The shipyard closed in 1991 and was later sold, part of the land became San Diego Convention Center. The shipyard was located at 1206 Marina Park Way, San Diego, in San Diego Bay near Embarcadero Marina Park South in the Port of San Diego.
"YMS-1"-class minesweeper.
Campbell Industries built s for the United States Navy in 1942 and 1943. The ships had a displacement of 270 tons, a length of , a beam of , a draft of , and a top speed of . The ships had a crew of 32. The vessels were armed with one 40 mm gun. Twin sister ship see: USS Bobolink (AMS-2)
Notable ships.
Notable ships:


Convoy SQ-36

Convoy SQ-36 was a trade convoy of merchant ships during the Second World War. It was one of the numbered SQ convoys from Sydney to Quebec. The convoy was found on 15 September 1942 by , which then destroyed two ships from the convoy while sank another and damaged two.
Background.
The SQ convoys were a series of merchant ship formations escorted by warships ranging in size from destroyers to Motor Launches to protect against attack by German submarines in the St. Lawrence River and the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The convoys travelled from Sydney, Nova Scotia to Quebec City, Quebec and were the reverse direction of river traffic of the QS convoys. The March 1942 St. Lawrence Conference reviewed plans for Quebec-Sydney convoys for defence against U-boats in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the St. Lawrence River as well as establishing a base at Gaspé, Quebec for the St. Lawrence patrol force, named Gaspé Force. However, by Spring 1942 the only deterrent active within the St. Lawrence were air patrols. In early May, the first U-boat arrived in the St. Lawrence, . It entered the Gulf of St. Lawrence and sank two merchant vessels.
Following the attacks, all independent sailings were cancelled and the QS-SQ convoy system was adopted. As a result of merchant ship losses in the Atlantic Ocean, many slow lake freighters, vessels built for shipping on the Great Lakes, had been brought into service supplying St. Lawrence ports. The large number of slow ships prevented the adoption of slow and fast convoys of merchants, making all the convoys uniform in speed with a maximum of .
From 6 to 10 September 1942, and successfully attacked Convoy QS-33 and caused severe losses to the merchants travelling within it. On 11 September, "U-517" sank the corvette in the St. Lawrence River. Following the failure of QS-33, which despite air cover and warship escort, the Naval Service Headquarters in Ottawa transferred two destroyers from the Western Local Escort Force to augment the convoy escort of future sailings.
Ships in the convoy.
Merchant ships.
SQ-33 was one of the larger convoys in the series. There were twenty-two merchant vessels in the convoy. Thirteen were travelling in ballast, six were loaded with coal and three with paper. The vessels were arranged in seven columns, with the middle row containing four vessels. Each ship was to be spaced five cables apart (roughly ) and from the one ahead of it. The Convoy Commodore was situated aboard "Llangollen" and the Convoy Vice Commodore aboard "Essex Lance". The convoy commodore was responsible for station keeping among the merchants and to relay any orders to the rest of the merchant fleet from the senior escort officer.
Escort.
The escort initially comprised five vessels, led by the , also containing the and three Fairmile B Motor Launches. The destroyer , commanded by Lieutenant M.H.R. Crichton, joined the escort late on the first day. "Salisbury" was one of the destroyers temporarily assigned to Gaspé Force. The destroyer was equipped with Type 271 radar which made the vessel capable of locating surfaced submarines. The Fairmiles "Q-082" and "Q-063" remained with the convoy.
The convoy was provided with air cover from detachments based at Mont-Joli and Gaspé, Quebec, Charlottetown and Summerside, Prince Edward Island and Chatham, New Brunswick. A Canso amphibious aircraft accompanied the convoy as close air cover from sunrise to nightfall. On 15 September, the convoy escort was reinforced by the corvette and the minesweeper .
Battle.
Attack by "U-517".
SQ-36 was due to sail on 11 September bound for Quebec City. However, due to the attacks on QS-33 and the resulting decision to have destroyers accompany Gulf convoys, SQ-36's sailing was delayed until 13 September in order to allow "Salisbury" to join the escort. The convoy departed Sydney at 05:30 on 13 September, with "Salisbury" joined the convoy's screen at 17:45 directly from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador where the destroyer had been undergoing repairs. On 15 September, the escorts "Summerside" and "Chedabucto" joined the convoy screen off the Baie des Chaleurs. During this period, "U-517" had begun to move its patrol area from around the Magdalen Islands to Gaspé. While in transit on 15 September, the submarine spotted a Canso overhead and took it as a sign of nearby convoy. The submarine spotted the convoy at 12:00 and the submarine's commander, "Kapitänleutnant" Paul Hartwig, used the same tactics that had worked successfully during his attack on QS-33. Hartwig moved the submarine into the predicted path of the convoy and let the convoy sail towards him. However, the convoy made a change of direction and the submarine ended up off the starboard side of the convoy.
The sequence of events that followed were confused. In research by historians Michael L. Hadley and Roger Sarty, the logs of the submarine and the convoy do not match and certain events could not be corroborated. Furthermore, the chemically treated paper used in "Salisbury"s asdic returns faded so quickly that even in the immediate investigation following the attack by command staff at Halifax, Nova Scotia found it useless.
As "U-517" moved to avoid "Salisbury", which had been sweeping back towards the rear of the convoy. According to Hartwig's log, he fired four torpedoes at two vessels in separate columns at 13:33. He was forced to dive shortly after firing and claimed only one hit. Unknown to him, two of his torpedoes had struck targets, with the other two exploding in the rocks below Cap-des-Rosiers roughly away. The first merchant hit, "Inger Elizabeth" was the lead vessel in one of the columns and suffered an explosion amidships between hold #2 and the boiler room. The vessel had been transporting coal bound for Port-Alfred, Quebec and sank within five minutes of the torpedoing. Twenty-three of the twenty-six were rescued. The second vessel to be hit was "Saturnus", a defensively equipped merchant ship (DEMS), sailing in ballast bound for Montreal. "Saturnus" was the second ship in its column, dead centre of the convoy. Lookouts aboard "Saturnus" spotted the torpedo as it closed with the ship and increased speed and made to turn. However, the torpedo struck the vessel's stern. "Saturnus" sank in fifteen minutes with thirty-five of thirty-six of its crew being rescued. The survivors were landed north of Gaspé and trucked into town and then took a train to Montreal.
According to the convoy record, "Llangollen", another DEMS, spotted a periscope between the columns a few minutes after "Saturnus" was hit. "Llangollen" opened fire with its guns and at 13:45, the DEMS "Cragpool" and "Janetta" also began firing on contacts. A sixteen-minute delay between the first torpedoing and reaction by the convoy escorts elapsed, which Hadley states was the result of the Royal Navy "Salisbury" being unfamiliar with routines and procedures of Canadian tactics in gulf convoys. "Salisbury" turned towards sound of gunfire and spotted a periscope, which disappeared at 13:50 as Hartwig dove to . "Salisbury" made asdic contact with the submarine and dropped five depth charges at 14:00. "Arrowhead", which had been sweeping ahead of the convoy, joined "Salisbury" at the site of the asdic contact and dropped nine depth charges, with some set to and others to . "Arrowhead" and "Salisbury" made two more attacks before "Summerside" arrived to relieve the destroyer. The corvettes continued to hunt in the area until the Fairmiles arrived to relieve them, with "Arrowhead" departing to rejoin the convoy at 15:40 and "Summerside" at 16:20. The depth charges that the escorts had dropped damaged the storage tubes for reserve torpedoes on the exterior of the submarine's hull. Hartwig kept the submarine submerged until nightfall and gave up chasing the convoy as heavy fog set in.
Attack by "U-165".
Following the first attack, the convoy changed its organization with five columns of four merchant vessels. "Salisbury" was stationed ahead of the centre column, with "Vegreville", "Summerside" and "Q-063" on the port side of the column and "Chedabucto", "Arrowhead" and "Q-082" on the starboard side. "U-165" had been patrolling off Les Méchins, Quebec in the St. Lawrence River, approximately west of where the convoy came under attack by "U-517". On 16 September, the convoy approached "U-165"s patrol area, where the submarine had been alerted by "U-517" of the convoy's arrival. Under the command of "Fregattenkapitän" Eberhard Hoffman, the submarine moved to attack the convoy while submerged, entering the convoy between positions of "Vegreville" and "Summerside". At 07:09, lookouts aboard "Essex Lance", which was in ballast heading for Montreal, spotted a torpedo track in the water off the starboard bow. "Essex Lance" was the lead ship in the port side column, closest to shore. The torpedo struck the ship at 07:10 between the rudder and the propeller. "Essex Lance" settled by the stern but did not sink. The crew of fifty took to the lifeboats, but one of the crew drowned.
A few minutes later the merchant "Joannis" spotted a periscope within the convoy. "Joannis" was behind "Essex Lance" in the same column and was sailing in ballast bound for Montreal. Just as the vessel began evasive manoeuvres, a torpedo struck the ship aft. "Joannis" sank quickly, though the entire crew of thirty-seven escaped the ship. The survivors of both torpedoed merchants were loaded aboard "Q-082" and landed at Saint-Paulin-Dalibaire (now part of Les Méchins). "Salisbury" moved to where the periscope had been sighted and at 07:17 got a contact on asdic, but had problems manoeuvering within the convoy. "Arrowhead" and "Summerside" which had moved to join "Salisbury", could not relocate the contact. "Vegreville" attempted to tow "Essex Lance" which had not sunk. The stern of "Essex Lance" had dropped a further in the water and the bow of the vessel had begun to cant upward, forcing "Vegreville" to abandon the tow. The minesweeper abandoned the vessel, which remained loose in the St. Lawrence River until the arrival of the salvage tug "Lord Strathcona" on 17 September which towed the damaged merchant to Quebec City, arriving on 22 September. "Essex Lance" was repaired and returned to service. "U-165" torpedoed one more vessel of the convoy, "Pan York", which survived. "Salisbury" and "Arrowhead" made more depth charge attacks at 08:04, neither of which were reported by "U-165".
Aftermath.
At 11:00 on 16 September, "Salisbury" departed the convoy's screen to join its next convoy. The rest of the convoy arrived at Quebec on 16 September. "U-165" had expended all its torpedoes and began the return voyage home. At 10:00 the submarine was caught on the surface by a Hudson light bomber of No. 113 Squadron RCAF. The bomber went into a steep dive, using its camouflage to approach the submarine without being detected. The Hudson fired 361 machine gun rounds, strafing the submarine, before dropping four depth charges, fused for . The depth charges bracketed the submarine but did no damage. "U-165" was later sunk in the Bay of Biscay on its return to base in France. On 21 September, "U-517" was nearly rammed and sunk by while approaching SQ-38. On 29 September, the submarine was bombed by another aircraft from 113 Squadron, with one unexploded depth charge lodged in the "U-517"s foredeck. The submarine withdrew from the area on 2 October.
These losses contributed to the Canadian government's decision to close the Gulf and St. Lawrence River to overseas shipping. Additionally, the pressing need for escorts in the upcoming Invasion of North Africa by Allied forces prevented Canada from allocating further reinforcements to the gulf convoys. On 9 September, the Canadian government informed their allies that all overseas shipping bound for ports on the St. Lawrence River be diverted to Saint John, New Brunswick, Sydney or Halifax. Furthermore, the government intended to shut down the QS series of convoys within two weeks.


Battle of Roundway Down

The Battle of Roundway Down was fought on 13 July 1643 near Devizes, in Wiltshire during the First English Civil War. Despite being outnumbered and exhausted after riding overnight from Oxford, a Royalist cavalry force under Lord Wilmot won a crushing victory over the Parliamentarian Army of the West under Sir William Waller.
Viewed as their most decisive victory of the war, the Royalists secured control of South West England which they held until late 1645. Two weeks later they captured the port of Bristol, allowing them to establish links with supporters in Ireland.
Prelude.
After the hard fought Battle of Lansdown, the Royalists withdrew from Lansdown to Marshfield, hoping to obtain reinforcements and supplies from their wartime capital of Oxford. They arrived in Chippenham on 7 July. Meanwhile, despite his retreat, Waller's army was largely intact after the battle and losses were quickly replaced by the Parliamentarian garrison in Bristol. Hopton's precarious position provided Waller an opportunity to crush him if he moved fast enough and Waller set out from Bath with 5,000 troops, reaching Chippenham on 9 July.
As the Parliamentarians approached, Hopton marched south to Devizes, followed by Waller who occupied Roundway Down, high ground approximately 2 kilometres north of the town. Short of materials and outnumbered, the Royalists agreed that Prince Maurice and 300 cavalry would break out and race to Oxford for reinforcements, leaving Hopton and the 3,000 Cornish foot to hold Devizes. Departing at midnight on 10 July, Maurice reached Oxford next morning; most of the Royalist field army was absent but Lord Wilmot assembled 1,500 cavalry, then set out for Devizes with Maurice and his men.
The siege of Devizes.
On 11 July, Waller brought his army down from Roundway Down and deployed them on the east side of Devizes. To support an attack, he set up an artillery battery within range of the town on Coatefield Hill. Stalling for time, Hopton asked for and received a truce to allow time for negotiations. Overnight as the Parliamentarians waited for Hopton’s response, their cavalry intercepted and captured a Royalist convoy of gunpowder and ammunition that had previously been dispatched to resupply Hopton after the Battle at Lansdowne. Many of their escort escaped but 200 were captured along with the wagons.
On the morning of 12 July, Waller ended talks and began an assault, first bombarding the town with artillery before his infantry attacked the outworks and fortifications. Despite hours of fierce hand-to-hand combat, at the end of the day the Royalists remained in control of Devizes. Early next morning, Wilmot's relief force neared Roundway Down, and as they did so fired several cannon to warn Hopton of their approach. Waller now abandoned the siege and marched his force north to intercept them; reaching the high ground, the infantry and artillery were placed in the centre, with Waller commanded the cavalry on the left and Sir Arthur Haselrig the right.
The battle.
The Royalist cavalry was divided into three brigades; as well as being in overall command, Wilmot led that on the left, with Sir John Byron on the right, and the Earl of Crawford in reserve. Despite having ridden all night, Wilmot attacked immediately and caught Waller out of position, with Haselrig and his regiment of "London lobsters" in an exposed forward position. Haselrig tried to rally his men but withdrew when he saw Bryon preparing to attack, and rejoined the rest of Waller's cavalry.
As Waller advanced down the hill, Byron continued his attack supported by Wilmot and the Royalist reserve under Crawford; with their infantry unable to fire for fear of hitting their own men, the Parliamentarian cavalry were swept from the field. Pursued by the Royalists, some of them rode over the edge of a steep precipice and into an area that became known as "the Bloody Ditch".
Now isolated and with 3,000 Royalists from Devizes advancing against their rear, Waller ordered his infantry into defensive squares and began withdrawing towards the northwest. After approximately an hour, Bryon’s cavalry returned from their pursuit and captured the Parliamentarian artillery which they turned on the retreating enemy, quickly causing them to break apart. Fleeing in all directions, many were cut down by Wilmot's men; Waller and the remnants of his cavalry escaped toward Bristol, leaving the remainder to surrender.
Aftermath.
The Parliamentarian army in the west was virtually wiped out, with losses estimated to be as many as 600 killed and 1,200 captured, along with their artillery, wagons, gunpowder, ammunition, and supplies. In his letter reporting the victory, Byron lists Royalist losses as "very few killed, but many hurt", although this applies only to officers and other "gentlemen". Arguably the most comprehensive Royalist victory of the war, it secured the south-west and less than two weeks later they captured the vital port of Bristol, allowing them to establish links with their supporters in Ireland.
The battle was an outstanding victory for the Royalists; despite travelling over 60 kilometres directly onto the battlefield, 1,800 cavalry defeated a superior force of 5,000 including cavalry, infantry, and artillery. They were helped by the high quality of Wilmot's force, which contained some of the most experienced units in the Royalist army, and the "deplorable tactics" employed by Haselrig, who awaited Wilmot's charge at the halt, hoping their carbine fire would drive them off. This was a mistake commonly made by Parliamentarian cavalry leaders in the early stages of the war. Conversely, Waller’s reputation as a military leader suffered because of the loss, even though historians claim that his leadership at both Lansdowne and Roundway Down was without fault.
The village of Roundway is today a small hamlet 2 kilometres north of Devizes with a population of approximately 25 residents. Discussions regarding permanent burial sites for those who lost their lives in the battle are under consideration today.


Operation Mike (United States)

Operation MIKE.
The series of American landings at Luzon between 9 January 1945 and 31 January 1945, after the conclusion of Operation KING, which was obligated by General Douglas MacArthur’s insistence that he liberate the entire archipelago. MIKE consisted of seven proposed landings and other operations. Each plan was numbered, but they were executed out of sequence. Operation MIKE was followed by Operation VICTOR.
MIKE I.
The major American landing on Luzon, the principle island of the Philippines. On 9 January 1945, the United States I Corps and XIV Corps performed an amphibious landing at Lingayen Gulf, halfway up the west coast of the island. The Japanese responded with a Kamikaze attack that failed. The operation was concluded with no major contact between the ground forces.
MIKE II.
This was a plan for an amphibious landing along the east coast of Luzon early in 1945. It was never executed.
MIKE III.
This was a plan for an amphibious assault that was originally scheduled for Batangas, which is southwest of Luzon. This plan was modified by moving the goal to Vigan, but ultimately it was never executed.
MIKE IV.
This was a second plan for an amphibious assault on the west coast of Luzon in early 1945. It was never executed.
MIKE V.
This was the plan for the consolidation of all operations on Luzon. This included the exceptionally brutal battle of Manila, which was the largest land battle in the Pacific.
MIKE VI.
This was the amphibious assault on Luzon at Nasugbu Bay on 31 January 1945. Most of the 11th Airborne Division landed just south of Manila, while the 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment jumped in behind the beach.
MIKE VII.
This was the landing of the United States XI Corps at San Antonio on the west coast of Luzon on 29 January 1945. Subic Bay Naval Base was captured almost immediately, but strong Japanese resistance was met farther inland at Zig Zag Pass. Tactical air was used to break through the Japanese defenses on 7 February 1945, and the forces moved on towards Manila.


Operation Nordseetour

Operation Nordseetour was the first Atlantic sortie of the German heavy cruiser "Admiral Hipper" during December, 1940.
The first attack, on troop convoy WS-5A, took place in December 1940. Although one of the escorting British cruisers, HMS "Berwick", was heavily damaged, the impact on the convoy was limited to damage to two merchantman. Engine problems and low fuel stores obliged "Admiral Hipper" to return to Brest. En route, she encountered and sank the freighter "Jumna". Repairs took about a month to complete.


Colberg Boat Works

Colberg Boat Works was a shipbuilding company in Stockton, California on the Stockton Channel. To support the World War II demand for ships Colberg Boat Works built: Minesweepers, Type V ship Tugboats, and Submarine chasers. The minesweepers were an Aggressive-class minesweeper and Agile-class minesweeper class. Colberg Boat Works was opened by three brothers, Wilton, Jack and Gordon Colberg in 1896. The shipyard closed in 1990s. The yard located at 848 West Fremont Street, Stockton, California. The Colberg Boat Works yard was next to the Stephens Bros. Boat Builders yard. Colberg Boat Works was on the deepwater port on the Stockton Ship Channel of the Pacific Ocean and an inland port located more than seventy nautical miles from the ocean, on the Stockton Channel and San Joaquin River-Stockton Deepwater Shipping Channel (before it joins the Sacramento River to empty into Suisun Bay.


The Fighting Seabees

The Fighting Seabees is a 1944 war film, directed by Edward Ludwig and starring John Wayne and Susan Hayward. The supporting cast includes Dennis O'Keefe, William Frawley, Leonid Kinsky, Addison Richards and Grant Withers. "The Fighting Seabees" portrays a heavily fictionalized account of the dilemma that led to the creation of the U.S. Navy's "Seabees" in World War II. At the 17th Academy Awards, the film received a nomination for Best Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture for Walter Scharf and Roy Webb but the award went to Max Steiner for Since You Went Away.
Plot.
"Wedge" Donovan (John Wayne) is a tough construction boss, building airstrips in the Pacific for the U.S. Navy during World War II. He clashes with his liaison officer, Lieutenant Commander Robert Yarrow (Dennis O'Keefe), over the fact that his men are not allowed to arm themselves against the Japanese.
When the enemy lands in force on the island, Donovan finally takes matters into his own hands, leading his men into the fray. This prevents Yarrow from springing a carefully devised trap that would have wiped out the invaders in a murderous machine gun crossfire, with minimal American losses. Instead, many of Donovan's men are killed unnecessarily.
As a result of this tragedy, Yarrow finally convinces the US Navy to form Construction Battalions (CBs, or the more familiar "Seabees") with Donovan's assistance, despite their mutual romantic interest in war correspondent Constance Chesley (Susan Hayward). Donovan and many of his men enlist and receive formal military training.
The two men are teamed together on yet another island. The Japanese launch a major attack, which the Seabees barely manage to hold off, sometimes using heavy construction machinery such as bulldozers and a clamshell bucket.
When word reaches Donovan of another approaching enemy column, there are no sailors left to oppose this new threat. In desperation, he rigs a bulldozer with explosives on its blade, intending to ram it into a petroleum storage tank. The plan works, sending a cascade of burning liquid into the path of the Japanese, who retreat in panic, right into the sights of waiting machine guns. However, Donovan is shot in the process and dies in the explosion.
Production.
"The Fighting Seabees" had the biggest budget in Republic's history, $1.5 million. The film was completed in collaboration with the US Navy and the US Marine Corps, and took place on several bases in California (Camp Hueneme and Camp Pendleton), Virginia (Camp Peary) and Rhode Island (Camp Endicott). Principal photography took place from September 20 to early December 1943.
The bulk of the outdoor locations for "The Fighting Seabees" was filmed on the Iverson Movie Ranch in Chatsworth, Calif., widely considered to be the most heavily filmed outdoor filming location in the history of film and television. The production took over virtually the entire 500-acre location ranch for a period of time in 1943, constructing extensive sets on both the Upper Iverson and the Lower Iverson. Palm trees were brought in to transform Iverson's rocky Western landscape into a version of the Pacific islands where the film's action was set.
A massive landing strip was constructed on the Upper Iverson to simulate the takeoffs and landings of combat aircraft, as well as enemy bombing raids on the U.S.-built installation. On other parts of the ranch, Quonset huts, observation towers, large fuel tanks and other props were built, with the construction process in many cases filmed and featured as part of the film. Graphic scenes depicting tank battles, sniper attacks and hand-to-hand combat were filmed in the Iverson Gorge, Garden of the Gods and other sections of the movie ranch, in one of the largest productions in the ranch's history.
The aircraft in "The Fighting Seabees" were:
Propaganda.
During World War Two, the enemy in Europe was Nazism, while the enemy in the Pacific was the entire race of Japanese people, according to Dower. Japanese atrocities including the Rape of Nanking, the Bataan Death March, and the kamikaze pilots were partly to blame for these attitudes, but other aspects such as the Attack on Pearl Harbor were also at work. As a result of these attitudes, anti-Japanese attitudes were common, including in films of the time. In 'The Fighting Seabees', Dennis O'Keefe informs John Wayne "We're not fighting men anymore, we're fighting animals." The films climactic scene shows Wayne as he punctures and ignites a large fuel tank, flooding the advancing enemy with burning oil. '"That'll scorch those Nips back six generations," he exults.'
Reception.
Film historian Leonard Maltin in "Leonard Maltin's 2013 Movie Guide" (2012) considered "The Fighting Seabees", "action-packed" and "spirited". Film historian Alun Edwards in "Brassey's Guide to War Films" (2000) was more effusive in his evaluation: "With oodles of eulogies and even a Seabees song to sing, you can't fail to leave the Roxy dewey-eyed and with Stars and Stripes fluttering."
A positive review in the Rushville Republican included as highlights expertly scened battle sequences, tense dramatic interludes, moments of comedy contrasting with moments of suspense; concluding that this film is 'among the most spectacular ever filmed in Hollywood.' This review also drew attention to the fact that the 'Seabees' are less known to the public than most other branches of service, despite providing invaluable service: 'They are, quite literally, the "men in front of the man behind the gun." They land in combat zones ahead of the troops, and prepare docks, landing fields, barracks, everything that the invading troops require.'