800,000 men in 1-B face induction or 4-F
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Dress rehearsal
New raid on France points way 2nd front will open
After the first shock of disappointment at learning that the big-scale commando raid on the French coast was just a raid and not an invasion, American interest must center in the news that American forces took part in the action. It is an indication that our armed services are profiting by the lessons of the battles out Allies – and our enemies – have fought.
When the invasion of continental Europe is undertaken, it will begin much as the raid on the Dieppe area was begun, with overwhelming air superiority, with naval forces, with landing barges, artillery, parachutists and tanks. The most difficult of military operations, it will demand the highest degree if coordination, training and strength. Obviously, we and the British were not yet ready to undertake a full-scale invasion at Dieppe.
However, aside from the obvious fact that an action of this kind must be terribly harassing to the Germans, it also provides our forces with invaluable training. Every man in yesterday’s operation is not only better equipped to undertake such an action a second time but has gained experience which he can transmit to a hundred other men. The Germans of course know this and know that the raid may be repeated any hour, and repeated possibly on a scale a hundred times larger and so developed into an invasion. This forces them to keep on guard thousands of trained troops whose services they would prefer to use on the Russian front.
In the meantime, we here at home have the satisfaction of knowing that our men are proving themselves and are rapidly gaining the experience which will one day topple the Nazi conquerors from their uneasy thrones.
Völkischer Beobachter (August 21, 1942)
Churchill leugnet frech die Invasionsabsicht –
Gestern Großangriff-heute „Generalprobe“
So hatte sich Stalin die zweite Front nicht vorgestellt
Neuyork: „Wir und die Briten marschieren ein“
vb. Wien‚ 20. August –
„Die Aktion gegen Dieppe stellt die seit langem angekündigte Offensivpolitik dar“, hatte am Mittwoch der Londoner Nachrichtendienst verkündet. Am gleichen Tage, schon um 7‚30 Uhr früh, hatte der englische Sender Scotch Regional in norwegischer und niederländischer Sprache bekanntgegeben, daß „britische Truppen vor einigen Stunden im Dieppegebiet einen Angriff gegen deutsche Truppen“ begonnen hätten. „Invasion!“ hieß es am Mittwoch früh in allen Mitteilungen des Londoner Nachrichtendienstes. Man sprach vom „Landungskorps“ und von „Landungsflotten“, ein Zeichen und Beweis dafür, daß die englische Führung ein großes operatives Ziel im Auge hatte. In ähnlicher Weise und mit gleichen Ausdrücken ließen sich amerikanische Sender und Nachrichtendienste vernehmen. Das waren die letzten Klänge des seit vielen Wochen auf der Feindseite erörterten Themas der zweiten Front. Als politische und militärische Notwendigkeit wurde sie von den führenden Männern der Plutokratien dargestellt‚ von der Presse und von dem Mann auf der Straße verlangt, nachdem die Entwicklung an der südlichen Ostfront sich für die Bolschewisten so katastrophal gestaltete. Es gibt nach all dem kein Zweifel mehr, daß der „große Angriff“ tatsächlich mit Vollem Ernst geplant, vorbereitet und auch durchgeführt wurde.
Ein Angriff auf 25 Kilometer Breite mit Einsatz von Panzern und mit Unterstützung eines riesigen Aufgebots von Kriegsschiffen und Transportem‚ efne Landung in Hunderten von Sturmbooten nach „Plänen‚ die schon vor Monaten von Lord Mountbatton mit mehreren anderen Sachverständigen ausgearbeltet worden waren“ – das ist kein kleiner Versuch, kein Abtasten der gegnerischen Front‚ ketne Vorbereitung oder Generalprobe, wie es jetzt die britische Lügentaktik nach der Katastrophe darstellen möchte.
„Geplante“ Niederlage
vb. Wien, 20. August –
Die ganze Welt steht unter dem Eindruck der vernichtenden Abfuhr, die der von Churchill auf Stalins Befehl unternommene Invasionsversuch bei Dieppe gefunden hat. In neun Stunden war der ganze Spuk vorbei. Unter höchsten Verlusten und wie schon so oft unter Zurücklassung der schweren Waffen wurden die gelandeten Kommandotruppen ins Meer geworfen und die abziehende Flotte durch die Luftwaffe rastlos bis in ihre Heimathäfen verfolgt. Der zerzauste britische Löwe leckt seine Striemen. Man sucht in London und Washington die armseligsten Trostgründe zusammen, um auch noch diese Katastrophe den eigenen Völkern mundgerecht zu machen. „Wir und die Briten dringen in Frankreich ein“, so schrieb auf die ersten Berichte von der Landung hin das Neuyorker American Journal. Jetzt aber war plötzlich die Niederlage „geplant“ und wird nur als „Generalprobe im Kostüm“ dargeboten.
Um 16 Uhr stand kein bewaffneter Feind mehr auf dem Boden des Festlandes, aber noch Stunden später ging der Londoner Nachrichtendienst mit der alten Ausrede hausieren‚ die deutschen Angaben seien „noch nicht bestätigt“. Immerhin wird auf schwere Verluste vorbereitet und vorsorglich bemerkt‚ dafür habe man „wertvolle Erfahrungen“ gemacht. Kurz zuvor aber hatte Reuter noch triumphierend mitgeteilt:
Das Landungskorps der Verbündeten hat an allen Stellen‚ wie vorgesehen, festen Fuß gefaßt, die heftigen Kämpfe nehmen ihren Fortgang.
Der Einsatz der britischen Luftstreitkräfte verstärke sich dauernd.
Der Sender Neuyork sprach um 14 Uhr von „einer großen Operation“, United Press von einem „Angriff großen Ausmaßes“, und überhaupt war man in den USA. ganz aus dem Häuschen.
Willkie ist entzückt
„Das ist großartig, das sind vorzügliche Nachrichten!" so krähte Roosevelts Busenfreund Wendell Willkie.
„Ungeheures Interesse und großer Jubel“ herrschten nach Neuyorker Berichten überall. Der Vorsitzende des USA.-Senatsausschusses für militärische Angelegenheiten, Reynolds, beteuerte, daß der gemeinsame amerikanisch-kanadisch-britische Angriff sich zur zweiten Front entwickeln und ausdehnen werde. Die gelandeten Streitkräfte seien stark genug dazu, und das Kampfgelände sei zu Landungsoperationen äußerst günstig. Senator Pepper meinte, daß die „Verbündeten Nationen“ die zweite Front nicht nur in Frankreich eröffnen würden, sondern auch die Sowjets mit Verstärkungen unterstützen wollten. „Die Nachrichten von den Offensiven der Alliierten sowohl in Europa wie im Pazifik“, so frohlockte der USA.-Senator am Mittwoch früh, „sind großartig und ermutigend“.
Sie alle waren also überzeugt‚ daß ganz große Erfolge zu erwarten wären‚ daß die gelandete Division einen Brückenkopf bilden und daß dann die noch weit stärkere zweite Welle zur Aktion schreiten werde. Natürlich wurde auch Moskau in diesem Sinne unterrichtet und sofort gab man dort eine hoffnungsfreudige Meldung aus.
Alberne Ausreden
Nach dem Debakel liest man das alles aber ganz anders. Jetzt ist die Eröffnung der zweiten Front zur Generalprobe zusammengeschrumpft, ja zu einem „Handstreich“, der so verlaufen sein soll, „wie es geplant war“ und dazu bestimmt gewesen sei, „ein vorbereitendes Invasionsstadium einzuleiten". Dann kommt in der Verlautbarung des „Hauptquartiers der kombinierten Operationen“ die faule Redensart von den wertvollen Erfahrungen, die man einzig und allein mit diesem starken Einsatz beabsichtigt haben will. Als ob man nicht schon in Flandern und in Nordafrika genügend Erfahrungen mit der deutschen Schlagkraft gemacht hätte!
Noch lächerlicher als dieses verlegene Gestammel sind die albernen Ausreden, die der Sprecher des USA.-Kriegsdepartements am Mittwochabend vortrug. Er sagte, es sei möglich, daß der Angriff auf Dieppe mit dem zweifachen Ziel unternommen wurde‚ die Deutschen nervös zu machen und den britischen und amerikanischen Truppen Gelegenheit zu geben, im Landen von Tanks und Kanonen sich die nötige Übung zu erwerben, selbst wenn diese schweren Waffen auf französischem Boden zurückgelassen werden mußten. „Es scheint mir, als handle es sich hiebei um eine ganz besonders große Uberfallprobe“‚ gab der Sprecher dann noch abschließend von sich.
Kurzum, es ist wie in der Fabel vom Fuchs mit den sauren Trauben. Man hat einen großen Schlag führen wollen, der nach eigener Feststellung zehn Monate vorbereitet worden ist, und dementsprechend hat man sich schon beim ersten Schuß etliche Scheffel Vorschußlorbeeren zugeteilt. Nachdem man aber Prügel bezogen hat und nach allem vorangegangenen Getöse schließlich nicht gut behaupten kann, die Affäre von Dieppe sei eine bösartige deutsche Erfindung, ist das alles nur ein der uns nervös machen sollte.
Nervös aber war nicht die deutsche Abwehr‚ die den Gegner so schneidend abfertigte‚ sondern Churchill, der auf Stalins Befehl diese Operation ins Werk setzte um wenigstens an einer Stelle eine zweite Front zu bilden und daraus nicht zuletzt agitatorische Vorteile zu ziehen. Die Times verriet uns, die Sowjets hätten in Moskau den Engländern und Amerikanern mit Erfolg eingeredet‚ daß Deutschland Westeuropa nicht verteidigen könne. Nun konnte Churchill allerdings eine Erfahrung teuer erkaufen: daß die deutsche Verteidigung sehr stark und jeder Aufgabe gewachsen ist.
Das erste große Gastspiel der „Kommandos“ des Lord Louis Moutbatten, dem man mit der üblichen Bescheidenheit schon „Nelson-Geist“ andichtete, endete mit einer Katastrophe‚ die kein Wortschwall aus der Welt schafft. Man fühlt in London auch sehr gut, in welche Widersprüche inan sich verwickelt hat. Als der Rundfunkkommentator Cyril Ray sich der dornenvollen Aufgabe unterzog, einen „planmäßigen Rückzug“ glaubhaft zu machen, behauptete er, es hätte gar keine lnvasion stattgefunden. „Eine Invasion kann doch nicht innerhalb von neun Stunden fehlschlagen“, so stotterte er.
Aber das ist es ja gerade! Sie schlug eben in neun Stunden fehl‚ und daher kann auch dieser bedauernswerte Seiltänzer keine Antwort auf die Frage geben, was sich denn nun eigentlich ereignet hat‚ wenn man keine Invasion oder die Bildung eines Brückenkopfes angestrebt haben will.
Dafür aber geben die Ereignisse selbst eine um so klarere Antwort, die jeder denkfähige Mensch auf der Welt und sogar in London, Neuvork und Moskau begreift – nicht zuletzt Churchills Auftraggeber Stalin, der bestimmt etwas ganz anderes erwartet hat.
President Roosevelt’s statement on Axis crimes in occupied countries
August 21, 1942
The Secretary of State recently forwarded to me a communication signed by the Ambassador of the Netherlands and the Ministers of Yugoslavia and Luxembourg on behalf of the governments of Belgium, Greece, Luxembourg, Norway, N0etherlands, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, and the French National Committee in London, calling attention to the barbaric crimes against civilian populations which are being committed in occupied countries, particularly on the continent of Europe.
In this communication, attention was invited to the declaration signed in London on January 13, 1942, by the representatives of nine governments whose countries are under German occupation. This declaration affirmed that acts of violence thus perpetrated against the civilian populations are at variance with accepted ideas concerning acts of war and political offenses as these are understood by civilized nations; stated that the punishment, through the channel of organized justice of those guilty and responsible for these crimes, is one of the principal war aims of the contracting governments; and recorded the determination of the contracting governments in a spirit of international solidarity to see to it that those guilty and responsible, whatever their nationality, are handed over to justice and tried and that the sentences pronounced are carried out.
The communication which I have just received from the chiefs of mission of the Netherlands, Yugoslavia, and Luxembourg states that these acts of oppression and terror have taken proportions and forms giving rise to the fear that as the defeat of the enemy countries approaches, the barbaric and unrelenting character of the occupational regime will become more marked and may even lead to the extermination of certain populations.
As I stated on October 25, 1941:
The practice of executing scores of innocent hostages in reprisal for isolated attacks on Germans in countries temporarily under the Nazi heel revolts a world already inured to suffering and brutality. Civilized peoples long ago adopted the basic principle that no man should be punished for the deed of another. Unable to apprehend the persons involved in these attacks the Nazis characteristically slaughter fifty or a hundred innocent persons. Those who would “collaborate” with Hitler or try to appease him cannot ignore this ghastly warning.
The Nazis might have learned from the last war the impossibility of breaking men’s spirit by terrorism. Instead, they develop their “lebensraum” and “new order” by depths of frightfulness which even they have never approached before. These are the acts of desperate men who know in their hearts that they cannot win. Frightfulness can never bring peace to Europe. It only sows the seeds of hatred which will one day bring fearful retribution.
The government of the United States has been aware for some time of these crimes. Our government is constantly receiving additional information from dependable sources and it welcomes reports from any trustworthy source which would assist in keeping our growing fund of information and evidence up to date and reliable.
The United Nations are going to win this war. When victory has been achieved, it is the purpose of the government of the United States, as I know it is the purpose of each of the United Nations, to make appropriate use of the information and evidence in respect to these barbaric crimes of the invaders, in Europe and in Asia. It seems only fair that they should have this warning that the time will come when they shall have to stand in courts of law in the very countries which they are now oppressing and answer for their acts.
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End barbarity, Axis is warned by Roosevelt
Invaders must answer after war in courts of occupied nations for execution of hostages, he vows
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Willkie to give foreign leaders facts on output
Roosevelt says he will correct erroneous impressions abroad
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2nd front ‘very soon’
The Russian radio told the German people today in a broadcast directed to the Reich and Nazi-occupied Europe, that:
…the second front will come very soon, sooner than German propaganda attempts to convince you.
The Moscow broadcast, in German, ridiculed Nazi propaganda attempts to picture the Allied raid on Dieppe as “the failure of a second front” and pointed out that the British warned at the outset of the attack that it was not an invasion.
The Moscow radio said:
The Germans would like to know when the second front fighting will start, but this is exactly what they will not know.
Flying Fortresses blast 6 Nazis in clash
London, England (UP) –
A flight of 11 U.S. Flying Fortresses was attacked over the North Sea today by 20 or 25 German Fw 190s, and in the ensuing 20-minute battle, six Nazi planes were destroyed or damaged, U.S. Army Headquarters announced. No U.S. planes were lost.
A shell from one of the crack German fighters exploded in the cockpit of one of the Fortresses, killing the co-pilot and injuring the pilot, the communiqué said.
The communiqué said:
Other enemy fire destroyed two engines of this aircraft. The Fortress was also hit in many other places but no other casualties were suffered.
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Slain Flying Tiger’s brother reports for duty
Camden, South Carolina (UP) –
Louis H. Newkirk Jr., brother of (Scarsdale) Jack Newkirk who was killed in action as a fighter with the American Flying Tigers in China, will report for duty Tuesday with the Army Engineers’ Amphibious Command at Camp Edwards, Massachusetts, it was disclosed today.
Quentin Reynolds describes Commando raid on Dieppe
By Quentin Reynolds, Colliers staff correspondent
London, England (UP) –
The whole operation against the Dieppe region was extremely hazardous.
Maj. Gen. James Roberts, from the Canadian Army, was in charge of the military force, and he insisted that the destroyer in which he was sailing should go first. I was on that destroyer.
An armada of ships followed us. Soon dark, ghostlike shapes of silent ships began to loom on either side and astern of us. Each craft knew just where it was going. It had all been worked out with meticulous precision by the staff of the Combined Operations Command.
Flotilla moves in
We had reached within six miles of Dieppe when bright golden flashes and blue and red bursts from tracer bullets splashed the sky. The radio detector used by the Germans had evidently picked up the engines of our torpedo boats and thought the RAF was overhead. For 20 minutes, the anti-aircraft barrage continued. Meanwhile, our flotilla worked closer inshore.
British Commandos had landed by now on the beach to our right. Their job was to silence a battery of large guns at dawn. A dull explosion and a red glow told us that they had done their usual effective job.
Now the invasion barges, looking like East River scows, closed in. There was no opposition at first. Our destroyer was close enough to see the white beaches. Then heavy guns, mortars and machine guns opened and we knew our boys were catching it.
Roberts directs attack
Roberts sat in his small room with three aides who wore earphones. Roberts was in touch by radio with his men ashore and the Fighter Command in England.
He called for a smokescreen to shield his troops on the west beach. Within a few minutes, Douglas Bostons swooped low and soon the beach was covered with a heavy white screen. The men landing on the middle of the three beaches were being strafed by Focke-Wulf 190s. Roberts barked an order to an aide who contacted the Fighter Command and within half a minute, we saw a group of Spitfires veer off and take care of the situation.
Doctors work miracles
It was evident that the opposition ashore was very great. The wounded began to be brought aboard. There were a lot of them.
Many had been forced to swim. Our two doctors soon had a waiting list. They worked miracles in their tiny sick bay. One doctor amputated a man’s leg in less than 10 minutes. He had to hurry. Other urgent cases awaited.
Our destroyer was hit twice by bombs, and the doctors swore softly as the concussion and the shaking of the ship reopened wounds.
By 10:30 in the morning, Roberts ordered the landing force to withdraw. The withdrawal was difficult and costly, but many troops managed to climb into small boats and get out into the bay. Three hours later, our fleet limped out of French waters.
Few remain unscathed
Our wounded lay on the decks, in the gangways, in every cabin, and in the wardroom. Few of the crew remained untouched, for we had been under constant fire and bombing now for nearly nine hours. The Luftwaffe pursued us, and the Spitfires took a dreadful toll. Very few moments we saw a Dornier or Focke-Wulf streak comet-like into the sea.
The organization and planning was perfect, aided by weeks of aerial reconnaissance. Lord Louis Mountbatten and his aides knew everything possible about Dieppe and its neighboring territory.
Except for one thing, the raid would have been 100% perfect. The Germans had strengthened their artillery defenses, and when the troops stepped on the beaches, they met a withering fire from six-inch guns, mortars and machine guns. Many fell, but others, disregarding the storm of lead and steel, charged. In many cases, the fighting was so close the faces of the dead we brought home were covered with powder burns.
Flying Fortresses played vital role at Dieppe
Called greatest threat to Germans since 1,000-plane RAF raids
London, England (UP) –
United States Army Flying Fortress raids on German-occupied territory emerged today as a vitally important feature of the Allied raid on Dieppe and as a potent of new, early attacks on the French invasion coast.
Official reports assessing the final results of the Dieppe raid showed that it was far more than a grand-scale Commando attack. As part of it, the British Fleet fired hundreds of shells into key targets and planes, in addition to providing a protective umbrella, dropped 261,000 pounds of high explosive and fragmentation bombs to knock out enemy strongpoints and kill ground troops.
A detailed study of the Dieppe raid convinced many observers that the Commandos would have achieve a smashing victory instead of a moderate success if they had employed dive bombers and parachutists.
Allied quarters, assessing the role of the giant B-17 Boeing bombers in the “second-front rehearsal” attack on Dieppe, said they were the greatest threat to the Germans after the 1,000-plane raids of the Royal Air Force.
Heavy raid on Amiens
Fortresses, in a raid which was clearly a following of the Dieppe operation and a hint at other, bigger combined operations, made a devastating attack yesterday on the railroad center of Amiens.
In three straight days, while the Allied ground forces were preparing to attack Dieppe, while they were attacking and while they were returning to their depots, the Fortresses had shattered the railroad yards of three of the most important communications centers behind the French coast.
3 railyards blasted
First, they had attacked Rouen, then Abbeville and yesterday they attacked Amiens.
Reports to United States Army Air Forces and Royal Air Force headquarters left little doubt that the railroad yards at all three towns, the only ones from which the Dieppe area could be quickly reinforced by rail, had been knocked out.
In the entire three days of high-altitude precision bombing, not a single Fortress had been lost.
Royal Air Force, American Army, Canadian and Allied fighter squadrons, totaling more than 500 planes, made the greatest single sweep ever carried over the continent yesterday as the Fortress bombed Amiens. The sweep was carefully coordinated with the Fortress raid to cover an area of French invasion territory which the Allies may hit soon again in greater force.
Serve tea and cake
An authorized informant revealed that British Commandos captured the Dieppe racetrack and converted it into a temporary landing field. They advised planes by wireless that the field was ready and that tea and cakes were being served at a nearby church. One pilot did land on the racecourse, his plane damaged. He burned it and came home with the Commandos.
A definitive communiqué last night of the Combined Operations Headquarters said that the Dieppe raid was a successful demonstration of the coordination of the Navy, Army and Air Force.
The communiqué said the Germans had heavily reinforced the entire invasion coast with guns as well as men but that nevertheless the Allied troops landed at all beaches selected, destroyed two coastal gun batteries, a radio location station, inflicted heavy casualties on the Germans, sank two small vessels and brought back a number of prisoners.
It was admitted that the destroyer Berkeley (904 tons) and “a fairly large number” of invasion craft were lost. Berkeley was so seriously damaged its crew sank it. Most of the crew were saved.
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