World War II in real time

[lordroel]

October 30th 1939

The German Submarine U-56 came very close to a war-changing moment. The U-56 under command of Wilhelm Zahn entered a protective cordon of British destroyers unseen. When Zahn peered through the periscope, he saw three major targets of the British Home fleet moving head-on towards the U-56. The ships, HMS Nelson, HMS Hood and HMS Rodney made a 30 degree turn placing the U-56 in an ideal firing position.

The HMS Rodney was up front, but Zahn decided to hit the second in line, the HMS Nelson. The U-56 fired three torpedoes at the Nelson. The first two hit the Nelson but didn’t explode. The third and last torpedo missed the target and exploded a little further away, alarming the British and forcing the U-56 to submerge. Furthermore, the U-56 didn’t transmit the encounter until later that day. Had it done so earlier, the nearby German submarine U-58 might have succeeded in taking down one of the battleships.

What Zahn didn’t know, was that the ship he meant to sink with his torpedoes, the HMS Nelson, carried three very valuable targets. None other than First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill was aboard the HMS Nelson at the time of the attack. Wilhelm Zahn is therefore known as ‘the man who almost killed Churchill’. Furthermore, the Chief of Staff of the Home Fleet, Admiral Charles Forbes, and the head of the entire Royal Navy, First Sea Lord Dudley Pound were also aboard for a meeting with Churchill about the sinking of the HMS Royal Oak.

Photo: The HMS Nelson.

[lordroel]

October 31st 1939

Vyacheslav Molotov, Foreign Minister of the Soviet-Union, held a speech in which he ‘denounced Great Britain as the aggressor’ in the ongoing war. ‘Continuation of war on the grounds of the restoration of Poland is senseless’, he continued. ‘Germany is striving for peace but Great Britain now is the aggressor’.

He accused Great Britain and france for seeking excuses to continue the war on the basis of ideology, much like ‘religious wars of olden times’, which according to Molotov had ‘absolutely no justification.’ He referred to the German and Soviet annexation of Poland as ‘an abortion of the Versailles system’, which was bad news for other neighbouring countries thanking their existence to the 1919 Versailles Treaty.

Also on this day, Molotov sent an ultimatum to Finland, demanding among other things that the town of Hanko had to be handed over to the Soviets for use as a Russian naval base.

Photo: Vyacheslav Molotov in 1939.



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[lordroel]

November 1st 1939

The Dutch government imposed martial law in large territories along the German-Dutch border, the North Sea and other strategic locations. Even though no major cities were affected, it did apply to over 500 Dutch villages and towns, including the entire central province of Utrecht – but without it’s capital, bearing the same name.

A small part of the Utrecht province was also flooded, to test the Dutch defensive flooding systems. For ages, the Dutch relied on flooding the areas surrounding the major cities and rural areas of Amsterdam, The Hague and Rotterdam to protect them from an enemy invasion.

The Dutch Prime Minister, Jan de Geer, said that the law would not be used to limit public free speech and to censor the press. However, he ‘threatened that martial law might be used to prevent circulations of organs of The Netherlands National Socialist party [NSB].’

Photo: Mobilized Dutch soldiers in the flooded parts of The Netherlands.



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[lordroel]

November 2nd 1939

On this date the American House of Representatives voted to invoke the embargo on arms shipments to the belligerent nations fighting wars in Europe. The house approved ‘cash and carry’ sales overseas after a two month long debate. Lots of goods, marked as ‘instruments of war’, ranging from airplanes to helmets, were stacked in and around harbours on the American east coast. Traders were just waiting for the bill to pass and were ready to ship.

During the Great War, the Americans had sold the belligerent nations lots of war goods too already before they entered the war in 1917. Not always able to pay the bills, these countries owed huge debts to the USA at the end of the war. To avoid a repetition, the 2 November amendment forbade loans or credits to governments at war, so goods could only be shipped to Europe when belligerent nations were able to pay immediately.

Additionally, the buying nations were responsible for the dangerous transport to Europe. It was forbidden to use American vessels for the transport – they weren’t even allowed to enter belligerent ports and zones to be marked dangerous by President Roosevelt. Also, Americans weren’t allowed to travel on belligerent ships.

Photo: The Havilland aircraft factory, Rongotai, Wellington in 1939.



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[lordroel]

November 3rd 1939

[lordroel]

November 3rd 1939

The American freight ship SS City of Flint enters the port of Haugesund (Norway), where the ship is returned to its American crew. The ships captors, a German prize crew from the German pocket Battleship Deutschland, is interned. An adventure of several weeks thus comes to an end.

This adventure started on October 9t 1939. The City of Flint, carrying a cargo load of tractors, fruit and vegetables was seized by the German pocket Battleship Deutschland. The ship was captured as a prize of war, and a prize crew was put aboard. They were denied entry to neutral Norway, and sailed for Murmansk in Russia. The German crew was briefly incarcerated there, but the crew was released under pressure of the German government. They were forced to sail out again. Under pressure from the Royal Navy, they sought refuge in Norway again. There, the German crew is apprehended for a final time and the ship is given back to the American crew.

Photo: City Of Flint’s captor, Pocket Battleship Deutschland.



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[stevep]

Oct 30, 2018 15:50:17 GMT lordroel said:

October 30th 1939

The German Submarine U-56 came very close to a war-changing moment. The U-56 under command of Wilhelm Zahn entered a protective cordon of British destroyers unseen. When Zahn peered through the periscope, he saw three major targets of the British Home fleet moving head-on towards the U-56. The ships, HMS Nelson, HMS Hood and HMS Rodney made a 30 degree turn placing the U-56 in an ideal firing position.

The HMS Rodney was up front, but Zahn decided to hit the second in line, the HMS Nelson. The U-56 fired three torpedoes at the Nelson. The first two hit the Nelson but didn’t explode. The third and last torpedo missed the target and exploded a little further away, alarming the British and forcing the U-56 to submerge. Furthermore, the U-56 didn’t transmit the encounter until later that day. Had it done so earlier, the nearby German submarine U-58 might have succeeded in taking down one of the battleships.

What Zahn didn’t know, was that the ship he meant to sink with his torpedoes, the HMS Nelson, carried three very valuable targets. None other than First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill was aboard the HMS Nelson at the time of the attack. Wilhelm Zahn is therefore known as ‘the man who almost killed Churchill’. Furthermore, the Chief of Staff of the Home Fleet, Admiral Charles Forbes, and the head of the entire Royal Navy, First Sea Lord Dudley Pound were also aboard for a meeting with Churchill about the sinking of the HMS Royal Oak.

Photo: The HMS Nelson.



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  Now that could be a huge butterfly and one I bet very few people know about.  Can't remember hearing of it before.  Thanks for that.

  Have had a look at a couple of the videos and definitely look interesting.  Bit tight on time currently but will try and look at a few more.

[lordroel]

Nov 3, 2018 15:19:53 GMT stevep said:

Oct 30, 2018 15:50:17 GMT lordroel said:

October 30th 1939

The German Submarine U-56 came very close to a war-changing moment. The U-56 under command of Wilhelm Zahn entered a protective cordon of British destroyers unseen. When Zahn peered through the periscope, he saw three major targets of the British Home fleet moving head-on towards the U-56. The ships, HMS Nelson, HMS Hood and HMS Rodney made a 30 degree turn placing the U-56 in an ideal firing position.

The HMS Rodney was up front, but Zahn decided to hit the second in line, the HMS Nelson. The U-56 fired three torpedoes at the Nelson. The first two hit the Nelson but didn’t explode. The third and last torpedo missed the target and exploded a little further away, alarming the British and forcing the U-56 to submerge. Furthermore, the U-56 didn’t transmit the encounter until later that day. Had it done so earlier, the nearby German submarine U-58 might have succeeded in taking down one of the battleships.

What Zahn didn’t know, was that the ship he meant to sink with his torpedoes, the HMS Nelson, carried three very valuable targets. None other than First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill was aboard the HMS Nelson at the time of the attack. Wilhelm Zahn is therefore known as ‘the man who almost killed Churchill’. Furthermore, the Chief of Staff of the Home Fleet, Admiral Charles Forbes, and the head of the entire Royal Navy, First Sea Lord Dudley Pound were also aboard for a meeting with Churchill about the sinking of the HMS Royal Oak.

Photo: The HMS Nelson.



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  Now that could be a huge butterfly and one I bet very few people know about.  Can't remember hearing of it before.  Thanks for that.

  Have had a look at a couple of the videos and definitely look interesting.  Bit tight on time currently but will try and look at a few more.

No problem, i plan to keep posting each day until the war ends.

[lordroel]

November 4th 1939

In the night from 4 to 5 November 1939, a ‘mysterious package’ is left outside the British Embassy in Oslo, Norway. It turns out to be a serious military intelligence leak and a major breach of German security. The package contains an elaborate report on top-secret weapons that were being used and developed by the German military. We now know that it was written and delivered by German physicist Hans Ferdinand Mayer.

The seven-page long report contained some high-value technical details on German military and weapons development. For example, Mayer described the Ju-88 program. He claimed that over 25-30,000 Junkers 88 medium dive-bombers were to be produced before 1940. He also wrote about the ‘Franken’, ‘the first German aircraft carrier’ being developed in Kiel. The report contained information on the development and deployment of radar systems, the development of unmanned airplanes and autopilot and the development of long-range missiles or rockets. If you’re interested in the detailed contents of the report, make sure to look up the original text.

Critics in the British military feared that the report was unreliable, fake or even a setup by the German secret service. Several British intelligence officers raised the issue that the information was sometimes very technically complex and at times very broad, and military aspects sometimes amateurish. Other intelligence officers embraced it as a tool to better understand German development. As it turned out, the report contained many mistakes, misinterpretations and false predictions. For example, he overestimated the production of the Ju-88’s and there was no aircraft carrier called ‘Franken’. On the other hand, the report also described high-value technical developments that were very usable.

While the Oslo report was certainly spectacular, determining its impact with certainty is difficult. The report did not change the course of the war directly, but at the very least showed what the Germans were up to and what technological advances could be expected in the future.

Photo: German 88A, circa 1940.



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[stevep]

Nov 4, 2018 15:56:39 GMT lordroel said:

November 4th 1939

In the night from 4 to 5 November 1939, a ‘mysterious package’ is left outside the British Embassy in Oslo, Norway. It turns out to be a serious military intelligence leak and a major breach of German security. The package contains an elaborate report on top-secret weapons that were being used and developed by the German military. We now know that it was written and delivered by German physicist Hans Ferdinand Mayer.

The seven-page long report contained some high-value technical details on German military and weapons development. For example, Mayer described the Ju-88 program. He claimed that over 25-30,000 Junkers 88 medium dive-bombers were to be produced before 1940. He also wrote about the ‘Franken’, ‘the first German aircraft carrier’ being developed in Kiel. The report contained information on the development and deployment of radar systems, the development of unmanned airplanes and autopilot and the development of long-range missiles or rockets. If you’re interested in the detailed contents of the report, make sure to look up the original text.

Critics in the British military feared that the report was unreliable, fake or even a setup by the German secret service. Several British intelligence officers raised the issue that the information was sometimes very technically complex and at times very broad, and military aspects sometimes amateurish. Other intelligence officers embraced it as a tool to better understand German development. As it turned out, the report contained many mistakes, misinterpretations and false predictions. For example, he overestimated the production of the Ju-88’s and there was no aircraft carrier called ‘Franken’. On the other hand, the report also described high-value technical developments that were very usable.

While the Oslo report was certainly spectacular, determining its impact with certainty is difficult. The report did not change the course of the war directly, but at the very least showed what the Germans were up to and what technological advances could be expected in the future.

Photo: German 88A, circa 1940.



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  Thanks Lordroel.  Fascinating insight although I can see why elements in Britain would be doubtful.  Even with the general over-estimation of German numbers in the early years in large part because of their propaganda work 25-30k of one class of a/c in a year is way over the top.  I don't think they approached that figure for total annual production of all types until the end of the war.  However an interesting find.

[lordroel]

Nov 5, 2018 14:45:23 GMT stevep said:

Nov 4, 2018 15:56:39 GMT lordroel said:

November 4th 1939

In the night from 4 to 5 November 1939, a ‘mysterious package’ is left outside the British Embassy in Oslo, Norway. It turns out to be a serious military intelligence leak and a major breach of German security. The package contains an elaborate report on top-secret weapons that were being used and developed by the German military. We now know that it was written and delivered by German physicist Hans Ferdinand Mayer.

The seven-page long report contained some high-value technical details on German military and weapons development. For example, Mayer described the Ju-88 program. He claimed that over 25-30,000 Junkers 88 medium dive-bombers were to be produced before 1940. He also wrote about the ‘Franken’, ‘the first German aircraft carrier’ being developed in Kiel. The report contained information on the development and deployment of radar systems, the development of unmanned airplanes and autopilot and the development of long-range missiles or rockets. If you’re interested in the detailed contents of the report, make sure to look up the original text.

Critics in the British military feared that the report was unreliable, fake or even a setup by the German secret service. Several British intelligence officers raised the issue that the information was sometimes very technically complex and at times very broad, and military aspects sometimes amateurish. Other intelligence officers embraced it as a tool to better understand German development. As it turned out, the report contained many mistakes, misinterpretations and false predictions. For example, he overestimated the production of the Ju-88’s and there was no aircraft carrier called ‘Franken’. On the other hand, the report also described high-value technical developments that were very usable.

While the Oslo report was certainly spectacular, determining its impact with certainty is difficult. The report did not change the course of the war directly, but at the very least showed what the Germans were up to and what technological advances could be expected in the future.

Photo: German 88A, circa 1940.



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  Thanks Lordroel.  Fascinating insight although I can see why elements in Britain would be doubtful.  Even with the general over-estimation of German numbers in the early years in large part because of their propaganda work 25-30k of one class of a/c in a year is way over the top.  I don't think they approached that figure for total annual production of all types until the end of the war.  However an interesting find.

Well looking at this numbers from this page German aircraft production during World War II you are right, production peaked between 1940 and 1944 but never manged to get to the numbers as described in the Oslo Report which says about the J88 (better link about the Oslo Report can be found here)

Ju 88 is a twin engined long distance bomber and has the advantage that it can be used as a dive bomber. Several thousand, probably 5000, are being manufactured monthly. By April 1940 25 - 30,000 of this type are to be ready.

Real production number of the J88 between 1939 to 1945:

1939: 69.

1940: 1816. 

1941: 2146.

1942: 2270. 

1943: 2160. 

1944: 661. 

1945: seems none where produced.

Total 1939 to 1945: 9,122.

[lordroel]

November 5th 1939

Commander in Chief of the German Army, General von Brauchitsch and his Chief of Staff, General Franz Halder try to stop Hitler’s plan to invade France, Belgium and the Netherlands. Von Brauchitsch planned to arrest Hitler if he were to continue with his planned invasion of France on 12 November 1939. Apart from Brauchitsch and Halder, multiple other people in the German command were involved in the so-called ‘Zossen Putsch’. Brauchitsch speaks with Hitler on the 5th of November to talk him out of invading France. Hitler really wasn’t impressed by Brauchitsch arguments, and Brauchitsch and Halder backed out of the plan to remove Hitler from command.

Following their withdrawal, Brauchitsch and Halder told Carl Goerdeler, a German opponent of the Nazi regime and one of the conspirators in the Zossen putsch attempt that they were out. While Brauchitsch and Halder believed that an invasion of western Europa would fail, they didn’t want to be involved with the putsch any further. The Zossen Putsch collapsed with the withdrawal of Brauchitsch and Halder. Furthermore, Hitler retracted his plans to invade France on the 12th on the 7th of November because of a snowstorm, removing the imminent need for a change of command.

Photo: Franz Halder and Walther von Brauchitsch in 1939.



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[stevep]

Nov 5, 2018 14:54:01 GMT lordroel said:

Nov 5, 2018 14:45:23 GMT stevep said:

  Thanks Lordroel.  Fascinating insight although I can see why elements in Britain would be doubtful.  Even with the general over-estimation of German numbers in the early years in large part because of their propaganda work 25-30k of one class of a/c in a year is way over the top.  I don't think they approached that figure for total annual production of all types until the end of the war.  However an interesting find.

Well looking at this numbers from this page German aircraft production during World War II you are right, production peaked between 1940 and 1944 but never manged to get to the numbers as described in the Oslo Report which says about the J88 (better link about the Oslo Report can be found here)

Ju 88 is a twin engined long distance bomber and has the advantage that it can be used as a dive bomber. Several thousand, probably 5000, are being manufactured monthly. By April 1940 25 - 30,000 of this type are to be ready.

Real production number of the J88 between 1939 to 1945:

1939: 69.

1940: 1816. 

1941: 2146.

1942: 2270. 

1943: 2160. 

1944: 661. 

1945: seems none where produced.

Total 1939 to 1945: 9,122.

  Lordroel

    Thanks for that.  Feeling rather rough yesterday as I've been engaged in combat with a bug and went back to my voluntary work only for it to make a comeback so wasn't that eager to dig anything up.  Why I didn't do my normal late pass through the site again before I turned in.

  Actually checking John Ellis's WWII Databook - call me old-fashioned - the Ju88 made up about 50% of the entire bomber force produced by the Germans in WWII with ~14,600 produced and nearly 6,000 of them were actually fighter bombers, which makes up the difference in our numbers. 

  Steve

[lordroel]

Nov 6, 2018 11:17:59 GMT stevep said:

Nov 5, 2018 14:54:01 GMT lordroel said:

Well looking at this numbers from this page German aircraft production during World War II you are right, production peaked between 1940 and 1944 but never manged to get to the numbers as described in the Oslo Report which says about the J88 (better link about the Oslo Report can be found here)

Ju 88 is a twin engined long distance bomber and has the advantage that it can be used as a dive bomber. Several thousand, probably 5000, are being manufactured monthly. By April 1940 25 - 30,000 of this type are to be ready.

Real production number of the J88 between 1939 to 1945:

1939: 69.

1940: 1816. 

1941: 2146.

1942: 2270. 

1943: 2160. 

1944: 661. 

1945: seems none where produced.

Total 1939 to 1945: 9,122.

  Lordroel

    Thanks for that.  Feeling rather rough yesterday as I've been engaged in combat with a bug and went back to my voluntary work only for it to make a comeback so wasn't that eager to dig anything up.  Why I didn't do my normal late pass through the site again before I turned in.

  Actually checking John Ellis's WWII Databook - call me old-fashioned - the Ju88 made up about 50% of the entire bomber force produced by the Germans in WWII with ~14,600 produced and nearly 6,000 of them were actually fighter bombers, which makes up the difference in our numbers. 

  Steve

Well if your book says that a total of 14,000 where produced i believe you, but if the Oslo Reports was true, then more J88s would have been produced per month than the American B-17 and the British Avro Lancaster, and 5,000 J88s in 1940 could have a serious impact had they been around during the Battle of Britian.

U.S. Bomber Production Numbers in World War II

British Production of Aircraft By Year During The Second World War

[lordroel]

November 6th 1939

‘Sonderaktion Krakau’ takes place. This is the SS codename in German for "Special Action Krakow", a raid against the Polish universities in Krakow. The SS invite 138 academics from the Jagiellonian University, 34 professors from the Technology University (AGH) and some from the Economic University (UE) to attend a lecture from SS officer Brunon Müller. They assemble in room 66 of the Jagiellonian University on the 6th, where they are collectively arrested. This is part of the greater concerted effort to eliminate any and all Polish intellectuals that could form the leadership of resistance against German occupation.

The sources differ on the exact number, but roughly 183 people are arrested on this day. Among the arrested people are many ‘professors, associate professors and assistants of named universities,’ as well as a number of people who just happen to be in the area. According to SS officer Muller, the academics held a hostile attitude towards ‘German science’, upon which they were sent to the concentration camp of Sachsenhausen. Many of the detained academics – of which a lot were elderly professors, died in captivity.

Photo: Aleksander Birkenmajer, Historian of exact sciences, was one of the imprisoned Jagiellonian University professors. He survived the internment.



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