Operations of WW2 - S

[spidge]

Operation Sandcrab

Operation to retake the Island of Attu in the Aleutians

After gaining JCS approval on 1 April for the Attu operation (code-named SANDCRAB) and obtaining the needed shipping, work began to recapture the little, fog-shrouded island at the western end of the Aleutian chain. Attu is 35 miles long and 15 miles wide, with snow-capped peaks that reach upward to 3,000 feet. Steep slopes extend down from the peaks to treeless valleys below, carpeted with muskeg, a "black muck" covered with a dense growth of lichens and moss. Because the Japanese current has a moderating effect on temperatures, much of the time in the outermost Aleutians the muskeg is barely firm enough for a man to cross on foot. The same current accounts for the pea-soup fogs, the constant pervading wetness, and the frequent storms that make the outer Aleutians so forbidding.

Kinkaid, the commander of Northern Pacific Force, pulled together an imposing armada to support the invasion. In addition to an attack force of 3 battleships, a small aircraft carrier, and 7 destroyers for escorting and providing fire support for the Army landing force, he had 2 covering groups, composed of several cruisers, destroyers, and submarines, for early detection of a possible challenge by the Japanese Northern Area Fleet. Reinforcing the naval support, the Eleventh Air Force was to provide 54 bombers and 128 fighters for the operation, holding back a third of the bomber force for use against ships of the Japanese fleet.



Read the rest here:



Aleutian Islands

[spidge]

Operation Schwarz (Black) - Axis

From: Sutjeska offensive - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Battle of Sutjeska from 15 May to 16 June 1943 was a joint attack of the Axis forces that aimed to destroy the Yugoslav partisan force, near the Sutjeska river in southeastern Bosnia. The failure of the offensive marked a turning point for Yugoslavia during World War II. The Germans codenamed the plan Operation Schwarz ("Black"). The operation immediately followed Fall Weiss which had failed in accomplishing the same objectives: to crush the Partisan army and capture their leader, Josip Broz Tito, also known by his Comintern codename as "Walter". In post-war Yugoslavia the operation was known as the Fifth enemy offensive.
The Axis rallied 127,000 land troops for the offensive, including German, Italian, NDH, Bulgarian and Cossack (in ex-Yugoslav sources also called: "Čerkezi") units, and over 300 airplanes, under German operative command, against 18,000 soldiers of Yugoslav National Liberation Army operational group in 16 brigades. After a period of troop concentration, the offensive started on 15 May 1943. The Axis troops used the advantage of better starting positions to encircle and isolate the partisans on the Durmitor mountain area, located between the Tara and Piva rivers in the mountainous areas of northern Montenegro and forced them to engage in a fierce month-long battle on waste territory.
On June 9th, the Germans almost succeeded in liquidating Tito, as a bomb fell near the leading group and wounded him in the arm. The popular post-war report of the event credited Tito's dog Luks, a German shepherd for sacrificing his life to save Tito's.
Facing almost exclusively German troops in the final encirclement, the Yugoslav National Liberation Army (YNLA) finally succeeded in breaking out across the Sutjeska river through the lines of the German 118th and 104th Jäger and 369th (Croatian) Infantry divisions in the northwestern direction, towards Eastern Bosnia. Three brigades and the central hospital with over 2000 wounded remained surrounded, and following Hitler's instructions, German commander in chief general Alexander Löhr ordered and carried out their annihilation, including the wounded and unarmed medical personnel. In addition, YNLA troops suffered from severe lack of food and medical supplies, and many were struck down by typhoid.
In total there were 6,391 partisan casualties, more than a third of the initial force. The German commander in field, general Rudolf Lüters in his final report described the so-called "communist rebels" as "well organized, skillfuly lead and with combat morale unbelievably high".
Immediately after the breakout, YNLA regrouped and mounted a counteroffensive in Eastern Bosnia, clearing Axis garrisons of Vlasenica, Srebrenica, Olovo, Kladanj and Zvornik in the following 20 days.

The Monument commemorating the Battle of Sutjeska in Tjentište, Bosnia and Herzegovina


The battle marked a turning point toward Allied control of Yugoslavia, and became an integral part of the Yugoslav post-war mythology, celebrating the self-sacrifice and extreme suffering and moral firmness of the partisans.