WWII Forums Quiz Part VII

We all know that the Axis plan to invade Malta, codenamed operation C3 by the Italians never took place. But operation C2 was performed successfully, what was it ?

 

I have no books that would give me information for this one, so I did various google searches. I may not have the answer, but I learned things I did not know well before! Why I like quiz.

This is what I cam up with as a possibility:

When Operation TORCH began, German and Italian units crossed Vichy borders to complete the conquest of France begun over two years before. In response, the French fired on Axis units in Tunisia, which only brought closer Nazi supervision at Vichy. At Algiers Admiral Darlan thus found himself performing a delicate balancing act. As a member of the Vichy government he could not simply turn over French forces in North Africa to the Allies. But he also refused even to deal with his subordinate commanders in North Africa whom he suspected of pro-Allied sympathies. And, to the exasperation of the Allies, Darlan's cease-fire order to the Oran and Casablanca garrisons was countermanded by officials in Vichy. Generals Clark and Eisenhower saw no alternative to continuing reinforcement while the talks went on.
On the day a cease-fire went into effect in Morocco and Algeria, 124,760 Allied troops were ashore, and dozens of transports were steaming toward Casablanca, Oran, and Algiers. By the end of November the Allies would have 253,213 troops in North Africa. The Axis buildup began at an equally frenzied pace. As early as 10 November the Italian Air Force sent to Tunis a flight of 28 fighters. Two days later an airlift began that would bring to Tunisia over 15,000 men and 581 tons of supplies. During November transports brought to the ports of Tunis and Bizerte 176 tanks, 131 artillery pieces, 1,152 vehicles, and 13,000 tons of supplies. To strengthen Axis units already in North Africa, the Germans sent three fresh divisions, the Italians two. Due to limited Allied naval capability, Axis submarines could attack Allied ships in waters between Sicily and Tunisia with little worry about Allied antisubmarine retaliation. The longer Darlan delayed committing to the Allies, the more costly the ensuing battle would become.

http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/USA-C-Tunisia/index.html

In November 1942, the Italian Royal Army (Regio Esercito) participated in invading south-eastern Vichy France and Corsica as part of what was known as Case Anton. From December 1942, Italian military government of French departments east of the Rhône River was established and continued until September 1943 when Italy quit the war. This had the effect of providing a de facto temporary haven for French Jews fleeing the Holocaust.
The Italian Navy found other ways to attack the British. The most successful involved the use of frogmen and riding manned torpedoes to attack ships in harbour. The 10th Light Flotilla, also known as Decima Flottiglia MAS or XMAS, which carried out these attacks, sank or damaged 28 ships from September 1940 to the end of 1942. These included the battleships HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Valiant (sunk in the Harbor of Alexandria on 18 December 1941), and 111,527 tons of merchant shipping. The XMAS used a particular kind of torpedo, the SLC (siluro a lenta corsa), which crew was composed by two frog men and a strange motorboat, called an MTM (motoscafo da turismo modificato).

http://encyclopedia.vbxml.net/Military_history_of_Italy_during_World_War_II
http://encyclopedia.vbxml.net/Tunisia_Campaign

 

Definetly on the right track, one of the operations you quote is actually C2 but your sources are a bit too German centric ......

 

Everytime I had C2 in the search parameters I got redirected to websites about Command and Control!

I'm leaning towards it being the Italian supply line to Tunisia.

 

I can understand your frustration, I hate it when I'm searching for historical info and come up with videogames, anyway C2 was the plan for the occupation of Corsica had it gone Free French, it was executed after the weak French resistance to the Torch landings made the Axis decide to occupy Vichy. The French troops on the Island were very weak, less than 3000 men, but intervention by the Toulon based fleet was possible and Corsica has no large assaultable beaches and the coast is very rocky so the invasion had to target the ports that had some coastal batteries, so the plan looked more like Wesenburg than an opposed beach landing but in the end went in unopposed thanks in great part to skillful negotiation by the Italian commander admiral Vittorio Tur.
BTW the pllan for the occupation of French Tunisia was C4 (and if you try to Google that you are likely to get blown up ), and some of the forces used in C2, (the San Marco marines) took part in that as well, wonder what C1 was, maybe the planned occupation of Corfu in the Greek campaign.
Over to you.

 

On what date and what specifically caused the famed reporter to say:

"Some day," Ernie Pyle wirelessed back to his his office in America many long hours later,

when peace has returned to this odd world I want to come to London again and stand on a certain balcony on a moonlit night an slook down upon the peaceful silver curve of the Thames with its dark bridges.

And standing there, I want to tell somebody who has never seen it how London looked on a certain night in the ..... of the year....

For on that night this old, old city was - even though I must bite my tongue in shame for saying it - the most beautiful sight I have ever seen."

 

On December 29, 1940 The night they called "The Second Great Fire of London" A devastating raid with wave after wave of German Bombers dropped bombs and thousands of incindiaries on the "Square Mile" the London's financial, publication, and mercantile centre. Famous landmarks disappeared and thousands battled the firestorm... and in the centre, St. Paul's Cathedral survived.

The London Blitz, 1940 Here is Ernie Pyle's description of the blaze. But from the book "Blitz" by M.J. Gaskin she writes:

"At about a quarter to seven, he and a bunch of other newsmen made their way through the corridors to the south-east corner of the sixth floor [Savoy Hotel] and out on to a darkened balcony that commanded a view: 'a third fo the entire circle of London', from the South Bank, across the river and right across the City.

'Some day,' Ernie Pyle wirelessed back to his office in American many long hours later,

when peace has returned to this odd world I want to come to London again and stand on a certain balcony on a moonlit night and look down upon the peaceful silver curve of the Thames with its dark bridges.

And standing there, I want to tell somebody who has never seen it how London looked on a certain night in the holiday season of the year 1940.

For on that night this old, old city was - even though I must bite my tongue in shame for saying it - the most beautiful sight I have ever seen.

It was a night when London was ringed and stabbed with fire.

Ernie Pyle, who had scarcely witnessed an air raid before in his life, was now watching a sight that was almost beyond belief:

As we stepped out onto the balcony, a vast inner excitement came over all of us - an excitement that had neither fear nor horror in it, because it was too full of awe.

You have all seen big fires, but I doubt if you have ever seen the whole horizon of a city lined with great fires - scores of them, perhaps hundreds ....The closest fires were near enough for us to hear the crackling flames and the yells of firemen. Little fires grew into big ones even as we watched. Big ones died down under the firemen's valor, only to break out again later.

I don't seem to generate too much interest on the quiz, so whoever want to ask a question be my guest.

 

If you don't mind I will have a go.

Who was the only Barbadian to be officially credited to have fought in the Battle of Britain?

 

Umm i guess I'll go. What town or outskirt battle was the direct result of the battle of Seelow? If so include the Name?

 

The Battle of Seelow Heights was one of the three battles of the Battle of Berlin. Is that what you're looking for?

 

So , it's been 7 days...I guess I'll have a go..

What was the name of the general who replaced Maxwell Taylor as commander of the 101st divison during the Bulge?

 

General Anthony McAuliffe.

General Taylor was never really replaced. He was away at a staff conference when the germans attacked.

 

Correct , your turn

 

Hmmm...Give me a bit to think of one.

 

Ok, here we go.

What was the plot on July 20, 1944 suppose to do? Which German Field Marshal was suspected of being involved? What was this Field Marshal allowed to do after this event?

I love 3 part questions.

 

didn't look up the date but AFAIK there's only one significant 1944 plot involving field marshals so ....
- Assasinate Hitler
- Rommel
- Commit suicide

 

I figured the Field Marshal was too obvious. Should have put German Officer.

Your turn TOS.

 

In late 1942 a number of RAF planes were hastily repainted with USAAF insigna, why?

 

I'm guessing because they were in training with the US 8th Air force.