Facts about WWII Continued

Because of bad planning by American officers and mistakes by the Royal Navy, over 900 American troops were killed during 'Operation Tiger'. 'Tiger' was a practice exercise for D-Day held at Slapton Sands, England. In the early A.M. of April 28 1944, 7 LSTs packed with troops from the U.S. VII corps and escorted by only one outdated Corvette, were attacked by German E-Boats. By the time the shooting had stopped the E-Boats had retired without loss and 946 GIs were dead (four times as many than were killed on Utah beach in the real invasion!!) The incident was hushed up until only recently because of fears that if the truth became known, Anglo-American relations would be damaged.

In an effort to thwart allied bombing, the Germans built huge realistic reproductions of Berlin, Hamburg and others, close to the real cities but far enough away to avoid damage. The city of of Berlin alone had 5 copies of itself sprinkled across the German countryside.

Hitler's private train was called 'Amerika'. (perhaps an indication of his long term ambitions)

In the Battle of the Philippine Sea, June 19-21, 1944, the Japanese lost 346 planes and 2 carriers. The Americans lost 30 planes and no ships, leading to the American nickname for the battle, 'the Great Marianas Turkey Shoot'

Boise City, Oklahoma, was the only mainland U.S. town to be 'bombed' during the war. Unfortunately, the 'enemy bomber' was a USAAF plane from Dalhart, Texas, on a training mission! The bomber hit the local Baptist church and another building. Boise City was over 40 miles from the bombing range!!!

The most destructive single bombing raid of the war took place March 9-10, 1945. 334 B-29s raided Tokyo killing around 100,000 people and leaving 1.25 million homeless. This raid caused more damage than the Hiroshima and Nagasaki A-Bomb attacks.

On October 13, 1940, the Japanese asked the United States to join the axis Pact with Japan, Germany and Italy, in the 'spirit of the new order, in which the natural geographic divisions of the earth would be the goal' I'm not sure, but I think the U.S. refused!!!

In October, 1942, the British cruiser Curacao, was sliced in half by the Queen Mary. The cruiser was escorting the 'Queen' which had 10,000 U.S. troops aboard bound for Britain, when the 'Queen' made a course correction without informing the warship! 338 sailors were killed on the cruiser. The 'Queen' did not stop to rescue the survivors because of the fear of U-Boats.

On March 26,1944, off Palau, the U.S. submarine Tullibee, fired 2 torpedoes at a Jap transport. One of the torpedoes ran a full circle, hit the submarine and sank it!! Only one crewman survived. It's not know if the transport was hit!

The infamous words 'Climb Mount Niitaka' brought American into WWII. These were the code words that ordered the attack on Pearl Harbor to go ahead.

The only amphibious invasion ever to be thrown back with losses was the Japanese attempt to take Wake Island on December 11, 1941. A few days later they tried again and succeeded.

Americas worst unit losses of the war were suffered by the 106th Infantry Division in December 1944. Stationed in a 'safe' area of the Ardennes Forest, this 'rookie' Division took the brunt of the German offensive in the Battle of the Bulge. 12,000 out of 16,000 were killed, wounded or captured.

Despite their reputation for Blitzkrieg tactics, only 4 German divisions were fully mechanized at the outbreak of war! The other 86 divisions relied largely on horses for mobility. More than 2.5 million horses had been used by the Germans by wars end.

Out of the 4,500 Japanese troops defending Betio Island in the Tarawa Atoll, 17 survived to be taken prisoner. The rest did as ordered and fought to the last man.

Clark Gables discharge papers were signed in June 1944 by none other than fellow actor and future President of the U.S. Captain Ronald Reagan.

On September 11, 1944, U.S. submarines sank 2 Japanese transports, the Rakuyo Maru and the Kachidoki Maru. Unknown to the Submarine crews was the fact that 2,218 British and Australian prisoners were on board the 2 ships. These men were the survivors of the building of the bridge on the River Kwai and 1,300 of them died when the 2 ships sank. The subs rescued 159 men but the arrival of other Jap ships prevented further rescue. The Jap ships picked up another 792 and reimprisoned them, only 606 of the original 2,218 survived the war.

Representative Jeanette Rankin (R., Montana) was the only member of the U.S. Congress to vote 'No' on the resolution for war with Japan after Pearl Harbor. She also voted no on the resolution for war with Germany.

The British Second Army had the greatest representation of foreign units of all allied armies. It included Irish, Scottish, Polish, Czech, Belgian, Dutch, U.S. and British units.

The U.S. 83rd Infantry Division used a captured Messerschmitt 109 painted olive green for scouting missions.

The U.S. military base at Fort Stevens, Oregon, became the first mainland military base to be fired upon by a foreign enemy since the war of 1812. A Japanese submarine surfaced and fired at the outpost on June 22, 1942.

The first mainland civilian location to come under fire in WWII were the oil fields near Santa Barbara, California. They were shelled by the I-17 on February 23, 1942.

The Marines who reoccupied Guam were in for a real treat, Guam had been the main Japanese liquor distribution center for the Central Pacific. The Japs had left vast quantities of Scotch, beer, Bourbon, Rye and Saki behind to be 'liberated' by the Leathernecks!

During the raid on Dieppe the Canadians suffered 3,369 casualties out of just over 5,000 troops involved. Some Vets still have bad feelings about the British high command for sending them on such an unnecessary mission in the first place.

Germanys top five aces were Erich Hartmann (352 kills), Gerhard Barkhorn (301 kills), Gunther Rall (275 kills), Otto kittel (267 kills) and Walter Nowotny (255 kills)

The British 1st Airborne Division lost 75 percent of it's personnel in the attack on Arnhem during 'Operation Market Garden', Monty's plan to end the war swiftly. Tragically for the 1st Airborne Division it was, however, 'a bridge too far'.

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