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A few excerpts from the article:
"On the afternoon of December 2, 1943, 1st Lt. Werner Hahn piloted his Messerschmitt Me-210 reconnaissance plane over the port of Bari, in southeastern Italy. Cruising at 23,000 feet, his aircraft made a telltale contrail as he streaked across the sky, but Allied anti-aircraft crews took little notice. Still unmolested, the German pilot made a second pass over the city before turning north toward home. If Hahn’s report was promising, the Luftwaffe would launch a major airstrike against the port."
"As 1943 drew to a close, Bari’s medieval torpor and somnolent grace were shaken off by the influx of Allied shipping into its harbor. Tons of supplies were offloaded almost around the clock, transforming the once quiet town into a hive of activity. On December 2, at least 30 Allied ships were crowded into the harbor, packed so tightly they almost touched.
The port was under the jurisdiction of the British, in part because Bari was the main supply base for General Bernard Law Montgomery’s Eighth Army. But the city was also the newly designated headquarters of the American Fifteenth Air Force, which had been activated in November of that year. The Fifteenth’s primary mission was to bomb targets in the Balkans, Italy and especially Germany. Fifteenth Air Force commander Maj. Gen. James H. ‘Jimmy’ Doolittle had arrived in Bari on December 1."
"Although the gas was mentioned in official American records, Churchill insisted British medical records be purged and mustard gas deaths listed as the result of ‘burns due to enemy action.’ Churchill’s attempts at secrecy may have caused more deaths, because had the word gone out, more victims, especially Italian civilians, might have sought proper treatment. Axis Sally, the infamous propaganda broadcaster, learned the truth and taunted the Allies. ‘I see you boys are getting gassed by your own poison gas,’ she sneered."
"On the afternoon of December 2, 1943, 1st Lt. Werner Hahn piloted his Messerschmitt Me-210 reconnaissance plane over the port of Bari, in southeastern Italy. Cruising at 23,000 feet, his aircraft made a telltale contrail as he streaked across the sky, but Allied anti-aircraft crews took little notice. Still unmolested, the German pilot made a second pass over the city before turning north toward home. If Hahn’s report was promising, the Luftwaffe would launch a major airstrike against the port."
"As 1943 drew to a close, Bari’s medieval torpor and somnolent grace were shaken off by the influx of Allied shipping into its harbor. Tons of supplies were offloaded almost around the clock, transforming the once quiet town into a hive of activity. On December 2, at least 30 Allied ships were crowded into the harbor, packed so tightly they almost touched.
The port was under the jurisdiction of the British, in part because Bari was the main supply base for General Bernard Law Montgomery’s Eighth Army. But the city was also the newly designated headquarters of the American Fifteenth Air Force, which had been activated in November of that year. The Fifteenth’s primary mission was to bomb targets in the Balkans, Italy and especially Germany. Fifteenth Air Force commander Maj. Gen. James H. ‘Jimmy’ Doolittle had arrived in Bari on December 1."
"Although the gas was mentioned in official American records, Churchill insisted British medical records be purged and mustard gas deaths listed as the result of ‘burns due to enemy action.’ Churchill’s attempts at secrecy may have caused more deaths, because had the word gone out, more victims, especially Italian civilians, might have sought proper treatment. Axis Sally, the infamous propaganda broadcaster, learned the truth and taunted the Allies. ‘I see you boys are getting gassed by your own poison gas,’ she sneered."
World War II: German Raid on Bari
Posted from historynet.com
WWII World War Two
Military History
Combat
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 2
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I am going on a tangent to help weave in strategic implications. I really don’t know much about the attacks on port Bari. I can say the Army Air Force made a doctrinal mistake of believing mass formations of US bombers could protect themselves. It was false. The advent of the P-51s was a godsend as they were able to escort the bombers to the objectives and back. The P- 51s were instrumental in destroying German fighters attacking the bombers. This was the start to the end of the Luftwaffe. Allied forces eventually killed most of the experienced German fighter pilots, and the inexperienced pilots were generally shot down relatively easily. By the end of the war, Germany had rows of shiny new planes but nobody to fly them.
I believe our bombing runs were generally ineffectual because they flew so high. We had that problem in the Battle of Midway. Our bombers flew so high that they hit nothing. This was after a few bombing runs. It was our dive bombers that did the damage to the Japanese fleet. Our bombing targets eventually included German cities because it was easier to hit a city than a factory complex.
The British were attacked by German V-2 rockets, where they landed was a bit sporadic due to a lack of precision guidance systems. Of course the the British were mad by those rocket attacks. However they were aghast at the results of allied bombings on German cities. The many many tons of bombs created super hot weather systems to fast to outrun. Some people were spontaneously turned into blobs of fat. The rushing of the wind and crackling of the fires could be heard. Underground bunkers often became ovens, and the dead piled up like cords of wood. The British were horrified.
It was important to take Sicily and conquer it. The next phase would be invading Italy. The strategic importance of securing Sicily was it pretty much gave the allied navies dominance of the Mediterranean Sea. The so what is Germany attempted to fly in supplies, equipment, and fuel to the German army in North Africa. It was a logistics impossibility and the Germans withered on the vine. Well of course the British and Americans contributed to the attrition by kinetic force.
I will STFU now and stop acting like a charlatan.
I believe our bombing runs were generally ineffectual because they flew so high. We had that problem in the Battle of Midway. Our bombers flew so high that they hit nothing. This was after a few bombing runs. It was our dive bombers that did the damage to the Japanese fleet. Our bombing targets eventually included German cities because it was easier to hit a city than a factory complex.
The British were attacked by German V-2 rockets, where they landed was a bit sporadic due to a lack of precision guidance systems. Of course the the British were mad by those rocket attacks. However they were aghast at the results of allied bombings on German cities. The many many tons of bombs created super hot weather systems to fast to outrun. Some people were spontaneously turned into blobs of fat. The rushing of the wind and crackling of the fires could be heard. Underground bunkers often became ovens, and the dead piled up like cords of wood. The British were horrified.
It was important to take Sicily and conquer it. The next phase would be invading Italy. The strategic importance of securing Sicily was it pretty much gave the allied navies dominance of the Mediterranean Sea. The so what is Germany attempted to fly in supplies, equipment, and fuel to the German army in North Africa. It was a logistics impossibility and the Germans withered on the vine. Well of course the British and Americans contributed to the attrition by kinetic force.
I will STFU now and stop acting like a charlatan.
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SGT Mary G.
MAJ Ken Landgren Excellent post, by the way: your paradigm for martial matters and war. Good compare and contrast example.
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MAJ Ken Landgren
SGT Mary G. - You need a massage! I wish I could reduce your burdens. Just tell me if you are inclined to want learn about the strategic aspects of wars when you have more energy. I will wait for you and I will listen. Hot damn I think that is such macho and sexy line. Folks I got game!
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SGT Mary G.
SFC Randy Hellenbrand A lot of people say that, but I don't buy it. Instead, I have come to the conclusion that some winners only interpret history the way they want people to believe it was. However, facts with little or no interpretation, have a way of shattering the illusions when a winner or loser is less than objective about interpretation based on omission of facts and "twisted-truths".
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