December 20, 1939: Another Soviet division (122nd) is cut off and isolated by the Finns, and attacks on the Mannerheim line are running out of steam. It’s an ugly aircraft, but will seem like an avenging angel to hard-pressed Soviet troops in the coming years: The first Ilyushin Il-2 Shturmovik takes to the air. In time, over 36,000 of this tough ground attack aircraft will be in service and Stalin – in a very threatening letter to a tardy manufacturer – will describe it as being as necessary to the Red Army as air and bread.
December 20, 1940: The Bulgarians adopt strict new laws against Jews and Free Masons.
December 20, 1941: Admiral King is appointed CinC of the US Fleet; King will prove to be a stubborn Anglophobe. Goebbels starts an appeal for winter clothing for the Army from German civilians (only about 20% of the troops in Russia have greatcoats at the moment); and the Army is still being hammered quite badly around the Moscow area.
Essential Reading: Admiral Ernest King is remains a controversial character, but he was the commander in chief of the American Navy and an important figure in shaping and implementing Allied policy. Thomas Buell’s Master of Sea Power: A Biography of Fleet Admiral Ernest J. King is a fair but academic treatment of the man, warts and all.
December 20, 1942: Manstein, under increased pressure from the advancing Soviets on his flanks, pleads with both Zeiztler (at OKH) and Paulus to cooperate with him in arranging a breakout for 6th Army in Stalingrad, but the opportunity is refused.
December 20, 1943: 1st Canadian Division starts to near Ortona, and 1st Fallschirmjager is continuing to fight tooth and nail to defend it. A radio operator in a B-17 on a raid over Bremen, Technical Sergeant Forrest L. Vosler is injured in the legs by a 20mm cannon shell from a German fighter plane. He understands that the tail gunner is worse injured and crawls back to relieve him and take over the guns. At this new post, he is again struck and injured in the eyes, face and chest; but he continues to fire. The pilot determines that the bomber will have to ditch in the sea. T/Sgt Vosler, by now effectively blind, returns to his radio set and repairs it by touch, getting off several distress calls. Once the plane ditches, he crawls out on the wing with the wounded tail gunner, holding on to him until other crewmen can get them both into a dinghy. His coolness and skill are inspirational to the rest of the crew, and result in the award of the Medal of Honor.
December 20, 1944: Try as they might, the Germans keep bouncing off the grab bag of American units holding Eisenborn Ridge – Dietrich’s 6th SS Panzer Army is deflected to the West and will lose their reserves to Manteuffel’s 5th Panzer Army. To the South, St Vith and Bastogne are still being held, although the latter is encircled with 101st Airborne and major components of 10th Armoured Division. The British have to rescue 350 of their personnel from Greek communists at Kifissia.
Spirit over Steel available on Amazon.com.
