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December 21st: Japaneseon Luzon, Stalingrad, Corporal Henry F. Warner -- Medal of Honor

Spirit over Steel:  A Chronology of the Second World War



December 21, 1941: The Japanese start landing in force at Lingayen Gulf on Luzon, and their 48th Division soon establishes a secure beach-head. The bombardment of Wake Island is joined by carrier aircraft.
December 21, 1942: The Soviet Voronezh Front makes some impressive gains driving southwest, and Hitler vetoes Manstein’s continued requests to order a break-out attempt for 6th Army. December 21, 1943: The Soviets eradicate the last German pocket east of the Dnieper. Bomber Command hits sites for V-1s in the Pas de Calais region.

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December 21, 1944: On Leyte, the Japanese forces are now being chopped up into pockets with the linkup between X and XXIV Corps. 82nd Airborne has withdrawn from Houffalize but Stavelot is retaken by US troops and the short route to Antwerp is now closed. Even a faint chance of success for the German’s Bulge offensive is now gone.

Corporal Henry F. Warner -- Medal of Honor

Corporal Henry F. Warner of the famous 1st US Infantry Division is manning his anti-tank gun during a prolonged night action in the Bulge – he destroys two German tanks, engages in a pistol duel with the crew commander of the third (which then withdraws). With the pre-dawn gloom comes another attack, and he sets a Pzkw IV tank ablaze, but is then killed at his gun. He is posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. Essential Reading: Fading brittle pamphlets, often made of dubious wartime paper, outlined how armies imparted tactics and trained their soldiers. German combined arms tactics were widely regarded as being the best practices available and were widely copied during and after the War by Western Armies. One good assembly of these tactics can be found in Wolfgang Schneirder’s Panzer Tactics: German Small-Unit Armor Tactics in World II. The book is extremely comprehensive, amply illustrated and very extensive. Unfortunately, it is completely without footnotes or a bibliography and has thus failed to at least deliver the titles of German wartime training materials. Still, it will be of interest in the collection of any soldier or wargamer. Spirit over Steel available on Amazon.com.


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