This day in the war in Europe 65 years ago

[Njaco]

EASTERN FRONT: Unternehmen 'Zitadel': After much delay and preparation, the Germans launched their summer offensive against the huge bulge in the front centered around Kursk. The 9.Armee (General Model) was to strike the northern shoulder while the 4.Panzerarmee (General Hoth) and Army Detachment Kempf struck from the south. Many of the German Panzer formations had been reinforced with powerful new weapons. Four new armored fighting vehicles would see action here. The Tiger tank was very heavily armored and carried the feared 88mm gun. The Panther, mounting a long 75mm gun as powerful as the Tiger's 88, was also introduced. Finally, a massively armed and armored assault gun, the Elefant, mounting a long 88mm gun, was also included in the new arsenal to bust through the Russian antitank positions. Finally, the Germans introduced a lightly armored, but powerfully armed (a long 88mm gun) assault gun, called the Nashorn for dealing at long range with the Soviet tanks.
....Ten minutes before the Offensive was to begin, the Soviets launched their own bombardment with 600 guns, mortars and Katyusha rocket launchers which lasted for thirty minutes. The weight of shells fired during this bombardment was heavier than that fired during the whole of the Polish and French campaigns. A second Russian battery opened up but was ineffectual in disrupting German assembly areas. Some of General Model's troops were caught in the open and could not start their attack until 90 minutes after their scheduled start time.
.....On the northern side of the bulge, 9.Armee opened the attack with an 80 minute barrage. This was followed by an infantry assault by the 23 Corps into the positions of the 148th and 8th Rifle Divisions. Meanwhile, the 41. and 47.Panzerkorps, heavily supported from the air, struck the 15th and 81st Rifle Divisions. None of these attacks gained more than 8 kilometers (5 miles) at a cost of 200 tanks.
.....On the southern side of the bulge, the offensive would be conducted by the 4.Panzerarmee and Army Detachment Kempf. The attacks by 4.Panzerarmee were spearheaded by two very powerful formations - the 48. (nearly 600 tanks) and 2.SS Panzerkorps (over 600 tanks). Both planned to attack along roads which converged on the town of Oboyan and then Kursk. AD Kempf was to attack in the Belgorod area and secure the eastern flank of the offensive. The 'Großdeutschland' division made the best progress advancing towards its objective of Oboyan forcing the Russian 3rd Mechanized Corps back to the River Pena. A grand total of 119 Panthers of the 10th Brigade went into battle with the 'Großdeutschland' division. 65% of those went out of action, either damaged or destroyed, on the first day. The attacks quickly became bogged down in the extensive mine fields. The 10th Brigade had further problems in that early morning rain had turned their march route into a quagmire. They managed to extract themselves and make limited advances, but failed to reach its first day objective of the Psel River.
.....2.SS Panzerkorps under the command of Paul Hausser progressed quite well using a tactic known as the "Panzerkiel" which was basically spearheaded by the heavy Tiger I tanks followed up by MK IV and MK III tanks. Hausser’s corps was made up of three panzer divisions – the 1st 'Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler' (Adolf Hitler’s bodyguard), 2nd SS 'Das Reich' (The Empire) and 3rd SS 'Totenkopf' (Death’s Head). Although all three were technically Panzergrenadier divisions, each had more than 100 tanks when 'Zitadel' began.
.... Before the Luftwaffe could launch raids against the Red Air Force, the Soviets launched a pre-dawn raid with more than 400 aircraft against 5 Luftwaffe airfields near Kharkov. At the airfields, the bomber and fighter units were crowding the runways, waiting for the order to take-off. Then German radar units reported hundreds of Russian aircraft heading to the bases. Commanders had all their bombers kept on the ground and cleared the way for Bf 109s to launch.
....At Mikoyanovka airfield, the fighters of JG 54 managed to get into the air before the Russian aircraft reached the base. Fighters from JG 3 followed. Gaining height, the two Geschwaders descended upon the Russian bombers, fighters and ground-attack aircraft. Soon 120 Russian aircraft went flaming to earth. Lt. Rudolf Rademacher of I./JG 54 claimed 7 shot down and Oblt. Emil Bitsch, Staffelkapitaen of 8./JG 3 destroyed 6 Russian planes. Two pilots with II./JG 3 reached the 150 kill mark. Gruppenkommandeur Major Kurt Brandle downed 4 Il-2s and a Yak-1 while Oblt. Joachim Kirschner, Staffelakpitean of 5./JG 3 reached 150 during one of 9 Russian aircraft shot down.
....Hptm. Hans-Ulrich Rudel's squadron of 9 tank-busting Ju 87G-1s of 1./StG 2 were assigned to support the 3rd SS 'Totenkopf' . During his first mission, Rudel knocked out 4 Soviet tanks and by evening, his score grew to 12. "We are all seized with a kind of passion for the chase from the glorious feeling of having saved much German bloodshed with every tank destroyed." At the same time, because of Rudel's success, Panzerstaffeln (Tank Destroyer Squadrons) were formed.
....As evening approached, a final combat was fought between the Fw 190s of Luftflotte 6 and a Soviet bomber force. The German fighters claimed 45 victories. The III./JG 54 was the first to engage and Fw. Hubert Strassl claimed a pair of the big Il-4 bombers. He then downed 2 more from low altitude. Returning to base at Orel, Strassl had claimed a remarkable 15 victories in a single day.
....The Germans claimed 432 Soviet aircraft destroyed for only 26 of their own.

MEDITERRANEAN: In Sicily, B-24s attacked the harbor, harbor installations, railway yards, and oil storage at Messina while B-25s hit the airfields at Sciacca and Biscari. Royal Air Force (RAF) heavy bombers struck railroad yards at Catania, Sicily.
....NASAF Wellingtons bombed the airfields at Villacidro, Sardinia and Catania, Sicily during the night. In Sicily, NASAF fighters, medium and heavy bombers hit main and satellite airfields at Gerbini and radar stations at Marsala and Licata; Northwest African Tactical Air Force (NATAF) light and medium bombers hit Sciacca and airfields at Trapani, Comiso and Biscari.
....War Diary of: 1Lt. Daniel R. McDuff, pilot: "The boys had a very tough mission, raiding the Gerbini Airfields. Some big shot somewhere had his head up and locked and “ordered” that they follow the course he prescribed. It was a honey. They were to approach the target area from the south, going west of it so that, when they got well north of it, a turn to the right would bring them southwest to the target. They were to make a 270° turn to the left after dropping their bombs, fly west a way, then go back off the island to the south the same way they had come in. And it was a long way from the target to the coast! It would be just begging for trouble. And they got it. Shapiro was shot down and crashed on the island---DeMoss, who followed him down to give him what protection he could, said Shap crashed and burned—not a chance to live through it. Bradley, of the 446th, was shot down abut 8 or 10 miles off the coast of Sicily, and several others were shot up pretty bad. Cohagen and his crew took a beating---as did his passenger, Capt. R.W. Manly, who got various and sundry pieces of flak here and there and nearly had the top of one of his fingers torn off. Cohagen landed at Tunis and left him in the hospital there. He is not back yet, but should be in a few days. Apparently there was nothing really serious.”
....'U-593' attacked Convoy KMS-18B NE of Cap Bengut and sank the ship of the convoy commodore, the 'Devis'. She had 289 Canadian troops and two British landing crafts (LCTs) on board for the Operation 'Husky', the invasion of Sicily. 52 soldiers were lost. One of the LCTs sank with the ship; the other was damaged but remained afloat. The master, the convoy commodore, six naval staff members, 38 crewmembers, eight gunners and 237 soldiers were picked up by HMS 'Cleveland' and landed at Bougie.

U.S.A.: The first turbojet engine developed for the U.S. Navy, the Westinghouse I9A, completed its 100-hour endurance test.

WESTERN FRONT: A group of 3 inbound boats ('U-170', 'U-535' and 'U-536') was attacked by the British Liberator aircraft BZ751 (53 Sqdn RAF/G, pilot F/S W. Anderson, RNZAF) near Cape Vilano, Spain. The boats evaded the first attack and only 'U-536' was strafed in a second because the depth charges hung-up. The leading 'U-536' then gave the signal to crash-dive, but 'U-535' remained surfaced for unknown reasons and had to face the next attack alone. Despite AA hits in the wings, fuselage and tailplane of the Liberator, the boat was straddled by 8 depth charges just abaft the conning tower and sank with all hands. Due to the damages and a wounded crewman, the aircraft immediately had to leave the area and safely reached its base.

[Hugh Spencer]

6th July 1943
4 Mosquitoes went to Cologne and 3 to Dusseldorf. 36 aircraft went minelaying off Biscay ports, 1 Lancaster lost.

[Njaco]

EASTERN FRONT: Unternehmen 'Zitadel' Day 2: By the second day of the Kursk offensive, German troops had penetrated 20 miles into Russian territory, at a high cost on both sides. Major attacks began again midday in the south. The southern pincer of 4.Panzerarmee (Hoth) advanced some 12 miles, with both sides incurring heavy casualties. A small salient containing the 67th and 52nd Guard Rifle Division had developed the previous day between the 48th and 2.SS Panzerkorps. 48.Panzerkorps (the 'Großdeutschland' division in particular) dealt with these units, forcing them to withdraw with serious losses. However, when the advance hit the second echelon positions, GD was stopped cold. Meanwhile, 3.Panzerdivision reached the Psel River only to discover that rain and steep muddy banks made fording the river impossible. This redirected the attacks to the east where elements of the 3rd Mechanized Corp (1st Tank Army) were engaged in heavy fighting and serious losses were sustained by both sides. By the end of the day, the Corps had lost 30% of its armor strength.
....2.SS Panzerkorps continued on towards Prokhorovka with the 3rd SS 'Totenkopf' leading the advance and smashing all resistance to the west of the town. 2.SS Panzerkorps ran into the 5th Guard Tank Corps when its attacks resumed. The very formidable formation forced the Russians to engage in a fighting withdrawal. Meanwhile, the 2nd Guard Tank Corp struck the right (eastern) flank of the Germans forcing the 3.Panzerdivision to redirect its efforts on that axis. This sent alarm bells ringing in the Soviet camp and they knew that if 2.SS Panzerkorps broke out, the balance of armor would tip in the Germans favor. They decided to deploy the rest of the 5th Guards Tank Army to destroy the SS armored divisions.
....Further to the east, Army Detachment Kempf had three of its panzer divisions (6th, 7th and 19th) attacking in a northeasterly direction. The attackers succeeded in pushing back the left flank of the 81st Guard Rifle Divisions, but stopped dead in its tracks after crossing the River Donets upon reaching the backup positions occupied by the 73rd and 78th Guard Rifle Divisions. Several Antitank Gun Brigades were dispatched to the new line.
....Fighting to the north in the 9.Armee sector was stalemated. The German "Elefant" assault tanks were unable to live up to expectations due to effective Soviet infantry attacks. Soviet armored formations counterattacked forcing the Germans to defend their meager gains of the previous day. The attacks came in uncoordinated and the Germans were able to deal with the attacks.
....A second day of operations for the Luftwaffe supporting the offensive found 205 Russian planes destroyed, most by JG 51 in the northern sector. Fw. Herbert Strassl of III./JG 51 was promoted to Oberfeldwebel. During the day he downed another 4 Soviet aicraft, the victories coming in 2 missions. III./JG 51 met LaGG-5s and MiG-3s and Strassle claimed 2 LaGG-5s and a MiG-3. Later that afternoon III./Jg 51 again engaged LaGG-5s and MiG-3s. Strassl added on t his scorebard and Oblt. Maximillian Mayerl of 9./JG 51 claimed a LaGG-5 at the same time. By the end of the day. Fw. Herbert Strassl had added 10 planes to his score.
....Hptm. Gunther Rall was given command of III./JG 52.

MEDITERRANEAN: In Sicily, B-24s struck satellite airfields at Gerbini and hit the airfields at Biscari and Gerbini while P-4Os escorted bombers and carried out dive-bombing operations. Northwest African Strategic Air Force (NASAF) Wellingtons hit Gerbini Airfield and 2 satellites during the night. During predawn hours and throughout the day, light and medium bombers of the NATAF bombed airfields at Biscari, Sciacca, Trapani, and Comiso. NASAF B-17s again hit Gerbini Airfield and 3 satellite fields. B-25s bombed Biscari Airfield.
....At Biscari the majority of the bombs dropped on the field with excellent results. One JU 52 was hit while trying to take off. The escort was 24 P-38s and Spitfires from Malta furnished a high cover.
....Submarine HMS 'Saracen'sank the Italian merchant 'Tripoli' (1166 BRT) near the island of Monte Cristo.
....The 'Shahjehan' in Convoy MWS-36 was torpedoed and damaged by 'U-453' NE of Benghazi, Cyrenaica. The ship was taken in tow but sank. One service personnel was lost. The master, 77 crewmembers, 20 gunners and 229 troops (military, naval and RAF personnel) were picked up by HMS 'St Monance' and the river gunboat HMS 'Aphis' and landed at Benghazi.

NORWAY: 'U-629' set up an automatic weather station on Bear Island.

[Hugh Spencer]

7th July 1943
4 Mosquitoes went to Cologne and 4 to Dusseldorf without loss.

[Hugh Spencer]

8th July 1943
282 Lancasters and 6 Mosquitoes of 1, 5 and 8 Groups went to Cologne, 7 Lancasters lost.
The Oboe sky marking was accurate and another successful raid followed, the north western and south western sections of the city being the worst hit. 19 industrial and 2,381 domestic buildings were destroyed in areas which had not been severely bombed until now. 502 civilians were killed but the fatalities at a prisoner of war camp and an artillery barracks which were both heavily bombed are not known. A further 48,000 people were bombed out, making a total of 350,000 people losing their homes during this series of 3 raids in 1 week.
8 Mosquitoes went to Duisburg and 46 aircraft went minelaying off Texel, Brittany and the Biscay coast, 1 Wellington minelayer lost.

[Njaco]

EASTERN FRONT: Unternehmen 'Zitadel' Day 3: In the north, Model's forces concentrated their attacks in the area around Ponyri. 18th Panzer and 292nd Infantry Divisions hit the 307th Rifle division and were initially repulsed. A full day of heavy fighting in the village saw sections of the town change hands several times. By the end of the day, the town was split between the two combatants. Meanwhile, the 41.Panzerkorps struck toward Ol'Khovatka, an area surrounded by dominant high ground, only to be met by elements of the 2nd Tank Army. Both sides suffered serious losses and neither gained their objectives in the stallmate.
....In the south, Army Detachment Kempf continued to make modest headway against the 7th Guard Army. Four additional infantry divisions were assigned to shore up the Soviet positions. On the other (western) flank, 48.Panzerkorps was attempting to move forward only to be confronted by large tank formations Vatutuin was hoping to attack with. A large salient had developed between 2.SS Panzerkorps right (east) and AG Kempf's left (west) flank. 3rd SS 'Totenkopf' was dispatched to guard that vulnerable position, leaving only the 1st 'Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler' and 2nd SS 'Das Reich' panzer Divisions for attacks. Because of the serious resistance on the road to Oboian, these formations redirected to the northeast and advanced, making modest progress, toward Prokorovka.
....Over the battlefield, the air battle became desperate. German forces were concentrating on their ground support efforts and the Red Air Force had recovered from their initial trouncing at the optining of the offensive to contest the Germans. The Soviet fighter sweeps took a serious toll on the bomb laden German planes. But the fighters of Luftflotte 6 claimed 74 victories and Ofw. Strassl of 8./JG 51 made 6 of these claims. Oblt. Paul-Heinrich Dahne of 2./JG 52 destroyed a Russian plane over the frontlines, giving I./JG 52 800 kills for the war and 6000 kills for the Geschwader.

WESTERN FRONT: The Battle of the South Atlantic continued as German submarine 'U-185' sinks three merchant ships off the coast of Brazil.

NORWAY: After a heavy engagement with Soviet fighters, JG 5 suffered damaged planes and missing pilots. A Bf 190G-2 flown by Fw. Josef Sommereger of 1./JG 5 went missing in action. The Staffelkapitaen of 14(Jabo)./JG 5 Hptm. Wilhelm Strakeljahn had to crash land his Fw 190 at Petsamo due to AA fire. He was uninjured.

GERMANY: 10./JG 11 was formed at Husum with Oblt. Heinz Sahnwaldt appointed a Staffelkapitaen.

[Hugh Spencer]

9th July 1943
218 Lancasters, 190 Halifaxes and 10 Mosquitoes attacked Gelsenkirchen, 7 Halifaxes and 5 Lancasters lost.
This raid was not successful. TheOboe equipment failed to operate in 5 of the Mosquitoes and a 6th Mosquito dropped sky-markers in error 10 miles north of the target. Gelsenkerchen reported that its southern districts were bombed and assumed that the main raid was on the neighbouring towns of Bochum and Wattenscheid, also to the south, which received many more bombs than did Gelsenkirchen. G itself suffered 10 industrial firms hit, including the all important synthetic oil refinery at Scholven but damage in all places was only light. 41 people died in Gelsenkirchen.
4 Mosquitoes went to Nordstern and 18 aircraft went minelaying in the Frisians and off Texel without loss

[Njaco]

EASTERN FRONT: Unternehmen 'Zitadel' Day 4:Model's 9.Armee made an all out effort to make an impression on the Russian defenses in the north. The 4.Panzerdivision, the last fresh panzer unit in the army was committed to the attack along with all available air support. After a bitter day of fighting with heavy losses reported by both sides, no appreciable movement was seen in the front line.
....To the south, 4.Panzerarmee continued its attacks. On the left (west), 48.Panzerkorps, with the 'Großdeutschland' panzerdivision in the lead, struck directly up the Oboian road. The battered 3rd Mechanized Corp was unable to contain the German attacks and grudgingly gave ground. 6th Tank Corp struck the left flank of GD which distracted the Germans long enough for Vatutin to organize fresh troops in front of the main attack, which prevented the Germans from obtaining a clean breakthrough.
....To the east, 2.SS Panzerkorps started the days attacks by redirecting their attacks away from the Oboian axis toward Prokorovka to the northeast. The attack started at the same time Vatutin planned an attack by the 10th Tank Corps into what he though would be the german right flank. Instead, the two forces met in a meeting engagement. Both sides took grevious losses in men and machines in the insuing battle which raged for most of the day.
....The Russian attack began in the morning, moving west in an attempt to cut the Begorod-Oboian highway. Along the woods north of Belgorod, Gruppenkommandeur Hptm. Bruno Meyer, flying a Hs 129B of IV./SG 9, spotted moving Russian tanks and large concentrations of troops in the attack on the German flank. Meyer radioed to base that he saw at least 40 tanks and, "....dense blocks of infantry, like a martial picture from the middle ages." and ordered the rest of his Gruppe up from Mikoyanovka to assault the Russian attack.
....The Luftwaffe immediately scrambled 4 squadrons, a total of 64 Hs 129s, to Meyer's coordinates. Using high-velocity 30mm cannons, the planes swept the forset, pumping shells into the rears of the tanks. Within a few minutes, half a dozen tanks were destroyed and burning. Fw 190 fighters joined the fray, strafing infantry and bombing wherever the Soviets were clustered. Follow up attacks by squadrons led by Major Matuschek, Oblt. Oswald, Oblt. Dornemann and Lt. Orth along with attacks on the infantry by Major Druschel's Fw 190 jabos, soon destroyed the Russian brigade and they retreated into the woods. The Soviet armoured assault had been blunted solely through air power.
....Army Detachment Kempf advanced 8 kilometers north, capturing Melikhovo, finally breaking cleanly through the first defense lines of the 7th Guards Army. The Soviet Guardsmen simply withdrew to the second line in good order and redoubled their efforts to harass the German right (east).
....Despite the success of SG 9 north of Belgorod, this fourth day of battle brought German domination in the air to an end. The Luftwaffee was no longer able to automatically gain air superiority over a spot on the battlefield and roving swarms of Red fighters struck hard against the German planes. The Germans were able to execute a mere 650 sorties to the Soviet 1500. Soviet claims for the day were 304 tanks and 161 aircraft; the Germans, 400 tanks and 193 aircraft.

MEDITERRANEAN: In Sicily, B-24s attacked the Catania railway station, telegraph and telephone buildings, and industrial area; B-25s hit the airfields at Biscari and Comiso and nearby areas; and P-40s attacked Biscari Airfield and escorted bombers over Sicily. NASAF Wellingtons bombed airfields at Comiso and Catania during the night. During the day, B-17s, B-25s, and B-26s made several strikes against Gerbini and its satellite fields. 48 P-38s of the
82nd fighter group were escort. P-38s strafed radar installations in the eastern part of Sicily. Two Siebel ferries were strafed just off the coast. Northwest African Tactical Air Force (NATAF) light bombers hit Sciacca Airfield while medium bombers hit airfields at Biscari and Comiso. A-36s attacked trucks, a train, railroads, highways, a sulfur plant, and a marshalling yard at several points in Sicily.
....War Diary of Lt. Daniel R. McDuff, 447th BS: "On the way - and just shortly after we left Malta - we could see the largest collection of boats of all sizes I have ever imagined! It’s size is almost unbelievable…Boats lined up and scattered around for as far as the eye could see. A lot of power, there, and I have a feeling someone is going to get a taste of that power somewhere and soon! Just before we got to the Tunisian coast we passed right between two more convoys - big ones - in fact I don’t think I’ve every seen a herd of cows with as many cows in it as that convoy had boats! I look for the invasion sometime between the 10th and 12th of July. We shall see!”

UNITED KINGDOM: The USAAF 479th Antisubmarine Group was activated at RAF St. Eval, Cornwall. It would be equipped with two squadrons of B-24s.
....The 354th, 357th and 358th Fighter Squadrons, 355th Fighter Group, arrived at Steeple Morden, England from the US with P-47Ds. They will fly their first combat mission on 14 Sep 43.

NORWAY: The British Home Fleet sailed strong units off Norway as a distraction for upcoming operations in the Mediterranean. The Germans did not notice them.

GERMANY: At a meeting in the Supreme Headquarters, Hitler promised his support for continued production of the Me-264 to Messerschmitt, but only for maritime uses. At the same time he dropped his plan to bomb the US east coast, because "the few aircraft that could get through would only provoke the populace to resistance."

WESTERN FRONT: A B-24 Liberator of the 2d Antisubmarine Squadron (Heavy), AAF Antisubmarine Command based at Port Lyautey, French Morocco, sank German submarine, 'U-232' off Portugal. All 46 men on the U-boat were lost.

[Njaco]

EASTERN FRONT: Unternehmen 'Zitadel' Day 5: The Germans were becoming bogged down. Hitler's desperate attempt to change the course of the war by destroying the Soviet armies in the Kursk salient, was grinding to a halt as Soviet tanks, cunningly constructed defences, and swarms of Sturmoviks blunted the pincer attacks of General Hoth from the south and General Model from the north. Fighting at Kursk had taken on a significant and, for the Germans, a frustrating pattern. Unlike the previous two summers, the Russians did not collapse when subjected to the German armored onslaught. This summer the Germans were confronted by an enemy who contested every inch of ground and when forced to withdraw did so in good order to freshly prepared defenses. More worrisome, the Soviets had shown to be very aggressive in hammering the flanks of the German attacks. The confident, swaggering, facade of invincibility was beginning to show cracks as the battle dragged on.
....Vatutin was determined to stop the Germans. He ordered both the 5th Guards Tank and 5th Guard Armies to concentrate in the Prokorovka area and prepare for a coordinated attack against the Germans. He also heavily reinforced his right (west) facing the 48.Panzerkorps with fresh anti-tank brigades and infantry division. He also committed the fresh 69th Army in front of Kempf between the 7th and 6th Guards Armies.
....The main effort for the day came from 48.Panzerkorps up the Oboian road. With all of the air support that could be mustered. The unit, spearheaded by the 'Großdeutschland' Panzerdivision pushed forward making good progress. That progress came to an abrupt end at Novoselovka when they ran into heavily reinforced 309th Rifle Division. Meanwhile, the 6th Tank Corp continued to attack the German flank.
....The Germans continued to drive forward. In the north, the attacks by 9.Armee were on the wane. Despite desperate attempts to crack the Russian, lines, no headway was made and losses were high. To the south, Army Detachment Kempf made little progress being faced by fresh reinforcements. 2.SS Panzerkorps made some progress on the road to Prokorovka, pushing the depleted formations of the 3rd Mechanized and 10th Tank Corps ahead of them while the battered 2nd Tank Corps harassed their flank.
....Oblt. Werner Hohenberg of 8./JG 52 bailed out of his aircraft after it became damaged from Soviet AA fire. He was rescued by friendly infantry and began a long stay in hospital. But Fw. Ernst Lohberg of 7./JG 52 (22 victories) was listed as missing in action and presumed dead. The fighters of JG 54 lost Uffz. Hans-Joachim Happatsch of 2./JG 54 (20 victories) when he was killed in combat.

ENGLAND: A German air raid against England succeeds in hitting the movie theater in East Grinstead, killing 12 civilians.
....HQ US 355th Fighter Group arrived at Steeple Morden, England from the US to join the three squadrons that arrived yesterday.

GERMANY: Goebbels vowed that Allied bombing would be avenged by a new secret weapon.

MEDITERRANEAN: General Guzzoni was now in command on Sicily with the Italian 6th Army.
....In Sicily during the night, Northwest African Strategic Air Force Wellingtons bombed the airfields at Catania, Gerbini, and Comiso and Northwest African Tactical Air Force planes hit Sciacca and Milo Airfields. During the day, Ninth Air Force B-24s bombed airfields at Maleme, Crete, and Comiso and Taormina while B-25 Mitchells hit Sciacca landing ground and Biscari Airfield and dispersal areas and P-40s escorted bombers over Castelvetrano, and Milo Airfields. Northwest African Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses, B-25s, B-26 Marauders, and fighters attacked other targets, including Sciacca and Biscari Airfields, Gerbini satellite field, and Cape Passero Island radar stations. This pre-invasion air bombardment of Sicily provided air superiority over the enemy.
....2,590 Allied ships headed for Sicily to mount the first amphibious assault on Occupied Europe - Operation 'Husky' - while transport aircraft and gliders from North African bases inserted troops from the British 1st Airborne and US 82nd Airborne Divisions, beginning half an hour before midnight. The Allied forces for Operation 'Husky' were gathered around Malta. The invasion of Sicily would begin with airborne landings tonight. These would include the US 505th PIR landing at Gela.

WESTERN FRONT: 'U-508' attacked Convoy ST-71 60 miles SW of Lagos in the Gulf of Benin and torpedoed the 'De La Salle' and 'Manchester Citizen'. The ships were sunk by coup de grâce at 0425 and 0452. The master, 129 crewmembers, 12 gunners and 97 passengers from the 'De La Salle' were picked up by corvette FS 'Commandant Detroyat' and the British SS 'Calabar' and landed at Lagos. Eight crewmembers and two passengers were lost. Twelve crewmembers, two gunners and 14 Krooboys from the 'Manchester Citizen' were lost. The master, 44 crewmembers, eight gunners and 23 Krooboys were picked up by 'Commandante Detroyat' and landed at Lagos.
....The unescorted 'Samuel Heintzelman' was torpedoed and sunk by 'U-511' in the Indian Ocean. The U-boat dived after firing torpedoes and not observed the results, but they heard underwater explosions and found no trace of the ship after surfacing, only debris floating in the water and lying on deck. All eight officers, 34 crewmen, 27 armed guards (the ship was armed with one 5in, one 3in and eight 20mm guns) and six passengers on board were lost. The 'Samuel Heintzelman' was reported missing after being seen the last time on 4 July and it was first believed that she had been sunk by a Japanese surface raider. On 30 September, wreckage of the ship was found off Minni Minni village, Maldive Islands and two empty lifeboats had been spotted the day before.
....'U-953' was attacked by an aircraft killing one and wounding two of its crew.
....'U-642' shot down an RAF 210 Sqn Catalina. The boat was attacked by the Catalina about 250 miles west of Lisbon. AA fire hit the port side of the aircraft during the attack run, damaging the wing, the engine and a fuel tank and wounding the nose gunner. Due to the damages, only the three depth charges on the starboard side were dropped but did not damage 'U-642', which crash-dived after the attack and did not observe how the burning Catalina ditched shortly afterwards. Two crewmen were lost in the crash and another died the next day from a heart attack. 7 survivors were picked up after 4 days by HMS 'Swale' and taken to Casablanca.
....'U-435' was sunk west of Figueira, Portugal by four depth charges from an RAF 179 Sqn Wellington.
....'U-590' was sunk near the Amazon Estuary by depth charges from a USN VP-94 Catalina aircraft.

UNITED STATES: The US Navy orders a version of the Consolidated Catalina from the new New Orleans factory. This mark will have two 0.50-in nose guns, search radar in a radome above the cockpit and amphibious undercarriage. They will be designated PBY-6A and 900 were ordered.

[Njaco]

EASTERN FRONT: Unternehmen 'Zitadel' Day 6: In the north, Model's 9.Armee attack grinds on, but the attacks were half hearted and it became obvious to all that they have failed. The offensive on this sector was terminated. The Germans lost over 400 tanks and took 50,000 casualties for no apparent gain. The badly depleted 48.Panzerkorps made attacks to clear their flanks on this day. 3.Panzerdivision attacked the remnants of the 6th Tank Corp, while 'Großdeutschland' Panzerdivision attacked the 10th Tank Corps. Meanwhile, the 11.Panzerdivision struck up the Oboian road and began relieving 1st SS 'Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler' Panzerdivision of some of its line so that it could be concentrated further east.
....On the other flank, Army Detachment Kempf still attempted to move north but had to contend with attacks on its right and left flanks. In the center,the 2.SS Panzerkorps would be concentrated for an all out attack on the Porokorvka axis. As 1st 'Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler' and 2nd SS 'Das Reich' Panzerdivisions regrouped, 3rd SS 'Totenkopf' Panzer, commanded by SS Maj. Gen. Hermann Priess, was to establish a bridgehead over the Psel River, west of Prochorovka. The initial attack failed, but in the afternoon, all three divisions lunged forward and the corps was able to establish jump off positions for the attack. General Mikhail E. Katukov’s First Tank Army had been unable to prevent the Germans from reaching the river. His VI Tank Corps, originally equipped with more than 200 tanks, had only 50 left. But the Germans had gained just five miles at the expense of 25,000 men, 200 aircraft and 200 tanks.
....In the early morning, a Russian LaGG-5 fell under the guns of Lt. Erich Hartmann, Staffelkapitaen of 7./JG 52 for his 33d kill.

MEDITERRANEAN: Operation 'Husky' Day 1: Shortly after midnight, 147 C-47s with their gliders in tow bucked 30-35mph winds heading toward Sicily. They would be the vanguard of the greatest sea borne invasion the world had yet seen. Regrettably, everything fell apart quickly.
....The planning for Operation 'Husky' was immaculate. The vast convoy - which had set out from ports in Egypt, North Africa, Malta and the United States - assembled exactly on cue. Only the unseasonal storm delayed H-Hour, but by no more than an hour while the convoy sorted itself out.
....For a few desperate hours, with a sudden storm churning the Mediterranean into a mass of huge white-capped waves, disaster threatened the greatest seaborne invasion of the war. The slow transports were met by heavy anti-aircraft fire as they came in. Sixty-nine of the gliders were released early and could not reach land, drowning 252 soldiers. Two more transports were shot out of the sky and 10 turned back without releasing their tows. Twelve of the gliders did manage to land at the correct place.
....While this was taking place, a reinforced regiment (3045 men) from the US 82nd Airborne Division were heading toward their landing zones behind Gela. The plan for this force was to fly over Malta and then make a turn to the left and head into Sicily. Most of the inexperience flight crews missed Malta (even though it was lit up like a Christmas tree to assist navigation this night) and the paratroops came in out of formation and widely scattered. This coupled with the high winds resulted in many injuries as well as exacerbating the scatter. Of the 137 British Airspeed Horsa gliders released, 69 came down in the sea, drowning some 200 men. A further 56 landed in the wrong part of Sicily and only 12 reached the target area - a vital bridge south of Syracuse.
....The airborne chaos was to the Allies' advantage in one sense. The sudden presence of so many paratroopers had the effect of confusing the defenders, convinced that the invasion was on an even bigger scale than they had first thought, and reserves were held back from the beach-heads.
....The British 8th Army (under General Montgomery) landed just south of Syracuse, spearheaded by commandos and Special Air Service (SAS) units as well as elements of the XXX Corps and XIII Corps. Heavy surf made navigation for the small landing craft difficult and many missed their designated target beaches (some by as much as 6000 yards). However, there was little resistance and the landings went well.
.....The US 7th Army (under General Patton) made their landings west of (on the left flank) of the British in the Gulf of Gela. The initial landings included rangers and elements of the 3rd, 1st and 45th Infantry Divisions. The only mishap of this landing was the destruction of the destroyer 'Maddox' which was sunk by a Stuka dive bomber. The only serious opposition encountered by the Americans was at Gela when the 1st US Division and a tank battalion were, after an unimpeded landing, met with a counter attack by German troops and armour.
....The response of the Axis was poor. Italian coastal units surrendered en masse. Mobile reserve groups were slow to react to the invasion. Italian Mobile Group 'E' was the first to attack and hit the town of Gela around 0900. The 16th Infantry Regiment, supported by fire from the cruiser 'Boise' stopped the attack and forced the Italians to retreat.
....The Germans had two divisions on the island, the 15th Panzer Grenadier and the 'Herman Goering' (HG) Panzer Division. The former was a well-trained and experienced unit but except for a kampfgruupe facing the British, they were not in a position to have an impact on D-Day. The HG Division however, was in an excellent position to crush the American beachhead. Although they were extremely well equipped (including 14 Tiger tanks), they were ineptly led. Their counterattack did not get organized until the afternoon. They too were met by naval gunfire and the men of the 'Big Red One' and retreated in considerable disorder. 1st Divison "Big Red One" under Gen. Terry Allen had landed at the fishing village of Gela, spearheaded by Darby's Rangers.
....By the end of the first day, the Allies were well established on shore, although somewhat disorganized and scattered. On one American beach-head, US Rangers captured an Italian command post only to find the telephone ringing. A US war correspondent who had been stationed in Rome before the war answered in Italian. "Where are the Americans?" asked the voice at HQ. "Americans? Its all quiet here." the correspondant replied.
....Soon after the landings, German fighters in Sardinia were recalled to the battlefront. 39 Bf 109s of II./JG 51 responded immediately and joined up with Stab. and II./JG 27 and II./JG 77 at Trapani and began operations against the Allied landings. By the end of the first day, 6 Allied bombers were shot down at a cost of 4 Bf 109s destroyed including the aircraft of the Gruppenkommandeur of I./JG 77. Numerous airfields were unusable as the Allies pounded the air strips into rubble.
.... 'U-371' fired torpedoes at Convoy ET-22A about 30 miles east of Bougie and damaged the 'Matthew Maury' and 'Gulfprince' (in station #22). The convoy was about eight hours out of port. 'Gulfprince' was struck by one torpedo on the starboard side at the #7 tank. The torpedo penetrated 20 feet into the empty but non-gas-free tank before exploding. The explosion ripped a 20-foot hole in the side, destroyed the steering engine, brought down the main mast and started fires in the tanks carrying fuel. The engines were secured and the ship listed to starboard. Within minutes the complement of eight officers, 28 crewmen and 27 armed guards (the ship was armed with one 5in, one 3in and eight 20mm guns) abandoned ship in two lifeboats, three rafts and by jumping overboard. All men were picked up by trawler HMS 'Sir Gareth' and the British SS 'Empire Commerce', but one of the armed guards later died from burns on board. A salvage crew boarded the vessel and the tugs HMS 'Weazel' and 'Hudson' towed her to Algiers, arriving on 12 July. Rather than declaring the vessel a total loss, the US War Shipping Administration bought her and chartered the tanker to the US Navy for use as a mobile storehouse in North Africa. In March 1945, the tanker was laid up at Taranto and was sold to Italy on 20 Feb 1948 for scrapping. The 'Matthew Maury' was struck by one torpedo in the stern. The explosion blew off the propeller, bent the shaft and flooded the #5 hold. The ship went out of control and gradually lost way. The eight officers, 35 crew men, 28 armed guards (the ship was armed with one 4in, one 3in and eight 20mm guns) and seven passengers went to their boats stations but did not abandon ship. Two British corvettes stood by and later towed the ship to Bougie.

WESTERN FRONT: The USAAF's VIII Bomber Command in England flew Mission Number 72: 121 B-17s and five YB-40 Flying Fortresses were dispatched to the Caen/Carpiquet Airfield and 64 B-17s were dispatched to the Abbevile/Drucat Airfield, both in France. 34 hit Caen at 0832 hours while 36 hit Abbeville at 0729-0735 hours. They claimed 17-7-6 Luftwaffe aircraft. One B-17 was lost after a single pass by Lt. Helmut Hoppe, Staffelkapitaen of 4./JG 26. In a second raid, 101 B-17s were dispatched against Le Bourget Airfield, Paris with escort provided by 18 squadrons of RAF Spitfires and 8 squadrons of US P-47s but the mission was abandoned due to cloud cover.

[Hugh Spencer]

12th July 1943
295 Lancasters of 1, 5 and 8 Groups attacked Turin, 13 aircraft lost.
The main weight of this raid fell just north of the centre of Turin in clear weather conditions. The only report obtainable from Italy states that 792 people were killed and 914 injured. This was Turin's highest number of air raid fatalities during the 10 raids made on the city by Bomber Command during the war.
Among the RAF casualties on this night was Wing Commander J. D. Nettleton, commander of 44(Rhodesia) Squadron, who had won the Victoria Cross for the low level daylight raid on Augsburg in April 1942. Nettleton's Lancaster was shot down by a German night fighter over the Channel while returning from Turin. He and his crew all died and their names are on the Runnymede Memorial.
22 Wellingtons went minelaying off Brest, Lorient and St Nazaire without loss.

[Hugh Spencer]

13th July 1943
214 Halifaxes, 76 Wellingtons, 55 Stirlings, 18 Lancasters and 11 Mosquitoes raided Aachen. 20 aircraft were lost.
A strong tail wind brought the first waves of the Main Force into the target area before Zero Hour with the result that, when the first Pathfinder markers were released, an unusually large number of aircraft bombed in the first minutes of the raid. The visibility was good and large areas of Aachen appeared to burst into flame at once. In the words of the report from Aachen, ' A Terrorangriff of the most severe scale was delivered'. 2,927 individual buildings were destroyed. These contained 16,828 flats/apartments and there was the familiar list of public and cultural buildings hit. Among those classed as severely damaged were the cathedral, the Rathaus, the town theatre, the police headquarters, the local prison, the main post office, two infantry barracks and an army food depot and 8 large industrial premises including an aero-engine factory, a rubber factory, a tyre factory and a wagon works. 294 people were killed and 745 injured and 28,500 people appear to have fled the town and were still absent when new ration cards were issued nearly 7 weeks later.
2 Oboe Mosquitoes carried out a diversion for the Aachen raid by dropping target indicators over Cologne.

[stasoid]

Hope you didnt forget the Battle of Prokhorovka 65 years ago on July 12, 1943
The largest tank battle in military history. Around 1000 tanks from both sides