History of the Second World War (126 page)

Night advance, by tanks, not practised by British, 287, 306; by British in Tunisia, 419, 421, 428

Night attack(s): by German tanks, 287; countering U-boat, 376-7; by U-boats off America, 383

Night bombing, 593; in Battle of Britain, 102, 105, 107-8, 142; difficulties of defence against, 103, 105; British, on Germany, 599-601; improved defence against, 601; low-level, on Japan, 691

Night fighters, German, value of, in air defence, 597-8, 601-2; needed to escort bombers, 603; German, at disadvantage after ‘Overlord’, 605; British long-range, 605

Night fighting, Japanese skill in naval, 358

Night flying, pre-war, 591

‘Night-sight’ provided by radar, 625

Northern Combat Area Command, 635

Oboe navigational aid, 599-601

Oil, sources of Axis supply, 24; importance to Germany of Rumanian, 143-4, 147, 149, 585; Japan cut off from supply of, 182, 199, 206-7; Japan takes Burmese fields, 236; German need for Caucasian, 245, 248; Rommel deprived of supplies of, 299; Axis forces in Tunisia run out of, 425, 429-430; Patton runs out of, 558, 562-3, 567-8; shortage of, hampers Allied advance on Rhine, 562-4, 566; air attacks on Ploesti oilfields, 574, 607, 610; Russia occupies Rumanian sources of, 585; bombing of German targets producing, 594, 599, 605-7, 610-12; German shortage of, 605, 671; synthetic, made in Germany, 610; Japanese shortage of, 620, 683; deficiency of, for Ardennes offensive, 647, 651, 658; dump near Stavelot, 654, 658; in Borneo, 688-9

Optical instruments, superior Japanese, 358

Orthodoxy, German choice of, in use of panzer groups in Russia, 159-61; of Allied commanders in Italy, 473

Overstretch, Germans suffer, in Russia, 493, 569, 571, 710; Russian advance halted by law of, 482, 569, 573, 584, 668; of Japanese forces, due to extent of conquests, 711

Pamphlet raids, over Germany during phoney war, 593; over Japan, 691

Parachute engineers, German, in Belgium, 68-9; in Tunisia, 335-7

Parachute troops (Paratroopers), first used in Norway, 59, 61; in attacks on Holland and Belgium, 67-9; use of dummies to exaggerate numbers of, 68; dropped on Crete, 135-8; Hitler upset by losses in, 138-9; in Russia, 255, 484; to be dropped on Malta, 277; Allied use of, to capture Tunisian airfields, 334-5; German, in Tunisia, 335-7, 338n.; to protect Sardinia, 438, 484; U.S., in Sicily, 441-2; German, to protect Albert Canal, 559; Gurkha, in capture of Rangoon, 637

Partisans, anti-Soviet, 572; Italian, 670, 674

Penetration.
See
Strategic penetration Petroleum, essential for war, 23-4.
See also
Oil

Pocket-battleships, German, as commerce raiders, 371, 374

Poison capsule, carried by German generals, 479, 552

Precision-bombing, unrealistic early in war, 594-5; improvement in, 600, 607; American selective, 606; R.A.F. night-time, 606, 608; aided by low-level marking of targets by Mosquitoes, 607; daylight American, on Japan, 690

Promotion, effect of, on producing compliance, 245

Propaganda, ineffective Allied, during phoney war, 35n., 36; of Goebbels to German people, 36; anti-German, to Russian Army, 144; leaflets, dropping of, 593

Radar,
British,
R.A.F., 94-5, 592; German bombing of stations, 99; German ways of evading, 101-2; assists detection of submarines, 377; new 10-centimetre, 385, 389; distracting device, 601

German,
98; directing anti-aircraft fire and searchlight systems, 597; masters ‘Window’, 601; loses French early warning system, 605

United States,
on Hawaii, 216; detects carrier strikes off Marianas, 619; ‘night-sight’ provided by, at Leyte Gulf, 625

Radio: German, used to demoralise Poland, 28; poor equipment of German fighters, 92; control of British fighters, 94-5; breakdowns, British and German, in desert, 191-192; intelligence, German, 385

Radio station at Algiers, taken over by collaborators, 326-7

Railways, bombing of, before ‘Overlord’, 537, 603, 606-7; Allied bombing of Balkan, 574; bombing of German, 594-5, 607; Russians repair, and alter gauge, behind Vistula line, 664

Rangers, American, at Salerno, 460-1; at Anzio, 528

Rearmament, British, 10, 22; French, 22; German, 15

Reconnaissance aircraft, British Coastal Command, 379; German, in Battle of Atlantic, 390; U.S., at Battle of Philippine Sea, 619; at Battle of Leyte Gulf, 625-6

Refugees, German, in Silesia, 667

Reserves, method of draining opponent’s balance of, 492

Rifle, Russian, qualities of, 486

Roads, wheeled vehicles useless without, 158; primitiveness of Russian, 162-4, 170, 710; felling trees over, could have stopped German tanks, 708

Rocket bombardment of Antwerp, 677

Rocket-artillery, Russian, 486

Rocket-carrying aircraft, U.S., 618

Rocket-craft, 461

Royal Air Force, strength of, in 1939, 18; over Dunkirk, 79; strength of, during Battle of Britain, 90, 92, 95; flying training schools of, 93, 600; pilot wastage in, 93, 102; defence system of, 94-5; Germans overestimate losses and underestimate production in, 95, 101; in N. Africa removed to Greece, 118; in Burma, 233; prevents supplies reaching Rommel, 299; created an independent Service, 589; espouses concept of strategic air attack, 589-91, 594; has no strategic bombing force in 1939, 591, 593; averse to co-operation with Army, 594

Bomber Command: bombers transferred to, from Coastal Command, 383; sinks
Tirpitz,
391; incapable in 1939

of carrying out strategic bombing, 591, 593; small-scale action of, early in war, 593-4; confined to night-raiding, 593, 599; starts strategic bombing, 594; inaccuracy of, in hitting specific targets, 595; navigation the prime problem of, 595; losses in, on raids on Germany, 596, 598-602, 605, 608; new directives on ‘primary objective’ of, 596, 599; diversions and ruses of, to escape night-fighters, 597-8; combines with Fighter Command in ‘Circus’ operations, 598; growth in operational strength of, 600; improved accuracy of, 600, 607; ‘dambusting’ operation of, 600; shaken morale of, 602; diverted to attacks on French railways, 603, 606-7; aided by long-range Mustangs, 604-5; resumes strategic bombing, 605, 607-10; attacks oil targets, 605, 608-11; long-range night-fighters for, 605; develops precision-bombing at night, 606, 608; increasing strength of, 608; mass daylight bombing of, 608.
See also
Strategic air attack

617 Squadron, 600, 606

Coastal Command: spots
Bismarck
and
Prinz Eugen,
377, 379; anti-submarine work of, 381, 390-1; lacks aircraft, 383, 391

No. 19 Group, 391

Fighter Command: in Battle of Britain, 90-108; forced to keep planes in north, 91, 102; aircraft of, 92; pilot wastage of, 93, 102; radio control of, 95; bombing of bases of, 95, 99-100, 102-3; sector stations and operation rooms of, 95; friction within, 101-3; loss of aircraft, 98-101, 103-4, 106-8; pressure taken off, 103-4, 106; difficulties of, against mass daylight raids, 104-6; combines with Bomber Command in ‘Circus’ operations, 598

Fighter Groups:

No. 10, 100, 105

No. 11, 100-2, 104-5

No. 12, 100-3, 105-6

No. 13, 100

Squadron:

No. 303 (Polish), 105

Desert Air Force, 270, 273, 283; at Gazala, 273; bombs German supply columns by moonlight, 283; at Alam Haifa, 293-5, 297; strength of, at Alamein, 298-9; bombs retreating army, 307; ‘blitzkrieg’ adaptation of, in attack on Mareth Line, 419

Pathfinder Force, 598-600, 606

Operational Training Units, 93

Royal Canadian Navy, convoy escort by, 375, 380, 382-3

Royal Navy, blockades Germany, 18; fails to prevent German landings on Norway, 59-60; destroyer action of, in Narvik fiord, 60; fails to attempt recapture of Bergen, 61; at evacuation from Dunkirk, 78-80; Germany fears interference of, in ‘Sealion’, 90; Pacific strength of (1941), 208; sends ‘deterrent’ force for Far East, 225; loses
Prince of Wales
and
Repulse,
225-7; carries troops to N.W. Africa landings, 316-17; temporarily abandons Scapa, 371; actions of, in Atlantic against surface raiders, 371, 374, 377-9; escort resources of, strained in Atlantic, 374-5; sinks
Scharnhorst,
391.
See also
under ships’ names in General Index

‘Far Eastern Fleet’, 226

Indian Ocean Fleet, 237

Mediterranean Fleet: evacuates troops from Crete, 136; Hitler fears effect of, on Italian fleet, 139; attacks Taranto, 212; leaves Alexandria, 283; at ‘Torch’ landings, 317, 323-4; in landings at Sicily, 440-3; at Salerno, 460-2, 465

Pacific Fleet, 208; at Okinawa, 684, 688; base for, 688

Western Approaches Command, 382

Force H, and sinking of
Bismarck,
379

Rubber, essential for war, 23; substitute, 24

Sandstorm, helps British attack on Mareth Line, 419

Sanitation, Afrika Korps suffers from Italian disregard of, 299

‘Satin, Operation’, 397

‘Schnorkel’ device, for submarines, 390-3, 609

‘Scorched-earth policy’, effect on troop morale, 229

‘Sealion, Operation’, planning of, 87, 89-90, 105; postponed, 106-7, 146, 150; German troops to be deceived regarding, 150

Seapower, superior, fails to prevent occupation of Norway, 51; effect of airpower on, 52, 62

Searchlight: batteries for air defence, 97-8, 105; Leigh Light in convoying aircraft, 377; system, German radar-directed, 597; use of in lighting opening of Ardennes offensive, 648, 650

Service Force, mobile U.S., 510-12

Shipping, German air attacks on, in Channel, 98; British, for ‘Torch’ landings, 315; problem in planning recovery of Burma, 363; American protection of, in Atlantic, 380; refitting of British, in U.S. yards, 380; sunk by submarines, 394; Axis, in Mediterranean, Allied toll of, 426; losses in Japanese, 682-3, 691-2.
See also
Convoys; Merchant Shipping

Shuttle-service: of air-raids on E. Europe, 577; of air supplies to Warsaw forbidden by Russia, 583n.

‘Snowflake’ illumination of sea, 376

Space and force, ratio between, on Eastern front, 263-4, 569, 668

Special Boat Service, 672

Spying, Britain ‘watertight’ against, 548, 550

Strategic advantages to Hitler of his political moves, 701, 704

Strategic air offensive,
against Germany
, 589-612, 712; theory and doctrine of, 589-91; pre-war assumptions regarding, 591-2; against specific targets, 591, 593-5, 602, 610-11; against civil populations, 591, 596-7, 611; Germans abandon concept of, 593; over-estimation of results and effects of, 593-6, 599; start of British offensive, 594; indiscriminate, 594-6, 600-2, 609-10, 712; ‘1000 bomber raids’, 598; directives on, from Casablanca and Washington Conferences, 599; stepped up in 1943, 600-2; does not achieve its aim, 602; joint effort at, 603-4; resumed, after ‘Overlord’, 604-5, 607-10; important effects of, 606; trend away from area-bombing in, 607; failure to maintain best priorities in, 609; deliberate revival of ‘terrorisation’, 609-610; comparative target results in, 610-12; conclusions, 613; effect on army in Italy, 671;
against Japanese,
690-1, 712

Strategic Bombing Survey, U.S., 696-7

Strategic penetration, deep, Guderian fired by idea of, 66; Guderian carries out, in France, 73-4; Guderian seeks to carry out, in Russia, 160; of Rommel, 189-94, 266, 278-80; Allied failure to use, in ‘Overlord’, 557n.; persistent pace and pressure essential to, 567

Strategy, Japanese errors in, at Midway, 350, 352; defensive, on upper Dnieper front, 496-7

Street fighting, in Stalingrad, 259; in Manila, 630; in Berlin, 680

Submarines,
British
, off Norway, 56; cut off Rommel’s supplies in Mediterranean, 299; midget, attack
Tirpitz,
391

German. See
U-boats

Italian,
382, 384, 386, 394; in Atlantic, 376

Japanese,
394; used at Pearl Harbor, 216-217; in battle of Midway, 349; reinforcements and supplies carried by, 362, 682; concentrate attacks on warships, 682

United States,
attack Japanese troopship convoys, 615; sink carriers, off Marianas, 619; sink Japanese oil tankers, 620; sink cruisers approaching Philippines, 623; sink Japanese merchant ships and tankers, 682-3; part played by, in defeat of Japan, 683

Suicide: attacks by Japanese troops, 511-12, 520-1, 619-20; naval action at Okinawa, 685.
See also
Kamikaze attacks