 German recon team on the move in North Africa |
Project 60: A Day-by-Day Diary of WWII
Remembering the First Fight Against Fascism |
 Another island - another landing Japanese forces hit the beaches again |
German recon team on the move in North Africa |
Project 60: A Day-by-Day Diary of WWII
Remembering the First Fight Against Fascism |
Another island - another landing Japanese forces hit the beaches again |
February 3, 1942 German forces, regrouped and reinforced,
launch attacks against the overextended Soviet spearheads in the Vyazma
region. Several Soviet divisions are encircled in the attack. February 4, 1942 The Japanese request and the British
refuse the surrender of Singapore. The Japanese launch massive air attacks
against the city for the next four days. The Africa Korps recaptures Dema as the
British 8th Army continues its withdrawal to the Gazala line. British forces in Egypt seized the royal
palace of King Farouk, forcing the king to appoint a pro-British government. British efforts to assist the Yugoslavian partisans took a step forward as agents were parachuted into German occupied areas around Sarajevo to link up with the local partisan bands. February 6, 1942 Japanese forces capture the oil facilities
at Samarinda in Borneo. February 7, 1942 The Japanese launch a diversionary attack,
landing a force on Pulua Ubin Island, east of Singapore. The British
mistakenly move their force to counter a threat that did not exist. The Japanese, meeting little resistance,
land on the western side of Singapore Island. MacArthur informs FDR that the Bataan
force has suffered 50% losses and was "near done". FDR gives permission
for MacArhur to surrender the Filipino troops but forbids the surrender of US
forces. The Soviet 11th and 1st
Shock Armies link up along the Lovat River west of Demyansk, cutting off the
last tenuous land link with the German rear for the 2nd and 10th
Corps. In all 90,000 Germans are surrounded in the Demyansk area. February 9, 1942 The Japanese 5th and 18th
Divisions, having established a secure beachhead on the island, move out to
capture the city of Singapore. They succeed in capturing the Tengah airfield,
insuring easy and quick resupply. The end for the British in Singapore is only
a matter of time. Japanese forces are hit by counter attacks
in Luzon. Heavy casualties are reported, as well as some withdrawals. Those wishing to contribute items. stories or comments should contact D.A. Friedrichs |
Editor's Corner The items found in this section are comments from the editors of Project 60 and may not necessarily reflect the opinions of bartcop. Vietnam
and Afghanistan When the
"war against terrorism" began, many knowledgeable people warned that
our operations in Afghanistan would turn into another Vietnam. In the
flush of "victory", much of the gloomy projections have been
relegated to the trash heap. However,
there are still some interesting comparisons that can be made. In the early
days of Vietnam, the United States inserted teams of Special Forces, to
assist in establishing good relations with the locals by helping with
village defense, health, and education programs. These operations were
highly successful in combating the influence of the Viet Cong. In the
Afghan war, a similar, and, like its predecessor, highly successful
program is well underway. Like Vietnam,
we are currently destroying any good will we have with the locals by
blowing stuff up. The old saying "we had to destroy the village in
order to save it" is alive and well and making a comeback in
Afghanistan. However, we have progressed a long way in 35 years. In
Vietnam, we would send an infantry platoon with Zippos into a village
and burn it down. In Afghanistan, the mud doesn't burn, so we use
precision-guided ordnance to turn peoples homes into craters. The
downside of this "improved" system, is that by the time we get
around to blowing up a house, a wedding party moves in and we blow up a
few score party-goers like we did at Qalaye Niazi. The
biggest similarity between the two wars is the Pentagon briefings. The
goals and objectives are different but the level of lies and deceits
have not changed one bit. In Vietnam, the goal was to show progress by
inflating "body counts". In our new, more compassionate world, we
measure progress by how many buildings we blow up in a sterile and
non-violent manner, with "minimal collateral damage".
In Vietnam villages were called Viet Cong strongholds and in
Afghanistan they are called Al Qaeda compounds. In reality, these are
places which were filled with people, who wanted nothing more to try to scratch out
a life for themselves before we came and destroyed everything in their
pitiful lives. The one area
that is glaringly different is how the US press is conducting operations in
the two wars. In Vietnam, the horrors and violence of war were brought
home. We saw that people, our soldiers, their soldiers, innocent people,
were horribly maimed and killed in war. Since Desert Storm, war for our
citizens has been converted into some sort of sick bloodless video game.
Our press today call sitting in a pentagon briefing journalism and don't bother
to fact check the lies they are fed by the Administration. The India
Times has better, more accurate and more complete war coverage than the
New York Times. This is a sad and pathetic commentary on the health of
our Fourth Estate. Like Vietnam,
one of the reasons we got involved in the first place was to prop up a
corrupt and inept government, which we installed. In Afghanistan, we
have installed a government, but it remains to be seen just how corrupt
and inept it will be. Early signs, despite what is reported in the US
media, are not particularly encouraging. In Vietnam,
the primary reason for our presence was to stop Communism. In
Afghanistan, we have traded the bogyman of Communism for terrorism. Both
were and are vile and, if you will, evil. However, neither will be
defeated by military intervention. Economic stability, justice and
self-determination are the keys to defeating both of those enemies. In both
Vietnam and Afghanistan, the more compelling, and less acknowledged,
reason for intervention appears to be US business interests. In the
60's it was rubber and oil. Now it's just oil and not even really
oil, just a place to put a pipeline that the Ruskies don't control.
We seem to have an annoying habit of trading red blood for black gold. Previous Columns Want to Win - Think Before You Lash Out - "If we are serious about taking the war to the enemy, it is time to look ..." The First Fight Against Fascism - We must remember the Spanish Civil War also. Arguing Victory - "... Each nation who fought against fascist tyranny in WWII brought with it part of whole needed to defeat that evil..." War, Glory, Honor and Remembrance - "War is a brutal and savage insult on human society..." The
First Casualty... in time of war, those in power are even more inclined to hide the truth,
since that truth is often manifest in the most gruesome and terrible
acts. |