Today in the Second World War

Greetings to our dedicated readership. On this day, August 7th, we dive once more into the pivotal moments and stories of World War II. Each tick of the wartime clock rewrote history, and today we explore the decisions, battles, and personal narratives from this date, shedding light on a world changed forever. Join us as we journey through the annals of history.

"We did not intend to fight enemy warships...but we took up the fight. The crew have behaved magnificently. we shall win or die."- Admiral Lütjens - Commander of the Bismarck's Naval Squadron - 25th May 1941

Invasion of Guadalcanal

1942: US Marines landed on Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands with the aim of safeguarding the sea supply lines between Australia and America and to form the first of the island "stepping stones" which would carry the Americans across the Pacific to Japan; the airfield on the island provided the Marines with a vital facility. Just across the water to the north, Brigadier General William H. Rupertus, Deputy Commander of the US 1st Marine Division, led an assault on Tulagi. Lieutenant Colonel Merritt A. Edson's 1st Raider Battalion landed first, followed by Lieutenant Colonel Harold E. Rosecran's 2nd Battalion 5th Marines. The Japanese defenders put up a much stiffer resistance than their comrades on Guadalcanal but by nightfall Edsons's Marines had reached the former British residency overlooking Tulagi's harbour and dug in for the night on a hill overlooking the Japanese final positions. At the same time the 2nd Battalion 5th Marines had fought their way through to the north shore clearing the sector of enemy positions, after which they moved into support of the Raiders. The days fighting had cost the 2nd Battalion 5th Marines 56 men killed and wounded, whilst the 1st Raiders had suffered 99 casualties.

No Mercy from the Japanese

The Australian merchant ship Mamutu, sailing from Port Moresby in New Guinea for Australia and carrying 32 crew and 82 passengers, including 28 children, was shelled and sunk by a Japanese submarine which then machine gunned the survivors in the water. Only one person was rescued.

Ships & Men

The 2,687-ton Norwegian motor merchant Breñas was heading to New York, New York, United States from Maranhão, Brazil with 3,044 tons of general cargo on board when she was sighted by German submarine U-108 (Korvettenkapitän Klaus Scholtz) in the South Atlantic. The submarine appeared on the starboard bow of the ship, when the captain Oscar Kløcker was resting in the day room. When he heard the lookout and realized something was wrong, he ran out to the lower bridge. At that time the submarine was 3 cable lengths off and it was too late to ram it. He went to the bridge and altered course so that the boat was right behind them and gave orders to open fire with the aft 6-pound gun, as well as with both machine guns located on the chart house roof. It was obvious that the submarine was getting ready to attack with its deck guns. The submarine achieved no hits but came ever closer and there was a lot of shrapnel on the boat's fore and after decks. 35 shots were fired from Breñas, with the last 2 appearing to have hit the boat, which gave up the battle at 0930 hours, whereupon the voyage was continued at highest possible, zig-zagging at speed. At 1945 hours a torpedo hit Breñas on the port side between No. 3 and 4 hatches, resulting in a heavy list, the ship sinking in about 10 minutes. At that time, Gunner Fredriksen had just arrived in the mess room, then immediately ran back to the gun deck, only to find that the gunner on duty was not there, the gun was at that time in such a shape that it could not be used, with the ammunition ripped out of its casing. The motorboat that he was assigned to had been torn loose, so they tried to launch the gig, which was on the starboard side, but when this failed, he and several others ended up in the water. The port boat was successfully lowered, and most of the survivors assembled in it. The only fatality during the sinking was José Souza Gomez, the Brazilian Mess boy. The submarine then came up asking for the captain, who at first refused to identify himself, but was eventually ordered aboard the submarine, where he stayed for 5 weeks. Scholtz offered food and cognac to the people in the lifeboat, but as they felt they would be fine with what they had, this was refused. The 32 survivors were later rescued and put ashore in Trinidad on 10 Sep 1942. The Captain was interrogated and kept prisoner for nine months before being sent back to Germany. He later wrote about the weeks on board the submarine in a book "Skip og menn" (Ships and Men).

Come Out Come Out

German submarine U-109 (Kapitänleutnant Heinrich Bleichrodt) struck 6,030-ton Norwegian steam tanker Arthur W. Sewall with two torpedoes 1,400 miles west of Freetown, British West Africa. They hit the tanker below the bridge on the starboard side and at #7 tank. The vessel immediately developed a list to port as the master Wilhelm Pallesen ordered the crew to take to the lifeboats. As 19 members of the crew took to three boats another torpedo was fired but missed, the remaining crew saw the trail of this torpedo as it sped by only yards from the stationery tanker. The remaining crew then left the ship before another torpedo struck home. The tanker however, remained afloat forcing the submarine to surface and shell her with her deck gun. It was thirty minutes before the Arthur W. Sewall sank, taking 55 direct hits before doing so, at the same time the German crew fired 20-millimeter anti-aircraft guns and light machine guns at her now empty bridge. She finally sank at midnight after two and a half hours. The submarine could not find any of the lifeboats in the darkness despite searching with searchlights and left the scene.

Leak

In response to newspaper Chicago Tribune's 7 Jun 1942 issue hinting the US Navy had knowledge of the Japanese order of battle prior to the engagement, the US government ordered an investigation by a Federal Grand Jury. This investigation would later find that Chicago Tribune correspondent Stanley Johnston had stolen a report containing this information while he reported aboard USS Barnett days prior to the battle.

Photo of the Day

German submarines U-66 (left) and U-117 were caught on the surface in the mid-Atlantic by a coordinated attack by TBF-1 Avengers and F4F Wildcats flying from USS Card, 7 Aug 1943. U-117 was sunk in the attack.

As we conclude our exploration of World War II on this August 7th, let's remember that behind every date lies a myriad of stories, decisions, and human emotions. Thank you for journeying with us today; we look forward to unveiling more history with you tomorrow.

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Have a great week :)

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