On this day during W.W. 2

I was sympathising with the Japs on this one Marc and especially with Kuribayashi. Some think he may have committed suicide, but I think a last ditch, well planned attack, not Banzai Charge, led by him seems more in character…
He would have stripped his uniform of rank, thereby ensuring he was not recognised by the enemy. A pity, as the US commander would have given him a decent and fitting burial. His body could have been returned to his family.
He chose to die and be buried with his men anonymously.
We all have different ideas of what honour is.

On the 27th April 1945 Mussolini and his mistress, Clara Petacci, were captured by Italian Partisans near Lake Como, in the North of Italy. They were  trying to escape to Switzerland, then on to Spain.

@wittmann:

On the 27th April 1945 Mussolini and his mistress, Clara Petacci, were captured by Italian Partisans near Lake Como, in the North of Italy. They were  trying to escape to Switzerland, then on to Spain.Â

And today the 28th they were both executed.  Their corpses were publicly desecrated the following day, unlike those of their German counterparts Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun who had arranged to have their bodies burned after their suicides to keep them out of the hands of the Russians.

Morning Marc.
I read(and did not know) that in 1946, three men dug up his corpse and it was then missing for months. It was with two monks when eventually discovered.
The Italian government did not know to do with his body and it was 10 years before a decision was made.
To appease the Right wing parties in Italy, a crypt was built in his birthplace. It is quite some piece, having a large marble bust of him and being adorned with two marble fasces( the symbol of Fascism).

@wittmann:

To appease the Right wing parties in Italy, a crypt was built in his birthplace. It is quite some piece, having a large marble bust of him and being adorned with two marble fasces( the symbol of Fascism).

Here’s a bit of trivia on that subject: there’s a church right here in Montreal’s Little Italy district (The Church of the Madonna della Difesa) whose interior decorations include an equestrian fresco of Mussolini.

How cool that he can still be venerated.
These days  it is frowned upon to use the “voi” form of polite address, as it was readopted by Mussolini and ,therefore,  associated with the Fascist era. You should use  “lei”.
Many old ladies still use “voi” and it makes me smile. I cannot remember if my young nan did.
Nonno would certainly have told her off!

@wittmann:

How cool that he can still be venerated.

I don’t know if Il Duce is still venerated by Montreal’s Italian community (which is quite large: about a quarter-million people of Italian ancestry, roughly equal to the entire population of Venice, which is why we have so many good Italian restaurants in town).  I’ve heard that the fresco is somewhat controversial, but that it’s been retained as a historical artefact.  I first learned about it in a guidebook listing various oddities and little-known facts about the city, and I recall being surprised to read about this relic of the fascist era.  I should go check it out one of these days.  Another local oddity that may intrigue you is a plaque bolted to the side of a large downtown department store (a gift of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, as I recall) stating that Jefferson Davis once stayed at a house formerly located there.

I remember you telling me about the Jeff Davis plaque.

Thanks for reviving this thread, Wittman!

It’s unfortunate that Mussolini was shot without a proper trial. Petacci probably only died because she refused to leave Mussolini’s side until the very end. She had been infatuated with him from an early age, as testified by: http://historyandotherthoughts.blogspot.nl/2013/06/young-claretta-petacci-writes-to.html

Thanks Herr KaLeun. I was unaware of her history. That letter is a hell of a read!
Not much different, I suppose,  from a young Pop fan’s adoration of his/her idol.
Nice to hear from you. Hope you have been well.

Their bodies were burned by German troops, not by the Soviets.

Good to see activity in the WWII forum.

Evening Worsham. Hope you have been well.
Jackson was wounded today(2nd May) in 1863 of course. Keep well, have a good weekend  and best wishes.

Today in 1942, Japanese forces invaded tulagi in the first part of Operation Mo. This would eventually result in the battle of the coral sea.

On May 3rd 1945 Oberbefehlshaber Heeresgruppe G: Albert Kesselring receives the “Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes” - Knights cross of Iron cross.

On May 3rd 1941,Dave Robinson was born.
Known as an American Football player (Linebacker) who made it to the Gator Bowl Hall of Fame in 1996.
He played for the Greenbay Packers and later on for Washington Redskins.

On the 14th June 1944(the day after Wittmann’s amazing one tank rout of the 7th Armour at Villers Bocage), an English Sergeant by the name of Wilfred Harris made his mark.
Commanding a 17lb Sherman Firefly in the 7th Dragoon Guards, he was at the village of Lingevres, near Tilly Sur Seulles in Normandy, when 2 Panthers appeared in his sights at 800m. He quickly dispatched both. He next moved to another part of the village and seeing 3 more Panthers knocked them out too. All 5 had been disabled with a single shot.
He was promoted after this and awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal.
He died in 1988.

@wittmann:

All 5 had been disabled with a single shot.

For a moment I thought you meant a single shot overall rather than a single shot per tank.  I was going to ask what kind of advanced ammunition the Sherman Firefly was using.  :lol:  I couldn’t help thinking of those old low-budget westerns in which one of the besieged homesteaders / cavalrymen / whatever fires his rifle once, and the editor then cuts to a scene in which three of the attacking Indians fall off their horses.

A question: was this the action in which Wittmann’s 007 tank was destroyed?  You mentioned in an earlier post that he was killed in an encounter with a Firefly.