Jessicca and Kyle Klembara

  

H A P P Y    A N N I V E R S A R Y !

J E S S I C C A    AND    K Y L E

H  A  L  L  E  L  U  J  A  H 

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   dad

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good morning jack

  

C R A C K E R S

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   dad 

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Alamein

  

Montgomery, Monty, was in charge of the 8th Army

when the final, deciding conflict at Alamein began.

An 850 gun barrage erupted the night of October 23rd,

devastating Axis forward positions, manned mostly

by Italians.  More than a million rounds will sail into

a twelve mile front over the next dozen days.

Still, the British advance met stiff resistance.

Rommel's Panzer Army HQ was flying blind.

Radio jamming Wellington bombers knocked out

communication from the front.  Hitler's general's

knew there were multiple attacks, but the question 

remained, which one had the lights out punch?

 It was infantry versus infantry.  The Axis minefields

needed clearing before British armor would come

into play.  The British objective could not be reached

without the force of tanks delivering their high explosive

justice to the contents of their targeted bunkers.

There wasn't to be some brilliant end-around tactic.

It was a solid, fortified line between the sea and an

impassable salt marsh that needed to be penetrated.

There wasn't enough fuel for German armor to do

anything but sit around and wait until 

the British made a major breakthrough in the line.

The strategy was one of attrition.  Everything the

German's had as weapons, the British had twice

as much.  Men, tanks, aircraft - the numeric

advantage was overwhelming.  Logistics was 

also a deciding factor.  While Rommel's panzer 

army closely rationed fuel and ammo, the British

had unlimited use of both.

They would wear down Rommel.

Churchill insisted on Rommel's defeat before the Yanks

arrived.  It would be much easier for Vichy officials of 

French Morocco and Algeria to back the American 

invasion of their land if the Germans were 

on the run.  

*  *  *  *  *

©  Tom Taylor

OVER   EASY

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good morning jessicca

  

 T H R E E' S     A     C R O W D

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   dad

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The Tide Turns

  

German intelligence sends an urgent dispatch to Rommel.

A British convoy carrying a hundred thousand tons of 

military supplies will arrive in Alexandria in early September.

That's only a couple weeks away.  It's clear the one path

to victory is for the Afrika Korps to strike now,

before the Eighth Army takes control as the force

with overwhelming military power.

Rommel's plan relied upon his tried and true actions.

It's what got him here.  First, he strikes his opponent's

more fortified positions in the north as a distraction

while Rommel's armor swiftly turns the 8th's southern

flank.  The Brits then find Nazis attacking their back.

Panzers dash to the coast. surrounding the Eight Army.

Strangled of their supplies the war in North Africa

comes to an end for the British.

On the morning of the attack, as Axis forces assembled

their formations, a fleet of British bombers flew overhead,

dropping bombs as they breezed by.

The Brits were on to them.  So much for 

Rommel's hoped for surprise.

German armor became bogged down in unexpectedly

complex fields of mines.  They were hit with artillery

and, always, there were the bombers overhead. 

Casualties were heavy but they were making progress.

The problem was this intense fighting had put them

far behind their critical time schedule. 

When you look at it now, Rommel's plan was a 

real roll of the dice.  For starters, he had only

two days worth of petrol when he needed seven.

He had to count on unreliable sources to provide

his tanks the petrol needed to continue their attack.

Fuel was in short supply.  Delivery was sporadic.

His armored punch stumbled.

The desert became increasingly hostile 

for Rommel and his Afrika Korps.

The Americans would arrive soon.

Africa was to become even more harsh,

forbidding.  It was to be a death sentence

for Axis forces.

* * * * * 

©  Tom Taylor

OVER   EASY

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good morning jeremy

  

M  Y  S  T  I  C 

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   dad

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Rommel Denied

  

Despite the shellacking handed them at

Gazala, Tobruk, and Mersa Matruh 

the Eighth was still an army.

They were focused, ready and willing 

to end Rommel's joy ride here and now.

 

The Afrika Korps' sprint into Egypt left their air cover

behind.  The Messerschmitt fighters were notoriously

short ranged and couldn't reach Rommel's forces

as he neared Alamein.  

Britain's Desert Air Force took advantage of Germany's

vulnerability and bombed Rommel's troops without

let up, day and night.  Everything down to refueling

tanks was disrupted.  Still, Rommel urged his men on

with single-minded ferocity.

Time was critical.  Soon the 8th Army would receive

300 Sherman tanks from the US - the first of this

new breed of armor, just off the assembly line.

Ships filled with troops were also on the way.

Rommel had to crush the British now or lose

all hope of taking North Africa.

Rommel charged into the British defenses believing

he was still fighting General Richie.  He wasn't.

Auchinleck's troop deployment was not anticipated

by the German generals and they ran full bore into

a barrage of artillery fire that came from three directions.

For three days Rommel twisted and turned looking

for a soft spot in the British defense.  He found none.

A spent force.

The Afrika Korps was exhausted.

They could go no further.

Rommel's only choice now was to 

set out the mine fields and stretch out

the barb wire.  From here on Rommel

would be on the defensive.

* * * * * 

©  Tom Taylor

OVER   EASY

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