Jon E. Lewis is the author of numerous books in the Autobiography series including England: The Autobiography, London: The Autobiography and The Autobiography of the British Soldier.
Praise for his previous books
England: The Autobiography:
‘A triumph.’
Saul David, author of Victoria’s Army
The British Solider: The Autobiography:
‘This thoughtful compilation . . . almost unbearably moving.’
Guardian
‘[A] compelling tommy’s eye view of war.’
Daily Telegraph
‘What a book. Five Stars.’
Daily Express
WORLD WAR II
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY
Edited by JON E. LEWIS
Constable & Robinson Ltd
3 The Lanchesters
162 Fulham Palace Road
London W6 9ER
www.constablerobinson.com
First published in the UK as The Mammoth Book of How It Happened: World War II, by Robinson, an imprint of Constable & Robinson, 2002 This revised and updated edition published by Robinson, an imprint of Constable & Robinson Ltd, 2009
Collection and editorial material
copyright © J. Lewis-Stempel, 2002, 2009
The right of J. Lewis-Stempel to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out or otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
A copy of the British Library Cataloguing in Publication data is available from the British Library
ISBN: 978-1-84901-003-0
Printed and bound in the EU
First published in the United States in 2009
by Running Press Book Publishers
All rights reserved under the Pan-American and International Copyright Conventions
No part of this work may be produced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
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Digit on the right indicates the number of this printing
US Library of Congress Control Number: 2009920967
US ISBN: 978-0-7624-3735-1
Running Press Book Publishers
2300 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103-4371
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We may be destroyed, but if we are, we shall drag a world with us – a world inflames.
Adolf Hitler, 23 November 1939
For those in my family who fought the good fight:
E.J. Lewis, R.I.J. Stempel, G. Charles, F. Williams, H. Knowles, J. Stempel, M.P. Jessop, A. Jessop, S. Parry, H.A.G. Stempel.
CONTENTS
Foreword
Part I Blitzkreig: The War in Europe, September 1939-October 1940
INTRODUCTION
HITLER ORDERS WAR, 31 AUGUST 1939
Adolf Hitler
THE HOUSE OF COMMONS DISCUSSES WAR AND PEACE, LONDON, 2 SEPTEMBER 1939
Ralph Glyn, MP
BRITAIN DECLARES WAR ON GERMANY, 3 SEPTEMBER 1939
Neville Chamberlain
HOME FRONT: LONDON AT WAR, 3 SEPTEMBER 1939
Mollie Panter-Downes
POLAND: “WE MARCHED AROUND IN CIRCLES”, 3 SEPTEMBER-5 OCTOBER 1939
Private K.S Karol, Polish Army
FINLAND: GUERILLA WAR IN THE SNOW, 2 FEBRUARY 1940
Virginia Cowles
NORWAY: THE ROUT OF THE BRITISH EXPEDITIONARY FORCE, 14 APRIL-5 MAY, 1940
General Sir Adrian Carton
THE HOME FRONT: THE PROTECTION OF YOUR HOME AGAINST AIR RAIDS
Sir John Anderson
OPERATION YELLOW: THE GERMAN ATTACK ON ROTTERDAM, 10-11 MAY 1940
Dirk van der Heide
OPERATION YELLOW: CROSSING THE MEUSE, FRANCE, 13 MAY 1940
Erwin Rommel 7th Panzer Division
CHURCHILL OFFERS “BLOOD, TOIL, TEARS AND SWEAT”, House of Commons, 13 MAY 1940
Winston Churchill
THE BATTLE OF FRANCE: SERGEANT PEXTON IS TAKEN PRISONER, 20 MAY 1940
Sergeant L.D. Pexton
DUNKIRK: THE VIEW FROM THE BOATS, 1 JUNE 1940
Commander C.H. Lighloller, RNR (Retd)
ONE MAN’S WAR: PRIVATE JACK TOOMEY IN FRANCE, MAY-JUNE 1940
Private Jack Toomey 42nd Postal Unit, British Army
FRANCE SURRENDERS, 21 JUNE 1940
William Shirer, war correspondent
BATTLE OF BRITAIN: A BRITISH FIGHTER PILOT’S DIARY, 19 AUGUST-7 OCTOBER 1940
P/O D.H. Wissler RAF
BATTLE OF BRITAIN: DOGFIGHT OVER SOUTH-EAST ENGLAND, 2 SEPTEMBER 1940
P/O Roger Hall, 152 Sguadron RAF
BATTLE OF BRITAIN: A SPITFIRE PILOT BALES OUT, 3 SEPTEMBER 1940
Richard Hillary 603 Sguadron RAF
THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN: THE BLITZ, LONDON, SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 1940
Desmond Flower, Virginia Woolf Edward. R Murrow
THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN: THE VIEW FROM THE OPERATIONS ROOM, No. 11 Fighter Group RAF, Uxbridge, 15 SEPTEMBER 1940
Winston S. Churchill MP
Part II The Battle of the Atlantic: 1939-44
INTRODUCTION
THE ROYAL OAK IS TORPEDOED, SCAPA FLOW, 13 OCTOBER 1939
Gunther Prien
THE BATTLE OF THE RIVER PLATE, 13 DECEMBER 1939
Lieutenant-Commander R.E. Washbourn RN, HMNZS Achilles
SURVIVAL, THE ARCTIC, 8-11 JUNE 1940
Ronald Healiss, Royal Marines
U-99 ATTACKS A CONVOY, THE ATLANTIC, 18-19 OCTOBER 1940
Kapitan-Leutnant Otto Kretschmer, U-99
HUNTING U-BOATS, 17 MARCH 1941
Captain Donald Macintyre RN, HMS Walker
THE PURSUIT OF THE BISMARCK, 24-27 MAY 1940
Lieutenant Ludovic Kennedy RN, HMS Tartar
ONE MAN’S WAR: THE DIARY OF AN ASDIC OPERATOR, 19 JANUARY-13 FEBRUARY 1942
Frank Curry RCN, HMCS Kamsack
VOYAGE TO MURMANSK, SEPTEMBER 1942
Able Seaman Robert Carse, Merchant Navy
A U-BOAT IS DEPTH-CHARGED, MID-ATLANTIC, 1942
Midshipman Heinz Schaefer, U-977
FATAL SIX WEEKS: THE LOG OF A U-BOAT KILLER, 31 JANUARY- 19 FEBRUARY 1944
Commander DEG Wemyss RN, HMS Wild Goose
Part III The War in the Desert: North Africa, 1940-43
INTRODUCTION
THE ITALIANS SURRENDER AT BEDA FOMM, 7 FEBRUARY 1941
Cyril Joly 7th Armoured Division
ENTER ROMMEL, FEBRUARY-JULY 1941
Leutnant Heinz Werner Schmidt, Afrika Korps, General Erwin Rommel, Afrika Korps, Brigadier James Hargest, 5th New Zealand Infantry Brigade
A TANK IS “BREWED UP”, LIBYA, 15 JUNE 1941
Cyril Joly, 7th Armoured Division
ONE MAN’S WAR: DESERT WEARINESS, OCTOBER 1991
Private R. L. Crimp, 7th Armoured Division
PANZER LIED: “HEISS UBER AFRIKAS BODEN”
OPERATION CRUSADER: TANK BATTLE AT SIDI REZEGH, 28 NOVEMBER 1941
Captain Robert Crisp, 3rd Royal Tank
Regiment, 4th Armoured Brigade
IN THE CAULDRON, 12 JUNE 1942
Anonymous British Gunner
TOBRUK: THE CONQUEROR ENTERS, 21 JUNE 1942
General Erwin Rommel, Afrika Korps
MONTGOMERY
TAKES OVER AS COMMANDER EIGHTH ARMY, AUGUST 1942
General Bernard Montgomery, Commander Eighth Army
SAS BATTLE REPORT: RAID ON TOBRUK, SEPTEMBER 1942
Anonymous SAS Soldier
ROMMEL’S AILING HEALTH, 26 AUGUST 1942
Leutnant Alfred Berndt, Afrika Korps
EL ALAMEIN: THE PLAN, SEPTEMBER 1942
General Bernard Montgomery, Eighth Army
EL ALAMEIN: THE VIEW FROM THE AFRIKA KORPS, 24-27 OCTOBER 1942
Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, Afrika Korps
EL ALAMEIN: GERMAN PRISONERS, 2 NOVEMBER 1942
Keith Douglas, Eighth Army
EL ALAMEIN: THE DEFEAT OF THE AFRIKA KORPS, 4 NOVEMBER 1942
General Fritz Bayerlain, Afrika Korps
ONE MAN’S WAR: THE DIARY OF A BRITISH SOLDIER AT EL ALAMEIN, 23 0CT0BER-10 NOVEMBER 1942
Corporal John Green, Military Police
A MEETING WITH THE FÜHRER RASTENBURG, 28 NOVEMBER 1942
Field Marshall Erwin Rommel, Afrika Korps
OPERATION TORCH: GI MEALS, NOVEMBER 1941
Ernie Pyle, war correspondents
“FIGHTING LIKE THE THE DEVIL”: THE US 26TH REGIMENT AT EL GUETTAR 23 MARCH 1943
Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt Jr. 26th Regiment, US 1st Infantry Division
TUNIS FALLS, 7 MAY 1943
Allan Moorehead, war correspondents
ENVOI: “I WOULDNT MISS THE EXPERIENCE I ENCOUNTERED,” JULY 1943
Sergeant Ray salisbury, USAAF
Part IV Barbarossa: The German Invasion of Russia, June 1941-February 1943
INTRODUCTION
“WE'RE GOING TO SHOW THOSE BOLSHEVIK BUMS WHO’S WHO”: A GERMAN TANK GUNNER WRITES HOME, 25 JUNE 1941
Sergeant Karl Fuchs, 25 Panzer Regiment
THE WEHRMACHTADVANCES INTO RUSSIA, JULY 1941
ONE MAN’S WAR: A MOSCOVITE JOINS THE RED ARMY, JULY 1941
Zhuravlev Alexander Grigoryevich
STUKAS DIVE-BOMB THE SOVIET FLEET, 21 SEPTEMBER 1941
Hans Ulrich Rudel, Luftwaffe
LENINGRAD DURING THE BLOCKADE, SEPTEMBER 1941-JANUARY 1944
Alexander Werth, war correspondent
THE ARRIVAL OF “GENERAL WINTER”, 13 NOVEMBER 1941
Heinrich Haape, Wehrmacht
ONE MAN’S WAR: A WEHRMACHT SOLDIER’S DIARY OF THE RUSSIAN FRONT, 31 MARCH-26 SEPTEMBER 1942
Private First Class Wolfgang Knoblich
MR CHURCHILL GOES TO MOSCOW, 12 AUGUST 1942
Henry C. Cassidy, Journalist
HOLOCAUST: SS EXECUTION OF JEWS IN THE UKRAINE, 5 OCTOBER 1942
Herman Graebe
RUSSIAN PRISONERS, JULY 1941
Benno Zieser, Wehrmacht 229
THE BATTLE FOR SEVASTAPOL, 7 JUNE-4 JULY 1942
General von Manstein, GOC 11th Army Ostheer
STALINGRAD: “THE RAT WAR”, OCTOBER 1942
Anonymous Officer, 24th Panzer Division, Benno Zieser
STALINGRAD: THE RUSSIAN ULTIMATUM, 8 JANUARY 1943
STALINGRAD: LAST LETTERS HOME, JANUARY 1943
Anonymous German soldiers
STALINGRAD: THE SUFFERING OF THE GERMAN TROOPS, LATE JANUARY 1943
Joachim Wieder, Intelligence Officer, VIII Corps, German Sixth Army
STALINGRAD: THE END
Sixth Army to High Command, 24 JANUARY 1943
STALINGRAD: TAKEN PRISONER, 2 FEBRUARY 1943
Joachim Wieder, Intelligence Officer, VIII Corps, German Sixth Army
PART V Banzai: The War in the Pacific, December 1941-June 1942
INTRODUCTION
PEARL HARBOR: THE VIEW FROM THE JAPANESE COCKPIT, 7 DECEMBER 1941
Taisa Mitsuo Fuchida, Imperial Japanese Naval Air Service
PEARL HARBOR: THE VIEW FROM THE GROUND, 7 DECEMBER 1941
John Garcia, 7th Infantry Division
CABLE: PRESIDENT FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT TO PRIME MINISTER WINSTON CHURCHILL, 8 DECEMBER 1941
THE LOSS OF THE REPULSE AND PRINCE OF WALES, OFF THE COAST OF MALAYA, 10 DECEMBER 1941
O.D. Gallagher, war correspondent
FLYING TIGER: AMERICAN VOLUNTEER GROUP PILOT IN ACTION AGAINST THE JAPANESE, 19 DECEMBER 1941
Claire L Chennault, AVG
THE FALL OF SINGAPORE: A CIVILIAN DIARY, 9-15 FEBRUARY 1942
Dr O.E Fisher
DEATH MARCH ON BATAAN: THE FIRST DAY, 10 APRIL 1942
Lieutenant-Colonel William Dyess, 21st Pursuit Squadron, USAAF
BURMA: THE BATTLE OF THE OIL FIELDS, 18 APRIL 1942
General W.J. Slim, 1st Burma Division
RAID ON TOKYO, 18 APRIL 1942
Colonel James Doolittle, USAAF
BOOT CAMP: THE MAKING OF A MARINE, VIRGINIA, USA, 1942
William Manchester, USMC
TALES OF THE SOUTH PACIFIC: A Gl WRITES HOME, MARCH 1942-JANUARY 1943
Sergeant B.J Kazazkow, US Army
HOME FRONT: “JIM CROW” IN THE ARMY
Private Milton Adams, 24 Quarter Master’s Battalion
BATTLE OF MIDWAY: ONE MAN’S DIARY, 4 JUNE 1942
Robert J Casey, war correspondent
MIDWAY: THE DECISIVE FIVE MINUTES, 4 JUNE 1942
Taisa Mitsuo Fuchida, Imperial Japanese Naval Air Service
Part VI Resistance & Reconquest - The War in Western and Southern Europe, November 1940-May 1945
INTRODUCTION
SWORDFISH ATTACK THE ITALIAN FLEET, TARANTO, 11 NOVEMBER 1940
Lieutenant M. R. Maund RN, 824 Squadron
LUNCH WITH DE GAULLE, London, 20 JANUARY 1941
Harold Nicolson, MP
ONE MAN’S WAR: THE DIARY OF A TRAINEE BOMBER PILOT, 26 JANUARY-18 MAY 1941
Flying Officer Michael Scott, RAF Bomber Command
THE GERMAN AIRBORNE ASSAULT ON CRETE, 20 MAY 1941
Baron von der Heydte, 1st Battalion, 3rd German Parachute Regiment
HOLOCAUST: MEDICAL EXPERIMENTS AT DACHAU, 1941-45
Franz Blaha
A “CIRCUS” OVER FRANCE, AUGUST 1941
Flight Lieutenant “Johnnie” Johnson, 616 Squadron RAF
HOME FRONT: THE GREAT MAN CHASE, ENGLAND, DECEMBER 1941
Anonymous member of the British Women’s Auxiliary Air Force
ESCAPE FROM COLDITZ, 5 JANUARY 1942
Airey Neave
NOTIFICATION OF THE DEATH OF ACTING SQUADRON LEADER ERNEST MASON, RAF, FEBRUARY 1942
RAID ON DIEPPE, 19 AUGUST 1942
Ross Munro, Canadian war correspondent
Anon
HOLOCAUST: THE JEWS ARE ROUNDED UP, AMSTERDAM, 19 NOVEMBER 1942
Anne Frank
OFFICER SELECTION, BRITAIN, 1943
Rifeman Alex Bowlby, Rifle Brigade
ONE MAN’S WAR: AN AMERICAN AIRMAN’S LETTER, 1943
Sergeant Carl Goldman, USAAF
THE DAMBUSTERS RAID, Ruhr Valley, 16 MAY 1943
Guy Gibson, RAF
SICILY: AMERICAN COUNTER-ATTACK AT BIAZZA RIDGE, 9 JULY 1942
General James M. Gavin, Parachute Regimental Combat Team, US 82nd Airborne Division
HOME FRONT: FIRESTORM IN HAMBURG, 27 JULY 1943
Else Wendel, Housewife
US BOMBERS RAID THE OIL REFINERIES AT PLOESTI, RUMANIA, 1 AUGUST 1943
Captain John S. Young, USAAF
THE RESCUE OF MUSSOLINI FROM GRAN SASSO, 12 SEPTEMBER 1943
Captain Otto Skorzeny, Waff en SS
THE LANDINGS AT SALERNO, 9 SEPTEMBER 1943
John Steinbeck, war correspondent
HOME FRONT: RACHEL THE RIVETER, SAN DIEGO, 1943
Rachel Wray, hand riveter, Consolidated Aircraft
“WAITING, WAITING, WAITING”: THE LIFE OF A P.O.W., GERMANY, 1944
Sergeant Nell, Green Howards
A RESISTANCE GROUP BLOWS UP A TRAIN, FRANCE, 1944
George Millar, SOE
FLYING FOR THE FATHERLAND: A GERMAN FIGHTER PILOT INTERCEPTS H
EAVY BOMBERS, 10-21 FEBRUARY 1944
Heinz Knoke, Luftwaffe
COWARDICE, CASSINO, SPRING 1944
Howard L Bond, US 36th Infantry Division
CASSINO: THE END, 16-18 MAY 1944
Major Fred Majdalany Lancashire Fusiliers
HOME FRONT: PURE HELL FOR A GUY NOT IN UNIFORM, CANADA, 1943
Anonymous
D-DAY: EMBARKATION, 4 JUNE 1944
Alan Moorehead, war correspondent
IKE’S DAY BEFORE D-DAY, SHAEF ADVANCE (NEAR PORTSMOUTH), 5 JUNE 1944
Captain Harry C. Butcher
D-DAY: A PARATROOPER LISTS HIS KIT, WELFORD AERODROME, 5 JUNE 1944
Donald Burgett, US 101st Airborne Division
D-DAY: THE AIRBORNE LANDINGS, 6 JUNE 1944
Major Friedrich Hayn, Wehrmacht Staff Officer
D-DAY: THE LANDINGS, 6 JUNE 1944
Lieutenant HT Bone, East Yorkshire Regiment, Captain Joseph Dawson, US 1st Infantry Division
ONE MAN’S WAR: A NORMANDY DIARY, 6 JUNE 1944-24 JUNE 1944
Corporal GE Hughes, 1st Battalion, Royal Hampshire Regiment
SNIPING, NORMANDY, 26 JUNE 1944
Ernie Pyle, war correspondent
BUZZ BOMBS ON KENT, JUNE 1944
Lionel King, Eight-year-old schoolboy
THE ATTEMPTED ASSASSINATION OF ADOLF HITLER, EASTERN GERMANY, 20 JULY 1944
Heinrich Bucholz
GUERILLA AMBUSH IN CRETE, AUGUST 1944
W. Stanley Moss
FALAISE: THE KILLING FIELD, 19 AUGUST 1944
Johnnie Johnson RAF
ARNHEM: AT THE BRIDGE, 18-29 SEPTEMBER 1944
Lieutenant E.M. Mackay 1st Airborne Division
PROSTITUTION, NAPLES, 4 OCTOBER 1944
Sergeant Norman Lewis, Field Security Service
THE SUICIDE OF FIELD MARSHAL ERWIN ROMMEL, GERMANY, 14 OCTOBER 1944
Manfred Rommel
HOLOCAUST: SURVIVAL IN AUSCHWITZ, OCTOBER 1944
Primo Levi, prisoner
THE FALL OF AACHEN, 17 SEPTEMBER 1944
George Mucha, war correspondent
THE US ARMY SLOGS UP ITALY, WINTER 1944
Ernie Pyle, war correspondent
THE BATTLE OF THE BULGE: THE AFTERMATH, JANUARY 1945
Martha Gellhorn, war correspondent
CROSSING THE GERMAN BORDER, 28 FEBRUARY 1945
John Foley, British Tank Officer
ONE MAN’S WAR: A G.I. FIGHTS HIS WAY INTO GERMANY MARCH-APRIL 1945
Private Charles Cavas, 417th Infantry Regiment
A BOMB HITS THE PROPAGANDA MINISTRY, BERLIN, 13 MARCH 1945
Joseph Goebbels
IN DYING WE LIVE: LAST TESTAMENT OF A DANISH ANTI-NAZI, 4 APRIL 1945