Sorry for the delay, I have been having computer problems.
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[FONT="]EXCERPTS FROM[/FONT]
[FONT="]WESTERN EUROPE ATROCITIES[/FONT]
[FONT="]TEL AVIV PRESS[/FONT]
[FONT="]THE EUROPEAN DEATH MARCHES[/FONT]
[FONT="]With the German Army moving large numbers of troops and supplies from Western and Southern Europe, there was no rolling stock available to move Jews and other “undesirables” to the concentration camps. The problem was passed along the chain of command until it was brought to Hitler's attention on November 7, 1941. Hitler's solution was brutal and simple – let them walk.[/FONT]
[FONT="]The prisoners in occupied countries would marched from their ghettos to transit camps. Anyone falling out was shot, the body being dumped in the back of a truck following the prisoners. Anyone caught helping the prisoners (by giving them food or helping prisoners escape) was shot. Those that survived the march (lasting up to a week at a time) would be given a rest of several days. The bodies of the dead would be disposed of at the transit camps. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Once a sufficient number of prisoners were available (usually over 1,000), they were marched into Germany. The prisoners would march from dawn to dusk, with a rest break around noon (depending on the mood of the guard commander). The route ahead would be cleared of all traffic, any time a village or a town was on the route, the inhabitants were ordered to stay inside or face serious consequences. Again stragglers were shot and disposed of up reaching a concentration or transit camp in Germany.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Upon reaching their destinations in western Germany, the survivors were divided up. Those considered too weak to continue were sent to the showers. Those with skills that were needed in that camp or in companies nearby, were assigned quarters. The rest were march onwards toward central and eastern Germany and Poland.[/FONT]
[FONT="]How many died in the marches which lasted 40 days? There is no official numbers, but modern historians put the number between 50,000 and 130,000 dead.
[FONT="][2][/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT="][/FONT][FONT="]EXCERPTS FROM[/FONT]
[FONT="]THE UNPUBLISHED DIARY OF JIM MILTON[/FONT]
[FONT="]Editor's note: The previous ten pages of the diary had been ruined by the elements and were not salvageable.[/FONT]
[FONT="]I dont know what day it is.... my fresh water is almost g..e. Managed to cat.. a few fish. I am scar.. and so alone. Ive seen some ships in the di...nce they nev.r notice me.[/FONT]
[FONT="]I am going to die out here.[/FONT]
[FONT="][/FONT]
[FONT="]TOP SECRET [/FONT]
[FONT="]TO:[/FONT][FONT="]
Supreme Allied Commander Mediterranean, Commanding Generals French 1st and British 8th Armies[/FONT]
[FONT="]FROM:[/FONT][FONT="]
Mediterranean Command Intelligence Group[/FONT]
[FONT="]SUBJECT:[/FONT][FONT="]
Axis Order of Battle, Sardinia[/FONT]
[FONT="]DATE:[/FONT][FONT="]
November 8, 1941[/FONT]
[FONT="]Based on all available resources and information we have, we believe that the following German and Italian forces are present on the island of Sardinia.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Air Forces:[/FONT][FONT="] German – 2 Fighter Squadrons (Me-110). Italian – 2 fighter squadrons (2 Fiat CR.32), 2 Reconnaissance squadrons (2 Caproni Ca. 310) and 1 bomber squadron (Cant Z.1007)[/FONT]
[FONT="]The German squadrons are based around Sassari in the north. The Italian fighter squadrons are based at Cagliari. The other Italian squadrons are based at Nuoro. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Ground Forces:[/FONT][FONT="] German – 809th Infantry Regiment (Static) (Sassari); 3rd Panzer Grenadier Battalion, 33rd Panzer Grenadier Regiment (Olbia), 155th SS Cavalry Battalion (refitting) (Porto Cervo)[/FONT]
[FONT="]Italian – XXXII Corps (Responsible for the defense of Corsica and Sardinia.) 2nd Cavalry Division Emanuele Filiberto Testa di Ferro (refitting) (Toroli); 5th Blackshirt Division (Cagliari); 201st Coastal Division (Bosa); Sardinia Artillery Command[/FONT]
[FONT="][FONT="][4][/FONT][/FONT][FONT="] (Cagliari); 200th Light Armor Battalion (San Vito).[/FONT]
[FONT="]Coastal Artillery – The Italians have a number of coastal artillery emplacements around the island. The largest are the defenses of Cagilari which are composed of two 320mm Model 1934 naval guns[/FONT]
[FONT="][FONT="][5][/FONT][/FONT][FONT="] and four 120mm naval cannons. The 320mm guns are the largest on the island. There are coastal defense batteries at every port.
[/FONT]
[FONT="]Tanks – The 200th Light Armor Battalion is composed primarily of L3/35 light tanks. The German 3rd Panzer Grenadier Battalion has between 14-20 Panzer IIIs.[/FONT]
[FONT="]In addition, there are between 5,000 – 8,000 German and Italian troops on leave on the island who can be counted on to help in the defense of the island.[/FONT]
[FONT="]EXCERPT FROM[/FONT]
[FONT="]CHAPTER TWO – THE PACIFIC 1941-42[/FONT]
[FONT="]U-BOAT CRUISER AT WAR:[/FONT]
[FONT="]By Admiral Friedrich Ruge[/FONT]
[FONT="]Berlin Press[/FONT]
[FONT="]From U-99’s log[/FONT]
[FONT="]November 9, 1941[/FONT]
[FONT="]We were on the surface, recharging the batteries and letting the crew get some air and sun. One of the lookouts spotted a life boat drifting two miles away, the Captain ordered a course change and a few minutes later, we were alongside the boat.[/FONT]
[FONT="]We found a barely living teenage boy. We brought him aboard, and the corpsman went to work on him. He was badly sun burnt, dehydrated and in shock, not much hope was given for him, but a number of sailors prayed for him.[/FONT]
[FONT="]A search of the boat found some food and a diary, but nothing else. The diary belonged to an English youth by the name of James Milton. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Despite the best efforts of the corpsman, Milton died three hours after we found him. He was given a burial at sea, and the diary was turned over to the captain.[/FONT]
[FONT="][FONT="][1][/FONT][/FONT][FONT="]Ibid[/FONT]
[FONT="][FONT="][2][/FONT][/FONT][FONT="]Just before the end of the war, the records were beli2eved to have been destroyed in an Allied air raid[/FONT]
[FONT="][FONT="][3][/FONT][/FONT][FONT="]Ibid[/FONT]
[FONT="][FONT="][4][/FONT][/FONT] [FONT="]Brigade sized[/FONT]
[FONT="][FONT="][5][/FONT][/FONT] They were actually two Armstrong Whitworth 12 inch naval cannons manufactured in 1905.
[FONT="][FONT="][6][/FONT][/FONT][FONT="]Ibid[/FONT]