Allied Commanders of World War Two/Marshal Zhukov, Part Two

"Georgi Zhukov" Part 2

Zhukov moved up through the ranks and remained an officer in various cavalry units until he was sent to command some Soviet forces in Mongolia in the late 1930s. At that time, Japan occupied Korea and an undeclared war flared between Japan and the Soviet Union. Zhukov launched an offensive operation against the Japanese, in what was something of a Blitzkrieg operation, just a week or so before the German Blitzkrieg against Poland in 1939.* The Soviets defeated the Japanese, who were far more reluctant to cross the border thereafter. Zhukov became an instant hero in the Soviet Union. In 1940, Zhukov took command of Soviet forces along the border with Rumania, where Stalin moved forces into Rumanian territory to claim the area known as Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina, which then became part of the Soviet Union.

Zhukov was promoted to Chief of the General Staff and he intensified efforts to prepare for a German invasion.** On June 22, 1941 Hitler launched a massive invasion of the Soviet Union, codenamed "Operation Barbarossa."

* Just very briefly, a Blitzkrieg, literally "lightening war," was an offensive which used air power to strike enemy supply, communications, command and staging areas in the rear areas, as well as on the front lines, while fast moving armored vehicles and motorized artillery and motorized infantry were concentrated at key points to break through enemy positions, bypassing strong points, which were then taken on by the slower moving infantry, who consolidated the gains made by the motorized units. The fast moving motorized units disrupted enemy rear areas, spreading confusion and terror among enemy troops. The motorized columns often had the purpose of encircling large concentrations of enemy forces. Zhukov employed similar tactics against the Japanese.

** In August 1939, Hitler and Stalin reached agreement on a "non-aggression" pact, which also contained provisions for a division of Poland between the two dictators, as well as plans for other countries and territories in eastern Europe.

WORD HISTORY:
Snide-This word goes back to Indo European "sneit," which meant "to cut." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "snithanan," with the same meaning. This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "snithan," which then became "snithen," and which retained the "to cut" meaning. This gave English the now obsolete verb "snithe," meaning "to cut," and an adjectival form "snithe" which meant "cutting, sharp." "Snide" developed from these forms, and the meaning once meant "tricky," apparently from the idea of a person "being sharp, cunning." Today it is most commonly heard, at least in American English, in "snide remark(s);" that is "a sharp or cutting remark(s)." English borrowed "cut" which overtook forms of "snide" as the main word for "use of a sharp instrument to make an incision;" thus the little usage of the word. Not so in other Germanic languages (except Norwegian) where forms are quite common and usage much more prevalent: German has "schneiden," Low German has "snieden," Dutch has "snijden," West Frisian has "snije," Icelandic has "sníða" (essentially like "snitha"), Swedish has "snida," and Danish has "snide." All have a meaning "to cut," "to carve," or "to trim." Apparently a verb form has died out in Norwegian, as I could not find it, although I did find "snitt," a noun form, but it seems little used anymore. There are noun forms in other Germanic languages. German, for example, makes fairly extensive use of the base word in various forms: "Schnitt," means "a cut," and in the north of Germany a "Schnitte" means "a slice of something (often bread)," "Schneider" is a "tailor" ("cutter of cloth"), "Schneide" is the "blade of a knife," and "Schnitzel" means "clipping, chip, slice," and is famous as the "slice of meat, pounded thin, breaded and fried, with "Wiener Schnitzel" being specifically veal prepared that way.

Allied Commanders of World War Two/MacArthur, Part Four

"Douglas MacArthur" Part 4

MacArthur was determined to return to the Philippines and to free the multi-island nation from Japanese occupation. In the fall of 1944, the point chosen for the initial assault was the island of Leyte, which lies more to the eastern part of the Philippines. After heavy fighting and stubborn Japanese resistance, much of the island was subdued, but fighting continued there well into 1945.* MacArthur was promoted to "General of the Army" (5 Star General) in mid December 1944 (made his permanent rank in 1946). The bloody campaign in the Philippines continued for months, but eventually the area was essentially secured.** MacArthur and the Allied command planned an invasion of Japan, but the war ended before such a costly operation had to be undertaken. MacArthur received the formal surrender by the Japanese on September 2, 1945 aboard the U.S.S. Missouri in Tokyo Bay.

For three years after the war ended, General MacArthur, Supreme Allied Commander in Japan, effectively became the head of the Japanese government. A new constitution was put in place which limited Japanese military matters and very much limited the power of the Emperor of Japan. MacArthur instituted various reforms, including the encouragement of Japanese workers to join unions, and the sale of land to former tenant farmers (Oh boy! Today's Republican leaders would call him all sorts of nasty names, with "socialist" undoubtedly being the kindest). Under MacArthur's guidance, Japan was well on the way to becoming a democratic nation. In 1949, MacArthur gave over his power to the Japanese government.

Next, the final installment on General MacArthur.

* The Philippines had a lot of jungle and rough terrain (besides a multitude of islands), areas perfect for concealment and ambush. This terrain worked for the Filipino resistance movement early on, and then for the Japanese defenders against American forces. A decent movie depicting the terrain is 1950's "American Guerrilla in the Philippines," which starred Tyrone Power. It is "based" upon a true story of an American PT boat crew stranded in the Philippines during the Japanese occupation and how they hid out and helped the Filipino resistance. It is well worth seeing.

** Throughout the war in the Pacific groups of Japanese military personnel were often bypassed by Allied mopping up operations, including in the Philippines. Sometimes months or even years after the war ended, Japanese soldiers were discovered in hiding. They were out of radio communication with their homeland and they did not know the war had ended, or their military honor dictated that they had not received orders to lay down their arms. An episode of "Gilligan's Island" in the mid 1960s played on this theme when the castaways are captured by a Japanese sailor (with a mini-submarine). In real life, some Japanese soldiers only gave up in the 1960s and 1970s, after some twenty to thirty years in hiding!

WORD HISTORY:
Pine (2)-This is the verb with the meaning "to long for painfully, to grieve for." It is not related to the noun meaning "a type of evergreen tree,"^ but it is very closely related to the word "pain." This word apparently goes back to Indo European "kwei/kwoi," which had the idea of "pay, compensate." This gave its Greek offspring "poine," which meant "penalty, fine." This then gave Latin "poena," which meant "penalty, punishment," which later became "pena." This was then borrowed into Old Germanic, which gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "pinian," which meant "to cause pain or suffering, to torture." This later became "pinen," before the modern version. German has "Pein," which means "pain," as does Low German Saxon "Pien," Dutch "pijn," and Frisian "pine;" Danish and Norwegian have "pine," which means "torment," as does Swedish "pina." Apparently usage in Icelandic has died out, as I could not find a form of the word.

^ For the history of the noun, see: http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2012/03/allied-commanders-of-world-war_11.html

Allied Leaders of World War Two/Roosevelt, Part 3

"FDR As War Leader/Part 1"

By the late 1930s, with America still suffering from the Great Depression, Roosevelt, in tune with the sentiments of many Americans, was not inclined to get the country directly involved in overseas military actions, although the Japanese had shown aggressiveness in Asia since the days of Herbert Hoover's presidency, and China and Japan were at war in 1937. Several nations, including America, helped China by providing loans to buy war goods, and the "American Volunteer Group," known more famously as "the Flying Tigers," provided China with air support, while gaining valuable combat experience, although the unit did not actually see combat until Japan had attacked Pearl Harbor. The U.S. and other nations also implemented an escalating embargo against Japan beginning in 1940, with the U.S. and Britain cutting off trade by mid 1941. It is important to remember that at that time, Hitler occupied much of Europe and had invaded the Soviet Union, and Japan had developed increasingly close ties to Hitler and Mussolini. The trade embargo heightened tensions between the United States and Japan, although negotiations between the two countries continued up until the surprise Japanese attack on American naval forces stationed at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii (then an American territory, not a state). The attack brought Roosevelt to Congress the next day to ask for a declaration of war against Japan; something Congress passed, with only one "No" vote, cast by a Republican congresswoman from Montana.

WORD HISTORY:
Meal-English has two words "meal," this is the one meaning "ground grain." It traces back to Indo European "mele," which meant "to grind." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "melwan," which meant "to grind," and the derived noun form "melwa," which meant "meal" (the result of grinding grain). This gave Old English "melu," which then became "mele," before the modern spelling. Common in the other Germaic languages: German and Low German Saxon have "Mehl," some Low German dialects have "Mäl," West Frisian has "moal," Dutch has "meel," Swedish has "mjöl" (Icelandic uses this same word, but now only in compounds), Danish and Norwegian have "mel."

The German Question, Part One Hundred Thirty-Six

"Hitler Rules Germany" Part Two/C
"Germany In World War Two" Part One/B
"War Comes To Europe" Part Two

Many historians view September 1, 1939 as the beginning of World War Two, but it is important to remember, Japan and China had been fighting off and on since the early 1930s, and Japan and its satellite entity, Manchukuo (a part of Manchuria), also came into conflict with the Soviet Union in that area. In 1939, Germany and Japan were "loosely" connected by an anti-Communism pact, which they had signed in the latter part of 1936, and it wasn't until 1940 that they became true military allies. Also in 1936, Germany and Italy had signed a "friendship pact," known commonly as "the Rome-Berlin Axis," which later gave the two countries and their other allies the name, "the Axis powers." This pact was expanded in May 1939 as much more of a military alliance as "the Pact of Steel" between Germany and Italy.

With the invasion of Poland by Germany, and with both Britain and France allied to Poland, you might think there would have been a swift declaration of war on Germany by Britain and France, but that was not the case. While the public, many legislative members, and some cabinet members in both countries wanted an immediate declaration of war on Germany, the more prominent government leaders hesitated, and instead issued a warning to Hitler, that he must withdraw his military forces from Poland before any large-scale talks on Danzig or the Polish Corridor could begin. In an attempt to add weight to the statement and to placate the public and certain government members, they included in the "warning," that if Germany did not withdraw her forces from Poland, Britain and France would honor their alliances with Poland, with the implication being, they would declare war on Germany. There was some diplomatic activity attempted through Hermann Göring, who, while close with Hitler, and indeed his designated successor,* was opposed to the invasion of Poland, because of the possible war with Britain and France. Neville Chamberlain, the British Prime Minister, now criticized even by members of his own political party for lack of a declaration of war, faced the reality that Hitler had to be confronted militarily. Laying Göring's diplomatic effort aside, Chamberlain issued a direct ultimatum to Hitler to begin to withdraw German forces from Poland, or Britain would declare war within a couple of hours. No answer was received from Hitler, and Chamberlain announced that Britain was at war with Germany. France followed with a similar ultimatum and the consequent announcement of war. A general European war had erupted; it was September 3, 1939.

The irony to all of this was, Britain and France had chosen NOT to help Czechoslovakia over a matter far more egregious, the German occupation of March 1939. They now went to war over what they themselves felt was a justified German grievance, the city of Danzig.

In Germany, Hitler was a bit stunned that the "little worms"** had taken a stand against him. Göring said, "If we lose this war, then may heaven be merciful to us."***

* Hitler formally named Göring as his successor in his speech to the Reichstag on September 1,  1939 when he said: "Should something happen to me in this struggle, then my first successor will be party comrade Göring" (German: "Sollte mir in diesem Kampf etwas zustoßen, dann ist mein erster Nachfolger Parteigenosse Göring.")

** About a week before the attack on Poland, Hitler said about the British and French leaders, "Our enemies are 'little worms.' I saw them in Munich," in reference to the Munich Conference which began the dismemberment of Czechoslovakia. ("Unsere Gegner sind kleine Würmchen. I sah sie in München.")

*** "Wenn wir diesen Krieg verlieren, dann möge uns der Himmel gnädig sein."

WORD HISTORY:
Panzer-This word, borrowed from German, came into usage in English during the World War Two era, and it has been used in reference to German tanks ever since, including in books, on television and in movies. The ultimate origin of its ancestor is unknown. It goes back to Latin "panticem," which meant "belly, stomach," whose nominative form was "pantex." This was inherited by Old French, a Latin-based language, as "pance," which then spawned "panciere," which meant "armor or mail^ to protect the abdominal area." German borrowed the word (1200s or 1300s???) as "panzier," and later, in its modern spelling as "Panzer," the notion of "armor" remained, although the "stomach, belly" idea died out in German. "Technically" it does not mean "tank," although usage in both German and English has certainly made it synonymous with "tank," but the actual German word for tank is "Panzerkampfwagen;" German being known for stringing words together as one "super word," and it means, "armor(ed) battle wagon/vehicle." Now you know why they just say "Panzer." For those studying German, it is masculine; thus, "der Panzer."

^ Mail, not the "letter" kind, but rather "armor, chain mesh," used by the knights of old.