135 - New Blitzkrieg Against a Wall of 9 Million! - WW2 - March 27, 1942

So he's the commander in chief but not the commander in chief?

But he has to report to someone?

Who's also not the commander in chief?

This is getting confusing.

Okay.

Yeah, talk to you later.

Okay, bye!

March 27, 1942

We've seen that Malta is a key, if not the key, to either side holding North Africa,

but the British- who hold Malta- have been less and less able to supply it, and how can

it stay in their hands without supply?

What do they do?

Well, they just keep trying and trying.

I'm Indy Neidell; this is World War Two.

Last week the British began their program of sending hydrogen balloons into Germany

carrying trailing wires or explosives, intending for them to sabotage electrical grids and

start forest fires.

American Commander Douglas MacArthur arrived in Australia, British Commander William Slim

arrived in Burma, and Chinese Nationalist commander Chiang Kai-shek worried about the

dedication and skills of his allies.

There was also action, as there is every week, in the field in the Soviet Union.

There is fighting there, down at the Kerch Peninsula, this week.

As last week ended, a German counterattack began, but though it did disrupt the Soviet

preparations for their own offensive, it was called off after just a few hours with the

22nd Panzer Division- a fresh division- losing nearly a quarter of its 142 tanks.

The 3rd Soviet offensive of the campaign begins now on the 26th, but it suffers huge losses

and is called off after less than a day.

Here's a general summary of the situation on the entire Eastern Front in late March

1942, courtesy of John Erickson, "…the multiple Soviet penetrations were deep enough and dangerous

enough to trouble most of the German command.

On the Volkhov, Vlasov and Meretskov had managed to unlock the 2nd Shock Army, which stood

as yet undefeated amidst the frozen bog and marsh near Lyuban, at Demyansk, the German

2nd Corps was undefeated but encircled, like the German forces at Kholm.

East of Smolensk and west of Vyazema, Belov's first cavalry, Yefremov's 33rd, 4th parachute

corps and strong Soviet partisan brigades were cutting and hacking at the German lines,

while to the north 11th cavalry and 39th army occupied the long and dangerous prominence

west of Sychovka.

Purkayev's 3rd shock army lunged out towards Velikie Luki, Yeremenko's 4th hung down over

Vitebsk, pincers stopped in mid-air but not without their sharpness.