Jacob Devers.

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The Devers Plan!

Until recently this entirely unknown to me.

Eisenhower that most senior allied military commander in the European theater in the aftermath of allied [English and American] victory in Normandy [Cobra, Avranches, Falaise], pursuing the German with what has been perceived as a less than vigorous approach.

Further allied offensive action toward Germany proper often termed as the "broad front" but rather more correctly understood as a dual axis advance. [that late summer of 1944]

For this Ike described as "timid" [by MacArthur]. That meaning not cowardly but non-assertive and non-aggressive.

Those allied army groups seen as advancing with less than adequate rapidity. Senior allied commanders subordinate to Ike however advocating an alternative to the "dual axis" plan. These commanders: 1. Montgomery. 2. Bradley. 3. Patton as according to Dupuy:

"Ike was urged to concentrate allocations of scarce fuel and ammunition to a relatively small section of the front - - probably one field army - - to enable that army to strike as rapidly and as deeply as possible through France into German. The Germans were close to collapse, these generals told Eisenhower, don't given them a chance to recover. Exploit if possible, they said, to the heart of German and the incipient collapse would become an actual collapse, and the war could be won before the end of 1944.

" Montgomery, of course that the supplies should go to one of his British armies, Bradley thought they should go to one of his American armies, Patton thought they should go his Third Army."

That preponderance of MANPOWER, supplies, logistical and fire support devoted to one army, that force delivering the knock-out blow, the "one swift kick and the whole rotten mess will come tumbling down!"

History records Eisenhower having given consideration to the advice but continuing with the dual axis approach and advance, more or less unaltered!

Without question Eisenhower conservative BUT THE REASONING FOR HIS DECISIONS SOUND!

Also surmounting the Siegfried Line [to the German the West Wall], all German units located in the Saar and Ruhr regions defeated in detail FIRST before any attempts to cross the Rhine river additionally the commanders [Ike] intent.

As late as the middle of November yet one more alternative to the dual-axis advance of the allied armies proposed and advocated.

A crossing of the Rhine by 6th Army Group [as commanded by Jacob Devers], with accompanying wheeling maneuver forcing German units west of the Rhine to retire in conformity with American advance, those areas of the Saar and Ruhr having to be abandoned without further fight!

This almost sounds too good to be true!

Eisenhower when briefed by Devers the operational plan dismissed seemingly out of hand. Without any consideration NO ACTION TAKEN!

Yet one more opportunity for an early end to the war in the European theater MISSED?

That Third Army of Patton allocated to 6th Army Group, the crossing of the Rhine by 7th Army and the wheeling maneuver northward those German units defending the Saar and Ruhr finding their position untenable. This was the Devers Plan.

The Battle of the Bulge as termed by the Americans presumably not even occurring? Such would be the precarious position necessitating a retirement of all German military units including those of course massed WEST of the Rhine river in preparation for the Ardennes Offensive [1944].

Furthermore, from Atkinson and "The Guns at Last Light":

"Even the Army official history, published half a century after the event and disinclined to second-guess the high command, found Eisenhower's decision 'difficult to understand.' The supreme commander 'had opted for an operation 'strategy' of firepower and attrition - - the direct approach - - as opposed to a war of opportunistic maneuver.'"

Bludgeon your enemy [the German] to death rather than use a more nuanced and "opportunistic" approach. Ike indeed conservative. NOT however, with good reason it may be suggested.

coolbert.

Cape Ray.

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That combined Scandinavian/Chinese/Russian/American mission the intent of which is to destroy Syrian chemical weaponry is about to begin.

Vessels from a host of nations at the ready, preparations having been made, all poised, made ready.

Scandinavian transports, Russian and Chinese warships for protection, and an American naval vessel [Cape Ray] the purpose of which is specifically the destruction of chemical munitions all part of the international flotilla, unprecedented almost!

"U.S. Military Ship Readied for Mission to Destroy Syria’s Chemical Weapons"

The Cape Ray!

"PORTSMOUTH, Va. — Months after diplomats declared that they had come up with a plan and a timetable to dispose of Syria’s lethal chemical weapons — and with the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to the weapons inspectors — the centerpiece of the mission, a workhorse American military ship that will ferry the weapons to sea for destruction, remains here in port, waiting like a sad bride for her groom."

NOT a "sad bride" anymore. That yeoman task of chemical munitions destruction now at hand, the task of neutralizing the deadly chemicals at sea A VERY GOOD IDEA INDEED!

Originally I had thought this would be a CHASE type operation as was done forty years ago, but that is not the case. Deadly poisons to be processed in an industrial manner and rendered more or less harmless.

Normally even under the best of circumstances merely MOVING chemical munitions is a difficult and dangerous task. Destroying a process even more so. The simplest accident can be disastrous and cause untold complications the clean-up of which is a difficult endeavor just of itself.

This American naval vessel the Cape Ray I was not even the slightest familiar with. If anyone deserves the Nobel Prize it would be the Captain and crew of the ship, if and when mission accomplished. This is yet to be a "done deal", the entire process fraught with great danger.

Good hunting Cape Ray and crew!!

coolbert.

Yasukuni.

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The never ending saga of the Yasukuni shrine in Japan.

Shinto shrine honoring the souls of the dead from the Second World War [WW2] and always a point of controversy.

The current serving Japanese Prime Minister [Abe] having made a visit to the shrine recently and offered prayers.

The names of those war dead enshrined at Yasukuni including those persons categorized as Class A war criminals such as Hideki Tojo.

The shrine itself:

* "Built in 1869 under the Emperor Meiji."

* "Venerates the souls of 2.5m war dead"

"Yasukuni Shrine Whines Justified?"

"Just recently, Japan’s neocon Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, visited Yasukuni shrine, the first visit by a sitting Japanese Prime Minister in 7 years [Koizumi before Abe].  This provocative and very public visit, rightly seen by the Korean and Chinese governments as an intentional slap in the face, will set back already strained relationships and may be used as an excuse for a revival of militarism. "

[my emphasis]

Please keep in mind that Prime Minister Abe is the grandson of the man referred to as the "Albert Speer" of Germany. With all that means.

Shinto, however, and the Yasukuni shrine are devoted to the departed spirits who under the religion are devoid of moral judgments based on prior temporal existence.


From David Yeagley at Bad Eagle commenting on the appearance of the former Prime Minister Koizumi at Yasukuni:

"BadEagle has pointed out before, the Shinto religion does not honor the life, deeds, or character of the dead. It honors the departed spirits, the kami (gods) which depart without moral definition. This is ancient animism. Koizumi is not honoring war criminals. That is a superimposition of Western abstract political ideology . . . It is actually wholly irrelevant to Shintoism, the ancient national religion of Japan."

Adjacent to the shrine is a private museum the displays however having a definite nationalistic and non-apologetic aspect to them, favorable to the Japanese effort during WW2? This I was not familiar with.

Much is being made of nothing here? Judgments not taking into account the perspective of Shinto with regard to "moral definition"?

coolbert.

Il Gaz.

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Thanks to Silver Fox we have this comment to the blog:

"THE ONLY OTHER SOURCE OF A SOURCE OF WHITE PINE- TODAY IS THE SEA OF PINES' in the IL GAZ MOUNTAINS OF WESTERN TURKEY...WHAT A Sight to be hold ..THE STATE PARK AND PROTECTED AREA IS 7.3 SQUARE KILOMETERS. Yes in old day the Ottoman navy felled trees for their tall ships as ship masts on White Pine."

Thank you Silver Fox.

That white pine considered the best [??] as for shipbuilding providing masts of the tallest and sturdiest type, without knots or blemish for the greatest length in most instance.

The colonies of British North America prior to the American Revolutionary War providing the finest examples of white pine, marked and deemed as CROWN PROPERTY! That marking of trees designated as Crown Property [the best of most perfect specimens] a strong point of contention between the colonists and the English King.

That Ottoman Empire also a sea-going and naval power for many centuries. And ADEPT AT THE AMPHIBIOUS OPERATION.

This is contrary to the normal perception of the Ottoman as normally a LAND POWER!

Sea power consisting of both naval forces and merchant marine. The Ottoman a trading nation constantly enlarging their domain and encroaching on the dominion of the Venetians. And vassals such as the Barbary Pirates renowned for their slave-raiding expeditions along the southern European coastline of the Mediterranean.

That Ottoman again adept and proficient at the amphibious invasion. NOT merely raiders but to stay and conquer, sustaining an invasion force, mission accomplished. As occurred at:

* Malta. [albeit a defeat]

* Rhodes.

* Cyprus.

* Crete.

Indeed, that entire landscape of the Mediterranean even from the time of the ancient Greeks to a large extent laid waste, the felling of trees wanton, but deemed as necessary for the building of large sea-going fleets, naval and commercial both.

Remnant white pine reserves still surviving and preserved with care rare in the extreme. The mountainous forests of Il Gaz in Turkey merely one example. Extraordinary to behold in all cases.

coolbert.

Pensions.

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COLA. Cost of Living Adjustment [COLA].

This particular headline has caused consternation and raised hackles in some quarters. NOT however properly understood.

"Ryan O'Connell and Neil Berman: Military pension politics"

"The passage of a bipartisan budget surprised many after the Washington D.C. fiasco of 2013. But having both parties working together does not mean the interests of all are served. No one knows that better than the men and women in, and retired from, our military. They are the most recent victim of budget cuts."

That allegation, that the pensions for retired military veterans are going to be "cut". That word suggesting a lessening of benefits as originally agreed upon. That inference being BETRAYAL!

NOT so fast. We must be aware of and fully in agreement as to what is occurring here.

"What the authors of the budget call pension 'reform,' is simply a cut in military pension benefits for those retired and those currently serving in our armed forces."

"Cut " as meaning a lessening in the rate of INCREASE of pension benefits. The cost-of-living-adjustment as "pegged" to the consumer price index properly accounted for and taken into account. NOT less in the way of benefits, but rather a reduction in the rate of INCREASE!

"The authors are quick to argue that the cut is small — a 1 percent reduction in the annual cost-of-living increase. But the men and women in the armed forces are outraged and we should be too. Their employer has performed a bait-and-switch."

"Cut" that word more correct as a lessening in the rate of increase and not a reduction in the overall amount. "Cut" in this case not in the ordinary, normal, and commonly understood meaning of the word.

Veterans retired living with a pension, rest assured. Or should you?

coolbert.

Katabasis.

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From that era of the Great War and thanks to the HeroesofSerbia web site we have the katabasis of the Serb army. A movement from inland to the sea, a reverse amphibious operation while under pressure, AND IN THE WINTER TIME AND THROUGH THE MOUNTAINS.

"THE GREAT RETREAT, SERBIA 1915"

That Serb army having been routed by the combined forces of the Central Powers and Bulgaria, necessitating a rearward movement including almost a half million combined military and civilian personnel. AGAIN IN THE WINTER AND THROUGH MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN.

"navigating difficult mountainous terrain through winter conditions that were often unmerciful,"

Less than 50 % able to complete the journey, evacuation by allied warships and merchant vessels the only recourse, obliteration at the hands of the enemy and unacceptable option.

"roughly 150,000 of these travelers, primarily soldiers and commanders, actually made it to the Adriatic Coast where they would be evacuated to the Greek islands such as Corfu to recover. Roughly 250,000 military and civilians that sought to reach that coast did not make it"

An amphibious operation deemed that most difficult of all military maneuvers. A REVERSE amphibious operation and WHILE UNDER CONTINUOUS PRESSURE OBVIOUSLY THAT MUCH MORE HAZARDOUS.

ONLY ONE historical parallel exists to the GREAT RETREAT? That experience of the American Tenth [X] Corps during the Korean War.

X Corps attacked by overwhelming numbers of Chinese communist troops, necessitating an amphibious evacuation while under pressure, troops, equipment, and accompanying Korea civilians all saved. That movement of troops also through the mountains and during the winter!

The Serb not having as did the American in Korea:

* Unlimited amounts of close-air support.

* Unlimited amounts of naval gunfire firing in support of the ground forces.

One surely also recalls from the "Ten Thousand" by Xenophon the march of the Greek warriors from inland to the sea and salvation. Also not during the winter through the mountains and not under pressure? A devoted reader to the blog knows better?

coolbert.

Severodvinsk.

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From Russian Times [RT]:

"Russian navy boosted with new nuclear attack submarine"

"Russia’s has received a New Year present with the hand-over of a cutting-edge nuclear attack submarine, the Severodvinsk"

. . . .

"The Severodvinsk is one of eight Yasen-class (Graney-class, according to NATO classification) attack subs ordered by the Russian navy."

"The second and third boats of the series, the Kazan and the Novosibirsk, are currently under construction and will feature an updated design."

Yasen is the correct designation for submarine according to Russian nomenclature? Graney is the NATO "classification".

Twenty years from the start of construction until the vessel actually launched and now operational. NOT necessarily combat ready however? Floating but that does equate to combat able?

During that twenty year period modifications and improvements were made to the basic design. and even more capable warship now exists than as originally envisioned?

I guess the consensus opinion would be [??], according to the experts, this class of Russian submarine superior to the best of the Los Angeles class American nuclear submarines, but to a degree inferior when compared to the most modern and advanced  American submersibles, Seawolf and Virginia class.

To what extent "inferior" is the sixty-four thousand dollar question, as they say?

That Russian navy hoping to retain the redoubt system, Borei class intercontinental-range missile launching submarines while cruising in protected waters guarded most assiduously so by that new family and class of attack submarine?

All other classes of Russian submarines, hold-overs from the days of the now defunct Soviet Union taken out of commission and relegated to the scrap heap as a cost-saving measure?

coolbert.