TheList 5734

The List 5734     TGB

Good Thursday morning June 3

I hope that your week has been going well.

 

Regards,

skip

 

 

Today in Naval History

June 3

 

June 3

1785 The order is given to sell the last ship remaining in the Continental Navy, the frigate Alliance. No other Navy ships are authorized until 1794.

 

1898 During the Spanish-American War, the 8-man volunteer crew from USS Merrimac are taken as prisoners of war by the Spanish following a courageous attempt to sink the collier to obstruct navigation. For their extraordinary heroism during this operation, the men are awarded the Medal of Honor.

 

1942 The Japanese start a two-day attack at Dutch Harbor, Aleutian Islands, Alaska, in an attempt to distract America from the Midway Island invasion. During the two-day invasion, 43 Americans die.

 

1949 Midshipman Wesley A. Brown becomes the first African-American to graduate from the U.S. Naval Academy.

 

1966 Gemini 9 is launched. Gemini 9 is piloted by Lt. Cmdr. Eugene A. Cernan. The mission includes 45 orbits over 3 days. Recovery is by USS Wasp (CVS 18).

 

Thanks to CHINFO

Executive Summary:

•           UPI reported on CNO Adm. Mike Gilday's visit to Denmark.

•           National and trade press outlets report that Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin is nearing a decision on sexual assault reform.

•           Trade and local media reported the Navy will homeport the first 12 Constellation-class frigates at Naval Station Everett.

 

 

 

This day in History June 3

 

1098 Christian Crusaders of the First Crusade seize Antioch, Turkey.

 

1539 Hernando De Soto claims Florida for Spain.

 

1861 Union troops defeat Confederate forces at Philippi, in western Virginia

 

1864 Some 7,000 Union troops are killed within 30 minutes during the Battle of Cold Harbor in Virginia.

 

1888 The classic baseball poem "Casey at the Bat," written by Ernest L. Thayer, is published in the San Francisco Examiner.

 

1918 The Finnish Parliament ratifies a treaty with Germany.

 

1923 In Italy, dictator Benito Mussolini grants women the right to vote.

 

1928 Manchurian warlord Zhang Zuolin dies as a result of a bomb blast set off by the Japanese.

 

1938 The German Third Reich votes to confiscate so-called "degenerate art."

 

1940 The German Luftwaffe hits Paris with 1,100 bombs.

 

1942 Japanese carrier-based planes strafe Dutch Harbor in the Aleutian Islands as a diversion of the attack on Midway Island.

 

1952 A rebellion by North Korean prisoners in the Koje prison camp in South Korea is put down by American troops.

 

1965 Astronaut Edward White becomes the first American to walk in space when he exits the Gemini 4 space capsule.

 

1969 74 American sailors die when the destroyer USS Frank E. Evans was cut in two by an Australian aircraft carrier in the South China Sea.

 

1974 Charles Colson, an aide to President Richard Nixon, pleads guilty to obstruction of justice.

 

1989 The Chinese government begins its crackdown on pro-democracy activists in Beijing's Tiananmen Square. Hundreds are killed and thousands are arrested.

 

NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

 

A Note from Dick on the 10 women heroines of WWII  from yeaterday's List 5733

 

This was a wonderful 25 minutes learning about  the ten women heroines of WWII.  I had already read "The Night Witches" (a favorite book) twice so I already knew about Marina Raskova (first woman Hero of the Soviet Union) and I am especially knowledgeable about Lilya Litvak, who the Germans fighter pilots named the "White Rose of Stalingrad. " Not explained in the video, her name Lilya means "Lily" so she had a white lily painted on the side (cockpit) of her Yak-3 fighter. The German fighter pilots mistook the lily on her aircraft below the cockpit for a rose so THAT is how she (accidentally) earned the name, "The "White Rose of Stalingrad."

 

FYI....She fell in love with her wingman (Aleksey Solomatin) and she was on the ground looking up when he was killed over the airfield above her by German fighters and she had to watch him die.  My thoughts...what a book (novel) and MOVIE that would make! Russian "Top Gun"  lovers duo in WWII! They flew fighter sorties as "wing persons" and lovers together. I would love to write the script for that movie... if ever made.

 

Lilya was the first Soviet woman in history to shoot down an enemy aircraft. She completed 268 sorties and was the top scoring female fighter pilot. She had 12 aerial victories, plus three shared kills when she was finally shot down (and killed) by a circling gaggle of German Bf-109's that were specifically sent out to get her.   And they did.

 

Learning about the Soviet women  snipers was fascinating- Maria Parlichenko ("Lady Death" with 309 kills) and another Hero of the Soviet Union sniper- Rosa Shanina (59 kills) "The Unseen Terror of East Russia" and all the other amazing women heroes in this video.

 

I thought that the opening story of Maria Oktyabrskaya, "The Fighting Girlfriend" where she bought her own T-34 tank fought and repaired it when damaged was another tale worth a book or a movie. Another Hero of the Soviet Union.

 

All ten ladies were just amazing.  .     

 

 

NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

 

More to follow on the Battle of Midway over the next few days

Thanks to Admiral Cox and the team at NAVAL HISTORY AND HERITAGE COMMAND

From: Director of Naval History

To: Senior Navy Leadership

Subj: H-gram 006 Battle of Midway

Battle of Midway – 75th Anniversary

Overview

"…the enemy lacks the will to fight…" – Japanese Midway Operations Order, Commander's Estimate of the Situation.

     The Battle of Midway (4-6 June 1942) was one of the most critical battles of WWII, and one of the most one-sided battles in all of history, although achieved at a very high cost for the U.S. aircraft and aircrew responsible for the victory. It was not, however, a "miracle."  At the decisive point of contact, it was four Japanese aircraft carriers (248 aircraft) and 20 escorts against three U.S. aircraft carriers (233 aircraft) and 25 escorts and an island airfield (127 aircraft – 360 total U.S. aircraft.)  The Japanese had some significant qualitative advantages, principally the ability to rapidly launch a massive integrated multi-carrier strike package, fighter maneuverability, and better torpedoes.  However, the U.S. had some advantages as well, such as the element of surprise, radar, damage control, and the ability of U.S. aircraft to absorb damage.  Although the total number of Japanese forces committed to the Midway Operation (essentially, almost every operational ship in the Imperial Japanese Navy) far exceeded that of the U.S., none but the four carriers were in a position to effect the outcome of the battle at the critical point and time.  In terms of numbers and capabilities of the decisive weapon system of the battle, dive-bombers, the two sides were at rough parity.

    Commander-in-Chief of the Combined Fleet, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, based his plan on inadequate intelligence and an inaccurate understanding of American intent, specifically the incorrect assumption that the "demoralized" Americans would have to be drawn out to fight.  Therefore Yamamoto's force distribution was not optimized for mutual support, but rather for operational deception, to conceal the true extent of the forces employed so as to not prematurely spook the Americans into refusing to give battle.  To a degree, his plan worked, in that Commander-in-Chief of the Pacific Fleet, Admiral Chester Nimitz did not know that Yamamoto's main body of battleships was trailing several hundred miles behind the Japanese carriers (with Yamamoto embarked on the new super-battleship Yamato,) intent on ambushing U.S. forces that took the bait of the Midway invasion force.  However, by doing so, the main body and other formations in the highly complex Japanese plan had no opportunity to engage U.S. forces in battle.  Yamamoto was further hampered by a poorly planned and executed surveillance and reconnaissance effort.  He had no idea the American carriers were already northeast of Midway waiting in ambush, and refused to consider the possibility that his plan might be compromised.  (In pre-battle war games, the Japanese commander playing the U.S. "OPFOR" did exactly what Nimitz did, with results that were remarkably close to what actually happened, but his actions were ruled "impossible" by the game umpire, and the Japanese game losses were resurrected.)

     Admiral Nimitz, on the other hand, had a very accurate understanding of Japanese intent, based on intelligence, of which code-breaking was only a part, albeit significant.  Based on breaking the Japanese Navy general operating code (JN-25B) and the work of Commander Joseph Rochefort's team in Station Hypo, Nimitz knew that Midway was the objective of Japanese Operation "MI," knew the approximate timing and approximate forces employed (four or five carriers,) and knew that the concurrent Aleutian operation ("AL") was not the Japanese main effort.  Armed with this useful, but still somewhat vague code-breaking intelligence, Nimitz nevertheless insisted that his Intelligence Officer, Commander Edwin Layton, produce a more precise estimate of where the Japanese carriers would be located when first detected.  Using all means of intelligence at his disposal, including his intimate understanding of Japanese thought-process from his years of language training in Japan, Layton came up with an estimated bearing, range and time from Midway Island (325 degrees, 175 nm, at 0600 4 Jun 42) that Admiral Nimitz later said was "five degrees, five miles, and five minutes off."  The actual location was a little father off than Nimitz said, but not by much.  Actually, the Japanese carriers arrived a day later than planned, but Layton's estimate had accounted for weather and the Japanese plan had not.  (see attachment H-006-1 "ISR at Midway")  Nimitz' decision, although audacious, was far from a desperate gamble that some accounts have portrayed, but rather was completely in accord with the principle of "calculated risk" which guided Nimitz and other operational commanders during the battle.

     Nimitz also later said that the battle was "essentially a victory of intelligence."  Up to a point, Nimitz' statement is true.  Forearmed with Layton's estimate, Rear Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher's two carrier task forces  (TF-17 centered on USS Yorktown (CV-5) with RADM Fletcher embarked, and TF-16 centered on USS Enterprise (CV-6) and USS Hornet (CV-8) led by RADM Raymond Spruance, replacing VADM William Halsey, bed-ridden with shingles) were in the perfect position (designated "Point Luck") to ambush the Japanese carriers on the morning of 4 June 1942 while the Japanese air strike on Midway Island was recovering.  Once RADM Spruance made the decision to launch full strike packages from both Enterprise and Hornet as early (and at as long range) as he did, the die was cast.  Given the Japanese weakness in shipboard anti-aircraft defense and the inexperience of Japanese fighters, however numerous, in dealing with a protracted multi-axis attack, there were enough U.S. aircraft in the air (117) to deal a mortal blow to all of the Japanese carriers, so long as the American strikes actually found the Japanese carriers.  Once the Enterprise and Hornet launched their strikes, all the Japanese could do at that point would have been to even up the score had they been able to get a counterstrike airborne (which they weren't) before the U.S. strikes arrived over their targets.

     Nevertheless, although intelligence could set the stage for victory, the battle still actually had to be fought and won by the skill, courage, and blood of those who flew the planes, manned the anti-aircraft batteries, and peered through the periscopes.  The Japanese fought with great tactical prowess, and extreme tenacity and bravery, as evidenced by Japanese pilots who somehow held their flaming planes in the air long enough to drop their bombs and torpedoes.  Despite the initial U.S. advantage of surprise, the battle could have easily gone the other way, such as when Hornet's air group, except for the torpedo bombers, completely missed the Japanese; or had the Japanese carrier Akagi survived the one bomb that actually hit her, the Japanese counterstrike from Akagi could well have taken out all three U.S. carriers, based on how much damage was later inflicted on Yorktown by Hiryu's relatively small uncoordinated last-ditch strikes (three direct bomb hits and two torpedo hits).  Far from being indecisive as portrayed in many historical accounts, the Japanese carrier task force ("Kido Butai" – mobile strike force) commander, VADM Chuichi Nagumo moved aggressively, and in accordance with Japanese doctrine, to counter threats; and it was his extreme offensive mentality that typified Japanese naval officers that arguably cost him the battle.  However, with a little luck he might have finished off the American carriers despite his losses.  If there is any enduring lesson of Midway it is that never again should the U.S. and Japan face each other on opposite sides of a field of battle.

     In the end, the battle was won by the initiative, toughness, and incredible valor of the U.S. pilots who pressed home their attacks against great odds; in the face of staggering losses, not one U.S. bomber is known to have turned away before either delivering ordnance or being shot down.  Several Yorktown dive-bombers even attacked after they had accidentally jettisoned their bombs.  The ferocity of the Marine anti-aircraft fire on Midway Island and the valiant fight by the Marine's hopelessly outclassed fighters, shocked the Japanese by hitting almost half the early morning 108-plane Japanese strike on the island, downing 11 aircraft and seriously damaging 14.  This set in motion Nagumo's fateful decision to re-arm his 107-plane reserve strike package for a re-attack on Midway, before he knew U.S. carriers were present, in violation of Yamamoto's orders to keep his reserve armed for anti-ship strikes.

     Four waves of U.S. torpedo bombers (six new TBF Avengers and four USAAF B-26 Marauders from Midway, and 41 older TBD Devastators in three squadrons from the carriers) suffered grievous losses, likened to the Charge of the Light Brigade, each wave encountering between 15 and 30 Zero fighters, but not one torpedo bomber turned away.  One TBF and two B-26's crash-landed on Midway afterwards, and only six of the TBD's made it back to the carriers, only three of which were flyable.  Of the 99 men in the 42 torpedo planes that were lost, only three survived the battle.  The skipper of Torpedo Squadron Eight (VT-8,) off the Hornet, LCDR John Waldron, had told his squadron during the pre-launch brief that "if only one plane is left, I want that man to go in and get a hit." That's exactly what his squadron tried to do, following Waldron's direction to the last man.  As 14 of the 15 TBD's of VT-8 went down one after the other in flames, the last plane, piloted by ENS George "Tex" Gay stayed on course and dropped his torpedo at the carrier Soryu, before being shot down.  Soryu avoided the torpedo, and Gay was the sole survivor of the attack.  The other two torpedo squadrons (VT-6 and VT-3) displayed equal valor with the same result; no hits and great loss.

    The slaughter of the torpedo-bombers was not part of the American plan, but was the result of the U.S. inability to effectively coordinate a multi-carrier strike, or even a single air group strike.  Nevertheless, the sacrifice of the torpedo-bombers was not in vain; their attacks, and those of Midway-based USMC SBD Dauntless dive-bombers (8 of 16 lost) and SB2U Vindicator dive-bombers (4 of 11 lost) and USAAF B-17 Flying Fortresses, strung out over two and a half hours (all with numerous near misses but no hits), forced the Japanese carriers to constantly launch and recover fighter aircraft in between wild defensive maneuvering.  The result was that the Japanese carriers were unable to spot their decks for a counter-strike launch; the Japanese were still over 45 minutes from being ready to launch their dive-bombers and torpedo-planes (not five minutes as in early accounts) when the decisive attack by U.S. Navy dive-bombers commenced; two squadrons from Enterprise and one squadron from Yorktown (launched over an hour later) that arrived simultaneously over the Japanese carriers by complete coincidence.  (see H-006-2 "The Sacrifice.")

    The U.S. dive-bomber strike crippled the Japanese carriers Akagi, Kaga and Soryu.  Hiryu survived to get off two small strikes that left the Yorktown in sinking condition.  Late in the afternoon, dive-bombers from Enterprise and Yorktown (flying off Enterprise) crippled the Hiryu.  (See H-006-3 "The Victory - Barely.")  None of the Japanese carriers were actually sunk by U.S. bombs; although flaming wrecks, all four had to be dispatched by Japanese torpedoes to ensure the still-floating ships did not fall into U.S. hands.  Two days later, the Japanese heavy cruiser Mikuma, accompanying her more heavily damaged  sister Mogami, both damaged in a collision while avoiding the submarine USS Tambor (SS-198,) was sunk by carrier dive-bombers (mostly due to secondary explosions from her own oxygen-fueled torpedoes.)

    Over three thousand Japanese sailors were killed in the battle, most while valiantly trying to save their ships, including over 700 aircraft technicians/maintainers (a very limited skill in Japan.)  All 248 carrier aircraft were lost, most going down with their ship, along with several cruiser/battleship-launched float-planes.  However, most Japanese pilots were rescued; only 36 were lost on the carriers and 74 in the air, mostly from Hiryu.  Most of Japan's Pearl Harbor-veteran pilots would survive Midway only to perish in the meat-grinder battle of attrition in the skies around Guadalcanal later in the year, where over 2,000 Japanese aircraft would be lost.  It was not the loss of pilots at Midway that crippled Japan's ability to wage offensive naval operations, but rather the loss of the most important Japanese strategic asset, the irreplaceable aircraft carriers.  Only one new Japanese fleet carrier would make it into a major fleet action during the war, only to be sunk by a U.S. submarine in her first battle.

    ADM Nimitz, who had commanded several submarines early in his career, was disappointed in the performance of his submarines at Midway.  Of 19 U.S. submarines in Task Force 7, only three made contact with the Japanese (although seven were guarding the approaches to Hawaii).  The USS Grouper (SS-214) was repeatedly strafed, bombed and depth-charged, and was unable to close on the Japanese carriers.   For whatever reason, USS Tambor (SS-198) did not engage the heavily damaged cruisers Mikuma and Mogami (and her skipper was immediately relieved of command after the battle.)  The USS Grayling (SS-209 and host to ADM Nimitz' PACFLT change of command ceremony) was mistaken for a Japanese cruiser and bombed by USAAF B-17's (fortunately no bombs hit, which was also the case with over 320 bombs dropped by the B-17's on actual Japanese ships.)

    The USS Nautilus (SS-168), LCDR William Brockman commanding, tried to attack the Japanese carrier force and was strafed by an aircraft, tried again and was bombed by an aircraft, tried again, and was depth-charged by the light cruise Nagara while setting up an attack on the battleship Kirishima.  As soon as the depth-charging ceased, Brockman boldly came back to periscope depth and fired on the Kirishima with two torpedoes; one hung in the tube and the other missed, and Nautilus was then heavily depth-charged.  Later in the day Brockman tried yet again and succeeded in firing a spread of four torpedoes, all of which malfunctioned, at the dead-in-the-water and burning Kaga, only to barely survive another brutal depth charge attack (42 depth-charges, two of which clanged off her hull but did not explode.)  The one torpedo that hit the Kaga failed to explode and the buoyant after-body served as a flotation device for swimming Japanese sailors.  Brockman was awarded a Navy Cross.  Of note however, it was the Japanese destroyer Arashi, trying to catch up to the Japanese carriers after being left behind to depth-charge the Nautilus, that led Lieutenant Commander Clarence Wade McClusky and two Enterprise dive-bomber squadrons to the Japanese carriers and their doom.  Later in the war, however, armed with torpedoes that actually worked, more aggressive skippers like Brockman, and a steady stream of "Ultra" intelligence (derived from broken Japanese codes) U.S. submarines would go on to inflict significantly more losses to the Japanese than any other U.S. weapons system, at great cost (52 submarines ( 3500 men) as well.

    At the end of 4 June, the gravely damaged and heavily listing USS Yorktown was still barely afloat.  Through the heroic damage control efforts of her crew, incorporating numerous hard lessons learned at the Battle of the Coral Sea, the carrier was still afloat on the morning of 6 Jun, under tow to Pearl Harbor.  (Of note, the Yorktown's air group, demonstrating the value of combat experience, was the only carrier air group to successfully execute a coordinated near-simultaneous torpedo-bomber, dive-bomber, and fighter strike on the Japanese carriers.)  However, in broad daylight, the skipper of the Japanese submarine I-168 (which had previously provided accurate, and ignored, intelligence on Midway Island's state of readiness, and had even shelled the island) picked his way through five escorting U.S. destroyers and torpedoed the Yorktown at point-blank range, sinking the destroyer USS Hammann (DD-412) that was alongside Yorktown, which went down in under four minutes, many of her swimming crew killed by the detonations of her own un-safed depth-charges (81 of 251 crew lost.)  Even with the two additional torpedo hits, Yorktown remained afloat until finally succumbing on the morning of 7 Jun.  I-168 survived, with heavy damage including leaking chlorine gas, an extensive U.S. depth charge attack (61 depth charges) by the U.S. destroyers.

    In addition to failing to protect the Yorktown from submarine attack, no Japanese aircraft were confirmed downed by anti-aircraft fire from any escorts, due primarily to the inadequacy of their AAA fit. (Japanese shipboard anti-aircraft fire was equally as ineffective.)  The AAA certainly did damage aircraft and disrupt bombers' aim.  Enterprise and Hornet were never located or attacked by Japanese bombers, so their escorts were never tested.  Nevertheless, the Japanese surface navy failed to get the memo that the tide of war turned at Midway, and the U.S. surface navy would get its chance to prove its mettle and extreme valor in the following months, persevering in several of the most savage and hard-fought ship-to-ship battles in naval history in "Ironbottom Sound" around Guadalcanal, at a cumulative cost of many more Sailors than Pearl Harbor.

   The Battle of Midway was not won by "Citizen-Sailors."  It was won mostly by volunteer, professional naval officers and Sailors (the draft had only been in effect for a little over a year.)  The more senior officers and enlisted Sailors had endured many years of inadequate resources, misguided treaty limitations, low pay, slow promotions, and in the intense isolationist and anti-war backlash from the carnage of WWI, a profound lack of appreciation and respect for U.S. military personnel in the interwar years by much of the U.S. population.  Yet it was these volunteers, and a few draftees, in many cases armed with obsolete inadequate weapons and hampered by fiscal constraints that severely curtailed realistic training, who held the line and paid with their lives to buy the time necessary for the United States to mobilize its massive resources in people and equipment that ultimately won the war.  Compared to the Japanese, the American cost in blood was much less, but still profound ; 307 Americans were killed in the battle.  The bulk of the losses fell upon the aviators, Marines, Army Air Forces, but mostly Navy.  Of the carrier aircraft that engaged the Japanese fleet on 4 June 1942, 40% were shot down, ditched due to battle damage or fuel exhaustion, or were no longer air-worthy despite recovering on a carrier.  Well over 150 U.S. aviators, most of them Navy, made the ultimate sacrifice in winning one of the greatest battles of all time.  Although only one Medal of Honor (posthumous) was awarded in the battle (Captain Richard Fleming, USMC,) approximately 170 Navy Crosses were awarded to Navy personnel, mostly aviators, many posthumously.

     Some historians argue that Midway was not "decisive" because (with 20/20 hindsight) the ultimate victory over Japan was never in doubt, Midway or no Midway, but was merely the inevitable application of overwhelming U.S. industrial power.  Although "what if" scenarios are generally frowned upon by professional historians, had the battle resulted in a military defeat for the U.S., President Roosevelt would have had an extremely difficult time maintaining his very politically unpopular "defeat Germany first" strategy.  Imagine a very different world in which the Nazi Germans had had time to develop an atomic bomb, or the Soviets had had time to overrun all of western Europe.  British Prime Minister Churchill's statement regarding the Royal Air Force in the Battle of Britain, that "never had so much been owed by so many to so few" applied just as well to the few naval aviators who turned the tide at the Battle of Midway.

After the battle, the New York Times banner headline read, "US Army Fliers Blast Two Jap Fleets at Midway."

The headline in the Japan Times in Tokyo read, "(Japanese) Navy Wins Epochal Victory."

 

(Over the years I have read probably almost every book on Midway ever written, including the classics, "Incredible Victory" by Walter Lord, and "Miracle at Midway" by Gordon Prange, and of course, RADM Samuel Eliot Morison.  However, declassification of most intelligence records in the 1970's and newer access to Japanese sources have significantly changed many of the conclusions of those earlier works.  A relatively recent work, "Shattered Sword" by Jonathan Parshall and Anthony Tully is an extraordinary piece of research, telling the battle mostly from the Japanese side using many Japanese sources, and is probably the most comprehensive and accurate book on Midway I have read.  For this reason most of the numbers for casualties, etc. that I use are from this book, although other sources may vary.)

 

 

NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

ROLLING THUNDER REMEMBERED Thanks to the Bear

LOOKING BACK 55-YEARS to the Vietnam Air War— ... For The List for Thursday, 3 June 2021... Bear🇺🇸⚓️🐻

 

OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER (1965-1968)

From the archives of rollingthunderremembered.com post for 3 June 1966 "An old sailor's remedy for the blues"...

 

https://www.rollingthunderremembered.com/rolling-thunder-remembered-3-june-1966-the-blues/

 

 

 

 

This following work accounts for every fixed wing loss of the Vietnam War and you can use it to read more about the losses in The Bear's Daily account. Even better it allows you to add your updated information to the work to update for history…skip

 

Vietnam Air Losses

Access Chris Hobson and Dave Lovelady's work at:  https://www.VietnamAirLosses.com.

 

NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

 

This Day in US Military History

 

1864 – Union General Ulysses S. Grant makes what he later recognizes to be his greatest mistake by ordering a frontal assault on entrenched Confederates at Cold Harbor. The result was some 7,000 Union casualties in less than an hour of fighting. Grant's Army of the Potomac and Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia had already inflicted frightful losses upon each other as they wheeled along an arc around Richmond—from the Wilderness to Spotsylvania and numerous smaller battle sites—the previous month. On May 30, Lee and Grant collided at Bethesda Church. The next day, the advance units of the armies arrived at the strategic crossroads of Cold Harbor, just 10 miles from Richmond, where a Yankee attack seized the intersection. Sensing that there was a chance to destroy Lee at the gates of Richmond, Grant prepared for a major assault along the entire Confederate front on June 2. But when Winfield Hancock's Union corps did not arrive on schedule, the operation was postponed until the following day. The delay was tragic for the Union, because it gave Lee's troops time to entrench. Perhaps frustrated with the protracted pursuit of Lee's army, Grant gave the order to attack on June 3—a decision that resulted in an unmitigated disaster. The Yankees met murderous fire, and were only able to reach the Confederate trenches in a few places. The 7,000 Union casualties, compared to only 1,500 for the Confederates, were all lost in under an hour. Grant pulled out of Cold Harbor nine days later and continued to try to flank Lee's army. The next stop was Petersburg, south of Richmond, where a nine-month siege ensued. There would be no more attacks on the scale of Cold Harbor.

1940 – Last British and French troops leave Dunkirk. During the day the German attacks around Dunkirk continue. The perimeter contracts, despite a brave counterattack, and German forces reach to within two miles of the harbor. The British and French naval authorities are led to believe that there are only about 30,000 soldiers left in the beachhead and plan the night's operations accordingly. In the course of the night 26,175 men are evacuated but as the rearguard are marching down to the ships an enormous crowd of French stragglers begins to appear out of cellars and other hiding places. When the last ship leaves at 0340 hours on June 4th there are still 40,000 men left for the Germans to capture.

942 – In response to the surprise B-25 bomber attacks on Japan staged by Lieutenant Colonel Jimmy Dolittle in April 1942, the Japanese decided to capture Midway Island 1,000 miles northwest of Hawaii as a staging base to attack Hawaii itself. As part of their plan they deployed a small diversionary force to take several islands in the Aleutian's chain of Alaska. Recently arrived as part of the garrison at the newly developed outpost of Dutch Harbor was Arkansas' 206th Coast Artillery Regiment (Anti-Aircraft). The unit was armed with obsolete 3-inch anti-aircraft guns and water-cooled .50 caliber machine guns. The morning of June 3rd found thick fog lying off the Alaskan coast. The Japanese launched a surprise aerial attack from two aircraft carriers, catching the defenders off-guard. However, within a few minutes the men of the 206th were in action, shooting down one enemy plane and putting up such a heavy rate of fire that Japanese pilots missed their targets while trying to dodge the Arkansan's barrage. The Japanese attacked again the next day, causing some casualties but failing to put the harbor out of action. This was their last attack. The 206th remained as part of the garrison until it was reassigned to the European Theater in 1944.

 

1943 – In Los Angeles, California, white U.S. Navy sailors and Marines clash for a second time with Latino youths in the Zoot Suit Riots. About eleven sailors got off a bus and started walking along Main Street in Downtown Los Angeles. At some point they ran into a group of young Mexicans dressed in zoot suits and got in a verbal argument. The sailors stated that they were jumped and beaten by this gang of zoot suiters. The Los Angeles Police Department responded to the incident, many of them off-duty officers calling themselves the Vengeance Squad, who went to the scene "seeking to clean up Main Street from what they viewed as the loathsome influence of pachuco gangs."

 

1965 – One hundred and 20 miles above the earth, Major Edward H. White II opens the hatch of the Gemini 4 and steps out of the capsule, becoming the first American astronaut to walk in space. Attached to the craft by a 25-foot tether and controlling his movements with a hand-held oxygen jet-propulsion gun, White remained outside the capsule for just over 20 minutes. As a space walker, White had been preceded by Soviet cosmonaut Aleksei A. Leonov, who on March 18, 1965, was the first man ever to walk in space. Implemented at the height of the space race, NASA's Gemini program was the least famous of the three U.S.-manned space programs conducted during the 1960s. However, as an extension of Project Mercury, which put the first American in space in 1961, Gemini laid the groundwork for the more dramatic Apollo lunar missions, which began in 1968. The Gemini space flights were the first to involve multiple crews, and the extended duration of the missions provided valuable information about the biological effects of longer-term space travel. When the Gemini program ended in 1966, U.S. astronauts had also perfected rendezvous and docking maneuvers with other orbiting vehicles, a skill that would be essential during the three-stage Apollo moon missions.

 

1969 – Melbourne–Evans collision: off the coast of South Vietnam, the Australian aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne cuts the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Frank E. Evans in half. The two ships were participating in SEATO exercise Sea Spirit in the South China Sea. At approximately 3:00 am, when ordered to a new escort station, Evans sailed under Melbourne's bow, where she was cut in two. Seventy-four of Evans' crew were killed. A joint RAN–USN board of inquiry was held to establish the events of the collision and the responsibility of those involved. This inquiry, which was believed by the Australians to be biased against them, found that both ships were at fault for the collision. Four officers (the captains of Melbourne and Evans, plus the two junior officers in control of Evans at the time of the collision) were court-martialled based on the results of the inquiry; while the three USN officers were charged, the RAN officer was cleared of wrongdoing.

 

Note I remember seeing the hulk of the Evans in Subic Bay….skip

 

1989 – With protests for democratic reforms entering their seventh week, the Chinese government authorizes its soldiers and tanks to reclaim Beijing's Tiananmen Square at all costs. By nightfall on June 4, Chinese troops had forcibly cleared the square, killing hundreds and arresting thousands of demonstrators and suspected dissidents. On April 15, the death of Hu Yaobang, a former Communist Party head who supported democratic reforms, roused some 100,000 students to gather at Beijing's Tiananmen Square to commemorate the leader and voice their discontent with China's authoritative government. On April 22, an official memorial service for Hu Yaobang was held in Tiananmen's Great Hall of the People, and student representatives carried a petition to the steps of the Great Hall, demanding to meet with Premier Li Peng. The Chinese government refused the meeting, leading to a general boycott of Chinese universities across the country and widespread calls for democratic reforms. Ignoring government warnings of suppression of any mass demonstration, students from more than 40 universities began a march to Tiananmen on April 27. The students were joined by workers, intellectuals, and civil servants, and by mid-May more than a million people filled the square, the site of Mao Zedong's proclamation of the People's Republic of China in 1949. On May 20, the government formally declared martial law in Beijing, and troops and tanks were called in to disperse the dissidents. However, large numbers of students and citizens blocked the army's advance, and by May 23 government forces had pulled back to the outskirts of Beijing. On June 3, with negotiations to end the protests stalled and calls for democratic reforms escalating, the troops received orders from the Chinese government to seize control of Tiananmen Square and the streets of Beijing. Hundreds were killed and thousands arrested. In the weeks after the government crackdown, an unknown number of dissidents were executed, and hard-liners in the government took firm control of the country. The international community was outraged by the incident, and economic sanctions imposed by the United States and other countries sent China's economy into decline. By late 1990, however, international trade had resumed, thanks in part to China's release of several hundred imprisoned dissidents.

 

Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day

WILLIAMS, LE ROY
Rank and organization: Sergeant, Company G, 8th New York Heavy Artillery. Place and date: At Cold Harbor, Va., 3 June 1864. Entered service at: ——. Birth: Oswego, N.Y. Date of issue: 1 April 1898. Citation: Voluntarily exposed himself to the fire of the enemy's sharpshooters and located the body of his colonel who had been killed close to the enemy's lines. Under cover of darkness, with 4 companions, he recovered the body and brought it within the Union lines, having approached within a few feet of the Confederate pickets while so engaged.

HOBSON, RICHMOND PEARSON
Rank and organization: Lieutenant, U.S. Navy. Born: 17 August 1870, Greensboro, Ala. Accredited to: New York. (Medal presented by President, 29 April 1933.) Citation: In connection with the sinking of the U.S.S. Merrimac at the entrance to the fortified harbor of Santiago de Cuba, 3 June 1898. Despite persistent fire from the enemy fleet and fortifications on shore, Lt. Hobson distinguished himself by extraordinary courage and carried out this operation at the risk of his own personal safety.

REPORT THIS AD

*CHRISTIAN, HERBERT F.
Rank and organization: Private, U.S. Army, 15th Infantry, 3d Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Valmontone, Italy, 2-3 June 1944. Entered service at: Steubenville, Ohio. Birth: Byersville, Ohio. G.O. No.: 43, 30 May 1945. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at risk of life above and beyond the call of duty. On 2-3 June 1944, at 1 a.m., Pvt. Christian elected to sacrifice his life in order that his comrades might extricate themselves from an ambush. Braving massed fire of about 60 riflemen, 3 machineguns, and 3 tanks from positions only 30 yards distant, he stood erect and signaled to the patrol to withdraw. The whole area was brightly illuminated by enemy flares. Although his right leg was severed above the knee by cannon fire, Pvt. Christian advanced on his left knee and the bloody stump of his right thigh, firing his submachinegun. Despite excruciating pain, Pvt. Christian continued on his self-assigned mission. He succeeded in distracting the enemy and enabled his 12 comrades to escape. He killed 3 enemy soldiers almost at once. Leaving a trail of blood behind him, he made his way forward 20 yards, halted at a point within 10 yards of the enemy, and despite intense fire killed a machine-pistol man. Reloading his weapon, he fired directly into the enemy position. The enemy appeared enraged at the success of his ruse, concentrated 20-mm. machinegun, machine-pistol and rifle fire on him, yet he refused to seek cover. Maintaining his erect position, Pvt. Christian fired his weapon to the very last. Just as he emptied his submachinegun, the enemy bullets found their mark and Pvt. Christian slumped forward dead. The courage and spirit of self-sacrifice displayed by this soldier were an inspiration to his comrades and are in keeping with the highest traditions of the armed forces.

*JOHNSON, ELDEN H.
Rank and organization: Private, U.S. Army, 15th Infantry, 3d Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Valmontone, Italy, 3 June 1944. Entered service at: East Weymouth, Mass. Birth: Bivalue, N.J. G.O. No.: 38, 16 May 1945. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at risk of life above and beyond the call of duty. Pvt. Johnson elected to sacrifice his life in order that his comrades might extricate themselves from an ambush. Braving the massed fire of about 60 riflemen, 3 machineguns, and 3 tanks from positions only 25 yards distant, he stood erect and signaled his patrol leader to withdraw. The whole area was brightly illuminated by enemy flares. Then, despite 20mm. machineguns, machine pistol, and rifle fire directed at him, Pvt. Johnson advanced beyond the enemy in a slow deliberate walk. Firing his automatic rifle from the hip, he succeeded in distracting the enemy and enabled his 12 comrades to escape. Advancing to within 5 yards of a machinegun, emptying his weapon, Pvt. Johnson killed its crew. Standing in full view of the enemy he reloaded and turned on the riflemen to the left, firing directly into their positions. He either killed or wounded 4 of them. A burst of machinegun fire tore into Pvt. Johnson and he dropped to his knees. Fighting to the very last, he steadied himself on his knees and sent a final burst of fire crashing into another German. With that he slumped forward dead. Pvt. Johnson had willingly given his life in order that his comrades might live. These acts on the part of Pvt. Johnson were an inspiration to the entire command and are in keeping with the highest traditions of the armed forces.

 

NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

Great video on Skunk Works and life in general ...

thanks to Doctor Rich 

Thanks to Mark C. ..

Rich,

 This is a fantastic video on the Skunk Works and more importantly how to develop a successful team.  Even though it is by a Software Engineer, it is a great life lesson on how to make an organization work to its best.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pL3Yzjk5R4M

 

NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

 

 

 

NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

 

AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for April 8, 2021 FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THANKS TO HAROLD "PHIL" MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY

AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for June 3

FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS FOR June 3

THANKS TO HAROLD "PHIL" MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY

 

1936: On 3-7 June, Maj Ira C. Eaker, Air Corps, made the first blind (instruments only) transcontinental flight from New York to Los Angeles. (21)

 

1941: The grade of aviation cadet was created. (24)

 

1942: BATTLE OF MIDWAY. The battle raged through 6 June. Three US carriers destroyed four Japanese carriers, while only losing one of their own. The Japanese also lost a heavy cruiser, 322 aircraft, and 5,000 men, including a host of skilled pilots. This defeat ended Japan's eastern offensive and marked a major turning point in the war. Seventh Air Force flew 55 B-17 sorties and four B-26 torpedo attacks, claiming 22 hits on ships and 10 Japanese fighters shot down. It lost two B-17s and two B-26s. (20) (21)

 

1946: Flying a P-80 at 463 MPH, Lt Henry A. Johnson set a 1-hour, 20-minute, 31-second world record for 1,000 kilometers. (24)

 

1951: KOREAN WAR. UN antiaircraft artillery destroyed two 315 AD C-119's while the aircraft were attempting a resupply airdrop. This fratricide incident led to new Identification-Friend-orFoe procedures for airdrop operations. (28)

 

1958: In response to a request from the Thai government for assistance, a PACAF C-130 airlifted 300,000 units of anti-cholera serum from Manila to Bangkok to fight a cholera epidemic. (17)

 

1960: A Marine Corps HUS-1 helicopter successfully test fired Bullpup air-to-surface missiles. (24)

 

1961: The USAF test-fired the most powerful solid-fuel rocket engine known to Western scientists. In the test at Sacramento, Calif., some 94,000 pounds of propellant produced in excess of 500,000 pounds of thrust. (16) (24)

 

1964: Miss Jacqueline Cochran claimed her third jet speed record in a month, flying a Lockheed F-104 fighter at 1,135 MPH over a 500-kilometer course at Edwards AFB. Miss Cochran bettered her 17 September 1961 mark of 680.75 MPH on the same course.

 

1965: GEMINI IV. Through 7 June, Edward H. White II and James A. McDivitt completed a 97-hour, 58-minute space flight with two firsts: White made a 23-minute space walk (the first), and Houston's Manned Spaceflight Center controlled its first mission. This mission also set a space endurance record (62 orbits). (9)

 

1966: GEMINI IX. Through 6 June, Astronauts Lt Col Thomas P. Stafford (USAF) and Lt Cmdr Eugene A. Cernan (USN) completed three rendezvous operations and a record 2-hour, 5-minute space walk. They were launched from the Eastern Test Range aboard a Titan II booster. Then, they landed only 2 1/2 miles from the recovery force (the most accurate reentry to date) after 45 revolutions of earth. Live TV coverage of splashdown and recovery came from the Early Bird I satellite. (5) (16)

 

1984: TAC deployed the first maritime radar-equipped E-3 Sentry to the Persian Gulf area. (16)

 

1999: Operation ALLIED FORCE. Yugoslavia accepted an international peace plan for ending the Kosovo conflict, bowing to NATO demands for withdrawal of all its army and police forces and deployment of a NATO-dominated peacekeeping force to that war-torn province. (32)

 

NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

 

NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

World News for 3 June thanks to Military Periscope

USA—Certification Issues Delay Purchases Of Gray Wolf Helos Air Force Magazine | 06/03/2021 Problems securing Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certification for the Air Force's new utility helicopters will postpone further purchases, reports Air Force magazine. The service planned to purchase eight MH-139A Gray Wolf helicopters in fiscal 2022 but did not include any aircraft in its recent budget request. Eight aircraft were procured in fiscal 2021. The pause is a result of technical issues discovered during contractor testing that delayed the FAA certification of the Gray Wolf. Fielding of the helicopter will also be delayed. Initial operational capability was originally anticipated this year. The MH-139A is a derivative of the commercial AW139 helicopter with unique military equipment that requires certification, the Air Force said in a statement. The service plans to acquire 84 helicopters to replace its UH-1N helicopters used for nuclear missile field security; VIP transport in the Air Force District of Washington and Japan; and survival, evasion, resistance and escape training. 

 

USA—F-35B Fighter Makes Emergency Landing In Spain Marine Corps Times | 06/03/2021 A U.S. Marine Corps short-takeoff vertical landing (STOVL) jet deployed on a British Royal Navy aircraft carrier made an emergency landing in Spain earlier this week, reports the Marine Corps Times. On Monday, the F-35B fighter was diverted as a precautionary measure to Ibiza, Spain, a Royal Navy spokeswoman said. The nature of the issue that forced the diversion and emergency landing was not revealed. The aircraft was expected to be recovered to the Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier in due course. F-35Bs from Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 211 (VMFA-211) have been assigned to HMS Queen Elizabeth for the carrier's maiden deployment. 

 

USA—Pentagon Report Acknowledges 23 Civilian Fatalities In 2020 Dept. Of Defense | 06/03/2021 The Dept. of Defense has published an annual report on civilian deaths due to U.S. military operations. In an unclassified version of the document, the Pentagon confirmed at least 23 civilian deaths and 10 injuries, a significant decrease largely due to reductions in offensive operations because of the novel coronavirus pandemic, reported the Business Insider. The report acknowledges 165 complaints of potential civilian casualties in Afghanistan last year. Seven of those reports were deemed legitimate, totaling 20 fatalities and five injuries. All those incidents took place between Jan. 9 and Feb. 17. Additionally, one civilian fatality was confirmed in Somalia in February and another in Iraq in March. The location of the remaining fatality was not identified in the unclassified report. The Pentagon's figures are significantly lower than those recorded by independent watchdogs, reported Al Jazeera (Qatar). For example, Air Wars identified 102 fatalities in 2020. The Defense Dept. report also noted that despite Congress allocating about US$3 million as compensation for the families of victims, no payments have been made. 

 

USA—Report Criticizes Commerce Dept. For Delay In Drafting List Of Sensitive Tech U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission | 06/03/2021 A new advisory report to Congress has criticized the Commerce Dept. for failing to take adequate measures to stop China from illegally acquiring sensitive U.S. technology. The report from the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, published on Tuesday, criticizes the department for dragging its feet on the creation of a list of sensitive technology. A 2018 law requires that the department create a list of emerging and foundational technologies that should be reviewed before export to China, reported Reuters. The document blames this failure in part on a lack of clarity on what constitutes such "emerging and foundational" technologies. These delays may put critical U.S. technology at risk, exacerbating U.S. national security risks, the commission said. The Commerce Dept. noted that it has published four rules on controls on emerging technologies, with more to follow. It also said that it had expanded a list of military end users and other restricted entities, including firms like Huawei and Hangzhou Hikvision. 

 

Germany—Puma IFV Reaches 60 Percent Combat Readiness Defence-Blog | 06/03/2021 The German Defense Ministry has noted a significant increase in readiness for its newest infantry fighting vehicle, reports Defence Blog. The mission-capable rate for the Puma combat vehicle increased from 43 percent in 2016 and 2017 to an average of 54 percent in April 2021, defense chief Gen. Eberhard Zorn wrote in a new report. At its highest, 60 percent of the service's Pumas were ready for missions. In March 2021, the German army said that the latest configuration of the Puma was ready for operational missions with NATO's Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF). Germany is providing a contingent for the VJTF in 2023. 

 

Belarus—Government Restricts International Travel Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty | 06/03/2021 The Belarusian government has banned most of its citizens from traveling abroad, reports Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. The measures announced by the State Border Committee prohibit international travel except for official trips, state transport staff and residents with permanent residence in another country. Minsk claimed the measure was a response to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Opposition activists decried it as the latest limitation on freedoms under the crackdown by President Alexander Lukashenko since the disputed presidential election in August 2020. Many dissidents fled Belarus during the crackdown, noted BBC News. Tensions have flared between Belarus and the European Union after Minsk forced a passenger plane to land under the pretense of a bomb threat to arrest an opposition activist who had been living in exile in Lithuania. Belarusian state airline Belavia was banned from flying in E.U. airspace following the incident. 

 

North Korea—New Deputy Post Created To Ensure Regime Stability, Experts Say Yonhap | 06/03/2021 The ruling Workers' Party of Korea has set up a new deputy post designed to ensure regime stability in the event something happens to dictator Kim Jong Un, reports the Yonhap news agency (Seoul). The first secretary post was created in January during a rare party congress. The position, which is directly beneath Kim Jong Un and would serve as his deputy, has been vacant since its creation. Kim Yo Jong, the supreme leader's sister, could assume the post should Kim Jong Un suffer a health problem or in the event of another crisis. She would serve as a temporary successor until Kim's son could assume power, experts said on Wednesday. The post appears designed to secure regime stability for the successor. Kim Yo Jong could be rapidly appointed since the position only requires a plenary session of the party's central committee to fill. 

 

Australia—Initial 25 Boxer Recon Vehicles Delivered To Army Rheinmetall Defence | 06/03/2021 Rheinmetall says it has delivered an initial set of combat reconnaissance vehicles (CRVs) to the Australian army. The first 25 of 211 Boxer 8 x 8 armored vehicles were formally handed over at Rheinmetall Defence Australia's Military Vehicle Center of Excellence in Redbank, Queensland, Rheinmetall said in a Wednesday release. The deliveries enable the service to progress on schedule toward achieving initial operational capability. A total of 131 Australian Boxers are being procured in the CRV configuration under the Land 400 Phase 2 Mounted Reconnaissance Capability program to replace the army's aging Australian Light Armored Vehicles. 

 

Australia—Foreign Forces Start Arriving For Talisman Sabre Drills Australian Dept. Of Defense | 06/03/2021 Foreign troops taking part in next month's multinational Talisman Sabre exercise will begin to arrive over the next few weeks, reports the Australian Dept. of Defense. Personnel from the U.S., Canada, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand and U.K. are scheduled to arrive from early June through mid-July in groupss of several hundred, the department said in a release on Tuesday. Personnel from France, India and Indonesia are scheduled to observe the drills. All personnel will complete a 14-day quarantine and testing to guard against the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Talisman Saber will be held on a smaller scale this year due to the pandemic, the department said. Around 17,000 personnel are taking part, including 1,800 foreign troops, said Lt. Gen. Greg Bilton, the chief of joint operations. Elements of the U.S. Marine Rotational Force-Darwin are also scheduled to participate in the drills. Talisman Saber is scheduled to begin on July 14 and conclude on July 31, with major training events occurring in the Shoalwater Bay Training Area and the Townsville region.  

 

Indonesia—Sub Salvage Efforts Conclude Reuters | 06/03/2021 The Indonesian government has ended efforts to salvage its submarine that sank in April, killing 53 sailors, reports Reuters. On Wednesday, the navy announced that work to recover the Nanggala had ended. The boat was in three pieces on the sea floor at a depth of 2,756 feet (840 m), making for a challenging recovery effort. A navy spokesman said that there were no plans for further work to salvage the remaining sections of the boat after China ended its support. Beijing sent three ships to assist with the recovery last month. The joint team dived at least 20 times, taking photos and videos and collecting parts of the sub, reported BBC News. An investigation into the incident continues. 

 

Pakistan—Soldier Dies In S. Waziristan Blast Dawn | 06/03/2021 A Pakistani soldier has been killed in an explosion in South Waziristan, reports the Dawn (Karachi). On Wednesday, an improvised explosive device (IED) detonated near a checkpoint in the tribal district's Kaniguram area, reported the military's Inter-Services Public Relations. The military launched a cordon-and-search operation in the area to find the perpetrators. There were no immediate claims of responsibility.

 

Syria—SDF Suspends Conscription In Manbij The Syrian Observer | 06/03/2021 The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) says it has suspended a conscription campaign in Manbij in northern Syria following days of protests, reports the Syrian Observer. On Wednesday, the SDF said it would halt the conscription drive, release detainees and form an accountability committee for those responsible for firing on demonstrators. Protests against forced military service erupted in the east Aleppo town on Monday, two days after Kurdish forces forcibly conscripted at least 30 youths in the city of about 100,000 people. At least eight protesters were killed by the Asayish, the Kurdish internal security organization, reported Reuters. The SDF blamed the violence on criminals and armed groups. Residents said they would halt demonstrations and give the administration until June 11 to implement the action items agreed by local authorities and the SDF. 

 

Israel—$1 Billion Sought From U.S. To Replenish Weapon Stocks After Gaza Ops Breaking Defense | 06/03/2021 Israel is seeking an emergency $1 billion grant to replenish stocks of interceptor missiles and guided munitions expended during recent operations in the Gaza Strip, reports Breaking Defense. Israeli sources told the news website that a special grant of US$200 million had been approved by the U.S. Israel expended a large number of Tamir interceptors for its Iron Dome air defense system and Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs) in strikes against the Hamas tunnel system in Gaza. Additional aid will be discussed during Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz's visit to Washington on Thursday. Gantz is also expected to warn U.S. officials that Israel's northern border is "heating up," requiring more interceptors and guided bombs. He will also provide information showing that Iran is cheating the U.S. in talks to return to the 2015 nuclear treaty. 

 

Mali—A.U. Suspends Membership, Demands Restoration Of Civilian Government Deutsche Welle | 06/03/2021 The African Union has suspended Mali's membership and threatened to impose sanctions after last week's coup, reports Deutsche Welle. On Tuesday, the A.U.'s Peace and Security Council announced Mali's suspension until normal constitutional order is restored, reported Agence France-Presse. Mali is immediately barred from participating in any A.U. activities under the suspension. The council also warned that it could impose targeted sanctions and other punitive measures if the civilian government is not returned to power. The A.U. also called for the military to return to the barracks and refrain from further interference in Malian political processes. Interim President Bah Ndaw and Prime Minister Moctar Ouane, who were put in place after the first coup in August, stepped down last week under military pressure. Col. Assimi Goita, who led the August coup, was subsequently declared president on May 28. 

 

Sudan—Naval Base Agreement With Russia Being Renegotiated Moscow Times | 06/03/2021 The transitional government in Sudan is renegotiating a naval base agreement with Russia, reports the Moscow Times. On Wednesday, a spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed that Moscow was aware of Sudan's intention to renegotiate the accord and would deal with the issue through talks with Sudanese officials, reported RIA Novosti. The 25-year base agreement, negotiated by the previous Sudanese government, would permit Russia to build a logistics hub for nuclear-powered warships, host up to 300 military and civilian personnel in Port Sudan and ferry weapons into the country without undergoing inspections. The deal was signed in December 2020. However, it has not been approved by Sudan's legislative council, enabling it to be reviewed. 

 

Nicaragua—Opposition Leader Placed Under House Arrest Washington Post | 06/03/2021 Nicaraguan police have placed a leading opposition candidate poised to take on President Daniel Ortega in November elections under house arrest, reports the Washington Post. Police raided the home of Cristiana Chamorro in Managua, the capital, on Wednesday, on accusations including abusive management and money laundering. Chamorro, whose mother served as president from 1990 to 1997, was placed under house arrest, said her brother, who is a journalist. The move came before she was expected to hold a press conference, reported NPR News. The raid was widely seen as a government effort to prevent Chamorro from running for president. Analysts dismissed the charges as politically motivated. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken criticized the move to ban Chamorro from running for office. Ortega first served as president from 1979 to 1990, when Violeta Chamorro won the presidency. She served until 1997. Ortega returned to power in 2007 and has been re-elected three times in votes widely seen as corrupt. In 2018, he launched a crackdown on demonstrations against his government that killed at least 300 people.