Rise of the Fighters: Infamy & Africa

By T.J. Fresso

December 7th, 1942. Over 300 Japanese warplanes destroy the Pacific fleet in Pearl Harbor. A day that will live in infamy. With those words, President Roosevelt declares war on the Axis powers during WWII. On that fateful day, 2 Army soldiers, 1 sailor/cook, and a Hollywood actress' lives are forever dramatically changed. Ravaged during the initial onslaught, they are reborn by mythology, science, & intestinal fortitude. As the Nazis & Japanese pillage the world, "The Fighters" train. The time has come, and their baptism of fire shall be in North Africa. But, the Germans are waiting with "specials" of their own. Most of which aren't quite......human!

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Apr 18, 2012
• ISBN: 9781467066211

T.J. Fresso

T.J. Fresso is a native of New Jersey. He earned his Associates degree from Paul Smith's College of Arts & Sciences. He is the author of 2 previous books, Tiburon & Code B.L.U.E. He resides in northwest New Jersey

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Contents

PRELUDE:

CHAPTER-1

Calm Before The Storm

CHAPTER-2

Morning Of The Rising Sun

CHAPTER-3

December 7th, 1941

CHAPTER-4

Hickam Airfield-7:53 A.M.

CHAPTER-5

Aboard The Flying Fortress-7:53 A.M.

CHAPTER-6

Fort Kamehameha-7:53 A.M.

CHAPTER-7

USS Arizona-7:53 A.M.

CHAPTER-8

The Aftermath

CHAPTER-9

Awakening

CHAPTER-10

Four Weeks Later

CHAPTER-11

Sakamaki Strikes!

CHAPTER-12

The Axis Of Evil Continues Their Assault

CHAPTER-13

Plan Set In Motion

CHAPTER-14

Invasion

CHAPTER-15

"Western Task Force

CHAPTER-16

Battle Aboard The Primauguet

CHAPTER-17

Torch, Day Two

CHAPTER-18

The War Rages On

CHAPTER-19

Sidi Bou Zid

CHAPTER-20

The Bitter Taste Of Retreat

CHAPTER-21

Kasserine Pass

CHAPTER-22

To The Rescue

CHAPTER-23

New Commander

CHAPTER-24

The Snake Continues To Rear It’s Head

CHAPTER-25

Hill 336

CHAPTER-26

El Guettar

CHAPTER-27

Taping For Back Home

CHAPTER-28

Doomsday At Fondouk Pass

CHAPTER-29

Second Attempt At Fondouk Pass

CHAPTER-30

Kairouan

CHAPTER-31

German Trap!

CHAPTER-32

Driving From The West

CHAPTER-33

Hammering Away At Hill 609

CHAPTER-34

Wolfowitz And The Queen

CHAPTER-35

Mateur

CHAPTER-36

Bizerte

CHAPTER-37

Unconditional Surrender

CHAPTER-38

Other Events, Epilogue, And Moving On To Sicily!

This book is dedicated to: Charles Bullwinkel,

Frank Fresso, &

Hale Powers.

Three men I am honored to have met, spent time with and was lucky enough to be related to. I’m sorry I didn’t spend more time visiting with them than I did. They are greatly missed.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

I want to thank my Aunt, Jean-Marie Doel-Daviau, and my mother, Cheryl Fresso, for proofreading my manuscript and making changes where they were needed. I give you both special thanks for taking time out of your busy schedules to pull this story together. Thank you very, very much.

T. J.

COMMANDERS

PEARL HARBOR

Admiral Husband Kimmel

Admiral Charles Bullwinkel

General Frank Fresso

OPERATION TORCH

General Hale Powers

SIDI BOU ZID

Major General Lloyd Fredendall

General Orlando Ward

General Terry Allen

Lieutenant General Kenneth Anderson

Major General Charles Ryder

Major Bob Moore

Lieutenant Colonel John Knight Waters

Captain Bruce Pirnie

Colonel Thomas Drake

Brigadier General Raymond McQuillin

Lieutenant Colonel Louis Hightower

Lieutenant Colonel J.D. Alger

Colonel Robert Stack

Brigadier General Paul Robinett

General Lucian Truscott

Brigadier Charles Dunphie

General Harold Alexander

KASSERINE/TEBESSA/THALA

Colonel Moore

Colonel Alexander Stark

Lieutenant Colonel Gore

Major A.N. Beilby

Brigadier General G.C. Nicholson

Brigadier General Robinett

General Ernest Harmon

Brigadier S. Leroy Irwin

Brigadier General Clift Andrus

EL GUETTAR

General Alexander

General Powers

General Fresso

Colonel Bill Darby

General Allen

FONDOUK PASS

General Ryder Brigadier

General Robinett Lieutenant

General John Crocker

General Louis-Marie Koeltz

Lieutenant Virgil Craven

Lieutenant Colonel Moore

Major Ed Bird

KAIROUAN/HILL 609

General Ryder

General Fresso

General Harmon

Major General Allen

Major General Manson Eddy

Lieutenant Colonel Lesley J. McNair

Major Bird

Lieutenant Colonel Charles Denholm

Brigadier General Ted Roosevelt

MATEUR

General Harmon

General Fresso

General Robinett

Colonel Clarence Benson

Lieutenant Colonel Hamilton Howzie

Major General Allen

PRELUDE:

Adolf Hitler. World War II.

Officially, the war begins with Germany attacking Poland in September 1939, and it ends with Japan surrendering in August 1945. In actuality, the seeds of conflict are already being sown before 1939.

1931-1937

Japan invades Manchuria in 1931; by 1937 they invade China.

Germany, soon to become Nazi Germany, is the flame that ignites the fire of the Second World War. Hitler, taught in his youth to be larger than Christ, quickly rises in power inside a country struggling after World War I.

Controlling an entire country, the children of Germany are taught his rules. Eighty billion dollars is spent on weapons and propaganda filters in the German society.

Young men are to be soldiers or pilots in the new German army!

As Benito Mussolini’s Italy invades Ethiopia, Hitler retakes the Rhineland, a demilitarized region that enhanced French security while weakening that of Germany following WWI. Remilitarizing the region, he alters the balance of power in Germany’s favor. Preoccupied with Italy in Ethiopia, Britain and France are taken off guard by the German surge.

October 23, 1936, a treaty of co-operation is signed and the new relationship is referred to as the Rome-Berlin Axis. Hitler and Mussolini have now formed a military alliance.

March 12, 1938, Hitler invades Austria. He is greeted by large cheering crowds, rather than resistance. The very next day, through negotiations and verbal abuse, Hitler gains control of Czechoslovakia.

Within weeks, he turns his attention to Poland. Britain and France publicly promise to assist Poland. Britain even introduces its first peacetime draft.

Negotiations are also started for an anti-Nazi military alliance between the Soviet Union and the West.

May 28, 1938, Hitler negotiates with the Soviets in an effort to isolate them from the West.

The co-operation with Bolshevik Russia is only a ruse. The complete destruction of Russia is Hitler’s ultimate objective.

The ruse is successful. Joseph Stalin signs a non-aggression pact with Nazi Germany on August 23, 1938. The Nazi-Soviet pact removes any military aid to Poland from other countries. Poland is now completely surrounded on all sides.

1939   

September 15, 1939, Hitler unleashes Blitzkrieg tactics, or lightning war, on Poland. With no time for France or Britain to assist her, Poland must fight alone. Attacked by superior numbers on three sides from Germany and from the rear by Russia, the Poles can not hold out long. The Blitzkrieg is swift, violent, and overwhelming. The Luftwaffe (German air force) strikes swiftly on airfields the very first morning. Within a few days, Polish air power is destroyed. One point five million German soldiers (double that of the Poles) advance rapidly. Spearheaded by four armored divisions and the Luftwaffe, the Germans drive the Polish armies into retreat. The retreat is cut off by German Panzer Divisions (tanks). Bombs fall. Motorized infantry and motor drawn artillery roar forward. Heavy and light tanks pound the landscape. Civilians are massacred.

In two weeks, with Warsaw surrounded, on September 27th, Polish armies surrender.

October 5, 1939, Hitler rides through Warsaw in a victory parade. After the four-week skirmish, Germany only loses 13,891 men. The Poles? Six hundred ninety four thousand captured by Germany, 217,000 by Russia, 60,000 dead soldiers, along with an additional 25,000 civilians.

Warsaw begins the Death Train, the journey for Jews to concentration camps. Some are shipped to ghettos, others for execution. In Hitler’s eyes, the Jews caused Germany’s defeat in World War I. He is determined not to let that happen again!

1940

Stalin becomes nervous after watching one German victory after another. With a defensive barrier from the Baltic to Romania, he also wants protection in the north. The red army invades Finland, who fights back ferociously. The Finn’s inflict serious damage using thick forests, ice bound roads, and heavily armored ski patrols sliding like ghosts through the woods. The Russians are unprepared for the winter battle. Communication is cut off. Entire battalions are isolated. The Russians abandon the wilderness drive and attack the Mannerheim Line, a series of trenches and log dugouts that were constructed from 1921-1939, running from the Gulf of Finland to Lake Lagoda. Superior manpower, artillery, and aircraft make themselves felt, and the battle changes direction drastically when Russia air bombed Helsinki. By March 12, Finland cedes to Russia. Casualties: 200,000 dead Soviets to 20,000 Finns.

Hitler’s mind races. After watching the Russians struggle with Finland, he decides very soon it is going to be time to turn on Russia. Also a pressing priority is the systematic slaughter of the Polish, Jews, Gypsies, and political undesirables. Shortly, the world will view firsthand that this war is truly barbaric.

April 9, German Armies pour into Denmark while the German Navy steams into every Norwegian port. The Norwegian government flees to Elverum, located near the Swedish border. Within a week the British land reinforcements. Initially, the Germans suffer serious setbacks, especially in the port city of Narvik, but the Germans are fortified and too strong for the resistance. By month’s end, the Allied forces are thrust out!

May 10, Winston Churchill becomes the Prime Minister of Britain. It is truly ironic that the very same day Hitler prepares to launch his attack on the Low Countries, France, and ultimately Britain, his greatest adversary, the man who would eventually frustrate Hitler’s plans, would come into power.

Germany unleashes their Blitzkrieg on several fronts. One hundred and thirty six German divisions advance into Holland and Belgium. Beginning the terror bombings, the Luftwaffe bombs the center of Rotterdam, killing 814 civilians. Within four days, Holland is in German hands.

In Belgium, refugees from small towns are herded by German air strikes to clog the roads and delay advancing Allied forces. Within the month, Germany also owns Belgium.

Hitler now focuses on a larger opponent: France.

The arrogant French believe that the Ardennes Forest is too thick for any army to permeate. Strategists believe the Maginot Line, a concrete wall/bunker from World War I, eliminates a direct assault on France, and an invasion force would have to come through Belgium. The French have seriously miscalculated their enemy. General Erich von Manstein’s plan is to send the major German force, including several armored divisions, through Luxembourg and into the Ardennes. The problem is that the German lines shall be paper thin and counter-attacks could destroy the armies. The attack is a rousing success as the French are unprepared and the nimble Panzer tanks easily maneuver through the forest. Under the leadership of General Erwin Rommel, the 7th Panzer division rips through northwest France. To the south, General Heinz Guderian simultaneously leads a Panzer division to the mouth of the Somme River, splitting the

Allied forces in two. Gerd von Rundstedt’s Panzers cross the Meuse River and head toward the English Channel. Guderian and Rommel trap the Allied armies in the north. Suffering defeat after defeat, they are eventually pushed to a small pocket on the coast, Dunkirk. Only an Allied Naval evacuation saves the lives of hundreds of thousands of French and British troops.

On June 3rd, Paris is bombed. On the 10th, Mussolini’s Italy joins the attack. And is quickly repulsed by the French in the South. By the 14th, Germany marches into Paris. Decisive victories and rapid advances force the French to surrender.

On June 21, the formal document is signed. Within a matter of weeks, France loses 125,000 men, plus 200,000 wounded. British lose 70,000. Germany only suffered 27,000 dead, while holding a million French prisoners of war. German armies occupy most of France, including Paris and the entire northern and western seacoasts.

Hitler has avenged the humiliation of Germany’s loss to the west in 1918. He forces the French to sign the armistice in the same railroad car where Germany had surrendered.

At no other time in his political life will Hitler enjoy more popular support. He believes himself unstoppable. He is mistaken, as his master plan meets its first true obstacle.

Initially, Hitler only wanted to conquer Russia. He believes Britain to be a Nordic nation and respects its accomplishments and empire. When it becomes apparent that Britain will not stand idly by and allow Germany to run rampant over Europe, Operation Sea Lion, the plan to invade England, is drawn up.

Blitzkrieg is useless, due to the English Channel. The English Navy is more powerful than the Germans. The German troops, supplies, and transports necessary for the assault will be immense. The German’s need to control the air! The entire war economy is redirected for an August/ September invasion.

Hermann Goring’s Luftwaffe attack in August tries to soften the Brits for an invasion while also destroying the British air power.

August 13, Day of the Eagle-The Battle of Britain begins. Fourteen hundred eighty-five German planes attack harbors, ships, air defenses, factories and other strategic locations with bombs. Goring, for some reason, changes targets, thus not totally destroying British airbases. Even though suffering heavy losses, the Royal Air Force (R.A.F.) survives. At the end of August, Britain retaliates and bombs Berlin. Germans are shocked and Hitler enraged.

Once again the Luftwaffe changes tactics, bombing London and other cities. This tactic is a mistake, as the Luftwaffe suffers heavy losses. For three months, German bombers and British Spitfire fighters duel high above British cities. Even though outnumbered 10 to 1, the R.A.F. knocks 182 German planes out of the sky in the first 4 days. Over the next 10, Germany loses an additional 180! While the 2 powerhouses exchange blows, Italy swoops into Egypt to attack British troops. Back in Britain, Germany launches 26 major attacks. They lose 697 aircraft, to only 153 Spitfires.

August 30, the Germans attack British assembly lines. After 35 attacks, Germans lose 562 planes to 219 British. Of the 219 planes shot down, 132 British pilots survive and quickly rejoin the fighting! Germans become aggravated by their lack of success and once again change tactics.

After already losing 900 planes, they begin terror bombing on Sept. 7th. London is attacked in broad daylight, followed by a day after day attack to break the public’s morale. The R.A.F. rises to the challenge and shoots down 185 aircraft on the 15th alone. German aircraft is forced higher into the sky as anti-aircraft gunners create a roof over London. Also at this time, Japan joins Germany and Italy as the new order in Europe and Asia. Even though London docks burn like infernos, Britain continues to hammer Berlin. Officially, on Sept. 17, due to massive setbacks and the oncoming winter, the invasion of Britain is postponed.

Hitler’s attack on the Soviet Union is diverted by Mussolini’s invasion of Greece on Oct. 10 th. November 4th sees the Greeks push the Italians back while the Brits counter-attack in North Africa and rout Mussolini’s forces in Libya. One hundred thousand Italians are taken prisoner.

Hitler dispatches Rommel and with his brilliance in tank warfare, he quickly adapts to the desert landscapes. For the entire summer, Rommel and the British Army battle over the port of Tobruk. At El Alamein, the Eighth Army prevents Rommel from reaching the Suez Canal.

1941

By April Rommel succeeds in pushing General Bernard Law Montgomery and his Eighth Army back into Egypt.

The African campaign required only minor force on the part of the Nazis. The Balkan situation, on the other hand, requires a major effort. Allied with Bulgaria, Hungary, Slovakia and Rumania, Hitler opens an impressive Blitzkrieg against Yugoslavia and Greece. By April 1941, in less than 6 weeks, the Brits are driven out of the Balkans and Germany captures Crete.

Hitler then turns his attention east, "Operation Barbarossa", the invasion of Russia!

With Germany preparing for Russia, Japan focuses on Pearl Harbor. Knowing that the greatest danger to an anchored fleet is aerial torpedoing, Nagai Kita, a spy, supplies information about the ships docked in the Hawaiian harbor. The messages back to Japan are intercepted by American Signals Intelligence and ignored.

At this same time, Admiral Yamamoto, the new commander in chief of the Japanese fleet, practices Operation Z.

Back in Germany, Barbarossa is based on military, economic, and ideological assumptions. All are quickly proven untrue. Hitler believes Russia shall break within 3 months. Viewing the Russians as sub-human, Hitler expects them to collapse before the German Nordic warrior and their sophisticated war machines. He believes the Russian army is weak and poorly led. Hitler also believes one devastating military defeat will unhinge the Soviet political system. Russia will be incapable of fighting a prolonged war once her armies are destroyed and her resources and industries fall under German control.

In its initial phase the Wehrmacht (German army) attack, surround and then annihilate Russia’s major armies, then move on to capture the industrial and agricultural heartland. German Generals feel capturing Moscow is the quickest way to force surrender. Hitler overrides the suggestion; feeling economic industry must be hit and smashed hard! The German armies will capture Leningrad in the north, Smolensk in the center and Kiev in the Ukraine. The forces about to oppose each other are enormous. Germany and its allies have 4,000,000 men, supported by 4,000 aircraft and 3,300 tanks. Russia also has 4 million men, plus 1020,000 tanks. Soviets also have the largest Air Force in the world, 6,000 planes. The Luftwaffe, though, are more modern, and faster.

Joseph Goebbels, German minister of propaganda, declares when Russia falls Britain will crawl to the bargaining table. Unlike Goebbels, Field Marshall von Rundstedt feels Russia has too much territory, wealth, and people to surrender. He is correct, for the attack will make it impossible for any kind of German victory in the war and shall set in motion the most horrifying slaughter in the history of warfare.

At first, the Germans meet with easy success. On June 22nd, Stalin is surprised and unprepared by the assault. The Luftwaffe blitz Soviet airfields, destroying 2,000 planes on the ground during the first 2 days. The Wehrmacht rolls across Russian soil, sweeping Soviet armies aside. Russian soldiers fight ferociously, until they are overwhelmed. Thrown into disarray, entire Soviet armies are annihilated or forced to retreat, only to be surrounded by the Panzer divisions. Stalin, quickly recovering his confidence, utilizes a defense in depth system.

In previous battles, Germany would wedge its attack and then encircle smaller, broken resistance. But once a Russian line fell to the German onslaught, that line would retreat to the next defensive line. Again and again they regroup. Hitler is forced to change his tactics. Now, the Nazis have to destroy Soviet armies in annihilation battles, one battle at a time.

By July 10, Germany has 324,000 prisoners as Smolensk falls. When Kiev capitulates in September, another million and half are taken. All these prisoners are to be starved to death! By September, the Red Army loses 2.5 million men.

SS Troops slaughter Jews and Slavic peasants. The Slavic people choose the lesser of two evils. They join Stalin. By October, Hitler’s forces surround Leningrad. Hitler finally agrees with his Generals. Capture Moscow and bring an end to the Russian war. Several important divisions are redirected toward the capital. An additional 500,000 Russian soldiers are captured as Panzers roll to within 25 miles of the capital in November. The spires of Moscow are visible in the binoculars of Hitler’s commanders. A Russian collapse seems inevitable. Its Air Force has been virtually destroyed. Only several hundred tanks remain. Agriculture and industrial sectors, along with 35 million citizens, are now in German occupied zones. The Nazis are moving along a 2,000 mile front from the Black Sea to Finland. Hitler is ecstatic. His estimation of the Russian people seems to be correct.

But, Russia has yet to be defeated. Weeks of continuous rain turns the surrounding area near Moscow into swamps. Panzers become bogged down in the slop, while the Soviet T-34 handles the mud with less difficulty. Supplies from Germany begin to fall short of the front lines. Russians begin to use their cities as war zones, forcing Germans out of their tanks and into alleyway fights. The Russians also destroy anything of use before the Germans reach Moscow. There is nothing of use for the Germans to utilize or get their hands on! The Wehrmacht power is also depleted. Its armies reduced to three-quarters of its original strength and half of the Panzer force is still operational. Germany had few reserves of men and supplies after its initial Blitzkrieg. The German war economy is not geared for a lengthy war of attrition. The Wehrmacht troops are not prepared to spend a winter in the cold and snow of Russia.

December 1941 is not a kind month to the Fuehrer.

The British launch a counter offensive in North Africa, pushing Rommel and his Africa Korps back to Libya.

December 6, sees a surprise attack from Russia, reinforced by divisions from Siberia that prevents an attack on Moscow. The attack pushes the entire central front of Germany back; in some cases the Russians advance 200 miles!

Hitler refuses to allow his armies to retreat. He removes several of his top Generals and takes direct command of military operations.

The Russian advance is eventually halted, but, for the first time, Germany is on the defensive.

From Nov.16-Dec. 10th the Red Army murders more than 85,000 Germans.

Meanwhile, in the Pacific, on Sept. 24th, and Oct. 9th, Tokyo continues to contact Kita in Hawaii, asking for locations of aircraft carriers in Pearl Harbor. The messages continue to be decrypted in Washington. And, once again, completely ignored! By November, Tokyo orders an attack on the British in Malaya, the Dutch in the East Indies and the Americans in the Philippines and at Pearl Harbor.

By late November, secretary of state Cordell Hull presents American demands to the Japanese ambassador in Washington. The demands are simple and to the point: Japan must withdraw military forces from China and Indochina. The Japanese government sees this ultimatum as a declaration of war! Six of Japan’s newest and largest carriers, accompanied by battleships, light cruisers, destroyers, fleet submarines, supply ships and tankers, sets sail.

Kita once again contacts Japanese intelligence about the American warships at anchor in Pearl.

On December 3, the Japanese fleet sits at latitude 26 degrees N, longitude 158 degrees W, 275 miles north of Pearl Harbor.

Admiral Husband E. Kimmel, the commander at Pearl Harbor, has no idea what is coming.

CHAPTER-1

Calm Before The Storm

Aboard the aircraft carrier Akagi, Commander Mitsuo Fuchida prepares to instruct each of the 26 groups of pilots how they fit into the scheme of the attack.

Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo sits to the rear of the discussion, listening, but worried.

Fuchida begins, As you are aware, the naval base at Pearl Harbor is the headquarters for two-thirds of the one hundred and two major fighting ships of the U.S. Pacific Fleet. Pearl is the key to American sea power in the Pacific! There the ships are repaired, refueled and stocked with ammunition. Should the Americans lose this vital military port they may not be able to defend their interests in the Pacific. Also on Oahu are the American Army Air Corps fields Hickam and Wheeler; the Navy seaplane base at Kaneohe; the Marine Corps air station at Ewa; and another Navy field on Ford Island. Oahu truly is an island fortress in the middle of the Pacific!

As eyes begin to inspect the charts and maps that are unrolled before the pilots, Fuchida continues, Information and pictures were supplied to us from Lieutenant Commanders Suguru Suzuki, Toshidi Maejima, Consul Nagao Kita and Ensign Takeo Yoshikawa. He points at a map. "We shall launch our attack from this spot, two hundred fifty miles north of Oahu. All pilots shall face immediate problems: takeoff, rendezvous and heading for our targets. Each aircraft, once cleared of the flight deck, shall assume a temporary altitude,