military@att.att.com (Bill Thacker) (10/16/90)
From: military@att.att.com (Bill Thacker) Tuesday, 15 October, 1940 London is severely hit by a 400-plane German raid. Bright moonlight aids the bombers, who drop 530 tons of bombs and start over 900 major fires. 400 Londoners are killed and 900 wounded; 600 are trapped in the Balham Underground station. The Italian submarine Enrico Toti, which cannot submerge due to damage, fights a gunnery duel with the British sub Rainbow. The engagement, off the coast of Balabria, results in the sinking of the British boat. The Italian War Council gives the final go-ahead for the invasion of Greece, to begin by month's end. Goering issues orders for bombing priorities in Britain. First priority is assigned to London; aircraft factories are of secondary importance, followed by the Midlands industrial sectors and air bases. Sixteen million American men are registered for the draft. -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Bill Thacker military@att.att.com Send submissions for "50 Years Ago" to military-request@att.att.com "The discipline of the Red Army must be stronger, sterner, and more exacting than the discipline of other armies based on class oppression." - Soviet military newspaper Red Star