military@att.att.com (Bill Thacker) (12/05/90)
From: military@att.att.com (Bill Thacker) Thursday, 5 December, 1940 The British armed merchant cruiser Caernarvon Castle encounters the German disguised raider Thor off Rio de Janiero. At 20,000 tons, the British ship is nearly twice the size of the German vessel, and orders the German to stop at once, firing a warning shot. The Thor returns the fire accurately, while the Caernarvon Castle fails to score any hits and, badly damaged, is forced to break off and retreat to Montevideo. Oddly, the British ship had previously removed 22 members of the crew of the Admiral Graf Spee from a Brazilian ship. (1) Italian reinforcments, including the Tridentina Alpine division, succeed in stabilizing the defense of Albania. They are aided by the Greeks' lack of mechanized transport, which prohibits a followup to their recent gains. Klisura, a key point in the new line, is exchanged repeatedly, and fighting in the Vijose valley is also heavy. Reporter: Adrian Hurt <adrian@cs.heriot-watt.ac.uk> Reference: (1) _Pocket Battleship_, by Theodor Krancke and H. J. Brenneke. -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Bill Thacker military@att.att.com Send submissions for "50 Years Ago" to military-request@att.att.com "We have two oceans. What we need now is a good Navy in each of them, including plenty of airplane carriers." - Henry Ford