History of the Second World War (136 page)

Nibeiwa Camp, 113

Nida, River, 665

Nieman, River, 581

Nikolayev, 572, 574

Nikopol, 50-1, 572

Nimes, 444

Nimitz, Admiral Chester, Pacific Ocean area under, 346; and Battle of Coral Sea, 346-7; and Battle of Midway, 349-50, 353; seeks to exploit Midway victory, 356; redistribution of zone of, 357; and Battle of Guadalcanal, 357; in command of Pearl Harbor naval forces, 502; fleet amassed by, at Pearl Harbor, 506; Central Pacific operations of, 509-13, 613, 617-21; changes plan of attack, 511-12

Nine-Power Treaty of 1922, 205

Noble, Admiral Sir Percy, 382, 387

Nocera, plain of, 469

Noemfoor Island, 616

Nofilia, 397

Nogaisk Steppe, 494

Nogues, General A., 321, 323, 329-32

Nomonhan region, Japanese defeat in, 206

Norfolk,
H.M.S., 377

Normandy, Allied drive through, 558, 562; Allied Army Groups in, 561; collapse of German front in, 582, 585

Landings: Sicilian landings larger in scale than, 440; Montgomery leaves Italy to prepare for, 472, 528-9; influence of Italian campaign on, 523, 526, 532, 536-7; German defences at, 543, 547, 549, 712.
See also
‘Overlord, Operation’

Norrie, Lieut.-General C. W. N., 184, 187, 196, 271

North Africa, Italian Army in, 109, 112; 1940/1 campaigns in, 109-20, 171-81; Italian defeat in, 109-17; Rommel and German force arrive in, 118-19; 1941 campaign in, 182-98; Churchill’s attention focused on, 182, 232-3; 1942 campaign in, 266-80, 281-309; Rommel advises evacuation of, 309, 413-14; 1943 campaign in, 397-402; contending armies in, link with those in N.W. Africa, 401-2; campaigns a drain on German resources, 711.
See also
North-west Africa; Tunisia

French, German plan to seize, 153; cease-fire ordered over whole, 328; landing on.
See
‘Torch, Operation’

North Sea, U-boats in, 370; minelaying by air in, 371, 374

‘North Sea Ducks’, 370

North Weald sector station, 102

North-west Africa, Atlantic landings on, 317, 320-1; difficulties over choice of French leader for, 319-21, 327-32; naval battle between U.S. and French off, 322-3; Mediterranean landings on, 323-6; advance to Tunisia through, 334-5; U-boat group off, 385.
See also
‘Torch, Operation’; Tunisia

‘North-West Africa Project’, 310

North-Western Approaches, 371

Northern Ireland, sea-routes round, 371

Northolt, R.A.F. squadron from, 105

Norway, warned of German invasion, 38, 60; neutrality of, 45; German occupation of, 45, 51-6, 58-63, 706; mining of waters of, 51-3, 57-8, 60; British violations of neutrality of, 51, 55, 706; Allied plan for occupation of, 52, 54-5, 57-9, 706; suspected of agreeing to British occupation, 54-6; smallness of force attacking, 59; little resistance from, 60; German route for supplies and reinforcements to, unbroken, 61-2; British landings on, 62-3, 97; evacuation of Government of, 63; enemy air bases in, 91, 98, 100; Hitler prepares for attack on, 384; U-boats moved to, 392

Novaya Kalitva, 259, 263

Novgorod, 241, 576

Novigrad Volynsk, 570

Novorossiisk, 253

Nuremberg, 602

Nuremberg Trials, charges of German aggression against Norway, 58-9

Nyaunga, 636

Nye, Lieut.-General Sir Archibald, 437

Obukhov, General, 582

O’Connor, Lieut.-General Sir Richard, 113-19

Oder, River, 664, 667-9

Odessa, 574-5

Oise, River, 72, 84

Okinawa, U.S. air strikes on, 622, 629, 684; invasion of, 683-6, 693; mentioned, 619-20, 630

‘Oldenburg, Plan’, for exploitation of Soviet territory, 150

Oldendorf, Rear-Admiral J. B., 625, 629

‘Olive, Operation’, 540

Oliver, Commodore G. N., 463

Operation codenames.
See under
individual codenames

Oppenheim, 678

Oran, landing at, 314-17, 323-5; British action against French fleet at, 319; French resistance at, 320, 323-5; troop convoys sail from, 441, 460

Ordzhonikidze, 254-5

Orel, bastion of German winter front, 241; Germans retain after capture of Kursk, 480, 484; Russian pincer stroke at, 489-91; Germans evacuate, 491

Ormoc, Leyte, 628

Orne, River, 552, 556

Orsha, 163, 493, 496, 579

Orsogna, 472

Ortona, 470, 472

Osaka, incendiary raid on, 691

Oscarborg fortress, Oslo, 61

Oslo, German occupation of, 51, 58, 61

Ostia, 452

Our, River, 643, 650, 653

‘Overlord, Operation’, 543-50; troops withdrawn from Italy for, 472; influence of campaign in Italy on, 523, 526, 532, 536-7; shipping in Italian waters earmarked for, 532-3; bombing of French communications before, 537, 547, 603, 606-7, 611, 712; goes ‘according to plan’ but not according to timetable, 543, 546-7; ‘Battle of Bridgehead’ of, 546-7, 712; conflict in German High Command over, 547-9; unexpected, because of rough seas, 550; recriminations between Allies during, 552-3, 556-7; failure to exploit success of breakthrough of, 557-8; air supremacy for, 599, 602-4, 606

Owen Stanley Mountains, 355

Ozawa, Vice-Admiral J., 617-20; decoy fleet of, 623-7

P.40D.
See
Kittyhawk

P.40E.
See
Tomahawk

P.51.
See
Mustang

Pacific Ocean, neglected defences of, 182, 202, 205; war to be expected in, 199; Japanese gain control of, 202; naval, military and air strengths in, 208-9; proposal that U.S. should act only in, 312, 356-7; divided into areas by U.S., 346, 499, 502; Japanese operations in S.W., 353; Japanese ebb in, 498-513; alternative routes through, to attack Japan, 499; central route to Japan through, 499, 506-7, 509-13.
See also
South-west Pacific

Naval actions in:

Eastern Solomons, 359-60

Leyte Gulf, 623-9

Midway, 346-53

Philippine Seas, 618-21, 628, 683

Santa Cruz Islands, 361-2

Savo Island, 358

Pacific Ocean Area, 346; subdivisions of: Central, 499, 506-7, 509-13, 615; South, 502

Padua, 674

Paestum, 462, 469

Pakokku, 635-6

Palau Islands, 222, 621

Paldaski, Russian naval base at, 43

Palermo, 439-40, 460

Palestine, Wingate in, 366

Papagos, General A., 115

Papua, Australian garrisons on, 355; U.S.-Australian defence of, against Japanese attack, 355-6.
See also
Port Moresby

Paris, Government leaves, and Germans enter, 85; Eisenhower’s H.Q. in, 645

Park, Air Vice-Marshal Keith, 101-3

Passero, Cape, 440

Patani, 224, 227

Patton, Major-General George S., commands Casablanca landing, 316, 321-2; commands 2nd Corps, 413, 415, 423; does not appreciate advantages of defence, 415; strikes for coast, 419-20; objects to Corps’ inclusion in First Army, 423; plans U.S. part in invasion of Sicily, 424; U.S. Army Commander in Sicily, 439-40, 444; breaks out from ‘Overlord’ bridgehead, 551, 557; expresses annoyance, 557, 562-3; on Allied strategy, 557n.; drives into Belgium, 558; eastward thrust of, 561-3; restricted supplies of, 562-3, 567; his readiness to exploit any situation, 567; and Ardennes offensive, 654, 656-7; crosses Rhine, 677-8

Paul, Prince, Regent of Yugo-Slavia, 134

Paulus, Field-Marshal F., 68; plans invasion of Russia, 144; admonishes Rommel, 174; commands 6th Army in Russia, 248, 255; surrounded at Stalingrad, 263, 478; surrenders, 479

Pavlograd, 482

Pearl Harbor, Japanese attack on, 202, 207, 216-17, 711; Americans taken by surprise at, 209, 211, 216; plan of attack on, 212-13, 216; timing of attack, 213; results of attack, 216-17, 310; Roosevelt accused of contriving disaster at, 219; ships from, in S.W. Pacific area, 502-3; potential menace from, to Japan, 506; mentioned, 208

Peck, Air Vice-Marshal Richard, 592

Peenemunde, raid on, 601

Pegu, 235, 638

Pegu Yomas area, 687

Peiper, Lieut.-Colonel J., 655; massacres by Battle Group of, 654

Peipus, Lake, 577

Peirse, Air Chief Marshal Sir Robert, 515, 597

Penney, Major-General W. R. C., 531

Perak, River, 227

Percival, Lieut.-General A. E., 224, 228-30

Perekop Isthmus, 575-6

Peronne, 84

Persano, 462-3

Pescara, 471-2, 474

Petacci, Claretta, 674

Petain, Marshal H. P., 85, 319; and ‘Torch’ landings, 327-30

Petrov, General, 586-7, 666

Petsamo, Russia seeks frontier adjustments near, 43; cut off by Russia, 44; plan for Allied landing at, 55

Philippine Islands, Japanese attacks on, 202-203, 221-2; U.S. reinforcements to, 207; U.S. and Philippine troops in, 208, 221-2; U.S. aircraft in, 209; original plans regarding, Japanese and U.S., 210-11; U.S. decision to hold, 211, 221; timing of attack on, 213; fall of, 221-4, 343; attacking Japan through, 499-500, 509; Japanese defence of, 501, 620-1; Allies poised for attack on, 617, 619, 621-2; Japanese naval H.Q. moved to, 617; defence of, a Japanese priority, 620; possibility of by-passing, 620; landings on, 622, 625; capture of, 628-30; mopping-up operations in, 689-90

Philippine Sea, Battle of, 617-20, 627, 683

Phillips, Admiral Sir Tom, 226

‘Phoney War’, 33-41, 706

Pile, Lieut.-General Sir Frederick, 96-7, 98n., 105

Pilica, River, 29-30, 665

Pinczow, 665

Plate, River,
Admiral Graf Spee
scuttled in, 371

Platt, Major-General William, 121, 125-6

Ploesti oilfields, Allied air attacks on, 574, 607; Russia occupies, 585

‘Plum’ hill-gap, 417-18

Plymouth, air raids on, 108

Po, River, 672-4; delta of, 541

‘Point-blank, Operation’ (Combined Bomber Offensive), 599

Poland, Anglo-French guarantee to, 3, 11-15, 704; German invasion of, 3, 16, 28-9, 704; partitioning of, 3, 13-14, 31, 705; Russian domination of, 3; joins Germany in pillaging Czecho-Slovakia, 9, 15; collapse of, 20, 31; German demands on, 9-10, 12; Russian help needed for protection of, 11-12, 704; buffer between Russia and Germany, 14; illusions about strength of, l6-17; overrunning of, 27-32, 706; Allies’ inability to help, 31-2, 705; offers conditions favourable for Blitzkrieg, 46-7; German army groups in, 132; rain causes impassable roads in, 134; Hitler transfers troops from West to, 143-4; encirclement of Russian salient in, 162; Russian troops facing Germans in S., 165; Russians pursue Germans into, 570, 578, 580; stabilisation of front in S., 574; panzer groups sent from, to relieve Budapest, 663; Russian advance over plain of, 665-6; Hitler envelops flank of, in taking Czecho-Slovakia, 704

Polish Corridor, 10, 28-9

Polish Guarantee, 3, 11-15, 16, 704-5

Polish ‘underground’, rising of, in Warsaw, 582-3

Polla, 459

Polotsk, 579

Poltava, 491, 493-4

Pomerania, 667-8

Pont-du-Fahs, 341, 410, 424-5

Ponte Sele, 462

Popov, Lieut.-General M. M., 491

Porajorpi, 44

Port Arthur, 202, 217-18

Port Lyautey airfield, 321

Port Moresby, Japanese plan to take, 345; Australia within reach of air strike from, 345, 355; invading force turned back from, 347, 349, 355; Japanese overland attempt to take, 355-6; air support to Guadalcanal from, 358

Port Sudan, 121

Portal, Air Chief Marshal Sir Charles, 438, 595-7, 606

Portland, 98; Bill, 89, 392

Porto Farina, 430

Portsmouth, 89, 98; air attack on Dockyard, 102

Portugal, Italy negotiates with Allies through, 451