Big To Do at the Fort This Weekend: The 155th Anniversary of the Second Battle of Fort Fisher-- Part 1

From the Friends of Fort Fisher.

On January 15, 1865, Fort Fisher, the largest fortification defending the last open Confederate port (Wilmington, N.C.) fell to Union hands.  The battle was the country's largest land/sea engagement until D-Day during World War II.  Many brave men gave their lives on both sides.

Join us this Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 18-19, as we commemorate this pivotal event in the fort's history and in the American Civil War history.

The battle re-enactments, which happen only every five years at Fort Fisher,  will start at 1 pm on Saturday and  and 10 am on Sunday.  And, that's not all, there will be speakers, book signings, music, living history demonstrations, photography,  cannon firings, kids' activities and more!

--Old B-R'er

June 19, 1864: The CSS Alabama Fights the USS Kearsarge-- Part 1

This battle, oddly enough, took place off the French port of Cherbourg, where 80 years later in June, D-Day and the Battle of Normandy took place.

JUNE 19TH, 1964:  "The day being Sunday and the weather fine, a large concourse of people -- many having come all the way from Paris -- collected on the heights above the town [Cherbourg], in the upper stories of such of the houses as commanded a view of the sea, and on the walls and fortifications of the harbor.

"Several French luggers employed as pilot-boats went out, and also an English steam-yacht, called the Deerhound.  Everything being in readiness between nine and ten o'clock, we got underway, and proceeded to sea, though the western entrance to the harbor; the Couronne [French ironclad] following us.

"As we emerged from behind the mole, we discovered the Kearsarge at a distance of between six and seven miles from the land.  She had been apprised of our intention of coming out that morning and was awaiting us.'

Captain Raphael Semmes' account of the battle.

--Old B-R'er

June 11, 1864: CSS Alabama Arrives in Cherbourg, France Prior To Her Battle With USS Kearsarge-- Part 1

JUNE 11TH, 1864:  CSS Alabama, Captain Semmes, badly in need of repairs, arrived at Cherbourg, France.  Lieutenant Arthur Sinclair, CSN, an officer on board the Confederate raider, later recorded his impressions upon entering this, her last port:

"We have cruised from the day of commission, August 24, 1862, to June 11, 1864, and during this time have visited two-thirds of the globe, experiencing all vicissitudes of climate and hardships attending constant cruising.

"We have had from the first to last two hundred and thirteen officers and men on the payroll, and have lost not one by disease, and but one by accidental death."

Of interest, besides the CSS Alabama-USS Kearsarge battle, Cherbourg was also a port visited by the RMS Titanic and was important in D-Day and the Normandy Campaign which I have been writing about in all my blogs to commemorate the 75th anniversary of it.

--Old B-Runner

75th Anniversary of D-Day: Those Temporary Harbors Were Called Mulberry Harbours

From Wikipedia.

I posed the question of what happened to the two temporary harbors set up after D-Day and was directed here.

It says they were temporary harbors developed in England during World War II to facilitate the rapid offloading of cargo following D-Day.

After the Allies seized control of the beaches two prefabricated harbors were brought over  in sections across the English Channel and assembled off Omaha Beach, referred to as "Mulberry A" and Gold Beach, "Mulberry B."

Plans were to use them until French ports could be seized.  However, that did not happen right away.

I will eventually get around to writing more about these temporary harbors in my World War II blog.

--Old Secesh

75th Anniversary of D-Day: All Five Beaches Secured By Allies By June 11

14.  ALL FIVE BEACHES SECURED BY ALLIES BY JUNE 11.

Five days after the D-Day invasion, troops immediately began installing two massive temporary harbors that had taken six months to construct back  in England.

All told, the Allies unloaded approximately 2,500,000 men , 500,000 vehicles and 4,000,000 tons of supplies to those temporary harbors over the remaining course of the war.

You can read all fifteen facts about D-Day in this blog and my June 6-8 Civil War and RoadDog's RoadLog blogs.

D-Day 75th Anniversary: Tons of Supplies and Beach Names

7.  THE U.S. SHIPPED TONS OF SUPPLIES TO THE STAGING AREAS IN ENGLAND.

Since Operation Overlord was launched from England, the U.S. military had to ship  7 million tons of supplies to staging areas, including 450 tons of ammunition.

8.  D-DAY WAS CARRIED OUT ALONG FIVE SECTIONS OF BEACHFRONT.

Operation Overlord was divided among sections of beach front along the Normandy coast codenamed , from west to east: Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword.

D-Day's 75th Anniversary: A Fort Fisher Precedent to Operation Overlord

Today marks the 75th anniversary of this major world event.

I will be writing about it in the next three posts in every one of my blogs.

The two battles of Fort Fisher were a precedent for D-Day as it involved the largest assemblage of warships ever in U.S. Navy history as well as soldiers (and sailors) landing on an enemy shore, though at Fort Fisher they did not land under enemy fire..

From the History site. "D-Day:  Facts on the epic 1944 invasion that changed the course of WW II" by Dave Roos.

3.  D-DAY WAS THE LARGEST AMPHIBIOUS  INVASION IN MILITARY HISTORY.

The invasion was called Operation Overlord and consisted of 156,115 U.S., English and Canadian troops, 6,939 ships and landing vessels and 2,395 aircraft and gliders that delivered airborne troops.

D-Day 75th Anniversary: The Atlantic Wall

6.  GERMANY HAD FORTIFIED FRANCE'S COAST.

Anticipating an Allied invasion somewhere along the French coast, Adolf Hitler  charged Field Marshal Erwin Rommel with fortifying German defenses in France.

In 1943, Rommel completed construction of the "Atlantic Wall,"  Germany's 2,400 mile  line of bunkers, landmines, and beach and water obstacles.  It is estimated that they planted some 4 million landmines along Normandy's beaches.

Lights Out for Fort Fisher-- Part 7: Pounding a Fort

The operation against Fort Fisher also provided dramatic demonstration of a fleet's ability to mass superior firepower at any point of s shore defense position.  Fear of concentrated naval gunfire forced inaction of General Hoke's division stationed between the fort and Wilmington, forestalling any interference with the landing of the federal expeditionary force and enabling General Terry to split the Confederate defense forces.

Colonel Lamb, the fort's gallant commandant, later recorded: "For the first time in the history of sieges the land defenses of the works was destroyed, not by any act of the besieging army, but by the concentrated fire, direct and enfilading, of an immense fleet poured into them without intermission, until torpedo wires were cut, palisades breached so that they actually afforded cover for assailants, and the slopes of the work were rendered practicable for assault."

The second attack became a classic example of complete Army-Navy coordination.

Setting the Stage for D-Day.  --Old B-R'er

A Major World War II Turning Point, D-Day 70 Years Ago

I am writing about D-Day in all my blogs today and this is an article I wrote about in all of them.

D-Day was a surprise attack designed to push Hitler's forces out of France and give the Allies a foothold on the continent.  It cost more than 1400 American lives that day and thousands more would die during the push to Berlin.

In recent years, perhaps because of the dwindling numbers, people have approached these World War II veterans and thanked them.  On last year's D-Day anniversary, the White Sox honored Hank Rossetti, a lifelong Sox fan, as their "hero of the day."

--Old B-Runner