The Encyclopedia of Codenames of World War II (Routledge Revivals)
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The Encyclopedia of Codenames of World War II (Routledge Revivals)

Christopher Chant

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eBook - ePub

The Encyclopedia of Codenames of World War II (Routledge Revivals)

Christopher Chant

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About This Book

Codenames were a vital feature of World War II, serving as mental shorthand for those in the know, and obscuring the issues for those who were not. Codenames were used from the highest level, in the planning of grand strategic moves affecting the conduct of the whole war, to the lowest command divisions, in the conduct of small-scale tactical operations. This encyclopedia, first published in 1986, removes the mystery surrounding many of the important code names from the era. With around 3, 000 entries drawn from all sides – the U.K., U.S.A., Germany, the U.S.S.R. and Japan – Christopher Chant's work provides a uniquely comprehensive and full overview of major operations, names and code words. Thorough and exciting, this key reference reissue is an exceptionally valuable resource for military historians, enthusiasts and general readers with an interest in World War II.

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Publisher
Routledge
Year
2013
ISBN
9781134647941

A

A Japanese naval counteroffensive (19/20 June 1944) planned after the US capture of the Marshall Islands between 20 November 1943 and 23 February 1944, the Japanese high command having appreciated that the next forward move would take the Americans to the Marianas Islands on the Japanese home islands' strategic doorstep and thus able to strike at Japan, Iwo Jima, the Ryukyus (Okinawa) and Formosa, so severing the Japanese maritime links to the Philippines, South-East Asia and all their raw materials. Operation ‘A’ called for the American invasion force off the Marianas (in the event the 5th Amphibious Force supported by Task Force 58) to be attacked by powerful surface forces moving in from the south-west, where they were based close to vital oil supplies.
Under the command of Vice Admiral Ozawa, the 1st Mobile Fleet from Tawitawi was supported by Vice Admiral Ugaki's Southern Force from Batjan, the two forces rendezvousing east of the Philippines on 16 June 1944, one day after the US forces landed on Saipan in the Marianas. The rendezvous gave Ozawa a fleet of 5 fleet and 5 light aircraft-carriers (carrying only very poor aircrew and obsolescent aircraft), 5 battleships, 11 heavy and 2 light cruisers, and 28 destroyers; Vice Admiral Mitscher's TF58 comprised 7 heavy and 8 light aircraft-carriers (with experienced aircrew and modern aircraft), 7 battleships, 8 heavy and 13 light cruisers, and 69 destroyers. The Japanese plan became apparent to Mitscher after the Japanese rendezvous was spotted by US patrol submarines, and the scene was thus set for the climactic Battle of the Philippine Sea (otherwise ‘The Great Marianas Turkey Shoot’) on 19/20 June 1944, which resulted in the utter decimation of the Japanese carrier strength, especially in the Imperial Japanese Navy's last reserve of combat-experienced aircrew. Ozawa launched a first air strike early on 19 June, but the radar-warned Americans intercepted this initial wave 50 miles short of the US force, shooting down more than 200 Japanese aircraft. US submarines had meanwhile attacked Ozawa's force, torpedoing the carriers Taiho and Shokaku, both of which sank. The Japanese second strike, launched at 14.00, was intercepted on its way to Guam and again the Japanese aircraft were decimated, some 100 aircraft being lost. Thus Ozawa had by the end of the first day lost 2 carriers and more than 300 aircraft, whereas the Americans' losses were some 35 aircraft and slight damage to one battleship.
It was now the turn of the Americans, and Mitscher launched his aircraft from 16.24 on 20 June as TF58 pursued the Japanese fleet that was withdrawing to the north-west to refuel. The American strike sank two tankers and the carrier Hiyo, damaged the carriers Zuikaku, Junyo and Chiyoda and the heavy cruiser Maya, and destroyed another 65 Japanese aircraft, for the loss of 20 of their own aircraft. It was night by the time the American aircraft headed for their parent carriers, which Mitscher ordered to turn on their lights as an aid to the pilots. Nevertheless some 80 US aircraft ran out of fuel and ditched, most of their crews being saved. Operation ‘A’ and the resultant Battle of the Philippine Sea may thus be seen as marking the end of the Imperial Japanese Navy's air arm as an effective weapon.
A.B. Designation (together with a numeral) of Allied convoys plying the route across the Indian Ocean from Aden to Bombay; the start date of the A.B. convoys was November 1942.
ABC-1 Military agreements reached by the Allies at the Washington Conference (January/March 1941), embodied in the catchphrase ‘Germany first’ that characterized the Allies' determination that Nazi Germany was the primary enemy, and that all major efforts should be devoted to the defeat of Germany before significant forces were allocated for anything but holding operations against the Japanese.
ABC-2 Designation of the air agreement reached by the British and Americans at the Washington Conference (January/March 1941). The plan established that the US would develop a 54-group air force for hemisphere defence while preparing for the development of a 100-group air force for offensive operations, but that until such time as the USA entered the war, primary allocation of aircraft from new production capacity would go to the UK, and then be split evenly between the UK and USA after the latter's entry into the war.
ABC-4 Designation of the overall strategy agreed by the Allies in the ‘Arcadia’ Conference (December 1941); this established that in 1942 the Allies would tighten the ring round Germany with blockade, bombardment and secondary-theatre operations, specifically in the Mediterranean.
ABDA Designation of the combined Australian, British, Dutch and American command structure established by the Washington Conference (January/March 1941) to co-ordinate Allied defence against Japanese aggression in South-East Asia and the East Indies.
Abel Airborne operation by the French 3eme Regiment Colonial des Parachutistes to harass the German retreat through France (27 August/6 September 1944).
Abercrombie Canadian raid on Hardelot in northern France (22 April 1942) as part of the operational and tactical build-up for the ‘reconnaissance in force’ against Dieppe by the 2nd Canadian Division in August 1942 (Operation ‘Jubilee’).
Aberdeen (i) British 8th Army offensive against the forces of the Deutsches Afrika Korps trapped in the area known as ‘The Cauldron’ (5/6 June 1942) during the Battle of Gazala.
(ii) Fly-in airstrip for the British 14th Long-Range Penetration Brigade (23/24 March 1944) during the 2nd Chindit Expedition behind the Japanese lines in Burma.
Abigail Ultimately abortive plan for a major raid by forces of RAF Bomber Command on a German city (December 1940).
Abigail Rachel First British area bombing raid of the war, planned as the start of ‘Abigail’ (in response to the devastating German bomber attack on Coventry) with 235 aircraft against Bremen, DĂŒsseldorf or Mannheim. In the event the raid was undertaken (16/17 December 1940) by 134 Vickers Wellington, Armstrong Whitworth Whitley and Handley Page Hampden bombers (of which only 103 bombed) against Mannheim.
Abwehrschlacht (defensive battle) Alternative designation for Operation ‘Herbstnebel’.
Accolade Allied plans for an operation to capture the Dodecanese Islands in the Aegean Sea from the Germans after the capitulation of Italy in September 1943, the object being the possible opening of communication with western Turkey through the port of Izmir to aid that country in the event of an invasion by German forces.
Achse (axis) (i) German plan to support the offensive by Italian forces in Libya towards the Suez Canal, rendered fruitless by the failure of Marshal Graziani's offensive (September 1941).
(ii) German seizure of key points and installations in Italy (and of Italian positions in southern France, the Balkans and the Aegean) after the Italian armistice with the Allies on 9 September 1943. The Germans also planned to take the whole Italian fleet, but this part of the operation was frustrated by the fact that the major surface units of the Italian fleet were already on their way from La Spezia and other Italian mainland naval bases to Malta as part of the armistice agreement with the Allies.
Acid British task force for Operation ‘Husky’.
Acrobat Plan for the British 8th Army to advance into Tripolitania from Cyrenaica after the successful conclusion anticipated for Operation ‘Crusader’ (January 1942).
Adele (Adelie) Headquarters of the German Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (PKW) in Potsdam.
Adler (eagle) (i) German mopping-up operation on the Dalmatian coast and in the Adriatic islands after the implementation of Operation ‘Achse’ (ii), and designed to secure these important base areas from seizure by the Allies or by the communist partisan forces commanded by Marshal Tito.
(ii) German operation against Soviet partisans operating in the region of Chechivichi in the USSR (20 July/7 August 1942).
Adlerangriff (eagle attack) Designation of the all-out attack by the Luftwaffe against the southern portion of the UK (August/September 1940), known to the British as the Battle of Britain. The battle was designed by the German air force with strategic objectives, the intention being to eliminate the main fighting strength of the RAF (by flying bomber attacks against coastal convoys, radar stations and fighter airfields to tempt up the British defences on tactical terms advantageous to the German fighters, which would then eliminate an RAF fighter strength that had been woefully underestimated by Luftwaffe intelligence, as had production and repair rates) as a prelude to the intended German airborne and seaborne invasion known as Operation ‘Seelöweș.
The failure of Operation ‘Adlerangriff’, as a result of Reichsmarschall Hermann Goering's overambitious plans for what was essentially a tactical air arm, spelled the postponement and ultimately the cancellation of ‘Seelöwe’, and this played a decisive part in the outcome of the war. Hitler was an avowed opponent of the concept of war on two fronts, but the failure of Germany's plans against the UK meant that unless the proposed invasion of the USSR (Operation ‘Barbarossa’) was postponed, Germany would indeed be faced with two powerful opponents at the same time. With hindsight it is possible to see that the failure of ‘Adlerangriff’ was perhaps inevitable, for the Germans were attempting to achieve a strategic result with an air force designed specifically for the tactical support of the German army. Though useful results were achieved as long as tactical commanders were left in control of operations, the decision by Hermann Goering to tie his fighters to close escort of the bombers (which were being severely mauled by British fighters) meant that the fighters were just as vulnerable as the bombers, increasing losses at a time when the British forces were at the limit of their endurance. To cap it all, the Germans then decided to switch their forces away from the destruction of RAF airfields and fighters to the destruction of London, a politically motivated decision which gave the British fighters both a breathing space and just the targets they had been trained to tackle.
Adlerhorst (eyrie) Hitler's headquarters at Bad Neuheim for Operation ‘Herbstnebel’ (10 December 1944/15 January 1945).
Adlertag (eagle day) German codename for the launch date of Operation ‘Adlerangrif’, originally set for 10 August 1940 but postponed for weather reasons to 13 August 1940.
Admiral Q Allied priority message code for President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Aerial Smaller-scale counterpart to Operation ‘Dynamo’ and designed to remove by sea all British troops in north-west France, largely from the ports of Cherbourg, St Malo, Brest, St Nazaire and La Pallice (16/24 June 1940). Admiral Sir William James, the Commander-in-Chief Portsmouth, was controller of the evacuations from Cherbourg and St Malo, while the others came under the command of Admiral Sir M. Dunbar-Nasmith, Commander-in-Chief Western Approaches. At Cherbourg some 30,630 men of the 52nd Division and Norman Force were lifted between 16 and 18 June; at St Malo 21,474 men of the 1st Canadian Division and other units were picked up between 16 and 18 June; at Brest some 32,584 soldiers and airmen were rescued between 17 and 18 June; at St Nazaire the total was 57,235 troops (including a number from Nantes) evacuated between 16 and 20 June; and at La Pallice 2,303 British and a large number of Polish troops were brought out between 17 and 20 June. Another 19,000 or so troops, most of them Polish, were lifted from ports in the southern half of the French Atlantic coast. At the same time it was decided to evacuate as many as possible from the Channel Islands, and between 19 and 24 June some 22,656 British citizens were removed from these islands, which must inevitably fall to the Germans after the capture of France.
Afloc Designation of the Allied supply route across Africa used to deliver vehicles from ports in West Africa to the operational theatres in the Western Desert, East Africa and the Middle East.
Agent Allied priority message codename for Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill.
Agreement British combined assault (overland and amphibious) on the Axis supply base of Tobruk (13/14 September 1942), designed to harass the German and Italian lines of communication and supply during the build-up to the 2nd Battle of El Alamein. The raid was not a resounding success, and led the Axis forces to use second-rather than first-line units to garrison key staging areas.
AĂŻda Axis forces' advance into Egypt after the fall of Tobruk (26 June/1 July 1942), designed to clear the British and Commonwealth forces from Egypt, but leading in fact to the 1st Battle of El Alamein. Generalfeld-marschall Erwin Rommel's intention was to exploit the disarray of the British and Commonwealth forces in the aftermath of the Battle of Gazala despite the weakness of his own forces (particularly the German formations), but the Axis effort was too much for their fuel supplies and other physical resources at a time when the British 8th Army was beginning finally to find its feet under an energetic and capable commander, General Sir Claude Auchinleck.
Airborne Cigar British airborne device to jam the German night-fighter control frequencies.
A.K.D. Designation (together with a numerical suffix) of Allied convoys plying the East African coastal route from Aden via Kilindini to Durban. These convoys were instituted in September 1943 and replaced all earlier southbound East African coastal convoys.
Alabaster Convoy carrying British forces for the occupation of Iceland (17/18 May 1940), at the time thought to be under the threat of German occupation with dire results to the British convoy routes across the North Atlantic.
AL Japanese naval operation (3/7 June 1942) at the same time as Operations ‘AOB’ and ‘AQ’ to seize the islands of Kiska and Attu in the Aleutians group. The object of Operation ‘AL’, as part of the diversionary effort in the Imperial Navy's ultimately over-complex Midway operation in June 1942, was to shield the occupation forces but also to strike against the US base at Dutch Harbor on Unalaska Island to cause as much damage as possible and to draw in major US Navy surface combatants from the south, away from the Midway operations. Operation ‘AL’ involved Vice Admiral Boshiro Hosogaya's Northern Force (2 light aircraft-carriers, 7 cruisers and 12 destroyers including the units of Rear Admiral Kakuji Kakuta's 2nd Carrier Striking Force, which was to provide air cover for the landings and the main strike force against American naval intervention) and was generally successful in attaining its occupation objectives, though it failed to draw in American naval forces as Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, US Commander-in-Chief Pacific, knew Operation ‘AL’ to be a diversion.
Alacrity Entry of British forces into the Azores after the agreement of neutral Portugal (8 October 1943). This move, long desired by Winston Churchill, had the double advantage of denying this key base to the Germans should they overrun the Iberian peninsula, and also providing the Allies with bases for long-range patrol aircraft and short-range escort ships so desperately needed to cover the mid-Atlantic gap in which the German U-boats were proving so successful.
Alamo Codename for the US 6th Army in South-West Pacific Area operations.
Alarich (Alaric) Earlier version of Operation ‘Achse’ (ii).
Albacore Ultimately abortive plan for the Chinese forces based in northern India (after the retreat from Burma in 1942) to invade and recapture northern Burma in 1943 as part of the Allied effort to reopen land communications with Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek's Chinese Nationalist forces.
Albert Linie (Albert line) German defensive line in Italy to the north of Perugia. The line ran to each side of Lake Trasimeno, and was designed as a subsidiary position to check the Allies as they moved forward to the important ‘Gotisch Linie’ defences farther north. Lieutenant General Mark Clark's US 5th Army and Lieutenant General Sir Oliver Leese's British 8th Army both moved through the ‘Albert Linie’ defences in the second half of June 1944 and pushed on to the north aga...

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