News Of The World – NBC – July 6, 1942 – Gordon Skene Sound Collection –
American forces were seeing their first action in the Libyan campaign, with reports that American tanks and crews had taken part in the battle of Libya. Reports went on to say the first desert action was a skirmish involving German tanks and that the American tanks performed to expectations, knocking out some nine German tanks before managing to get away with no casualties and minor dents.
And good word came from the Navy Department over the Aleutian Islands where American Submarines were making up for the lack of airpower due to fog and adverse weather conditions and succeeded in sinking three Japanese Destroyers and the burning of a fourth from torpedoes. It was determined that this was the first really effective blow American forces have struck since the Aleutian campaign began in an attempt to retake Japanese held Aleutian islands. The recent engagement by American submarines brought a total of 47 sunk, 13 probably sunk and 13 damaged. It was a reminder to the Navy Department that Submarines were capable of being just as effective in this war as the other methods were.
Meanwhile on the Eastern front, the most violent wave of German attacks on Russia since the beginning of 1942 were reported with an estimated one million German troops taking part in what was described as “Hitler’s Great Eastern Offensive”, which was expected in the early Spring just as soon as the snows of Winter had melted and the mud of early Spring had dried. The Nazi drive had been long delayed, not by the weather but by the Soviet armies getting there first and hitting first, primarily by Marshal Timoshenko’s slow but effective drive, aimed at the middle of May to the German troop concentrations around Sevastopol. The slowed campaigns were now underway.
And along with Capitol Hill in Washington heating up, that’s a small slice of news from July 6, 1942 as reported by NBC’s News Of The World.
