AUGUST 13 - DAILY CHRONICLES OF HISTORY

AUGUST 13

1940

The Battle of Britain:   Hermann Göring launched the Luftwaffe's all-out air assault on Britain on August 13, 1940. Code-named Adlertag ('Eagle Day'), its objective was to destroy the British RAF in order to achieve air superiority over England. This was to be followed by Operation Sea Lion, a massive invasion of England, according to Hitler's Directive No. 16.  Though the German attacks on August 13 inflicted significant damage and casualties on the ground, they ultimatley failed to achieve their primary goals. Hence, Operation Sea Lion was shelved definitely.  Regardless, the Luftwaffe continued in its campaign against the RAF well into September of 1940.  The Luftwaffe, unable to destroy the RAF, adopted a different strategy - strategic bombing of British coastal towns and cities, and then London itself.  It was called the Blitz.

1948

Black Friday in Berlin:  After the end of WW2,  Germany and Berlin were divided into allied occupation zones, but by 1948, the rising Cold War rhetoric became extremely hostile. The Soviets interfered with road and rail traffic in an attempt to dislodge the British and Americans from their zones of occupation in Western Berlin, and halted ground and water travel to western part of Berlin. US and UK responded by conducting continuous and massive air lifts to Berlin, which on August 13, 1948  turned into a deadly mission. On August 13, 1948,  thick cloud cover and heavy rain over Berlin caused very poor visibility. A  C-54 crashed and burned at the end of the runway, and a second one landing behind it burst its tires while trying to avoid it. A third transport ground looped after mistakenly landing on a runway under construction.  According to the standard of procedure at the time, all incoming flights (approaching every three minutes) were stacked above Berlin from 3,000 feet (910 m) to 12,000 feet (3,700 m). During severe weather, it greatly increased the chances of a mid-air collision. To make matters worse, planes on the tarmac which had just been unloaded were denied permission to take off, which created a backup on the ground.  There was no loss of life, but the complete lack of control and coordination, compounded by the ill-fated weather was cause for embarrassment for traffic control personnel.

1961

Berlin Divided:  Just past midnight on August 13, 1961, East German soldiers began laying down a barrier of barbed wire and bricks between Soviet-controlled East Berlin and the western Berlin. Walter Ulbricht, the Communist leader of East Germany,  received approval from Khrushchev to begin blocking all access between East and West Berlin.  From August 12 to 13,  soldiers had laid more than 100 miles of barbed wire just inside the border of East Berlin. Soon afterwards, the barbed wire was replaced by a six-foot-high wall made of concrete blocks which covered a distance of 96 miles.  The construction was completed with guard towers, machine gun posts and search lights, and were patrolled by East German officers night and day.

1991

Pope John Paul II's fifth visit to Poland:  The Pope celebrated World Youth Day in Jasna Gora, Częstochowa. It was the first time that World Youth Day was held in Eastern Europe, and the first time that the youth from eastern countries went to Poland to celebrate. There was a powerful spiritual connection between the Pope and the youth of the world that was very special. Over 1.6 million attended for the final Mass. An anthem was composed by Jan Góra and Jacek Sykulski, entitled, "Abba, Ojcze". In his homily, the Pope stated, "......As theme of the Sixth World Youth Day, I have chosen the words of St Paul: "You have received a spirit of sonship" (Rom 8:15). These words lead us into the deepest mystery of the Christian vocation: in the divine plan, we are indeed called to become sons and daughters of God in Christ, through the Holy Spirit.....To all of you young people, on the occasion of this World Youth Day, I say: Receive the Holy Spirit and be strong in faith! "God did not give us a spirit of timidity but a spirit of power and love and selfcontrol" (2 Tim 1:7)......"     The Pope also visited Krakow.