Widerstandsnest weapon as well, especially against a dug-in enemy or enemy armored vehicles.. Developed out of the experience with defensive trench warfare on the Western Front during t
Trang 1Widerstandsnest
weapon as well, especially against a dug-in enemy or enemy armored vehicles Axis powers had less access to these types of incendiary shells, but did deploy some
WHITE ROSE
See resistance (German)
WIDERSTANDSNEST A fortifi ed German strongpoint Developed out of the
experience with defensive trench warfare on the Western Front during the Great War, Widerstandsnester in World War II were often based on 88 mm guns or still
lighter artillery deployed as fi xed anti-tank guns Housed within concrete
encase-ments, anti-tank guns were supported by machine gun teams, regular infantry, and
fi re-control artillery Together, these weapons provided a “nest” of concentrated
fi repower anchoring a defensive line Widerstandsnester were strung all along the
Atlantic Wall Those in Normandy infl icted many casualties on enemy troops on D-Day (June 6, 1944)
WILDE SAU “wild boar.” A late-war Luftwaffe night-fi ghter tactic In “wild
boar” defense, German night fi ghters were no longer tied to ground controllers
as under the Kammhuber Line system Instead, they were freed to overfl y entire tar-geted zones where Flak was kept limited, intercepting the bomber stream on their
own initiative From a tactical experiment in July 1943, “Wilde Sau” and its
off-spring, Zahme Sau, grew into the core Luftwaffe night-fi ghting tactics of the last
two years of the war
WILNO
See Vilnius
WILSON, MAITLAND (1881–1964) British field marshal In 1939 he
com-manded British forces in Egypt, fighting against the Italian Army in the desert
in 1940 He led Allied forces in the Balkan campaign (1940–1941), before
retreat-ing to Egypt He led the British intervention in Iraq in 1941 and in support
of the Free French campaign in Syria He was denied command of British 8th
Army, remaining in the Levant instead In August 1942, he was given charge of
PAIforce He was fi nally made commander in chief of the Middle East after the
main fi ghting was done and the command was much reduced Still, he sent his
limited forces into action in the Dodecanese campaign He was involved with the campaigns in Sicily, Italy, and the DRAGOON landings in the south of France
He left for Washington in December 1944, to represent Great Britain on the
Combined Chiefs of Staff
WINDOW Drums of metallic foil (aluminum strips) dropped by bombers to
confuse enemy radars “Window” was the British term Americans called it “chaff.” Germans called it “Dupple.”