World War II Chronicle: November 5, 1942
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Page five reports that two top German commanders have been eliminated in North Africa. Gen. Georg Stumme commanded the 7th Panzer Division in Poland, and when Stumme was picked to command XL. Armeekorps, Gen. Erwin Rommel was his replacement. Stumme was awarded the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross for valor during the French campaign and later served in the Balkans before leading XL. Panzerkorps across the Soviet Union. When German war plans fell into Soviet hands Adolf Hitler blamed Stumme and sentenced the general to a five-year prison sentence. He was quickly pardoned and sent to North Africa to relieve an ailing Rommel as commanding general of Panzerarmee Afrika. Stumme came under attack and perished (possibly from a heart attack) while visiting the front.
Stumme’s replacement is Gen. Ritter von Thoma, who commanded German ground forces during the Spanish Civil War. Thoma commanded the 17th and 20th Panzer Divisions during the invasion of the Soviet Union and was also awarded the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross during that campaign. Thoma was named Afrikakorps commander in September 1942. British forces captured Thoma on November 4 — his second time in Allied captivity as he was a prisoner of war during the first world war. While in a British POW camp, he was recorded talking about having observed a rocket testing facility near Berlin. This led to the discovery of Nazi Germany’s long-range weapons program…
Clayton Knight’s aviation series continues on page 11… Capt. William L. Osborne and Capt. Damon J. Gauses series on how they evaded the Japanese for 159 days continues on page 36… Sports section begins on page 50
Evening star. (Washington, D.C.), 5 November 1942. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.
https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1942-11-05/ed-1/