0:00

Hey everyone, Ray here, and I've got a new

0:02

book recommendation for you. When

0:04

Hazel Ying Li's US Army plane went

0:06

down in a Texas field during World

0:08

War II, the farmer chased her

0:10

around the plane with a pitchfork. First,

0:13

because he thought she was Japanese, and

0:15

second, because female fliers were only just

0:17

beginning to fly in the Air Corps.

0:21

This is one of the remarkable events in

0:23

the life of Li, revealed in a new

0:25

biography, American Fly Girl,

0:27

by Susan Tate Inkeny. Born

0:30

in Portland, Oregon in 1912, inspired

0:32

by Amelia Earhart and America's

0:35

fledgling aviation industry, Li

0:37

was fearless, talented, and driven.

0:40

She followed her passion to fly, working

0:42

to earn her pilot's license. She

0:44

was the only Chinese-American pilot

0:46

in the legendary WASPs, highly

0:49

trained civilians, delivering military planes

0:51

for the war effort. Li also

0:53

faced repeated discrimination, as

0:56

a child of Chinese immigrants because

0:58

of the Chinese Exclusionary Act, as

1:00

a woman, as an American, and

1:02

even posthumously as a civilian. But

1:05

her passion for flying would never abate.

1:07

She would open doors for women in

1:10

aviation, although not immediately. It

1:12

would be another 30 years before women were

1:15

allowed to fly military aircraft in the US

1:17

Air Force. And another

1:19

year before Congress finally granted

1:21

the WASPs military status and

1:23

eventually veteran status. The

1:25

life of the great Hazel Ying Li,

1:27

American Fly Girl, from Kensington Publishing is

1:30

available everywhere. Books are sold.

1:41

Hello, and thank you for listening

1:43

to The History of World War

1:46

II Podcast, Episode 462. When

1:49

fighting for your life, you can never go

1:51

too far. Last

1:55

time, three series of luck

1:57

and back-breaking work, the German-romaining

1:59

offensive heading towards Odessa had

2:01

been delayed enough to allow

2:03

multiple defensive rings to be carved into

2:05

the earth around the city. Still,

2:08

the Axis forces came closer while

2:11

the various Soviet rifle divisions fell

2:13

back, and now that

2:15

all the defenders were behind some

2:17

kind of line or another, the

2:19

enemy forces began to throw themselves

2:21

at these lines, their objective being

2:24

to enter Odessa. Having

2:26

said that, the Stavka knew that one

2:28

of three things would happen. Odessa

2:31

would hold out, or it would not,

2:33

or it would remain defiant long enough

2:35

to launch raids against

2:37

the remaining oil fields, hopefully

2:40

shifting the focus of Bucharest

2:42

and Berlin. But no

2:44

serious Soviet officer could think that Odessa

2:46

would remain defiant for the rest of

2:49

this war. That seemed,

2:51

for all intents and purposes, impossible.

2:55

On August 11th and 12th, the Axis

2:57

launched nine major attacks at some part

2:59

of the outer line. Problem

3:01

was, all the digging that had been done had

3:04

been done by civilians, leaving the

3:06

troops relatively fresh, and in

3:09

that state, they stomped all those

3:11

attacks, while killing at least 4,000

3:13

attackers. The

3:16

Axis were smart enough to bring

3:18

tanks to where they could, but

3:20

ended up losing tank crews and

3:23

tanks as the desperate Soviets used

3:25

anti-tank artillery and the up-touch clothes

3:27

of Molotov cocktails. These

3:30

measures destroyed 13 German

3:32

tanks, and seven Axis planes were

3:34

removed from the sky by Soviet

3:36

fighters. Not that

3:38

this could go on forever, but

3:40

the defenders were starting out well,

3:42

knowing well what would happen to

3:45

them if Odessa fell. Not

3:47

that the invaders did not keep on

3:50

encroaching, ever closer through no man's land

3:52

to the closest defensive line, which

3:54

meant that the Soviet troops, when not

3:56

fighting, continued the siege works, as it

3:59

was now too dangerous. dangerous to have

4:01

that many civilians nearby. Mostly

4:03

what they worked on was

4:05

improving, i.e. widening and deepening

4:07

the anti-tank ditches. Not

4:10

that the civilians' work was over. Within

4:13

the city, though on its

4:15

edges, barricades continued to be

4:17

built, as were anti-tank obstacles

4:19

and other fortifications. Even

4:21

if the enemy got this far, their

4:24

fight would not be over. The

4:26

Stavka realized this early on that

4:29

attrition was one of their better

4:32

weapons. Cruel? Yes,

4:34

but in the defense of the state, very

4:36

little was left out of bounds.

4:39

As the outermost Soviet defenders were

4:41

some 20 kilometers from the city's

4:43

edge, that meant for now,

4:46

its occupants were safe from artillery

4:48

fire. Zooming out, basically

4:50

the defense of Odessa had an

4:52

estuary on either side or either

4:54

end. The modern-day Nista

4:56

to the southwest of Odessa and

4:59

the Azolik to the northeast. Back

5:02

to the fighting, as these nine rather

5:04

large thrusts had not prevailed, the Romanians,

5:07

starting on August 12, reduced

5:09

their attacks to groups of one or

5:12

two battalions, backed by tanks, of course.

5:15

Several sections were hit, but nothing came of it.

5:18

Then it seemed that that had not

5:20

been the plan all along. After

5:23

those areas were hit and repulsed,

5:25

for the next two days, Axis

5:28

artillery shells targeted those same points

5:30

along the Soviet defenses, to be

5:32

followed up by more attacks, but

5:35

something closer to the original larger

5:37

offenses. But these two were

5:40

held back with blood spilled on both

5:42

sides, though fighting and loss

5:44

of life was more intense to the

5:46

east of Odessa. Again,

5:48

just outside today's small Anzalik estuary

5:50

to the north of Odessa, the

5:53

fighting had been most fierce, and

5:55

the Romanians managed to push some

5:57

of the defending units back. When

6:00

these men learned that they had been

6:02

the weakest point, they literally

6:04

threw themselves at the Romanians

6:06

again and again until the

6:08

lines were back to where they were.

6:11

This was heroic, but many more dead

6:13

had to be dealt with. Besides,

6:16

as these attacks went on,

6:18

other Axis formations continued spreading

6:20

along the half-circle front until

6:23

their farthest man to the west and

6:25

east of Odessa on August 13th was

6:27

standing next

6:29

to the Black Sea. The

6:31

Odessa fortress and all its landlines

6:34

were cut off from the wider war.

6:37

And with all these land routes cut off

6:39

outside of the Odessa lines, the only way

6:41

to leave or enter the city was by

6:44

sea. But the Black Sea

6:46

Fleet would do more than just resupply

6:48

the defenders of Odessa. No, they

6:51

would participate in any way they could

6:53

assist. With all the land routes

6:55

cut off, it was only a

6:57

matter of time before the Romanian navy, with

6:59

the help of German planes, attempted

7:01

to cut off the port city. It

7:04

was the Soviet Black Sea's fleet's job

7:06

to not only counter this, but to

7:08

go on the attack themselves, hitting Romanian

7:11

port cities, thus making it harder for

7:13

them to launch attacks.

7:16

But given that the immediate threat was

7:18

from the land, some naval units were

7:20

put ashore with their weapons to help

7:22

with the defenses here. As

7:25

for the ships themselves, their larger guns

7:27

were to help keep the enemy away

7:29

from the coastal army. But

7:31

if all this and more failed, the last

7:34

act of the Black Sea Fleet was

7:36

to undertake to evacuate all who

7:38

could be before the enemy

7:40

was inside the city. As

7:44

for the ongoing ground war, the Soviets

7:46

did what they did best. They

7:49

were focused on the resources of the

7:51

state, including people, on a problem. They

7:54

reorganized, i.e. focused their overall

7:56

defensive structure in command and

7:59

areas of responsibility. Keeping

8:01

the lay of the land rather simple,

8:03

think of a half-circle protractor with Odessa

8:06

at the center of its flat base.

8:09

Of course that protractor has to be

8:11

tilted a bit to the left to

8:13

capture the nature of the geographic coastline.

8:17

On August 13th, Army Commander

8:19

General Sifranov broke his entire

8:21

area into three sections. The

8:24

eastern sector to the north of the

8:26

city that went from the Kazibi estuary

8:29

that is the closer of the two

8:31

smaller estuaries to the north of Odessa,

8:34

given the way the coastline goes

8:36

to the southeast to the coastline

8:38

at Pre-Ressep. Think due

8:41

north of Odessa, but basically the

8:43

almost land bridge leading to Odessa

8:45

from the estuary right above the

8:47

city. The length to be

8:50

shielded was about 40 kilometers, and

8:52

was manned by the 54th Rifle

8:54

Regiment, the first regiment of the

8:56

Navy Infantry, the 26th NKVD Composite

8:59

Border Guards Regiment, and the Rifle

9:01

Battalion of the 136th

9:03

Reserve Regiment. All of

9:06

these were placed under the command

9:08

of S.F. Monakov. The

9:10

western sector, but for us we should

9:12

think of it as the northern sector

9:15

as it ran from the eastern sector

9:17

to the southwest, thus parallel to the

9:19

port city itself, until it

9:21

came to the Nista estuary. For

9:23

continuity, we will call it the western

9:25

sector as it is relative to the

9:28

lay of the land, but it is

9:30

to the northwest of Odessa.

9:33

This section was commanded by

9:35

Major General V.F. Virobev, commander

9:37

of the 95th Rifle Division.

9:40

He had under him the

9:42

90th, 161st, and

9:45

241st Rifle Regiments of his

9:48

95th Rifle Division, as well as

9:50

the 1st Machine Gun Battalion of

9:52

the Terrace Bowl 4-5 District, which

9:55

leaves the 3rd and final sector,

9:57

the southern sector. The

10:00

negative side, it was the longest other

10:02

sectors but on a positive side the

10:04

majority of it was covered by the

10:07

nice to eschew. Where does the invaders

10:09

would have to cross water to get

10:11

to the defenders and be in the

10:14

open while doing so. They.

10:16

Cover the estuaries plus the land

10:18

bridge below it that led to

10:20

the coast. Commanding as sector was

10:23

Colonel A as the Harass and

10:25

his Twenty Fifth Rifle Division along

10:27

with the second composite missing a

10:30

battalion or the Terrorists bowl Forty

10:32

Five District. There. Were units

10:34

in reserve of course for when the

10:36

enemy came and a breakthrough seemed possible,

10:39

On. That note, the naval guns

10:41

in the area were also

10:43

assigned sections to lob shells

10:45

at their sector should the

10:47

need arise. To there

10:50

is air forces were given

10:52

specific areas as well but

10:54

considering how small overall the

10:56

Odessa area was each section

10:58

with pigeon if needed. And.

11:01

They would be needed. And the fighting

11:03

in the air thus far has been just

11:05

as intense as the fighting on the ground.

11:08

Having said that, the airstrips

11:10

on land began to disappear

11:12

as the Axis forces moved

11:14

in. Suits. It was

11:16

mostly up to naval base fighters to

11:18

defend the skies. Proper airfields

11:21

would soon beat further and

11:23

further away as the Germans

11:25

continue to push east. Back

11:28

on August eighth, a flight commander

11:31

has flown right at a German

11:33

bomber formation. The Soviet pilot shot

11:35

down the classes bombers and the

11:37

rest turned for home. Have you

11:39

know escort that is as know

11:41

Russian fighters were expected. The

11:44

next day. August ninth, two. so

11:46

the pilots spotted nine you could

11:48

bombers and flew into their path

11:50

to disrupt their bomb run. It

11:52

didn't hurt that the lead bomber

11:54

was also taken out. Now

11:57

that the race was on, but the bombers

11:59

had not. Dropped are loads so they're

12:01

extra weight. allow the fighters to catch

12:03

up to them. Soon. Another

12:06

bomber was heading down for the last

12:08

time. Now the

12:10

remaining bombers drops are loads and

12:12

sped up, but not before a

12:15

third bomber was last. Just.

12:17

Stand for Measure Smuts joined the

12:19

fray, as did to more subdued

12:21

fighters. The Flight elements

12:23

leader Lieutenant Zarar as flew out

12:26

the German fighters to keep them

12:28

busy. But. He paid

12:30

the price soon. his cockpit

12:32

was damaged beyond hope. Key

12:34

to went down. For.

12:36

The last time. But

12:38

the dog fight was an over just

12:40

yet soon. six more so we'd fighters

12:43

came into view. Perhaps. Over

12:45

component by their numbers, a captain's

12:47

hello balls were soon heading down

12:49

as well. But. The measure

12:51

Smith added him in was quickly

12:53

damaged, but when the pilot then

12:55

change go had been shooting up

12:58

the German side or two more

13:00

of them had pounced on him.

13:02

Soon his engine was shut downs,

13:04

but he still had nominal control.

13:07

Going in for a force landings to

13:09

to measure Smith solid him down. To.

13:12

Finish him off. Not. Exactly

13:14

cricket, but this left them open

13:16

to to morse of insiders following

13:18

them down. Within. Seconds one

13:20

of those German planes was smoking.

13:23

Followed. By fire. As

13:26

this German air attacks had already

13:28

cost three bombers and three measure

13:30

Smith's with nothing to show for

13:32

it's the remaining aircraft turned for

13:34

hope. Perhaps.

13:36

Taking their life would be better if

13:39

they attack from the see the next

13:41

day August tenth loot was a fighters

13:43

approached from the south but such was

13:46

the alert look out the incoming threat

13:48

the spotted and fighters from the Ninth

13:50

Cider Aviation Regiment. Was. Soon in the

13:52

air, Sue. tenet carpet costs

13:54

down one of the attackers on

13:57

his very first pass followed by

13:59

a satisfying splash. Then

14:02

two other Soviet pilots double teamed

14:04

another measurement, ending with the

14:06

same result. This was clearly

14:09

not the weak spot the invaders were

14:11

hoping for. The rest of the air

14:13

threat turned for home. Perhaps

14:16

taking a break would lower the vigilance

14:18

of the lookouts. So two days later,

14:20

August 12th, more German

14:22

bombers returned. But as before,

14:25

a bomber was taken out even

14:27

before getting over Odessa. And

14:30

then when a second bomber splashed into

14:32

the Black Sea, the rest went back

14:34

the way they came. These

14:37

failed attempts followed for a few more

14:39

days. In fact, the Soviet fighters were

14:41

able to down enemy planes while even

14:43

further away from Odessa. This

14:46

gave the Soviet political machinery of

14:49

Odessa time to assess their

14:51

true weak spots in terms of ground

14:53

troops and bringing up some of the

14:55

party youth members to the front lines.

14:59

But less tangible, the Soviet apparatus

15:01

was given time to build their

15:03

numbers as well. And through various

15:05

media channels, they not only

15:07

reminded the men and women on the front

15:09

line what they were fighting for, but

15:12

that victory was possible as long

15:14

as everyone did their part to

15:17

the utmost. Not wasting

15:19

the time gained by these various

15:21

local defensive victories in the

15:23

air and on the ground, the

15:25

local committees went over and over

15:27

every aspect of their ability to

15:29

defend. Nothing was

15:31

to be left out. This was mainly

15:34

due to thinking they were facing overwhelming

15:36

odds and it was only a matter

15:38

of time before all was

15:40

lost. Thus, there was no such

15:43

thing as too much intelligent defense

15:45

and defense in depth. One

15:48

area that was improved was the recovery

15:50

and repair of any kind of weapon.

15:52

The reoccurring question in those early days

15:55

of August was, how

15:57

can we be doing this better? As

16:00

for those young communist members or those who

16:02

had never fought before, first

16:05

they were given basic instruction and put

16:07

together in groups of 1,200 men. What

16:11

followed was a series of

16:13

duties that started with guarding

16:15

the immediate lines near Odessa,

16:18

but moving closer to the front after

16:20

a cycle. By the

16:22

time they reached the front, the

16:24

outermost line, they had seen and

16:26

experienced much. It would

16:28

have to do. Going

16:31

back to the air war, with the Germans launching

16:33

12 to 15 air raids a

16:35

day, some did get

16:37

through. As this was

16:39

unavoidable, the city officials were equally

16:41

thorough with their fire brigades and

16:44

rescue squads. A part of

16:46

this response to the air threat was to dig

16:48

almost 5,000 trenches

16:50

for people to lie in during

16:53

an air raid. On

16:56

August 15, the Southern Front's

16:58

military council made a tour of the

17:00

front lines and then thanked everyone for

17:02

everything they had done. It

17:05

ended with mentioning the thousands

17:07

of fascist bodies seen, along with

17:09

their officers in front of the

17:11

northeastern section of the outermost line.

17:14

The implied message was, there

17:17

was plenty room for more. The

17:20

Romanians must have also noticed their war

17:22

dead, with nothing to show for it.

17:25

Clearly, a change was needed. So

17:28

instead of coming from the northeast

17:30

relative to Odessa, they would

17:32

now shift their access to the northwest.

17:35

Further, there was also to be

17:37

a general offensive along the entire

17:39

defensive line. If

17:41

the northwestern section broke, all to the

17:43

good. But at the very least, if

17:46

the two ends near the coast could

17:48

be pushed in a bit, then

17:51

Odessa's port facilities would come

17:53

within artillery range. And

17:55

to destroy the city's ability to load

17:57

and unload ships would be a good

17:59

idea. the beginning of their

18:01

end. The Romanians

18:04

brought up their reserves. During

18:06

all this fighting so far on

18:08

the ground, the Axis had seven

18:11

infantry divisions, one tank brigade and

18:13

two cavalry brigades. Soon

18:15

two more infantry divisions and another

18:17

cavalry brigade were on their way.

18:20

When the reserves arrived, the attack plan

18:22

had to be changed again due to

18:24

geography. The tanks would come

18:26

for the northeast as the ground was better

18:29

suited for them there. On

18:31

August 15th, the latest

18:33

attack got underway. Sure

18:35

enough, the Romanian 15th Infantry

18:38

Division and the 1st Cavalry Brigade

18:40

attacked from the east, supported by

18:42

a large number of tanks and

18:44

air support. This area was

18:47

defended by less than one full

18:49

division, yet Brigadier Commander

18:51

Monakov urged his men to fight.

18:54

This overwhelming thrust came right

18:57

at the men of the

18:59

1st Regiment of Naval Infantry,

19:01

commanded by a veteran, Colonel

19:03

Osepov. Wave after wave

19:05

of men and tanks hit the line.

19:07

Behind this main point, the Luftwaffe

19:10

bombed the reserves waiting to feed

19:12

themselves into the fray. This

19:15

went on until after sunset. And

19:18

then the inevitable happened. Two

19:21

battalions of Romanian infantry with tank

19:23

support broke through and took a

19:25

section of the line and

19:27

its rear area. This

19:30

looked like the beginning of the end,

19:32

where the entire defensive position of Odessa

19:35

was about to be unraveled like an

19:37

onion. To wit, Osepov must

19:39

have said, not on my

19:41

watch. He gathered what meant he

19:43

could and he counterattacked. Of

19:45

course, this was not all about bravado.

19:48

Before they moved out, Osepov had been

19:51

in contact with a destroyer and a

19:53

gunboat on the Black Sea and he

19:55

gave them coordinates to fire on. The

19:58

ship's large turrets let loose the ship. for a while,

20:01

and then the defenders rushed forward,

20:04

and such was their intensity

20:06

that one Romanian battalion was

20:08

actually driven into the estuary

20:10

behind them, and many

20:12

drowned. But there was still

20:14

another battalion and tanks to deal

20:16

with, more than enough to cause

20:18

havoc among the defenders, but

20:20

they were dealt with by

20:23

one man, a sailor named

20:25

S. Climenco. Having

20:27

used the darkness to get him behind

20:30

the remaining attackers, he waited until well

20:32

positioned, with a line of enemy troops

20:35

just ahead of him, and then he

20:37

raised his light machine gun. Spring

20:40

bullets from right to left, enemy troops

20:42

were falling like pins, in the dozens.

20:45

The rest weren't exactly sure what was going

20:47

on, but they saw their comrades fall in

20:49

front of them. The survivors ran

20:52

back to the north. As

20:54

for the tanks, without infantry support, they

20:57

knew they were vulnerable, so they

20:59

made their own hasty retreat, and

21:02

just like that, this latest

21:04

threat was over. But

21:07

the German-driven Romanians were not done

21:09

attacking, and they would be back

21:12

with more tanks, and there would

21:14

be more breakthroughs, specifically

21:16

at this same location. The

21:19

thinking was, the defenders here

21:21

would be undermanned and weakened,

21:23

but Colonel Osipov of the First

21:26

Regiment of Naval Infantry had formed

21:28

a plan for if the enemy

21:30

returned here in strength. They

21:32

did, and he put his

21:35

plan into action. Greetings

21:40

everyone from Central Virginia. So I just want to

21:42

say hi to some members and thank those who

21:44

have donated. Let's see here.

21:46

Today is the day of the eclipse, so good

21:48

luck with all that. Please don't lose your sight.

21:52

Let's see here. The first member is

21:54

Daniel Mello from Brazil, a cardiologist. He

21:56

wrote a rather cheeky email, hoping that

21:58

I had to get a stress

22:00

test done this morning. He said

22:02

something like, I hope the shaving of your

22:04

chest is the worst part of it. It

22:06

was the worst but it was pretty bad

22:08

so now I've got a spotty chest at

22:11

best. My girls think it's funny. I might

22:13

just have to shave everything just to start

22:15

all over again but those are

22:17

my problems. I don't even know why I

22:19

told you. Let's see here, Ryan Brophy from

22:21

Utah and Ryan is like the coolest last

22:23

name ever so good on ya. Let's

22:26

see here John Richards from St. Louis,

22:28

Missouri. Thank you very much John. Pamela

22:31

Zeeman from San Marcos, California. Thank

22:33

you very much Pamela. Donations,

22:36

David Cavilla, if I'm saying that

22:38

right, from UK. He wrote a

22:40

very lovely supportive email. Thank you

22:42

very much David. Your

22:45

donation helped pay for my copay so

22:47

I normally would use it for something

22:50

like alcohol but

22:52

needs must. Thank you very much

22:54

David. We will see

22:57

what happens next with Odessa and then we'll move

22:59

on from there. Thank you everyone for listening and

23:01

for supporting and I will see you as soon

23:03

as I can with the next episode. Take

23:07

care everyone. Hey

23:10

there. Did you know Kroger always gives

23:12

you savings and rewards on top of

23:14

our lower than low prices? And

23:17

when you download the Kroger app, you'll enjoy

23:19

over $500 in savings every week with digital

23:21

coupons. And don't forget FuelPoints to help you

23:23

save up to $1 per gallon at the

23:26

pump. Want to save even more?

23:28

With a Boost membership, you'll get double FuelPoints

23:30

and free delivery! So shop and save

23:32

big at Kroger today! Kroger, fresh

23:34

for everyone! Savings may vary by

23:36

state. Restrictions apply. Seasight for details.

23:41

Some people just know it's easy to

23:43

get Allstate's best price online. They

23:46

also know where to get half-off pizzas on

23:48

Mondays, courtside seats

23:51

at nosebleed prices, and

23:54

they know you can easily get Allstate's

23:56

lowest price on auto insurance at allstate.com.

24:03

Prices vary, including based on how you buy.

24:05

Subject to terms, conditions, and availability. Allstate Fire

24:07

and Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates, Northbrook,

24:09

Illinois.