The battles for the Tractor Factory continue at Stalingrad, as the German
6th Army's 24th Panzer Division (of East Prussia) attacks the concrete
complexes. The Germans heavily outnumber the defenders, but the Soviets
have perfected their defenses, relying on small "Storm groups" of men
with light and heavy machine guns, toommy guns, who create "killing
zones" of heavily-mined houses and squares. The Germans must advance
through canalized areas under intense fire, taking enormous casualties.
"My God, why have you forsaken us?" writes a panzer lieutenant.

That day, the last of 160,000 Russian soldiers crosses the Volga. Behind
the gray-clad infantrymen are hundreds of artillery pieces and mortars to
hel defend the city. There are also firm words from Josef Stalin:
"Stalingrad must not be taken by the enemy. That part of Stalingrad which
has been captured must be liberated."

The defenders of Stalingrad are also making use of the first fruits of
Lend-Lease, M-3 Stuart tanks and British Churchills. The Soviets are not
impressed with the slow Churchill and the rivet-hulled Stuart. The M-3
has an annoying weakness -- its machine guns jam every fifth shot, from
the tanks' vibration. More useful are the 56,445 field telephones,
381,431 miles of field telephone wire and 81,287 Thompson submachine
guns.

In the occupied Russian town of Dubno, a German engineer named Hermann
Graebe watches in horror as the SS massacres 1,500 Jews in a pit. "I
looked round for the man who had shot them. He was an SS man, who was
sitting on the edge of the narrow end of the pit, his legs dangling into
it. He had a submachine gun across his knees and was smoking a
cigarette."

The strain of waging war since 1939 is hitting home in Germany and
Britain. Gasoline for civilians in both countries is short. However,
Germans enjoy the benefits of an artificially strong Mark and the fruits
of European conquest and victory, which seems near. The Swastika flies
from the Pyrenees to the Pyramids, from the North Cape to the Crimea.

In England, the public is hungry for victory. Nearly four years of
bombardment, defeat, and U-boat blockade have created hardships. More
than 100,000 people livein homes officially condemned as unfit before the
war; 2.5 million occupy bombed houses that have been given only temporary
repairs. All healthy women under the age of 40 are obliged to undertake
war work, unless prevented by heavy family responsibilities or looking
after billeted military men or war workers. Rationing is heavy. Plans are
being drawn to draft 16-year-old boys to work in the coal mines to
release able-bodied men for the war. There are shortages of everything
from oil to manpower. Buildings go without maintenance or paint. From
radio, cinema, and hoardings come endless exhortations to Britons to bear
sacrifices, live frugally, give money to the war effort, and to press on
against the enemy. It is this dreary context of sacrifice, hardship, and
endless exertion that ultimately becomes the subtext for a novel by a
writer working for the Ministry of Information -- Eric Blair Jr. He uses
pen names for his works -- George Orwell.

Even so, the Allies are working on their counterattack. In England,
Dwight D. Eisenhower meets with Winston Churchill. The Allies intend to
invade French North Africa, to surround Rommel. The assault will be led
by the Americans, who will try to invade French North Africa as friends,
hoping to inveigle the Vichy leaders of Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia, to
switch their allegiance from Marshal Petain to the Western alliance.

In North Africa, the 2nd New Zealand Division sets up a base to convert
the 4th Infantry Brigade's three battalions, 18th, 19th, and 20th
Battalions into armored regiments. This will give 2 NZ Division its own
armor.

Lt. Gen. Bernard Law Montgomery watches his 8th Army carefully, and
realizes that it is not fully-trained. It has lost 80,000 casualties
since it was formed, been in continuous combat, and little time has been
spent on actual training. Monty believes that he has to change his plans
for his offensive, or else his army may be destroyed.

Off Guadalcanal, the only US carrier, Hornet, attacks Japanese shipping
at Shortland Island. Eighteen SBD Dauntless dive bombers, 15 TBF
Avengers, and 16 F4F Wildcats attack, and run smack into overcast
weather. The formation goes astray in rain and low cloud, but destroys
two enemy floatplanes in the air and four of ten Mavis reconnaissance
floatplanes in the water. One of 10 B-17s finds Buka in the rain and
lightning.

Nine Guadaclanal SBDs intercept the Tokyo Express's six destroyers, and
heavily damage the tincan Minegumo.