News On The Ninth: Fill & Download for Free

Not so much drastically different results, but the University of Queensland’s pitch drop experiment[1]just after being brought under climatic controls, failed to be recorded properly in November 2000 because a webcam wasn’t yet in operation and no one was assigned to continuously monitor it.[2] The most recent droplet was recorded on April 2014, however, to get a precise measurement of the viscosity of pitch the University will now need to wait until 2028. You can watch the action live at The Ninth Watch for the ninth Pitch Drop.A rival experiment from the University of Dublin fell in 2013, so it looks like the University of Queensland may lose out to the Irish University on the first accurate viscosity measurement.[3]In other news, experimental monitoring of the growth of grass,[4] and the drying of paint[5]are positively racing to a conclusion.Footnotes[1] Pitch Drop experiment[2] Pitch drop experiment - Wikipedia[3] Fever pitch as Dublin tar drop fall captured by webcam[4] Growth–defense trade‐off regulated by hormones in grass plants growing under different grazing intensities[5] Colour variation in drying paint films

Yes very much so but there was a wartime news blackout because on the 20th December Eisenhower asked Montgomery to add to his own existing command the Hodges Ist US Army and Simpsons US 9th Army from Bradley as US command structure had all but collapsedDescribing the situation Montgomery wrote“The First Army was fighting desperately. Having given orders to Dempsey and Crerar, who arrived for a conference at 11 am, I left at noon for the H.Q. of the First Army, where I had instructed Simpson to meet me. I found the northern flank of the bulge was very disorganized. Ninth Army had two corps and three divisions; First Army had three corps and fifteen divisions. Neither Army Commander had seen Bradley or any senior member of his staff since the battle began, and they had no directive on which to work. The first thing to do was to see the battle on the northern flank as one whole, to ensure the vital areas were held securely, and to create reserves for counter-attack. I embarked on these measures: I put British troops under command of the Ninth Army to fight alongside American soldiers, and made that Army take over some of the First Army Front. I positioned British troops as reserves behind the First and Ninth Armies until such time as American reserves could be created. Slowly but surely the situation was held, and then finally restored. Similar action was taken on the southern flank of the bulge by Bradley, with the Third Army.”Montgomery’s appraisal of the battle afterwards in a press conference angered many Americans as they felt he belittled the value of the US forces in the battle (in reality for every Briton involved there were over 30 US Soldiers involved - the anger against Montgomery’s words forced Churchil to make a speech in Parliament emphasising that the bulge was essentially as US battleWhilst there were comparatively few British Troops involved in the battle the German commander of the 5th Panzer Army, Hasso von Manteuffel rated Montgomery’s influence on the battle when he wroteThe operations of the American 1st Army had developed into a series of individual holding actions. Montgomery's contribution to restoring the situation was that he turned a series of isolated actions into a coherent battle fought according to a clear and definite plan. It was his refusal to engage in premature and piecemeal counter-attacks which enabled the Americans to gather their reserves and frustrate the German attempts to extend their breakthrough.

Manstein was a mile beyond the ability of Model when it came to strategic and tactical thinking, there is no comparison. Manstein’s command responsibility exceeded Model’s at numerous times and his accomplishments, his skill against his opponents, his ability as a tactician, his ability relative to his peers, and his most decisive engagements have all been expanded on by me time and again on Quora.So instead of having yet another answer as to why Manstein was a deus-ex mansteina™, I thought I’d expand on the strengths of Model and why he was a considerable force in his own right, even when compared with the likes of Manstein.Field Marshal Walter Model was a step above when it came to one particularly useful area of warfare that Germany found itself fighting more and more as the war turned against her, defensive attrition.Field Marshal Walter Model (left) and General Heinz Guderian (right).Nicknamed ‘The Führer’s Fireman’, Model was one of the Third Reich’s greatest defensive minds, his ability in commanding a defense legendary among his peers. Model was the man you sent when your front was on the edge of collapse and your situation dire, no man would bear more responsibility for stabilizing the increasingly dreadful situation on the Eastern Front.Model was a mind apart from his peers, possessing an almost eidetic memory and able to remember almost every detail of his divisions, his staff officers, and even the smallest details. He was able to analyze massive amounts of data and earned the moniker ‘Armee Modernismus’—’the army modernization fanatic’—for his ardent belief in the need to modernize the Wehrmacht and stay ahead of her rivals. This fit well with the nature of defensive warfare, planning his operations down to the detail and taking great pains to ensure that every advantage could be pressed in his situations, developing an ‘outstanding talent for improvisation’ that would aide him in numerous engagements.Model would be primarily stationed in Army Group North and Center, never being tested in the open fields of Army Group South where the mobile warfare of the open steppes proved to be the dominant form. It would be here that Model would make a name for himself, stopping several Soviet offensives in their tracks and developing a reputation for one to ‘bleed the enemy and then some’ in his strategies.Model had a penchant for dividing his armies at the divisional and regimental levels, allowing him to precisely place reinforcements where they were necessary on the front when reserves were little. This strategy allowed Model to have unparalleled defensive success as he used his fondness for numbers and minutiae and turned it into an advantage. This was, however, a double-edged sword.As a result of the these strategies, Model’s became disliked. Model had a reputation of a ruthless commander, willing to inflict and take casualties to stabilize his front. He always favored the units that were directly tied to his command rather than those given to him as reinforcements, placing special emphasis on elite units that had higher combat effectiveness:Model was given the elite Großdeutschland Division in September 1942, when his Ninth Army was under heavy attack during Operation Mars. Though he was told that the division was not to be broken up, Model nonetheless split it into battalions and companies, which he used to plug any gaps that appeared.Großdeutschland took nearly 10,000 casualties out of a strength of 18,000 men, and at one point was reportedly close to mutiny; but from Model's viewpoint these losses were acceptable because they meant that Ninth Army's own troops did not have to suffer them.Nonetheless, Model had proven the efficacy of his techniques.One particular area of note for Model was the Rzhev salient and his most likely, the pinnacle of Model’s command on the Eastern Front. The Wehrmacht was engaged in one of the most convoluted engagements of the entire war around Rzhev in what would become known as the ‘Rzhev Meat Grinder’.Model was tasked with the Ninth Army occupying the vital Rzhev salient that formed the lynchpin of the German’s defense in the region. This was a prestigious—with prestigious more akin to critical—command to hold and Model earned it out of his successes during the Battle of Moscow, jumping over 15 senior commanders above him for the post.When the Führer met Model and gave him the gravest report of the situation and the necessity of taking and holding Rzhev, Model’s response, which was peppered with zeal and fanaticism, amazed the Führer who remarked;Did you see that eye? I trust that man to do it, but I wouldn't want to serve under him.When Model arrived at the Rzhev salient, the sector was a disaster: a Soviet offensive had just broken through along the Kalinin Front and was making a forceful push towards the railway that connected Smolensk and Moscow together.The ‘Rzhev Salient’ with the command of the Ninth Army being handed to Model. This was a disastrous position for Model as the bulge created by the 39th Soviet Army was in danger of cutting his own forces in two and trapping a substantial portion in the north. Model had to act immediately to prevent such a disastrous occurrence.Instead of embracing his bread and butter in defence, Model immediately launched a counteroffensive to stop the advance of the Kalinin Front, forming a pincer around the Soviet 39th Army who were systematically destroyed within the pocket they had now become trapped in. Despite desperate attempts to save the army, the Soviet 39th Army was destroyed within the Kalinin Pocket.A stray bullet would wound Model and force him out of the area temporarily and perhaps at the worst possible moment.While Model was recuperating, the Red Army commenced the First Rzhev-Sychoyovka Offensive Operation which steamrolled through the German positions. The situation became dire as more and more territory was lost in the onslaught of the fighting with Model making a commanding return to the Ninth Army and immediately began assuming command.Realizing the precarious position he was in, Model formed ad-hoc infantry units and threw them into the fighting almost as soon as they returned to the frontline. Model also made consistent demands for extra divisions to plug the holes developing along his front and demanded that the German High Command either acquiesce or ‘provide detailed instructions as to how the battle is to be continued’. Model plugged the holes and burned off the last of the Soviet’s offensive momentum, stabilizing his position.The Stavka would attempt to break Rzhev again with the commencement of Operation Mars, a major offensive aimed at breaking Model and the Ninth by attacking from four directions. It would be here that Model would earn another moniker, ‘the Lion of Defence’, for his continual ability to hold the Rzhev area despite repeated Soviet offensives.Model would turn the Rzhev area into a bloodbath, almost single handedly giving her the title of ‘the Meat Grinder’ through a combination of his own defensive tactics and the horrendous nature of Soviet offensive tactics.Eventually, Model was forced to sacrifice Rzhev when it became clear that the area became untenable and retreated to a more secure defensive line 100 km behind his lines. Scorched earth tactics were embraced to the max, personally ordering the deportation of all male civilians, wells to be poisoned, and at least two dozen villages to be razed to prevent any useful material to the Red Army.The ‘Lion’ was done at Rzhev.Model’s personality was one of determination and zeal, having a nasty habit of leading from the front and in one instance, leading an infantry battalion of the Ninth Army against Soviet positions personally, pistol in hand. This Rommel-esque style of leadership endeared him to his men and as a result, Model was seen as a far superior commander than many others for his determination to lead and live with his men.So much was the faith in Model that when Army Group Center was collapsing under Operation Bagration, General Guderian remarked;"The news of Field Marshal Model's arrival is noted with satisfaction and confidence."Model would be credited with stabilizing the Eastern Front and was awarded Diamonds to go with his Knight's Cross with Oakleaves and Swords as a result.Model also had the distinguishing feature of being one of a handful of generals to operate on both the Eastern and Western fronts, being transferred to the West shortly after his commendation. It would be here that Model would be responsible for two significant victories (Operation Market Garden and the Battle of Hurtgen Forest) and one colossal defeat (the Battle of the Bulge).German mortar returning fire in the defence of the Hürtgen Forest. The Battle of the Hürtgen Forest was one of Model’s greatest tactical achievements, becoming the longest continual engagement for the US Army in its history, lasting 4 months and 2 days from September 19th, 1944 to February 10th, 1945. Despite a 5 to 1 superiority in equipment and manpower, Allied Forces failed to breakthrough the forest, suffering over 33,000 casualties with over 9,000 from illness and friendly fire alone. This is counter to the 28,000 German casualties that were inflicted, 12,000 of these casualties perished.As Germany’s fortunes turned against her more and more, Model became disillusioned with what he was fighting for, especially after the failure of the Battle of the Bulge. Issued new operational orders, Model was tasked with taking Army Group B and fighting to the bitter end in the Ruhr area. Model, not wanting to throw his troops away at an impossible situation, found a unique way to surrender to U.S. forces.Model considered himself still bound by oath to the Führer and the fact that he was a Field Marshal forbade any sense of a formal surrender—Paulus became the one exception and a blight on this tradition—so he devised another route. The oldest and youngest soldiers were discharged from military service and the remaining men were granted leave by order to surrender or attempt to break out at their discretion. The war was over for Model.Model shot himself in the forest on April 21st, 1945.I sincerely believe that I have served a criminal. I led my soldiers in good conscience... but for a criminal government.—Walter Model