France Fights On (English Translation) - Thread II - To the continent!
- Thread starter Wings
- Start date
I wonder how different the timeline will end up being when this World War is over.
Speaking of which, how far is the source material which is being translated - fantastically I must say - by Wings?
Speaking of which, how far is the source material which is being translated - fantastically I must say - by Wings?
A image showing the scheme of every aircraft (or tank) could be useful (yes i've seen the original website), but still, every post is among the best thread off this year
Quite different for sure, although the Iron Curtain won't shift that much it seems.
After a year (!) stuck in April 1944, the timeline has finally moved on to May 1944. Hopefully I'll be able to catch up sometime during the Spring of next year.
I could do a year-by-year recap for the vehicles/aircraft/ships, I'll add it to the list of things I need to do.
Thanks for your support!
)
21/09/43 - Occupied Countries
September 21st, 1943
Bucharest - It is already six days since the Bulgarian rebels are finally - and for good? - crushed under the Nazi boot. In retrospect, it is clear that the British will not be going north again. And so Ion Antonescu congratulates himself for having remained (for the time being) on the right side of the fence, regardless of the contacts he is trying to establish at this very moment with Moscow or London! Well, a little less with London, considering what he has just witnessed...
Nevertheless - true to his reputation as a revengeful and "red dog", the Conducator (who forgets nothing of the arbitration of Vienna, which had forced his Nation to yield South Dobruja to Boris III!) has now great projects within the Axis. Projects that involve a lot of seizures, requisitions and annexations at the expense of Bulgaria: acquisition of the arsenals captured at the beginning of the month, passage of the meager fleet of Sofia under the Romanian colors, occupation (by territorial troops or gendarmes, for the moment Romania has no better) of an area from Doulovo to Baltchik - "the white city on the Black Sea" - through Dobritch... All this, of course, just to do a favor to the kind German godfather. Antonescu has an appetite - just like Mussolini in August 1940...
But after all, Bucharest has an army to rebuild! And since it will not be stupid enough to throw itself straight into the arms of the British army, no doubt Berlin will look favorably on anything that can relieve her of a burden on the Danube. Especially with what is happening further north! In the long run, at the cost of these few meager requisitions, the reformed Romanian army will be able to defend Romania on its own... and List will be free to call back his pack of panzers to the Ukraine, far from the capital.
All this makes a very coherent speech. Nevertheless, for the time being, the Reich tempers. Perhaps he is not fooled... Or perhaps it no longer has confidence in the Conducator's ability to turn things around. So, in order to untangle all this and try to restore his credibility, Antonescu is planning to visit Berlin in person! Of course, his visit will be abundantly covered by the cameras, as well as the detour to the Danube front that he will not fail to make beforehand to estimate the damage in person, to show that he too is concerned above all with saving the Nation... and incidentally with uniting people around him.
During this time, the meetings of the National Democratic Bloc follow one another at a frantic rhythm - at least, as much as discretion allows. One constant dominates the debates, which are also enlightened by the Bulgarian example: the foreign intervention remains by nature hypothetical. The Army must therefore be ready to defend the turnaround as soon as it is initiated. A challenge, given the state of the latter on the front, not to mention the opinions of its officers...
Obviously, the regular troops might not be enough. And while the marshal of the Palace Constantine Sănătescu is planning to go on a battlefield walk too - but after Antonescu, of course - in order to sound out his fellow senior officers, everyone is now feverishly searching for the military means that will allow the coup to seize at least the whole of Bucharest in the first hour. Questioned about the elements he could put into the common pot, Lucrețiu Pătrășcanu - who still does not officially represent the Romanian CP - merely replies that the situation of his own organization must first be clarified... and that this will surely be the case very soon.
Bucharest - It is already six days since the Bulgarian rebels are finally - and for good? - crushed under the Nazi boot. In retrospect, it is clear that the British will not be going north again. And so Ion Antonescu congratulates himself for having remained (for the time being) on the right side of the fence, regardless of the contacts he is trying to establish at this very moment with Moscow or London! Well, a little less with London, considering what he has just witnessed...
Nevertheless - true to his reputation as a revengeful and "red dog", the Conducator (who forgets nothing of the arbitration of Vienna, which had forced his Nation to yield South Dobruja to Boris III!) has now great projects within the Axis. Projects that involve a lot of seizures, requisitions and annexations at the expense of Bulgaria: acquisition of the arsenals captured at the beginning of the month, passage of the meager fleet of Sofia under the Romanian colors, occupation (by territorial troops or gendarmes, for the moment Romania has no better) of an area from Doulovo to Baltchik - "the white city on the Black Sea" - through Dobritch... All this, of course, just to do a favor to the kind German godfather. Antonescu has an appetite - just like Mussolini in August 1940...
But after all, Bucharest has an army to rebuild! And since it will not be stupid enough to throw itself straight into the arms of the British army, no doubt Berlin will look favorably on anything that can relieve her of a burden on the Danube. Especially with what is happening further north! In the long run, at the cost of these few meager requisitions, the reformed Romanian army will be able to defend Romania on its own... and List will be free to call back his pack of panzers to the Ukraine, far from the capital.
All this makes a very coherent speech. Nevertheless, for the time being, the Reich tempers. Perhaps he is not fooled... Or perhaps it no longer has confidence in the Conducator's ability to turn things around. So, in order to untangle all this and try to restore his credibility, Antonescu is planning to visit Berlin in person! Of course, his visit will be abundantly covered by the cameras, as well as the detour to the Danube front that he will not fail to make beforehand to estimate the damage in person, to show that he too is concerned above all with saving the Nation... and incidentally with uniting people around him.
During this time, the meetings of the National Democratic Bloc follow one another at a frantic rhythm - at least, as much as discretion allows. One constant dominates the debates, which are also enlightened by the Bulgarian example: the foreign intervention remains by nature hypothetical. The Army must therefore be ready to defend the turnaround as soon as it is initiated. A challenge, given the state of the latter on the front, not to mention the opinions of its officers...
Obviously, the regular troops might not be enough. And while the marshal of the Palace Constantine Sănătescu is planning to go on a battlefield walk too - but after Antonescu, of course - in order to sound out his fellow senior officers, everyone is now feverishly searching for the military means that will allow the coup to seize at least the whole of Bucharest in the first hour. Questioned about the elements he could put into the common pot, Lucrețiu Pătrășcanu - who still does not officially represent the Romanian CP - merely replies that the situation of his own organization must first be clarified... and that this will surely be the case very soon.
21/09/43 - Asia & Pacific
September 21st, 1943
Burma Campaign
Staff meeting
Myitkyina, 08:00 - One of the city's airfields seems to be under siege! All the personnel is confined until further notice, since an RAF Liberator LB-30 and its Hurricane escort landed there the day before. The only information available to the "small staff" is that they are arriving from Bombay.
This morning, an unusual security detail was deployed around the main runway, when a Belgian Lockheed Lodestar covered by four French P-40s lands there, coming from Dien-Bien-Phu.
An hour later, a Douglas C-54 Skymaster escorted by six P-51 (all American) land in turn, arriving from Chongqing.
Each time, high-ranking officers, covered with stripes and even stars, disembark from the transport and go by jeep (for lack of a limousine...) to a building located away and fiercely guarded. This meeting, organized in secret, ends around 16:00. Everyone then hurries to leave from where they had come.
Indochina Campaign
Aerial harassment
Hanoi, 06:30 - Taking advantage of low clouds to cover their approach, six B-25 of II/62 attack the Gia Lam railroad workshops, covered by four P-40s of the 74th. The bombs hit hard the main building (fortunately empty at this early hour), damaging or destroying many machines and setting fire to several cars and locomotives stored nearby. It was a hard blow for the occupant, because the machine tools of the Gia Lam depot were used to repair and refurbish the equipment. Some of them could not be repaired in their current state, which disrupts rail traffic in Tonkin.
Some distance away, six P-40s of the II/40 drop their 250 GP over the Hang Co, in order to create even more disorder in the railroad network of the city. After a few strafing passes, they leave in the direction of the Cuvette.
On the way back, the attackers are caught by two A6M2-N (Rufe) coming from Grand-Lac. The advantage of surprise allows the seaplanes to shoot down a French P-40 and to damage a B-25.
Battle of Laos
Takhek (Laos), 08:00 - The Japanese troops who had finally lifted the siege of the city are greeted by Thai officers who are half discontented, half amused. Their anger comes from the fact that the Japanese reinforcements arrived twenty-four hours late. Their amusement comes from the fact that it does not displease the Thais to see their "big Japanese brothers" embarrassed! But this is indeed the case, since the besiegers of the day before have evaporated at the arrival of the column of reinforcements, which could not trap anyone. Sullen, the Japanese settle outside the city. The next radio session is used to ask for new instructions.
.........
Hayabusa Base (Laos) - The news of the pitiful failure of the Takhek column reaches General Yuzo Matsuyama, commander of the 56th Japanese Infantry Division. He is pale with rage and paces up and down the wooden hut that serves as his headquarters. He does not understand anything about the enemy's tactics. Every time he attacks, the enemy evades him!
In fact, this is exactly what his opponents want. A good half of the French and Allied forces are not able to face the Japanese in a pitched battle, so they adopt a semi-guerrilla tactic inspired by the Vietminh. Harassing the enemy and refusing to fight until they have the advantage, the Franco-Indochinese attack when the opponent is weak, they retreat when he is strong.
.........
Northern sector of Tong Pheung (Laos), 15:00 - Supply mission for four Lodestar of 344 Sqn (B). The Franco-Laotians found a small clearing to receive the packages. The wind seems decided today to put its grain of salt by dispersing the volutes of the smoke, but this does not seem to bother the Belgian twin-engines which, one after the other, manage to parachute their load in the middle of the drop zone. Then the last aircraft is approaching, three Thai Ki-43s (Oscar) appear unexpectedly, skimming the tops of the trees!
Unperturbed, the Belgian plane waits until it has finished its drop before clearing off at the moment when the gusts of the Thai fighters begin to lacerate the left drift. At the same time, the escorts, four Mustang I's from Sqn 340 (B) that were probably patrolling a little too high, dive to interpose themselves. The Mustangs shoot down one Nakajima and put the other two on the run.
On the ground, the soldiers who followed the skirmish are amazed by the nerve (some would say the recklessness) of the transport pilot. This one, a veteran of the Sudan and Ethiopia campaigns, simply replied that "the Italian biplanes were much tougher! Lt-Colonel de Kermer, who personally followed the scene, had him cited for his coolness.
Indonesia Campaign
Penguins down under
Timor Sea - Dripping with water, the Corsair emerges from the tropical squall... Mechanically, its pilot takes a quick look at the instrument panel - oil, clear, 8,000 feet, OK, behind, left, right, clear. The wingman is well within his 4 hours, the 16 other aircraft of the 20F are in echelons, staggered by sections behind the two lead aircraft.
Theoretically based in Nouméa, they are redeployed to Port Moresby, then to Darwin, with their 18F teammates.
Precisely 1,000 feet below the Corsairs, 18 of the 25 PBJ-1Ds ("Mitchell mariners" or Strafer) of the 18F are moving forward, unperturbed, towards the island that we can see, still far ahead, in the heat haze. They are at economical cruising speed: 200 knots at the banter, less painful to follow than the SBD's which are reaching 180 knots... without bombs! A quick thought to the rest of the GAN 4, based in Karouba, which chases the Axis coastal traffic in the Mediterranean. Fortunately, the Japanese ships' flak has nothing to do with the German Flak but it remains dangerous at low altitude, so we'll see.
"The Admiral had a funny idea to send our two flotillas so far away in the north of Australia while the fleet was refueling and repairing its minor problems in Fremantle, just to avoid a few spills on land! No question of starting again like in Trincomalee, they say!
In fact, it was the Australians, who were beginning to find slightly the claims of the USAAF B-24s slightly exaggerated, which were sinking at least half of the Japanese fleet when they were sent to attack a small convoy of barges and tugs, who decided to see, since they were at their disposal, what these other boasters that are surely the "French Penguins" were worth. "Penguins in the Northern Territories? Sharks and sea crocodiles, sure, but penguins!"
The face of the Aussies at the landing in Darwin! Finally, on the two satellite airfields where they exiled the group, upon arrival from New Guinea). And as Darwin is a half-destroyed, almost ghost town, practically populated only by people in bush hats, we are better off flying...
And then, we are not too badly supplied. Especially after the very successful "mission" carried out at night and in all discretion on the base next door (Batchelor Airfield), in the rich stores of the US Army Air Farce! The "mission leaders" even "freed" an old acquaintance of our liaison officer*, who was rotting in an MP jail, Master Sargeant Thomas "Tom" Clancy, USMC, a very competent mechanic, as well as a REAL washing machine! Both are very useful in these lands where civilization is still only a thin layer of varnish... The "Smokey Bear" screwed on Clancy's head (even when he sleeps, it seems!) is not a disadvantage, on the contrary.
The objectives of the day are, for the 20F, the air base of Penfui and the port of Kœpang [now Kupang]. The Corsairs will be satisfied with the small hydrobase, after the run of the bombers... And more, if there are some Zeros in the air.
In the meantime, the western tip of the island of Timor is clearly ahead... Still a few hundred kilometers before the objective, on the other side of the peninsula. The Mitchell Strafer start to lose altitude quickly to pass under the cover of the local radar. As for the Corsairs, they accelerate, while climbing to 20 000 feet and keeping the sun in their 6 hours, you never know!
"An advantage for us is that the Japs in the area have never had to encounter a Corsair before. Spitfires over Darwin, the latest P-39s or the usual P-40s, but no Corsairs... "
Straight ahead on the opposite coast, we can already make out Koepang, with its airfield to the right of the city, inland. It's time to drop the extra tanks, which are almost empty. Watch out for the heads below!
"Still nothing hostile in the sky... At the bottom, separating into 3 boxes, the Strafer drags a black smoke which indicates that they have engaged the overpower and are going at 240 knots. On the water, two, no three parallel wakes of bubbling water - speedboats or... We'll see later, the radio spits.
- From Green 3, four bandits coming up, lower at 2 o'clock.
- Blue, they are yours. The others, behind me, we continue.
A good point, these hostiles don't seem to have seen the PBJ-1Ds that are about to break out at 240 knots over the port and the airfield. Some black flakes start to explode well below us. The flak is also alerted and targets us while blue section starts a frontal pass with what seems to be Zekes.
Otherwise, detonations are scattered on the whole area and... ouch... a big explosion signs that a Strafer has hit the ground... Another one smokes heavily from the right engine.
- Leader, from Baker 6, hit on the right. I'm clearing south.
- Copy that.
- Baker 5, stay with him.
- Copy that.
The cripple and his canister disappear over the trees toward safety."
At the same time, the four Zeros did not hold out for long. A head-on pass against four Corsairs in a semi-dive is rather hard to take for the fragile Japanese planes!
One of them went into the sea while smoking and two others hit the ground while their pilots slowly descended under their parachutes. As for the fourth, no one knows where it went.
It's time for us to go down a few floors and let the Japanese the sweet sound of "death whistling"... Break by section! A few big blacks accompany us for more than a few hundred feet, but as we go faster than the gunners aim... "
The remaining nine Strafers continued towards the coast before turning left towards the harbour, following the other six, who came through the few bursts of machine-gun fire from the beaches without harm and laid their eggs on the sheds and on the equipment scattered here and there. A bomb even exploded on some small boats beached on the beach next to the wharf, turning them into kitchen wood.
In threes, the nine aircraft coming from the airfield, belly up to less than two meters from the waves, line up everything that floats and copiously season the smallest boat with the Browning of .50. Drilled like a skimmer, a small tugboat spits its steam through all the holes before capsizing in a steamy mess. Four motorized barges and three tidal barges suffered the same fate. All these wooden barges were chopped up while their crews jumped into the water to survive.
"In my sights is a large four-engine seaplane, sitting like a huge emerald on the green/blue sea, when a shadow on my windshield makes me look up from my eyes from my sight. One... no, two, three... fighters... chasing the PBJ-1D.
Slowed down by a big central float, they don't have a chance to catch up, but they cut me off !
Reflex... Left foot and stick, flaps down, speed broken, black sail limit, wings moaning, they do not like at all the treatment inflicted... A look at my n° 2 following from a distance. Flaps up, full speed, the Pratt roars, the propeller bites with voracity in the air, wings flat, we skidded - these three damn fighter hydros are on our left... One in front and... the other two behind me, Zero floats**... Without thinking, I align the first one with at least 30° of deflection... Well, not a Zero, this one, it is almost as big as a Corsair***! At less than 150 meters, I crush the button of the machine guns. From so close, the impacts crawl on the fuselage in packets, devastating everything until the engine... Black smoke... We are so low that the zinc plunges into the water even before having the decency to explode ! I hear then an unpleasant tinkling behind me, like marbles shaken in a metal jar. Muffled shocks in my back, on the armor plate****... I pull on the handle, the shocks stop almost as fast as they started! My zinc climbs while losing its speed... Almost at a standstill I tip over to see the third hydro running low in the waves, already too far away to think of pursuing it.
- I got him!" screams the radio. A bubbling in the water indicates the grave of the second hydro, who was not as lucky as his wingman.
On the rest of the water, the four-engine boat burns, as well as a sailboat and a few small service boats. There is nothing worthwhile left!"
After a second pass on the harbor, the Strafers break their attack. They began to gain altitude, avoiding the city and heading south.
"By the time I call off my people and count them, we're following. Six hundred and fifty km before home - a good two hours of flight!
With a dry throat, I rummage in the box that my mechanic has fixed against the left wall, under the engine controls. I take out a canteen and a packed snack made of that strange soft, square American bread. It's not as good as a baguette, but it's good enough. Damn Edmond, always taking care of things!
11h15. Engine off, ouffff ! Almost 5 hours of flight! Edmond is there to help me to de-brake. He is satisfied, even if his disapproving eye has already spotted the holes in the fuselage. I get out of the cockpit, stiff... Debriefing, meal and nap... "
At the end of the afternoon, a liaison Anson brings back the crew of the PBJ-1D from Darwin, which had to ditch and was recovered by a Catalina of the RAAF, far to the north, in not very friendly waters.
End of an ordinary day "down under".
.........
From the menoirs of CF Jean Gaxotte, boss of 20F*****.
* Major Daniel Xavier Kirby, USMC, an air fire support specialist.
** A6M2-N "Rufe".
*** This is a Kawanishi N1K1 Kyofu, Rex for the animal lovers and in the allied identification code.
**** To gain some precious km/h, the "Rufe" fly most of the time without their 20 mm wing.
***** OTL, boss of SHM Indo from 1940 to 1944.
Burma Campaign
Staff meeting
Myitkyina, 08:00 - One of the city's airfields seems to be under siege! All the personnel is confined until further notice, since an RAF Liberator LB-30 and its Hurricane escort landed there the day before. The only information available to the "small staff" is that they are arriving from Bombay.
This morning, an unusual security detail was deployed around the main runway, when a Belgian Lockheed Lodestar covered by four French P-40s lands there, coming from Dien-Bien-Phu.
An hour later, a Douglas C-54 Skymaster escorted by six P-51 (all American) land in turn, arriving from Chongqing.
Each time, high-ranking officers, covered with stripes and even stars, disembark from the transport and go by jeep (for lack of a limousine...) to a building located away and fiercely guarded. This meeting, organized in secret, ends around 16:00. Everyone then hurries to leave from where they had come.
Indochina Campaign
Aerial harassment
Hanoi, 06:30 - Taking advantage of low clouds to cover their approach, six B-25 of II/62 attack the Gia Lam railroad workshops, covered by four P-40s of the 74th. The bombs hit hard the main building (fortunately empty at this early hour), damaging or destroying many machines and setting fire to several cars and locomotives stored nearby. It was a hard blow for the occupant, because the machine tools of the Gia Lam depot were used to repair and refurbish the equipment. Some of them could not be repaired in their current state, which disrupts rail traffic in Tonkin.
Some distance away, six P-40s of the II/40 drop their 250 GP over the Hang Co, in order to create even more disorder in the railroad network of the city. After a few strafing passes, they leave in the direction of the Cuvette.
On the way back, the attackers are caught by two A6M2-N (Rufe) coming from Grand-Lac. The advantage of surprise allows the seaplanes to shoot down a French P-40 and to damage a B-25.
Battle of Laos
Takhek (Laos), 08:00 - The Japanese troops who had finally lifted the siege of the city are greeted by Thai officers who are half discontented, half amused. Their anger comes from the fact that the Japanese reinforcements arrived twenty-four hours late. Their amusement comes from the fact that it does not displease the Thais to see their "big Japanese brothers" embarrassed! But this is indeed the case, since the besiegers of the day before have evaporated at the arrival of the column of reinforcements, which could not trap anyone. Sullen, the Japanese settle outside the city. The next radio session is used to ask for new instructions.
.........
Hayabusa Base (Laos) - The news of the pitiful failure of the Takhek column reaches General Yuzo Matsuyama, commander of the 56th Japanese Infantry Division. He is pale with rage and paces up and down the wooden hut that serves as his headquarters. He does not understand anything about the enemy's tactics. Every time he attacks, the enemy evades him!
In fact, this is exactly what his opponents want. A good half of the French and Allied forces are not able to face the Japanese in a pitched battle, so they adopt a semi-guerrilla tactic inspired by the Vietminh. Harassing the enemy and refusing to fight until they have the advantage, the Franco-Indochinese attack when the opponent is weak, they retreat when he is strong.
.........
Northern sector of Tong Pheung (Laos), 15:00 - Supply mission for four Lodestar of 344 Sqn (B). The Franco-Laotians found a small clearing to receive the packages. The wind seems decided today to put its grain of salt by dispersing the volutes of the smoke, but this does not seem to bother the Belgian twin-engines which, one after the other, manage to parachute their load in the middle of the drop zone. Then the last aircraft is approaching, three Thai Ki-43s (Oscar) appear unexpectedly, skimming the tops of the trees!
Unperturbed, the Belgian plane waits until it has finished its drop before clearing off at the moment when the gusts of the Thai fighters begin to lacerate the left drift. At the same time, the escorts, four Mustang I's from Sqn 340 (B) that were probably patrolling a little too high, dive to interpose themselves. The Mustangs shoot down one Nakajima and put the other two on the run.
On the ground, the soldiers who followed the skirmish are amazed by the nerve (some would say the recklessness) of the transport pilot. This one, a veteran of the Sudan and Ethiopia campaigns, simply replied that "the Italian biplanes were much tougher! Lt-Colonel de Kermer, who personally followed the scene, had him cited for his coolness.
Indonesia Campaign
Penguins down under
Timor Sea - Dripping with water, the Corsair emerges from the tropical squall... Mechanically, its pilot takes a quick look at the instrument panel - oil, clear, 8,000 feet, OK, behind, left, right, clear. The wingman is well within his 4 hours, the 16 other aircraft of the 20F are in echelons, staggered by sections behind the two lead aircraft.
Theoretically based in Nouméa, they are redeployed to Port Moresby, then to Darwin, with their 18F teammates.
Precisely 1,000 feet below the Corsairs, 18 of the 25 PBJ-1Ds ("Mitchell mariners" or Strafer) of the 18F are moving forward, unperturbed, towards the island that we can see, still far ahead, in the heat haze. They are at economical cruising speed: 200 knots at the banter, less painful to follow than the SBD's which are reaching 180 knots... without bombs! A quick thought to the rest of the GAN 4, based in Karouba, which chases the Axis coastal traffic in the Mediterranean. Fortunately, the Japanese ships' flak has nothing to do with the German Flak but it remains dangerous at low altitude, so we'll see.
"The Admiral had a funny idea to send our two flotillas so far away in the north of Australia while the fleet was refueling and repairing its minor problems in Fremantle, just to avoid a few spills on land! No question of starting again like in Trincomalee, they say!
In fact, it was the Australians, who were beginning to find slightly the claims of the USAAF B-24s slightly exaggerated, which were sinking at least half of the Japanese fleet when they were sent to attack a small convoy of barges and tugs, who decided to see, since they were at their disposal, what these other boasters that are surely the "French Penguins" were worth. "Penguins in the Northern Territories? Sharks and sea crocodiles, sure, but penguins!"
The face of the Aussies at the landing in Darwin! Finally, on the two satellite airfields where they exiled the group, upon arrival from New Guinea). And as Darwin is a half-destroyed, almost ghost town, practically populated only by people in bush hats, we are better off flying...
And then, we are not too badly supplied. Especially after the very successful "mission" carried out at night and in all discretion on the base next door (Batchelor Airfield), in the rich stores of the US Army Air Farce! The "mission leaders" even "freed" an old acquaintance of our liaison officer*, who was rotting in an MP jail, Master Sargeant Thomas "Tom" Clancy, USMC, a very competent mechanic, as well as a REAL washing machine! Both are very useful in these lands where civilization is still only a thin layer of varnish... The "Smokey Bear" screwed on Clancy's head (even when he sleeps, it seems!) is not a disadvantage, on the contrary.
The objectives of the day are, for the 20F, the air base of Penfui and the port of Kœpang [now Kupang]. The Corsairs will be satisfied with the small hydrobase, after the run of the bombers... And more, if there are some Zeros in the air.
In the meantime, the western tip of the island of Timor is clearly ahead... Still a few hundred kilometers before the objective, on the other side of the peninsula. The Mitchell Strafer start to lose altitude quickly to pass under the cover of the local radar. As for the Corsairs, they accelerate, while climbing to 20 000 feet and keeping the sun in their 6 hours, you never know!
"An advantage for us is that the Japs in the area have never had to encounter a Corsair before. Spitfires over Darwin, the latest P-39s or the usual P-40s, but no Corsairs... "
Straight ahead on the opposite coast, we can already make out Koepang, with its airfield to the right of the city, inland. It's time to drop the extra tanks, which are almost empty. Watch out for the heads below!
"Still nothing hostile in the sky... At the bottom, separating into 3 boxes, the Strafer drags a black smoke which indicates that they have engaged the overpower and are going at 240 knots. On the water, two, no three parallel wakes of bubbling water - speedboats or... We'll see later, the radio spits.
- From Green 3, four bandits coming up, lower at 2 o'clock.
- Blue, they are yours. The others, behind me, we continue.
A good point, these hostiles don't seem to have seen the PBJ-1Ds that are about to break out at 240 knots over the port and the airfield. Some black flakes start to explode well below us. The flak is also alerted and targets us while blue section starts a frontal pass with what seems to be Zekes.
Otherwise, detonations are scattered on the whole area and... ouch... a big explosion signs that a Strafer has hit the ground... Another one smokes heavily from the right engine.
- Leader, from Baker 6, hit on the right. I'm clearing south.
- Copy that.
- Baker 5, stay with him.
- Copy that.
The cripple and his canister disappear over the trees toward safety."
At the same time, the four Zeros did not hold out for long. A head-on pass against four Corsairs in a semi-dive is rather hard to take for the fragile Japanese planes!
One of them went into the sea while smoking and two others hit the ground while their pilots slowly descended under their parachutes. As for the fourth, no one knows where it went.
It's time for us to go down a few floors and let the Japanese the sweet sound of "death whistling"... Break by section! A few big blacks accompany us for more than a few hundred feet, but as we go faster than the gunners aim... "
The remaining nine Strafers continued towards the coast before turning left towards the harbour, following the other six, who came through the few bursts of machine-gun fire from the beaches without harm and laid their eggs on the sheds and on the equipment scattered here and there. A bomb even exploded on some small boats beached on the beach next to the wharf, turning them into kitchen wood.
In threes, the nine aircraft coming from the airfield, belly up to less than two meters from the waves, line up everything that floats and copiously season the smallest boat with the Browning of .50. Drilled like a skimmer, a small tugboat spits its steam through all the holes before capsizing in a steamy mess. Four motorized barges and three tidal barges suffered the same fate. All these wooden barges were chopped up while their crews jumped into the water to survive.
"In my sights is a large four-engine seaplane, sitting like a huge emerald on the green/blue sea, when a shadow on my windshield makes me look up from my eyes from my sight. One... no, two, three... fighters... chasing the PBJ-1D.
Slowed down by a big central float, they don't have a chance to catch up, but they cut me off !
Reflex... Left foot and stick, flaps down, speed broken, black sail limit, wings moaning, they do not like at all the treatment inflicted... A look at my n° 2 following from a distance. Flaps up, full speed, the Pratt roars, the propeller bites with voracity in the air, wings flat, we skidded - these three damn fighter hydros are on our left... One in front and... the other two behind me, Zero floats**... Without thinking, I align the first one with at least 30° of deflection... Well, not a Zero, this one, it is almost as big as a Corsair***! At less than 150 meters, I crush the button of the machine guns. From so close, the impacts crawl on the fuselage in packets, devastating everything until the engine... Black smoke... We are so low that the zinc plunges into the water even before having the decency to explode ! I hear then an unpleasant tinkling behind me, like marbles shaken in a metal jar. Muffled shocks in my back, on the armor plate****... I pull on the handle, the shocks stop almost as fast as they started! My zinc climbs while losing its speed... Almost at a standstill I tip over to see the third hydro running low in the waves, already too far away to think of pursuing it.
- I got him!" screams the radio. A bubbling in the water indicates the grave of the second hydro, who was not as lucky as his wingman.
On the rest of the water, the four-engine boat burns, as well as a sailboat and a few small service boats. There is nothing worthwhile left!"
After a second pass on the harbor, the Strafers break their attack. They began to gain altitude, avoiding the city and heading south.
"By the time I call off my people and count them, we're following. Six hundred and fifty km before home - a good two hours of flight!
With a dry throat, I rummage in the box that my mechanic has fixed against the left wall, under the engine controls. I take out a canteen and a packed snack made of that strange soft, square American bread. It's not as good as a baguette, but it's good enough. Damn Edmond, always taking care of things!
11h15. Engine off, ouffff ! Almost 5 hours of flight! Edmond is there to help me to de-brake. He is satisfied, even if his disapproving eye has already spotted the holes in the fuselage. I get out of the cockpit, stiff... Debriefing, meal and nap... "
At the end of the afternoon, a liaison Anson brings back the crew of the PBJ-1D from Darwin, which had to ditch and was recovered by a Catalina of the RAAF, far to the north, in not very friendly waters.
End of an ordinary day "down under".
.........
From the menoirs of CF Jean Gaxotte, boss of 20F*****.
* Major Daniel Xavier Kirby, USMC, an air fire support specialist.
** A6M2-N "Rufe".
*** This is a Kawanishi N1K1 Kyofu, Rex for the animal lovers and in the allied identification code.
**** To gain some precious km/h, the "Rufe" fly most of the time without their 20 mm wing.
***** OTL, boss of SHM Indo from 1940 to 1944.
21/09/43 - Eastern Front
September 21st, 1943
Operation Suvorov
Wet Bison
Belarus - The predictions of the German meteorologists - duly warned by their antennas in Norway and in the far north - did not take long to come true. All day long, a heavy rain falls on the battlefield, grounding the planes again and hampering operations at the worst possible moment for HG Mitte. In Minsk, one wanted to believe that the Soviet efforts would divert at the last moment to Ukraine or the Baltic States... but no. In fact the Soviets claim to be indifferent to the elements - only the Fascists or the bourgeois capitalists are afraid of a little water! Nevertheless, this deluge suits the Red Army well...
.........
Battle of Dubrova ("Suvorov-Center") - The Wehrmacht continues its bloody offensives to reduce the Soviet bridgehead. After the artillery barrages and trench assaults, the only thing missing was rain and mud to return to the Other War.
Obviously, the attackers' momentum, already uncertain, is affected. In the south, the 106. ID and 258. ID continue to fight fiercely to seize the first line of the 34th Division of Colonel Vetvitsky. The latter has given much since yesterday - static defense under the bombardments, stubborn resistance to the assaults of the Landsers and night-time attacks launched by its reserve regiment, although already partly engaged to support its teammates. In short, Ivan Fedyuninsky is forced to send reinforcements - in this case, a regiment of the 39th Division - yet itself already well bled during the capture of Mogilev, but the 15th Army was running out of possibilities. Fortunately, this impromptu help combined with the terrible weather which ruins the work of the Axis observers, is enough to make the German advance stall once again. In the evening of 21 September, the third position of the Soviet first line is still holding, albeit shakily, in blood and mud.
On the northern side of the battle, after a very tense explanation with General Schlemmer - whose 134. ID did not shine yesterday, to say the least! - von Erdmannsdorff leaves with his 18. PanzerGrenadier to attack the two redoubts that still resist him. He holds in reserve his eleven Panzer III still operational and the German infantrymen reinforced by Hiwis, go up to the assault without armoured support, to reduce the forts in what is to be a hand-to-hand combat... until the attackers are caught under a very heavy artillery bombardment, led from the other side by the combined artillery regiments of the 3rd Guards and the 15th Army. Indeed, Fedyuninsky perfectly identified the German maneuver - its means, its goals, as well as the risk he would run if the fascists succeeded in taking and destroying the bridges over the Drut River... And as soon as the last shell falls, the Hiwi are counter-charged by Mikhailov's 361st Division, which attacks its former compatriots by pushing furious Hurrah! Between frontovikis and Hiwis, there is no mercy to be expected - even less than between Germans and Russians.
At midday, the POP located behind in the west falls, crushed under the number - but the fourth and last one, at the crossroads of the roads leading to Lipsk, stubbornly resists and still prevents the 18. PzGr to deploy and then to pass in force. With an astonishing lack of tactical mastery - worthy even of the Red Army of Barbarossa, or even that of the Winter War - the Wehrmacht multiplies the frontal assaults, but nothing comes of them.
The carnage continues in vain all day around the redoubt, which is still standing at sunset. The Reich troops are only 3 kilometers away from their objective - so close, and yet so far... Worse, during the night, the Soviets send multiple detachments to infiltrate the ranks of the 134. ID, sometimes wearing uniforms recovered from the dead in order to sow chaos. Some of them do even better and even take over the anti-tank redoubt (POP), without anyone noticing it before morning!
As for the forces of the German center - the 197. ID and the 244. StuG - it is not their role to charge the opponent... Besides, it suits them well, while they observe with binoculars what is happening on their flanks. But in the secret of their thoughts, Boege and Großkreutz know that tomorrow von Salmuth will tell them that they too must give...
.........
Chachevichy region ("Suvorov-Center") - Flat calm in this area, back to the warfare so common in Belarus. The adversaries observe each other discreetly with binoculars over the Drut; no serious exchange of fire is to be reported.
.........
Battle of Jlobin ("Suvorov-South") - The offensive decided to retake Jlobin continues to progress under the rain, but in an even more uncertain way than the day before. If in the east, the rest of the XII. AK is still holding the line towards Raduga - mainly because of lack of opponents... - the XLI. PzK and the 19. Panzer have indeed missed their shot and must now move forward to hit the enemy. Yes, but where?
This "where", Erwin Rommel thought about it during the night... The Balkan Fox is in a delicate situation. If it were up to him, he would simply recall his tanks to wait for the next step, as none of the options available to him seems really satisfactory.
Move up north and hit Govorov's 2nd Guards on the side of the XIII. AK? The easiest, the most obvious - too obvious even: by the time the Reds are thrown back into the Drut, they will have brought up reinforcements from Jlobin that will hit his divisions in the back. These would then be caught between two steel jaws, and would risk being crushed without any gain. No.
To rush towards the Dnieper? It would be tempting if the HG Mitte had... let's say, an additional mechanized or infantry corps, which could do the interlining. The Heer could then hope to definitively separate the two red armies, push back the southern one towards Jlobin then settle its score with the northern one... but it is not the case, no need to dream.
The last solution remains: the most unexpected, the most audacious - the one that can make the opponent panic and force him to make a mistake. It is also the most risky - but since the Polish campaign, Rommel has proven that he was not afraid to take risks, as long as it is calculated. The solution, however, would have been frightening to the OKH - even though it was precisely what he wanted! It is to let the XIII. AK from Straube to take charge (at least temporarily) of the 2nd Guards, in the north - perhaps with the support of one of the divisions of the XXV. AK - and to rush with the Panzerdivisions towards Jlobin! To provoke on the way an encounter battle with this irritating armored corps which escaped yesterday! And above all, making itself bigger than it is, forcing the 3rd Shock to go forward in unfavorable conditions or to withdraw for fear of a new shock ... or even, at worst, to watch the red tanks being cut up under its nose without reacting. This will be enough as a victory, to satisfy Rastenburg, if nothing else...
The decision is quickly made, and the orders go out during the night. At dawn, deliberately leaving the infantry face Govorov's forces, panzers and mechanized infantry oblique to the south, towards Minkov. Soon, as expected, Tanashishin's 21st Armored Corps counter-charges them from Strenki.
Rommel's plan might have been brilliant in better weather - but the heavy rain prevents the Germans from being alerted to the threat of Rodin's 7th Armored Corps, which appears on their rear, at the junction with XXV. AK of Fahrmbacher. A confused and costly melee ensues: the German tactical superiority (largely due to the optics) is counterbalanced by the disastrous weather conditions and an always uncertain supply...
The infantry of the XXV. AK - which was supposed to occupy the ground and secure the roads - is lagging behind, bogged down in the woods south of Saray facing aggressive T-34. It was not planned that the 52. and 110. IDs were to fight Soviet tanks on the plain...
Faced with this uncertain situation, Josef Harpe nevertheless reacts with efficiency. The 18. Panzer and the 503. schw Pzr Abt stop to confront the 21st Armored Corps. As for the 19. and 20. Panzer, they turn north to destroy the 7th Armored Corps. This maneuver is crowned with success - already withdrawn from the front lines during operation Suvorov, re-equipped with second-hand machines mounted by rookies, Rodin's corps can only fold... He loses 83 tanks, against 39 panzers - but the Germans, them, especially lost time and fuel.
However, Ivan Konev does not decide to let the events unfold without reacting. The Fascists hit the 21st Corps? Perfect, the 3rd Shock will go up to meet them, on a Kazimirovskaya-Slobodka-Minkov line, without rushing, with caution. And the 10th Armored Corps will march in the lead, as much to locate the enemy as to support Tanashishin's tanks. The encounter with the 503. sPA and the 18. PzD - already engaged by the 21st AC - takes place in the afternoon around the small village of Annovka, under a driving rain. It ends - as often - by a draw between Germans at their ease in flexible defense, but inferior in number, and Russians more numerous but much too feverish.
......
"Andrei yells, "Starting lightning right!" Our Siberian managed to catch a glimpse of something in his sights that I missed completely. If we had been targeted and the shot had been accurate, we would have been dead already. For form's sake, Fyodor still crushed his foot on the right pedal, to make our machine turn... But it is not Pobieda! that the shell
hits.
"Boris has tasted!" It's Sasha, on the radio - damn it, kid, look ahead, not behind! A battle is lived, not commented on. Or you can put your radio on the hill opposite. If Boris has been hit by a shell, his survival doesn't depend on us anymore - concentrate on your own, that's enough... "I've got the bastard!" resumes Andrei. "Hole punch" answers Alexandr. "Halt!" then: "Fire! That's me.
The shot goes off, deafening, making our machine wobble as usual, even though Fyodor has already turned on the gas to get away. A real explosion shakes us - not outside, of course (even if the German blew up his bunkers, we would not hear anything!), but in our tank: our gunner shouts with joy. "We got him! And yet another one that is demolished!"
Indeed, while turning the episcope, I quickly observe long flames in the woods, ahead on the right. Impossible to tell what it is, though. Besides, I don't care about it at the moment. "Platoon, fall in and follow me." That's our leader, of course. Three of us advance in echelon, turned down left, turrets aligned towards the enemy. From time to time, the leader stops and fires before starting again, without informing us. What is he aiming at? Impossible to say - while I am dripping with sweat in the humid atmosphere of Pobieda! it is already difficult for me to know where we are.
Suddenly, while I am once again looking around the landscape, my scope stops on a well-known rectangular turret, which faces us from afar with a cold aggressiveness. "A T-6! Turn Fyodor!" I see the starting flash of fire and the leader's T-34 explodes. In flames, it continues for a moment with a squeak that I can easily imagine, before finally being overtaken - of course, I can't take the time to observe it to see if there are any survivors... That leaves Sasha and me. "We'll take it in a pinch!" he tells me. "No you idiot, he's too far away! He'll line us up one after the other!" Nothing to do, this young fool goes ahead anyway. We follow him, crabbing along - at least, maybe, all this will be of some use.
The gray turret turns slowly towards Sasha's machine, which tries to get closer by showing its speed. And he is not far from succeeding. A little more and he will have doubled
the enemy gun, unless...
A new shot goes off and hits the T-34's body in the back. The engine catches fire immediately. Earlier we were four, now we are alone. Yesterday there were sixteen of us, from now on there will be four. A cold rage seizes me and we turn to charge the enemy's flank. His cannon is directed at us, he will not be able to destroy us! At this moment, I think that I am ready to ask Fyodor to ram him, if our shells were not enough.
Unfortunately (or rather fortunately), we do not arrive there. Andrei yells that we have to stop so that he can shoot, the Fascist starts to turn his turret towards us... when one of his colleagues suddenly appears behind him. A gray Tiger, carrying a 301 [NDE - This was undoubtedly the vehicle of Feldwebel Kurt Knispel, who had come to support one of his subordinates]. Two against one, the fight is meaningless... We disappear at full speed behind a grove. In front of us, the Fascist gun seems to give up following us, and the panzer that carries it leaves with a smug look.
I know it's him - the one we've already passed several times. It doesn't matter, there are new opportunities for everything. And now, for the whole crew, the matter has become clearly personal." (Evgeny Bessonov, op. cit.)
Heeresgruppe Mitte HQ (Minsk) - Leaning over his maps where the little flags move to the rhythm of the information that his staff received by radio, Erwin Rommel feels that the situation is not what he would like it to be. The damn weather had ruined everything - for the field marshal could not, of course, have sinned out of arrogance... And just by observing the course of the operations - by squinting, moreover, he could almost see the devices and the explosions on the paper - the Fox already knows that he will not have his decisive victory in Jlobin.
At best, he can obtain a marginal victory, by destroying one or two armored corps and then by significantly delaying the junction of the two Soviet armies... Come on, by forcing, he can also significantly weaken the 2nd Guards - but not much more. And this, only if he makes a u-turn - impossible of course, because the Führer's orders are formal.
In these conditions, what to do? Destroy as many Red tanks as possible and limit the damage.
The weather service announces a last day of good weather for tomorrow, before a real shower from Sweden. Then, there may be one or two more days of sunlight...but not enough to seize Jlobin.
The raspoutitsa will thus provide the marshal with the ideal pretext not to take back the city - even if from his point of view, the problem is much more related to the lack of coordination between the Army Groups, as well as the arbitrary and senseless deadline that was set for him. His career should not suffer... as long as the red losses are sufficient. Given Manstein's performance further south - and given what is happening in Provence, not to mention Greece - the Führer will undoubtedly have other things to worry about. All this matters very little. Except, of course, for all those lives wasted in vain!
Berlin - With a sobriety contrasting with the usual triumphalism of propaganda, the propaganda announces that in Belarus, "the offensive ordered by the Führer against the Bolshevik bridgeheads is continuing with encouraging results. Everywhere, our forces are advancing in the face of fierce but desperate enemy resistance. The operations should move toward an inevitable favorable conclusion before the end of the week."
Operations Kutusov and Rumyantsev
Kutusov - Critical Threshold
Sectors from Mozyr to Ovruch - The XXIV. PanzerKorps has finally completed its maneuver - well almost, but at least enough for Walter Model to authorize his LVI. PzK to go down today towards Olevsk. The latter will however leave behind his 81. ID (which has been the most successful...) in order to ensure temporarily the connection to Yurove. Of course, the 267. ID will take over as soon as possible - but, in spite of the circumstances, prevention is better than cure. Especially with the 8th Guards Army around. Two of the three divisions of Erhard Raus are (finally) moving south, bypassing Olevsk by the west to replace an XLVII. PanzerKorps which itself had to assist a 6. Armee about to give in to exhaustion.
.........
Olevsk sector - The 3rd Belorussian Front can't take it anymore... Attacking under the rain and in terrible circumstances - losses, lack of ammunition, sheer physical exhaustion - the forces of Rodion Malinovsky are at the end of their potential. They do not progress against the best of a 3. PanzerArmee against which they have been fighting for ten days already.
The rodomontades of Moscow and the exhortations of Zhukov (fortunately much more interested in the 1st Ukrainian Front these days) do nothing: the intensity of the fighting decreases by the hour. The eastern sector of Olevsk seems to be definitively blocked. On the other hand, in the west, the operations have not yet calmed down.
.........
West of Olevsk - Indeed, here, Nikolai Vatutin - who feels well that the bulk of his opponent is stuck in the north, in front of the 3rd Belorussian Front - does not stop to relaunch the assaults against the 4. and 9. Panzerdivisions dispatched by Model. These divisions are now fighting in the front line, just supported by an XLIV. AK that they were only supposed to reinforce. For the Russian, no matter the losses, the rain or even the flanks. The breakthrough is soon there, bold comrades!
In fact, two armies and two armored corps (one of which was considered complete and two halves of corps) finally manage to break through the junction between the 3. PzA and the 6. Armee. Sarnivka falls and Rybalko's T-34s approach Kam'yanka. The Olevsk-Sarny link will soon be threatened, the 3. PanzerArmee will be surrounded and the 3rd Ukrainian Front will be free to move westward. Unless, of course, if reinforcements arrive at the last minute on the German side!
These reinforcements, Model will have them very soon ... it seems. But until then, Landsers and Panzers can only withdraw to a last line Netreba - Kam'yanka and, while waiting to be slaughtered on the spot, pray to any god they please.
.........
Berezne sector - Also rammed by Vatutin, Vasily Chuikov does not waste any time. Even though the LV. AK has only two divisions (168. and 294. ID) to defend the Sluch - the 9. ID (Siegmund von Schleinitz) is lost in the swamps of Mykhalyn, in search of the flank XXIX. AK... - the 37th Army sends without hesitation a first wave across the river to Sosnove, Kolodyazne and Marynyn. All these assaults are not successful, far from it. In fact, not all of them have the necessary means to succeed. But Chuikov, who was one of Chiang Kai-shek's main advisors against the Japanese and even (somewhat reluctantly) against the Chinese Communists, is not a man to be moved by such trifles. He knows since the Second Battle of Changsha how important it is to disperse his adversary, not to defeat each of his elements head-on*. And while the 6.Armee is getting closer and closer to defeat, the leader of the 37th Army begins to dream of a glorious destiny.
.........
Korets sector - Especially since, for the XXIX. AK, things are not going well either...
Of the three bridgeheads conquered by the Red Army the day before, one is eliminated during the day - that of Piddubtsi, thanks to the Panzer III of Gollnick and the StuG of Schaff. But the latter are in a state of fatigue that borders on exhaustion, and they still have to deal with the pockets of Vesnyane and Kylykyiv. The first one is the most distant - 15 km - but it is also the most worrying, especially with the LV. AK a little further north, which is in the sad state that we know. The second, on the other hand, is only 5 km away.
With fatalism, and as he is anyway uncertain of the situation on his left (who can say what Model will do tomorrow?), De Angelis decides to play it simple and sends his fire department to Kylykyiv. The Sluch-Korchyk confluence will wait. He does not know that it is precisely in this direction that the 5th GAC Zhitomir is heading at the same time.
Rumyantsev - Backflip
Berezdiv sector - Kurt von der Chevallerie did well to hurry up! Despite the presence of the III. PanzerKorps nearby, his LIX. AK is still at the mercy of a flank from the north. Obviously, the 5th Shock Army could execute it, but it stubbornly persists in going west. Strange... The Germans are surprised that instead of trying to surround and destroy their opponents, the Soviets are content to set geographic objectives which seem to them to be increasingly vague. Well - there is surely something to be said to discuss the Slavic inferiority...
In any case, the LIX. AK is not far from its destination - Berezdiv, Korchyk, Yablunivka and Mykhailyuchka in the east. Well covered by Kempf's panzers, he will get there without too much difficulty. The 1st Shock Army still has to cross the Sluch - as for Dovator's 1st Cavalry Corps, it multiplies its adventurous ventures in the direction of Stovpy - which could end badly for him. There is nothing to worry von der Chevallerie at this time. Even though - as yet unbeknownst to him - the cannon is firing far behind him and to his left, on the side of the 6. Armee.
.........
Polonne sector - The devastation and destruction that the XXVII. AK during its retreat have paid off - at least as much as the losses inflicted on the Russians and the exhaustion of their forces (equal to that of the German forces). The ruins of Myropil are a mini-capharnaum worthy of Korosten - in destruction if not in extent. The 4th Guards Army struggles to rally and cross the rubble without too much difficulty, while Porfiry Chanchibadze's 1st Armored Corps is still looking for crossing points. Here, the Red Army seems to have failed in its pursuit, despite a promising start. It will have to attack again, in conditions as tough as before - but also against a greatly weakened opponent.
.........
Hrytsiv sector - While elsewhere, some are launching vast armored counter-offensives, Heinrich Clößner would probably be satisfied with having the means to stop, or even slow down his opponents. Once again, his sector was largely neglected by his superiors, typically German paradox: by dint of fearing the encirclement of his corps and seeking that of the enemy battle corps, the Heer comes to consider the center as the point least likely to generate immediate tactical victories. Since by attacking Hannibal's center, the Romans, at Cannae, have suffered one of the greatest defeats of history, no one would attempt to attack the enemy's heart! Isn't it so? In Kovel, everyone seems to have forgotten that this is where the breakthrough to Starokostantinov is happening, which everyone is now trying to seal.
It will have to be done with. Even if the Landsers of his IX. AK are exhausted and demoralized. And even if they only have about twenty StuG to help them (all that remains of the Abteilung of von Schönau), plus the 5 Tiger (five!) and 4 Panzer IV (four!) of the 504. schw Pz Abt of Kühn - which will undoubtedly have to run again, when the time comes, all along the line.
For the moment, everything is still going well: the Slavs seem to rally (or gather?) to pass the Khomora and a light rain prevents them from bombing too much. But tomorrow?...
.........
Starokostantinov sector - Another night and another day of armored fighting. The II. SS-PanzerKorps is definitely not able to stop the Russians who - what a surprise! - maneuver and systematically outflank his own troops, as inferior in number as they are - of course - superior in quality.
North of the city and the confluence, the GrossDeutschland is still held by the 1st Guards Cavalry Corps - Nikolai Oslikovsky understood that it was the thorn in the side of the German system: the wound he inflicted was not mortal in itself, not very painful either, but it is no less likely to become infected at any time if we are not careful.
if one does not take care of it. The Russian thus multiplies the attempts of infiltration and hinders the troops of Herr Walter Hörnlein who would like so much to join the melée, while he already has to retreat to hold his left...
On the left of the SS corps, the Frundsberg and the 2nd Cavalry Corps clash without any clear result - nevertheless, the 10. SS-Panzergrenadier, which had been badly beaten since the beginning of Rumyantsev, had to retreat towards Reshnivka and Polovynnyky in front of a particularly aggressive Alexey Selivanov.
In Starokostantinov itself, there is still fighting - but the intensity of fighting has decreased. It is true that the 3rd Army could give in to a determined offensive - but the Hohenstaufen does not see what it could gain by crossing the Sluch to the south ...
It is 35 kilometers to the Little Bug and the positions of the 2. PanzerArmee (or rather of the Hungarians, so despised by the SS) and nothing, except the remains of the 23. Panzer, to support the 9. SS-PzGr! The 257. ID of Carl Püchler will not help either: isolated and properly massacred by the previous fights on the bank of the Sluch, it can at best help by holding a piece of the front, not more... So annoying - and so predictable from the Heer!
And meanwhile, on the right, the 3. SS-PzGr Totenkopf, which fights alone against the red tide at Krassyliv, has to retreat foot by foot to avoid being surrounded!
For Paul Hausser - as for Hörnlein, and even for Weiß - the conclusion is therefore logical, even sadly obvious: it is no longer useful to defend Starokostantinov and the Sluch, it is already too late! In order not to be rejected on the side, apart from the axis of the enemy offensive axis, the II. SS-PanzerKorps and GrossDeutschland decide to redeploy to the west, officially on the Hrytsiv-Starokostiantinov axis (thus in accordance with the Führer's instructions...) but also and especially by giving up 20 kilometers to allow the Hohenstaufen to go to the rescue of Herman Priess and his Totenkopf! The panzers withdraw in haste under the shells, followed by the 257. ID... and leaving the unfortunate IX. AK the care to defend their rear!
In the evening, when the SS formations regroup, the fighting rages at Zasluchne - the Russians took the long corridor between the Sluch and the Buzhok, and nothing seems to stop them. After this corridor, there is Volotchysk, on the former Polish-Soviet border formed by the Zbruch... and then nothing more until Ternopol and the Seret!
.........
2nd Ukrainian Front - The 10th Army takes back the road to Glory (and Bar), with a little more cautious than before - does this mean that comrade Golikov has become more cautious? No - Ivan Bagramyan, sovereignly annoyed by his subordinate and covered by Zhukov, who has not yet given up trying to get rid of the intruder, has shown his authority by ordering to wait his turn and to coordinate with his comrades. The attack of Jmerynka will only start again tomorrow, so he will have to be satisfied with 5 kilometers today - we can do better, it is obvious...
Vin'kivtsi region (occupied Ukraine) - The negotiations between Tarass Bulba-Borovets and the armies of Budapest are - against all expectations - successful. In their common wish to fight against the UNO-M, and despite the... incidents of the past, the UPA and the Honvèd have agreed on a form of ceasefire, as well as on regular intelligence exchanges at the expense of Melnyk's troops and the Soviet partisans. There is even talk of some deliveries of weapons or food.
Obviously, all this did not go smoothly... There are even some teeth that grind in the ranks, or some whisper that the UN-M has at least the good taste to fight again against the Occupier, while the UPA seems to take precisely the opposite path. Too bad - the most important thing for the Ukrainian People's Revolutionary Army, dramatically isolated and without any allies in the region, is to find friends, and as soon as possible!
As far as the Romanians are concerned, we have not yet succeeded in reaching them - difficult to do so after the Russian offensive in Moldavia... But no one doubts that the emissaries will eventually reach their destination.
In the end, this policy is logical... but it is also very dangerous. Because, by acting alone and without counting the risk of desertions towards a UNO apparently returned from its inaction, Bulba-Borovets is also sowing confusion in his own ranks. Indeed, some officials will quickly come to think that, even if they have to discuss with the Axis, they might as well negotiate with the Germans directly. After all, now that Melnyk has left them, there are probably places to take**! And then, who can say if the Honvèd will respect its word for long?
But for now, these objections are of little weight, because the UPA is still attracting members and strengthens - especially with fleeing Schuma members, sometimes after having killed the Gestapo agents with whom they collaborated. The organization now represents 40,000 men - not all of them well-armed, no doubt, and certainly not all of them as disciplined as they should be.
Volhynia Region (Ukraine formerly part of Poland) - While the ashes of the Warsaw Ghetto are still warm and the destruction of Poland's Jews is practically complete, the Nazi extermination tactics are being emulated. Indeed - and despite the arrest of Stepan Bandera, the internal struggles and even the ongoing fighting - certain elements of the UNO-B formerly enrolled in the German army are already embarking on a vast campaign of expulsions and murders of the Polish minority in Eastern Galicia.
It seems that, in the minds of these Ukrainian patriots, the fear of a return of the Polish government in exile to its pre-war territory is stronger than anything else. The soon-to-be-restored Ukraine would not be satisfied with the presence of "settlers" - so they must leave or be killed (if not both...) in order to promote the formation of an ethnically pure nation, which would become a fait accompli. The current Soviet offensive, which seems to be successful so far, only makes this task more urgent.
Among these murderers, whom the nationalists have made heroes, there are a number of colourful characters, among them Roman-Taras Yosypovych Shukhevych, known as Tarass Chuprynka. Born from Galicia and from a fiercely "communitarian" (i.e. xenophobic) family, he is an intelligent, cultured man with apparently democratic ideas. Blond with blue eyes, he was once an accomplished athlete as well as an artist who sometimes sang solo at the Lvov opera house. However, he is also a former member of the Ukrainian Military Organization, with a long history of terrorism and killing - in keeping with the concept of "permanent revolution" dear to Bandera. His multiple passages in the Polish jails, unfortunately always too short (never more than one year, between amnesty laws and lack of evidence) did not dampen his flame, nor did the failure of the coup d'état against the "autonomous government of Ruthenia" in January 1939, in which he participated, against the Czechoslovak army.
At the end of 1939, Shukhevych naturally found his place among the collaborators of the Germans in the Nachtigall Battalion, despite the arrest of his mentor Bandera.
As one of the main perpetrators of the Lvov massacres, he later collaborated with the Einsatzgruppe C. After the dispersal of his formation, he was transferred to the 201. Batallion Schutzmannschaft - the Ukrainian militia of the SD, mostly composed of former members of the Roland and Nachtigall battalions. Deployed on the rear of the HG Mitte, this formation was to distinguish itself by the intensity of the reprisals it organized against the Jews (systematically labelled "Partisans") or against the Poles of the Secret Army.
Forced to join the Schutzmannschaft for almost a year, Shukhevych and his comrades refused to re-enlist. Free of the commitment - and having escaped the arrest that the Heer promised them as soon as they were discharged - they returned to the woods to their first love: killing time by slaughtering non-combatants. Although the UNO-Bhas not been reformed and the front is getting closer, they will be responsible in the following months for the death of 20,000 Poles in Volhynia and 7,500 in Eastern Galicia - with absolute indifference of the Germans, of course. They thus take over the work already well started by Dmytro Klyachkivsky - another member of the now defunct UNO-B board, who did not forget to fight against the Soviets from time to time, but had given his troops a few weeks earlier a secret directive: "We should start the great action of liquidating the Polish elements without delay. As the German army is withdrawing, we must take advantage of this favorable moment to liquidate the entire male population from 16 to 60 years of age. We cannot afford to lose this struggle, and it is necessary to weaken the Polish forces at all costs. The villages and settlements in the vicinity of the forest must be wiped off the face of the earth.
Even today, there are historians who claim that Klyachkivsky acted alone, and that the majority of the members of the UNO-B protected Jews and minorities. However, it is difficult to prove their assertions - the Volhynia affair remains one of the many poisonous topics that pepper the relationship between Kiev and Warsaw, while many Ukrainians prefer to evoke the "martyrs" of the UNO, fallen under the bullets of the NKVD in 1945!
* In September 1941, during the second offensive of the Tennô to take this city, Chuikov had convinced to launch a large-scale diversion by attacking the city of Yichang, located 400 km further north. This assault was repulsed with heavy losses, but fully achieved its goal.
** A rather bold reflection: six months earlier, SS-Obergruppenführer von dem Bach had multiplied attacks and reprisals against the people of the UPA, who in his propaganda were called "Moscow's allies". The UPA had murdered many Nazi leaders since 1942 - including Victor Lutze, head of a declining SA but above all a personal friend of Hitler. In this particular case, the SS probably did not hold too much grudge against them - but the Reich was no less resentful.
Operation Suvorov
Wet Bison
Belarus - The predictions of the German meteorologists - duly warned by their antennas in Norway and in the far north - did not take long to come true. All day long, a heavy rain falls on the battlefield, grounding the planes again and hampering operations at the worst possible moment for HG Mitte. In Minsk, one wanted to believe that the Soviet efforts would divert at the last moment to Ukraine or the Baltic States... but no. In fact the Soviets claim to be indifferent to the elements - only the Fascists or the bourgeois capitalists are afraid of a little water! Nevertheless, this deluge suits the Red Army well...
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Battle of Dubrova ("Suvorov-Center") - The Wehrmacht continues its bloody offensives to reduce the Soviet bridgehead. After the artillery barrages and trench assaults, the only thing missing was rain and mud to return to the Other War.
Obviously, the attackers' momentum, already uncertain, is affected. In the south, the 106. ID and 258. ID continue to fight fiercely to seize the first line of the 34th Division of Colonel Vetvitsky. The latter has given much since yesterday - static defense under the bombardments, stubborn resistance to the assaults of the Landsers and night-time attacks launched by its reserve regiment, although already partly engaged to support its teammates. In short, Ivan Fedyuninsky is forced to send reinforcements - in this case, a regiment of the 39th Division - yet itself already well bled during the capture of Mogilev, but the 15th Army was running out of possibilities. Fortunately, this impromptu help combined with the terrible weather which ruins the work of the Axis observers, is enough to make the German advance stall once again. In the evening of 21 September, the third position of the Soviet first line is still holding, albeit shakily, in blood and mud.
On the northern side of the battle, after a very tense explanation with General Schlemmer - whose 134. ID did not shine yesterday, to say the least! - von Erdmannsdorff leaves with his 18. PanzerGrenadier to attack the two redoubts that still resist him. He holds in reserve his eleven Panzer III still operational and the German infantrymen reinforced by Hiwis, go up to the assault without armoured support, to reduce the forts in what is to be a hand-to-hand combat... until the attackers are caught under a very heavy artillery bombardment, led from the other side by the combined artillery regiments of the 3rd Guards and the 15th Army. Indeed, Fedyuninsky perfectly identified the German maneuver - its means, its goals, as well as the risk he would run if the fascists succeeded in taking and destroying the bridges over the Drut River... And as soon as the last shell falls, the Hiwi are counter-charged by Mikhailov's 361st Division, which attacks its former compatriots by pushing furious Hurrah! Between frontovikis and Hiwis, there is no mercy to be expected - even less than between Germans and Russians.
At midday, the POP located behind in the west falls, crushed under the number - but the fourth and last one, at the crossroads of the roads leading to Lipsk, stubbornly resists and still prevents the 18. PzGr to deploy and then to pass in force. With an astonishing lack of tactical mastery - worthy even of the Red Army of Barbarossa, or even that of the Winter War - the Wehrmacht multiplies the frontal assaults, but nothing comes of them.
The carnage continues in vain all day around the redoubt, which is still standing at sunset. The Reich troops are only 3 kilometers away from their objective - so close, and yet so far... Worse, during the night, the Soviets send multiple detachments to infiltrate the ranks of the 134. ID, sometimes wearing uniforms recovered from the dead in order to sow chaos. Some of them do even better and even take over the anti-tank redoubt (POP), without anyone noticing it before morning!
As for the forces of the German center - the 197. ID and the 244. StuG - it is not their role to charge the opponent... Besides, it suits them well, while they observe with binoculars what is happening on their flanks. But in the secret of their thoughts, Boege and Großkreutz know that tomorrow von Salmuth will tell them that they too must give...
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Chachevichy region ("Suvorov-Center") - Flat calm in this area, back to the warfare so common in Belarus. The adversaries observe each other discreetly with binoculars over the Drut; no serious exchange of fire is to be reported.
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Battle of Jlobin ("Suvorov-South") - The offensive decided to retake Jlobin continues to progress under the rain, but in an even more uncertain way than the day before. If in the east, the rest of the XII. AK is still holding the line towards Raduga - mainly because of lack of opponents... - the XLI. PzK and the 19. Panzer have indeed missed their shot and must now move forward to hit the enemy. Yes, but where?
This "where", Erwin Rommel thought about it during the night... The Balkan Fox is in a delicate situation. If it were up to him, he would simply recall his tanks to wait for the next step, as none of the options available to him seems really satisfactory.
Move up north and hit Govorov's 2nd Guards on the side of the XIII. AK? The easiest, the most obvious - too obvious even: by the time the Reds are thrown back into the Drut, they will have brought up reinforcements from Jlobin that will hit his divisions in the back. These would then be caught between two steel jaws, and would risk being crushed without any gain. No.
To rush towards the Dnieper? It would be tempting if the HG Mitte had... let's say, an additional mechanized or infantry corps, which could do the interlining. The Heer could then hope to definitively separate the two red armies, push back the southern one towards Jlobin then settle its score with the northern one... but it is not the case, no need to dream.
The last solution remains: the most unexpected, the most audacious - the one that can make the opponent panic and force him to make a mistake. It is also the most risky - but since the Polish campaign, Rommel has proven that he was not afraid to take risks, as long as it is calculated. The solution, however, would have been frightening to the OKH - even though it was precisely what he wanted! It is to let the XIII. AK from Straube to take charge (at least temporarily) of the 2nd Guards, in the north - perhaps with the support of one of the divisions of the XXV. AK - and to rush with the Panzerdivisions towards Jlobin! To provoke on the way an encounter battle with this irritating armored corps which escaped yesterday! And above all, making itself bigger than it is, forcing the 3rd Shock to go forward in unfavorable conditions or to withdraw for fear of a new shock ... or even, at worst, to watch the red tanks being cut up under its nose without reacting. This will be enough as a victory, to satisfy Rastenburg, if nothing else...
The decision is quickly made, and the orders go out during the night. At dawn, deliberately leaving the infantry face Govorov's forces, panzers and mechanized infantry oblique to the south, towards Minkov. Soon, as expected, Tanashishin's 21st Armored Corps counter-charges them from Strenki.
Rommel's plan might have been brilliant in better weather - but the heavy rain prevents the Germans from being alerted to the threat of Rodin's 7th Armored Corps, which appears on their rear, at the junction with XXV. AK of Fahrmbacher. A confused and costly melee ensues: the German tactical superiority (largely due to the optics) is counterbalanced by the disastrous weather conditions and an always uncertain supply...
The infantry of the XXV. AK - which was supposed to occupy the ground and secure the roads - is lagging behind, bogged down in the woods south of Saray facing aggressive T-34. It was not planned that the 52. and 110. IDs were to fight Soviet tanks on the plain...
Faced with this uncertain situation, Josef Harpe nevertheless reacts with efficiency. The 18. Panzer and the 503. schw Pzr Abt stop to confront the 21st Armored Corps. As for the 19. and 20. Panzer, they turn north to destroy the 7th Armored Corps. This maneuver is crowned with success - already withdrawn from the front lines during operation Suvorov, re-equipped with second-hand machines mounted by rookies, Rodin's corps can only fold... He loses 83 tanks, against 39 panzers - but the Germans, them, especially lost time and fuel.
However, Ivan Konev does not decide to let the events unfold without reacting. The Fascists hit the 21st Corps? Perfect, the 3rd Shock will go up to meet them, on a Kazimirovskaya-Slobodka-Minkov line, without rushing, with caution. And the 10th Armored Corps will march in the lead, as much to locate the enemy as to support Tanashishin's tanks. The encounter with the 503. sPA and the 18. PzD - already engaged by the 21st AC - takes place in the afternoon around the small village of Annovka, under a driving rain. It ends - as often - by a draw between Germans at their ease in flexible defense, but inferior in number, and Russians more numerous but much too feverish.
......
"Andrei yells, "Starting lightning right!" Our Siberian managed to catch a glimpse of something in his sights that I missed completely. If we had been targeted and the shot had been accurate, we would have been dead already. For form's sake, Fyodor still crushed his foot on the right pedal, to make our machine turn... But it is not Pobieda! that the shell
hits.
"Boris has tasted!" It's Sasha, on the radio - damn it, kid, look ahead, not behind! A battle is lived, not commented on. Or you can put your radio on the hill opposite. If Boris has been hit by a shell, his survival doesn't depend on us anymore - concentrate on your own, that's enough... "I've got the bastard!" resumes Andrei. "Hole punch" answers Alexandr. "Halt!" then: "Fire! That's me.
The shot goes off, deafening, making our machine wobble as usual, even though Fyodor has already turned on the gas to get away. A real explosion shakes us - not outside, of course (even if the German blew up his bunkers, we would not hear anything!), but in our tank: our gunner shouts with joy. "We got him! And yet another one that is demolished!"
Indeed, while turning the episcope, I quickly observe long flames in the woods, ahead on the right. Impossible to tell what it is, though. Besides, I don't care about it at the moment. "Platoon, fall in and follow me." That's our leader, of course. Three of us advance in echelon, turned down left, turrets aligned towards the enemy. From time to time, the leader stops and fires before starting again, without informing us. What is he aiming at? Impossible to say - while I am dripping with sweat in the humid atmosphere of Pobieda! it is already difficult for me to know where we are.
Suddenly, while I am once again looking around the landscape, my scope stops on a well-known rectangular turret, which faces us from afar with a cold aggressiveness. "A T-6! Turn Fyodor!" I see the starting flash of fire and the leader's T-34 explodes. In flames, it continues for a moment with a squeak that I can easily imagine, before finally being overtaken - of course, I can't take the time to observe it to see if there are any survivors... That leaves Sasha and me. "We'll take it in a pinch!" he tells me. "No you idiot, he's too far away! He'll line us up one after the other!" Nothing to do, this young fool goes ahead anyway. We follow him, crabbing along - at least, maybe, all this will be of some use.
The gray turret turns slowly towards Sasha's machine, which tries to get closer by showing its speed. And he is not far from succeeding. A little more and he will have doubled
the enemy gun, unless...
A new shot goes off and hits the T-34's body in the back. The engine catches fire immediately. Earlier we were four, now we are alone. Yesterday there were sixteen of us, from now on there will be four. A cold rage seizes me and we turn to charge the enemy's flank. His cannon is directed at us, he will not be able to destroy us! At this moment, I think that I am ready to ask Fyodor to ram him, if our shells were not enough.
Unfortunately (or rather fortunately), we do not arrive there. Andrei yells that we have to stop so that he can shoot, the Fascist starts to turn his turret towards us... when one of his colleagues suddenly appears behind him. A gray Tiger, carrying a 301 [NDE - This was undoubtedly the vehicle of Feldwebel Kurt Knispel, who had come to support one of his subordinates]. Two against one, the fight is meaningless... We disappear at full speed behind a grove. In front of us, the Fascist gun seems to give up following us, and the panzer that carries it leaves with a smug look.
I know it's him - the one we've already passed several times. It doesn't matter, there are new opportunities for everything. And now, for the whole crew, the matter has become clearly personal." (Evgeny Bessonov, op. cit.)
Heeresgruppe Mitte HQ (Minsk) - Leaning over his maps where the little flags move to the rhythm of the information that his staff received by radio, Erwin Rommel feels that the situation is not what he would like it to be. The damn weather had ruined everything - for the field marshal could not, of course, have sinned out of arrogance... And just by observing the course of the operations - by squinting, moreover, he could almost see the devices and the explosions on the paper - the Fox already knows that he will not have his decisive victory in Jlobin.
At best, he can obtain a marginal victory, by destroying one or two armored corps and then by significantly delaying the junction of the two Soviet armies... Come on, by forcing, he can also significantly weaken the 2nd Guards - but not much more. And this, only if he makes a u-turn - impossible of course, because the Führer's orders are formal.
In these conditions, what to do? Destroy as many Red tanks as possible and limit the damage.
The weather service announces a last day of good weather for tomorrow, before a real shower from Sweden. Then, there may be one or two more days of sunlight...but not enough to seize Jlobin.
The raspoutitsa will thus provide the marshal with the ideal pretext not to take back the city - even if from his point of view, the problem is much more related to the lack of coordination between the Army Groups, as well as the arbitrary and senseless deadline that was set for him. His career should not suffer... as long as the red losses are sufficient. Given Manstein's performance further south - and given what is happening in Provence, not to mention Greece - the Führer will undoubtedly have other things to worry about. All this matters very little. Except, of course, for all those lives wasted in vain!
Berlin - With a sobriety contrasting with the usual triumphalism of propaganda, the propaganda announces that in Belarus, "the offensive ordered by the Führer against the Bolshevik bridgeheads is continuing with encouraging results. Everywhere, our forces are advancing in the face of fierce but desperate enemy resistance. The operations should move toward an inevitable favorable conclusion before the end of the week."
Operations Kutusov and Rumyantsev
Kutusov - Critical Threshold
Sectors from Mozyr to Ovruch - The XXIV. PanzerKorps has finally completed its maneuver - well almost, but at least enough for Walter Model to authorize his LVI. PzK to go down today towards Olevsk. The latter will however leave behind his 81. ID (which has been the most successful...) in order to ensure temporarily the connection to Yurove. Of course, the 267. ID will take over as soon as possible - but, in spite of the circumstances, prevention is better than cure. Especially with the 8th Guards Army around. Two of the three divisions of Erhard Raus are (finally) moving south, bypassing Olevsk by the west to replace an XLVII. PanzerKorps which itself had to assist a 6. Armee about to give in to exhaustion.
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Olevsk sector - The 3rd Belorussian Front can't take it anymore... Attacking under the rain and in terrible circumstances - losses, lack of ammunition, sheer physical exhaustion - the forces of Rodion Malinovsky are at the end of their potential. They do not progress against the best of a 3. PanzerArmee against which they have been fighting for ten days already.
The rodomontades of Moscow and the exhortations of Zhukov (fortunately much more interested in the 1st Ukrainian Front these days) do nothing: the intensity of the fighting decreases by the hour. The eastern sector of Olevsk seems to be definitively blocked. On the other hand, in the west, the operations have not yet calmed down.
.........
West of Olevsk - Indeed, here, Nikolai Vatutin - who feels well that the bulk of his opponent is stuck in the north, in front of the 3rd Belorussian Front - does not stop to relaunch the assaults against the 4. and 9. Panzerdivisions dispatched by Model. These divisions are now fighting in the front line, just supported by an XLIV. AK that they were only supposed to reinforce. For the Russian, no matter the losses, the rain or even the flanks. The breakthrough is soon there, bold comrades!
In fact, two armies and two armored corps (one of which was considered complete and two halves of corps) finally manage to break through the junction between the 3. PzA and the 6. Armee. Sarnivka falls and Rybalko's T-34s approach Kam'yanka. The Olevsk-Sarny link will soon be threatened, the 3. PanzerArmee will be surrounded and the 3rd Ukrainian Front will be free to move westward. Unless, of course, if reinforcements arrive at the last minute on the German side!
These reinforcements, Model will have them very soon ... it seems. But until then, Landsers and Panzers can only withdraw to a last line Netreba - Kam'yanka and, while waiting to be slaughtered on the spot, pray to any god they please.
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Berezne sector - Also rammed by Vatutin, Vasily Chuikov does not waste any time. Even though the LV. AK has only two divisions (168. and 294. ID) to defend the Sluch - the 9. ID (Siegmund von Schleinitz) is lost in the swamps of Mykhalyn, in search of the flank XXIX. AK... - the 37th Army sends without hesitation a first wave across the river to Sosnove, Kolodyazne and Marynyn. All these assaults are not successful, far from it. In fact, not all of them have the necessary means to succeed. But Chuikov, who was one of Chiang Kai-shek's main advisors against the Japanese and even (somewhat reluctantly) against the Chinese Communists, is not a man to be moved by such trifles. He knows since the Second Battle of Changsha how important it is to disperse his adversary, not to defeat each of his elements head-on*. And while the 6.Armee is getting closer and closer to defeat, the leader of the 37th Army begins to dream of a glorious destiny.
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Korets sector - Especially since, for the XXIX. AK, things are not going well either...
Of the three bridgeheads conquered by the Red Army the day before, one is eliminated during the day - that of Piddubtsi, thanks to the Panzer III of Gollnick and the StuG of Schaff. But the latter are in a state of fatigue that borders on exhaustion, and they still have to deal with the pockets of Vesnyane and Kylykyiv. The first one is the most distant - 15 km - but it is also the most worrying, especially with the LV. AK a little further north, which is in the sad state that we know. The second, on the other hand, is only 5 km away.
With fatalism, and as he is anyway uncertain of the situation on his left (who can say what Model will do tomorrow?), De Angelis decides to play it simple and sends his fire department to Kylykyiv. The Sluch-Korchyk confluence will wait. He does not know that it is precisely in this direction that the 5th GAC Zhitomir is heading at the same time.
Rumyantsev - Backflip
Berezdiv sector - Kurt von der Chevallerie did well to hurry up! Despite the presence of the III. PanzerKorps nearby, his LIX. AK is still at the mercy of a flank from the north. Obviously, the 5th Shock Army could execute it, but it stubbornly persists in going west. Strange... The Germans are surprised that instead of trying to surround and destroy their opponents, the Soviets are content to set geographic objectives which seem to them to be increasingly vague. Well - there is surely something to be said to discuss the Slavic inferiority...
In any case, the LIX. AK is not far from its destination - Berezdiv, Korchyk, Yablunivka and Mykhailyuchka in the east. Well covered by Kempf's panzers, he will get there without too much difficulty. The 1st Shock Army still has to cross the Sluch - as for Dovator's 1st Cavalry Corps, it multiplies its adventurous ventures in the direction of Stovpy - which could end badly for him. There is nothing to worry von der Chevallerie at this time. Even though - as yet unbeknownst to him - the cannon is firing far behind him and to his left, on the side of the 6. Armee.
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Polonne sector - The devastation and destruction that the XXVII. AK during its retreat have paid off - at least as much as the losses inflicted on the Russians and the exhaustion of their forces (equal to that of the German forces). The ruins of Myropil are a mini-capharnaum worthy of Korosten - in destruction if not in extent. The 4th Guards Army struggles to rally and cross the rubble without too much difficulty, while Porfiry Chanchibadze's 1st Armored Corps is still looking for crossing points. Here, the Red Army seems to have failed in its pursuit, despite a promising start. It will have to attack again, in conditions as tough as before - but also against a greatly weakened opponent.
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Hrytsiv sector - While elsewhere, some are launching vast armored counter-offensives, Heinrich Clößner would probably be satisfied with having the means to stop, or even slow down his opponents. Once again, his sector was largely neglected by his superiors, typically German paradox: by dint of fearing the encirclement of his corps and seeking that of the enemy battle corps, the Heer comes to consider the center as the point least likely to generate immediate tactical victories. Since by attacking Hannibal's center, the Romans, at Cannae, have suffered one of the greatest defeats of history, no one would attempt to attack the enemy's heart! Isn't it so? In Kovel, everyone seems to have forgotten that this is where the breakthrough to Starokostantinov is happening, which everyone is now trying to seal.
It will have to be done with. Even if the Landsers of his IX. AK are exhausted and demoralized. And even if they only have about twenty StuG to help them (all that remains of the Abteilung of von Schönau), plus the 5 Tiger (five!) and 4 Panzer IV (four!) of the 504. schw Pz Abt of Kühn - which will undoubtedly have to run again, when the time comes, all along the line.
For the moment, everything is still going well: the Slavs seem to rally (or gather?) to pass the Khomora and a light rain prevents them from bombing too much. But tomorrow?...
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Starokostantinov sector - Another night and another day of armored fighting. The II. SS-PanzerKorps is definitely not able to stop the Russians who - what a surprise! - maneuver and systematically outflank his own troops, as inferior in number as they are - of course - superior in quality.
North of the city and the confluence, the GrossDeutschland is still held by the 1st Guards Cavalry Corps - Nikolai Oslikovsky understood that it was the thorn in the side of the German system: the wound he inflicted was not mortal in itself, not very painful either, but it is no less likely to become infected at any time if we are not careful.
if one does not take care of it. The Russian thus multiplies the attempts of infiltration and hinders the troops of Herr Walter Hörnlein who would like so much to join the melée, while he already has to retreat to hold his left...
On the left of the SS corps, the Frundsberg and the 2nd Cavalry Corps clash without any clear result - nevertheless, the 10. SS-Panzergrenadier, which had been badly beaten since the beginning of Rumyantsev, had to retreat towards Reshnivka and Polovynnyky in front of a particularly aggressive Alexey Selivanov.
In Starokostantinov itself, there is still fighting - but the intensity of fighting has decreased. It is true that the 3rd Army could give in to a determined offensive - but the Hohenstaufen does not see what it could gain by crossing the Sluch to the south ...
It is 35 kilometers to the Little Bug and the positions of the 2. PanzerArmee (or rather of the Hungarians, so despised by the SS) and nothing, except the remains of the 23. Panzer, to support the 9. SS-PzGr! The 257. ID of Carl Püchler will not help either: isolated and properly massacred by the previous fights on the bank of the Sluch, it can at best help by holding a piece of the front, not more... So annoying - and so predictable from the Heer!
And meanwhile, on the right, the 3. SS-PzGr Totenkopf, which fights alone against the red tide at Krassyliv, has to retreat foot by foot to avoid being surrounded!
For Paul Hausser - as for Hörnlein, and even for Weiß - the conclusion is therefore logical, even sadly obvious: it is no longer useful to defend Starokostantinov and the Sluch, it is already too late! In order not to be rejected on the side, apart from the axis of the enemy offensive axis, the II. SS-PanzerKorps and GrossDeutschland decide to redeploy to the west, officially on the Hrytsiv-Starokostiantinov axis (thus in accordance with the Führer's instructions...) but also and especially by giving up 20 kilometers to allow the Hohenstaufen to go to the rescue of Herman Priess and his Totenkopf! The panzers withdraw in haste under the shells, followed by the 257. ID... and leaving the unfortunate IX. AK the care to defend their rear!
In the evening, when the SS formations regroup, the fighting rages at Zasluchne - the Russians took the long corridor between the Sluch and the Buzhok, and nothing seems to stop them. After this corridor, there is Volotchysk, on the former Polish-Soviet border formed by the Zbruch... and then nothing more until Ternopol and the Seret!
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2nd Ukrainian Front - The 10th Army takes back the road to Glory (and Bar), with a little more cautious than before - does this mean that comrade Golikov has become more cautious? No - Ivan Bagramyan, sovereignly annoyed by his subordinate and covered by Zhukov, who has not yet given up trying to get rid of the intruder, has shown his authority by ordering to wait his turn and to coordinate with his comrades. The attack of Jmerynka will only start again tomorrow, so he will have to be satisfied with 5 kilometers today - we can do better, it is obvious...
Vin'kivtsi region (occupied Ukraine) - The negotiations between Tarass Bulba-Borovets and the armies of Budapest are - against all expectations - successful. In their common wish to fight against the UNO-M, and despite the... incidents of the past, the UPA and the Honvèd have agreed on a form of ceasefire, as well as on regular intelligence exchanges at the expense of Melnyk's troops and the Soviet partisans. There is even talk of some deliveries of weapons or food.
Obviously, all this did not go smoothly... There are even some teeth that grind in the ranks, or some whisper that the UN-M has at least the good taste to fight again against the Occupier, while the UPA seems to take precisely the opposite path. Too bad - the most important thing for the Ukrainian People's Revolutionary Army, dramatically isolated and without any allies in the region, is to find friends, and as soon as possible!
As far as the Romanians are concerned, we have not yet succeeded in reaching them - difficult to do so after the Russian offensive in Moldavia... But no one doubts that the emissaries will eventually reach their destination.
In the end, this policy is logical... but it is also very dangerous. Because, by acting alone and without counting the risk of desertions towards a UNO apparently returned from its inaction, Bulba-Borovets is also sowing confusion in his own ranks. Indeed, some officials will quickly come to think that, even if they have to discuss with the Axis, they might as well negotiate with the Germans directly. After all, now that Melnyk has left them, there are probably places to take**! And then, who can say if the Honvèd will respect its word for long?
But for now, these objections are of little weight, because the UPA is still attracting members and strengthens - especially with fleeing Schuma members, sometimes after having killed the Gestapo agents with whom they collaborated. The organization now represents 40,000 men - not all of them well-armed, no doubt, and certainly not all of them as disciplined as they should be.
Volhynia Region (Ukraine formerly part of Poland) - While the ashes of the Warsaw Ghetto are still warm and the destruction of Poland's Jews is practically complete, the Nazi extermination tactics are being emulated. Indeed - and despite the arrest of Stepan Bandera, the internal struggles and even the ongoing fighting - certain elements of the UNO-B formerly enrolled in the German army are already embarking on a vast campaign of expulsions and murders of the Polish minority in Eastern Galicia.
It seems that, in the minds of these Ukrainian patriots, the fear of a return of the Polish government in exile to its pre-war territory is stronger than anything else. The soon-to-be-restored Ukraine would not be satisfied with the presence of "settlers" - so they must leave or be killed (if not both...) in order to promote the formation of an ethnically pure nation, which would become a fait accompli. The current Soviet offensive, which seems to be successful so far, only makes this task more urgent.
Among these murderers, whom the nationalists have made heroes, there are a number of colourful characters, among them Roman-Taras Yosypovych Shukhevych, known as Tarass Chuprynka. Born from Galicia and from a fiercely "communitarian" (i.e. xenophobic) family, he is an intelligent, cultured man with apparently democratic ideas. Blond with blue eyes, he was once an accomplished athlete as well as an artist who sometimes sang solo at the Lvov opera house. However, he is also a former member of the Ukrainian Military Organization, with a long history of terrorism and killing - in keeping with the concept of "permanent revolution" dear to Bandera. His multiple passages in the Polish jails, unfortunately always too short (never more than one year, between amnesty laws and lack of evidence) did not dampen his flame, nor did the failure of the coup d'état against the "autonomous government of Ruthenia" in January 1939, in which he participated, against the Czechoslovak army.
At the end of 1939, Shukhevych naturally found his place among the collaborators of the Germans in the Nachtigall Battalion, despite the arrest of his mentor Bandera.
As one of the main perpetrators of the Lvov massacres, he later collaborated with the Einsatzgruppe C. After the dispersal of his formation, he was transferred to the 201. Batallion Schutzmannschaft - the Ukrainian militia of the SD, mostly composed of former members of the Roland and Nachtigall battalions. Deployed on the rear of the HG Mitte, this formation was to distinguish itself by the intensity of the reprisals it organized against the Jews (systematically labelled "Partisans") or against the Poles of the Secret Army.
Forced to join the Schutzmannschaft for almost a year, Shukhevych and his comrades refused to re-enlist. Free of the commitment - and having escaped the arrest that the Heer promised them as soon as they were discharged - they returned to the woods to their first love: killing time by slaughtering non-combatants. Although the UNO-Bhas not been reformed and the front is getting closer, they will be responsible in the following months for the death of 20,000 Poles in Volhynia and 7,500 in Eastern Galicia - with absolute indifference of the Germans, of course. They thus take over the work already well started by Dmytro Klyachkivsky - another member of the now defunct UNO-B board, who did not forget to fight against the Soviets from time to time, but had given his troops a few weeks earlier a secret directive: "We should start the great action of liquidating the Polish elements without delay. As the German army is withdrawing, we must take advantage of this favorable moment to liquidate the entire male population from 16 to 60 years of age. We cannot afford to lose this struggle, and it is necessary to weaken the Polish forces at all costs. The villages and settlements in the vicinity of the forest must be wiped off the face of the earth.
Even today, there are historians who claim that Klyachkivsky acted alone, and that the majority of the members of the UNO-B protected Jews and minorities. However, it is difficult to prove their assertions - the Volhynia affair remains one of the many poisonous topics that pepper the relationship between Kiev and Warsaw, while many Ukrainians prefer to evoke the "martyrs" of the UNO, fallen under the bullets of the NKVD in 1945!
* In September 1941, during the second offensive of the Tennô to take this city, Chuikov had convinced to launch a large-scale diversion by attacking the city of Yichang, located 400 km further north. This assault was repulsed with heavy losses, but fully achieved its goal.
** A rather bold reflection: six months earlier, SS-Obergruppenführer von dem Bach had multiplied attacks and reprisals against the people of the UPA, who in his propaganda were called "Moscow's allies". The UPA had murdered many Nazi leaders since 1942 - including Victor Lutze, head of a declining SA but above all a personal friend of Hitler. In this particular case, the SS probably did not hold too much grudge against them - but the Reich was no less resentful.
21/09/43 - Mediterranean
September 21st, 1943
Italian Campaign
Change of scene - The 1st Armored Division of the US Army, placed in reserve a few days before, sets out for Naples. It is planned to spend eight or ten days to replenish its strength and renew some of its equipment before leaving for France, but this operation finally requires fifteen days, given the very low level of stocks.
Moreover, a number of slightly damaged or broken down vehicles - jeeps, half-tracks - have to be recovered and reconditioned in the workshops rather than simply replaced, as is customary in the US Army. This is not the case for the standard M4A3s, which will be passed on to the cobelligerent Italian Army. Instead, the tankers of the 1st Armored finally receive armed models of the 75 mm long, M4A3(75-LB), which are greeted by cheers and delighted exclamations evoking the male sexual organ!
Finally, the Old Ironsides will start to embark on October 2nd and its first elements will arrive on the 11th in Provence...
Greek & Balkan Campaign
New showers from the east fell on the Balkans, as if to greet the first day of autumn.
Migration
Belgrade - Almost a fortnight after his telephone exchange with Alexander Löhr, General Lothar Rendulic of the XX. Gebirgs-Armee, can finally keep his promise and detach two divisions to consolidate the Albanian front, which should rather be called the Albania and Kosovo front. A welcome reinforcement: the departure of the 8. Rgt. of the 4. SS-Polizei-PzrGr. leave the LXVIII. AK of Hellmuth Felmy with four infantry divisions and the 907. and 914. StuG Abteilungs. This is theoretically enough to hold northern Albania, but if the 100. Jäger is fully operational, the 162. and 164. ID are very diminished and the 11. Luftwaffen-FD is only a shadow of its former self (the Luftwaffe command has announced its next withdrawal from the front for reconstitution in Germany).
However, Rendulic does not separate himself from his best units: the new ones will be the 173. ID (Heinrich von Behr), a Reserve-Division just activated, and the 369. ID Vražja divizija (Marko Mesić), the Devil's Division. This is the oldest of the three divisions formed of Croats but integrated into the Wehrmacht. It is a politically secure troop, experienced in anti-partisan warfare, especially against the non-aligned Serbian Chetniks - no doubt that Felmy will find it useful... The two units will leave Belgrade in the next few days for Albania.
The Croatian 373. ID Tigar divizija, the Tiger Division, will take over from the 369. ID to provide security in Bosnia and western Serbia. This formation has just completed its training with the Germans and remains under their supervision (its leader is General Emil Zellner), which ensures both its loyalty and its effectiveness. It is supported by the five
regiments of the Security Forces of the Russian Corps.
This Corps is composed of 12,000 White Russians (among whom there are many officers who had become soldiers again), who had settled in Yugoslavia after the Russian civil war and who threw themselves into the arms of the Reich because of their anti-communism during the conquest of the country.
Boris Chteïfon, its current leader, has replaced the creator of the unit, General Mikhail Fyodorovich Skorodumov, who was arrested by the Germans three days after the creation of the Corps. This madman thought that he could discuss matters on an equal footing with the Heer. His successor does not have these dreams of grandeur. On the other hand, he knows he is needed by the Axis, which is lacking troops in the region, especially after the Bulgarian failure. So, willingly or not, he succeeded in imposing on Rendulic, through his friend the German colonel Kewisch, some astonishing conditions in exchange for his collaboration: besides the vague and promise of a transfer to Russia "as soon as communism is defeated in Serbia", the Russians have a hierarchical relationship only with the Germans without any Slavic intermediary, and the independence of the Corps regiments within the Heer was guaranteed. At the time of the decision creating the Corps, it was foreseen that the men would wear the Russian imperial uniform (!) and that its officers would not take an oath to the Führer. When the unit was actually set up, Shteifon had to impose on his officers the taking of an oath to Hitler as well as, for obvious considerations of stewardship, the wearing of the German uniform (decorated with a cockade, medals and shoulder patches of the Tsarist empire...)*. But the Russians still stubbornly refuse to fight the Serbian nationalist forces of Draža Mihailović - which obviously annoys the command of the 12. Armee.
Nevertheless, the insecurity of the rear is such that the Germans have decided to indulge in these symbolic arguments. Tito's Partisans are more than enough to keep these nostalgic veterans busy, the majority of whom are over 45 years old. The five regiments will be deployed according to Croatian needs - transmitted, for the sake of form, by the Germans. The Reich's envoys were eager for the 392. ID Plava divizija, the Blue Division (Johann Mickl) is also operational, in order to be able to subcontract to the Croats and the Serbian volunteer corps of Dimitrije Ljotić the entire anti-partisan struggle, which will allow the German divisions to fully dedicate themselves to the fight against the Allies.
Even if it means bloodying the region even more, and even if, by chance, their protégés are to kill each other.
Operation Presage
The Polish (and Czech) stalemate
Northern Albania - The Poles, Czechoslovakians and French legionnaires and spahis organize their stay in Albania, trying, despite the absence of specialized units, to start repairing the port facilities. For the moment, only the legionnaires have the prospect of a future departure.
Controlling the chaos - The Tirana conference
Before King Zog's Palace - Under the ever-vigilant guard of the MPs and the Polish armoured already deployed the day before, the conference ends today at 11 am with the presentation of the arbitrations "proposed" by the Allies. Everyone took their seats again, in a chilly atmosphere, where everyone is certain of his right.
Since yesterday, the audience has grown even more - the participants have brought in reinforcements from all over Albania, rightly convinced that their future for the next few years depends on the outcome of this meeting.
This is notably the case for Balli Kombëtar, whose leader, Safet Butka, may have felt insufficiently supported by the Legaliteli. We now find at his side, in addition to the personalities of the day before, Ali Këlcyra, the architect of the cease-fire between the Ballists and the Italians (which is no longer a crime but continues to annoy some) and especially Muharrem Bajraktari, a warlord and tribal leader from the Kosovar border, a great friend of Draža Mihailović, the boss of the Serbian royalist Chetniks. A curious arrival, but one that does not surprise poor Sylvestre Audet, who is beginning to get used to this menagerie.
On the other side, the PC is not to be outdone. It brought Mustafa Xhani, known as Baba Faja, a religious leader: this is not without salt, given the theoretical hostility of Hoxha's rigorous Marxist-Leninists towards religions. The man, who had opposed an Italy described as anti-Islamic, participated in the founding of the National Liberation Movement, which he now defends tooth and nail - he even wanted to throw away his whirling dervish robes and renounce his religious rank in order to be admitted to the Party. It was Enver Hoxha who prevented him from doing so.
What better symbol of the union of all Albanians around his person than the presence of a mystic in his staff? Baba Faja is a guarantor, and he will still be used as such today.
After the inevitable back-and-forth, sideways glances and murderous smiles, General Audet stands up and speaks, flanked by McLean and Quayle. Witold Krymer remains behind him, standing in the shadows. Audet attacks in a very loud voice, with acidity and irony: "Gentlemen, I must first thank you for your kind participation in this meeting to discuss the immediate future of your country. I say its immediate future, because the United Nations has no intention of imposing a government on the Albanian people, who remain free to decide their own destiny and the choice of their leaders."
At his words, Hoxha believes he has won and relaxes very slightly.
Audet pauses for a moment, then continues: "However, the excesses and incidents of the last few days, which have caused our armies to lose lives, equipment and time, are unacceptable. It is unthinkable that such crimes will be repeated.
Abaz Kupi raises his head with interest, like a fox that has sniffed out a rabbit. Safet Butka and Prenk Pervizi remain in ambush.
- For I say it here loud and clear, gentlemen. The aim of our armies is to win the war against the Nazi Reich. And for this we will not hesitate to use any means necessary, within the limits of our values.
There is a noticeable, but discreetly restrained, disappointment in the ballist ranks.
- I have observed the situation for a long time and I have listened with the greatest attention to your... debates of yesterday. They were instructive. I have learned many things. For example, that Mr. Butka, of the Balli Kombëtar, opposed the return of King Zog for legal reasons of the highest importance, such as the transfer of the monastery of St. Naum (I hope to pronounce this name correctly), which he described as criminal. I have also learned that the deportation of many Albanian Jews and gypsies by the Reich was hindered by the courageous attitude of the administrative officials put in place by the monarchy - something that Mr. Kupi insisted on at length, even though it is not certain that those concerned recognize his authority. Last but not least, I am aware of the military capabilities of each of your movements, which you have compared at length... and unanimously exaggerated, let me say. If this were not the case, we would not have needed to enter Albania to drive out the Wehrmacht!
A moment of silence, and the hand of the Frenchman falls violently on the table.
- I don't know anything about this, and I don't care! As I said earlier, and as I am sure you all wish, our armies are not here to police. Therefore...
Each of the political leaders seems to be hanging on the general's lips. The clan leaders and warlords are divided between boredom and curiosity - let's get to the point and then to fight, if necessary!
- Consequently, the allied powers demand the application of the cease-fire defined at Mukje, even if it means enforcing it, if necessary, by force and by stopping the supply of arms and ammunition. For future operations against the German forces, the action of your units will be coordinated under our authority alone, each one participating in the fight according to its means.
At these words, Ymer Dishnica stands up in the ranks of the MLN. Mad with rage, he does not wait for his leader's approval: "This is a scandal, it's a shame! The only thing to do with the Mukje agreements is to tear them up and throw them in your face! Would you be Comrade Hoxha that it would be the same!" Standing behind him, Gjon Markagjoni forces him to sit down, pressing hard with both hands on his shoulders. At the Ballists, Safet Butka looks infinitely relieved. Abaz Kupi, the head of the Legaliteli, is pouting - he was still vaguely hoping for a return to the "legal" order. From everywhere there is a hubbub, which suddenly calms down when Enver Hoxha stands up to speak. Behind him, his pack, led by the Kryeziu brothers, form a protective cohort. He is clearly threatening.
- Comrade Dishnica expresses his dismay at this flagrant injustice, which cannot go unpunished. Consternation and even anger, which we all feel! Because you order us to share the power with fascists and traitors!
- Traitors are those who only obey Moscow!" shouts Xhem Hasa.
The two trios of brothers seem to be ready for a confrontation with fists, chairs and probably knives. The whistles are unleashed and the insults fly: "Fëmija i ndyrë!" on one side, "I ndyrë nga tradhtarët!" on the other. McLean and his men are inaudible and physically overwhelmed. Fearing a general brawl, Audet scratches his head wearily, then turns to Krymer, who has remained leaning against the wall, arms crossed. In an amused tone, the S.O.E. man says: "I bet on the Kryeziu brothers, and you?" A cold sweat beading on his forehead, the Frenchman exclaims: "There's nothing funny about that! We have to call the Military Police, and quickly!" The strange Pole smiles broadly, takes out a revolver from his pocket and fires a shot in the air like a western sheriff, stopping the hullabaloo.
- Dear friends, the general had not finished! Come on, sit down!
A moment of stupor, then everyone obeyed. At that moment, attracted by the detonation, twenty military policemen armed with rifles enter the room, their faces closed.
In spite of Krymer's grand gestures intended to show them that they are not needed, the MPs hesitate to go out until Audet orders them to do so... adding that they should stay right next door, just in case! By the time the room doors close, everyone has time to think a little.
- Are we being held hostage, General?" Shehu growls, ready to pounce. Under the table, his right hand is looking for something in his boot, probably a dagger... Krymer is amused again by his irritation while Audet resumes in a strong voice.
- Not at all, gentlemen! I was about to come to the point. Obviously you are not able to collaborate between you. Therefore, I announce that, from now on and until the end of the conflict, your country will be entrusted to the allied military administration!
The Ballists and the Legalists were now in a tizzy, and they could not see themselves changing master so quickly. As for the Communists, they already seem ready for war. A murmur fills the room, as each group discusses in its corner.
- However, we do not wish to occupy Albania and we will not occupy it!
A surprisingly pregnant silence suddenly settles in, as if all of a sudden everyone suddenly finds interest in the speech of the Frenchman.
- We are therefore going to entrust the responsibility of the security and the administration of the territory to your three movements, in sectors and according to modalities that we will specify. In the knowledge that in the slightest incident, the sector of the movement at fault will be militarily occupied. The only alternative would be a takeover by our troops, a disarmament by force of all movements and a complete military administration. Do you prefer this solution?
There is a chorus of denials. Nuk ka! Non! No! Nein! Niet! The parties have suddenly understood the goal of the Allies: they want to stop time until the end of the war against the Germans. In the end, this idea suits everyone: each party will be able to strengthen itself in anticipation of the confrontation that will come... later. The Legaliteli and the Ballists gained time to recruit and equip troops. The CP will be able to continue to build up its strength while clearing out the troublesome ones in its ranks.
However, Hoxha is not really satisfied, and he makes this known: "This is a masquerade, the comrades in neighboring countries would not accept it. Would you really imagine imposing this ridiculous arrangement on the Serbs?"
- That will not be necessary, comrade." This is Muharrem Bajraktari, speaking for the first time and looking at his interlocutor. "I bring you a message from Draža Mihailović. He announces the formation of a common front of his Serbian Chetniks with the Partisans of General Tito and the Royal Yugoslav Army, whose return to the national territory will be for soon (the man sketches a cruel smile), surely by way of Macedonia, by the way. Could you do less than our Serbian friends, Comrade Hoxha?
Comrade Hoxha, uncertain, mutters some curses in Albanian and finally curls up in his chair and glares at Markagjoni - the latter's predictions are confirmed. The latter had indeed told him the night before that his Macedonian accomplice Vukmanović was in danger of being disowned by Tito.
There is silence for a good minute, to the great astonishment of the members of the S.O.E. and Audet.
- I propose a suspension of the meeting for half an hour, the general announces. I invite you to take advantage of this time to consider what your claims will be in terms of a control zone.
The Frenchman wipes his forehead and leaves, followed by Krymer. McLean and his men can manage this madhouse for a while without him!
Sylvestre Audet swallows a large glass of water in one gulp and then calls out to Witold Krymer: "That's it, the conflict is frozen... long enough, I hope, for us to get out of this quagmire!"
- You have been perfect, general," replies the Pole with his stainless smile. "Don't worry, now that they've understood where their interest lies, the rest will pass like... how do you say... like a letter in the post!
Exhausted, the Frenchman sighs: "But how can you have fun in such a complicated situation, Mr. Krymer?
- I myself am quite complicated..." answers the interested party, enigmatic. Compassionate, he takes the general by the shoulder: "Your ordeal is finished, you will see!
Audet considers for a moment his interlocutor. The charming smile of a ladies' man, but a cunning lightning in the glance... the taste of the cards, he said? Nothing of an officer, in truth. But Sylvestre Audet does not want to try to understand - he wants to go back to Athens and forget what he would describe in his memoirs as "one of the worst experiences of my life, worse perhaps worse than the German bombings during the Other War... I was not so much afraid for my physical integrity as for my mental health!
Krymer did not lie. When the meeting resumes, each one has already determined "his" zone, which obviously corresponds to their current stronghold. For the CP, the north of Albania as far as Elbasan: a region close to his bases and the communist forces, but largely still occupied.
To the Ballists, a rectangle from Elbasan in the north to the Greek border of 1939 in the south**, and from the Macedonian border in the east to Berat in the west. And the Legaliteli, the part to the southwest, including Vlorë. The Albanian conflict is frozen, it will remain so until the end of the war against Germany.
The judgment of history
"The only one who protested against the Tirana agreement was King Zog, and it is an understatement to say so.
The baroque arrangement, uncertain but brilliant, imposed by the Allies concluded Operation Presage, a very rapid offensive that cost little (750 Allied deaths) but it also brought little profit - not for nothing in the frustration of Montgomery, who compared his progress to that of "Dragon". German losses were remediable: about 1,950 killed and 500 taken prisoner, without counting the... dissolution of the Muslim regiment of the 162. ID. They could have been much higher if Hellmuth Felmy had held on to the ground. However, we know the zeal he put into leaving in good conditions and with speed this region without resources and without interest of its own.
How can one blame him? Even for the Nazis, who had many other nations under their control, Albania seemed to be populated by madmen. From September 8th to 21st, a civil war broke out that left at least 7,500 dead - the exact number is still unknown.
This number could have been even higher if Audet had not acted with surprising efficiency, perhaps guided by an S.O.E. agent named Krymer - but this man remains a mystery [see our Dictionary of World War II in the Balkans].
Finally, an unexpected winner emerged from this quagmire in the person of Josip Broz "Tito", who revealed and destroyed the common front that Enver Hoxha and the Macedonian Svetozar Vukmanović formed, while greatly weakening the latter (who had only obeyed the orders of Mukje!) This action was certainly for much in maintaining the territorial integrity of Yugoslavia after the war. The icing on the cake, the interested party also strengthened its position by sowing disorder in its Albanian neighbor, while gaining influence with the allied GHQ and demonstrating once again that no political solution could be found without him in Yugoslavia.
Since then, some commentators have severely judged Sylvestre Audet's action - especially in the light of the terrible civil war that ravaged Albania from 1945 to 1948. However, the French general once again demonstrated a real gift for mediation, exercised in extraordinarily difficult conditions and in the face of real gangsters. Who remembers that Mehmet Shemu was described by his instructor Julian Amery as "a small, dark man, about thirty years old, cheerful-looking but rarely smiling, except at the misfortunes of others. He had a reputation for bravery, courage, cruelty and... cruelty - he had boasted of having personally slit the throats of seventy Italian carabinieri who had been taken prisoner"? Or that Baba Faja was presented by David Smiley as "a sympathetic villain, delighted to sing Partisan songs in a deep bass voice, especially after consuming large quantities of raki"? Difficult to negotiate serenely with such characters. The exchanges with the Albanian "political class" should therefore not be compared with those of August 12th, 1943 in Athens - even Stefanos Sarafis, the ELAS informer, would have looked like a lamb in Tirana. Finally, it should not be forgotten that Audet had triumphed over issues that he had hardly studied, and for which he had certainly never volunteered!
The Tirana conference thus ratified the division of the country and postponed the conflict.
It was the main thing. "Presage" was, alas, the augury of the civil war which followed the war. Moreover, it is now known that Montgomery capitalized on this unpleasant experience by taking into account (perhaps a little too much) the terrain and political contingencies when planning his operations in late 1943." (Robert Stan Pratsky, The Liberation of Greece and the Balkans, Flammarion, 2005)
.........
"Enver Hoxha (1908-1978): Albanian politician, General Secretary of the Party of Workers of Albania and President of the People's Republic of Albania. A grammar teacher who studied in France, he joined the Communist Party in 1941, at the age of 34, to know a fulgurating ascension. Having installed himself at the head of the National Liberation Movement, he became the undisputed leader of Albania in 1948, after having eliminated (not without difficulty) all his opponents (and former companions in the Resistance) during the civil war from 1945 to 1948. Historians are still debating the influence of Tito in this rise to power - even though he admitted that he would never have accepted a fascist state from Balli Kombëtar on his border, let alone a state with a strong presence in Kosovo and claiming the territory in question.
The action of Hoxha, devoted at first to the reconstruction of the country and to "the education of the masses", was very quickly accompanied by ferocious repression and the extermination of opponents. Great admirer of Stalin and supporter of a "pure Marxist-Leninist line", Hoxha distanced himself from the USSR after 1953 to orient his country towards a theoretical form of self-sufficiency, without having the economic means of his policy and in the absence of any foreign support. The "Great Step Forward" and the "Pedagogical Revolution" that followed were both disasters due to his regime. In 1953, he eliminated his lifelong companion Mehmet Shehu before seeking in a flight the solution to his catastrophic economic failure. Thus, in 1968, after having tried to foment a rebellion in Kosovo, he finally tried to annex this province militarily.
What the Croat Tito, powerful Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, could only refuse with the utmost energy!
The counter-offensive of the Royal Yugoslav Army provoked the fall of his regime, without the multiple bunkers built by his services doing anything about it. In poor health since 1963 and his first heart attack (he could only move around in a wheelchair), Enver Hoxha did not survive the end of his People's Republic of Albania.
Today, and despite the real social progress brought by the RPA compared to the barbaric tribal regime that previously ruled the country, his name remains symbolic of political oppression, forced atheism and narrow nationalism." (Robert Stan Pratsky, op. cit.)
.........
"Abaz Kupi (1892-1976): known as Bazi I Canës, former officer in the Albanian army. Although he participated in the coup d'état of 1922 (defeated at the time by Captain Prenz Pervizi, who later joined the Balli Kombëtar), he commanded the royal gendarmerie in Durrës during the invasion of Albania by the Italians. His troops resisted for 36 hours, allowing the royal family to escape; this feat gave him a glorious reputation.
After the annexation, he went into exile in Turkey and founded the movement of the Legaliteli or Legalists - dedicated in theory to obtain the return of King Zog. As a result, he gained the support of the S.O.E. Author of courageous but limited actions, he strengthens his troops after the Tirana agreement in 1943, but was finally defeated in 1947 by the forces of Shesu, his long-time enemy. He then went into exile in Paris and then in the United States. Member of the Committee for a Free Albania and partisan of a return to the old regime, he died in New York in 1976. His party will survive him however: the Legaliteli will present candidates in the first free elections in Albania, but without popular support." (Robert Stan Pratsky, op. cit.)
.........
"Safet Butka (1901-1946): Albanian teacher, nationalist politician and son of the famous patriot Sali Butka. After studying in Austria, he became principal of the high school in Tirana. He organized the return of the ashes of Naim Frashëri from Turkey. Classified as antifascist and imprisoned by the Italians in 1939, he was released only in 1942 and joined then, paradoxically, the ranks of the Balli Kombëtar - the national front opposed to Italy, but part of which collaborates with the Germans after the withdrawal of the Italians and in the perspective of a "great Albania". He successfully leads the maquis of Korcë without compromising himself too much with the occupying forces and finally took the head of the movement in 1943 after the flight of his other leaders to Montenegro. Desperate to negotiate with the Communist Party to avoid and then to stop the civil war, he committed suicide in 1946. He was then replaced by his second Prenk Pervizi, finally defeated and exiled to Greece in 1948. The Balli Kombëtar still exists and receives a substantial percentage of the votes in the elections." (Robert Stan Pratsky, op. cit.)
.........
"Witold Krymer (1916-2009): a member of the S.O.E. and MI-6, this Warsaw native left Poland for good during the invasion of 1939, escaping via Finland, then Sweden and France. In 1940, he went to England. Fluent in many languages, a man of charm and action, he was quickly recruited by Her Majesty's secret service. His activities during the world conflict are shrouded in mystery; however, his presence is noted in the Baltic States, in Stockholm and then in Albania, where he intervened with General Audet during the Tirana conference. The post-war period is even more obscure, even if he lives between the West End of London and Neuilly-sur-Seine, with his Lithuanian family (which had fled Poland in 1939 with two wives of Polish generals taken in hitchhiking!). His multiple return trips to Leningrad during the 1960s still raise questions. Finally settled in Châteauroux, he worked for the company EDF-Energy and died near Paris without having wished to evoke his life to anyone. His existence is however marked by curious landmarks, such as his presence on the official photo of the visit of a British minister to Moscow in 1972, where he appears in the suite of the Soviet Prime Minister... Father of six children, he remains an enigma for all, including his family." (Robert Stan Pratsky, op. cit.)
Siege of Salonika
Coda
Salonika - ANZAC soldiers continue to clean up the city and bring the many civilians to safety. Thus, the allied infantrymen evacuate almost 500 people who had taken refuge in the church of St. George of Neapoli. The domes with Byzantine mosaics were miraculously spared by the bombardments - only some tiles lie on the ground, unstuck by the vibrations. But the minaret of the building overhangs a field of ruins.
On the harbor and near the station, the engineering troops are trying to estimate the damage, stumbling among the rubble. It will take time to restore the port facilities...
But, for the moment, the allied troops have the time to devote to a great cleaning.
Bulgarian affair
What's next?
Sofia - A gray sky greets with a few showers the arrival of the 7. Rgt (Walter Schimana) of the 4. SS-Polizei-Panzergrenadier-Division, now fully deployed in Bulgaria. The unit, now independent of the Army Groups of the Wehrmacht, is almost exclusively dependent on Berckele.
The unofficial Gauleiter of the country completes the reorganization of the Bulgarian government, which he has rebuilt to his taste: docile and intended to deal with current affairs. Bozhilov has just signed the decree appointing Ivan Krastev Marinov minister of war. The latter is already in the process of reorganizing what remains of the Bulgarian army according to the principles mentioned the day before, with the expected help of Major-General Stoychev - who is on his way to Sofia, with his orderly for only company.
If a considerable number of officers will be struck by a series of purges and driven out of the Army, Marinov will not resort to any death sentence... except one, which he plans to announce tomorrow, September 22nd, the day when the declaration of Bulgarian independence from the Ottoman Empire is celebrated. He and the Prime Minister are expected to give two short speeches at Radio Bulgaria, which will be full of irony or hidden meanings.
Pazardjik - The arrival of the 2. Rgt of the 225. ID finally allows the 19. PanzerGrenadier to breathe a little. The unit can gather its different components (Panzer Abt, 201. and 242., StuG Abt, 93. schwere Panzerjäger Abt and 1. and 2. Brandenburg Rgt) to take a brief rest before returning to the Vardar Valley front - a move made all the more urgent by the end of the Festung Salonik. The crushing of the Bulgarian rebellion has at least the merit of uniting the different units, which learned to live side by side. For everyone, it is time to take stock, to make plans and to express regrets.
On the air - Neue Europa prepares the Bulgarian national day by recalling the glorious memories of the great revolt of 1876... and the repression that followed and left almost 30 000 dead. "Fortunately, the Turks now live in fear of the Reich and the fratricidal conflicts with our Romanian, Serbian and Macedonian allies will soon be resolved: a new Salonika armistice, wisely arbitrated by Germany, will allow Bulgaria to atone for the mistakes of the Regent.
"Der Chef" does not specify that the armistice in question was anything but favorable to Bulgaria, it is useless. Just as it is useless to specify that Greece is not mentioned in the enumeration of the "allies" of Sofia...
* In exchange for this assimilation, the Russians were allowed to send emissaries into the occupied Soviet territories to recruit volunteers. These returned almost empty-handed: only 750 men joined the Russian Corps during the whole conflict.
** Let us recall that the People's Republic of Albania will recognize the end of the state of war with Greece only at the beginning of the 70's, after the disappearance of Hoxha.
Italian Campaign
Change of scene - The 1st Armored Division of the US Army, placed in reserve a few days before, sets out for Naples. It is planned to spend eight or ten days to replenish its strength and renew some of its equipment before leaving for France, but this operation finally requires fifteen days, given the very low level of stocks.
Moreover, a number of slightly damaged or broken down vehicles - jeeps, half-tracks - have to be recovered and reconditioned in the workshops rather than simply replaced, as is customary in the US Army. This is not the case for the standard M4A3s, which will be passed on to the cobelligerent Italian Army. Instead, the tankers of the 1st Armored finally receive armed models of the 75 mm long, M4A3(75-LB), which are greeted by cheers and delighted exclamations evoking the male sexual organ!
Finally, the Old Ironsides will start to embark on October 2nd and its first elements will arrive on the 11th in Provence...
Greek & Balkan Campaign
New showers from the east fell on the Balkans, as if to greet the first day of autumn.
Migration
Belgrade - Almost a fortnight after his telephone exchange with Alexander Löhr, General Lothar Rendulic of the XX. Gebirgs-Armee, can finally keep his promise and detach two divisions to consolidate the Albanian front, which should rather be called the Albania and Kosovo front. A welcome reinforcement: the departure of the 8. Rgt. of the 4. SS-Polizei-PzrGr. leave the LXVIII. AK of Hellmuth Felmy with four infantry divisions and the 907. and 914. StuG Abteilungs. This is theoretically enough to hold northern Albania, but if the 100. Jäger is fully operational, the 162. and 164. ID are very diminished and the 11. Luftwaffen-FD is only a shadow of its former self (the Luftwaffe command has announced its next withdrawal from the front for reconstitution in Germany).
However, Rendulic does not separate himself from his best units: the new ones will be the 173. ID (Heinrich von Behr), a Reserve-Division just activated, and the 369. ID Vražja divizija (Marko Mesić), the Devil's Division. This is the oldest of the three divisions formed of Croats but integrated into the Wehrmacht. It is a politically secure troop, experienced in anti-partisan warfare, especially against the non-aligned Serbian Chetniks - no doubt that Felmy will find it useful... The two units will leave Belgrade in the next few days for Albania.
The Croatian 373. ID Tigar divizija, the Tiger Division, will take over from the 369. ID to provide security in Bosnia and western Serbia. This formation has just completed its training with the Germans and remains under their supervision (its leader is General Emil Zellner), which ensures both its loyalty and its effectiveness. It is supported by the five
regiments of the Security Forces of the Russian Corps.
This Corps is composed of 12,000 White Russians (among whom there are many officers who had become soldiers again), who had settled in Yugoslavia after the Russian civil war and who threw themselves into the arms of the Reich because of their anti-communism during the conquest of the country.
Boris Chteïfon, its current leader, has replaced the creator of the unit, General Mikhail Fyodorovich Skorodumov, who was arrested by the Germans three days after the creation of the Corps. This madman thought that he could discuss matters on an equal footing with the Heer. His successor does not have these dreams of grandeur. On the other hand, he knows he is needed by the Axis, which is lacking troops in the region, especially after the Bulgarian failure. So, willingly or not, he succeeded in imposing on Rendulic, through his friend the German colonel Kewisch, some astonishing conditions in exchange for his collaboration: besides the vague and promise of a transfer to Russia "as soon as communism is defeated in Serbia", the Russians have a hierarchical relationship only with the Germans without any Slavic intermediary, and the independence of the Corps regiments within the Heer was guaranteed. At the time of the decision creating the Corps, it was foreseen that the men would wear the Russian imperial uniform (!) and that its officers would not take an oath to the Führer. When the unit was actually set up, Shteifon had to impose on his officers the taking of an oath to Hitler as well as, for obvious considerations of stewardship, the wearing of the German uniform (decorated with a cockade, medals and shoulder patches of the Tsarist empire...)*. But the Russians still stubbornly refuse to fight the Serbian nationalist forces of Draža Mihailović - which obviously annoys the command of the 12. Armee.
Nevertheless, the insecurity of the rear is such that the Germans have decided to indulge in these symbolic arguments. Tito's Partisans are more than enough to keep these nostalgic veterans busy, the majority of whom are over 45 years old. The five regiments will be deployed according to Croatian needs - transmitted, for the sake of form, by the Germans. The Reich's envoys were eager for the 392. ID Plava divizija, the Blue Division (Johann Mickl) is also operational, in order to be able to subcontract to the Croats and the Serbian volunteer corps of Dimitrije Ljotić the entire anti-partisan struggle, which will allow the German divisions to fully dedicate themselves to the fight against the Allies.
Even if it means bloodying the region even more, and even if, by chance, their protégés are to kill each other.
Operation Presage
The Polish (and Czech) stalemate
Northern Albania - The Poles, Czechoslovakians and French legionnaires and spahis organize their stay in Albania, trying, despite the absence of specialized units, to start repairing the port facilities. For the moment, only the legionnaires have the prospect of a future departure.
Controlling the chaos - The Tirana conference
Before King Zog's Palace - Under the ever-vigilant guard of the MPs and the Polish armoured already deployed the day before, the conference ends today at 11 am with the presentation of the arbitrations "proposed" by the Allies. Everyone took their seats again, in a chilly atmosphere, where everyone is certain of his right.
Since yesterday, the audience has grown even more - the participants have brought in reinforcements from all over Albania, rightly convinced that their future for the next few years depends on the outcome of this meeting.
This is notably the case for Balli Kombëtar, whose leader, Safet Butka, may have felt insufficiently supported by the Legaliteli. We now find at his side, in addition to the personalities of the day before, Ali Këlcyra, the architect of the cease-fire between the Ballists and the Italians (which is no longer a crime but continues to annoy some) and especially Muharrem Bajraktari, a warlord and tribal leader from the Kosovar border, a great friend of Draža Mihailović, the boss of the Serbian royalist Chetniks. A curious arrival, but one that does not surprise poor Sylvestre Audet, who is beginning to get used to this menagerie.
On the other side, the PC is not to be outdone. It brought Mustafa Xhani, known as Baba Faja, a religious leader: this is not without salt, given the theoretical hostility of Hoxha's rigorous Marxist-Leninists towards religions. The man, who had opposed an Italy described as anti-Islamic, participated in the founding of the National Liberation Movement, which he now defends tooth and nail - he even wanted to throw away his whirling dervish robes and renounce his religious rank in order to be admitted to the Party. It was Enver Hoxha who prevented him from doing so.
What better symbol of the union of all Albanians around his person than the presence of a mystic in his staff? Baba Faja is a guarantor, and he will still be used as such today.
After the inevitable back-and-forth, sideways glances and murderous smiles, General Audet stands up and speaks, flanked by McLean and Quayle. Witold Krymer remains behind him, standing in the shadows. Audet attacks in a very loud voice, with acidity and irony: "Gentlemen, I must first thank you for your kind participation in this meeting to discuss the immediate future of your country. I say its immediate future, because the United Nations has no intention of imposing a government on the Albanian people, who remain free to decide their own destiny and the choice of their leaders."
At his words, Hoxha believes he has won and relaxes very slightly.
Audet pauses for a moment, then continues: "However, the excesses and incidents of the last few days, which have caused our armies to lose lives, equipment and time, are unacceptable. It is unthinkable that such crimes will be repeated.
Abaz Kupi raises his head with interest, like a fox that has sniffed out a rabbit. Safet Butka and Prenk Pervizi remain in ambush.
- For I say it here loud and clear, gentlemen. The aim of our armies is to win the war against the Nazi Reich. And for this we will not hesitate to use any means necessary, within the limits of our values.
There is a noticeable, but discreetly restrained, disappointment in the ballist ranks.
- I have observed the situation for a long time and I have listened with the greatest attention to your... debates of yesterday. They were instructive. I have learned many things. For example, that Mr. Butka, of the Balli Kombëtar, opposed the return of King Zog for legal reasons of the highest importance, such as the transfer of the monastery of St. Naum (I hope to pronounce this name correctly), which he described as criminal. I have also learned that the deportation of many Albanian Jews and gypsies by the Reich was hindered by the courageous attitude of the administrative officials put in place by the monarchy - something that Mr. Kupi insisted on at length, even though it is not certain that those concerned recognize his authority. Last but not least, I am aware of the military capabilities of each of your movements, which you have compared at length... and unanimously exaggerated, let me say. If this were not the case, we would not have needed to enter Albania to drive out the Wehrmacht!
A moment of silence, and the hand of the Frenchman falls violently on the table.
- I don't know anything about this, and I don't care! As I said earlier, and as I am sure you all wish, our armies are not here to police. Therefore...
Each of the political leaders seems to be hanging on the general's lips. The clan leaders and warlords are divided between boredom and curiosity - let's get to the point and then to fight, if necessary!
- Consequently, the allied powers demand the application of the cease-fire defined at Mukje, even if it means enforcing it, if necessary, by force and by stopping the supply of arms and ammunition. For future operations against the German forces, the action of your units will be coordinated under our authority alone, each one participating in the fight according to its means.
At these words, Ymer Dishnica stands up in the ranks of the MLN. Mad with rage, he does not wait for his leader's approval: "This is a scandal, it's a shame! The only thing to do with the Mukje agreements is to tear them up and throw them in your face! Would you be Comrade Hoxha that it would be the same!" Standing behind him, Gjon Markagjoni forces him to sit down, pressing hard with both hands on his shoulders. At the Ballists, Safet Butka looks infinitely relieved. Abaz Kupi, the head of the Legaliteli, is pouting - he was still vaguely hoping for a return to the "legal" order. From everywhere there is a hubbub, which suddenly calms down when Enver Hoxha stands up to speak. Behind him, his pack, led by the Kryeziu brothers, form a protective cohort. He is clearly threatening.
- Comrade Dishnica expresses his dismay at this flagrant injustice, which cannot go unpunished. Consternation and even anger, which we all feel! Because you order us to share the power with fascists and traitors!
- Traitors are those who only obey Moscow!" shouts Xhem Hasa.
The two trios of brothers seem to be ready for a confrontation with fists, chairs and probably knives. The whistles are unleashed and the insults fly: "Fëmija i ndyrë!" on one side, "I ndyrë nga tradhtarët!" on the other. McLean and his men are inaudible and physically overwhelmed. Fearing a general brawl, Audet scratches his head wearily, then turns to Krymer, who has remained leaning against the wall, arms crossed. In an amused tone, the S.O.E. man says: "I bet on the Kryeziu brothers, and you?" A cold sweat beading on his forehead, the Frenchman exclaims: "There's nothing funny about that! We have to call the Military Police, and quickly!" The strange Pole smiles broadly, takes out a revolver from his pocket and fires a shot in the air like a western sheriff, stopping the hullabaloo.
- Dear friends, the general had not finished! Come on, sit down!
A moment of stupor, then everyone obeyed. At that moment, attracted by the detonation, twenty military policemen armed with rifles enter the room, their faces closed.
In spite of Krymer's grand gestures intended to show them that they are not needed, the MPs hesitate to go out until Audet orders them to do so... adding that they should stay right next door, just in case! By the time the room doors close, everyone has time to think a little.
- Are we being held hostage, General?" Shehu growls, ready to pounce. Under the table, his right hand is looking for something in his boot, probably a dagger... Krymer is amused again by his irritation while Audet resumes in a strong voice.
- Not at all, gentlemen! I was about to come to the point. Obviously you are not able to collaborate between you. Therefore, I announce that, from now on and until the end of the conflict, your country will be entrusted to the allied military administration!
The Ballists and the Legalists were now in a tizzy, and they could not see themselves changing master so quickly. As for the Communists, they already seem ready for war. A murmur fills the room, as each group discusses in its corner.
- However, we do not wish to occupy Albania and we will not occupy it!
A surprisingly pregnant silence suddenly settles in, as if all of a sudden everyone suddenly finds interest in the speech of the Frenchman.
- We are therefore going to entrust the responsibility of the security and the administration of the territory to your three movements, in sectors and according to modalities that we will specify. In the knowledge that in the slightest incident, the sector of the movement at fault will be militarily occupied. The only alternative would be a takeover by our troops, a disarmament by force of all movements and a complete military administration. Do you prefer this solution?
There is a chorus of denials. Nuk ka! Non! No! Nein! Niet! The parties have suddenly understood the goal of the Allies: they want to stop time until the end of the war against the Germans. In the end, this idea suits everyone: each party will be able to strengthen itself in anticipation of the confrontation that will come... later. The Legaliteli and the Ballists gained time to recruit and equip troops. The CP will be able to continue to build up its strength while clearing out the troublesome ones in its ranks.
However, Hoxha is not really satisfied, and he makes this known: "This is a masquerade, the comrades in neighboring countries would not accept it. Would you really imagine imposing this ridiculous arrangement on the Serbs?"
- That will not be necessary, comrade." This is Muharrem Bajraktari, speaking for the first time and looking at his interlocutor. "I bring you a message from Draža Mihailović. He announces the formation of a common front of his Serbian Chetniks with the Partisans of General Tito and the Royal Yugoslav Army, whose return to the national territory will be for soon (the man sketches a cruel smile), surely by way of Macedonia, by the way. Could you do less than our Serbian friends, Comrade Hoxha?
Comrade Hoxha, uncertain, mutters some curses in Albanian and finally curls up in his chair and glares at Markagjoni - the latter's predictions are confirmed. The latter had indeed told him the night before that his Macedonian accomplice Vukmanović was in danger of being disowned by Tito.
There is silence for a good minute, to the great astonishment of the members of the S.O.E. and Audet.
- I propose a suspension of the meeting for half an hour, the general announces. I invite you to take advantage of this time to consider what your claims will be in terms of a control zone.
The Frenchman wipes his forehead and leaves, followed by Krymer. McLean and his men can manage this madhouse for a while without him!
Sylvestre Audet swallows a large glass of water in one gulp and then calls out to Witold Krymer: "That's it, the conflict is frozen... long enough, I hope, for us to get out of this quagmire!"
- You have been perfect, general," replies the Pole with his stainless smile. "Don't worry, now that they've understood where their interest lies, the rest will pass like... how do you say... like a letter in the post!
Exhausted, the Frenchman sighs: "But how can you have fun in such a complicated situation, Mr. Krymer?
- I myself am quite complicated..." answers the interested party, enigmatic. Compassionate, he takes the general by the shoulder: "Your ordeal is finished, you will see!
Audet considers for a moment his interlocutor. The charming smile of a ladies' man, but a cunning lightning in the glance... the taste of the cards, he said? Nothing of an officer, in truth. But Sylvestre Audet does not want to try to understand - he wants to go back to Athens and forget what he would describe in his memoirs as "one of the worst experiences of my life, worse perhaps worse than the German bombings during the Other War... I was not so much afraid for my physical integrity as for my mental health!
Krymer did not lie. When the meeting resumes, each one has already determined "his" zone, which obviously corresponds to their current stronghold. For the CP, the north of Albania as far as Elbasan: a region close to his bases and the communist forces, but largely still occupied.
To the Ballists, a rectangle from Elbasan in the north to the Greek border of 1939 in the south**, and from the Macedonian border in the east to Berat in the west. And the Legaliteli, the part to the southwest, including Vlorë. The Albanian conflict is frozen, it will remain so until the end of the war against Germany.
The judgment of history
"The only one who protested against the Tirana agreement was King Zog, and it is an understatement to say so.
The baroque arrangement, uncertain but brilliant, imposed by the Allies concluded Operation Presage, a very rapid offensive that cost little (750 Allied deaths) but it also brought little profit - not for nothing in the frustration of Montgomery, who compared his progress to that of "Dragon". German losses were remediable: about 1,950 killed and 500 taken prisoner, without counting the... dissolution of the Muslim regiment of the 162. ID. They could have been much higher if Hellmuth Felmy had held on to the ground. However, we know the zeal he put into leaving in good conditions and with speed this region without resources and without interest of its own.
How can one blame him? Even for the Nazis, who had many other nations under their control, Albania seemed to be populated by madmen. From September 8th to 21st, a civil war broke out that left at least 7,500 dead - the exact number is still unknown.
This number could have been even higher if Audet had not acted with surprising efficiency, perhaps guided by an S.O.E. agent named Krymer - but this man remains a mystery [see our Dictionary of World War II in the Balkans].
Finally, an unexpected winner emerged from this quagmire in the person of Josip Broz "Tito", who revealed and destroyed the common front that Enver Hoxha and the Macedonian Svetozar Vukmanović formed, while greatly weakening the latter (who had only obeyed the orders of Mukje!) This action was certainly for much in maintaining the territorial integrity of Yugoslavia after the war. The icing on the cake, the interested party also strengthened its position by sowing disorder in its Albanian neighbor, while gaining influence with the allied GHQ and demonstrating once again that no political solution could be found without him in Yugoslavia.
Since then, some commentators have severely judged Sylvestre Audet's action - especially in the light of the terrible civil war that ravaged Albania from 1945 to 1948. However, the French general once again demonstrated a real gift for mediation, exercised in extraordinarily difficult conditions and in the face of real gangsters. Who remembers that Mehmet Shemu was described by his instructor Julian Amery as "a small, dark man, about thirty years old, cheerful-looking but rarely smiling, except at the misfortunes of others. He had a reputation for bravery, courage, cruelty and... cruelty - he had boasted of having personally slit the throats of seventy Italian carabinieri who had been taken prisoner"? Or that Baba Faja was presented by David Smiley as "a sympathetic villain, delighted to sing Partisan songs in a deep bass voice, especially after consuming large quantities of raki"? Difficult to negotiate serenely with such characters. The exchanges with the Albanian "political class" should therefore not be compared with those of August 12th, 1943 in Athens - even Stefanos Sarafis, the ELAS informer, would have looked like a lamb in Tirana. Finally, it should not be forgotten that Audet had triumphed over issues that he had hardly studied, and for which he had certainly never volunteered!
The Tirana conference thus ratified the division of the country and postponed the conflict.
It was the main thing. "Presage" was, alas, the augury of the civil war which followed the war. Moreover, it is now known that Montgomery capitalized on this unpleasant experience by taking into account (perhaps a little too much) the terrain and political contingencies when planning his operations in late 1943." (Robert Stan Pratsky, The Liberation of Greece and the Balkans, Flammarion, 2005)
.........
"Enver Hoxha (1908-1978): Albanian politician, General Secretary of the Party of Workers of Albania and President of the People's Republic of Albania. A grammar teacher who studied in France, he joined the Communist Party in 1941, at the age of 34, to know a fulgurating ascension. Having installed himself at the head of the National Liberation Movement, he became the undisputed leader of Albania in 1948, after having eliminated (not without difficulty) all his opponents (and former companions in the Resistance) during the civil war from 1945 to 1948. Historians are still debating the influence of Tito in this rise to power - even though he admitted that he would never have accepted a fascist state from Balli Kombëtar on his border, let alone a state with a strong presence in Kosovo and claiming the territory in question.
The action of Hoxha, devoted at first to the reconstruction of the country and to "the education of the masses", was very quickly accompanied by ferocious repression and the extermination of opponents. Great admirer of Stalin and supporter of a "pure Marxist-Leninist line", Hoxha distanced himself from the USSR after 1953 to orient his country towards a theoretical form of self-sufficiency, without having the economic means of his policy and in the absence of any foreign support. The "Great Step Forward" and the "Pedagogical Revolution" that followed were both disasters due to his regime. In 1953, he eliminated his lifelong companion Mehmet Shehu before seeking in a flight the solution to his catastrophic economic failure. Thus, in 1968, after having tried to foment a rebellion in Kosovo, he finally tried to annex this province militarily.
What the Croat Tito, powerful Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, could only refuse with the utmost energy!
The counter-offensive of the Royal Yugoslav Army provoked the fall of his regime, without the multiple bunkers built by his services doing anything about it. In poor health since 1963 and his first heart attack (he could only move around in a wheelchair), Enver Hoxha did not survive the end of his People's Republic of Albania.
Today, and despite the real social progress brought by the RPA compared to the barbaric tribal regime that previously ruled the country, his name remains symbolic of political oppression, forced atheism and narrow nationalism." (Robert Stan Pratsky, op. cit.)
.........
"Abaz Kupi (1892-1976): known as Bazi I Canës, former officer in the Albanian army. Although he participated in the coup d'état of 1922 (defeated at the time by Captain Prenz Pervizi, who later joined the Balli Kombëtar), he commanded the royal gendarmerie in Durrës during the invasion of Albania by the Italians. His troops resisted for 36 hours, allowing the royal family to escape; this feat gave him a glorious reputation.
After the annexation, he went into exile in Turkey and founded the movement of the Legaliteli or Legalists - dedicated in theory to obtain the return of King Zog. As a result, he gained the support of the S.O.E. Author of courageous but limited actions, he strengthens his troops after the Tirana agreement in 1943, but was finally defeated in 1947 by the forces of Shesu, his long-time enemy. He then went into exile in Paris and then in the United States. Member of the Committee for a Free Albania and partisan of a return to the old regime, he died in New York in 1976. His party will survive him however: the Legaliteli will present candidates in the first free elections in Albania, but without popular support." (Robert Stan Pratsky, op. cit.)
.........
"Safet Butka (1901-1946): Albanian teacher, nationalist politician and son of the famous patriot Sali Butka. After studying in Austria, he became principal of the high school in Tirana. He organized the return of the ashes of Naim Frashëri from Turkey. Classified as antifascist and imprisoned by the Italians in 1939, he was released only in 1942 and joined then, paradoxically, the ranks of the Balli Kombëtar - the national front opposed to Italy, but part of which collaborates with the Germans after the withdrawal of the Italians and in the perspective of a "great Albania". He successfully leads the maquis of Korcë without compromising himself too much with the occupying forces and finally took the head of the movement in 1943 after the flight of his other leaders to Montenegro. Desperate to negotiate with the Communist Party to avoid and then to stop the civil war, he committed suicide in 1946. He was then replaced by his second Prenk Pervizi, finally defeated and exiled to Greece in 1948. The Balli Kombëtar still exists and receives a substantial percentage of the votes in the elections." (Robert Stan Pratsky, op. cit.)
.........
"Witold Krymer (1916-2009): a member of the S.O.E. and MI-6, this Warsaw native left Poland for good during the invasion of 1939, escaping via Finland, then Sweden and France. In 1940, he went to England. Fluent in many languages, a man of charm and action, he was quickly recruited by Her Majesty's secret service. His activities during the world conflict are shrouded in mystery; however, his presence is noted in the Baltic States, in Stockholm and then in Albania, where he intervened with General Audet during the Tirana conference. The post-war period is even more obscure, even if he lives between the West End of London and Neuilly-sur-Seine, with his Lithuanian family (which had fled Poland in 1939 with two wives of Polish generals taken in hitchhiking!). His multiple return trips to Leningrad during the 1960s still raise questions. Finally settled in Châteauroux, he worked for the company EDF-Energy and died near Paris without having wished to evoke his life to anyone. His existence is however marked by curious landmarks, such as his presence on the official photo of the visit of a British minister to Moscow in 1972, where he appears in the suite of the Soviet Prime Minister... Father of six children, he remains an enigma for all, including his family." (Robert Stan Pratsky, op. cit.)
Siege of Salonika
Coda
Salonika - ANZAC soldiers continue to clean up the city and bring the many civilians to safety. Thus, the allied infantrymen evacuate almost 500 people who had taken refuge in the church of St. George of Neapoli. The domes with Byzantine mosaics were miraculously spared by the bombardments - only some tiles lie on the ground, unstuck by the vibrations. But the minaret of the building overhangs a field of ruins.
On the harbor and near the station, the engineering troops are trying to estimate the damage, stumbling among the rubble. It will take time to restore the port facilities...
But, for the moment, the allied troops have the time to devote to a great cleaning.
Bulgarian affair
What's next?
Sofia - A gray sky greets with a few showers the arrival of the 7. Rgt (Walter Schimana) of the 4. SS-Polizei-Panzergrenadier-Division, now fully deployed in Bulgaria. The unit, now independent of the Army Groups of the Wehrmacht, is almost exclusively dependent on Berckele.
The unofficial Gauleiter of the country completes the reorganization of the Bulgarian government, which he has rebuilt to his taste: docile and intended to deal with current affairs. Bozhilov has just signed the decree appointing Ivan Krastev Marinov minister of war. The latter is already in the process of reorganizing what remains of the Bulgarian army according to the principles mentioned the day before, with the expected help of Major-General Stoychev - who is on his way to Sofia, with his orderly for only company.
If a considerable number of officers will be struck by a series of purges and driven out of the Army, Marinov will not resort to any death sentence... except one, which he plans to announce tomorrow, September 22nd, the day when the declaration of Bulgarian independence from the Ottoman Empire is celebrated. He and the Prime Minister are expected to give two short speeches at Radio Bulgaria, which will be full of irony or hidden meanings.
Pazardjik - The arrival of the 2. Rgt of the 225. ID finally allows the 19. PanzerGrenadier to breathe a little. The unit can gather its different components (Panzer Abt, 201. and 242., StuG Abt, 93. schwere Panzerjäger Abt and 1. and 2. Brandenburg Rgt) to take a brief rest before returning to the Vardar Valley front - a move made all the more urgent by the end of the Festung Salonik. The crushing of the Bulgarian rebellion has at least the merit of uniting the different units, which learned to live side by side. For everyone, it is time to take stock, to make plans and to express regrets.
On the air - Neue Europa prepares the Bulgarian national day by recalling the glorious memories of the great revolt of 1876... and the repression that followed and left almost 30 000 dead. "Fortunately, the Turks now live in fear of the Reich and the fratricidal conflicts with our Romanian, Serbian and Macedonian allies will soon be resolved: a new Salonika armistice, wisely arbitrated by Germany, will allow Bulgaria to atone for the mistakes of the Regent.
"Der Chef" does not specify that the armistice in question was anything but favorable to Bulgaria, it is useless. Just as it is useless to specify that Greece is not mentioned in the enumeration of the "allies" of Sofia...
* In exchange for this assimilation, the Russians were allowed to send emissaries into the occupied Soviet territories to recruit volunteers. These returned almost empty-handed: only 750 men joined the Russian Corps during the whole conflict.
** Let us recall that the People's Republic of Albania will recognize the end of the state of war with Greece only at the beginning of the 70's, after the disappearance of Hoxha.
21/09/43 - France, Liberation of Nice
September 21st, 1943
Steamer Duck, 12:00
Steamer - In the Palavas area, the morning has been rather quiet: the opponents are watching each other's backs as events unfold further east.
There, the bulk of the 11. Panzer finally comes to the rescue of the 866. Grenadier Rgt (355. ID). The British troops - the 232nd and 233rd Infantry Brigades, reinforced with funnies from the 5th Assault Engineers Rgt and the 10th RTR, make no further progress and are even pushed back by local counter-attacks. The air support (provided in particular by the aircraft of the carriers) and the artillery of the battleships are necessary to stabilize the situation.
On Steamer's right wing, despite the reinforcement of the 3rd and 4th Rangers Btn, the 234th Brigade and the Royal Marines are blocked in front of Marsillagues. Pioneers and Panzerjägers of the 355. ID have formed a Kampfgruppe that the Aufklärung abt of the 11. Panzer came to reinforce.
Duck - Further north, the 7th US-ID was struggling on a Vauvert-Garons line. Its 32nd Infantry Regiment called on the reinforcement of the 109th Infantry Regiment of the 28th US-ID, supported by the 776th TD Btn.
However, the situation seems to be blocked, especially as on the American right wing, the 60. PzGr counter-attacks with energy the elements of the 1st US-ID which had crossed the Rhône river. The 26th IR, supported by the 191st Tank and 645th TD Btn, has to redirect its effort northwards to face it. Between the 28th US-ID in the center and the 1st US-ID on the right, the sector around Manduel is left to the custody of the 110th RI (28th US-ID) and the 117th Cavalry Rgt, which arrives from the south.
The situation seems to be stabilized...
Steamer Duck, 20:00
Duck - Stabilized? Not quite! Because at the beginning of the afternoon the CCA and CCB of the 2nd US-AD go up to line, in the middle of the Duck front. The Hell on Wheels breaks through in the sectors of Manduel and Bouillargues, forcing all the 334. ID to withdraw in direction of Nîmes, with the 28th ID on its heels. At the end of the day, the road Nîmes - Avignon is even reached by the 117th Cavalry, driving a wedge between the 60. PanzerGrenadier in the north and the 334. ID in the center of the German front facing the Americans.
In the plain, the 2nd US-AD is thus opened a boulevard towards the south, in the back of the 355. ID, which holds the southern part of the German front. It threatens to fall from the next day on the flank of the 11. Panzer.
In a few hours, the German situation becomes very serious. If the whole western part of the front does not reorient itself, a new disaster threatens the Wehrmacht. At the headquarters of Lemelsen's staff, the worries are all the greater as the reconnaissance shows that the 1st US-ID is about to attempt to cross the Rhône at Avignon. Such a crossing would cut in two the 60. PzGr and would isolate its leading elements. Indeed, this division is very stretched: if its right wing is opposed to the 1st US-ID, its left wing is always in the grip of the Belgian bridgehead of Pont St-Esprit.
Nice liberated!
On the rest of the front, the situation is rather calm, but the French have a strong reason of satisfaction with the entry into Nice of the 4th RTS (9th DIC). No one is more satisfied than a young officer of the I/7th RTS (3rd DIM). Second Lieutenant Rainier Grimaldi hopes that after Nice will come the turn of Monaco and that he will be able to find his family's stronghold... But when? And above all, for how long?
.........
A few kilometers away, on the German side, the boss of the 148. ID learns of its attachment (logical) to the LI. Gebirgs-Armeekorps.
Steamer Duck, 12:00
Steamer - In the Palavas area, the morning has been rather quiet: the opponents are watching each other's backs as events unfold further east.
There, the bulk of the 11. Panzer finally comes to the rescue of the 866. Grenadier Rgt (355. ID). The British troops - the 232nd and 233rd Infantry Brigades, reinforced with funnies from the 5th Assault Engineers Rgt and the 10th RTR, make no further progress and are even pushed back by local counter-attacks. The air support (provided in particular by the aircraft of the carriers) and the artillery of the battleships are necessary to stabilize the situation.
On Steamer's right wing, despite the reinforcement of the 3rd and 4th Rangers Btn, the 234th Brigade and the Royal Marines are blocked in front of Marsillagues. Pioneers and Panzerjägers of the 355. ID have formed a Kampfgruppe that the Aufklärung abt of the 11. Panzer came to reinforce.
Duck - Further north, the 7th US-ID was struggling on a Vauvert-Garons line. Its 32nd Infantry Regiment called on the reinforcement of the 109th Infantry Regiment of the 28th US-ID, supported by the 776th TD Btn.
However, the situation seems to be blocked, especially as on the American right wing, the 60. PzGr counter-attacks with energy the elements of the 1st US-ID which had crossed the Rhône river. The 26th IR, supported by the 191st Tank and 645th TD Btn, has to redirect its effort northwards to face it. Between the 28th US-ID in the center and the 1st US-ID on the right, the sector around Manduel is left to the custody of the 110th RI (28th US-ID) and the 117th Cavalry Rgt, which arrives from the south.
The situation seems to be stabilized...
Steamer Duck, 20:00
Duck - Stabilized? Not quite! Because at the beginning of the afternoon the CCA and CCB of the 2nd US-AD go up to line, in the middle of the Duck front. The Hell on Wheels breaks through in the sectors of Manduel and Bouillargues, forcing all the 334. ID to withdraw in direction of Nîmes, with the 28th ID on its heels. At the end of the day, the road Nîmes - Avignon is even reached by the 117th Cavalry, driving a wedge between the 60. PanzerGrenadier in the north and the 334. ID in the center of the German front facing the Americans.
In the plain, the 2nd US-AD is thus opened a boulevard towards the south, in the back of the 355. ID, which holds the southern part of the German front. It threatens to fall from the next day on the flank of the 11. Panzer.
In a few hours, the German situation becomes very serious. If the whole western part of the front does not reorient itself, a new disaster threatens the Wehrmacht. At the headquarters of Lemelsen's staff, the worries are all the greater as the reconnaissance shows that the 1st US-ID is about to attempt to cross the Rhône at Avignon. Such a crossing would cut in two the 60. PzGr and would isolate its leading elements. Indeed, this division is very stretched: if its right wing is opposed to the 1st US-ID, its left wing is always in the grip of the Belgian bridgehead of Pont St-Esprit.
Nice liberated!
On the rest of the front, the situation is rather calm, but the French have a strong reason of satisfaction with the entry into Nice of the 4th RTS (9th DIC). No one is more satisfied than a young officer of the I/7th RTS (3rd DIM). Second Lieutenant Rainier Grimaldi hopes that after Nice will come the turn of Monaco and that he will be able to find his family's stronghold... But when? And above all, for how long?
.........
A few kilometers away, on the German side, the boss of the 148. ID learns of its attachment (logical) to the LI. Gebirgs-Armeekorps.
22/09/43 - Future
September 22nd, 1943
Norway - If the weather was clear over England at the time of takeoff of the 134 heavy bombers of the 9th Air Force, it was not the case on the way to Norway, and the crews of the Flying Fortresses and Liberators are worried, even nervous. Especially those whose objective was Knaben and its molybdenite mines, barely 50 km from the southern coast of the country. Fortunately, in a new clarity and with a good visibility, the cut of these coasts is quite specific and easy to recognize, so that the 47 B-17s easily reach the Norwegian village to drop their bombs at lunch time, hoping that there would be less people inside the targeted buildings. An almost zero wind facilitates the aiming, all the more precise as there is a total absence of flak. As usual, the result is excellent: 85% of the bombs fall at less than 2,000 feet from the target! One might as well say that Germany will now have a hard time obtaining supplies of molybdenum...
The same weather conditions have the same effect further north. Thus, the 21 B-24 of the 392nd BG place 89% of their bombs at less than 1,000 feet from their target. The two planned targets are hit ! On the side of Rjukan, a bomb even hits the target in the nitrate stocks of the power plant, causing a huge explosion felt in the fuselages. The factory of Vemork itself is less affected, its discretion in the landscape (unlike the Rjukan power plant) means that the hits are more due to chance. They are no less effective, damaging in particular the railroad track linking the factory to the power station.
Here, on the other hand, there is Flak, which takes its toll on the Americans. Two B-24 are shot down directly and two others, damaged, will be finished by the Bf 109 G of I/JG.5.
The arrival of these aircraft disorganizes the last wave of Liberators, as the crews had not been warned of a possible intervention by enemy fighters, which the information located more in the north or in the west, covering the fjords of the North Sea.
The photographs taken in the wake or the following day will confirm these good results, which the staff of the 9th AF will not fail to point out! Without mentioning, of course, the 22 Norwegian civilians killed by the raid, which Tronstad wanted to avoid. The Norwegian government protests (with discretion) and the allied staff promises to take more precautions in the future - if possible...
Norway - If the weather was clear over England at the time of takeoff of the 134 heavy bombers of the 9th Air Force, it was not the case on the way to Norway, and the crews of the Flying Fortresses and Liberators are worried, even nervous. Especially those whose objective was Knaben and its molybdenite mines, barely 50 km from the southern coast of the country. Fortunately, in a new clarity and with a good visibility, the cut of these coasts is quite specific and easy to recognize, so that the 47 B-17s easily reach the Norwegian village to drop their bombs at lunch time, hoping that there would be less people inside the targeted buildings. An almost zero wind facilitates the aiming, all the more precise as there is a total absence of flak. As usual, the result is excellent: 85% of the bombs fall at less than 2,000 feet from the target! One might as well say that Germany will now have a hard time obtaining supplies of molybdenum...
The same weather conditions have the same effect further north. Thus, the 21 B-24 of the 392nd BG place 89% of their bombs at less than 1,000 feet from their target. The two planned targets are hit ! On the side of Rjukan, a bomb even hits the target in the nitrate stocks of the power plant, causing a huge explosion felt in the fuselages. The factory of Vemork itself is less affected, its discretion in the landscape (unlike the Rjukan power plant) means that the hits are more due to chance. They are no less effective, damaging in particular the railroad track linking the factory to the power station.
Here, on the other hand, there is Flak, which takes its toll on the Americans. Two B-24 are shot down directly and two others, damaged, will be finished by the Bf 109 G of I/JG.5.
The arrival of these aircraft disorganizes the last wave of Liberators, as the crews had not been warned of a possible intervention by enemy fighters, which the information located more in the north or in the west, covering the fjords of the North Sea.
The photographs taken in the wake or the following day will confirm these good results, which the staff of the 9th AF will not fail to point out! Without mentioning, of course, the 22 Norwegian civilians killed by the raid, which Tronstad wanted to avoid. The Norwegian government protests (with discretion) and the allied staff promises to take more precautions in the future - if possible...
22/09/43 - Occupied Countries
September 22nd, 1943
Château de Trousse-Barrière, Briare, 23:30 - A few years earlier, there had been another conference in Briare - although for the purists, the fussy and especially the locals, this one did not really take place in Briare but about ten kilometers away*.
It was in other times, of course: Paul Reynaud was President of the Council (and recently mourning the death of the Countess of Portes), Charles de Gaulle was an obscure temporary general recently promoted to the government, and Marshal Pétain had a say in French policy. Churchill and Eden had come away very worried about the gloomy prospects for the Franco-British alliance in particular and the outcome of the conflict in general. But the very next day, the face of the world had been changed by the French Sursaut and the Briare conference had become an anonymous event in history.
What can we say then about this summit meeting, three years later, of the highest ranking members of the Territorial Security Force, the pseudo-army of the New French State? First of all, that we could put all the capital letters we wanted, the FST didn't weigh much compared to the forces that were confronting each other at the same time on the soil of Provence.
Nevertheless, this conference dares to take an interest in this battle. Certainly, for someone who would have wanted to meet the Germans or the Doriotists (and there are some like that at the castle of Trousse-Barrière!), the day's meetings were mostly technocratic and procedural. But around midnight, when the last spy had gone to bed, the real purpose of this meeting finally reveals itself. At that moment, only General Olléris remains, commander in chief of the FST, his aide-de-camp, Captain de Lagarde, Lt-Colonel Michel Temporal, in charge of the stewardship at the national level, Colonel Henri Mingasson, commander of the "Ariège-Pyrénées Garrison", Colonel Albert Lacaze, commander of the "Touraine Garrison" (and the "2nd Bureau" of the FST, although this service was not supposed to exist for the rest of the NEF apparatus), Colonel Albert de Seguin de Reyniès, commanding the "Garnison of the Morvan", Colonel Louis Mallet, commanding the "Garnison of Auvergne", and finally the lieutenant-colonel Alain Le Ray**. Not that the heads of the other garrisons are collaborators: once appointed to the head of the FST, Olléris had facilitated the departure of the most Germanophiles to the various other armed groups created under the patronage of the NEF. But caution was the order of the day.
Operation Dragon had succeeded: the Allies had not been thrown into the sea, on the contrary. It is therefore time for the Secret Army, which has been infiltrating the FST almost since its creation (just as it the SONEF of Darnand, before it was purged when the PSE was created, the Doriotist Gestapo), to show that it was not only good at transmitting information (precious of course) to the BCRA(M) and the SOE, but that it will be able to play a fighting role during the Great Moment.
And the Great Moment has come! While a few days ago, the De Gaulle cabinet held a Council of Ministers in Marseille, just to show that the Liberation of the rest of the territory was only a matter of time, Oleris' men decided to play their part. The Bec Bunsen operation is to be launched in a few weeks, on the signal given by General Olléris. Afterwards, everyone would do what they had to do. Mingasson and his troop will go to Spain - where they should not be kept too long; those who cannot would join the main body of troops of the Corps Franc Pommiès. Lacaze's men will join the maquis and networks federated by Abbé Péan in the south and those of the green Sologne in the east - the north being the hunting ground of "Captain Lecoze"***. De Reyniès has to join the most important maquis near the Morvan, those of Loup, Chaumard and the "Louis WO" (one of the few maquis in France to be supported by the SOE****)... In Auvergne, his double function of colonel of the FST and mayor of his village allowed Mallet to feed maquis, he will go to find them when the time comes.
Michel Temporal, who has carried out several important statistical works for the Army since the beginning of the century, had to simultaneously ratify a whole series of permissions and transfers to the Tricolor Legion, the French Guard and other LVF and Charlemagne forces that were so in demand for men, in order to eliminate the individuals most likely to be loyal to the NEF and to make sure that the enemy was unaware of the FST's "Garrisons". Temporal does so in the middle of the night, while most of the others will find sleep before going back to their distant postings the next day and preparing for their actual passage to what they know to be the good side of the Fatherland... and of history.
* The château du Muguet is located in the commune of Breteau, about ten kilometers from the nearest town, which is certainly Briare.
** Lt-Colonel Le Ray owes his rapid rise to this rank - he was a captain in 1940 - to the shortage of officers at the FST, and especially to his escape from Colditz in 1941. After having tried to join the Resistance, he was offered by Algiers, to his amazement, to join the FST!
*** His real name was Georges Dubosq, this "Captain" was a criminal, imprisoned for murder during a robbery at the beginning of the Occupation. Released thanks to well-placed friends, he entered the SONEF and played the role of double agent to bring down resistance networks in Angers, Saint Malo and Brest. Feeling the wind change (unless, it is possible, he had a surge of patriotism), he ended up, at the beginning of 1943, by taking the maquis in the Touraine region. Thanks to a certain charisma, he gathered a heterogeneous maquis composed of resistance fighters, downed allied airmen, German deserters and STO refractory soldiers. Making his own law in the north of Touraine, which he had made his fiefdom, he dealt with men from Algiers as well as with those of the NEF. It was deemed preferable to leave him out of the story.
**** "Louis" is the nom de guerre of Captain Paul Sarrette, leader of this maquis, and WO indicates the link of the maquis with the War Office.
Château de Trousse-Barrière, Briare, 23:30 - A few years earlier, there had been another conference in Briare - although for the purists, the fussy and especially the locals, this one did not really take place in Briare but about ten kilometers away*.
It was in other times, of course: Paul Reynaud was President of the Council (and recently mourning the death of the Countess of Portes), Charles de Gaulle was an obscure temporary general recently promoted to the government, and Marshal Pétain had a say in French policy. Churchill and Eden had come away very worried about the gloomy prospects for the Franco-British alliance in particular and the outcome of the conflict in general. But the very next day, the face of the world had been changed by the French Sursaut and the Briare conference had become an anonymous event in history.
What can we say then about this summit meeting, three years later, of the highest ranking members of the Territorial Security Force, the pseudo-army of the New French State? First of all, that we could put all the capital letters we wanted, the FST didn't weigh much compared to the forces that were confronting each other at the same time on the soil of Provence.
Nevertheless, this conference dares to take an interest in this battle. Certainly, for someone who would have wanted to meet the Germans or the Doriotists (and there are some like that at the castle of Trousse-Barrière!), the day's meetings were mostly technocratic and procedural. But around midnight, when the last spy had gone to bed, the real purpose of this meeting finally reveals itself. At that moment, only General Olléris remains, commander in chief of the FST, his aide-de-camp, Captain de Lagarde, Lt-Colonel Michel Temporal, in charge of the stewardship at the national level, Colonel Henri Mingasson, commander of the "Ariège-Pyrénées Garrison", Colonel Albert Lacaze, commander of the "Touraine Garrison" (and the "2nd Bureau" of the FST, although this service was not supposed to exist for the rest of the NEF apparatus), Colonel Albert de Seguin de Reyniès, commanding the "Garnison of the Morvan", Colonel Louis Mallet, commanding the "Garnison of Auvergne", and finally the lieutenant-colonel Alain Le Ray**. Not that the heads of the other garrisons are collaborators: once appointed to the head of the FST, Olléris had facilitated the departure of the most Germanophiles to the various other armed groups created under the patronage of the NEF. But caution was the order of the day.
Operation Dragon had succeeded: the Allies had not been thrown into the sea, on the contrary. It is therefore time for the Secret Army, which has been infiltrating the FST almost since its creation (just as it the SONEF of Darnand, before it was purged when the PSE was created, the Doriotist Gestapo), to show that it was not only good at transmitting information (precious of course) to the BCRA(M) and the SOE, but that it will be able to play a fighting role during the Great Moment.
And the Great Moment has come! While a few days ago, the De Gaulle cabinet held a Council of Ministers in Marseille, just to show that the Liberation of the rest of the territory was only a matter of time, Oleris' men decided to play their part. The Bec Bunsen operation is to be launched in a few weeks, on the signal given by General Olléris. Afterwards, everyone would do what they had to do. Mingasson and his troop will go to Spain - where they should not be kept too long; those who cannot would join the main body of troops of the Corps Franc Pommiès. Lacaze's men will join the maquis and networks federated by Abbé Péan in the south and those of the green Sologne in the east - the north being the hunting ground of "Captain Lecoze"***. De Reyniès has to join the most important maquis near the Morvan, those of Loup, Chaumard and the "Louis WO" (one of the few maquis in France to be supported by the SOE****)... In Auvergne, his double function of colonel of the FST and mayor of his village allowed Mallet to feed maquis, he will go to find them when the time comes.
Michel Temporal, who has carried out several important statistical works for the Army since the beginning of the century, had to simultaneously ratify a whole series of permissions and transfers to the Tricolor Legion, the French Guard and other LVF and Charlemagne forces that were so in demand for men, in order to eliminate the individuals most likely to be loyal to the NEF and to make sure that the enemy was unaware of the FST's "Garrisons". Temporal does so in the middle of the night, while most of the others will find sleep before going back to their distant postings the next day and preparing for their actual passage to what they know to be the good side of the Fatherland... and of history.
* The château du Muguet is located in the commune of Breteau, about ten kilometers from the nearest town, which is certainly Briare.
** Lt-Colonel Le Ray owes his rapid rise to this rank - he was a captain in 1940 - to the shortage of officers at the FST, and especially to his escape from Colditz in 1941. After having tried to join the Resistance, he was offered by Algiers, to his amazement, to join the FST!
*** His real name was Georges Dubosq, this "Captain" was a criminal, imprisoned for murder during a robbery at the beginning of the Occupation. Released thanks to well-placed friends, he entered the SONEF and played the role of double agent to bring down resistance networks in Angers, Saint Malo and Brest. Feeling the wind change (unless, it is possible, he had a surge of patriotism), he ended up, at the beginning of 1943, by taking the maquis in the Touraine region. Thanks to a certain charisma, he gathered a heterogeneous maquis composed of resistance fighters, downed allied airmen, German deserters and STO refractory soldiers. Making his own law in the north of Touraine, which he had made his fiefdom, he dealt with men from Algiers as well as with those of the NEF. It was deemed preferable to leave him out of the story.
**** "Louis" is the nom de guerre of Captain Paul Sarrette, leader of this maquis, and WO indicates the link of the maquis with the War Office.
22/09/43 - Asia & Pacific
September 22nd, 1943
Indochina Campaign
Thailand under the bombs
Bangkok, 12:30 - The alarm sounds in the streets, announcing death and destruction coming from the skies. The allied four-engine bombs are not aimed at the heart of the capital today, but an equally interesting target: the port of Khlong Toei, very active although unfinished (its construction, begun in 1938, would not be completed until after the end of the conflict).
From 16,000 feet, the aiming and the bombing goes a little better than usual. The projectiles crush some warehouses and two bombs hit the cargo ship Kofuku Maru (1918, 5,822 GRT, 10 knots). Loaded with palm oil and wood, it quickly falls prey to an uncontrollable fire. A little further on, several junks and sampans fall victim to bombs exploding nearby in the waters of the Chao Praya.
When nine Ki-43 manage to catch up with the allied formation that had just turned back, the airmen, surprised, noticed that in addition to the usual B-24s carrying the American five-pointed star, there are B-17Es and Fs with the twelve-pointed star of the KMT!Indeed, to the fifteen Liberators of the 308th BG, were added nine ROCAF Fortresses. The day before, Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek had asked (demanded, some would say) that these bombers to take part in the raid to show that Nationalist China is present on all the fronts of Asia.
Attacking relentlessly, the Ki-43s manage, with a bit of luck, to hit a B-24 despite the crossfire of the four-engine planes, losing two of them in the process before a dozen P-51 of the III/40 come to chase them. The American gunners claim to have shot down a good dozen attackers; a little more realistically the Chinese claimed six victories!
Chiang is right: despite the damage inflicted on the port, it was above all the presence of the Chinese aircraft that will mark the spirits in Bangkok.
Savannakhet (Laos, on the border with Thailand) - Eight B-25s from III/62 and six P-40s from the 76th FS return to rub shoulders with the city's defenses. This time, the bombers are interested in port facilities along the Mekong River. As a Thai 2-pdr begins to adjust one of the two twin-engine planes that are approaching the area covered by their gun, a flash of lightning flashed across the aircraft's nose and a blows away the sandbag protection, throwing several men to the ground. Another detonation smashes the wall of a small warehouse a few meters away. Panic-stricken, the servants throw themselves into a trench - a good initiative, because another impact demolished the room, whose ammunition had already been prepared and is exploding.
Dumbfounded, the soldiers watch the strange bombers attacking the wharves along which a few river patrol boats are lined up. The size of the sheaves, the damage to the docks and boats and the rain of debris show that the attackers are using a much more powerful weapon than the usual 12.7 mm. The first operational tests of the B-25G or "Mitchell-gun" in the CBI theater are promising!
.........
Report of Maj. Dumas (GB II/62) on the first evaluations of the B-25 Mitchell (NA-62), model G with 75 mm gun
"Lately, we received from Burma Mitchells of the G type, used by the 5th US Air Force in the Pacific to fight ships.
...
Before coming to the main point, let us note that we were pleasantly surprised to see that our previous remarks on the defensive armament of the aircraft seem to have been taken into account by the American engineers.
Indeed, a metal plate now covers the former location of the Bendix belly turret, which was no longer favored by the crews (if it ever was). We were lucky enough to receive recent models, the early G-types still have the Bendix ventrale*.
The firing position in the tail has been improved. The gunner has a better field of vision and clearance for his weapon; being in a kneeling position, he has more ease in pointing (although the posture remains uncomfortable for a long time).
The side firing positions are also improved: shifted on both sides of the fuselage (which avoids the gunners from interfering with each other), they have a shooting arc and an increased visibility - we are no longer - we are no longer obliged to make these modifications ourselves, on the field or in the workshops of the rear bases.
...
Let's move on to the topic of the day: the M4 75mm nose gun.
This is the weapon fitted to the current standard American Sherman tank. The device has about twenty 75 mm shells, each weighing about 7 kg. However, the loading being done by hand (the navigator's), the rate of fire does not exceed four shots per shot pass even for a well-trained man (and without counting the turbulences, the flak and enemy fighters!).
Two 12.7 mm Browning placed above the gun are supposed to be used for the aiming. Needless to say that we unanimously found them insufficient, because during the reloading the 75 mm, the pilot can only rely on the machine guns - and nothing beats the density of fire of multiple Browning guns to make those in front lower their heads. Moreover, nothing protects us from a cannon fire. In this eventuality, the presence of heavy machine guns is very useful. Before leaving for Dien Bien Phu, each Mitchell-gun was thus reinforced by a double 12.7mm mounting on each side of the fuselage, under the cockpit, in the manner of the solid-nosed B-25. The B-25G thus has six heavy Browning guns in addition to the 75mm cannon - the total gives a very, very respectable firepower!
It has been detected that cracks are beginning to form in the front structure. They are due to the to the recoil of the 75 mm gun. North American is aware of this problem and has already taken steps to correct it.
Some crews do not seem to be in favor of the 75 mm. After removal of the gun, they have installed a 12.7mm twin instead, and this modification (which reproduces a full nose model) gives them satisfaction.
During the last few days, it has been possible to use our bombers in a complementary manner.
During a classic bombing run, a glass-nosed B-25 acts as the lead bomber for the "full-nosed" and "nose-gunned" bombers that drop on top of it, before going on to play their fire support role.
Efficiency of the M4 gun
- The boats are often destroyed at the first shot, several are necessary for some small cargo ships and coasters, but the result is excellent.
- Trains also suffer very severe damage, as do cars and trucks, especially when they circulate in column.
- No need to dwell on the effects of attacks on airfield buildings.
- It becomes possible to engage light flak pieces at a safe distance.
I would add that the moral effect on the enemy soldiers is not to be neglected. On several occasions, we observed that servants abandoned their guns after one or two 75 mm hits in the vicinity.
...
On the other hand, it was confirmed to us that the personnel of the Inglewood and Kansas City plants were already working on improved versions of the Mitchell, whether 75 mm gun, glass nose or solid nose. Needless to say, we are looking forward to these new models.**"
The Mytho Massacre
Mytho (Cochinchina) - "It is significant that one of the very first films produced by Vietnamese cinema after the war is entitled The Battle of Mytho. It depicts the liberation of the city on September 20th, but also the events of the following three days.
The film itself is of little interest, neither cinematographic nor historical. It has no other purpose than to broadcast the position of the Vietnamese government regarding the massacre of September 22nd, an event known in France as the "Cochinchinese Vespers"***. As for the historical reality, it is still being debated. There are no less than four versions of the events.
What we do know for sure is that the situation in Mytho was increasingly unstable.
The Binh Xuyen had plundered the city for two days and were beginning to fill their sampans with the fruits of their plunder. For the inhabitants, seeing such liberators leave was a relief! However, the Hoa-Hao and the Vietminh were moving in. The first ones had religious sermons explaining that according to their doctrine, a king would soon be born to take over the whole of Asia and drive out the Europeans. More pragmatic, Nguyen Binh had installed his staff in the town hall and was trying to restore order in the city. Not easy: basic services, including running water, had not been provided for two days.
According to the Hoa-Hao's version, "atheist communists" had opened fire on "a peaceful gathering" of Hoa-Hao members. Their leaders, at the head of a crowd "spontaneously gathered", were heading towards the town hall of Mytho to demand an end to the "persecution" of their cult. It was then that the Vietminh fired at them from the windows of the municipal building.
The Vietminh version acknowledges (which is consistent with all the testimonies) that they opened fire first, but differs from that of the Hoa-Hao as to the peaceful nature of the crowd gathered. On the contrary, Nguyen Binh claims that the cultists shouted hostile slogans and brandished weapons and banners of war.
In any case, the second battle of Mytho was an almost one-sided massacre. The fanaticized cultists had virtually no firearms, while the Vietminh shot at them with FMs and machine guns. In addition, the Vietminh garrisons had moved into houses and set up barricades to protect themselves. The bursts of fire cut through the compact ranks of fanatics who - certain of attaining the enviable status of saint and martyr after death - refuse to back down.
Finally, all that is known about the Binh Xuyen's involvement in the massacre is what they themselves said about it. They were busy filling their boats with the proceeds of their plunder when a mob armed with spears and cutlasses pounced on them. Caught off guard, the bandits, after suffering some losses, would have retaliated and routed the attacker." (Pascal N'Guyen-Minh, op. cit.)
The New Georgia Archipelago
Operation Littlefoot
Vella Lavella - The thinking of Turner, Kinkaid, and Halsey pays off. Rear Admiral Wilkinson receives a message ordering the preparation of a landing on Vella Lavella, with all necessary naval support and under an air umbrella provided by Munda and Guadalcanal. The landing was to be carried out "with celerity but prudence", in order to take the island. This is to be Operation Littlefoot.
The reconnaissance carried out in July had not been in vain, and Wilkinson was inwardly pleased with his sagacity.
Wilkinson congratulates himself on his sagacity. Without wasting any time, he asks Major-General Oscar Griswold for a few squads of the 19th IR to carry out "explorations", followed by landings in the bays previously identified by these men.
This is how four PT-Boats head for Vella Lavella. Crossing the Strait of Gizo, the boats have the misfortune to meet several Zero in marauding, which strafe their decks, causing several deaths. However, the Japanese planes do not insist, perhaps fearing an intervention by the Corsairs nesting nearby.
The small ships are thus able to reach their objective, Barakoma Bay, where they are immediately welcomed by natives, who transfer the wounded and able-bodied soldiers to the beach in dugout canoes. The first ones are taken in charge by the coastwatchers Henry Josselyn and Robert Firth and the Methodist Reverend Silvester, who were decidedly good Samaritans for the allied soldiers.
The able-bodied initially confirm the first evaluations of the officers sent by Wilkinson.
However, they are surprised to come across, at the bend of a palm tree, seven Tenno soldiers at a bivouac, or even bathing. The latter, stunned, are promptly captured, a great first in the country! The GIs then proceed to mark the possible landing points by positioning smoke bombs, and report their observations and encounters to the HQ now located in Munda.
This reconnaissance taught the Americans a crucial fact: the island is not unoccupied. In fact, there are still about 250 men in Horaniu and the surrounding area who were previously evacuated from Munda, as well as some shipwrecked sailors.
Indochina Campaign
Thailand under the bombs
Bangkok, 12:30 - The alarm sounds in the streets, announcing death and destruction coming from the skies. The allied four-engine bombs are not aimed at the heart of the capital today, but an equally interesting target: the port of Khlong Toei, very active although unfinished (its construction, begun in 1938, would not be completed until after the end of the conflict).
From 16,000 feet, the aiming and the bombing goes a little better than usual. The projectiles crush some warehouses and two bombs hit the cargo ship Kofuku Maru (1918, 5,822 GRT, 10 knots). Loaded with palm oil and wood, it quickly falls prey to an uncontrollable fire. A little further on, several junks and sampans fall victim to bombs exploding nearby in the waters of the Chao Praya.
When nine Ki-43 manage to catch up with the allied formation that had just turned back, the airmen, surprised, noticed that in addition to the usual B-24s carrying the American five-pointed star, there are B-17Es and Fs with the twelve-pointed star of the KMT!Indeed, to the fifteen Liberators of the 308th BG, were added nine ROCAF Fortresses. The day before, Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek had asked (demanded, some would say) that these bombers to take part in the raid to show that Nationalist China is present on all the fronts of Asia.
Attacking relentlessly, the Ki-43s manage, with a bit of luck, to hit a B-24 despite the crossfire of the four-engine planes, losing two of them in the process before a dozen P-51 of the III/40 come to chase them. The American gunners claim to have shot down a good dozen attackers; a little more realistically the Chinese claimed six victories!
Chiang is right: despite the damage inflicted on the port, it was above all the presence of the Chinese aircraft that will mark the spirits in Bangkok.
Savannakhet (Laos, on the border with Thailand) - Eight B-25s from III/62 and six P-40s from the 76th FS return to rub shoulders with the city's defenses. This time, the bombers are interested in port facilities along the Mekong River. As a Thai 2-pdr begins to adjust one of the two twin-engine planes that are approaching the area covered by their gun, a flash of lightning flashed across the aircraft's nose and a blows away the sandbag protection, throwing several men to the ground. Another detonation smashes the wall of a small warehouse a few meters away. Panic-stricken, the servants throw themselves into a trench - a good initiative, because another impact demolished the room, whose ammunition had already been prepared and is exploding.
Dumbfounded, the soldiers watch the strange bombers attacking the wharves along which a few river patrol boats are lined up. The size of the sheaves, the damage to the docks and boats and the rain of debris show that the attackers are using a much more powerful weapon than the usual 12.7 mm. The first operational tests of the B-25G or "Mitchell-gun" in the CBI theater are promising!
.........
Report of Maj. Dumas (GB II/62) on the first evaluations of the B-25 Mitchell (NA-62), model G with 75 mm gun
"Lately, we received from Burma Mitchells of the G type, used by the 5th US Air Force in the Pacific to fight ships.
...
Before coming to the main point, let us note that we were pleasantly surprised to see that our previous remarks on the defensive armament of the aircraft seem to have been taken into account by the American engineers.
Indeed, a metal plate now covers the former location of the Bendix belly turret, which was no longer favored by the crews (if it ever was). We were lucky enough to receive recent models, the early G-types still have the Bendix ventrale*.
The firing position in the tail has been improved. The gunner has a better field of vision and clearance for his weapon; being in a kneeling position, he has more ease in pointing (although the posture remains uncomfortable for a long time).
The side firing positions are also improved: shifted on both sides of the fuselage (which avoids the gunners from interfering with each other), they have a shooting arc and an increased visibility - we are no longer - we are no longer obliged to make these modifications ourselves, on the field or in the workshops of the rear bases.
...
Let's move on to the topic of the day: the M4 75mm nose gun.
This is the weapon fitted to the current standard American Sherman tank. The device has about twenty 75 mm shells, each weighing about 7 kg. However, the loading being done by hand (the navigator's), the rate of fire does not exceed four shots per shot pass even for a well-trained man (and without counting the turbulences, the flak and enemy fighters!).
Two 12.7 mm Browning placed above the gun are supposed to be used for the aiming. Needless to say that we unanimously found them insufficient, because during the reloading the 75 mm, the pilot can only rely on the machine guns - and nothing beats the density of fire of multiple Browning guns to make those in front lower their heads. Moreover, nothing protects us from a cannon fire. In this eventuality, the presence of heavy machine guns is very useful. Before leaving for Dien Bien Phu, each Mitchell-gun was thus reinforced by a double 12.7mm mounting on each side of the fuselage, under the cockpit, in the manner of the solid-nosed B-25. The B-25G thus has six heavy Browning guns in addition to the 75mm cannon - the total gives a very, very respectable firepower!
It has been detected that cracks are beginning to form in the front structure. They are due to the to the recoil of the 75 mm gun. North American is aware of this problem and has already taken steps to correct it.
Some crews do not seem to be in favor of the 75 mm. After removal of the gun, they have installed a 12.7mm twin instead, and this modification (which reproduces a full nose model) gives them satisfaction.
During the last few days, it has been possible to use our bombers in a complementary manner.
During a classic bombing run, a glass-nosed B-25 acts as the lead bomber for the "full-nosed" and "nose-gunned" bombers that drop on top of it, before going on to play their fire support role.
Efficiency of the M4 gun
- The boats are often destroyed at the first shot, several are necessary for some small cargo ships and coasters, but the result is excellent.
- Trains also suffer very severe damage, as do cars and trucks, especially when they circulate in column.
- No need to dwell on the effects of attacks on airfield buildings.
- It becomes possible to engage light flak pieces at a safe distance.
I would add that the moral effect on the enemy soldiers is not to be neglected. On several occasions, we observed that servants abandoned their guns after one or two 75 mm hits in the vicinity.
...
On the other hand, it was confirmed to us that the personnel of the Inglewood and Kansas City plants were already working on improved versions of the Mitchell, whether 75 mm gun, glass nose or solid nose. Needless to say, we are looking forward to these new models.**"
The Mytho Massacre
Mytho (Cochinchina) - "It is significant that one of the very first films produced by Vietnamese cinema after the war is entitled The Battle of Mytho. It depicts the liberation of the city on September 20th, but also the events of the following three days.
The film itself is of little interest, neither cinematographic nor historical. It has no other purpose than to broadcast the position of the Vietnamese government regarding the massacre of September 22nd, an event known in France as the "Cochinchinese Vespers"***. As for the historical reality, it is still being debated. There are no less than four versions of the events.
What we do know for sure is that the situation in Mytho was increasingly unstable.
The Binh Xuyen had plundered the city for two days and were beginning to fill their sampans with the fruits of their plunder. For the inhabitants, seeing such liberators leave was a relief! However, the Hoa-Hao and the Vietminh were moving in. The first ones had religious sermons explaining that according to their doctrine, a king would soon be born to take over the whole of Asia and drive out the Europeans. More pragmatic, Nguyen Binh had installed his staff in the town hall and was trying to restore order in the city. Not easy: basic services, including running water, had not been provided for two days.
According to the Hoa-Hao's version, "atheist communists" had opened fire on "a peaceful gathering" of Hoa-Hao members. Their leaders, at the head of a crowd "spontaneously gathered", were heading towards the town hall of Mytho to demand an end to the "persecution" of their cult. It was then that the Vietminh fired at them from the windows of the municipal building.
The Vietminh version acknowledges (which is consistent with all the testimonies) that they opened fire first, but differs from that of the Hoa-Hao as to the peaceful nature of the crowd gathered. On the contrary, Nguyen Binh claims that the cultists shouted hostile slogans and brandished weapons and banners of war.
In any case, the second battle of Mytho was an almost one-sided massacre. The fanaticized cultists had virtually no firearms, while the Vietminh shot at them with FMs and machine guns. In addition, the Vietminh garrisons had moved into houses and set up barricades to protect themselves. The bursts of fire cut through the compact ranks of fanatics who - certain of attaining the enviable status of saint and martyr after death - refuse to back down.
Finally, all that is known about the Binh Xuyen's involvement in the massacre is what they themselves said about it. They were busy filling their boats with the proceeds of their plunder when a mob armed with spears and cutlasses pounced on them. Caught off guard, the bandits, after suffering some losses, would have retaliated and routed the attacker." (Pascal N'Guyen-Minh, op. cit.)
The New Georgia Archipelago
Operation Littlefoot
Vella Lavella - The thinking of Turner, Kinkaid, and Halsey pays off. Rear Admiral Wilkinson receives a message ordering the preparation of a landing on Vella Lavella, with all necessary naval support and under an air umbrella provided by Munda and Guadalcanal. The landing was to be carried out "with celerity but prudence", in order to take the island. This is to be Operation Littlefoot.
The reconnaissance carried out in July had not been in vain, and Wilkinson was inwardly pleased with his sagacity.
Wilkinson congratulates himself on his sagacity. Without wasting any time, he asks Major-General Oscar Griswold for a few squads of the 19th IR to carry out "explorations", followed by landings in the bays previously identified by these men.
This is how four PT-Boats head for Vella Lavella. Crossing the Strait of Gizo, the boats have the misfortune to meet several Zero in marauding, which strafe their decks, causing several deaths. However, the Japanese planes do not insist, perhaps fearing an intervention by the Corsairs nesting nearby.
The small ships are thus able to reach their objective, Barakoma Bay, where they are immediately welcomed by natives, who transfer the wounded and able-bodied soldiers to the beach in dugout canoes. The first ones are taken in charge by the coastwatchers Henry Josselyn and Robert Firth and the Methodist Reverend Silvester, who were decidedly good Samaritans for the allied soldiers.
The able-bodied initially confirm the first evaluations of the officers sent by Wilkinson.
However, they are surprised to come across, at the bend of a palm tree, seven Tenno soldiers at a bivouac, or even bathing. The latter, stunned, are promptly captured, a great first in the country! The GIs then proceed to mark the possible landing points by positioning smoke bombs, and report their observations and encounters to the HQ now located in Munda.
This reconnaissance taught the Americans a crucial fact: the island is not unoccupied. In fact, there are still about 250 men in Horaniu and the surrounding area who were previously evacuated from Munda, as well as some shipwrecked sailors.
22/09/43 - Eastern Front, Battle of Kam'yanka
September 22nd, 1943
Operation Suvorov
Wet Bison
Battle of Dubrova ("Suvorov-Center") - The rain has stopped and the sky has cleared up, although the weather forecast continues to predict more rain in the next day or two.
Taking advantage of the new sunshine, the German forces attack the redoubts of the 15th Army. In order to anticipate the foreseeable impossibility of retaking Jlobin, the 9. Armee and 4. Armee are asked by Minsk to make a final effort, to finally eliminate this irritating tumor that clung to the Reich's possessions with its fingernails.
Knowing that his opponents must be as tired as his troops, HG Mitte decides to keep it simple: an attack from all sides, to saturate the communist defenses and finally break through somewhere. In the south, it is always the 106. ID and 258. ID who are in the lead, even though they have already given a lot. At 11:00, they finally seize the first Soviet line and the village of Kuncy, advancing two kilometers... before falling on the second line of defense, less solid it is true, but enough however that the tired Landsers break their teeth. Frost and Höcker, who both lost the equivalent of a regiment in less than 48 hours (not to mention the losses incurred prior to this offensive!), decide to slow down the pace - they are not going to do all the work for the lazy 9. Armee!
In fact, during this time, the 197. ID and the 244. StuG are not making much progress... Even if these troops finally came out of the wait-and-see attitude imposed by the initial plan, they are facing the worst terrain, between woods and streams. Shipyagi falls... but it is also because the Russians fell back on the second line. As for the 18. PzGr and the 134. ID, they have not really progressed since the day before, being always blocked by a POP "and a half" as well as by the disorder consecutive to the "disloyal methods of the Reds". This disorder will lead besides to executions of Hiwis wrongly accused of cowardice, even of treason - which in return provokes a certain number of desertions.
With his binoculars, Ivan Fedyuninsky observes the battle with concern. His formations are extremely worn out by a month of struggle - as much as the Fascists, if not more! - and yet, he is ordered to cling to this mediocre piece of land against all common sense! What is the point? What is the purpose? What is the project behind all this? Because there is one, obviously: the Party is infallible, everyone knows it. For the 48 hours that he has been in command on the front, the Soviet general has hardly moved... Obviously, he is worried about the turn of events, which are taking up all his attention to the detriment of his personal security. Unfortunate mistake...
At 1:15 pm, General Ivan Fedyuninsky is the victim of an artillery bombardment targeting his HQ in Iskra, spotted by radio tapping and aerial reconnaissance. Seriously wounded, he is evacuated by plane to Moscow. The 15th Army is temporarily without a leader - of course, the Stavka quickly appoints Latvian General Max Andreevich Reuters to replace Fedyuninsky, but it will take a few hours for him to come and take his post. In the meantime, the fighting continues, and it is the chief of staff of Fedyuninsky, Nikandr Chibisov, who is in charge. He is a good professional, but curiously phlegmatic - some would even call him soft, so much so that he tries to prepare his operations thoroughly before he starts. Chibisov is not an incompetent like Golikov - but he may lack energy. However, it is necessary to act quickly: the events rush on the other bank...
At 15:00, the last anti-tank redoubt falls in front of the painful and combined efforts of the 134. ID and the grenadiers of the 18. PzGr. The way is now clear to the bridges. Chibisov can only ask for an artillery barrage to cover the retreat on his right, while he has to reinforce his second line. Meanwhile, the German units are joining and reorganizing for the final effort ... Because the Soviet positions are only 2 kilometers by 4! It would probably be necessary to order a withdrawal - yet, Nikandr Chibisov decides... to wait for the arrival of Reuters, scheduled for tonight. No doubt he fears (with some reason!) to take an initiative which could be reproached to him.
The problem is that doing nothing is already a form of arbitration.
.........
Battle of Zhlobin ("Suvorov-South") - Another day of chaos north of Zhlobin, where German forces are now focused on inflicting maximum losses on their opponents, before the inevitable end of operations. Having now settled the score of the 7th Armored Corps of Rodin, put out of action for the continuation of the events, the 19. Panzer comes back down to the south, after having given up its positions of Korichnevyy to the 110. ID of von Kurowski. In the vicinity of Shirokii Rog the bulk of the XLI. PzK, which now faces the 21st AC (on its left), the 10th AC (on its right front) and the mass of the 3rd Shock which advances heavily bayoneted right in front of it.
Of course, the Panzermänner do not feel able to defeat this crowd of subhumans by themselves. Not after the efforts already made and with only one infantry division available to support them, in any case. And that is good news: their leader, Erwin Rommel, did not ask them to. The German armored force therefore begins to retreat, trying to attract the Soviet tanks to exterminate as many of them as possible, with the help of the few Stukas still operational in the area. Even the Tigers, with all their armor, were reluctant to get too close to the Red positions. Since then, the Soviets have conducted numerous tests on the wrecks in their possession and studied very closely the tactical capabilities and technical data of the "T-6"... which allowed them to determine the best methods to fight them*.
Faced with this unusual but encouraging picture - the Fascists seem to have doubts and flee! - the Soviet armored forces reacted unfortunately with a scattered vigor. Volkov's 21st Corps goes on the attack without worrying too much about supporting the 10th AC, which advances recklessly (although according to the instructions of the Front). Popov
however, would be in great need of help: he is taking more and more hits against panzers well deployed on his axis of progression, and who do not hesitate to counter-attack him at the first opportunity!
Indeed, because of the lack of intelligence between their opponents, the German tanks have well recognized on which side was the most powerful of the two and can thus quietly distract the strong one on their left to destroy the weak one on their right... The 19. Panzer (Schmidt) and the 20. Panzer (von Lüttwitz) are in charge of occupying this Volkov hindrance while the 18. Panzer (von Thüngen) and the 503. schw Pzr Abt (major von Kageneck) complete the massacre of Popov's tanks - too old and mounted by too young crews, engaged moreover by small groups, in deplorable tactical conditions - before withdrawing towards the north. The plain of Shirokiy is covered with fires: the Red Army lose 137 tanks against only 51 fascists (mainly Panzer III, for which this will be the last important fight) ...
At nightfall, the Axis forces begin to withdraw towards Gusarovka, gradually reabsorbing the salient that they formed, while the XIII. AK and XXV. AK maintains the pressure on Govorov's 2nd Guards Army. Josef Harpe can be satisfied - with his men, he believes he has proven once again the absolute superiority of the Panzerwaffe!
.........
"Bitter cries. The chief is dead, Boris is dead, Soussoï is dead... and now our crew is also affected: Alexandr is dead. This morning he simply did not wake up. Fyodor lifted his head and we all saw blood coming out of his nostrils. Poor guy - he was not the same since our encounter with the Panzer IV in Gomel. Andrei has a rage like I've never seen before - he shoots a pistol at piles of helmets to let off steam. No one around to stop him... our platoon was withdrawn from operations, as was the entire battalion. 80% casualties! And this time, it will not be enough to exchange the destroyed tanks for new ones! We lost good guys, true tanker comrades, who will not be replaced like steel. Besides, even Pobieda!, worn out, tired, looks out of breath. The only good news: Sasha has escaped the destruction of his T-34. He would be in the hospital... but it is impossible to know more." (Evgeny Bessonov, op. cit.)
HQ of the Heeresgruppe Mitte (Minsk) - "Good, good, good. It's all perfect, my dear friend! Two Red armored corps out of action - maybe even three! Even if our forces may not be able to enter Jlobin tomorrow, but that doesn't mean they won't be able to do so the day after tomorrow. And with our inevitable victory coming towards Bialyničy, we have achieved almost everything the Führer asked for. Our forces will now come back to border the Drut, and we can spend the rainy season in the warm... This is a victory, Herr Berndt!"
In front of Rommel, Alfred-Ingemar Berndt does not lose a bit of his oracles for the press release that he has to write as soon as possible. He has to counteract the disastrous rantings of the PropagandaStaffel about the upcoming takeover of Jlobin. To be professional and reliable in all circumstances, to serve the boss. It is not his fault that some people are in a hurry to announce good news with big hooves!
Berlin - New victory bulletin on the airwaves, for those who listen to the voice of the Reich: "The recent fighting in the Jlobin area, masterfully led by Field Marshal Rommel, has succeeded in luring into a giant trap and destroying three Bolshevik armored corps. The enemy lost more than 450 tanks and 8,000 men. This is another victory for the forces of the Heeresgruppe Mitte, who will certainly attack again when the time comes."
This news will obviously satisfy Hitler in Rastenburg - a little less Keitel and his henchmen, but then again, on a given horse... Everyone pretended to ignore the enormous cost of this new triumph for Germany (115 tanks and 4,500 men), as well as the fact that the "three armored corps" are probably only two, and are not destroyed but only more or less weakened. The important thing is to believe in the Victory!
A well-guarded house in Minsk, 01:20 - Alone in his bedroom, Wilhelm Kube is fast asleep. What can the Reich Commissar General be dreaming about? About his youth in Glogau, Silesia, where he studied theology? Of his first steps at the University of Berlin, thanks to a Moses Mendelssohn scholarship (named after an eighteenth-century Jewish philosopher!? To his involvement in the Völkisch** movement and then in the Nazi Party? To his entry into the Reichstag in 1924, wearing a uniform and a swastika armband? All his life, Kube has tried to reconcile a real evangelical Christian faith with a fierce national socialist commitment and rabid anti-Semitism***. He even came close to succeeding - with a little bit of nothing for nothing... - to become head of the Berlin synod of the old Prussian church. If he hadn't had the stupid idea of denouncing the supposed origins of Walter Buch's wife****, Bormann's father-in-law, who knows how far he might have gone?
Disgraced and humiliated, he had to serve as a simple Rottenführer in Dachau, before finally obtaining a position in the construction of the famous "Lebensraum" to be built on the ruins of the Soviet Union. Kube was then able to act again, and without too many qualms - apart from the the Slutsk affair and his poor attempts to spare the German Jews who had been deported to Belarus, or at least the decorated veterans of the First World War among them. Why them, and in exchange for what promise? And what authority did he have, to decide who would live and who would die in the Thousand Year Reich? It was necessary that Reinhardt Heydrich himself had to come and slap him on the wrist before the General Commissioner finally obeyed without question and let the fabulous Strauch do the job he had been given with zeal. Fifty-five thousand dead in two weeks, ten thousand in Minsk in two days - 3,412 in one afternoon!
Does this torment the Commissar General? Does it give him nightmares? Does he find it difficult to clear his conscience? But does Wilhelm Kube still have a conscience, he who dared to throw sweets to screaming children drowning in sand pits?
Does he see their faces again when - just yesterday morning - he takes his own offspring to school? In the end, is the general commissioner really human?
In any case, there is probably one thing that Kube does not dream of, and that is his household staff. And in particular his maid, Galina Kanskaya, who came by again yesterday morning to make the bed. She is an insignificant Slav - although he does not disdain to take advantage of her charms from time to time. Kube's legitimate wife, Anita, is pregnant - we know how much the ladies can be painful during these periods! Moreover, she does not even sleep with her husband.
This is fortunate for her - because Galina Kanskaya herself is married and already a mother, but her name is actually Yelena Mazanik and she is one of the twelve detachments (no less!) ordered to kill Kube. The latter has narrowly escaped these last two months to at least two attacks, and without even knowing it! On July 22nd, a bomb exploded in a cinema in the middle of a screening, killing 70 people - Kube had just left the room. On September 6th, a four-man commando team stormed an officers' banquet and machine-gunned the place and killed 36 people... but not Kube, whose car had left in the dark streets of Minsk - it even passed the attackers without being stopped!
But all guardian angels get tired one day - especially, perhaps, in the face of such an evil man. "Kanskaya", a pretty waitress in a casino or restaurant, had been introduced by her sister Valentina to two NKVD correspondents, Nadezhda Troyan and Mariya Osipova, who had convinced her to accept this mission and provided her with the means to carry it out. This was not self-evident and it took a long time to prepare - the Russian was as careful as she was demanding: careful verification of the identity of each of her contacts, negotiation for the prior evacuation of her family to unoccupied territory, choice of method of elimination... She had finally been introduced into the Kube household in June through another maid, Tatyana Kalita. By then, the poison had already been ruled out, the young woman did not want to kill the couple's children by mistake! Nice scruples, while she herself kept a capsule of arsenic with her at all times, to be swallowed in case of capture.
In short, Yelena Mazanik entered yesterday morning with Valentina in the house of the master from 06:30, to make the beds and to clean the house. The guards were a bit reluctant... but the Russian woman managed to convince them not to open her bag, because there was in it "a present for Madame Anita". The morning then passed normally. Kube left her home around 10:00 to attend a mass shooting - what can I say, work starts early. From one hiding place, the package ended up under the commissary general's bed (or, more precisely between the mattress and the slats). As for the two women, they left the house in a hurry to soothe poor Valentina's toothache... At the same time, their family was fleeing Minsk for the protection of the forest, surrounded by a squad of partisans. For lack of a dentist (it was difficult to find one in Minsk at that time), Valentina and Yelena hadjumped into a truck that was going far... very far.
And so here we are, at 01:20. The bomb should blow in 40 minutes... but (perhaps under the effect of the burning Nazism of its target?) it decides to explode right away, pulverizing the good apostle and sending him straight to his Lord, who will judge him as he should be judged. He will be the only death of the night... but not the last one caused by this explosion.
The German reprisals are merciless. A thousand prisoners are rounded up at random in Minsk, taken to a wood, forced to dig their own graves and shot. However, the SS did not regret Kube - on hearing the news, Heinrich Himmler even spoke of a "blessing" while ironically referring to the fact that a future place in a concentration camp had become available. It is SS-Obergruppenführer Curt von Gottberg, who is already responsible for security in Belarus, who continues the small-scale activities of Kube.
As for the comrade Yelena Mazanik, she will succeed in joining the friendly lines with her family... to find herself in Lubyanka, interrogated by Vsevolod Merkulov***** himself.
The NKVD hesitated for a long time to execute this Belarusian woman, who was not even registered with the Party to attribute her exploit to a more "political" profile! But finally, she and her NKVD partners, Nadezhda Troyan and Mariya Osipova, who had pushed her to act and supervised her, were simply made Heroes of the Soviet Union...
Operations Kutusov and Rumyantsev
Kutusov - Riposte
North of Olevsk - The LVI. PzK (Raus) is now completely free to redeploy its three divisions in the slaughterhouse at the intersection Korosten - Sarny / Mozyr - Novohrad-Volynskyi.
Those of the XXIV. PanzerKorps (von Knobelsdorff) have now in their charge 85 kilometers of lines of an ungrateful terrain - unhealthy swamps succeeding forests. It is a lot - but the Soviet troops (8th Guards Army of S.G. Trofimenko and 64th Army of V.V. Kurassov) are themselves dispersed, exhausted since Zitadelle ... and they must ensure their right flank against the HG Mitte (advanced 175 kilometers east of the HG NordUkraine!). It is thus doubtful that they can break through, especially on such a bad terrain. And even if they succeeded, Manstein thinks with some cynicism, the 8. Armee would only risk one corps, which would gain the time necessary for the rest to finally get out of the Olevsk quagmire. Certainly, the 4th Airborne Corps could attempt infiltration. Certainly, the Reds in front of Loïew could still agitate a little against the LVII. PzK (Kirchner). But obviously, nothing will come out of it.
.........
Olevsk sector - With the return of good weather, Rodion Malinovsky relaunches his assaults westward, still hoping to break through in the direction of Sarny. The 3rd Belorussian Front, grouped along a road and according to a perfectly obvious axis of progression, faces concentrated German defenses - the LVI. PanzerKorps (Raus) and the LII. ArmeeKorps (von Scheele) - and especially including relatively fresh troops coming from the north. On the other side, the Red Army is not at the party...
This is also the case in the north, where the 60th Army - the only off-center formation, thus having a margin of maneuver - continues to attack stubbornly the link between XXIV. PanzerKorps and LVI. PzK in the vicinity of Sushchany, and in the end makes little progress. Ivan Kreyzer still has great difficulties of supply, in front of an adversary who evades (the 267. ID of Drescher). The road to Mozyr is conquered again...but that is not important now.
In the center, it is the slaughterhouse. The 19th Armored Corps (I.D. Vasilev) launches its last fire and 44th Army (V.A. Khomenko) and 50th Army (K.D. Golubev) are on the verge of exhaustion. Charging in close ranks on a front of 10 kilometers wide, where the assaults are repeated on the same axes for days, the frontovikis fall en masse, in conditions dreamt of by the Nazi propaganda and very evocative of the First War. The incessant interventions of the 8th Air Army of Timofei Kutsevalov (a relatively young air force general - he is a fighter) do nothing: the line still holds.
The confusion is still worsening in the ranks of the Red Army - which is not needed! - when General Vasily Khomenko disappears! Apparently, his convoy of three vehicles (one for him and General S.A. Bobkov, commander of the army artillery, one for the security personnel and one for the radio), would have lost in the marshes towards Poyasky in search of the command post of the 63rd Rifle Corps, and fell right into the enemy lines. The Germans, perhaps understanding the nature of this opponent who is innocently approaching, opened fire at the last moment, it seems, practically at point-blank range! Miraculously, the radio vehicle managed to escape, although its two passengers were seriously injured. It managed to alert the army headquarters, which immediately reported to Korosten.
One can imagine that the news is received with consternation in Malinovsky's staff, especially since Khomenko had with him a large volume of confidential documents - from the order of battle to the detailed positions of his army, through the radio codes.
And then, his personal fate remains unknown: who knows what he could say under torture if he was captured alive? The 3rd Belorussian Front therefore urgently launches an assault by the 44th Army towards the last known position of the general, in order to try to recover him... But this does not work and the forest keeps its secrets. While Malinovsky picks up his phone to personally inform Moscow, he may have in mind that Vasily Khomenko is also of Ukrainian origin - which does not risk adding to the serenity of the debates!
.........
West of Olevsk - Battle of Kam'yanka - If the 3rd Belorussian Front is still skating in front of Olevsk, the 3rd Ukrainian Front of Nikolai Vatutin also suffers a strong setback at Kam'yanka, when his T-34s face a violent counter-offensive led by almost all the remaining operational tanks of the 3. PanzerArmee.
The day had started well: the XLIV. ArmeeKorps was routed under the blows of the 5th Army, the 4. LFD, despite the help of the 210. StuG, was retreating with important losses to become transparent... But everything changes when, arriving on the road to Sarny, the 4th GAC Malin - never fully recovered from the fighting in front of Korosten - is taken to task by the long-range fire of the 501. schw Pz Abt of Major Erich Löwe, who is delighted to avenge his predecessor Seidensticker under more or less favorable conditions. This nuisance was still considered manageable - and although the infantry remains behind - Semion Bogdanov runs over the enemy to the north, in the direction of Koroshchyne, anticipating the rout of the 9. Panzer (Scheller). He knows that the latter is at the same time a little to the west against the 2nd CB of Pavel Rybalko, while the unfortunate 4. Panzer (von Saucken) is conspicuous by its absence.
Crossing the road he was supposed to secure and without waiting for reinforcements, Bogdanov falls, at the edge of the woods leading to Koroshchyne, on a bone: a counter-attack of the bulk of the XLVII. PanzerKorps (Eberbach): the 5. and 21. Panzer. Of course, the XLVII. PK is only a shadow of what it was only one month earlier - but it nevertheless takes the 4th GAC on its right flank and destroys about thirty tanks in a quarter of an hour! Bogdanov calls for help and the 2nd AC must hastily try to disengage from the 9. Panzer, which launches itself in pursuit.
The position of the two Soviet formations becomes quickly impossible - especially as the Luftwaffe decides to get involved. And if the black cross bombers are becoming increasingly rare, the fighters disrupt a lot the assaults of the 3rd Air Force (the JG. 51 loses 14 fighters and shot down 41 Reds). The intervention of the StG. 77, whose Stukas break the attempts to clear the 5th Army, completes the disaster. The Communist tanks have to withdraw hastily to the south in order not to be annihilated, dragging in their flight the frontovikis, themselves pursued by the 10. Panzergrenadier (Schmidt), whose support vehicles execute a large number of them with machine guns.
Kam'yanka is a disaster for the 3rd Ukrainian Front, which loses all its positions up to the Dzherelo-Kovalivka line in one fell swoop, two days of hard work. It will take - unprecedented circumstance since the end of the summer of 1942 - that the NKVD sets up a line of collection to stop the mass of fugitives and reconstitute a semblance of cohesion... Hoping that the fascists do not repeat here the same trick as in Jlobin, facing the comrades of the Belarusian Fronts.
.........
Berezne sector - At the same time, although his right flank does not seem to be as secure as it used to be, Vasily Shuikov continues his assault on the LV. AK - after all, on his left, the 5th Shock also seems to be on the way to take the Sluch, so (at worst) he will not be isolated. In any case, he really does not see himself ordering without Moscow's approval, especially when he seems to be triumphing.
None of his three bridgeheads has been eliminated - against all his predictions, it must be said. On the other hand, none of them is making any real progress... Except for Marynyn's - which benefits from the pressure that Ivan Chernyakovsky exerts on the fascists in Korets. Between difficulties of supply, losses and lack of air support, the 37th Army is not more successful than before. But it was still pushing more and more into the heart of the 6th Army, which continues to concede mile after mile...
.........
Korets sector - On the left wing of Kutusov, the fire department of De Angelis is late in the reduction of the Kylykyiv bridgehead: the fault of a lack of ammunition (and manpower), the transfer on the west bank of the Sluch of several red tanks (that Gollnick's Panzer IIIs had great difficulty in eliminating) but also and above all to the resistance of the 315th Rifle Division, whose obstinacy cost precious hours.
Meanwhile, in Vesnyane, the 4th Guards Rifle Division has completed securing a strip of 3 by 9 kilometers - it undertakes to hastily assemble bridges of boats which will allow the first tanks of the 5th Guards Armored Corps to pass tonight.
Rumyantsev - Recovery... and sprain
Berezdiv sector - Day of redeployment and entrenchment for the LIX. AK of Kurt von der Chevallerie, which was no longer really threatened by the 1st Shock Army.
The latter regroups before marching towards Manyatyn, in order to bypass the Korchyk by the south. Andrei Vlassov leads calmly his maneuver, considering himself covered by the 1st Cavalry Corps on his left. He is right - but not completely.
Indeed, while the formation of Lev Dovator approaches Stovpy and Yablunivka in order to take advantage of the misfortunes of the 205. ID to bypass the 304. ID, the Soviet force is the object of a brutal rebuff from the III. PanzerKorps of Werner Kempf - which finally had some time to recover after its adventures in front of Korosten. The Russian cavalrymen and tanks surprised in open country by the Panzer IV and the Leopards, are neatly cut to pieces. The unit has to withdraw in disorder towards the north and Novohrad-Volynskyi.
As a result, the 1st Shock has to slow down its advance in order to avoid a backlash... Which will not come, Walter Weiß having many other worries with his 8. Armee.
It is then that, in troubled and confused circumstances as often in combat, General Dovator is killed by machine gun fire in the small village of Mala Horbasha while he was crawling towards an advanced position to take stock of the situation.
His body will be recovered by his men - he will be made Hero of the Soviet Union and member of the Order of Lenin. The death of Dovator will painfully mark the Red Army and the Ukrainian fronts, especially since it occurred on the same day as the "disappearance" of Khomenko! Two days earlier, Dovator had given an interview to Vasily Semyonovich Grossman, a famous writer, Jew (like Dovator) and well-known correspondent of the main newspaper of the Red Army, the Krasnaya Zvezda [Red Star]. That is why, it seems, that until the end of the conflict, Grossman will have the greatest difficulty to reach directly certain generals, who perhaps feared (without admitting it!) a blow of fate of vaguely confessional origin...
In any case, the command of the 1st CC immediately falls to Vladimir Kryukov, a colleague of Dovator who was in Kiev. Mobilized in emergency, he arrives by plane in the evening and spends the next day rallying his forces.
.........
Polonne sector - Relative calm in this area: the 4th Guards Army just arrived at the edge of the Khomora River and completes the control of the eastern bank of the Polonne, in the middle of a crowd of refugees that Karl Burdach deliberately threw across the front towards the Soviet troops. The majority of them being Ukrainians, the NKVD does not really give them the benefit of the doubt - hence confusion, suspicion, questioning and sometimes executions.
Unfortunately, this sordid picture is often discovered at each liberation of a Soviet locality: fearing to be accused of collaboration and having very often destroyed their identity papers for fear of being identified by the Occupier, the inhabitants and the refugees line up in herds in front of every police station, every town hall, every party office to introduce themselves and make sure, in fear, of the treatment they will receive. Obviously, all this does not help anything in a ruined city like Polonne, which counts about 30 000 inhabitants with the surrounding area and part of its population did not hesitate to collaborate with the Fascists, in particular by policing the local ghetto...
In short, it's a mess - and the 1st Armored Corps, which is still trying to pass westward, also finds itself in the middle of a real traffic jam. In fact, the railroad that Porfiry Chanchibadze claimed to be following passes through the city center... It is thus a day of waiting and preparations for both sides.
.........
Hrytsiv sector - Very different picture for the IX. AK of Heinrich Clößner - unfortunately for him and his men. Under a big blue sky full of red stars - in fact, most of the planes of the 16th Air Force were needed further south against Paul Hausser's panzers, but the average Landser still sees too much... - the 1st Ukrainian Front goes on the attack and strikes with two armies and an armored corps the weakened lines of only three divisions which were preparing to retreat and actually fall to pieces under the impact.
In the center, at Moskvytyanivka, the 5th Guards Army (Fyodor Remezov) breaks through 323. ID (Hans Bergen). without any difficulty. Despite the reinforcement of the 311. StuG Abt of Hauptmann Karl Ludwig von Schönau, the formation retreats in disorder along the road to Hrytsiv and already begins to pass behind the Khomora. It must be said that the 323. ID, literally martyred since the beginning of Rumyantsev, is hardly supported. On its left, the 305. ID can't do much but to move back - towards Yurovshchyna, in order not to be cornered on the bank of the river. And on its right, the 329. ID, which holds the plain with the help of Kühn's Tiger, has to face the assaults of the 26th Army (L.S. Skvirsky) and especially the 1st Armored Guards Corps (M.E. Katukov), which dreams of overrunning the German defenses between Hrytsiv and Starokostantinov to push westward.
Mikhail Yefimovich Katukov is a special case of the Soviet armor: he is the first general to be able to claim to have - according to the German generals themselves - defeated the PanzerWaffe last September, at the head of his mobile grouping. A true pioneer of motorized warfare and of the doctrine of "operational destruction", he survived against all odds the purge that hit Tukhachevsky's disciples and is eager to demonstrate his know-how. Its formation overturns the decimated Landsers of Johannes Mayer, bypasses the heavy Panzer VI of Kühn and rushes towards the sunset, between the Khomora and the Ikopot'. In the evening, it is already in the plain at the level of Vychneve, i.e. directly behind the II. SS-PanzerKorps, despite the intervention at the end of the day of the PzGr GrossDeutschland.
Once again, the Russians break through - and Weiß urgently callsthe III. PanzerKorps of Werner Kempf to close this breach.
.........
Starokostantinov sector - The collapse of the IX. AK proves - if needed - to Paul Hausser that he was really right not to hold on to the Sluch. A little more, and his panzers, together with those of Walter Hörnlein, would have been surrounded again.
No matter, from the Soviet point of view - west of Starokostantinov, the 9th Guards Army (N.P. Pukhov) takes over, reinforced by the 4th Armored Corps (A.G. Kravchenko). These two formations now march in front of the 1st Guards Cavalry Corps and push back the GrossDeutschland, which retreats towards Demkivtsi with the Frundsberg on its right, at Hrybenynka - itself pursued by a 2nd Cavalry Corps properly galvanized by he evolution of the situation. These two divisions now aim to disengage from the fight around Starokostantinov - they will then be available to face the Soviet thrust in the south.
All this could still be coherent - however, there is a problem in the German maneuver: the development of the situation in Hrytsiv already makes it obsolete, at least as much as theSK line itself. The two mechanized divisions will not be able to fly at the same time to the rescue of the rest of the SS PanzerKorps and the IX. AK. Especially since, during this time, the Totenkopf and the Hohenstaufen are already fighting west of Zasluchne, and that between them and the duo GrossDeutschland and Frundsberg, there is a 30 kilometer gap with nothing in the middle, except (to the north) the debris of the 257. ID and (in the south) those of the 23. Panzer!
The situation is thus precisely that of a few days ago: a breakthrough impossible to close which must involve without delay a large withdrawal - at least that of the 8. Armee and the 2. PanzerArmee. Otherwise, the arrival of the Reds to Ternopol and the Seret, at least, seems inevitable ...
.........
2nd Ukrainian Front - Another day of efforts for the 2nd Ukrainian Front - whose hopes are growing as the good news accumulates on the side of Konstantin Rokossovsky. Ivan Bagramyan feels more capable of influencing the course of the battle by hindering the enemy movements.
For the moment, the 2. PanzerArmee continues to face the enemy. However, it yields the town of Jmerynka and 5 kilometers of land in the region. It must be said that von Arnim suspected that all this could not last much longer: his army is deprived of two divisions (one of which was armored) and his left flank is only covered by the Hungarians of the
Hungarians of the 4th AC, which is still stretching along the small Bug...
On the side of the 10th Army, we notice that the fascists are in retreat between Bar and Mourovani Kurylivtsi. Filipp Golikov sees in this the proof of the sagacity of his views and the necessity to relaunch his attacks without delay.
HG NordUkraine (Kovel), 17:30 - This time, there is no time for half measures or negotiation - you don't negotiate with reality, Manstein would add.
Although he hopes it won't come to that... But in principle, he should not need to use this expression, the boss of the HG NordUkraine has carefully prepared his discussion. He spent a very long time conferring with Walter Weiß in his HQ in Ternopol - a HQ that one wonders if it will not soon have to be moved again... Weiß proposes to launch a strong flanking attack on the two Soviet breakthroughs in order to destroy the enemy spikes. Nevertheless, such an action, even if it is effective, would notsolve his infantry manpower problems! Not more, in truth, than those of the poor Maximilian De Angelis, whose 6. Armee gives worrying signs and whose front is shrinking like a stone...
Manstein hammers these obvious facts all afternoon to the Rastenburg clique: von Freyend, Waizenegger and especially Keitel, trying to make him understand that if tomorrow a part of his HeeresGruppe were to be routed, he would not hesitate to remind the Führer of the events that led to it - including the involvement of the OKH.
In short, we are at the decisive point: either Hitler admits the reality - and authorizes the withdrawal on the Sluch (for the 3. PanzerArmee) and on the Horyn (for the rest). Or... he, Manstein, no longer does not know any more how to manage the situation.
- Manstein, I spoke to you on the phone only five days ago. The way things are going, I'm going to end up taking command of your HG myself!
This is a nice way to start the conversation - especially since in reality Hitler already claimed to decide everything down to the tactical level. It is clear that the star of the victor of France has faded in the Wolf's Lair! And Manstein does not remember having received many words of compassion for Gero's death. The Field Marshal does not unfold any less his meticulously prepared speech with implacable logic. And he concludes...
- In short, my Führer, you must either give me the means to counterattack, or allow me to withdraw. Any other solution is no longer viable.
- I have already ordered you to retreat to the SK line.
- It was overrun before the orders even reached our units!" A small lie, but Manstein is not so close to it anymore...
- I also sent you reinforcements.
- The equivalent of an infantry corps - and it will arrive at the front only tomorrow. By then, things will have changed again.
- I see... Please wait a moment.
No tone - Hitler is probably talking to Keitel. Who knows what the Leader remembered from the reinforcements supposedly sent to the East. Then, suddenly...
- We agree to the Horyn - since we apparently have no choice. However, the 3. PanzerArmee from Model stays in its place.
- Jawöhl mein Führer.
- Another thing: I will issue a directive that every soldier is obliged to hold to the endand for every officer to defend his position to the last man. It is inadmissible - even for a general like you - to have to deal with such a succession of failures. On this subject, we will have a little discussion when everything is over.
So you annihilate the Slavs in front of the Horyn, you hide behind them and you don't move. That's a direct order, is that clear? I am perfectly aware of the latest movements of the 3. PanzerArmee - everything goes through me. Is that clear?
- Jawöhl mein Führer.
- Very well. Then I leave you. I expect to hear from you - good news, that goes without saying - very soon.
That's it, we're done. The two men have both just given up something that means a lot to them. Hitler, for his part, has just accepted the idea of withdrawing at least part of his army on the territory of the now defunct Republic of Poland - that is, outside the USSR of 1939. This is an unprecedented humiliation. Manstein, for his part, loses at the same time his credit in Rastenburg and his authority over his forces, as well as all freedom of maneuver. The 3. PanzerArmee is condemned to be incinerated in Olevsk if Kutusov continues at the same pace. More serious - but no one seems to have noticed it - is the situation of the 2. PanzerArmee, ever more adventurous on the other side of the HG NordUkraine, was not even mentioned.
HQ of the 1st Ukranian Front (Kalynivka), 18:00 - A very different atmosphere on the other side of the front line. In his buried bunker - which he will probably also move soon, but to the west - Konstantin Rokossovsky is exultant. He even trumpets his satisfaction on the phone to anyone who will listen - and in particular to Zhukov, reached in Korosten.
- If things are not going well in the North, Comrade Marshal, then isn't it wisest to stop the fighting in this sector and redirect the reinforcements in my direction? Still a few more efforts and we will have reached the Bug before the end of the month!
For that, he still has 150 kilometers to go. But as usual when he meets success, Rokossovsky let himself go to some excesses - and his staff with him. It is a well-known flaw, which could cost him dearly one day. Although, in the end, Zhukov does not disagree with him: this strategy of the "broad front" imposed by Stalin and that events forced him to follow was a real aberration. After sixteen months of conflict, the Red Army can do better than to charge across the whole line in search of an opportunity - the apprenticeship has cost it enough. But he is not the one who decides.
- I will refer your grand plans to the Secretary General - in the meantime, continue tthe attack and try to reach the Seret or Horyn within a week. I will get you Volsky's 2nd Mechanized Corps - it has just been activated. I will also try to recover one or the other airborne corps, it seems to me that you are short of troop.
At the other end of the line, Rokossovsky is gloating: "I serve the Soviet Union, Comrade Marshal! So the objective remains: due west?
- Yes, leave it to Bagramyan and Vatutin to eliminate the fascists on your flanks. You don't have to worry about the pockets that may have formed in your advance - only the panic you are creating.
- At your orders, Comrade Marshal.
- I'm counting on it. See you soon.
Zhukov is not in a better mood with the victories - he already knows that Konev will soon be appointed Marshal on the basis of a mere half-success. But he intends to do better, much better, to remain the boss. All things being equal, the enthusiasm of the leader of the 1st Ukrainian Front serves his interests.
* At Kubinka, special exercises were conducted with different calibers of artillery and different bombardment densities, in order to identify methods of repelling the Tiger with conventional artillery. And from the summer of 1943, each anti-tank commander had a book of diagrams indicating, for all types of German armor, the points of vulnerability and the maximum distances to be able to break through... The cupolas of the tank commanders were often a privileged target!
** A romantic-reactionary organization whose aim was to "Germanize" Christianity and to rediscover the mystical "roots" of German identity. With, in particular, the Thule society, it played a certain role in the advent of Nazism.
*** "What the plague and syphilis are to humanity, the Jews are to the white race."
**** Walter Buch's companion was falsely accused of being a half-Jew by an anonymous letter, which the Gestapo proved to be written by Kube. This attempt, which was directly linked to Buch's ongoing investigations against Kube - for ugly stories of dissolute living or corruption - was not at all appreciated by Hitler, who formally relieved Kube of all his posts, leaving him Gauleiter... without Gau!
***** Former head of the NKGB and former state commissioner for national security of the USSR - a close associate of Beria.
Operation Suvorov
Wet Bison
Battle of Dubrova ("Suvorov-Center") - The rain has stopped and the sky has cleared up, although the weather forecast continues to predict more rain in the next day or two.
Taking advantage of the new sunshine, the German forces attack the redoubts of the 15th Army. In order to anticipate the foreseeable impossibility of retaking Jlobin, the 9. Armee and 4. Armee are asked by Minsk to make a final effort, to finally eliminate this irritating tumor that clung to the Reich's possessions with its fingernails.
Knowing that his opponents must be as tired as his troops, HG Mitte decides to keep it simple: an attack from all sides, to saturate the communist defenses and finally break through somewhere. In the south, it is always the 106. ID and 258. ID who are in the lead, even though they have already given a lot. At 11:00, they finally seize the first Soviet line and the village of Kuncy, advancing two kilometers... before falling on the second line of defense, less solid it is true, but enough however that the tired Landsers break their teeth. Frost and Höcker, who both lost the equivalent of a regiment in less than 48 hours (not to mention the losses incurred prior to this offensive!), decide to slow down the pace - they are not going to do all the work for the lazy 9. Armee!
In fact, during this time, the 197. ID and the 244. StuG are not making much progress... Even if these troops finally came out of the wait-and-see attitude imposed by the initial plan, they are facing the worst terrain, between woods and streams. Shipyagi falls... but it is also because the Russians fell back on the second line. As for the 18. PzGr and the 134. ID, they have not really progressed since the day before, being always blocked by a POP "and a half" as well as by the disorder consecutive to the "disloyal methods of the Reds". This disorder will lead besides to executions of Hiwis wrongly accused of cowardice, even of treason - which in return provokes a certain number of desertions.
With his binoculars, Ivan Fedyuninsky observes the battle with concern. His formations are extremely worn out by a month of struggle - as much as the Fascists, if not more! - and yet, he is ordered to cling to this mediocre piece of land against all common sense! What is the point? What is the purpose? What is the project behind all this? Because there is one, obviously: the Party is infallible, everyone knows it. For the 48 hours that he has been in command on the front, the Soviet general has hardly moved... Obviously, he is worried about the turn of events, which are taking up all his attention to the detriment of his personal security. Unfortunate mistake...
At 1:15 pm, General Ivan Fedyuninsky is the victim of an artillery bombardment targeting his HQ in Iskra, spotted by radio tapping and aerial reconnaissance. Seriously wounded, he is evacuated by plane to Moscow. The 15th Army is temporarily without a leader - of course, the Stavka quickly appoints Latvian General Max Andreevich Reuters to replace Fedyuninsky, but it will take a few hours for him to come and take his post. In the meantime, the fighting continues, and it is the chief of staff of Fedyuninsky, Nikandr Chibisov, who is in charge. He is a good professional, but curiously phlegmatic - some would even call him soft, so much so that he tries to prepare his operations thoroughly before he starts. Chibisov is not an incompetent like Golikov - but he may lack energy. However, it is necessary to act quickly: the events rush on the other bank...
At 15:00, the last anti-tank redoubt falls in front of the painful and combined efforts of the 134. ID and the grenadiers of the 18. PzGr. The way is now clear to the bridges. Chibisov can only ask for an artillery barrage to cover the retreat on his right, while he has to reinforce his second line. Meanwhile, the German units are joining and reorganizing for the final effort ... Because the Soviet positions are only 2 kilometers by 4! It would probably be necessary to order a withdrawal - yet, Nikandr Chibisov decides... to wait for the arrival of Reuters, scheduled for tonight. No doubt he fears (with some reason!) to take an initiative which could be reproached to him.
The problem is that doing nothing is already a form of arbitration.
.........
Battle of Zhlobin ("Suvorov-South") - Another day of chaos north of Zhlobin, where German forces are now focused on inflicting maximum losses on their opponents, before the inevitable end of operations. Having now settled the score of the 7th Armored Corps of Rodin, put out of action for the continuation of the events, the 19. Panzer comes back down to the south, after having given up its positions of Korichnevyy to the 110. ID of von Kurowski. In the vicinity of Shirokii Rog the bulk of the XLI. PzK, which now faces the 21st AC (on its left), the 10th AC (on its right front) and the mass of the 3rd Shock which advances heavily bayoneted right in front of it.
Of course, the Panzermänner do not feel able to defeat this crowd of subhumans by themselves. Not after the efforts already made and with only one infantry division available to support them, in any case. And that is good news: their leader, Erwin Rommel, did not ask them to. The German armored force therefore begins to retreat, trying to attract the Soviet tanks to exterminate as many of them as possible, with the help of the few Stukas still operational in the area. Even the Tigers, with all their armor, were reluctant to get too close to the Red positions. Since then, the Soviets have conducted numerous tests on the wrecks in their possession and studied very closely the tactical capabilities and technical data of the "T-6"... which allowed them to determine the best methods to fight them*.
Faced with this unusual but encouraging picture - the Fascists seem to have doubts and flee! - the Soviet armored forces reacted unfortunately with a scattered vigor. Volkov's 21st Corps goes on the attack without worrying too much about supporting the 10th AC, which advances recklessly (although according to the instructions of the Front). Popov
however, would be in great need of help: he is taking more and more hits against panzers well deployed on his axis of progression, and who do not hesitate to counter-attack him at the first opportunity!
Indeed, because of the lack of intelligence between their opponents, the German tanks have well recognized on which side was the most powerful of the two and can thus quietly distract the strong one on their left to destroy the weak one on their right... The 19. Panzer (Schmidt) and the 20. Panzer (von Lüttwitz) are in charge of occupying this Volkov hindrance while the 18. Panzer (von Thüngen) and the 503. schw Pzr Abt (major von Kageneck) complete the massacre of Popov's tanks - too old and mounted by too young crews, engaged moreover by small groups, in deplorable tactical conditions - before withdrawing towards the north. The plain of Shirokiy is covered with fires: the Red Army lose 137 tanks against only 51 fascists (mainly Panzer III, for which this will be the last important fight) ...
At nightfall, the Axis forces begin to withdraw towards Gusarovka, gradually reabsorbing the salient that they formed, while the XIII. AK and XXV. AK maintains the pressure on Govorov's 2nd Guards Army. Josef Harpe can be satisfied - with his men, he believes he has proven once again the absolute superiority of the Panzerwaffe!
.........
"Bitter cries. The chief is dead, Boris is dead, Soussoï is dead... and now our crew is also affected: Alexandr is dead. This morning he simply did not wake up. Fyodor lifted his head and we all saw blood coming out of his nostrils. Poor guy - he was not the same since our encounter with the Panzer IV in Gomel. Andrei has a rage like I've never seen before - he shoots a pistol at piles of helmets to let off steam. No one around to stop him... our platoon was withdrawn from operations, as was the entire battalion. 80% casualties! And this time, it will not be enough to exchange the destroyed tanks for new ones! We lost good guys, true tanker comrades, who will not be replaced like steel. Besides, even Pobieda!, worn out, tired, looks out of breath. The only good news: Sasha has escaped the destruction of his T-34. He would be in the hospital... but it is impossible to know more." (Evgeny Bessonov, op. cit.)
HQ of the Heeresgruppe Mitte (Minsk) - "Good, good, good. It's all perfect, my dear friend! Two Red armored corps out of action - maybe even three! Even if our forces may not be able to enter Jlobin tomorrow, but that doesn't mean they won't be able to do so the day after tomorrow. And with our inevitable victory coming towards Bialyničy, we have achieved almost everything the Führer asked for. Our forces will now come back to border the Drut, and we can spend the rainy season in the warm... This is a victory, Herr Berndt!"
In front of Rommel, Alfred-Ingemar Berndt does not lose a bit of his oracles for the press release that he has to write as soon as possible. He has to counteract the disastrous rantings of the PropagandaStaffel about the upcoming takeover of Jlobin. To be professional and reliable in all circumstances, to serve the boss. It is not his fault that some people are in a hurry to announce good news with big hooves!
Berlin - New victory bulletin on the airwaves, for those who listen to the voice of the Reich: "The recent fighting in the Jlobin area, masterfully led by Field Marshal Rommel, has succeeded in luring into a giant trap and destroying three Bolshevik armored corps. The enemy lost more than 450 tanks and 8,000 men. This is another victory for the forces of the Heeresgruppe Mitte, who will certainly attack again when the time comes."
This news will obviously satisfy Hitler in Rastenburg - a little less Keitel and his henchmen, but then again, on a given horse... Everyone pretended to ignore the enormous cost of this new triumph for Germany (115 tanks and 4,500 men), as well as the fact that the "three armored corps" are probably only two, and are not destroyed but only more or less weakened. The important thing is to believe in the Victory!
A well-guarded house in Minsk, 01:20 - Alone in his bedroom, Wilhelm Kube is fast asleep. What can the Reich Commissar General be dreaming about? About his youth in Glogau, Silesia, where he studied theology? Of his first steps at the University of Berlin, thanks to a Moses Mendelssohn scholarship (named after an eighteenth-century Jewish philosopher!? To his involvement in the Völkisch** movement and then in the Nazi Party? To his entry into the Reichstag in 1924, wearing a uniform and a swastika armband? All his life, Kube has tried to reconcile a real evangelical Christian faith with a fierce national socialist commitment and rabid anti-Semitism***. He even came close to succeeding - with a little bit of nothing for nothing... - to become head of the Berlin synod of the old Prussian church. If he hadn't had the stupid idea of denouncing the supposed origins of Walter Buch's wife****, Bormann's father-in-law, who knows how far he might have gone?
Disgraced and humiliated, he had to serve as a simple Rottenführer in Dachau, before finally obtaining a position in the construction of the famous "Lebensraum" to be built on the ruins of the Soviet Union. Kube was then able to act again, and without too many qualms - apart from the the Slutsk affair and his poor attempts to spare the German Jews who had been deported to Belarus, or at least the decorated veterans of the First World War among them. Why them, and in exchange for what promise? And what authority did he have, to decide who would live and who would die in the Thousand Year Reich? It was necessary that Reinhardt Heydrich himself had to come and slap him on the wrist before the General Commissioner finally obeyed without question and let the fabulous Strauch do the job he had been given with zeal. Fifty-five thousand dead in two weeks, ten thousand in Minsk in two days - 3,412 in one afternoon!
Does this torment the Commissar General? Does it give him nightmares? Does he find it difficult to clear his conscience? But does Wilhelm Kube still have a conscience, he who dared to throw sweets to screaming children drowning in sand pits?
Does he see their faces again when - just yesterday morning - he takes his own offspring to school? In the end, is the general commissioner really human?
In any case, there is probably one thing that Kube does not dream of, and that is his household staff. And in particular his maid, Galina Kanskaya, who came by again yesterday morning to make the bed. She is an insignificant Slav - although he does not disdain to take advantage of her charms from time to time. Kube's legitimate wife, Anita, is pregnant - we know how much the ladies can be painful during these periods! Moreover, she does not even sleep with her husband.
This is fortunate for her - because Galina Kanskaya herself is married and already a mother, but her name is actually Yelena Mazanik and she is one of the twelve detachments (no less!) ordered to kill Kube. The latter has narrowly escaped these last two months to at least two attacks, and without even knowing it! On July 22nd, a bomb exploded in a cinema in the middle of a screening, killing 70 people - Kube had just left the room. On September 6th, a four-man commando team stormed an officers' banquet and machine-gunned the place and killed 36 people... but not Kube, whose car had left in the dark streets of Minsk - it even passed the attackers without being stopped!
But all guardian angels get tired one day - especially, perhaps, in the face of such an evil man. "Kanskaya", a pretty waitress in a casino or restaurant, had been introduced by her sister Valentina to two NKVD correspondents, Nadezhda Troyan and Mariya Osipova, who had convinced her to accept this mission and provided her with the means to carry it out. This was not self-evident and it took a long time to prepare - the Russian was as careful as she was demanding: careful verification of the identity of each of her contacts, negotiation for the prior evacuation of her family to unoccupied territory, choice of method of elimination... She had finally been introduced into the Kube household in June through another maid, Tatyana Kalita. By then, the poison had already been ruled out, the young woman did not want to kill the couple's children by mistake! Nice scruples, while she herself kept a capsule of arsenic with her at all times, to be swallowed in case of capture.
In short, Yelena Mazanik entered yesterday morning with Valentina in the house of the master from 06:30, to make the beds and to clean the house. The guards were a bit reluctant... but the Russian woman managed to convince them not to open her bag, because there was in it "a present for Madame Anita". The morning then passed normally. Kube left her home around 10:00 to attend a mass shooting - what can I say, work starts early. From one hiding place, the package ended up under the commissary general's bed (or, more precisely between the mattress and the slats). As for the two women, they left the house in a hurry to soothe poor Valentina's toothache... At the same time, their family was fleeing Minsk for the protection of the forest, surrounded by a squad of partisans. For lack of a dentist (it was difficult to find one in Minsk at that time), Valentina and Yelena hadjumped into a truck that was going far... very far.
And so here we are, at 01:20. The bomb should blow in 40 minutes... but (perhaps under the effect of the burning Nazism of its target?) it decides to explode right away, pulverizing the good apostle and sending him straight to his Lord, who will judge him as he should be judged. He will be the only death of the night... but not the last one caused by this explosion.
The German reprisals are merciless. A thousand prisoners are rounded up at random in Minsk, taken to a wood, forced to dig their own graves and shot. However, the SS did not regret Kube - on hearing the news, Heinrich Himmler even spoke of a "blessing" while ironically referring to the fact that a future place in a concentration camp had become available. It is SS-Obergruppenführer Curt von Gottberg, who is already responsible for security in Belarus, who continues the small-scale activities of Kube.
As for the comrade Yelena Mazanik, she will succeed in joining the friendly lines with her family... to find herself in Lubyanka, interrogated by Vsevolod Merkulov***** himself.
The NKVD hesitated for a long time to execute this Belarusian woman, who was not even registered with the Party to attribute her exploit to a more "political" profile! But finally, she and her NKVD partners, Nadezhda Troyan and Mariya Osipova, who had pushed her to act and supervised her, were simply made Heroes of the Soviet Union...
Operations Kutusov and Rumyantsev
Kutusov - Riposte
North of Olevsk - The LVI. PzK (Raus) is now completely free to redeploy its three divisions in the slaughterhouse at the intersection Korosten - Sarny / Mozyr - Novohrad-Volynskyi.
Those of the XXIV. PanzerKorps (von Knobelsdorff) have now in their charge 85 kilometers of lines of an ungrateful terrain - unhealthy swamps succeeding forests. It is a lot - but the Soviet troops (8th Guards Army of S.G. Trofimenko and 64th Army of V.V. Kurassov) are themselves dispersed, exhausted since Zitadelle ... and they must ensure their right flank against the HG Mitte (advanced 175 kilometers east of the HG NordUkraine!). It is thus doubtful that they can break through, especially on such a bad terrain. And even if they succeeded, Manstein thinks with some cynicism, the 8. Armee would only risk one corps, which would gain the time necessary for the rest to finally get out of the Olevsk quagmire. Certainly, the 4th Airborne Corps could attempt infiltration. Certainly, the Reds in front of Loïew could still agitate a little against the LVII. PzK (Kirchner). But obviously, nothing will come out of it.
.........
Olevsk sector - With the return of good weather, Rodion Malinovsky relaunches his assaults westward, still hoping to break through in the direction of Sarny. The 3rd Belorussian Front, grouped along a road and according to a perfectly obvious axis of progression, faces concentrated German defenses - the LVI. PanzerKorps (Raus) and the LII. ArmeeKorps (von Scheele) - and especially including relatively fresh troops coming from the north. On the other side, the Red Army is not at the party...
This is also the case in the north, where the 60th Army - the only off-center formation, thus having a margin of maneuver - continues to attack stubbornly the link between XXIV. PanzerKorps and LVI. PzK in the vicinity of Sushchany, and in the end makes little progress. Ivan Kreyzer still has great difficulties of supply, in front of an adversary who evades (the 267. ID of Drescher). The road to Mozyr is conquered again...but that is not important now.
In the center, it is the slaughterhouse. The 19th Armored Corps (I.D. Vasilev) launches its last fire and 44th Army (V.A. Khomenko) and 50th Army (K.D. Golubev) are on the verge of exhaustion. Charging in close ranks on a front of 10 kilometers wide, where the assaults are repeated on the same axes for days, the frontovikis fall en masse, in conditions dreamt of by the Nazi propaganda and very evocative of the First War. The incessant interventions of the 8th Air Army of Timofei Kutsevalov (a relatively young air force general - he is a fighter) do nothing: the line still holds.
The confusion is still worsening in the ranks of the Red Army - which is not needed! - when General Vasily Khomenko disappears! Apparently, his convoy of three vehicles (one for him and General S.A. Bobkov, commander of the army artillery, one for the security personnel and one for the radio), would have lost in the marshes towards Poyasky in search of the command post of the 63rd Rifle Corps, and fell right into the enemy lines. The Germans, perhaps understanding the nature of this opponent who is innocently approaching, opened fire at the last moment, it seems, practically at point-blank range! Miraculously, the radio vehicle managed to escape, although its two passengers were seriously injured. It managed to alert the army headquarters, which immediately reported to Korosten.
One can imagine that the news is received with consternation in Malinovsky's staff, especially since Khomenko had with him a large volume of confidential documents - from the order of battle to the detailed positions of his army, through the radio codes.
And then, his personal fate remains unknown: who knows what he could say under torture if he was captured alive? The 3rd Belorussian Front therefore urgently launches an assault by the 44th Army towards the last known position of the general, in order to try to recover him... But this does not work and the forest keeps its secrets. While Malinovsky picks up his phone to personally inform Moscow, he may have in mind that Vasily Khomenko is also of Ukrainian origin - which does not risk adding to the serenity of the debates!
.........
West of Olevsk - Battle of Kam'yanka - If the 3rd Belorussian Front is still skating in front of Olevsk, the 3rd Ukrainian Front of Nikolai Vatutin also suffers a strong setback at Kam'yanka, when his T-34s face a violent counter-offensive led by almost all the remaining operational tanks of the 3. PanzerArmee.
The day had started well: the XLIV. ArmeeKorps was routed under the blows of the 5th Army, the 4. LFD, despite the help of the 210. StuG, was retreating with important losses to become transparent... But everything changes when, arriving on the road to Sarny, the 4th GAC Malin - never fully recovered from the fighting in front of Korosten - is taken to task by the long-range fire of the 501. schw Pz Abt of Major Erich Löwe, who is delighted to avenge his predecessor Seidensticker under more or less favorable conditions. This nuisance was still considered manageable - and although the infantry remains behind - Semion Bogdanov runs over the enemy to the north, in the direction of Koroshchyne, anticipating the rout of the 9. Panzer (Scheller). He knows that the latter is at the same time a little to the west against the 2nd CB of Pavel Rybalko, while the unfortunate 4. Panzer (von Saucken) is conspicuous by its absence.
Crossing the road he was supposed to secure and without waiting for reinforcements, Bogdanov falls, at the edge of the woods leading to Koroshchyne, on a bone: a counter-attack of the bulk of the XLVII. PanzerKorps (Eberbach): the 5. and 21. Panzer. Of course, the XLVII. PK is only a shadow of what it was only one month earlier - but it nevertheless takes the 4th GAC on its right flank and destroys about thirty tanks in a quarter of an hour! Bogdanov calls for help and the 2nd AC must hastily try to disengage from the 9. Panzer, which launches itself in pursuit.
The position of the two Soviet formations becomes quickly impossible - especially as the Luftwaffe decides to get involved. And if the black cross bombers are becoming increasingly rare, the fighters disrupt a lot the assaults of the 3rd Air Force (the JG. 51 loses 14 fighters and shot down 41 Reds). The intervention of the StG. 77, whose Stukas break the attempts to clear the 5th Army, completes the disaster. The Communist tanks have to withdraw hastily to the south in order not to be annihilated, dragging in their flight the frontovikis, themselves pursued by the 10. Panzergrenadier (Schmidt), whose support vehicles execute a large number of them with machine guns.
Kam'yanka is a disaster for the 3rd Ukrainian Front, which loses all its positions up to the Dzherelo-Kovalivka line in one fell swoop, two days of hard work. It will take - unprecedented circumstance since the end of the summer of 1942 - that the NKVD sets up a line of collection to stop the mass of fugitives and reconstitute a semblance of cohesion... Hoping that the fascists do not repeat here the same trick as in Jlobin, facing the comrades of the Belarusian Fronts.
.........
Berezne sector - At the same time, although his right flank does not seem to be as secure as it used to be, Vasily Shuikov continues his assault on the LV. AK - after all, on his left, the 5th Shock also seems to be on the way to take the Sluch, so (at worst) he will not be isolated. In any case, he really does not see himself ordering without Moscow's approval, especially when he seems to be triumphing.
None of his three bridgeheads has been eliminated - against all his predictions, it must be said. On the other hand, none of them is making any real progress... Except for Marynyn's - which benefits from the pressure that Ivan Chernyakovsky exerts on the fascists in Korets. Between difficulties of supply, losses and lack of air support, the 37th Army is not more successful than before. But it was still pushing more and more into the heart of the 6th Army, which continues to concede mile after mile...
.........
Korets sector - On the left wing of Kutusov, the fire department of De Angelis is late in the reduction of the Kylykyiv bridgehead: the fault of a lack of ammunition (and manpower), the transfer on the west bank of the Sluch of several red tanks (that Gollnick's Panzer IIIs had great difficulty in eliminating) but also and above all to the resistance of the 315th Rifle Division, whose obstinacy cost precious hours.
Meanwhile, in Vesnyane, the 4th Guards Rifle Division has completed securing a strip of 3 by 9 kilometers - it undertakes to hastily assemble bridges of boats which will allow the first tanks of the 5th Guards Armored Corps to pass tonight.
Rumyantsev - Recovery... and sprain
Berezdiv sector - Day of redeployment and entrenchment for the LIX. AK of Kurt von der Chevallerie, which was no longer really threatened by the 1st Shock Army.
The latter regroups before marching towards Manyatyn, in order to bypass the Korchyk by the south. Andrei Vlassov leads calmly his maneuver, considering himself covered by the 1st Cavalry Corps on his left. He is right - but not completely.
Indeed, while the formation of Lev Dovator approaches Stovpy and Yablunivka in order to take advantage of the misfortunes of the 205. ID to bypass the 304. ID, the Soviet force is the object of a brutal rebuff from the III. PanzerKorps of Werner Kempf - which finally had some time to recover after its adventures in front of Korosten. The Russian cavalrymen and tanks surprised in open country by the Panzer IV and the Leopards, are neatly cut to pieces. The unit has to withdraw in disorder towards the north and Novohrad-Volynskyi.
As a result, the 1st Shock has to slow down its advance in order to avoid a backlash... Which will not come, Walter Weiß having many other worries with his 8. Armee.
It is then that, in troubled and confused circumstances as often in combat, General Dovator is killed by machine gun fire in the small village of Mala Horbasha while he was crawling towards an advanced position to take stock of the situation.
His body will be recovered by his men - he will be made Hero of the Soviet Union and member of the Order of Lenin. The death of Dovator will painfully mark the Red Army and the Ukrainian fronts, especially since it occurred on the same day as the "disappearance" of Khomenko! Two days earlier, Dovator had given an interview to Vasily Semyonovich Grossman, a famous writer, Jew (like Dovator) and well-known correspondent of the main newspaper of the Red Army, the Krasnaya Zvezda [Red Star]. That is why, it seems, that until the end of the conflict, Grossman will have the greatest difficulty to reach directly certain generals, who perhaps feared (without admitting it!) a blow of fate of vaguely confessional origin...
In any case, the command of the 1st CC immediately falls to Vladimir Kryukov, a colleague of Dovator who was in Kiev. Mobilized in emergency, he arrives by plane in the evening and spends the next day rallying his forces.
.........
Polonne sector - Relative calm in this area: the 4th Guards Army just arrived at the edge of the Khomora River and completes the control of the eastern bank of the Polonne, in the middle of a crowd of refugees that Karl Burdach deliberately threw across the front towards the Soviet troops. The majority of them being Ukrainians, the NKVD does not really give them the benefit of the doubt - hence confusion, suspicion, questioning and sometimes executions.
Unfortunately, this sordid picture is often discovered at each liberation of a Soviet locality: fearing to be accused of collaboration and having very often destroyed their identity papers for fear of being identified by the Occupier, the inhabitants and the refugees line up in herds in front of every police station, every town hall, every party office to introduce themselves and make sure, in fear, of the treatment they will receive. Obviously, all this does not help anything in a ruined city like Polonne, which counts about 30 000 inhabitants with the surrounding area and part of its population did not hesitate to collaborate with the Fascists, in particular by policing the local ghetto...
In short, it's a mess - and the 1st Armored Corps, which is still trying to pass westward, also finds itself in the middle of a real traffic jam. In fact, the railroad that Porfiry Chanchibadze claimed to be following passes through the city center... It is thus a day of waiting and preparations for both sides.
.........
Hrytsiv sector - Very different picture for the IX. AK of Heinrich Clößner - unfortunately for him and his men. Under a big blue sky full of red stars - in fact, most of the planes of the 16th Air Force were needed further south against Paul Hausser's panzers, but the average Landser still sees too much... - the 1st Ukrainian Front goes on the attack and strikes with two armies and an armored corps the weakened lines of only three divisions which were preparing to retreat and actually fall to pieces under the impact.
In the center, at Moskvytyanivka, the 5th Guards Army (Fyodor Remezov) breaks through 323. ID (Hans Bergen). without any difficulty. Despite the reinforcement of the 311. StuG Abt of Hauptmann Karl Ludwig von Schönau, the formation retreats in disorder along the road to Hrytsiv and already begins to pass behind the Khomora. It must be said that the 323. ID, literally martyred since the beginning of Rumyantsev, is hardly supported. On its left, the 305. ID can't do much but to move back - towards Yurovshchyna, in order not to be cornered on the bank of the river. And on its right, the 329. ID, which holds the plain with the help of Kühn's Tiger, has to face the assaults of the 26th Army (L.S. Skvirsky) and especially the 1st Armored Guards Corps (M.E. Katukov), which dreams of overrunning the German defenses between Hrytsiv and Starokostantinov to push westward.
Mikhail Yefimovich Katukov is a special case of the Soviet armor: he is the first general to be able to claim to have - according to the German generals themselves - defeated the PanzerWaffe last September, at the head of his mobile grouping. A true pioneer of motorized warfare and of the doctrine of "operational destruction", he survived against all odds the purge that hit Tukhachevsky's disciples and is eager to demonstrate his know-how. Its formation overturns the decimated Landsers of Johannes Mayer, bypasses the heavy Panzer VI of Kühn and rushes towards the sunset, between the Khomora and the Ikopot'. In the evening, it is already in the plain at the level of Vychneve, i.e. directly behind the II. SS-PanzerKorps, despite the intervention at the end of the day of the PzGr GrossDeutschland.
Once again, the Russians break through - and Weiß urgently callsthe III. PanzerKorps of Werner Kempf to close this breach.
.........
Starokostantinov sector - The collapse of the IX. AK proves - if needed - to Paul Hausser that he was really right not to hold on to the Sluch. A little more, and his panzers, together with those of Walter Hörnlein, would have been surrounded again.
No matter, from the Soviet point of view - west of Starokostantinov, the 9th Guards Army (N.P. Pukhov) takes over, reinforced by the 4th Armored Corps (A.G. Kravchenko). These two formations now march in front of the 1st Guards Cavalry Corps and push back the GrossDeutschland, which retreats towards Demkivtsi with the Frundsberg on its right, at Hrybenynka - itself pursued by a 2nd Cavalry Corps properly galvanized by he evolution of the situation. These two divisions now aim to disengage from the fight around Starokostantinov - they will then be available to face the Soviet thrust in the south.
All this could still be coherent - however, there is a problem in the German maneuver: the development of the situation in Hrytsiv already makes it obsolete, at least as much as theSK line itself. The two mechanized divisions will not be able to fly at the same time to the rescue of the rest of the SS PanzerKorps and the IX. AK. Especially since, during this time, the Totenkopf and the Hohenstaufen are already fighting west of Zasluchne, and that between them and the duo GrossDeutschland and Frundsberg, there is a 30 kilometer gap with nothing in the middle, except (to the north) the debris of the 257. ID and (in the south) those of the 23. Panzer!
The situation is thus precisely that of a few days ago: a breakthrough impossible to close which must involve without delay a large withdrawal - at least that of the 8. Armee and the 2. PanzerArmee. Otherwise, the arrival of the Reds to Ternopol and the Seret, at least, seems inevitable ...
.........
2nd Ukrainian Front - Another day of efforts for the 2nd Ukrainian Front - whose hopes are growing as the good news accumulates on the side of Konstantin Rokossovsky. Ivan Bagramyan feels more capable of influencing the course of the battle by hindering the enemy movements.
For the moment, the 2. PanzerArmee continues to face the enemy. However, it yields the town of Jmerynka and 5 kilometers of land in the region. It must be said that von Arnim suspected that all this could not last much longer: his army is deprived of two divisions (one of which was armored) and his left flank is only covered by the Hungarians of the
Hungarians of the 4th AC, which is still stretching along the small Bug...
On the side of the 10th Army, we notice that the fascists are in retreat between Bar and Mourovani Kurylivtsi. Filipp Golikov sees in this the proof of the sagacity of his views and the necessity to relaunch his attacks without delay.
HG NordUkraine (Kovel), 17:30 - This time, there is no time for half measures or negotiation - you don't negotiate with reality, Manstein would add.
Although he hopes it won't come to that... But in principle, he should not need to use this expression, the boss of the HG NordUkraine has carefully prepared his discussion. He spent a very long time conferring with Walter Weiß in his HQ in Ternopol - a HQ that one wonders if it will not soon have to be moved again... Weiß proposes to launch a strong flanking attack on the two Soviet breakthroughs in order to destroy the enemy spikes. Nevertheless, such an action, even if it is effective, would notsolve his infantry manpower problems! Not more, in truth, than those of the poor Maximilian De Angelis, whose 6. Armee gives worrying signs and whose front is shrinking like a stone...
Manstein hammers these obvious facts all afternoon to the Rastenburg clique: von Freyend, Waizenegger and especially Keitel, trying to make him understand that if tomorrow a part of his HeeresGruppe were to be routed, he would not hesitate to remind the Führer of the events that led to it - including the involvement of the OKH.
In short, we are at the decisive point: either Hitler admits the reality - and authorizes the withdrawal on the Sluch (for the 3. PanzerArmee) and on the Horyn (for the rest). Or... he, Manstein, no longer does not know any more how to manage the situation.
- Manstein, I spoke to you on the phone only five days ago. The way things are going, I'm going to end up taking command of your HG myself!
This is a nice way to start the conversation - especially since in reality Hitler already claimed to decide everything down to the tactical level. It is clear that the star of the victor of France has faded in the Wolf's Lair! And Manstein does not remember having received many words of compassion for Gero's death. The Field Marshal does not unfold any less his meticulously prepared speech with implacable logic. And he concludes...
- In short, my Führer, you must either give me the means to counterattack, or allow me to withdraw. Any other solution is no longer viable.
- I have already ordered you to retreat to the SK line.
- It was overrun before the orders even reached our units!" A small lie, but Manstein is not so close to it anymore...
- I also sent you reinforcements.
- The equivalent of an infantry corps - and it will arrive at the front only tomorrow. By then, things will have changed again.
- I see... Please wait a moment.
No tone - Hitler is probably talking to Keitel. Who knows what the Leader remembered from the reinforcements supposedly sent to the East. Then, suddenly...
- We agree to the Horyn - since we apparently have no choice. However, the 3. PanzerArmee from Model stays in its place.
- Jawöhl mein Führer.
- Another thing: I will issue a directive that every soldier is obliged to hold to the endand for every officer to defend his position to the last man. It is inadmissible - even for a general like you - to have to deal with such a succession of failures. On this subject, we will have a little discussion when everything is over.
So you annihilate the Slavs in front of the Horyn, you hide behind them and you don't move. That's a direct order, is that clear? I am perfectly aware of the latest movements of the 3. PanzerArmee - everything goes through me. Is that clear?
- Jawöhl mein Führer.
- Very well. Then I leave you. I expect to hear from you - good news, that goes without saying - very soon.
That's it, we're done. The two men have both just given up something that means a lot to them. Hitler, for his part, has just accepted the idea of withdrawing at least part of his army on the territory of the now defunct Republic of Poland - that is, outside the USSR of 1939. This is an unprecedented humiliation. Manstein, for his part, loses at the same time his credit in Rastenburg and his authority over his forces, as well as all freedom of maneuver. The 3. PanzerArmee is condemned to be incinerated in Olevsk if Kutusov continues at the same pace. More serious - but no one seems to have noticed it - is the situation of the 2. PanzerArmee, ever more adventurous on the other side of the HG NordUkraine, was not even mentioned.
HQ of the 1st Ukranian Front (Kalynivka), 18:00 - A very different atmosphere on the other side of the front line. In his buried bunker - which he will probably also move soon, but to the west - Konstantin Rokossovsky is exultant. He even trumpets his satisfaction on the phone to anyone who will listen - and in particular to Zhukov, reached in Korosten.
- If things are not going well in the North, Comrade Marshal, then isn't it wisest to stop the fighting in this sector and redirect the reinforcements in my direction? Still a few more efforts and we will have reached the Bug before the end of the month!
For that, he still has 150 kilometers to go. But as usual when he meets success, Rokossovsky let himself go to some excesses - and his staff with him. It is a well-known flaw, which could cost him dearly one day. Although, in the end, Zhukov does not disagree with him: this strategy of the "broad front" imposed by Stalin and that events forced him to follow was a real aberration. After sixteen months of conflict, the Red Army can do better than to charge across the whole line in search of an opportunity - the apprenticeship has cost it enough. But he is not the one who decides.
- I will refer your grand plans to the Secretary General - in the meantime, continue tthe attack and try to reach the Seret or Horyn within a week. I will get you Volsky's 2nd Mechanized Corps - it has just been activated. I will also try to recover one or the other airborne corps, it seems to me that you are short of troop.
At the other end of the line, Rokossovsky is gloating: "I serve the Soviet Union, Comrade Marshal! So the objective remains: due west?
- Yes, leave it to Bagramyan and Vatutin to eliminate the fascists on your flanks. You don't have to worry about the pockets that may have formed in your advance - only the panic you are creating.
- At your orders, Comrade Marshal.
- I'm counting on it. See you soon.
Zhukov is not in a better mood with the victories - he already knows that Konev will soon be appointed Marshal on the basis of a mere half-success. But he intends to do better, much better, to remain the boss. All things being equal, the enthusiasm of the leader of the 1st Ukrainian Front serves his interests.
* At Kubinka, special exercises were conducted with different calibers of artillery and different bombardment densities, in order to identify methods of repelling the Tiger with conventional artillery. And from the summer of 1943, each anti-tank commander had a book of diagrams indicating, for all types of German armor, the points of vulnerability and the maximum distances to be able to break through... The cupolas of the tank commanders were often a privileged target!
** A romantic-reactionary organization whose aim was to "Germanize" Christianity and to rediscover the mystical "roots" of German identity. With, in particular, the Thule society, it played a certain role in the advent of Nazism.
*** "What the plague and syphilis are to humanity, the Jews are to the white race."
**** Walter Buch's companion was falsely accused of being a half-Jew by an anonymous letter, which the Gestapo proved to be written by Kube. This attempt, which was directly linked to Buch's ongoing investigations against Kube - for ugly stories of dissolute living or corruption - was not at all appreciated by Hitler, who formally relieved Kube of all his posts, leaving him Gauleiter... without Gau!
***** Former head of the NKGB and former state commissioner for national security of the USSR - a close associate of Beria.
22/09/43 - Mediterranean, End of Operation Presage
September 22nd, 1943
Western Mediterranean
Corsica - In order to reduce the allied air pressure in Provence, the Luftwaffe mounts an operation against several Corsican airfields. The Ju 188 of I and III/KG 26 take off at the end of the night and headed west. They were supposed to join those of the I and II/KG 30, which take off from France, and to insert themselves in the traffic of the allied bombers which make unceasing back and forth between the landing beaches and the Ile de Beauté. Most of the Bf 109Gs of JG 77 also take off, but rather than directly escorting the bombers in front of a predictable numerical superiority, they head south-west to attract the enemy fighter patrols, while the Junkers reach the island from another direction.
In the north of Corsica, the planes of the KG 30 that were able to take off (much less than the nominal number) are pushed back, but to the east, the trick works at first: the CAPs of the 57th FG, soon followed by two full squadrons, are sent towards the echoes of the German fighter group. The engagement that follows, quickly broken up, results in the loss of two aircraft on each side.
However, the alert is given on other grounds. It was the 2nd EC which is charged with playing the watchdogs in the east of Corsica and the controllers ask the unit to bring up its device. While doing so, the GC II/2 comes across the III/KG 26, which was about to bomb the areas of Calvi and Calenzana. The Germans lose eight Ju 188 against two French P-51. On this occasion, captain Jean Nedelec, of the GC II/2, offers himself a double, thus carrying his total to 10 victories. However, this successful interception does not prevent the I/KG 26 from reaching the fields of Bevingo and Borgo, but without causing much damage. The runways are quickly repaired and we only deplore the destruction of some aircraft in maintenance and empty hangars - and for good reason: the units based on these airfields are already out over Provence.
Greek and Balkan Campaign
Operation Presage
Endgame
Albania - After the heat of the last few days and the heated exchange of the day before, the situation in the country is finally calming down. The Poles are finally rid of the security contingencies on their backs and the various partisan movements are consolidating their positions with a suspicious enthusiasm, but better than the hostility of the previous days.
North of the Mat, the Germans are pleased to note that the allied tanks do not seem to consider going further. The threat thus seems to be contained and if the agitation behind their lines remains important, it is not more so than usual.
Siege of Salonika
Cleaning
Salonika - The 51st Infantry Division progressively withdraws from the city in order to reinforce the Allied lines around Lake Koronia, where the 32nd Army Tank Brigade and the 4th Indian Division feel a bit lonely facing four Bulgarian divisions, no less ! However, these units have not and will not take any initiative - especially since their leader has still not arrived from the Black Sea.
In the city center, the cleaning of rubble, unexploded ordnance and... rotting bodies continues, without much regard for the city's architectural heritage. The dog unit of the N° 4 Mine Platoon is put to work to search among the rubble for survivors, explosives and any suspicious material - a job of no concern to these animals used to working under mortar fire. Most often, we clear shells, but sometimes a (rare) bottle of Mythos emerges from the rubble, to the happy surprise for the dog handlers.
The engineers of the Naval Corps have written their first report on the state of the harbor: it will take at least three weeks of work, to which must be added two weeks for the restoration of the railroad tracks. This document is obviously transmitted to Athens, where it goes from one office to another, and to the great concern of the interested parties. It finally falls into hands of Montgomery, who welcomes it as the culmination of his troubles of the last few days.
Twirling his stick in annoyance, he personally calls HQ in London, to obtain additional engineer units. In vain... All he received is confirmation that there is no question of taking any troops from the 8th Army...but that nothing could be promised for the French. Abruptly hanging up, "Monty" curses successively these stubborn Germans, these annoying Greeks, these Albanian fools, these French quitters and, more than all the others, his Prime Minister who asks him to take on the whole of the Red Army without giving him the means to do so.
Sofia - Bulgaria officially celebrates its declaration of independence in 1908, in an atmosphere that is anything but joyful! No parade is planned, for lack of available armed forces, the Regent is detained in an unknown place and the only flags flying in the streets are the red and white standards with black swastika, instead of the white-green-red flags.
At 11:30, Radio Bulgaria broadcasts a governmental speech - but no Muraviev or Prince Kyril for the listeners. In their place, the Prime Minister Dobri Khadzhiyanakev Bozhilov soberly announces "the complete agreement of the Bulgarian government with that of the Reich", his determination to "fight to the end for the final victory" and "the end of the disorder caused in the country by misguided individuals". All of the of the decrees and decisions taken between September 6th and 16th are cancelled retroactively. This means that the racial and anti-Semitic laws come back into force and even that, in theory, they had never ceased to apply! At least those concerned will have had multiple opportunities to disappear during the events of the last few weeks.
Then, it is the day of General Ivan Krastev Marinov to give a short speech, but rich in information.
"Sons and Daughters of Bulgaria, my dear compatriots. I, General Marinov, Minister of War, inherit on this historic day the heavy and magnificent task of protecting your homes and your families from the foreign enemy to whom the infamous Muraviev had wished to hand you over. I will carry out this mission with honor and alongside our German ally, to whom we owe so much and whose quick and decisive action has prevented the ruin of our country, the death of many of its inhabitants and the devastation of its provinces. I tell you now: the time of weakness and complacency is over. The reconstituted Bulgarian Army will defend its territory with determination, because it is now united and purged of the traitors who infested it. They are now in prisons, underground or on the run. But let not even the fugitives imagine that their cowardice makes them safe from our just anger! For I declare that these larvae, in the first rank of whom is the despicable major-general Trifon Yordanov Trifonov, are from today condemned to death in absentia! My brothers and sisters, hard days are ahead of us, but we must have confidence because, just as the farmer must plow his land just as the farmer must plough his land before sowing it, the fruit of our effort will be our freedom!"
Marinov is obviously the strong man of the regime and the listeners are not mistaken about the identity of the real master of Bulgaria (after the Germans, of course). However, the most attentive listeners will notice a few points of detail that are instructive. In the first place, the absence of any mention of Major-General Stoychev, who was definitively sidelined. Moreover, the declaration carefully avoids scratching the Regent, whose figure has become very popular in the country. Finally, General Marinov seems much more concerned with defending the Bulgarian borders (if possible without too much damage) than to go and confront the Allies. Would he have something in mind? And what borders are we talking about, when they have not stopped moving for four years? Finally, the hardest part of his speech is the condemnation of Trifonov - but here again, one should be careful not to make hasty judgments: the family of the major-general did not suffer any consequences of his defection.
"One can be astonished by the relative leniency that the Bulgarians enjoyed after the crushing of the insurrection of the Regent and of the extremely fast restoration of the prerogatives of the government of Sofia - even if these last ones remained obviously limited by the circumstances. The comparison with the fate of the Italians living in the areas occupied by the Wehrmacht is obviously striking. This difference in treatment is perfectly consistent with the irrationality that was the daily life of the Nazi government, because it stems from an inequality of status.
Indeed, the Germans had never really considered Bulgaria as an ally, but at best as a second-rate auxiliary - was it not populated by Slavic Jews?
They were therefore not disappointed by this betrayal, which illustrated the prejudices of their ideology. On the other hand, Italy, although its defeats led it to be more and more openly despised by the Wehrmacht, remained a fascist state as well as the cradle of the ancient Roman Empire, praised by Mussolini and admired by Hitler - who kept his friendship with the Duce. And for the Führer, obsessed by the risks of conspiracy and "stabbing in the back", the defection of Italy, even if Keitel had described its people as "a bunch of Latins, went beyond the military realm. It was a personal offense, just as the betrayal of a friend cannot be compared to that of a contemptible janitor.
Notwithstanding these considerations, the Wehrmacht could not be more severe anyway, because it had neither the means nor the will to occupy a country that it was not going to push into insurrection. However, Adolf Beckerle did not have a more or less fascist party devoted to him, the chancellery had to put the fragile Bozhilov back in the saddle, a straw man who could not have governed without the support of at least part of the Bulgarian Army - support favored by the relatively good treatment of the interned troops and by the fast liberation of a part of them. However, every army needs a leader. And the SS had to play the diplomat, find interlocutors and finally compose (if one keeps to his very personal standards).
This unexpected and almost prodigious clemency for the Nazi regime, which should not however overshadow the brutality of the crushing of the insurgents, will remain unique in history. If Romania will know a relatively soft change of camp, it will be essentially due to the rapid irruption of the troops of the Red Army. And it is well known that Hungary was not so lucky." (Robert Stan Pratsky, The Liberation of Greece and the Balkans, Flammarion, 2005)
Pazardjik - The 19. PzrGr is preparing to leave Bulgaria to join the sector of the front held until then by the 104. Jäger. The latter will be relieved by its arrival, because the time seems long, and even more since the fall of Salonika.
For the Brandenburgers and the crews of the 19. PzrGr, it is not however relief that dominates: the soldiers enjoyed facing an opponent weaker than them, and the prospect of finding O'Connor's tanks and RAF planes is not to their liking. Everyone prepares to leave with a resigned feverishness.
On the air - "Der Chef" obviously could not ignore the formation of the new Bulgarian government. He greets its inauguration with an energetic speech: "The identity of the leaders of Bulgaria does not matter, either for the Reich or even for the Bulgarians. The only thing that matters is that from now on they do everything possible and mobilize all the forces of their country to help Chancellor Hitler in his fight against Jewry and Bolshevism."
A struggle which is, of course, the daily concern of the Bulgarian man in the street!
Western Mediterranean
Corsica - In order to reduce the allied air pressure in Provence, the Luftwaffe mounts an operation against several Corsican airfields. The Ju 188 of I and III/KG 26 take off at the end of the night and headed west. They were supposed to join those of the I and II/KG 30, which take off from France, and to insert themselves in the traffic of the allied bombers which make unceasing back and forth between the landing beaches and the Ile de Beauté. Most of the Bf 109Gs of JG 77 also take off, but rather than directly escorting the bombers in front of a predictable numerical superiority, they head south-west to attract the enemy fighter patrols, while the Junkers reach the island from another direction.
In the north of Corsica, the planes of the KG 30 that were able to take off (much less than the nominal number) are pushed back, but to the east, the trick works at first: the CAPs of the 57th FG, soon followed by two full squadrons, are sent towards the echoes of the German fighter group. The engagement that follows, quickly broken up, results in the loss of two aircraft on each side.
However, the alert is given on other grounds. It was the 2nd EC which is charged with playing the watchdogs in the east of Corsica and the controllers ask the unit to bring up its device. While doing so, the GC II/2 comes across the III/KG 26, which was about to bomb the areas of Calvi and Calenzana. The Germans lose eight Ju 188 against two French P-51. On this occasion, captain Jean Nedelec, of the GC II/2, offers himself a double, thus carrying his total to 10 victories. However, this successful interception does not prevent the I/KG 26 from reaching the fields of Bevingo and Borgo, but without causing much damage. The runways are quickly repaired and we only deplore the destruction of some aircraft in maintenance and empty hangars - and for good reason: the units based on these airfields are already out over Provence.
Greek and Balkan Campaign
Operation Presage
Endgame
Albania - After the heat of the last few days and the heated exchange of the day before, the situation in the country is finally calming down. The Poles are finally rid of the security contingencies on their backs and the various partisan movements are consolidating their positions with a suspicious enthusiasm, but better than the hostility of the previous days.
North of the Mat, the Germans are pleased to note that the allied tanks do not seem to consider going further. The threat thus seems to be contained and if the agitation behind their lines remains important, it is not more so than usual.
Siege of Salonika
Cleaning
Salonika - The 51st Infantry Division progressively withdraws from the city in order to reinforce the Allied lines around Lake Koronia, where the 32nd Army Tank Brigade and the 4th Indian Division feel a bit lonely facing four Bulgarian divisions, no less ! However, these units have not and will not take any initiative - especially since their leader has still not arrived from the Black Sea.
In the city center, the cleaning of rubble, unexploded ordnance and... rotting bodies continues, without much regard for the city's architectural heritage. The dog unit of the N° 4 Mine Platoon is put to work to search among the rubble for survivors, explosives and any suspicious material - a job of no concern to these animals used to working under mortar fire. Most often, we clear shells, but sometimes a (rare) bottle of Mythos emerges from the rubble, to the happy surprise for the dog handlers.
The engineers of the Naval Corps have written their first report on the state of the harbor: it will take at least three weeks of work, to which must be added two weeks for the restoration of the railroad tracks. This document is obviously transmitted to Athens, where it goes from one office to another, and to the great concern of the interested parties. It finally falls into hands of Montgomery, who welcomes it as the culmination of his troubles of the last few days.
Twirling his stick in annoyance, he personally calls HQ in London, to obtain additional engineer units. In vain... All he received is confirmation that there is no question of taking any troops from the 8th Army...but that nothing could be promised for the French. Abruptly hanging up, "Monty" curses successively these stubborn Germans, these annoying Greeks, these Albanian fools, these French quitters and, more than all the others, his Prime Minister who asks him to take on the whole of the Red Army without giving him the means to do so.
Sofia - Bulgaria officially celebrates its declaration of independence in 1908, in an atmosphere that is anything but joyful! No parade is planned, for lack of available armed forces, the Regent is detained in an unknown place and the only flags flying in the streets are the red and white standards with black swastika, instead of the white-green-red flags.
At 11:30, Radio Bulgaria broadcasts a governmental speech - but no Muraviev or Prince Kyril for the listeners. In their place, the Prime Minister Dobri Khadzhiyanakev Bozhilov soberly announces "the complete agreement of the Bulgarian government with that of the Reich", his determination to "fight to the end for the final victory" and "the end of the disorder caused in the country by misguided individuals". All of the of the decrees and decisions taken between September 6th and 16th are cancelled retroactively. This means that the racial and anti-Semitic laws come back into force and even that, in theory, they had never ceased to apply! At least those concerned will have had multiple opportunities to disappear during the events of the last few weeks.
Then, it is the day of General Ivan Krastev Marinov to give a short speech, but rich in information.
"Sons and Daughters of Bulgaria, my dear compatriots. I, General Marinov, Minister of War, inherit on this historic day the heavy and magnificent task of protecting your homes and your families from the foreign enemy to whom the infamous Muraviev had wished to hand you over. I will carry out this mission with honor and alongside our German ally, to whom we owe so much and whose quick and decisive action has prevented the ruin of our country, the death of many of its inhabitants and the devastation of its provinces. I tell you now: the time of weakness and complacency is over. The reconstituted Bulgarian Army will defend its territory with determination, because it is now united and purged of the traitors who infested it. They are now in prisons, underground or on the run. But let not even the fugitives imagine that their cowardice makes them safe from our just anger! For I declare that these larvae, in the first rank of whom is the despicable major-general Trifon Yordanov Trifonov, are from today condemned to death in absentia! My brothers and sisters, hard days are ahead of us, but we must have confidence because, just as the farmer must plow his land just as the farmer must plough his land before sowing it, the fruit of our effort will be our freedom!"
Marinov is obviously the strong man of the regime and the listeners are not mistaken about the identity of the real master of Bulgaria (after the Germans, of course). However, the most attentive listeners will notice a few points of detail that are instructive. In the first place, the absence of any mention of Major-General Stoychev, who was definitively sidelined. Moreover, the declaration carefully avoids scratching the Regent, whose figure has become very popular in the country. Finally, General Marinov seems much more concerned with defending the Bulgarian borders (if possible without too much damage) than to go and confront the Allies. Would he have something in mind? And what borders are we talking about, when they have not stopped moving for four years? Finally, the hardest part of his speech is the condemnation of Trifonov - but here again, one should be careful not to make hasty judgments: the family of the major-general did not suffer any consequences of his defection.
"One can be astonished by the relative leniency that the Bulgarians enjoyed after the crushing of the insurrection of the Regent and of the extremely fast restoration of the prerogatives of the government of Sofia - even if these last ones remained obviously limited by the circumstances. The comparison with the fate of the Italians living in the areas occupied by the Wehrmacht is obviously striking. This difference in treatment is perfectly consistent with the irrationality that was the daily life of the Nazi government, because it stems from an inequality of status.
Indeed, the Germans had never really considered Bulgaria as an ally, but at best as a second-rate auxiliary - was it not populated by Slavic Jews?
They were therefore not disappointed by this betrayal, which illustrated the prejudices of their ideology. On the other hand, Italy, although its defeats led it to be more and more openly despised by the Wehrmacht, remained a fascist state as well as the cradle of the ancient Roman Empire, praised by Mussolini and admired by Hitler - who kept his friendship with the Duce. And for the Führer, obsessed by the risks of conspiracy and "stabbing in the back", the defection of Italy, even if Keitel had described its people as "a bunch of Latins, went beyond the military realm. It was a personal offense, just as the betrayal of a friend cannot be compared to that of a contemptible janitor.
Notwithstanding these considerations, the Wehrmacht could not be more severe anyway, because it had neither the means nor the will to occupy a country that it was not going to push into insurrection. However, Adolf Beckerle did not have a more or less fascist party devoted to him, the chancellery had to put the fragile Bozhilov back in the saddle, a straw man who could not have governed without the support of at least part of the Bulgarian Army - support favored by the relatively good treatment of the interned troops and by the fast liberation of a part of them. However, every army needs a leader. And the SS had to play the diplomat, find interlocutors and finally compose (if one keeps to his very personal standards).
This unexpected and almost prodigious clemency for the Nazi regime, which should not however overshadow the brutality of the crushing of the insurgents, will remain unique in history. If Romania will know a relatively soft change of camp, it will be essentially due to the rapid irruption of the troops of the Red Army. And it is well known that Hungary was not so lucky." (Robert Stan Pratsky, The Liberation of Greece and the Balkans, Flammarion, 2005)
Pazardjik - The 19. PzrGr is preparing to leave Bulgaria to join the sector of the front held until then by the 104. Jäger. The latter will be relieved by its arrival, because the time seems long, and even more since the fall of Salonika.
For the Brandenburgers and the crews of the 19. PzrGr, it is not however relief that dominates: the soldiers enjoyed facing an opponent weaker than them, and the prospect of finding O'Connor's tanks and RAF planes is not to their liking. Everyone prepares to leave with a resigned feverishness.
On the air - "Der Chef" obviously could not ignore the formation of the new Bulgarian government. He greets its inauguration with an energetic speech: "The identity of the leaders of Bulgaria does not matter, either for the Reich or even for the Bulgarians. The only thing that matters is that from now on they do everything possible and mobilize all the forces of their country to help Chancellor Hitler in his fight against Jewry and Bolshevism."
A struggle which is, of course, the daily concern of the Bulgarian man in the street!
22/09/43 - France, End of Operation Dragon
September 22nd, 1943
Night fighter - Under the cover of night, the KG 40 launches its bombers to try to destroy the bridges built in Arles. The mission is a failure and the allied supplies are in no way endangered. A Ju 188 is even shot down by an RAF Beaufighter.
Steamer - At the southern corner of the front, the 866. Grenadier Rgt (355. ID), the 355. Panzerjäger abt and
the 759. GR (survivor of the 338. ID) are still preventing the progression of the British and
Rangers.
Duck - On the other hand, along the Rhone, the German command is aware that the
that the breakthrough of the American armored division puts them in danger. It is therefore decided to defend the sector from Vauvert to Vergèze. For this, the 868. Grenadier Rgt of the 355. ID leaves in the night from the Beauvoisin sector to Vergèze. The infantrymen of the 17th and 32nd US-IR will thus fall on a vacuum, quite relative because conscientiously trapped. Between the two localities, the 11. Panzer (minus its 4. Grenadier Rgt, fixed in front of the beaches) comes to position itself, which had also moved during the night.
In the plain south of Nîmes, the CCA and CCB of the 2nd US-AD, which have as usual a powerful air support, face the 15. Panzer Rgt, the 61. Panzerjäger abt and the 110. Panzergrenadier Rgt. The battle remains undecided. The range of the German 75 long guns gives them an advantage in defense, counterbalanced by the air force but also by the tubes of the 18th Artillery Group, which are now deployed.
In Nîmes itself and all around, the 334. ID tries to hold on in the city against the 109. and
112. IR of the 7. US-ID, supported by the 755. Tank and 776. TD Btn. Further north, the 110th IR, supported by the 645th TD Btn, face a rearguard of the 60. Panzergrenadier, which is installed in a plug on the ridges north of Cabrières, around the D3.
A part of the 60. PzGr Division, and notably the 120. Fusilier, retreats behind the Gard to avoid being cut in two. In the meantime, the 18th and 26th IR of the 1st US-ID, accompanied by the 117th Cavalry Rgt and the 191st Tank Btn are able to advance.
Retour - The 271. Panzergrenadier Rgt of the 60. PzGr tries to push back the Ardennais at Pont St-Esprit, but despite a heavy artillery shelling, the Belgians hold on. They are strongly helped by the guns of the 11th BACA. Indeed, the French have a 584 type radar in the sector, which proves to be very efficient for counter-battery fire.
Côte d'Azur
East of Dragon, for the first time since September 6th, the day passes without notable incident. Reconnaissance shows that the Germans have withdrawn to the fortifications of Mount Agel, which dominates Monaco and prevents any passage to Menton.
As the allied staff does not consider forcing the passage to Italy, the operations in this sector will stop in the very short term. We can therefore consider recovering the reserves, in this case the 4th BMLE, for future operations.
Night fighter - Under the cover of night, the KG 40 launches its bombers to try to destroy the bridges built in Arles. The mission is a failure and the allied supplies are in no way endangered. A Ju 188 is even shot down by an RAF Beaufighter.
Steamer - At the southern corner of the front, the 866. Grenadier Rgt (355. ID), the 355. Panzerjäger abt and
the 759. GR (survivor of the 338. ID) are still preventing the progression of the British and
Rangers.
Duck - On the other hand, along the Rhone, the German command is aware that the
that the breakthrough of the American armored division puts them in danger. It is therefore decided to defend the sector from Vauvert to Vergèze. For this, the 868. Grenadier Rgt of the 355. ID leaves in the night from the Beauvoisin sector to Vergèze. The infantrymen of the 17th and 32nd US-IR will thus fall on a vacuum, quite relative because conscientiously trapped. Between the two localities, the 11. Panzer (minus its 4. Grenadier Rgt, fixed in front of the beaches) comes to position itself, which had also moved during the night.
In the plain south of Nîmes, the CCA and CCB of the 2nd US-AD, which have as usual a powerful air support, face the 15. Panzer Rgt, the 61. Panzerjäger abt and the 110. Panzergrenadier Rgt. The battle remains undecided. The range of the German 75 long guns gives them an advantage in defense, counterbalanced by the air force but also by the tubes of the 18th Artillery Group, which are now deployed.
In Nîmes itself and all around, the 334. ID tries to hold on in the city against the 109. and
112. IR of the 7. US-ID, supported by the 755. Tank and 776. TD Btn. Further north, the 110th IR, supported by the 645th TD Btn, face a rearguard of the 60. Panzergrenadier, which is installed in a plug on the ridges north of Cabrières, around the D3.
A part of the 60. PzGr Division, and notably the 120. Fusilier, retreats behind the Gard to avoid being cut in two. In the meantime, the 18th and 26th IR of the 1st US-ID, accompanied by the 117th Cavalry Rgt and the 191st Tank Btn are able to advance.
Retour - The 271. Panzergrenadier Rgt of the 60. PzGr tries to push back the Ardennais at Pont St-Esprit, but despite a heavy artillery shelling, the Belgians hold on. They are strongly helped by the guns of the 11th BACA. Indeed, the French have a 584 type radar in the sector, which proves to be very efficient for counter-battery fire.
Côte d'Azur
East of Dragon, for the first time since September 6th, the day passes without notable incident. Reconnaissance shows that the Germans have withdrawn to the fortifications of Mount Agel, which dominates Monaco and prevents any passage to Menton.
As the allied staff does not consider forcing the passage to Italy, the operations in this sector will stop in the very short term. We can therefore consider recovering the reserves, in this case the 4th BMLE, for future operations.
Blog mode 'on' : In fact, the whole Ostfront thing was nearly 9 months late. Your Servitor had, with others, to bring everything back on line before moving on...
23/09/43 - Occupied Countries
September 23rd, 1943
Bucharest, 10:00 - Under the flashbulbs, Marshal Antonescu leaves the capital by car - he has been advised against taking the train as well as the plane, because of... the enemy aviation - towards the Danube, in order to meet the 4th Corps of Dumitru Dămăceanu. Then, he will go up to the west and the Siret, to inspect the Cavalry Corps (Gheorghe Rozin) and then the 1st Corps (Corneliu Dragalina), which cordially gives the hand to the 11. Armee in Mărășești.
Bad luck - before he leaves, just as the Conducator is about to speak, the air raid alert sounds. The bloody Americans are bombing Bucharest! In time for the symbol... The convoy then takes the road without further publicity, in the middle of an indifference due to the ambient disorder... and to the allied bombs, which preoccupy more the Romanian citizens.
..........
A discreet house in Bucharest, 21:00 - In one of the many hideouts of the Romanian CP closely guarded by the weak but motivated security services of Gheorghe Pintilie of the INU (NKVD's Foreign Intelligence Directorate) - Ștefan Foriș responds to an "urgent summons" sent by Moscow. Showing up alone, he falls into a real trap, organized by Emil Bodnăraș and Iosif Rangheț.
After Bodnăraș read a long, wordy message supposedly from the Communist International and acting to sack the entire RCP leadership, Bodnăraș and Iosif Ranghețunroll without delay an interminable indictment recounting in detail all the (many) failures of the RCP since 1940: its inability to support the Red Army, the numerous purges it had undergone at the hands of Moscow (which was not an extenuating circumstance but sanctions the deviance of this party), as well as the multiple arrests made by the Siguranța statului (Romanian State Security), which certainly prove the presence of multiple double agents in the Party ranks. And besides, what proves that Ștefan Foriș himself is not a fascist agent?
Obviously, the interested party protests. And even more so when the duo announces that all useful information (list of members, addresses of all branches, codes) will have to be handed over before Foriș and his failed comrades leave for house arrest, at the disposal of the new team. Finally, after a pointless argument, Emil Bodnăraș loses patience. He pulls out a Tokarev pistol, points it at Foriș and forces him to sign his resignation, the gun to the back of his neck. The fallen and trembling leader then disappears, between two of Pintilie's men*.
"Finally, it's done," Iosif Rangheț comments darkly, facing the evil smile of Bodnăraș. From now on, and until instructed otherwise (that is, probably until Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej's release from prison), the Party will be led by the Bodnăraș trio, Pârvulescu and Rangheț. This frankly bodes well for what comes next...
* After a very long arbitrary detention, Ștefan Foriș would be officially arrested on November 29th, 1944, accused of treason through collaboration with the Siguranța, based on the testimony of several members "returned" from the Party secretariat. Some time later, he was executed without any trial, his head smashed with a crowbar by Gheorghe Pintilie himself, with the complicity of his driver, D. Neciuet. Pintilie would later become lieutenant general of the new Securitate. Before that, his revolutionary zeal will have gone so far as to have Foriș's 70-year-old mother drowned after torturing her.
Ștefan Foriș would eventually be cleared by Ceausescu in 1967. But in the meantime, his widow, Victoria Sârbu, will have sunk into madness, between the death of all her relatives and the interminable imprisonment she herself had suffered. Taken in charge by the regime, she was rehabilitated as a "low-ranking militant" (sic) and received a pension until her death in 1987.
Bucharest, 10:00 - Under the flashbulbs, Marshal Antonescu leaves the capital by car - he has been advised against taking the train as well as the plane, because of... the enemy aviation - towards the Danube, in order to meet the 4th Corps of Dumitru Dămăceanu. Then, he will go up to the west and the Siret, to inspect the Cavalry Corps (Gheorghe Rozin) and then the 1st Corps (Corneliu Dragalina), which cordially gives the hand to the 11. Armee in Mărășești.
Bad luck - before he leaves, just as the Conducator is about to speak, the air raid alert sounds. The bloody Americans are bombing Bucharest! In time for the symbol... The convoy then takes the road without further publicity, in the middle of an indifference due to the ambient disorder... and to the allied bombs, which preoccupy more the Romanian citizens.
..........
A discreet house in Bucharest, 21:00 - In one of the many hideouts of the Romanian CP closely guarded by the weak but motivated security services of Gheorghe Pintilie of the INU (NKVD's Foreign Intelligence Directorate) - Ștefan Foriș responds to an "urgent summons" sent by Moscow. Showing up alone, he falls into a real trap, organized by Emil Bodnăraș and Iosif Rangheț.
After Bodnăraș read a long, wordy message supposedly from the Communist International and acting to sack the entire RCP leadership, Bodnăraș and Iosif Ranghețunroll without delay an interminable indictment recounting in detail all the (many) failures of the RCP since 1940: its inability to support the Red Army, the numerous purges it had undergone at the hands of Moscow (which was not an extenuating circumstance but sanctions the deviance of this party), as well as the multiple arrests made by the Siguranța statului (Romanian State Security), which certainly prove the presence of multiple double agents in the Party ranks. And besides, what proves that Ștefan Foriș himself is not a fascist agent?
Obviously, the interested party protests. And even more so when the duo announces that all useful information (list of members, addresses of all branches, codes) will have to be handed over before Foriș and his failed comrades leave for house arrest, at the disposal of the new team. Finally, after a pointless argument, Emil Bodnăraș loses patience. He pulls out a Tokarev pistol, points it at Foriș and forces him to sign his resignation, the gun to the back of his neck. The fallen and trembling leader then disappears, between two of Pintilie's men*.
"Finally, it's done," Iosif Rangheț comments darkly, facing the evil smile of Bodnăraș. From now on, and until instructed otherwise (that is, probably until Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej's release from prison), the Party will be led by the Bodnăraș trio, Pârvulescu and Rangheț. This frankly bodes well for what comes next...
* After a very long arbitrary detention, Ștefan Foriș would be officially arrested on November 29th, 1944, accused of treason through collaboration with the Siguranța, based on the testimony of several members "returned" from the Party secretariat. Some time later, he was executed without any trial, his head smashed with a crowbar by Gheorghe Pintilie himself, with the complicity of his driver, D. Neciuet. Pintilie would later become lieutenant general of the new Securitate. Before that, his revolutionary zeal will have gone so far as to have Foriș's 70-year-old mother drowned after torturing her.
Ștefan Foriș would eventually be cleared by Ceausescu in 1967. But in the meantime, his widow, Victoria Sârbu, will have sunk into madness, between the death of all her relatives and the interminable imprisonment she herself had suffered. Taken in charge by the regime, she was rehabilitated as a "low-ranking militant" (sic) and received a pension until her death in 1987.
23/09/43 - Atlantic
September 23rd, 1943
Spitsbergen - The British Admiralty quickly realized that Zitronella was not a prelude to an occupation of the archipelago. Nevertheless, a certain prudence is necessary before risking ships in these waters. The first contact with the Norwegian survivors is therefore made by a submarine: leaving Greenock five days earlier, the HMS Seadog now reaches Barentsburg. Some Norwegian officers led by Captain O. R. Lund disembark and take command of the remaining troops. The weather station in Longyearbyen is immediately reactivated.
Spitsbergen - The British Admiralty quickly realized that Zitronella was not a prelude to an occupation of the archipelago. Nevertheless, a certain prudence is necessary before risking ships in these waters. The first contact with the Norwegian survivors is therefore made by a submarine: leaving Greenock five days earlier, the HMS Seadog now reaches Barentsburg. Some Norwegian officers led by Captain O. R. Lund disembark and take command of the remaining troops. The weather station in Longyearbyen is immediately reactivated.
23/09/43 - Asia & Pacific
September 23rd, 1943
Burma Campaign
Occupied Burma - The sky was cloudy in the morning, but the weather quickly clears and a raid is scheduled for the afternoon. Around 5 p.m., the roar of the Mitchells of Sqn 343 (B) and P-38s of the 449th FS can be heard toward Konyu. The Japanese and Thai fighters are absent from this sector, due to the unusual time of the attack and the fact that the Indian and Belgian Hurricanes are conducting a combined action around Ye, where one aircraft is shot down on each side.
During the night, guided in their navigation by a radio signal emitted by the Surcouf, some Wellingtons bomb the railway installations of Tamarkan again. This time, the bridge is not hit, but the station (and unfortunately the neighboring districts) are hard hit. All the switches are destroyed; the traffic is completely interrupted for ten days.
Indochina Campaign
Thailand rebels
Bangkok - A discreet but lively meeting takes place at the home of the Prime Minister (and Marshal) Phibunsongkhram between the Thai military staff, the representatives of the Japanese military mission and the imperial ambassador.
Referring to the latest air attacks on his capital, Phibun emphasizes the "urgent" need for a modern system of alert and air defense to fight against Allied bombers. Even the best spotters cannot see everything and the lack of radio detection equipment is cruelly felt. As a result, despite their courage and dedication, the RTAF pilots do not always have enough time to intervene effectively against the aggressors. Moreover, it becomes vital for these pilots to have a better armed fighter. The latest battles have shown that despite its qualities, the Ki-43 Hayabusa does not have enough firepower to destroy the four-engine fighters. Finally, the Japanese must be aware that, not only did these bombings affect the morale of the population, these bombings are also a personal insult for the head of the Thai government. And the protest is growing among the various factions hostile to the Prime Minister and his policies.
The Japanese military attaché assures him that everything will be done to accelerate the re-equipment of two squadrons with Ki-44 Shoki and even a third with Ki-45 Toryu heavy fighters. He also promises a batch of Type 99 88 mm guns to strengthen the anti-aircraft defense: however, it refrains from committing itself to any timetable.
Regarding radars, Japanese officials are even more embarrassed. They explain rather awkwardly that it is a sensitive and still very secret piece of equipment and, moreover, that its transport, deployment and use are "very delicate". Unfortunately for them, the Thai leaders have been informed. The military attaché of the German embassy was very discreetly approached to learn more about the radars used by the Allies and by the Axis and about the use of such devices during the 1941-42 fighting.
Very politely, Phibunsongkhram asks the ambassador if the Empire of Japan still considered his country as a friend and an ally. Having received an affirmative answer wrapped in rhetoric, he then asks why it seems that the Greater Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere is being built on the ruins of this friend and ally! The two parties leave each other without having found a satisfactory agreement.
After the massacre
Mytho (Cochinchina) - The French officers who have left the city to avoid being involved in the fighting return. They describe a Dantesque spectacle. Some witnesses will say that the Mekong River carried corpses for days. One of the relatives of the Bonze Fou of the Hoa-Hao (one of his uncles) is undoubtedly among the ten thousand bodies that the Vietminh will abandon to the waters of the river.
New Guinea Campaign
Salamaua-Lae Campaign
Battle of Mubo - The 17th Australian Brigade fought on the Kokoda Track and at Buna-Gona, it experienced fighting, hunger and malaria, which killed hundreds of men. The survivors are veterans returning from a stay in Port Moresby, where many had to be hospitalized for the effects of the long period of malnutrition that left them as living skeletons.
Back at the front, they were initially placed in reserve to defend Bulolo Valley. The time to take the offensive came again for them. They replace the 2/7 Btn in the Mubo area and go on the attack. But they meet a strong resistance, organized in several lines of bunkers. Snipers and grenade launchers disperse around these support points cover them with crossfire.
South Pacific Campaign
A seahorse against a giant
160 miles northeast of Truk - The giant battleship Yamato convoys reinforcements to the Japanese base, with two destroyers as escort. As a result of Ultra interceptions, the brand new submarine USS Seahorse (SS-304), at the end of its mission, is prowling around...
04:40 - While on the surface, Commander Donald McGregor is stunned to see a huge target at about 25 000 meters! He dives and tries to get closer, but without success, until the Yamato zigzags.. in his direction.
05:18 - The Seahorse fires from its four stern tubes at just over 2,000 meters.
05:20 - The crew of the submarine perceives a first explosion, then a second, muffled. A Mk 14-3A torpedo (perhaps two) has just opened a hole 5 meters high and 15 meters long on the starboard side, at the level of the main gun turret n° 3 (rear). The joint between the upper and lower side armor gives way and the upper magazine of turret 3 is flooded by about 3,000 tons of water - far more than the designers of its torpedo protection system concieved...
The two destroyers escorting the battleship try to locate the intruder, but without success. The Seahorse reaches Pearl Harbor safely.
The Yamato makes a brief stopover in Truk, where the Akashi workshop ship gives her first aid and where the Japanese fleet staff would temporarily move to the Musashi. It returns to Japan at normal speed, without incident... and without knowing that it was being pursued by three other American submarines, alerted following new radio interceptions. The final repairs are accompanied by an important increase of the anti-aircraft armament and radar equipment.
The great battleship returns to Truk on January 20th, 1944, after sea trials. Just in time for operation A-Go..
Burma Campaign
Occupied Burma - The sky was cloudy in the morning, but the weather quickly clears and a raid is scheduled for the afternoon. Around 5 p.m., the roar of the Mitchells of Sqn 343 (B) and P-38s of the 449th FS can be heard toward Konyu. The Japanese and Thai fighters are absent from this sector, due to the unusual time of the attack and the fact that the Indian and Belgian Hurricanes are conducting a combined action around Ye, where one aircraft is shot down on each side.
During the night, guided in their navigation by a radio signal emitted by the Surcouf, some Wellingtons bomb the railway installations of Tamarkan again. This time, the bridge is not hit, but the station (and unfortunately the neighboring districts) are hard hit. All the switches are destroyed; the traffic is completely interrupted for ten days.
Indochina Campaign
Thailand rebels
Bangkok - A discreet but lively meeting takes place at the home of the Prime Minister (and Marshal) Phibunsongkhram between the Thai military staff, the representatives of the Japanese military mission and the imperial ambassador.
Referring to the latest air attacks on his capital, Phibun emphasizes the "urgent" need for a modern system of alert and air defense to fight against Allied bombers. Even the best spotters cannot see everything and the lack of radio detection equipment is cruelly felt. As a result, despite their courage and dedication, the RTAF pilots do not always have enough time to intervene effectively against the aggressors. Moreover, it becomes vital for these pilots to have a better armed fighter. The latest battles have shown that despite its qualities, the Ki-43 Hayabusa does not have enough firepower to destroy the four-engine fighters. Finally, the Japanese must be aware that, not only did these bombings affect the morale of the population, these bombings are also a personal insult for the head of the Thai government. And the protest is growing among the various factions hostile to the Prime Minister and his policies.
The Japanese military attaché assures him that everything will be done to accelerate the re-equipment of two squadrons with Ki-44 Shoki and even a third with Ki-45 Toryu heavy fighters. He also promises a batch of Type 99 88 mm guns to strengthen the anti-aircraft defense: however, it refrains from committing itself to any timetable.
Regarding radars, Japanese officials are even more embarrassed. They explain rather awkwardly that it is a sensitive and still very secret piece of equipment and, moreover, that its transport, deployment and use are "very delicate". Unfortunately for them, the Thai leaders have been informed. The military attaché of the German embassy was very discreetly approached to learn more about the radars used by the Allies and by the Axis and about the use of such devices during the 1941-42 fighting.
Very politely, Phibunsongkhram asks the ambassador if the Empire of Japan still considered his country as a friend and an ally. Having received an affirmative answer wrapped in rhetoric, he then asks why it seems that the Greater Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere is being built on the ruins of this friend and ally! The two parties leave each other without having found a satisfactory agreement.
After the massacre
Mytho (Cochinchina) - The French officers who have left the city to avoid being involved in the fighting return. They describe a Dantesque spectacle. Some witnesses will say that the Mekong River carried corpses for days. One of the relatives of the Bonze Fou of the Hoa-Hao (one of his uncles) is undoubtedly among the ten thousand bodies that the Vietminh will abandon to the waters of the river.
New Guinea Campaign
Salamaua-Lae Campaign
Battle of Mubo - The 17th Australian Brigade fought on the Kokoda Track and at Buna-Gona, it experienced fighting, hunger and malaria, which killed hundreds of men. The survivors are veterans returning from a stay in Port Moresby, where many had to be hospitalized for the effects of the long period of malnutrition that left them as living skeletons.
Back at the front, they were initially placed in reserve to defend Bulolo Valley. The time to take the offensive came again for them. They replace the 2/7 Btn in the Mubo area and go on the attack. But they meet a strong resistance, organized in several lines of bunkers. Snipers and grenade launchers disperse around these support points cover them with crossfire.
South Pacific Campaign
A seahorse against a giant
160 miles northeast of Truk - The giant battleship Yamato convoys reinforcements to the Japanese base, with two destroyers as escort. As a result of Ultra interceptions, the brand new submarine USS Seahorse (SS-304), at the end of its mission, is prowling around...
04:40 - While on the surface, Commander Donald McGregor is stunned to see a huge target at about 25 000 meters! He dives and tries to get closer, but without success, until the Yamato zigzags.. in his direction.
05:18 - The Seahorse fires from its four stern tubes at just over 2,000 meters.
05:20 - The crew of the submarine perceives a first explosion, then a second, muffled. A Mk 14-3A torpedo (perhaps two) has just opened a hole 5 meters high and 15 meters long on the starboard side, at the level of the main gun turret n° 3 (rear). The joint between the upper and lower side armor gives way and the upper magazine of turret 3 is flooded by about 3,000 tons of water - far more than the designers of its torpedo protection system concieved...
The two destroyers escorting the battleship try to locate the intruder, but without success. The Seahorse reaches Pearl Harbor safely.
The Yamato makes a brief stopover in Truk, where the Akashi workshop ship gives her first aid and where the Japanese fleet staff would temporarily move to the Musashi. It returns to Japan at normal speed, without incident... and without knowing that it was being pursued by three other American submarines, alerted following new radio interceptions. The final repairs are accompanied by an important increase of the anti-aircraft armament and radar equipment.
The great battleship returns to Truk on January 20th, 1944, after sea trials. Just in time for operation A-Go..