France Fights On (English Translation) - Thread II - To the continent!

[Wings]

April 8th, 1944

In the high mountains
Alps - Mountain solidarity is not an empty word! The heads of the two French mountain divisions get together to counter-attack. Thus, in the south, the 7th RTM goes up to the assault on the positions of the 903. GbJg Rgt. The Austrian fighters, already not very comfortable with maneuvering between the two French units, give ground in front of the "killers in dressing gowns" and are forced to stop their action to the north, thus relieving the positions of the 6th BCA between Le Sauze and Le Villard de Faucon. This easing of the pressure on the Alpins' wing allows them to maneuver to retake the outposts of the Maison Forestière and the Pointe Fine, from where they could guide the artillery more effectively the next day.

 

[Wings]

April 9th, 1944

King's Eggs
Open at night
Mantes-la-Jolie - Tonight, the objective of 77 Halifaxes of the 4th Bomber Group and 64 Lancasters of the 1st Bomber Group is the train station of the sequanese city. They are preceded by 8 Mosquito pathfinders of Squadron 329, which correctly mark the target. Nevertheless, a strong wind deflects a lot of bombs on the western part of the city, which deserves a little less its adjective after the passage of the English four-engines: the old town hall, the Mantes and Gassicourt churches were destroyed, as were 128 houses. Nearly 740 others were damaged and 54 civilians were killed. The report of the Bomber Command (which only lost three aircraft) is satisfactory, but Marseille sent to London the testimony of the mayor of Mantes, which was picked up by the French networks.
In spite of an important cloud cover, of the order of 7/10th, the German night fighters take advantage of the full moon to track down the four-engine planes. Above Mantes, the Lancaster LQ-B s/n ND617 of Squadron 405 (RCAF) suddenly explodes in full flight. It was probably hit in the bomb bay by a fighter's shot, but no claim will follow from the Luftwaffe crews. It is true that a Bf 110 of the NJG 3 will be reported missing that night... Was it hit by the debris of the explosion of the bomber? It is very probable, but no witness could confirm it.
For Lancaster GT-M s/n ND449 of Squadron 156, it was only after six attacks by German fighters that the pilot, F/Lt Henry Churchill, DFC & bar (no family link with the Prime Minister) ordered the evacuation of the plane over Conches en Ouche in the Eure, southwest of Evreux. He was injured and died shortly after touching down. Navigator F/O John Foster and rear gunner F/O Earle Warren were killed, but the four other crew members parachuted successfully and managed to escape by the southwestern route. This was once the way to Spain, but in a few days they will join the American forces in the south of France.
The seven occupants of Halifax B III HD-G s/n LV943 of Squadron 466 (RAAF) were to have different fortunes. However, all of them made it to the ground alive after evacuating their four-engine plane shot down by a particularly good night fighter over Boisset-les-Prévenches, 14 km southeast of Évreux. The rule in these conditions is "every man for himself" in order to escape the enemy, but it happens that fortuitous circumstances lead the airmen to meet again. This is how the pilot, P/O Edmund Hourigan, and the mechanic, Sgt. Jack Dickens, would both end up a few days later in the Fréteval maquis, in the Orne. W/O Chris Cullen was immediately taken prisoner and sent to Stalag Luft III in Sagan, where he was joined by F/Sgt Ray Perry, who, after being hidden by the Turma-Vengeance network, fell victim to the traitor Jacques Desoubrie and was arrested in Paris. The W/O Owen-James Doherty and F/Sgt Lawrence Garske, quickly captured, will go together to camp 357. Finally, F/Sgt Lawrence Schulz managed to reach the Southwest, where he was reunited with the Allied forces.

 

[Wings]

April 9th, 1944

Poland
Unfortunate words
Headquarters of the Polish Government in Exile (Eaton Place, London) - While the government-in-exile is still recovering from the horrific convulsions that have just shaken it, Tomasz Stefan Arciszewski - one of the main leaders of the Polish Socialist Party in exile and fierce defender of a hard line against the USSR - gives an unprepared interview with the Times. And, when asked about his feelings about the negotiations with Moscow, he gave this clumsy answer: "The new government must remain based on the principle of national unity, firmly anchored in loyalty, the duty of alliance and of course the struggle for friendly relations with the Soviet Union [sic!]. However, equal relations must be the precondition for any serious talks with the USSR, and all disputes must be settled directly from government to government. There can be no question of subordination and even less of bargaining for territory. Regarding the western borders, we claim our ethnic and historical territories under German rule. On the other hand, we do not want to extend our border to the west to absorb eight to ten million Germans! We do not want Wrocław or Szczecin."
This outburst caused an uproar throughout the new government of national unity, discrediting the hardest elements of the Polish "legalist" line - already in its death throes since the "Second Union of Lublin." Arkadiusz Bożek, the government representative to the Polish diaspora, summed up the feelings of many: "I read with horror the interview in which Tomasz Arciszewski says that we do not want Wrocław or Szczecin. The effects of this statement can only be disastrous, because we will lose the East and, because of this statement, we may not win the West."
So Polish opinion - at least according to its representatives - seems to have already largely come to terms with the idea of a large-scale movement of the country to the west. At Eaton Place, we say that Arciszewski was only expressing his personal opinion, which was obviously only binding on him, and that he was undoubtedly ill-informed.
He was also quickly told (albeit a little more discreetly) to keep his mouth shut. Which he will do, like many others of his opinion, while envisaging however the formation of a future autonomous committee alongside this so-called "legal authority".
The diaspora is torn apart... The diaspora will weigh even less in the coming discussions. Even if, for the Soviets and their affiliates, the matter is not really worth talking more about it. And as Stanisław Mikołajczyk sighs to his compatriots: "Thank God, I am the vice president of the Council, not him!"

A slow start
Tirana - Ivan Šubašić, "general delegate for the administration of the liberated Yugoslav territories", receives in his office General Borisav Ristic, a former officer of the Royal Yugoslav forces. The man is no amateur: veteran of the Balkan wars and then of the First World War, deputy chief of staff of a division and then of a district, and finally director of cabinet of various decision-making bodies between the two wars, he was even Chief of Staff of the Army from 1932 to 1934 - his "vigorous" approach to the problems of corruption in the Kingdom brought him to the attention of the public, which earned him a number of enmities.
This friction reached such a point that on September 28th, 1940, after a period on the sidelines, he will be allowed, on his own request, to take an early retirement.
Recalled at the time of the invasion of 1941, Ristic did not, unfortunately, have the opportunity to shine. Assigned to the district of the Mur, between Croatia and Slovenia, he had a front row seat to witness the Croatian betrayal and the collapse of the sector's defenses. Captured by the Germans, he escaped, managed to reach Belgrade and then made contact with the communist resistance fighters of the sector - because he did not wish to collaborate with the Chetniks who were already very compromised - before finally going to Italy and placing himself at the disposal of the Allies. But his relations with what was not yet called the NKOJ will not be forgiven by the royal government. The exiled general was disgraced and kept out of his own army.
It is understandable that the man has drawn some bitterness... For him, today as yesterday, now is not the time for political intrigues, while the Kingdom is experiencing the worst crisis of its young existence - which is not lacking in crisis. Liberating the country is his only concern. The English have made no mistake about it, keeping him carefully on their toes; they even offered him a position as a liaison officer in their own army (a position he refused on principle).
Ristic could therefore be a trump card in the game that Ivan Šubašić is building for himself - a professional, uncompromising military man, more loyal to the nation than to his
his leaders. When he left his office, General Borisav Ristic is officially in charge of the liaison between the French 2nd Army, the AVNOJ and Belgrade... and he is also in charge of the distribution of supplies between the different militias operating in the territory held by the army of Sylvestre Audet. A strategic position therefore, which will allow him to quickly make many friends... or enemies, without him worrying too much about it.
Tomorrow, the Croatian will meet Isidor Cankar - his plane, coming from Canada, was delayed by bad weather. It has been a long time since the former ambassador to Ottawa has not been back to Europe for a long time: he was stuck in America after resigning in a big way in 1942, in protest against the pro-Chetnik policy of Peter II. A man of character, therefore, coupled with a refined diplomat... It is better that he arrives fresh and ready for the difficult negotiations to come with his compatriots. Because deep down, Šubašić has no doubt about the Slovenian's response to his proposal.

Cyprus' future will be Greek
Limassol - Bells are ringing everywhere for Orthodox Easter, as crowds of people emerge from churches form a large nationalist - but generally peaceful - parade through the streets of the capital. Strictly kept away from the Muslim quarters by the British police and the Hellenic army, a procession of several thousand people (a lot for this small city) advances to the governor's palace, to send him a clear message in anticipation of the negotiations to come! The crowd will march during very long minutes under the impassive gaze of the British officials, who are not as worried as before - but still a little... It is crowded: the popes have deliberately shortened their services to give their flock time to demonstrate before returning to their homes for lunch.
So Cyprus wants to become Greek... Or at least almost all of Cyprus. In the north and in Nicosia, the British army is on its toes, fearing another violent incident that would ignite Ankara again. But there is no need to hurry - the island is already Greek in fact. The rest will wait until after the war.
.........
"Just like that of Northern Epirus, the final fate of Cyprus was the subject of bitter discussions between the various parties involved in the dossier - and, like in the case of Northern Epirus, the outcome was decided in advance. The troubles of March 1944 had killed 1,120 people: 751 Greeks and 317 Turks, to which we must unfortunately add 52 remains buried in the mountains around Klirou, discovered much later and never really identified. The wounded were counted in thousands, the material damage was substantial - especially for such a small territory.
Turkey, the third power in the discussions, did not hesitate to play its part, like in the past on the seas, to try to extract the maximum of concessions: threat f closing the Straits, threatening to revise the commercial contracts concluded in 1943 between Ankara and Athens (outrageously favourable to Turkey, but which Greece still needed...), repeated "technical" incidents in the crossing of the Dardanelles... in vain. Faced with it, the United Kingdom and the Kingdom of Greece - respected winners of the world conflict and bound a few years later by the North Atlantic Treaty - pushed their pawns without hesitation, with the certainty that nothing more could change.
This was true. However, the Turkish minority obtained three clauses guaranteed by London: freedom of worship, the absence of expropriation and the right to trade with Turkey with a particularly favorable customs regime. It is understandable that, under these conditions, Ankara's calls for a trade embargo with the island were not followed by anyone - it did not even help those it claimed to defend. Cyprus officially became Greek in a referendum held two years later, for the Orthodox Easter, on April 21st, 1946.
The vote (84.7 per cent Yes) was certified as accurate by international monitoring bodies - it merely reflected the island's demographics. The Greek monarchy was, of course, very pleased - the regent Paul was gambling on the future of his dynasty.
To make Ankara pass the pill, London hastened to release a large amount of development aid (one speaks of 100 million pounds sterling) intended to finance Istanbul's port facilities and the future major roads of Anatolia. This was less than the aid provided by the Americans... The Turkish nationalist opposition did not hesitate to call this subsidy a "wage of disgrace" under the booing of a weakened Republican People's Party and the new Democratic Party of Celâl Bayar - above all mercantilist, but which would eventually topple İsmet İnönü in 1950.
Turkish political life thus continued, under the new multiparty system established in late 1944, animated by the opposition between the nationalists clinging to their seats and the religious parties trying to return to the forefront of the scene. In this tumult, Cyprus became a myth, a lost land worthy of the Transylvania of the Horthy regime, which everyone talked about without knowing anything about it. It was all the more fantasized about as few could claim to have been there!
Burhan Nalbantoğlu and Daniş Karabelen thus gradually joined, on their modest level, national heroes such as the great Mustapha Kemal and Enver Bey or obscure Central Asian military men such as Timur Chevket.
This is the reason why the city is so important to us, and why it is so important to us. The cinema - always outrageously cocardian - spoke of them for a long time, in one form or another (see All for the fatherland, 1972, or Önce Vatan, 1974, by Duygu Sagiroglu).
Cyprus was thus well and truly detached from Turkey, in fact if not in spirit. Abandoned by the mother country, the Turkish community of the island oscillated for a long time between resistance and resignation, to the rhythm of the attacks of Kara Çete. However, the arrangement of 1945 held a moment in the form, the British bases guaranteeing protection of Muslims. However, victim of a very clear ostracism of the Greek society, the youth was gradually forced into exile to seek work in Europe, Africa and of course in Turkey. The Turkish community was thus emptied of its vital forces, in the shadow of the Union Jack. The transfer of the RAF squadrons to Akrotiri (in the south of the island) from 1950 and the closure of the Nicosia base in 1956 accelerated this exodus. At the beginning of the 1990s, there were only 8,000 Muslims left on the island - the others had died or emigrated. Bound together by adversity as well as by its identity, this population has experienced a revival since 1998 and the definitive normalization of Ankara-Athens relations - we need shopkeepers and for this, interpersonal relations, whose traditional importance in the East is well known, are unavoidable.
Finally, and to broaden the subject a little, what to retain from this improbable confrontation between a German battlecruiser accompanied by Italian destroyers (Freccia class) and American cargo ships escorted by Italian destroyers (of the Dardo class)? Undoubtedly, noting its isolation on the international scene, but persisting in maintaining a policy of "strict defense of its interests" similar to that of Argentina, Turkey felt the need to find new allies. This could not be the USSR - which nevertheless tried to make numerous overtures. As for the Non-Aligned Movement, it was led by a baroque kingdom, with an Orthodox king allied with the Greek monarchy... It was thus the United States and (a little) France, under the impulse of the late René Massigli, who allowed to maintain a strong French influence in Ankara. The policy in the Middle East of the General perhaps found there its premises.
Today, however, this balance is completely called into question: the dislocation of the USSR has led to the rebirth of a form of Central Asian panturalism which would willingly include Turkey, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan in a great "union of peoples". The nationalist and religious demons are never far from the Turkish shores..."
(Evelyne Roussel, From Resistance to Union - Greece from 1941 to 1948, La Fabrique, 1987, completed edition 1997)

 

[Wings]

April 9th, 1944

Premature enthusiasm
Ružomberok (Slovakia) - It had to happen... In the morning, the Partisans and soldiers of the 4th Battalion of Major Cyril Kuchta, a former officer of the Czechoslovak and Slovak armies (while being a long-time anti-fascist Resistance fighter!) attack this town of 10,000 inhabitants located in the Liptov basin, barely 40 kilometers from Banská Bystrica, where the headquarters of the Slovak army is located! The Resistance fighters free the political prisoners, interrupt the railway traffic in the valley and stop the production of the local armory (where were produced several hundred artillery pieces for the Wehrmacht!), before announcing the restoration of Czechoslovakia and general mobilization. Finally, they arrest - or summarily execute! - the totality of the German citizens or Volksdeutsche, in an atmosphere of inflamed hatred, under the acclamations of a part of the crowd gathered. A way of proceeding which will unfortunately flourish in Czechoslovakia...
Of course, the matter was quickly brought to the attention of the German command - which did not fail to notice the absence of reaction from the local army, although it was deployed in the immediate vicinity of the locality. While the Reich was considering the appropriate reaction, in Ružomberok all symbols, busts, portraits and posters of the current regime are burned and Czechoslovakian flags, miraculously found, adorn the streets. A little quickly perhaps...

Workers of the eleventh hour
Brastislava - In the evening, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander (Shannon) Mach, a former seminarian, journalist and member of the Slovak People's Party - before joining the pro-Nazi wing of this party, took command of the Hlinka Guard and became the responsible for the persecution of the Jews in Slovakia - officially declares martial law in the country in reaction to the "serious events in Ružomberok".
He receives almost no response from his subordinates - the regime's entire state apparatus has just switched to a cautious wait-and-see attitude, while Ján Golian's army is only sparingly answering the phone. As for Berlin...

 

[Wings]

April 9th, 1944

Burma and Malaysia Campaign
Operation Black Prince
Southeastern Province of Burma - While the troops of the XVth Indian Corps continue their progression, the Calcutta Light Horse (50th Indian Armored Brigade) reaches the Thai border at Aye Chan Thar Yar.

Indochina Campaign
Objective Poulo Condore
Governor General's Palace, (provisional) seat of the imperial government of Vietnam (Saigon) - The hall is elegantly decorated with the Emperor's personal banner (gold with a dragon rampant gules) and the flags of the Empire of Vietnam, the Vietminh, the Indochinese Union and the French Republic. Various secretaries and representatives of the civil power attend the conference given by three military men (or supposed to be military men): "General" Bai Vien, Colonel Vo Nguyen Giap and "Major" Jean-Louis Delayen. It is curious to note that Giap - the former schoolteacher - is the only one of the three to actually have his rank (even though some French soldiers would dispute his stripes...).
Delayen "acts as" and Bai Vien is a self-proclaimed general.
Jean-Louis Delayen tells Giap about his two previous meetings with the "general. The Vietminh listens to him without interrupting him. But his eyes light up when the Frenchman came to the prisoners being eaten alive by the crabs. In 1939, a real hunt for communists slammed into Indochina following the German-Soviet pact, the invasion of Eastern Poland by the USSR and the banning of the PCF by the Republic. If Giap managed to hide, his wife Nguyen Thi Quang Thai remained in prison for over a year and a half. She came out of it deeply weakened*. Since then, the colonel has hated those who abuse their power over the weak and the innocent. Despots with small feet revolted him, whether they were French, Japanese... or Vietnamese. The Japanese invasion showed him that there are worse than the colonialists, and the behavior of some Vietnamese gave a form of universality to his aversion.
When Bai Vien takes the floor to open the debates, Giap remains unmoved. With patience, he listens to the arrogant Binh Xuyen leader talk for nothing.
Once he had spewed his boasts, the "general" sits down again. In his field uniform without the decorations of his predecessor, Colonel Giap is much more discreet, but from his very first words he provides clear information, pointing to the map pinned on a mobile panel.
- The goal of Operation Bastille is to liberate the Con Dao archipelago... or Poulo Condore, if you prefer... and the numerous political prisoners held in the penitentiary of the Condore, the main island of the archipelago. The Japanese garrison is mainly concentrated in this island, either in the bay of the penitentiary or in the military camp which is located further south, facing the Round Islet. Several bunkers of sandbags and logs were built along the shores of the Great Condore. The only other military position in the archipelago is the lighthouse on Hon Bai Can Island.
Giap approaches the map and continues.
- As you can see, the island of Greater Condor is roughly crescent-shaped. There are three possible landing points. The northeast bay - but beyond a narrow beach with coconut palms, one is immediately faced with hills over three hundred meters. The southwestern bay is located almost opposite - the beach strip is narrow and is dominated by hill 600, which is the highest point on the island. Penitentiary Bay, to the east, in the inner curve of the crescent, is the most favorable for a landing, with the only flat land beyond the beach. It is also the only locality of the island, which is its only port. The problem is that to reach it, you have to go around the crescent of the Grande Condore, with its numerous islets and reefs. Moreover, if one passes by the south, one passes under the eyes of the main garrison, which is at the same time very well positioned to cover the bay of the Penitentiary.
When Colonel Giap interrupts, Delayen raises his hand. He, too, had thought it through.
"To sum up, we have the choice between two impractical landing points and a beach that is too obvious and very well defended."
- Exactly! Moreover, if the main goal of the operation is to eliminate the Japanese, the liberation of the prisoners is a secondary but important objective. If we give the garrison too much time, it is obvious that they will take the opportunity to kill all the captives.
- In any case, it takes about ten hours by sea from Vung Tau to reach the archipelago. That is to say that it is necessary to disembark in one time. Any reinforcements could be brought to the Great Condore only the next day.
Bai Vien has just made his first intervention and the others must admit that it is a good one.
Jean-Louis Delayen speaks again: "Let's not forget aviation. The Epervier aircraft can support ground combat, which is an advantage that can be decisive.
- But which bay to choose?" repeats Giap.
- We can attempt a simultaneous landing on two of them," replies Bai Vien.
- And divide our forces! A risky strategy.
- The northeast and southwest beaches are narrow and we could not land all the junks at the same time on one of them. Moreover, the ships would interfere with each other.
- Note that the Japanese bunkers are facing the sea," intervenes Delayen. If we take the bunkers facing our beach, the others will be indefensible if we attack them from the rear.
Giap straightens up, his eyebrow furrowed: "If I follow you correctly, Major Delayen, you suggest landing at a secondary point, storming its defenses, and then attacking another site from the rear in order to make it easier to put the rest of our troops down?"
- Exactly! That would minimize our losses.
Giap looks thoughtfully at the map for a long minute, then turns around.
"I think we have an idea... yes. We will land in the southwestern bay. Hill 600 is between this beach and the main garrison, that should prevent the enemy from sending reinforcements other than along the beaches, under fire from our planes.
While we pretend to attack the main garrison to secure it, the commando will attack the Japanese positions in the northeast of the island from the rear and the landing of the second wave will begin in the northeast bay as soon as it is secured. All of our forces will then be able to make the real attack on the Condore population center and the penitentiary. With any luck, we will take them by surprise and in reverse!"

Sino-Japanese War
Operation Bailu
Canton - While fighting rages in the northern part of the old city, where the Japanese, running out of ammunition, are gradually losing ground, General Liao attempts for the third time to take Shamian Island by force. The engineers of the 22nd Division, covered by a heavy fire of light artillery and the tanks of the 599th Armored Regiment line up along the canal, set up several floating bridges. Ten B-25s of the ROCAF, mobilized for the occasion patrol the canal, strafing any defender who ventured out into the open and preventing the arrival of reinforcements by the French bridge.
The Tsuga, which was trying to support the defenders, attracts the attention of the B-25s. The latter have no training in attacking naval targets and their bombing runs only shake the ship. However, the B-25s strafe the small destroyer, many of whose sailors are killed or wounded. The ship retreats to the mouth of the river, fearing to run aground while trying to avoid new bombs.
Finally the Chinese soldiers manage to gain a foothold on the island. They methodically take the luxurious buildings having sheltered the various foreign consulates, that the Japanese had transformed into so many forts. The last to fall is the British Consulate, in the early hours of the next morning.

* OTL, Giap's wife died in prison. Here, the softening of the positions of the French Republic in exile towards the Vietnamese communists allows her to leave before the Japanese invasion, while Giap was able to return from exile in China at the same time, not in 1944.

 

[Wings]

April 9th, 1944

Clear lightning show
Balkans - Dull but "flyable" weather over the Balkans today. While the Beaumonts of the 235th and 238th Wings, escorted by Spitfires of the 244th Wing, continue their hunt over Bosnia in search of SS troops, the French and Czech airmen are back in the Hungarian sky.
However, it is not a massive raid like the day before. This time, only the Reapers of the 19th EB Gascogne, escorted by the new NA-102 of the 9th EC Bohemia-Moravia, attack Szeged, its German-Hungarian supply depots and its bridges over the Tisza river.
An easier mission than the previous raid on Budapest - at least, once they had passed the Flak barrage erected by the units of the 12. Armee units. A twin-engine plane explodes in mid-air over Zrenjanin, another one, damaged, turns around and makes an emergency landing in the suburbs of Belgrade.
In spite of a biting flak, the attack is successful: the German depots vyeb one after the other, while the Belvárosi híd collapse in large part into the water. To cross, the Germans are reduced to using boat bridges or ferries - only the lightest infantry could continue to venture across the metal deck. A good performance, therefore, for the 1st Air Force, which unfortunately cost it two twin-engines and a damaged fighter (as usual, the Czechs are not the last to go and strafe at low altitude...).
The Red Pumas, called to help by the 2nd Hungarian Army, arrive from quite far and late on the battlefield. They obviously try to pursue, but finally have to withdraw after a vain race that led them above the front line - it was useless to risk losses for nothing, especially since the 9th EC interposed itself, with new fighters as powerful as aggressive. The Hungarian aviators will have accomplished nothing today, except to wear out an increasingly scarce and precious fuel. In their ravaged installations, the Germans will take note, once again, of this apparently so selective efficiency of the Magyar ally.
No raid tonight - Air Marshal Tedder chooses to break the monotony of operations by a white night, which will allow to sow the doubt in the enemy. Indeed, one will be surprised in Berlin by this ostensible calm over Budapest, while the cities of the Reich are under bombardment night after night (and day after day).

The Axis is preparing
Nikšić (Montenegro) - According to the instructions of the III. SS-GAK, the 373. ID Tigar Divizija of Nikolaus Boicetta undertakes to move northward, to occupy the Plužine area - with a sinister reputation since "Schneesturm". General Johann Mickl, however, had made recommendations to the contrary. Indeed, this movement deprived the KLAK of its only operational reserve, now dispersed over 80 kilometers behind the front.
.........
Sava Valley and Vojvodina - On the whole Axis defense line, and although no allied armored vehicles are visible, German units seem to be preparing for a confrontation. The (rare) leaves are recalled, the guards are reinforced and the patrols return to the base camps, without the soldiers receiving the slightest information and, above all, without their Hungarian "brothers in arms" being informed of anything. In his office, however, Alexander Löhr has one conference after another with the liaison officers seconded to the 2nd Hungarian Army of Guztáv Vitéz Jány...

Partisans recover
Bosnia - Višegrad area - The 1st "proletarian" Corps and the 8th "Dalmatian" Corps finally arrive in the last Titian stronghold in this area, where the final battle is supposed to take place soon. The men of Koča Popović and Vicko Krstulović, although still valiant, are decimated by the fighting and weakened by the very long march that brought them here. The struggle is presented under very unfavorable auspices.
Fortunately, however, it soon became clear to them that the dreaded assault would not take place. The SS now seem to be in full retreat towards Goražde. Chased by Allied aircraft, they abandoned a number of damaged or destroyed vehicles in their retreat - but the definition of a destroyed vehicle is not really the same depending on whether one is in the AVNOJ forces or... in another army.
Regrouped not far from their marshal, the two Partisan corps will be quickly reinforced by reserve divisions and by the survivors of the 3rd "Bosnian" Corps. In theory, they are ideally placed to participate in a possible future allied offensive.
To prepare for it and while waiting, the Titists do not delay to spread again in the surrounding valleys, cautiously looking for strong defensive positions and seizing as many abandoned weapons as possible. Thus, in Mašići they get their hands on two Somua S-35s disabled by Allied aircraft; moreover, the 47 mm gun of one of them was sabotaged. Undeterred and resourceful above all, the soldiers of the AVNOJ succeed in repairing the two machines, which then joined the 1st "proletarian" Corps ! The venerable French armored vehicles change sides once again, the most damaged turret transformed by the addition of an armored box intended to allow the grafting of a 6-pound gun (57 mm) parachuted by the British*.
.........
Bosnia - Vranjak (north-east of Doboj) - The 5th "Bosnian" Corps, so badly beaten in Banja Luka, finally arrives at its destination, for rest and recompletion. The formation of Slavko Rodić's formation is like its leader: out of action, still wounded... but on the mend. On the other hand, his position allows him to hope for aerial supplies soon, which will allow him to recover quickly and to act towards the Sava, if necessary, when the time comes.

Reorganization
Government House, Zagreb - According to the instructions of Obergruppenführer Friedrich-Wilhelm Krüger (no one dares to say without laughing that Zagreb still has a real autonomy within the Axis), General Slavko Štancer creates a new 5th Army Corps. The latter is intended to regroup the last available units of the NDH without taking back the title "4th Corps", of sad memory for many soldiers in Croatia.
This new formation is entrusted to Vjekoslav Servatzy - another faithful among the faithful of Pavelic, former founder of the Ustasha army and (until recently) prefect of the county of Gora-Prigorje. It is his responsibility, from his headquarters in Banja Luka, to transform this agglomeration of unequal and more or less reliable units into a war machine in the service of the Reich.

Black Legion against Partisans
North of Croatia - Požega region - Precisely, two of the units of the new 5th Corps are already in operation not far from their leader, in the Sava valley.
For the first one - the Black Legion - the night was short, disturbed by a succession of skirmishes. The Partisans of the 28th Slavonic Division (Vicko Antic Pepe) multiply mosquito bites to tire out their opponents - who didn't need them! - and to test their resistance. But the titists are disappointed: the Black Legion of Boban remains a very coherent and politically reliable unit, even if its effectiveness is not worth, of course, that of the Schutzstaffel. In the morning, furious at having been mistreated in this way, the legionnaires resume their march in the face of an adversary who is evading them in the woods and multiply the traps and ambushes. In the evening, Požega is still not occupied.
As for the 6th ID of colonel Ivan Sarnbek, it reaches Batrina with great difficulty, having left its 1st Rgt in Nova Gradiška to go up to the basin through the Baćin Dol pass. Indeed, this area could well serve as an escape route for the AVNOJ forces, who had hardly been worn down in the area.

* The realization of this true mechanical miracle was still the subject of many questions in the 1970s among the GIAT engineers, where legend has it that the machine in question was brought back to Roanne around 1950 to be used for the hazing of apprentice mechanics.

 

[Wings]

April 9th, 1944

Convoy to Memel
From Memel to Danzig - At dawn, the convoy sees the arrival of three BV 138. These slow and clumsy (but so original!) three-engine seaplanes will serve as lookouts on the last part of the journey, in spite of the risks. A very weak cover, facing an assault that could be determined...
And yet, despite the fears, nothing happens to the convoy. It reaches the port of Danzig at the end of the morning under the protection of the cannons of the coastal batteries of the harbor. We will meet again (in theory) in two weeks...

Trap for the Kriegsmarine
Stavka (Moscow) - The information coming from the lookouts positioned on the route of the convoy are welcomed with satisfaction by the Soviet hierarchy. In the opinion of Admiral of the Fleet Vladimir Tributs, this kind of convoy would be an easy prey for his ships. This would ensure the Communist naval superiority, provoke the Kriegsmarine and force it to bring out its most beautiful units in a hurry for a certain destruction.
To accelerate the movement, Stalin orders the Baltic Front of Rodion Malinovsky to go and shell this fortress - so that it suffers every day! The German soldiery, stuck in this mouse trap, will not fail to call for help ...

 

[Wings]

April 9th, 1944

Calm
Italian front - Nothing special to report on the front, except for a few clashes between patrols or exchanges of artillery fire.

 

[Wings]

April 9th, 1944

In the high mountains
Alps - While the fighting continues on the southern flank, the Alpins of the 6th BCA go on the offensive again. Their opponents of the 904. Rgt, if they still had the numerical superiority, are now in a situation of frontal shock where the supports of the French are in full play, especially in the valley. The attack, supported by the M-7s of the 4th Chasseurs, enable the French to retake Jausiers in the late afternoon. Only a few of the wounded Frenchmen left there two days earlier are found; but in the church, transformed into a makeshift hospital, there are many wounded Germans, for whom the war is now over.

 

[Wings]

April 10th, 1944

King's Eggs
AEAF
Occupied France - The Allied command having decided to combine the forces of the air units to rationalize operations, a mix of formations from the 12th AF and the 2nd TAF (named AEAF, Allied Expeditionary Air Force) takes off today towards Le Mans, Arras, Mantes-Gassicourt and Mohon (Ardennes).
This time, the depot and the locomotive sheds of Gassicourt are well hit, which does not fail to provoke new vengeful articles in the press of the NEF. Similarly, the Petit Ardennais denounces "the savage attacks by Anglo-American terrorists" - on this Easter Monday, the basilica of Mézières was hit at the end of the service! But for the Allies, the end justifies the means, because the Mohon depot is destroyed.

 

[Wings]

April 10th, 1944

Obscure maneuvers
Lukavec (Independent State of Croatia) - In their usual lair, the conspirators talk about the latest developments of their great project. Pure hypothesis at the beginning of the year, this last one seems to take shape now, thanks to the support of the "sympathetic powers" that Mladen Lorković now claims to have.
He therefore looks to the future with optimism - but he is not a military man. And his accomplice Ante Vokić wishes he were as carefree, as he sees a crowd of soldiers in new gray uniforms, accompanied by tanks, roam the Croatian capital. Vitez was already only somewhat unsure of his Hrvatsko domobranstvo's performance in a confrontation - not to mention his loyalty. The current circumstances do not help, unfortunately. Finally, Vokić therefore calls - with arguments that are all the more striking for their accuracy - for caution. It is better to be certain of the decisive blow before acting. One only has to look at the Reich to see where the path of traitors who miss is leading...
August Košutić of the Croatian Peasant Party is even more categorical - for him, the coup has a chance of success only if violence between Croats is avoided. Otherwise, it will be a civil war - well, one more - with the Germans in the middle. The conspiracy would be sure to lose... It must therefore redouble its precautions.
Problem: these very understandable concerns are not shared either in Washington or in Belgrade. And these capitals will not be informed of the Croats' hesitations. For them, business goes on and must go quickly... Moreover, among the participants, a guest of Vokić, the head of the Croatian police Ante Štitić, did not lose an ounce of all what was said in the evening.

No one is a prophet in his own country...
Belgrade - In the royal Yugoslav capital, while Peter II plots with his military cabinet (composed mainly of the Knežević brothers), his minister Momčilo Ninčić and, Petar Živković, other Yugoslav military men are gnawing at their brakes, waiting for spring. And there are many in the royal army who now have doubts about their sovereign's policy, but do not dare to say it too loudly for the moment.
Among these dissatisfied, there are even high-ranking officers. Three of them met in a requisitioned building to exchange their views.
First, General Borivoje Mirković, the head of the FARY, who saw his forces exhausted by Perun without his government being overly concerned - moreover, he only just managed to prevent his meager resources from being wasted in the formation of a completely useless heavy bombing group. General Dušan Simović, a former Prime Minister, who has been abandoned after years of loyal service and has been without assignment since last October - he is legitimately bitter about this. General Bogoljub Ilić, who commanded the former 2nd Army of Sarajevo, which was defeated in a heroic and unequal battle, then served as Minister of War during exile - he is now completely forgotten. These men - career soldiers attached to the Kingdom but also to the return of the status-quo - are unhappy with the growing influence of the "Young Chetniks" who are now the only ones to have the ear of the sovereign. Not that they really have anything against the men of the deceased Mihailovic: they are all fierce Serbian nationalists. But they would like very much that their personal merits in the coming Victory are not forgotten and that their names are not erased by the ambition of a clique of intriguers and politicians of that obsequious fool Miodrag Lozić.
This trio of generals no longer far from retirement is not without support - far from it. Colonel Žarko Popović, head of Military Intelligence, for example, is very close to their cause.
And he is also very close to the Allies, as he has excellent relations with SOE and the Second Bureau. Today, the colonel comes to visit his friends - and he proposes to them to expose their point of view to the British. A proposal that will of course be very welcomed...

A slow start
Tirana - After the weapons, the toga: Isidor Cankar leaves Ivan Šubašić's office with the heavy task of officially representing his young institution (one cannot speak of a government...) to foreign countries and Belgrade. A kind of mini-minister of Foreign Affairs... It is up to him to mobilize all energies, wherever they may be, and to explain that the step taken by Šubašić's "para-governmental" team is only temporary and that it is destined to dissolve at the end of the conflict. He will therefore say so to Belgrade - but first, why not take a trip to the cave of Marshal Tito, as soon as the situation allows?
Cankar in foreign affairs, Ristic in military affairs, Kosanović in the interior...Šubašić's team is definitely starting to grow. The most important thing remains: national reconciliation. For this, the Croat sees only one valid interlocutor: the Slovenian Drago Marušič, whose arrival he has been calling for for some time now. The SOE has finally agreed to let him go, after a succession of strong French protests - the man should therefore arrive shortly. A top-level jurist, former member of the Supreme Legislative Council, and a Resistance fighter to boot, he will be very useful in ensuring the legality of the whole edifice and bring some order to it.
With these thoughts, the cunning Šubašić calls Emanuel Cuckov again to get news from Skopje. They are excellent (from his point of view): the royal authority is only nominal and the French 2nd Army still assumes its regal prerogatives. Why not consider a transfer there? At least we would be on Yugoslavian territory.

Stalin's appetite
Moscow - In January, the question had been discussed at the Bermuda Conference, but quickly rejected by the British. Then, in February, the British, through the Prime Minister himself, had sounded out Marshal Stalin on the possibility of the USSR to enter the war against Japan alongside its allies, once Germany had been defeated. Of course, Stalin did not make a clear commitment - what could be more surprising, in a meeting that was supposed to be secret between two of the four main Allied leaders. But the Soviets did not hesitate to leak information about the meeting, while remaining vague about its content, to the American and French embassies in the Russian capital.
But on the American side, we like to have something concrete. That is why, on a mission from Roosevelt, Ambassador Harriman was asked to meet with Stalin to learn more about his political demands concerning Soviet participation in the war against Japan. The Vojd's answer was very clear, as if it had been prepared for a long time:
- Return of the Kuril Islands and South Sakhalin to the Soviet Union;
- Leases on the ports of Lushun (the former Port Arthur) and Dalian;
- Leases on the railroads of Western China and southern Manchuria;
- Maintenance of the status quo in Outer Mongolia.
"In short, a return to the privileges and possessions of the Russia of the Tsars!" says Harriman himself.
The political aspects seeming thus clarified, the ambassador passes to the military field and asked the Red Army marshal if he had any special requests to help him attack Japan. There too, the thing seems to have been duly thought out: Stalin asked for ships to reinforce his Pacific fleet - not big ships, but escort ships... and landing craft! The American, who has only the role of a messenger in this affair, can only answer that he would refer the matter to the appropriate person in Washington.
On leaving the office of the head of the USSR, Harriman had - as he had often had since he had been in Moscow - the very unpleasant impression that, when it comes to getting something from its allies, the Soviet Union remembers that it is part of the United Nations, but the rest of the time, the exchanges between allied and Soviet militaries are at a standstill, or like it. Although President Roosevelt seemed to be particularly fond of the Little Father of the Peoples, Harriman figured he would slip something about it into the report that he will transmit, as it should be, to the White House and the Secretary of State.

 

[Wings]

April 10th, 1944

Runaway
Martin (Slovakia) - Another disastrous initiative of the KSS: after the liberation of Ružomberok the day before, the 1st partisan brigade did it again. Mobilizing with it a strong detachment of railway workers and... the local Slovak garrison, it entered the city and seized several official buildings before abundantly spraying with mortar and automatic weapons the German cantonments, where a unit of the SS-Galizien was resting.
This one counts several tens of dead and wounded (of which spouses and children of the Ukrainian SS!) before the vigorous reaction of the troops of SS-Sturmbannführer Otto comes to dampen the enthusiasm of the locals.
The Partisans disperse into the mountains, accompanied by their new friends. The city remains under Axis control. Nevertheless, the episode is still very unpleasant - especially since Martin is not much further from Banská Bystrica than Ružomberok, and the Slovakian forces that were supposed to be the Reich's allies still haven't moved a finger. New concerns were raised to the Nazi hierarchy... which replies that it has already made arrangements.

Brastislava - In the evening, the minister Alexander Mach - completely discredited by his pantalonnade of the previous day and a member of a government in complete perdition (the Minister of Defense Ferdinand Čatloš is nowhere to be found - he would have joined the rebellion!) announces on the radio that, for security reasons and in accordance with the clauses of the Schutzvertrag treaty (signed March 23rd, 1939), the Slovak government requested the assistance of the Wehrmacht through Ambassador Hans Elard Ludin (who had not waited for this request to call on Berlin for help!). The troops of the Reich would soon enter the country to "restore order and punish the traitors". At the same time, Mach also offered his resignation from the Hlinka Guard, which is now under German command - it must also be said that it is probably the last Slovak unit that is more or less reliable, or at least that answers the phone.

Banská Bystrica - On the side of the Slovak army, now almost openly in rebellion, Lieutenant-Colonel Ján Golian and his staff agree to put their troops on alert, in anticipation of the inevitable repression to come. This should not start right away - that's a relief. Indeed, the panzers have already passed, and they are heading south. So Slovakia is not a priority for them in their eyes. Moreover, Golian thinks (with sagacity!) that the Germans will try to exploit the extreme religiosity of the Slovaks by attacking on a Sunday. But Sunday was yesterday. This brings us back to the 16th... a priori, hoping that by then events don't rush even more.
The lieutenant colonel gives two orders to his troops. First, "Začnite s vysťahovaním" - Start coming out, the code word that is supposed to start the insurgency and the clashes open (well, even more than they already are...) against the Heer. And most importantly, "Nenechať sa odzbrojiť" - do not let yourself be disarmed. For, apart from all patriotism and good-natured optimism, Ján Golian is not as sure of his troops as he would like... And above all, he fears the defection of some of them at the last moment, if the Germans decided not react "violently enough" to set the ranks, and more generally the population, afire. A cynical approach, it is true - but the survival of Slovakia is at this price.
In the end, all that remains is to wait for the Red Army... But where are the talks with the Soviets, for God's sake?

Daisy of Steel
Budapest - In his hideout provided by the Arrow Cross, SS-Obersturmbannführer Otto Skorzeny receives an encrypted message from Berlin, which can be summarized as follows: "Margareth launched within 48 hours. Confirm preparations completed." The SS is not exactly happy with this news as his men had only arrived in the Hungarian capital the day before, and the information provided by Ferenc Szálasi's men or other sympathizers had been patchy at best, when they were not downright false!
There is definitely not enough time to prepare this operation properly. Skorzeny knows it well. But he also knows that his SS are the best soldiers of the Reich, able to get out of the worst situations. When he went to pick up Mussolini in his hotel, did he have the luxury of thinking for a week? No, of course not! Besides, he said to himself, it is these "Hungarian idiots", not the Reds, not the Allies, and not even "those treacherous Italians". So it will be all right, the master race will naturally win. So - yes, of course, the SS confirms: everything is ready to welcome Margareth!

 

[Wings]

April 10th, 1944

Burma and Malaya Campaign
Operation Black Prince
Southeastern province of Burma - The British take the airfield of Kampong Ulu, completely devastated, and reach Kawthaung, in the extreme south of Burma, where the 9th Division had embarked in December towards Malaya. The commander of the 1/15th Punjab Rgt, who had been in the humanities, picks up a handful of sand on the beach and sends it by messenger to General Wynford-Rees. To the bearer, he gives only this instruction: "When you hand him this sand, you will tell him that the whole of Burma has been reconquered. And if he asks you: All of it? You will answer: all of it!"

Sino-Japanese War
Operation Bailu
Canton - The last nests of Japanese resistance in the north of the old city finally fall after three days of fierce fighting. Having burned their last cartridges, the soldiers of the remaining 130th Division launch desperate charges or commit suicide in their bunkers. However, the Japanese still hold the new town.

 

[Wings]

April 10th, 1944

Bait for the Kriegsmarine
Festung Memel, 04:00 - Alexey Kurkin's 1st Army begins to bludgeon the Festung with the 85 mm howitzer and the 122 mm field gun. The shells rain down on the lines of the 18. Luftwaffen-Feld-Division (Wolfgang Erdmann) as well as on those of the Marine Abteilung Lesewitz (KK Louis Lesewitz) - which had only some 76 mm (of catch!) to retaliate. The bombardment lasts almost all day.
The defenders hide in their trenches, the losses accumulate... Is this the sign of a next attack? No one can say, but it would be good if this kind of exercise was not repeated too often. Erdmann's manpower is not unlimited, nor are his stocks!
As for Memel, an old city of the XIIIth century built in wood on an orthogonal plan unique in the Baltic States, it is gradually disappearing in dust and smoke, beginning to resemble the Teutonic castle - which has long since fallen into ruin. Seen from the Wilhelm Fortress at the end of the Curonian Spit, the sight is terrifying.

Discontent at the top
Berghof (Berchtesgaden) - When the Führer learns, on the one hand, that the 237. VGD's sending to Memel is likely to be delayed for a petty question of naval manpower, and that the supply convoys for Memel are composed of ordinary cargo ships not exceeding 12 knots, he gets very angry. Not the greatest anger, no, but enough anger to speed up the preparation of the dispatch of the troops and to allocate to the supply convoys of the fast transports, the supply ships (of fast boats or submarines) of the Kriegsmarine.

Impatience
A lost village in Ukraine - At the end of his patience with the lack of reaction from Berlin - he ignores the ambiguous situation in which Bandera is at the same time - Andriy Melnyk contacts the German ally to obtain specialists, weapons and ammunition. The RSHA replies, without going through the Ukrainians in Berlin, that all this would come. The formation in Poland of a group specifically intended to support the UNO is already underway. And in the meantime, the Nazi service asks Melnyk about his desire to participate in a possible joint declaration with the Reich, prior to the creation of a political committee backed by the Axis, and then a call for an uprising.
Understandably, this was not exactly the answer that the head of the UNO expected... And he does not forget what happened to Bandera two years ago, when the latter wanted to declare the independence of Ukraine, on lands then under German control! What sense could have this step, now that the USSR holds again almost all Ukraine? If not to divert the attention of the Reds and to gain time... to the Germans? Unless, of course, the Nazis have lost all contact with reality! Also, Melnyk decides, against all odds, to take his time to answer...

 

[Wings]

April 10th, 1944

Unstable burst of lightning
Balkans - New strike on the territory of the Balkans Air Force. In the morning, everyone is looking for the sun, which is again masked by a low-pressure system coming from the Adriatic. The next few days look very unstable - the Meteorological Service is at pains to predict, for the time being, the next long-lasting period of good weather.
Doing against all odds and leaving the SS alone for the time being, the Allied aircraft are once again pushed back towards Hungary, to the great misfortune of the Horthy regime. The 31st EB (P) Sobiewski, escorted by its compatriots of the 10th EC (P) Poniatowski, climbs very high towards the former Slovakian border, to attack the Mária Valéria bridge, in Estergom. For such a distant target, the B-25s will have to make a stopover in Belgrade on the way back - especially since they will largely bypass Budapest from the east, hoping to avoid an interception of the "Pumas".
The Poles will not have a chance. If the bridge with metallic arches does not resist to their bombs (at the cost of a lost twin-engine plane), the Hungarian 109s intercept them on their way back, probably to make them understand that their intrusions are not welcome. Three NA-89s and two B-25s are shot down, in exchange for four Bf 109s (one pilot killed, one seriously wounded). The men of the Poniatowski do not yet benefit from the new NA-102s, alas - but that will come soon.
Meanwhile, sneaking further north, the A-30 Baltimore of the 83rd EB (Y) Vardar fly their first war mission, to bomb the Ersekujvár (today Nové Zámky), covered by the P-38s of the I/82. The target is defended by a strong Flak provided by the Ostfront, which shoots down one attacker and seriously damages another one, but the traffic will be very disrupted for a week. The Yugoslavs withdraw without further incident.
During the day, the weather deteriorates more and more over Yugoslavia. The Beaufighters coming from Italy are forced to shorten their sweep of the Danube and the Sava, but not without having reported "unusual activity" towards Gradiška. They are the monitors of Pavelic's river fleet, but the British could not imagine that the Croats still had this type of ship and were foolish enough to risk them in this way...
During the night, taking advantage of a clear sky over Slovenia, the Halifaxes of Sqn 148 and 149 and the Wellingtons of Sqn 104 put a dose of explosives on the Ljubljana train station, partly repaired since the previous raid - to the great despair of Edvard Kardelj, who was not asked for his opinion in view of recent events. The Allied air force saved his marshal, even if he will never admit it... so it allows itself some privacies.
The center of the Slovenian capital is thus ravaged, once again, by the explosions, which reduce to rubble the provisional repairs carried out by the German engineers. Thank God, there were hardly any civilians left in this area - on the other hand, about thirty deportees "put at work" by Zagreb for the earthworks are victims of the night strikes; others were killed in the following days while trying to defuse undetonated explosives... For their part, the British withdraw without much difficulty, having lost only one Wellington.

Magyar felines
Veszprém, Hungary - Colonel Heppes Aladár has reason to be satisfied: he is finally launching the formation of his 103rd National Defense Wing, intended for ground support and temporarily based in Debrecen for reasons of present training as well as future efficiency (we are halfway between the Carpathians and Vojvodina). This new formation is organized as follows:
* 103 vadászrepülő-ezred József (Major Lévay Győző)
- 103/1 század Tigris (Lieutenant László Máthé) - 12 Me 210-Ca,
- 103/2 század Sas (captain László Pottyondy) - 12 Me 210-Ca,
- 103/3 század Villám (captain István Békássy) - 12 Bf 110 F6.
.........
Of course, everything is not perfect yet and these "Pumas" of a new kind will not be operational for a good month. The ground support squadrons have been severely bled against the Reds, it will take a long time to reconstitute a core of experts who will promote emulation... By the way, curiously, the ministry did not wish to send the airmen to training in Germany, as Berlin proposed. Anyway, it does not matter. What matters is that the 103rd is ready to be engaged during the offensive next spring, concludes the colonel with a smile. But his smile fades when he thought that it would be an enemy offensive, of course...

Black Legion versus Partisans
Northern Croatia - Požega region - The Black Legion finally enters Požega, under a driving rain that reduces visibility to nothing. Boban's men are eager to find a warm and dry shelter, preferably with something to eat and a few unshy women (or shy, for that matter, they don't care). Disappointment: the place looks like a ghost town. We can't see a living soul, except for a few crows coming from the nearby forests, and the clouds hide until the mount Maljen. The squads of recognition hurry the step under the rain...
When suddenly, one of the scouts falls, hit in the head. A brief gunfight breaks out and the suburbs are taken by force - but the Black Legion is once again frustrated of being denied a real confrontation. The Partisans quickly retreat, taking their wounded with them. They are probably still nearby, a few buildings away, lying in wait...
Rafael Boban did not come to lose men chasing ghosts. There's no point in running, especially in the rain and for an unimportant city. So he orders his troops to advance with caution. Night falls on a still disputed city.
.........
Nova Gradiška - The 1st Rgt. of the 6th Croatian ID under colonel Ivan Sarnbek is very lonely, now. Its partners are more than 20 kilometers away on foot and this novice formation does not need such a distance to lack cohesion. Keeping the roads open is about all they can do at the moment. So we have to hope for the Ustashi that no one has the idea to go looking for them where they are...

The Axis is preparing (but for what?)
Bečej (Vojvodina), HQ of the 12. Armee - Alexander Löhr finally tells Guztáv Vitéz Jány, his counterpart in the 2nd Hungarian Army - which theoretically operates with its 12. Armee - that an Allied offensive towards Budapest is "imminent", according to the Berlin services.
Consequently, the German general "asks" (a polite way of ordering) his Magyar neighbor to put his formations on alert for a future joint defense action - that is, in practice, to obey the crowd of "liaison" officers who swarm the units of the Honvèd - and above all not to do anything without informing him first. "This is the condition for the good conduct of the front!" concludes the Austrian with a friendly smile.
Distrustful, but without clear instructions from Budapest, Jány is reduced to letting this go...even if the first people he intends to visit when leaving Löhr are the major-generals József Heszlényi and István Kiss, heads of the 4th and 7th Corps. Then will come the turn of Ferenc Osztovics, of the 2nd Armored Division. Officially, the Hungarian general does nothing more than to prepare his troops. But he will still discuss the situation with his subordinates.

The Partisans recover
Pljevlja (north of Montenegro) - The 2nd "shock" Corps settles down not far from the Greek 2nd Corps, behind the covering troops deployed by the AVNOJ, thus unexpectedly taking over from the 1st "proletarian" Corps and the 3rd "Bosnian" Corps, which were still there less than three weeks earlier. Peko Dapcevic's forces, weakened by the fighting and by their retreat from Nikšić, are obviously not in the best of shape. But opposite, there is nothing, except for the demotivated Croats of the 1st Corps. Demotivated to the point that their ranks seem to be thinning day by day...

 

[Wings]

April 10th, 1944

Beginner's luck
Adriatic Sea - Returning from a heavy bomber escort mission over Austria, 1st Lieutenant Pierson, of the 332nd FG, on a P-51, sees through a hole in the clouds a wake off Venice. Warning his leader, he dives in with the enthusiasm of youth to strafe what could only be a German or Italian ship. In a semi-dive at more than 500 knots, he opens fire with his six .5 inch guns and is surprised to see a gigantic explosion devastate its target. The victim is the corvette UjI-1 (ex-Colubrina), believed to have been destroyed by the explosion of one of the ASW grenades stored on its deck. Pierson did not win any subsequent air victories, but will go down in the annals of his squadron, with the film of his machine gun bearing witness to his feat.

 

[Wings]

April 10th, 1944

In the high mountains
Alps - The Germans retreat to their previous positions on the heights. The former Austrian reservists suffered painful losses, for a largely political reason. The division's orders are now to maintain a firm defensive posture. It is a question, as long as the border is not reached, of preserving German blood.

 

[Wings]

April 11th, 1944

A Canadian Resistance fighter
Occupied France - Mantes-Gassicourt and Douai for the 2nd TAF, Béthune, Busigny, Serqueux and Mohon for the Americans. Bis repetita placet, the Sequanese and the Ardennais continue to live the terror of the bombardments, but this time accentuated by the dive attacks of the single-engine planes, which accentuate the fear of the bombs by the characteristic whistle of the planes in overspeed which approach the ground to drop their eggs.
Panic starts to set in in the Ardennes, most of the shopkeepers of Mézières and Mohon closed their stores to leave for the countryside, depriving the inhabitants of their usual supplies.
Two Allied losses are recorded: near Mohon, in Charleville, a Thunderbolt of the 36th FG, 303rd FW was shot down by... a bomb dropped from another plane ! The P-47 exploded, leaving no chance for its pilot. At the same time, the raid on Douai went wrong for Canadian Wing Commander Robert T.P. Davidson, DFC, of Squadron 438 RCAF, 143 Wing. His Typhoon Mk Ib F3-N s/n MM957 was hit by flak around Béthune, and he evacuated his plane near Canlers, north-east of Hesdin. The officer managed to join the Resistance - he joined the Fillerin network and participated in its actions until the arrival of the Allies.

 

[Wings]

April 11th, 1944

Spirit of adaptation
Air Ministry (MoD, Whitehall, London), 10:00 - Lieutenant Colonel Bogdan Kwieciński, Air Attaché at the Polish Embassy in London, arrives at the RAF HQ, alone and without really having been announced, but in order (according to him!) to define the "continuation of the collaboration between the Polish and British air forces, in the new organizational context that we know. It seems that now that Minister Sosnkowski is gone, Kwieciński is the highest "non-operational" officer in the Siły Powietrzne Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej able to make decisions! This shows the collapse of the government formerly based in London, as well as the fact that it no longer exercises any control over its forces.....
Received with some embarrassment by Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory himself (who does not forget, nevertheless, that the Poles in exile form the fifth allied air force!), fortunately, the lieutenant-colonel did not come for any other reason than to maintain the activity of the Polish Squadrons in their current format. Bogdan Kwieciński is a historical figure of his country's aviation in England: attached to London since 1937, the square and austere face behind his glasses, he was responsible for the formation of all Polish squadrons in the RAF - so it is logical that he would want to safeguard his children. Moreover, as long as the airmen are enrolled with the British, it is impossible for the Reds to demand their return. Perhaps Mallory feared that they would come to him and demand the immediate disbanding and repatriation of these forces - in reality, they are not far from asking for political asylum!
An hour later, everything was arranged. The Polish leader squadrons retain all hierarchical power over their men. Their formations would receive instructions and supplies through the usual allied way. As for the instructions, they will be directly transmitted to Bogdan Kwieciński, who will set up a special staff at RAF Weston-super-Mare, without British officers in charge, but in good understanding with them. A nice gain, in the light of 1940, when London demanded the individual recruitment of exiles and Sir Hugh Dowding expressed "slight doubts" about the value of his guests. The PRCS (in England) becomes a de facto autonomous force.
.........
Air Force Headquarters, Algiers, 17:00 - As Kwieciński announces to his hierarchy the success of his mission, a similar step was taken by the Polish Air Attaché in France, Lieutenant-Colonel Piniński, to the command of the Armée de l'Air. Not surprisingly, he obtained the same result for the 10th EC Poniatowski, the 31st EB Sobiewski and the two Polish groups of the 22nd E-ACCS Tatras.
The relations between the Armée de l'Air and the Polish Air Force had started badly during this war. Certainly, before the war, the efforts of the French military mission in Poland (in place since 1919, with the squadrons of General Haller) had contributed to the essential equipment of the young SWP*. But the honeymoon was over since 1936 and the Rambouillet agreement, a mediocre product of the combination of two policies - on the one hand a real illusion of grandeur, on the other an attempt to monetize a strict alignment. It was fashionable in the ranks of the SWP to consider that the French had hoped to buy themselves a right of control over Polish internal (and external!) politics... without necessarily having the means to do so!
Above all, the oldest of the exiled airmen remember a very long series of humiliating rebuffs, from the lack of support during the rearmament efforts of the summer of 1939**, the lack of visible reaction to the invasion of 1939, and the boredom and misery of the winter of 1939-40, stuck without food or pay in unsanitary barracks, to the vexations of the terrible spring of 1940. In fact, during the First French Campaign, if several elements had the opportunity to fight brilliant battles on various equipment, others - however highly motivated! - had to face the mistrust, or even hostility from certain fussy local commands, which would never engage them, if they had any idea of what they could do with them. The example of Jan Falkowski's DAT patrol: ready for combat as early as May 1940, his men were sent to Cognac for nothing, never had the opportunity to get into a fighter plane to defend France. Instead, they were made to dig trenches along the runway, between two so-called courses in Bordeaux on D-501 (!)***, before they were directed to Toulouse, on June 13th, in order to convoy D-520s to North Africa!
Of course, a lot of water (and unfortunately blood) has flowed under the bridge since then. The Poniatowski and Sobiewski squadrons, whose first groups were engaged in Corsica at the beginning of 1941, have both written their names in glory in the pantheon of Polish aviation, alongside the tricolored aviators.
But at present, these two squadrons and the G-CCS I and II/22 are engaged on a front that seems to them very far from their Poland. And the consequence is inevitable: in spite of the praiseworthy efforts of General Weiss (who tries to satisfy everyone's wishes as best he can) the requests for transfer to England, in the face of the bulk of the Luftwaffe, followed one another - the morale of the 10th EC, 31st EB and 22nd E-ACCS were affected. In addition, the Warsaw affair, then the ban on flying to the country obviously did not help! That is to say if, the French had no choice but to comply with Lieutenant-Colonel Piniński's request. Trying to prevent the SPRP from becoming autonomous, as it had just done in the RAF would have been to expose oneself to a real hemorrhage of personnel, or even to a kind of strike.
Fortunately, everyone was as pragmatic as they were understanding.
It was also agreed with the EMGAA that the new Osóbka-Morawski government would retain its authority over the entire Polish Air Force. This was done so as not to offend anyone - because it is a nominal authority, of course****...

Promising start
Tirana - Definitely tired of the argumentation and other Yugoslavian complications, the services of the 8th Army validate the attribution to General Borisav Ristic (from Ivan Šubašić's team) of the role of responsible for the distribution of supplies to "non-regular" Yugoslav troops. In the minds of the British, this was an unimportant detail, which will add a pressure on the government of Peter II. But for the "delegate general for the administration of the liberated Yugoslav territories", it is a kind of endorsement and an additional (small) lever to force Belgrade to collaborate with him.
We know the affection that Peter Karađorđević has for his free corps, and even Washington cannot do everything for them, especially from the other side of the Atlantic...

God will recognize his own
United States - Archbishop Alojzije Stepinac, who has the support of some of the Vatican's diplomatic services - as well as, unofficially, those of Belgrade and Washington - launches a carefully orchestrated communication campaign in the press and intended to begin the rehabilitation of the NDH, if not of Pavelic.
Indeed, the Ustasha still have many relays in the Catholic hierarchy, despite the efforts of Giovanni Montini. From the monastery of San Girolamo degli Illirici, located in Via Tomacelli in Rome, Krunoslav Stjepan Draganović, the former chaplain of the Jansenovac camp and the architect of the spoliation of the Bosnian Serbs, acts to spread his venom and his fable of a sacred Serbo-Croat union against the Germans and communists.
The Croats have no scruples: the bigger it is, the more it passes. This is how collaborators like Radoslav Rade Radic are portrayed in the newspapers as valiant mountain warriors, fighting shoulder to shoulder with the other Southern Slavs to protect the population from fascist-communist violence. What is not shown is that Radic was at that time - everyone pretended not to know - one of the Serbian Volunteer Corps leaders, integrated into the German 20. Gebirgs-Armee!
This is not the first time that the American press has been trapped in this way on subjects of which it knows nothing about. Already on May 25th, 1942, General Mihailovic had made the cover of Time, under the headline "Yugoslavia unconquered," even though he was making a pact with Italian forces.
But this time, the response was violent, coming from the Orthodox Church - at least as powerful as the Catholic Church in Uncle Sam's country. The Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR) (driven out of Russia in 1920 by the godless red wave and since then de facto Yugoslavian, although based for the moment in New York) will soon recall the real ossuary that Rome keeps in its cupboards concerning Croatia. Let us quote the blessing by Pius XII of 206 Ustasha in uniform on February 6th, 1942, the satisfaction of the Holy See representative Rusinović at the forced conversions, the written encouragement of Cardinal Luigi Maglione (Secretary of the Holy See) to the Croatian bishops in this regard, and Maglione's wish to abolish the term "Orthodox" and replace it with the term "apostates" or "schismatics".
The ROCOR, very jealous of its prerogatives, has certainly not always been irreproachable, either, at the beginning of the conflict. In 1938, it wrote letters of thanks to Hitler for the construction of the Berlin cathedral, while praising his "patriotism". For a time, it is true, the Reich appeared to it as a way for Christ to return to Moscow as a victor. But these were isolated initiatives - the resistance of the popes to the fascist invasion is known to all. And such thoughts are now quite ungodly - especially now that Marshal Stalin has more or less normalized his relations with Patriarch Sergius... So, to rehabilitate the NDH? One should not exaggerate. The discreet interventions of Belgrade will do nothing, and the war of images will continue for a long time through the media.

Every cause has its Judases
Zagreb (Independent State of Croatia) - The head of the Ustasha police, Ante Štitić, feels the urgent need to travel to Montenegro to meet with Ivo Herenčić, head of the Kroatian Legion Armee Korps. Apparently, Štitić would have some interesting information to give him.
Meanwhile, with some carelessness, Mladen Lorković undertakes to visit, alongside Vitez Vokić, the National Guard units to judge their reliability. In front of an audience of selected officers, Lorković goes so far as to declare that it is to be expected that there will soon be "a great event". No doubt the conspirators imagine that they are sure of their audience - and support. But this adventurous word will nevertheless be reported to the right person... but still without Ante Pavelic appearing to be moved by it.

Common sense
Zaovina (Bosnian-Serbian region controlled by AVNOJ) - Informed by the AVNOJ of the Ustasha tractations, Colonel Fitzroy McLean urgently sends a report to London where he explicitly warns the Westerners about the seriousness of the conspirators. He writes: "The Croatian Peasant Party, in its present state of disintegration and discredited, has no realistic perspective and no means of influencing the political situation in Croatia. Marshal Tito's forces have made it clear to me that any support for these repentants of the twenty-fifth hour would be an inadmissible interference in Yugoslavian internal affairs, which would have the most serious consequences for the future."
Message well received in Anthony Eden's offices, who will pass on the information to Churchill. For the Bulldog, who broke contact with Zagreb some time ago, this warning is most irritating: who amuses himself to upset his plans by scheming with the Ustasha, and in such a clumsy way?

(Unexpected) friends who wish you well
Bangkok - It is very discreetly that Subhas Chandra Bose is received at the Royal Palace, accompanied by one of his most faithful advisors, Debnath Das - and always followed by Major Takahashi. Of course, the Indian independence fighter did not expect to be welcomed with much fanfare, given the political context, but he was hoping for at least a large audience during his meeting. By dint of repeating that Thailand is and has always been neutral in the current conflict, perhaps even in high places, people have come to believe it...
In recent days, Bose has been meeting with members of the Indian diaspora, as well as with the most senior officers among the nine hundred INA soldiers "staying" in Thailand.
Sending all these people to Malaysia to resume the struggle seems unthinkable in view of the Thai government's new arrangements. Except to favor individual initiatives... But the morale is very low among the Indian soldiers, and Bose can only understand it. How could they believe that the road to Delhi was still open? The Japanese have been driven out of Burma and Indochina (The Hanoi-Haiphong pocket is anecdotal in the eyes of the Indian independentist). "All roads lead to Delhi as to Rome", Bose tells his audience, which does not show much enthusiasm. That is why Bose asks Raghavan, a finance specialist, how, with the help of the local Indian diaspora, how to make life easier on the ground or pay for the return to Japanese-controlled territory of as many INA volunteers as possible. Bose senses that London, Marseille and Washington would soon put pressure on Bangkok to intern its soldiers! It is therefore necessary to act beforehand. Borrowing from Thailand to finance his enterprise seems hardly feasible, but nothing is worth trying...
And it doesn't get any better, thinks the Indian as he enters the palace. Canton fell the day before, the British reached the Thai border at Aye Chan Thar Ya thanks to the... Calcutta Light Horse! And he has no news for weeks from his Secretary of State for the Army, A.N. Sahay, and his Minister of Finance, A.C. Chatterjee, whom he had sent earlier in the year to Hanoi and Saigon, respectively, to ask for the financial support of the Indian communities in Indochina. Enraging... and asking questions.
.........
But as he leaves the palace, Bose is somewhat refreshed. First of all, Prince Wan Waithayakon honored him with tea, while Major Takahashi was firmly invited to some ceremony organized by the Thai army. Afterwards, the prince, the president of the Thai Supreme Court and the president of the Thai-Bharat cultural lodge sent him a most friendly proposal. The high priest of the temple of Wat Mahathat, touched by the courage of Subhas Chandra Bose and in agreement with Mahoyang, the priest of the Thai royal family, decided to offer hospitality to the Indian independence leader in a Buddhist monastery in Thailand when the war was about to end and until the dust of the painful events in progress - which Thailand has had the great courage to stay away from - has settled down, so that he can resume his just struggle under better conditions. Bose, very touched, promises to keep in touch with these Thais who wish him well...
.........
A few days later, Bose leaves for Singapore with the most senior INA officers among those who had taken refuge in Thailand. Not as many men as he would have liked, but he was made to understand that Thailand had to remain - as it has always been in recent years, of course - above the fray, and not to show any preference in the ongoing conflict.

* The company initially had 171 aircraft, to which must be added 1,163 aircraft acquired from France until 1928, while another 2,219 aircraft were produced under license until 1930. The position of head of the department of air navigation (CEM de facto of the Polish military aviation) was even to be assured from January 1923 to June 1924 by a Frenchman, General François-Léon Lévêque, at the express request of Warsaw! The time necessary to launch the policy of expansion of the weapon...
** In fact, the only contribution of the AdA at that time was the loan of an Amiot 143 for test flights and propaganda. Obviously, the returns were mixed, especially as the event was postponed several times for reasons of availability. In fact, the arrangements concluded between staffs were conditioned to the terms of a global political agreement, which was planned to be initialed on September 4th, 1939... Poland planned to buy MS-406s and then D-520s - some of which were paid for, but were never delivered, alas.
*** It seems that the commands of Cognac and Bordeaux, not warned of the arrival of the Poles coming from Lyon and not having any material to assign to them, passed the buck for two weeks, especially since they had (as did some of their English counterparts) perfectly reasonable doubts about the competence of their guests.
**** Bogdan Kwieciński never returned to Poland - unable to return to Warsaw for lack of a visa (sic!), he will finally settle in Canada, to work at FAI and ICAO as a technical advisor. He died in 1981 in Montreal.

 

[Wings]

April 11th, 1944

Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Jäger!
Vienna-Schwechat - Flight presentation of the He 162V1 in front of a whole audience of Luftwaffe and Nazi officials - with Göring in the front row. There is also Galland, as Inspector General of the Fighter, and Mölders, just to show a great ace of 1940 how far the air industry of the Reich had progressed.
A first flight had taken place four days earlier, followed by several others, always in the hands of Flugkapitän Gotthold Peter, and all had (apparently) gone well. But not this time.
Peter starts a slight dive at about 10°. At about 100 m altitude (probably in order to impress the assistants more), he reaches 700 km/h (according to the calculations made according to the rate of the recorded film). At a moment, the plane embarks violently on the left, then makes a fast roll to the right. Pieces break off. The film shows first that the right leading edge is detached, hits the right vertical stabilizer and tears it off, while the right aileron is only held together by the inner hinge, then the aircraft rolls uncontrollably before hitting the ground, killing its pilot.
On the ground, if everyone is surprised, the pilots present are pale. Of rage. A rage that cannot be contained, even in front of a ReichsMarschall. Fortunately, the ReichsFührer-SS is absent...
[Mölders] - And you want to fly us in there? That's out of the question!
[Galland] - I did say that the design was too quick. This is the result...
[Göring] - The dive was too steep, it will have taken too much speed...
[Galland] - Are you kidding, Herr Reichsmarschall? In combat, we dive ten times more than that!
[Mölders] - Even with a D-VII, you dove much more than that!
[Göring] - Then it must be a lack of focus...
[Galland] - That's what I say! It takes time to design and develop a fast airplane, it takes more than four months and something other than wood!
[Göring] - But, Galland, we know how to work at Heinkel! This is not their first fighter...
[Galland] - I remind you, Herr Reichsmarschall, that their last fighter was rejected in favor of the Bf 109!
[Göring] - That's enough, Galland. We'll wait for the results of the investigation to determine what happened!
[Mölders] - In any case, Herr Reichsmarschall, I refuse to lead a group of these planes! Give me something else to fight with, but not that. I'm willing to die in combat, even ramming an American bomber, but not in a plane that disintegrates by itself!
[Göring, jumping at the chance] - You are right, Mölders. Here, while waiting for the development of this plane is completed, I propose that you take charge of an experimental unit for the air defense of the Reich. You would be responsible for the operational development of the last models of FW 190 Dora and especially the first Ta 152H of pre-production, that Herr Tank promises us very soon.
[Mölders] - Why not, Herr Reichsmarschall? Anything, rather than this lousy contraption...