Fantasque Time Line (France Fights On) - English Translation

[Wings]

April 13th, 1941

Alger-Maison Blanche, 06:30 - The sky is still slightly overcast when the MB-174 of Hochedé and Chery line up at the end of the runway. The plane is at its maximum weight (7 tons) with more than 2,200 liters of fuel, thanks to the installation of an additional tank in the bomb bay, a very rarely used device. With this, it can travel well over 2 000 km at good speed, quite enough for the envisaged mission. The flight plan envisages a first phase at 3,000 m to the Catalan coast south of Barcelona after a detour to avoid the Balearic Islands, then a progressive rise to 5 000 m (the oxygen reserve is insufficient for such a long flight entirely at this altitude), followed by an arrival on Perpignan by the west after having bypassed the Canigou. The return flight will be done first "simulating a course to Marseille" before diving towards Algiers once out of sight of thecoast. Thus, a possible German observer would take their plane for a Luftwaffe flight...
The Spanish coast is crossed at 08:30, and at 09:00, the airfield of Perpignan - La Llabanère arrives under the cameras, in optimal light conditions. Thanks to a good mistral wind,
the Bloch lands at Maison-Blanche at 11:30 a.m., without having attracted the attention of anyone in Europe.
Developed without delay, the photographs show that the work is well advanced. At the edges of the runway, two three-engine aircraft - Ju 52s - and three single-engine aircraft, but it is impossible to know if they are fighter planes or training planes... In any case, one thing is certain, the Luftwaffe is up to something.
Hochedé and Chery carried out with perfection the ultimate mission of an MB-174 over France.

 

[Wings]

April 14th, 1941

"Flugplatz" Deir Hassem, 01:25 - Takeoff from the Alte Karl of Udet in the light of the headlights of the vehicles of catch. The Generalluftzeugmeister prefers to fly over Turkey in the depths of the night and arrive at Constantza in the day.
Deir ez-Zor, Syria, 04:15 - General de Larminat attends the boarding of the first R-35 on the commercial ferry, the loading of a tank carrier on the first door of the Engineers and the loading a 105 mm and its Unic P-107 tractor on the second. Without saying a word, teeth clenched on his pipe, he keeps checking his watch. He approves with his eyes the installation of four double Hotchkiss 8 mm flak mounts. He will only smile at 06:30, when he sees his Lebanese driver, Gabriel Daher, bringing him a thermos of coffee.
11:50 - The last P-107, pulling a box, arrives on the left bank of the Euphrates where it joins the whole DML. Its driver and the servants he is carrying will have some time for lunch, since their battery was under the organic elements of the division, who leave in third echelon.
12:00 - The 3rd CPLE starts in the lead of the reconnaissance group. The legionnaires take the Rachidieh track, which turns first to the south, where the division should arrive in the evening to bivouac. In the rear, the pontoon boatmen hurries to recover the decking and the engines.
12:40 - The whole DML is on its way. The temperature would be over 37°C in the shade, if there was shade. Lieutenant-colonel Stehlin, who came as a liaison, decides with Larminat that his planes will go to land at the end of the day in Rachidieh and will join Ash-Shaddadah the next day.
Rasheed Air Base, 06:30 - The Fw 200 of the Trasta 789 has just deposited 850 liters of methanol in jerry cans and the last men of the light infantry company that has to guard the airfield.
Reichsluftfahrtministerium, Berlin, 09:30 - Hermann Göring is scandalized by the report sent by Udet. "His" paratroopers will not have a single fighter plane to support them! But come on - is Udet's report really negative?
After all, Udet talks about deploying a "significant" number of aircraft to a field improvised and difficult to refuel. Two dozen aircraft is not that "significant".
What if we could base them at Rasheed Air Base or Kirkuk? The aircraft of the Trasta 789 could supply them directly! Mosul, on the other hand, is considered too close to Syria. With the French, one should always be wary, the Italians can testify to that...
Göring is undoubtedly aware that it is hardly possible to supply so many planes with eight transports carrying out, at best, a rotation every two days. But he chooses to ignore this. "This adventure", according to the word of Udet, seems to him worth the waste of these aircraft and their crews, especially since he does not want to give the Italian air force the exclusivity of the honors. He orders Bäumler, in Constantza, to be ready to leave on the 17th and informs Hauptmann Stiffler, in Deir Hassem, of his decisions. With Pfiffelsdörfer and his Brandenburgers, he has to ensure the control of the Kirkuk airfield, to facilitate the arrival of ground personnel, and then of Bäumler's planes.
Jeschonnek himself orders Oberstleutnant Zapanski to reserve his seven Ju 90s for the transfer of technicians and supplies from Tirana to Rasheed Air Base from the 15th.
H4 pumping station, Jordan, 10:00 - The troops in charge of the rescue of Habbaniyah, gathered in "Habforce", leave Amman and the leading elements have been averaging a good 15 mph (about 25 km/h) since leaving the Jordanian capital, which is the regulation speed for British convoys. The journey is proceeding without any incident other than the breakdowns that affected some vehicles, not made for long journeys in the heat of the region.
Arrived at H4, the situation becomes a little more difficult. The mechanized squadron of the Trans-Jordan Frontier Force refuses to enter Iraq, convinced that its commitment is limited to Jordan; the men refuse to fight their Iraqi brothers. The unit is disarmed and sent back to the rear.
Major-General Clark decides to split "Habforce" and to form a fast column under the command of Brigadier Jock Kingstone. Preceded by the Arab Legion, "Kingcol" will comprise the 4th Cavalry Brigade, two companies of the 1st Battalion Essex Regiment, the 2nd RAF Self-Propelled Gun Company, a 25-pounder battery and a platoon of 2-pounder anti-tank. This column, 2,000 men and 500 vehicles, will have to reach Habbaniyah as soon as possible. Clark follows with the bulk of the troops, including the 20th Australian Brigade.
While his forces resume their advance towards the Iraqi border, Clark orders the Arab Legion, which had already entered enemy territory, to seize the fort of Ar Rutbah (a hundred kilometers from the border), whose spring and airstrip are an important asset for those who control them.
Baghdad, 15:00 - With the calmness that must be maintained, even in case of shipwreck, by members of the British diplomacy, Sir Kinahan Cornwallis leads the preparations for the evacuation of His Majesty's Embassy. The Hon. D'Arcy Saint-Lewis has had two braziers lit in the garden to burn the sensitive files and the eight Royal Marines of the guard squad are having a field day under the leadership of their sergeant major.
- I'm afraid Mr. Ali will have a sad ending," laments Sir Kinahan. "Pity. He could have been a fine native lawyer."
A convoy of eight cars, preceded and followed by the two Royal Marines vans will leave for Habbaniyah at 22:00 sharp. Everyone, even the two typists still on duty will be armed. We will proceed, if possible, with discretion. "But if it is necessary to shoot", Sir Kinahan says, "by Jingo we will shoot!" Word of a former champion of military shooting...
Meanwhile, Major O'Flanaghan, hidden in the back room of Senhor Oliveira de Figueira, gathers simple sticks of dynamite and Bickford cord to the mission that had failed the day before. He is not angry, calls Colonel Carbury a bloody prot and to his yaouleds, too nonchalant for his taste, he promises fire and hellfire without confession.
Ar Rutbah Fort, 17:00 - Glubb Pacha and his men make a first attempt to take the fort, still occupied by the Iraqi desert police and the irregulars of Fawzi al-Quawukji. The assault fails, despite the intervention of four Blenheim IVF from Sqn 203 coming from the Lydda base in Palestine; one of the aircraft is even shot down. At nightfall, the Arab Legion turns back to H4 to get water and ammunition.
Baghdad is quick to exploit this setback, announcing nothing less than the death of Glubb Pasha.
The London press of the following day, in its first edition, is misled and John Baggot Glubb can pride himself on being one of the lucky few to have read his own death notice.
17:00 - Led by Gabriel Daher, the Laffly of Larminat leaves. The general goes to his headquarters of tents, established in the middle of nowhere, next to a well of caravaneers, at a place nicely named Baab al-Nour - the Gate of Light.
Hotel Lutetia, Paris, 18:00 - Admiral Canaris, coming back from Madrid where he made sure to strengthen his personal ties with his Spanish counterparts, passes through Paris, where he goes down to the headquarters of the Abwehr. The Tirpitzufer - in this case Hans Oster - had forwarded him a message from Pfiffelsdörfer informing him of the new arrangements made by Göring. The features as impenetrable as usual, the admiral comments: "Ganz genauso wie in einem Puff!"*
RAF Habbaniyah, 20:00 - Across the street, Iraqi forces spend the day improving their positions around the perimeter. They have even begun to install artillery.
Nevertheless, AVM Smart, as phlegmatic as Ambassador Cornwallis, will wait for the convoy before going to bed. He already knows that Sir Kinahan - if he succeeds in joining the air base - will not want to be evacuated, nor will any of his diplomats and officials.
The fighting positions have been supplied with ammunition and water. The soldiers are resting. The sentries keep watch. In the hangars, the mechanics are polishing their old planes. Tonight, Smart thinks, the war seems to be holding its breath.

* More or less, "What a mess!".

 

[Wings]

April 14th, 1941

Villacoublay - Lieutenant-Colonel Kosh watches the last He 111 H aircraft land from Dreux and destined for the first phase of Operation Kameljagd. Fate has indeed designated "his" Kampfgeschwader 55 to provide the forces intended for this use. In reality, fate had nothing to do with it: as early as February 3rd, Sperrle, furious that he wanted to be deprived of his units for this affair, convinced Jeschonnek that it was rather up to his neighbor Kesselring to provide the appropriate means, and that the unit from which these means should be the KG-55, which had just been transferred from Sperrle's LuftFlotte to Kesselring's a few months earlier: "I am thus well placed, grimaced Sperrle, to be sure of the quality of his crews!" The corridor strategy of which the Third Reich is accustomed has worked once again...
Confronted with the problem, Kosh solves it rather elegantly. The objectives targeted in North Africa being poorly defended, they will make appropriate objectives to crown the training of the new crews, trained by the 4th Gruppe of his squadron, based in Dijon. These young men will be sent to Perpignan for their last weeks of training before joining the Gruppen 1, 2 and 3. To take into account the fact that these new crews may not yet have all the necessary skills, one or two Staffeln from the other three Gruppen will be seconded in turn to the Catalan sunshine to act as mentors. This will not weaken too much the means of the KG-55, turned towards England, and will alleviate the pressure undergone by its crews. Kameljagd is commanded by captain Wittmer. The departure for Perpignan of the planes is envisaged as soon as the local facilities are operational, notably the flak, despite the low risk of a Franco-British attack - but everything must be done in a timely manner. It is only a matter of days.

 

[Wings]

April 14th, 1941

Rome - The radio announces the departure "to the front" of 33 Fascist Party hierarchs, including ministers Ciano, Muti, Farinacci, Bottai and others. These dignitaries are indeed to leave for the Greek front, where, for a few weeks, as war missions, the post office will regularly bring them big bags of official documents to sign...

 

[Wings]

April 14th, 1941

Alger - The Armée de l'Air is reorganizing its long-range fighter force to adapt to the changing situation. The 13th Wing must concentrate all night fighters and long-range fighters. The GC I and II/13 are re-equipped with Martin Marylands modified for this task. A new CG, the III/13, is created for this Wing, with the same type of aircraft. It will be deployed in Greece and in the Dodecanese.
The Maryland is preferred for this task to the DB-73 (or 7A), because the optimum operating altitude of the Pratt & Whitney S3C4-G engines is higher than that of the Wright R-2600. In haste, 24 Martin M-167 are modified in the workshops of Oran-La Sénia. The navigator's glass cockpit is replaced by a metal nose carrying six machine guns, in addition to the four in the wings and the two defensive machine guns, in dorsal and ventral position.
A fourth GC (IV/13) completes the 13th EC. It is to be equipped by the summer of 1941 with British Bristol Beaufighter Mk IF, some of them with AI radars.

 

[Wings]

April 14th, 1941

Rome - Admiral Falangola reports to Admiral Riccardi on the activity of the Italian submarines during Merkur/Mercurio and Esigenza C2*. In fact, not all the available units participated. Some of them had to continue to harass the enemy traffic along the North African coast, from Morocco to Egypt. Others, in larger numbers, were engaged against Greece and the Allied convoys that supplied and reinforced it. There were some successes but also losses (destruction of the Anfitrite on March 6th and of the Pier Capponi on March 22nd).
As for the actions carried out as part of the operations around Corsica and Sardinia, the results are relatively meagre. Apart from the successful landing of commandos in Sardinia, the only thing that can be mentioned is the sinking of the British light cruiser Orion, by the Ambra. On the other hand, there were no casualties. Only four submarines were damaged to varying degrees by the enemy. The most seriously damaged was the Giovanni Bausan, which was kept in the front line because of the heavy losses in 1940; once restored, it will join two of its brothers of the Vettor Pisani class, the Des Geneys and the Vettor Pisani, which, together with the Fieramosca, formed the first endowment of the submariners' school.

 

[Wings]

April 15th, 1941

North: the Australian (and Belgian, and Ethiopian) offensive - From Amba Alagi to Gondar - The offensive begins in the south of the plateau. The Belgian troops and the men of Bimbashi Shepard seize Amba Giorgys. The road between this locality and Debarech (towards the Wolchefit pass) is gradually occupied by the partisans of Ras Ayalu.
.........
North: the French offensive - From Dessie to Debra Tabor - After a week of exhausting work, the sappers rehabilitate the first 160 kilometers of the road leading to Debra Tabor. General de la Ménardière, who was trying to set up a coordinated attack on the town, meets with the local partisan leaders.

 

[Wings]

April 15th, 1941

"Luftplatz" Deir Hassem - At daybreak, a telegram from Admiral Canaris informs Major Pfiffelsdörfer of his promotion to Oberstleutnant. The Admiral wants Ostmond to remain under the control of the Abwehr. In the German Reich, a major, belonging to the Luftwaffe, such as Heinrich Bäumler, would not imagine disobeying alieutenant-colonel, whoever he may be. This is even truer for parachute captains, even from the Hitlerjugend.
.........
RAF Habbaniyah - The night is marked by the arrival of the small convoy of Sir Kinahan Cornwallis and his embassy staff. Thanks to a last-minute safe-conduct, the Iraqis did not object to their passage. In fact, the greatest risk they ran was approaching the British base, whose sentries almost shot at them.
08:15 - Open hostilities begin with an Iraqi air strike! Six Ba.65 come to strafe the seaplane landing and the fuel tanks at the edge of the lake. But the Gladiators of the Habbaniyah Strike Force are watching: on patrol at dawn, they shoot down one of the attackers, while another, pierced like a skimmer, crashes while landing at Rasheed Air Base. In addition, the gunners of the few Vickers force a third Iraqi to land on his stomach in his camp, near an artillery battery.
09:00 - Caught off guard by the Iraqi attack, AVM Smart reacts with virulence. He orders to launch the 24 flightworthy Oxfords against Rasheed Air Base. This is the opportunity to test their bomb launchers!
The German advisors apparently insisted more on the offensive than on the defensive, this massive raid (everything is relative) takes the Iraqis by surprise. Only the two Italian CR.42s already assembled are on patrol, they shoot down an Oxford while another one has to make a forced landing on the way back, not far from Habbaniyah; its crew manages to escape. The 22 other aircraft return to the base. The 20 kilo bombs, dropped without any problem, made a real a real massacre on the fragile structures of the Hawker Nisr lined up as if on parade, which kept the attention of the improvised bombers of the Strike Force. Out of 34 in all (of which 25 were operational), there are only about ten usable ones left. Some damage was also inflicted on the SM.79B parked nearby.
10:15 - The Habbaniyah Strike Force attacks the Iraqi forces entrenched on the plateau overlooking the base. Ten Audax, covered by six Gladiators, bomb the enemy's lines, then make a second pass to strafe. The RAF planes are greeted by intense light flak fire; one Audax is shot down.
11:00 - An Iraqi artillery battery starts a harassing fire, at the rate of one every five minutes. It is quickly located by a Fairey Gordon sent on reconnaissance. But, to the great frustration of Seamus O'Shea, it is well beyond the range of his two old howitzers.
14:20 - Eleven Oxfords, just back from the raid on Rasheed Air Base, set off again to bomb the Iraqi lines. Smart has no illusions about the damage their small bombs could cause, moreover loaded with a mediocre explosive, amatol, on even slightly entrenched troops. One can only hope that, if nothing else, they will end up having a cumulative effect on Iraqi morale.
The rest of the day is marked by exchanges of fire of moderate intensity, as if the parties wanted to assess their opponent's composure. The Iraqi shells cause little damage, with the exception of an armoury workshop which is completely destroyed.
Basra - The convoy BP.1, escorted by the auxiliary cruiser HMS Antenor, lands the 2/7th Gurkha Rifles, the last battalion of the 20th Indian Brigade, which was initially held in reserve.
Baghdad, 10:30 - Intervention of the Grand Mufti on Radio Baghdad. In a fiery preaching about the famous verse "we will test you with terror and hunger", from the Sura "of the Cow", he calls for Jihad, asks the true believers to help Rashid Ali al-Gaylani to drive out all the infidels from Iraq and promises the paradise of warriors to the martyrs who will fall "with the sword of Islam in their hands" in the coming battles. He takes advantage of this, as usual, to curse "the Jews, their servants and their slaves" and to prophesy the liberation of Palestine "before the end of the Hajj".
The Grand Mufti, abandoning all prudence, explicitly welcomes the support given to the Arab cause by Germany and Italy. In this way, he forces the retreat of the last supporters of a compromise with the new Iraqi regime in Cairo and London.
.........
Ar Rutbah Fort, 11:00 - The RAF 2nd Machine Gun Company puts to flight an Iraqi relief column. Demoralized, the defenders leave their positions and scatter in the desert. The Arab Legion is then able to seize the deserted fort.
.........
Ankara, 13:00 - Claude Régnier has lunch with one of his friends, general Yasar Benakoglou, of the Hava Kuvvetleri Komutangili, the Turkish air force. Benakoglou commands more precisely the air defense. The two men know each other very well and share some small and big secrets. "More little than big," says Carbury. "More big than small", judges Lieutenant Colonel Dujardin.
Returning to their previous conversation, the general confirms that, to his great regret, Turkey would have no choice but to let a formation pass over it after 22:00, due to a lack of radar and night fighters - and this is even more true in the east of the country where his system is very light. On the other hand, he says, his lookout system is as well-stocked as it is effective and its fighters are eager to show their worth. Any foreign aircraft that violate its airspace during the day would be shot down without warning, the general asserts with this desire to protect the airspace.
"I fully approve of this desire for national independence, dear friend!" claims Régnier. Thereupon, he hands his host a rather thick envelope.
- Sterling, of course?" asks Benakoglou in a detached tone as he puts the envelope in his briefcase.
- Dear friend! Of course!"
.........
Kirkuk, 15:00 - After a lightning trip on the Iraqi roads in trucks and cars of various origins, the Fallschirmjägers company, guided by a section of Brandenburgers commanded by Major, sorry, Oberstleutnant Pfiffelsdörfer himself, take control of the airfield. The airfield is handed over to them without idle protest by the Iraqi unit that was guarding it.
The Germans organize a fuel hunt in the vicinity of the airfield, which yields a nice find. At the Tikrit station, two tank cars of gasoline were waiting on the marshalling tracks. By siphoning the tanks, it is possible to fill two trucks with jerry cans.
.........
Ash-Shaddadah, 16:15 - Edgar de Larminat belongs, and he is proud of it, to the colonial infantry. But at the pace he has been able to set for his DML, he could be awarded an honorary rank in the Armored-Cavalry Army. His GRDI is taking position less than six kilometers from the Iraqi border, on the trail to Sinjar. The big ones follow an hour behind. The entire division will occupy its starting positions by evening. With his organic elements and the motorized company of the Zouaves that served as his rearguard, Larminat waits for the arrival of the MS-410s of the 1st GML, which would be able to use an old field without too much effort, abandoned since the dissolution of the Régiment de Chasse where Jean Mermoz served. Stehlin has already landed the Potez 63.11s of this Group. The 2nd GML will follow as soon as possible. The Amiot transport aircraft, which had brought in the morning a core of mechanics, electricians and armorers, are now in the process of moving part of the ammunition and petrol stocks built up in Deir ez-Zor.
Larminat settles with Stehlin the timetable of the air force for the next day: "It will be necessary to keep a fighter patrol in the air, from dawn to dusk, but also to carry out reconnaissance to Mosul as well as towards Kirkuk, without fear of being seen. The enemy has certainly been warned of our approach by the rumors of the desert; We must leave him on the edge of the dilemma."
.........
Rasheed Air Base, 22:25 - Major O'Flanaghan achieves his goal. Despite the vigilant guard by Iraqi and German soldiers, he manages to slip under the barbed wire surrounding the base and to approach the methanol reserves: 50-liter tubs stacked in two sandbag cells.
He crawls with infinite patience, arranges his dynamite blocks between the drums of the nearest cell, lights the Bickford cord - then he straightens up and runs away: in his informed opinion, the risk of receiving a bullet is nothing compared to the danger of being transformed by his own explosive into heat and light.
Indeed, he is shot at, he is missed in the dark and he can consider himself safe as soon as the detonation occurs and creates panic. Two of his yaouleds who are waiting for him at the edge of the field cut the barbed wire with shears and all three of them sink into the night. About half of the base's methanol reserves have evaporated.

 

[Wings]

April 15th, 1941

In the Mediterranean, between Bizerte and Athens - "Well, it's not the Normandie or the Queen Mary, but I sail (slowly) to Crete, then to Greece. With my cane, I think I look like Colonel Leclerc..." (Letter from Bill Clifton to Robin Meyrson).

 

[Loïc M.]

Factories were very hard to evacuate. Only the cadres, experts and qualified workers were evacuated. For most armaments, they already had plants in NAF, so they would just be expanding their production (aviation, small arms). For heavy arms, they'll rely on the Americans to build their stuff for them.

Hello,

Well, yes an no. In NA, you can find small industries and workshops. For example, the American planes which arrive crated are a assembled there. Machine-tools, spares, etc have been evacuated from France (much more than OTL) and it will help to expand the industry. The French will be able to manufacture ammo, small arms, etc. They could even build planes, but the Air Force will switch to US (and some British) planes. However, the French will be able to improve their own planes (D-520, MS-406, for example), with modification that existed OTL but were stopped by the armistice.

 

[Wings]

April 16th, 1941

North: the French offensive - From Dessie to Debra Tabor - First attack of the French troops and the Ethiopian partisans against the perimeter of defense of Debra Tabor.

 

[Wings]

April 16th, 1941

Rasheed Air Base, 02:15 - The seven Ju 90s of Trasta 789 land four minutes apart. They carry the ground crew and the tools of Major Bäumler's Kampfstaffel. The rudimentary infrastructure of the Kirkuk airfield do not allow for a landing directly at night.
As soon as they disembark, the mechanics, electricians and armourers take their places in a convoy of ten Iraqi army trucks, escorted by motorcyclists, heading towards Kirkuk. The vehicles are preceded and followed by vans "requisitioned" by the Brandenburgers and occupied by a driver, a non-commissioned officer and the three servants of a heavy machine gun.
Major O'Flanaghan's lookouts notes the arrival of the Ju 90s. At about 03:00, the major, definitively retreated to Senhor Oliveira de Figueira's store since he was forced to leave his apartment, too well known to the Iraqis, reports to Colonel Carbury.
Ar Rutbah Fort, 09:00 - "Kingcol" arrives at the fort, held by a hundred men of the Arab Legion left behind. Glubb Pacha had already left for Ar Ramadi with 250 men. Far behind, "Habforce" only penetrates into Iraq. The takeover of Iraq by the allied forces is underway, officially, since midnight.
From Major-General Clark and his deputy, Brigadier-General James "Jock" Kingstone, to Major-General Fraser: "Force will reach Ar Ramadi evening of the 19th. Will be ready for offensive operations on the 20th."
Baab al-Nour, 18:15 - General de Larminat spends the day visiting his units and explaining his plans to their leaders. He finishes dictating his orders. All the vehicles have been greased, serviced if necessary, and the air filters cleaned. The DML will start in the night, at 04:30, lights on, and will cross the border of Iraq half an hour later.
The Potez aircraft sent by Stehlin for reconnaissance do not find anything in particular, except for a presumption of a minefield which would block the track to the advances of Sinjar.

 

[Wings]

April 16th, 1941

Saigon - The Air France station manager warns Algiers by teletypewriter that the weekly flight, a Dewoitine 338, did not give any more news one hour after having taken off from the stopover of Kuala Lumpur. On board were several civilian and military personalities from Indochina and a journalist from Havas Libre, Philippe Louis, who had been sent to reinforce the Saigon office to cope with the extra workload caused by the Franco-Thai confrontation.
The wreckage of the plane is never found. It is assumed that the plane was shot down by Thai fighters.

 

[Wings]

April 16th, 1941

Cambodia - With increasing air support, French forces launch a counter-attack towards Sisophon. Potez 63-11s, escorted by MS-410s, attack the Bangkok-Don Muang airfield and the military grounds near the Thai border, causing chaos within the RThAF, which did not expect such a strong reaction.

 

[Wings]

April 16th, 1941

Benghazi - Having escaped the German and Italian bombs of the Blitz on Malta, the submarine HMS Perseus (Lt-Cdr P.J.H. Bartlett) is able to complete the major refit undertaken in October 1940. She joins the 1st Flotilla today. Her return to the front line will allow HMS Olympus (Lt-Cdr H.G. Dymott) to leave for the Far East (as it had been decided on October 31st, 1940): she leaves the Eastern Mediterranean on May 15th, with a success on April 28th, during its last patrol in the Adriatic (the cargo ship Capo Orso (3315 GRT), sunk while in convoy from Brindisi to Durazzo).

 

[Wings]

April 17th, 1941

North: the Australian (and Belgian, and Ethiopian) offensive - From Amba Alagi to Gondar - Belgians and Ethiopians attack the town of Debarech from the east - opposite the Wolchefit pass, this is the least well defended side.

 

[Wings]

April 17th, 1941

Basra - Convoy BP.1A lands the first elements of the 21st Indian Brigade (Brigadier Weld, 2/4th Gurkha Rifles) and the 6th Duke of Connaught's Own Lancers, with their self-propelled guns. Also arriving is the Iraqforce HQ - the new name of Force Sabine, Iraqforce now includes all allied forces in Iraq - and Lieutenant-General Edward Quinan DSO OBE. Quinan, who is more senior and experienced than Fraser, replaces Fraser as head of Iraqforce. An Anglo-Irishman with an assertive character, whom his subordinates nickname "The Terror", he quickly demands from the Iraqi civil and military authorities the immediate withdrawal of army and police units from the Basra area. The Iraqis promise him this, but in reality they have been formally ordered to stay in their positions.
.........
Syrian-Iraqi border, 05:45 - The bulk of the DML enters Iraqi territory.
Larminat, in view of the terrain, adopts a line-up system: the CPLE of the GRDI in the lead, followed by the battle groups and the organic divisional elements, with the marines in the rear guard. In the event of a bad encounter, the CPLEs will do as much volume as possible to allow the first BG to deploy and fix the adversary. The second BG
will then disengage to overrun before returning to the enemy's rear.
Larminat's orders are to arrive at Sinjar at the end of the day.
In accordance with the arrangements made between Wavell and Quinan, on the one hand, Massiet and Larminat, on the other, the DML comes under the operational control of the Iraqforce.
.........
Road from Amman to Ar Ramadi - From Brigadier Jock Kingstone to Lieutenant-General Edward Quinan: "Request instructions. Possibility of going directly to Fallujah and Baghdad via Ar Ramadi to ensure control of the capital. Alternatively, make a long detour south via Kerbala and Najaf to hit the rear of the 4th Iraqi division. The rest of our forces will follow, unless otherwise ordered."
From Lieutenant General Edward Quinan to Brigadier Jock Kingstone: "More urgent: rescue Habbaniyah garrison. Make it quick."
Roberts, at Habbaniyah, suggests taking a trail branching off to the southeast about twenty-five kilometers from Ar Ramadi to avoid the Iraqi brigade that had dug in the latter town. This track would allow the British base to be reached in two days, bypassing the Habbaniyah lake from the south and crossing an improvised bridge over a dam, held in all discretion by the defenders.
.........
Kirkuk - The 2nd Iraqi Division leaves its barracks in Kirkuk, as if the events at the airfield do not concern it, and deploys along the Zab Sa Saghir, a river that runs from the Bukhairat Dokan lake to the Tigris. The Iraqi position blocks the road routes and the north-south railroad, with strongpoints in Shaykh, Dibs, Altan Kupri, Taktak and Dakan.
.........
Luftplatz Constantza, 10:00 . - Taking up arms. Major Heinrich Bäumler officially takes the head of the Kampfgruppe* that bears his name. This unit is put under the newly formed FliegerFührer Irak (!) which Göring had ordered to be formed and to which he had appointed Jeschonnek the head of.
In a five-minute speech, Bäumler praises the genius of the Führer, extolls the merits of the Reichsmarschall, affirms his faith in the final victory and ends by announcing that his Bf 110s and He 111, whose freshly affixed Iraqi insignia barely mask the black crosses and swastikas, will take off at 11:30 pm to join Iraq. He does not say, even though he was informed by Jeschonnek on the phone, that Hitler himself had banned all daytime flights over Turkey again. The Führer explodes with memorable anger when a telegram from Von Papen informs him of his presumptive successor's schemes.**
Bäumler also reports that the ground crew had already arrived in Iraq via Tirana and would begin the construction of the future Luftplatz in Kirkuk.
.........
Sinjar, 19:15 - The DML is stopped about eight kilometers from the city by a wide but shallow mine swamp, wide but not very deep. Larminat decides to bivouac on the spot. The engineers will open a passage the next day at dawn.

* Group (here, air) of march.
** It was of course Ribbentrop who, informed of the contents of the telegram during his Balkan tour, asked that it be brought to Hitler's attention.

 

[Wings]

April 17th, 1941

Bay of Biscay - Refugee in the Brazilian port of Recife since the declaration of war, the Italian oil tanker of the Azienda Generale Italiana Petroli (AGIP) Franco Martelli (10,535
GRT, 14 knots), which was trying to reach Saint-Nazaire with its cargo of oil, is torpedoed and sunk at the entrance to the Bay of Biscay by the submarine HMS Urge (Lt. E.P. Tomkinson). More fortunate, the Frisco hits Saint-Nazaire on April 27th.

 

[Wings]

April 17th, 1941

Gulf of Siam - During the night, a French squadron composed of the light cruisers Duguay Trouin and Primauguet (6th cruiser division) and the destroyers Léopard, Lynx, Panthère and Tigre (4th destroyer division) shell the Thai naval base of Trat, inflicting serious damage to the stores and equipment stored there.

 

[Wings]

April 17th, 1941

Budapest - A civilian Heinkel 111G drops off the head of diplomacy of the Reich in the Hungarian capital. Ribbentrop is accompanied by the air force general Alexander Löhr and, unusually, the Hungarian military attaché in Berlin, General Döme Sztójay - one of the leaders of the pro-German party in Hungary. Admiral Miklos Horthy, regent of Hungary (admiral and regent of a country without a fleet or a king, say the evil spirits), invites them to a military parade commemorating the battle of Isaszeg (a Hungarian victory over the Austrians...which is not without its own ironic comments). On the sidelines of the festivities, Ribbentrop comes to remind the admiral-regent of his obligations as an Axis ally. It is thanks to the support of the Reich, he hammers, that Hungary had avenged the humiliation of the Treaty of Trianon and recovered part of its lost territories in Slovakia, Ruthenia and Transylvania. It is time for Hungary to show its gratitude by allowing the transit of German forces, initially by air, to Romania and Bulgaria. The British began to deploy troops on the Greek-Bulgarian border, obviously to attack the Romanian oil wells. The Reich would not let them!
The Admiral-Regent hesitates. His Prime Minister, Count Pál Teleki, would like to keep Hungary in strict non-belligerence. On the other hand, General Henrik Werth, Chief of Staff, counts on an alliance with the Reich* to complete the unity of Greater Hungary and to resist the Bolshevik threat - for he knew that the Berlin-Moscow pact would not last long. So the regent procrastinates, promises to think about it... Very well, answers Ribbentrop, apparently conciliatory, I will return to see you... let us say in four days? The brevity of the delay leaves the admiral speechless.

* Especially since he himself is of Germanic descent - indeed, he, Löhr and Sztójay are former members of the Austro-Hungarian army.