Fantasque Time Line (France Fights On) - English Translation
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2154
April 18th, 1941
Luftplatz Kirkouk, 06:30 - Twenty-three aircraft of the Kampfgruppe Bäumler, 14 Bf 110 and nine He 111, arrive at dawn. They crossed the Black Sea without any problem despite a thick layer of fog and flew over the Turkish territory without even the searchlights of the Erzerum air defense trying to light up: the money distributed by Mr. Claude Régnier to General Benakoglou (and a few others) was well placed.
Heinrich Bäumler is lost in conjecture about the fate of the tenth He 111. He hopes that it rests at the bottom of the sea, and not somewhere in Turkey - which would surely cause a serious incident between Ankara and Berlin if the wreckage was found.*
While the pilots were taking a well-deserved rest, the planes are hidden under camouflage netting, which more or less protected them from aerial reconnaissance. Bäumler
orders the immediate return to flying condition of two Bf 110 to ensure the protection of the base.
They are to be flown by two reserve crews who had flown with the Trasta 789.
A first mission is planned for early afternoon against the British column coming from Jordan, whose progression towards Ar Ramadi is followed with concern by the Iraqis.
.........
North-western Iraq, 07:30 - The engineers of the DML undertake to clear a passage on the Sinjar road. This task is proving to be difficult and slow, as some charges have been booby-trapped: the work is done by German specialists who had come from Deir Hassem.
Larminat takes advantage of this forced halt to organize a combined exercise of progression of the tanks of the 6th RCA and the self-propelled guns of the 1st King's Dragoon Guards - it is the first time that the R-35s had been lowered from the tank carriers since leaving Palmyra, along with the infantry and the 65s. He felt that his infantrymen, too influenced by pre-war training, have not yet assimilated the lessons of 1940. They persist in believing that the armor should accompany them, whereas it was up to them to support them.
.........
Baghdad, 09:00 - Rashid Ali al-Gaylani calls Herr Grobba early in the morning to inform him of his disappointment at the weakness of the Reich's aid. Grobba is happy to reply that he had warned that the coup was launched too early! Annoyed, al-Gaylani changes the subject:
"I learned that Luftwaffe fighter planes had arrived in Kirkuk. They must come to Baghdad as soon as possible, to slow down the column coming from Jordan, to participate in the capture of Habbaniyah and protect the capital!"
The German representative, eager to leave his hands free to his airmen, answers that the aircraft of the Kampfgruppe Bäumler need to be overhauled before undertaking active operations. Nevertheless, he promises a quick action of the Luftwaffe against the British.
Both part politely, but a feeling of frustration remains on both sides. As they left the Prime Minister's residence, the ambassador hears the sound of engines and explosions coming from the direction of Rasheed Air Base.
It is the Oxford from Habbaniyah who had returned to finish the job of the first raid, accompanied by three Gladiators. This time, they are met by a patrol of three Gladiators and four Italian CR.42s took off a few moments before the first bombs fell, while Rasheed's weak flak does its best. Finally,the attackers lose four Oxfords (plus two badly damaged) and the defenders lose one Gladiator and one CR.42. On the ground, the small English bombs are again doing a good job - another CR.42 just unloaded from its carrier aircraft, three Nisr, one Gladiator, four Douglas 8A-4 and three De Havilland Dragons12 are riddled with shrapnel and more or less burned; Their repair, in the present conditions, seems very unlikely. A SM.82 is also slightly damaged, but the Italians are lucky: not only is the aircraft repairable, but the stock of methanol it is carrying at the request of the Germans had already been unloaded and taken to safety.
.........
Katuniyah (Syrian-Iraqi border), 09:15 - Two Potez escorted by four Morane 410 take to the air for a reconnaissance mission at 8,500 meters. They have to photograph the 2nd Iraqi Division's position as completely as possible. Passing at some distance from Kirkuk, and above all too high, they do not spot the German planes under their camouflage nets, but are not detected either.
At Massiet's request, another Potez, escorted by two MS-406s, takes off towards Mosul. It has to deliver leaflets ordering the withdrawal of Iraqi troops under penalty of bombing of the city.
.........
Basra, 10:00 - After a quick survey of the available means, Quinan and Fraser believe that it is unlikely that they will be able to advance northwards for a week - if not several! Indeed, the next flood season will make the Tigris and Euphrates rivers difficult to navigate, provided they can find ships capable of navigating the rivers.
However, the Iraqis, who have still not withdrawn their last troops from Basra, have evacuated the majority of ferries, barges and paddle-ships, as well as all the locomotives of the Baghdad railroad. The railroad itself as well as the telegraph lines are partly sabotaged. For lack of anything better to do, a good part of the British forces have to follow the main road and railroad back to Baghdad, even though the 4th Iraqi Division had already blocked off key points and the tribes of southern Iraq were not known to be very cooperative.
In addition, part of Basra is still not secure, especially the commercial district of Ashar. It is this last task that the troops already present are tackling, so that the ascent of the Tigris (Operation Regatta) and the Euphrates (Operation Regulta) can begin as soon as the 10th Indian Division is complete.
.........
Kirkuk, 13:00 - Informed of the requests of Rashid Ali al-Gaylani, Oberstleutnant Pfiffelsdörfer confirms Grobba's answer and refuses to base his forces near Baghdad: the Iraqi capital would obviously be the first objective of allied forces, both for political reasons and to recover the free disposal of Habbaniyah. Nevertheless, he has Bäumler prepare an attack against the British forces arriving from Jordan.
.........
In the desert south of Ar Ramadi, 15:30 - As planned, the lead elements of "Kingcol" leave the main road to bypass Habbaniyah Lake from the south. Jock Kingstone sends the Arab Legion on a reconnaissance mission north to try to estimate the forces entrenched in Ar Ramadi.
But many vehicles get stuck in the sand due to the inexperience of their drivers. The whole column has to stop. As the vehicles are cleared one by one, three Bf 110s and two
He 111, all decorated with Iraqi roundels (but still wearing the characteristic German camouflage), appear from the north and attack the long line of vehicles, which form an ideal target. After two strafing passes by the Bf 110s, the bombers drop their strings of bombs and the German planes clear before the Habbaniyah fighters can intervene. Hit by the flak, one of the Bf 110s is dragging a plume of smoke; it has to land in the desert between Ar Ramadi and Samarra, mowing down its landing gear.
Kingstone has to realize that the detour through the desert had turned into a fiasco: a self-propelled gun and several trucks were burned and many people were killed and wounded. Faced with the threat of another air attack the next day, he orders to turn back towards the road to Ar Ramadi, where maneuvers would be easier and where the presence of the Habforce flak - however modest - would provide better protection.
The confusion caused by the German attack provokes a breakdown in the allied chain of command: the information on the presence of German planes in Iraq does not reach the French till the evening.
.........
North-west of Iraq, 19:30 - The passage at high altitude of a large twin-engine plane is reported to Larminat, but too late for Stehlin's fighters to intervene. It was - but
French troops could not identify it - a He 111 sent by Bäumler to respond to a request from the Iraqis, whose agents among the desert tribes reported the intrusion of a column of vehicles - without further details - coming from Syria.
Stehlin and Larminat agree in the evening to locate as quickly as possible the terrain from which this aircraft, which was in all likelihood German, is operating.
* The wreckage of the He 111 commanded by Leutnant Heiner Brewski, from Göttingen, was found in 1967 in Lake Van. It is assumed that Brewski tried to ditch the plane due to engine trouble, but that the plane sank without its occupants being able to get out. Only the remains of the Obergefreiter Hans Jernhaus, from Bremen, the back gunner, were not found. It is likely that he managed to evacuate the aircraft, but drowned.
Today, some Turkish historians, based on local legends and on the presence of some blond hairs in a nearby village, propose a happier outcome.
Luftplatz Kirkouk, 06:30 - Twenty-three aircraft of the Kampfgruppe Bäumler, 14 Bf 110 and nine He 111, arrive at dawn. They crossed the Black Sea without any problem despite a thick layer of fog and flew over the Turkish territory without even the searchlights of the Erzerum air defense trying to light up: the money distributed by Mr. Claude Régnier to General Benakoglou (and a few others) was well placed.
Heinrich Bäumler is lost in conjecture about the fate of the tenth He 111. He hopes that it rests at the bottom of the sea, and not somewhere in Turkey - which would surely cause a serious incident between Ankara and Berlin if the wreckage was found.*
While the pilots were taking a well-deserved rest, the planes are hidden under camouflage netting, which more or less protected them from aerial reconnaissance. Bäumler
orders the immediate return to flying condition of two Bf 110 to ensure the protection of the base.
They are to be flown by two reserve crews who had flown with the Trasta 789.
A first mission is planned for early afternoon against the British column coming from Jordan, whose progression towards Ar Ramadi is followed with concern by the Iraqis.
.........
North-western Iraq, 07:30 - The engineers of the DML undertake to clear a passage on the Sinjar road. This task is proving to be difficult and slow, as some charges have been booby-trapped: the work is done by German specialists who had come from Deir Hassem.
Larminat takes advantage of this forced halt to organize a combined exercise of progression of the tanks of the 6th RCA and the self-propelled guns of the 1st King's Dragoon Guards - it is the first time that the R-35s had been lowered from the tank carriers since leaving Palmyra, along with the infantry and the 65s. He felt that his infantrymen, too influenced by pre-war training, have not yet assimilated the lessons of 1940. They persist in believing that the armor should accompany them, whereas it was up to them to support them.
.........
Baghdad, 09:00 - Rashid Ali al-Gaylani calls Herr Grobba early in the morning to inform him of his disappointment at the weakness of the Reich's aid. Grobba is happy to reply that he had warned that the coup was launched too early! Annoyed, al-Gaylani changes the subject:
"I learned that Luftwaffe fighter planes had arrived in Kirkuk. They must come to Baghdad as soon as possible, to slow down the column coming from Jordan, to participate in the capture of Habbaniyah and protect the capital!"
The German representative, eager to leave his hands free to his airmen, answers that the aircraft of the Kampfgruppe Bäumler need to be overhauled before undertaking active operations. Nevertheless, he promises a quick action of the Luftwaffe against the British.
Both part politely, but a feeling of frustration remains on both sides. As they left the Prime Minister's residence, the ambassador hears the sound of engines and explosions coming from the direction of Rasheed Air Base.
It is the Oxford from Habbaniyah who had returned to finish the job of the first raid, accompanied by three Gladiators. This time, they are met by a patrol of three Gladiators and four Italian CR.42s took off a few moments before the first bombs fell, while Rasheed's weak flak does its best. Finally,the attackers lose four Oxfords (plus two badly damaged) and the defenders lose one Gladiator and one CR.42. On the ground, the small English bombs are again doing a good job - another CR.42 just unloaded from its carrier aircraft, three Nisr, one Gladiator, four Douglas 8A-4 and three De Havilland Dragons12 are riddled with shrapnel and more or less burned; Their repair, in the present conditions, seems very unlikely. A SM.82 is also slightly damaged, but the Italians are lucky: not only is the aircraft repairable, but the stock of methanol it is carrying at the request of the Germans had already been unloaded and taken to safety.
.........
Katuniyah (Syrian-Iraqi border), 09:15 - Two Potez escorted by four Morane 410 take to the air for a reconnaissance mission at 8,500 meters. They have to photograph the 2nd Iraqi Division's position as completely as possible. Passing at some distance from Kirkuk, and above all too high, they do not spot the German planes under their camouflage nets, but are not detected either.
At Massiet's request, another Potez, escorted by two MS-406s, takes off towards Mosul. It has to deliver leaflets ordering the withdrawal of Iraqi troops under penalty of bombing of the city.
.........
Basra, 10:00 - After a quick survey of the available means, Quinan and Fraser believe that it is unlikely that they will be able to advance northwards for a week - if not several! Indeed, the next flood season will make the Tigris and Euphrates rivers difficult to navigate, provided they can find ships capable of navigating the rivers.
However, the Iraqis, who have still not withdrawn their last troops from Basra, have evacuated the majority of ferries, barges and paddle-ships, as well as all the locomotives of the Baghdad railroad. The railroad itself as well as the telegraph lines are partly sabotaged. For lack of anything better to do, a good part of the British forces have to follow the main road and railroad back to Baghdad, even though the 4th Iraqi Division had already blocked off key points and the tribes of southern Iraq were not known to be very cooperative.
In addition, part of Basra is still not secure, especially the commercial district of Ashar. It is this last task that the troops already present are tackling, so that the ascent of the Tigris (Operation Regatta) and the Euphrates (Operation Regulta) can begin as soon as the 10th Indian Division is complete.
.........
Kirkuk, 13:00 - Informed of the requests of Rashid Ali al-Gaylani, Oberstleutnant Pfiffelsdörfer confirms Grobba's answer and refuses to base his forces near Baghdad: the Iraqi capital would obviously be the first objective of allied forces, both for political reasons and to recover the free disposal of Habbaniyah. Nevertheless, he has Bäumler prepare an attack against the British forces arriving from Jordan.
.........
In the desert south of Ar Ramadi, 15:30 - As planned, the lead elements of "Kingcol" leave the main road to bypass Habbaniyah Lake from the south. Jock Kingstone sends the Arab Legion on a reconnaissance mission north to try to estimate the forces entrenched in Ar Ramadi.
But many vehicles get stuck in the sand due to the inexperience of their drivers. The whole column has to stop. As the vehicles are cleared one by one, three Bf 110s and two
He 111, all decorated with Iraqi roundels (but still wearing the characteristic German camouflage), appear from the north and attack the long line of vehicles, which form an ideal target. After two strafing passes by the Bf 110s, the bombers drop their strings of bombs and the German planes clear before the Habbaniyah fighters can intervene. Hit by the flak, one of the Bf 110s is dragging a plume of smoke; it has to land in the desert between Ar Ramadi and Samarra, mowing down its landing gear.
Kingstone has to realize that the detour through the desert had turned into a fiasco: a self-propelled gun and several trucks were burned and many people were killed and wounded. Faced with the threat of another air attack the next day, he orders to turn back towards the road to Ar Ramadi, where maneuvers would be easier and where the presence of the Habforce flak - however modest - would provide better protection.
The confusion caused by the German attack provokes a breakdown in the allied chain of command: the information on the presence of German planes in Iraq does not reach the French till the evening.
.........
North-west of Iraq, 19:30 - The passage at high altitude of a large twin-engine plane is reported to Larminat, but too late for Stehlin's fighters to intervene. It was - but
French troops could not identify it - a He 111 sent by Bäumler to respond to a request from the Iraqis, whose agents among the desert tribes reported the intrusion of a column of vehicles - without further details - coming from Syria.
Stehlin and Larminat agree in the evening to locate as quickly as possible the terrain from which this aircraft, which was in all likelihood German, is operating.
* The wreckage of the He 111 commanded by Leutnant Heiner Brewski, from Göttingen, was found in 1967 in Lake Van. It is assumed that Brewski tried to ditch the plane due to engine trouble, but that the plane sank without its occupants being able to get out. Only the remains of the Obergefreiter Hans Jernhaus, from Bremen, the back gunner, were not found. It is likely that he managed to evacuate the aircraft, but drowned.
Today, some Turkish historians, based on local legends and on the presence of some blond hairs in a nearby village, propose a happier outcome.
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2155
April 18th, 1941
Belgrade - Ribbentrop begins the most delicate stage of his journey, in a city under tension. The German minister will not appear in public and will be satisfied with a rather tense meeting with the Yugoslav Prime Minister Cvetkovic. Alternating promises and threats, alluding to Rommel's success in neighboring Albania, Ribbentrop tries to persuade his interlocutor to adopt an attitude favorable to the countries of the Tripartite Pact "before the Balkans ignite irreparably". At that moment, a resolutely neutral Yugoslavia would suit Hitler, who thought he could solve the Greek problem thanks to the action of Rommel and the bombing of the Aegean ports.
Belgrade - Ribbentrop begins the most delicate stage of his journey, in a city under tension. The German minister will not appear in public and will be satisfied with a rather tense meeting with the Yugoslav Prime Minister Cvetkovic. Alternating promises and threats, alluding to Rommel's success in neighboring Albania, Ribbentrop tries to persuade his interlocutor to adopt an attitude favorable to the countries of the Tripartite Pact "before the Balkans ignite irreparably". At that moment, a resolutely neutral Yugoslavia would suit Hitler, who thought he could solve the Greek problem thanks to the action of Rommel and the bombing of the Aegean ports.
2156
April 18th, 1941
Athens - The Greek government, for whom the installation of the Luftwaffe in Bulgaria is a direct threat, accepts the storage of material and ammunition on the airfield of Heraklion (Crete) to prepare "Coronation", but asks France and Great Britain not to launch this operation before Greece had been formally attacked by Germany.
Athens - The Greek government, for whom the installation of the Luftwaffe in Bulgaria is a direct threat, accepts the storage of material and ammunition on the airfield of Heraklion (Crete) to prepare "Coronation", but asks France and Great Britain not to launch this operation before Greece had been formally attacked by Germany.
2157
April 19th, 1941
North: the French offensive - From Dessie to Debra Tabor - After three days and five attempts, it is obvious that the coordination between Ethiopian and French troops does not work. The partisans are not disciplined enough to respect the timetable of the attacks. General De la Ménardière decides to take a break while waiting for supplies, artillery pieces and some reinforcements.
North: the French offensive - From Dessie to Debra Tabor - After three days and five attempts, it is obvious that the coordination between Ethiopian and French troops does not work. The partisans are not disciplined enough to respect the timetable of the attacks. General De la Ménardière decides to take a break while waiting for supplies, artillery pieces and some reinforcements.
2158
April 19th, 1941
Northwest Iraq, 05:30 - The DML finally emerges from the mine swamp and takes the road to Tell Afar, where it should arrive around noon, barring an ambush.
.........
Katuniyah (Syrian-Iraqi border), 07:00 - Lieutenant-Colonel Stehlin, takes off his planes. MS-406s are to take turns in patrols of two over the vanguard.
A reconnaissance will be carried out over Kirkuk to identify the presence of German aircraft on the latter ground, following the report of the day before and especially the air attack of which "Kingcol" was victim.
Kirkuk, 08:15 - A Po-63.11 escorted by two MS-410 flies over the airfield at 1,000 meters just as a Bf 110 takes off. Lieutenant Lepoivre, leader of the escort, covered by his wingman, Staff Sergeant Voilquin, immediately launches himself in a dive and shoots down the unlucky 110 at 50 meters from the ground, at the moment when he brings his gear up (it is the second homologated victory of Luc Lepoivre, already credited with a Ju 87 on July 14th, 1940). The Potez makes a 360° turn over the airfield at low altitude and spots other 110s and He 111s under camouflage. The MS-410s make a strafing run with little result while the Potez climbs to altitude to report by radio.
Katuniyah (Syrian-Iraqi border), 09:00 - Stehlin changes the schedule of his forces. He orders an immediate assault raid on Kirkuk after having informed by radio AVM Smart, who immediately gives him his blessing. He devotes most of his operational aircraft to this: six MS-410s, twelve Potez 63.11s and four T-6s.
10:00 - The device takes off, led by Stehlin himself, who takes the place of the observer of a Potez.
11:15 - The French planes approach Kirkuk and see four Bf 110s patrolling at 1,500 m. Two MS-410s climb to 2,500 meters, while the four others attack the Bf 110s. One of the Messerschmitt, which turns less tightly than the Moranes, is shot down by Sergeant Voilquin, while the plane of Staff Sergeant Loirac is damaged. The three other Germans try to escape, but they are caught by the Moranes that had remained under cover and Warrant Officer Lussier shoot down one of them (his first victory,
as for Voilquin).
11:19 - The Potez, in two waves of six aircraft, bomb at 1,000 meters, beyond the practical range of the machine guns of the DCA.
11:22 - The T-6 makes two strafing passes. One of them is shot down by the flak.
11:25 - Stehlin's plane returns to 500 meters to take pictures.
11:28 - End of the raid.
11:55 - The planes return to Katuniyah airfield. The 410 hit makes a forced landing in the lines of the DML, near the 6th RCA HQ. Staff Sergeant Loirac is quite seriously wounded, but his life is not in danger.
.........
Tell Afar, 14:00 - The bulk of the DML crosses the small town.
Mosul, 14:30 - The Zouaves in the vanguard of the DML enter a city that is strangely quiet, some of the population having fled, the other hiding in their homes. A detachment immediately heads for the airfield to take control of it.
.........
Reichsluftfahrtministerium, Berlin, 15:00 - Hermann Göring and Ernst Udet return from a lunch hosted by the three Japanese military attachés, General Yakata Unashi, Colonel Yokosuki Ukamura and Captain Sinobue Kashigara, at the Adlon Hotel. The technical collaboration of the Empire and the Reich is celebrated after the signing of the agreement for the production in Japan of the DB-601 engine (that of the Bf 109).
Theo Osterkamp, on duty at the Ministry, announces the bad news transmitted by Bäumler: three Bf 110 shot down, three others destroyed on the ground as well as four He 111s, all of which could not be repaired with local resources, except for one of the Heinkels. There are only seven Bf 110s and (hopefully) six He 111s.
As usual, Göring denounces scapegoats. He successively accuses Canaris, guilty of having imagined Ostmond - "an intriguer and a reactionary", Bäumler - "an incompetent, Jeschonneck - "a zero score", Udet - "who made an ambiguous report and never sees further than the nose of his plane" and even, in a low voice, the Führer himself, "too suggestible". The OKH, which estimated that after Merkur and the Malta-Tunis blitz, the Armée de l'Air would be unable to mobilize as many aircraft outside the defense of North Africa, also takes its toll.
No one dares to point out to the Reichsmarschall that he had considered it superfluous to wait for the dispatch of Flak elements to Iraq before deploying Bäumler's aircraft, judging that the few Iraqi Vickers would be sufficient. In fact, he may have thought this himself, because, without listening to anyone, he ordered that the Kampfgruppe Bäumler 20 mm AA guns be sent by Trasta 789. Here again, no one dared to point out to him that the sending of these reinforcements would delay the sending of the second
company of light infantry, which was to protect the Kirkuk airfield.
Afterwards, Göring hurries to take the plane that was to take him to Berteschgaden: he is invited to the Berghof for the Führer's birthday, the next day!
.........
Ar Ramadi - "Kingcol" arrives in the early afternoon in sight of the Iraqi positions which take position on the Ar Ramadi outskirts to block the road to Fallujah. "Habforce" joins it at the end of the day.
Fallujah - The Baghdad-based Iraqi motorized brigade begins a move westward to counter the Kingcol threat to Fallujah. It arrives there late this evening.
.........
Rasheed Air Base, 23:30 - Major O'Flanaghan finishes spreading his yaouleds in pairs around the field. He hides himself on top of a disused water tower, where he installs his transceiver, contained in a suitcase. Without fearing to take risks, he equips his spotters with old country telephones. Nothing will escape him.
German Bf-110 of Kampfgruppe Baumler, painted in Iraqi colours, Iraq Campaign, 1941.
Northwest Iraq, 05:30 - The DML finally emerges from the mine swamp and takes the road to Tell Afar, where it should arrive around noon, barring an ambush.
.........
Katuniyah (Syrian-Iraqi border), 07:00 - Lieutenant-Colonel Stehlin, takes off his planes. MS-406s are to take turns in patrols of two over the vanguard.
A reconnaissance will be carried out over Kirkuk to identify the presence of German aircraft on the latter ground, following the report of the day before and especially the air attack of which "Kingcol" was victim.
Kirkuk, 08:15 - A Po-63.11 escorted by two MS-410 flies over the airfield at 1,000 meters just as a Bf 110 takes off. Lieutenant Lepoivre, leader of the escort, covered by his wingman, Staff Sergeant Voilquin, immediately launches himself in a dive and shoots down the unlucky 110 at 50 meters from the ground, at the moment when he brings his gear up (it is the second homologated victory of Luc Lepoivre, already credited with a Ju 87 on July 14th, 1940). The Potez makes a 360° turn over the airfield at low altitude and spots other 110s and He 111s under camouflage. The MS-410s make a strafing run with little result while the Potez climbs to altitude to report by radio.
Katuniyah (Syrian-Iraqi border), 09:00 - Stehlin changes the schedule of his forces. He orders an immediate assault raid on Kirkuk after having informed by radio AVM Smart, who immediately gives him his blessing. He devotes most of his operational aircraft to this: six MS-410s, twelve Potez 63.11s and four T-6s.
10:00 - The device takes off, led by Stehlin himself, who takes the place of the observer of a Potez.
11:15 - The French planes approach Kirkuk and see four Bf 110s patrolling at 1,500 m. Two MS-410s climb to 2,500 meters, while the four others attack the Bf 110s. One of the Messerschmitt, which turns less tightly than the Moranes, is shot down by Sergeant Voilquin, while the plane of Staff Sergeant Loirac is damaged. The three other Germans try to escape, but they are caught by the Moranes that had remained under cover and Warrant Officer Lussier shoot down one of them (his first victory,
as for Voilquin).
11:19 - The Potez, in two waves of six aircraft, bomb at 1,000 meters, beyond the practical range of the machine guns of the DCA.
11:22 - The T-6 makes two strafing passes. One of them is shot down by the flak.
11:25 - Stehlin's plane returns to 500 meters to take pictures.
11:28 - End of the raid.
11:55 - The planes return to Katuniyah airfield. The 410 hit makes a forced landing in the lines of the DML, near the 6th RCA HQ. Staff Sergeant Loirac is quite seriously wounded, but his life is not in danger.
.........
Tell Afar, 14:00 - The bulk of the DML crosses the small town.
Mosul, 14:30 - The Zouaves in the vanguard of the DML enter a city that is strangely quiet, some of the population having fled, the other hiding in their homes. A detachment immediately heads for the airfield to take control of it.
.........
Reichsluftfahrtministerium, Berlin, 15:00 - Hermann Göring and Ernst Udet return from a lunch hosted by the three Japanese military attachés, General Yakata Unashi, Colonel Yokosuki Ukamura and Captain Sinobue Kashigara, at the Adlon Hotel. The technical collaboration of the Empire and the Reich is celebrated after the signing of the agreement for the production in Japan of the DB-601 engine (that of the Bf 109).
Theo Osterkamp, on duty at the Ministry, announces the bad news transmitted by Bäumler: three Bf 110 shot down, three others destroyed on the ground as well as four He 111s, all of which could not be repaired with local resources, except for one of the Heinkels. There are only seven Bf 110s and (hopefully) six He 111s.
As usual, Göring denounces scapegoats. He successively accuses Canaris, guilty of having imagined Ostmond - "an intriguer and a reactionary", Bäumler - "an incompetent, Jeschonneck - "a zero score", Udet - "who made an ambiguous report and never sees further than the nose of his plane" and even, in a low voice, the Führer himself, "too suggestible". The OKH, which estimated that after Merkur and the Malta-Tunis blitz, the Armée de l'Air would be unable to mobilize as many aircraft outside the defense of North Africa, also takes its toll.
No one dares to point out to the Reichsmarschall that he had considered it superfluous to wait for the dispatch of Flak elements to Iraq before deploying Bäumler's aircraft, judging that the few Iraqi Vickers would be sufficient. In fact, he may have thought this himself, because, without listening to anyone, he ordered that the Kampfgruppe Bäumler 20 mm AA guns be sent by Trasta 789. Here again, no one dared to point out to him that the sending of these reinforcements would delay the sending of the second
company of light infantry, which was to protect the Kirkuk airfield.
Afterwards, Göring hurries to take the plane that was to take him to Berteschgaden: he is invited to the Berghof for the Führer's birthday, the next day!
.........
Ar Ramadi - "Kingcol" arrives in the early afternoon in sight of the Iraqi positions which take position on the Ar Ramadi outskirts to block the road to Fallujah. "Habforce" joins it at the end of the day.
Fallujah - The Baghdad-based Iraqi motorized brigade begins a move westward to counter the Kingcol threat to Fallujah. It arrives there late this evening.
.........
Rasheed Air Base, 23:30 - Major O'Flanaghan finishes spreading his yaouleds in pairs around the field. He hides himself on top of a disused water tower, where he installs his transceiver, contained in a suitcase. Without fearing to take risks, he equips his spotters with old country telephones. Nothing will escape him.
German Bf-110 of Kampfgruppe Baumler, painted in Iraqi colours, Iraq Campaign, 1941.
2159
April 19th, 1941
Scapa Flow - The British Admiralty learns that the German battleship Bismarck has left Kiel, heading north-northwest. The battleship HMS Hood and six destroyers, under the command of Vice Admiral Whitworth, are immediately sent to Hvalfiord (Iceland). There, they will meet the French squadron composed of the battleship Richelieu, the heavy cruiser Algérie and four Le Hardi class destroyers: L'Adroit, Le Casque, Le Foudroyant and Le Hardi*.
Admiral Whitworth explains his intentions in case of an "Enemy in sight" signal: "(...) the Hood and the Richelieu will close with the enemy as quickly as possible, so as to reach the most effective range for their artillery**. If possible, this approach will be made directly, in order to present the minimum target, while allowing the Richelieu to use all of its main artillery." Cooperation between the two ships would be facilitated by their almost identical speeds.
But this is only a false alarm: the Bismarck makes a short trip to the Baltic for final adjustments before resuming operational training with the Prinz Eugen when the latter has joined her.
* After a few patrols during the winter, the French ships briefly returned to the basin at Scapa Flow in early March. The Richelieu's Type 279 airborne detection radar was replaced by a Type 281 (whose production models are just starting to be released), which combines airborne detection and range finding in surface firing. A type 284 radar with range finding for the main artillery and two type 282 for the anti-aircraft weaponry have been added to the system. Algérie received a type 285 for surface fire telemetry. As for the destroyers, L'Adroit and Le Foudroyant were equipped with a type 286 (not very effective but available and easy to install), while the flotilla leader, Le Hardi, received a type 285. In addition, the capacity of the torpedo boats has been increased a little (it will be increased even more during a refit already planned in the United States at the end of the year).
** And to prevent the Hood from receiving plunging fire - the British know that the deck armour of the large ship is vulnerable, but the start of the war prevented it from being reinforced as planned.
Scapa Flow - The British Admiralty learns that the German battleship Bismarck has left Kiel, heading north-northwest. The battleship HMS Hood and six destroyers, under the command of Vice Admiral Whitworth, are immediately sent to Hvalfiord (Iceland). There, they will meet the French squadron composed of the battleship Richelieu, the heavy cruiser Algérie and four Le Hardi class destroyers: L'Adroit, Le Casque, Le Foudroyant and Le Hardi*.
Admiral Whitworth explains his intentions in case of an "Enemy in sight" signal: "(...) the Hood and the Richelieu will close with the enemy as quickly as possible, so as to reach the most effective range for their artillery**. If possible, this approach will be made directly, in order to present the minimum target, while allowing the Richelieu to use all of its main artillery." Cooperation between the two ships would be facilitated by their almost identical speeds.
But this is only a false alarm: the Bismarck makes a short trip to the Baltic for final adjustments before resuming operational training with the Prinz Eugen when the latter has joined her.
* After a few patrols during the winter, the French ships briefly returned to the basin at Scapa Flow in early March. The Richelieu's Type 279 airborne detection radar was replaced by a Type 281 (whose production models are just starting to be released), which combines airborne detection and range finding in surface firing. A type 284 radar with range finding for the main artillery and two type 282 for the anti-aircraft weaponry have been added to the system. Algérie received a type 285 for surface fire telemetry. As for the destroyers, L'Adroit and Le Foudroyant were equipped with a type 286 (not very effective but available and easy to install), while the flotilla leader, Le Hardi, received a type 285. In addition, the capacity of the torpedo boats has been increased a little (it will be increased even more during a refit already planned in the United States at the end of the year).
** And to prevent the Hood from receiving plunging fire - the British know that the deck armour of the large ship is vulnerable, but the start of the war prevented it from being reinforced as planned.
2160
April 19th, 1941
Albania - For ten days, the front has stabilized in the Albanian mountains, where the fighting has calmed down, each side is licking its wounds and reorganizing.
On the allied side, the 1st Greek Army is now reduced to 10 divisions, mostly tired and weakened by the losses of three months of campaigning; nine battalions were withdrawn to reinforce the 2nd Army (the latter, deployed in Thrace and protected the upper valley of the Vardar river, on the Yugoslav border).
The British still align on the Albanian front the six infantry brigades of the 6th Infantry Division and the 4th Indian Division. Their armored units, which lost a lot of equipment in the retreat, are placed in reserve in Epirus.
Opposite, the Axis troops count the two German divisions (15.PzD and 5.Leichte PzD), which had suffered little from their first fights, as well as nine Italian divisions (23rd DI Ferrara, 29th DI Piemonte, 47th DI Bari, 48th DI Taro, 51st DI Siena, 101st DI Trieste, 2nd DI Alpine Tridentina, 3rd DI Alpine Julia, 5th DI Alpine Pusteria). Some Italian units are survivors of the February and March battles, and were replenished by reinforcements from Italy, others have recently arrived via the ports of Vlöre and Durrës.
Albania - For ten days, the front has stabilized in the Albanian mountains, where the fighting has calmed down, each side is licking its wounds and reorganizing.
On the allied side, the 1st Greek Army is now reduced to 10 divisions, mostly tired and weakened by the losses of three months of campaigning; nine battalions were withdrawn to reinforce the 2nd Army (the latter, deployed in Thrace and protected the upper valley of the Vardar river, on the Yugoslav border).
The British still align on the Albanian front the six infantry brigades of the 6th Infantry Division and the 4th Indian Division. Their armored units, which lost a lot of equipment in the retreat, are placed in reserve in Epirus.
Opposite, the Axis troops count the two German divisions (15.PzD and 5.Leichte PzD), which had suffered little from their first fights, as well as nine Italian divisions (23rd DI Ferrara, 29th DI Piemonte, 47th DI Bari, 48th DI Taro, 51st DI Siena, 101st DI Trieste, 2nd DI Alpine Tridentina, 3rd DI Alpine Julia, 5th DI Alpine Pusteria). Some Italian units are survivors of the February and March battles, and were replenished by reinforcements from Italy, others have recently arrived via the ports of Vlöre and Durrës.
2161
April 19th, 1941
Bucharest - Ribbentrop continues his Danubian tour, now easier: after Hungary and Yugoslavia, Romania of Marshal Antonescu. Once reassured about a possible reaction of Turkey to the overflights of its territory by German planes en route to Iraq*, the Marshal formally confirms that after the German wings, the troops of the Reich would be able to deploy on his territory. Highly satisfied, Ribbentrop lets it be known that the Führer's arbitration on Transylvania was not final and that Germany would be able to reward its faithful allies. But it is in reality a three-tiered billiard game: the German minister makes sure that these words are public enough to be quickly reported to the Hungarians, his real target.
Bucharest - Ribbentrop continues his Danubian tour, now easier: after Hungary and Yugoslavia, Romania of Marshal Antonescu. Once reassured about a possible reaction of Turkey to the overflights of its territory by German planes en route to Iraq*, the Marshal formally confirms that after the German wings, the troops of the Reich would be able to deploy on his territory. Highly satisfied, Ribbentrop lets it be known that the Führer's arbitration on Transylvania was not final and that Germany would be able to reward its faithful allies. But it is in reality a three-tiered billiard game: the German minister makes sure that these words are public enough to be quickly reported to the Hungarians, his real target.
2162
April 20th, 1941
North: the Australian (and Belgian, and Ethiopian) offensive - From Amba Alagi to Gondar - After three days of fighting, the town of Debarech falls into the hands of the Force Publique and the Ethiopian partisans. The three forts to the west of the town are captured, thus isolating the defenders of the Wolchefit pass.
.........
South Central: The East African Offensive - From Addis Ababa to Dalle and Gimma - South of Gimma, the Italians establish a defensive line on the Ono River. After having failed to make a frontal attack across the only passable bridge, the 5th King's African Rifles manage to cross the Ono River on a monkey bridge and establish a bridgehead that resists the Italian counterattacks.
Taking advantage of the surprise effect, the 3rd Nigerian Battalion seizes the Albati bridge.
North: the Australian (and Belgian, and Ethiopian) offensive - From Amba Alagi to Gondar - After three days of fighting, the town of Debarech falls into the hands of the Force Publique and the Ethiopian partisans. The three forts to the west of the town are captured, thus isolating the defenders of the Wolchefit pass.
.........
South Central: The East African Offensive - From Addis Ababa to Dalle and Gimma - South of Gimma, the Italians establish a defensive line on the Ono River. After having failed to make a frontal attack across the only passable bridge, the 5th King's African Rifles manage to cross the Ono River on a monkey bridge and establish a bridgehead that resists the Italian counterattacks.
Taking advantage of the surprise effect, the 3rd Nigerian Battalion seizes the Albati bridge.
2163
April 20th, 1941
Reichsluftfahrtministerium, Berlin - Hans Jeschonneck, Ernst Udet and Theo Osterkamp spend the evening of the 19th with their deputies and some logisticians of the Stab to put into motion the latest whims of the Reichsmarschall.
01:35 - An Enigma message orders the Luftwaffe command in Tirana to immediately transfer to Iraq, on Göring's personal order, of a Leichte Flak-Abteilung (light flak group) deployed in Albania. The equipment of its three batteries (with four Vierlinge of 20 mm each) and its Führungsbatterie (centralized fire direction and command) are to be transported by the FW-200 and the seven Ju 90s of the Trasta 789, in a single wave, during the night of the 24th to the 25th. The aircraft will land in Kirkuk, unload, and make a quick hop to Rasheed Air Base where they are to be overhauled and refueled before returning to Luftplatz Tirana-Rinas in the night of the 25th to the 26th.
02:40 - Two other messages regulate the sending the same day of the personnel of the group of Flak by fifteen Ju 52, detached for the circumstance of the special reserve of the OKW, under the command of Major Güstrow. In spite of the installation in the cabin, at the height of the canopy, of two auxiliary tanks of 125 liters of gasoline, each plane will carry only ten men, with a light pack, to be able to cover the distance Constantza-Kirkouk.
03:00 - Arrangements to replenish and strengthen the Kampfgruppe decimated by Stehlin's planes, are transmitted by telephone to the Reserveluftplatz in Wiener-Neustadt. Six Bf 110s and eight He 111s, equipped with two additional tanks will take off in the morning for Constantza, from where they will fly in the night of the 24th to the 25th for Iraq, together with the Ju 52s.
The Führer and Ribbentrop have to be carefully concealed from this operation, which involved new flights over Turkey (on the outward journey by 29 planes, on the return journey, if all goes well for them, by the 15 Ju 52). On this point at least, the Reichsmarschall's instructions are perfectly clear. This discretion should not be too difficult to observe because, on this April 20th, Hitler celebrates his birthday!
04:15 - Ernst Udet, more and more depressed, disgusted by what he considers a waste of men and planes, ends his night at the Adlon Hotel. The concierge, who knows him well and appreciates his generosity, sends champagne up to his room. He also summons two professionals from the Salon Kitty, the chic club set up by Heydrich for regime executives and foreigners passing through Berlin. The Generalluftzeugmeister is aware that these ladies are contributing to the RSHA budget. He nonetheless speaks out against the Führer and the Reichsmarschall, disillusioned remarks which will be, for all practical purposes, added to the file that the Gestapo had compiled on him a long time ago.
05:30 - Duplicate messages from the RLM ae sent out on ultra-short waves - before dawn, to avoid disturbances of the broadcasting - to Claude Régnier, to Oberstleutnant Pfiffelsdörfer and Major Bäumler. They are picked up by the allied listening services and their deciphering is immediately undertaken.
.........
Basra, 06:00 - Convoy BP.2 drops anchor; during the day the last elements of the 21st Indian Brigade disembark: 2/10th Gurkha Rifles and 4/13th Frontier Force Rifles, with a section of Rolls Royce self-propelled guns. The men soon join the ongoing operatin to secure the Basra area for good. Already, the power station and the civilian airfield are under control.
.........
Mosul airfield, 09:00 - Preceded by their two Amiot 143 transport aircraft that start four scheduled rotations to bring personnel to the ground, the two FAML groups from Stehlin land at Mosul. The base still has most of its fuel reserves, its workshops and, above all, several technical vehicles. They allow to a certain extent, to wait for the vehicles of the FAML ground forces, which are moving slowly across the desert. The French hurry to install four double Hotchkiss flak guns.
Kirkuk/Mossoul, in the afternoon - Major Bäumler has to ration the stock of methanol coming from Baghdad by road. He is only able to send two Bf 110s to conduct a patrol over the city and the airfield of Mosul. Caught in the hunt by the four MS-406 patrols, they do not insist and clear the area without difficulty.
.........
Erbil, 14:00 - Larminat sets up his PC in the villa of an engineer of the Compagnie Française des Pétroles (CFP).
.........
Ar Ramadi, 14:30 - Since dawn, heavy fighting has been going on between "Kingcol", which has been unable to advance from its initial positions, against infantry elements of the 1st and 3rd Iraqi divisions.
Well supported by their artillery, the Iraqis hold the bridge over the Euphrates and the roads leading to Habbaniyah and Fallujah. On the other side, the British have no possibility of overrunning, because of the marshes on either side of the roadways and the railroad. In these regions, Iraq is like that: one goes, almost without transition, from desert to swamps.
15:00 - If the Iraqis have so far shown no inclination to take the offensive, there is no indication, on the contrary, that they have the intention to withdraw despite the harassment of twenty Audax of the Habbaniyah Strike Force, who multiply the passes without stopping at the flak machine guns.
16:00 - The Iraqi artillery extends its fire.
16:15 - A section of 81 mm mortars begins to pound the British vanguard.
17:00 - Brigadier Kingstone orders his most advanced elements to withdraw.
17:10 - Six Audax made a final pass over the Iraqi lines. Out of nowhere, four Iraqi Gladiators overtake them, but they are in turn attacked by three of their counterparts from the RAF, opportunely ambushed in cover. The result: two British Audax and one Iraqi Gladiator shot down, no survivors.
.........
London, 15:00 - The USSR ambassador, Ivan Maisky, is received by Anthony Eden. The secretary of the Foreign Office wishes to discuss with the Soviet diplomat "insistent rumors of the next recognition of the government of Rachid Ali al-Gaylani by the Soviet Union." Eden even mentions an exchange of notes through Ankara - always the troubled role of Turkey - to open diplomatic relations. "As you rightly point out, these are only rumors without foundation." Maisky retorts.
In reality, Moscow did consider the prospect of such a rapprochement for a time, if only to please German demands, but the most lucid people in Moscow quickly pointed out the inevitable military outcome of the Iraqi affair. Molotov was therefore satisfied with a vague promise to von Ribbentrop.
.........
Berteschgaden - At the Berghof, Hitler's birthday party is in full swing. Fortunately for Göring, the Führer did not think to ask for news of the Eastern Moon...
.........
Middle East Air Command HQ, Cairo, 22:30 - Sir Arthur Longmore receives the first results of the deciphering of the last Enigma messages. He urgently orders his staff a modification of the Bertha plan to take into account the new parameters.
Baghdad, 23:30 - Message from Colonel Carbury to Major O'Flanaghan. It is the major who is to give the start of Operation Bertha. All his yaouleds will be put to contribution.
Reichsluftfahrtministerium, Berlin - Hans Jeschonneck, Ernst Udet and Theo Osterkamp spend the evening of the 19th with their deputies and some logisticians of the Stab to put into motion the latest whims of the Reichsmarschall.
01:35 - An Enigma message orders the Luftwaffe command in Tirana to immediately transfer to Iraq, on Göring's personal order, of a Leichte Flak-Abteilung (light flak group) deployed in Albania. The equipment of its three batteries (with four Vierlinge of 20 mm each) and its Führungsbatterie (centralized fire direction and command) are to be transported by the FW-200 and the seven Ju 90s of the Trasta 789, in a single wave, during the night of the 24th to the 25th. The aircraft will land in Kirkuk, unload, and make a quick hop to Rasheed Air Base where they are to be overhauled and refueled before returning to Luftplatz Tirana-Rinas in the night of the 25th to the 26th.
02:40 - Two other messages regulate the sending the same day of the personnel of the group of Flak by fifteen Ju 52, detached for the circumstance of the special reserve of the OKW, under the command of Major Güstrow. In spite of the installation in the cabin, at the height of the canopy, of two auxiliary tanks of 125 liters of gasoline, each plane will carry only ten men, with a light pack, to be able to cover the distance Constantza-Kirkouk.
03:00 - Arrangements to replenish and strengthen the Kampfgruppe decimated by Stehlin's planes, are transmitted by telephone to the Reserveluftplatz in Wiener-Neustadt. Six Bf 110s and eight He 111s, equipped with two additional tanks will take off in the morning for Constantza, from where they will fly in the night of the 24th to the 25th for Iraq, together with the Ju 52s.
The Führer and Ribbentrop have to be carefully concealed from this operation, which involved new flights over Turkey (on the outward journey by 29 planes, on the return journey, if all goes well for them, by the 15 Ju 52). On this point at least, the Reichsmarschall's instructions are perfectly clear. This discretion should not be too difficult to observe because, on this April 20th, Hitler celebrates his birthday!
04:15 - Ernst Udet, more and more depressed, disgusted by what he considers a waste of men and planes, ends his night at the Adlon Hotel. The concierge, who knows him well and appreciates his generosity, sends champagne up to his room. He also summons two professionals from the Salon Kitty, the chic club set up by Heydrich for regime executives and foreigners passing through Berlin. The Generalluftzeugmeister is aware that these ladies are contributing to the RSHA budget. He nonetheless speaks out against the Führer and the Reichsmarschall, disillusioned remarks which will be, for all practical purposes, added to the file that the Gestapo had compiled on him a long time ago.
05:30 - Duplicate messages from the RLM ae sent out on ultra-short waves - before dawn, to avoid disturbances of the broadcasting - to Claude Régnier, to Oberstleutnant Pfiffelsdörfer and Major Bäumler. They are picked up by the allied listening services and their deciphering is immediately undertaken.
.........
Basra, 06:00 - Convoy BP.2 drops anchor; during the day the last elements of the 21st Indian Brigade disembark: 2/10th Gurkha Rifles and 4/13th Frontier Force Rifles, with a section of Rolls Royce self-propelled guns. The men soon join the ongoing operatin to secure the Basra area for good. Already, the power station and the civilian airfield are under control.
.........
Mosul airfield, 09:00 - Preceded by their two Amiot 143 transport aircraft that start four scheduled rotations to bring personnel to the ground, the two FAML groups from Stehlin land at Mosul. The base still has most of its fuel reserves, its workshops and, above all, several technical vehicles. They allow to a certain extent, to wait for the vehicles of the FAML ground forces, which are moving slowly across the desert. The French hurry to install four double Hotchkiss flak guns.
Kirkuk/Mossoul, in the afternoon - Major Bäumler has to ration the stock of methanol coming from Baghdad by road. He is only able to send two Bf 110s to conduct a patrol over the city and the airfield of Mosul. Caught in the hunt by the four MS-406 patrols, they do not insist and clear the area without difficulty.
.........
Erbil, 14:00 - Larminat sets up his PC in the villa of an engineer of the Compagnie Française des Pétroles (CFP).
.........
Ar Ramadi, 14:30 - Since dawn, heavy fighting has been going on between "Kingcol", which has been unable to advance from its initial positions, against infantry elements of the 1st and 3rd Iraqi divisions.
Well supported by their artillery, the Iraqis hold the bridge over the Euphrates and the roads leading to Habbaniyah and Fallujah. On the other side, the British have no possibility of overrunning, because of the marshes on either side of the roadways and the railroad. In these regions, Iraq is like that: one goes, almost without transition, from desert to swamps.
15:00 - If the Iraqis have so far shown no inclination to take the offensive, there is no indication, on the contrary, that they have the intention to withdraw despite the harassment of twenty Audax of the Habbaniyah Strike Force, who multiply the passes without stopping at the flak machine guns.
16:00 - The Iraqi artillery extends its fire.
16:15 - A section of 81 mm mortars begins to pound the British vanguard.
17:00 - Brigadier Kingstone orders his most advanced elements to withdraw.
17:10 - Six Audax made a final pass over the Iraqi lines. Out of nowhere, four Iraqi Gladiators overtake them, but they are in turn attacked by three of their counterparts from the RAF, opportunely ambushed in cover. The result: two British Audax and one Iraqi Gladiator shot down, no survivors.
.........
London, 15:00 - The USSR ambassador, Ivan Maisky, is received by Anthony Eden. The secretary of the Foreign Office wishes to discuss with the Soviet diplomat "insistent rumors of the next recognition of the government of Rachid Ali al-Gaylani by the Soviet Union." Eden even mentions an exchange of notes through Ankara - always the troubled role of Turkey - to open diplomatic relations. "As you rightly point out, these are only rumors without foundation." Maisky retorts.
In reality, Moscow did consider the prospect of such a rapprochement for a time, if only to please German demands, but the most lucid people in Moscow quickly pointed out the inevitable military outcome of the Iraqi affair. Molotov was therefore satisfied with a vague promise to von Ribbentrop.
.........
Berteschgaden - At the Berghof, Hitler's birthday party is in full swing. Fortunately for Göring, the Führer did not think to ask for news of the Eastern Moon...
.........
Middle East Air Command HQ, Cairo, 22:30 - Sir Arthur Longmore receives the first results of the deciphering of the last Enigma messages. He urgently orders his staff a modification of the Bertha plan to take into account the new parameters.
Baghdad, 23:30 - Message from Colonel Carbury to Major O'Flanaghan. It is the major who is to give the start of Operation Bertha. All his yaouleds will be put to contribution.
2164
April 20th, 1941
Mandatory Lebanon - Scuffles breakout during demonstrations in and around Tripoli and its region in support of the Iraqi coup. They are quickly suppressed, but President Emile Eddé, who had been in office since 1936 and had remained in his position despite the suspension of the constitution, tenders his resignation. The High Commissioner Gabriel Puaux appoints Alfred Naccache to succeed him.
Mandatory Lebanon - Scuffles breakout during demonstrations in and around Tripoli and its region in support of the Iraqi coup. They are quickly suppressed, but President Emile Eddé, who had been in office since 1936 and had remained in his position despite the suspension of the constitution, tenders his resignation. The High Commissioner Gabriel Puaux appoints Alfred Naccache to succeed him.
2166
April 20th, 1941
Sofia - Ribbentrop ends his tour of the Danube allies of the Reich with Bulgaria. The tsar Boris III and his Prime Minister Bogdan Filov do not hide their sympathy for Germany and their aversion to Greece: they easily accept the principle of a deployment of units of the Luftwaffe and troops of the Heer on their soil.
Sofia - Ribbentrop ends his tour of the Danube allies of the Reich with Bulgaria. The tsar Boris III and his Prime Minister Bogdan Filov do not hide their sympathy for Germany and their aversion to Greece: they easily accept the principle of a deployment of units of the Luftwaffe and troops of the Heer on their soil.
2167
April 20th, 1941
Alger-Maison Blanche, 06:30 - Commander Faÿ is not unhappy with himself... The period of training for the I/60 group is barely over when the first mission has already been entrusted to it: the bombing of the Perpignan - La Llabanère airfield, currently being renovated by the Germans, and where, according to the ultra-secret information which was communicated to him, a unit of the Luftwaffe must soon be deployed to bomb Algeria.
We are going to play the trick they invented in May 1940: to catch them off guard!
After several days of waiting for the weather to improve, the previous day's forecast allows us to fix the operation to this morning. Climbing into the first of the twenty Consolidated 32s, the only concern of Major Faÿ is that the German fighters would intervene - but the surprise should protect the bombers, who would arrive from the sea, where no lookout would warn the defense.
Mediterranean, 07:30 - Whereas the formation reaches its cruising altitude (4 500 m), one of the aircraft turns around, one engine smoking, the corresponding propeller turning in windmill. The attackers are only 19.
Perpignan, 09:30 - After a detour to avoid the Balearic Islands, the planes of the I/60 climb to 5,000 m. Faÿ prefers this altitude despite the recriminations of his pilots who found the aircraft more and more heavy and sluggish as one goes beyond 4,500 m*. Arriving from the east (sun in the back, of course !), the four-engined planes drop their bombs on the vast quadrilateral of the airfield of La Llabanère. Only the last two planes of the device, passing a few minutes after the others, because charged to photograph
the effects of the bombardment, note numerous bursts of flak, but quite far below them. 37, ineffective at this altitude...
The 19 planes land without any problem in Algiers around 11:30.
* The engines of this first version of the Liberator are not turbocharged, and the performances of the plane degrades quickly beyond 4 500 m.
Alger-Maison Blanche, 06:30 - Commander Faÿ is not unhappy with himself... The period of training for the I/60 group is barely over when the first mission has already been entrusted to it: the bombing of the Perpignan - La Llabanère airfield, currently being renovated by the Germans, and where, according to the ultra-secret information which was communicated to him, a unit of the Luftwaffe must soon be deployed to bomb Algeria.
We are going to play the trick they invented in May 1940: to catch them off guard!
After several days of waiting for the weather to improve, the previous day's forecast allows us to fix the operation to this morning. Climbing into the first of the twenty Consolidated 32s, the only concern of Major Faÿ is that the German fighters would intervene - but the surprise should protect the bombers, who would arrive from the sea, where no lookout would warn the defense.
Mediterranean, 07:30 - Whereas the formation reaches its cruising altitude (4 500 m), one of the aircraft turns around, one engine smoking, the corresponding propeller turning in windmill. The attackers are only 19.
Perpignan, 09:30 - After a detour to avoid the Balearic Islands, the planes of the I/60 climb to 5,000 m. Faÿ prefers this altitude despite the recriminations of his pilots who found the aircraft more and more heavy and sluggish as one goes beyond 4,500 m*. Arriving from the east (sun in the back, of course !), the four-engined planes drop their bombs on the vast quadrilateral of the airfield of La Llabanère. Only the last two planes of the device, passing a few minutes after the others, because charged to photograph
the effects of the bombardment, note numerous bursts of flak, but quite far below them. 37, ineffective at this altitude...
The 19 planes land without any problem in Algiers around 11:30.
* The engines of this first version of the Liberator are not turbocharged, and the performances of the plane degrades quickly beyond 4 500 m.
2168
April 20th, 1941
Bône, 21:00 - About fifteen SM.79 bombers, of the Pegaso division, drop bombs in the darkness on the port and the city, causing material damage and a few dozen of civilian victims. This overflow of the Malta-Tunis blitz was expected, and the approach of the Italian planes was correctly detected, allowing the alarm to be given in time, which significantly reduced the number of deaths and injuries among the population.
However, the anti-aircraft defence is conspicuous by its absence, apart from a few twinned shots of Hotchkiss machine guns defending the port. The French night fighters, busy chasing shadows above Bizerte, do not obtain any result that night, not more than the previous ones.
Bône, 21:00 - About fifteen SM.79 bombers, of the Pegaso division, drop bombs in the darkness on the port and the city, causing material damage and a few dozen of civilian victims. This overflow of the Malta-Tunis blitz was expected, and the approach of the Italian planes was correctly detected, allowing the alarm to be given in time, which significantly reduced the number of deaths and injuries among the population.
However, the anti-aircraft defence is conspicuous by its absence, apart from a few twinned shots of Hotchkiss machine guns defending the port. The French night fighters, busy chasing shadows above Bizerte, do not obtain any result that night, not more than the previous ones.
2169
April 20th, 1941
British Admiralty, London - The Axis air threat to Malta has decreased significantly. At the same time, after the end of the fight for Corsica and Sardinia, the French can take over the Gulf of Lion sector. Also their Lordships decide to base submarines again in Malta to act in the Tyrrhenian Sea as well as in the Adriatic Sea or in the Ionian Sea, depending on the needs. A new Flotilla will be formed for this purpose, the 10th. Planned to eventually include twelve U-class units, it will initially consist of four units taken from the recently formed 8th Flotilla in Gibraltar, and then boats sent from the United Kingdom.
The 8th Flotilla should not disappear, however. On the one hand, it retains, in addition to the three units, the two "U class" ships which arrived recently in Gibraltar, the HMS
Ursula (Lt. A.J. Mackenzie) and Usk (Lt. G.P. Darling), while waiting to receive two more units from England, which would operate alongside the French in the western Mediterranean.
On the other hand, the supply ship Maidstone will provide logistic support to S and T class ships engaged in anti-raider coverage of Atlantic convoys in the vicinity of of Gibraltar.
In return for this British effort in the Mediterranean, the French Admiralty agrees to send a second mine-laying submarine to operate from Dundee alongside the Rubis (CC Georges Cabanier). The Nautilus (LV Briand) is chosen. It leaves the Mediterranean on June 8th with a new commander, LV Bazin, which reduces the 20th DSM to the Turquoise (CC Wacogne) and Saphir (LV Caminati).
British Admiralty, London - The Axis air threat to Malta has decreased significantly. At the same time, after the end of the fight for Corsica and Sardinia, the French can take over the Gulf of Lion sector. Also their Lordships decide to base submarines again in Malta to act in the Tyrrhenian Sea as well as in the Adriatic Sea or in the Ionian Sea, depending on the needs. A new Flotilla will be formed for this purpose, the 10th. Planned to eventually include twelve U-class units, it will initially consist of four units taken from the recently formed 8th Flotilla in Gibraltar, and then boats sent from the United Kingdom.
The 8th Flotilla should not disappear, however. On the one hand, it retains, in addition to the three units, the two "U class" ships which arrived recently in Gibraltar, the HMS
Ursula (Lt. A.J. Mackenzie) and Usk (Lt. G.P. Darling), while waiting to receive two more units from England, which would operate alongside the French in the western Mediterranean.
On the other hand, the supply ship Maidstone will provide logistic support to S and T class ships engaged in anti-raider coverage of Atlantic convoys in the vicinity of of Gibraltar.
In return for this British effort in the Mediterranean, the French Admiralty agrees to send a second mine-laying submarine to operate from Dundee alongside the Rubis (CC Georges Cabanier). The Nautilus (LV Briand) is chosen. It leaves the Mediterranean on June 8th with a new commander, LV Bazin, which reduces the 20th DSM to the Turquoise (CC Wacogne) and Saphir (LV Caminati).
2170
April 21st, 1941
Erbil - Larminat reorganizes his forces. He planned to break up his forces into an operational device. The next day, his first tactical group, the GTA (A for Algerians), will go down towards Shaykh along the Tigris. The second, the GTB (B for British, Colonel Arbuthnot), will head towards Dibs and Altun Kupri. Finally, the third, the GTZ (Z for Zouaves), equipped with the fastest vehicles, will be launched towards Taqtaq and Dokan. Larminat is concerned about cooperation between allies, but is not convinced of the total sincerity of the British since some regrettable episodes that took place at Dunkirk were reported to him; moreover, like the majority of colonialists, he was traditionally Anglophobic (not without reason, by the way). This is why he supervises Colonel Arbuthnot's units with his own. He goes so far as to attach to him the mobile company of fusiliers-marins of Lattaquieh, to reinforce their reconnaissance elements: "The Navy - may God and Maurras forgive me - will serve me as the Eye of Moscow" sneers the general, whom nobody would accuse of sympathy for communism.
The progression should accelerate, since we will finally be in "useful" Iraq, where the needs of oil exploitation have led, since 1920, to the construction of a dense network of good quality roads. Perhaps it will also be possible to requisition from the oil companies' fleets modern trucks or tractors and trailer, to replace the old Berliet and Saurer tankers that have not digested the sand of the deserts.
The 3rd Demi-Brigade du Levant, regrouped, will remain in garrison in Mosul, except for the Levant battalion.
.........
Fallujah, 16:00 - The Iraqi motorized brigade makes its marching arrangements. The Habbaniyah's aircraft reconnaissance cannot determine if the Iraqis intend to mount a night attack on the base or to push Kingcol across the border.
.........
Mosul airfield, 16:30 - Arrival of General Massiet in a Bloch 200, appointed by Algiers as "governor of Northern Iraq, provinces of Mosul and Kirkuk". This appointment is not announced to the British. It is intended to prevent London from getting its hands on all the oil resources after the crisis. In fact, the French embassy in London is informed of the existence of a memorandum from the Board of Trade suggesting the strengthening of the British presence in the region to drive the French from the country and reduce the PSC's share in the exploitation of Iraqi oil to 10%, if not zero. It is not known whether this text - very well received, it seems, at the Colonial Office - was approved or even read by Churchill and Eden. But, on the French side, they do not want to risk being caught off guard.
.........
Ar Ramadi, 17:30 - Situation blocked, as the day before. The troops of Brigadier Kingstone make a new attempt to break through in the morning, without more success. It seems, however, that repeated attacks of the Habbaniyah Strike Force, which continue all day silenced at least some of the Iraqi batteries.
Kingstone decides to wait until he can mount a joint operation with the Habbaniyah forces.
.........
Basra - After four days of sometimes intense fighting, in which the British suffered significant losses and the Swordfish of the aircraft carrier HMS Hermes had to be called in, the whole Basra area is secured. The 2/8th Gurkha Rifles and the Rolls Royce of the 4/13th Frontier Force Rifles played a decisive role. Iraqi troops withdraw north along the Tigris River to Qurna. Only a few dozen armed police and civilians still refuse to lay down their arms in the commercial district of Ashar. Preparations for operations Regatta and Regulta begin immediately.
It is mainly a question of equipping requisitioned barges with an improvised bridge, so as to be able to load vehicles.
Erbil - Larminat reorganizes his forces. He planned to break up his forces into an operational device. The next day, his first tactical group, the GTA (A for Algerians), will go down towards Shaykh along the Tigris. The second, the GTB (B for British, Colonel Arbuthnot), will head towards Dibs and Altun Kupri. Finally, the third, the GTZ (Z for Zouaves), equipped with the fastest vehicles, will be launched towards Taqtaq and Dokan. Larminat is concerned about cooperation between allies, but is not convinced of the total sincerity of the British since some regrettable episodes that took place at Dunkirk were reported to him; moreover, like the majority of colonialists, he was traditionally Anglophobic (not without reason, by the way). This is why he supervises Colonel Arbuthnot's units with his own. He goes so far as to attach to him the mobile company of fusiliers-marins of Lattaquieh, to reinforce their reconnaissance elements: "The Navy - may God and Maurras forgive me - will serve me as the Eye of Moscow" sneers the general, whom nobody would accuse of sympathy for communism.
The progression should accelerate, since we will finally be in "useful" Iraq, where the needs of oil exploitation have led, since 1920, to the construction of a dense network of good quality roads. Perhaps it will also be possible to requisition from the oil companies' fleets modern trucks or tractors and trailer, to replace the old Berliet and Saurer tankers that have not digested the sand of the deserts.
The 3rd Demi-Brigade du Levant, regrouped, will remain in garrison in Mosul, except for the Levant battalion.
.........
Fallujah, 16:00 - The Iraqi motorized brigade makes its marching arrangements. The Habbaniyah's aircraft reconnaissance cannot determine if the Iraqis intend to mount a night attack on the base or to push Kingcol across the border.
.........
Mosul airfield, 16:30 - Arrival of General Massiet in a Bloch 200, appointed by Algiers as "governor of Northern Iraq, provinces of Mosul and Kirkuk". This appointment is not announced to the British. It is intended to prevent London from getting its hands on all the oil resources after the crisis. In fact, the French embassy in London is informed of the existence of a memorandum from the Board of Trade suggesting the strengthening of the British presence in the region to drive the French from the country and reduce the PSC's share in the exploitation of Iraqi oil to 10%, if not zero. It is not known whether this text - very well received, it seems, at the Colonial Office - was approved or even read by Churchill and Eden. But, on the French side, they do not want to risk being caught off guard.
.........
Ar Ramadi, 17:30 - Situation blocked, as the day before. The troops of Brigadier Kingstone make a new attempt to break through in the morning, without more success. It seems, however, that repeated attacks of the Habbaniyah Strike Force, which continue all day silenced at least some of the Iraqi batteries.
Kingstone decides to wait until he can mount a joint operation with the Habbaniyah forces.
.........
Basra - After four days of sometimes intense fighting, in which the British suffered significant losses and the Swordfish of the aircraft carrier HMS Hermes had to be called in, the whole Basra area is secured. The 2/8th Gurkha Rifles and the Rolls Royce of the 4/13th Frontier Force Rifles played a decisive role. Iraqi troops withdraw north along the Tigris River to Qurna. Only a few dozen armed police and civilians still refuse to lay down their arms in the commercial district of Ashar. Preparations for operations Regatta and Regulta begin immediately.
It is mainly a question of equipping requisitioned barges with an improvised bridge, so as to be able to load vehicles.
2171
April 21st, 1941
Budapest - Back, as promised, in Hungary, Ribbentrop notes with pleasure that Sztójay and Werth had worked well in his absence: Horthy, impressed by the Axis successes in Albania and fearing that he would have to return Transylvania to the Romanians (had Romania not seen a part of its territory ceded to the Soviet bear?) bows. Unbeknownst to Prime Minister Teleki, he signs an agreement with Ribbentrop on the transit of German troops through Hungary.
In the evening, Ribbentrop hurries back to Berlin to announce his successes to the Führer himself and not to let Canaris steal the show. Nevertheless, the latter succeeds in attracting the attention of the Führer: the reports of his agents indicate indeed that the importance of the British forces in Greece is taking on threatening proportions.
Budapest - Back, as promised, in Hungary, Ribbentrop notes with pleasure that Sztójay and Werth had worked well in his absence: Horthy, impressed by the Axis successes in Albania and fearing that he would have to return Transylvania to the Romanians (had Romania not seen a part of its territory ceded to the Soviet bear?) bows. Unbeknownst to Prime Minister Teleki, he signs an agreement with Ribbentrop on the transit of German troops through Hungary.
In the evening, Ribbentrop hurries back to Berlin to announce his successes to the Führer himself and not to let Canaris steal the show. Nevertheless, the latter succeeds in attracting the attention of the Führer: the reports of his agents indicate indeed that the importance of the British forces in Greece is taking on threatening proportions.
2172
April 21st, 1941
Berlin, ReichsLuftMinisterium, 16:00 - Reichsmarschall Göring has returned from the Berghof, where he presented his birthday wishes to the Führer the day before. He insisted on flying his personal Fw 200 himself, which relaxed him, and then spent the night in Karinhall. He does not return to Berlin until the late morning and is now meditating, with the help of a more than venerable cognac on the hazards of his Iraqi adventure.
But if he has asked not to be disturbed, he is obliged to answer when the direct line connecting his office to the Reich Chancellery begins to ring insistently! No sooner had he picked up the phone than the receiver almost literally explodes under the shock of the rantings of the Führer, "I had ordered you to bomb Algeria three months ago. But it was those pigs* of Frenchmen who respected the deadline, and on my birthday, to boot! Moreover, who immediately retaliated? The Italians, Göring, the Italians! If in two weeks your Luftwaffe has not acted energetically, I'll send you back to the squadrons!"
Although accustomed to the threats and excesses of the Reich master, Göring shuddered: how, in two weeks, lose enough weight to enter the cockpit of a Bf 109, known for its narrowness!
He immediately calls Jeschonnek, whom he suspects (wrongly!) of having warned Hitler of the French action and the new Italian bombing. But the general has no difficulty to justify himself: "Yesterday, with the Führer's birthday and all the precautions that must be taken on such a day, because of all the movements of everyone, the information was lost, Herr Reichsmarschall. And today you asked not to be disturbed. In any case, the damage is minor: an empty hangar burned down and some holes in the concrete of the runway, the rest of the bombs only stirred up some dirt. No victims, it was a day of rest for the birthday... "
- I know, no need to remind me! When will the Kosh Heinkels be there?
- This week.
- Ah! Very good.
With the prospect of a draconian regime seemingly receding, Göring opens a file that had been lying around on his desk for several days: the problems of the Me 210. Milch again, who was too alarmist, as usual. His friend Willy had reassured him a few days before: everything was fine, the few minor problems encountered are being corrected and soon the Luftwaffe will have a thunderous Zerstörer!
* The insult is much more violent in German than in English. The search for an adapted equivalent would not add anything to this story.
Berlin, ReichsLuftMinisterium, 16:00 - Reichsmarschall Göring has returned from the Berghof, where he presented his birthday wishes to the Führer the day before. He insisted on flying his personal Fw 200 himself, which relaxed him, and then spent the night in Karinhall. He does not return to Berlin until the late morning and is now meditating, with the help of a more than venerable cognac on the hazards of his Iraqi adventure.
But if he has asked not to be disturbed, he is obliged to answer when the direct line connecting his office to the Reich Chancellery begins to ring insistently! No sooner had he picked up the phone than the receiver almost literally explodes under the shock of the rantings of the Führer, "I had ordered you to bomb Algeria three months ago. But it was those pigs* of Frenchmen who respected the deadline, and on my birthday, to boot! Moreover, who immediately retaliated? The Italians, Göring, the Italians! If in two weeks your Luftwaffe has not acted energetically, I'll send you back to the squadrons!"
Although accustomed to the threats and excesses of the Reich master, Göring shuddered: how, in two weeks, lose enough weight to enter the cockpit of a Bf 109, known for its narrowness!
He immediately calls Jeschonnek, whom he suspects (wrongly!) of having warned Hitler of the French action and the new Italian bombing. But the general has no difficulty to justify himself: "Yesterday, with the Führer's birthday and all the precautions that must be taken on such a day, because of all the movements of everyone, the information was lost, Herr Reichsmarschall. And today you asked not to be disturbed. In any case, the damage is minor: an empty hangar burned down and some holes in the concrete of the runway, the rest of the bombs only stirred up some dirt. No victims, it was a day of rest for the birthday... "
- I know, no need to remind me! When will the Kosh Heinkels be there?
- This week.
- Ah! Very good.
With the prospect of a draconian regime seemingly receding, Göring opens a file that had been lying around on his desk for several days: the problems of the Me 210. Milch again, who was too alarmist, as usual. His friend Willy had reassured him a few days before: everything was fine, the few minor problems encountered are being corrected and soon the Luftwaffe will have a thunderous Zerstörer!
* The insult is much more violent in German than in English. The search for an adapted equivalent would not add anything to this story.
- Status