Fantasque Time Line (France Fights On) - English Translation

[Wings]

June 1st, 1942

The Battle of Singapore - III
Malaya
- The Eastern Force reports that the elements of the "Dalforce" which were sent to it in reinforcement to conduct long-range reconnaissance are increasingly coming up against patrols of the Imperial Guard Division, showing that Japanese ground forces in the area are gradually increasing. However, the "Dalforce", in cooperation with Force 136 and with... Communist guerrilla groups, regularly attack Japanese river traffic.
It inflicts only minor losses on the enemy in terms of men, but it destroys two barges and significant quantities of supplies. It also takes prisoners and gets hold of documents. Permanent observation and intelligence teams are established near Japanese ports on the east coast.
...
- The Main Force continues a slow advance. The 9th and 11th Indian Divisions advance slowly through the jungle and plantations, despite numerous small unit clashes. The Japanese of the 27th Division practice an elastic defense here, with a continuous movement of small groups of men, who cling to the ground only when a company's strongpoint is threatened. Losses are relatively light on both sides, but the fighting continues continuously.
The Japanese slowly retreat, giving ground and gaining time, along the railroad, an area of vital importance to control. Indeed, the railroad track generally follows the line of the highest and best drained land. A north-south corridor opens up through the jungle, starting from Paloh and passing through Niyor, Kluang, Sungei Sayong Halt and Rengam, to Layang-Layang. Roads connect this corridor to the main north-south road, almost parallel but further west, at Yong Peng, Ayer Hitam (or Hitam Ayer), Simpang Rengam (literally, Rengam Crossroads) and the Namazie Rubber Plantation (or Namazie Rubber Estate). But these roads are few in number, and the 56th Division, which is defending the road, begins to be in a difficult situation, as it is threatened with being flanked by the advances of the Western Force.
...
- The Western Force controls the line running west to east from the Straits coast and Batu Pahat to Yong Peng through Bukit Pelandok, cutting off all secondary roads between Central Malaysia and the south of the peninsula. On the other side, the Japanese hold a line from Parit Jawa to Labis, through Bakri and Pagoh. Between these two lines lies an area of very flat, badly drained, marshy ground, crossed by many rivers, from where the fact that the local names of many places include the terms Alor (canal or pond), Parit (ditch) or Ayer (marsh). It is only between Parit Jawa and Bakri that the digging of canals has allowed for plantations.
Any British movement towards the north, or Japanese towards the south, is thus channeled on one of the three roads that run through the region, and of which only the one along the west coast allows a certain deployment of forces. Moreover, even this one crosses many drainage canals and ditches, which also flank the road and restrict off-road movements, without making them impossible. If both sides can fortify themselves on the lines they occupy with enough troops, a stable equilibrium must be established.
Reinforcements arrive only by the coastal route, and the small ship flotilla in Singapore plays a vital role in supplying the Western Force, as road traffic alone would be incapable of doing so. To preserve the road, vulnerable to bombing, or even to a landing or a paratroop assault, the Malayan Command creates battalions of communications defense, set up from elements of formations disbanded a few weeks earlier. Each has about 750 men and includes a company with a signal group, a platoon of trackers (local reconnaissance and convoy escort), an anti-aircraft platoon (two light trucks equipped with machine guns and four 40 mm Bofors for the defense of key points), a rifle company, a detachment of the Royal Military Police (traffic control and security duties), a platoon of Royal Engineers and Pioneer Corps (road and bridge repair), a company of armed laborers (local volunteers), etc.
Eight communications defense battalions are formed.
- In Pontian Kechil: "Essex Force" (9th Essex Regt). Main administrative base of the Western Force and close to the Strait of Malacca, Pontian Kechil has other defenses: an R.A. battery composed of four 4.7-inch navals (mounted on 60-pound trains) for coastal defense, one of eight 3.7-inch AAs, one of sixteen 40 mm Bofors AA.
- At Pontian Besar: "Sussex Force" (7th Royal Sussex Regt).
- At Benut: "Kent Force" (10th Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regt).
- At Rengit : "Surrey Force" (4th Queen's Royal Regt, West Surrey).
- At Senggarang : "Ulster Force" (8th Royal Ulster Rifles).
- At Batu Pahat : "Border Force" (7th South Wales Borderers).
- At the bridge over the Sungei Pang Kanan : "Shropshire Force" (7th King's Shropshire Light Infantry).
- At the crossroads of the Butik Pelandok parade: "Welsh Force" (12th Royal Welsh Fusiliers).
.........
On the ground, the British reinforce the Batu Pahat - Yong Peng line and directed their axis of progression eastward, towards the village of Hitam Ayer and its crossroads,
This is the main link between Kluang and the Japanese 56th Division, positioned at Simpang Rengam.
The advance towards Hitam Ayer, defended by the Japanese 9th Division, is to be made by two small straight roads (coming from Batu Pahat and Yong Peng), traced between jungle and swamp. The British count on their numerical superiority, their armor and artillery to gain an advantage over the 7th and 19th regiments of the 9th Division, supported by some artillery and some mounted patrols.
However, on the Batu Pahat - Hitam Ayer road, the 1st Chinese Infantry Brigade had to stop, while, in its rear, the plantations between Batu Pahat and the Bukit Pelandok defile were cleaned from Japanese infiltration. Numerous skirmishes develop, while companies are deployed in a front line to sweep the area, supported by reserve units engaged when Japanese are encountered.
...
To the northeast, the 2nd Chinese Infantry Brigade arrives at Yong Peng after an exhausting night march. But the men still have enough energy to launch a bayonet charge at dawn against the 35th Regiment of the Japanese 9th Division, which holds the crossroads 5 km east of the village. With one against three and the morning fog reducing the effectiveness of the few heavy weapons the regiment possesses, the Japanese give in almost immediately.
The local command commits what reserves it has to cover its retreat along the Paloh railroad line to the east, uncovering the road to Labis to the northeast. This is not as risky a move as it sounds - in fact, it makes military sense: with the control the sky, the British know that launching their infantry on the long, roughly straight road to Labis would be a recipe for disaster. On the other hand, to advance towards Paloh, under the cover of the rubber plantations, can cut the railway line and threaten Kluang from the north.
In any case, the fatigue of the battle adds to that of the forced march, the Chinese do not pursue the enemy. On the other hand, a mechanized column charges along the road from Yong Peng to Labis. Armored cars, tracked vehicles and Stuart light tanks (of the Australian Independent Armored Company) machine-gun Japanese road convoys and finally destroy a destroy a train when arriving at Labis, before having to withdraw in front of an increasing number of Japanese, supported by their artillery. The Stuarts perform very well during this lightning round trip, despite their greed for aviation fuel.
The other British forces at Yong Peng (including a squadron of Cruisers) prepare to advance toward Hitam Ayer, to the southeast, when news reaches them of a counterattack of the 33rd Japanese Division on their rear, at the Bukit Pelandok pass. This counter-attack threatens the line of communication of the allied forces at Yong Peng and most of the British hurriedly turn back to Bukit Pelandok. A forward position is, however, established on the main road between Yong Peng and Hitam Ayer, at the 64-mile marker, on the edge of a vast swampy area, and a reserve position at the 68 miles, behind the Sungei Simpang Kanan.
...
The reported counter-attack takes place at the Parit Sulong bridge, which crosses the Sungei Simpang Kiri, on the road from Muar to the Bukit Pelandok defile. The Japanese 215th Infantry Regiment progresses rapidly on the small road: some of the men are on bicycles, some are in trucks and they are accompanied by tanks, armored cars and a little artillery. They try to come in contact with the defenders before the British artillery can open fire. But the head of the column is brutally stopped at the approach of the bridge by small arms, machine gun and mortar fire from the Singapore Volunteers (SSVF) and four 3.7-inch howitzers (ex-1st Mountain Regiment R.A.), whose fire is regulated by an observer accompanying the infantry and another on a nearby hill. The rest of the column piles up behind, with trucks and tanks unable to get off the road because the surrounding terrain is too soft - but this terrain spares the Japanese much of the blast effect and shrapnel of the British shells.
However, the I/215 has to increase its efforts to gain some ground and allow the guns and vehicles to find some firmer areas to deploy in, while the transports laboriously turn around to flee the combat zone. The infantry deploys on both sides of the road and cross the river on improvised rafts or even by swimming. The front is expanding, but the attackers are making little progress, and their losses in men and equipment are heavy. However, at the end of the day, two Japanese companies succeed in bypassing the defense from the north by crossing a swampy area. After an exhausting march, they advance along the northwestern flank of the Bukit Pelandok defile, under the cover of the jungle, and come into contact with the Australian companies holding the long northern ridge.
Throughout the day, Japanese aircraft harass British troops between the pass and Yong Peng, because the road crosses a swamp on a long straight slope, with no other cover than the British four 3.7-inch AAs (ex-8th Heavy AA Regt R.A.) and twelve 40 mm Bofors (SSVF flak battery).
...
Meanwhile, on the western coastal road, the Japanese 213th Infantry Regiment reaches 5 km west of Batu Pahat. Its battalions vigorously repel the British patrols and seize the advanced positions held on the right by the 5/2nd Punjab (12th Indian Infantry Brigade) and on the left by the 3 and 5/17th Dogra Regt (44th Indian Infantry Brigade). The situation is restored by the 1st Bedfordshire & Hertfordshire Regt (reserve of the 12th Brigade), which counter-attacks successfully around noon, supported by Valentine tanks.
...
At the same time, a little farther northeast, the Third Regiment of the 33rd Division, the 214th Regt, moves through the rubber plantations, parallel to the road from Batu
Pahat to Bukit Pelandok. It runs into patrols of the 2/16th Punjab (on the right wing of the 44th Indian Brigade), then comes across sappers and pioneers working on the road and bridge over the Sungei Simpang Kanan. The latter withdraws under the protection of the "Shropshire Force", formed from elements of the 7th King's Shropshire Light Infantry (disbanded as such a few weeks earlier). True to their motto "I rise again with renewed splendor" and once again honoring the French Croix de Guerre received in 1918, the Shropshire men hold the bridge over the Sungei Simpang Kanan against Japanese troops that are increasingly superior in number.
But between Batu Pahat (held by the Border Force) and the bridge, the Japanese find a gap in the British line and some Japanese units to break through to the southeast to cut the Batu Pahat - Hitam Ayer road, while others cross the Sungei to the northeast and approaching the road intersection held by the Welsh Force. These two infiltrations have important effects, as they occur while the British are preparing to attack Hitam Ayer from the northwest and southwest. The first units of the Western Force are now dangerously stretched. At this point, the defense is concentrating on certain key points, and reinforcements are used as they arrive to plug holes and eliminate Japanese infiltration in the rear.

Singapore - The transfer of personnel to strengthen training units and to form new flak and coastal defense artillery units, the evacuation of many cadres to Ceylon in January 1942, and the mass incorporation of natives completely changed the character of several units. This resulted in various administrative changes, recognized by the War Office in London. Thus, the 5th Searchlight Regt and the 6th Heavy Anti Aircraft Regt of the Royal Artillery of the regular British Army became regiments of the Singapore and Hong-Kong Royal Artillery*. Within this corps, the 7th Light Anti Aircraft Regt and the 8th Heavy Anti Aircraft Regt (in charge of creating and training flak batteries disperse all over Singapore, near fixed defensive installations, airfields, etc.).
The men of the 1 and 2/13th Battalions of the Royal Marines evacuated to Ceylon having been transferred to the fleet reserves, the Admiralty advises the Marines remaining in Singapore that they now constitute the entire 13th Regiment of the Royal Marines.
.........
South China Sea - The Singapore Inshore Squadron has its "Glorious First of June" when three gunboats (including the flagship, named Queen Charlotte in honor of Lord Howe's flagship) and two fast patrol boats (all five improvised in Singapore from civilian hulls) make a great massacre in the night of many Indonesian or Malay boats that the Japanese used for their supplies. The raid takes place in the coastal inlet of Sedili Besar, on the east coast of Johore, where the minefields are ineffective, because the boats used have a too shallow draft.
.........
Strait of Malacca - Five motorized sailboats armed by Malay volunteers arrive in Singapore with a total of about 1,000 tons of black market goods from Sumatra. The quantities are small, but it appears that there is a relatively safe route between Indonesia and Singapore, and the local population maintains friendly ties with the Singaporean defenders. The ships contain a mixture of abandoned British or Dutch goods and normal commercial goods: rice, tobacco, cement and lubricants from Sumatra; cooking oil, medicines, clothing and tires from Java.
All of these goods show that either the Allies were unable to destroy all stocks of local manufactured goods, or the Japanese have already succeeded in restarting production. Indeed, the recent Dutch attempts to industrialize their East Indies have given Java an oil refinery, ship repair and construction facilities, repair shops for railroad equipment, a military arsenal, weaving and garment production workshops, factories and clothing production, edible oil and margarine factories, etc. This information is of real importance.

* The original regiments were reformed in Ceylon from evacuees (cadres, sick and wounded) and from reinforcements.

 

[Wings]

June 1st, 1942

Washington, DC - Rear Admiral Richmond K. Turner is summoned by the Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral King. He is told that he must leave immediately for San Francisco where "important and very special work awaits."

 

[Wings]

June 1st, 1942

Washington, DC - The latest in a series of top-secret inter-allied meetings on the situation in China is drawing to a close. The main stakeholders, the Chinese, did not participate, however, as the Americans, British and French have noted that, despite military successes achieved in recent months, China will be unable to play the major role reserved for it in the Allied strategy without considerable internal reforms...and that these will have to be imposed on it. Historians have confirmed this judgment.
"By mid-1942, Chungking and the Kuo-Min-Tang (KMT) were, despite their recent military successes, on the verge of a precipice.
The ideals of Chiang Kai-shek's party were decaying, and with them the legitimacy of the KMT. The necessary reforms had been decided the KMT itself in 1928 and initiated in the early 1930s, but the events of 1937 and the outbreak of war with Japan dealt them a fatal blow.. Until 1941, the KMT had managed to hold out in this way, but by 1942 it had become clear that within two years there would be little difference between the KMT and a Warlord.
The secret Washington meetings on the China problem in May-June 1942 pitted two schools of thought. One, that of the "pro-Chinese Americans," explained the KMT's inabilities by the fact that China was fighting with a broken back: the most developed part of its national territory was in Japanese hands; it could not be blamed for its shortcomings or asked to correct them before the end of the war, and, in the meantime, it was necessary to provide it with all possible assistance. The other, called the "pragmatic coalition," brought together a strong minority of Americans, almost all British and all French. The pragmatists believed that blindly helping such a rotten regime could do no good. They won thanks to the French example, which showed that enemy occupation was not a sufficient reason to renounce all reform of the state by adopting a self-destructive mode of government. Westerners, often based on their colonial experience of pacification and economic development, decided to use a combination of carrot, stick, supplies and war materials and hopefully persuade important KMT officials to reform the Chinese state again, as they had intended to do in less troubled times."
(From Jack Bailey, Canberra University Press: Birth of Modern China, 1996)

 

[Wings]

June 1st, 1942

Barbarossa
From the Curonian Spit to the Black Sea, the front is temporarily stabilized, because both sides are too exhausted to engage in large-scale operations. But this does not mean that all is quiet. In fact, many limited operations are taking place along this front, as both sides probe the opponent's forces, seek to secure a tactical advantage, or, for the Soviets, attempting to resupply encircled units trying to break through to the east. Some of these operations involve the commitment of forces up to a division.
...
- Northern sector
The operations are mostly related to Voroshilov's clumsy attempts to reorganize his forces to support Tymoshenko's upcoming offensive.
...
- Central sector
Until June 10th, the entire center of the Soviet front is under the responsibility of the Belarussian Front, commanded by Colonel-General I. Boldin. The operations are mainly the result of the previous battles. Quite large Soviet forces have been trapped by the German advance and are now trying to fight their way back to the Russian positions.
Boldin is helping them as best he can with the exhaustion of his troops.
...
- Southern sector and Black Sea
On the Ukrainian front, German troops try to infiltrate Rovno, but are blocked by an energetic defense. South of the city, the artillery formations of both sides launch a duel for six hours, with no clear result, as both sides lack enough ammunition to achieve an effective shell density.
Yevpatoria (Crimea), 03:10 - Strange silhouettes lined up on the runway of the Black Sea Fleet Aviation. Planes, no doubt, but with a strange excess of wings and engines, as if buds had come to the six Pe-8 and three TB-3 "Aviamatki" of the 18th Transport Group which take off in two waves.
Constantza (Romania), 05:20 - At dawn, after two hours of flight, the heavy assemblies are 20 nautical miles from the large Romanian port. Each four-engine aircraft then lets two single-engine aircraft of the 32nd Fighter Regiment, twelve Yak-1 SPBs and six I-16s SPB in all, fly towards their target. The fighter-bombers approach at very low altitude from the sea and are not detected until they appear over the harbor. Without any fighter opposition and almost without reaction of a stunned flak, the raid is very effective. The Yaks attack the boats, placingthree 250 kg bombs on the destroyer Marasti, which capsizes, and two on the large destroyer Regele Ferdinand, soon devoured by flames. The Polikarpovs target the fuel tanks - easy targets, which will burn for two days.
On the way back, some Romanian Bf 109E intercepted the Soviets, but if they manage to shoot down an I-16, they lose one of their own under the blows of the Yak-1.

 

[Wings]

June 1st, 1942

Rastenburg - Hitler's personal headquarters is the site of an important meeting on the state of the Panzerwaffe, whose great tactical know-how could not hide its painful material shortcomings in Russia. Learning that the great majority of the Pz-III are still armed with the 50 mm/L42 and not the L60, Hitler has one of his famous explosions of anger: "Equip today our tanks with this ridiculous old gun is a kind of treason! From this moment on, no more Pz-III must leave the factory without being equipped with the L/60 gun!"
Halder, helped by the representative of the technical branch of the Wehrmacht, has all the difficulties of the world to convince Hitler that the production of the 50 mm/L60 is still too slow to equip both all the new Pz-III and all the Pz-II and Pz-38(t) which one must convert into Panzerjaegers. "As soon as the fighting started in Russia," explains Halder, "we noticed that our tanks armed with 20 or 37 mm guns, such as the Pz-II and Pz-38(t), were completely outdated. Nevertheless, they are reliable vehicles, which a good casemate gun can transform them into efficient tank hunters at little cost. Unfortunately, they are in competition with the Pz-III for the 50 mm long and with the new Pz-IV models or with the Pz-V for the 75 mm long. The most effective choice, my Führer, is to reduce only gradually the production of tanks armed with short guns, to stop it when enough long guns are available."
Hitler finally reluctantly admits that the transition from the 50 mm/L42 to the L60 would only take place little by little. But, to comfort himself, he orders the production of 75 mm anti-tank guns to be increased and to convert all prototypes and pre-production models of the Porsche VK3601(P) (the loser of the Pz-V competition) into heavy tank fighters, armed with the 88 mm/L56 Flak gun.

 

[Wings]

June 1st, 1942

Alger - Allied staff conference on the "Pericles" offensive. This is planned around the 10th of June, but General Giraud would prefer to wait until July to have more Sav-42 Bélier tanks, and Vice-Admiral Gensoul wants the renovated battleship Provence to be fully operational before the launch of the operation. Admiral Cunningham protests: "The sooner we attack, the greater the surprise," he says. "And my battleships are numerous enough to guarantee us sufficient artillery support on the west coast of the Peloponnese." A compromise is agreed upon: the operation is set for June 21st.
In the meantime, the Armée d'Orient continues to be reinforced: after the arrival of the 27th Alpine Division (General Lhuillier) and the 4th Regiment of Tunisian Spahis (corps reconnaissance), which join the I Corps, the 25th RTS arrives to replace the 5th RTS, which had been badly damaged, within the 9th DIC. Important artillery reinforcements (121st Heavy Artillery Rgt) also land in the Peloponnese.

 

[Wings]

June 1st, 1942

Malta - Arrival of HMS P-211 (which will be renamed Safari in January 1943, Cdr B. Bryant) and P-222 (Lt A.J. Mackenzie), the first British S-class submarines deployed in the Mediterranean. In return, this reinforcement allows the departure for the Indian Ocean of two U class submarines, the P-33 (Lt R.D. Whiteway-Wilkinson) and the P-36 (Lt H.N. Edmonds). They will join the 10th Flotilla to compensate for the loss (in February) of the P-31 and P-34.

 

[Wings]

June 2nd, 1942

Occupied France - The RAF continues its "Circus" operations of harassment on the coasts of the Channel, but it pays the price. A "Circus" raid led by twelve Spitfire Mk.V of Sqn 403 is intercepted by eight Focke-Wulf 190A. Eight Spitfires are shot down against only three Fw 190, which underlines once again the superiority of the new German fighter and the urgency for the British to bring the successors of the Mk.V. on line. The Allies go so far as to consider mounting a commando operation on a French airfield to capture an Fw 190 for evaluation purposes.

Essen - During the night of the 1st to the 2nd, 956 RAF bombers attack Essen. But the objective is obscured by fog and clouds and the results are disappointing, for the loss of 31 bombers (including four of the new Lancasters).

 

[Wings]

June 2nd, 1942

The Battle of Singapore - III
Malaya
With the situation on the west coast becoming dangerous near Batu Pahat, the Command orders to put pressure on the Japanese in the east and center of Johor to relieve the Western Force by distracting the enemy air force.
...
- The Eastern Force is brought out of its inactivity. The 63rd Brigade (Highlands), aided by Chinese guides provided by the Dalforce, launched a few probes toward the Japanese Imperial Guard, "to liven up the situation a bit" says one of their officers.
...
- The Main Force increases the operational tempo of the 9th and 11th Indian Divisions, accepting the risk of increased casualties and small groups of Japanese infiltrating on the flanks and rear. Progress remains limited, although the enemy is sometimes surprised and some positions can be taken in the process; but the usual problems (traps, snipers...) slow the advance. Nevertheless, the Japanese lose a lot of men and spend a lot of ammunition.
...
- The Western Force fights a series of confused battles. The units are mixed up, as they send detachments to reinforce their neighbors, but then request assistance from other units. The marching logs are contradictory and several reports of enemy actions and losses seem to concern the same action seen from different points.
In the evening, it becomes clear that the day of the Western Force has been the hardest since the beginning of the offensive.
On the whole of the western front, the British forces should apparently have had no trouble in dealing with the activities of the single, but aptly named, 33rd "White Tiger" Division. However, the British infantry battalions are understrength, and the supporting units have too few mortars, heavy machine guns and light artillery. The brigades depend too much on the divisional artillery and its command network. This artillery is severely affected by ammunition shortages at the beginning of the battle and by the difficulties caused by the Japanese attack on the Western Force Headquarters.
Some Commonwealth units are forced to engage the Japanese 214th Infantry Regiment which successfully operates on the rear of the 17th Indian Division. In the front, the 213th RI supported by the divisional units of the 33rd Division, is on a par in number and firepower with the units which must face it.
...
To the northeast of this fighting, the Amphibious Force suffers greatly. Lacking heavy weapons, largely dominated on this point by the Japanese 215th Infantry Regiment, it must abandon most of the ground conquered between Parit Sulong and the Bukit Payong, only succeeding in surviving by forming a porcupine. By the evening of June 2nd, the Amphibious Force has lost about 40 percent of the 2,400 men who had left Singapore by sea a few days earlier: 15 per cent killed (including those who drowned during the landing), 15 per cent wounded and 10 per cent missing (but almost all of them managed, after sometimes incredible adventures, to reach the Allied lines). These heavy losses are the result of the inability to get enough support units and heavy equipment to the front line by roads that are too few and too narrow, or by sea, facing the Japanese air opposition.
...
Finally, 3 or 4 km to the east of the last defensive position of the Amphibious Force, resists a mixture of troops from communication and anti-aircraft units, made up of small packs of men and equipment on their way to Yong Peng, reinforced by the motorized troops that guarded the city and were urgently recalled. With no real command structure and without training to act together, these men fight fiercely, at close range or even hand-to-hand, and together they block the Japanese advance. This success is not due to better tactics or better command, but to the fact that the British could sustain higher casualties while continuing to hold an impervious defensive line, which the Japanese would have to attempt to remove before they could face the inevitable Allied counterattack.
.........
The following is an attempt to reconstruct in detail the events of those twenty-four hours in the West Force sector.
Batu Pahat area - With the division's reserves committed, the defense of the forward HQ of the 17th Indian Division, located east of Batu Pahat in a rubber plantation, under cover of air attacks, falls to the "Border Force". Shortly before dawn, infiltration groups of the 1st Battalion, Japanese 214th Regiment repeatedly charge the HQ positions.
Until sunrise, the battle rages, with small arms, bayonets and grenades.
In the early morning, reinforcements finally arrive in the form of elements of the 44th Indian Brigade, accompanied by various platoons from the rear. These units counter-attack, pushing back the Japanese with heavy losses. Nevertheless, the 17th Indian Division HQ is put out of action during more than ten hours, the fighting approaching sometimes to less than 150 meters from the command tents and signal trucks. The South Wales Borderers and the "honorary Welsh" of the units attached to it have proved to be the worthy heirs of their famous and courageous ancestors of the "Zulu War" of 1879.
All day long, the Japanese 213th Regiment and the divisional units of the 33rd Division hang up the 17th Indian ID west of Batu Pahat while the columns of the 214th Rgt engage further east, between Batu Pahat and Bukit Pelandok. The 45th Infantry Brigade and mounted infantry columns are trying to clear the area, while the Japanese harass them, attacking and then withdrawing to make the British believe that they are more numerous than in reality.
In addition to these actions, around 10:00, the 7/6th Rajputana Rifles of the 45th Brigade is ordered to hold two small hills east of the link between the Hitam Ayer road and the coastal road. The lead company is ambushed and its supporting companies are also targeted by dense and accurate mortar, machine gun, light and field artillery fire. At this point, the Western Force signal platoons report that a Japanese radio is transmitting from the northern, highest hill (Hill 828). The operator directs air attacks and long-range artillery on the Indian rear. In fact, it appears that the bulk of the Japanese 214th Regiment (two battalions and the heavy weapons company) is concentrated on the high ground. From there, the Japanese observe and threaten all road and naval traffic to Batu Pahat. By the end of the day, the bulk of the 45th Brigade, the 1st Chinese Brigade and divisional units are engaged near Hill 828, in an arc from northeast to southeast of Batu Pahat, 4 to 5 km from the city.
...
Bukit Pelandok Defile - The night of June 1st to 2nd and the day of June 2nd see intense fighting in the region crossed by the road that comes from Muar-Bakri and Parit Sulong (in the north). This road passes through a series of ridges and hills covered with jungle (the bukits: Belah and Payong in particular). These heights rise in an area of plantations or marshes and form the strategic Bukit Pelandok pass, at the southern exit of which the road splits into two branches, towards Yong Peng (east) and Batu Pahat (west). The control of this position depends on the possibility for the Allies to hold Yong Peng and take Ayer Hitam, thus preventing the Japanese from using the main north-south route through Johor.
On the night of the 1st to the 2nd, two companies of the Japanese I/215th Battalion continue to threaten the northern ridge line (the Bukit Belah), between 690 and 475, held by the Australian infantry. The remainder of the battalion threatens the road between the Bukit Belah and the Bukit Pelandok (at the 78.5 mile marker on the Yong Peng road). A sharp attack by the II/215th Battalion topples the tired Chinese and Eurasian volunteers holding the Parit Sulong bridge.
The remnants of the left wing company take refuge in the Canadian artillery observation post at the western end of the Bukit Payong (Hill 856). The center company withdraws 5 km to the New Zealand roadblock between the Canadians and Hill 690, held by Australians, west of Bukit Belah. The company on the right, finding itself cut off and lacking ammunition, makes its way through with bayonets (for more discretion...) and makes a wide arc to the north and east, to find itself behind the Japanese lines and march through the swamps to Yong Peng; it arrives there on June 3rd at the end of the day, in a state of almost total exhaustion.
In the morning, the Japanese III/215th Battalion and regimental units of the 215th Regiment directly attack the road between Bukit Belah (to the northeast) and Bukit Payong (to the southeast), while the II/215th attacks Bukit Payong, while attempting to outflank it from the south to reach the road junction directly.
On the far left of the Allied line, west of the Bukit Payong, the "Royal Marine" battalion holds a ridge 50 to 100 meters high. The Bukit Payong itself (hill 856) is held by the "Canadian Battalion", reinforced by the survivors of a company of Chinese volunteers.
Further to the right, the roadblock is held by the reserve of the Amphibious Force: the "New Zealand" company, plus a company and the HQ of the Chinese volunteer battalion. To the right, the "Australian Battalion" holds 1,500 meters of ridge, from hill 890 to 475, in the shadow of the Bukit Belah. Finally, the reserve consists of a 3.7-inch mountain artillery unit, eight Matilda I tanks and eight reconnaissance Bren Carriers, around the Amphibious Force HQ. Armored cars, tracked vehicles and motorcycles speeding down the Yong Peng Road help maintain communications with other allied units.
At daybreak, the Japanese III/215th attack the area defended by the Australians, advancing continuously on the hillside, under the cover of the jungle. The attackers have a large numerical superiority in mortars and heavy machine guns, and casualties poured into the rear of the Allied positions. In addition, the 215th's four 75 mm guns carry farther than the British 3.7-inch howitzers, the two Nipponese 70 mm light guns have the advantage over the British 3-inch mortars, and the 37 mm anti-tank guns support them with explosive shells. The defenders progressively retreat, tightening their defensive perimeter until they form a 1,500-meter square in the middle of the plantations. The defense then becomes easier, because the attackers are forced to uncover themselves, especially along the road, and are exposed to British mortars and machine guns.
At the other end of the front, the II/215th launches a series of attacks to dislodge the Canadians from Bukit Payong. But the Allies hold on, not wanting to give up this position which dominates the battlefield and commands its approaches. Their artillery does its utmost and the support of other units was requested, by radio if the devices worked, by messenger if not. The guns of the Welsh Force and the Shropshire Force take part in the battle.
To the east, the Japanese set up the I/215th HQ with a company east of Bukit Belah, 400 meters from the road. Mortars, machine guns and light cannons (two 37 mm and two 70 mm) sweep the road and inflict heavy casualties on units attempting to use it until they are silenced by four 3.7 inch flak guns deployed on a hill 4 km away and used in fire support. These high-velocity guns fire 28-pound HE shells which, at this distance, have a flat trajectory, allowing the gunners to easily aim at the Japanese guns that reveal their position at the moment of firing. This flak battery (like the 40 mm one) is protected by a troop of pioneers who help to set up and entrench the guns, their equipment and their servants, but also to repair the damage caused to the nearby road, to eliminate the destroyed vehicles obstructing the passage, etc.
At the end of the day, coming from the bridge over the Sungei Simpang Kanan, reinforcements arrive in the form of a column of mounted infantry, supported by eight tanks, twelve 18-pounders and twelve Vickers machine guns. While these units engage two companies of the Japanese 214th Rgt, the mounted infantry fords their horses, dismount and attack the Japanese, who scatter. Then, the reinforcements move northeast, attacking the Japanese forces in their rear around the Bukit Pelandok junction.

Ammunition problems - Apart from food supplies, ammunition is the main concern of Lord Gort's staff. It is the Achilles heel of the island-fortress, and it can only be remedied by palliatives that are very inadequate in the long run (see Singapore under siege).
.........
Queens with misfortunes - From a Royal Navy report - Singapore.
Several more accurate than usual Japanese air attacks hit Consort class gunboats, whose names symbolize the multinational nature of the various European and Eurasian communities that make up the navy volunteer corps. Two ships, severely hit, are close to sinking: the Eleanor of Aquitaine (Eleanor of Aquitaine, French wife of Henry II Plantagenet) and the Catherine of Braganza (Catherine of Braganza, Portuguese wife of Charles II of England). Two others are slightly damaged: the Queen Charlotte (wife of George III) and the William III (King of Holland, but also Prince Consort and co-monarch of Queen Mary).
.........
The Royal Air Force awakens - RAF report - Singapore.
Faced with the worsening situation on the west coast, the Royal Singapore Air Force, in addition to its reconnaissance patrols and its missions in support of the Stay behind forces, decides to send three Blenheims and the Buffalo to attack at low altitude the Japanese forces between Parit Sulong and Bukit Payong. According to intelligence reports, the Japanese ground units believed that these attacks were made by Japanese aircraft mistakenly targeting the wrong target, which led to many unkind radio exchanges between enemy infantry and air force command posts.
Note - Part of the reason for the Japanese troops' mistake was that at the same time, Japanese aircraft were attacking British troops in the same area. In addition, the total absence of RAF planes for several months gave the Japanese the habit of thinking that when they see a plane, it must be Japanese, without checking and without even noticing that the engine noise was not the same. The Japanese troops in Malaya were concentrating on the ground battle, and it is certain that they were much less able to identify aircraft.
On the other hand, three Swordfish fly an aerial refueling mission for the Amphibious Force, dropping a total of 1.5 tons of food and ammunition.

 

[Wings]

Singapore under siege (June 1942)
Excerpts from Robin "Doc" Meyrson's book, The Great Siege - Singapore facing the Rising Sun, New York, 1948.

Maintaining the link

Since the beginning of the siege, Singapore's relations with the outside world have never been completely interrupted.
The large submarines HMS Otway and Clyde both made the journey through the Sunda Strait, sailing at night on the surface and remaining on the bottom during the day. They brought exceptional supplies, including medicines (including 200,000 doses of penicillin) and some high priority equipment. But each one was only able to carry six tons. At the same time, small U-class submarines of the Xth Flotilla brought some supplies (mainly medicines) to Penang.
Much more numerous and regular were the aerial relations established thanks to a flotilla of seaplanes.
At the end of March and beginning of April, it was almost every night that a Sunderland or a Short C class made the long trip from Port Blair to Singapore, calculating the time of arrival in order to be able to land at dawn. More often than not, another seaplane was making the reverse trip at the same time, taking off from Keppel Harbour at dusk.
But from mid-April, these air links were considerably reinforced by the increase in activity of the RAF Sqn 119. To the four Sunderland IIs and the two C-class shorts (the S.23M Clio and Cordelia) have been progressively joined by two G-class shorts (the S.26M Golden Hind and Golden Horn) and four Consolidated PB2Y-2 Coronado on loan from the US Navy (these large four-engine seaplanes, without self-sealing tanks, were not considered suitable for combat missions).
On June 6th, the L45 Transport and Communication Flotilla of the French Navy, which arrived from Benghazi, began operating in Trincomalee. It is equipped with one LeO H-46, five LeO H-470s and the single Laté 611 Achernar.

Aéronavale LeO H-470 used for resupply missions to Singapore


At that time, the Allies had nineteen seaplanes spread over their bases in the Indian Ocean, with which they operated regular "air routes" to Singapore and Penang.
This fleet was quickly (but unofficially) named "Singapore Airlines" (the current claims a symbolic filiation with it). Its pilots were the only ones of the allied transport aviation whose fame could approach that of the fighter pilots.

Which shells for which guns?

- The old guns are back in service
Singapore was a real museum of British coastal artillery, because when a new model of gun was put into service, it was too expensive to send the old guns back to Europe. So they were stored on the spot, and the artillerymen of the fortress only had to help themselves.
So, to save time, an old 9.2 inch Mk IV and two 6 inch guns were installed in artillery positions in existing but disused artillery positions on Blakang Mati Island.
In Singapore itself, the reconstruction of Fort Tanjon Katong (operational from 1878 to 1918) east of Kallang Airfield was carried out according to the 1918 plans, including the defensive ditches, infantry obstacles and the two old 8-inch Mk VII coastal defenses (the fort had only been demolished above ground level). Many of the devices had to be improvised from Royal Navy stores, modified or entirely recreated by local workshops to complete this reinstallation. The main problem was the absence of any shooting table, obliging to be satisfied with a direct or sighted shooting (it is necessary to remember that at the end of the XIXth century, the performance of the cannons frequently exceeded by the capacities of the gunners to regulate their shooting). Moreover, there was a lack of 180-pound shells from 1880, which had to be replaced by 200-pound howitzers of the same caliber with modified fuses. Such shells were available because the 8-inch howitzers Mk VII and VIII, carrying 12,000 meters, had been modernized and converted to 7.2 inches (including those coming from the former US Army stocks) and their stockpiles of shells had become useless. The modern 250-pound shells of the Royal Navy cruisers, with their powerful propellant charges, would have subjected these old tubes to too brutal a stress.
During the April battle, it was found that the demolition of protective concrete structures to improve the structures to improve the fields of fire towards the land exposed dangerously the coastal batteries to air and naval bombardment. These structures were therefore replaced, to allow the coastal batteries to play their main role and to compensate for the deficiencies of the south coast defenses.
To improve the Army's long-range firepower, four 9.2-inch Mk IV coastal defense guns were remounted on WWI Vavasseur mounts, fitted with 1916 Elswick devices increasing the maximum elevation from 28 to 35 degrees and extending the range to 22,500 meters. These guns were then installed on a static 360° swivel version of the Mk II or III railway artillery turrets.
In addition, in view of the losses suffered due to enemy actions, guns of 6 inches or less that could be moved by road were preferred to purely static guns. Many old naval guns stored off the island of Singapore were mounted on locally built mounts. Their main drawbacks were the weight of these mounts, which had to be able to resist the powerful recoil of these guns, and the flat trajectory of their shells with high initial velocity. Nevertheless, they represented an important contribution to the Army's long-range firepower. Singapore's topography, however, restricted the deployment of most of these mobile guns to the eastern region, and in particular to the plantations in the southeast of the island.
In addition, air attacks seriously affected the supply of ammunition to the guns, so a large number of forward depots were built, containing enough ammunition to supply the neighbouring guns during 24 hours of combat.

- The problems of storing shells
Excerpt from a report by the R.A.O.C., R.A.S.C., R.A., R.E. and the Pioneer Corps
The Command is working to preserve ammunition supplies. Numerous small depots have been built on the island of Singapore and duly supplied. Others will soon be completed, but only ammunition in perfect condition should be stored there.
Indeed, the recovery of substantial stocks of abandoned ammunition in Johor and western Singapore has created major problems. These are the same as those encountered in 1918, when the British artillery used stocks of abandoned shells and propellant charges. In both cases, the abandoned munitions remained unattended and unmaintained. They suffered from moisture, their grease and oil protection degraded by prolonged exposure to the open air and the elements. Ammunition inspectors (there are too few of these specialists) examine the shells and charges, classify them and mark them with paint to indicate for which uses they are acceptable. The artillery batteries in the field in Johor (almost all of which belong to field or mountain regiments) are always eager to provide the infantry with all the support needed and often use unclassified ammunition. Many of these shells fall short (sometimes more than half a mile) because the charges do not generate a sufficient propulsion, and the fire is sometimes dangerous for our infantry. There were also cases of premature explosion of the shell above the friendly troops, even in the mouth of the gun, damaging the tube or even destroying the gun and killing the servants (fuse degradation). Therate of long-firing shells (duds) also increased, reducing the efficiency of the shooting.
These situations favored in some places and at some times the appearance of a shortage of ammunition, considerably reducing the support received by the infantry, the batteries were obliged to limit their daily consumption of shells in order to build up stocks in case of need (planned barrage for example).
Guidelines for the use of recovered ammunition.
1. Uninspected and unclassified ammunition should not be used except in extreme emergencies.
2. Ammunition accepted for normal use must be stored in the field with special care.
3. The use of ammunition accepted for restricted use must strictly comply with the following instructions (exception: see directive n°1).
3.a) Indirect area fire, with large safety zones for friendly troops.
3.b) Direct fire.
3.c) Direct zone fire.
3.d) Direct fire at short range.
4. Ammunition classified as suitable for reconditioning must be secured for transport (removal of fuses or explosive charges from shells, drying or cooling of propellant charges).
5. 5. Rejected munitions may be used for demolition or engineering work, under the direct supervision of qualified sappers.

- On the proper use of Japanese trains
Extract from a report of the R.A.O.C., R.A.S.C., R.A., R.E. and the Pioneer Corps
Compared to the large number of operational or semi-operational artillery pieces today in our possession, only quite limited quantities of Japanese ammunition have been recovered. In addition, many enemy guns having been damaged by Allied fire, or - voluntarily - by the Japanese themselves, we have a surplus of trains and carriages. The following measures have therefore been decided for the use of the captured equipment.
1. Formation of a field battery and a mountain battery with a full supply of ammunition.
2. Formation of two light coastal defense batteries, equipped (per gun) with 100 HE shells only, as well as 50 full shells of local manufacture, usable against the tanks or the landing craft, and 10 grape-shot shells (also locally made), usable against the infantry at very short distance.
3. Adaptation of Japanese artillery trains to mount on wheels surplus British naval guns on wheels, especially those currently mounted on fixed mounts. The conversions must be the British 12-pounder (3-inch), adapted to Japanese 75 mm field gun trains (which fire 14.3 pound shells). The 12-pounder shells are very light compared to the 6.2 kg (16-pounder) ammunition of the French 75 mm, the 6.85 kg of the Italian-Austrian 77 mm and the 8.4 kg (18.5 pounds) of the British 18-pounder. However, there are large stocks of the different ammunition used by the 12-pounder, as it is used to arm merchant ships and many types of escort vessels.

- Twenty-two centuries after Hannibal
Wherever the roads are congested or damaged, or the terrain too difficult for motor vehicles, the portage on the back of an animal appears to be a good answer. Thanks to different types of packs, a horse can carry eight 18-pound shells or four 4.5 inches, or two 60-pounders, etc. Even better: elephants have the draught power of fifty men (or even a hundred men, for the strongest) and are very efficient at pulling heavy cannons into position, using chains made of tree trunks. These big beasts were also very useful for dragging supply wagons over rough terrain (the latter, equipped with wheels and removable axles, can even float).

Old-style defenses against infantry

Since the main threat came not from tanks, but from infantry, the engineers re-evaluated the obstacles installed around Fortress Singapore, focusing specifically to fight against infantrymen. Old style defenses, less vulnerable than more recent obstacles to artillery or aviation bombardment, have thus been brought back into fashion. Different systems have been experimented and some of them installed in large numbers.
The "Fougasse" is a simple hole dug in the rock, facing the enemy, and filled with a barrel of gunpowder and stone chips. It can be fired like a primitive mortar - but no less deadly.
The "Twydall Profile" is a gentle slope descending to 5 or 6 meters below ground level. At the bottom, the attacker falls on a metal fence of the same height, impossible to climb and equipped with barbed wire at the top. This system had sometimes been used at the end of the 19th century instead of a deep ditch.

Nothing is lost

Singapore under siege remains, against all odds, a British island...
Her Majesty's Army let nothing be lost. The convalescent soldiers as well as the young Chinese workers who did not enlist are employed for the common good in military workshops, which manufacture everything. I say everything!
In April, these workshops produced a thousand front protection plates for army boots and as many protective plates for heels, plus 68 pounds of nails and 2,000 soldering irons. Twenty typewriters (including the one I use) were refurbished, along with 105 watches (including mine!) and 130... dentures (but I don't need that utensil).
The shoemakers repaired 2,373 pairs of boots. The rubber specialists (who are here of the highest competence) repaired 2,094 pairs of sandals and 358 pairs of boots "type
B", and they made 850 pairs of the same boots and 126 medical bands. The tailors repaired thousands of shirts and shorts, the weavers produced more than 100,000 yards of cotton, the 1,386 gardeners marketed 146 tons of vegetables (thanks in part to the 72,000 gallons of urine collected for gardening), 1,882 coconuts were collected and the Army piggery is raising 200 sows and 50 boars!
Finally, a very important detail: Captain Lemesurier (RASC), a chemical engineer at Lever in civilian life, set up a soap factory. This one makes soap for personal hygiene as well as industrial cleaners. Soap does not stop bullets, but cleanliness avoids many diseases, especially typhus. Singaporean chemistry also produces, among other things, glue from fish scales, chalk from white clay...

 

[Wings]

June 2nd, 1942

Barbarossa
- Northern sector and Baltic Sea
The Soviet forces try to give themselves some air to maneuver around Liepaja (Libau). Supported by local naval artillery, the 67th Rifle Division pushes back German infantry by about 1,500 meters, but at a high cost.
In the Baltic, the Soviet submarine L-1, on a mine laying mission, is sunk by German aircraft off Pillau. During the night, a convoy of coasters escorted by the DD Skoryi, Statnyi, Strogyi, Stroinyi and Surovyi and by the Bakinskyi gunboats, Markin and Rabochyi (former destroyers transformed) disembark marine infantry at Ventspils and evacuates wounded.
...
- Central sector
Marshal Chapochnikov visits Boldin in his Minsk HQ to evaluate his defensive efforts. "Although counter-offensives may be planned in the next few weeks," he emphasizes to the Boldin staff, "ensuring the stability of the front line is a primary necessity." Meanwhile, 25,000 workers in Minsk, under the control of local organizations of the Communist Party of the USSR, begin digging trenches and anti-tank trenches and ditches.
Chapochnikov's speech, however, has mixed results. Some unit commanders decide to improve their positions but others, fearing that they would be considered "too defensive-minded" find it very difficult to deviate from the Campaign Instructions (Polevoj Ustav), which impose only manholes for all defensive tactical measures.
On the ground, the Soviet artillery is very active all day in the Minsk and Molodechno sectors. During the night, the 129th Rifle Division launches a limited attack north-west of Minsk. It succeeds in rescuing 567 men from different units, who had beenisolated during the battle of Novogrudok.
...
- Southern sector and Black Sea
01:15 - Covered by the cruisers Voroshilov and Molotov, the old cruiser Krasnyi Kavkaz (4 long range 180 mm guns), the light cruisers armed with 130 mm Chervona Ukraina and Krasnyi Krym as well as the destroyers Sovershennyi, Sposobnyi and Svobodnyi open fire on the port of Constantza, aiming at the flames of the oil tanks, which qre still burning. The reaction of the Romanian and German coastal batteries is immediate. The Sovershennyi is severely hit by several 152 mm shells, while the Chervona Ukraina is damaged by a 280 mm shell from the Bruno Lange rail battery. The Soviet squadron withdraws.
However, the destroyer Regele Ferdinand, whose fire was still not under control, is finished off, and several freighters are damaged. In addition, the large tank of the Constantza Oil depot is hit, this time by the 180 mm of the Krasnyi Kavkaz.

 

[Wings]

June 2nd, 1942

Berlin and East Prussia - During the night of the 1st to the 2nd, Berlin, but also Königsberg, Danzig and Memel are attacked by several dozen Pe-8, Yer-2 and DB-3 bombers of the VVS and VVS-MF (the Navy's air force). The material results are minimal, but the psychological effect is considerable.

 

[Wings]

June 2nd, 1942

Rome - General Rommel requests an appointment with Mussolini, who receives him in the company of Marshal Cavallero. For an hour, he uses all his strength of conviction to convince the Duce that Sicily, which is mountainous and easy to defend, is safe and that, on the other hand, the fall of the Peloponnese would provide the Allies with an ideal base from which tto land in the south of Italy, near Bari (see Operation Pericles report). The Italian Chief of Staff is not of this opinion and is not in favor of sending reinforcements to the Peloponnese - Mussolini asks to think about it.

 

[Wings]

June 2nd, 1942

Norfolk (USA) - The old battleship Provence, repaired and transformed, leaves the east coast of the United States with convoy NC-112 (Norfolk-Casablanca) and four old American Wickes class destroyers transformed into escorts and transferred to the French Navy. These are : Le Corse (ex-DD 143, USS Yarnall), Le Breton (ex-DD 170, USS Kalk), L'Alsacien (ex-DD 168, USS Maddox) and Le Niçois (ex-DD 169, USS Foote). Their armament now consists of a 4-inch gun, three 40 mm Bofors double mounts, six Œrlikon 20 mm, four ASM mortars and three wake charges. The torpedo tubes were removed and a boiler was removed, reducing the maximum speed to 25 knots. These ships are to operate with the close escort group operating from Benghazi and charged with protecting convoys going to Crete, Rhodes and the Peloponnese ports.
For its part, the Provence has been refitted as a bombing ship. It is now 165/166 m long, 31.4 m wide, 9.6 m draught, with anti-torpedo bulbs; it displaces 26,250 tons at full load and its four 32,000 HP turbines propel it at 18.5 knots. Her armament includes 8 (4 x II) 340 mm guns, 12 (12 x I), 127 mm [5 inches]/38 dual-purpose guns, 24 (12 x II) 40 mm Bofors and 32 (32 x I) 20 mm (the central 340 mm turret and all the former secondary artillery were landed).

French Navy Destroyer Escort MN Le Corse (ex-USS Yarnall), Norfolk-Casablanca Convoys, June 1942

 

[Wings]

June 2nd, 1942

Oran-La Sénia - "It's a great day: the II/5 Lafayette (as well as the III/5) has started flying on NA-89 Mustang-II with Packard V-1650-1 engine, with aircraft just delivered to Casablanca by the CVE Lafayette, as it should be ! The first to try the beast was our commander, Hugues du Mouzy, of course. After his flight, when he gets out of the cockpit, all the pilots of the group are there, and the questions are flying. At first, he answered nothing. Standing on the on the wing, he seems to have trouble separating from the plane. Then he slaps the side of the machine, or rather he flatters it, as if it were a real horse. He looks at his men, three "FMAN" (the acronym of the Army for "French Muslims of North Africa"), one "FAE" and one "FAO" (French of Equatorial and Western Africa), Velasquez, known as El Viejo, who flew a Polikarpov I-15 in Spain, Benamou, Ramdane's inseparable wingman, Rosenthal, who still always has a Yiddish accent, except in flight, Seng, who has decided that one day he will return to Vietnam at the controls of his plane, and then the others, those who arrived via Spain crossing the Pyrenees on foot, the two settlers from Algeria who cheated on their age to join the ranks, one to make himself look older, the other to make himself look younger, and finally those who have been there since Forty, but there are few, so few... I have rarely seen him so moved, Hugues. "Children (he calls us his children since he is the boss, even if several of us are his age)... Kids, he's great! With this zinc and its derivatives that the engineers are already promising us... The Lafayette will go all the way to the Victory Parade in Paris. I promise!"
When our cheers have died down, he adds, "To celebrate, I'm allowing personal badges." The cheers redouble; he had always said that we were not Americans and that the Lafayette's Sioux Head was more than enough. "I'll be the first. I have chosen my badge: a Gallic helmet." Only I understood him to mean that we had earned well from our symbolic, but common ancestors, the Gauls." (Jean-Pierre Leparc, Les gars du Lafayette).

Cdr Hugues du Mouzy's NA-89 Mustang-II decorates with his personal badge and his victories on the side (7 German and 3 Italian aircraft).

 

[Wings]

Operation Pericles: Second round in the Peloponnese
Extract from "History of the Balkan Army" (volume 2), by Major General (CR) Maxime Lacordaire, Excelsior Ed.

Decided jointly by the French and British staffs, operation Pericles aimed, on the one hand, to clear the Pyrgos pocket and to improve the situation of the 2nd French Army Corps, on the other hand to widen the Tripolis salient, in order to prevent the Axis armored vehicles from trying once again to encircle the city. In the end, it was a question of returning to the point where the front had been before Rommel's counter-offensive of late March and early April.

The balance of power and battle plans
Since the heavy losses suffered during Operation "Crusader" and the German counter-attack, the Axis forces had received far fewer reinforcements than their opponents, due to the launch of Barbarossa. However, Rommel had been able to obtain a number of tanks (including 17 brand-new Pz-V short-barreled tanks) and the two Panzer Divisions had a total of 265 tanks. The situation was not as good on the Italian side, whose units were seriously depleted. The Pafundi Corps had a total of 117 M13/40 and M14/41, supported by 41 tankettes and, above all, 21 M41 75/18 self-propelled guns.
With a total of 508 tracked armored vehicles in the Peloponnese, the Axis forces only put on line a fraction of the armored vehicles gathered by the Allies.
The two French corps lined up a total of 1,376 armored vehicles (416 medium tanks Sav-41 and M3 (medium), as well as some Sav-42; 833 light tanks M3F and Valentine VI; 127 Sav-AU-41 assault guns). The XIII Corps had 510 tanks (320 medium tanks: Crusader, Grant and Matilda-II; 190 light: Honey and Valentine). The ratio of armored forces was 3.7 to one in favor of the Allies. The future "Allied Army of the Balkans" also had a clear margin of superiority in infantry and could count on powerful naval fire support.
In such a situation, the plan of Generals Giraud (commander of the Army of the East) and O'Connor (his deputy) could seem precautionary. The British and part of the 1st Corps were to fix the enemy on the eastern coast of the Peloponnese while acombined offensive of the two French corps, coming from Megatopoli and Pyrgos, would encircle and destroy a part of the Italo-German corps. In a second time, an amphibious landing on the island of Zanthe (operation Ajax), on the other hand an attack starting from Aghiorgitica towards the east coast, to destroy the Pafundi corps.
One of the reasons for the extreme caution of the Allies was the unexpected success of Rommel's counter-offensive at the end of March. Another was that the Peloponnese was no longer the heart of the Allied military effort in the Mediterranean. Large forces had to be concentrated to prepare for Torch, which would attack Sicily in late summer. Pericles was only necessary to re-establish a continuous front in the peninsula and to attract as many Italian and German troops as possible. Hence, moreover, the code name of the offensive, intended to make believe to the enemy that the true goal of the operation was Athens.
Both camps expected to see the other attacking or counter-attacking with a lot of energy.
Giraud and O'Connor were most concerned about the risk of a German attack at the junction of XIII Corps and I Corps at Aghiorgitika. They believed that Rommel would try to drive a wedge between the two corps to reach the Tripolis-Sparta line, thus encircling the capital of the Peloponnese.
Rommel expected an Allied push to the Gulf of Argolykos in the east, combined with a landing south of Nafplio, to destroy the Pafundi group and push towards Corinth. "The Italians are for the army an incurable weak point", he wrote to his wife (quite unfairly). This weakness is further increased by the constant threat of a landing by the Allies in our rear, thanks to their complete naval superiority.
In fact, the Axis' naval inferiority made its strategic situation very difficult. The German-Italian high command was worried about a possible Allied landing in Italy, but opinions differed as to where to land.
Pafundi and Marshal Badoglio assumed that in the autumn, once enough American troops had arrived in North Africa, the Allies would land in Sicily. They tried to win over Mussolini and the OKW, offering to abandon the Peloponnese. The defense of the rest of Greece would be much easier and the troops saved could be redeployed to Sicily.
On the other hand, the OKW and the German officials in Greece, Rommel and Kesselring, were of a different opinion. They saw the Allied presence in the Peloponnese as the starting point for a landing in the heel of the Italian boot, somewhere between Otranto and Bari.
However, considering that no significant reserves could be assigned to Greece, the OKW urged Rommel to adopt a resolutely defensive attitude.
But Rommel was of a different opinion. In early June, he went to Rome to visit Mussolini to convince the Duce of the correctness of his position. "You have nothing to fear in
to fear in Sicily," he said. "It's a mountainous island, easy to defend, the Allies would not risk it. On the other hand, a landing south of the Adriatic, near Bari, would allow the enemy tanks to rush northwards into the plain of Foggia and to control the whole of southern Italy very quickly". At this thought, Mussolini became pale. Rommel pushed his advantage. "But for the Allies to launch such an operation, they had must control the Peloponnese. You can see why to abandon this part of Greece would be to hand over a crucial strategic advantage to the enemy without a fight." The dictator was now convinced that it was necessary to defend the Peloponnese, it was still necessary to make him understand that the best defense was the attack. "Are we going to support for a long time to be under the threat of an attack? Duce! I am convinced that with sufficient forces, I will be able, we will be able to destroy the greater part of the enemy units in the Peloponnese, and force the rest to retreat to Crete."
It is difficult to say to what extent Rommel himself was convinced that the defense of Italy would be played out in the Peloponnese. His letters show that he had no doubt that the rising tide of Allied logistics would make it more and more difficult to stop the advance of his adversaries. Perhaps he believed that a victory for his troops in the Peloponnese might force them to change their plans and to leave aside the Mediterranean theater, of which he would thus leave with the honors.
In any case, it seems that his opinion prevailed with Mussolini over that of Badoglio's and even that of the OKW. The Italian government abandoned any idea of evacuating the Peloponnese and it was decided to send new troops to Greece (which was not going to make it any easier to keep the promise made to Hitler to send two divisions to Russia, because the Italian General Staff, in full agreement this time with the Duce, refused to disarm the Motherland). The very logistics of transporting reinforcements to Greece prohibited the abandonment of the Peloponnese: the only railroad line from Italy to Athens was very vulnerable to Allied bombing (not to mention the actions of the Yugoslav and Greek Resistance fighters) and, as a general rule, the railways in the region were ill-suited to transporting large forces. The transport by sea through the Corinth Canal to Piraeus remained the most efficient way but its use required the defense of the northern Peloponnese.
Moreover, Mussolini did not go back on his order to repatriate all the units of the Regia Aeronautica units based in Greece. Did Rommel know about this? Did he prefer not to mention it to avoid the risk of a general refusal? Did he believe that the decision to send ground units to Greece meant that the withdrawal of the air force would be abandoned? Or did he have the premonition that the evolution of the situation could render this order null and void before its execution?
One thing is certain: at the very moment when Giraud and O'Connor were planning the second round of this new version of the "Peloponnesian War", Rommel was feverishly preparing a new offensive, the first objective of which was the destruction of the Allied forces occupying the Tripolis salient and the recapture of the city.

 

[MvonJ]

Good work so far. One of things I would like to see corrected is name of Boris Shaposhnikov (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boris_Shaposhnikov), which is written incorrectly as Chapochnikov.

Although one thing that slightly confuses me is author/authors of this work creating armored armies for soviets when mechanized corps are already extremely overequipped by tanks (although I see that heavy tanks are correctly no longer an organic parts of mechanized corps as I see presence of heavy tank brigades in soviet formations) with not enough infantry to support them, thus mechanized corps were already very cumbersome and I cant imagine how cumbersome would be formation of about 1400-1500 tanks.

Another thing that would definitively have impact on fighting is if soviets are already producing T-34M tanks (which were supposed to replace older T-34 M40, M41) which have majority of problems of original T-34 fixed (+ is probably equipped with ZiS-4 gun).

 

[Wings]

June 3rd, 1942

Rechlin (Luftwaffe flight test center) - In front of RLM and Luftwaffe officials, Dornier engineers present again the P-231, a fast bomber and heavy fighter project, which is extremely innovative, since it isa twin-engine push-pull aircraft.
The idea had been rejected six months earlier by the RLM as "too random" but, faced with the catastrophic lack of a German long-range fighter which the Luftwaffe suffered in the Aegean Sea and the P-231 seeming to be a promising fast attack aircraft, the project is accepted this time. The RLM however asks Dornier to reduce the volume of the bomb bay (for two bombs of 250 kg and not 500 kg) and to envisage from the start a heavy fighter variant with two or three 30 mm Mk-103 guns, as well as a night fighter variant with three 30 mm Mk-108 guns and an onboard radar.

 

[Wings]

Good work so far. One of things I would like to see corrected is name of Boris Shaposhnikov (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boris_Shaposhnikov), which is written incorrectly as Chapochnikov.

It's francized, which means the S are replaced with Cs. I'll correct it in future updates, thanks.

 

[Wings]

June 3rd, 1942

Lvov - Einsatzgruppe C moves into town. To celebrate its arrival, its leader decides to execute 25 Polish intellectuals: Lvov, although located in a region with a Ukrainian majority, is an important center of Polish culture.