Fantasque Time Line (France Fights On) - English Translation

[Wings]

September 21st, 1942

Operation Torch - Day D+2
Night actions
During the night of the 10th to the 21st, the CANT Z.1007b based at Cagliari-Elmas try to attack the French bridgehead at Licata. The 21 three-engined aircraft bomb the French positions without causing any damage, but lose five aircraft shot down by the allied night fighters. The Beaufighter NF-IV of the 8th EC (Night), whose Group II/8 was redeployed to Pantelleria to cover the Rouge and Blanche beaches, score four victories. The last CANT was shot down by a Beaufighter of the 416th FS - the first victory of an American night fighter in Europe.
The same night, several Italian submarines try to break through between Sardinia and Sicily to convoys linking Tunis to Sicily. Two of them are spotted and attacked by the Hudson III of the RAF based in Bône, off the Aegadian islands - one of these attacks seems to have succeeded (the Topazio, of LV Mario Patanè, was probably sunk during this episode).
Shortly after leaving Bizerte for Gela, a convoy is attacked by two submarines. A Greek coaster (TAA-33) of the 14th Transport Division is sunk by a torpedo at 23:50.
The escort reacts energetically and chases the two submarines, but the conditions are poor for the asdic and they escape.
In the Gulf of Noto, the British landing fleet is also attacked by submarines during the night. The LSI Prince Albert, returning empty to Sfax, is hit by two torpedoes and sinks shortly afterwards. At 01:15, the minesweepers HMS Boston and Speedy obtain contact and chase it for an hour, before being joined by the DE HMS Middleton (Hunt class). The last shot brought to the surface a large oil stain...The victim is the Giovanni Da Procida (LV Guido Guidi), based in Taranto, which had just been modernized from February to August 1942.
.........
Resistance on the left
At the beginning of the day, the French 4th Corps meets energetic resistance.
On the coast, the 14th DBLE reaches Porto Empedocle and comes up against elements of the 26th D.I.M. Assietta, supported by two armored trains, the Treno Armato 76/1/T, in principle anti-aircraft, and the TA 120/3/S, which return blow for blow to the light monitors of the 1st Coastal Fire Support Squadron. But according to a well-established scenario, the monitors then bring in the battleships Lorraine and Provence, whose 340 mm guns open the way to the Legion.
The unfortunate courage of the train crews earn each of them a collective Medaglia d'Oro al Valore Militare (which was also awarded to the armored trains TA 76/2/T of Licata and TA 102/1/T of Syracuse). This decision, which had been exceptional until then, is reported in Carlo Griseri's book, I treni armati della Regia Marina nella 2a Guerra Mondiale (Turin, 1993) [III - The Defense of Sicily - The First Days of the Invasion: A Bitter Rain of Gold]: "When it learned the fate of the trains of Licata and Syracuse, Supermarina considered, as was his custom for their commanders who had been killed at their posts, the Medaglia d'Oro al Valore Militare alla memoria. But when the news arrived of the destruction of the two trains of Porto Empedocle, and especially when it became known of the losses suffered by the four crews, the naval high command decided to resort to collective rewards, which could still be counted on the fingers of one hand. The M.O.V.M. was awarded to each of the trains destroyed on 19 and 21 September. Here is, as an example, the citation attributed to the Licata train:

Gold Medal for Military Valor
awarded to the 76/2/T armored train of anti-aircraft defense, it tried to oppose the landing of the enemy forces rushing on the sacred ground of the Motherland, its precise fire causing them significant losses.
Violently attacked by the artillery of the ships supporting the landing craft, he continued to inflict as much damage as possible on his opponent, until the latter called in his battleships.
Not letting himself be frightened by these terrible opponents, he remained on the battlefield until his gradual annihilation, without any member of the crew leaving his post.
Sublime example of indomitable fighting spirit, superhuman determination and a sense of duty pushed to the ultimate sacrifice.

Four collective gold medals for three days of desperate fighting. As one officer prosaically remarked, the only regret was that one could not decently think of naming a street or a ship "T.A. 102/1/T" or "T.A. 120/3/S"..."
Inland, the 83rd DIA is counter-attacked from Caltanisseta by a combat group formed by elements of the 28th Aosta Division (two battalions of the 6th RI, the 171st CCNN Legion and two motorized groups of the 22nd Artillery Regiment, as well as the tanks of Mobile Groups A and B). The situation improves a bit around 10:30, when the SBD-3 dive-bombers of the AB-12 and AB-16 Flotillas, helped by the Belgian P-39D of the 53rd EACCS and DB-73 (also Belgian) of the 42nd EB, start to hit the Italian troops without any air opposition. At 12:45, the 7th Regiment of Ardennes Fighters (General-Major Lambert), landed the night before at Licata, goes on line. At 16:30, the counter-attack is definitively broken and the allied troops progress towards Caltanisseta.
.........
A crack in the center?
At dawn, in the center of the front, the French 3rd Corps attacks Caltagirone, while in the American sector the battle for Vizzini resumes.
From dawn, the artillery of the 14th ID pounds the main entrances to the south-southeast of the town, perched on average 100 m above the plateau where the French have settled, but with several hills quite steep, densely built, and generally accessible by ceramic stairs, a local specialty. While the 2nd Brigade of the 2nd AD progresses on SP 194, Leclerc deploys the M3F of the 1st Brigade at mid-slope, in charge for them to counteract the Italian guns which were revealed. As for the SAV-42s, they are in charge of supporting the assault, or even to spearhead it.
If the first attack rudely pushes back the men of the 34th Infantry Regiment from the Livorno to the suburbs, the advance falters when the French come within range of the guns and howitzers placed on the hills. It is difficult for the tanks to fire back in this maze of dwellings, which masks the summits.
On the other hand, the light bombers attack Caltagirone three times between 10:00 and 14:30.
Gradually, the superiority of the air force and artillery begins to be felt. In the afternoon, General Domenico Chirieleison warns Guzzoni that his troops would not be able to hold Caltagirone for much longer. In fact, once Leclerc's forces regrouped to flank the eastern side of the medieval city, the city is practically taken over just as the sun is going down. The arrival of the tanks of the 2nd Brigade from the west takes away the decision to evacuate as quickly as possible.
However, the most important event on the 3rd Corps front is the raid launched by the 3rd MD.
At 17:30, a battalion of this large unit captures Grammichele. This action effectively cut off the 4th D.I.M. Livorno from the 54th D.I. Napoli, which is defending Vizzini, and drives a wedge between the XII and XVI Italian Corps.
The battle is just as hard on the American side as on the French side. Supported by the USAAF aircraft (A20C of the 47th BG and 15th BS, P-39D of the 67th OG and P-40E/K carrying a 500-pound bomb from the 324th FG) the men of the 26th RCT clear the approaches to Chiaramonte and approach Vizzini. In front of them, the Italian positions are attacked twice in the morning by the B-25s of the 12th and 340th BGs. The fight is fierce, but little by little, the troops of the 54th DI Napoli give in and withdraw towards Vizzini.
.........
Progress on the right
In the east, in contrast with the difficulties of their allies, the British troops have a good day. The British 6th ID enters Palazzolo shortly before noon without fighting too hard and is now advancing towards Vizzini, threatening to encircle the small town from the east. The 2nd South African ID bypasses Augusta and marches on Lentini without meeting much resistance. Augusta surrenders at nightfall.
.........
Night adjustments
In his HQ in Enna, Guzzoni is bombed by Armée de l'Air B-25s and USAAF B-26s. In the evening, he has to take advantage of the darkness to redeploy his forces. In order to avoid the encirclement of the troops of the 54th ID Napoli who are still fighting at Vizzini, he orders them to withdraw to the upper part of the Gornalunga river, keeping contact with the defenders of Lentini, on road 114. He also authorizes the 4th D.I.M. Livorno, which has taken a lot of hits for two days, to withdraw towards Enna, but asks the 28th D.I. Aosta to hold Caltanisseta at all costs. On the coast, he authorizes the 26th D.I.M. Assietta to withdraw towards the course of the Platani.
For his part, Frère also has something to improve on. At the end of the day, demonstrating efficiency, the American engineers reopen the Comiso airfield. Shortly before the first P-51A and B of the 58th and 59th FS land on the runway of their new nest, where they will be joined by the rest of the 33rd FG, the 79th FG and the Spitfire Vs of the 52nd FG, deployed in Pantelleria. Meanwhile, the port of Licata, in good condition, allows the 4th CA to receive a stream of reinforcements: the 4th Mobile Brigade of the Foreign Legion Saigon (General Schlesser), which arrives during the day, the 2nd Algerian Spahis Regiment (2nd RSA), at dusk, and the 2nd Group of Moroccan Tabors, at night. Licata will soon become an important logistical hub, because the port, better protected than Syracuse from possible Axis air attacks, is relatively close to the Allied bases (170 nautical miles from Tunis, 78 nautical miles from Malta), which allows even the rather slow LSTs to accomplish a complete a full rotation in 24 hours from Valletta.
In the evening, less good news arrives from Malta. A reconnaissance Mosquito brings back from Cosenza pictures showing the arrival of German aircraft - these are of course the first aircraft of the Xth FliegerKorps.
.........
The Decima MAS to save the honor
Commander Junio Valerio Borghese, deputy chief of the Decima MAS, is summoned to Rome by his superior, "GeneralMAS", Admiral Aimone di Savoia-Aosta. Upon his arrival at the headquarters, while waiting to be received by the Admiral, he has the opportunity to speak with other officers, whose discourse was very pessimistic and even, in his opinion, defeatist: "The war is lost, what is the point of having our men killed to sink one or two Allied ships? There are hundreds of them, just on the Sicilian coast! Let's rather preserve what is left of the army and navy to guarantee the independence of the country and preserve the institutionsagainst probable seditious movements."
When finally he is received, "GeneralMAS" informs Borghese of the gravity of the situation in Sicily. He does not hide to him that the island appears from now on practically lost. "The Regia Aeronautica is throwing everything it has into the battle, but we must not delude ourselves: for the last two years, it has been bled, and for the past two months, the hemorrhage has taken mortal proportions. I do not believe that her action can change the outcome of the battle. Unfortunately, it is an action of the same kind that I am obliged to ask the Decima MAS. Our large units, greatly diminished, could only be honorably slaughtered. That would be foolish. You have a chance to do something without risking too many men. But if such an action seems to you to be without hope of success, I understand." Borghese cries out, "There is no question of backing down! Even in the halls of the general staff I have seen the spectre of a shameful defeatism lurking! With my men, I will continue the fight until the end, the honor of Italy demands it! "
"GeneralMAS" has an enigmatic answer: "Happy Borghese, you have only military duties. But I am Savoia-Aosta and I also have dynastic duties..."

 

[Wings]

September 21st, 1942

Rome - "In the Italian capital, the evolution of the fighting was followed with anguish by the authorities. At 10:30, Mussolini assured King Victor Emmanuel that "Sicily [would be] defended to the end" and that "the invaders would be quickly repelled" - two promises that the King pretended to take at face value.
At 14:00, the Duce received General Ambrosio, Chief of Staff of the Army, in the Quirinal Palace: "General, I promised His Majesty that the soil of the Motherland would no longer bear the stain of the invasion any longer. In spite of its bravery, the Sicilian Army will not be able to eliminate the enemy alone. You will therefore send the XX Corps of General Baldassare and the XXI Corps of General Navarini as reinforcements." Ambrosio blushed: "But, Duce, that means the dismemberment of the whole Army of the East!
- It's the only solution," retorted Mussolini. "Saving Sicily is a matter of national salvation!
Ambrosio quickly understood that he could not directly oppose this decision of Mussolini and chose to gain time: "Our means of transport do not allow us to carry out an operation of this magnitude immediately. For the moment, I propose to transfer to Sicily two infantry divisions of the XXI Corps, the 52nd Motorized Division Torino and the 102nd Motorized Division Trento... as well as your Brigata Corazzata 'M'." This proposal seemed to be enough for Mussolini, at least temporarily. However, in petto, Ambrosio was already considering the means of not keeping this already limited commitment: the means of transport would be sufficient for the Torino and for the Brigata Corazzata "M", but for the Trento there would surely be a bottleneck. A symbolic commitment of the division should be enough to demonstrate its good will...
Ambrosio then asks the Duce to organize a meeting with "the highest German authorities, to demand a support worthy of the name in all the fields, military, political and economic." He emphasized that after more than two years of war, "it is high time that Italy look after its own vital interests, because it could not count on any other country!" Mussolini approved the idea of a new meeting with Hitler, but did not react to the last sentence. Ambrosio left him, pensive. In the evening, on his own initiative, he asked the King to receive him in audience. (Francesco Folcini, La Caduta dell'Italia fascista)

 

[Wings]

September 21st, 1942

Greece - The very bad weather over the Peloponnese, the Aegean Sea and Crete prevents any large-scale air operations. The most active allied planes are those based in Zanthe. The port of Durres/Durazzo and Tirana ar bombed by French and British aircraft. The few aircraft of the Regia Aeronautica in Albania do not move.

 

[Wings]

September 22nd, 1942

Lille - The marshalling yard is attacked by 36 B-17s of the 97th BG of the USAAF, massively escorted by 220 fighters. This raid does not trigger any Luftwaffe retaliation. The accuracy of the bombing is rather poor: less than 15 % of the bombs hit the target.
The other bombs are unfortunately not lost for everyone. The population of Lille suffers a lot, which allows the propaganda of the Laval government to be unleashed against those whom Philippe Henriot calls on Radio Paris "the Anglo-American liberators".

 

[Wings]

September 22nd, 1942

The battle of convoy DDCH-100 (2)
The first attack occurs one hour before dawn on the 22nd. The Belgian freighter Romania (3563 GRT) is torpedoed and sunk while trying to catch up with the convoy, from which it had strayed at the beginning of the night. The Canadian corvette Bittersweet, which was acting as a sheepdog on the rear of the convoy, makes two unsuccessful depth charge attacks shortly afterwards.
The day dawns under low clouds, while the wind increases. This does not prevent two PBY-5F of Flotilla E 21 to detect with the radar two U-boots on the surface and to attack them with bombs. One of them - probably the U-221 - is damaged; unable to dive, it is sunk at 13:50 by the corvette Arquebuse, which came to the Catalina's call.
It is now obvious for Cdr Heineman, who commands the escort, that the convoy is in danger of being attacked the following night. The ships of Escort Group A3 and those of the GEAS spare no effort to reach the isolated men, even if the convoy has to reduce its speed to 6 knots for part of the afternoon.
Shortly before sunset, Sunderland n°7 of Flotilla E 7 obtains a victory against a submarine in periscope immersion, which is probably the U-258. It is possible that it was charged to guide the rest of the pack, because the attack, which really begins around 21:15, is very disordered. Moreover, Gruppe Pfeil has already lost two boats and only six
type IX are part of the attack.
At 22:10, the British cargo ship Tennessee (2 342 GRT) is torpedoed and sunk. The culprit is the U-617, which had the strange idea of staying on the surface and engaging another British ship with a gun, the Athelsultan (8 882 GRT). This cargo ship is damaged and its crew suffers serious losses, but the USS Spencer appears, knife between her teeth, forcing the German to dive in haste.
However, the Spencer fails to get a stable Asdic contact and the U-617 escapes.
At 22:55, the Panamanian Stone Street (6 131 GRT) is sunk by two torpedoes. This time, the aggressor doesnot get away scot-free. The corvettes HMCS Mayflower and MN La Dieppoise obtain a good quality Asdic contact and carry out a well coordinated attack that sends the U-607 to the bottom of the Atlantic.
This does not prevent the other submersibles of Gruppe Pfeil to continue their attacks...

 

[Wings]

September 22nd, 1942

Battle of Singapore - IV
The Japanese have taken the fortress of Singapore, but that is not enough for them... They would like to find Lord Gort! Preferably alive - in the Philippines, they had to make do with the corpse of MacArthur. But in Singapore, even this small satisfaction will be denied them.
.........
"Late on the 21st, the last formed units still fighting in the city of Singapore surrendered. I was at that time with men of the 64th (Lancashire) Brigade, but the Brigade did not surrender. Only its component battalions, their ammunition depleted, asked to stop fighting. This was the case of the battalion with which I was with, in fact an ad hoc grouping of men from various origins, including the proud 1st Battalion of the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry.
The irritation of the victors was palpable. As soon as the battalion had laid down its arms, they demanded the separation of the officers and non-commissioned officers and men. For some obscure reason, they classified me as an officer, refusing to take into account my civilian papers. I soon discovered that I was not the only one - it seemed that all Western civilians were in the same situation as me.
With my fellow prisoners, I was lucky enough to be able to get to a cricket field that had seen better days and that was to be used for some time as a senior prisoner camp. I was fortunate enough to be accompanied by two of the Duke of Cornwall's officers, two young captains whom I had met before the Japanese attack began, in September. Bertram (Bertie) and Frederick (Freddie) were the best of friends, but spent their time bickering with each other on the grounds that these two representatives of society had been educated at Oxford for one, at Cambridge for the other. Apparently, neither of them minded my personal education - a public school in New York City, nor did the hint of a Yiddish accent that I got from my parents.
Bertie and I made our way to the cricket field supporting Freddie, who had taken a shrapnel wound in his left leg. His wound must have been very painful, but he seemed to suffer far more from his friend's sarcasm, who pretended to think he was faking it, "like those sissies from the Cambridge rugby team" (rugby is a sport close to our football, and its practitioners are not exactly softies, in Cambridge or elsewhere).
On the morning of the 22nd, we were waiting, quietly sitting or lying on the lawn, for the waiters who would bring us our early morning tea (Bertie said), but some of us were beginning to fear that the breakfast would be very mediocre, "maybe even continental, Good Gracious!" (said Freddie, who would have needed treatment and was in too much pain to get up). The appearance of a dozen Japanese soldiers in arms, including a commander, triggered booing: they were not carrying a single tray. When calm was restored, the commander spat out a few words while brandishing his pistol. He had an interpreter with him who hurriedly said: "We know that General Gort is hiding among you! If he is an honorable man, he must show himself at once!"
A few laughs were the only response at first. I heard someone comment, "Old Man No Surrender played a good trick on them!"
The Japanese commander drew his sword and began to wave it in a ridiculous manner while making a speech to which Herr Hitler's convulsive nonsense sounded like a baby's lullaby. The interpreter began to translate in a shaky voice, but we all understood that we were threatened with all sorts of horrors - and we knew that the Japanese were masters of this.
Then, on the other side of the stadium, a man stood up very straight, almost to attention, and shouted, "I am Lord Gort!"
Of course, it wasn't him, it was a tall blond man who couldn't have been more than 26 or 28 years old.
The Japanese commander understood this as well as we did and went into a black (or yellow?) rage. To which the tall blond man calmly replied: "I am Lord Gort!" Still shouting, the Japanese threatened him with his gun. "I am..." repeated the tall blond man, before remaining silent forever. The Japanese was a bad speaker, but a good shot.
The intensity of the silence that followed still grips my heart.
I think only Bertie and I heard Freddie - very pale and still pinned to the ground - whisper, "Sure." muttering, "Of course... Spartacus sum!" "What?" whispered Bertie. "There's only an Oxonian not to have understood this. Spartacus sum!"
Bertie turned as pale as his friend and jumped to his feet, shouting, "I am Lord Gort!"
The Japanese commander became frantic. On his command, his men fired a salvo into the air. It was then that another man stood up and shouted, "I am Lord Gort!" And then, it was almost funny, because he was an Indian lieutenant, dark as night - since the Japanese failure in April, quite a few natives (as the English say) have been appointed as officers.
The Japanese showed us that we had not seen anything yet in terms of rage. He ordered a new salvo, but not in the air - several men fell. The next moment, the whole stadium, including yours truly, was on its feet shouting, "I am Lord Gort! I am Lord Gort!"
The Japanese fled, shooting wildly, just as the Roman soldiers had two thousand years earlier, in front of the defeated slaves who shouted:
"Spartacus sum, I am Spartacus!"
We noted seven dead - including Bertie.
Pious hands took off their dog tags and handed them to me. They thought that as a civilian, my chances of survival were better. When Gen. Yamashita, wishing to show the world the greatness of the Empire of the Rising Sun, and his own, decided to embark on a Portuguese ship the Western civilians captured in Singapore, the soldiers who searched me found nothing wrong with me taking these few pieces of metal.
It is well known today that the monument to Lord Gort, completed in 1947, which stands on the site of the cricket field, is not really a tomb, since Old No Surrender's body has never been found. Everyone knows that his famous words are engraved on the main façade: "I shall never surrender". But it is less known that, on the other side of the monument, the identity plates of the seven Lord Gorts fallen on September 22nd, 1942, are inlaid in stone, underlining these four words carved in capital letters: "I AM LORD GORT."
From Robin "Doc" Meyrson's book, The Great Siege - Singapore Facing the Rising Sun, New York, 1948

 

[Wings]

September 22nd, 1942

Guadalcanal - The Japanese have begun to rebuild their forces on the island.
The remnants of the forces that fought the first battles have been more or less regrouped, by dint of night shuttles carried out by small ships. For the 7th ID.: 500 men of the 28th IR, 700 men of the 7th Engineers and the 1st battalion of the 7th Artillery Rgt (12 x 75 mm mountain); for the 35th Brigade, 2,000 men of the 124th IR.; for the 2nd ID., 1,400 men from the 4th Infantry Regiment.
New reinforcements begin to arrive, at night, in small packages. More or less regularly, 500 to 800 men disembark from small convoys of overloaded destroyers or barges protected by a few launches - this is the beginning of what would later be called the Tokyo Express. This traffic was not immediately noticed by the Americans, who were watching for a heavily protected convoy of large ships.
These reinforcements were the men of the 16th and 29th Regiments of the 2nd Infantry Division. At the beginning of October, the Japanese had the strength of a small division on Guadalcanal, but they could not challenge the American position: these elements lacked any means of transportation (they were normally horse-drawn units) and especially heavy weapons, apart from a little mountain artillery.
Moreover, if the command of the ground forces on Guadalcanal is still assured by General Kawagushi, the command of the Imperial Army units engaged in the Solomons was entrusted to General Maruyama. This one, one of the rare Japanese generals known in the West, had served as a military attaché in London and then in India, before becoming head of the intelligence service in the Imperial Army staff. He is very lucid on the situation, but he still hesitates to approve the tactics chosen by Kawagushi: would he be forgiven for not launching an all-out offensive?
.........
Ironbottom Sound - During the night, three American APDs carry out a supply mission. Each one carries 20 tons of artillery ammunition, but also spare parts for the planes. They detect on radar the approach of three of Tanaka's destroyers, covering the Tokyo Express mission of the day, but the destroyers turn back without having seen them. The three fast transports, however, close in on the coast to avoid detection and one of them, the USS Conner (Caldwell class) hits a reef off Surakiki Island. Victim of an uncontrollable leak, it has to run aground on Guadalcanal, near the village of Ghavighanimumu. The cargo is recovered, but the ship cannot be saved.
Meanwhile, the HMNZS Moa harasses the Japanese positions. Iishi's patrol boats try to find it, but are repelled by small New Zealand ships.

 

[trekchu]

Wow, I mean wow. Singapore is going to be for the Commonwealth what Alamo was for Texas/the US and then some. It's going to be one of those legends on the level of the IRL Battle of Britain and the Blitz and do a lot to make post-war relations and local politics a lot different. Nothing better to change those than bleeding and dying side by side.

 

[Wings]

September 22nd, 1942

Kokoda Track - The 2/12th attacks and breaks through the Japanese lines, quickly attracting a counter attack coming from Waju.
It is then that fighting breaks out further north, near Gorari, where the 2/9th was attacked.
In fact, the Japanese are trying to escape from a near encirclement. They succeed, because they are directly on the main track (where the Australians only have patrols), but at a very heavy price. The fighting is furious and the Australians press the pursuit so strongly that a good-sized supply depot, 1,500 meters east of Gorari, is captured intact. At dawn, the Australian success has become obvious, even if some of the Japanese were able to get away. They leave some 150 dead on the ground and have to leave three 70 mm howitzers, many light mortars, machine guns, supplies... and forty wounded in a first aid post. The battalion's intelligence officer barely manages to prevent these wounded from committing suicide.
Meanwhile, to the south, at Waju and around Leaney's Corner, the Japanese are worse off. Heavy fighting is going on and it appears that hundreds of men are encircled near Waju. All day long, the 2/10th and 2/12th tighten their grip.

Port Moresby - Departure of the first convoy of supplies of any size destined for Mullins Harbour (the improvised port in the Milne Bay area). It is composed of four Dutch coasters that had taken refuge from Indonesia (between 350 and 450 GRT each, they were considered useless for Australian coastal traffic), escorted by two Bathurst class corvettes, a V class submarine hunter and a launch. Each coaster tows a small barge. The convoy progresses by leaps and bounds along the coast to take advantage of the fog and the clouds that cling to the relief. Sailing mostly at night, it will be lucky not to be detected by the Japanese.

 

[Wings]

September 22nd, 1942

Yan'an Region (China) - Fuel reserves in Shanxi still allow for an attack against Japan. It is a "massive" raid: 26 B-17Fs, which mak the round trip thanks to the use of two aircraft to jam the Japanese radio frequencies and radars. The target is the large Nakajima engine factory in Musashi. The damage is relatively light: 44 machine tools destroyed or severely damaged as well as 5% of the buildings; 190,000 working hours lost. But this limited damage will nonetheless gives a boost to the factory dispersal program-and the program itself will result in a significant reduction in production.

 

[Wings]

September 22nd, 1942

Saaremaa - Before dawn, the Germans evacuate the town of Kuressaare: they keep only the small peninsula of the Sorve. The Soviet soldiers occupying the abandoned town will take several days to clean it (not without losses) of anti-personnel mines, hidden in the most unexpected places. A deminer will remember that one of them was connected by a cord to an ashtray marked "Hôtel Beaurivage, Concarneau"! It is that the 62nd Regiment of the 61. ID had been stationed there at the end of 1940.

 

[pierman]

Wow, I mean wow. Singapore is going to be for the Commonwealth what Alamo was for Texas/the US and then some. It's going to be one of those legends on the level of the IRL Battle of Britain and the Blitz and do a lot to make post-war relations and local politics a lot different. Nothing better to change those than bleeding and dying side by side.

Totally agree. What an ending...

 

[Wings]

September 22nd, 1942

Operation Typhoon
The offensive of the northern wing - On the front of the 2. PzG, the 3. Panzer moves from 02:30 to Nejyne. But in the weak light of dawn, the tanks of Breith collide head-on with those of the 35th and 127th Armored Brigades, 6 km north of the city. The German command did not expect such a strong concentration of Soviet troops at this moment of the offensive. In reality, Guderian is facing the former "Dnieper Front", used as a strategic reserve. The counter-attack of Belov's men stops the Breith attack dead in its tracks.
The German vanguards are simply too few in number to keep out two armored brigades at full strength. Panic even breaks out in the 3. Panzer and Breith had to come personally to the front line to restore the situation.
Things are not much better for the 3. PzG. The 12. Panzer (Harp) falls on a Soviet combat group combining elements of the right wing of the 47th Army and strong units of the 44th Army (173rd ID, 110th Armored Brigade and 4th Artillery Division). In addition, the VVS, almost absent from the battlefield the day before, reappear in force. As a result, the Germans are stopped halfway between Mekoshino and Bakhmach.
Guderian considers the situation so serious that he calls together Reinhardt, Hoth and Lemelsen in the early afternoon. It becomes clear that German intelligence had been seriously at fault and that the Soviet forces are far more numerous and deeper than had been expected. The first echelons of both PzGs are not far from being exhausted. Guderian was forced to engage the second echelon to break through at Nejyne as well as at Bakhmach and to be able to rush to Krementchug and Poltava.
On the Soviet side, the news of the day does a lot of good for the morale of Colonel-General Sherevishenko. He knows that his Lower Desna Front must fight on two axes and that the action of the mobile forces will be decisive. In the early evening, he meets in Konotop with General Zhukov, in charge of the supervision of the two Desna Fronts. He releases the Chernyakovsky Mobile Group, renamed 1st Armored Army the following day at 00:00. Moreover, Zhukov obtains from Vasilievsky, the new head of the Western Directorate, the transfer of the Mobile Group Chanchibadze from the 1st Ukrainian Front to the Sherevishenko Front.
...
The southern wing offensive - The German push towards the Dnieper resumes, this time under the leadership of Sepp Dietrich. From Belaja Cherkov, his Kampfgruppe advances on Mirovnika. The weather remains very bad, it rains almost continuously and neither the Luftwaffe nor the VVS will be able to carry out missions all day long.
On very muddy roads, the German columns stretch towards the southeast. Shortly before Mirovnika, a heavy cannonade announces that the contact is resumed with Dovator's forces. The latter has gathered the remains of his three cavalry divisions to constitute the equivalent of a large division. He also has under his command what remains of the 140th Infantry Division (and other units of the 16th Army) and what could be saved from the 11th Artillery Division. The two armored brigades are combined into one unit, which receives some tanks from the depots. In total, Dovator has about 80 tanks (19 KV-1, 33 T-34, 18 BT-5/7 and 9 T-26) and 13 BA-45 self-propelled guns. With these troops, he has to slow down the enemy advance and cover the deployment of the 58th and 59th Armies.
On several occasions, Sepp Dietrich asks the air force to neutralize the enemy artillery, but the Luftwaffe replies in the negative because of the weather conditions. Around 15:30, the troops are in contact and fierce fighting takes place in front of Mirovnika, along the railway line parallel to the Dnieper. Around 17:30, noting that his support troops have not yet joined, Dietrich decides to interrupt the attack.
For Vassilievsky, this is an indication that a new phase of the battle is beginning.
After consulting with Konev and his subordinates, he decides to order Dovator to withdraw all his troops to Mirovnika and to abandon Boguslav on his left wing. He gives him the order to hold on for one more day, then he authorizes him to withdraw to Kanev, where he can count on the support of the guns of the South Dnieper Flotilla.

 

[Wings]

September 22nd, 1942

Odessa - "Attack!" "Charge, push back the Fascists!" "Fight to the last man, but don't let the enemy take one more meter of the homeland of socialism!" "Those who surrender are traitors!" "Shoot the cowards!"
For two months orders like this have been issued everywhere on the Odessa front. For the political commissars and some officers, human material is a cheap and readily available resource. The Red Army counterattacks, and counterattacks again, and again, and again, wherever it can, at the slightest opportunity. And when it comes to defend, furious and hardly more life-saving clashes take place to hold on to every inch of ground.
In this game, the divisions defending this front melt away. The men charge as they are ordered and fall under machine gun bullets or mortar shells. They fall defending a ruined building or a piece of trench, crushed by the tracks of tanks, torn apart by artillery. And the Germans continue to advance.
When Odessa was surrounded, the problems of supplies and manpower has become crucial. The ships that continue to dock unload ammunition, armor, guns, some food, but no more soldiers to replace the men who had fallen: reinforcements are too valuable elsewhere. So posters are put up.
Militias had already been formed in the early days of the conflict, to defend a strategic point, a factory or a village. Volunteers of all ages and both sexes had also joined the army. But this time, everyone is mobilized. Columns of old men, teenagers over 14, and women have formed in front of the recruitment offices.
Now, these women, these almost old men, these almost children, often without uniform, sometimes armed with a rifle and four magazines for two, who are sent to stop the Germans, with their steel helmets, their leather boots, their machine guns and their tanks. And despite their sacrifice, everywhere the Axis forces storm the fortifications and penetrate the city. The trenches and bunkers, occupied by poorly armed and poorly trained militiamen, offer only token resistance. The men who could have held on to them to stop the Axis forces had died during the bloody confrontations of the first two months.
As a military saying goes: "There are no good walls without good men". No wall is more resistant than the men who defend it.
The agony of Odessa has just begun. But it will be long.
.........
Between Velyka Balka and Usatove (northwest of Odessa), 02:30 - "The night was blue, flat, without relief. It was not dark. Corporal Marius Naescu could see the grass as a gray expanse without details. The trees that grew here and there, sometimes grouped in a grove, were black shapes, as if painted directly on the dull canvas of the ground.
Strangely, what stood out the most was the white wood of the fence that delimited the fields on the right.
On this side, a few meters away, Private Gregori, kneeling behind the sandbag barricade, was operating a projector with a regular movement. The beam of yellow light illuminated the field and gave the grass its color before shaving the tops of the trees on the left. At times, it crossed the beam of the second searchlight.
Nervous, Private Moldoveanu clutched the stock of his ZB vz.26. The Czech machine gun with magazine was waiting for the slightest movement that the searchlight would reveal.
Marius Naescu remembered a night when he had woken up and discovered for the first time the silence that gripped the world when humans closed their eyes. But here, on the front, there was neither sleep nor serenity. The crack of a gunshot, not far away, made him jump. Rarely was there more than ten minutes between shots. You never really knew who was shooting at whom. Was it a nervous Romanian or a Red who was aiming at a sentry? More shots followed, as was often the case. After the first shot, the sentries, nervous, fired at their ghosts.
The corporal interrupted his reflection. Tense, he sat up slightly. What was moving over there? A black shape had appeared on the lighter ground. To the left of the tree? No, to the right... wait! No, there was definitely one on the left, but also one on the right. And there... in fact, there was a lot of them! The beam of the projector came back on the shapes, making them scatter all over the place. Even at this distance, Naescu finally recognized men coming out of the forest. Reds! He did not need to raise the alarm.
Private Moldoveanu had also seen and understood, and he reacted instantly. His vz.26 started to spit short bursts. The sleeping men woke up with a start as other machine guns and rifles thundered and the enemy returned fire.
War at night was a different kind of terror, a different way of fighting. The sounds did not change. The short, sharp snap of the rifle. The hoarse cough of the machine gun.
The muffled and strangely impressive shock of a bullet penetrating a soft surface, sandbag or living body. The screams, the calls where excitement, fear, pain, surprise... But they were shooting, not at men, but at black shapes that were running, throwing themselves on the ground, shooting... we could see the flash of the shot, and sometimes the shape would get up to resume its advance.
Barely paying attention to the soldiers who were running around him to stand behind the sandbags, Marius Naescu was looking for targets. His M93 rifle clutched in his arms. With machine movements, the corporal ejected a shell, aimed, fired... again. The barrel of his weapon followed the shapes, looking for them in the darkness. But they were also looking for him. A comrade collapsed with a sickening gurgle, while the sandbags shuddered under the impact.
The clatter of a cannon preceded by a heartbeat the blossoming of a fleeting red flower in the fields the Soviets were crossing.
The shadows that emerged from the night also had heavy weapons. Their machine guns hammered the Romanian positions. A whistle sounded, going to a crescendo. Just enough time to throw themselves to the ground in prayer before the world shook, shaken by the mortar shell that had just hit the ground a few meters away.
Marius Naescu stood up, just a little shaken. However, some grumbling and the metallic smell of blood made him realize that he had been lucky. The machine gun had stopped firing. The searchlight was shattered. Without thinking, Marius Neascu pushed the corpse of soldier Moldoveanu's corpse and grabbed the stock of the vz.26, holding it against his shoulder while his hands reflexively found the familiar grips. The weapon was already spitting. A few more or less prolonged bursts, then change magazines. There was a whole box next to it. The corporalfired until the last bullet, then asked for ammunition to continue.
Finally - after five minutes, five thousand years? - the shapes disappeared and a strange silence fell over the front. The night was the domain of nightmares, until the moment
of awakening. A bad dream? No, there was the moaning and the smell... People who believe in the greatness of a soldier's death should breathe in the smell of a battlefield.
The intestines chopped up by bullets, or loosened by terror... and the smell mixes with that of blood, of the acrid sweat born of fear, of gunpowder..."
(From La Guerre dans les Steppes, Jean Mabire, Presses de la Cité, 1955)
.........
Between Illichivka and Krasnosilka (eastern suburb of Odessa) - For the Soviet troops surrounded in Odessa, the port of the city plays the role of the air inlet for a scuba diver. In recent days, the arrival of three thousand reinforcements - which the Luftwaffe, occupied further north, and the Romanian fleet, far too weak, could not prevent - has had a definite impact on the fighting.
The defenders confront the Germans and Romanians in the southwestern outskirts of the city in a series of fierce engagements. Each time, the battlefield is a simple street, the strategic objective a humble house. A room becomes a firing point, a floor becomes a trench taken and retaken multiple times in a single day.
The Soviet artillery thunders day and night, supplied with shells by the cargo ships that follow one another at an exhausting pace for the dockers.
For ten days, the XI. ArmeeKorps has repeated its attacks to reach the Black Sea. The Germans succeeded in driving the artillery of the Odessa Cavalry Corps between Sverdlove and the shore, defended by heterogeneous elements of the corps units (2nd and 40th Cavalry Divisions and 388th ID).
.........
The first houses in Illichivka look like forts. Riddled with bullets, the walls have been reinforced with sandbags, housing F-22 USV 76 mm mod.1939 divisional guns , 53-K 45 mm anti-tank guns and Maxim machine guns. This is the last line of defense of Odessa. But in this sector many soldiers are advancing, along an imposing armored train carrying two 76 mm turrets. In the gardens of the small houses on the other side of the railroad, a battery of three 120 mm mortars mod. 1938, ZiS-5 trucks of the engineers, a tank hunter on a T-34 chassis and two STZ-5 artillery tractors.
Advancing between the infantry and the armored train, a BA-10 self-propelled gun overtakes a mix of armored vehicles - two or three KV-1s, half a dozen T-34s, as many T-50s and even - survivors of the previous four months' fighting - a T-26 and a BT-7.
The signal for the attack is given by the Soviet armored train that emerge from the suburbs near Krasnosilka, opening fire. The tanks arrive in their turn, followed by three companies of infantry. Immediately, the heavy fascist artillery breaks out, opening craters in the ranks of the soldiers. The fighting is very violent. The Soviets seize the first line of enemy trenches, but a German counter-attack on the flank narrowly misses the defenses of Illichivka and Krasnosilka. The Soviet soldiers isolated in the trench conquered during the first assault resist until their ammunition runs out - a few survivors eventually surrender.
In the evening, despite new deadly offensives and counter-offensives, the positions have not changed. There are just more craters, more wrecks and more and more corpses in the no man's land.

 

[Wings]

September 22nd, 1942

Operation Torch - D-Day+3
The cup to the dregs
At dawn, the Regia Aeronautica makes a last attempt to influence the fighting. Eighteen SM.79 torpedo bombers leave Decimomannu (in Sardinia), accompanied by six Re.2000s and six Re.2001 (from the 22nd Gruppo, based in Ajaccio and redeployed to Decimomannu). The planes have for objective the maritime traffic between the Tunisian ports on the one hand, Licata and Gela on the other hand.
They hope to pass unnoticed. But they are detected by the radar of the light cruiser MN La Galissonnière, which issues a warning to all Allied ships in the area. Vice-Admiral Godfroy's supprt group, returning to Bizerte after having continuously supported the French troops between Licata and Porto Empedocle, is alerted and takes off ten of the twelve F4F-3 of the AC 14 Flotilla of the CVE Lafayette. The latter have to receive the reinforcement of twelve P-40K of the USAAF (324th FG) launched from Pantelleria.
The French F4F-3s are the first in action; they overtake the SM.79 formation and shoot down three of them before being engaged by the escort; three F4F, three Re.2000 and one Re.2001 are shot down. The Italian torpedo planes reform, but four of them are damaged and have to land in Trapani. The eleven survivors attack Godfroy's squadron (missing a relatively small convoy by about twenty nautical miles) and have to face a hail of flak. Three SM.79s are shot down before launching their torpedoes, but the other eight launch very close - "Too close for my taste" says Captain Jacques Moreau, commander of the heavy cruiser MN Dupleix. In fact, the battleship MN Lorraine is hit under turret II.
The explosion is not very destructive, but the ship takes on almost a thousand tons of water and has to be sent back to Mers-el-Kébir for repairs which last until 20 October.
The last SM.79 are withdrawing when they are surprised by the P-40Ks of the 324th FG. The American fighters are merciless and shoot down all eight aircraft, losing one of them by the shots of the ticklish trigger-happy naval gunners. It seems that the pilots of the USAAF, unaccustomed to supporting warships, did not observe the torpedo launches and launched their attack without taking into account the flak, because they feared that the bombers were still preparing their attack.
The Italians landing at Trapani are not so lucky: they were victims of an RAF raid. At noon, 36 Beaumont I of the 235th and 237th Wings, escorted by P-40s of the 233rd Wing (SAAF) attack Trapani. One Beaumont is shot down by flak, but the last four SM.79 and seven out of eight of their escort fighters are destroyed, as well as the last MC.200 of the 25th Gruppo.
At the end of the day, in the Ionian Sea, a PBY-5 of Flotilla E 23 detects a large enemy submarine at shallow depth and sinks it with a well placed cluster of depth charges. The victim is the Italian submarine Benedetto Brin (CF Primo Longobardo).
.........
The situation on the ground, from west to east
On the coast, supported by the tanks of the 4th BMLE, the men of the 1st REP and the 14th DBLE enter Porto Empedocle in the late morning. The 26th D.I.M. Assietta withdraws towards Agrigento, a little inland, but the first French elements are in the suburbs of the city at sunset. It seems that chaos reigns in the city, where the population is looting the Fascist Party buildings and warehouses. Sensing the opportunity, General Montagne, who met General Delestraint in Gela, obtains authorization to advance towards Ribera and Verduro, less than 50 km from the coast. At 22:00, the 6th Spahis join the units that advance along the coastal road from Porto Empedocle.
South of Caltanisseta, the French and Belgians are stopped by a strong Italian defense.
Montagne callsfor air support, but the fighters are so close to each other that only the Dauntless of the Aéronavale can effectively attack the Italian positions.
One of the bombers of AB 12 is shot down by a 20 mm Scotti from the flak and another one has to land on the runway that the French sappers are building near Ponte Olivo. The Allies make little progress and the battle continues all day under a burning sun.
Further east, the American troops enter Vizzini at dawn, which was no longer defended. General Roosevelt immediately sends an improvised group of paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne, rangers and some tanks of the CCB of the 2nd Armoured towards the west, on the Vizzini-Caltagirone road, to help the French (this is the setting of an episode of the famous Band of Brothers, which tells the story of the European campaign of the 82nd Airborne).
At 09:45, paratroopers and rangers meet the 3rd MD near Grammichele and join the attack on Caltagirone. The bulk of the Italian forces withdraw, but General Chirieleison left some elements behind to delay the allied troops.
At 08:00, after having secured Caltagirone during the night, the French begin to advance towards the west, in the direction of Piazza Armerina, via San Michele di Ganzaria and SP 124 on the one hand, and via Mirabella Imbaccari and SP 37i on the other. In the evening, these two villages are taken and the 2nd Brigade of the 2nd AD joins the 11th (Teruel) and 14th (Ebro) half-brigades of the Legion, which they meet again at the crossroads of SP 117bis (Gela-Enna). Together, they continue their march forward at a good pace: the terrain is hilly, with slightly winding roads and wide verges to get around any obstacles left by the retreating Italians. On the SP 37 side, same landscapes, but the route is more tortuous.
To the east, the British are less happy than the day before. Having advanced until then towards Catania without much opposition, General Neil Ritchie's X Corps comes up against a solid Italian defense between Lentini and the coast. The 2nd South African ID is violently counter-attacked by elements of the 54th ID Napoli, reinforced by Mobile Groups D and F (each of a company of medium tanks and a battalion of infantry on trucks). Under enemy fire, the South Africans have to stop until the 1st Army Tank Brigade can begin to deploy. At dusk, the Italians still holdfirm and General Ritchie asks Frère to drop a unit at the Primosole bridge on the Simeto River, between Catania and Lentini, to isolate "this stubborn band of Italians."
.........
Allied plans... and Patton's
18:45, near Noto - Allied staff conference. General Frère approves of Delestraint's idea: a "reconnaissance in force" on the coast towards Marsala, but he wants to keep Patton's 7th Army as a flank guard for Montgomery's 1st Army. The American troops, now reinforced by the 3rd ID landed at Scoglitti, have to hold the heights of Chiaramonte-Vizzini and relieve the French occupying Caltagirone, while Allfrey's V Corps is to bypass Lentini on the right, between the town and the sea, to surround most of the 54th DI Napoli and seize Catania. The French units are to advance on Enna and from there to Palermo, as planned.
To say that George Patton is disappointed would certainly be an understatement...
On his way back to Comiso with Delestraint and De Lattre, the American general negotiates in person with the two Frenchmen (with the help of his liaison officer to De Lattre, Paul Orban) the participation of the 2nd Armored Division in the assault on Enna and, above all, the fact that this large unit would "advance beyond Enna if necessary." To some extent, this agreement relieved Delestraint and De Lattre. Having the help of the powerful "2nd Armored" allows Delestraint to transfer the Belgian 1st Armored Brigade to the 4th Corps (Montagne) to strengthen his "reconnaissance in force" towards Marsala. The association of the 2nd Armored Brigade and the 2nd French armored division gives General de Lattre the means to advance towards Enna and Palermo. Before midnight, Delestraint confirmed to the two Corps Commanders his decision to transfer the Belgian armoured unit from the 3rd CA to the 4th CA and informs Colonel Piron (of the Belgian Army) of this decision, ordering him to land at Licata and not at Gela.
However, the Armée de l'Air progressively redeploy units to the fields of Ponte Olivo and Biscari (both of which have been put into service the previous evening); the USAAF does the same at Comiso and the RAF is about to be able to use the Pachino airfields - the air situation looks good for the Allied command.
Nevertheless, the night before, the first Italian reinforcements have begun to cross the Strait of Messina and the Xth FliegerKorps completes its redeployment to Cosenza and Taranto during the day.
This does not prevent 48 B-24 of the USAAF (of the 97th and 98th BG), escorted by 48 P-38 (1st and 14th FG), to shell Messina in the afternoon to avoid that the Italians transfer new units from Reggio to Messina. This raid is only partially successful, but Messina's railroad terminal is seriously damaged.
.........
The last cards of the Xa MAS
Borghese studies the situation. What can the Decima MAS do? He finally decides for a double attempt. To the west, a submarine will go to transport SLC (maiale) to attack the troop transports anchored at Licata. In the east, with the support of the MAS of Messina, some MTM explosive boats will attack the transports anchored at Syracuse. This second mission requires the services of a support ship; this is the very recent torpedo boat Ardente (Ciclone class), which entered service on 30 July 1942 and is based in Naples.

 

[Wings]

September 22nd, 1942

Rome - In the Italian capital, there is little reason to rejoice. The news sent at noon by Guzzoni show that the Italian defense in the center of the island is cracking little by little. At Mussolini's request, General Ambrosio orders the Folgore parachute division (Brigadier General Ercole Ronco) to go to Naples to embark on warships that would transfer it to Palermo.
Shortly afterwards, Ambrosio is received by the king Victor-Emmanuel III, under the pretext of describing to him the military situation. He then tries to do more...
"After having drawn a gloomy picture of the events in Europe and in the world, Ambrosio concludes: "Sire, it is obvious that Germany will lose the war. Your Majesty must not let Italy run into the abyss with her. But our only military asset is the Armata di Levante, powerful enough, if necessary, to dissuade the Allies or Germany from invading us. If this Army were to be dispersed, as the Navy is now a shadow of its former self, the kingdom would find itself seriously deprived."
Victor-Emmanuel III listened in silence to Ambrosio's speech before dismissing him, not without thanking the chief of staff for his loyalty, adding curiously: "Don't worry. No change in the government will be made without respecting the constitutional rules." (Francesco Folcini, op. cit.)
Shortly afterwards, Ambrosio is informed that a meeting is to be organized soon, near Treviso, between Mussolini and Hitler accompanied by their staffs.

 

[Wings]

September 22nd, 1942

Greece - As the weather improves, Allied aircraft resume their attacks on the Attica airfields, supply depots and the Athens railroad yard, which had been vital for the Axis forces in Greece, since the Allies had in practice forbidden any naval transport in the Gulf of Corinth.
The Allies lose fifteen aircraft: seven bombers (two Beaumonts and two Baltimore of the RAF, a Yugoslav Baltimore, a French DB-73 and B-25C) and eight fighters (two Hurricane IIs, two P-40Es and a Spitfire V from the RAF, a P-38, a Mustang IA and a Mustang II from the Armée de l'Air). Two bombers and one fighter areshot down by Flak; the other twelve were victims of a very aggressive Luftwaffe. But JG 27 pays the price: six Bf 109F shot down and four badly damaged, four dead and one seriously wounded - not insignificant losses.
During the night, the Stirlings of the 236th and 251st Wings and the Wellingtons of the 102nd Wing attack Larissa and Salonika. They lose four aircraft (out of 92 engaged), all of them due to the German night fighters.

 

[Wings]

September 23rd, 1942

Northern Europe - In front of the relative failure of the high altitude raid of the day before, 36 Tornado of the RAF (Sqn 56, 245 and 609) carrying each two 500 pounds bombs, escorted by 36 other Tornado (Sqn 174, 253 and 400) and covered at altitude by 88 Spitfire V and IX (including 16 Spitfire IX of GCI/1 and II/1) attack at low altitude the marshalling yard of Lille. This time, the JG 26 react in force and 44 Focke-Wulf 190 intercept the attackers. A great number of revolving fights develops, from ground level to 30,000 feet.
The JG 26 claims 21 victories and the Flak half a dozen, for a total of 27.
On the Allied side, 14 sure and 11 probable victories over the Fw 190s are believed to have been achieved, attributed as follows:
(a) Tornado units:
Sqn 400 (RCAF): 2 Fw 190s destroyed, 1 'probable', 2 damaged.
Sqn 253 : 1 destroyed, 2 "probable", 2 damaged.
Sqn 609 : 1 destroyed, 2 damaged.
Sqn 174: 1 "probable", 1 damaged.
(b) Spitfire V units:
Sqn 302 (City of Poznan): 1 Fw 190 destroyed, 2 'probable', 1 damaged.
Sqn 303 (Kosciuszko) : 1 Fw 190 destroyed, 2 damaged.
(c) Spitfire IX units:
Sqn 602: 2 Fw 190s destroyed, 1 'probable', 2 damaged.
Sqn 611 : 2 destroyed, 1 damaged.
Sqn 411 (RCAF) : 1 destroyed, 2 "probable", 2 damaged.
GC I/1 : 2 destroyed, 1 "probable", 2 damaged.
GC II/1 : 1 destroyed, 1 "probable", 1 damaged.
The real scores are of 16 destroyed allied planes (including 3 Tornado bombers, 3 Tornado escorts, 6 Spitfire V and 2 Spitfire IX), for 15 Fw 190s actually shot down and 6 others seriously damaged.
The Allied assessment is much more accurate than the German one. But the worst thing for the Germans, is that the huge Tornado continues to assert itself as a very efficient fighter at low altitude and that the Spitfire IX is a real danger at high altitude. Moreover, in combat, it is still difficult to distinguish the Mk V from the Mk IX - but anyway, the pilots observed bitterly, the proportion of Mk IXs is increasing every day...
As for the bombing, this time it is a success: the central control post of the station is destroyed and all traffic is interrupted for three days.
This air battle, on a smaller scale than Rutter, brings a new proof that the control of the skies over the English Channel and Northern France is passing to the Allied side.

 

[Wings]

September 23rd, 1942

Alger - General P.A. Roberto Fierro Villalobos, Commander-in-Chief of the Mexican Air Force comes to confer with the French authorities. When Mexico entered the war,
on May 22nd, 1942, the Mexican authorities wanted to participate in an expedition to rescue the Philippines. Since the fall of this archipelago and while waiting for better days it had been decided that the Mexican squadrons would limit themselves to ASW patrols along the coast of Baja California and in the Gulf of Mexico. However, the best suited for this mission were the heavy seaplanes that the Americans and the French have based in the Caribbean and that the Mexicans do not have.
In addition, the temporary closure of the Panama Canal reduced traffic in the Gulf and along the west coast of the North American continent. In this context, and especially after the German attack on the Soviet Union, there were insistent voices in Mexico City that Mexican aircraft should support the former soldiers of the Spanish Republic who were now fighting in the Foreign Legion. Mexico is in fact (apart from the USSR) one of the few countries that still recognizes the Republican government in exile as the only legitimate Spanish government.
Mexico has to receive from the United States, under the Lend-Lease law, a number of Douglas A-24B (land-based variant of the SBD Dauntless, named by the Mexicans Bombardero Inclinado Douglas or BID), the government of President Manuel Avila Camacho began negotiating with the French authorities the possibility of deploying a squadron of these aircraft (the equivalent of a group) as a ground support formation, in direct support of one of the Legion's "Spanish" half-brigades. Villalobos came to officialize this cooperation.
The President of the Council, Paul Reynaud, who had spent part of his life in Mexico, had very good relations with the Mexican officials and he was happy to support their proposal. Charles de Gaulle, as Minister of War, knew that the operational impact of the operation would be very limited, but he felt that an agreement on this point could only be an important political gesture and a tool to reinforce the influence of France in Latin America, which had been damaged by the defeat of 1940.
At the end of their interview, three smiling men walk towards the photographers (including several special envoys from Mexican newspapers) for the ritual shots. Reynaud improvises a short speech in Spanish about the age-old Franco-Mexican friendship (avoiding the sad episode of Maximilian's aborted reign), and then shakes Villalobos' hand. De Gaulle, who does not speak Spanish, shakes hands with the Mexican. Then, before the flashes of light, he turned his head towards the photographers and articulates: "Mexico y Francia, ¡ la mano en la mano!" Needless to say, the General's eight little words made the front page of the Mexican press (although De Gaulle had trouble in pronouncing the x in the Spanish way...).
That same day, General Villalobos meets with General Houdemon, Chief of Staff of the Air Force. The two men agree on the deployment of 16 to 20 "BIDs" as ground support units in the early spring of 1943.

 

[Wings]

September 23rd, 1942

The battle of convoy DDCH-100 (3)
00:34 - The aviso MN Savorgnan-de-Brazza exchanges several shells with a submarine on the surface. The latter finally escapes at full speed (the maximum speed of the Savorgnan-de-Brazza is only 15.5 knots, at best, and the aviso has not been serviced in port for more than six months, which does not improve its speed!)
02:05 - The Yugoslavian Nikolina Matkovic (3 672 GRT) is hit by two torpedoes and sinks quickly.
02:11 - The aviso Rigault-de-Genouilly is hit in the middle, probably by a torpedo from the U-boot which has just sunk the Matkovic. Victim of a serious water leak in its engine compartment, the aviso soon sinks. The culprit is spotted on the surface by the Milan and dives into the water. The Milan releases two series of ten depth charges, which shake the submarine without destroying it.
03:10 - The contact is found by the Lunenburg and the Bittersweet. The two corvettes chase the submarine for more than an hour.
04:30 - The Lunenburg and Bittersweet force the submarine to surface. It seems that, in order to escape the corvettes, the German commander had to manoeuvre at maximum speed, exhausting his batteries. The two Canadian corvettes damage him with their guns, but are unable to finish it off (their artillery is too small). The U-boot escapes to the west when it is overtaken by the USS Spencer, which hits it twice.
The American closes in for the coup de grace, when it becomes clear that the German crew is scuttling its ship. Thus ends U-615, the fourth U-boot sunk in less than 24 hours.
The battle of convoy DDCH-100 was a turning point in the Battle of the Atlantic. This large, slow convoy, an ideal target, in theory, for Dönitz's pack tactics, had two "Gruppen" on its heels totalling 17 ships. Thanks to intelligent tactics and good cooperation with the seaplanes based in Dakar, a relatively small escort was able to avoid one U-boot group and inflict 50% losses on the second (four out of eight U-boats), at the cost of four cargo ships and one escort.

French Navy Anti-submarine Destroyer MN Milan, Battle of Convoy DDCH-100, September 1942