Fantasque Time Line (France Fights On) - English Translation

[Wings]

October 12th, 1942

Laos - The 7th Japanese Division, which has received the reinforcement of the 11th Thai Regiment (which put the strength of the whole thing to the level of a normal division), leaves Ban Phoukhoun after nearly a month of immobility. In spite of the cut-off roads, the advance towards Luang-Prabang resumes, punctuated by ambushes.

 

[Wings]

October 12th, 1942

Operation Typhoon
The offensive of the southern wing - Under the constant rain - thinner, but increasingly cold - the Soviet troops who have resumed their advance on the Korsun plateau come up against the forces that Hübe managed to gather, supported by 31 Panzers. The battle degenerates into a series of engagements at regimental and even battalion level. Barrage and counter-battery fire, tanks and infantry intermingle. The German infantry is bled dry and the tanks, unable to maneuver in the mud, are victims of anti-tank guns and even PTRS and PTRD rifles. However, at the end of the day, the Soviets have been pushed back 3 or 4 km, but the two German infantry divisions are only a shadow of their former selves. Even worse, the total number of tanks of Kampfgruppe Hube and the 13th Panzer reach only 11 tanks!
On the Dnieper, it is to a new day of constant harassment, coming after the infiltrations of the night, that the German troops are confronted. Sepp Dietrich tells Kleist that he is going to hold on to the river but does not think he could cross it. That is an understatement!
The fire from the ships of the Dnieper flotilla stuns Dietrich's men. The latter hold their positions only because of the very small number of men that the Soviets have managed to land during the night. In the evening, it is clear that the German troops cannot take it anymore. Like the north wing, the south wing offensive is suspended.
.........
It is thus the whole operation Typhoon which is interrupted - in theory, momentarily. In reality, this failure is a turning point in the German-Soviet war.

Typhoon-South situation after the halting of the offensive.

 

[Wings]

October 12th, 1942

Kyivs'kyi District - "Captain Klaus Eberhart belonged to the 121. Grenadier-Regiment. He was mobilized in September 1939 and fought in Poland, then in France. He was not a Junker, a professional warrior with a leather neck. He came from Küstrin, on the Oder, a schoolteacher, newly married, still childless and without any history. As he put on his round wire-rimmed glasses, his hands were shaking.
The rough map the scout had drawn looked like a checkerboard. The squares were made up of buildings. The buildings represented by an empty square were in the hands of the Wehrmacht, the solid squares were in Soviet hands. Those that were hatched were disputed. Finally, the crossed-out ones were unoccupied, usually because they were in ruins. The whole area that we recognized in the morning was a mixture of the different types of buildings. Of course, to the south and west, the number of buildings controlled by the 50. Infantry-Division was increasing while to the north and east the Soviets controlled all the streets.
A mortar shell exploded in the street, tearing up the cobblestones and hurling them violently against the neighboring buildings. There was a lot of cursing and frightened screaming, and some dust fell from the ceiling. The radio operator looked up for a moment, then continued to copy the coded text he was receiving.
Captain Eberhart looked at the two lieutenants facing him. Their faces were sallow, by lack of sleep, dirty, dressed in sloppy uniforms, they reeked of sweat and tobacco.
- We did not receive more precise information from the Aufklärungs-Abteilung [reconnaissance detachment], so we'll have to make do. The most important thing is to resume direct contact with C Company. They have lost their radio and this morning's bombing cut off the phone line. We need to find a volunteer to get a new one through this trench.
He put his finger on the map.
Lieutenant Müller shook in his chair and then, lifting his cap, pointed to two black squares on the map:
- We have lost several men to snipers hidden in these positions. If we send a man crawling into the trench with a spool of telephone wire, he's going to get it, that's for sure.
Lieutenant Todt agreed and pointed his index finger at the map, involuntarily drawing attention to the missing phalanx. Like the hideous star-shaped scar on his cheek, it was a gift from the French, or perhaps the Greeks, the year before. A grenade that had exploded a little too close to him...
- Maybe we could take both positions, to get rid of it once and for all?
The three men looked at the rough map spread out between them. In the street, there was the sound of caterpillars. The ground vibrated jerkily under the weight of an armored vehicle. A Pz III Ausf. J passed under the window, climbed over a remnant of the barricade, and then tipped over to the other side, chasing debris around it. Its 5 cm gun spat a projectile towards a building at the other end of the other end of the street.
The exchange of fire, until then intermittent, increased. The three officers moved away from the window - not a minute too soon. The small building that served as the headquarters of B Company of 121. Rgt was shaken by a violent explosion. The ceiling cracked and part of the facade, plaster and dust filled the room amidst screams and swearing. Although pieces of brick and wood flew everywhere, the four men escaped with only a few scratches. Captain Eberhart spat a sharp imprecation as he removed his glasses - the left lens was starred.
He had had enough, let him return to his classroom!"
(From La Guerre dans les Steppes, Jean Mabire, Presses de la Cité, 1955)

 

[Wings]

October 12th, 1942

Operation Trident - D-Day+7 (Torch, D-Day+23)
Pause and allied plans
The pace of operations in Sicily drops suddenly, as the Allied forces interrupt their advance to reorganize. The bad weather grounds most of the planes, which is greatly appreciated by the Italian troops.
The only notable shocks occur around Cesarò. What remains of the Ravenna Division counter-attacks to try to retake part of the small town, but the Italians are repulsed by the Chasseurs Ardennais and by the Spanish of the DBLE Teruel.
In the afternoon, General Charles Delestraint, commander of the northern sector, meets with his deputy, General George S. Patton, and the head of the French 3rd Corps, General Amédée Blanc, to consider a new progression along the coastal road. The three men quickly agree that a powerful frontal attack combined with an amphibious landing would have the best chance of dislodging the Italian defenders. It was decided that the 3rd and 4th Battalions of the US Rangers would form a small landing force aimed at the enemy's tactical defense zone while the 10th DBLE Kumanovo and Combat Command A of the 1st US Armored Division would land further inland on the Italian rear.
.........
Italian pessimism
At the same time, the Italian commander, General Guzzoni, meets with the officers commanding the operational units he still has. General Gioda (commander of the newly formed XXXII Corps) gives him a gloomy picture of the Italian situation in the central region. The lack of artillery and anti-tank equipment is the main problem. The commander of the XVI Corps, General Rossi, adds that after the battle of Acireale, his men are exhausted and would not be able to contain the British forces facing them.
All this hardly surprises Guzzoni, who decides after the meeting to meet again with the Italian Chief of Staff, General Ambrosio.

 

[Wings]

October 12th, 1942

Tunis - A fresh morning tries without success to calm the irritation of the inhabitants of the former target of the Axis bombs, transformed with Bizerte in advanced bastion of the Liberation of Europe. The patrols double in the streets.
It is however with a cheerful step that captain Bernard Tenet enters the anonymous building that houses the headquarters of French counter-espionage in Tunis. He puts down the croissants he took the time to buy on the receptionist's desk. The latter, an elderly Tunisian woman, is used to the manners of the men of the Second Bureau and is already preparing a coffee black enough and strong enough to replace the shoe polish.
Despite his fatigue, Tenet climbs the stairs four by four. He knocks gently on a glass door and waits for a voice to ask him to enter. Without the French flag in the corner, the place would look like the shabby office of a common leather roundhouse, with two small, locked iron cabinets and two bad chairs.
Major Gwendoline puts down her newspaper, whose headline reads: "Another Lavalist attack! One Dead!"
- Sit down, Bernard.
- Thank you, Major.
- You look envious. Given your latest exploit, I understand it.
Gwendoline taps the newspaper. Captain Tenet smiles while pulling from his pocket a packet of Tricolors. His superior sparks the flame of his lighter and hands it to him. Tenet nods and lights his cigarette, then asks: "What is the official version?"
- A small ammunition depot was blown up last night. The saboteur was found shredded on the spot, he was wearing a French uniform and his papers identified him as Warrant Officer Maillet. It's a pity, all the same.
- What was it? The depot or Maillet?
- Oh, the depot was almost empty. There was just enough for a credible explosion. That's too bad about Maillet.
- Commander, with all due respect, Maillet was a scoundrel. A traitor who, not content with betraying his country...continued to play a double game after he accepted our offer of employment. I know that he didn't give us all his caches of explosives. Besides, eliminating him now puts us in an ideal position to launch the next phase of "Medusa".
- So, do we stand with it?
- Well, Queyrat has appealed to his German and Lavalist bosses for reinforcements. The Atlas network has lost half its manpower in the last three months, but it has been successful in several sabotage and intelligence operations. Above all, they were the only ones to have announced the landing in Sicily. After tonight's affair, they will be convinced of the efficiency of Atlas. Each sabotage could well consume an agent, what do they care!
- That's fine. Let me know as soon as the enemy reinforcements are confirmed.
.........
According to "Atlas medusé - The response of the French counter-espionage to the activities of the spies of the NEF and the Axis in North Africa", by A. Naxagore, Paris, 1946.

 

[Wings]

October 13th, 1942

Rome - After spending a few days with her own mother in her childhood castle in Possenhofen, the Belgian Queen Mother, Elisabeth, arrives in the Italian capital, in the midst of a real conspiracy atmosphere, made up of conciliations, secret emissaries and coded messages. The Duce is wavering, the alliance with Germany is hanging by a thread, theallied bombings continue without a break, panicking the population, and nothing seems to be able to calm the agitation of the workers in the big industrial cities. Princess Marie-José welcomes her mother with joy, but she can only share with her her premonition and even her conviction that dramatic events could take place in the next few weeks.

 

[Wings]

October 13th, 1942

Lae - Allied air reconnaissance spots the Okinoshima Maru, a landing craft carrier (13,500 tons and 22 knots), inspired by the recently completed Nisshin. It lands 600 men and supplies of food and ammunition.
Despite a dense air cover, the Beauforts of Sqn 100 launch a courageous attack that costs the RAAF two Beauforts and two Hurricanes, in exchange for a single Zero. The transport and its two escort destroyers are not damaged.
Upon learning of the arrival of these enemy reinforcements, General Vasey decides to hasten the offensive on the Kokoda Track. The 7th AIF Division will try to cross the Kumusi River on the 15th.

 

[Wings]

October 13th, 1942

Guadalcanal - Patrol activities continue.
.........
Ironbottom Sound - As of 2200 hours the previous day, the entire Iishi flotilla (MTB G-1, G-3, G-352 and G-353) ambush to intercept a convoy of reinforcements bound for Aola and Tulagi.
Iishi sets up as usual in shallow water, close to shore, waiting for the allied ships to come to him. His watches have been unsuccessful so far, but this night, luck smiles on him. The convoy is made up of two American destroyers, one of which was converted into a minelayer (DM), the Sicard, the other a minesweeper (DMS), the Zane, plus two small Bangor class minesweepers, the Polruan and Rothesay, and a yacht converted into a patrol boat (YP), the HMNZS Isabel (710 tons, 28 knots), sent to reinforce the Phipps fleet.
01:00 - The Japanese see the phosphorescence of the allied wakes, at 1,500 meters, only 4,000 metres off the coast. Iishi's patrol boats are almost invisible, lost on the dark background of the coast and their radar images mixed with the echoes of the shore. They launch aat the same time. The allied lookouts see the splashes of the launches and give the alert, but the distance is too short to allow an efficient dodge and the first shots are fired blindly, in the direction of the only thing visible - the surf on the shore. Before the arrival of the torpedoes, the Allied ships light up their searchlights, illuminating the Japanese patrol boats, which flee under the tracers. The G-353 is hit hard and suffers two dead. But the salvo of eight torpedoes is very effective. The DM Sicard, hit full force, breaks in two and sinks in a few minutes. The DMS Zane, hit under the bridge, runs aground near Aola so that its cargo can reach its destination. The small Polruan, hit in the stern, catches fire and sinks shortly after.
11:00 - Four E13A1 attack the unfortunate Zane, grounded and almost completely unloaded. One of the Japanese seaplanes is shot down by the flak, but a 250 kg bomb sets the Zane on fire and another one just misses it, causing a fatal leak. Irreparable, however, the small ship provides an improvised dock to speed up the unloading of future supply missions to Aola.

 

[Wings]

October 13th, 1942

Kyivs'kyi District - "Vasily was dressed in a ragged uniform, his torso barred by a rolled tarpaulin and tied with a rope, but he didn't care about his appearance. Tall, unshaven for days, he looked at the world with very blue eyes that seemed never to blink. Motionless, he held his Mosin-Nagant M91/30 PU rifle firmly, clearly recognizable by its sighting scope. All the metal parts of the weapon were sheathed in strips of cloth cut from uniforms.
He waited in the darkness of the night, in the middle of the ruins of a building open to the wind. It was raining lightly and the sound of the drops formed a constant background noise, sometimes disturbed by the clatter of a rifle or a distant gust.
A voice whispered a password in the darkness, Vasily gave the agreed answer. Thena man slid lightly over a pile of debris. Nikola.
Without exchanging another word, the newcomer guided the sniper into the darkness, who had just reconnoitered their hunting ground. Silently, they passed by ruins where flames flickered. A heavy cough, sleepy breathing and various noises were heard. Many men were sleeping nearby.
A longer shadow moved, "Hans, hast du etwas nicht gesehen?" A second shadow moved, hesitated, then: "Ich denke er ist eine Ratte."
Vassili and Nikola had hidden in the shadows, fortunately the rat they had disturbed had run off towards the sentries. Their suspicion eased, they returned to their places.
An hour later, the night began to lighten. Wading through the mud, a column of German infantrymen moved forward. The rain pounded on their steel helmets. They were cold, they had slept badly and their bad meal weighed on their stomachs. They walked along the gutted buildings of the street, they advanced to an outpost to relieve the guards. None of them thought to look up; they might have seen a muddy tarpaulin stretched over the floor of a gutted apartment and the cloth-wrapped barrel of a sniper rifle. But more likely, they probably wouldn't have seen anything at all.
Nikola was holding binoculars under the tarp, looking in the direction of a group of tanks. One of them was a Pz III Ausf. K command tank. A tent was set up a short distance away. Men in uniform were coming out of the tanks where they had spent the night - rather badly than well. Coffee was being heated on a wood stove. Bread and cold cuts were being distributed.
Another man came out of the command tank. He was graying and wearing a shirt, with the straps of his pants hanging over his thighs. Making a few warm-up movements, he answered the salutes of his men who were standing at attention.
Nikola said a few words to his neighbor and then put down his binoculars. Vassili pulled back the arming lever of his weapon, loading a cartridge. In the eyepiece of his sight, the officer was drinking the coffee that one of his subordinates had just brought him. Forgetting to breathe... Squeeze gently but firmly squeeze the trigger...
The Germans saw the officer fall before they heard the snap of the gun.
The panzer's armor was suddenly painted scarlet with blood and debris of brain matter.
An ordinary morning in the hell of Odessa."
(From La Guerre dans les Steppes, Jean Mabire, Presses de la Cité, 1955)

 

[Wings]

October 13th, 1942

Bucharest - Conductor Antonescu receives a letter signed by the Führer. It is in fact a personal answer from Adolf Hitler following the meeting of September 27th. The first part is a series of empty formulas about the future of Europe and the place of Romania. Hitler promises to offer his colleague in dictatorship a large part of the Ukraine as a reward for "glorious feats of arms of the Romanian army". He then assures Marshal Antonescu of German support in the siege of Odessa, whose fall would not be long in coming. Hitler ends by saying that Typhoon has caused "immense losses" to the Soviet army and that the German offensive will resume "shortly".

 

[Wings]

October 13th, 1942

Moscow - The Stavka decides to simplify and rationalize the DSO (Dnieper Defense Council) in preparation for a gigantic counterattack. The DSO is separated from the Belarusian and Dnieper Fronts. Its two Strategic Directions correspond to the two branches of Typhoon. Coordination is to be ensured by two representatives of the Stavka, Generals Zhukov and Vasilievsky.
Each of these Strategic Directions coordinates several Fronts, and each is in charge of a vast operation of breakthrough and encirclement. In fact, there are even three operations which are prepared: "Uranus" (facing the southern branch of Typhoon), "Mars" (facing the northern branch) and "Jupiter", led by Eremenko from Smolensk and towards Orsha. To these three operations is attached a fourth one, which will have to begin only almost one month after the three first ones: "Saturn", intended to clear Odessa (soon, it will be necessary to liberate the city) and southern Ukraine. Saturn is associated with an amphibious operation whose planning has been delegated to the Navy. To crown it all, a fifth operation, named "Zvezda" (Star), will be launched in the Baltic States.
These offensives require huge resources. The Stavka began to accumulate them in September and will constantly reinforce them until the launch of operations, by allocating its reserves to the different strategic directions according to the tasks that will be given to them.
This plan may seem extremely ambitious. In fact, it exceeds the planning capacities of the Stavka. Nevertheless, as we know today, the staff of the Red Army expects a strategic success of very large scale. The goal of the first operations is the dismantling of two German army groups. The convergence of the Soviet offensives towards Warsaw via Minsk (Mars and Jupiter) and Lodz (Uranus) must then provoke a collapse of the German front and the encirclement of considerable forces in Belarus.
Such a success is far beyond the means of the Red Army at the time - but the magnitude of the German defeats will finally hide the fact that the ambitions of the Stavka were even greater!

 

[Wings]

October 13th, 1942

Operation Trident - D-Day+8 (Torch, D-Day+24)
Military activity in Sicily remains low. The weather is particularly bad in the Caronia Mountains: thick fog and heavy rain.
The weather is a little better on the southern coast, which make it easier for the Allied fighter and bomber units that had to redeploy to Sicilian airfields. The air strike group of the Aéronavale, until then based in Malta, is redeployed on the ground of Biscari to better support the next attacks on the Italian positions. The 53rd Belgian Ground Support Wing does the same; its P-39Ds join their compatriots of the 41st Fighter Wing and the French 4th Fighter Squadron at Ponte Olivo. USAAF units move to Comiso, now fully operational, while RAF units move to Pachino.

 

[Wings]

October 13th, 1942

Naples - The Sicilian weather does not prevent the USAAF from launching a large-scale air attack against Naples. Liberators of the 97th, 98th and 376th BGs bomb the city under the protection of the P-38F of the 1st, 14th and 82nd FG. The Regia Aeronautica does not react. The bombs aim at the shipyards, but the material effectiveness of the bombardment is moderate. On the other hand, its psychological effect is very violent. The local population, furious, starts to insult members of the Fascist Party in the streets of the old town (Spaccanapoli).

 

[Wings]

October 13th, 1942

Naples - Guzzoni and Ambrosio find themselves in Naples shortly after the American raid, which does nothing to improve their mood. Guzzoni asks for reinforcements, but he knows before he opens his mouth what Ambrosio's answer will be. This one thinks that Sicily is lost. He has arrived at the conclusion that only a fast exit from the war can save his country. Fearing a brutal German reaction, he wishes to keep an Armata di Levante as strong as possible to avoid a coup de force by those who are still his allies.
However, this meeting is not totally unsuccessful. Ambrosio obtains indeed from Guzzoni a detailed report on the military situation that he will be able to present in all its bleakness to marshal Badoglio and to the King.

 

[Wings]

October 14th, 1942

Brussels - The secretary-general of Labor and Social Security, Vervaeck, sends to the Militärverwaltung a letter of protest against the ordinance of October 6th. He makes it clear that his services will refuse to contribute to its execution.

 

[Wings]

October 14th, 1942

Channel - After a year of refurbishment, the privateer Komet left Germany a week ago and reached Boulogne, then Le Havre despite a first ambush in which two British patrol boats were sunk, while four German minesweepers were lost in a minefield off Dunkirk.
At that moment, Captain Brocksien was happy with it!
On the evening of the 13th, the Komet left Le Havre, escorted by the 5th Torpedo Boat Flotilla of Korvettenkapitän Wilcke (T-2, T-4, T-14 and T-19). But two groups of British ships are keeping watch. The first group includes five Hunt class destroyers, three British (HMS Albrighton, Pytchley and Quorn) and two Norwegian (HNoMS [Kongelige Norske Marinen] Eskdale and Glaisdale), plus eight Vosper MTBs. The second one has four destroyers, HMS Brocklesby, Fernie, Garth and Tynedale.
02:00 - The German flotilla, spotted by a Swordfish shortly after midnight, is attacked off Cherbourg. While Wilcke, on board the T-14, urges Brocksien to take refuge in
Cherbourg, the latter maintains his course.
A confused battle soon ensues and the Komet disappears in a huge explosion that disintegrates the ship, leaving only no survivors. The destroyer Brocklesby and two of the torpedo boats are damaged (Captain Wilcke is killed) before both sides break off the fight, while the German shore batteries begin to interfere.
The British claim that it was two torpedoes fired by the MTB-236 that sank the raider, while the officers of the German torpedo boats thought that the destroyers' fire had probably hit an ammunition bunker.

 

[Wings]

October 14th, 1942

Milne Bay area - First victory for the Dutch torpedo boats. Passing through the China Strait, two of them chase and torpedo what they identify as a 2,000-ton cargo ship. It is in fact a 450 GRT coaster, but its destruction marks a turning point in the campaign, as the Japanese Navy can no longer be sure that its units are safe in the waters of Milne Bay.

 

[Wings]

October 14th, 1942

Guadalcanal, Marau Sound - During the day, a US Navy team reports that this creek, located at the extreme eastern tip of Guadalcanal, about 100 km from Tenaru, can be used as a seaplane base. Indeed, having noted the usefulness of the small group of Australian seaplanes, the US Navy is indeed gathering in the waters of the Samoan Islands a Seaplane Task Force composed of seaplane tenders AV Albemarle (transferred from the Atlantic Fleet), AV Pocomoke, AV Tangier and AV Wright. These four ships are to be supported by the AVD Ballard, Gillis, Thornton and William B. Preston (converted "four-pipers"), the Abarenda and various small boats (tugs, patrol boats, coasters...).
But this formation lacks suitable seaplanes. Grumman and Edo Corporation have started to graft floats on F4F-3s in reserve in the depots, but the F4F-3S ("Wildcatfish") is a mediocre fighter, with little maneuverability and no more than 241 mph (388 km/h); nevertheless, it retains the good firepower and robustness of the Wildcat.
Northrop was asked for N-3PB patrol bombers (four .50 machine guns in the wings and 2,000 pounds of bombs make it a good ground attack machine), but production did not keep up. So it was decided to add an armor plate and a second axial machine gun to the small OS2U-1 Kingfisher seaplane from Vought, but the machine was slow, poorly defended and carried only 400 pounds of bombs. The Navy also asked the manufacturers of the aircraft under development to plan float versions, but nothing was ready before 1943. Finally, to support the PBYs, a float version of the C-47 was developed; if it is necessary to take great care of the distribution of the loads and to use special loading docks, the C-47C does its job well.
This variety should not obscure the fact that the weight of the air battle rests on the shoulders of the airmen at Henderson Field. But throughout the Solomons campaign, seaplanes of all types, often built (and even more often converted) to a handful of aircraft, fly dozens of missions, ranging from rescue at sea to ground support, to attacking ships, reconnaissance, hunting, medical evacuation and supply.
.........
Guadalcanal, Aola - The supplies landed the day before from the ill-fated Zane have a nice surprise for the Marines in charge of its landing: four huge reinforced and waterproofed wooden crates, each of which appears to weigh a ton. Transhipped on the landing stage made of coconut trunks that serves as a makeshift dock, they sink immediately into the soft and wet sand. Chester Puller and his fellow raiders are called upon to free them and carry them to less soft ground. Several hours of effort are going to be necessary to cover a hundred meters, but the raiders do not balk at the effort. Such a protection, such a weight, that can only be the sign of an exceptional cargo! And the suppositions are rife: a new type of machine gun? Shells capable of perforating the Japs' bunkers? Pulp enthusiasts even mention, half-seriously, a death ray specially developed for the Marines by E. E. Smith himself...
Also, when the first crate is opened with a crowbar, what is the surprise of the Marines to find themselves in front of... books, books by the hundreds, which are spread out on the jungle floor. And the same in the other three! Incredulous, the raiders realize that not only that it is one and the same book, but that there is not a single picture. Chester D. Puller tells the story of this funny adventure:
"What the hell is this mess?" exclaimed Drake, a little kid who wasn't necessarily very smart but who, on this occasion, summed up well the state of mind of all the guys who had worked their asses off carrying those damn boxes around. Books? Fucking books!
- And not even one picture of Mae West," McCoy whined. "What do they want? Teach us to read?
- Nah, McCoy, that ain't it, everybody in Washington knows there's about as much chance of you learning to read than of Hiro-Hito shaking hands with Roosevelt at Pearl Harbor this Christmas", Lehnscherr replied.
It was finally Summers, a four-eyed man who wasn't often heard from, but who was such a good shot - the kind that could put a bullet through a Jap's left nostril at two hundred yards - that nobody bothered him, who explained the trick to us.
- There's a letter here," he said.
- No way, Summers, can you speak?" asked Lebeau, a Cajun from New Orleans, looking genuinely surprised.
- Shut up, Lebeau. So, what does this letter say, Summers?
Imagine that the boxes contained two hundred and fifty copies of the four volumes of the History of the Peloponnesian War, published between 1919 and 1923 by Putnam. It was a gift from an association of Ivy League university professors*, eager (the letter said) "to help our brave soldiers who are enduring the worst of hardships" by providing them with the support and lessons of "the greatest book ever written about the War."
The response to this gift ranged from disgust to admiration. Well, to be exact, everyone was disgusted except Summers, who looked positively delighted and was already leafing through the four volumes with relish.
- When I think that we could have gotten ammunition, food, even medicine, and now we're left with this crap," Drake sighed. "And first of all, who is this... Two-See-Die?
- Thucydides," corrected Summers, without looking up from his books. "A very great historian. Greek. Died a long time ago. Then he sighed in turn. It's a pity they didn't also send the Anabasis...
- Ola, what do I hear? A base? Are your books about baseball, Summers?" Lehnscherr asked, looking suddenly interested.
- Not really," replied Summers, "but the general we're talking about here, Alcibiades, he's kind of the Babe Ruth of the time**.
- No way", countered Murdock, "no one is as good as the Babe. Your Thucydides, he can try to beat the Babe and his Yankees, no chance. What franchise was he playing in, this Alcibiades? The Giants? The Red Sox?
- There were no franchises back then, but he was the best strategist of his time. And he was good at speeches.
- So read us one of his speeches, I bet you it doesn't come close to a speech of the Babe," said Murdock, determined to defend his favorite.
- As you wish," replied Summers. "And then: Here it is, I've found it, it's a masterpiece, listen carefully: "The worst enemies of Athens are not those who, like you, have sometimes done her harm because they were at war with her, but the people who forced her own friends to become her enemies. The love of my country, which I felt when I enjoyed in safety all my rights as a citizen, I no longer feel it when I am the victim of injustice. I have the feeling that the city I am attacking is no longer my homeland and that I am rather to reconquer a good that I lost. True patriotism does not consist to abstain from marching against one's homeland, when it has been unjustly taken away from us, but to regret it to the point of being ready to do anything to recover it.***
At the end of this tirade, we all had the face of a Marine to whom the Surgeon General has just announced that he has caught the clap after frequenting the local whores too much, and that the only solution is to cut his balls off immediately, without anesthesia.
- Aaah", Murdock groans, "I can't imagine the Babe saying something like that...
- Yes, I can," said Lehnscherr. "The Babe, he's going to make that kind of speech in the Dodgers' locker room before their games, that's why those wimps will never win the World Series!
There followed, of course, a general brawl between Yankee and Dodger fans****."
.........
It is difficult to estimate the impact of Thucydides' work on the conduct of operations at Guadalcanal. The publication in the late 1970s of a letter from Vandegrift to his wife Mildred, in which he stated that "on sleepless nights, Thucydides was [his] comfort," has led many historians to reexamine the operations on the island in light of the teachings of the Greek historian. However, this theory has been abandoned since new letters from Vandegrift have shown that the nightly reading of a few lines from the History of the Peloponnesian War had the effect of a powerful sleeping pill.
As for the Marines themselves, it is at least a fact that Thucydides, in a quality edition, has considerably softened their visits to the foliage...

* The Ivy League is a group of eight private universities in the northeastern United States that are among the oldest in the country. They include Yale, Harvard, Princeton and Cornell.
** George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. (1895-1948) is considered the greatest American baseball player of all time. Active from 1914 to 1935, he won four World Series with the New York Yankees.
*** Thucydides, The Peloponnesian War, VI, 92.
**** The Yankees, Giants, and Dodgers were the three major baseball teams in New York, each with a devoted fan base.

 

[Wings]

October 14th, 1942

Ironbottom Sound - U.S. MTBs from Sqn 3 conduct their first patrol without incident.


Espiritu Santo - At nightfall, the small garrison is awakened by several explosions. The culprit is the Japanese submarine I-7, which had fired about fifteen 140 mm shells in the direction of the port. The day before, its E9W1 "Slim" seaplane had spotted an allied flotilla (two light cruisers, several destroyers and seven transports) south of the island and the commander of the I-7 hoped to reach one of these ships in the harbor. But the real reason for the presence of this submarine is to explore the possibilities of landing a commando force (SNLF) to conduct a raid on Espiritu Santo.

Nouméa - The 6th Marine Rgt (2nd USMC Division) embarks for Guadalcanal, along with artillery elements from the same division.

Efate, New Hebrides - Australian AMCs Westralia, Kanimbla and Manoora embark the 9th Brigade of the 1st ID of the AMF. The ships, escorted by a very flotilla, also carry 8,500 tons of supplies and ammunition.

 

[Wings]

October 14th, 1942

Baltic countries - First frost. Luckily for the Germans, the distribution of winter equipment could be resumed after the end of the Soviet offensive, despite the loss of several depots destroyed by air attacks.