Fantasque Time Line (France Fights On) - English Translation
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6674
January 1st, 1943
Alger, 03:45 - General Delestraint suffers another heart attack from which he does not recover. His death is largely due to the accumulation of exhaustion and tension after the two and a half years of hard work to rebuild the French Armored Corps, the first fruits of which he had personally seen during the Sicilian campaign. He is posthumously named Companion of the Liberation.
Alger, 03:45 - General Delestraint suffers another heart attack from which he does not recover. His death is largely due to the accumulation of exhaustion and tension after the two and a half years of hard work to rebuild the French Armored Corps, the first fruits of which he had personally seen during the Sicilian campaign. He is posthumously named Companion of the Liberation.
6675
January 1st, 1943
Italian front - The 14th French ID leaves its positions to the 46th British ID and comes to hold the eastern flank of the 3rd AD. The Franco-American army corps commanded by General Jean de Lattre includes the 1st Belgian Armoured Brigade (on the coast), the Italian 102nd Motorized Division Trento, the 34th US-ID, the French 3rd armored division and the 14th French ID, supported by the 17th and 36th US Artillery Regiments and the 12th French Corps Artillery Brigade. This corps has to launch an offensive along the coast, and the day is spent in preparations to flush out and destroy the 88 mm German guns. To this end, localized attacks by armored elements are launched along the entire width of the front, under the cover of the artillery, which seeks to engage the German guns as soon as the latter are unmasked. The German field artillery suffers heavy losses, it is quickly muzzled.
The tactical air force also intervenes to prepare the ground, which provokes violent fights with elements of the Xth FK, which, barely reconstituted, had to bear the full brunt of the aerial battle and where the I/JG77 and II/JG77 had to be amalgamated. We note nly one attack of Jabos, carried out by aircraft of the II/JG2 and which ended in three
aircraft shot down by the allied flak.
The British Xth AC (Ritchie), which now occupies the central position, spends the day reorganizing before facing the Das Reich and the motorized brigade GrossDeutschland, reinforced by the men of the 162. ID. As for the Vth AC (Allfrey), its vanguard units engage the German 69. and 112. ID, reinforced during the day by two independent battalions of Panzers, detached from the schools in the south of Austria.
Reggio Calabria (residence of the King and the Badoglio government) - The information transmitted by the Duke of Acquarone is received rather coolly by the King's entourage. It takes three hours for Marshal Badoglio and General Ambrosio, who had come from Rome, to explain to His Majesty that this news is not as disastrous as it would seem and that the Allies are leaving a door open for Italy to gradually integrate into their coalition. General Ambrosio takes advantage of the situation to request that as many Italian forces as possible return to combat as soon as possible, since the status of Italy would depend on their behavior.
The point most criticized by the entourage of the sovereign is the clause of de-fascization of the administrations, which is seen as a masked attack against the monarchy. As for the military, it is rather the conditions of the Italian re-equipment which make them grind their teeth.
It is however agreed that General Ambrosio and a collaborator of the Minister of Finance will go to Algiers as soon as the next day to negotiate the purchase of the captured Italian equipment (they were unaware that the equipment seized in Africa had largely been sent to the Chinese) and the purchase of the tanks that the French seemed willing to give up, because the re-equipment of the Italian troops was an urgent necessity.
The King and his ministers then took stock of the situation of the Italian troops in the Balkans. The most tragic fate seems to have been reserved for the XVIIth Army Corps: the officers of the 131st Centauro Armored Division and the 14th Isonzo ID were massacred. A attempt to resist by the 7th Cavalry Regiment Lanciere di Milano resulted in the massacre of all the officers and most of the men. The men of the 1st Rapid Division Eugenio di Savoia also tried to resist and many of them were executed; on the other hand, part of the staff rallied to the Germans. The news is better in the west of the Peloponnese: the 4th DI Alpine Cuneense and the 53rd Mountain ID Arezzo have succeeded in linking up with the allied troops and can be considered as safe, even if the losses in equipment are important. On the other hand, only half of the 18th ID Messina (which was behind the front line) was able to save itself, the rest was captured. The withdrawal of German troops from the Peloponnese is apparently underway.
Some of the occupying divisions in Yugoslavia and most of the troops stationed in Albania seem to be able to resist the Germans. Others have rallied to the new national-fascist government. The others have been disarmed without too much trouble by their former allies. The greatest confusion still reigns in many areas.
The Council of Ministers then considers what air support could be given, with the agreement of the Allies, to the troops resisting the Germans. For this purpose, the elements of the Regia Aeronautica that had escaped destruction or capture are being concentrated on the airports of Cosenza, Monserrato and Taranto. The order is given to erase all the fascist marks of the aircraft, which from then on had to adopt the national colors and the Cross of Savoy.
Finally, to support the troops in Albania, the Council decides to ask the Allies to authorize some of the ships of the Regia Marina to resume operations in the Adriatic.
.........
As the Council comes to an end, a piece of good news comes to put a little balm in the hearts of the participants (or at least some of them): Princess Marie-José and her three children have arrived in Reggio.
Italian front - The 14th French ID leaves its positions to the 46th British ID and comes to hold the eastern flank of the 3rd AD. The Franco-American army corps commanded by General Jean de Lattre includes the 1st Belgian Armoured Brigade (on the coast), the Italian 102nd Motorized Division Trento, the 34th US-ID, the French 3rd armored division and the 14th French ID, supported by the 17th and 36th US Artillery Regiments and the 12th French Corps Artillery Brigade. This corps has to launch an offensive along the coast, and the day is spent in preparations to flush out and destroy the 88 mm German guns. To this end, localized attacks by armored elements are launched along the entire width of the front, under the cover of the artillery, which seeks to engage the German guns as soon as the latter are unmasked. The German field artillery suffers heavy losses, it is quickly muzzled.
The tactical air force also intervenes to prepare the ground, which provokes violent fights with elements of the Xth FK, which, barely reconstituted, had to bear the full brunt of the aerial battle and where the I/JG77 and II/JG77 had to be amalgamated. We note nly one attack of Jabos, carried out by aircraft of the II/JG2 and which ended in three
aircraft shot down by the allied flak.
The British Xth AC (Ritchie), which now occupies the central position, spends the day reorganizing before facing the Das Reich and the motorized brigade GrossDeutschland, reinforced by the men of the 162. ID. As for the Vth AC (Allfrey), its vanguard units engage the German 69. and 112. ID, reinforced during the day by two independent battalions of Panzers, detached from the schools in the south of Austria.
Reggio Calabria (residence of the King and the Badoglio government) - The information transmitted by the Duke of Acquarone is received rather coolly by the King's entourage. It takes three hours for Marshal Badoglio and General Ambrosio, who had come from Rome, to explain to His Majesty that this news is not as disastrous as it would seem and that the Allies are leaving a door open for Italy to gradually integrate into their coalition. General Ambrosio takes advantage of the situation to request that as many Italian forces as possible return to combat as soon as possible, since the status of Italy would depend on their behavior.
The point most criticized by the entourage of the sovereign is the clause of de-fascization of the administrations, which is seen as a masked attack against the monarchy. As for the military, it is rather the conditions of the Italian re-equipment which make them grind their teeth.
It is however agreed that General Ambrosio and a collaborator of the Minister of Finance will go to Algiers as soon as the next day to negotiate the purchase of the captured Italian equipment (they were unaware that the equipment seized in Africa had largely been sent to the Chinese) and the purchase of the tanks that the French seemed willing to give up, because the re-equipment of the Italian troops was an urgent necessity.
The King and his ministers then took stock of the situation of the Italian troops in the Balkans. The most tragic fate seems to have been reserved for the XVIIth Army Corps: the officers of the 131st Centauro Armored Division and the 14th Isonzo ID were massacred. A attempt to resist by the 7th Cavalry Regiment Lanciere di Milano resulted in the massacre of all the officers and most of the men. The men of the 1st Rapid Division Eugenio di Savoia also tried to resist and many of them were executed; on the other hand, part of the staff rallied to the Germans. The news is better in the west of the Peloponnese: the 4th DI Alpine Cuneense and the 53rd Mountain ID Arezzo have succeeded in linking up with the allied troops and can be considered as safe, even if the losses in equipment are important. On the other hand, only half of the 18th ID Messina (which was behind the front line) was able to save itself, the rest was captured. The withdrawal of German troops from the Peloponnese is apparently underway.
Some of the occupying divisions in Yugoslavia and most of the troops stationed in Albania seem to be able to resist the Germans. Others have rallied to the new national-fascist government. The others have been disarmed without too much trouble by their former allies. The greatest confusion still reigns in many areas.
The Council of Ministers then considers what air support could be given, with the agreement of the Allies, to the troops resisting the Germans. For this purpose, the elements of the Regia Aeronautica that had escaped destruction or capture are being concentrated on the airports of Cosenza, Monserrato and Taranto. The order is given to erase all the fascist marks of the aircraft, which from then on had to adopt the national colors and the Cross of Savoy.
Finally, to support the troops in Albania, the Council decides to ask the Allies to authorize some of the ships of the Regia Marina to resume operations in the Adriatic.
.........
As the Council comes to an end, a piece of good news comes to put a little balm in the hearts of the participants (or at least some of them): Princess Marie-José and her three children have arrived in Reggio.
6676
January 1st, 1943
Corsica - French transport planes shuttle between Algiers and Ajaccio to bring men and equipment (including a radar) to Corsica. There will be 67 rotations of DC-3, 5 of C-60 (Lodestar), 4 of DC-2 and 14 of LeO-451.
While these reinforcements are arriving, the Mustang IIs of the II/7 group are taking off from Calvi-Sainte Catherine, and the planes of the I/7 mount armed reconnaissance flights on the Tuscan coast.
The B-25s of the 31st EB fly surveillance missions on the island of Elba. In the afternoon, 5 Hudson IIIs of the E5 squadron land in Ajaccio to organize anti-submarine patrol flights on the Algiers-Ajaccio route.
Corsica - French transport planes shuttle between Algiers and Ajaccio to bring men and equipment (including a radar) to Corsica. There will be 67 rotations of DC-3, 5 of C-60 (Lodestar), 4 of DC-2 and 14 of LeO-451.
While these reinforcements are arriving, the Mustang IIs of the II/7 group are taking off from Calvi-Sainte Catherine, and the planes of the I/7 mount armed reconnaissance flights on the Tuscan coast.
The B-25s of the 31st EB fly surveillance missions on the island of Elba. In the afternoon, 5 Hudson IIIs of the E5 squadron land in Ajaccio to organize anti-submarine patrol flights on the Algiers-Ajaccio route.
6677
January 1st, 1943
Dalmatia - Most of the three thousand Jewish deportees from the island of Rab, freed a few days earlier by the Titist Partisans, are able to be evacuated to the mainland on board fishing boats and small coasters requisitioned, draft of a navy of the Partisans. Too weakened, 204 deportees will remain on the spot. None will survive.
Among those who are able to reach the mainland, three hundred, the least exhausted, join the ranks of the Partisans, but what to do with the others? The French liaison officer, Captain Malec (in civilian life, Father Natlacen) sends a message to Algiers asking for exceptional means to put them out of reach of the Germans and their Ustasha auxiliaries, who are also partisans of the "final solution of the Jewish problem".
Paramythia (Epirus) - General Umberto Ricagno, head of the 3rd Alpine Division Julia, is furious. He left his garrison in Igoumenitsa in a hurry to go to the aid of the Chams (Albanians of Epirus) supposedly threatened of massacre by the Greeks, and he realizes that this threat was invented by two chiefs of local militia, brothers Nuri and Mazar Dino, eager to obtain weapons and supplies. "I should have you shot, but the Greeks will take care of it!" he says to the two brothers. To make matters worse, snow starts to fall and his only radio set is out of order: he cannot reach either Igoumenitsa, or the XXVI Corps headquarters in Ioaninna.
Salonika - Air Force General Löhr, commander-in-chief of the South-East sector, prepares his reconquest of the Balkans. On his map are spread out vast unsubdued territories: in Bosnia, in Montenegro, central Greece... The most embarrassing is Albania with Tirana: after the loss of Rome, it is not acceptable that another European capital, even of a small obscure country, escape the domination of the Reich. The 173. Jäger-Division of Lieutenant-General Heinrich von Behr is in Graz, Austria, ready to leave for Albania as soon as possible. The 329th Infantry Rgt, formed by Muslim defectors from the Soviet army, will join it as soon as it has seied the castle of Trujak, in Slovenia*. To transport these two units, Behr hesitates between the land route, full of dangers, and the sea route, which is no better.
* The 329th Infantry Regiment was originally part of the 162. Infantry-Division, reconstituted after Smolensk, but the two regiments of this division, more advanced in their training, were urgently sent to control the Pescara sector, in central Italy.
Dalmatia - Most of the three thousand Jewish deportees from the island of Rab, freed a few days earlier by the Titist Partisans, are able to be evacuated to the mainland on board fishing boats and small coasters requisitioned, draft of a navy of the Partisans. Too weakened, 204 deportees will remain on the spot. None will survive.
Among those who are able to reach the mainland, three hundred, the least exhausted, join the ranks of the Partisans, but what to do with the others? The French liaison officer, Captain Malec (in civilian life, Father Natlacen) sends a message to Algiers asking for exceptional means to put them out of reach of the Germans and their Ustasha auxiliaries, who are also partisans of the "final solution of the Jewish problem".
Paramythia (Epirus) - General Umberto Ricagno, head of the 3rd Alpine Division Julia, is furious. He left his garrison in Igoumenitsa in a hurry to go to the aid of the Chams (Albanians of Epirus) supposedly threatened of massacre by the Greeks, and he realizes that this threat was invented by two chiefs of local militia, brothers Nuri and Mazar Dino, eager to obtain weapons and supplies. "I should have you shot, but the Greeks will take care of it!" he says to the two brothers. To make matters worse, snow starts to fall and his only radio set is out of order: he cannot reach either Igoumenitsa, or the XXVI Corps headquarters in Ioaninna.
Salonika - Air Force General Löhr, commander-in-chief of the South-East sector, prepares his reconquest of the Balkans. On his map are spread out vast unsubdued territories: in Bosnia, in Montenegro, central Greece... The most embarrassing is Albania with Tirana: after the loss of Rome, it is not acceptable that another European capital, even of a small obscure country, escape the domination of the Reich. The 173. Jäger-Division of Lieutenant-General Heinrich von Behr is in Graz, Austria, ready to leave for Albania as soon as possible. The 329th Infantry Rgt, formed by Muslim defectors from the Soviet army, will join it as soon as it has seied the castle of Trujak, in Slovenia*. To transport these two units, Behr hesitates between the land route, full of dangers, and the sea route, which is no better.
* The 329th Infantry Regiment was originally part of the 162. Infantry-Division, reconstituted after Smolensk, but the two regiments of this division, more advanced in their training, were urgently sent to control the Pescara sector, in central Italy.
6678 - Start of Operation Tent
January 1st, 1943
Samothrace - The amiable Major-General Frederick Browning, who had commanded the British airborne troops in Sicily, is a victim of his own success: General Clark called him as his Chief of Staff of the Allied Airborne Forces. So it is the short and dry brigadier George "Hoppy" Hopkinson who is in charge of the jump on Samothrace.
"Hoppy" is known, rightly or wrongly, as one of the most impatient and unpleasant commanders of His Majesty's army. He is assisted by the young temporary brigadier Ernest Edward Down, head of the 2nd Parachute Brigade, whose premature baldness and funereal appearance have led him to be nicknamed "Dracula". Their poor social skills seriously complicate their relations with their French and Greek counterparts. However, Down is very popular with his men, which is not really the case for Hopkinson.
Under their command, first of all, the 2nd Parachute Brigade. Its composition is very British: one English battalion from Wessex, one Scottish and one Welsh. Hopkinson, drawing lessons from the experiences of Sicily and Taranto, estimates that paratroopers could only hold the ground for a short time without artillery and logistical support: this is to be the job of the 1st Airlanding Rgt, Royal Artillery. The "Red Devils" with the amaranth beret have to coordinate with two other units: on the one hand, the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Irish Fusiliers, which will play the role of second wave, and on the other hand, the commandos of the Special Boat Service, very peculiar and who pretend not to know that they are now attached to the Special Air Service (SAS). On top of that, the Greeks of the Sacred Battalion, as famous for their indiscipline as for their bravery, will be part of the game.
.........
Concerning the Axis units present on the island, "Hoppy" has only incomplete information about them. He knows that the island is normally garrisoned by an Italian battalion, the II/4th RI of the 29th Infantry Division Piemonte*. This battalion seems to have rallied to the cause of the Italian monarchy. The citadel of Kamariotissa, the main town, is held by the Germans of the XII. Festungs-Infanterie-Bataillon 999: a fortress infantry battalion that the battalion that the number 999 indicates as a disciplinary unit formed by convicts. Nothing insurmountable on the surface. However, Hopkinson did not pay enough attention to warnings from the SBS that new German elements had recently arrived.
Certainly, after the change of side of the Italians, the XII. Festungs could have been accommodated the status quo with the II/4th IR, or even to be withdrawn to the mainland, Samothrace, too far away and difficult to supply, appeared as a sacrificed position. But the Führer did not learn from Limnos, he is very sensitive to the defense of the Greek islands and believes that their possession is necessary to maintain Turkish neutrality. General Löhr thus had to take from the meagre reserves of the Southeast Army Group a force in charge of ensuring control of the island: that is SturmBrigade NordÄgäis, commanded by General Wilhelm-Friedrich Müller and composed of a battalion of the 22. Luftlande ID [airborne] and a few pieces of flak. It lands on the island during the night of 30-31 December.
At dawn on December 31st, the Germans occupy the port, disarm some of the Italians and shoot the officers they can get their hands on as an example. The convicts of the XII. Battalion 999 immediately set about ransoming the inhabitants. The rest of the Italian troops withdraw to Chora, the main town, in the interior, and to the comfortable spa town of Loutra. The west of the island is used as a precarious refuge for the civilians of Kamariotissa, while the east, mountainous and difficult to access, seems to live out of time under the peak of Mount Fengari.
Müller decides to launch a coup de main on Chora on January 1st. He has not yet received the reinforcements that are promised to him - some elements of the 113. ID. should arrive in the first nights of January - but he knows that he has little time before the great storm which comes from Northern Europe and which the weather services of the Wehrmacht have reported. But this storm should discourage any Franco-British attempt in his sector.
.........
The British attack, at dawn on January 1st, begins with a catastrophe: the old cruiser HMS Penelope, which was supposed to drop off the 6th Welsh Battalion of the 2nd Parachute Brigade near Kamariotissa, hits a few seconds apart two mines laid twenty-four hours earlier by the small ships that had brought the Sturmbrigade. The Penelope
sinks in three minutes. The battalion lost 58 dead and 150 wounded (plus 48 crew members), not to mention a large part of its equipment. It is totally disorganized.
The parachuted forces, dispersed by a strong wind and a rough and fragmented terrain, can only make a small contribution to the main attack. Only the Sacred Battalion reaches its objective, the spa town of Loutra, where it disarms a small Italian detachment.
The hot bath at Loutra will remain one of the few good memories of a rather thankless campaign!
Another success: in the south of the island, the SBS land without any resistance in the small port of Lakkoma. Finally, in the afternoon, Captain Lord Jellicoe negotiates without much difficulty the rallying of the Italian garrison of Chora.
The day started badly and ends badly: General Hopkinson, while supervising the attack of Kamariotissa, sheltered behind a low wall, is hit in the head by a sniper of the 22. Luftlande ID. "Dracula" Down takes command of a poorly started operation.
* The 29th Infantry Division Piemonte (General Adolfo Naldi) was stationed from Katerini to Thessaloniki, where its HQ was located.
It includes the 3rd, 4th and 303rd Piemonte Infantry Regiments, the 166th CCN Peloro Assault Legion (with two battalions) and the 24th RAD Peloritani (group I with 12 howitzers of 100/17, II with 12 guns of 75/27 and III with 12 howitzers of 75/13). The 4th Infantry Regiment ensured the garrison of the islands of Thasos (I and III/4th Infantry Regiment) and of Samothrace (II/4th Infantry Regiment).
Samothrace - The amiable Major-General Frederick Browning, who had commanded the British airborne troops in Sicily, is a victim of his own success: General Clark called him as his Chief of Staff of the Allied Airborne Forces. So it is the short and dry brigadier George "Hoppy" Hopkinson who is in charge of the jump on Samothrace.
"Hoppy" is known, rightly or wrongly, as one of the most impatient and unpleasant commanders of His Majesty's army. He is assisted by the young temporary brigadier Ernest Edward Down, head of the 2nd Parachute Brigade, whose premature baldness and funereal appearance have led him to be nicknamed "Dracula". Their poor social skills seriously complicate their relations with their French and Greek counterparts. However, Down is very popular with his men, which is not really the case for Hopkinson.
Under their command, first of all, the 2nd Parachute Brigade. Its composition is very British: one English battalion from Wessex, one Scottish and one Welsh. Hopkinson, drawing lessons from the experiences of Sicily and Taranto, estimates that paratroopers could only hold the ground for a short time without artillery and logistical support: this is to be the job of the 1st Airlanding Rgt, Royal Artillery. The "Red Devils" with the amaranth beret have to coordinate with two other units: on the one hand, the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Irish Fusiliers, which will play the role of second wave, and on the other hand, the commandos of the Special Boat Service, very peculiar and who pretend not to know that they are now attached to the Special Air Service (SAS). On top of that, the Greeks of the Sacred Battalion, as famous for their indiscipline as for their bravery, will be part of the game.
.........
Concerning the Axis units present on the island, "Hoppy" has only incomplete information about them. He knows that the island is normally garrisoned by an Italian battalion, the II/4th RI of the 29th Infantry Division Piemonte*. This battalion seems to have rallied to the cause of the Italian monarchy. The citadel of Kamariotissa, the main town, is held by the Germans of the XII. Festungs-Infanterie-Bataillon 999: a fortress infantry battalion that the battalion that the number 999 indicates as a disciplinary unit formed by convicts. Nothing insurmountable on the surface. However, Hopkinson did not pay enough attention to warnings from the SBS that new German elements had recently arrived.
Certainly, after the change of side of the Italians, the XII. Festungs could have been accommodated the status quo with the II/4th IR, or even to be withdrawn to the mainland, Samothrace, too far away and difficult to supply, appeared as a sacrificed position. But the Führer did not learn from Limnos, he is very sensitive to the defense of the Greek islands and believes that their possession is necessary to maintain Turkish neutrality. General Löhr thus had to take from the meagre reserves of the Southeast Army Group a force in charge of ensuring control of the island: that is SturmBrigade NordÄgäis, commanded by General Wilhelm-Friedrich Müller and composed of a battalion of the 22. Luftlande ID [airborne] and a few pieces of flak. It lands on the island during the night of 30-31 December.
At dawn on December 31st, the Germans occupy the port, disarm some of the Italians and shoot the officers they can get their hands on as an example. The convicts of the XII. Battalion 999 immediately set about ransoming the inhabitants. The rest of the Italian troops withdraw to Chora, the main town, in the interior, and to the comfortable spa town of Loutra. The west of the island is used as a precarious refuge for the civilians of Kamariotissa, while the east, mountainous and difficult to access, seems to live out of time under the peak of Mount Fengari.
Müller decides to launch a coup de main on Chora on January 1st. He has not yet received the reinforcements that are promised to him - some elements of the 113. ID. should arrive in the first nights of January - but he knows that he has little time before the great storm which comes from Northern Europe and which the weather services of the Wehrmacht have reported. But this storm should discourage any Franco-British attempt in his sector.
.........
The British attack, at dawn on January 1st, begins with a catastrophe: the old cruiser HMS Penelope, which was supposed to drop off the 6th Welsh Battalion of the 2nd Parachute Brigade near Kamariotissa, hits a few seconds apart two mines laid twenty-four hours earlier by the small ships that had brought the Sturmbrigade. The Penelope
sinks in three minutes. The battalion lost 58 dead and 150 wounded (plus 48 crew members), not to mention a large part of its equipment. It is totally disorganized.
The parachuted forces, dispersed by a strong wind and a rough and fragmented terrain, can only make a small contribution to the main attack. Only the Sacred Battalion reaches its objective, the spa town of Loutra, where it disarms a small Italian detachment.
The hot bath at Loutra will remain one of the few good memories of a rather thankless campaign!
Another success: in the south of the island, the SBS land without any resistance in the small port of Lakkoma. Finally, in the afternoon, Captain Lord Jellicoe negotiates without much difficulty the rallying of the Italian garrison of Chora.
The day started badly and ends badly: General Hopkinson, while supervising the attack of Kamariotissa, sheltered behind a low wall, is hit in the head by a sniper of the 22. Luftlande ID. "Dracula" Down takes command of a poorly started operation.
* The 29th Infantry Division Piemonte (General Adolfo Naldi) was stationed from Katerini to Thessaloniki, where its HQ was located.
It includes the 3rd, 4th and 303rd Piemonte Infantry Regiments, the 166th CCN Peloro Assault Legion (with two battalions) and the 24th RAD Peloritani (group I with 12 howitzers of 100/17, II with 12 guns of 75/27 and III with 12 howitzers of 75/13). The 4th Infantry Regiment ensured the garrison of the islands of Thasos (I and III/4th Infantry Regiment) and of Samothrace (II/4th Infantry Regiment).
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6679
January 1st, 1943
Sparta - At Allied HQ, Operation Tent has consequences almost as violent as the storm that is brewing. Giraud is very angry: "If Rommel were to launch an offensive against us, I think that I would be informed more quickly than of this British operation! Cunningham's only excuse was that the decision was taken directly in London and, surely, to conceal the importance of the success of Ciseaux!"
Before he invokes the spirits of Captain Marchand and Fachoda, Dentz points out to him that, in the end, we should be happy that the British were coming out of the immobility that they had been observing in the Peloponnese since Christmas. But Giraud takes the bit between his teeth: "Well, we'll see! From tomorrow, I order all the forces under my command, that is to say the Armée d'Orient and also the 8th Army, to go on the offensive on the entire front!"
Despite Dentz's reluctance, and even the discreet appeals in London and Algiers, where they do not wish to appear to be opposed to an offensive to liberate an allied country, the orders go out, not only for the army HQs, but for all units up to the brigade level! Of course, these orders lack precision, but they are clear: take advantage of the Italian turnaround to advance along the entire front.
In the air, the RAF wakes up since the launch of "Tent" and the Allied air forces come up against German fighters, who cover ships of all sizes that are transferring Italian prisoners, equipment, supplies and personnel from German units in the Peloponnese to central Greece, east and west of Corinth.
Sparta - At Allied HQ, Operation Tent has consequences almost as violent as the storm that is brewing. Giraud is very angry: "If Rommel were to launch an offensive against us, I think that I would be informed more quickly than of this British operation! Cunningham's only excuse was that the decision was taken directly in London and, surely, to conceal the importance of the success of Ciseaux!"
Before he invokes the spirits of Captain Marchand and Fachoda, Dentz points out to him that, in the end, we should be happy that the British were coming out of the immobility that they had been observing in the Peloponnese since Christmas. But Giraud takes the bit between his teeth: "Well, we'll see! From tomorrow, I order all the forces under my command, that is to say the Armée d'Orient and also the 8th Army, to go on the offensive on the entire front!"
Despite Dentz's reluctance, and even the discreet appeals in London and Algiers, where they do not wish to appear to be opposed to an offensive to liberate an allied country, the orders go out, not only for the army HQs, but for all units up to the brigade level! Of course, these orders lack precision, but they are clear: take advantage of the Italian turnaround to advance along the entire front.
In the air, the RAF wakes up since the launch of "Tent" and the Allied air forces come up against German fighters, who cover ships of all sizes that are transferring Italian prisoners, equipment, supplies and personnel from German units in the Peloponnese to central Greece, east and west of Corinth.
6681
January 2nd, 1943
London - Joseph Paul-Boncour, French High Commissioner, and Anthony Eden, British Minister of Foreign Affairs, have taken the habit of having lunch together, without witnesses, once a week. On the menu (in addition to the best that wartime English gastronomy has to offer), all the delicate, even indigestible subjects. Today, Eden has decided to take the most pungent subject of the moment: "Well, I hope that Mr. Reynaud has understood that we don't want to offend anyone by sending these two RAF planes to show what we think of them to Mister Laval and his... henchmen..."
- Hommes de main," Paul-Boncour obligingly explains. "Oh, the President of the Council understood well that the operation was a way of wishing a happy new year to Fighting France by ridiculing the Collaborators. The weapon used surprised him a little, considering the reputation of delicacy of the British humor, but finally, by the time we march down the Champs-Elysées, the people of Laval will have had time to clean up. On the other hand, I think the General would have preferred to be kept informed before the operation."
The rumor, which came from Algiers to London in a few hours on the mysterious wings of the diplomatic-journey word-of-mouth, claims that the Minister of Defense and War had regretted that the British Prime Minister had returned to London on New Year's morning; he would have liked to ask Churchill, face to face, if the British had really changed since Fachoda, St. Helena and the burning of Rouen. "Lord," De Gaulle would have concluded, "My enemies, I will take care of, but protect me from my friends!
- Oh, I think he'll calm down eventually", Eden smiles.
- I learned just before I left my office earlier that he had calmed down this morning. Exactly when I saw the pictures of the plane on which this young French pilot flew to England yesterday," smiles Paul-Boncour in turn. "Do you know that one of the photographers even took color pictures! Well, mostly in red, of course...
Eden puts her glass back down with the very particular pout that the Foreign Office teaches to all its members for such occasions: "No redder than Winston's face this morning, I'm afraid... Hmm, let's call it a draw."
- A draw? I couldn't agree more, dear friend. I'd love another shot of that excellent whiskey!
London - Joseph Paul-Boncour, French High Commissioner, and Anthony Eden, British Minister of Foreign Affairs, have taken the habit of having lunch together, without witnesses, once a week. On the menu (in addition to the best that wartime English gastronomy has to offer), all the delicate, even indigestible subjects. Today, Eden has decided to take the most pungent subject of the moment: "Well, I hope that Mr. Reynaud has understood that we don't want to offend anyone by sending these two RAF planes to show what we think of them to Mister Laval and his... henchmen..."
- Hommes de main," Paul-Boncour obligingly explains. "Oh, the President of the Council understood well that the operation was a way of wishing a happy new year to Fighting France by ridiculing the Collaborators. The weapon used surprised him a little, considering the reputation of delicacy of the British humor, but finally, by the time we march down the Champs-Elysées, the people of Laval will have had time to clean up. On the other hand, I think the General would have preferred to be kept informed before the operation."
The rumor, which came from Algiers to London in a few hours on the mysterious wings of the diplomatic-journey word-of-mouth, claims that the Minister of Defense and War had regretted that the British Prime Minister had returned to London on New Year's morning; he would have liked to ask Churchill, face to face, if the British had really changed since Fachoda, St. Helena and the burning of Rouen. "Lord," De Gaulle would have concluded, "My enemies, I will take care of, but protect me from my friends!
- Oh, I think he'll calm down eventually", Eden smiles.
- I learned just before I left my office earlier that he had calmed down this morning. Exactly when I saw the pictures of the plane on which this young French pilot flew to England yesterday," smiles Paul-Boncour in turn. "Do you know that one of the photographers even took color pictures! Well, mostly in red, of course...
Eden puts her glass back down with the very particular pout that the Foreign Office teaches to all its members for such occasions: "No redder than Winston's face this morning, I'm afraid... Hmm, let's call it a draw."
- A draw? I couldn't agree more, dear friend. I'd love another shot of that excellent whiskey!
6682
January 2nd, 1942
Vatican - As the Eternal City finally seems to be returning to relative calm, diplomats Murphy and Couve de Murville, although neither of them are Catholic, go to visit Pope Pius XII. While the Frenchman is very formalist, he is somewhat surprised to discover the complicity between the American diplomat and the pontiff during a cordial conversation, hardly disturbed by the noise of many planes which fly over the city, on their way to or from the nearby front...
- Do you remember that in 1924, in Munich, after the Brewery Putsch, we all thought that Hitler's political career was over?" asks Murphy with a smile.
- I know what you're thinking about, my dear: papal infallibility. But I was just a Monsignore!" retorts former Nuncio Pacelli, laughing.
Couve de Murville would later learn that twenty years earlier, Pacelli and Murphy had both been in the Bavarian capital and that the Italian had helped the young American a lot in his brand new diplomatic career. As a result, if the Allies intend to take their time before softening their relations with the Badoglio government, it seems that the Vatican is exempt from this restraint...
Vatican - As the Eternal City finally seems to be returning to relative calm, diplomats Murphy and Couve de Murville, although neither of them are Catholic, go to visit Pope Pius XII. While the Frenchman is very formalist, he is somewhat surprised to discover the complicity between the American diplomat and the pontiff during a cordial conversation, hardly disturbed by the noise of many planes which fly over the city, on their way to or from the nearby front...
- Do you remember that in 1924, in Munich, after the Brewery Putsch, we all thought that Hitler's political career was over?" asks Murphy with a smile.
- I know what you're thinking about, my dear: papal infallibility. But I was just a Monsignore!" retorts former Nuncio Pacelli, laughing.
Couve de Murville would later learn that twenty years earlier, Pacelli and Murphy had both been in the Bavarian capital and that the Italian had helped the young American a lot in his brand new diplomatic career. As a result, if the Allies intend to take their time before softening their relations with the Badoglio government, it seems that the Vatican is exempt from this restraint...
6683
January 2nd, 1942
Moscow/Bulgaria - "Dear Bulgaria, land of heroes!" A new radio station is on the airwaves: Radio Hristo Botev. Broadcasting in Bulgarian for Bulgarians, it borrows its name to Hristo Botev, poet and revolutionary, champion of the revolt against the Ottomans in the 19th century. It calls for opposition by all means to the "fascist regency" which made Bulgaria a puppet state in the service of Nazi Germany. It launches a "solemn warning" to the Axis supporters, such as General Hristo Lukov, leader of a small but active pro-German party: if they try to drag Bulgaria into the "criminal war against the Soviet Union", they would be in for it!
The Bulgarian Royal Police, at least, heard the warning. In the following weeks, it will reinforce its controls and will arrest a certain number of saboteurs and distributors of tracts, probably less numerous than the radio from Moscow claims, but enough to show that the clandestine communist apparatus is in full reconstitution.
Note of the Translator: The Bulgarian affair, like Yugoslavia, Albania or Czechia, are issues where the translator disagrees completely with the FTL team. As part of the ongoing work on the translation, I will still continue to translate it as per the original text. However, the translator's headcanon is that all these countries do end up on the "blue" side of the curtain at the end of the war. You are free to make your own opinion.
Moscow/Bulgaria - "Dear Bulgaria, land of heroes!" A new radio station is on the airwaves: Radio Hristo Botev. Broadcasting in Bulgarian for Bulgarians, it borrows its name to Hristo Botev, poet and revolutionary, champion of the revolt against the Ottomans in the 19th century. It calls for opposition by all means to the "fascist regency" which made Bulgaria a puppet state in the service of Nazi Germany. It launches a "solemn warning" to the Axis supporters, such as General Hristo Lukov, leader of a small but active pro-German party: if they try to drag Bulgaria into the "criminal war against the Soviet Union", they would be in for it!
The Bulgarian Royal Police, at least, heard the warning. In the following weeks, it will reinforce its controls and will arrest a certain number of saboteurs and distributors of tracts, probably less numerous than the radio from Moscow claims, but enough to show that the clandestine communist apparatus is in full reconstitution.
Note of the Translator: The Bulgarian affair, like Yugoslavia, Albania or Czechia, are issues where the translator disagrees completely with the FTL team. As part of the ongoing work on the translation, I will still continue to translate it as per the original text. However, the translator's headcanon is that all these countries do end up on the "blue" side of the curtain at the end of the war. You are free to make your own opinion.
6684
January 2nd, 1942
London - After the success of Gunnerside confirmed by radio, and even without having the details (the members of the commando have not yet reached Sweden), the Argos mission meets again to discuss both the result and the perspectives.
- It will be necessary to remain informed of the state of this factory...
- Of course! Our contacts are still there, hoping that the Huns do not take hostages among the Norwegians...
- We could perhaps envisage either a new raid of this type, or an air attack against the hydro-electric power station of Rjukan, nearby? Without electricity, Vemork will be useless...
- That's an idea. Let's wait and see if the Nazis restore Vemork anyway.
- You're right. But while we're in Norway, I can see on this map the mines of Knaben, which produce molybdenum. It's a highly strategic metal, we should take care of it.
- With a mission like this?
- That might be more difficult: the area is more densely populated, I doubt that SOE can assemble another team, and it will be a long time before the one from Gunnerside to comes back and takes a rest! No, I'm thinking more of an air raid, with Mosquito, for example. They are very accurate, I've been told, and could hit a target that small on the surface.
- Let's give it a try. But if it doesn't work, our American friends will want to send the heavy artillery...
- Which will surely do more damage to the surroundings!
London - After the success of Gunnerside confirmed by radio, and even without having the details (the members of the commando have not yet reached Sweden), the Argos mission meets again to discuss both the result and the perspectives.
- It will be necessary to remain informed of the state of this factory...
- Of course! Our contacts are still there, hoping that the Huns do not take hostages among the Norwegians...
- We could perhaps envisage either a new raid of this type, or an air attack against the hydro-electric power station of Rjukan, nearby? Without electricity, Vemork will be useless...
- That's an idea. Let's wait and see if the Nazis restore Vemork anyway.
- You're right. But while we're in Norway, I can see on this map the mines of Knaben, which produce molybdenum. It's a highly strategic metal, we should take care of it.
- With a mission like this?
- That might be more difficult: the area is more densely populated, I doubt that SOE can assemble another team, and it will be a long time before the one from Gunnerside to comes back and takes a rest! No, I'm thinking more of an air raid, with Mosquito, for example. They are very accurate, I've been told, and could hit a target that small on the surface.
- Let's give it a try. But if it doesn't work, our American friends will want to send the heavy artillery...
- Which will surely do more damage to the surroundings!
6685
January 2nd, 1943
Paris, Hôtel Matignon - After spending the day brooding over his humiliations of the previous day, Pierre Laval agrees to have dinner with Otto Abetz. He says he is disgusted with the lack of support for his policies, from the French in general and from the members of his government in particular. He even went so far as to mention his resignation! Abetz, a little disconcerted, tries to reason with him. Not that Laval had shown any impressive efficiency in the last two years, but his resignation would be a a real catastrophe! A fine politician, the Reich ambassador takes the reins: "Come on, my friend. You cannot fail the commitments you have made to your country, and in its name... Perhaps you are doing too much, take a little distance... Lighten your workload..."
After dinner, Abetz will get his way (if at least Laval really had the desire to resign) by playing his favorite game with the "President": changing governmental positions. The ambassador skilfully took advantage of the situation to eliminate the technocrats he considered unsafe: the Secretary of State for Public Finances Henri Lagardelle is replaced by Georges Albertini, Marcel Déat's second in command (and, before the war, a contributor to the Nouveaux Cahiers) and the Secretary of State for Transport Maurice Schwartz was replaced by Ludovic Zoretti (major of Normale supérieure in 1899, professor of mechanics at the University of Caen, this former SFIO member, excluded in 1939 for his opposition to the war, joined the RNP of Marcel Déat at the end of 1940).
Since someone has to pay for the escape of Charles Miquel's plane and poor Gorostarzu was reduced to the role of a martyr, General Emile Laure, head of the Force de Securité du Territoire (on which the NEF's "air force" theoretically depends) is dismissed and placed under house arrest in the south of France. This penance will allow him not to be bothered at the Liberation*.
On the other hand, Max Knipping, the ghostly Minister of the Air Force, who is close to Darnand, remained in place.
It is General Olléris, head of Laval's military cabinet, who replaces Laure, while keeping his functions with the "President".
After Pierre Laval had recovered for a while, Abetz returns to the embassy in the middle of the night. Before going to bed, he hurries to to make his report to Berlin. His
conclusion: it is time to think very seriously about changing the fuse at the head of the NEF...
* He then claimed to have encouraged the nucleation of the FST by various resistance movements. It seems nowadays that if he did nothing against these movements of which he knew the existence, he did nothing to help them either.
Paris, Hôtel Matignon - After spending the day brooding over his humiliations of the previous day, Pierre Laval agrees to have dinner with Otto Abetz. He says he is disgusted with the lack of support for his policies, from the French in general and from the members of his government in particular. He even went so far as to mention his resignation! Abetz, a little disconcerted, tries to reason with him. Not that Laval had shown any impressive efficiency in the last two years, but his resignation would be a a real catastrophe! A fine politician, the Reich ambassador takes the reins: "Come on, my friend. You cannot fail the commitments you have made to your country, and in its name... Perhaps you are doing too much, take a little distance... Lighten your workload..."
After dinner, Abetz will get his way (if at least Laval really had the desire to resign) by playing his favorite game with the "President": changing governmental positions. The ambassador skilfully took advantage of the situation to eliminate the technocrats he considered unsafe: the Secretary of State for Public Finances Henri Lagardelle is replaced by Georges Albertini, Marcel Déat's second in command (and, before the war, a contributor to the Nouveaux Cahiers) and the Secretary of State for Transport Maurice Schwartz was replaced by Ludovic Zoretti (major of Normale supérieure in 1899, professor of mechanics at the University of Caen, this former SFIO member, excluded in 1939 for his opposition to the war, joined the RNP of Marcel Déat at the end of 1940).
Since someone has to pay for the escape of Charles Miquel's plane and poor Gorostarzu was reduced to the role of a martyr, General Emile Laure, head of the Force de Securité du Territoire (on which the NEF's "air force" theoretically depends) is dismissed and placed under house arrest in the south of France. This penance will allow him not to be bothered at the Liberation*.
On the other hand, Max Knipping, the ghostly Minister of the Air Force, who is close to Darnand, remained in place.
It is General Olléris, head of Laval's military cabinet, who replaces Laure, while keeping his functions with the "President".
After Pierre Laval had recovered for a while, Abetz returns to the embassy in the middle of the night. Before going to bed, he hurries to to make his report to Berlin. His
conclusion: it is time to think very seriously about changing the fuse at the head of the NEF...
* He then claimed to have encouraged the nucleation of the FST by various resistance movements. It seems nowadays that if he did nothing against these movements of which he knew the existence, he did nothing to help them either.
The Zheijang-Jiangxi Campaign wasn't a disaster and allowed the KMT to liberate a good chunk of territory in the area and trap a lot of Japanese forces.
6686
January 2nd, 1943
Burma (Allied front) - In the early days of 1943, General Wavell, Allied Commander-in-Chief for Southeast Asia, has under his command Lieutenant-General Alan F. Hartley, GOC India - whose role is mainly to recruit and train fresh troops - and Arthur Percival, ex-GOC Burma. The latter commands the British 9th Army. His troops were able to be reinforced and re-equipped during the monsoon period, which is coming to an end. In fact, there is no shortage of potential reinforcements - the hard part is getting them supplied. This is why Percival's forces are smaller than they could be.
Because of these logistical difficulties, the active phase of Operation Roundshot, which is to see the recapture of Singapore, is postponed until the 1944 dry season. At that time, the Royal Navy should be strong enough to land people in the isthmus of Kra, while supplying abundantly the forces engaged in Burma. Meanwhile, the 9th Army must, for 1943, be satisfied with limited offensive actions, holding firm, in any case, on the line of the Salween - this is Operation Anakim. However, at 10 Downing Street, it is hoped that these actions will be able to bring about the changeover of Thailand, "in the Italian style", as Winston said...
It is the XV Indian Corps, commanded by Lt. General William "Bill" Slim (recently promoted), that holds the Salween front. From south to north, this corps includes the 14th Indian Division under Major General W.L. Lloyd (47th, 48th and 49th Indian Brigades), Harvey's 8th Indian Division (17th, 18th and 19th Indian Brigades) and Major General Bruce-Scott's 1st Burmese Division This one is actually not very Burmese, since it is composedthe 1st Burmese Brigade (reconstituted with the debris of the 1st and 2nd Brigades, which had disintegrated under the first shock of the Japanese attack), the 55th Indian Brigade and...the Expeditionary Force of the Belgian Congo.
....
This Corps is a very reinforced brigade of about 8,000 men, commanded by General Major Auguste Gilliaert. English, Indians and even Burmese look with suspicion on this unit (this is how the Indians and Burmese speak of the Congolese, even if their own skin is not much darker) and their white officers, who speak French but are not French, or who speak Dutch (it seems) but are not Dutch...
However, their equipment is of good quality and they have a field hospital, commanded by Captain Thomas.
Even better, the Public Force arrives in Burma with its own air support, which the British have labeled 1st (Belgian) Composite Group. This group has about 120 aircraft. It is accompanied by a strong support battalion: mechanics, transmission, administration, engineering (runway repair, mine clearance), protection (a platoon of motorized infantry) and flak (four quadruple .50 mm guns, four double 20 mm Œrlikon guns and a battery of four 40 mm Bofors).
...
In addition, Slim could rely, if necessary, on the reserves of the 9th Army: east of Sittang, the 5th British Infantry Division (Major-General H.P.M. Berney-Ficklin - 13th, 15th and 17th Brigades) and, west of the Sittang, two armored brigades.
The 9th Armoured Brigade (Brigadier John Currie - 3rd Hussars, Warwickshire Yeomanry) aligns about one hundred and ten tanks, Crusader, Valentine and Stuart. Its crews are relatively experienced, but the rate of unavailability of its tanks is quite high due to the climate and the chronic lack of spare parts.
The 50th Indian Tank Brigade (Brigadier G.H.N. Todd) has a small number of tanks, Valentine, Crusader and Tetrarch (these very light and manageable tanks were designed to be airborne, but it appeared that the smallest Panzer III would be a formidable enemy for them and that their life expectancy would be longer in the Asian jungle, where their small size would be an asset). Most of its crews are novices, but they were trained under the guidance of tankers evacuated from Malaysia and Singapore, who are eager to return to combat and some of whom have been incorporated into the new brigade. In addition, we must add to them the thirty armoured vehicles of the already famous Calcutta Light Horse, which had worked wonders during the first Burma campaign and which was completely re-equipped with Stuart's equipment. Its men (most of them British living in India for many years) asked and obtained to be attached to the Indian brigade rather than to the 9th Armoured.
Finally, two independent brigades with a particular role are added to these forces. The 13th Indian Brigade, very experienced and whose staff decided to make a "jungle school" for new recruits, is stationed not far from Rangoon. And the 77th Indian Brigade under the command of Brigadier Orde Wingate, made up of British reservists, Burmese and Gurkhas, is training in the jungles of northern Burma.
.........
All these people are supplied by two ways: naval, by Rangoon, thanks to convoys coming from India, and by land, from the north, thanks to the road and railroad from Imphal.
The naval route benefits from the allied presence in the Andaman Islands, whose air bases allow the coverage of a good part of the east of the Indian Ocean. If the Royal Navy is not yet ready for offensive operations in this sector, Their Lordships assure Wavell and Percival that they need not fear a Japanese landing in Arakan as long as the Combined Fleet is occupied in the Pacific.
As for the land route, this dual artery is so fragile and valuable that two divisions directly attached to the 9th Army HQ are deployed to protect it from enemy raids, but also and perhaps above all to maintain it. Indeed, the climate (monsoon and altitude depending on the place and the season) inflicts serious damages on it daily and it must be cleared to allow the passage of trains and trucks. The 19th Indian Division (Major-General T. Wynford-Rees) is deployed between Rangoon and Mandalay. Further north, between Mandalay and Imphal, there is the 11th East African Division (Major-General Charles C. Fowkes).
In addition, west of Sittang, on the "Burma Road", the land route benefits from the presence of the Chinese Fifth Army (General Du Yuming), whose strength is roughly equivalent to that of a British division. It has its own air cover and has shown during the March fighting that it could be counted on.
.........
Finally, as for the RAF and the allied air forces in the region, their numbers are still relatively limited and the models that equip them are far from being all the most recent of the British and American industries!
.........
Royal Air Force, 221st Group
Sqn 17 : 16 Supermarine Spitfire V
Sqn 67 (currently being refitted): 8 Supermarine Spitfire V and 8 Hawker Hurricane II
Sqn 113 : 16 Hawker Hurricane II
Sqn 136 : 16 Hawker Hurricane II
Photo Reco Unit (PRU) Burma : 4 Bristol Beaufort and 3 Supermarine Spitfire V
Sqn 45 : 16 Bristol Beaumont I
Sqn 84 : 16 Bristol Blenheim IV
Sqn 60 (undergoing refitting) : 8 Bristol Blenheim IV and 8 Bristol Beaufort
.........
Royal Indian Air Force
Sqn 1 (RIAF) : 16 Hawker Hurricane IIs, some of them re-engined
Sqn 2 (RIAF): 16 Fairey Battle and Night Battle
.........
Burma Volunteer Air Service (RAF auxiliary unit attached to the RIAF)
Sqn 1 (BVAS) : 12 Vickers Wellington
Sqn 2 (BVAS) : 10 Hawker Hurricane II, some of them re-engined... and 8 Hawker Fury*
Sqn 3 (BVAS) : 16 Bristol Blenheim IV
Sqn 4 (BVAS) : 8 Vickers Wellington and 4 Bristol Blenheim IV
Six independent Flights of cooperation with the Army: 15 Fairey Battle and Night Battle and 12
Bristol Blenheim IV
Six independent transport and support flights: 30 various aircraft
.........
1st (Belgian) Composite Group [colonel Leboutte]
- 1st Regiment (or 1st Wing) "Mahenge" (hunting) [Col. Daniel Le Roy du Vivier].
Sqn 340 (B) : 16 Curtiss H-87 Kittyhawk (+ 4 reserves)
Sqn 341 (B) : 16 Curtiss H-87 Kittyhawk (+ 4 reserves)
The Kittyhawks were replaced in 1943 by North-American Mustangs I and II.
- 2nd Regiment (or 2nd Wing) "Tabora" (ground support) [Lt-Col Frans-Jacques Burniaux]
Sqn 342 (B) : 16 Hawker Hurricane IIc (+ 4 reserves)
Sqn 343 (B) : 15 Maryland (+ 3 reserves)
During 1943, the Hurricanes were replaced by IA Mustangs and the Marylands by North-American Mitchell.
- 3rd Regiment (or 3rd Wing) "Captain Thieffry" (transport, reconnaissance, liaison and light support)
Sqn 344 (B): 14 Savoia-Marchetti 79 and 81** and various light aircraft (these aircraft were gradually replaced in 1943 by Lockheed Lodestar and Piper Cub and some UC 64 Norseman***).
Sqn 345 (B) [Major Gérard Greindl] : 15 Fairey Battles (+ 3 reserves), progressively re-engined as Night Battles (the latter will be replaced at the end of 1943 by Bell P-39 Airacobra).
To the list of Belgian aircraft we must add a single DC-3, carefully maintained, which is charged with transporting (among others) the personalities. Two Belgian ministers (the one of the Colonies, Albert De Vleeschauwer, and the one of Defense, Antoine Delfosse) did they not make the trip to Burma?
Burma (Japanese front) - On the Japanese side, the 7th Army is still commanded by Lt. General Jûichi, but it has been considerably reinforced compared to the end of the campaign of early 1942. The 55th Division, which had played the leading role in 1942 but had suffered a great deal, has somewhat replenished the ranks of its 112th and 143rd Regiments. Much better, its 144th Regiment has been recalled from Guam - the end of supply operations on Guadalcanal has just freed up enough transports to allow this redeployment.
Since the capture of Singapore, the 55th has received reinforcements: the 12th Division (24th, 46th, and 48th Regiments) and the 71st Division. The 5th Heavy Field Artillery Brigade and the 9th Armored Brigade, present in 1942, are still there, but the losses suffered by the 9th Armored Brigade could only be compensated by the contribution of the surviving elements of the 7th Armored Brigade, which had participated in the fighting in Singapore. Finally, the 2nd Thai Division continues to assist the Japanese, but its main role is to cover the lines of communication.
The reinforcements seem important on paper, but the 12th and 71st Divisions had lost much to the Singapore defenders and are far from their best form, both in terms of manpower and heavy equipment, especially artillery.
The Army's air force is there, of course, and had been modernized; but the 1942 campaign had showed that it could not be enough to ensure victory.
.........
Fighters
1st Sentai, Moulmein: 30 Ki-43 Hayabusa "Oscar
11th Sentai, Moulmein: 12 Ki-43 Hayabusa "Oscar" and 20 Ki-44 Shoki "Tojo"
50th Sentai, Moulmein : 30 Ki-43 Hayabusa "Oscar
64th Sentai, Changmai : 12 Ki-43 Hayabusa "Oscar" and 20 Ki-44 Shoki "Tojo
77th Sentai, Maubin: 33 Ki-43 Hayabusa "Oscar
.........
Bombing and reconnaissance
1st Dokuritsu Sentai, Lampong and Nakhon Sawan: 30 "Aichi" Ki-89 (land version of "Val")
8th Sentai, Moulmein: 10 Ki-15 "Babs" and 32 Ki-48 "Lily"
14th Sentai, Nakhon Sawan : 34 Ki-21-II "Sally"
31st Sentai, Lampong: 28 Ki-30 "Ann"
62nd Sentai, Bangkok: 32 Ki-21-II "Sally"
51st Independent Chutai, Lampong: 5 Ki-15 "Babs" and 5 Ki-46 "Dinah"
70th Independent Chutai, Maubin: 5 Ki-15 "Babs" and 5 Ki-46 "Dinah"
.........
Nevertheless, the orders from Tokyo are clear: resume the offensive and take Rangoon.
The objective is to complete the isolation of China by closing the Burma road, depriving the Chinese of the Western equipment to which the general staff attributes all the Japanese setbacks in China. But it is also a question of controlling Burma's natural resources (oil, rice and tungsten for anti-tank shells).
To achieve this, the Japanese general staff devised a bold plan, Operation U-Go. This plan requires the cooperation of the Imperial Navy and the Thai Navy. This part of the of the operation is a major factor in the fact that U-Go will not begin until mid-January, a few weeks after the end of the monsoon season. The decrease in naval requirements due to the end of the fighting in Guadalcanal makes it easier to concentrate the necessary resources.
However, the Imperial Navy also suffered heavy losses. It could only delegate the light cruiser Katori, normally dedicated to training, the destroyers Arashio, Hagikaze, Hibiki and Oshio and the 1st Torpedo Boat Division reconstituted with the surviving ships of the Pedestal convoy battle: the Hatsukari, Kasasagi, Otori and Tomozuru.
However, the Thais will have the privilege to use their fleet in other ways than as a target! The battleship Sri Ayudhya (2,265 t, 4 x 203 mm), laboriously refloated after the serious damage suffered against the French in March 1941, found herself the flagship of the bombardment squadron, which includes only her and the coast guards Ratanakosindra and Sukhotai (4 x 152 mm each). The torpedo boats Patani, Phuket, Rayong and Surasdra will assist their Japanese colleagues. These ships, under the command of Admiral Omori Sentaro (who put his flag on the Katori), will escort a convoy including transports that participated in the landings of the beginning of the year on the east coast of Malaya and will embark the 27th Infantry Division - or more exactly what remains of this division after the hard fighting of the two sieges of Singapore. The 27th Division is to be landed on the coast of Burma, behind the back of the Allied defenses.
Obviously, the chosen region is the Irrawaddy delta, which means that the enemy will be able to hold on to many "wet cuts". But the Imperial Army has confidence in the abilities of its men and did not intend, in any case, to provide them with trucks and other vehicles. Tanks are certainly provided, but most of them are light amphibious vehicles Type 2 Ka-Mi, very convenient on this terrain, but as poorly armed (one 37 mm gun) and as poorly armoured (6 to 13 mm) as most of the Japanese armoured vehicles.
The escort is not very imposing, but it is a calculated risk. Certainly, the Imperial Navy, busy containing the Americans in the Pacific, did not have the means to face the bulk of the Eastern Fleet in the Indian Ocean in a pitched battle, but only the Allied ships based in Rangoon would be in immediate range of intervention, since the large British ships had long since retreated to Ceylon. Before they could intervene, the troops put ashore by surprise will have achieved victory in Burma. The Japanese general staff fears submarines, so the escort will be completed by some Japanese and Thai submarine hunters.
* The Fury, if they are officially in the inventory, have not been operational for several months! Four of these aircraft are now carefully preserved in Indian air bases or museums.
** The two SM 73s and the two SM 83s were returned to Sabena, in a mediocre condition it must be said...
*** And even, in 1944, by some Sikorsky R4b helicopters.
Burma (Allied front) - In the early days of 1943, General Wavell, Allied Commander-in-Chief for Southeast Asia, has under his command Lieutenant-General Alan F. Hartley, GOC India - whose role is mainly to recruit and train fresh troops - and Arthur Percival, ex-GOC Burma. The latter commands the British 9th Army. His troops were able to be reinforced and re-equipped during the monsoon period, which is coming to an end. In fact, there is no shortage of potential reinforcements - the hard part is getting them supplied. This is why Percival's forces are smaller than they could be.
Because of these logistical difficulties, the active phase of Operation Roundshot, which is to see the recapture of Singapore, is postponed until the 1944 dry season. At that time, the Royal Navy should be strong enough to land people in the isthmus of Kra, while supplying abundantly the forces engaged in Burma. Meanwhile, the 9th Army must, for 1943, be satisfied with limited offensive actions, holding firm, in any case, on the line of the Salween - this is Operation Anakim. However, at 10 Downing Street, it is hoped that these actions will be able to bring about the changeover of Thailand, "in the Italian style", as Winston said...
It is the XV Indian Corps, commanded by Lt. General William "Bill" Slim (recently promoted), that holds the Salween front. From south to north, this corps includes the 14th Indian Division under Major General W.L. Lloyd (47th, 48th and 49th Indian Brigades), Harvey's 8th Indian Division (17th, 18th and 19th Indian Brigades) and Major General Bruce-Scott's 1st Burmese Division This one is actually not very Burmese, since it is composedthe 1st Burmese Brigade (reconstituted with the debris of the 1st and 2nd Brigades, which had disintegrated under the first shock of the Japanese attack), the 55th Indian Brigade and...the Expeditionary Force of the Belgian Congo.
....
This Corps is a very reinforced brigade of about 8,000 men, commanded by General Major Auguste Gilliaert. English, Indians and even Burmese look with suspicion on this unit (this is how the Indians and Burmese speak of the Congolese, even if their own skin is not much darker) and their white officers, who speak French but are not French, or who speak Dutch (it seems) but are not Dutch...
However, their equipment is of good quality and they have a field hospital, commanded by Captain Thomas.
Even better, the Public Force arrives in Burma with its own air support, which the British have labeled 1st (Belgian) Composite Group. This group has about 120 aircraft. It is accompanied by a strong support battalion: mechanics, transmission, administration, engineering (runway repair, mine clearance), protection (a platoon of motorized infantry) and flak (four quadruple .50 mm guns, four double 20 mm Œrlikon guns and a battery of four 40 mm Bofors).
...
In addition, Slim could rely, if necessary, on the reserves of the 9th Army: east of Sittang, the 5th British Infantry Division (Major-General H.P.M. Berney-Ficklin - 13th, 15th and 17th Brigades) and, west of the Sittang, two armored brigades.
The 9th Armoured Brigade (Brigadier John Currie - 3rd Hussars, Warwickshire Yeomanry) aligns about one hundred and ten tanks, Crusader, Valentine and Stuart. Its crews are relatively experienced, but the rate of unavailability of its tanks is quite high due to the climate and the chronic lack of spare parts.
The 50th Indian Tank Brigade (Brigadier G.H.N. Todd) has a small number of tanks, Valentine, Crusader and Tetrarch (these very light and manageable tanks were designed to be airborne, but it appeared that the smallest Panzer III would be a formidable enemy for them and that their life expectancy would be longer in the Asian jungle, where their small size would be an asset). Most of its crews are novices, but they were trained under the guidance of tankers evacuated from Malaysia and Singapore, who are eager to return to combat and some of whom have been incorporated into the new brigade. In addition, we must add to them the thirty armoured vehicles of the already famous Calcutta Light Horse, which had worked wonders during the first Burma campaign and which was completely re-equipped with Stuart's equipment. Its men (most of them British living in India for many years) asked and obtained to be attached to the Indian brigade rather than to the 9th Armoured.
Finally, two independent brigades with a particular role are added to these forces. The 13th Indian Brigade, very experienced and whose staff decided to make a "jungle school" for new recruits, is stationed not far from Rangoon. And the 77th Indian Brigade under the command of Brigadier Orde Wingate, made up of British reservists, Burmese and Gurkhas, is training in the jungles of northern Burma.
.........
All these people are supplied by two ways: naval, by Rangoon, thanks to convoys coming from India, and by land, from the north, thanks to the road and railroad from Imphal.
The naval route benefits from the allied presence in the Andaman Islands, whose air bases allow the coverage of a good part of the east of the Indian Ocean. If the Royal Navy is not yet ready for offensive operations in this sector, Their Lordships assure Wavell and Percival that they need not fear a Japanese landing in Arakan as long as the Combined Fleet is occupied in the Pacific.
As for the land route, this dual artery is so fragile and valuable that two divisions directly attached to the 9th Army HQ are deployed to protect it from enemy raids, but also and perhaps above all to maintain it. Indeed, the climate (monsoon and altitude depending on the place and the season) inflicts serious damages on it daily and it must be cleared to allow the passage of trains and trucks. The 19th Indian Division (Major-General T. Wynford-Rees) is deployed between Rangoon and Mandalay. Further north, between Mandalay and Imphal, there is the 11th East African Division (Major-General Charles C. Fowkes).
In addition, west of Sittang, on the "Burma Road", the land route benefits from the presence of the Chinese Fifth Army (General Du Yuming), whose strength is roughly equivalent to that of a British division. It has its own air cover and has shown during the March fighting that it could be counted on.
.........
Finally, as for the RAF and the allied air forces in the region, their numbers are still relatively limited and the models that equip them are far from being all the most recent of the British and American industries!
.........
Royal Air Force, 221st Group
Sqn 17 : 16 Supermarine Spitfire V
Sqn 67 (currently being refitted): 8 Supermarine Spitfire V and 8 Hawker Hurricane II
Sqn 113 : 16 Hawker Hurricane II
Sqn 136 : 16 Hawker Hurricane II
Photo Reco Unit (PRU) Burma : 4 Bristol Beaufort and 3 Supermarine Spitfire V
Sqn 45 : 16 Bristol Beaumont I
Sqn 84 : 16 Bristol Blenheim IV
Sqn 60 (undergoing refitting) : 8 Bristol Blenheim IV and 8 Bristol Beaufort
.........
Royal Indian Air Force
Sqn 1 (RIAF) : 16 Hawker Hurricane IIs, some of them re-engined
Sqn 2 (RIAF): 16 Fairey Battle and Night Battle
.........
Burma Volunteer Air Service (RAF auxiliary unit attached to the RIAF)
Sqn 1 (BVAS) : 12 Vickers Wellington
Sqn 2 (BVAS) : 10 Hawker Hurricane II, some of them re-engined... and 8 Hawker Fury*
Sqn 3 (BVAS) : 16 Bristol Blenheim IV
Sqn 4 (BVAS) : 8 Vickers Wellington and 4 Bristol Blenheim IV
Six independent Flights of cooperation with the Army: 15 Fairey Battle and Night Battle and 12
Bristol Blenheim IV
Six independent transport and support flights: 30 various aircraft
.........
1st (Belgian) Composite Group [colonel Leboutte]
- 1st Regiment (or 1st Wing) "Mahenge" (hunting) [Col. Daniel Le Roy du Vivier].
Sqn 340 (B) : 16 Curtiss H-87 Kittyhawk (+ 4 reserves)
Sqn 341 (B) : 16 Curtiss H-87 Kittyhawk (+ 4 reserves)
The Kittyhawks were replaced in 1943 by North-American Mustangs I and II.
- 2nd Regiment (or 2nd Wing) "Tabora" (ground support) [Lt-Col Frans-Jacques Burniaux]
Sqn 342 (B) : 16 Hawker Hurricane IIc (+ 4 reserves)
Sqn 343 (B) : 15 Maryland (+ 3 reserves)
During 1943, the Hurricanes were replaced by IA Mustangs and the Marylands by North-American Mitchell.
- 3rd Regiment (or 3rd Wing) "Captain Thieffry" (transport, reconnaissance, liaison and light support)
Sqn 344 (B): 14 Savoia-Marchetti 79 and 81** and various light aircraft (these aircraft were gradually replaced in 1943 by Lockheed Lodestar and Piper Cub and some UC 64 Norseman***).
Sqn 345 (B) [Major Gérard Greindl] : 15 Fairey Battles (+ 3 reserves), progressively re-engined as Night Battles (the latter will be replaced at the end of 1943 by Bell P-39 Airacobra).
To the list of Belgian aircraft we must add a single DC-3, carefully maintained, which is charged with transporting (among others) the personalities. Two Belgian ministers (the one of the Colonies, Albert De Vleeschauwer, and the one of Defense, Antoine Delfosse) did they not make the trip to Burma?
Burma (Japanese front) - On the Japanese side, the 7th Army is still commanded by Lt. General Jûichi, but it has been considerably reinforced compared to the end of the campaign of early 1942. The 55th Division, which had played the leading role in 1942 but had suffered a great deal, has somewhat replenished the ranks of its 112th and 143rd Regiments. Much better, its 144th Regiment has been recalled from Guam - the end of supply operations on Guadalcanal has just freed up enough transports to allow this redeployment.
Since the capture of Singapore, the 55th has received reinforcements: the 12th Division (24th, 46th, and 48th Regiments) and the 71st Division. The 5th Heavy Field Artillery Brigade and the 9th Armored Brigade, present in 1942, are still there, but the losses suffered by the 9th Armored Brigade could only be compensated by the contribution of the surviving elements of the 7th Armored Brigade, which had participated in the fighting in Singapore. Finally, the 2nd Thai Division continues to assist the Japanese, but its main role is to cover the lines of communication.
The reinforcements seem important on paper, but the 12th and 71st Divisions had lost much to the Singapore defenders and are far from their best form, both in terms of manpower and heavy equipment, especially artillery.
The Army's air force is there, of course, and had been modernized; but the 1942 campaign had showed that it could not be enough to ensure victory.
.........
Fighters
1st Sentai, Moulmein: 30 Ki-43 Hayabusa "Oscar
11th Sentai, Moulmein: 12 Ki-43 Hayabusa "Oscar" and 20 Ki-44 Shoki "Tojo"
50th Sentai, Moulmein : 30 Ki-43 Hayabusa "Oscar
64th Sentai, Changmai : 12 Ki-43 Hayabusa "Oscar" and 20 Ki-44 Shoki "Tojo
77th Sentai, Maubin: 33 Ki-43 Hayabusa "Oscar
.........
Bombing and reconnaissance
1st Dokuritsu Sentai, Lampong and Nakhon Sawan: 30 "Aichi" Ki-89 (land version of "Val")
8th Sentai, Moulmein: 10 Ki-15 "Babs" and 32 Ki-48 "Lily"
14th Sentai, Nakhon Sawan : 34 Ki-21-II "Sally"
31st Sentai, Lampong: 28 Ki-30 "Ann"
62nd Sentai, Bangkok: 32 Ki-21-II "Sally"
51st Independent Chutai, Lampong: 5 Ki-15 "Babs" and 5 Ki-46 "Dinah"
70th Independent Chutai, Maubin: 5 Ki-15 "Babs" and 5 Ki-46 "Dinah"
.........
Nevertheless, the orders from Tokyo are clear: resume the offensive and take Rangoon.
The objective is to complete the isolation of China by closing the Burma road, depriving the Chinese of the Western equipment to which the general staff attributes all the Japanese setbacks in China. But it is also a question of controlling Burma's natural resources (oil, rice and tungsten for anti-tank shells).
To achieve this, the Japanese general staff devised a bold plan, Operation U-Go. This plan requires the cooperation of the Imperial Navy and the Thai Navy. This part of the of the operation is a major factor in the fact that U-Go will not begin until mid-January, a few weeks after the end of the monsoon season. The decrease in naval requirements due to the end of the fighting in Guadalcanal makes it easier to concentrate the necessary resources.
However, the Imperial Navy also suffered heavy losses. It could only delegate the light cruiser Katori, normally dedicated to training, the destroyers Arashio, Hagikaze, Hibiki and Oshio and the 1st Torpedo Boat Division reconstituted with the surviving ships of the Pedestal convoy battle: the Hatsukari, Kasasagi, Otori and Tomozuru.
However, the Thais will have the privilege to use their fleet in other ways than as a target! The battleship Sri Ayudhya (2,265 t, 4 x 203 mm), laboriously refloated after the serious damage suffered against the French in March 1941, found herself the flagship of the bombardment squadron, which includes only her and the coast guards Ratanakosindra and Sukhotai (4 x 152 mm each). The torpedo boats Patani, Phuket, Rayong and Surasdra will assist their Japanese colleagues. These ships, under the command of Admiral Omori Sentaro (who put his flag on the Katori), will escort a convoy including transports that participated in the landings of the beginning of the year on the east coast of Malaya and will embark the 27th Infantry Division - or more exactly what remains of this division after the hard fighting of the two sieges of Singapore. The 27th Division is to be landed on the coast of Burma, behind the back of the Allied defenses.
Obviously, the chosen region is the Irrawaddy delta, which means that the enemy will be able to hold on to many "wet cuts". But the Imperial Army has confidence in the abilities of its men and did not intend, in any case, to provide them with trucks and other vehicles. Tanks are certainly provided, but most of them are light amphibious vehicles Type 2 Ka-Mi, very convenient on this terrain, but as poorly armed (one 37 mm gun) and as poorly armoured (6 to 13 mm) as most of the Japanese armoured vehicles.
The escort is not very imposing, but it is a calculated risk. Certainly, the Imperial Navy, busy containing the Americans in the Pacific, did not have the means to face the bulk of the Eastern Fleet in the Indian Ocean in a pitched battle, but only the Allied ships based in Rangoon would be in immediate range of intervention, since the large British ships had long since retreated to Ceylon. Before they could intervene, the troops put ashore by surprise will have achieved victory in Burma. The Japanese general staff fears submarines, so the escort will be completed by some Japanese and Thai submarine hunters.
* The Fury, if they are officially in the inventory, have not been operational for several months! Four of these aircraft are now carefully preserved in Indian air bases or museums.
** The two SM 73s and the two SM 83s were returned to Sabena, in a mediocre condition it must be said...
*** And even, in 1944, by some Sikorsky R4b helicopters.
6687
January 2nd, 1943
Eastern Solomons - The submarine I-20 launches the mini-submarine (midget) HA-37 of Lieutenant Miyoshi towards Guadalcanal. But before arriving in sight of the enemy, the little submarine breaks down and his two crewmen have to evacuate it. They will be able to return to land without difficulty.
Guadalcanal - Despite their efforts, the men of Americal and the 2nd USMC Division are unable to reach the fleeing enemy. It is true that their faster than expected advance had driven them away from Red Beach before forward depots could be prepared. And the noria of small boats that shuttles back and forth to the Poha is not enough to satisfy the need for ammunition - of which the Americans are, as usual, very profligate as soon as the enemy shows up.
In order to cover his southern flank, Patch orders a battalion of the 182nd IR to re-cross the Matanikau River and clear the ground along the Lunga River to the foothills of the mountains.
Meanwhile, DeCarre, Jackson and Moore make the final adjustments to the plan of landing on the Japanese rear. The 6th Marines are ordered to Red Beach, in company with the 164th IR. Of course, the fate of the former, which has to leave the island soon, added to the traditional animosity between the Army and the Navy, does not fail to provoke several fights that require the intervention of the MP.
.........
Onishi and his men progress more slowly than expected over terrain made even more difficult to tread by the rains of the past few days. Onishi orders the pace to be increased and the breaks to be reduced, but it is the inability of his radio operators to make contact that worries him: was the equipment defective? In order not to damage the morale of his small troop, he keeps the information to himself, hoping that, once on the heights reached, the range of the transmitter will improve.
Eastern Solomons - The submarine I-20 launches the mini-submarine (midget) HA-37 of Lieutenant Miyoshi towards Guadalcanal. But before arriving in sight of the enemy, the little submarine breaks down and his two crewmen have to evacuate it. They will be able to return to land without difficulty.
Guadalcanal - Despite their efforts, the men of Americal and the 2nd USMC Division are unable to reach the fleeing enemy. It is true that their faster than expected advance had driven them away from Red Beach before forward depots could be prepared. And the noria of small boats that shuttles back and forth to the Poha is not enough to satisfy the need for ammunition - of which the Americans are, as usual, very profligate as soon as the enemy shows up.
In order to cover his southern flank, Patch orders a battalion of the 182nd IR to re-cross the Matanikau River and clear the ground along the Lunga River to the foothills of the mountains.
Meanwhile, DeCarre, Jackson and Moore make the final adjustments to the plan of landing on the Japanese rear. The 6th Marines are ordered to Red Beach, in company with the 164th IR. Of course, the fate of the former, which has to leave the island soon, added to the traditional animosity between the Army and the Navy, does not fail to provoke several fights that require the intervention of the MP.
.........
Onishi and his men progress more slowly than expected over terrain made even more difficult to tread by the rains of the past few days. Onishi orders the pace to be increased and the breaks to be reduced, but it is the inability of his radio operators to make contact that worries him: was the equipment defective? In order not to damage the morale of his small troop, he keeps the information to himself, hoping that, once on the heights reached, the range of the transmitter will improve.
6688
January 2nd, 1943
Pearl Harbor - After much hesitation, Nimitz and Spruance decide not to allow their submarines to operate in the Northern Sea of Japan. The risk of sinking Soviet ships by mistake (not to mention the theoretical risk of the Russians sinking an American submarine) are too great: no need to upset Stalin a few weeks before a crucial summit!
Pearl Harbor - After much hesitation, Nimitz and Spruance decide not to allow their submarines to operate in the Northern Sea of Japan. The risk of sinking Soviet ships by mistake (not to mention the theoretical risk of the Russians sinking an American submarine) are too great: no need to upset Stalin a few weeks before a crucial summit!
6689
January 2nd, 1943
Central and Southern Ukraine - The very large disturbance forecast by British meteorologists is on its way. Under a leaden sky, the snow is falling in abundance, pushed by an icy wind. The planes are grounded and tonight there would be no parachuting at all!
A few hours later, the sky is just as clogged around the Black Sea. The temperature is barely higher and showers mix rain and snow.
Central and Southern Ukraine - The very large disturbance forecast by British meteorologists is on its way. Under a leaden sky, the snow is falling in abundance, pushed by an icy wind. The planes are grounded and tonight there would be no parachuting at all!
A few hours later, the sky is just as clogged around the Black Sea. The temperature is barely higher and showers mix rain and snow.
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