Fantasque Time Line (France Fights On) - English Translation

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8047
May 13th, 1943

Italian front
- Operation Spaghetti comes to an end. It allows the French-Belgian front to be moved up twenty kilometres and to arrive in sight of Perugia. The aim of the operation was not to take the city, but to place ourselves in a favourable position for the major operation planned when the accumulated supplies would be sufficient, while attracting towards the continent a part of the German air force at the time of the taking of the island of Elba. The day is therefore spent in cleaning operations.
At the headquarters of the 29. Panzergrenadier Division, one can breathe easy. The new defensive positions are much better, and finally, the price paid is modest given the limited means available to the defense. Indeed, the German command in Italy, after the air campaign of the previous weeks, was expecting a landing in the Genoa sector. The lull in the fighting allows the first elements of the 356 ID to be arrive, bringing the Panzergrenadiers to the rear of the front.
.........
In the air, the young lieutenant Alfred Froning, of the 65th FS (57th FG) is again making a name for himself. Arrived at the front in March, he already scores his third victory - this time against a Fw 189 reconnaissance plane.
 
8048
May 14th, 1943

Kiel
- A raid of the American 9th AF targets Germaniawerft shipyard. Three submarines, U-235, U-236 and U-237, Type-VIIC, are sunk.
The human losses on board the ships are minimal (2 dead). The three submarines are refloated in the following days, then put back into service, but none of them will be sent to combat.
 
8049
May 14th, 1943

NAS Glenview
- Lagadec: "Tightening the schedule. Between two flights, the Pasha, who has just been informed, tells us that as soon as we return to QP, we will move again to be closer to the Jean-Bart. We will go to NAS Oceana, between Norfolk and the ocean.
Oceana is a seaside resort, but those who dream of beaches and warm sand would be better off thinking about the JB's wooden flight deck. As for sunbathing, it is doubtful that the pasha of the aircraft carrier would agree to transform the said deck into an annex of the beach of Madrague, in Algiers. Landing, takeoff!...
Meanwhile, the qualifying flights continue."
 
8050
May 14th, 1943

About 45 km northwest of Su Yut, on the road to Môc (Tonkin)
- The 85th Regiment replaces the 84th Regiment at the head of the 22nd Division's column. The road now climbs and civilians "volunteering" to repair the roadways areworking under the orders of the men of the 22nd Engineer Regiment to repair the damage inflicted by nature and weather.
Strong patrols are sent out in all directions. One of them catches the Viets setting up an ambush upstream. The "rebels" withdraw without loss after a short exchange of fire. However, three hours after its departure, another patrol has still not returned. Colonel Wakamatsu orders a search of the area assigned to it, but this does not yield anything. By 22:00, the entire patrol is reported missing.
.........
The same day, 80 kilometers west of Yen Day - The advance of the 23rd Division is done over less rugged terrain than that over which the 22nd advances, but the Vietminh opposition is much more pronounced. The Japanese face several successive ambushes during the day, with the Bo-Dois attacking with machine guns and light mortars. The losses are low (only seven wounded) but the delay is important, especially when General Masachika is forced to have the guns of the 23rd Artillery Regiment put into action to neutralize positions inaccessible from the road. Around 15:00, scouts spot a group of Viets undermining the road with an unexploded aircraft bomb; they chase them away, but now they know to beware of such traps.
.........
Hanoi, 13:00 - Frustrated by the failure of their first attempt, sixteen Liberators of the 308th BG return to attack the Paul Doumer Bridge.
The bombing is still done from 30,000 feet, but by mid-day, visibility is better. The result is far below expectations. Once again, the majority of the projectiles devastated the aquatic life of the Red River (with the bombers gone, the population will hasten to take advantage of this miraculous fishing).
Nevertheless, some bombs graze the structure near the left bank. They destroy several frames and damage the bank span and the railroad. The delays in repairing the bridge closed it to vehicles for three days (but pedestrians and cyclists will still be able to use it).
A very lucky flak shoots down a B-24. On the other hand, the Japanese fighters are still absent, which will make the Japanese aviators cringe, humiliated to have missed their mission because of the lack of an effective warning system!
 
8051
May 14th, 1943

Minsk
- The Chief of Staff of the OKH, Franz Halder, is on an inspection tour of HeeresGruppe Mitte headquarters. This inspection is mainly a pretext. In front of Rommel and Krebs, Halder does not hesitate to say what is on his mind. Operation Citadel is not properly planned. The FHO and OKH are wrong when they say that the Soviets are too weakened to defend themselves properly. Kluge and Zeitzler became too important and their influence is harmful for the conduct of operations. We are heading for disaster. Can't we do something?
Rommel hesitates. His status as Hitler's favorite general is no longer so obvious since the recent successes of Manstein and Model. He himself would not be reluctant to take to the offensive. But as always in the Third Reich, everything depended on the decision of one man. It is Hitler who has to be convinced. "Alas," Halder laments, "it seems that the Führer has already been convinced, and is in favor of Citadel. But perhaps by going to Berchtesgaden the Marshal would be able to find the words to change his mind?" Faced with his silent boss, Krebs pushes in this direction. Manstein is a young fat man with teeth that are far too long and Model only wins by making his troops go over a bridge made of the bodies of their comrades.
After a long hesitation, Rommel shakes his head, apparently resigned. He has to follow orders. The Führer could not be mistaken. Any discussion with him would only lead to further disorder, which would not be helpful. He then leaves the room in front of the eyes of a disastrous Halder. Krebs sighs: as the war drags on, would there be nothing but bad decisions to make?
 
8052
May 14th, 1943

Italian Front
- It is now the turn of the British to attack in order to correct their front line, according to the Franco-Belgian advance during "Spaghetti".
On the western side of the X Corps, from Sellano, where His Majesty's soldiers had relieved the Zouaves the previous month, a double overrun attack is planned.
On the one hand, the 139th Brigade of the 46th ID advances on the road passing on the heights while the tanks of the 1st Army Tank Brigade advanced a little further down the valley. The Germans having already decided to retreat northward, on positions where the 356th ID is deploying in defense, this attack meets little resistance apart from the usual blocks at the crossroads. The infantrymen arrive in sight of Casenove at the end of the day.
The other attack encounters much stronger opposition to the north of the municipalities of Preci and Castelluccio di Norcia. The 138th Brigade of the 46th ID and the 133rd Brigade of the 44th ID have as their objective the Visso crossroads. But in the evening, the troops of the 138th Brigade are blocked at the entrance of the gorge shortly after the crossing of roads 209 and 476, although they have started to climb the plateau above them and reached the village of Croce. The infantrymen of the 133rd Brigade make further progress, but they are stopped in the twists and turns that descend the Sibylline Mountains towards Castel Sanangelo sul Nera.
Finally, on the right wing of the 1st British Army, the 132nd Brigade of the 44th ID comes without difficulty to relieve the 5th Indian Division until Montegallo.
 
8053
May 15th, 1943

Moscow
- Pravda announces the dissolution of the Communist International on its front page.
Often referred to as the Third International, after those founded by Marx and Engels, or by its Russian abbreviation, the Comintern, it had been established by Lenin in 1919 to unite the communist parties of the world and to raise the red flag of the revolution. Since then, it has been the nightmare of a large part of the Western political world, from conservatives and fascists to many social democrats and... Trotskyites. It is true that the Third International had become the docile instrument of Moscow's foreign policy, until it approved the pact with Nazi Germany in 1939.
Its dissolution constituted a signal of appeasement, allowing to deny (according to the laborious explanations of Pravda) the infamous slanders of the Nazi propaganda claiming that Stalin's goal is to transform the states of Europe into so many Soviet republics. The Vojd undoubtedly hopes that in this way the European Communist parties would appear less like pawns at Moscow's command.
In fact, the CPSU will maintain close links with the communist movements throughout Europe, always under the leadership of the Bulgarian Georgi Dimitrov.
 
8054
May 15th, 1943

NAS Glenview
- Weekend or not, the aerial ballet continues.
Lagadec: "This morning, an F4F-4 broke down on the deck and slowed down the pace for a few minutes. The zinc is stored, wings folded, in front of the island, on one of the two portholes provided for that purpose. The pilot will remain on board with his plane until the evening and the return of the aircraft carrier to port."
 
8055
May 15th, 1943

About 50 km northwest of Su Yut, on the road to Môc (Tonkin)
- Patrols continue to search for traces of the men who have disappeared the day before. One of them finally discovers, far from the sector where the patrol should have been, a haversack model 98, the typical Japanese backpack, entirely made of khaki canvas and closed with straps that must be tied. It still contains a mosquito net and the standard serape.
Nothing else will be found. It was not until the end of the war that what the Japanese command suspected was confirmed- the patrol had been ambushed, all the men had been killed and, to increase the anxiety of the Japanese, the Vietnamese picked up bodies, weapons, and even shell casings to erase all traces of the confrontation. The bag was deliberately abandoned far from the axis of withdrawal of the bo-dois to mislead the soldiers of the Empire of the Rising Sun.
Moreover, the advance of the main body of troops was slowed down only by the endless twists and turns of the road, its bad condition and the slowness of the repairs.
.........
The same day, 90 kilometers west of Yen Day - The Vietminh possess a few artillery pieces and will use them today. Two armored reconnaissance cars that were taking advantage of an area of road in decent condition are shelled for a few minutes, without any harm, as the shots were not adjusted. Fortunately for them, because the armor of the Type 92 Jyu-Sokosha is so poor that the armored car is considered obsolete even on the Chinese front.
The Japanese take revenge in the evening by looting the surrounding villages. For once, they will not kill anyone, probably put in a good mood by the fact of not having had any losses during the day. The soldiers are content to molest the inhabitants and steal their meager supplies of rice, as well as a suckling pig.
 
8056
May 15th, 1943

Bombay (India)
- The city is today decorated with the French colors and many French officials come, including General Mast, who came from Chongqing, to salute the passage of the 1st Parachute Regiment and the 1st (and only) Marine Infantry Regiment of the Pacific, which in fact has only two battalions and their services.
The 1st REP comes from Algeria, but the RIMP comes from the South-West Pacific, where it was at one time considered to be deployed in the Solomons. Its 1st Battalion was involved in the famous operation Banana, on Tarakan, after which it was split up thanks to an influx of commitments in the Pacific Islands. Lacking heavy equipment, it was decided - out of necessity - to make it an air-transportable unit.
The U.S. Marine Corps and the Americans in general were reluctant to encumber themselves with these diplomatically awkward allies. After long negotiations, Nimitz proposed to the French command to provide the regiment with the heavy weapons it lacked, and then to transport it by plane in the company of the 1st REP to Indochina (where, officially, the Americans accepted the presence of the French despite the colonization).
After consultation with Algiers and in the absence of any other solution, Admiral Michelier accepted. Bombay is therefore only a stopover for the 1st REP and the 1st RIMP on the road to Dien-Bien-Phu, where they had to go via China after a period of acclimatization in Burma.
 
8057
May 15th, 1943

Crimea
- The 7th IAP conducts its first war mission. Four MiG-5 loaded with two five hundred kilos bombs each bomb the Romanian port of Sulina, while a second group of four aircraft carried out two low-level gun passes. At first surprised, the Romanian artillerymen quickly recover and show themselves to be sufficiently aggressive to dissuade the Soviet pilots from carrying out a third attack. The bombing is inaccurate: most of the bombs fall into the Danube, slightly damaging a coaster. Three others fall near the former palace of the European Commission for the Danube.
 
8058
May 15th, 1943

Italian Front
- The 139th Brigade captures Casenove almost without a fight. In this sector, the 1st Army Tank Brigade decides to wait for the infantrymen to try to advance, the orders are to save as much men and material as possible.
Further east, the anti-tank battalion of the 46th ID, the heavy machine gun battalion and the 123rd Field Artillery Btn deploy in hedgehog fashion in the village of Croce. From there, they cover the 138th Brigade, which takes advantage of the situation to advance into the Valnerina Gorge.
On the other side of the Visso crossroads, the protection of the forest allows the men of the 133rd Brigade of the 44th ID to overrun Castel Sanangelo sul Nera. The defenders of this village (a company of the Grossdeutschland Brigade) are now isolated, but the village has not yet been taken.
 
8059
May 15th, 1943

Sutjeska Alley (Montenegro/Bosnia)
- The mountain awakens to the sound of cannon fire. It is the beginning of Fall Schwartz (Black Plan).
General Rudolf Lüters, commander of the XV. Mountain Armeekorps, finally managed to concentrate his forces in spite of the local mountain roads, which are never good and which, between sabotage and lack of maintenance for the last two years, are execrable. Three divisions, including the SS Prinz-Eugen Division; two Croatian divisions, the 4th and the 369th or "Devil's Division", which is considered an elite corps; plus three Bulgarian regiments that wonder what they are doing so far from home. The German ambassador in Sofia, Adolf Beckerle, had to bang on the table to force the kingdom to send reinforcements to its partners of the Axis!
On the other side, the Partisans line up a total of four divisions and two brigades. It is true that their "divisions" have hardly the strength of brigades and that their "brigades" hardly resemble regiments, but the morale is high and the armaments sent by the Allies (especially by the French) is much appreciated, even if one would have liked it to be more modern and/or more plentiful...
Better still, the allied camp is reinforced by the rallying, in December, of two Italian divisions, the Venezia (1st Alpine Division, General Giovanni Maccario) and the Taurinense (19th Mountain Infantry Division, General Giovanni-Battista Oxilia). The Italians sometimes use to designate them a new name, "Garibaldi divisions".
Tito, who had believed until the end in the possibility of extending the truce with the Germans, is unpleasantly surprised by the brutality of the offensive. The villages and farms likely to shelter Partisans or Italians are systematically bombed and destroyed, and their inhabitants are shot as accomplices of the "red bandits". However, the defenders fight fiercely and the German offensive stalls.
 
8060
May 16th, 1943

Battle of the Ruhr
- The Battle of the Ruhr is the first strategic bombing campaign against an industrial region to the depths of its structure. This is why it is decided that part of the attacks would be carried out against the water supply of the Ruhr.
Operation Chastise (16-17 May), the famous "Dambusters" raid, one of the most daring bombing raids of the war, is undertaken by the newly formed 617 squadron. Under the inspired command of Wing Commander Guy Gibson, the squadron is to attempt to destroy dams in an attempt to disrupt industrial production using the power generated by these dams.
Four dams are attacked and two, on the Möhne and the Eder, are destroyed. At the HQ of the No.5 Group, "Bomber" Harris himself, head of the Bomber Command Home, congratulates Barnes Wallis, the designer of the bombs used, but the general satisfaction is lessened by the price Sqn 617 had to pay. Out of 19 aircraft, seven were shot down en route and four others lost on the way back: 53 crew members were killed and three taken prisoner.
Gibson is one of the survivors, he receives the Victoria Cross and becomes one of the most famous officers of the Bomber Command. Thirty-four decorations are awarded to other members of the squadron.
 
8061
May 16th, 1943

NAS Glenview
- The first pilots have completed their qualifying.
Lagadec: "The qualifiers will be able to spend some time on the GAE. In other words, going around the kitchen and talking to anything that looks like a pilot. You never know what might happen!
In the early afternoon, a pilot from 7F does a wooden horse with a TBF. One more propeller to change, a few more dents on the engine cowling and a wing tip to repair. He gains a few hours cruise and a general tour to pay to the fleet.
Flight operations were interrupted for almost an hour. As soon as flight operations resume, the Avia chief, CF Jozan, accelerates the pace to make up for lost time."

NAS Norfolk, Breezy Point (Seaplane Base) - A large four-engine seaplane of an unknown type lands opposite the Norfolk Seaplane Base and floats majestically to a buoy where a US Navy sailor, who is waiting in a motorboat, retrieves the tip from the bow and moors it tightly while the roar of the engines fades away.
The big boat is French, as proven by the tricolour cockades decorated with an anchor, affixed on a very elegant dark blue-gray paint that covers all the surfaces. It is awaited on the quay by a half-dozen gallant men. Behind them, three big Ford Staff Car model 1942, two jeeps and a Chevrolet truck driven by French sailors, bachi on their heads. The driver of the first Ford unfurls a three-star pennant and attaches it to the left front fender.
"Weird, it looks like the Achernar!" exclaims, on the quay, a frigate captain that the golden wings on his chest indicate that he is an "aeroplane". "However, last year, I saw it in Bizerte, it was stored in a corner, waiting for engines."
Coming to pair and moor to the Achernar (because it is indeed him - see below), at the front, a rowboat led by a midship and a barge at the bow. Embarked in the boat, an EV2, an LV and a CV, then Vice-Admiral Célestin Bourragué, while a master bosco, with his whistle in his mouth, sounded three modulations between two short blasts, a sign that it is a general officer, and the midshipman salutes with a resounding "On board!" At the front, bags, canteens and crates are deposited in the barge under the suspicious eye of two petty officers.
The boat is docked and Admiral Bourragué gets off, welcomed by the CV Yves Aubert, the captain of the Jean-Bart, CF André Le Tesson, his executive officer, and the ship's staff officers.
After some quick introductions, the Admiral climbs into the lead Staff Car with the Pasha, and the others pile into the other vehicles. The small convoy then heads for the quay where the Jean-Bart is moored, less than a mile away.
Upon arrival, the admiral could not help but look at the Jean-Bart with a twinkle in his eye. He steps back to embrace the ship as a whole, takes a few steps towards the bow, then towards the stern... "You'll have to give me a detailed tour, Commander," he says. As he approaches the cupola, a bugle sounds "Starboard attention" and then the warden officer yells "On board" while the cupola's bosun throws his three modulations between two short blasts.
Once on the bridge, the admiral inspects the guard of honor composed of the riflemen of the ship and lingers for a moment on the new pennant of the ship, attached to the end of the gun of a petty officer, frozen in a martial "Present arms". "Aircraft carrier Jean-Bart, well here we are!" says the admiral, before sinking into the bowels of the giant.
The officer of the guard then ordes "Starboard Berloque", the guard returns to their quarters and the entire crew resumes their usual tasks...until a reception organized in the admiral's honor and marked by an improvised band on board the aircraft carrier (see below).
 
8062 - Latécoère 611/612 n° 01 Achernar & Jean-Bart musical band
The Latécoère 611/612 n° 01 Achernar
Excerpt from the Fana de l'Aviation, Special Edition 69 "The great French seaplanes".

This beautiful exploration seaplane, built in a single copy, operated in particular in 1941 with the L45 liaison and exploration squadron, based at Benghazi.
The Achernar was stored in Bizerte in June 1942, its original Gnome and Rhône engines at the end of their potential. There, it survived only because a mechanic officer was looking for an aircraft to train his young recruits. The good general condition of the aircraft allowing it, the instruction was training turned into a refit, then into a flight condition... Alas, one detail was missing: it still had no engines.
The Navy turned to the engine manufacturer, relocated in Casablanca, to see if it was possible to a small series of 14N-30 engines, of which the Laté 611 was the only one to be equipped, or to adapt another model of the same engine. But Gnome et Rhône devoted itself - to the assembly of American Pratt & Whitney engines and - more discreetly - to the development of its own 14S and 18S models. The engine manufacturer reminded us that the Navy had ordered twelve Laté 612s in December 1939, a variant of the 611 that was to be equipped with four Pratt & Whitney R-1830 star engines of 1,200 hp. These aircraft were never delivered, of course, but the plans could be unearthed. However, Gnome et Rhône had switched its production on the R-2800 Double Wasp and the priority remained of course, the supply of combat aircraft. A hunt was therefore launched from Beirut to Dakar to get hold of R-1830 powerplants, recovered from decommissioned Glenn aircraft with all the necessary accessories (engine frames, hoods, exhausts, pumps, starters).
Eight complete engines were thus reconditioned to their full potential and four were mounted on the Achernar by the students directed by some old "cambouis", under the leadership, thanks to Tave himself, who spared neither prayers, nor reminders, nor threats of excommunication towards "those" who had the right parts in store and did not provide them.
Turrets and weapons were dismantled, new radios made in the USA, taken from first generation Catalinas, were installed. The interior was fitted out for 20 passengers with seats from an Air France D-338. The Achernar was stripped and repainted from the keel to the tip of its two daggerboards in a very attractive blue-gray, just a little lighter on the lower surfaces - the origin of which remains a well-kept secret today.
The forge and the mechanics of the base made from scratch a fake "beachage" train to replace the transport carriage.
And at the beginning of April 1943, the Achernar, changed from Laté 611 to Laté 612, found in order the sea and the air element in the hands of a crew of reservists, was judged too old to be sent to the front line. After ten days of unsurprising tests and some fine-tuning, it was reassembled on the platform and placed on its false train. The class of apprentices was rated "above average" and broken down as needed.
Remaining on the ramp of the Karouba seaplane base, the Achernar almost returned to a corner of the base to the dismay of its crew, who were convinced that it could be useful (and so could they). The three officers on board therefore took turns sitting in Admiral Husson's office, commanding the base, to obtain a mission, whatever it was!
One fine day, while in Tunis, Vice-Admiral Célestin Bourragué visited Admiral Husson, who had just sent back the OE Leroy, co-pilot of the Achernar, with a "Nothing for you today, so go do an endurance flight and come back to report." Now, Leroy had served on the cruiser Dupleix, commanded by a certain CV Bourragué, who, after being promoted to CA and then VA, had just been appointed head of the new flagship of the French Navy, the Force de Raid Aéronavale - Task Group 100 for these Yankee materialists.
The said vice-admiral had to join his post and his ships, unfortunately anchored at this time partly at Scapa Flow and partly on the other side of the Atlantic. And he kept a very bad memory of his rocky return from the Far East the previous year - only the goodwill of the Royal Navy had allowed him to reach NAF in good conditions (he still neglected, the ungrateful one, the role of Chief Petty Officer Geoffroy, who had followed him everywhere since the declaration of war, having received orders from Madame l'Amirale to take care of her husband's health - now, not only was Geoffroy a man of his word, but he was much more afraid of Madame l'Amirale than of all the German U-boots and all the Japanese aircraft carriers).
At the Admiralty, Bourragué met Leroy in the hall - Leroy's racket, "My respects, Admiral!" Bourragué answered the salute and was going on his way when he remembered where he had seen that face before. "Leroy! What have you become?"
Brief exchange, but not so brief that Leroy could not bring up the Achernar. The admiral looked at him: "And now, your bird, is it reliable? "Oh Admiral, a Swiss cuckoo! If Swiss cuckoos flew, of course!" "Wait for me here!" said the admiral, who sped off to Husson's office.
An hour later, the Laté 612 n°01 Achernar, with its crew (8 men) was assigned to TF-100 until further notice as the "Admiral's major boat", under the command of LV (reserve) Paul Vallat. The next day, all left Bizerte for Mers-el-Kébir, the shore team joining via train with engines, spare parts and a false gear.
On May 12, 1943, at dawn, the Achernar left Mers-el-Kébir for Scapa Flow, taking along Célestin and a reduced staff (three officers and two petty officers - alas, France Combattante was short of manpower). Bourragué was going to confer on the Richelieu with CA Ronarc'h, now his deputy.
On the 14th, the big bird left Orkney for Norfolk, where she arrived on the 16th morning after two stops: Reykjavik (Iceland) and Halifax (Canada).

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Aeronavale Latecoere-612 Achernar, North Atlantic flights, May 1943

Breton music and the French Navy
From an article published by Ouest France on May 16th, 2013.

One of the most popular components of the Breton culture of the 20th century (and, hopefully, of the next) has its origin on March 17th, 1943, in Norfolk (USA), on the famous aircraft carrier Jean-Bart.
On this Wednesday, still cold despite a bright sun, there is a relaxed atmosphere among half of the crew. The pasha has indeed granted the Bretons on board (at the insistence of engineer Kerdonval) a short break on the occasion of Saint Patrick's Day, very celebrated in the Celtic culture circles on this side of the Atlantic. For the occasion, representatives of the various local communities were invited: Irish, Welsh, Scottish...and of course the Breton Association of New York, who came in number to have the privilege of admiring the future jewel of the French Navy.
At the master station, around 6:30 pm, it was time for the aperitif, and the naval officers welcomed their guests when the chief petty officer Pierre Roumégou notices, placed on one of the tables of the post, a musical instrument that he knows well : a bombard.
He entered the navy in 1927 at the age of 17 to train as an arpeteer in the famous "crime school" of Saint Mandrier (officially the school for apprentice mechanics), Pierre Roumégou was not less an emeritus bombarder in his youth. He seizes the instrument and remains a moment hesitant because he did not play any more since 1924, "but the bombard, it is like the bicycle, one does not forget!" He brings the object to his lips. The bombarde is new, reluctant therefore. It is necessary to court it, to tame it... In a few minutes, Roumégou seduces it. The melody flies then, light, air in spite of a certain clumsiness.
In an instant, the Breton officers and their guests get up, take each other by the little finger and dance "like in the country". The party lasts until some bad sleepers, notably from Provence, complain about the "howling of the pigs that are being slaughtered, poor beasts!" In order to reconcile the navy of the Ponant and the navy of the Levant, the captain of arms, although from Brest, deftly put an end to this improvised fest noz.
.........
However, the success was such that the following days, Radio Coursive having largely commented on the event, several members of the crew, all ranks and specialties, contacted PM Roumégou. There are all the sounders on board: of bombard (talabarder) and of biniou (biniaouer), which represents a dozen musicians.
Little by little, Roumégou also obtains the assistance of the drums of the battery of the edge to act as drummers and organizes a small traditional musical formation.
.........
In the weeks which follow, the fifteen musicians learn to play together and to walk at a pace. Kerdonval, who saw this in a positive light, even allowed them a corner of the flight deck or the hangar to rehearse and train when the activity allows it.
Despite the many difficulties, no one is discouraged. The group learns a little more every day. They now know how to play the step and draw some shy arabesques in the accents of the Landaul march. It is ready, or almost, to offer its first aubade.
.........
The opportunity presents itself on May 16th. That day, Vice-Admiral Bourragué went for the first time on board the Jean-Bart. Always under the insistence of Kerdonval, the Pacha proposed to the admiral an aubade by a musical group on board, now called Bagad (group). The performance was held on the flight deck.
First Master Roumégou, Penn Bagad (group leader) for the occasion, then ordered his first War-raok-kit (forward march) and the Bagad performs the first of a long, very long series of presentations. It was a great success, the admiral and the Pasha were delighted, and the very young Bagad will now be part of all official representations on board the aircraft carrier.
.........
After a long campaign on the Jean-Bart, the new chief petty officer Rumégou was assigned to the naval air base of Lann Bihoué near Lorient. There he met up with some of the former men of the flotillas and the aircraft carrier who knew the Bagad and...today, in the year 2013, Bagad de Lann Bihoué celebrates its 70th anniversary!
Degemer mat (welcome) !
 
8063
May 16th, 1943

General Government of Poland
- Heinrich Himmler pays an official visit to Pflugstadt, southeast of Lublin. Designated at the end of 1941 as a settlement (Siedlungskolonie), the former Polish town of Zamość is now an integral part of Generalplan Ost, the master plan for the East. Developed under the leadership of Konrad Meyer-Hetling, this plan had the initial ambition to reshape the regions in the east of the Reich and reorganize them along racial lines, to the sole benefit of Germany. Pflugstadt is a showcase of the efforts of the SS: emptied of its Polish population (the Jews having been eliminated in 1941), replaced by several thousand German settlers and Volksdeutsche, the city had already lost its bastioned walls and most of its ancient monuments, judged by Himmler to be too Polish. But there are tenacious disputes between the destroyers and rebuilders: should they be inspired by Prussian medieval architecture or rather by Speer's plans for the future German capital, Germania? The authorities of the General Governorate are not inclined to tolerate the SS's supervision of the colony either and never miss an opportunity to harm the local leaders. Finally, one must count the opposition of the former inhabitants, who prowl the surrounding countryside and slow down the pace of the work.
These minor inconveniences are not all mentioned to the Reichsführer-SS. Pflugstadt will eventually become one of those model cities that will make the "civilized" world proud in the face of Eastern barbarism.
 
8064
May 16th, 1943

About 55 km northwest of Su Yut, on the road to Môc (Tonkin)
- In the middle of the morning, the advance guard of the 85th Regiment is ambushed. The Vietminh spray the column with machine guns. The fire is devastating. Twenty-four men, including a captain, are killed in a few minutes. The Japanese dig in as best they can, but are so shocked by the loss of their leader that they simply return fire without order or method.
The rest of the battalion has to make a hook and charge from the flank for the Bo-Dois to fall back. They lose only eleven men - one of the few direct encounters in which Japanese casualties outnumber those of the Vietnamese.
In the afternoon, an armored detachment accompanying the 85th Infantry Regiment is bombed by eight H-87s of the II/40. The Mouriaque bombs prove to be particularly formidable on the weak protection of the Rising Sun tanks. In the aftermath, the Curtiss machine-gun the vehicles still intact and their .50 Browning guns made a massacre. In total, two Type 92, four type 94 tankettes and three type 93 Sumida self-propelled guns are left in flames, as well as half a dozen supply and support vehicles.
.........
The same day, 120 kilometers west of Yen Day - The village visited by the scouts of the 23rd Reconnaissance Regiment is held by the Vietminh, but the men deployed there are inexperienced irregulars, and several shots are fired well before the right moment. The Japanese thus warned launch a full-scale attack after a brief cannonade. The "rebels" leave behind them about 20 dead. The Mikado troops do not even have a wounded man.
 
8065
May 16th, 1943

Colombo
- The Italian submarine Volframio and its companion AMC Barletta make their entry into the large Royal Navy base in the Indian Ocean. The journey from Aden has been rough, between the crossing of a tropical storm (a first for the Italians) and a narrowly avoided mistake when an Indian Sunderland tried to attack the Volframio, stopped at the last second by the colored flares launched by the Royal Navy escort.
In Colombo, a bad surprise awaits the Mariassalto detachment. The British intelligence services indicate that the Japanese have no major surface units in Singapore harbor, probably because of the destruction carried out by the British before their surrender... Faced with the absence of a target, the Mariassalto mission is cancelled !
 
8066
May 16th, 1943

Central Ukraine
- Although the VVS have given up their bombardment of cities far from the front, they are nevertheless continuing their tactical and operational strikes. In the west of Kiev, the railway stations located between Rovno and Sarny are subjected to a severe bludgeoning throughout the day, disrupting the supply of the 3. PanzerArmee.
In return, the Luftwaffe pounds Fastov and Zhitomir, destroying several trains loaded with supplies. But the Soviet observers all note that Kiev remains - very strangely - spared by German aircraft.
 
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