Fantasque Time Line (France Fights On) - English Translation

[Wings]

August 23rd, 1943

Between Siatista and Kapnochori ("Tower West") - The soldiers of the 3rd Mountain Brigade, supported by the 1st Infantry Division, attack northwards, preceded by 155 mm shells of the 107th RALCA and the Blenheim and Beaumont bombs of the 237th and 238th Wings and the Greek formations. Idle, the pilots of the P-40N cover aircraft admire during this time the rocky landscapes under the Macedonian sun.
In the morning, the GebirgsJägers seem to hold the shock, but in the afternoon, they are overwhelmed by a penetration of the 4th Regiment of Tunisian Spahis, whose armoured vehicles came down from Siatista while the Hellenes held the attention of the German soldiers. Not being able to risk an encirclement, the latter withdraw after a day of fighting, abandoning Kaleroni to the Allies.
In the evening, in Aminteo, General Dietl, of the XVIII. Gebirgs-Armee-Korps, notices the failure of his strategy of attrition. Until now, the Allies had kept enough troops in the sector to prevent him from taking a flanking position. And worse, it is his own troops who begin to crack after more than five days of uninterrupted fighting! During the night, he gives the order to his units to abandon their too vulnerable positions and to retreat towards Neapolis and Aliakmonas, in order to be able to breathe one or two days. By doing so, he frees a transverse road leading to Ptolemaida.
Informed of this withdrawal and fearing a complete collapse of the front of Macedonia, general Löhr calls his subordinate. The discussion is once again tense, but Löhr must go to the obvious: the positions of the 1. and 3. GD do not bring back anything except attrition, and the 4. GD has no chance to break through in Pontokomi, with or without the 201. StuG Abt, who has just arrived at the front after four days (or rather four nights) on the road! Löhr and Dietl finally agree to give up Ptolemaida. The units concerned had to withdraw to the plain of Filotas, where the armoured vehicles that had come as reinforcements could play their role. This tactical withdrawal, however justified, will be hidden from Fehn, less by modesty than by forgetfulness...
Assured of its rear, even if it does not know it, the 1st Greek Armored Brigade reaches Veria in the evening, crossing narrow and dangerous - but especially undefended - gorges! It is followed by the 13th Greek ID.

French Army EBR M38, Operation Tower, August 1943

 

[Wings]

August 23rd, 1943

Thessaloniki - In the palace of the "Governorate General of Northern Greece", located at 32 Kassandrou Street, near the ruins of the ancient theatre, General Gustav Fehn tries to organize the defense of the region, and perhaps of the city. For that, it is necessary for him to use the meager forces of his poor XXII. Gebirgs-Armee-Korps. But what to do? If the counter-offensive of the XVIII. GAK fails, he will be alone facing two army corps (at least!) arriving from two different axes. And in this case, the quasi-totality of his troops would find themselves surrounded at Katerini, with no hope of joining him at Salonika.
Clenching his fists on his files, he is enraged, under the worried look of his attachés: a whole career in the army since 1911 to arrive there, to this disaster! If only the Gebirgs had held out at Drepano, if the 19 PzGr had been sent earlier and if the 1st Panzer would have moved from Zagreb... He huffs and puffs and raises his eyes to the sky. There is no need to cry over spilled milk. He can still save the situation, he has already done so during the Other War. But to do so, he needs to be cool and to think.
And after thinking about it, he refuses to take a chance by trusting the GebirgsJägers of Dietl. They have already demonstrated the extent of their solidarity with his corps. Cursed be that fool of a mountain man from Upper Bavaria, almost an Austrian! Anyway... He will therefore withdraw what is left of the 153. Feldausbildungs-Division of Diether von Böhm-Bezing (whose survival is not essential...)towards Aiginio, but especially of the 104. Jäger-Division of Hartwig von Ludwiger (much more important). From there, it will be necessary to establish, with the help of the 97. Jäger-Division of Ludwig Müller, a defense line... let's say... from Koufalia to Chalastra. Yes, taking advantage of the foreseeable fatigue of the enemy and the rather swampy nature of the terrain, where the tanks will not be able to play to the full!
But it will take two or three days to prepare all this. And if the Greeks still seem to be far away, the Tommies and their auxiliaries are getting closer very quickly. Too bad, the 19. PanzerGrenadier will have to carry out a delaying action towards Korinos, where the strip between the sea and the mountains is hardly more than six kilometers long. If Irkens and his men succeeded in delaying, or even eliminating the leading enemy units, he is saved. His infantrymen will have time to reconstitute a firm defense line, able to welcome the Greeks, and the Bulgarians will arrive one day. And if the panzergrenadiers fail ? We will see... In order to put all the chances on his side, Fehn notes to phone his superior to ask for an air support on this crucial action. He owes him that much, and we have not seen the Luftwaffe for a long time around here!
While waiting for this decisive battle, and for all practical purposes, Fehn establishes martial law in the entire Salonika region and gives Alfred Wünnenberg's 4. SS-Polizei-Panzergrenadier-Brigade all power to ensure order on its back. Summoned to his office, the austere veteran of the First World War welcomes the news with the aplomb and the closed face that we know him for. He warns that there will be casualties among the civilians. Too bad.
Moreover, for more efficiency, the SS asks if by any chance some... disparate elements could assist him in his task. Fehn agrees. But who?

 

[Wings]

August 23rd, 1943

Katerini ("Tower East") - The ANZAC, after crossing the pass of Agios Dimitrios, take the way to the Aegean Sea. Cooled by the losses suffered during the last days, the corps advances with cautious steps and arrives at Svoronos in the evening. Above them, the support planes are bored, in the absence of any visible opposition. His Majesty's soldiers unknowingly let their opponents escape, as they were able to escape northwards during the night.
Further back, the 1st Yugoslav Army Corps also finishes its crossing of the mountains, still gloomily lit by fires.

 

[Wings]

August 23rd, 1943

Elassona - Brian Horrocks' XIII Corps arrives at the foothills of the rocky barrier.
It follows the front line units and prepares to go on duty. Further back, the 6th and 10th Armored come up from Larissa. All these different units require a lot of supplies, transported on a single road. It is urgent to unblock the situation by seizing Katerini, which will make it possible to circumvent the rocky barrier by the east, or even to attempt a supply by sea.

 

[Wings]

August 23rd, 1943

Drama - The troops of the 2nd Bulgarian Occupation Corps are marching to the front with moderate ardor. The line units (7th and 16th ID) being positioned at Galakista and Serres, they should reach Salonika in three or four days, in the absence of motorized transport. As for the 28th ID, which comes from Xanthi, it will not be there before eight days at best!

 

[Wings]

August 23rd, 1943

Veria - Colonel Friedrich-Wilhelm Müller was only in town for a few hours, until he realized his perilous situation. After some tests by radio (and a phone call by the civil network!), he understands that he is alone in the sector and that it is illusory to try to join Skopje. Besides, who knows if the enemy is not already in Ptolemaida?
After having set fire to the silos and the food reserves, he goes to Salonika under the midday sun, to put himself at the disposal of the local command. His bloody record of service in Volos and Servia, among others, speak for him.

 

[Wings]

August 23rd, 1943

Albania - The Wellingtons of the 202nd Wing return to bomb the Tirana train station. An aircraft, damaged by a flak shot, returns on an engine. Nothing exceptional, except that Sgt Ward (co-pilot) climbed on the wing in flight, through a hole in the fuselage, to extinguish the fire of the affected engine with pieces of parachute! This insane operation was attempted because of the presence of a seriously injured person on board and to avoid a forced landing - very risky in this region of wooded mountains. And it succeeded because the pilot, Squadron-Leader Widdowson, was able to maintain a perfectly stable attitude of his damaged aircraft throughout his teammate's "sortie". For this outstanding feat of arms, Sergeant Ward was awarded the Victoria Cross by Prime Minister Winston Churchill in person and in front of a crowd of cameras. Legend has it that Churchill complimented Ward: "You must feel very humble and awkward in my presence...", "Yes, Sir," "Then you can imagine how humble and awkward I am in yours!"
Widdowson, meanwhile, was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, for his mastery of the situation and for his control and flying skills. Unfortunately, Ward was to be killed two months later during another bombing mission.

 

[Wings]

August 23rd, 1943

Salonika - An Allied squadron arrives in the Thermaikos Gulf to support the operations in progress. The aim is to support the Australians and Yugoslavs in their progression along the coast, blocking (for all practical purposes) the port of Salonika and possibly hindering the construction of fortifications with its cannons. The main ships of the allied fleets being elsewhere, the means are rather light.
The most powerful are represented by the artillery of the heavy monitors HMS Erebus and Terror, each carrying an impressive 15-inch double turret. Their size and their apparently unbalanced appearance make them seem isolated, like their unfortunate namesakes of the Franklin expedition of 1845, in the Arctic... However, they are accompanied by the monitors and LCIs of the 2nd Interallied Coastal Fire Support Squadron (reorganized): IFSS-G: HMS M106, M107, RHS M104; IFSS-F: HMS M123, RHS M122; RN LCS(L) 1, 3, 4, 7, 9, 10.
These ships are covered by the destroyer escorts HMS Middleton and RHS Kriti (Hunt class), the DE MN L'Impérieuse and La Résolue (Hunt-III class), and the corvettes RHS Pindos, MN Ill and Yser (Flower class). The hunt for mines, obviously numerous in this sector, is carried out by the 1st Escort and Sweeping Division (MS HMS Boston, Hebe, Ilfracombe, Parrsboro, Speedy, Tenby, and the MN Sans Pareil, Sans Peur, Sans Reproche, all USN Raven class, type "220 feet").

 

[Wings]

August 24th, 1943

Bac-Can (Tonkin) - As is often the case, great movements begin with insignificant facts. The garrison of Bac-Can, composed of elements of the 33rd Japanese Division, is in the center of the small town. Around its barracks there are always many Vietnamese that come to beg for some food. Some girls prostitute themselves literally for a bowl of rice.
Veterans of the horrors of the war in China and of the Singapore campaign, the soldiers have become dehumanized brutes. Already in Japan, their training was based on beatings and insults to make them blindly obey their superiors. Their campaigns got them accustomed to placing no value on the lives of non-Japanese during combat. But there are worse than the massacres during the fights: the "reward" sessions orchestrated with care with Chinese, Malay or Vietnamese women as "raw material". Always with respect to the hierarchy: for these collective rapes, the officers come first. The veterans follow. The recruits are obliged to watch, to toughen them up, before having the right (and duty) to be "rewarded" themselves.
This morning, when such soldiers come back from a particularly painful night patrol, they are annoyed to see, as usual, a crowd of beggars and prostitutes in front of the door of their billet. They then start beating the passers-by with their rifle butts to relieve their nerves. Everything could stop there, but some Vietnamese try to defend themselves. The patrol shoots two or three of them for the example, but these first shots trigger a real hysteria among the Japanese of the garrison.
Believing themselves to be under attack, they go out shooting at all the Vietnamese they saw. Then groups of inhabitants are lined up against the walls and mowed down with machine guns. Other Vietnamese are doused with gasoline by soldiers and burned alive. The fires spread to houses that are set ablaze and the unfortunate ones who try to flee from the fires are massacred.
The collaborating press initially kept silent about these events. But rumors will grow and will force the Japanese authorities, from miserable lies to pitiful fables, to elaborate their own version of the story. According to this version, the Bac-Can garrison shot no less than "eleven hundred armed rebels" who tried to invade the city. No civilians were killed, and of course not a hair was harmed from a woman or child.
However, Bac-Can, abandoned by its population, is nothing more than a cemetery where thousands of corpses are rotting in the open air, if they have not been devoured by wild dogs. Even outside the city, bodies pile up along the banks of the lake and in the waterways, whose water will be polluted for months. The number of victims is still unknown.

 

[Wings]

August 24th, 1943

Tong Pheung (Laos), 00:30 - A series of small explosions brutally awakens the garrison. The surprise dissipated, the soldiers discover that the night sky is traversed by almost silent shadows. They are Lysanders from the "Louvre", who arrived by gliding, and who demonstrate their undeniable talent for night-time noise...
Until 04:00, the bombardments follow one another at irregular intervals, completing to ruin the night of the Thai soldiers.

 

[Wings]

August 24th, 1943

Vitebsk region ("Suvorov-North") - General Eremenko understands perfectly the message that Zhukov gave him last night: consolidate before going on the offensive. Obviously, with what is happening further south, on the side of the Konev Front, the Stavka prefers to deal with one disaster at a time - even if, of course, this does not mean that the northern branch should go on the defensive.
In any case, today the weather is bad and the air force has difficulty to intervene. Circumstances not really hoped for, but nevertheless ideal for strengthening the positions of the 63rd Army. Faced with the 3. Panzer, which continues to launch blows on its lines, Kuznetsov's formation was finally able to recover between Vorony, Erëmino, and Čarnyšy, taking advantage of the hilly terrain and cover. This redeployment under fire is not carried out without losses... but the panzers as well as the 293. ID - still in support - finally appear stopped. The commander of the 63rd Army can only congratulate himself for his caution of the day before - it allowed him to escape from the rout.
However, Kuznetsov would probably not be able to hold and reorganize without the sacrifice of the assault waves of the 20th Army. Summoned by the HQ of the 1st Belorussian Front to finally obtain results allowing him to approach his objective while supporting the 63rd Army, Kurushkin sends his troops back to the attack with unprecedented vigor. Vitebsk's northern flank is under more pressure than ever. And finally, in the late afternoon, the LIII. AK breaks down, but not without having once again taken a heavy toll on its opponent. The 260. ID retreats in disorder behind Lužasna, dragging the 129. ID in the maneuver and more globally - in the long run - the entire front of the 2. Armee in the Nevel area. Walter Hahm's soldiers have nothing to be ashamed of - for five days they had been holding the Soviets at bay, the latter determined to to advance no matter what the cost.
Anyway, the northern bypass road of Vitebsk is finally free, and the city now threatened with encirclement. General Hans von Salmuth is forced to recall the 3. Panzer to defend the city against this new threat, thus making - for the moment - his mourning to seal the fate of the 63rd Army.

 

[Wings]

August 24th, 1943

Orsha region ("Suvorov-North") - In Orsha, however, things are not getting better for the 1st Guards Army. Still stunned by the assault of the day before - fortunately countered - and now on the defensive against the motorized troops of the Heer, it is forced to retreat on foot to its starting positions, under the pressure of a mass of units not all in excellent condition, but nevertheless all still efficient.
Coming from the north and south, the V. AK and VI. AK continue their pincer maneuver against the Soviet infantrymen, taking advantage of the fact that the VVS planes (hampered by clouds and flak), cannot support Chistiakov sufficiently. As for the 18th Armored Corps, it must face the 18. PanzerGrenadier and 12. Panzer alone, in a battle of attrition that it can only lose, given the circumstances. Little by little, Burdeyny's armor begins to falter and with them the frontovikis of the 1st Guard... In the evening, the latter return to Arechaŭsk, having wiped out much of the gains of the past few days.
Faced with this dismal picture, the 3rd Guards Army does what it can to ease the pressure on its partner. Launching its first troops across the Dnieper towards Prydniaproŭje, Zakharkin nevertheless has to face a first counter-attack coming from the south and led by the XXXIX. PzK of Kurt von Tippelskirch, the 336. ID (Walther Lucht) in the lead. This last formation could benefit from the support of the rest of its corps: the 227. ID (Friedrich von Scotti) and 337. ID (Otto Schünemann). Indeed, the XX. AK takes position in the interval between Orsha (held by the VI. AK) and the VII. AK (facing the Central branch of "Suvorov"), allowing these two divisions to confront the enemy. The attempt is however repulsed, because the Soviet command had anticipated it, but also and above all because of the terrain and the fatigue of the fighters.
Nevertheless, in spite of all the good will of Zakharkin, it will thus be necessary to wait a little time to exploit the weakness of the VI. AK and enter Orsha... At least its 26. ID is forced to come back to defend the city center!

 

[Wings]

August 24th, 1943

Mogilev region ("Suvorov-Center") - Under an overcast sky, but which never sees red star aircraft, the 15th Army continues its endless advance towards Mogilev. The formation is now stretched on a front of 40 kilometers wide, and seems very vulnerable to a pincer maneuver coming from the north and south. In an attempt to protect itself, General Fedyuninsky orders his troops to seize some remarkable support points on its flanks, including the localities of Drybin (which was done during the day) and Kopani (which will take a little more time).
In doing so, he falls further behind, while his 15th Army is still 20 kilometers from his first objective and that the 209. StuG Abt is picking up a few machines... Frontovikis do not know it, of course, but Hauptmann Launhardt's machines are not the only German tanks in the area. The 19. Panzer (Gustav Schmidt) remains garrisoned in Bykhaw - why engage in such terrain? - and quietly wait to see how the situation evolve...
In this sector, the only favorable news of the day, for the Russians, is the ongoing evacuation of Slawharad by the XLIII. AK, Karl von Oven having logically obtained to extract his men from a salient that is of absolutely no interest. The 29th Army could therefore soon seize this locality, in what is announced as a splendid success!

 

[Wings]

August 24th, 1943

Chachersk bridgehead ("Suvorov-South") - The deterioration of the weather is not really arrangingthe 2nd Guards Army's business. The situation of the 2nd Guards Army is getting worse and worse, while the 20. Panzer continues to push eastward, still supported by the 503. schw Pzr Abt and secured from its flanks by the 340. ID and 17. ID. The Soviets have already lost the Orsha-Gomel road, as well as the villages of Dubavica and Ency. They are now desperately clinging to the woods located about ten kilometers ahead of their boat bridges, despite several raids by Junkers 88, as LuftFlotte 2, on Rommel's orders, concentrates everything it has on this sector, despite the poor weather, which apparently bothers it less than its opponents.
Faced with the panzers, what remains of the 7th Armored Corps launches its last fires. Stuck in a perimeter, harassed by the Stukas, without any real possibility of maneuver, Alexey Rodin's tanks succumb one after the other. At the end of the day, his armored corps is reduced to about one third of its operational strength. He made his opponents suffer, however! The 20. Panzer has only 57 vehicles left, and the 503. Abt is reduced to 6 Tigers - but the fate of the weapons remains no less unfavorable.
In the evening, the bridgehead is more or less back to its level of August 21st, that is a rectangle of 12 kilometers wide and 10 deep. For the moment, Koniev continues to give the order to send any available reinforcements... but it would take much more to save the bridgehead.

 

[Wings]

August 23rd, 1943

Gomel ("Suvorov-South") - In the ruins of the city, the 54th Army and the 3rd Shock Army are decidedly unable to influence the action in Chachersk.
The first army makes significant progress in the Sovetsky district and even manages to cross the railway line by a determined action, to seize the whole peninsula south of the switch - willingly abandoned by a very tired 34.ID. It now holds the thermal power plant, the glass factory and the Palace of Culture where Roginski has set up an advanced HQ, that is to say about 40% of the district.
However, the industrial zone and the road to the north are still off-limits to him for the time being.
This modest improvement should not be seen as a sign of a major change in the situation: the Germans have simply shortened their lines to compensate for their increasingly critical manpower deficit, by selling off sectors that they consider worthless or indefensible in the long run. And for this, the 54th Army had to pay dearly, in long and fruitless fighting: the schools in the area are now full of wounded, of which it is doubtful that many will be saved - the fault of the Soviet field medical system, which is as distressing as ever.
As for the 3rd Shock, it is still clinging to its part of the city center - 15 to 20 percent of its area - and fights piece after piece to push back the infantrymen of the 31. ID and 45. ID. In some buildings, the nationality of the occupant varies with the floors! It is quite possible to have on the first floor a Soviet advanced post, on the mezzanine floor frontovikis breaking bread and on the second floor entrenched Landsers, the first floor being used as a battlefield! This is of course only valid for the buildings which have not yet collapsed under the fire of artillery or tanks supplied by Popov. Out of twenty-five in all that left from the other side, these are now only eight in the city, surviving we don't know how.
...
"The explosion startles the blade of my razor and I almost slit my own throat like a pig in a slaughterhouse. Shaving is a superfluous coquetry, according to Andrei - I can't disagree with him, considering the state we are in. The conditions we are in are... sketchy? Painful? Deplorable? We haven't had a shower in four days, and we're confined to our machine for sixteen hours a day.
But I still want to keep my chin clean, as my mother taught me - my self-esteem is at stake.
Our driver has no such qualms - he already has to throw himself forward in the grease every time he wants to leave his post... It's true: standing on my machine, forehead high among the ruins, scraping my chin despite the distant concert of explosions, I am probably funny.
Meanwhile, Fyodor and Alexandr are loading the boxes of shells that arrived this morning by boat... A copious load, that we will however undoubtedly consume in the day. Our shooter may be the best, but he has to shoot from far away. I don't want to burn under a grenade or an explosive cocktail! By the way, the Germans seem to have made a speciality of the latter weapons - they must have come across a large stock of vodka. This is problematic, because the bottle breaks on impact and the burning liquid drips through the grates and hatches to roast us, like the pigs I mentioned earlier. We'd have to do something to counteract this - I think Alexandr has an idea." (Tankist! - To the heart of the Reich with the Red Army, Evgeny Bessonov, Skyhorse 2017)

 

[Wings]

August 24th, 1943

Dobruch - Ivan Konev moves his front headquarters to a distance of only 25 kilometers from Gomel, in order to better monitor the situation. But at the moment he is not talking with Roginski or Purkayev, no. On the other end of the line, Zhukov called him - and this time, he brings good news, but it will only lead to a new pressure.
- I have just received confirmation that the 21st and 22nd Armored Corps will arrive tonight on the Gomel-Orel line. I have no doubt that you will be able to provide them with the means for a rapid unloading as close as possible to the battlefield of Chachersk.
- So you're asking that the action continue in this area?" questions Konev, who is somewhat reluctant, but who had lost the initiative in this matter.
- It has to be done. Unless you propose a new attempt south of Gomel... or send them directly to the city. We can't afford to be thrown back into the river, Comrade. The People and the Party would not forgive us.
The Party - and obviously its main leader. The commander of the 2nd Belarusian Front has a new confirmation of what he has sensed for a long time: Zhukov is as annoyed as he is in this matter. So he takes advantage of the opportunity to outbid him with finesse.
- Comrade General, it will take at least 24 hours before these machines will be at work against the against the Fascists. Two days, perhaps, with the crossing! Can't we get other reinforcements more quickly?
- Don't assume too much, Comrade! The other fronts are all heavily engaged or at rest after the fight in front of Kiev. I have asked General Ponomarenko to intensify the action of his Partisans - you should hear about it soon. But the battle can only be won by you! And you will bear the result, whatever it may be!
The message is perfectly clear. Konev, who has never liked Zhukov, is quick to take his leave. Would he be satisfied or worried if he knew that the one he considers a rivalis looking for a way to present the possible loss of a bridgehead on the Sozh to the Vojd as "bad news, but not catastrophic"?

 

[Wings]

August 24th, 1943

HQ of the Heeresgruppe Mitte (Minsk) - Rommel is already a little less satisfied than the day before. His situation is still extremely favorable, and he has no doubt that he would be able to reduce the Soviet thrusts one after the other. The southern tip, first, which is almost rejected. The northern point, then, which is already no longer a danger. And finally the central point, which is no one's concern.
No, the problem with the Fox is that it has trumpeted its success to Berlin a little too loudly and in anticipation. The Propaganda-Staffel hastened to write its articles and the OKH has already announced in its communiqué of this morning "the next annihilation of the pockets north of Orsha and Gomel, new proof of the proven inability of the Red Army to defeat the Reich forces in offensive combat."
The affair should not last too long - his credibility with Hitler depends on it. But this is not the time to commit new forces and waste men and machines in a battle that had already been won. For the next day, Rommel chooses to simply focus on the two battles he plans to win, leaving the more troublesome situations postponed until later. In this way, as usual, he demonstrates a somewhat risky morgue, as usual. By insisting too much, would he not be imitating (a little) his much despised opponent?

 

[Wings]

August 24th, 1943

Maly Trostinets camp (Minsk region) - SS-Scharführer Heinrich Eiche can be proud of his "work": the camp under his care is now ready to receive all those whom the General Commissariat will decide to send him. And he even receives from Poland a real marvel of three Gaswagens, whose engines need only be left running to eliminate the undesirables. This is a welcome development, following the excitement that had gripped the Reichsführer-SS during the last mass execution carried out in his presence in Minsk. He had hoped for a more efficient, cleaner and more... "humane" (let's say), way to... settle the situation (let's say). And Nebe - who had once nearly poisoned himself in his garage while repairing his car - had proposed this brilliant idea, which everyone had adopted enthusiastically. No more ammunition to order, wounded to finish off, drunken gunmen to deal with! Yes, it's really a progress!
Now Eiche just has to wait for instructions - depending on how the situation develops on the front, he will probably have to work more or less quickly. But for once the Russians contribute, in a way, to his enterprise!

 

[Wings]

August 24th, 1943

South of France - The railway line between Narbonne and Perpignan is the target of the 17th and 389th BG. First, the B-24s of the 389th, escorted by the 81st FG, attack south of Narbonne, in the narrow area between the ponds of Gruissan and Sigean. Further south and in order to limit collateral damage, the neutralization of the railroad bridges of Perpignan is entrusted to the B-26s of the 17th BG, escorted by the 31st FG. If the bridges are well destroyed, nearly 20 % of the bombs fall in the city.
Another town in Languedoc is bombed: Sète, which is the object of a double raid by the 86th FG against the Flak positions and the coastal defences, while the 25th BG attacks the port once again. The raids are covered by the whole 27th FG, which is not a bad thing since the Luftwaffe based in Montpellier-Fréjorgues reacts violently. From Mont Saint-Clair, the people of Sète can observe the spectacle of nearly one hundred Mustangs facing fifty to sixty Bf 109 and Fw 190. Six Allied aircraft are lost (three pilots were recovered by the Resistance) against nine for the Germans.
On the Italian Riviera, the Marauder of the 322nd BG, escorted by the 3rd EC, successfully bomb the bridges of the town of Imperia, about 40 km from the border.

 

[Wings]

August 24th, 1943

Italian Front - Once again, nothing to report. Only a few thunderstorms bring the men out of their torpor. Because of these storms, air activity itself is minimal; in both camps, this break is welcome to rest men and equipment.