Fantasque Time Line (France Fights On) - English Translation

[Wings]

September 6th, 1943

Chongqing - In March, General Chennault's American Volunteer Group officially became the 14th Air Force, making the former Flying Tiger leader the highest Allied air force authority in the Chinese theater, while the China Air Task Force was disbanded and its aircraft transferred to the ROCAF. Recently, several months of limited activity have allowed the 14th AF and the ROCAF to make a variety of welcome changes.
The 14th Air Force was re-equipped with B-24s in exchange for its B-17s, which were transferred to the ROCAF. The Lockheed Hudsons with Chinese markings were almost all recycled as transport or training aircraft to be replaced by B-25s, increasingly converted to a "full nose" version because of the Indochinese experience. The P-38 (of the first models) are used as fighter-bombers, long-range fighters and reconnaissance aircraft. Finally, the fighter pilots of the 14th AF became familiar with their first P-51A and B aircraft (second-hand, but still welcome as replacements for the P-40s).
Despite the insistent requests of General Zhu Jiaren, who commands the Chinese Air Force, it has not yet been possible to allocate newer models than the P-40N (equipped with an Allison engine more powerful than the previous types and with improved stability thanks to a longer fuselage). The Warhawks handed over by the Americans are aging, but still allowed the last Seversky P-43 Lancers to be scrapped. Despite their performance at high altitude, these aircraft had proved too vulnerable to Japanese fighters as soon as they were introduced a year earlier. In the meantime, the training of new pilots continues apace at the Delhi training centers. The ROCAF still remains a second-rate force, but it is gradually catching up.
From today on, the pace of activity is moving up a notch. Indeed, the Chinese and American air forces are beginning to be involved in the preliminaries to operation "Zhulin/Bamboo Grove".

 

[Wings]

September 6th, 1943

Wuhan - In the early morning, 26 Liberators from the 14th Air Force and 21 B-17s from the ROCAF bomb the conurbation. The flak is not very effective; 16 Ki-43 sent in haste intercept the raid on their way back, but are heavily engaged by the 12 P-51B escorting the bombers. Only the fact that the American pilots, still used to refuse to fight in spite of their new mounts, continue to use the appropriate tactics for P-40s, limit the Japanese losses to three aircraft, against one B- 24 shot down and one B-17 damaged, which nevertheless manages to return safely on three engines. On the ground, the results are mixed: the port facilities and warehouses suffer moderate damage, and the Hanyang arsenal receives only a few of the bombs that were intended for it. Several dozen civilian casualties are reported... but who really cares, in the staffs?

 

[Wings]

September 6th, 1943

Vitebsk region ("Suvorov-North") - In this sector, the Soviet forces have already lost contact with the enemy, despite all the efforts of Papivin's 2nd Air Army, which energetically tries to keep the pressure on the retreating columns. The Red Army is paying here, in addition to its huge losses and a certain disorganization due to the uninterrupted offensive it is leading, the massive destruction of communication lines - already poorly developed before the war, it is true.
In fact, the Heer has escaped - it is already more than 30 kilometers away from its initial positions, according to the VVS reconnaissance. That is to say, halfway or even further from its destination - but obviously, the Soviets do not know the intentions of their adversaries.
The Soviets continue to advance at a forced march - but this movement is not a fligh. And the Luftwaffe will not hesitate to hit several times some of the pursuers who were too far ahead...
In the evening, the 20th Army finally arrived in sight of Šumilina, disregarding all precautions and through many sectors ravaged by the past fighting. Pavel Kurushkin would like to continue immediately towards Polotsk... but his scouts report that the German forces have already arrived there, and that they have already largely trapped all the
roads leading to it. It will take time, unfortunately...
On their way, the frontovokis have the unpleasant surprise to find once again the proof of the crimes of the invader: in Stalag 313, located west of Vitebsk, the bodies of 5,000 civilians and 55,000 prisoners of war captured in 1942, all of them dead, of hunger, exhaustion and mistreatment. The Soviet press will not fail to flood the world with details of these sordid discoveries - thus stifling a little more the rumors about the fate that the USSR had inflicted on its own Polish prisoners...
The 63rd Army, for its part, educated by the losses of the counter-offensive of the day before, remains cautious. Its leader, General Kuznetsov, continues to fear a counter-charge on his column heads - how can we blame him, it would be so logical! So, today, it advances only about ten kilometers, passing Skrydlieva and approaching Chodcy. For this formation, the objective is obvious: the city of Sianno (itself already being evacuated by the Reich).

 

[Wings]

September 6th, 1943

Orsha region ("Suvorov-North") - The situation here is not very different from that on the Vitebsk side - except that the roads are a little better, and the distances to be covered are less long.
Ivan Shistiakov continues to ram his troops in pursuit of the enemy. Having seized the road junction of Star', which opens on the road to Talatchyn, they advance now towards Romashkovo, without being able to catch up with their opponent. Their general is certainly very competent, but also willingly impetuous - after having been frustrated by the slightest maneuver he now dreams of carrying out a flanking attack and encircling the enemy by a movement from the north before destroying them.
Unfortunately, the Fascists are already far away! Alexei Burdeyny, who has hardly any more machines to sacrifice in reconnaissance, even reports that they have already reached Talatchyn and must be in the process of entrenching themselves. However, the leader of the 18th Armored Corps does not really want to annihilate its so thinned formation in a charge worthy of Alexander Nevsky, with the chimerical hope to break through the new defenses on the Drut. At the reading of the cards, everyone quickly understood that everything has to be done again!
Meanwhile, the 3rd Guards Army continues to collect the dead in Orsha, making its troops cross the Dnieper before advancing westward.

 

[Wings]

September 6th, 1943

Mogilev region ("Suvorov-Center") - The 15th Army officially seizes Mogilev. This very old city of 100,000 inhabitants, a commercial crossroads and an important industrial center, almost became in 1938 the capital of the Byelorussian SSR. Fortunately, it did not experience too much violent fighting during this war, either in 1942 or even this year. In fact, it had seen much worse during the battle of Saltanovka, in 1812! Its center as well as its factories, although having naturally undergone a lot of depredations, were not destroyed as elsewhere in the USSR - so the city does not seem to have been too much devastated by the conflict.
At least from the outside... In fact, the Reich has deeply planted its claws in Mogilev, which it turned into a crossroads of death. Many concentration camps were nearby (such as Grebenevsky and Lupolovsky, where 40,000 prisoners died of starvation in the winter of 1942). It was in Mogilev that Heinrich Himmler was moved by the circumstances in which 279 Jews were shot in front of him*... It was also in Mogilev that the first tests were carried out last winter on mentally deficient people, the Gaswagens, which will play such an important role in the future, were tested for the first time last winter on mentally retarded people... In fact, the Nazis did not set up an extermination camp here. Too close to the front! So they have to make do with Maly Trostinets.
Anyway, the city is now under the control of the Red Army. The Partisans, very present in the region and that Germany did not have the time or the means to crush them completely, allowed for a rapid liberation. Very quickly, however, it became clear that the railway depot and the majority of the warehouses were dynamited, as well as the libraries, museums and the historical archives of the region...
One more barbaric act, which does not move, however, General Fedyuninsky. The latter has already turned his armies to the west, towards Bialyničy - but now he will have to be content with reaching Kniažycy. Of course, General Volkov has already launched his 22nd Armored Corps on the fascist rearguard, but the T-34s will arrive too late: they will only be insight of Bialyničy during the night, when the Germans will already be crossing the Drut River.
Further south, the 29th Army gives up its attempt to move up to Mogilev and starts to move towards the Drut, hoping to catch up with the XLIII. AK - which is now on less favorable ground. Unfortunately for Managrov, the marshes have given way to the forest, and his formation must also cross the Dnieper before they can hope to penetrate further into hostile territory. A modest jump of ten kilometers to the crossroads of Hluchskaja Sialiba crowns this day.

* Of the 19,715 Jews living in Mogilev before the conflict, less than 4,000 remained when the city was liberated - most of them hidden in the sewers or enlisted in the Partisan brigades.

 

[Wings]

September 6th, 1943

Gomel and Chachersk regions ("Suvorov-South") - In this sector, a kind of somewhat obscene race to the Dnieper continues, despite the efforts of both air forces. Buda-Kashaliova having fallen, the Axis now funnels back to Staraya Rudnya then Jlobin, the XLI. PzK still forming the rear against a 2nd Guards Army that is very aggressive, but also confused, dispersed, and subject to incessant attacks of Stukas. Captain Kirill Yevstigneyev, who has just arrived on the front after a very long period as an instructor in the Far East, kills three of them one after the other at the controls of one of the new Lavotchin La 5. But if the sky is definitely not fascist, it is not red for all that! And the Bf 109s destroy 23 Falcons in return, against 9 fighters and 6 bombers with black crosses.
For lack of rout of the enemy, the troops of the general Govorov have to be satisfied with following the railroad line, in the middle of a landscape of destruction. On his left, Tanashishin's 21st Armored Corps is also advancing on his left - but after such a fierce fight, both its crews and its machines are worn out. They cannot claim to block the Germans alone.
Further back, towards Gomel, the 3rd Shock just starts to rally its units to try to regain a vague operational efficiency before going back to the front. It crosses of course the marshes to the north of the city - a necessary exercise, although easy in the absence of opposition! - and seizes Bolshevik... but no more. In truth, it is doubtful that it will be able to progress significantly in the next 48 hours!
As for the 54th Army, anemic and disorganized by the fighting in the city, it takes the direction of Retchytsa, to secure the left flank of "Suvorov", without being able however to advance very fast in the forests which are crossed only by some broken roads (but fortunately not defended). In the evening, the frontovikis are in sight of the Dnieper...to notice that the II. Luftwaffen-Feld-Korps of Alfred Schlemm preceded them. These improvised infantrymen would probably not be able to resist to an effort as determined as in Gomel - but Roginsky no longer has the means!
For Ivan Konev, the only good news is the return to the line of the 7th Armored Corps of Alexei Rodin, finally back to an acceptable, if not nominal, strength. For this formation, the destination is obvious: Jlobin or nothing!

 

[Wings]

September 6th, 1943

Yentsy battlefield (north of Chachersk) - If there is a field in which the Red Army did not waste time, it is that of feedback. The combats of "Suvorov" in Belarus, although they have involved less manpower than those of Ukraine, are of great interest for the Soviet technical services. Indeed, they lasted longer, took place on a more restricted space, and led to a faster retreat than "Zitadelle". And while walking the plain around the former bridgehead of the 2nd Guards Army - now strewn with wrecks - one can surely have interesting finds.
And so we discover precisely, at the bottom of a crater, abandoned by all, what we hoped for in Moscow: a Tiger of the 503. schw Panzer Abt, still wearing its wild face and obviously forgotten in the course of repair. It is the first almost operational Nazi heavy tank recovered by the Red Army. Of course, the Red Army has already had the opportunity to examine wrecks of this type - notably those left by the II. SS-PanzerKorps in front of Kiev - and it knows the weak points of the big beast... But this is the first time that she can hope to start one !
The 7th Armored Corps, which was there at the same time as the experts, also seems very interested.
Not so much to study it as to use it on the front line! After intensive tests, as well as a long report sent to the Kubinka armored center, the historian loses track of the machine... It seems today that it was used for a time as a trophy for the 18th Tank Rgt, next to an "Artsturm" (we don't know very well which machine it is, but it could be a Hummel).
Later, the two tanks, now bearing the red star, seem to have been well and truly engaged in combat - for lack of means to evacuate them, and in the hope of exploiting the capture of Gomel. But under what circumstances precisely? And for what purpose? The answer is probably to be found somewhere in the marshes of the Dnieper.
.........
"A day of work and repairs, Pobieda! needs to be taken care of. The suspension is worn out - we'll make do with it, with a few changes of parts - but the gearbox needs to be overhauled and the tracks repaired, if not replaced. And above all, the big problem is that the engine filter must be changed: the factory Pomon, completely clogged, is now inefficient, so much so that Fyodor fears that it will choke the engine eventually. But the stewardship has the solution: a new modified Cyclone filter, which will - hopefully - to allow our armored vehicle to go forward without ever stalling again!
There remains the problem of the turret, which is still suffering from our encounter with the Panzer.
Change of electrical box, change of radio - apparently, the impact would have shaken it, which explains apparently the impact shook it, which explains, in my opinion, our difficulties to understand the action of two days ago. But it is not possible for the moment to revise the gears: for that, we would have to lift the turret with a crane. At that point, I might as well change it, the chief mechanic said to me. We will do with it. And what about the pirozhok? Apparently, the comrades of the factories have designed a new model, which should arrive shortly at our Front. That is, if we are not dead by then! In any case, this work will require several days - so the four of us have a quiet period ahead of us." (Evgeny Bessonov, op. cit.)

 

[Wings]

September 6th, 1943

Moscow - Radio-Moscow continues its enthusiastic announcements about the situation in Belarus, announcing "the liberation of the whole Belarusian land east of the Dnieper, and the triumphant pursuit of the Fronts of Generals Konev and Eremenko against an enemy in full rout." As usual, this presentation of the facts is oriented, to say the least. But strangely, Berlin will not declare anything tonight on the subject - does this mean that the Reich is defeated and has lost interest in the region? Only time will tell.

 

[Wings]

September 6th, 1943

HG Mitte (Minsk), 12:00 - The Balkan Fox can be satisfied with the situation of his troops - well, even more so than the day before. All his armies have withdrawn safely to the new defense line he has defined, without the enemy being able to do anything to prevent it. Despite some small... friction in the region of Gomel, it is doubtful that the Reds will continue to be relentless.
So the situation in Belarus is settled - thanks to him, of course. Of course, it will be necessary to launch some more counter-attacks to please the OKH, to advance a little here, to take back a little ground there. But the Soviet offensive is obviously over. For his part, Rommel does not plan any major action until he had replenished his forces, improved his equipment and received some reinforcements. In this regard, a self-propelled battalion, the 904. StuG Abt, will arrive soon. That idiot von Freyend seemed quite happy to announce this pathetic gift!
No, it would take a lot more than that to move forward to Smolensk. And besides, who knows if it will be up to him to do it? The field marshal is not deaf: like everyone else in the general staff, he knows what is happening at this very moment on the coast of Provence. Rommel has his own ideas on how to defend this area, but of course he was not listened to! And we will soon see the result. No doubt he will soon be called back to France to settle the matter on second thought, he probably wouldn't mind.
But then the phone rings. The operator announces: "Herr Feldmarschall von Manstein, from HG Nordukraine, Herr Feldmarschall." It is as surprising as it is unpleasant - what does this ambitious schemer want from him? To talk about France? Of course, he takes the call.
Erich von Manstein is, as usual, in as austere a mood and tone as dull as the Prussia in which he was born. "Heil Hitler, Herr Feldmarschall. I take the liberty to come personally to the news to know the situation of your Army Group, which, according to my sources, is in the process of retreating to the Dnieper."
As he expected, Model did not hesitate to report. But Rommel is in no mood to play games either, and retorts curtly: "Heil Hitler, Herr Feldmarschall! You are, of course already know about Operation Büffel, which is going according to plan. You don't have to worry about it - unless you manage to do better than me and hold on to your current positions!"
The remark is pernicious, commensurate with the Fox's contempt for this adventurous leader, who only just escaped a complete rout when he had at his disposal two elite armored corps. However, Manstein does not raise his voice: "I am not worried. And even less so that your... "Büffel' forces me to pull back a little in the Korosten area anyway. We will adapt to you, since we have no choice." It is obvious, all future retreats of the left wing of HG Nordukraine will be due to the HG Mitte, and to nothing else... But it gets better: "Herr Feldmarschall, I count on you to keep the guard at the Dnieper, especially at Retchytsa and Jlobin. If, by any chance, these positions were to be abandoned, Mozyr would be threatened and I would no longer be certain of my left flank. I will not describe the possible consequences.
- I can read a map as well as you, my dear friend. Teach me something I don't know.
- I can't pretend to. But since we agree, I won't bother you any longer. Heil Hitler!
Yes, that's right - and hello to you too. Rommel concludes with the customary "Heil Hitler" before hanging up. But beyond the unbearable arrogance of the Prussian, one must admit that he is right. Jlobin is the key to many things in the sector - and the XII. AK seems very insufficient to defend it alone. But what interest to have withdrawn, if it is to immediately reengage the XLI. PzK in circumstances similar to those of Gomel?
A moment later, the field marshal takes the decision to order Gotthard Heinrici to stretch his VII. AK to the north in order to free the XXV. AK of Wilhelm Fahrmbacher, so that the latter can descend to Jlobin - a maneuver to be executed immediately, of course.
This formation is fresh and should do the trick - besides, it is part of the 1. PanzerArmee, like the XII. AK. Hoth will be pleased that his army finally stopped playing filler all along the front.

 

[Wings]

September 6th, 1943

Chernigov sector - The 61st Army (Belov) enters Skytop, a small town on the Dnieper loop, deserted by the enemy. The frontovikis quickly raise the red flag on the small village, which was also the last Reich position on the road between Chernigov and Gomel. However, the road was not yet fully opened.
In addition to the fighting that took place further on, the Fascists dutifully completed before leaving what the bombing of 1942 had well begun... Roads, bridges, villages, granaries - everything was burned and the area is now 90% devastated. In the woods north of Chernigov, the NKVD will soon discover pits of a kind well known to its services, containing the bodies of 25,000 civilians shot as an example, for reprisals... or for relaxation. With his usual cynicism, he gave wide publicity to these "investigations".
The Red Army nevertheless continues to advance, despite the terrible terrain and the destruction. It is now approaching Loïew [Lioubetch].

 

[Wings]

September 6th, 1943

Narodytchi sector - In the afternoon, noting a certain slackening in the German defense, the 8th Guards Army attacks from V'yazivka and accelerates its effort.
It liberates Lyplyanshchyna, Bolotnytsya and approaches Velyki Moshky, on the road to Ovrush. Further to the right, the 64th Army (Kurassov) does not do less and secures a large area in the woods north of the Sluch, as well as anecdotal localities: Davydky, Zalissya, Rovba. The Fascist is obviously in full retreat, it is no longer time to doubt!

 

[Wings]

September 6th, 1943

Korosten sector - Indeed, in the east of Uzh, the German situation continues to deteriorate. The LII. AK, still pushed back from the front by the 44th Army and on its right by the 2nd Guards Armored Corps- well diminished, but nevertheless sent back in line given the circumstances! - is now in great danger of being encircled. Cut off from the XLVII. PanzerKorps, Hans-Karl von Scheele finds himself stuck between the Reds, a river and swamps...
A little further south, Heinrich Eberbach continues to face with his three panzerdivisions - the 60th Army, reinforced by the 20th Armored Corps and the 4th CB of the Malin, in a fight that was obviously lost in advance. Roztyazhyn, Shatryshche, Iskorost'... localities and crews fall one after the other despite the efforts of the Luftwaffe (which claims 37 victories for 13 losses). In spite of his expert maneuvers, Eberbach saw the disaster looming. Shortly before noon, at his advanced headquarters, he has a very tense discussion by telephone with Walter Model, and concludes as follows: "The 4. Panzer is down to 20 tanks and the 5. to 40! I do not have precise information on the 21. but I doubt that it is better! The next time I call you, it might be from a camp in Siberia!
However, Model is not a fanatic like, for example, Walter Warlimont. At noon, he takes it upon himself to sound the retreat before it was too late - Manstein is going to order him to do so for the entire 3. PanzerArmee. The last two German army corps east of the Uzh cross in a hurry - to Voroneve and Korosten - with the Reds on their heels, before blowing up the bridges. In the evening, taking advantage of the general confusion, Khomenko and Kreyzer already start to send elements on the opposite bank. There they find an opponent still as efficient, but who does not seem to be trying to push them back anymore. Obviously, the Heer is packing its bags! However, it does not matter for Vatutin and Malinovsky. If the Fascists flee, all the better. From tomorrow, Pavel Poluboiarov's 20th Armored Corps will cross at the top!

 

[Wings]

September 6th, 1943

Horshchyk sector - Now that the "corrective" action ordered by Manstein has failed, the 6. Armee no longer has the means to reject the Reds. It can only limit the consequences of the breakthrough - and still!
The 4th Shock Army attacks Bondarivka, pushing back on one side the 79. ID (von Schwerin) on one side and the 4. LFD (Schreder) on the other, despite the furious opposition of the 210. StuG Abt "Tigerkopf" (Major Sichelschmidt). The Heer is rejected a few kilometers further north, towards Ivanopil', thus losing control of the road from Novohrad-Volynskyi to Korosten, which had served as the axis of the previous day's assault. The flank of the LV. AK (Jaschke) is now open to a possible Soviet thrust to the west.
Fortunately for the latter, this push did not come. The 4th Shock prefers to continue towards the north-east to better regroup and join Golubev's 50th Army around Horshchyk. The latter also continues to advance. On its own right, it joins the 19th CB in Druzhbivka, on the martyred battlefield of the day before. And, in the center of the breakthrough, it now progresses almost unopposed to the north, recapturing Radohoshcha and even approaching Ostapy. Still the withdrawal of the 11th CB, decimated, saves the Germans from an even worse fate. Informed that Alexeiev had to withdraw, Vatutin has a violent fit of anger - he gives his subordinate 48 hours, not one more, to rest and to get back in line!
Nevertheless, the hole in the flank of the 6th Army is now 25 kilometers wide and 15 deep... The situation is most critical! And it is in vain that the Landsers call for help - the Luftwaffe, exhausted by its effort of the day before, is required further northeast. Just along the Sluch, Maslennikov infiltrates his 21st Rifle Brigade, which leaves Polis'ke and slips under the bombs through the lines of an exhausted 56. ID.
In the evening, the frontovikis are in sight of the southern outskirts of Korosten - this is obviously a very bad news for the forces which are still on the eastern bank...
It is true that the 246 ID (Siry), from the reserve of the 3. PanzerArmee, deployed in defense in the city. But how long could it hold out? It could not count on the support of the mechanized forces in the area: the 9. Panzer is ordered to guard the rear gate of Korosten, towards which the 10. PzGr and what remains of the 501. schw. Pz Abt are withdrawing... It has fought all day against the 19th Armored Corps of Ivan Vasilev. This one could not overrun the city from the north, losing even 61 machines in the process, but it keeps Walter Scheller's division very occupied Walter Scheller. The infantrymen are therefore alone - as for the other PanzerArmee forces in the area, they have their own worries!

 

[Wings]

September 6th, 1943

Barashi sector - The 37th Army is still advancing heavily to the north. Uncertain - but like the enemy! - of its left flank, and even as its forces are stretched along a 35-kilometer front, Vasily Chuikov could only make a modest 4-kilometer jump by seizing Simakivka, a little after Yablounets.
Of course, it is not much - almost nothing, even. But it still brings him a little closer to the 50th Army, whose breakthrough is still deepening in the Nazi flank.

 

[Wings]

September 6th, 1943

Sector of Novohrad-Volynskyi - Even if Manstein will never recognize it, it is possible that Büffel gave ideas to some of his Heeresgruppe... Indeed, after another day of completely sterile fighting on the banks, Erich Brandenberger - no doubt probably tired of seeing his infantry being incinerated by the Soviet howitzers - orders his XXIX. AK to withdraw a few kilometers, in order to give itself the necessary field to reform a coherent defense line along a Susly-Rohachiv axis.
After all, his corps - which has been fighting for more than a week without much air support and practically without reinforcements, it should be remembered - has in any case no longer the means to reduce the multiple communist bridgeheads that it faces along the Sluch and the Tnya. The SS of the Galizien - well, the survivors - are brave, it is undeniable...
They are also and above all too few in number for this task. As for the 147. ID, the most southern one, its state begins to worry; in Kykova, it even seems on the point of cracking! The 36. PzGr and 62. ID cannot do everything! Or else, it would be necessary to clear the confluence and Novohrad-Volynskyi, i.e. the most important... And since De Angelis has made it clear to his subordinate that it was not time to claim anything, we might as well give up (a little) ground, which will be soon lost anyway, to save a lot of blood - so if possible before Paul Mahlmann's unit breaks down completely. Kempf's Panzers have already crossed Novohrad-Volynskyi and that's all that interests the great leader (Manstein); then who will go to cry for a few hectares of banks? Moreover, by opening the way to the north, Brandenberger hopes to direct the Reds towards the sector where his units are the strongest, which is also the best ground for counter-attack. And then, it will always relieve his right, which is in great need of a respite to rally before going back into combat.
The XXIX. AK thus began - as Rommel's forces had done - an operational redeployment that would allow them to defend the essential and only the essential. In the town of Novohrad-Volynskyi, with its crossroads and railway station. Chernyakovsky, who had made very little progress since the day before, is surprised to see his opponent retreating - would the situation of the Fascists be that bad?
Perhaps the whole enemy center is collapsing! And the Red Army to hurry up and move the maximum number of elements to the opposite bank. During the night, the first reconnaissance elements of the 5th CB of the Zhitomir will even push to Susly, in the southern suburbs of their objective. It is only 15 kilometers from the Tal'ky peninsula to Susly - and will be pushed back just as quickly. The Soviets should not be under any illusions: absolutely nothing is played in this sector!

 

[Wings]

September 6th, 1943

HG Nord Ukraine HQ (Kovel), 12:30 - As soon as the communication with Erwin Rommel ends, Erich von Manstein orders the immediate dispatch of the plans drawn the previous day, ordering the immediate evacuation of the salient of the 3. PanzerArmee from Korosten to Chernobyl. Model's forces are to withdraw in a drawer - the infantry first, the armor covering it - burning everything in the process, along a line Mozyr-Olevsk- Yemiltchyne. To the south-west of the 3. PanzerArmee, the 6. Armee had to turn its left wing, centered on Novohrad-Volynskyï, to maintain the line.
In his report addressed to the OKH, Manstein specifies that: "This maneuver, of course regrettable and whose consequences I deplore, is strictly linked to the inability of HG Mitte to guarantee HG Nord-Ukraine a secure northern flank free of infiltration. And now that Gomel has fallen, that Jlobin will soon be contested and that Retchytsa is only defended by second rank units [the II. Luftwaffen-Feld-Korps of Alfred Schlemm], it is not possible for the 3. PanzerArmee to pretend to fight alone on all fronts. It must therefore withdraw, in order to save its resources and redeploy them on a more favorable terrain for attack.
Everyone will notice the questioning of Marshal Rommel - acerbic but not without meaning for those who know the performance of the Luftwaffen-Feld-Divisions (and ignore the state of the Belarusian Fronts)... - as well as the clever mix of realism and chimeras realized by Manstein to justify himself to his Führer. In fact, one may wonder about the relevance of this now that Zitadelle is finished - to maintain a PanzerArmee at the edge of the Pripyat marshes, a terrain so bad that even the Red Army will not dare to cross it (no matter what Manstein says!). Obviously, the commander of the HG Nord-Ukraine prepares the next step... and as he gets into the car to go to the airfield, then to Rastenburg, to justify his maneuver, he already thinks without doubt about the way to transform the future intervention of the III. PanzerKorps of Werner Kempf - which was a saving grace, but which will only aim at covering a retreat - into a battle of encirclement which will allow the destruction of a good part of the communist armored means in the Korosten - Olevsk - Novohrad-Volynskyï triangle.
It is at this moment that a signal officer appears, panting, while the type 320 engine rumbles with impatience. An urgent message! Manstein unfolds the leaflet with an annoyed gesture - his leave, already? Let's wait until tomorrow at least! He looks at the message, considers the sheet of paper with an incredulous look, before reading it again. Then, he seems taken of a small nervous laugh.
In front of his aide-de-camp's bewildered look, he comments: "Apparently, Bulgaria has just decided to desert in open country... The same day that the French decided to go home! And to think that there are those who pretend to bother me for a little piece of marsh! Well, to each his own - let von Weichs and List work it out!" Then he slams the door of his car, which immediately drives off...

 

[Wings]

September 6th, 1943

A quiet forest in Bukovina (occupied Ukraine, north of Chernivtsi) - As carefully planned and for a long time, Tarass Dmytrovych Borovets (Ukrainian People's Army) and Andriy Melnyk (Ukrainian Nationalist Organization-M), the two main Ukrainian pro-independence leaders, meet to discuss the future of their war-torn country, in an abandoned farmhouse surrounded by a crowd of militiamen from both sides and in an atmosphere that is nothing less than peaceful.
One would think that the discussion would be short - after all, the mood is not necessarily to diplomacy, in the region... however, it will last not less than seven hours, as much as when Borovets was discussing with Medvedev's supporters! Because - and this is the tragedy - the two men agree on many things! On the end, on the means... but alas, not on the method. For Melnyk, Ukraine will exist alongside the Reich, in agreement with it. For Borovets, it will exist next to the Reich - and against it, if necessary.
At first, the latter is at liberty to remind Melnyk of some facts: first, that the UNO is terribly divided - although the Germans have unwittingly simplified the situation... - secondly, that many of its members have recently joined its own troops at the invitation of Oleg Olzhych*. He then expresses what he believes to be a simple truth: for Germany to even pretend to respect its partners, the latter must be able to impose their ideas by force. The SS only negotiated with ARPU because it was too strong to be destroyed! Moreover, the Partisans are no different.: they were even ready to organize common actions with it... Proof, that power and, before that, credibility, are at the end of the gun. In conclusion, Ukraine could not align itself completely with the Reich without risking to disappear - if it wants to be a free and independent state, it must behave as such from now on! Andriy Melnyk is not so optimistic. First of all, he emphasizes that it is the main enemy - Bandera was only arrested, but the NKVD murdered a lot of Ukrainians in the 1930s, both at home and abroad! It was not Hitler who killed Konovalets, the first president of the UNO**! And besides, their brothers present on the lands of the defunct Poland - Volodymyr Mykhailovych Kubiyovych and the Ukrainian Central Committee - have they not succeeded in forming a complete division that fell under German command and is multiplying its exploits, while we are standing around quibbling? Finally, is it necessary to recall that in the end, the Borovets talks with the Reds (as well as with the Germans, by the way) did not lead to anything? Melnyk, unlike Bandera, does not particularly like the Nazis - he is simply a realist. Ukraine must choose a side or disappear... Now, if the Reds invade again the west of the country, it must be defeated or perish! The choice seems obvious.
If the UN-M and the ARPU are willing to join forces, he continues, the debris of the UN-B (led by Dmytro Klyachkivsky) as well as the myriad of small parties that remain would not be long in joining them! Then, all together, they could return to Pütz and his leaders - in a position of strength but not of hostility - to finally build something and proclaim a Ukrainian National Council. Even if it will probably not sit immediately in Kiev, all things considered...
Taras Dmytrovich Borovets understands all this. He even admits it, so sincere does it seem to him. But he does not believe it. First, because the UN (which rejected the authority of the Republic in exile that the ARPU serves!) has not always been so diplomatic with him - indeed, if Bandera were not in prison, it would probably have done something to him, perhaps even with the help of the Poles of the Secret Army. Secondly, because he had already tried to negotiate politely with the Germans - he even offered them 40,000 men. He never came up with anything. Even less than with the Soviets, in truth! What's the point of haggling their weapons like common mercenaries if they were to gain nothing in return? Melnyk can dream as much as he wants - the truth is that he will get nothing, except maybe a one-way ticket to Poland. And by the way, who exactly does the UNO-M serve? The Poles or the Ukrainians?
The answer of the UNO-M is obvious: the Ukrainians, of course! Just like before 1939, when it was fighting against the Poles in Galicia***! The relations with the Secret Army are only working, even circumstantial. And if tomorrow the Germans take care of these troublemakers in its place it will be even better - there will be more space in the west****.
This, however, Borovets cannot hear. The head of the ARPU - although he has not always controlled his troops as much as he should have, especially in the presence of Jews, and that he had no illusions about Warsaw's past attitude - was always personally opposed to the persecution of minorities, believing that neither morality nor even common sense would allow it. If Andriy Melnyk wants to make friends with traitors in German uniforms like Roman-Tarass Yosypovych Shukhevych*****, he is free to do so! But let him not represent Ukraine alone, he does not have the monopoly of the blue and yellow flag!
It is too much for Melnyk who, although opportunist, has nothing of a convinced Nazi - even if, by dint of compromises, one could say that it's all the same... It is obvious that we're not going to get anywhere. In the end, the only thing the two men agree on seems to be the integration of the respective forces of the other into their ranks, under joint command. On the other hand, everyone knows that Borovets is also trying to rally the SS-Galizien to join his movement... Uniform or not, definitely, everything is negotiated!
We greet each other, we separate (without shaking hands), we move backwards with the rifle in hand, while a silence heavy with meaning falls on the forest. When words are not enough, it is sometimes necessary to settle its differences... otherwise.

* Poet, politician and Ukrainian archaeologist, member of the UN, he had directed the revolutionary court of the organization from 1939 to 1942 before calling for the formation of military units independent of the Reich, de facto taking the opposite side of his leaders.
** On May 23rd, 1938 in Rotterdam, Yevhen Konovalets had received from an infiltrated Soviet agent (Pavlo Sudoplatov) a box of sweets decorated with the colors of Ukraine that he affirmed to be a "gift of friends". This box actually contained a powerful explosive that was detonated when opened. This assassination, which crowned a long series of attempts that began in 1922 (!), would have been personally elaborated by Nikolai Yezhov before being approved by Stalin himself. However, Melnyk forgets that he probably also organized the assassination of Omelyan Senyk and Mykola Orestovych Stsiborsky - two political leaders of the Ukrainian Nationalist Organization (UNO) of "national unity" - in Ternopol on August 30th, 1942. Although some rumors say that this was a move by the Germans, or even by Borovets, who sought to eliminate embarrassers calling for the ARPU-UN union!
*** The UNO had been responsible for the assassination of the Polish Minister of the Interior Bronisław Wilhelm Pieracki on June 15th, 1934. This murder triggered a vast campaign of ethnic repression led by Warsaw - which completed the radicalization of Ukrainian opinion, thus ultimately serving the interests of this extremist party.
**** One of the UNO's "Ten Commandments", explicitly mentioned at its 1929 congress, affirmed the party's aspiration to "increase the strength, wealth and size of the Ukrainian state, even by enslaving foreigners," while specifying that "only the complete withdrawal of all occupiers from Ukrainian lands [would] allow the general development of the Ukrainian nation in its own state."
***** Close to Bandera and currently Hauptmann of the Nachtigall Battalion.

 

[Wings]

September 6th, 1943

Casa Sfatului, Brasov (Romania), 17:30 - General Georg-Hans Reinhardt massages his temples, while the telephone continues to bark out orders that his aide-de-camp, not far from him, perceives without difficulty.
- Ja, ja... It is obvious that only the 11. Armee is the only one able to supply troops... Ja... However, please consider, Herr Generalfeldmarschall, that we are once again making up the shortcomings of others and that I cannot be held responsible for what might happen at the front in the event of a Bolshevik offensive! Yes, of course, the 17. PanzerDivision will be able to supplement the time necessary, but it would be preferable to distribute the effort on my two corps, which will require some time to...
A sharp command rings through the earpiece - Reinhardt settles back in his chair: "Understood - I only have to take two divisions of the XXX. AK and XLII. AK. The coast must be secured as soon as possible, we have already suffered enough landings as it is, and the rest does not matter.
Um... I would like to point out that I am planning to join this Kampfgruppe Bulgaria with the 376. ID. It just arrived, that will give it a hand. I understand that the rest will be the business of the Heeresgruppe E. Zum Befehl."
The handset falls back onto its holder. Not for long: a twitch of the nose later, the XXX. AK and XLII. AK are ordered to make one of their divisions available, even if it means stretching the lines of the others to the maximum. KG Bulgaria will be entrusted to Philipp Kleffel, Frank Mattenklott being considered still too green in this sector of the Ostfront.

 

[Wings]

September 6th, 1943

Italian Front - The infantry of the Old Ironside CCA enters Pisa, where all the bridges were blown up. Further east, the 36th US-ID undertakesto reduce the positions on the Verruca (600 m), which stands between Pisa and Lucca, whose defenses are being overrun by the 143rd Infantry Regiment.
The latter, which had crossed the Arno the day before, reaches the village of Buti.
On the other side of the valley, the 135th Infantry Regiment of the 34th US-ID advances on the hills and overtakes, on the rear of the German defenses, the "Four Paths" (the intersection of Routes 8 and 25).
In the center, the CCB of the 1st Armored takes advantage of the opening and overpowers the last defenders of Bientina to reach a new "charodrome", south-east of Lucca. The CB relays Task Force Bender, which moves northeast up the Arno and reached Fucecchio. Further on, the 168th Infantry Regiment of the 34th US-ID emerges from the hills, south of Castelfranco di Sotto.
The 139th Infantry Regiment of the 47th Bari Division reaches Sanminiato, at the exit of the hills, while the 140th Infantry Regiment, still flanking the left wing of the Friuli, finally reaches the Arno.
The 87th Infantry Regiment of the 20th Friuli Division enters Empoli, which the Germans had deserted, but not without leaving their usual batch of bad surprises to their pursuers. The 88th Infantry Regiment is now in its hour of glory by paying the price of blood: not only it takes the village of Montelupo Fiorentino, but above all it crosses the Arno River by force, at the foot of the main German defense line.
The 186th Para of the Folgore comes up against the German position between Routes 4 and 98, in the forests and small hills. Similarly, the Cuneense seeks out the fault line south of Tavernuzze and around Strada in Chianti.
The German staff knows that they could not hold Florence for much longer. The Lydia line is after all only an advanced position: the order to evacuate to the Gotenstellung is thus given, but to cover the retreat of the infantrymen of the 356. ID, the 29. PzGD launches a counter-attack against the 6th BMLE. The support of the "Wild Boars" of the Belgian air force and artillery allow the legionnaires to hold their positions east of the hamlet of Antella.
The Richard Brigade, on the other hand, manages to seize the hamlet of Villamagna, which overlooks the Arno River upstream from Florence.
.........
On the British front, the 48th Highlander manages to regain the German defense line, but it is too exhausted to continue to advance. Further east, the 3rd and 4th Armoured Brigades try to cross the line on either side of the hamlet of Aceviese, but they are curtly pushed back to their starting positions: the Churchill I and II, if they are well protected, are too weakly armed to deal with the fortifications. There is talk of a 75-gun variant, but it does not seem to be close to arriving on the Italian front.
The 2nd South African Division cannot advance any further either, especially as it has no armoured support. Its 4th Brigade, which had been in the lead along the coast, had gone into reserve and had to make up its losses, while the 5th Brigade is caught up in street fighting in and around Senigallia.
.........
In the air, Captain Mc Kenzie and Flight Lieutenant Gasson, from Sqn 92, add each add a victory to their respective charts.

 

[Wings]

September 6th, 1943

Macedonia - While considerable events are taking place on the northern shores of the Western Mediterranean, the allied aircraft once again go on the offensive on the Greek front, to maintain the illusion of a possible action in the Adriatic and to confuse the German minds. And if the diversion was Dragon? As a result, the coastal towns of Durres, Vlora and Divjakë are severely hit, some patrols even venturing as far as Dubrovnik. Just enough to play on the nerves of the Axis leaders, who observe the sea with concern.