Fantasque Time Line (France Fights On) - English Translation

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735 - End of Operations Judgement, Operation Punishment, End of the Raid on Taranto
August 24th, 1940

Taranto, 09:30
- A Bloch 174 of fast reconnaissance of the GR II/33 takes pictures of the results of the raid. Its pilot, aviator and novelist Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (who enlisted when he was well over the age limit), later described how he flew towards "an enormous cloud of black dirt, rising on the horizon as if a new volcano had been born at the very tip of the Italian boot" [1]. This smoke comes from the Conte di Cavour, which is still burning after the explosion of its ammunition hold, and from burned fuel depots. Saint-Exupéry dares to descend to 1,500 meters in order to take better photos, his plane easily avoiding the Italian fighters thanks to its speed.
Malta, 12:00 - After examination of the images and debriefing of the crew of the Bloch 174, it is decided to proceed with operation Punishment.
Malta, 14:10 - The GB I/23, II/23 and II/31 take off 36 LeO-451.
Taranto, 15:45 - Flying at 6 000 m and 500 km/h, the French bombers are completely out of reach of the Italian fighters. The port installations and the military warehouses
are again seriously hit by this unopposed raid and left in flames.
While bombing, the French airmen can notice that many Italian ships are leaving the port of Taranto. Fearing a repeat of the attack of the morning, Admiral Campioni obtained from Admiral Cavagnari the authorization to withdraw to the Adriatic bases all the ships in a condition to exit the port. The battleships Vittorio Veneto and Giulio Cesare, three heavy cruisers and seven light cruisers, duly escorted, withdraw in a hurry, leaving only light units on the spot: some destroyers and torpedo boats, the submarines...

"The list of damages inflicted on the Italian fleet by a reduced number of old planes is impressive.
Battleships (in the Mare Grande):
Littorio, hit by three torpedoes and three 450 kg armor-piercing bombs. Serious damage. Sent to Genoa for repairs. Could be operational in early 1942.
Caio Duilio, hit by three torpedoes. Sunk.
Conte di Cavour, hit by two torpedoes and two 450 kg armour-piercing bombs. Sunk.
Cruisers (in the Mare Piccolo):
CA Fiume, hit by a torpedo near the stern and a 450 kg bomb in the engine room (and narrowly missed by two other bombs). Sank to the bottom of the basin. Refloated and sent to Trieste for repairs. Could be operational in early 1942.
CL Duca degli Abruzzi, hit by a torpedo between the A and B turrets, and by two bombs, one in the catapult area, the other in the stern. Severely damaged. Towed to Trieste for repairs, scheduled for completion in October 1941.
Destroyers (in the Mare Piccolo):
DD Aquilone, put out of action by a 450 kg bomb that missed it by a small margin (it was one of those that grazed the Fiume). Capsized.
DD Borea, hit by a bomb that exploded his ammunition. Irreparable.
The Operation Judgement/Punishment was considered a major strategic success. The Italian Navy had been decapitated and its ability to support the troops in Africa had been wiped out in one fell swoop. Politically, "Judgment" also marked a very important point. It demonstrated both the willingness and the ability of the Allied forces to take the strategic initiative in the Mediterranean, which was observed with attention by countries such as Spain, Greece, Yugoslavia and Turkey. Finally, this new Italian defeat was also a welcome balm for the morale of the population of occupied France." (J. Bailey, op. cit.).

To say that Mussolini was shocked when he heard the news and discovered that the Allied fleet was able to withdraw without casualties would be an understatement. Two days later, the Grand Council of the Fascist Party had a particularly stormy meeting and the King appointed Marshal Badoglio as head of a Special Commission of Inquiry.
But among the personalities most deeply impressed by Operation Judgment, the Japanese naval attaché in Rome, who visited Taranto on August 30th, and took many notes.

The last word on "Judgment" could be left to an FAA officer, Huguenot of origin... Let's tell Yvon Lagadec's story: "Fished out of the water by a Walrus, I found myself on the Eagle. In the evening, at the debriefing, I was still in a state of shock. At 21 years old, I had had my first fight, my first victory, I had been shot down, but I was still alive and free. So, when the English officer who "debriefed" me, a man named Rochelle, delighted as we all were, remarked, "Wasn't it a good day to have pounded so hard the papists this day?"), though a Breton and a Catholic, I did not get angry. After all, August 24th was the anniversary of St. Bartholomew's Day, and since the Pope was Italian, too bad for him."
The next day, Lagadec has another reason to rejoice: informed of his heroic death during his first battle, but not of his rescue, his superiors appointed him Ensign Second Class Ensign posthumously. And when he resurrects, they don't have the heart to "de-rank" him - after all, he had shot down an enemy aircraft! He will later have the opportunity to earn his rank...

[1] Orphelins du Ciel, from which this sentence is taken, was published in New York at the end of 1941, during the propaganda tour that Saint-Exupéry made in the United States, while writing The Little Prince.
 
736
August 25th, 1940

Brindisi
- The loss of the Morea's cargo on August 14th and the lack of cargo in two of the other five ships in the convoy leads the Regio Esercito to ask Supermarina to organize a new convoy for Albania, in order to take without delay everything that could not reach Ancona in time. The RTSO office takes on this new task by setting up a small convoy that leaves Brindisi for Valona on the night of August 24th-25th.
 
737
August 24th, 1940

Libya
- The Africa Settentrionale Italiana shrinks daily.
In the east, the Indians of the 4th Division enter Derna without difficulty, just ahead of the British of the 16th Brigade.
In the west, Sirte falls, while the French motorized vanguards from El Machina reach Nofilia. Now mounted on American light armoured vehicles M1 and M2A2, the men of "Leclerc" are in the lead. Their leader has just been appointed lieutenant-colonel by General Blanc (on a discreet recommendation of De Gaulle).
The submarine Pietro Micca, on its way to Sirte, is diverted to El Agheila.
 
August 24th, 1940

Taranto, 09:30
- A Bloch 174 of fast reconnaissance of the GR II/33 takes pictures of the results of the raid. Its pilot, aviator and novelist Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (who enlisted when he was well over the age limit), later described how he flew towards "an enormous cloud of black dirt, rising on the horizon as if a new volcano had been born at the very tip of the Italian boot" [1]. This smoke comes from the Conte di Cavour, which is still burning after the explosion of its ammunition hold, and from burned fuel depots. Saint-Exupéry dares to descend to 1,500 meters in order to take better photos, his plane easily avoiding the Italian fighters thanks to its speed.
Malta, 12:00 - After examination of the images and debriefing of the crew of the Bloch 174, it is decided to proceed with operation Punishment.
Malta, 14:10 - The GB I/23, II/23 and II/31 take off 36 LeO-451.
Taranto, 15:45 - Flying at 6 000 m and 500 km/h, the French bombers are completely out of reach of the Italian fighters. The port installations and the military warehouses
are again seriously hit by this unopposed raid and left in flames.
While bombing, the French airmen can notice that many Italian ships are leaving the port of Taranto. Fearing a repeat of the attack of the morning, Admiral Campioni obtained from Admiral Cavagnari the authorization to withdraw to the Adriatic bases all the ships in a condition to exit the port. The battleships Vittorio Veneto and Giulio Cesare, three heavy cruisers and seven light cruisers, duly escorted, withdraw in a hurry, leaving only light units on the spot: some destroyers and torpedo boats, the submarines...

"The list of damages inflicted on the Italian fleet by a reduced number of old planes is impressive.
Battleships (in the Mare Grande):
Littorio, hit by three torpedoes and three 450 kg armor-piercing bombs. Serious damage. Sent to Genoa for repairs. Could be operational in early 1942.
Caio Duilio, hit by three torpedoes. Sunk.
Conte di Cavour, hit by two torpedoes and two 450 kg armour-piercing bombs. Sunk.
Cruisers (in the Mare Piccolo):
CA Fiume, hit by a torpedo near the stern and a 450 kg bomb in the engine room (and narrowly missed by two other bombs). Sank to the bottom of the basin. Refloated and sent to Trieste for repairs. Could be operational in early 1942.
CL Duca degli Abruzzi, hit by a torpedo between the A and B turrets, and by two bombs, one in the catapult area, the other in the stern. Severely damaged. Towed to Trieste for repairs, scheduled for completion in October 1941.
Destroyers (in the Mare Piccolo):
DD Aquilone, put out of action by a 450 kg bomb that missed it by a small margin (it was one of those that grazed the Fiume). Capsized.
DD Borea, hit by a bomb that exploded his ammunition. Irreparable.
The Operation Judgement/Punishment was considered a major strategic success. The Italian Navy had been decapitated and its ability to support the troops in Africa had been wiped out in one fell swoop. Politically, "Judgment" also marked a very important point. It demonstrated both the willingness and the ability of the Allied forces to take the strategic initiative in the Mediterranean, which was observed with attention by countries such as Spain, Greece, Yugoslavia and Turkey. Finally, this new Italian defeat was also a welcome balm for the morale of the population of occupied France." (J. Bailey, op. cit.).

To say that Mussolini was shocked when he heard the news and discovered that the Allied fleet was able to withdraw without casualties would be an understatement. Two days later, the Grand Council of the Fascist Party had a particularly stormy meeting and the King appointed Marshal Badoglio as head of a Special Commission of Inquiry.
But among the personalities most deeply impressed by Operation Judgment, the Japanese naval attaché in Rome, who visited Taranto on August 30th, and took many notes.

The last word on "Judgment" could be left to an FAA officer, Huguenot of origin... Let's tell Yvon Lagadec's story: "Fished out of the water by a Walrus, I found myself on the Eagle. In the evening, at the debriefing, I was still in a state of shock. At 21 years old, I had had my first fight, my first victory, I had been shot down, but I was still alive and free. So, when the English officer who "debriefed" me, a man named Rochelle, delighted as we all were, remarked, "Wasn't it a good day to have pounded so hard the papists this day?"), though a Breton and a Catholic, I did not get angry. After all, August 24th was the anniversary of St. Bartholomew's Day, and since the Pope was Italian, too bad for him."
The next day, Lagadec has another reason to rejoice: informed of his heroic death during his first battle, but not of his rescue, his superiors appointed him Ensign Second Class Ensign posthumously. And when he resurrects, they don't have the heart to "de-rank" him - after all, he had shot down an enemy aircraft! He will later have the opportunity to earn his rank...

[1] Orphelins du Ciel, from which this sentence is taken, was published in New York at the end of 1941, during the propaganda tour that Saint-Exupéry made in the United States, while writing The Little Prince.
I know this is just a translation of the French original , but why did they go after cruisers etc with 2 battleships still available as targets? It makes no sense except to parallel history despite the greater number of planes.
 
I am very happy that FFO is now availlable in English!

So far the MTO has been a rather different affair compared to OTL, as British have French around! ITTL Judgment has both been done considerably earlier and achieved better results, and Franco-British now have both the numerical advantage and hold the initiative, not to mention the morale impact.

I was wondering however, what is the state of Franco-British Cooperation in regards to equipment procurement, development and the like? French are very reliant on USA for equipment, be it personal weapons, aircraft, artillery, all sorts of vehicles and AFVs, but do they have any plans WRT that, at least once they have a moment to catch a breath and plan for the future? Will we perhaps see Mk.III "Turtle" helmet becoming a standard for both French and British, to give an example.
Also, it is not perhaps the most crucial issue facing them, but what are French going to do in regards to small arms and calibers? I mean, do they have the capability to manufacture 7.5mm French and their own domestic designs, with US arms there to cover the gap, or are we going to see French (at least in MTO/ETO) standardizing on US sourced Arms and Ammunition?

Keep up the good work @Wings !!!
 
The many divergences from OTL in this story are being well examined and plausibly explored. I haven't read all the comments so far. But one idea that occurs to me is since in TTL there is no shockingly rapid Fall of France is whether the American government will still rush to approve the Two-Ocean Navy Act with its massive increase in spending. The Americans may not be quite as alarmed in July 1940 as they were in OTL.


Citations
Codification
Legislative history
Great Seal of the United States
Other short titlesVinson-Walsh Act
Long titleAn Act to establish the composition of the United States Navy, to authorize the construction of certain naval vessels, and for other purposes.
NicknamesNavy Construction Act of 1940
Enacted bythe 76th United States Congress
EffectiveJuly 19, 1940
Public lawPub.L. 76–757
Statutes at Large54 Stat. 779, Chap. 644
Titles amended34 U.S.C.: Navy
U.S.C. sections amended34 U.S.C. §§ 494-497, 498-498k
  • Introduced in the House as H.R. 10100 by Carl Vinson (D-GA) on June 19, 1940
  • Committee consideration by House Naval Affairs, Senate Naval Affairs
  • Passed the House on June 22, 1940 (Passed)
  • Passed the Senate on July 10, 1940 (Passed) with amendment
  • House agreed to Senate amendment on July 11, 1940 (Agreed)
  • Signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on July 19, 1940
 
I know this is just a translation of the French original , but why did they go after cruisers etc with 2 battleships still available as targets? It makes no sense except to parallel history despite the greater number of planes.
The same confusion of combat that led to the OTL attacks by, for example, the FAA against a HMS Sheffield during the hunt of the Bismarck, or Kurita's misidentifying the ships of Taffy 3. It could even be that the AA fire was less over the cruiser anchorage.
 

John Farson

Banned
The many divergences from OTL in this story are being well examined and plausibly explored. I haven't read all the comments so far. But one idea that occurs to me is since in TTL there is no shockingly rapid Fall of France is whether the American government will still rush to approve the Two-Ocean Navy Act with its massive increase in spending. The Americans may not be quite as alarmed in July 1940 as they were in OTL.
TTL June-July 1940, mainland France is falling to the Germans, and there's no stopping it. In two months, Germany is succeeding where they failed for four years in WWI. And this only 10 months after France - together with Britain - declared war on Germany.

The US is going to be plenty alarmed, and FDR should have little to no problems getting Congress to approve the Act.
 
The same confusion of combat that led to the OTL attacks by, for example, the FAA against a HMS Sheffield during the hunt of the Bismarck, or Kurita's misidentifying the ships of Taffy 3. It could even be that the AA fire was less over the cruiser anchorage.
Nice try but no dice , this was not an attack on ships at sea with vague locations/identification. It was a prepared attack on a harbour with photo recon pictures of where the battleships were. It was also in daylight with airborne FAA raid controllers to direct the flights against the best remaining targets. Its like saying , well the Japanese might have only attacked half the battleships at Pearl Harbour due to fog of war, so low probability to be discounted instantly.
It feels a lot like needing the Italians to have battleships around for later than a serious what if 3 Aircraft carriers carried out the attack.
 
You mean the same PH attack where they mistook a target ship for one of the Standard? The same conflict where US Carrier planes during the Lae Salamo raids in 1942 when the USN mis-identified a mine-sweeper as Mogami-class heavy cruiser?
What I'm saying is, bad judgement calls and simply screwing things up has always been a thing, in spite of the most meticulous preparations.
 
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You mean the same PH attack where they mistook a target ship for one of the Standard? The same conflict where US Carrier planes during the Lae Salamo raids in 1942 when the USN mis-identified a mine-sweeper as Mogami-class heavy cruiser?
What I'm saying is, bad judgement calls and simply screwing things up has always been a thing, in spite of the most meticulous preparations.
And how many battleships were not attacked at PH? FAA as I noted also had Raid controllers in dedicated command planes unlike the IJN or USN. Attacking all 5 and only managing to sink 3 is one thing , just not attacking 2 of them is another.
 
I was wondering however, what is the state of Franco-British Cooperation in regards to equipment procurement, development and the like? French are very reliant on USA for equipment, be it personal weapons, aircraft, artillery, all sorts of vehicles and AFVs, but do they have any plans WRT that, at least once they have a moment to catch a breath and plan for the future? Will we perhaps see Mk.III "Turtle" helmet becoming a standard for both French and British, to give an example.
Also, it is not perhaps the most crucial issue facing them, but what are French going to do in regards to small arms and calibers? I mean, do they have the capability to manufacture 7.5mm French and their own domestic designs, with US arms there to cover the gap, or are we going to see French (at least in MTO/ETO) standardizing on US sourced Arms and Ammunition?

So, the french get most of their motorized and tanks from the U.S, where they have also signed agreements to produce french-made and designed equipment (like the future "Belier" tanks) in the U.S. (Savannah in particular). However, France has managed to evacuate a lot of their industrial cadres, meaning small arms, ammo, torpedoes etc... can be manufactured locally in North Africa along with french-made aircraft, bombs etc...

whether the American government will still rush to approve the Two-Ocean Navy Act with its massive increase in spending

Post 487.

The same confusion of combat that led to the OTL attacks by, for example, the FAA against a HMS Sheffield during the hunt of the Bismarck, or Kurita's misidentifying the ships of Taffy 3. It could even be that the AA fire was less over the cruiser anchorage.
There's maybe the chance that the Cavour's large fire was accidentally covering the silhouettes of the Littorio and Vittorio Veneto, making it impossible to clearly attack them and forcing the aircraft to turn on the cruisers instead.
 
738
August 25th, 1940

Brindisi
- The evening before, painfully surprised by the extent of the disaster of Taranto, the Duce demanded retaliation. Surprise perhaps: the Regia Aeronautica answered instantly to the chief's call! In fact, the Italian strategic air force had been preparing for several weeks a daring raid, which its leaders were delighted to be able to launch at the right time.
The raid will be carried out by four massive three-engine Savoia SM.82 transport aircraft converted into bombers, a fifth aircraft being used in support. These bulging aircraft have endurance qualities and quite remarkable carrying capacities. They can fly for up to 15 hours (at only 260 km/h), and lift up to 7 tons of payload. With only one stopover, they could have taken to Italian East Africa some CR.42 fighters that are cruelly lacking there... But the stopover in question, Benghazi airfield, has ceased to be hospitable, even if the city has not yet fallen and all available CR.42s were sent to Libya to try to postpone the inevitable. On the other hand, for the new raid imagined by the Italians, a suitable stopover remains: Rhodes. So five SM.82s fly on this day to the Dodecanese with crews, commanded by the lieutenant-colonel (and national secretary of the Fascist Party) Ettore Muti.
 
739
August 25th, 1940

Strasbourg
- The command of the German occupation forces declares the attachment of Alsace-Moselle to the Reich. The 1914 border is re-established. The use of the French language is forbidden in the territories concerned. The inhabitants of the "Aryan race" (in practice: born in Alsace) are considered German citizens and, as such, are subject to military obligations. The bishop of Metz, known for his hostility to the Nazi regime, is expelled.
 
740 - End of Operation Punishment
August 25th, 1940

Southern Italy
- After discussion, and although the large Italian ships had left Taranto, the Allies decide to maintain the third part of Operation Punishment. This time, 78 French aircraft take off from Malta: 59 from the Armée de l'Air (35 LeO-451 and 24 Martin 167) and 19 from the Aéronavale (all Martin 167s), with twelve of the Martins acting as escorts. Shortly before 06:00, the planes arrive on the objective.
Six Martin-167s of the GB II/63 and the twelve escorts attack Grottaglie airfield again: the 2nd Group suffers new losses without being able to retaliate (a Fiat G.50 and a Fiat CR.32 destroyed, one G.50 and four CR.32 damaged).
Meanwhile, Taranto is targeted by 60 bombers. The damage inflicted on the port facilities is once again significant; the supreme insult is that a bomb even damaged the
the famous swing bridge over the channel that leads from Mare Grande to Mare Piccolo. And the ships that remained or were immobilized on site are not spared. A 150 kg bomb hits the rear turret of the battleship Littorio, which is also riddled with shrapnel and shaken by explosions nearby. The seaplane carrier Giuseppe Miraglia, left on the spot the day before, receives two projectiles, one at the bow, the other at the stern: with its machinery intact, it does not ask for more and evacuates in its turn. The submarine Luigi Settembrini is also damaged.
The most interesting blows are undoubtedly dealt to the rescue and repair means: the French bombers damage the large workshop ship Quarnaro (7,386 tons), which had just arrived from Augusta, and sink the military tug Atlante (it was later raised) as well as a crane barge.
The large units of the Italian Navy would not return to Taranto any time soon.
 
741
August 25th, 1940

Central Mediterranean, 00:10 GMT
- Most of the French squadron (Dunkerque and Strasbourg, Lorraine, 1st and 3rd Cruiser Divisions and their escorts), accompanied by the
HMS Carlisle, separate from the Mediterranean Fleet and head for Oran and Mers-el-Kébir. The Béarn, Courbet and their escort remain temporarily in the Eastern Mediterranean.
At dawn, the aircraft carrier HMS Argus, the heavy cruiser HMS Cumberland and the destroyers HMS Faulknor and Forester join the French squadron. They came from Alexandria, where the Argus had left its 18 aircraft to serve as a reserve for the three Allied aircraft carriers remaining in the Mediterranean. The aircraft carrier has to return first to Gibraltar and then to Liverpool. After having escorted it back to Gibraltar, the Faulknor and Forester are to remain in the Western Mediterranean to participate in Operation Marignan. As for the Cumberland, taken to the Ravenne order of battle, it will make a stopover in Bizerte. With its arrival, the concentration of naval resources assigned to this operation ends. While the four cruisers are regrouped in the large Tunisian base with some escorts, the rest of the ships are distributed between the ports of Sousse and Sfax.
08:32 - The squadron is joined by the five intact destroyers of the 6th, 8th and 10th DCT, which had left Tripoli (the two destroyers damaged on August 20th, L'Audacieux and Mogador, have already already reached Bizerte for repairs).
16:47 - As the formation approaches the Strait of Sicily at 18 knots, it is spotted by a Cant Z.501 at the end of its patrol, which reports back but cannot keep in touch.
The information is quickly exploited by the Italians, who decided to send the "Picchiatelli" Stukas of the Maggiore Ercolano Ercolani against this enemy squadron. But the
coordinates communicated by the Cant are imprecise and the allied ships had meanwhile increased their speed to 20 knots (maximum speed that the Argus can give). For their first sortie, the dive bombers do nothing. Bad luck or maybe luck, because the radar of the Carlisle spotted the seaplane and the French squadron asked for air protection. The Potez 631 of the Aéronavale based in Malta, which arrived quickly, then handed over to the fighters of the Tunisian Air Force.
 
742
August 25th, 1940

Strait of Otranto
- The small Italian convoy going from Brindisi to Valona is attacked by a British force detached from Rear Admiral Lyster's squadron (cruisers HMS Orion, Ajax and HMAS Sydney, destroyers HMS Nubian and Mohawk, commanded by Sir Henry Pridham-Wippel). The cargo ships Premuda (4,427 GRT) and Catalani (2,429 GRT) are sunk; the torpedo boat Nicolo Fabrizi is seriously damaged and only the auxiliary cruiser Ramb III escapes unscathed. The last two owe their survival to the unexpected arrival of four MAS from Brindisi, which made the British fear a trap and encouraged them to withdraw.
 
743
August 25th, 1940

Sicily
- Allied bombers from NAF attack again the airfields of the island. During one of these bombardments, a lucky shot from the Italian flak hits the left engine of the LeO 451 of lieutenant Philippart. The plane is destabilized and goes into a dive, with only the skill of Philippart succeeding in restoring it a few hundred meters lower, but it falls unfortunately in the range of a squadron of Fiat CR.42 which are trying to catch up with the LeO 451. The plane having lost half of its altitude Philippart cannot escape and is shot down mercilessly. His plane crashes a few kilometers farther. Philippart orders the crew to jump, but only the gunner gets out of it alive. Taken prisoner, he will be able to tell what happened after the war.
Thus falls a true hero, the first Belgian to have returned to fight in the Mediterranean.
"An exceptional pilot, he was used to air shows where he performed a lot of perilous stunts. Philippart had also played an important role in the modernization of the training of Belgian pilots before the war, according to the course he had followed in October 1939 at the RAF." (General Crahay, 20 heroes of our country, 1940-1964, Ed. J.M. Collet)
 
744
August 25th, 1940

Taranto
- Marie-José leaves the Valle d'Aosta to visit the victims of the allied raid on the big port. A sort of substitute for her trip to Libya, which she sees she will have to give up...
 
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