August 25th, 1943
Thessaloniki, 02:00 - In the middle of the night, the palace of the Governorate General of Northern Greece is in a frenzy of activity. The building shines with a thousand lights, and this is only partly a metaphor: the headquarters of the XXII. Gebirgs-Armee-Korps is busy destroying files and archives, before packing up for Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria. Gustav Fehn, sitting with a glass in his hand, his eyes dark, observes his collaborators who are agitated. He had received Irkens' report earlier in the evening, and he is dismayed.
The Allied armored units were not destroyed, only weakened. While the 19. Panzergrenadier is out of action for... a while. It will surely have to regroup its two panzer abteilungs, and Fehn is already planning to integrate the 201. StuG Abt to the division to give it some weight. Indeed, he knows that getting replacements will not be easy! But, in any case, there is nothing more to do for Salonika. Fehn can no longer hold the city, but only try to delay its loss.
The general therefore orders the 97. JägerDivision, his only large intact unit, to dig in the city, hoping that the OKW would allow it to withdraw to the interior of Thrace, once the port is destroyed. As for him, he will try to reconstitute a line of defense more in north, to defend Bulgaria, perhaps even with the assistance of the natives, you never know! And - very hypothetically - to try to retake the city, if unlikely reinforcements appear. To do this, he takes the initiative to order all his other troops to retreat to Kilkis: the 104. Jäger, what remains of the 19. PzrGr of course, and even the SS-Polizei. If it happens, these forces will arrive there before Trifonov's troops! It doesn't really matter, now he has to save as many soldiers as possible, that's his only priority - he has to preserve his corps, since no one was supporting him.
Informed of the disaster, Löhr still does not send reinforcements, but he announces that the GA E had agreed to send the 1. PanzerDivision south of Belgrade, to be ready to defend Skopje, i.e. Yugoslav Macedonia. Danke Schön, Herr General! The officer throws his glass in rage, which rolls under a piece of furniture without the agitated staff interrupting for more than a moment. Fehn finally gets up from his chair. He has to pull himself together.
For finally, many brave men died yesterday in Korinos! And more will die today in Alexandria. For sacrifices must be made and Fehn has made up his mind. He opens the door of his office wide and asks that von Böhm-Bezing be called, he wants to speak to him in person. The 153. FD will have to defend Alexandria, alone and without hope of rescue. And it will have to resist long enough to allow the 19. PanzerGrenadier to withdraw to safety.
Von Böhm-Bezing has no objection. But just before he hangs up, instead of the "Heil Hitler!", he gives Fehn a "Long live Germany!" which will stay in the memory of the leader of the XXII. GAK - the greatness of the Germanic race! Likewise Ludwig Müller, who is no fool and knows very well that there will be no one to help him if he finds himself locked up in Salonika, had simply clicked his heels when receiving his orders. Sacrificing units to delay the enemy may have become a habit for Fehn, the man still feels a legitimate twinge of regret at the idea of abandoning his troops to an unfortunate fate.
The communication finished, the general returns to his office and to his files, at least to those that have not yet been burned or evacuated. No. No. No. He must do better, for the Reich and for his men. And to begin with, he must find a way to guarantee calm in the city after the SS have left. The SS did a good job: 223 executions and 375 arrests. Since the previous evening, prisoners had been disposed of in an expeditious manner in the courtyards of the city's many prisons. You can hear the machine guns from here. This will inevitably enrage the Greeks, and who knows what will happen if the defenders have to surrender? No, there's no way I'm going to let my men play the role of the SS, and then suffer the vengeance of the Greeks - he has heard disturbing rumors from Volos which indicate how the Greeks repay the units who were active in "anti-terrorist activities". So who the hell is going to do it? Who is going to keep order in Thessaloniki?
With a cautious cough, his orderly, a captain, interrupts this reflection.
- Herr General, we have Herr Müller who asks to be received.
- I have already given him his orders. What does he want?
- I am sorry, Herr General. It is not General Ludwig Müller, it is a certain Colonel Friedrich-Wilhelm Müller. He commands a Kampfgruppe that is normally part of the XVIII. GAK.
Fehn jumps out of his chair when he hears this name. Müller, of the Kampfgruppe Müller! He read the report of von Böhm-Bezing, which calls this unit, how already... ah yes, "a band of uncontrollable looters". A grimacing smile lights up the face of the unfortunate leader of the XXII. Gebrigs-AK. Finally some good news!
- And what brings this colonel Müller to Salonika?" he asks his subordinate.
The latter stiffens a little: "Apparently, he has come to seek instructionsfrom you, Herr General." Then he risks: "If I may say so..."
- Yes?
Fehn's tone is half amusement, half curiosity.
- This... This troop arrived with vehicles loaded with loot of no military interest and even with captives! This is a disgrace to the Reich, Herr General! These men will be of no use here, they must be sent back!
"Herr General" stands for a moment watching the flames dancing in the fireplace, enveloping piles of files which they consume. His orderly takes it upon himself to break the silence.
- Shall I explain to him that you have more urgent things to do, Herr General? There's no need for you to waste time with this... character.
- No, no, send him up... I'm afraid he'll get impatient! But above all, make sure that he knows as little as possible about our... strategic situation.
The captain clicks his heels and leaves, trying his best to hide his disgust. Yet, Fehn doesn't think he's going to stoop to receiving this famous Müller, on the contrary. He thinks that after having despised him so much, Providence has finally decided to give him a gift. Moreover, it will be a little revenge on General Dietl. Although Dietl would surely be delighted to be rid of a cumbersome saber-runner, to whom one could attribute all the... all the excesses of the anti-partisan struggle in the region and in Salonika itself, where the next executions - certainly necessary - would not be the responsibility of the XXII. Gebirgs-AK. Besides, is it really Providence that sends him this demon?