Fantasque Time Line (France Fights On) - English Translation

[Wings]

December 19th, 1942

Lienz - Princess Mafalda leaves the Austrian city at dawn in a comfortable Fiat 2800.
She spent the night in Lienz after receiving a message from Berlin, which was handed to her by SS-Hauptsturmführer Karl Hass. The latter presented himself yesterday at the border crossing, while the customs officers, despite the proverbial efficiency of the bureaucracy of the Great Reich, could not find her pass. The document (signed by the head of the OKH!) invites the princess to accompany Herr Hass to Munich for "an important step concerning your husband," Landgrave Philip of Hesse-Cassel. Having left her children in Italy, Mafalda of Savoy accepts, not without some reluctance, to follow the man in black.
In the back of the sedan, Mafalda is assailed by worries and dark forebodings. She obviously does not trust this ugly raven with the cold eyes, which even dared to sit in the backseat instead of the front seat. But she has little choice.
Moreover, in the present circumstances, it seems useless to her to upset the Germans.
What was she risking? She is a member of the royal family that leads the main European ally of the Reich! However, this is not the case of her husband, and the German nobility is obviously no longer in the odor of sanctity with the Nazis. Would Philip have made a mistake? Or did he have an... accident? After the sudden death of Boris III, it would not be so surprising...
In spite of the torment of her soul, Mafalda tries to ignore the smiling but frozen face of her companion and to think only of her husband... And she ignores it, but this last one is already far from Austria, on his way to meet Hitler himself.
.........
"Philip of Hesse-Cassel (1896-1980): an eminent member of the Germanic nobility, son of Frederick Charles of Hesse-Cassel - in theory, King of Finland - and Marguerite of Prussia, sister of Kaiser Wilhelm II. Heir to the Landgrave of Hesse and close to the royal family of England (and in particular of Edward VIII), he married Mafalda of Savoy in 1925,thus becoming the son-in-law of Victor-Emmanuel III. This union concluded in defiance of traditional animosity between German Protestantism and Italian Catholicism, caused a displeasure of the Vatican. The couple will have four children: Maurice, Henry, Otto and Elizabeth.
This ideal idyll - a love marriage in the high nobility! - does not prevent that differences of opinion appear quickly between the two spouses when Philip of Hesse-Cassel contributed to the emergence of Nazism. A prominent member of the SA and close to Hermann Göring, he became at the beginning of the Thirties a very active agent of influence of the National Socialist Party among the German nobility. His privileged position in the circles of power in Germany and Italy allowed him to establish numerous diplomatic contacts useful to the Reich, without even mentioning his multiple meetings with Edward VIII of England. Finally, we will not mention his role in the confiscation of works of art for the future museum of Linz and in the setting up of a euthanasia center for mentally handicapped people in Hadamar.
His well-documented pro-Nazi sympathies did not save him when Italy fell apart at the end of 1942, after Mussolini's arrest on the orders of the Italian king, his father-in-law.
Considering the Hesses as suspects of complicity in the fall of the Duce, Hitler decided to intern Philippe in the Berghof, after a long interrogation that he personally carried out and according to the terms of his "Decree concerning international men". In fact, this decreeput an end to the presence of princes in the Nazi Party, the army or the civil service.
Now in disgrace, like many members of the German nobility, Philip could do nothing to help his wife Mafalda in the ordeals she will undergo. Finally, in March 1943, he was deported to the camp of Flossenbürg, under a regime which, it should be noted, was more like isolation than abuse.
After the capitulation of the Reich, Philip of Hesse-Cassel was accused of complicity in the aggressive policy of the Nazi regime, narrowly avoiding an indictment for crimes against Humanity. Throughout his trial, he awkwardly claimed to have been a mere messenger - a position that can be described as hypocritical. Finally released after a few years in prison, he resumed his profession as a decorator of prestigious villas and manager of luxury hotels. He died in Rome in 1980, discreetly but without his wife." (Robert Stan Pratsky - Dictionary of the Second World War in the Mediterranean, Flammarion, 2008)

 

[Wings]

December 20th, 1942

Madrid - René Morillon finds Henri du Moulin de Labarthète and presents him triumphantly the famous proofs he had been talking about for weeks. The documents (carefully forged by Deloncle's men) evoke a plot by all the anti-communist forces in Algeria (in conjunction, of course, with the Laval team) to overthrow the Reynaud government and negotiate an armistice with Germany, now that it was facing the USSR and finally fighting the good fight! To support his claims, Morillon also brandishes a list of different people who would participate in this plot. The list includes two dozen names, but more than a thousand NEF supporters are said to be involved. Well of course (but Labarthète will claim he didn't know), the names are mostly La Rocque's most patriotic men, who chose to stay in Algiers, the Cagoule having split in two in 1940 between those who wanted to continue the struggle and those who chose the Collaboration.

 

[Wings]

December 20th, 1942

Yugoslavia - Because of the noise of the machines, the quartermaster of the submarine Henri-Poincaré had first understood "Stalingrad". But the city in question is far from the Mediterranean, and over there, everything is quiet. In fact, it is near Starigrad in Dalmatia that a dinghy of the Poincaré, protected from the north-east wind by the screen of the mountains drops off a French liaison officer accompanied by a Yugoslavian radio operator and loaded with the usual sabotage and transmission equipment. Martino Nikolic, commander of the Partisans in northern Dalmatia, at first greets with distrust this strange Frenchman who speaks fluent Slovenian and Serbian, and who, on this last Sunday of Advent, calls himself a Catholic priest. It will take a few days to authenticate his mission. Stanislas Natlacen, code name Malec, is indeed the new envoy of the French services: colonels Morel (Henri and Gerry) sent him to take stock of the resistance movements in the northwest of the occupied kingdom (or should we say the former kingdom?).

 

[Wings]

December 20th, 1942

Romilly-sur-Seine - The large Luftwaffe depot and workshop is attacked by 101 bombers. The escorting Spitfires cannot pass Rouen and turn back, leaving the bombers in the custody of 55 P-38F. It is then that the German fighters - about 120 aircraft - go on the attack. Alone facing the Fw 190s, the P-38Fs are cut into pieces: 27 are shot down in exchange of 11 Fw 190. During this time, the battle rages around the bombers, but the German tactics are not adapted. Only four four-engined bombers are shot down until the arrival of eight Fw 190s commanded by Egon Mayer, which shoot down three other bombers in two passes before the Americans find the protection of the Spitfires.
In addition, 44 B-17s and B-24s are damaged, six of which are declared irreparable.

 

[Wings]

December 20th, 1942

South Atlantic - USAAF airmen patrol tirelessly in the north of Ascension Island, monotonous rounds in the hope of spotting a periscope or a suspicious vessel. At about 10:00, the Liberator patrolling 240 miles north-northwest of the island hits the jackpot: a ship heading due north. The B-24 begins by circling the freighter. Using binoculars, the airmen examin the plaque hanging outside the bridge bulwark. In white letters on a black background, as is the rule for Allied ships, the name S/S Glenback stands out. The bomber pilot is puzzled: no ship of that name appears in the daily reports of friendly ships in the Central Atlantic. By signal lamp, the radio asks the suspect ship to give its secret identification letters.
In response, the freighter opens fire with light artillery, damaging an engine of the bomber. The bomber breaks off contact while raising the alarm by radio. Another Liberator and the destroyer USS Somers acknowledge and rally to the last known point of the enemy ship. The bomber, of course the first on the scene, is greeted by an anti-aircraft fire as heavy as effective. The B-24 is quickly reduced to a distance as it loses fuel. As it returnsto Ascension Island, two engines stop, forcing the aircraft to ditch. Air Rescue rushes in, but the Liberator is gone, lost with all hands. While this drama was taking place, the Somers arrives in sight of the reported vessel. Without question, the American commander opens fire on the cargo ship, which zigzags to try to disrupt the American fire.
But, with its artillery directed by radar, the destroyer fires several shots on target. One of the shells hits the chimney, another decapitates the foremast, while a fire begins to grow in the castle. On the devastated decks, the survivors try to rescue their wounded comrades who lay among several corpses. Understanding that the fight is hopeless, Commander Piatek orders to stop and evacuate after having set fire to the scuttling charges.
The Americans collect (on their rafts, as no boat could be launched) seventeen officers and one hundred and sixteen sailors from the Alsterufer (1939 - JB : 2 729 tx). In addition to rubber, the Alsterufer had 344 tons of tungsten ore in its holds, representing the needs of the German war industry for a year*.

* This precious ore was mainly used in the manufacture of ball bearings.

 

[Wings]

December 20th, 1942

Hanoi - Consul General Ogawa gives a big party to celebrate the departure for Japan of the first Vietnamese students going to continue their studies in Tokyo.

 

[Wings]

December 20th, 1942

Tarakan - The repeated failures of the American submariners, due in particular to the poor quality of their torpedoes, lead their staff to look favourably on the organization of very unusual special operations, while the improvement of their usual "working tools" is progressing despite the reluctance of some.
After attacking Makin in August, the allied submarines carry out a massive raid in Indonesia in December, in the heart of the positions conquered by the Japanese Empire, against the Tarakan refinery (see No need for torpedoes to sink a raffinery).

 

[Wings]

December 20th, 1942

Buna region - A sort of truce is taking place. Both sides are tired and the 7th Division has consumed far too much of its supplies. While food and ammunition are painfully brought in from Kokoda, Vasey thinks about what to do next with his brigade leaders, learning from Eather's attacks on the Triangle and Coconut Grove.
While it must be recognized that the Japanese had control of the air and could transfer men and material by sea, this should not discourage them from doing something. But it is obvious that the Japanese positions are impregnable, unless we accept losses on the level of the Other War... or to have either armor or massive artillery support, or air power. It will take time to compete to wrestle the sky from the Japanese, although the recapture of Milne Bay removes a major obstacle. As for getting a sufficient number of tanks and/or artillery pieces (25-pounders) to Buna, this is only possible by sea. But it would be necessary to pass between the northeast coast of New Guinea and the chain of islands that border it. However, not only these waters are very dangerous and poorly recognized, but the Japanese also hold some of the islands in question (such as Goodenough) and the Japanese air force makes navigation in the area even more risky.
Vasey has on his hands, as he puts it, "an inverted Gallipoli" and there is nothing he can do, at least for the time being. This is what he reports to Port Moresby.

 

[Wings]

December 20th, 1942

Oro Province (northeast coast of New Guinea) - Like the I-176, the submarine I-25 is ordered to deliver supplies to Japanese troops in Buna. Arrived at the estuary of the Mambare River, the unloading begins, but it must be interrupted prematurely, because two American MTB (PT-121 and PT-122) are spotted.

 

[Wings]

December 20th, 1942

Guadalcanal - Operation Tinklebell is proceeding without incident. The last components of Americal, the 182nd IR and divisional artillery and services, land safely on Red Beach. However, the scope of the operation goes far beyond tthe arrival of the last elements of the 23rd US-ID. Tinklebell marks the symbolic handover from the Marines to the Army on Guadalcanal, since the XIV Corps staff was also in the luggage and Major General Alexander Patch, designated in November to replace Vandegrift, disembarked at the head of his men.
The Marines and soldiers who will be under his command do not know it, but Patch was a long-time protégé of George Marshall. The two men met in France during the First World War. Then a member of General Pershing's staff, Marshall had noticed the young officer's qualities and his brilliant results as an instructor. When he became Chief of Staff of the US Army, Marshall, who had not forgotten him, promoted Patch to brigadier-general and put him in charge of training the troops at Fort Bragg.
At the beginning of 1942, having become a major-general, Patch was charged with the emergency organization of the defense of New Caledonia, which appeared to be one of the most likely targets of Japanese expansion. From a collection of disparate units, he succeeded in making in a few months a real American ID, the 23rd ID-US, better known as the Americal Division, the only one of the war formed outside the national territory. Through Arnold's pressure to obtain Vandegrift's succession, it is indeed Marshall's desire to strengthen the experience and reputation of his protégé for future operations in Europe, that one must guess.
At the head of the XIV Corps, Patch has at his disposal, in addition to his division, the equivalent of a division of Marines. The 25th US-ID (Major-General J. Lawton Collins) is to arrive from Pearl Harbour in early January to complete this order of battle, which technically includes the Australian troops occupying Tulagi and the neighboring islands (even if, in fact, they keep, as under the command of Vandegrift, a very large autonomy). With three divisions and nearly 50,000 combatants, Patch undertakes to drive the Japanese out of the island in less than three months, provided that the Navy manages to prevent them from reinforcing their troops. He is obviously unaware that the forces of the Rising Sun would make his task easier by deciding to withdraw definitively from "this lost island of the South Pacific".

 

[Wings]

No need for torpedoes to sink a refinery
Excerpts from La guerre sous-marine dans le Pacifique, by Patrick Decourt (France-Empire éd., Paris, 1998).

The moods of the US submariners
In September 1942, the COMSUBPAC of the US Navy had some reason to be jealous of the French, British and even Dutch submarines. While, for example, the French Sidi-Ferruch was nicknamed "the carrier killer", American submarines sometimes went as far as firing their entire stock of Mk 14 torpedoes at a stopped cargo ship without any of them exploding! This is why the submarine commanders sent Nimitz a memo in which they almost literally demanded the heads of the engineers of the BuOrd (Bureau of Ordnance) engineers.
Let us remember that the Mk 14 was a recent weapon. It had some youthful diseases, but the American engineers had managed the unusual feat of combining all the potential defects in a single torpedo, partly because they wanted to do too much.
Hitting a target with a torpedo means not launching it too deep, but there are undeniable advantages to having the torpedo go as deep as possible: it suffers less from the disruptive effect of waves, the trail of bubbles appears farther behind its true position and, above all, it can pass under the anti-torpedo protections (bulbs, compartments...) of the heaviest ships. But the most effective move is to succeed in making the torpedo explode, not on the side of the ship, but just under the hull, which sends all the energy released straight into the keel and literally shatters the spine of any ship. For this, the Americans had designed a device technically very advanced: a magnetic detonator. Such a detonator reacts to the presence of a large mass of ferrous metals, or more precisely to the disturbance that this mass causes (a ship for example!) on the local magnetic field. This disturbance has a vertical and a horizontal component depending on the position with respect to the magnetic north. Unfortunately, the Mk 6 detonator had been designed to react to horizontal perturbations of the magnetic field, which are more detectable at the magnetic pole, while the war in the Pacific was taking place mainly far from there, under the equator. In defence of the American engineers, it should be noted that the British and the Germans faced similar difficulties.
The fact remains that the Mk 6 of the operational torpedoes suffered from both a poor adjustment of the sensitivity compared to the prototypes and to the test torpedoes following approximate tests, inadequate depth measurement instruments, poor quality control and a fragmentary understanding of hydrostatic phenomena. These weaknesses were detected during the Frenchman's Bay tests in May 1942, but were not corrected until the personal intervention of Admiral King, in the autumn.
In the meantime, the submarine commanders began to deactivate their wonderful magnetic detonators and set the depth the old-fashioned way, so that their torpedoes would hit the side of their targets and explode with their mechanical detonators. But despite a deactivated magnetic detonator and a correct depth, the torpedoes stubbornly failed to work or rather to hit their target without exploding. The unfortunate commander of the USS Wahoo is famous for having seen four of his torpedoes hit the sides of a tanker without exploding. Although frothing with rage, he kept just enough composure to keep his last torpedo in view for an examination.
The source of the problem was quickly detected this time: the mechanical detonator of the fast Mk 14 was a perfect copy of the one on the old, slow Mk.4. The speed difference between 33.5 and 46.3 knots almost doubled the power of the shock, which literally crushed the metal guides of the firing pin on impact and prevented it from doing its job. This is why the torpedo worked better (if it hit) when the submarine was firing in poor aiming conditions, because it underwent a less violent shock when the angle of fire, thus the angle of impact, moved away by 90°.
Spurred on by the successes of their allies, the American submariners were eventually to find correct "working instruments" from the end of December 1942, but before that, they sought moral support from what we call today "special operations".

Submarines and commandos
The perfect success (tactically at least) of the Makin operation in August had given ideas to many, as well as the bold moves of the Japanese against Panama and ports on the northeast coast of the United States.
The raid was initially intended to target Japanese communication routes in the Kra Isthmus to relieve Singapore and even (as a diversion) the Solomon Islands, but the resistance at the tip of the Malay Peninsula collapsed at the end of September. The Dutch general staff proposed the idea of a raid on the Palembang oil terminal in southeast Sumatra.
The hoped-for neutralization of the oil terminal was to force the Japanese to increase the use of other terminals, notably Kuching, allowing the concentration of Allied submarines in these areas. Moreover, if the idea of relieving Singapore had disappeared with the fall of the fortress, an attack on Sumatra would perhaps make it easier to support and supply the maquis in Java and could make the Japanese fear a larger offensive from Allied bases in the Indian Ocean. But the operation was finally rejected because of the location of Palembang, too far inland.
The idea was however retained to be adapted to a double raid against the refineries of Tarakan (on the island of the same name on the east coast of Borneo) and Bandjarmasin (on the southeast coast of Borneo, at the mouth of the Barito River), combined with an underwater campaign in the Sulawesi Sea.
The biggest special allied operation of this type, finally named operation Banana*, did indeed have a significant impact on the course of the war in the Pacific.
For Allied planners, there was no shortage of manpower. The command was obviously American, with the US Navy providing the majority of the units, but it was necessary to create commandos, each with their own specificity and mission. If the American raiders from the Makin operation were the obvious choice and provided the bulk of the troops, the French, not wanting to be outdone, formed a Marine commando recruited from the Bataillon d'Infanterie de Marine du Pacifique (BIMP)**. This comando had to neutralize the Japanese airfield, which led to the birth of two traditions in the history of the Marine Infantry. All units were obviously accompanied by Dutchmen who knew the terrain, officers of the Dutch East Indies Army (some of whom were civilian engineers for Royal Dutch Shell) and native NCOs; these men were to remain on site once the troops had withdrawn in order to carry out intelligence missions and lead local resistance networks.
On the naval side, the heart of the operation was American-French, with the Narwhal, Nautilus and Surcouf for Tarakan and the Argonaut for Bandjarmasin. The Diamant was charged with mining the mouth of the Barito. The Dutch provided their only operational submarine at that time, the O-23, which was to serve as a pilot in the Barito delta.
In addition to these units, British and American submarines were tasked with taking advantage of the confusion in the Celebes Sea and the South China Sea, as well as the Casabianca, which was to be part of the patrols established in the north of Borneo, before going up to Indochina to land agents and weapons for the Indochinese maquis. It was the chief mechanic of the "Casa" who developed an exhaust system for the outboard motors of the commando boats, an exhaust that could not be heard at 50 meters.
On the spot, the lack of motivation of the local forces to defend the colonizing power during the Japanese landing had led to fears of the worst. Some reports at the time of the installation of the Japanese had even suggested that the natives had denounced, and even massacred some of the Europeans who had taken refuge in the jungle. Fortunately for the Allies, the Japanese had quickly alienated the population. Various forms of violence, forced labor, requisitions and sometimes rape were the daily life of the inhabitants. The first victims were the Chinese merchants, who quickly created a network of watchmen who warned them of the slightest movement of the Japanese garrisons.
On the other hand, the Bunkentai of the Kempetai, the local section of the Japanese counter-espionage, was very active, rewarding, for example, the slightest piece of information about the few Dutchmen who had managed to go underground during the invasion.
.........
In mid-November, the submarine USS Cuttlefish deposited in Bali a half-OSS half-Dutch mission with a long range radio. Its main task was to determine with accuracy the exact location of the minefields protecting the passes allowing to pass from the Indian Ocean into the Java Sea, thanks to the help of some fishermen who had observed the laying of the mines and the marking of the channel, and some of their colleagues had paid a high price for a mistake in this regard. They pointed out the lack of maintenance of this minefield and the departure of almost all the patrol boats.
.........
We will not dwell on the course of the land operations, which have been the subject of several books in three languages. Let us insist on the fact that, in spite of all its preparation, this operation was finally a success only because the Japanese had never envisaged an action of this type so far into the heart of their conquests.

Banana 1 versus Tarakan
On December 20th, D-Day, the Narwhal, Nautilus and Surcouf landed on the island of Tarakan one hundred and twenty Raiders and sixty Marine commandos trained in sabotage and infiltration.
A team carrying "floating mines" made from plastic, a time-delay detonator and a float were to disable the entire pipeline and loading network of the terminal in one fell swoop in the hour. Another was to attack the refinery and blow up the steam cracker. Finally, the French were to attack the airfield or rather the maritime patrol aircraft, because it was certain that once they had kicked the beehive, the hornets marked with the Ino Maru would rush out, furious: these aircraft were the main threat to the submarines. The submarines had to shell the coastal installations thirty minutes after the first explosions, to help the teams withdraw to their collection sites.
The small garrison at Tarakan (about a thousand men) was only tasked with assisting in the operation of the wells and the maintenance of the airfield and, above all, to keep the pressure on the population to prevent guerrilla activities and sabotage - certainly not to oppose an attack by elite soldiers with mortars and machine guns. Its forces were scattered in weak guard posts, often without radios or even telephones, and spread out along the pipelines and wellheads. As for the airfield, on which the blackout was very relative, the aircraft were grouped near the few hangars to facilitate their surveillance, maintenance and refueling.
As it was feared, the attackers were discovered before H hour, but the Japanese could not take advantage of it. The pipeline attack group ran into several guard posts.
While three fell almost silently, the fourth had time to fire a flare which caused three truckloads of infantrymen who thought they were chasing saboteurs and fell into an ambush that pinned them to the ground. Meanwhile, the Marine commando attacking the airfield opened fire with its mortars on the aircraft nicely lined up wing to wing, on the fuel and ammunition depots and on the hangars. Paradoxically, it was the deepest infiltration team, that of the refinery, which was the most successful in its mission, since it was only detected when it was reembarking (the steam cracker had long since blown up); it then suffered its only losses: three dead and a few wounded. The shells of the four 6-inch and two 203 mm shells from the submarines only added to the confusion and destruction.

Banana 2 versus Bandjarmasin
The operation in the south was more complex to implement, although it was only a diversion intended to give the Japanese the impression that none of their oil facilities were safe. The area was governed by Imperial Navy officials, whose approach to the population was more "diplomatic" than that of the Army. The Allies did, however, have information about the coastal defenses, the hydrobase and the minefields. The terminal and refining facilities were located about 20 kilometers inland, on the outskirts of the city, which was already quite large at that time. The Argonaut would have had to enter the Barito estuary to shell effectively and collect the crews. The O-23, sent to scout, soon realized that this would be impossible without being spotted or running aground.
The commando was therefore dropped off by the Argonaut east of the Barito delta the day before D-Day. It was to go up the opposite bank to the terminal and shell it with three 81 mm mortars.
The men of the commando were then to remain on the spot to support the embryo of local resistance. The Argonaut was only to shell the coastal positions and the hydrobase west of the delta, as a diversion.
The Diamant was in charge of laying a minefield at the mouth of the river in the path of the tankers.
When the information about the shelling of the hydrobase finally reached the local headquarters, it was interpreted as an action of the local maquis and sent reinforcements by land. A few minutes later, mortar shells began to fall on the refineries, causing consternation and panic, although their material effect was limited.

Sunken terminal!
The outcome of the night was largely positive.
At Tarakan, the airfield was more or less neutralized, thus eliminating the immediate air threat on the submarines, which were able to withdraw with most of the commandos.
The refinery was put out of action for more than a year. At the end of the war, its production had still not recovered its November 1942 level. The terminal was paralyzed for more than two months and the Japanese were forced to send tankers to the terminal to load the crude oil, which they then transported to Kuching or Palembang (or sometimes to Japan), thus immobilizing a precious potential. In all, the commandos had about sixty dead or wounded.
The result of the bombing of the Bandjarmasin area was much more modest from the material point of view, but notable from the psychological point of view. It led, for example, to the Japanese to harden their behavior towards the population, guilty of not having denounced the commando having attacked the refinery... nor the one supposedly responsible for the bombing of the hydrobase!
However, it was in this region that the Allies suffered their main loss - the Argonaut hit a mine while sailing on the surface. Severely damaged, it had to be scuttled.
However, after collecting its crew, Le Diamant and O-23 managed to return to their base.
In the naval skirmishes that followed in the South China Sea, Java Sea and Sulawesi Sea, as the Japanese dispersed their escorts in search of phantom Allied submarines and Diamant mines sank five freighters (one of which was awarded to the Casabianca), two tankers (one of which, being loaded at Bandjarmasin at the time of Banana 2, was blown up by a mine laid by Le Diamant) and an escort, forcing the IJN to draw on its reserves to reinforce the ASM escorts in this sector.
Nevertheless, after the loss of the Argonaut and the return of the Surcouf to port for a further refit until July 1943, this type of amphibious operation was abandoned.

 

[Wings]

December 20th, 1942

Central Ukraine - Dry weather, -0.7°.
The weather improves a little, but the 2. PanzerArmee does not benefit from it. Indeed, the runway of Tarachtcha is put out of service again at midday by two bombings of the VVS.

 

[Wings]

December 20th, 1942

Operation Mars (against the 1. PanzerArmee) - Epilogue
Rastenburg - Unable to decide between Guderian and von Weichs, the OKH turns to Hitler. He sides with Guderian and confirms him as head of the 1. PanzerArmee. Von Weichs is dismissed from AG Centre and sent on leave until he could find "another assignment". He is replaced by von Kluge, who leaves his 4. Armee to Heinrici, who was noted for his great ability to counter Soviet assaults and to hold his positions.
In conclusion, Hitler remarks aloud, for all to hear, that it seems to him that the German command on the Russian front is not always and everywhere up to the task of "its historic mission". He feels that "serious adjustments" are necessary.

 

[Wings]

December 20th, 1942

Operation Uranus (against the 2. PanzerArmee)
The Soviet forces resume their systematic artillery bombardment of the area around theTarachtcha pocket. The pocket begins to fragment, the defenders preferring to remain grouped in relatively protected hedgehogs.

 

[Wings]

December 20th, 1942

Bucharest - General von Schobert, head of the 11. Armee, confers with Marshal Antonescu: indeed, even if his army is administratively part of the Wehrmacht, a large part of its units are Romanian. Von Schobert tries to reassure Antonescu: according to the very reliable intelligence of the OKH, there will be no offensive in the Odessa sector, or only on a small scale.

 

[Wings]

December 20th, 1942

Rome - After having, a week earlier, examined and approved the plan developed by the Regio Esercito, the General Staff (alias Comando Supremo) decides to issue (finally) a general instruction for the three Arms, the Memorandum n°1 (Promemoria N.1).
The first point of Promemoria N.1 is unambiguous: "There may be an aggression by the German Reich either for political reasons, or following the conclusion of an armistice on our part without their knowledge."
The second point concerns the Army. It confirms the validity of the prescriptions contained in Memorandum 44 and makes a few clarifications or adjustments to them, providing for the withdrawal of the 2nd Alpine Division Tridentina, a station in the north, to the south, beyond the Salorno/Salurn cluse, of the Alpine Tridentina Division, stationed in Alto Adige (its headquarters are in Bressanone/Brixen), "in an area where the population was mostly hostile". He also planned the release of allied prisoners, at least the British, Americans and French (there was no mention of Greeks or Yugoslavs), who were to be directed towards the south but who could also, if they accepted, be armed and contribute to the resistance against the new common enemy.
The third point concerns the Navy. Confirming and amplifying the measures already implemented to the transfer to the ports of Sardinia or southern Italy of all seaworthy warships and merchant ships. For the others, it is prescribed not destruction, but a sabotage putting them temporarily out of service (which implies the hope of recovering them quickly enough!).
The fourth point concerns the Air Force, the only one of the three Arms to have not yet taken particular measures. It is ordered the transfer of all the fighter units on the airfields of Lazio, while those of the other specialties had to go to Sardinia.
All the planes out of condition must be destroyed.
The fifth point deals with connections. In particular, it orders that the telephone exchanges and the transmitting stations of the State.
Addressed to the superior commanders, the Memorandum n°1 will not have to be diffused by them to their subordinates: they will be satisfied with giving them verbal communication. It must be implemented either on the initiative of the said superior commanders, or after having heard transmission of the sentence "Accusate ricevuta del
Promemoria N.1" (Acknowledgement of receipt of Memorandum No. 1).
This Memorandum is in fact intended only for the Western commands of the three Arms.
There is still nothing for the southern Balkans and Greece.

Rome - Received at the beginning of the afternoon by Marshal Badoglio, Ambassador Rahn is concerned about the attitude of the Italian government. The course of the interview is known to us thanks to one of Badoglio's aides de camp. With an affable face, he smiles sadly: "I am Marshal Badoglio, one of the two oldest Marshals in Europe. Yes, with Marshal Mackensen, we are the oldest in this dignity. The mistrust of the Reich government is incomprehensible and deeply saddens me". The marshal stops, marking his painful surprise with a fleeting twitch of his features. Then he adds firmly: "Signor Ambasciatore, I gave my word, I will honor it. I beg you to have confidence in me and in Italy."
Rahn is edified. During the night, he cables to Berlin that it is advisable to proceed "as soon as possible to the disarmament of the Italian troops and the capture of the King and his government."

Vatican - The demonstrations that now accompany every papal mass are sparser on this Sunday. Some believe that the peace movement is running out of steam.
But General Carboni knows that this is in keeping with the instructions of the Central Committee of the National Action Front, thanks to the agreement reached the day before with him. In the suburbs of Rome, another slogan is running: "Tedeschi Fuori" (Germans out!).

Syracuse - Back from their dangerous mission, the four Allied officers confirm that the site of Salerno is suitable for a landing, as well as an area in the Gulf of Gaeta near the mouth of the Volturno River. However, in this area, air support will necessarily be more limited than in the vicinity of the Allied bases.
Nevertheless, if the airfields in the Naples area as well as the city's port can be conquered quickly, there is no reason why the Allied forces could not move quickly towards Rome.
It is then decided to call upon the 1st RCP (Regiment of Parachute Fighters), which would take control of the airfields in the Neapolitan region.
.........
Sicily - During the day, the new bases of Trapani and Palermo (which now includes six main runways equipped with PSP) host the following units:
Armée de l'Air (Trapani)
4th Fighter Squadron (I/4, II/4, III/4): 20 NA-73/92 and 40 Mustangs IA/IC FGA
5th Fighter Squadron (I/5, II/5, III/5): 60 Mustang II
7th Fighter Squadron (I/7, II/7, III/7): 60 Mustang II
GC I/8: 20 Beaufighter VIF
USAAF
33rd FG (58th, 59th, 60th FS): 54 P-51A & B (Trapani)
79th FG (85th, 86th, 87th FS): 54 P-51B (Trapani)
1st FG (27th, 71st, 94th FS): 54 P-38F (Palermo)
14th FG (48th, 49th, 50th FS): 54 P-38F (Palermo)
82nd FG (95th, 96th, 97th FS): 54 P-38F (Palermo)
416th FS: 18 Beaufighter VIF (Palermo)
.........
The rest of the fighters are divided between Comiso (whose important field complex had already been used during the Sicilian campaign) and the airfields built on the Catania plain. Most of these aircraft have been in place since the second half of the Sicilian battle and their logistic echelons joined them before the end of the campaign: Military Aeronautics (Belgium)
41st Queen Astrid Fighter Wing (I/41 Prince Baudouin, II/41 Prince Albert, III/41 Princesse Joséphine-Charlotte) : 60 Hawk-87 (Comiso)
Armée de l'Air
39th Fighter Squadron (I/39, IV/39): 20 NA-73/92 and 40 Mustang IA/IC FGA (Comiso)
RAF
7th SAAF Wing (Sqn 2, 4, 5, 7): 64 P-40E and K (Catania)
233rd Wing (SAAF) (Sqn 80, 127, 274, 353): 64 Hurricane IIb/c (Catania)
244th Wing (Sqn 73, 92, 145): 48 Spitfire Vb/c and Sqn 601: 16 Spifire IX (Catania)
245th Wing (Sqn 119, 126, 185, 249): 64 Spitfire Vb/c (Catania)
Sqn 603, 605: 32 Hurricane IIc (AT) (Catania)
Sqn 89: 16 Beaufighter VIF (Catania)
Sqn 227: 16 Beaufighter TFVI (Catania)
Sqn 235, 248: 32 Banshee II (Catania)
USAAF
31st FG (307th, 308th, 309th FS): 54 Spitfire V (Comiso)
52nd FG (2nd, 4th, 5th FS): 54 Spitfire V (Comiso)
324th FG (314th, 315th, 316th FS): 54 P-40E/K (Catania)
57th FG (64th, 65th, 66th FS): 54 P-40E/K (Catania)

 

[Wings]

December 20th, 1942

Munich - The Gestapo in the Bavarian capital has moved into the former Wittelsbach Palace, 18 Brienner Strasse. The luxury of the premises does not prevent Princess Mafalda from being impatient while waiting for an interview that does not come. With a suspicious cordiality, the officials who welcomed her informed her that her husband had been summoned to the Führer and that he would join her "as soon as his duty was done". Mafalda, although treated well by her hosts, does not feel comfortable and does not get used to the irritating and even annoying presence of Hauptsturmführer Hass. It must be said that, just like her Bulgarian cousins, the princess never liked the Nazis. And it is reciprocal... In spite of great efforts, Philip could not hide from her the terms used by Herr Goebbels about her: "the worst w... of the whole Italian royal house"! Her husband tried to justify "these small insults for a stupid people that must be controlled", but these are words that a lady - and especially a very noble lady - can hardly forgive! Finally, Mafalda was asked to keep her convictions to herself, for the good of all. She consoles herself by thinking that for Hitler, she is "the blackest carrion of the royal house of Italy" - which she takes as a compliment: "Perhaps the most beautiful of my titles," she thinks. Even her sister-in-law Marie-José of Belgium was not insulted in this way.
Now she is alone like a mermaid among sharks... To hide her anguish, she keeps a haughty bearing, but she regrets not having listened to her sister tsarina Ioanna: "The Germans are traitors and barbarians, stay with us!" Guest or hostage, the princess no longer really controls her destiny.

 

[Wings]

December 20th, 1942

Alger - Around the waxed wooden conference table sit a few men - two senior French military intelligence officials, a member of the cabinet of the President of the Council and one from the cabinet of the Minister of Defense, plus four representatives of France's two main allies, two British and two Americans, no more. All eight of them are hanging on the lips of Pierre de Froment, the head of Operation Medusa, who has just stood up.
- Good morning, gentlemen. Thank you for coming. This meeting is intended to shed light on the current situation of Operation Medusa. It is probably a little over two years since the Collaborators created the Atlas network. We became aware of its existence early last year and have gradually succeeded in infiltrating it. At present, some of our 12 penetrators have managed to reach some of the highest Atlas positions.
The head of Atlas in Tunisia has been turned and is now working for us. Other of his men are in the same situation and others are simply men of ours recruited by the previous ones according to our... suggestions. Only a third of the Tunisian structure of Atlas is really collabo, and we control it thanks to the other agents.
In Algeria, the work is less advanced, the difficulties are greater and the pool of enemy sympathizers larger, but we have placed enough pawns not to fear much. The... sudden disappearance of Mr. Vaugrand, who had enthroned himself as the head of Atlas for the whole NAF, but in practice for Algeria, calms us down completely.
In addition, we have been working for months with the Germans on accreditation, providing them with accurate and verifiable information, in the operation carried out shortly before Torch was launched.
Captain Stirling, a sturdy Scotsman, raises his hand: "What kind of information?"
- For example, names of units sent to the Sicilian front. When we learned that a regiment had suffered losses against the Italians, we hurried to communicate its position to the Germans. The information that we transmitted to them always arrived before the Italian services and, ironically, we were the ones who were credited with its discovery. Now, the Germans are probably quite convinced of the reliability of Atlas.
- But are you sure?
The man who just spoke is a British colonel with a strong salt and pepper mustache. This officer, unknown to the public, is the head of Force A, the Allied counter-espionage network in the Mediterranean. Network X, in North Africa, is the French component.
- Colonel?
- A few days ago, you eliminated Vaugrand, a key figure, however. Don't you fear that this will provoke the mistrust of the Abwehr? Besides, why did you do it? Because of the messages in code that he was sending to the Germans?
- We broke the code, and you're right, it was his messages that made us eliminate him, colonel, but not because they were dangerous. His transmissions were nothing more than meaningless political jargon. What they showed us was that the man wanted to interfere in everything that was happening in Atlas and that he was a sort of political commissar. When he managed to get his official appointment as head of Atlas-NAF, it became clear that he had to be eliminated before he found out what was really going on.
- I understand your reasons, but... How do you say... Wouldn't that give them a hint?
- No, because it was officially one of the six agents who landed on December 3rd by plane, and the Germans took Vaugrand's assassination as a settling of scores between Lavalists and Doriotists! As the Abwehr doesn't like Doriot very much, it's just that they didn't ask us to congratulate the supposed killer.
The English colonel nods his head in satisfaction. Froment flips through a file, then: "We have thus entered phase two of Medusa. The goal is now to carry out a major military disinformation. In agreement with the allied high command, we must push the enemy to overestimate our forces and to be mistaken about the location of the landing in Italy, which now seems inevitable, even if it was not necessarily in our plans before the elimination of our great friend Mussolini.
Commander Lagny asks to speak.
- Commander?
- Didn't we have to convince them that the landing would take place somewhere other than Italy?
- We also spread information about a landing in Sardinia, Greece and even in Provence. But let's say that Atlas considers them unreliable. Curiously, it appears that the Germans were sure that we had taken Sicily to invade Italy, well before we had decided to do so! So, we are going in their direction, which gives us credibility...
- I understand.
Froment resumes his presentation.
- Three days ago, we sent this message to the Germans: "Important preparations throughout NAF. All the French, British and American troops who had taken part in the operations in Sicily [followed a detailed list of units which will not tell them anything] are preparing for a very forthcoming amphibious operation. Possible destinations: Sardinia and Corsica, Italy, Southern France."
Yesterday, we went up a notch: "EMERGENCY. Large amphibious operation imminent. Intense naval movements. Strong aeronautical activity. The Dissenters [that's what Atlas members call our national army, isn't that something?] bring many British and American reinforcements."
Tomorrow we will send the following message: "EXTREME EMERGENCY. Landing in the south of Italy in preparation, near the Strait of Messina. Another landing further north is planned later, to trap the Axis forces.
- What is the expected effect?" asked the head of the A force.
- Obviously, they were not going to rush forces far to the south, with Italians who could not be less reliable. When they see our predictions come true, they'll believe in whatever we tell them next... On the other hand, they asked us what the Allies think of Badoglio.
- And what did you answer?
- We hesitated. We had to answer, though! So we explained that the French thought nothing but bad things about him, that they were certain that Italy would remain in the Axis and that the Marshal was no better than Mussolini. But we added that the Americans thought that Badoglio was going to betray Germany and that the British were between the two!
A light laugh runs through the audience...
.........
According to "Atlas médusé - The response of French counter-espionage to the activities of spies of the NEF and the Axis in North Africa", by A. Naxagore, Paris, 1946.

 

[Wings]

December 21st, 1942

Berlin - Since it has become impossible to deny Germany's crushing defeats in the Ukraine (maliciously confirmed by Von Trott, under the seal of secrecy, of course), Subhas Chandra Bose is in a sombre mood: it would probably be a long time before his Indian Legion can return to India through the North-Western border... It seems that his grand plan has little chance of succeeding with the Germans.
The Japanese are probably a better horse to bet on: had they not defeated the impregnable fortress of Singapore? And, in the process, did they not take many of their Indian compatriots prisoner, who are surely only too willing to join his Legion? Better still, did not the Indian Independence League, sponsored at great expense by the same Japanese, did it not officially invite Bose, at its second conference held in Bangkok the previous June, to come and lead the independence movement?
Yes, yes, three times yes! It is decided: Subhas Chandra will ask for an audience with Gen. Hiroshi Ōshima, the Japanese ambassador in Berlin, to get to the Japanese Co-Prosperity Sphere.

 

[Wings]

December 21st, 1942

South of Grytefjord, 01:05 - This time, it's the good one! Clear sky, very cold, scattered clouds sometimes pouring snow crystals. Poulsson is surprised by the little noise made by the four-engine aircraft that he sees rather late, engines reduced. He manipulates feverishly his torch, transmitting in morse code the agreed letter. Has he been seen? He doubts it a little while seeing the plane straighten up and move away without having released parachutes, then initiate a wide turn to the left in the distance. He repeats the light signals, hoping that the tail gunner will see him, but then the pilot when the plane returns on its route, before noting with consternation that its lamp has given up... The time to call for one of his guys, the heavy aircraft has disappeared. Without Poulsson having been able to see if it had dropped its passengers.
But on board, Joachim Rønneberg, the Norwegian team leader, discussed with the navigator and asked for an airdrop, although no signal was seen. The weather conditions are good, we won't postpone again, they will manage on the ground. The hatch, open since the arrival on the zone, sees thus passing the six members of the commando: in addition to their leader, there is Knut Haukelid (second in command), Fredrik Kayser and Kasper Idland (explosives experts), Hans Storhaug, Birger Strømsheim and finally Einar Skinnarland (radio operator). The six men, wearing white overalls over British uniforms, make an excellent jump, as in training, without any glitch on landing on a nice layer of snow.
Regrouping. A hut of branches is hastily put up, because there is no question of walking or skiing without knowing their position, while the radio prepares its apparatus to send the signal of arrival out of contact. Nevertheless, Rønneberg takes advantage of the moonlight to observe with binoculars the surrounding landscape, from the top of a small hillock. They areclose to a large lake, judging by the flatness in one place. We'll have to test the ice cover to see if it will support the weight of the loaded men. The question of the explosives is left hanging: according to the distance to be covered to join the group of Poulsson, will they be able to take everything?