Fantasque Time Line (France Fights On) - English Translation

[Wings]

August 28th, 1943

Gomel ("Suvorov-South") - Indeed, what Zhukov and Konev accept in the north, they do not admit in the south. And to please the Vojd and to fix the German attention on what is happening in Gomel, orders are given to the 54th Army and the 3rd Shock Army to increase the pressure on the XII. AK, which was still holding on to the ground but is suffering from wear and tear.
Finally, in the evening, the 54th Army holds almost three quarters of the district of Sovetsky - the western exit of the city in the direction of Retchytsa (today's Rečycki Avenue) is within reach. As for the Kazarmennaya, it is strongly contested, despite the fierce efforts of the 34. ID (Friedrich Hochbaum), which can only multiply delaying actions. As for downtown, it is a pugilism: the 3rd Shock fights all day for the control of the municipal park, which overlooks the intersection of Feldmarshal-Skaya and Aleksandrovskaya, without a clear winner emerging from the confrontation. Nevertheless, here too, the German positions now appear to be under threat - and the loss of the park would threaten the Reich forces along Lenin Avenue from being flanked. Unless the latter withdraw in a hurry, thus abandoning any hope of contesting at least part of the banks...
By dint of banging their heads on the door, it seems that the Reds are now close to breaking it down! General Walther Graessner thus signifies to Hermann Hoth - and thus to Minsk - that his army corps has reached the end of its resistance, after eight days of uninterrupted and extremely violent fighting. Without reinforcements, relief or support, he is in danger of cracking.
Reluctantly, and with no other units available in the area, Hoth diverts the 20. Panzer towards Gomel, knowing that this unit is not really adapted to urban combat. Informed, Rommel can only approve... reluctantly, once again.
...
"Hurrah!" shouted the infantrymen as they rode in line from the Feldmarshalskaya through that damned park. But in spite of the repeated requests of their officers, there is no question of us to engage too quickly in this big shooting range - there can be anything in there!
Mines, anti-tanks, explosive cocktails... our little tinkerings could not keep us from all that, even if they have already proved their efficiency several times... The face of the frontovikis when they saw our arrangement was eloquent - too bad I couldn't observe the one of the Fascists when their bottles bounced off our snowshoes.
Under a light rain, we finally advanced along the park's gates while firing cannons or machine guns at anything suspicious. Behind us, a cohort of soldiers advances while trying to stay under cover behind our crate. I really don't like this task - we're drawing everyone's attention, which means we're also drawing all the shots. Andrei fires the gun as soon as he sees any semblance of a target and Alexandr reloads as fast as possible... The shells fall to the ground, mix with the spare ones - I almost slip several times on the round and burning metal or nearly twist my ankle in an open locker*.
The park is, oh, barely 400 meters long! But after just 100 meters, when we reached the first crossroads, we already have to take cover behind a ruin.
Too much shooting, too much danger. Our turret tinkles so much under the impacts that I feel like listening to a concert!
Fyodor swears like a carter - which he is, somewhere; he seems to be at the end of his tether, dripping with sweat. "And long live Stalin, for God's sake!" Suddenly, through the eyepiece, I see a window where a German seems to be lining up a strange machine in our direction. One of these anti-tank tubes. "Fyodor, back up, for fuck's sake!" Too late, for sure - but just when I expect to see a smoke on the man's shoulder, he swings back and disappears. One of our shooters took him down just in time! We retreat 50 meters towards the shelter. I will have to thank - if I ever find him - the comrade whose fine shooting saved us.
I got the information from the lieutenant of the infantrymen who were following us, so I won't have to look too hard. In the fading light of the evening, I have an encounter as charming and as cold as the falling night. "Corporal Klavdiya Yefremovna Kalugina, what can I do for you, comrade lieutenant?" All without animosity, but with the look of one who has already seen too much before she even passed her eighteenth birthday." (Tankist! - To the heart of the Reich with the Red Army, Evgeny Bessonov, Skyhorse 2017)

 

[Wings]

August 28th, 1943

Heeresgruppe Mitte HQ (Minsk) - Rommel is not pleased with the deterioration of the situation in Vitebsk and Gomel, and he feels that he had once again been clear-sighted - even if a little late in the day.
Oh, the front is not yet threatened, that's for sure. However, it is already obvious to him, alas, that the forthcoming intervention of the 20. Panzer in Gomel, which he authorized only in spite of himself, can be, alas, be only a temporary stopgap... Hoth has taken care of the most urgent needs, no doubt, but from now on, with what to relieve the panzers of von Lüttwitz? In truth, this sector became a real trap - at the beginning, it was simply a question of opening the door to the Dnieper to better slam it in the face of the opponent ... But now his forces will have a hard time to reduce Chachersk while reinforcing Gomel - and if they lose Gomel, it will be useless to take Chachersk back!
In short, there is no good solution.
As for Vitebsk, what happens next will depend on the arrival of the 14. PanzerGrenadier, as well as the upcoming action against the forces threatening the road to Polotsk. Of course, he has already ordered Rudolf Holste to accelerate, even if it means razing everything in his path, but will the attack be decisive? The Fox is now planning to go there in person, just to be sure.
But frankly, whether or not the attack was successful, Rommel doubts that he could hold out much longer, either in Vitebsk or in Gomel. The damn Russians would not give up and continue to attack cities for which they had already paid too much. And faced with this absurdity, he, the Balkan Fox, simply does not have any more reserves to send, except to engage his irreplaceable motorized divisions in a fight of attrition where they will have nothing to gain. Fortunately, moreover, he has not exhausted them in recent days in fruitless counter-attacks, to please some!
In short, the Reds have managed to overwhelm him, paying blood money. They want these cities, and they pay the price. The question does not seem to him any more to defend these localities, but to negotiate their evacuation as quickly as possible to save the precious troops that are there... A completely new configuration, which also poses, in the long term, the question of maintaining the German presence in Orsha and Mogilev... This is likely to be complicated to defend at the OKH! It will thus be necessary that the great Erwin to find something brilliant - in addition to making his entire court play to preserve his beloved Panzerdivisions.
While waiting for an illumination, HG Mitte will have to simply gain time, while trying to straighten out the situation...

 

[Wings]

August 28th, 1943

Romania - The days are definitely good for the 11. Armee ! The 376. ID, a new unit just raised in Germany, joins its ranks with a little advance on the forecasts, under the command of General Alexander Edler von Daniels.
Would the OKH have finally listened to the multiple warning signals of List on its sector, so vulnerable and yet so low priority in terms of reinforcements? Not exactly... He simply found someone in Rastenburg to notice the obvious: General Montgomery's forces, which coming up from southern Greece, are pushing the 12. Armee of Alexander Löhr - which seems unable to stop them - are only 60 kilometers as the crow flies from the southern border of Bulgaria. Between them and this ally of the Reich, there is hardly more than an exhausted army corps, reinforced by dubious native troops, a good part of which is assigned to tasks of maintaining order in Macedonia.
Obviously, the soldiers of Sofia will leave their garrisons and go up to the front. But it is already seems obvious that they are rather little motivated at the idea to fight at the sides of the Reich against the British. Moreover, they are perfectly informed of the rout of their Romanian neighbor between Dniestr and Danube, facing a Russia with which they are still at peace (!). Who can say, in such circumstances, how these "partners" of the Axis will react tomorrow in case of a determined allied offensive? In this case, as in so many others, it is better to prevent than to cure. And so the 376. ID joins the reserve of the 11. Armee, alongside the 17. Panzer.

 

[Wings]

August 28th, 1943

South of France - Relatively quiet day, with only four raids. Thus, the defenses around Martigues are the target of the assiduity of the 98th BG accompanied by the 81st FG.
In another sector, the airfield of Aix les Milles and the hydrobase of Berre l'Etang are attacked by the 17th BG and the 25th EB, accompanied respectively by the 33rd FG and the 6th EC.
Finally, the GAN 2 returns to the Languedoc and attacks the defenses around Sérignan.
The results of the day are modest: one bomber and three fighters are lost on the Allied side against four fighters on the German side.

 

[Wings]

August 28th, 1943

Italian Front - Along the coast, the 1st Armored CCA spends the day securing its hold on Cecina and around Casale Marittimo. The CCA repositions itself in support in the plain; from there, with naval artillery and air support, it has to continue neutralizing the Poggio al Pruno while securing the division's rear.
On the other side of the mountains, the paratroopers of the 1. Fallschirmjäger Division are disengaged, which means the 141st Infantry Regiment of the 36th US-ID is able to pass Canneto almost without fighting. The CCB of the 1st Armored Division remains for the moment in cover, unable to enter the corridors of Canneto nor towards Route 439.
At the end of the day, the 91st Cavalry Btn armoured vehicles that precede the 143rd IR arrive in sight of Castelnuovo di Val di Cecina, while the 142nd passes the Travale farm.
At the 34th US-ID, the 135th and 168th Infantry Regiments leave their sectors to cut Road 441 at the hamlet of Palazzetto and seize the village of Monticiano.
Further north, the 186th Italian Parachute Regiment arrives in sight of Route 31 while the 139th Infantry Regiment of the 47th Bari Division passes the junction of Routes 73 and 541. At the end of the day, the 133rd Infantry Regiment of the Red Bull takes over from the Italians in this sector, allowing them to redirect their attacks.
As these roads are relatively secure, the American staff decides to launch an improvised task force on the enemy's rear with an improvised task force, according to the recipe tested two months earlier.
It is TF Bender, named after Major Bender, the most senior officer in the highest rank of this patchwork of units that includes the 752nd and 756th Tank Btn, the 701st TD Btn as well as the 2nd Ranger Btn and 58th Armored Artillery Btn, drawn from the reserves. This small mechanized force will force its way through Frosini, a small hamlet that was known until then only for its castle. Major Bender will receive his Lieutenant Colonel's Silver Leaf for his action during this battle.
Further to the right, the 140th RI of the Bari resumes its progression in the hills and reaches Route 101, while in the plain, the 20th ID Friuli spends the day in cleaning operations.
At the end of the day, the 1st Rgt of the 4th Cuneense Alpine ID arrives in sight of Radda in Chianti, where 356. ID infantrymen have set up as hedgehogs, while the 2nd Rgt liberates Cavriglia.
The Magnan Brigade of the 83rd DIA spends the day clearing the area of Montevarchi and Loro Ciuffenna. The M7-F Mouflon of the 6th BMLE reach San Giovanni Valdarno.
In the center of the IVth AC, the 4th Belgian ID advances methodically but slowly : seeing the 2nd Brigade threatening to fall on their rear by the road to Rassina, the Germans evacuate the Subbiano sector, leaving their usual lot of traps, cuts and delaying elements.
On the French right wing, General Sevez, of the 86th DIA, implements his plan to take Prati della Regina, but the infantrymen of the 65th. ID hold on and it is necessary to call in the artillery of the 46th British ID to repel counter-attacks led with the help of men of the 71. Panzergrenadier Rgt of the 29. PGD. At the end of the day, the Granier Brigade bivouacks halfway up the mountain while the Arnault de la Ménardière Brigade passes San Cristoforo Caroni.
The 131st Brigade of the 44th British ID enters Scheggia, where the fighting lasted all day. Fighting rages on Monte Cucco; at the cost of heavy losses, the Indians succeed in seizing their objective at the end of the day. But the German hunters are content to retreat to the next height: Mount Catria. The Indians will have to start again.
While the West Nova Scotia Rgt captures the Benedictine monastery of Santa Margherita, the 1st Canadian Armoured Brigade has the artillery and the engineers advance in the plain. The Germans of the 69. ID retreat foot by foot towards the village of Sassoferrato.
Meanwhile, the 48th Highlander Rgt fails for the second consecutive day to take the Monte Murano plateau.
.........
In the air, the feat of the day is accomplished by Captain Rosie McKenzie of Sqn 92, who scores his fourteenth and fifteenth victories by shooting down two He 111 of KG 26 over Fabriano. He said: "When we saw them, they were probably on their way to bomb the Canadians' rear. They didn't see us coming, we were in the sun, in their eleven o'clock. When I opened fire, I immediately saw the canopy explode, the Heinkel immediately plunged to the ground, there was almost nothing left of its front. I had the second more classic one, after a quick chase, I was able to take out its right engine, but his gunner fought back well. Tonight, Jimmy, my mechanic, will have work!" The Spitfire's left wing and tail are indeed damaged.

French Army M7 "Moufflon" Light Tank, Operation Buffalo, August 1943

 

[Wings]

August 28th, 1943

Adriatic - The island of Rab is attacked again, this time by Sqn 89, accompanied by Sqn 126. Only some aircraft are damaged by the Flak.

 

[Wings]

August 28th, 1943

Albania - The storms finally calm down, the RAF of the Eastern Mediterranean goes back on the attack and strikes Albania with all its squadrons - Durrës, Elbasan, Fier and Berrat are particularly hit. On the other hand, Tirana is spared - the wish of the local resistance movements seems to have been partially heard.
The losses are light: one Wellington was damaged, as well as a Blenheim of the 238th Wing which made a forced landing in the lines of the 2nd Polish Army Corps. The crew was unharmed, returned to their quarters two days later, with a severe headache to which the homemade vodka distilled by General Anders' troops was perhaps not unrelated to.
For the Germans, this intense aerial activity, coupled with the one related to operation Macon, can only mean one thing: something big is brewing in the Adriatic.

 

[Wings]

August 28th, 1943

Thessaloniki Plain ("Double Tower") - The evzones of the Greek 2nd Corps regain their advance and seize Kopanos and Kryo Vrysi. These conquests of villages lost in the middle of the agricultural plain are taken without opposition - these villages are of too little interest to the Reich!
.........
Not far from there, and still very irritated by their climatic setbacks of the day before, the Serbs of Brasic run at full speed towards the north, reaching the outskirts of Europos and Aspros. Stefanović's tanks are on the heels of the 19. PzGr; moreover, their crews know well that they are approaching their homeland - their mechanical horses smell of stables! This momentum, however positive it may be, does not go without imprudence, and the Serbs lose a dozen armored vehicles in ambushes improvised by the 104. Jäger.
.........
A little further south, the British of the XIIIth Corps finally arrive at Agios Anathasios, 10 kilometers from Salonika. The final objective of Tower seems to be within reach. A first assault towards Anchialos is launched by the 51st Infantry Division (Wimberley) and some tanks of the 32nd Army Tank Brigade (Brigadier A.C. William). The attack, improvised and conducted without air support, fails. It seems that today, all the bombers of the 1st TAF are over Albania, for reasons unknown to Brian Horrocks.
The latter observes for a few moments through binoculars the blackened buildings, held by the Jägers carrying the Black Feather. He has learned from military intelligence that the Leicht Divisionen, are better trained than the standard Infanterie Divisionen. Their soldiers are used to difficult terrain, including urban areas, and know how to work in small groups, capable of guerrilla operations and ambushes. In addition, the equipment of the Jägers is significantly better than normal for a unit of this size. In particular, they are equipped with state of the art transmission devices.
Tough opponents, then.
The Briton now looks to his own troops - brave soldiers of the Empire, who suffered heavy losses during operation Butress, from which they are just recovering. They have had all the more difficulty in advancing as the supply is difficult, by these small paths that the Greeks insist on calling roads. Finally, he rereads his instructions, written by General O'Connor himself, as much as Montgomery.
"Surround then take Salonica with all support..."
Making a decision that would be reproached to him for a long time, Horrocks decides to stick to the orders and continues towards Nea Filadelfia, to surround Salonica. He leaves only cover elements on the spot, waiting for the ANZAC to take over. Later, the commander of the XIIIth Corps would have to justify himself on numerous occasions, with arguments that were not all without merit: respect for the operational plan, management of supplies and economy of troops, which he could not risk in risky street fighting. At the end of the day, he admitted that he "may have overestimated the strength of his adversary". In any case, the temperament of this soldier - anything but a go-getter - but the consequences of this choice will soon be felt. Thessaloniki and its great port, which could have been taken after two or three days of fighting, will fall only much later. Too eager to secure their flanks, the British forgot the main thing.

 

[Wings]

August 28th, 1943

Katerini - In order to facilitate the replenishment of ANZAC, which is coming back online soon, Supply Service is establishing a major intermediate depot as close as possible to the units of Lavarack. This depot will be partially supplied by LCT. The latter will benefit from the numerous beaches that still make the charm of the region, but they are unfortunately few in number.

 

[Wings]

August 28th, 1943

Volos - A few dozen kilometers further south, the Naval Engineers have done wonders, in spite of their weak means: the port of Volos is finally operational again at full capacity.

 

[Wings]

August 28th, 1943

Athens - At the Syntagma Square headquarters, Colonel Canterbry is breathing a little easier. All this progress alleviates a little his difficulties, but without solving them completely, far from it. A report is on his table, it will leave this evening for the chief of the 18th Allied Army Group...

 

[Wings]

August 28th, 1943

Sofia - The "SS diplomat" Beckerle comes again to express to the Regent his grievances (from his point of view, his demands) in the name of the Reich. Among them, one finds the strong wish that the deployment of the 1st Occupation Corps be much, much faster than that of the 2nd Corps. "If General Trifonov had fulfilled his mission with more zeal, perhaps we would not have to establish defensive positions east of Salonika. Our officers, who assist the Bulgarian army in its task, can no longer bear to hear complaints of all kinds: insufficient supplies, deficient preparation, lack of supervision, unsecured rear. Excuses that all that!" he roars as he paces around the Prince's office.
Then, knowing he is in a position of strength, he drives the nail in, both fists screwed on the desk behind which Prince Kyril is standing, trying to remain impassive: "All these unfortunate incidents lead me to warn Your Majesty. The Führer does not appreciate being made fun of and your position as regent makes you responsible for the actions of your subordinates."
The SS man stops in front of his interlocutor - obviously he is waiting for an answer. It comes: "You are right, Herr Beckerle. We must inject new blood into our sclerotic military apparatus. I will appoint a new Chief of Staff, a dynamic man who will be able to do his duty. He is General Kyril Yanchulev. I have no doubt that he will be able to satisfy and silence the complaints that you have kindly pointed out to us, while guaranteeing the secrecy of our operations."
The SS smiles, effectively satisfied in advance. This Prince Kyril of Preslav had learned his lesson well!

 

[Wings]

August 28th, 1943

Ankara - The British ambassador to Turkey, Sir Hughe Knatchbull-Hugessen, has before his eyes excerpts from a report written by his Soviet colleague Lavrishev, posted in Sofia, extracts that the Kremlin had transmitted to him - the Soviets are decidedly courteous Allies.
Looking at the document with a monocled eye, the bald-headed diplomat raises his eyebrows repeatedly in bewilderment. Heaven! He understands better why we went through him: Moscow is teeming with Abwehr spies, despite the efforts of the dreaded NKVD.
If this document is true, then the consequences of its transmission to the War Office will be... incalculable. From tomorrow, he will send it to Anthony Eden, via Cairo, and after encryption of course. But in the meantime, he puts it away in the safest place in the whole embassy - the safe in his office.

 

[Wings]

August 29th, 1943

In a discreet Parisian apartment, 20:00 - The three of them are discussing the instructions received the day before from Algiers. The least we can say is that their comments are not enthusiastic... Capturing Philippe Henriot, Minister of Information of the New French State! And on command, at a given time, moreover: it is a question of immediately setting up a close surveillance in order to be able to strike in the 36 hours following a next message of Radio-Alger which will give the order to launch the second phase of Operation Papillon, the kidnapping.
Then it will be necessary to transfer the individual by plane to England!
"Sometimes they really have good ones, in Algiers!" comments "Morlot". "Fouché" is furious: "It would be better to shoot this bastard directly! Did you hear his... friendly exchanges with Pierre Dac, these last few weeks, when Dac finished by saying "Good night, Mr. Henriot, and sleep well if you can!" ".
"Morlot" agrees: "Yes, Pierre Dac did say that on his tombstone they would write. "Philippe Henriot, dead for Hitler, shot by the French". If that's not an order, I don't know what is!" More Machiavellian, "Valrimont" deciphers: "In fact, they want us to shoot him but they don't want to give the order!" Suddenly, everyone falls silent. It's time for "a few personal messages". And one of the messages is for them! "The blue tit takes flight - I repeat - The blue tit takes flight".
"Fouché", "Valrimont" and "Morlot" look at each other for a moment in silence, stunned. Not only are they asked to do the impossible for the day before yesterday, but they are going to work with a team sent by the Direction Générale des Services Spéciaux, the DGSS, to chaperone them! Really, they have good ones, in Algiers!
They neglect to note the poetic and zoological relevance of the code names: the pretty blue tits appreciate particularly the ugly caterpillars...

 

[Wings]

August 29th, 1943

Hanoi - General Rikichi Andou enters the small conference room of the Metropole Hotel with a gait weighed down by age. The officers gathered around the large oval table greet him with an energetic salute, while Ambassador Yoshizawa and the Secretary of the Japanese Representation, the Honorable Kuriyama, bow.
The conference lasts well into the morning. Each officer, one after the other, says more or less the same thing to the new master (after the Emperor!) of Indochina: they need more men, more resources. But each of them considers the sector they are in charge of to be a priority, and their opinions as to the method to be applied to solve their problems, which are in the end quite similar, are divergent. If the members of the Andou staff advocate the offensive, most of the Indochina veterans are not enthusiastic: "Your Excellency, offensives are not useful. In most of the country, the enemy is hiding from us. As for attacking the Highlands, we have seen where that led us. Should we then prefer a defensive strategy?" Some officers end up arguing violently and Andou has to intervene to shut them up. Kuriyama, who keeps a cool head, summarizes: "The only slightly effective tactic to hold the country is to build posts. But this creates a paradox: the more posts you build, the more men you have to hire to escort supplies and repair sabotaged roads. So the more units are forced on predictable routes and the more the enemy multiplies the ambushes. In the end, the strategy that seems least costly increases our losses!
Andou then comments in a calm voice, "You fight a revolt by suppressing it or stifling it. We didn't succeed in suppressing this one, and according to you, we never will. So we have to quell it. Let's give preference to the people. The Vietnamese must be so hungry that they can no longer revolt!
Yoshiwara, fidgeting uncomfortably, says, "But, General, the rebels are actually preventing us from collecting a good part of the rice grown in the rice fields. And we can't spare soldiers to watch over every hamlet or search every junk.
Andou smiles, "No, indeed. But we can order half the peasants in the country to grow jute, an inedible plant that can be bought for money. We don't have to watch the villages all the time. It's enough to visit each village two or three times a year. If we find villagers who persist in growing rice, we burn the crop and the farmers. The only way for the Vietnamese not to starve will be to give us the burlap in exchange for the rice produced in the areas we secure!"
Yoshiwara remains unmoved, but he is horrified. Andou is actually proposing to kill half the country's population.

 

[Wings]

August 29th, 1943

South of Laos - The caravan of Chinese merchants which arrives this evening at Phalane comes from Chepone. According to the merchants, this Laotian locality was transformed into a true stronghold. Hundreds of Japanese have settled there. It is obviously a front line unit, well armed, disciplined and competent.

 

[Wings]

August 29th, 1943

New Georgia - The last pockets of resistance on the island are reduced with the flame thrower, or bulldozer. In the second case, the defenders are simply buried at their posts. The island seems to be conquered, except for the northern end of the Arundel peninsula, towards which the 172nd IR is slowly advancing...

 

[Wings]

August 29th, 1943

Vitebsk region ("Suvorov-North") - The night did not stop the 63rd Army, which continues to its objective, while pushing more and more brutally the unfortunate 293. ID. The latter, although now reinforced by the 394. PanzerGrenadier Rgt, is simply unable to cope and does little more than delay the Soviets, which enter Bilieva in the early afternoon. The Reds are now at the gates of Vitebsk!
Faced with this disastrous situation, Erwin Rommel, who has arrived in Vitebsk in a Fieseler Storch early in the morning, takes direct command. He has every confidence in his expertise, which would not be lacking to turn the situation around. A few kilometers away, the 14. PanzerGrenadier passes Polotsk and drives as fast as possible without worrying about its cohesion or its flanks. Rudolf Holste receives direct instructions from the Fox: he must be on the spot before nightfall, otherwise he will suffer the consequences! In truth, the head of HG Mitte no longer expects a last-minute intervention of the 14. PzGr - on the other hand, he counts well on it to secure his flank and his rear! Because the maneuver that he prepares looks acrobatic.

 

[Wings]

August 29th, 1943

Battle of Kiraŭskaja ("Suvorov-North") - With a surprising haste that could make one believe in the beginning of a rout (or at least a panic), the 3. Panzer Rgt leaves its positions north of the Daugava River and heads east to the center of Vitebsk, thus abandoning control of the road to Polotsk to the 3. PzrGr Rgt and 543. Panzerjäger Abt.
Kurushkin's 20th Army, although as stretched as the day before, now seems to be in a strong position. However, its orders, regularly recalled by the Stavka - itself duly rammed by Stalin - are very clear: "To support the advance of the 63rd Army and to seize Vitebsk at the first opportunity." The significant weakening of the German lines is clearly one of them! The presence of the surviving elements of the 260. ID towards Bol'shie Lettsy should not be a hindrance. And even if Pavel Kurushkin is a graduate of Frunze, he is also a matador who does not hesitate when it comes to advancing. So he launches his 61st Rifle Corps over the enemy, towards the south and the Daugava, under massive support provided by the VVS.
The Axis lines could only break in the face of such a deployment of forces... Kiraŭskaja is taken in less than two hours and the Daugava reached by the Soviets, who are already planning to turn east to finish the enemy in a high-style encirclement - meanwhile, the 69th Corps, more worn out by the previous offensives, will cover the western flank. The frontovikis, who feel the victory coming, turn to Vitebsk - in a hurry, their units do not take the time to reorganize.
But at 16:00, disaster falls: whipped by the encouragements of their leader, outraged that he was so easily defeated, the 260. ID and the 543. Panzerjäger Abt hit the 69th Corps on the road to Vitebsk. The German counter-attack is energetically supported by the Stukas of the StG.1 and the Bf 110 of I/ZG.26. The 2nd Air Force obviously intervenes, but the ground support aircraft are covered by two Gruppen of the JG.5 in full. The ensuing air combat over the Daugava meanders is spiced up by the fire of the 314. Heeres-Flak-Artillery Abt - which, like all the flak units, machine-gun with rigorous fairness all the planes that pass within range of its tubes. However, the Experten are having a great time, at thi low altitude, which greatly enhances the performance of their Bf 109G-6s. The Luftwaffe shoots down no less than 43 aircraft, including 2 for Oberleutnant Theodor Weissenberger (85 victories), 2 for Oberfeldwebel Walter Schuck (62 victories) and 3 for Major Heinrich Ehrler (109 victories)! The Sturmoviks that support the 20th Army, all single-seater, pay the highest price: 29 of them do not return. The Luftwaffe, however, loses only 8 aircraft. This crushing victory reminds the German pilots of the beautiful hours of "Barbarossa" - and to the Soviets that, despite all its setbacks, the Eagle remains a dangerous adversary in the summer of 1943. Still, the low ceiling allows many damaged aircraft to escape! Only consolation for the Falcons of Stalin, Major Ivan Fedorov, renowned test pilot, veteran of the Spanish War and multi-decorated leader, is awarded three fascist aircraft, including a 109 and two Stukas*.
On the ground, the Soviets are filled with doubt - which becomes certainty when the general staff is informed that the 129. ID (Alfred Praun), from Piestunica, attacked the rear of the 20th Army and that the panzers who had fled to Vitebsk a few hours ago have turned back! They seem to have gone up along the Daugava, taking advantage of the confusion, to move now towards Sujkava. The 61st Rifle Corps, ventured south, is now in mortal danger. The 69th Corps fighting for its survival and that of the artillery, Kurushkin has only the poor 18th Rifle Division to block the road of the German armor, which has to sacrifice itself at the crossroads of Tiraspol, the time for the artillerymen to turn their guns, to fire a few shells, then to withdraw their guns and to save themselves.
The 20th Army is not far from the rout - feeling the catastrophe coming, Pavel Kurushkin orders a general retreat.
The 69th Rifle Corps, although hard pressed on its right, can get out of the trap thanks to the time gained by its 73rd Division, which fights foot to foot around the village of Borŝjovka - its leader, Colonel Peter Spiridonov, will be killed in action. The division's performance is not for nothing in the fact that the rear of the 20th Army will suffer relatively light losses during this engagement. For its efforts, the unit will be awarded the Order of Lenin... in January 1945 - even if there will be few surviving Frontovikis from Borŝjovka in its ranks.
Unfortunately for him, the 61st Corps is not as lucky - in particular because its leader, Major-General A.M. Ilyin, is killed in the first minutes of the battle by a Stuka bomb. His chief of staff, Lieutenant-Colonel A.N. Koriakov, takes over the command but does not dare to order the retreat for fear of suffering the wrath of Colonel I.A. Vlasenko, who represents the NKVD at the corps headquarters. By the time Kurushkin's instruction reaches them, it is too late! The 144th Division and a large part of the 172nd Division are already surrounded and in the process of annihilation. Courageously, the 110th holds on to leave an open road for the escapees - for this feat, it became the 84th Guards Division Koracheyev. As for the poor 18th Division sent as a lost child to Tiraspol, it is literally crushed by the panzers.
The 20th Army, beaten, reduced by half and dispersed, returns in disorder to a Saŭčonki-Bukacina line, pursued - fortunately not too roughly - by tired Panzergrenadiers, scattered Landsers and panzers whose forest is not the favorite playground.
Moreover, the pursuers quickly stop to turn to the 63rd Army of Kuznetsov - which has observed with dismay the disaster on the other side of the Daugava and is now preparing for a new counterattack.
From his hill, near Dabrejka, Erwin Rommel also observed the battle, but with undisguised satisfaction. With his chin raised high (which best exposes the knight's cross around his neck), he throws to his aide-de-camp Alfred-Ingemar Berndt (who was also his head of the Propaganda Department): "You see, dear friend, the German army has just executed a new battle of Cannae. We have drawn them into our center, surrounded and crushed them." The Fox knows that his devoted "personal manager of public relations" will know how to make this triumph a new exploit worthy of his legend, and more representative of the superiority of the German race in general.
However, unlike the forces of Varro and Paulus at Cannae, the 20th Army, if it is undeniably defeated, is not annihilated. In a few days, it will be able to fight again, even if it will obviously be much less strong than before. And, even more serious, it is not alone. If the Germans can legitimately flatter themselves that they have won a great victory, it remains that another Soviet army, still operational, is still in the area. Moreover, this local victory has no influence on the Belarusian front, and even less on the general operational situation. This is why, while trumpeting the fact that he had stopped the Russians at Vitebsk, Rommel orders Karl Arndt's 293. ID to follow the 394. PanzerGrenadier Rgt and to cross to the north bank of the Daugava - as much to reorganize as to not to remain isolated. Vitebsk is now at least partly able to be taken by the Red Army.

* These victories will be confirmed by observers on the ground, which is not superfluous - although Fedorov is a professional and an expert in aerial combat, he will carry throughout his life a reputation of superficiality and even of mythomania which will end up making him be called "Baron Munchausen of the VVS"!

 

[Wings]

August 29th, 1943

Orsha area ("Suvorov-North") - In this area, the German situation becomes delicate because of the wear and tear imposed on Rommel's forces. Indeed, the 1st Guards Army comes out of its Arechaŭsk reduction, accompanied by the 18th Armored Corps, to strike the southern flank of the German position - namely the 35. ID (Ludwig Merker) and especially the 18. PanzerGrenadier (Werner von Erdmannsdorff). The return of the T-34, supported by by some KV-85, hurts very much the Panzer III holding the line, which lose nearly thirty of theirs for only about fifteen Russian tanks. The Soviet forces start to dig a new salient in the direction of Maloe Babino, but without being able to exploit immediately, both because of the fatigue of their infantry and the fear of a backlash from the 12. Panzer - even if the latter might soon form itself a salient from Orsha and pointing to the northeast!
Erpo von Bodenhausen's tanks, forced to release pressure, abandon their positions to withdraw hastily south of Andrejeŭščyna, joining the forces of the VI. AK (Jans Jordan), who are no longer far from bringing order to Orsha again.
- At least on its surface... In fact, despite the situation, passing from now on from cellars to sewers, the Partisans remain active. They continue their ambushes and attacks, without the massive reprisals of the Occupiers (1,500 shot in the last three days) being enough to calm the situation. Their ranks are now swollen by the integration of many soldiers "forgotten" by the 3rd Guards Army during the evacuation of Orsha, the Partisans seem to be persuaded that, at the time of the next arrival of the Red Army, the crimes of the Occupant will make the whole civilian population join the armed struggle. And in fact, if they have reduced the pocket north-east of the city center, the Landsers cannot be everywhere at once... As for the despicable Schuma, so hated by the Belarusians, she is definitely not at the party in the middle of a battle: the desertions in the ranks multiply.
All this upheaval is good for Ivan Zakharkin, who can rally his 3rd Guard and even consider reoccupying part of the positions lost the day before. Erpo von Bodenhausen is perfectly aware of this - but he cannot charge the Soviet forces as soon as they approach. Moreover, his formation depends on the reserves of the Army Group - it is therefore not intended to be consumed in endless battles to defend a position which more and more people doubt the interest of in the HG Mitte staff.
This is why, in the concern to relieve its armoured forces and while knowing pertinently that Orsha will probably be abandoned in the medium term, Bodenhausen requests in the evening from Minsk the authorization to go back into reserve, the XXXIX. PzK being according to him completely able to take over. Of course, Kurt von Tippelskirch and his commander Hermann Hoth can only grimace - but the safeguarding of the panzers is at this price!