June 5th, 1944
Balkan campaign
Operation Blockbuster
XIII Corps front (Drava valley, Hungary), 05:30 - Dawn breaks over the Hungarian plain. As feared and anticipated by some, desired and planned by others - but in any case expected by all - the tubes of MacCreery's XIII Corps, Northcott's ANZAC and the 5th and 2nd AGRA all open fire together on the positions of LXVIII. Armee-Korps under Hellmuth Felmy. The latter has the onerous task of keeping the gateway to the Hungarian oilfields closed.
The Allied offensive axes are obvious: Szigetvár and Virovitica, before a probable junction near Barcs, to then advance along the Drava to Nagyatád and then Nagykanizsa. These first two locations would have to be taken by the 6th Australian Division (Jack Stevens) and the 4th Indian Division (Arthur Holworthy), supported in the center by the 51st Infantry Division (Charles Bullen-Smith). Behind them are no less than three armoured formations: the 1st Australian Armoured (Horace Robertson) to the north, the 32nd Army Tank Brigade (A.C. Williams) to the south and the 10th Armoured (Horace L. Birks) in the center, which could be redeployed as opportunities arise. Their task, of course, is to exploit.
Behind again, the 6th Armoured Division (Vyvyan Evelegh), damaged during Plunder but well on the way to recovery, is also available - firstly to defend the Mohács sector against a counter-attack along the Danube from Budapest (you never know), but also to slip towards Pécs or even Kaposvár in the event of a total collapse of the Huns.
The latter seems possible. True, the German front lines are starved: the LXVIII. AK has only three infantry divisions, not even at full strength, to oppose the main effort. The 173. ID (Heinrich von Behr), supported by the 907. StuG Abt (Hauptmann Friedrich von Lessen) is at Virovitica, the 100. Jäger (Willibald Utz) is at Szigetvár, and between them, the 181. ID (Hermann Fischer), supported by the 914. StuG Abt (Major Friedrich Domeyer), amounts to a slightly reinforced division.
Behind the forests of Zselic, however, lay Walter Krüger's LXV. Panzer-Korps with its 1. Panzer (Walter Soeth) and its 19. PanzerGrenadier (Josef Irkens). Even though two other reserve panzer divisions have left in a hurry for the Carpathians, even though the 1. Panzer is a long way from its former glory and even though the 19. PzGr is made up of bits and pieces, they nonetheless constitute an appreciable reserve. Used well, they can even put the Imperials to the sword. And they will be used! The German army is not going to give up on the Nagykanizsa region just like that. Hitler wants the Hungarian oilfields - his last source of fuel, the only one that can really keep his Wunderwaffen, ultra-heavy tanks and jet planes going, even though their actual exploitation is becoming more and more uncertain every day due to the bombardments coming from everywhere.
So the 18th AAG had to make a sudden move, strike hard and turn the tables - for the moment, the results of the first assaults pointed in that direction.
Putsch
Brčko district, around 05:30 - While the cannon is already thundering on the front line, strange and unpleasant things are happening in the rear of the XIII Corps and the GDB, positioned further down the Sava. Sentries disappear, isolated guard posts stop transmitting - the entire Sava valley between Slavonski Brod and Šabac seems to be experiencing communication difficulties.
From his HQ in Brčko, Camille Caldairou senses that something very worrying is happening right under his nose - that is, to be precise, between the front line and the road to Belgrade. So he sends several detachments to reconnoiter his own rear. With limited manpower, of course (the French don't have many infantrymen around!), but also with a certain caution born of experience. But not more than that - the Yugoslavs are allies, that's for sure. At worst, they can be agitated - provoking what history will remember, for a while at least, as the vague and minimalist term "troubles".
.........
Šamac Bridge, 06:00 - As Major Jean Capagorry approaches this highly strategic installation for Allied supplies, he notices that the French sentries usually on duty seem to have disappeared. In fact, the soldiers he spots in the morning mist look unusual and... above all, have white skin, in stark contrast to the ebony of his Senegalese riflemen. So he decides to go and check in person, followed by a single bodyguard, his orderly and chauffeur, whom he greatly appreciates for his bravery and reflexes.
Approaching the banks of the Save along a wooded path, Capagorry comes face to face with a Freecorps man in a grove, who immediately thrusts the barrel of his Thompson into his stomach. The orderly (who, suspicious, had unclipped the holster of his revolver) reacts in a flash: he draws his regulation Colt 1911 and wedges the barrel just under the Serb's chin. The Serb can see that the safety has been removed and that the Frenchman is no more joking than he. After a very short - but apparently very long - moment of tension, the three men manage to separate without a shot being fired and walk off towards their own side, keeping each other well in sight and, above all, without taking their eyes off each other.
Capagorry recovers very quickly from the shock. He's seen more than he bargained for in Fourteen... But he needs to contact HQ as soon as possible. The Šamac bridge is now cut off, as it is being held by... enemy forces?
Operation Blockbuster
Around Szigetvár (Hungary), 06:30 - In the rising sun, an officer far away from his bush fires a red rocket in the face of the explosions that are becoming more and more distant. The 6th Australian is hurtling towards the enemy - just above, the Banshees of Sqn 213 whir past, covered by fighters, while higher up, waves of twin-engine A-20s are about to hit the German lines of communication.
The Oceanian infantryman really needs this spectacle. Since last year and the losses at Plunder, they have had the impression that they are stalling and risking their lives for nothing. In fact, it's only in Italy that progress is even slower! How can you claim to be winning the war here - in the depths of Central Europe! - only to return home very quickly? In his letters, Sergeant Major Ernest Powdrill describes the setting with chilling realism: "The weather is dreadful, the driving rain is intense and the days seem dark all the time. At night it is bitterly cold. The locality is wooded and dark, the enemy is numerous and the area is heavily mined". Even though this letter dates from March, it is clear that the general atmosphere did nothing to comfort the soldiers!
In short, it may look good on paper, but that doesn't mean it's going to be pleasant. Master Corporal Matthew improvised the evening before with some trepidation: "Riders on the storm, Riders on the storm. Into this house, we're born. Into this world, we're thrown. Like a dog without a bone, An actor out on loan. Riders on the storm. There's a killer on the road. His brain is squirmin' like a toad. Take a long holiday ! Let your children play. If you give this man a ride, Sweet family will die. Killer on the road, yeah!"
Chaos
GDB HQ, Gradska Vijecnica (Brčko), 06:45 - Unfortunately, it has taken some time to admit what some had feared for some time - and the information has been cross-checked several times - but the facts are there, implacable: the Royal Freecorps have just gone into rebellion. However, the rebellion does not appear to be directed against the allied forces at the front. Rather, it is clearly an attempt to enter Belgrade from the west and north, with the aim, no doubt, of overthrowing the new government, taking control of the congress and, while they were at it, securing Communist and even democratic representatives... In a word: a putsch!
The problem is that, in addition to the threat that the Chetniks' virility poses to the fledgling embryo of civil peace, it can also seriously undermine the efforts underway towards the shores of Lake Balaton. The Allies therefore have to react urgently. The problem is that the British had hardly any troops capable of intervening, while the Royalist Freecorps represent a substantial force: around 12,000 men, though scattered, they are mobile and experts in small-scale warfare. What's more, they have the latest equipment, generously provided by the United States. It is therefore imperative that the Balkan Divisional Group should bear the brunt of the effort to put out the fire, being deployed closer and in a calmer sector.
A further difficulty is that the GDB does not have a plethora of troops in the sector either. It has to bring back troops from Slavonski Brod (the 192nd DIA), from Kožuhe on Bosnia (the 4th RST), and even from Gračanica (where the 1st Czechoslovak Division had its HQ). This would take time, especially as the telephone lines are cut and the radios are most likely being listened in on. All the while, he has to be careful to secure his rear... as well as his front line (let's not forget that the Germans are there too)!
Understandably, Camille Caldairou does not have the resources to react immediately and effectively. It would take him several hours - perhaps a day - to see things more clearly. In the meantime, he can only warn Belgrade... which only has General Brasic's 1st Yugoslav Corps nearby. An unpredictable formation at this hour! What's more, the 1st YAC also has to defend its depots and its own HQ.
So it is a disaster waiting to happen... Hour after hour, worrying reports accumulate: although they are not irredeemably violent, the Chetniks are aggressive - and sometimes worse. The sections speak of sentries being taken by surprise by angry gangs, disarmed, stripped naked and then paraded on poles*, even paraded in triumph or tied to the front of vehicles to be used as human shields. In Obudovac, a French transport section is even ambushed by a strong detachment commanded by Zaharije Ostojić. Ostojić is very kind and tells its commander that "in view of the circumstances, [they would be] provisionally considered as prisoners of war".
Operation Blockbuster
XIII Corps HQ (Osijek), 08:00 - "For God's sake, if it's not just a communications problem, tell me what's going on over there!" At the other end of the line, the head of intelligence chooses to keep things brief: "It's an uprising, sir. Against the new Yugoslav government, apparently."
"Good God..." Montgomery doesn't even hang up harshly. The date chosen by these mad Continentals is the worst he can imagine. Even worse is the time at which he learns of this imbecility: the artillery bombardment is over, the air force is above the front line and the first waves have already begun! And successfully, it seems!
So what do we do now? The stick whips the air furiously to the rhythm of Monty's caged lion's stride.
To cancel everything now would be to have lost men and ammunition for nothing, and to be forced to launch a third (!) operation tomorrow for the same objective. At this point, even Jerry's going to be wondering whether we're making a mockery of him! Impossible.
To continue against all odds - and probably, soon, by committing very precious armoured divisions particularly dependent on supplies, with no certainty as to the future - is just as risky. Tomorrow, if the Serbs closed the road to Belgrade, Monty would find himself with dozens of vehicles running out of petrol or ammunition just in front of Krüger's panzers! And with the certainty of not being able to replace his losses!
That leaves the intermediate solution - the best or the worst, depending on how things turn out. Continue the assault with the first wave of units and hold back the exploitation force until the situation becomes clearer. It will be expensive, and opportunities will be lost. But it is the only reasonably prudent solution that would allow the Marshal to continue his action without taking too many risks. Montgomery hates uncalculated risks - but he also knows that if Blockbuster stalls tomorrow, his entire credibility would be compromised.
So let's go for the least bad solution. Hopefully the French will make themselves useful by sorting out this unpleasant business and restoring order as soon as possible. Monty won't have to say it twice: the men of the GDB are already doing their best to fulfil his wishes.
Chaos
Šamac Bridge, 08:30 - Major Jean Capagorry really didn't enjoy his tough encounter at dawn. And he makes his decision, with the agreement of General Léon Jouffrault - who is already organising a motorised column to clear Brčko: this bridge has to be taken back. And as soon as possible!
The Frenchman therefore assembles an ad hoc force consisting of two squads of riflemen, a shock group supplied by the 6th REI**, two M8 Armored Cars and a platoon of M3 half-tracks - without heavy weapons, but with one .50 and one .30 machine gun each. This baroque but dynamic force has to force its way through a narrow structure (two lanes: 6 metres wide!), with little cover but almost 300 metres long, and with a field fortification at each end consisting of a wooden bunker enthroned in the middle of a maze of sandbags and improvised obstacles (including piles of crates). The defences are just as powerful on the north bank as on the south... And Capagorry sees only one way out: speed and shock.
He draws up his battle plan accordingly. In the first phase, his machines will sweep along the north bank (where he is) and open fire from all their tubes to force the defenders to lower their heads - that should settle the issue of support between the banks, at least for a while. Obviously, the huts and shelters will be particularly targeted - but there are no plans to strafe the bunker. It would be stupid, ineffective, a waste of time and ammunition... and you never know, there could be friendly prisoners in there. We'd have to continue firing all the way while the men of the shock group took over the positions on the bank. This will require a charge followed by hand-to-hand combat. However, the shock group's mission is not to enter the buildings - this is the responsibility of the Senegalese riflemen, who arrive in second echelon to allow the shocks to advance without stopping.
Without stopping for 300 metres! After all, there's the whole of the apron to be covered in the process, all the way to the south bank, and without the support of the machines - which will have to stop firing. To achieve this, the Frenchman is counting on his opponents' panic and astonishment - he's betting on the fact that they can't imagine such a rapid and strong reaction. He is also counting on fear, in the face of the "cold iron": the bayonet. Capagorry plans to be wilder than the natives! In a radio interview years later, he said: "The bayonet... Intellectually, it's a very reassuring tool. At least as reassuring as it is frightening for those on the other side."
That may well be - but it's going to be a tricky exercise nonetheless. The assault is scheduled for 9 AM sharp.
.........
Brčko, 08:45 - The rebel forces have taken control of most of the city - the crossing points, crossroads and some depots - without seeking for the moment to assault the allied units entrenched in their barracks. The unlucky and isolated, however, are arrested, disarmed and more often than not held hostage. The Serbian troops, motorised, well-armed and still led by at least one of their leaders - Vojislav Lukačević, according to reports - continue westwards towards Belgrade.
.........
Šamac Bridge, 09:00 - The French machines burst onto the north bank at full speed, just as the infantry is moving off. Their fire rains down on the south bank and the bridge deck, where the combined force of their machine guns effectively forces everyone to lie down - exactly the effect Jean Capagorry has expected.
The shock group charges and hits the defences of the north pier with a single blow. These are held by only a dozen Serbs, five or six of whom are dressed in French and British uniforms... The instructions to the legionnaires are simple: no quarter given. After the first shots are fired, a fierce and decisive melee takes place between the sandbags. People are skewered, hit and shot at point-blank range - one of the legionnaires falls, wounded by a blade to the thigh. Two Serbs are killed and the rest retreat running towards the bunker, from where a .30 machine gun fires a few rounds.
Sergeant Abel Billy climbs the structure and throws a grenade into it, silencing the gun. Then he straightens up and jumps onto a pile of crates to make faster progress - he then falls, mows down by a bullet in mid-leap. He hs the sad privilege of being the first French soldier to be killed by 'friendly' fire. Unfortunately, he would not be the only one killed that day.
In fact, on the southern shore, the situation is much improved. The furia francese makes no impression in the Balkans and fire is pouring down on the north bank. The fire from the vehicles increases, while the shock group begins to charge along the apron, despite all the risks and leaving the skirmishers to flush out the elements that had remain behind. Three fleeing Serbs roll onto the bridge. A French sniper, lying on the northern bunker (the one silenced by Billy's grenade), lines up a man in French uniform walking north and shoots him in the leg - he doesn't know it, but it is a prisoner that the Chetniks have thrown towards them to slow down the assault.
Despite this ruse, the shock group reaches the bags on the south bank with only one casualty. The survivors jump over the obstacles and seize the first line at the cost of two other casualties (one light, one serious). Then the enemy mortars enter the fray - their barrage, modest but always unpleasant, dampens the action a little. Then, as the explosions begin to die down, a Serb officer carrying a white flag comes forward behind a French officer, holding him at gunpoint!
The Serbs want their wounded and dead back - they are still holding six hostages, whom they offer to exchange for them. Jean Capagorry has to call off the assault while he decides how to respond...
.........
Ministry of Defence (Belgrade), 09:15 - After a most tense meeting with the 18th AAG leaders - a good part of which he spends explaining that he and his men have had nothing to do with it - General Dušan Simović (now Minister of War, theoretically doubling as Petar Živković, even though the approval of Congress is not required! ) orders General Illija Brasic's I Corps to urgently form "the equivalent of at least one brigade with armoured elements". This one is to go as far as Belgrade to join up with the ad-hoc reinforcement groups currently being formed, before advancing towards Obrenovac and then probably Šabac. The aim of the loyalists - if we can call them that from now on - is to contain the problem to the Drina, even though it seems obvious that the rebels will get there first. Never mind - Simović picks up the phone and prays that Brasic answers as he hopes he will...
.........
Šamac bridge, 09:45 - It's a truce! The Chetnik forces have taken 4 dead and 4 wounded prisoners - they start to evacuate their people towards the south bank, freeing the French in their power one by one. On the French side, there is one dead and 5 wounded, including the hostage who has been shot by mistake. Jean Capagorry, who feels that the fragile agreement he has reached did not prevent him from redeploying his forces, fires an M8 at the parapet facing south. The message is clear: leave or we'll make you leave!
.........
Bijeljina, 10:30 - The Chetnik motorised vanguards reach this locality near the Drina, without encountering any real opposition. They are now only 100 kilometres from Belgrade and are making repeated radio speeches ordering Yugoslavs of goodwill (and in particular the soldiers of the 1st Corps) to join them and march towards the capital.
Bijeljina plays a special role in the region: a town not too badly ravaged by the fighting of 1941 and only slightly damaged by that of 1944, it was under the control of the 8th Army, which uses it as a secondary distribution depot, due to its position between XIII Corps, ANZAC and also the French of the Balkans Divisional Group. It shares this role with Šid, which is closer to the crossing points on the Danube - but also closer to the front, making it theoretically more exposed.
Bijeljina also has another, much older peculiarity: it is one of the landmarks of Serbian history, as the martyred town of the first Serbian uprising in 1807... Which did not prevent it from being attached to the NDH until recently, as it is populated mainly by Croats and Muslim Bosnians. The latter did not behave too well under the Occupation - well, from the Serbs' point of view. In fact, it was in Bijeljina that the Croats, even before the Germans, began to apply the famous "hostage code": 50 peasants rounded up at random and executed at the first sign of trouble. And there was so much unrest that the Ustasha-Nazi crackdown led to the deaths of 50,000 people in the region.
All of which explains why the Serbs, who still account for 25,000 of the total population of 78,000 in the city and its surroundings, are not too happy to see a Croatian communist come to power, backed by foreign arms and supposedly repentant mercenaries. So when columns of mutineers enter the town, waving a black flag with skull and crossbones and the motto "За краља и отаџбину; слобода или смрт"*** - the meaning of their action is very quickly understood. And after the applause, under the harangues of a few excited people, the crowd becomes hateful and the chaos truly uncontrollable...
.........
Šamac bridge, 10:45 - End of the truce between the French and Serb forces. The latter have understood the message and begin to withdraw towards the town center, taking their weapons with them. We'll no doubt be looking for them there... later!
Major Jean Capagorry is able to report to Gradska Vijecnica that the Šamac bridge has been cleared! It's a good thing: Camille Caldairou has people to get across, and quickly...
.........
Ministry of Defence (Belgrade), 11:00 - On the loyalist side, there is relief: the Yugoslav 1st Corps answers the telephone and obeys orders. An armoured regiment with mounted infantry, borrowed from Colonel Milutin D. Stefanović's armoured brigade, is preparing to leave the area around Kovačica as a matter of urgency. It is less than requested, but it is already much better than nothing. He should reach the capital by 13:00 - that's fast, but there is little fear of German action in Vojvodina.
From the point of view of the Yugoslav government, the situation is certainly problematic - especially for the British operations underway - but it is not serious. Despite all the offers, the army is on the right side, the rebels are not advancing so quickly, and their action already seems doomed to failure. They have taken Bijeljina? Big deal: Belgrade is still a long way off and the French look set to retake Šamac! The next stop on their journey should be Šabac. A big town, yes, but one that can still be defended and whose population, having suffered intense reprisals and all kinds of abuse over the last three years, no doubt no longer has the energy to attempt a stupid adventure. So, predictably, it all comes down to the Drina. There is only one solution: air strikes on the crossing points. Arthur Tedder has just given his agreement - however, a Yugoslav affair requires Yugoslav resources: the 81st EB would take care of it, covered by the 82nd EC.
On reflection, Dušan Simović - and his FARY counterpart Borivoje Mirković with him - is a little surprised that he is trusted with this strategic task, with little control, after the events of May 7th. The British are in a panic at the moment, as there is no question of reducing their support for Blockbuster.
.........
GDB HQ, Gradska Vijecnica (Brčko), 12:45 - General Camille Caldairou has detached - at the express request of the 18th AAG command - two battalions of the 17th Régiment de Tirailleurs Sénégalais (Colonel Marmillot). They would therefore have to leave the Slavonski Brod sector for an unspecified period of time... but the Ustachis on the other side are calm, hardly to be feared and there are also two AVNOJ corps in the area to provide back-up if necessary. This force has one objective: Šamac, then Brčko, before moving towards the Drina to support the troops coming from Belgrade.
At the same time, an ad-hoc detachment of the 4th RST, under the direct command of Colonel Roux, is to move up from Kožuhe to secure the southern flank at Modriča and Gradačac, in order to prevent the possible arrival of rebel forces from the Bosnian river.
These movements have already begun - at this very moment, the Senegalese are already engaging on the now famous Šamac bridge. The rebels are now on the verge of being trapped between two converging forces - if they manage to coordinate and arrive in time.
.........
Bridges over the Drina, shortly before 13:00 - The first motorised columns of the Freecorps arrive opposite Badovinci, where they discover that they have not gone fast enough. As the lead jeep drives onto the bridge built by the allied engineers - and strangely undefended - a pair of P-38s roars past and strafes the apron in front of the vehicle. The jeep is not intimidated, but behind it, the first waiting trucks explode under fire from a second pair of P-38s, much to the surprise of the lead driver, who has just got out!
The jeep still doesn't get a chance to cross the Drina. Two B-25s finally appear in the axis of the apron, bombed like in training and the deck, jeep and crew disappear in the explosions and smoke. In the cockpit of his P-38, Miha Ostric, who is commanding the mission, doesn't comment for once. It's never very pleasant to have to shoot at your fellow countrymen...
.........
Belgrade, 13:00 - The detachment of the 1st Yugoslav Corps arrives in the capital - in a state of siege, as expected. The British and Loyalist forces piled up all the troops they could find on each approach...
General Brasic's men - who have delegated operational command to Colonel Stefanović - have no need to stop in the city. After taking on board a contingent of reinforcements urgently assembled by the Ministry of War, the force immediately resumes its journey westwards. It now numbers around 5,000 men - fewer than the rebels, it's true, but they have armoured vehicles and aircraft.
.........
Šamac, 14:00 - Colonel Marmillot's forces finish securing the eastern road and, more generally, the area around Šamac. The Chetniks appear to be in the process of redeploying eastwards... or fleeing southwards, in which case Roux's spahis will be the problem. Leaving the equivalent of a company to restore order here, Marmillot climbs back into his vehicle and immediately takes the road to Bijeljina via Brčko.
In Brčko, General Camille Caldairou does not appear to be in any danger, but he nevertheless has to be cleared as soon as possible. As for Bijeljina, the situation there would be problematic - if not downright dramatic, according to the British. So it's clear that by acting in this way, Marmillot is condemning himself to weakening his column as he advances. But does he have a choice?
.........
Modriča, 14:30 - As soon as the detachment of the 4th Rgt of Tunisian Spahis enters the town, it comes up against scattered Chetnik elements stationed there and reinforced by groups brought down from the banks of the Sava and Bosnia rivers by Marmillot's machines. The situation, by nature extremely fluid between two particularly mobile forces, quickly degenerates into a succession of skirmishes that are as confused as they are brief.
The Serbs, who had been instructed to prevent any allied forces from moving up the Bosnia river, adapt their position accordingly. The problem for them is that, with the rapid recapture of the Šamac bridge and the skirmishers pouring into their rear, some of their elements are beginning to lack... shall we say, consistency of effort. Large gaps form in their lines, and the arrival of fleeing elements from the north does not help their front, on the contrary. In fact, the Freecorps are well and truly in the process of losing ground in this sector. But that in no way means that they are giving up the fight - in fact, the opposite is true!
.........
Brčko, 15:30 - Rushing along the roads, the motorised column of the 17th RTS reaches the town on the banks of the Sava and enters it without encountering much opposition - a few isolated shots, no more. The French split into two groups. The first, a few sections reinforced by an armoured platoon, is to clear the GDB HQ, still entrenched around the Gradska Vijecnica. The second group, which is stronger and has most of the firepower, immediately bypasses the town to continue on its way.
Once again, it is a risky move. But Marmillot has decided that protecting French lives is the priority - French lives and the GDB HQ: if he is caught, the whole chain of command would fall. Like the other French officers, he has learnt a lot from May to July 40... He therefore personally takes charge of the group entering Brčko, leaving the main force to Lieutenant-Colonel Raymond Duval - who therefore continues towards Bijeljina via Brod and Čađavac without encountering any strong resistance for the time being****. Marmillot is not worried: Duval is a particularly experienced and courageous officer - awarded the Légion d'Honneur at the age of 20! He has his full confidence.
.........
Modriča, around 16:00 - While confusion is still running high in the southern part of what has become known as the rebel pocket, Colonel Roux, commander of the 4th RST, is ambushed by retreating Serb elements. Accounts of the episode differ: according to some, Roux was killed immediately, while according to others, he was executed after capture - some Serbs claim that he was shot in the back as he tried to escape. But one thing is certain: the 4th RST has just lost its leader. But when the news spreads through the ranks of the Spahis, it only increases their fighting spirit. The furia francese (and Tunisian) is unleashed in full force.
.........
GDB HQ, Gradska Vijecnica (Brčko), 16:15 - Colonel Marmillot's troops reach the town centre and clear Camille Caldairou's headquarters - which by this time is only surrounded by a few stragglers, as the heart of the action shifts westwards... The head of the Balkan Divisional Group is therefore cleared without a fight - relieved, of course, but also a little worried, because the general situation is still (all the same!) rather worrying. GDB HQ is kept informed of the situation in real time: although the telephone lines are cut, the Chetniks have no way of jamming radio communications! Marmillot reassures his boss - with the Duval column and the loyalists due to arrive from Belgrade, things would take care of themselves.
A few minutes later, Caldairou has a second surprise - very unexpected, and perhaps pleasant. Dobroslav Jevđević, one of the leaders of the royal Freecorps, wants to negotiate a ceasefire, as he and his troops have "stayed out of the fighting". This is obviously unverifiable, and Jevđević's reputation for... cordiality is well known, ever since the sweet words exchanged with the Greeks last February. That said, it is not because he is not fooled that the Frenchman can afford to refuse such an offer...
.........
Sabac, 16:30 - The Yugoslav loyalist forces have sped off without stopping and are entering the town with all the less caution, since the airmen assure them that the rebels have not been able to cross the Drina, except in small groups incapable of large-scale action. And as expected, the population, crushed by misfortune, keeps quiet...
With no time to lose, Milutin Stefanović leaves only a garrison to "motivate" the local leaders in case they have any doubts. A number of river gunboats are also reported to have arrived on site, ready to give their all if necessary - these are the M150s that were so lacking during Grenade. "The only time the English help us is to kill our own people", mutters the colonel. Although not really accurate, this remark expresses a distressing bitterness. Stefanović nonetheless turns his tracks to the south-west, then sets off again in the direction of Badovinci and Prnjavor.
.........
Bijeljina, 12:00-17:00 - Since early afternoon, the town's population has been spiralling out of control - including the rebels, who are not helped by all this violence (even if they don't condone it). The British military authorities are completely overwhelmed by the bloody mayhem, and struggle even to protect their installations. The transcript of the radio messages sent to Belgrade from midday to 17:00 from the Dašnica radio station gives a good idea of the dramatic events unfolding there...
"Tombak district. The mob is looting the houses. We have no forces to send in.
(...)
Central district [Centar]. The shops are closing for fear of the crowds moving towards them.
(...)
Bogdanovića plac neighbourhood. Mobs attack houses supposedly inhabited by non-Serbs, looted and set on fire.
(...)
Galac district. The mob broke into a warehouse and armed itself. The police stations in the area are on fire. The local police are no help*****.
(...)
Two injured people arrive at our premises in a desperate state. Fifty others are said to be scattered in the streets. They need help.
(...)
Croats and Muslims are being attacked all over the city.
(...)
The crowd is approaching the Pet Jezera armoury and is threatening to loot it. There are 500 rifles on deposit in this facility. The line to it is dead - they're trying to isolate us!
(...)
Central district [Centar]. Riot in progress on the banks of the Dašnica. They are said to have killed gendarmes there. A crowd is there trying to destroy the bridges.
(...)
Pet Jezera district. The mob attacked the armoury. There is a risk of fire in the ammunition depot.
(...)
Our losses: 300 soldiers and officers reported missing or wounded. Yugoslav losses unknown.
(...)
Pet Jezera district. A group of 100 military policemen was sent to take over the armoury.
(...)
Galac district. Building on fire. Supply Services garages broken into - lorries of rioters spread throughout the town.
(...)
Arrival of a monitor announced near Badovinci. Possible fire support in the coming hours.
(...)
The crowd is now heading towards Dašnica to attack the radio station. They are moving down the riverbank. We have no men on the spot.
(...)
Arrival of the Czechoslovak reserve battalion redeployed from Tuzla. They are on their way to Dašnica.
(...)
The crowd is now 3,000 strong. Serb militiamen are mixed in with them or present in the countryside. There was talk of burning the surrounding villages. Gosjovac is to be razed to the ground.
(...)
Pet Jezera district. Our troops in the armoury sector are attacked. A large group is heading for the Hase prison camp. Send troops to protect the captives.
(...)
Galac district. Confirmation of the death of a British officer.
(...)
French reinforcements arrive in Dašnica. The crowd does not disperse. What are the orders? What are the orders?
That's right, Raymond Duval's column enters the town. Worried that they might be ambushed along the way, and perhaps hoping to restore order by giving a manly impression, the Senegalese riflemen advance along the full width of the streets, bayonets fixed and flags flying, clattering their steps on the cobblestones in the hope of making what they hope are only drunken civilians or rough-hewn militiamen tremble. But the crowd of rioters does not disperse.
The first order goes out: "Halt! Take aim!" Another replied: "Stignu! Ostati zajedno!" Duval, with a megaphone: "I order you to disperse!" A shout: "Ljutimo te!" A few shots of unknown origin ring out. "FIRE!" The line of Senegalese unload their Garand rifles into a compact mass that immediately runs back in disorder, leaving the dead and wounded on the pavement. The French infantry has already been fired back on and has lost one wounded man. It then charges through the unfortunate ones. The standard-bearer, who was trying to protect himself, leaves the blue-white-red banner lying on the ground for a while - it is then stained with Serbian blood. The image will be remembered and much later somewhat "embellished" by local history...
.........
Brčko, 17:00 - Dobroslav Jevđević's proposal is accepted. In a calm atmosphere, the Chetniks, who were protesting their passivity, if not their opposition to the putsch, leave their weapons behind (apart from the most personal ones) and are consigned to a nearby camp, until we see more clearly. It's deplorable, but Camille Caldairou can't afford to do otherwise, given the widespread chaos and his inadequate resources. And yet, in truth, the situation is quite simple: the men of the Freecorps have realised that they have lost, and each of them is now trying to save his own life, according to his own personal philosophy!
.........
On the banks of the Drina, 17:30 - The Yugoslav Loyalist column has reached the banks of the river - in the absence of bridges that have now been destroyed, it begins to cross in inflatable boats or using ferries, near Popovi (opposite Badovinci). Stefanović - who is not aware of the events at Bijeljina, nor of certain discussions at the highest level - then asks what should be done with the prisoners. Belgrade's response is harsher than expected, to say the least: "Prisoners? Don't take any outside a formed unit. The crowd doesn't take prisoners. Restore order. No prisoners until order is restored!"
Operation Blockbuster
XIII Corps front (Drava valley, Hungary), 17:30 - On the evening of the first day of Blockbuster, the Allied generals are presented with a relatively positive picture.
To the south, on the left bank of the Drina, the 4th Indian Division (Arthur Holworthy) has shaken the first line of the 173. ID (Heinrich von Behr) at Virovitica, triggering a reaction from the latter's partner, the 907. StuG Abt (Hauptmann Friedrich von Lessen), whose StG IIIs were severely punished by Allied aircraft. The engagement of the 32nd Army Tank Brigade (A.C. Williams), which could have begun to overrun from the right, is unfortunately postponed because of the Serbian crisis. As a result, if Jerry retreats, he still holds on to the crossroads to give the 181. ID the opportunity to intervene from Barcs, even if this possibility becomes frankly theoretical.
On the right bank, the 6th Australian Division (Jack Stevens) has partly broken through the 100. Jäger (Willibald Utz), already capturing a large part of the sector. German forces on the left of the Jägers - 181. ID (Hermann Fischer)/ 914. StuG Abt (Major Friedrich Domeyer) - are on their way to support them. Once again, it is a pity that the 1st Australian Armoured (Horace Robertson) is unable to turn this encouraging start into a rout! And in the centre, of course, the 10th Armoured (Horace L. Birks) does not move...
Finally, if Providence wills it, this deplorable episode will be settled tomorrow. Alas, as was to be expected, Walter Krüger's panzers begin to move: the 1. Panzer (Walter Soeth) approaches Barcs, the 19. PanzerGrenadier Brandenburg (Josef Irkens) crosses the woods towards Szigetvár on the road to Kaposvár. They will try to pin down the Australians on the right flank.
.........
Air war - With the start of Blockbuster, the Balkans Air Force naturally puts in a maximum effort throughout the day between the Sava, the Drina and Lake Balaton. However, a problem, which has hampered the Luftwaffe's (modest) intervention during the day, becomes apparent at the end of the afternoon: a large low-pressure area that has appeared in Austria seems set to shift towards the Danube and Hungary.
Chaos
In the mountains north of Tuzla, 18:00 - Vojislav Lukačević, who has apparently retreated into the mountains with a few hundred followers, sends an unencrypted radio message to... the AVNOJ, offering to join its ranks in exchange for an amnesty, as part of the renewed union of the peoples of Yugoslavia. A sort of second decree of forgiveness through arms - and the person concerned has a lot to forgive. Although... there's nothing worse than the SS Handschar or the KLAK legionnaires, is there?
.........
Bijeljina, 18:30 - Clashes continue in the town - the French forces seem to be gradually gaining the upper hand as Czechoslovak reinforcements arrive, especially as the Chetnik command has fled! Nevertheless, the situation is still far from stabilised - the most determined elements are entrenched in buildings, while the many armed civilians (Serbs and others) are firing on the allied troops, if not their neighbours.
Unfortunately, the French have a very heavy hand here. Without going so far as to compare them with the German occupiers (and even less so with the Croats), it has to be said that the French army has little expertise in suppressing urban uprisings. What's more, the darkness that is beginning to fall, the absence of clearly identified uniforms and the general confusion does not help to differentiate between enemies and... strays. Finally, Raymond Duval is a colonial officer, it should be remembered - here he applies the pacification procedures learnt during the Rif war. As for the Senegalese, they are enraged by the losses they have suffered and the urban battles they are forced to fight.
.........
West bank of the Drina, 19:30 - The first loyalist elements make contact with Zaharije Ostojić's forces. He obviously wants to negotiate a sort of amnesty, but between Serbs, and under the pretext of stopping the now "French exactions". It is true that the first engagements between Yugoslavs were not really to the advantage of the Freecorps. And since all is lost, we might as well make the best of it by getting as few people killed as possible. Obviously, Milutin Stefanović - who has no desire to strictly apply the order he has received from Belgrade - agrees. The meeting will take place within the hour.
.........
Janja, 20:30 - In the hovel where the discussion between the rebels and loyalists is taking place (since they all present themselves as royalists), they are talking rifle to rifle, and insults are flying between the regular soldiers who have come to arrest the mutineers and the rebel leaders. The rebel leaders, who have expected a little more understanding from their compatriots, get what they pay for and react angrily: "Milutin, you scum!" is one of the most reproducible insults here.
Tucked away behind a row of conscripts with automatic weapons pointed at his interlocutors, the man in question takes no offence. And he repeats calmly: "By order of His Majesty Petar II Karađorđević, I order you to unconditionally lay down your arms."
Several officers rip off their badges bearing the two-headed eagle to throw them to the ground and trample them underfoot: "By order... The Serbian throne is sold to the Reds, now!"
But here again, the royalist-loyalist colonel remains patient: "This kind of outrage does nothing. His Majesty guarantees you a fair trial."
A promise that triggers nothing but ferocious sneers in return.
Stefanović: "As you wish. But I would like to draw your attention to the fact that as far as this future trial is concerned, only the officers will be held responsible, and judged by Her Majesty's courts. The troops, who simply followed orders, will not have to explain themselves."
And then the group stops laughing.
Back in business
Around Staryi Lec (Voivodina) - Hartwig von Ludwiger takes over command of the 104. JägerDivision - his wound from last month has finished healing. His unit has not moved much since May 13th - it is still facing the Yugoslav 1st Corps, and at rest (although increasingly worried about what is happening in its rear).
Yugoslavia torn apart
Messiahs heckled
An airfield in Belgrade, 10:00 - Marshal Josip Broz Tito is well aware that he would not be entering the capital on a carpet of flowers. Nevertheless, he was no doubt expecting something more than to find himself confined with his (modest) retinue, in front of a (small) plane that is being kept ready to take off again, while all around, people arebusy, preparing and arming themselves with the loudest of angry orders.
Opposite him, at this tragic hour, are of course his partners in the Popular Front, but also, once again, those indispensable Frenchmen, represented by Roland de Margerie - who claim to have come to assure the new arrival of the royal good faith. A pity, given the circumstances! Tito is no fool, and a little voice in his skull is telling him that there is still time to get back on the plane to Bosnia, before they do to him what they failed to do to him last month. And perhaps (surely!) by the same people!
And yet, by dint of discussions, persuasion and argumentation from all sides - and as the threat seems to deflate with each passing hour - the Croatian allows himself to be persuaded to stay. Clearly, the balance of power has changed here. This pitiful insurrection is not a sign of something new. On the contrary, it is proof of the complete failure of the Panserbians, the last attempt before total defeat, the final convulsion of a dying hanged man. The proof is in the literal pleading with him - government parties, government envoys, Westerners, all of them - not to snap their fingers.
In the end, Tito's main memory of the event was "the unpleasant but optimistic memory of a bunch of people from different backgrounds and opinions, all caught up in the wind sweeping across a small airfield, and all busy preparing for the future". In practice, the main consequence of the day is to encourage Aleksandar Rankovic to send a hundred or so men from his OZNA to Belgrade as quickly as possible, in addition to the handful of loyalists who had already made the trip. We don't want to rush the beast - but obviously that's no longer the point.
Anger
Matignon (liberated Paris), 12:00 - General De Gaulle learns of the events in Yugoslavia at lunchtime (there's a time difference: we're back on French time!). At first he is simply irritated by this umpteenth convulsion in the Yugoslav affair - which that naive Blum had told him had been settled the evening before! - he becomes downright furious when the first French casualties are announced******.
Abandoning his barely begun meal, he storms off to his office, snarling "Now that's not going to happen, my good fellow!" He picks up the phone, asks to be put through to Belgrade - the palace, not the embassy! - as quickly as possible. Which can take time... and in fact it does. Barely twenty minutes - an achievement for the time, but one that nevertheless allows the President of the Council to burn no less than five Players in a row, nervously tapping the mahogany of his desk with his left index finger...
As you can imagine, the General is furious. This worried some people. In particular those around him, who were ordered to leave the room immediately, because De Gaulle doesn't need anyone to tell him what he has to say. Courcel is the only one who could stay - the faithful among the faithful, so he has the dubious honour of hearing part of the interview (from the anteroom, after all). And so, in his memoirs, he will be able to report what he understood******* - in other words, essentially the words of the President of the Council, as those of Peter II remained inaudible to him. But the absence of the sovereign's answers does little to impede understanding - to quote Courcel: "In any case, they were of little importance."
....
- Yes. Yes. Yes! My respects, Your Highness! And thank you for taking my call!
(...)
- Yes, I know. We're both military men and I'm very busy myself at the moment.
(...)
- Yes indeed, it's unacceptable.
(...)
- OK, so you'll forgive the frankness of my question: should the French army treat the Royal Yugoslav Army as an enemy?
(...)
- That's the point of my question - is there a state of war between our two countries?
(...)
- I'm delighted to hear that!
(...)
- Your army is already on its way to help put down the rebellion, which is great! When will it arrive?
(...)
- That's great. Shall we sort it out for you then?
(...)
- You do it yourself. That's fine!
(...)
- Yes, that will be all.
(...)
- Thanks to you too. You can count on our support.
...
As soon as he hangs up, De Gaulle (Courcel recalls) suddenly sinks back in his armchair, sighing as if relieved of a great weight. He lights a sixth cigarette and then, spotting his aide-de-camp in the doorway, beckons him over. The tirade that follows, of course, can only be recorded from memory.
"Yes, yes, sit down. We've got time now, lunch is cold. What a... Peter. He talks to me of friendship, of feelings, of brotherhood in arms. Like all the Powers, France does not have friends, it has interests. It doesn't have equals, it has partners. What kind of skewed vision of friendship is it that just because we liked each other yesterday, today we have to put up with everything? Legitimacy, rule of law... It would be good if these Karađorđević also remembered that they murdered their predecessors! This Peter is very young and very likeable, but he's sorely lacking in shoulders: when he walks into the room I'm in, I immediately want to give him a spine."
A few puffs later, the general has organised his thoughts a little better.
"That's why this whole thing could only go wrong from the start. We brought him to power, we told him what to do... and in the end, we don't need him much more. Indispensable, but only up to a point!"
As for these "Chetniks", their little coup de force is bound to fail. To make a revolution, you need strong-willed, determined men who know where they're going. I know them. They are no match for me. They can only end up in a mess. Yes, to lead a revolution you need Mirabeau, Danton and Robespierre. To pull off a coup, you need Napoleon. To put a state back on its feet, you need Clemenceau. For all that, you need to be intelligent. And you need nerve!"
New Player, new remark: "Of course, people will be surprised that I support communists. Especially in a foreign country. You should know that I don't support anyone, except the person who can get us out of this quagmire as quickly as possible. Today that certainly isn't His Majesty [chuckle] Peter II."
Note that I don't blame him for talking badly to the British or the Americans - I too, if things had really gone wrong, perhaps I should have... No, I blame him for thinking politics before Liberation and dynasty before Nation. And, to put it even more bluntly, I deplore his shopkeeper mentality, which puts his family jewels first! In all circumstances, the individual interest must give way to the general interest. He should have taken charge, by pacifying and bringing the country together, at least in part."
The seventh Player is close to being consumed. And De Gaulle concludes: "He is not equal to the situation, because he has never risen to it. And history will never forgive him for that."
And the smouldering cigarette - like Peter II? - crashes into the ashtray.
Infinite regrets
White Palace (Belgrade), 13:30 - As you can imagine, His Majesty Peter II Karađorđević is substantially nervous following this morning's events. His Freecorps, his loyal followers - those for whom he made his army take every risk to go and save them when everything was collapsing right here in Belgrade - are biting his hand and reneging on their oaths! After all, even if the former Chetniks are now saturating the airwaves protesting their absolute loyalty, it is still the royal authority that is at stake. Its reality, and the independent policy that it now pursues - sorry, that it has always pursued.
The King's mood is not helped by the conversation he has just had with De Gaulle. Once again, it is Bozidar Purić who is paying the price, since we are talking about foreign policy.
- You will let our allies know that we will do our best. But we have no intention of unleashing a fratricidal bloodbath - we've been criticised enough for supposedly doing nothing to prevent it!
- Majesty, the weakness of our resources and the urgency of the situation mean that we have to rely on our allies.
- But that doesn't give them any say in how we resolve this conflict!
- Of course not. But I fear that force will be the order of the day.
- You were talking about the weakness of our means?
- Churchill and De Gaulle have offered us guns.
- All they have to do is come and order them themselves!
- Majesty, don't give them ideas!
It's true: the Chetnik uprising must not lead to the total collapse of what remains of royal authority and credibility...
.........
Bijeljina, 23:30 - Fortunately for Peter, the swift action of the French and then the negotiations saved him from the worst. The worst, as illustrated by the events in this locality, where the dead are beginning to be collected from the areas once again controlled by the Allied army. Under white sheets stained red, in the harsh light of car headlights, guarded by an impassive Senegalese with his rifle butt on the ground and his bayonet fixed, several hundred bodies are lined up... It was impossible to identify them all, let alone know how they had died. So the local authorities have simply gathered them here for the families, who are wandering the streets looking for their loved ones. The tears mingle with the rain that is starting to fall - it's a heavy evening in Bijeljina.
It is not certain that a representative of the royal government arrived at the scene of the carnage so quickly. However, legend has it that a heavily escorted figure was seen passing through the town late at night, commenting, as if in shock: "That's a lot of loyal subjects we're burying tonight, all the same...". The very next day, the royal services are ordered to work as quickly as possible with the Allied authorities, Communist or otherwise, to get all the aid they can to this martyred region. One more.
* This, apart from the obvious psychological aspect, will enable the Freecorps to recover a number of uniforms immediately used for false-flag operations.
** Which is now just an administrative subdivision of the 192nd DIA: most of the legionnaires have long since left to fill up the DBLE.
*** For king and country; liberty or death.
**** The route of his column more or less followed the line of today's bypass around the town.
***** In fact, after an initial repressive reflex that saw them emerge from their premises with an aggressive mustache and a truncheon hitting the palm of their other hand, the royal gendarmes had to withdraw under a shower of various projectiles, including paving stones and even a few bullets!
****** All the more so as the mere fact of residing in Laval and Doriot's furniture already irritated him to no end. De Gaulle also spent little time there, as his departments were far from having moved from Marseille. Part of his time in Paris was spent thinking about moving to another location, such as the Hôtel de Beauharnais or the Palais de l'Alma.
******* As Peter II spoke and understood English better than French (two years at Cambridge), De Gaulle expressed himself in a mixture of the two languages. Courcel will grace his readers with the alternation and the "baguette de pain" accent that the General often used in English, no doubt adding to the tragi-comic quality of the scene...
