France Fights On (English Translation) - Thread II - To the continent!

[Wings]

June 5th, 1944

Liberation and Liberators
The Brittany Festungen
Lorient - A transitional situation on the outskirts of the Festung: Collins and his subordinates are still counting men, shells and armoured vehicles, trying to rally enough mass to advance in the rain.
Opposite him, Paul Mahlmann is also counting. Firstly, ammunition. But also, and above all, food, because it now seems quite clear that here - like everywhere else on the coast - the multiple redoubts or pockets that he commands from a distance would never be able to rely on anything but themselves (despite potential and inevitably rare links from Saint-Nazaire or La Rochelle). And while the enemy sometimes arrives, the dinner bell rings three times a day!
Obviously, the German command has planned ahead - at least as far as it is concerned. Unable to stabilise a line encompassing the former Kerlin-Bastard airfield (Lann Bihoué), they rounded up all the livestock they could and placed them all around the naval base. The resulting situation is quite comical, with rows of chickens on their beds of dirty straw living side by side with the glory of the Reich, or with groups of cattle seen wandering around the base near a broken-down U-Boot*. In the town centre, which had been evacuated by civilians, life is getting organised. There is a butcher's shop, a bakery**, a grain mill, an oil press, a distillery and a coffee burner. Because the morale of the Landser also has to be kept up! If only to get him to go and cultivate the myriad vegetable plots set up between the hedges and gardens, when it's not his turn on guard duty.
It's all well and good, but it's only ever about the main pocket. On the other side of the Blavet, in Locmiquélic and Quiberon, not everyone has the luxury of such a display of resources. The wait looks set to be a long one.

Cézembre (off Saint-Malo) - The island officially becomes the new firing range for all American artillerymen of all arms stationed in northern Brittany. Over the next few days, dozens of tonnes of explosives will fall on this rock just 750 metres long and 300 metres wide, completely tearing it apart. More or less well hidden in his concrete block shaken by the explosions, Seuss is making do and waiting to see. The Kamaraden of the Channel Islands have promised to help.

North
Côte d'Opale - Infamous weather on the Somme - the Ist Corps of the Canadian Army does not plan an offensive today. Instead, it commits large light forces to harassing the LXVII. ArmeeKorps - which only ever weighs two and a half divisions over 60 kilometres. It therefore has some weaknesses at this time.
The 1st Special Service Brigade (General Simon Fraser, 15th Lord Lovat) and the French 3rd Groupement de Choc under Colonel André Malraux are particularly outstanding in this respect. However, while the British have the experience of a leader with two hundred years of military tradition (and the eccentricities that go with it***), Malraux does not have the best of reputations. The most malicious tongues perspire that he owed his appointment to high protection. In fact, he is a politician, a romantic, a writer, a film-maker... He is also a Spanish aviator (although...)**** and a tanker (just a little)***** - but by no means a commando. In any case, he is currently recovering in Paris from the wound he has received on May 8th. His deputies, Lieutenant-Colonel Pierre-Élie Jacquot and Major Brandstetter, are therefore in command (much to the relief of the British).
This alliance of circumstance nonetheless succeeds in bleeding the Landsers out of their garrisons in the Pas-de-Calais, while at the same time noting crossing areas for later.

Péronne - The 2nd Armoured (General Philip Roberts) advances in the rain, the powerful vanguard of the British VIII Corps (Sidney Kirkman), which is digging in where its glorious predecessors have fought foot to foot for four years. In the evening, the Cromwells approach Roye - and thus the Avre. Ahead lay another 25 kilometres of more or less trapped agricultural plains, then Péronne and the Somme, which the poor 712. ID (Friedrich-Wilhelm Neumann), which had come down from Belgium, is trying to defend for 50 kilometres. On the right, Balck's 16. Panzer is rearing up in the Saint-Quentin region. Behind them, the rest of HG D's mechanised units, mainly the 26. Panzer (Smilo von Lüttwitz) and the 36. PanzerGrenadier (Egon von Neindorff), prepare for the assault despite wear and tear, losses and lack of ammunition.
Tomorrow is sure to be tough. The British spend the day in careful planning and preparation, bringing up supplies from Paris throughout their position, from Contoire, Pierrepont-sur-Avre and Hargicourt to Noyon. Meanwhile, their XII Corps also advances without much opposition, but with the same caution, in the Carlepont sector, aiming for Chauny in order to overtake (if necessary) Kirkman on the right. It is a low-profile task, but a strategic one. This does not stop William Gott, who had fought not so far away during the First World War, from stirring up some old memories.
- You know it's June, my friend?
- That's right, General, and so?
- It's poppy season.
And indeed, in the fields, in the rain, swarms of these Red Poppies are blooming, like so many lives lost in the not so distant past as in the near future.

Meaux - The new 1st Belgian Army - as everyone in its ranks now calls it, although it is not official - breaks camp in the direction of Soissons. In the ranks, people are angry at the British for being so polite. In fact, Gott has a 60 kilometre lead over Bastin and Van Daele.

Remnants
OKH, Maybach I Bunker (20 km south of Berlin) - While the Reich's strategic situation continues to deteriorate and Italy is no longer (if it ever was?) at the center of the Reich's concerns, the OKH, on the instructions of the Supreme Leader, dissolves HeeresGruppe F. It is true that with only one weak army, this structure has little reason to exist.
The 14. Armee of General der Panzertruppe Heinrich von Vietinghof is to join (administratively) the famous Oberbefehlshaber Donau of Field Marshal Günther von Kluge - a new responsibility that is sure to please him, given the brilliant pace of operations in Hungary and Romania. As for Albert Kesselring, formerly head of HG F, he takes charge of HeeresGruppe G, supposedly responsible for the south of France (and in reality the southern part of the French front). It is a different kind of promotion, but it's true that Gerd von Runstedt isn't going to do everything.

First US Army Group (FUSAG)
Paris - Omar Bradley officially takes command of the First United States Army Group, which comprises the 1st US Army and the 7th US Army. The United States thus regain control of half of the Western Front without interference from the other two major Western powers. Moreover, in Washington, the United Kingdom and France tend to be regarded less and less as Great Powers, and even less as "Great Ones"... Admittedly, they are allowed to sign important documents, maintaining the fiction of collegiate decision-making, but this is not 1943. The dependence of the French is obvious, and the inability of the British to act alone is increasingly glaring.
To console themselves, George VI's soldiers can replenish the 21st AAG with the 1st Belgian Army, which is in the process of being unified. As for the French, they will do as they can: Washington washes its hands of it.

1st US Army: Thunderstrike for Metz
Champagne - Patton has chosen, perhaps a little belatedly, the name of his offensive on Lorraine. It would be Thunderstrike. His staff, as diligent as his leader is energetic, has already begun to develop the plan to liberate Lorraine.
The V US Corps, soon to be joined by the 29th Infantry, would launch a secondary attack towards Metz, following the Châlons-Verdun trajectory to directly threaten the north of the city. The Germans would no doubt try to stop it at Verdun to prevent it from overrunning the Festung Metz through Luxembourg. Meanwhile, the main effort would be made by XIX US Corps, which would push on to Saint-Dizier and Bar-le-Duc before leading a frontal assault on the fortress. From the point of view of conception and execution, Thunderstrike looks like a purely American operation: a secondary attack to divert the reserves and a main attack that should prevail thanks to fire superiority and the crushing of the enemy under the shells. That was why two of the 1st Army's three armoured divisions are concentrated in this corps. Objective: to take Metz by the 15th.
The divisions deployed move forward and try to find the German lines. V US Corps leaves the banks of the Seine and deploys between Esternay and Sézanne. Meanwhile, XIX US Corps completes its crossing of the Seine with the support of the army, which would be essential for crushing the fortifications at Metz.
Opposite, the Germans prepare themselves: accustomed to Allied air supremacy, camouflage tactics have been deployed, units have taken up forward positions that would be used to harass the American vanguards, and what is left of the 1. Armee positions itself on the Marne. Jolasse's 9. Panzer has to avoid combat with enemy armoured units and instead harass the infantry divisions to reduce their offensive potential. Despite the losses, despite the enemy's superiority, the morale recovery is obvious: we are no longer fighting to defend conquests where the population dreams of slitting the throat of the brave Landser in his sleep, we are now defending the steps of Germany itself.

7th US Army: Patch returns to the front
Orleans - Alexander Patch officially inherits command of the 7th US Army. He entrusts IV US Army Corps to Crittenberger, who takes up his duties. The first order, received from Ike and countersigned by Bradley, who has just taken command of FUSAG, is to return to the front! IV and VI US Corps therefore head north, while the VIII finishes assembling.

15th Allied Army Group
15th AAG HQ, Marseille - The news comes like a bolt from the blue: the 7th US Army is leaving the Army Group. Frère knew it was going to happen sooner or later, but the fact that Eisenhower didn't even bother to give him advance notice is a sign of the increasing unilateralism of decisions within the Allied Command. The United States is not yet truly hegemonic, but it is already behaving like it.
On the phone, Ike tries to be diplomatic and reassuring: the takeover of the 7th US Army by FUSAG is not a prelude to the integration of the 1st French Army into the US Army Group. However, he explains that some people in Washington would have liked to see the French 'brought to heel' in this way. A little more rudely, and in any case frankly, Frère retorts briskly: "Dwight, you're not telling me that these knuckleheads believed for a moment that we would have let this happen?"
- To tell you the truth, Aubert, they did. They did.
- The very fact that they even considered the idea makes me doubt their abilities as diplomats, military leaders... and even their common sense!
- I know. Just think, their first idea was to blow up the 15th AAG in its entirety! I had to fight hard with Marshall to make him see reason. Not for a moment did they take into account the difficulties and delays that would have been caused by replacing the services of the 15th AAG with the newly created FUSAG. We may have the largest number of troops, but our cadre is limited, especially as many of our senior officers were still junior officers only a year and a half ago. And that's not counting the losses, which we're having just as much trouble making up for as you are.
- Understood. So what about the 15th AAG? Its existence is no longer justified with just one army.
- Quid?
- Sorry, old Latinist tic. So what happens to my army group?
- I'm keeping it! You have to cover the Alpine front as well as the Vosges, and neither the British nor our diplomats are interested in managing the Atlantic fortresses. Once your new divisions have been organised and deployed on the Atlantic, I will no doubt place them under your command. With Le Havre freed up, the 21st AAG's logistics should be less dependent on Cherbourg and I intend to place Brittany under your responsibility. All this will simplify things from a diplomatic point of view and speed up the re-establishment of legal administration.
- I find it hard to understand the sense of the maneuver.
- Come on, Aubert, you know that your President of the Council wanted you to be appointed Commander-in-Chief of the French front?
- I thought that idea had been buried since your arrival on the continent in May.
- Well, De Gaulle has not abandoned it. Entrusting responsibility for the rear of the front to the 15th AAG was a way of calming him down while preventing Washington from having a heart attack by appointing a non-American to head up the French front. Especially as, without the 7th US Army, the role of leader of the 15th AAG should be less onerous... and De Gaulle's arguments were not without foundation. You do need someone with experience to command the whole front, or at least someone with more experience than me. The only general officer who could be considered for the job is you. But for geopolitical reasons of which we are the custodians and not the managers, the leader can only be me. I therefore intend to ask your opinion on certain future decisions. Opinions which are, of course, divorced from any political squabbling between our governments.
- You can count on me, Dwight.
- I couldn't imagine anything else!
Once the phone is off the hook, Frère can't help but smirk. Ike is a formidable diplomat: he's brushed him off perfectly to avoid a Monty-style tantrum, while giving away nothing important. Opinions don't eat bread... and he doubts that the American divisions facing the Festungen in Brittany would really be detached from their American corps; Ike's gift would be more of an additional burden for the 15th AAG.
Frère immediately refers the matter to the General Staff, who reports back to de Gaulle. Realistically, de Gaulle thinks he has gotten off rather lightly: the British seem to want to go it alone on several fronts, and without them it would have been impossible to get Frère accepted as commander-in-chief of the French front. At least the French command of an army group is safe, even if this group tends to become theoretical. And since Eisenhower has set up his headquarters in Paris and Versailles, as well as that of the FUSAG, it would be much easier to influence their choices once the institutions of the Republic are completely back in their place, which would not be long.
In London, on the other hand, people are eating their hearts out: as with the French, they suspected that the FUSAG would be created sooner or later, but the fact that the Americans had not taken advantage of the situation to include the 1st French Army is fuelling a great deal of suspicion in 10 Downing Street and at the Foreign Office. The retention of the 15th AAG is seen as a gift from the Americans to the Froggies for no good reason, apart from logistical reasons, which are perfectly valid. The FUSAG is going to depend for almost 75% on supplies from the southern logistics line for at least another two weeks, and this line also supplies a large part of the French population. As for supplies from Normandy... As Zola so aptly put it, Paris has a belly, and this belly absorbs a very large part of the Northern logistics line, which reduces the supply capacities of the Allied divisions in the northern part of the front. It is becoming increasingly urgent to open new ports on the Channel! All of this at a time when the Western triumvirate is turning more and more towards the Consulate and the position of brilliant second in command is about to become contested...

1st French Army - Operation Marguerite
Lorraine, III Corps - De Lattre entrusts the 14th and 19th DIs with the task of securing the crossing of the Marne and pushing the Germans back to the Meuse. It is practically a done deal, and although logistics are tense, the general receives encouraging news from Montagne: the Télots refinery******, relatively untouched by the fighting, has resumed reduced but regular activity, which should provide it with enough to reach Epinal and then Nancy. Kœltz would need less petrol, as his corps would soon have to lay siege to Belfort.
Montsabert and Kœnig therefore move cautiously into the forests between the Marne and Meuse, a task that is more slow than difficult because of the many German units deliberately dispersed there to slow their advance. It is a skirmish battle in which the companies are intertwined, the forest covers the manoeuvres and hampers the armoured vehicles and artillery - the whole thing is far from easy. Thanks to a systematic clearing of the cover, the French troops manage to advance.
Sudre and Vernejoul manage to break through at Contrexéville! Working together along the wooded divides, the two armoured divisions manage to break through the LXXXVI. AK, which abandoned its positions south of Joinville and Neufchâteau. From then on, only the 91. Luftlande and the 341. StugAbt are left to provide cover, while the rest of the XC. AK deploys at Charmes to defend Nancy.

Doubs, IV AC- The 10th DI (Etcheberrigaray) rides with the 9th DIC (Pellet), which is much fresher and can advance further. The 9th DIC therefore set off from Vesoul and Villersexel to seize the Faymont heights and ensure that there are no significant German troops in the woods surrounding the hill. If not, they would have to invest, clean up, secure control and then advance - in short, 'business as usual'. The 10th DI, for its part, is to dislodge the delaying elements left near the Swiss border, thus seizing the southern outskirts of the fortified Belfort-Montbéliard sector.
Rabanit's 3rd DB completes its advance across the plain and takes up position on the Onans-Beutal line. With the support of the 10th DI, it has to conquer the bottom of the Doubs valley and put the German-held fortifications under fire. To do this, Kœltz chooses to assign the 12th Corps Artillery Brigade to support the 3rd DB, keeping the exhausted 3rd BMLE and 13th DBLE with him, as well as the 108th RALCA, whose guns would only thunder once the enemy positions have been clearly identified, in order to annihilate any resistance on the fortified points.
Ironically, Belfort and Montbéliard had been successively fortified by Vauban, Haxo and then Séré de Rivières to defend these two towns against the Germans, but the greatest test of these fortifications would be with German defenders facing French guns!

* At the height of their Festung, the Germans had no fewer than 7,200 oxen and 400 calves.
** 1.5 million loaves of bread were produced during the blockade.
*** Lord Lovat never travelled without his Mannlicher-Schoenauer captured at Dieppe in 1942, and persisted against all the rules in playing his piper Bill Millin during the battle. When confronted with British military regulations, he corrected them to "English regulations" and pointed out that both he and Millin were Scots...
**** This was not the opinion of Antonio Camacho Benitez, head of the Republican Air Force: "As far as Mr Malraux's attitude and actions are concerned, it would be appropriate to take one of three measures: discipline him, expel him or shoot him".
***** Incorporated on April 14th, 1940 as a dragoon in the 41st Motorised Cavalry Depot.
****** Les Télots is an oil shale mine, first equipped with an oil distillation plant, then with a refinery (to obtain various fuels).

 

[Wings]

June 6th, 1944

Liberation and Liberators
The Brittany Festungen
Lorient - VII Corps launches a new general assault on Festung Lorient, taking advantage of the return of good weather and the partial reconcentration of its forces. Raymond Barton's 4th Infantry Ivy is no longer alone in the attack. On the right flank, Ira Wyche's 79th Infantry Cross of Lorraine now joins in. It has detached the bulk of the 315th Infantry Regiment to advance along the Ter towards the submarine base and intended to take advantage of the south bank of the isthmus to optimise its fire support.
Of course, all this does not mean that the game is up. Mahlmann still has no less than three successive lines of defence, reinforced by numerous 'Acht-Acht' which find a new use here. So, despite all the resources deployed, the attack once again proves to be a slow affair, painstakingly covering 400 to 500 metres - sometimes less, especially in the bloody Saint-Joseph-du-Plessis district, which is still not secure. It's annoying - all the more so as, to achieve this result, the flanks have to be stripped back a little.

Angers - Matthew Ridgway's 82nd Airborne All American sets off for Brittany, and Brest to be precise, to lend a hand to the besiegers. Well supplied, replenished and with many of the thousands of GMCs that have landed in recent days, the unit still has five or six days' travel ahead of it. That'll give the latest arrivals a chance to sharpen up!

North - Operation Pheasant
Côte d'Opale - Skirmishes and bombardments continue on the Somme, despite heavy rain - which will, however, shift eastwards in the next few days. This will certainly not do the Germans any favours... A little more so, however, for all the combatants on the front line here - second-rate garrisoners and surviving paratroopers for some, tired Canadians and Franco-British detachments for others. For the important thing is elsewhere.

Péronne region - First clashes over the Avre or the Somme between the British VIII Corps and what Allied intelligence scornfully describes as a ragtag - a jumble of units mixing LXXXIX. ArmeeKorps with marching battalions. In fact, the armoured and mechanised divisions - once so feared and now hoped for to complete their destruction - remain invisible. This is the start of Operation Pheasant.
On the evening of the first day, it has to be said that Pheasant gets off to a very good start. Faced with the little 712. ID (Friedrich-Wilhelm Neumann), Sidney Kirkman has no trouble clearing several bridgeheads at Bray-sur-Somme (49th Infantry West Riding, Evelyn Barker), Cléry-sur-Somme (2nd Armoured, Philip Roberts) and Flavy (43rd Infantry Wessex, Gwilym Ivor Thomas). Without the traditional British caution and stretched supply lines, VIII Corps could probably have done even better! But where were the Huns?
Not very far... in fact, faced with what he correctly perceived as an overwhelming superiority in firepower, Hans von Salmuth - in agreement with Manstein - decides to let the Tommies spill first blood to advance recklessly northwards. Behind, around the woods of Authuille and Rancourt, the 26. Panzer (Smilo von Lüttwitz) and the 36. PanzerGrenadier (Egon von Neindorff) wait until nightfall to strike, in coordination with Balck's 16. Panzer under Balck, west of Saint-Quentin.
In this way, Manstein is aiming for nothing less than the destruction (or at least the shaking) of all the British vanguards in a sort of large-scale Creil affair, in order to make his adversary doubt, or even to push him back to the south bank for at least two weeks. It is a daring, large-scale action, difficult, even downright risky - but Manstein rightly feels he has no choice. Resisting on the banks of the Somme would have meant engaging in Norman-style attrition, which could only prove fatal. And in any case, there would be no second chance. It's going to be a long night...
.........
Carlepont - The XIIth Corps liberates Chauny - completely deserted by the Germans and controlled by the region's few FFIs. William Gott continues to cover the rear right of VIII Corps (i.e. Pheasant). The British once again have the opportunity to find guides and gather information from Resistance fighters. One of them informs the liberators that fairly large armoured forces have taken the D 1 - before continuing, no doubt, in a northerly direction. Interesting news! Without wasting any time, XII Corps sets off in pursuit of this phantom, with the Guards Armoured (Allan Adair) in the lead.
.........
West of Villers-Cotterêts - The forces of the 1st Belgian Army come through the autumn rain, aiming for Soissons and then Chauny in Gott's footsteps. The soldiers from the flat country are in full swing, despite the rain. They had to take part in this pheasant hunt!

First US Army Group (FUSAG)
Paris - Omar Bradley discovers the pleasure of giving orders to Patton, or trying to... And he can't help thinking that Auchinleck can't be too unhappy at no longer having the irascible George under his command. Indeed, the horseman is pushing his men, deliberately ignoring his requests: what exactly is his objective, with what means exactly, does he even have a plan, and above all how does he intend to ensure his logistics? All these questions make Bradley doubt whether Patton is "under his orders". With a half-smile and without any strategic considerations, the head of FUSAG thinks that it would not be unpleasant on a personal level and for the authority of his command to see the fiery general break his teeth over Metz...

1st US Army: Thunderstrike for Metz
Champagne - From Sézanne, V US Corps advances on Fère without encountering any particular resistance. However, the locals are adamant that German divisions have passed through the area several days ago. After cross-checking the information, it transpires that they may have been XC. AK of the 1. Armee. But more worryingly, one of the kids says that one night, further south, he saw "some big tractors with a big gun on them". The 9. Panzer of Erwin Jolasse?
In fact, the remnants of the 1. Armee are in the process of entrenching themselves - temporarily - on the Marne, and the 9. Panzer is hidden in the forest around Charmont, in order to severely punish any attempt by the Americans to cross the river too quickly. Opposite the two American corps, the 1. Armee has, in addition to the 9. Panzer, two very small corps: the LXIV. AK and the LXXVI. AK.
The XC. AK is no longer part of the 1. Armee. It is much further east, in the 19. Armee, which also includes the LXXXV. AK, facing the French approaching Epinal. The LVIII. PzK is kept warm so that it can be reconstituted as quickly as possible in the forests west of Nancy.
Above all, von Rundstedt is impatiently awaiting the arrival of the two SS Panzer Korps currently passing through Luxembourg. Between now and their arrival, and thanks to the forests hiding his position from the Allied air force, he can gain time. The old general even chooses a name for the future counter-attack: it would be Wacht am Rhein, the title of an old patriotic song. It is appropriate: the Rhine has to be kept. After consulting the OKW (of course), Rundstedt's choice is approved. Guderian, who has finished the Great War in Italy, apparently does not see Rundstedt's mockery of Hitler's rantings. Indeed, in the spring of 1918, the 86. ID (of which Rundstedt was Chief of Staff) was also singing Wacht am Rhein - we still thought we were winning the war. And Gerd von Rundstedt hasn't forgotten that.

7th US Army: Patch returns to the front
Orléans - Alexander Patch receives Keyes' report with satisfaction: Eagles' 45th Infantry Thunderbird has left the La Rochelle sector for good, as planned, and has been replaced by the French of the 1st Infantry Division.
The French unit is virtually incapable of manoeuvring properly in the field, but that is not its role. In fact, its positions around Festung La Rochelle quickly take the form of a training camp. The newly appointed divisional general Edgard de Larminat (previously a brigadier in the 14th Infantry Division) quickly realised the situation and that it would be impossible to break through the fortress in the short term.
At the same time, VIII US Corps begins to assemble by train between Poitiers and Orléans, to join the rest of the 7th US Army, which is regrouping at Etampes.

15th Allied Army Group
15th AAG HQ, Marseille - Since the fighting spread to the Doubs valley, the Swiss border has become rather congested. Many French or Polish internees from 1940 had recently been assigned to farm work close to liberated French territory, officially by pure chance of course. Unofficially, everyone in Bern, Zurich and Geneva knows that France has been able to negotiate, with the support of the other Allied powers, for the Swiss to release these internees. Almost 45,000 men are therefore able to cross into France: just over 30,000 soldiers from the former 45th Fortress Corps of General Laure's X Army, plus 12,000 to 15,000 Poles.
As soon as they arrived, the former internees are sorted according to their specialities. Some of the work had already been done by the intelligence services, but the number of soldiers screened means that for many of them the information is patchy. As a result, officers and non-commissioned officers are urgently sent on remedial training courses, as well as specialists in advanced weapons (artillerymen, sappers, pioneers, radios and, as a matter of priority, horsemen and logisticians!) Most of the infantrymen are demobilised in part due to age or illness, and the rest are allocated to the units with the greatest shortages, in particular the 1st Infantry Division, which gains in size and experience, and the 36th Infantry Division, which reaches normal strength.
The 2nd Polish Army Corps is to integrate some of the men recovered to offset its losses in Montenegro. The other Poles would remain in reserve or be sent, according to their skills, to repair the factories sabotaged in 1940 or damaged by the recent fighting. The Polish 'national unity' government under Stalin's leadership did consider recruiting them to bolster its 1st Army on the Vistula, but the practical and logistical difficulties - not to mention the major political risks for what is still, from Moscow's point of view, a small handful of reactionaries - soon put an end to these pretensions. This army in exile would never be more useful than by staying away from home.
However, diplomats are faced with a tricky question: if the Poles were recovered, why not do the same for the 17,000 or so Italians who had taken refuge in Switzerland after the Germans had invaded the north of the country?

1st French Army - Operation Marguerite
Lorraine, III Corps - De Lattre's methodical, slow advance continues and is appreciated by his men, who do not rush into prepared German positions. The divisions of the XC. AK divisions withdraw in more or less good order after systematically destroying their positions as soon as they were identified by fire or careful observation.
In order not to expose the precious armoured divisions too much to a counter-attack from the north, the 14th Infantry Division is the first to approach Andelot-Blancheville, where the Germans have apparently dug in summarily. The local Resistance fighters, although relatively well armed, did not feel able to take on a large unit and slipped in during the night to inform the infantrymen about the German positions in the hills around the town. For its part, the 19th Infantry Division penetrates the woods around Clinchamps, then captures Saint-Thiébault and Gonaincourt... but above all their bridges over the Meuse!
On the armoured side, the 1st DB repositions itself to flank and guard the 5th DB's next push on Vittel. Finally, the 2nd DB is in Bar. It will cross the rear of III Corps as far as Langres, where it will have a little rest before liberating Remiremont... and its fortifications.
.........
Doubs, IV CA - The 9th DIC manages, not without difficulty, to take Mignavillers, below the Faymont hill. But it is unable to take the woods overlooking the village, especially as a battalion of the 15. FallschirmJäger Rgt still clings to the southern buttress, preventing the road to Faymont from being cleared.
The 3rd DB manages to force the withdrawal of German paratroopers from Bretigney, but cannot advance too far, as the front is now within gun range of some of the fortifications in the Belfort-Montbéliard sector. A difficult game is about to begin. Eugène Mordant, commanding the 83rd DIA, which was supposed to guard Vesoul against any German attempt to counter-attack from the valleys of the Vosges, suggests to Kœltz that the 5. FJ should be turned around by taking Lure, which appears to be weakly defended.
For its part, Etcheberrigaray's 10th Infantry Division pushes back the 2.FJ north of Maîche. At this point, two companies of the 6. FallschirmJäger Rgt, unable to follow the rest of the division northwards, are cornered at Indevillers. To everyone's surprise, these soldiers, who were supposed to represent the elite of the German army, abandon their weapons and heade for the border to be interned in Switzerland!
Meanwhile, the 39. ID digs in at Lure and Anton Freiherr von Hirschberg's 363. ID takes up positions in the Séré de Rivières forts around Montbéliard and Belfort: the Laumont, Mont-Bart and La Chaux forts would be used, as well as the Les Roches battery - but its artillery positions are turned towards Germany! This battery is therefore only used as an infantry position and as a command post for fighting in the forest surrounding the square, with the overhang hampering artillery fire from the south. The fixed positions in the forts were already occupied, generally by convalescents and wounded from the 19. Armee who are unable to return as manoeuvre units, but who would be able to defend these fortifications for a time, while the battalions of the 363. ID would be used as manoeuvre pawns to break up enemy assaults. The urban and forest density makes it much easier to outmanoeuvre enemy aircraft, and the Landser remains formidable in foot combat. "No wonder, that's all it does any more," jeer the division's lieutenants, who, like all good lieutenants, remain insolent even in defeat!

Royal Navy
An old warrior retires
Scapa Flow - Having emptied her bunkers (260 HE and 610 AP 16-inch shells, plus 2,400 HE 6-inch shells) in support of Allied troops advancing along the coast, HMS Rodney anchors in the large military port. Apart from the fact that she has consumed the last 16-inch shells available in the UK at the time, Their Lordships are concerned about the condition of her engines and evaporators: the battleship has not been able to undergo any serious maintenance for a year. Her hull is also showing signs of weakness.
After relatively summary repairs, the Rodney has the honour of bearing the flag of C. in C. Admiral Sir Henry Moore on October 5th, 1944, but her active career is over. The old servant of the Realm was decommissioned in November 1945 at Rosyth and sent for scrapping in March 1948.

 

[Wings]

June 7th, 1944

Liberation and Liberators
The Brittany Festungen
Lorient - Shock and dismay! Taking advantage of the continuing carnage at the heart of the Festung, the German troops garrisoned near Locmiquélic attack the small market town of Sainte-Hélène. There are two reasons for this daring action: firstly, the occupiers want to loosen the noose that is strangling them by gaining a little ground - until, if possible, they reach the River Etel, which would make an excellent foothold. Secondly, and very prosaically... the fields in the area are rich in potatoes, which are always eminently useful when you're under siege.
The assault, unexpected and carried out with vigour in a sector where the 4th Infantry had only covering troops, is surprisingly successful, even worrying. The front line quickly shifts by 5 kilometres, and the Germans are finally stopped only at the edge of Le Bourg, by the light infantry of "Colonel" Bourgoin - the local FFI leader, who had managed to round up all the Resistance fighters in the area. By evening, the enemy has been contained. Worse still! Encouraged by their success, they deploy two 155mm guns, which begin to set fire to the village. The US Army has no reinforcements to send to protect a few stubble fields or potato fields... The French are left to fend for themselves.
In fact, the allied general staff insists quite strongly that the French should take on the entire burden of the siege of the Festungen - and why shouldn't they do it themselves? According to the terms of the memo of May 25th, if they are not to take over immediately, they should do so once at least one major port had been cleared, i.e. once all the allied strategic objectives have been achieved here.

Ile Cézembre (in front of Saint-Malo) - It is now the turn of the air force to attack the small island, which the Air Force had unofficially been told could be used as a "relief zone for aircraft whose load could not, for whatever reason, reach its initial objective". On the ground, of course, the earth shakes all the more. And Seuss is counting the dead and wounded without being able to do anything other than ask Jersey for supplies (in particular shells for his only 194 mm, which still fire from time to time!) and a hope of evacuation, at least for those who can no longer fight.

North - Operation Pheasant
Côte d'Opale - No major operations are taking place here today, due to the increasingly uncertain weather. However, informed of the major operations under way further east, Harry Crerar is ordered to step up the pressure, and even to prepare the 4th Armoured (George Kitching) and the 5th Armoured (Guy Simonds) to break through the centre of the LXVII. AK (Walther Fischer von Weikersthal), near Flixecourt. The 3rd Canadian Infantry (Rod Keller) would provide support from the Abbeville sector, while the 2nd Canadian Infantry (Charles Foulkes) would suffice in front of Amiens...
In fact, with everything that is happening near Péronne, Neil Ritchie is determined not to let any opportunity slip by, whether it is to hasten the rout of the Huns or, if need be, to make up for a setback.

Péronne region - First engagement at around 01:00: the German infantry - in practice, the poor 712. ID (Friedrich-Wilhelm Neumann), here serving as the sacrificial lamb repulsed by the British forces - turns and rears up abruptly, taking advantage of the cover of night and, above all, a sudden reinforcement of armour. Both the 49th Infantry West Riding (Evelyn Barker) and the 2nd Armoured (Philip Roberts) are attacked by the mixed KampfGruppen of the 26. Panzer (Smilo von Lüttwitz) and the 36. PanzerGrenadier (Egon von Neindorff), poorly reinforced - but reinforced all the same! - by machines from the 902. StuG Abt (Hauptmann Fredrich von Lessen). The German forces try to infiltrate (and even submerge at certain points) in order to destroy an overconfident opponent. In fact, the exchanges of fire take place in a sector that is reputed to be rather favourable to defence: Fricourt, Maricourt, Maurepas - all places of sinister memory for the Franco-British.
Initially, this tactic works. Several overly adventurous British detachments have to retreat or flee, and some are even annihilated outright. But the disproportion of forces and a certain loss of momentum on the Heer side (due to exhaustion of both men and ammunition) prevents a rapid victory.
A confused melee continues after sunrise - already obscured by a veil of stubborn rain. It is certainly not going well for the Germans - but it is not completely unfavourable to them, which is already an achievement given the disproportion of the resources at stake. On both sides, units are sent in to make up for losses and to push on - a grim reminder of the fighting 28 years ago, with more than one shell from 1944 digging up the remains of a 1916 entrenchment and skeletons, some still wearing helmets...
This confusion should work in the Heer's favour - at least for the day. However, on the left flank, Hans-Ulrich's 16. Panzer is unable to engage the enemy. Well, it fights, but not against the expected opponent! In fact, just as Back is about to hit the 43rd Infantry Wessex (Gwilym Ivor Thomas) at Flavy, the Saarlander is unpleasantly surprised to see a very large mass of annoyed British flanking him. This is, of course, Gott's XII Corps, which had received a dispatch from Kirkman during the night, in a very English tone: "We have found the enemy - we need help to destroy them".
Gott therefore marched to the sound of the gun, all the more easily because the evening before, his forces had already been directed in the right direction. Some would describe his action as that of a dog handler leading his pack over the fox. "Tally Ho, isn't it?"*. Threatened with brutal and complete destruction by Allan Adair's Guards Armoured and then Alexander Galloway's 1st Armoured (for starters!), the 16. Panzer is forced to abandon any hope of action towards the Somme, and retreat in a vague line towards Omignon before it is too late. And of course Back can do nothing more for Saint-Quentin, which the motorised vanguards of the 1st Infantry (Ronald Penney), leading the charge on the right flank, reach by mid-afternoon.
Informed, Salmuth and then Manstein are devastated... Their entire left flank has just collapsed under the pressure of a complete army corps that has appeared out of nowhere. Little do they know that behind Gott are the Belgians!
The rout of the 16. Panzer, which sees the Panthers firing in reverse across the plain, renders the slaughter further north pointless. In short, it is a failure. And what's more, the weather will be fine tomorrow...
.........
West of Villers-Cotterêts - In mid-afternoon, the 1st Belgian Army is informed of the fighting underway on the Somme. The news forces Bastin and Van Daele to come to a conclusion: they have to push even faster towards the country. If the British are blocked, we have to help them! If they're tired, let's relieve them! If not... we'll have to overtake them without biting off more than we can chew! The Germans have dragged their feet long enough!

Enraged Manstein
Lille Town Hall - The Somme... Four years ago, almost to the day, Manstein triumphed here. Today, it's a rout. The Prussian must try to take stock...
Well, he never really believed much in this defence on the Somme. On the other hand, he was counting on gaining two weeks, the time to complete the fortification work and the destruction of locks and bridges under way further north. It was going to work, it should have worked. But against one allied army corps, not two or three! It is enough to 'think you're a spider' [to be in great disarray].
And, of course, there is no need to expect anything from Rundstedt, who never does anything but annoy his staff by telling them to "get a compromised situation under control". Compromised, compromised... Of course it's compromised, in fact it's extremely serious! However, just because his HeeresGruppe D has no line of defence at this hour doesn't mean he can't create another - but further, much further away - by taking advantage of the region's many water breaks. "Something," grins Manstein, "that the Franco-British were incapable of doing in their time..." Good memory, good point. There must still be a way to profit from the incompetence of the old and the arrogance of the newcomers from across the Atlantic. These dogs think they've beaten the Reich - it's true. But they have forgotten that defeated does not mean destroyed!
Forget the first lines envisaged: the Ternoise, the Neufossé canal, the Saint-Quentin canal... Forget even the whole of northern France as far as the Sambre or the Meuse. General retreat! What you can't defend is worthless, he explained to the Führer later, blaming this inability on Friedrich Dollmann (and his boss...) of course.
Orders to destroy the ports and set up Festungen in Calais, Dunkirk and Boulogne would follow. It's debatable, because it's going to take a lot of people to fill them! But it's also a FührerBefehl. Yeah... "Some sausage" [not to his taste], in his opinion. More importantly: for the time being, HG HQ is packing its bags and heading for... Brussels? Antwerp? Maastricht? Aachen would be safer.

1st US Army: campaigning in Lorraine
Champagne - The 29th Infantry Blue and Gray (Charles Gerhardt) crosses the Seine and provides cover for Gerow's other divisions against potential German attacks in the North. This cover is all the more necessary as the sky is once again overcast, camouflaging enemy positions. What a bore! From the information provided by the inhabitants, it becomes clear that the Germans are hiding in the area, perhaps in an attempt to hold the Marne.
Gerow therefore reorganises his position into a triangle with two divisions advancing head-on towards the Marne and Châlons-en-Champagne. The 2nd Infantry Indian Head (Walter Robertson) advances in concert with the 83rd Infantry Thunderbolt (Robert Macon), supported by the 30th Infantry Old Hickory (Leland Hobbs) at their backs.
For his part, Troy Middleton makes a similar decision. Thanks to the proximity of his four divisions, he can even take up a T-shaped position with the two armoured divisions on the wings. Well, that is the plan... In fact, the Eastern Forest prevents the Corps from deploying in this formation. It would be necessary to wait until the Seine has been completely crossed before attacking the German positions on the Marne. Moreover, the Nationale 60 is very congested. There is no doubt that if the Luftwaffe were still powerful, it could wreak havoc here... just as the Armée de l'Air could have done on the roads of the Ardennes four years earlier.

7th US Army: Patch returns to the front
Paris - Alexander Patch comes to give his commander a physical report that his troops are indeed on the move, only to hear that Patton has refused to coordinate with anyone and that he would be the last to take care of logistics. After the British in the North, the French in the East and Patton in Champagne, what can be more normal? But also after the Belgians and the Poles! While the strategic prospects are bright for the 7th US Army (it could slip into the gap between two German army groups!), it is impossible to achieve them given the absence of any heavy logistics in the sector and the fact that the few that arrived were sent to Patton. The 7th US Army therefore returns to the front at a senatorial pace rather than a gymnastic one.

15th Allied Army Group
15th AAG HQ, Marseille - Frère studies the reports from his generals. It becomes clear that the German positions in the Vosges and at Belfort are much stronger than he had hoped, and that it would take time to break through. He therefore asks Montagne to commit II Polish Corps in place of III Corps once Epinal has been liberated, to allow III Corps to rest after several weeks of incessant fighting. This is all the more necessary as I CA cannot really be redeployed until Suzette is over (which would be very soon, at least for the first phase) and Buckland has given a clear indication (probably in a fortnight's time).

1st French Army - Operation Marguerite
Lorraine, III Corps - On the approach to Vittel, FFI signal themselves to the scouts of the 5th DB. They indicate that the forces of the 91. Luftlande-Infanterie-Division (Wilhelm Falley) are deployed in the surrounding villages and woods, sometimes separated by a few hundred metres, and intend to wage the same skirmish war as their comrades of the XC. AK further west. The Resistance fighters therefore act as guides to outflank the German positions, sometimes using paths that no map mention and which are used as tractor tracks.
The first confrontation takes place between a company of mounted dragoons guided by Maquisards and a German section at l'Ermitage, a small dairy at the entrance to Bulgnéville. Alerted by the gunfire and the staccato of the heavy machine guns, the PaKs and mortars hidden in prepared positions nearby wake up and quickly set fire to two of the caterpillars. The dragoons and FFI quickly regain the initiative and the Germans retreat. It must be said that recent parachute drops haveboosted the fighting ability of the Resistance fighters, who now form a genuine light infantry unit for infiltration, far more effective than during the fighting in the South-West or in Burgundy, for example. The result: one of the half-tracks is lost with its crew, the second is only out of action and repairable, and four men are killed, for 35 Germans captured, five killed, two Pak 38s, two Pak 40s, four MG42s and three mortars captured. At one point, the larger calibre mortars forces the French to take cover: German 105mm mortars support the defence. But a very fast counter-battery quickly silences them.
In Bulgnéville, the retreating garrison tries to set fire to some buildings, but the mayor, René Linge, and Canon Adam, the parish's honorary priest, offer to act as hostages to prevent Resistance actions in exchange for respect for the small town. Once they reach Contrexéville, the German grenadiers release the two hostages.
At Auzainvilliers, one of the battalions of the 1058. Grenadier Rgt holds up the advance, mainly thanks to the presence of several Flak tubes, including two FlakVierling capable of destroying infantry transports. But the French artillery gives a good account of itself and, after a short battle, the Germans are routed with dozens of dead and prisoners.
.........
Vittel - Meanwhile, an armoured train, the PanzerZug 32, hid in the railway trenches in the thick Vosges forests near the town of water, along with two other convoys loaded with delayed troops and equipment to be evacuated. This train comprises, in order
- a maintenance wagon armed with an MG42 and carrying workers, technicians and the equipment needed to repair the tracks;
- a tank wagon with an R35 tank and a self-propelled howitzer on a Lorraine caterpillar chassis captured in 1940;
- an artillery wagon with a 4 cm Bofors and a 10.5 cm turret;
- another artillery wagon with a 2cm FlakVierling and a 10.5cm turret;
- two locomotives and their tenders, all armoured;
- a Flak wagon with a 3.7 cm ;
- a command artillery wagon with a 10.5 cm turret;
- a second Flak wagon with a 3.7 cm gun;
- a second command artillery wagon, with a 4 cm Bofors;
- a third artillery wagon with a 2 cm Flak Vierling and a 10.5 cm turret;
- three transport wagons (one for livestock, one for passengers and one for a flatbed), added as the retreat progressed, home-made armour plating with sandbags and carrying soldiers and two half-tracks that were unable to move;
- a second tank wagon with another self-propelled howitzer on a Lorraine tracked vehicle.
The three convoys (after others that had already passed behind the Moselle) managed to weave between the Allied armies before and after the Provence-Normandy junction, evading Allied aircraft and the Resistance. Only 50 km to go and they are saved!
The commander of PzZug 32, Major Dorber, received the order to disembark troops (able-bodied or wounded) from the three convoys so that he could take on board the civilians from the Internierungslager Vittel [Vittel internment camp]. In August 1940, Germany had turned the town's spa district into a camp for Commonwealth civilians living in France, and for Americans from December 1941. Regularly visited by the Red Cross to ensure that the internees were being treated properly, the Vittel camp is commanded by Hauptmans Landhauser and Steffahn, and garrisoned by wounded and convalescents. As for the town's hospitals, they had already been emptied of Allied soldiers who had been hospitalised and sent to Stalags for the whites and labour Kommandos for the colonials.
Refusing to abandon his men, Dorber writes a message to his second-in-command, Captain Freïs, "in case of misfortune", before going to meet Steffahn on the quayside of the town's waterworks. The discussion quickly turns sour! As Steffahn is brandishing an order countersigned by Himmler himself and handed to him personally by an SS officer accompanying him, Dorber draws his pistol and shoots them both, before taking his own life. Captain Freïs notes that the message Dorber had left him instructs him to take his men to the Moselle and explains that Mrs Dorber had died in Cologne under Allied bombs, that their eldest son had fallen in Russia and that their youngest was lying somewhere under the waters of the Atlantic, in the carcass of a U-Boot. No one would suffer for the Major's actions.
Landhauser arrived on the scene and orders the mayor of Vittel, Jean Bouloumié, whom he knows to be in contact with the Resistance, to inform his contacts immediately. An SS officer has been killed and it is highly likely that the Black Order would do everything in its power to avenge his death without questioning who is responsible: the town's population is under serious threat. During these discussions, the Vittel garrison boards the PzZug 32, a faint hope of salvation, while the soldiers of the 91. Luftlande Infanterie Division are still fighting in Contrexéville.
.........
Doubs, IV CA - In accordance with his proposal of the previous day, Eugène Mordant leads his 83rd DIA in the assault on Lure. The fighting is difficult here too, with the 39. ID makes up for its numerical inferiority thanks to the constrained and rugged nature of the terrain, which complicates the combined use of artillery and manoeuvre that the French had come to love.
At Magny, a company of marchers made up of feldgendarmes, old soldiers and convalescents is forced to surrender by the skirmishers who took the town. At the head of the company is none other than Major Heinz Burgdorf, who appears to have attempted suicide with his regulation weapon before being captured. But once he is sent to the rear, his name attracts attention and is passed on to the courts. Indeed, Heinz Burgdorf was considered by many (in the absence of General Paul Hoffman, a prisoner somewhere in the USSR) to be one of those mainly responsible for the Tulle hangings at Christmas 1941. He is transferred to Dijon under guard - without making the slightest attempt to contest the charges against Tulle. His trial would wait until the end of the war, but Mordant did not wait to congratulate Colonel Chapuis and his 7th RT.


* This is the title of a wargame purporting to represent Operation Pheasant. The game is unbalanced, to say the least - unless you use the optional rule which specifies that the dead of 14-18 dug up by the fighting become zombies who attack everyone.

 

[Wings]

June 8th, 1944

Liberation and Liberators
The Brittany Festungen
Lorient - The battle continues, as it had the day before, amid the roar of engines and explosions.
On the western side of the Festung, the 314th Inf Rgt of the Cross of Lorraine is still slowly moving up the Ter, looking for a weak point in the lines of the 353. ID - which, of course, it does not find. He is therefore forced to crush the opposing positions one by one with artillery or aircraft, after sometimes costly scouting.
East of the Scorff, the 47th Rgt and the 15th Eng Btn of the Varsity does not do much better. The center of Lanester is now in ruins, which means that it had suffered a lot - but not necessarily that it is any easier to defend. In fact, the German army is well aware from the Eastern Front that towns are truly infernal terrain to conquer - especially once they had been reduced to rubble. The US Army, made of gears and roaring steel, still has some learning to do. Today, Raymond Barton thinks the matter should be settled in three or four days. Come on, maybe five.
In Sainte-Hélène, however, the French provide their allies with a perfect example, albeit in reversed roles. The Morbihan village, burnt to the ground by bombing and fighting, is now a solid base for the (ex-) FFI, where they fight as they did in 1940 when they had to hold the Loire. On the other side, the Germans do not give up either. As a result, the local civilians and the many refugees flee further afield, crossing the Eter on the only bridge still standing... for the time being.

Cherbourg - The great port of the Cotentin peninsula is officially and fully reopened to traffic - just 18 days after its surrender, which is quite an achievement! It is also a sign of the vital importance that the old military harbour has now taken on in Allied plans. In fact, until Lorient, Brest, Le Havre and elsewhere have been cleared, the entire Allied left flank - in other words, the entire 21st AAG - is hanging on a thread. More than a million men, thousands of tanks, tens of thousands of trucks!
Confronted with this situation, the American engineers obviously didn't pull any punches. All the quays, docks and roadsides were razed to the ground to make way for the Liberty Ships - only the old ferry terminal remains*. And preparations are already underway for the installation of a pipeline with a direct link to England, the future PLUTO. By the end of the summer, Cherbourg will be the biggest port in the world - with a dock almost twice the size of New York!

North - Operation Pheasant
Côte d'Opale - It really is time to leave for the LXVII. AK and the 4. Fallschirmjäger. Making an emergency leap of 25 kilometres towards the Canche (which would provide shelter for at least 24 hours), the Heer forces avoid sudden and irresistible destruction when Harry Crerar's Canadian Ist Corps suddenly surge forward.
The German positions, defended by a vague rearguard, fall like the rocks of a poorly maintained dyke in the face of the ocean's wrath: Flixecourt, Amiens, Abbeville... Everywhere, the Germans cross in ferries or amphibious vehicles to build the Bailey bridges** that would soon allow the tanks to pass. In the evening, the corps' two armoured divisions even reach Le Crotoy and Doullens! Unfortunately, some time is lost in the reduction of several pockets behind - for example, in the citadel of Amiens, an assault had to be launched against 300 forgotten prisoners who were holding dozens of Resistance fighters (real or presumed) hostage, and slightly fewer prisoners of war. The carnage was only narrowly averted...
Outside, the party is in full swing despite the rain - and so is the hunt for the Collabos. At the end of the afternoon, the return of fine weather completes the German rout. The liberation of Northern France would soon be complete. And a French liaison officer, quite happy to be among the liberators, many of whom had come from the Belle Province, comments with emotion: "The Somme! Four years ago I was there, and we thought all was lost. And today... "

Picardy - Now that it is clear that Manstein's massive ambush has failed, the German forces in the sector retreat at high speed - while they still can. The unfortunate 709. ID under Generalleutnant Curt Jahn, never recovered from the loss suffered in Normandy, speeds towards Arras ahead of the British, with the 26. Panzer (Smilo von Lüttwitz) and the 36. PanzerGrenadier (Egon von Neindorff) on its right rear - but they are unlikely to cover it for long. As for the 712. ID (Friedrich-Wilhelm Neumann), it moves away towards Cambrai, through which Hans-Ulrich's 16. Panzer has just passed.
With no real opposition left, apart from a few stragglers, stragglers and other sacrifices or fanatics - who, alas, are often equipped with these formidable new Panzerfausts - Sidney Kirkman's VIII Corps makes good progress and takes Albert, Péronne (of course), Bapaume and Havrincourt in one fell swoop. The major positions of the First Conflict fall without a fight. The British deploy in a 40-kilometre arc from west to east, with the 59th Infantry Staffordshire (Lewis Lyne) on the left and the 43rd Infantry Wessex (Gwilym Ivor Thomas) on the right. In the centre, the 49th Infantry West Riding (Evelyn Barker) and the 2nd Armoured (Philip Roberts) continue to push forward...
Further east, William Gott's XII Corps continues its chase. Having completed the capture of Saint-Quentin, it is already approaching Cambrai (to Neumann's great misfortune...) and Cateau-Cambrésis. Barely 30 kilometres from the Belgian border...

Between Soissons and Saint-Quentin - Forming a noisy, cheerful - but also determined - column along the RN 1, the two Belgian corps under Bastin and Van Daele do their best to catch up. But they can't: Gott's English troops were still a long way ahead. The two generals make this known to their government. The government, already based in London (but not for much longer!) already knows who to call...

1st US Army: campaigning in Lorraine
Champagne - In his HQ close to the front, Patton follows with attention and energy the slightest scrap of information that can reach him. The weather is wet, with scattered rainfall, so the air force is only able to provide fragmentary observations, but they already paintea fairly clear picture: the enemy has pulled himself together and, with his forces in tatters, intends to hold the Marne. "A very bad calculation," smiles the Californian. He intends to break through the dam on the river as quickly as possible so that, once on the other side, he can outflank the enemy and destroy them in detail. This would leave only a small force to defend Metz.
V US Corps therefore begins to approach enemy positions. Tomorrow, it will be possible to attack Châlons. The 29th Infantry Blue and Gray has almost reached Gerow, which is deploying its support between Epernay and Vitry. The engineers have to use all their crossing skills to build bridges over the river, while the artillery prevents enemy movements.
At the same time, XIX US Corps is falling behind due to the difficult crossing of the Orient Forest. The limited number of roads, the dispersal along the length of the units, and the fatigue of the men at the rear who have to advance on broken roads all slow the Corps' progress. Middleton cannot prepare his own crossing until the following day, and cannot act before the 10th. Patton, who is on the ground, does not hold this against his subordinate too much. He can see for himself that the dispersal of units is not Middleton's doing but the terrain's, and as always, the terrain is in charge.

7th US Army: a serious question of law
Ile-de-France - The divisions of the 7th Army begin to regroup and settle on the great plain of the Oise, waiting for sufficient logistics to be re-established before they can really go to the front.
A good ten thousand GIs find themselves idle and took the opportunity to visit Paris and enjoy its charms (and the ease with which dollars opened doors in the midst of a population starved by four years of Occupation, and which had not even been able to exchange its Laval Francs for Algiers Francs). The discovery of the French capital by the US soldiers gives rise to a number of amusing stories and sometimes to happy romances... but also to a wave of panic at the Préfecture de Police and among the American MPs when, on the evening of the 8th, around fifty women, accompanied or not, came to lodge a complaint of rape! Some of the officers had given their subordinates to understand that the "little French girls", brimming with gratitude, would easily open their beds for them... which was not always the case, far from it. It was only after a thousand controversies and a great deal of research that the exact number of rapes in Paris was known: 78. And to add horror to suffering, around ten of the victims were killed after the act, the circumstances of the murder being clarified only after examination by a forensic team.
Politically, it's a bombshell, and diplomatically, it's impossible to hide the scale of the problems: the problem is present almost everywhere American troops have been, in proportions ranging from the ultra-anecdotal to the appearance of small gangs of rapist deserters. These incidents cause a painful tension between the French and the Americans. The French want to bring the culprits to justice before their civilian courts, while the Americans would like to deal with the case internally and before American military tribunals, in line with Washington's tendency to impose the extraterritoriality of its law wherever possible.
However, some time has passed since similar events in Marseille and the Midi gave rise to bitter exchanges between foreign ministries, with little result from the French point of view. This time, it is the capital of a sovereign and allied state that had almost regained its entire territory! The Préfecture de Police therefore chooses to present the Americans with a fait accompli by arresting a deserter on the injunction of the tribunal de grande instance, relying on the Penal Code which states that "French criminal law applies to any offence committed on the territory of the Republic" and on the fact that until further notice, the streets of Batignolles are not in American possession. Cordell Hull, pressed to issue a request for release by Francis Biddle of the Justice Department, is forced to accept that France has the last word on the matter: he asks Biddle to tell him what the United States would look like if it asked for the release of a rapist for a crime that had not taken place on its territory. Faced with the apparent ridiculousness of his proposal, Biddle backs down. Taking note, some in Rome note that it might be possible to force the Americans' hand on certain abuses committed in Sicily and elsewhere... But cobelligerent Italy does not really carry the same weight as Fighting France.

1st French Army - Operation Marguerite
Lorraine, III Corps - From Bulgnéville, the 5th DB sweeps towards Contrexéville, the last town of any importance before Epinal. The water town is fortified: the male population had been requisitioned by the Germans to erect numerous strongpoints along the railway embankment and transform hotels into forts.
The tactic chosen by the French is a simple one: envelop the Germans from the south and rush through the woods between Bulgnéville and Contrexéville, given that the previous day the German forces had been severely crushed and had lost most of their anti-tank equipment. In Suriauville, the Maquis has officially liberated the village and proposes the bell tower as an observation point, as the Piper Cub cannot see much through the drizzle. From the village, the main column races across the fields, supported by artillery. The tanks, engineers and mounted infantry manage to overrun the German rear, while a muscular demonstration draws attention to the lakes of La Folie.
At 13:00, as the weather clears a little, the attack begins. The positions are isolated and reduced fairly quickly, except for the casino, which is held by several dozen SS troops and requires a full-scale grenade attack with tank support. The toll: 64 dead and 180 wounded Germans, 120 prisoners, 2 Marder IIs, 6 PaKs of various types, 3 2 cm Flak 38s, 2 7.5 cm LeiG18 infantry howitzers and 6 machine guns destroyed or captured. Some soldiers remain hidden in cellars or attics, giving off sporadic but annoying fire that requires the town to be cleared more thoroughly. Only 200 men from the positions on the edge of the town and on the road to Vittel are able to escape, most in vehicles, others on foot along the course of the Vair. They dp not have their work cut out for them!
.........
Vittel - The Maquis enters the town, abandoned by its garrison and the internment camp. The Germans have left during the night, most by PzZug 32, the rest by lorry. The town is beginning to dress up, tricolour flags are flying from the steeples of the two parish churches, and the inhabitants are beginning to celebrate the Liberation, when the convoy of 200 escapees from Contrexéville arrives!
Skirmishes break out, but the Landsers do not want to linger: they are instead trying to reach Epinal and the rest of 91. Luftlande, especially as the maquisards are remarkably well armed, with heavy machine guns recovered from an American heavy bomber that had crash-landed in the region... and 13.2 mm Hotchkiss that had been hidden in the area since 1940! Fifteen German soldiers are killed and 8 captured, compared with 17 Frenchmen killed, including 11 non-combatants from Vittel, as a result of the strafing of several facades.
.........
The 2nd DB passes Langres and stops at Châtelet-sur-Meuse, before setting off again to liberate Saint-Sauveur. III and IV Corps find a more or less satisfactory link-up.

Doubs, IV CA - An infantry assault enables the 83rd DIA to finish clearing the woods west of Lure before taking the small town. The 39. ID may still have many good infantrymen, but it simply no longer has the strength to stand alone against an attack on two flanks. It extracts itself from Lure only with difficulty, as the guns of the 184th RA have had plenty of time since the previous day to adjust their fire on the two roads leaving the town to the east. By the end of the day, Franz Krech has only a stopper at Roye, the rest of his division has retreated to higher ground and his staff is entrenched at Rongchamps.
Supported by the 70th RA of the 83rd DIA, the 9th DIC is finally able to take the Faymont hill. The 5. FallschirmJäger disappears into the woods, pushed back but not yet completely defeated. But Kœltz is satisfied. From the newly conquered hill, the long-range artillery pieces of the 108th RALCA are able to silence the defences on the southern approaches to Belfort-Montbéliard. Deprived of German parachute artillery support, the Saulnot cork was even evacuated to more favourable positions.
But these are only the opening moves of the siege of Belfort. Kœltz estimates that it would take at least another week to force the entrance to the sector, and perhaps two more to open the road to Alsace. The Séré de Rivières fortifications are obsolete and lack artillery, but the head of IV Corps is under no illusions: aerial bombardments on fortified positions like these have little effect, as he has known since May 1940 and his discussions with Belgian general van Overstraeten.
In short, the Battle of Belfort would not be a battle of manoeuvre, but a battle fought like in the final hours of the Great War. And General Kœltz smiles: his adversary has no idea that it is not only a joint forces officer who is leading the attack on Belfort, but also a specialist in German military thought who has spent more than fifteen years in intelligence... and above all a "stage local": of Alsatian origin, he was born in Besançon and knows the fortifications of Belfort like the back of his hand.

* This is now the main building of the Cité de la Mer, which houses a decommissioned French SSBN.
** Despite all the efforts of the FFI, including Major Louvel's detachment in Amiens, the bridges over the Somme could not be saved: the enemy was still too strong...

 

[Wings]

June 9th, 1944

Liberation and Liberators
The Brittany Festungen
Lorient - Shells, napalm and phosphorus are now regularly raining down on Paul Mahlmann's lines, whose troops persist in not giving up much because they rightly feel they do not have the luxury of doing so. In fact, after nine days of bloody fighting, Joseph Collins is beginning to feel somewhat tired of this thankless exercise. After all, he isn't going to stay here with his corps until the end of the war! A war that the Reich has clearly lost! So what exactly is Mahlmann hoping for - to eat potatoes by the sea until Berlin falls?
The temptation to force the issue - or at least to force it even more - is growing stronger by the hour. And it takes all the friendly persuasion of the French army's seconded officials to prevent the American from calling in enough B-24s to... flatten the issue once and for all. Instead, let us try, once again, to force the adversary to surrender. Until the French have enough troops to take over at least Saint-Nazaire, in addition to La Rochelle!

North - Operation Pheasant
Côte d'Opale - The 4th Canadian Armoured (George Kitching) is now moving swiftly up the Channel beaches, in the changing light of what is, all things considered, a very fine month of June - at least in spirit, if not from the weather point of view. It reaches Paris-Plage* and Montreuil-sur-Mer at around 20:00. The seaside resort was deserted at the time - and also a little damaged. But it would soon regain its colour after the war.
At the same time, on the right flank, the 5th Canadian Armoured (Guy Simonds) is advancing towards Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise - due north, having abandoned the glory of liberating Arras on the express instructions of Neil Ritchie, who is well aware (as are others...) that he is losing control of his troops a little, by dint of riding so hard. A worrying thought... but not too worrying - recent events around Péronne prove, if proof were needed, that the German is no longer capable of anything. He's on the run! Towards Fruges or Pernes, on the roads to Arques and Béthune. Or, at the very least, he shut himself up in redoubts with no prospects, doomed in the long run to surrender. Behind and in the centre, the imperial infantry rakes...

Picardy - German mechanised forces continue to maneuver and skid to escape destruction. The 26. Panzer (Smilo von Lüttwitz) and the 36. PanzerGrenadier (Egon von Neindorff) pass Arras on the right at Wancourt, crossing the Scarpe at Rœux and Biache-Saint-Vaast before immediately destroying all the bridges. Then it is on to Lens! To begin with... Hans-Ulrich Back's 16. Panzer moves up towards Valenciennes, taking advantage of the fact that the Allies behind are still seizing their positions from the previous day.
But not everyone is successful. At Cambrai, the 712. ID is caught and then crushed by a large part of William Gott's XII Corps - mainly the 56th Infantry London (Gerald Templer) and the 1st Infantry (Ronald Penney). There are few survivors. The leader of the 712. ID, Friedrich-Wilhelm Neumann, is captured wounded - for him, like for many others, the war is over.
As for the 709. ID (Curt Jahn), it crosses Arras with the 2nd Armoured (Philip Roberts) on its heels. It is unaware that it owes its (perhaps temporary) salvation to the fact that the British had been ordered to avoid confrontations in urban areas, at the insistence of the French. The French feel, with some justification, that the towns of the North had suffered enough as it is, and their inhabitants along with them! As usual, however, the German infantry has no hope of relief, with Allied armour seemingly coming from everywhere.
It is at this point that William Gott receives a message from London that is both cryptic and yet as transparent as it is elegant: "Be courteous". And the Guards Armored slows to a crawl on the plain of Solesmes (not far from the battlefield of Denain), even though it is only 35 kilometres from the border. Perhaps it could catch up with the 16. Panzer... but it didn't matter, the war is over.

Saint-Quentin - The 1st Belgian Army sets about crossing the old commercial center of Flanders, bursting out everywhere like water sweeping through a breached dam. The Belgians are motivated, the Belgians are heavenly. They have received a personal message from London from their Prime Minister, Hubert Pierlot, which can be summed up in a few words: "Go ahead, the country and immortality await you." And the tanks, lorries and Jeeps roar on.

Manstein enrages
Aachen Rathaus - Aachen's town hall dates back to the 14th century and is not far from the tomb of Karl der Große (an encouraging patronage! - besides, who'd bomb that?). Within these walls, Erich von Manstein feels right at home. And indeed... he is! He and his staff were back on German soil. It is now up to them to try and control the disaster that is still unfolding, to defend the (oh so) great Reich against the coming wave.

1st US Army: campaigning in Lorraine
Champagne - Although Patton is unhappy with the slow progress of Middleton and XIX US Corps, he cannot bear it and consoles himself by diverting the 2nd Rangers and the 188th Artillery Group in support of Gerow. V US Corps begins offensive operations to cross the Marne. Facing it is the LXIV. AK: the 85. ID (Kurt Chill), summarily entrenched in Châlons and its western approaches, and the 327. ID (Rudolf Friedrich). Hastily replastered with a host of survivors without units that had managed to cross the Seine at the end of May, the latter is theoretically at full strength but has almost no heavy equipment - even the old French 75 mm guns are stuck in Verdun. In short, two divisions, only one of which is solid, an easy piece to digest.
Opposite Middleton is the LXXXVI. AK, which has one more division, but all three had been more or less put out of action in May. They were hastily reconstituted with survivors of the late 7. Armee, mainly the lightly wounded who had been evacuated at the start of Overlord. But they lack everything. Patton, as a fox, considers two possibilities: either these five divisions, in a desperate state, had been left there to fight a delaying battle, or the enemy still has one or two tricks up his sleeve.
The assault begins in the early hours of the morning, as soon as the morning fog had dissipated and the sun allow the Piper Cub to improve the accuracy of their artillery. The Soudée is crossed without opposition, but the Germans had had time to destroy the bridges over the Marne and the Moivre canal. In the evening, under cover of darkness, the engineers begin to install Bailey bridges over the Marne west of Pogny for the 29th Infantry (Charles Gerhardt), which deploys on Gerow's right flank. Meanwhile, the 30th Infantry Old Hickory (Leland Hobbs) and the 83rd Infantry Thunderbolt (Robert Macon) deploy ostensibly on the plain opposite Châlons, and the 2nd Infantry Indianhead (Walter Robertson) pretends to want to cross the Marne at Sogny, occupying the two divisions of the LXIV. AK.
Karl Sachs points out that the 9. Panzer might have its work cut out tomorrow, and von Obstfelder orders Erwin Jolasse to come out of the woods east of Vitry to cover Sachs' retreat and take advantage of the opportunity to destroy as many American bridgeheads as possible in the sector. Good timing, tomorrow it should rain.

French forces: divisions and distinctions
Ministry of War (Paris) - Joseph Paul-Boncour, an old hand in political life, knows all about managing the human problem in a conflict between two parties. But the human problem, in the armies, is quite different, especially in this astonishing second world conflict. Since last year, he has had to constantly undress Peter to dress Paul to enable the French armies to hold their ground. It's a good thing that the high command is helping him to push this Sisyphean boulder. So when he receives Marshal Noguès, the Inspector General of National Defence, at the Hôtel de Brienne early in the morning, the wry smile behind the moustache of France's most star-studded military officer convinces him that he can expect some good news.
- Good morning, Minister.
- Good morning, Marshal. What brings you here?
- Altmayer and I received the results from the Swiss survivors this morning. They are much better than we had hoped. In fact, we have almost 30,000 more or less experienced men who are returning immediately to arms. After filtering out those who were going to be sent home, we sent some veterans of the 45th Fortress Army Corps to Kœltz to speed up the liberation and crossing of the Belfort-Montbéliard sector. They had been stationed there in 1940, so they know the place like the back of their hand. But even better: almost all of General Daille's staff came back to us, including many young, intelligent and talented officers. As well as part of General Laure's Xth Army.
- As a Fortress Army Corps, this should help us to meet the needs of the artillery and engineers?
- Perfectly, with an extra bit of wool to make the 1st DI fully operational and enough to form the nuclei of two divisions to relieve the Americans in front of Lorient and Saint-Nazaire. With Daille's staff, we could quickly recreate II Corps. Daille himself is obviously too old (Paul-Boncour discreetly avoids mentioning that Daille is still two years younger than Noguès), but he did not lose out, as our Polish allies can testify. His evacuation also saved several thousand Polish soldiers. It goes without saying that there will be no need to indulge in any kind of saharianism against him; an honourable farewell to arms would be more appropriate.
- These two new divisions would be made up mainly of FFIs, wouldn't they?
- Yes, and they would remain undersized until the end of the war, come what may. They would only be used to guard fortresses.
- When can they be trained?
- My departments are working on it at the moment. Between Cherchell, the parachuted cadres recovered with the advance of the front and the internees from Switzerland, we should obtain the minimum level for these large units, while more or less replacing the friction of the war. But no more than that.
- In other words, Marshal?
- The recently liberated Parisian press has little to envy its Marseille counterpart in terms of exaggeration, Minister. I have been told of a number of rumours according to which certain political circles would like to see a 3rd Army, or even a 4th Army, back in action. But we simply don't have the men to do that, and even if we did, we'd have to equip, train and supply them, which our economic and logistical situation prevents us from doing.
- I see. In any case, this is good news. Thank you, Marshal.
- There's something else, Minister.
- Is there?
- Last year, the General (in the mouth of a Marshal of France, the word has a certain flavour, thinks Paul-Boncour) entrusted me with a very special mission... To find eight or nine names of generals deserving of the Marshalate. After some hesitation, I approved the list provided to me by my staff.
- And in which your name appeared.
- I would never have dared put it there myself, but I didn't think it was sincere to remove it. From what I understand, Frère will get his baton on July 14th. The next most legitimate ones seem to me to be Doumenc, Frère, Houdemon and Ollive - each of our armies will be honoured in this way. But I remembered that in 1921, three years after the Other War, Lyautey, Franchet d'Esperey and Fayolle were also honoured, plus Maunoury and Gallieni posthumously. So I'd like us to consider the possibility of an addition.
- A posthumous one, for Olry?
- No, a living one, for Edouard de Castelnau.
- The general of the Great War? But he's retired!
- Precisely not. He is one of the rare generals to have been kept on active duty without an age limit. Legally, you could put him in charge of the 1st Army tomorrow, for example. But I've heard through certain channels that he's becoming increasingly ill, having suffered a great deal of deprivation during the German occupation. His health is poor and he is 92 years old. It is to be feared that he will not make it through the summer.
- And why would you want to see him added to this list?
- Mr Minister, we are talking about the best general France had during the Second World War, the winner at the trouée de Charmes and the Grand-Couronné, the first French victories of the war, and the winner of the Champagne offensive. But above all, he was the real victor at Verdun, along with Nivelle - don't deny it, I commanded the 17th RA at Mort-Homme, so I know to whom we owe the victory. Joffre got the Marshalate for less, Pétain got it by political calculation, and Castelnau was refused it because of his social origin and political opinions.
- I hear your arguments, Marshal, but I don't see how they change anything about Castelnau's situation. If he wasn't made Marshal in 1921, I don't see why we should do it now.
- Minister, despite his retirement and advanced age, Castelnau never surrendered his arms. General Jean Verneau** told me that he had been contacted to be evacuated from Metropolitan France in the summer of 41, at the same time as President Tardieu. But Castelnau, who was still in good health, refused, and for a very simple reason: his manor house, which the Germans didn't dare disturb, was used as a weapons and ammunition depot by half the maquis in the region! What I'm asking you to do is to give him full credit. I mean, imagine if Frère had to award him the Resistance medal on July 14th! That would be terribly ironic for a man who has always refused to claim honours for himself. What's more, I'm afraid his state of health is such that we can't wait until this war is over to honour him for the previous one.
- I see... You will understand, Marshal, that I will first refer the matter to the President of the Council. In any case, many thanks for the Atlantic divisions.

1st French Army - Operation Marguerite
Lorraine, III Corps - The German garrison at Vittel evacuates in disarray in the face of the French advance as soon as they learn of the withdrawal of the 91. Luftlande: without the parachutists, the Feldgendarmes and other armed dust cannot hope to hold out against the Allied armoured tanks.
However, on the road to Epinal and salvation, the column is attacked by around sixty guerrillas in ambush. Armed with machine guns and even a heavy machine gun, the FFI, masters of the “small war”, only attack the rearguard of the column, causing a stampede while the Landsers seek to escape. by all means and pay a heavy price. Nearly fifty Germans remain on the ground after the confrontation. The rest can finally escape from the trap without difficulty thanks to the passage of the PanzerZug-32, which takes part of the Vittel garrison and sprays the French with machine guns. The woods may be excellent protection against artillery, but they prove very harmful under machine gun and flak cannon fire, the splinters being able to pierce an arm as well as a rifle bullet. Faced with the accumulation of more or less light injuries, the resistance fighters retreat.
But this is not the last clash of the day. Around midday, the column arrives near Remoncourt, a charming little village but where the bullets are clicking with rage: another FFI unit goes on the attack, under the direction of Roger Cunin and Roger Buzzi. The Germans repel the French without much difficulty, who have to retreat in the face of the armored train and the column accompanying it, not without having blown up the viaduct supporting the railway line. While the Germans are busy repairing and getting back on the road, the guerrillas contact Vittel and the 1st DB.
An hour later, an armored subgroup arrives from the south and enfilades the Remoncourt basin, while the Germans tru to evacuate by road in trucks. An element of around a hundred men manages to keep the French at bay for a moment, notably thanks to a handful of PaK-40s which destroy a few tanks. But this resistance quickly collapses and two thirds of the unit are captured – the rest are dead or missing – for losses six times lower among the French. The PzZug-32, partly concealed by an embankment, opens fire on the Allied armored vehicles, but the response sets several wagons on fire and the smoke prevents them from aiming correctly.
“For the first time, we were hunting a game heavier and more imposing than the biggest tank, we had to do it right!" will tell Captain Gérald de Castelnau, grandson of General Édouard de Castelnau, hero of the previous conflict. Quickly, the French deploy in better firing positions and the shots rained down on the armored train. Faced with the deluge of shells, the train crew is reluctant to leave their wagons and deploy into the forest at the top of the embankments. A first French assault is repelled thanks to flak cannons and the dispersion of smoke bombs. The tanks then resume their firing and the infantrymen manage to blow up one of the 3.7 cm Flak with mortars. After which, having given the smoke time to dissipate, two French officers approach the convoy under a white flag, accompanied by a German lieutenant captured in Remoncourt, and suggested that Captain Freïs surrender. His train being doomed whatever happens, the German accepts.
Transported to Remoncourt in flames, the prisoners on the train end up volunteering to help the firefighters put out the fire. This altruism certainly saves some of them when a “Resistant” from the 25th hour wants to execute them with a captured MP-40. Intercepted by fire chief Modeste Dorget, the man is quickly subdued. The help of the prisoners thus greatly reduces the damage that the village could have suffered. As for the PzZug 32, it will be transported to Vittel, where its capture will be announced to De Lattre. He then gives the order to take him to Lyon, for propaganda purposes.
The rest of the army corps does not experience such energetic action, the Germans having retreated: the 14th DI is thus able to liberate Joinville while the 19th DI inserts itself between Joinville and Neufchâteau, held by the 5th DB but whose the big road bridge blew up. For its part, the 2nd DB is in Vauvilliers, where the inhabitants tell it of the absence of opposition before Saint-Sauveur, which would be defended by a German division which seems to have recently arrived. That's right: Kesselring, after having approved the trap set by von Rundstedt around Metz, insisted on reinforcing the Vosges, because there is no longer a single German division between Epinal (91. Luftlande) and Ronchamp (39. ID).

Doubs, IV CA – The 3rd DB manages to force access to the Arcey plateau and seizes Champey, with the support of the 108th RALCA which fires from Mignavilliers with the help of Piper Cub. In the afternoon, the regiment deploys some of its pieces and its observers around the Faymont farm, from where there is a breathtaking view of the western outskirts of Montbéliard.
At the same time, the 10th DI, thanks to aerial reconnaissance which gives it the exact position of the Roches battery, crushes the German positions under shells. The structure itself, protected by the orientation of the hill, is however largely spared. At least the shelling prevents the German mortars from opposing the infantry advance on Noirefontaine and Montechéroux. Stunned by the artillery, kept at bay by the aviation, the Landsers are overtaken when the infantrymen of the 50th RI, supported by a company of the 4th Engineer Battalion, attacked. For several hours, the forest surrounding the battery is the scene of a fierce clash between two tired adversaries: the French are exhausted by the enormous efforts made since the beginning of Marguerite, and the Germans are convalescents or men too old to stay in line units. When evening comes, the battery still holds.

* Today Le Touquet.
** General Delegate for Prisoners and Internees, successor to General de Saint-Vincent.

 

[Wings]

June 10th, 1944

Liberation and Liberators
Brittany Festungen
Lorient - The German army takes Sainte-Hélène from Colonel Bourgoin's FFI! The news is immediately communicated to Radio Berlin, which is sure to issue a glowing report on this huge and decisive victory. However, apart from a few potato fields and a pile of burnt-out ruins*, the Landsers of the Festung have not gained much. In fact, the Etel has not even been reached - the French stubbornly retain control of both banks and the bridge leading to the south bank.
As for the 79th and 9th Infantry, things do not move much more - although there are two details. Towards Lanester, the 47th Rgt reports that its old adversary, the 942. Grenadier Rgt, is beginning to show signs of weakness. In fact, in order to hold the line (and even before that, to fill out his unit, which had been slimmed down by requisitions), Major Görtmüller had to incorporate a number of recruits from... diverse backgrounds. And not all of them are enthusiastic defenders of the Reich - not to mention National Socialist fanatics! It is bad enough that the regiment isn't exactly elite... In short, if it isn't starting to crumble, it looks very fragile.
At the rear, the French officers present are frantically interviewing all the municipal employees they can find in the area. They are obviously looking for something - but what?

North - Operation Pheasant
Côte d'Opale - Capture of Samer by the 4th Canadian Armoured. George Kitching's men come up against the new Festung Boulogne, held by the 346. ID under Erich Diestel. Unwilling to risk his tanks in an urban battle with nothing at stake, George Kitching sets about doubling the wooded crown of the port (the Hardelot, Boulogne and Desvres forests) through Desvres and then Colembert, hoping to reach Calais via Guines. The 3rd Canadian Infantry (Rod Keller) is to be the sole guardsman!
In fact, the Canadian armoured vehicles are no longer encountering any real resistance in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region: the 5th Canadian Armoured (Guy Simonds) passes Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise and heads up towards Saint-Omer, while the 2nd Canadian Infantry (Charles Foulkes), immediately to its rear right, plans to border at Bruay-la-Buissière. As for the shock troops, who had been the first to cross the Somme, they are at the front, looking for an opportunity to hinder the enemy's plans. Mission already impossible: in Dunkirk and Calais, the 47. ID (Otto Elfeldt) completes the formation of a vast Festung encompassing the two conurbations. A waste of men, obviously. But obviously not enough, at least in the opinion of the Germans, not to persist in this approach, which cost the Allies a few casualties and, above all, immobilises formations that Neil Ritchie would have liked to send elsewhere.

Picardy - On the Anglo-Canadians' right, the 15. Armee (Hans von Salmuth), now completely routed, can no longer resist. It speeds north as fast as it can, trying not to be overtaken by its pursuers in a kind of deadly hurdle race. So, despite the weight of the past and the bad weather, the situation on the ground remains paradoxically... very fluid.
In the centre of HG D, the 26. Panzer (Smilo von Lüttwitz) and the 36. PanzerGrenadier (Egon von Neindorff) give up all liaison with the rest of the LXVII. ArmeeKorps (Walther Fischer von Weikersthal). The LXVII. ArmeeKorps, poorly reinforced by the remnants of the 4. Fallschirmjäger, is in the throes of a rout towards Saint-Omer anyway - the troops in better condition are doomed to lock themselves up in the Festung. The mechanised elements therefore move east of Lens, near Hénin-Beaumont, and then advance rapidly towards Lille.
Behind them, Gott's forces, forced into a form of reserve by orders from very high up, pursue only half-heartedly. In fact, this is what saves the 709. ID (Curt Jahn) - passing Lens to retreat towards Hazebrouck and La-Bassée, it escapes destruction by the 2nd Armoured (Philip Roberts) - which has received orders, like the Guards Armoured (Allan Adair), to stop for supplies before a probable redeployment to the east (Neil Ritchie is already talking about the Aachen 'gap'!). But once again, it is perhaps only a postponement - Sidney Kirkman's VII Corps had liberated Arras without a fight and is charging across the Scarpe River on the heels of the German division, with the 2nd Armoured (Philip Roberts) in the lead.
Finally, on the German left, the 16. Panzer (Hans-Ulrich Back) also manages to save itself. The first major Heer unit to retreat into Belgium, it crosses the old border at Quiévrain, after passing through Valenciennes in a gloomy atmosphere - the Germans are carrying out an increasing number of so-called "intimidation" machine-gun attacks, which results in fifteen deaths.

Cambrai - Belgian forces arrive in Cambrai - more or less on the positions of the 56th Infantry London (Gerald Templer). The latter is positioned in the centre, with the 1st Infantry (General Ronald Penney) on its left wing towards Cateau-Cambrésis. On its right, in front of Bastin and Van Daele, there is nothing. There are Shermans, Cromwells, Churchills, Mouflons and Taureau bulls wearing black-yellow-red badges emblazoned with the Golden Lion... and, further back, but not so much, the Pays.

1st US Army: campaigning in Lorraine
Champagne - V US Corps goes on the attack! The 29th Infantry Blue and Gray (Charles Gerhardt), thanks to the pontoons discreetly laid by the engineers the previous night, crosses the Marne at Pogny, while the 83rd Infantry Thunderbolt (Robert Macon) and the 30th Infantry Old Hickory (Leland Hobbs) advance cautiously towards Châlons. Karl Sachs has prepared his defences well, and the GIs find it difficult to approach the Marne itself. However, once the bulk of the 29th Infantry has passed, it swings northwards and overruns the Landsers of the 327. ID (Rudolf Friedrich), who had to guard the riverbanks and were of a very uneven standard. Friedrich quickly reports to his superiors and retreats northwards.
Gerhardt, sensing his opponent is close to breaking, tries to push forward in order to outflank him and perhaps also wrap up the 85. ID (Kurt Chill), which is still guarding Châlons. Unfortunately, in the rain, the enemy fades and disappears. Disappears? Not quite... Just as Chill is in the process of evacuating the burning Châlons after blowing up the bridges, the 29th Infantry has the nasty surprise of seeing sinister shadows appear on its right flank, which quickly damage the 175th Infantry Rgt and the division's CCR. The 9. Panzer under Erwin Jolasse, which had moved up under cover of night, forces the Americans to dig in with their backs to the Marne, their only lifeline being the engineer pontoons on the river. The German counter-attack is violent and the 29th Infantry staggers and threatens to break. It is saved, however, by the 634th and 813rd Tank Destroyer Batallions, which rush across the pontoons and, thanks to their experience in armoured combat, force the German felines to fall back, although they also ferociously scratch the tank hunters. However, unbeknownst to the Americans, one of the latter has pulled off a lucky coup: an anti-tank shell disintegrated Jolasse's command car and seriously wounded the general, who was quickly evacuated to Metz. His chief of staff, Oberst Max Sperling, replaces him.
Gerow grimaces as he reports to Patton - he had excuses: because of the rain, the 79th AG's support had been minimal, as it had been unable to observe enemy positions, and the USAAF had been unable to do anything for the GIs. However, despite the losses, the Marne is definitively crossed. It would still take another day or two to get the other divisions and support units across, not to mention the 4th Armored, which catches up with V US Corps at a forced march from Sézanne.
For its part, XIX US Corps takes up position to attack the LXXXVI. AK of Felix Schwalbe tomorrow.

French forces: a disappointed general
Ministère de la Guerre (Paris) - General Giraud is happy to be back in France at last, in free metropolitan France at least. His beloved Alsace has not yet been liberated. Oh, how he'd love to be back in command at the front! With him at the helm, there's no doubt we'd already be in Strasbourg, or even on the other side of the Rhine! But he had to come to terms with the fact that the man in charge was De Gaulle - whom he never called anything but "Gaulle".
Giraud never really appreciated this colonel with the temporary stars, and never mind that some of his original ideas on the use of armour had been verified! He feels that a metre ninety-eight of pettiness (which seemed to reproach him for being over two metres tall!) forbids him to return to the front. And even more so after the nasty trick Olry played on him with the preparations for D-Day. It is certain that he would never be allowed to return to command in the field. The worst thing is to hear through the grapevine that Frère might soon be given the Marshal's baton! To think that if he had deigned to lick the boots of politicians, it might have been him, the Lion of Limnos, who would have been singled out! That said, he has no grudge against Frère, or Noguès for that matter. He understands perfectly well what's going on, and in a way it's flattering. You couldn't create a phantom AG and honestly think that the Germans would take the bait without putting one of the most talented allied generals at its head, something that neither Frère nor Noguès, and certainly not Gaulle, could have embodied. Perhaps Patton...
And this new mission entrusted to him is certainly no consolation rattle. It's not just prestigious, it's also important: the rebirth of the French Army, no less! Of course, France has other great units, but they come from the colonies, and we all know what to expect from these people. Goodwill, heart and valour, yes, but as for talent, that's something you can only really find in Metropolitan France.
This morning, the country's armed forces take their first look at the places they need to reintegrate. We might as well start with the old furniture: head for Versailles, to see just how much the Special has suffered! We pass the château, which is in good condition, and where Eisenhower has taken up residence - and the big head, apparently. These Americans, one day they'll have to understand that they don't have everything under control... Anyway, we get out of the car and land at the Spéciale... or what's left of it. It is indeed a ruin, abandoned in haste no doubt in May 40, but most of the damage was clearly caused by the bombing. The old chapel, where the pupil on guard duty used to play all night with the relics of times gone by, has been gutted, its Ali-Baba cave open to the four winds. Several of the statues on the Marchfeld have been martyred, and Giraud clenches his fist when he sees what the occupants have done to those of several imperial marshals. With the men accompanying him, the general explores the places where, like most of the officers under his command, he had begun his career. The results are categorical: reopening the Spéciale is out of the question, at least not on these premises. The buildings of the Royal House of Saint-Louis would need to be thoroughly renovated before they could accommodate anything.
Come to think of it, why 'refit' the Spéciale? Cherchell is more than enough: in four years, the facilities there have become quite adequate. And Algeria is France, after all. We should talk to Noguès about it. The end of the war is approaching, and it would be necessary to consider the format of the Army as it would have to be after the war... and where it would have to be deployed, was already in the mind of the general who, although proud to a fault, was no fool. The agreement with the Russians would not last, and this is certainly one of the few points on which he is in perfect agreement with the current President of the Council.

1st French Army - Operation Marguerite
Lorraine, III Corps - Epinal is close, almost within reach. The 1st DB therefore launches several infantry elements to scout the area before entering the town, as armoured vehicles are not at ease in urban areas. Fortunately, the FFI provide valuable intelligence, while the rain blinds the observation aircraft. A vital piece of information soon comes to light: columns of armoured vehicles had been seen heading west, straight for the division's positions. As the air force had not seen anyone in the previous days, headquarters considers the information to be an error or an exaggeration due to a few isolated tanks. The information is nevertheless passed on to the forward units.
Then, 12 km from Epinal, on the approach to the village of Dompaire, a mechanised reconnaissance group thus warned comes face to face with a similar unit, but supported by Panther IIs - a whole Kampfgruppe arrives. The French withdraw before being cut down and pass on the information to the divisional HQ. The divisional HQ realises it had made a mistake and dispatches additional reinforcements to the armoured group that had been following the scouts closely. Faced with a possible threat from the north, the unit occupying Remoncourt holds its position on the hills, while sending the bulk of its support to Dompaire. The Schamberg maquis, present in force on the spot, maintains liaison and indicated the best routes.
Once the reinforcements reach Dompaire, the French take advantage of the high ground around the mirabelle orchards to discreetly surround the German armoured vehicles. The signal is given and the assault is devastating: more than thirty German vehicles are destroyed, including several precious Panther IIs and even two huge Löwes. A third is blown off its tracks and its crew runs off before being cut down by a burst of machine-gun fire. Just then, a second wave of German armoured vehicles appears, still thinking they could turn the tide of the battle, but they are quickly repulsed and the Germans flee without asking for a second chance, taking advantage of the driving rain to melt into the scenery. The French are astonished to see that these tankers had not shown the same manoeuvring skills or the same experience of armoured combat as usual...
All that remains for the victorious French are the carcasses of the destroyed vehicles and a few prisoners, either surprisingly young or far too old. A German-speaking officer and an Alsatian non-commissioned officer are appalled to discover that some of the crews who had burned in the destroyed tanks are nothing more than 16-year-old teenagers. This information is quickly passed on to headquarters, along with the name of the unit given by prisoners shocked by the violence of the battle, for which they were totally unprepared. The 106. Panzerbrigade has just experienced its first engagement, which ended in a massacre in which one of its two Kampfgruppen lost three quarters of its equipment.
In many ways, the situation reminds the veterans of the 1940s of their own experience of that period: thanks to the shock, the French only have 35 killed and 8 vehicles lost, compared with more than 40 vehicles and 120 men for the Germans! But in those days, kids and old people (well, the over-40s) weren't sent into the front line!
On the German side, the young and inexperienced leaders are frightened by the losses they had suffered in the space of a few hours and withdraw behind the protection of the Séré de Rivières forts surrounding Epinal. But already, smelling blood, the tanks of the 501st Régiment de Chars de Combat approaches the town from the west and north. The Madon is quickly crossed, and the 91. Luftlande finds itself trapped in Epinal, while the 106. Panzer Brigade retreats to Nancy after regrouping at Thaon.
......
Doubs, IV Corps - The rain is causing all sorts of difficulties for the artillerymen to operate properly from the Faymont hill: the torrential downpours prevents them from using rangefinders or unblockers, and when a position is visible, the soft ground limits the damage caused by shells, if they are willing to explode! The barrage would have to wait. On the other hand, the weather does not prevent us from getting closer to the forts and reducing those that had already been hit.
The Les Roches battery finally falls after a violent assault during which Colonel Antoine André was killed by mortar fire lined up on Mont Julien, from where he was commanding the assault. Pont-de-Roide, the main access route to Montbéliard from the south, is liberated. The 10th Infantry Division only has to take the Mandeure massif before it can defeat any German position as far as Belfort. However, Etcheberrigaray points out that his division is exhausted and would not have the same momentum before one or two days of rest and restructuring. In addition, before it could turn towards Montbéliard itself, it has to reduce a thorn in its side: the Lomont fort, which is now isolated but still holding out.
As for the 3rd DB, it could not hope to storm the Mont-Bart fort, which covers the whole of the western approaches to Montbéliard and which it would only be able to take after a solid bombardment by the 12th BACA. Fortunately, Major Ronsin, ex-CEM of the fortified sector of Montbéliard and recently returned from his Swiss internment (with an extra bar for seniority), has just been sent to Jean Rabanit for technical advice and details of the structure of the former Montbéliard Defensive Sector.

* Only the church tower remains as a reminder of this locality that "died for France".

Western Front, June 1st to 10th, 1944 (German units might not be accurately placed)

 

[Wings]

June 11th, 1944

Liberation and Liberators
The Brittany Festungen
Lorient - In the pouring rain, Joseph Collins - who is in command here, primarily from an outpost in Pontivy - tries to take advantage of the bloodshed of the last few days and a temporary halt in the course of operations by attempting a new diplomatic approach. This morning, he sends Paul Mahlmann a letter offering him "the possibility of stopping bloodshed that has become pointless and of surrendering the town in a humane and reasonable manner".
It's true - the Landsers have suffered over the last few days, especially in Lanester and at least as much as the GIs. With the nearest German reinforcements around 100 kilometres away and the front line (already!) over 500 kilometres away, accepting would no doubt be Cartesian. However, the Prussian's reply doesn't even wait for midday: "I must decline your offer". So it is a furious Collins who orders the assault to begin again tomorrow, before asking his soldiers to "enter the fray with renewed vigour (...) and finish the job". A worrying profession of faith for the French, who are wondering whether at this rate there will be anything left to liberate.

Guipavas - The first elements of Matthew Ridgway's 82nd Airborne All American arrive east of Festung Brest from Angers. It was sent here to assist the 90th Infantry Tough Ombres in the colossal task ahead.
Over the next few days, the paratroopers take over from Jay MacKelvie's men on the right bank of the Penfeld, leaving the regular infantry with the difficult task of laying siege to the arsenal alone. At least they'll be able to refocus, which is something!
However, no further action is expected before the 13th and the return of the air force. In any case, given the weather and the context, there's really no reason to hurry.

North - Operation Pheasant
Côte d'Opale - The heavy rain that falls does not stop the Germans from fleeing north, nor the Canadians from pursuing them.
Facing Cap Gris-Nez, George Kitching's 4th Canadian Armoured Division sets out to cut Calais off from the famous Todt battery, whose four 380 mm guns had been a real nuisance to the inhabitants of Kent in recent years. It seizes the MIII battery at Wissant and its 15 cm guns at the drop of a hat, then tries to force its way through the positions of Oberst Ludwig Schroeder - who is now in sole command of around 5,000 men whom he himself describes as reiner Müll (pure trash). The Canadian effort is nevertheless a little presumptuous - the assault, led by two mechanised battalions supplied by the 10th Infantry Brigade, fails rather miserably. Furious, Kitching heads east to lay siege to Calais and Dunkirk, once again asking the 3rd Canadian Infantry (Rod Keller) to take his place.
A serious mistake! On the coast, Erich Diestel's 346. ID and Otto Elfeldt's 47. ID can still hold out for some time without bothering anyone, for London, the destruction of Hun long-range guns is imperative, even strategic. Neil Ritchie, under heavy pressure from above, orders Harry Crerar to complete his manoeuvres on the plain as quickly as possible in order to neutralise the bloody guns. To do this, he can of course count on the Funnies of General Percy Hobart's 79th Armoured, who had recently worked wonders in Le Havre, even alongside those pig-headed Poles.
So be it... the 5th Canadian Armoured (Guy Simonds), after liberating Saint-Omer, splits into two columns, aiming for Gravelines and Bergues. Behind, the 2nd Canadian Infantry (Charles Foulkes) is still holding the flank, waiting for others to take over.

Picardy - The storm that is sweeping across the flat country until tomorrow evening will no doubt save what remains of the German forces still capable of maneuver from complete destruction by the air force.
The remnants of the LXVII. ArmeeKorps (Walther Fischer von Weikersthal) - two badly damaged divisions, reinforced by Heinrich Trettner's paratroopers but without their walled-in counterparts - overrun Festung Dunkerque, losing hundreds of stragglers who would (or would not) reinforce the lines of the two redoubts in formation. Most of them head for Nieuport. All night long, the Landsers pass through the locks on the Yser, which had already been mined in anticipation of the inevitable. The Tommies are not so far away...
In fact, the only forces still more or less able to defend against the wave - the 26. Panzer (Smilo von Lüttwitz) and the 36. PanzerGrenadier (Egon von Neindorff) - are already crossing Lille in a state of latent insurrection, continuing towards Tourcoing and planning to cross the Roulers-Lys canal at Roeselare. Behind them, the 2nd Armoured (Philip Roberts) is the first to enter the northern capital in the late afternoon, having been delayed by operations to cross the Scarpe. It is too late for the inmates of Loos prison, who were all shot during the retreat, despite the efforts of Major Henry's FFI, who were poorly coordinated and faced with an opponent much stronger than themselves...
On the British right flank, William Gott's XII Corps, at rest in the Cambrai sector, is preparing to take to the road again after observing the Tancrémont armoured brigade charging towards the country, followed by all the Belgian forces. The Tancrémont reaches Valenciennes at 17:00, does not stop for a moment and continues straight on along the RN 30 - which becomes the RN 51 at Quiévrain. It is 22:30 when the Taureau cross the border. Nothing stands in their way: the 709. ID (Curt Jahn) had crossed the border much further west, at Armentières, while the 16. Panzer (Hans-Ulrich Back) disappeared towards Mons, probably planning to cross the Canal du Centre around the Obourg locks.
Colonel Rodolphe De Troyer, in agreement with his chiefs, decides to go for it. Brussels is only 70 kilometres away!

1st US Army - Campaigning in Lorraine
Champagne - While examining the maps to study the possibilities of advancing towards Metz, Patton and Gerow pulled a nasty face, according to their subordinates. To continue its offensive, V US Corps would have to follow a single axis of progression leading straight to Verdun and the Meuse. To the north, the hills of the Argonne hamper major manoeuvres, and the same can be said of the Champagne area to the south-east, which is also likely to hamper coordination between the two corps. And Patton stormed against the carelessness of the logisticians who had prevented him from recovering VII US Corps, which would have been very useful here. To cut a long story short. The 29th Infantry, which has suffered so much yesterday, would maintain the link between the two corps, while the other three infantry divisions, which the 4th Armoured would probably join in a week's time, would continue to push forward. This push would be made in echelons turned down to the left, with the 2nd Infantry Indian Head (Walter Robertson) in the lead, the 30th Infantry Old Hickory (Leland Hobbs) in the middle and the 83rd Infantry Thunderbolt (Robert Macon) at the rear.
By the end of the day, V US Corps has finished crossing the Marne and is properly deployed. In the evening, Patton, always a history buff, takes Gerow and Hobbs on a trip to a highly symbolic place: the oppidum of La Cheppe, a former Roman fort and the capital of the Catalaunes, the Gallic people whose surrounding fields had seen the defeat of Attila's army, to give his men a bit of an education and show them his personal culture (which is much greater than his brutal ways might lead one to believe). Aerial reconnaissance has confirmed the departure of the German armour, so there is little risk.
In the morning, Middleton tries to cross the Marne with his XIX Corps, but the absence of army support is only partially compensated for by the temporary return of the air force, and the LXXXVI. AK of Felix Schwalbe bends but does not break. The hedges in front of Vitry have been cleared of German infantrymen, but the latter had been ready for several days to withdraw in drawers. They do not hold on to the positions beaten by the American artillery, but only retreat a notch each time, playing for time with a certain skill.
In the evening, the decision is only taken at Loisy, where the 5th Armored Victory (Lunsford Oliver) rejects the 243. ID on the other side, but not without blowing up the bridges. And the American tankers note with displeasure that the deployment of German anti-tank teams armed with Panzerschrek, discovered in May during the fighting in Normandy, is becoming increasingly common. Several tanks have already paid the price, including a valuable engineer bridge-layer, when Oliver tried to chase down German infantrymen with a hussar.

Wacht am Rhein is ready!
Kesselring HQ (Metz) - In front of von Rundstedt, Kesselring declares with unabashed satisfaction that Wacht am Rhein is almost ready. The plan is relatively simple: the LVIII. AK (Hans-Karl von Esebeck) would attack XIX US Army Corps from the front to block the road to Lorraine, while the two SS PanzerKorps would surround as many V US Corps units as possible before destroying them once they are isolated. For this to work, the weather would have to be terrible or there would have to be strong air support. Fortunately, the weather stations forecast poor weather for the coming weeks, because in its current state Luftflotte 3 would only be able to guarantee respectable air support for a week at most. This is all the more important given that American flak is becoming more and more prevalent in all ground units and that USAAF pilots are no longer the beginners they were just a year or two ago...
On the ground, many American units are still relatively inexperienced, but they make up for this with enormous firepower. Like von Rundstedt before him, Kesselring can't help but murmur: "It might work... It must work!"

French Forces: an emotional general and a very emotional general
Headquarters of the 15th AAG (Marseille) - Aubert Frère was expecting this, especially after the formation of the FUSAG. In his office, General Mer, his Chief of Staff, brings him a dispatch signed by the President of the Council, the General with a capital G, as many people now call him.
- Hello, Mer. Let me guess: the President of the Council wants me to work with Giraud to make the 3rd Army a reality?
- My respects, General. Erm, not exactly. Read instead. And allow me to join you in advance...
An indistinct word and with that, Mer hurries out, smiling... modestly?
It is the first time Frère had seen a Major General so obviously moved! He was both stiff as a board and frightened as if lightning had just struck at his feet. What could have made such an impression on him?... Oh, dear, first put in his glasses, he won't be able to read much without them, even if there are only two paragraphs.
Well, De Gaulle starts by giving him some Mon Général, so what else is he going to ask him? Frère takes a quick look at the signatures: the letter is countersigned by Dentz and the Minister, no less! So he is asked to "consider the possibility" of recreating another French army on the Western Front, using units that can be salvaged here and there. Obviously, this can be feasible, especially in collaboration with Giraud. And there are 'eventualities' that sound like orders. But not before the end of Marguerite, that would make too much of a mess for Montagne.
Now, the second paragraph. "I have the honour of inviting you to the next ceremony on July 14th...". - It would be a shame if he didn't attend! Hmm... "... part of which will take place at Les Invalides, during which... " His heart misses a beat. Machinically, he takes off his glasses. In his condition, they are no longer of any use.

1st French Army - Operation Marguerite
Headquarters of the 1st Army (Lyon) - For Montagne, there is growing hope that Marguerite would achieve its goal: to liberate Burgundy, reach or even liberate Belfort, penetrate the Vosges and reach Nancy. However, the troops are beginning to tire, there is no time to recuperate, casualties are piling up and logistics cannot keep up, especially with the increasing siphoning off of ammunition by Patton's 1st US Army, which is advancing much faster. Fortunately, the 1st Army is increasingly independent when it comes to petrol and other supplies.

Lorraine, III Corps - Given the exhausted state of the 1st DB, General de Lattre has it rotated in the morning with Henri de Vernejoul's 5th DB. The 1st DB therefore forms a flank-guard facing the Vosges, like the 2nd DB, while the 5th DB immediately prepares to attack the fortifications west of Epinal. Clinging to these fortifications, the 91. Luftlande lacks artillery to try and calm the French tankers, but the town is covered by no less than a dozen forts and batteries that prevent entry into the town itself.
Vernejoul is not familiar with the Séré de Rivières system, but the enemy's weakness and Resistance intelligence tells him that while the Uxegney fort is fully operational and prevents manoeuvres to the north-east, the Sanchey battery has been disarmed by the enemy and does not appear to be very well defended. In the evening, a coup de main by the 1st DBCP, supported by the regiment's 120 mm mortars, succeeds in taking the battery. Opposite, Wilhelm Falley realises that he no longer has the means to counter-attack, as the Wehrmacht's defensive doctrine would have it. During the night, he prepares improvised positions at Les Forges to hold out for a few more days, but he is already starting to evacuate the woods to the south.
For their part, the 14th and 19th DIs slip eastwards, deploying on the Neufchâteau-Dompaire line.

Lorraine, II Polish Corps - The Poles are back on the front line, with a mission to liberate Nancy! Zygmund Bohusk-Szusko's 3rd ID and Boleslaw Bronislaw-Duch's 5th ID emerge between Joinville and Neufchâteau, and Stanislaw Maczek's 1st Armoured Brigade prepares to rush to Stanislas Leszczinski's capital. Failing Warsaw...
Faced with the two army corps now facing him, Wilhelm Wetzel sees his hopes of resistance melt away like snow in the sun. He could have held out against the II PAC alone, but with two more French IDs, he is hopelessly outmatched.

Doubs, IV Corps - While the 91. Luftlande is unable to counter-attack at Epinal, the same cannot be said of Anton Freiherr von Hirschberg's 363. ID. Taking advantage of the morning drizzle, a battalion of the 958. Grenadier Rgt attacks the infantrymen of the 5th Infantry Regiment. Surprised and still weakened by the loss of its corps commander the previous day, the 5th Infantry Regiment has to break off the fight and retreat to Noirefontaine, abandoning the Les Roches battery.
At this point, an assault from the Lomont fort could severely damage at least one of the 10th DI's brigades. But Etchebarrigaray is not yet defeated and the Basque general orders the local maquis to surround the fort. Colonel Jean Maurin, who was only waiting for a sign to act, overrides the orders and succeeds, odere est facere, in taking the fort in a daring coup de main, despite fairly heavy losses among his men!
At the same time, Jean Rabanit's 3rd DB is paralysed by the wait for good weather and the ineffectiveness of the air force against the German forts.
For its part, the 9th DIC (Marcel-Elie Pellet) extends the area under its control as far as the ridges above Ronchamp, with the support of the 83rd DIA (Eugène Mordant). The 39. ID tries to prevent this manoeuvre, but it is no match for two much more powerful allied divisions. Its position is only saved by the reckless intervention of the 232. Volksgrenadier-Division (Johann-Heinrich Eckhart), whose commander wanted to test it in battle and toughen it up before a more serious confrontation. Mordant, who had not at all expected a movement from the Vosges, suddenly has to move his division to his left. He manages to repel the German grenadiers without too much difficulty. Eckhart, for his part, is satisfied: the 39. ID has been saved, his unit has gained valuable experience for a modest price, and he has not jeopardised the accomplishment of his mission, which is to guard the road to Le Thillot against allied attacks.
The other divisions of LXXVI. AK under von Knobelsdorff, guarding the other routes into the Vosges, take advantage of the respite. The 165. ID, hard hit by the fighting, fortifies Remiremont and rests, while the 84. ID, at Rupt, tries to appear intimidating in the face of the 2nd DB.

 

[Wings]

June 12th, 1944

Liberation and Liberators
The Brittany Festungen
Lorient - It was raining hard again on the peninsula and the entire American staff - led by Collins - relaunches the 9th Infantry Varsity (Manton Eddy) and the 79th Infantry Cross of Lorraine (Ira Wyche), one against Lanester and its bloody Plessis district, the other against the banks of the Ter. But no breakthroughs today: the US Army seems to have given up on launching its GIs on the assault here! Faced with a defensive wall, it prefers to use new tactics that are less costly in terms of manpower and, in particular, to use its guns: barrage, rolling fire, phosphorous shells, projectiles of all calibres - the plethora of modern artillery is deployed at Lorient in an attempt to annihilate the Germans. This does not fail to impress - in various ways! - French observers, who can legitimately wonder whether this bludgeoning is necessary, at a time when Cherbourg is beginning to operate at full capacity and Le Havre, finally in the hands of the Allies, is not too badly damaged.
And on the French side, everything is going relatively well. On the left flank, towards Sainte-Hélène, the Boche advance is definitively halted well before the banks of the River Etel. The link with Quiberon - which had been feared for some time - would not be established. According to Colonel Bourgoin (it will now be difficult to argue with his stripes!), the beast is wriggling, the beast is agitated - but it is still caught in the nets.
Nonetheless, for VII Corps, which had decided that it needs Lorient, the artillery clash is just the beginning of a debauchery of resources. After a long battle for the support of both the Air Force and the Navy, Joseph Colllins finally gets them - at the first break in the weather, we promise! And then, we're going to see who's boss!

Brest - Significant intensification of the shellings, as a logical consequence of the arrival of the 82nd Airborne All American and the improvement in supply conditions. Both MacKelvie and Ridgway are planning night actions from this evening, in order to test the Kraut and see if it is possible to bayonet it from den to den.

Cézembre Island - Attempt at a night-time link between Jersey and Cézembre, by several speedboats carefully hidden in the Channel Islands. They will only ever be able to deliver a few crates and take a few lucky people with them - if they manage to dock, of course, but hope springs eternal!
The hope in question does not last very long: spotted by marauding PT-boats, which quickly rouse two destroyers on guard, the German skiffs retreat at full speed towards Saint-Hélier, losing one of them to American fire. Informed, Admiral Friedrich Hüffmeier shrugs sadly - it was a foregone conclusion, but what exactly was to be done?

North - Operation Pheasant
Côte d'Opale - The Canadian I Corps is now used as a checkpoint at three Festungen (at least): Boulogne, Calais and Dunkirk, not to mention the coastal batteries. And it is an understatement to say that the task, mediocre as it may seem, is going to be a tough one and would require a lot of manpower.
The 3rd Canadian Infantry (Rod Keller) is scattered between Boulogne and Cap Gris-Nez. On its right, the 4th Canadian Armoured (George Kitching) probes the Calais perimeter but comes up empty. The 5th Canadian Armoured (Guy Simonds) arrives opposite Dunkirk and plans to split this pocket from the Calais pocket by taking Grand-Fort-Philippe tomorrow - with air support if necessary. The 2nd Canadian Infantry (Charles Foulkes) remains alone to hold the immense rear up to the Lille sector, where Kirkman's VIII Corps is deploying painfully over an arc from Armentières to Tourcoing to Tournai, without going much further for the moment. Initially, his target was Antwerp - but now that Le Havre has been added to Cherbourg, Marseille and Toulon, we have less need of the great Belgian port!

Breteuil-Compiègne line - I Corps (John Crocker), duly rested and completed, begins to refocus in the Compiègne sector, prior to a probable move towards Laon. There are plans in high places for him and his comrades.

Picardy and Belgium - The German infantry passes through - and then blows up - the locks on the Yser, triggering a new flood on the Yser plain, albeit on a much smaller scale than in 1914. This is because the famous Ganzepoot* has been modified since the time of Albert I. And there's more to come**.
A minor obstacle, then, but an obstacle nonetheless for the Allied motorised detachments, who can only watch the German infantry wading away towards Bruges and the Ghent canal via Gistel. In the center, the 26. Panzer (Smilo von Lüttwitz) and the 36. PanzerGrenadier (Egon von Neindorff) appear to be out of the woods (until next time...). Taking advantage of the rain and the reserve of their pursuers, they slip from Roeselare to Tieldt, also heading for the Ghent canal. They do, however, have to watch out for flooding...
That leaves XII Corps, which is looking increasingly eastwards, abandoning Tournai for Maubeuge, towards which it is preparing to advance. Without forcing it... The Americans are fighting in the Meuse, and the Belgians are racing ahead: it is never just a question of erasing a salient.
It's true - there's definitely an air of levity in the British ranks, between the (proven!) disorder born of the huge cavalcade accomplished since May8th, and absolute confidence in the (supposed!) inability of the Germans to react in any significant way. So much so that Neil Ritchie convenes a staff conference tomorrow with the chiefs of the British I, VIII and XII Corps to prepare for what is to follow, which could be nothing other than an entry into Germany.
But as Ritchie says to those who have regrets: "We created their country. We can give it back to them!"

The road to Brussels
Mons, 10:00 - The Belgian 1st Tancrémont Armoured Brigade arrives in Mons, opposite the Canal du Centre, to find that - according to the unit's marching diary :
1) We are very happy to see it.
2) We were very surprised at the nationality of the liberators (happily surprised, but surprised all the same!).
3) The bridges to the north had been blown up and several German defence detachments were already blocking the north bank of the canal.
So we have to do things according to the manual - artillery, smoke, means of crossing. It is enough to make the troops boil with impatience!
Colonel Rodolphe De Troyer - perhaps inspired by Leclerc de Hauteclocque's approach to Paris, although he would later deny it - takes a radical decision. Leaving the 2nd ID (Bruyère) to amuse the Boche, he sets up a strong mechanised detachment with a core drawn from his brigade and elements of the 7th Ardennes, the Piron division and the 4th ID (thus maintaining a balance between Walloons and Flemings!). This 'raid force' is made up of three battalions from the Tancrémont (2 Cy, II/2L, I/13 Li), two from the 1st DB (1st Guide and I/1 Gr), one from the 7th Ardennais (II/7 Ard) and one from the 4th DI (I/2 Gr). De Troyer has obviously obtained the enthusiastic agreement of Piron, Lambert and Libbrecht in three phone calls.
The aim is to bypass the Canal du Centre via La Louvière and then north of Charleroi. In 1933, the Charleroi-Brussels canal was enlarged, so we might as well cross it before the Germans break everything up there too. If we march straight ahead, we could be in Brussels tomorrow if the enemy has nothing serious in front of us. A 60 kilometer raid... So what?
Ah, yes... Warn Bastin and Van Daele... Of course.
.........
La Louvière, 13:30 - The Belgian forces liberate this town, which they pass through without stopping, blowing their horns (much to the disappointment of its inhabitants!). It is at this precise moment that Bastin and Van Daele's HQ receive De Troyer's 'request' for authorisation for his raid! Of course, the slowness of the Transmissions will make him an ideal scapegoat... but the agreement of the two generals was inevitable anyway.
.........
Pont-à-Celles, 15:00 - A bridge over the Charleroi-Brussels canal is discovered lightly guarded - its defenders, who had not imagined the Belgians were so close, are swept away and the bridge immediately secured. The first Taureau cross the canal at 15:20.
.........
Genappe, 16:30 - Belgian armoured vehicles and infantry transports overtake Nivelles on the right, and continue due north in spite of everything.
.........
Waterloo, 18:00 - Belgian forces enter the town. The first contacts are made in passing with the local Resistance movements, who were also not expecting their liberators and compatriots so soon. They do, however, provide a few guides, in case the Brussels inhabitants of the De Troyer column, drunk with joy, had forgotten the map of their city...
.........
Uccle, 20:30 - Major Balleger, I/2 Grenadier, leading the Belgian force, signals that he is entering this suburb of the capital***. Brussels is here! Colonel De Troyer's gamble paid off!

1st US Army - Campaigning in Lorraine
Champagne - While XIX US Corps is still stalling in front of Vitry, Middleton finally manages in the evening to get the 5th Armored CCB across the Marne thanks to a series of Bailey bridges. Immediately covered by an artillery barrage, the bridgehead gradually expands during the night, forcing the 243. ID under Otto Schönherr, which had lost much of its strength, to fall back quickly. Schwalbe (LXXXVI. AK), faced with the sudden deterioration of the situation, withdraws to Revigny-sur-Ornain, while his three divisions have to blow up the last bridges and retreat to the valley of the Marne-Rhine canal.
For its part, V US Corps continues its advance, swallowing up the kilometers. The Indianhead reaches Sainte-Ménehould. During the advance, the limited number of roads forces the corps to gradually abandon the fine echelon structure it had refused and to advance with its units facing north-east, in single file.
.........
In the evening, Patton is contacted by Eisenhower, while dining in the small town hall of Dommartin-Dampierre: "George, how are your men doing?"
- So far, Dwight, we're making good progress. V Corps is marching on Verdun and XIX is crossing the Marne at Vitry. The 29th suffered a little when Panzers attacked it two days ago, but I've put it in liaison between the two corps, so it's not risking much.
- What front does it have to cover on its own?
- For the moment, about thirty kilometres. But aerial reconnaissance shows no major German units in the area. Panzers have been spotted further south, trying to help their LXXXVI. Korps get out of Vitry without too much damage.
- George, you keep this to yourself of course, but the Ultra source has told us that the Germans are preparing a surprise for you or the Frenchies. I've just told Montagne and Frère, they've made their arrangements but don't think the Germans will get in too much trouble, the density of forces is too great on their side, and the terrain isn't very favourable for tanks. So, it's possible that you'll have to face a major armoured offensive in the next few days.
- Dwight, aerial reconnaissance...
- I know you love aeroplanes, George, but they can't give you any really useful support in the rain, and the weather forecast is for bad weather and even stormy days in the next week or two. So get ready.
- Well, thanks Dwight. I'll take precautions.
As he hangs up, Patton sighs, annoyed. He knows that the Huns are withdrawing too quickly, not their style. We're going to have to re-establish a solid link between his two corps and speed up the return of the 4th Armored. Consulting the staff map, he studies with a sharp eye where the blow might come from. And the answer seems obvious: the plain to the west of Metz, through which he has to pass, is ideal for large tank movements! So the Hun is likely to strike there.
As for the Hun, he would have to take a logistical break until other large units returned, which would allow him to force the trap that was being set for him. But from which positions? The possibilities are not that numerous... Ah, there must be a place that would allow V US Corps to prepare more or less calmly to cross the Meuse. And with a red pencil, he circles the name of the town: Verdun.

Wacht am Rhein seen from a hospital
Festungslazarett I [formerly Legouest Military Hospital] (Metz) - Given the seriousness of his injuries, Erwin Jolasse was quickly evacuated on the night of 10th to 11th by a liaison Storch. He is now in a stable condition, although it would be better to avoid transporting him for a few weeks. Unfortunately, the doctors are categorical: while the general's life is not in danger, it is unlikely that he will be able to return to the front.
The loss of an experienced leader is a blow to the whole of the 1. Armee and even to Heeresgruppe G, where Jolasse would have been an excellent help at Wacht am Rhein. However, once his report had been dictated to his orderly and passed on to Kesselring and von Obstfelder, he receives in his hospital room the three armoured corps commanders involved in the operation: Joseph 'Sepp' Dietrich (I. SS-PzK), Walter Bittrich (II. SS-PzK), and Hans-Karl von Esebeck (LVIII. PzK), who want to hear his advice on the use of tanks against the US Army. Esebeck has already faced the Americans, so he isn't surprised by their firepower, but the two SS leaders are dismayed to learn of the danger of bazookas and the power of American engineering. "And yet," sighs Jolasse, approved by Esebeck, "we have to hope that the weather doesn't get any better. If it does, don't count on the Luftwaffe to take away the impression that everything in the sky has a personal grudge against you!"
At the end of this rather special meeting, the SS division chiefs come to greet the wounded man, and Jolasse, although tired, realises how old they are: some are barely thirty! This youth surprises him and even makes him doubt the potential of these two SS corps, so highly praised since Fredericus II.

French forces: towards a 3rd Army
Headquarters of the 15th AAG (Marseille) - The services of the Army Group, which have little left to do other than manage logistics along the Rhone, begin to plan the resurrection of a new army, in accordance with De Gaulle's "proposals". After consultation with Giraud - who was relatively cool-headed - a clear trend emerges: a skeletal but very real army can now be recreated from existing resources. In fact, the former internees from Switzerland, most of whom had been in France for a fortnight, have already started their refresher courses. The foresight of the French Embassy in Berne has been salutary: information manuals were discreetly delivered to the officers and non-commissioned officers several weeks before their "escape".
General Daille's staff (Frère agrees with Giraud that a suitable retirement would have to be found for him) is being rejuvenated and regenerated; it would soon be possible to oversee the Alpine front with a new corps command. Hopefully by the end of the month.
Schlesser's 36th Division d'Infanterie would soon be on a par with the 19th, and therefore with any major unit in the corps.
There's nothing to expect from the 1st DI for the moment: its troops are finishing their training, but its battalion, regimental and brigade staffs are still unable to manoeuvre properly, but that will come with training, training and more training.
Let's not even mention the 25th and 23rd DIs, which still don't have a flag or a badge - but they will be getting them in the next few days. Because it's now official: the maquis in the liberated zones have been enrolled and commands given. At last, these units have the merit of existing other than on paper! Blanc's staff can soon be given a semblance of army command, even if the troops who would be subordinate to him will not all be of this level.
Finally, Frère decides to call Noguès and Doumenc to ask them if Giraud cannot be officially entrusted with the "Army of the Interior" that is taking shape, in order to put the restless general out of action for good - and to please him, too!

1st French Army - Operation Marguerite
Lorraine, III Corps - Vernejoul orders the preparation of precise and decisive fire plans for the day's assault. After a violent bludgeoning by all the division's artillery tubes, the 5th DB storms all the forts west of Epinal. Building on the positions gained the previous day, the fort at Uxegney quickly falls, followed by the entire German line as a domino effect. Paralysed, the German soldiers cannot manoeuvre properly. The retreat ordered by Falley turns into a rout, even though the German general is everywhere to lead his soldiers into the town and save the day. It is to his detriment: his command car is gutted by a shell and everyone in it is killed.
In the afternoon, the remnants of 91. Luftlande are expelled to the other side of the Moselle. Oberst Bernhard Klosterkemper takes command of the division and manages to withdraw his elements to the 'right' side of the Moselle in a more or less orderly fashion. That evening, in recognition of his impeccable conduct during this difficult manoeuvre, Klosterkemper is appointed Generalmajor to replace Falley.
The 1st DB does not have the honour of entering Epinal, but Sudre is able to rest it. Meanwhile, the 14th and 19th DIs begin to push north to cover the liberation of Epinal. Mirecourt and Châtenois are definitively liberated and the Germans occupying Nancy are pushed back to the city's defensive belt.

Lorraine, 2nd Polish AC - The honour of the day goes to the Poles, whose 1st Brigade of the 5th ID enters Domrémy, the birthplace of Joan of Arc. At the same time, the 3rd ID is in Gondrecourt and the 1st Armoured Brigade is on the road to Colombey-les-Belles. Opposite, Wilhelm Wetzel, pressed by two army corps, has to evacuate the positions on the wrong side of the Moselle, with the exception of the Toul forts, which are hastily prepared to face the Poles.

Doubs, IV AC - The 2nd Spahis Regiment is employed to overrun the 39. ID and take the last high positions west of Belfort-Montbéliard. Franz Krech has to withdraw to Giromagny to save what is left of his unit, opening up a new outlet for the 9th DIC to Belfort itself... also covered by a series of forts that had to be conquered.
On the Montbéliard side, Kœltz orders the 10th DI, despite its advanced state of fatigue, to retake the Roches battery. Without its neutralisation, it would be very difficult for the 3rd DB to continue its advance towards Montbéliard.

* The Patte d'Oie, because of the layout of the five canals that meet here.
** Today, next to the monument to King Albert I, there is a monument dedicated... not to his son, Leopold III, but to the Soldier of the Low Countries. A less controversial choice!
*** In fact, a district of Uccle is now named after Churchill.

 

[Wings]

June 13th, 1944

Liberation and Liberators
The Brittany Festungen
Lorient - Massive artillery and air strikes on the Festung - Marauder, Liberator, Flying Fortress, anything goes, as long as you stay at medium altitude (i.e. more or less out of range of the main Flak). Obviously, accuracy suffers. And what remains of Lanester and eastern Lorient suffers... along with everything else. The first probes that follow do not shake the 353. ID, at least in appearance - in any case, still less than the bombs.
So the situation remains blocked. We'd have to come back with something bigger, stronger and more massive... That's why, as the USAAF is not enough, we're now planning action by the Navy!
However, on the Lannénec side - i.e. outside the perimeter of the Festung - the French forces (in particular a detachment of engineers, reinforced by FFIs but above all guided by the local municipal employees) has just, without firing a shot, put the local pumping station out of action. A facility that everyone had forgotten about... and it's a shame: it supplies water to a large part of the town.

Brest - The 90th Infantry Tough Ombres (Jay MacKelvie) and the 82nd Airborne All American (Matthew Ridgway) continue to put pressure on the 343. ID under Erwin Rauch. The latter logically begins to consider minor adjustments to its perimeter in order to reduce the exposure of its precious and inevitably non-replaceable manpower. From planing to hand-holding, it was a sort of Rattenkrieg, painful and bloody, that is taking hold. That said, we shouldn't expect any major action for several days yet.

Enraged Manstein
Aachen Rathaus, 02:00 - Night covers the bombed Reich and it is by the light of a paraffin lamp that Field Marshal Erich Von Manstein loses his last illusions. For a moment, faced with the unstoppable wave of Anglo-Saxon armies, he thought he could retreat by holding the dike straight: an east-west line, or almost, which would have kept a good strip of coastline, and therefore ports, under his control (and which would have offered him as much ground to negotiate if necessary...).
Alas, alas, alas! The news from Brussels is alarming: the remnants of the garrison, commanded by some local official (Josef Grohé* could not be found...) report that an enemy armoured division (nationality unspecified) is in town, a division that the local forces were of course unable to stop. So the capital of this shabby little kingdom is already being evacuated - on their way out, they'll try to destroy everything they can use and, to avenge the Reich, mark the ruins of one or two major buildings in flames with the swastika**... Small and mediocre consolation.
An improvised mechanised cavalcade was all it took for everything to collapse... as it had in 40. The rapid and surprising course of Allied operations in Belgium (in the wake of the Belgians, who had obviously learnt the lesson of May 40) rendered Manstein's entire defence plan obsolete. He has to face facts: in its current configuration, his HG D has less than two army corps to defend the Reich road, and his forces are all stuck in central and western Belgium. At their current rate, if anything, Allied tanks will be in front of his HQ in two or three days' time!
So too bad. Never mind the Belgian coast, never mind Flanders, never mind part of Wallonia or even Holland if need be. General retreat to defend the Albert Canal and the Meuse - once again! There's a definite feeling of déjà vu in the air. Unperturbed, Manstein's aides-de-camp draw a new West-Linie in red pencil. It's only the fourth or fifth in a month.

North - Operation Pheasant
Côte d'Opale - The 1st Canadian Corps has not moved much since the previous day: it is still testing the perimeter defences of the Dunkirk and Calais Festungen. It is also waiting for support, reinforcements and ammunition to enable it to move forward.
Harry Crerar, like his American comrades in Brittany, had to realise that forcing a fortress cannot be improvised. So he has to round up some people and draw up a plan. Without Ritchie, who is busy planning his future glorious Ruhr campaign. And without a lot more people too, that's for sure. So a break is in order for the next few days. For the Canadians, the Pheasant has landed.

Belgium - The German forces still present in the west of the flat country begin a vast movement of ascent towards Holland.
The LXXXIX. ArmeeKorps (Werner von Gilsa), cut off from the late 712. ID, leaves Ghent and Bruges in a hurry to withdraw behind the Albert Canal between Antwerp and Beringen.
As for the LXXXVIII. ArmeeKorps (Hans-Wolfgang Reinhard), formerly stationed in the Netherlands, it leaves the Batavians in the care of Gauleiter Arthur Seyss-Inquart, who is authorised to maintain order in the province by all means, including the most extreme. If necessary, he can seek advice from those dealing with the subject in the Balkans... The three divisions of Reinhard's corps (89. and 347. ID, 17. LFD), which are still intact but which already seem to be doing little to defend the Dutch coast from a possible landing, therefore head for Maastricht and Liège, in order to block the road to Aachen at all costs.
Reinhard can no doubt count on the support of the 26. Panzer (Smilo von Lüttwitz) and the 36. PanzerGrenadier (Egon von Neindorff), which arrive in Ghent and hurry on to Antwerp. And also (perhaps) on the remnants of the LXVII. ArmeeKorps (Walther Fischer von Weikersthal) and Heinrich Trettner's 4. Fallschirmjäger, if by chance these units manage to cross the double Leopold-Schipdonk canal somewhere towards Maldegem before it is too late. As for the 16. Panzer, it has to drop everything at Mons and move up towards Antwerp as quickly as possible, without stopping for anything.
These are all emergency manoeuvres, even manoeuvres of desperation, which are obviously hampered by the air force... but by nothing else! The Canadians are facing the Channel, the British I Corps is redeploying eastwards, and the XII Corps, still near Cambrai, would no doubt soon do the same. As for the VIII Corps (Kirkman), it does not advance any further than Ypres and Courtrai, leaving others to wade through the flooded area. The Belgians, for example... but at the moment, they only have eyes for the Valenciennes-Charleroi-Brussels triangle. We can understand them...

Friendly fire...
Over Picardy - William Gott flies to Amiens this morning, where Neil Ritchie has summoned his fellow corps commanders to confer on the course of action to be taken in July. The commander of XII Corps, although very tired (overworked even, at the rate his troops are going!) is anything but worried. He knows that with his experience and pedigree - King's Royal Rifle Corps, BEF, Staff College, 7th Armoured! - he is now in a good enough position to retain his command***, or even to win a new one if by some chance a position in the Empire opens up tomorrow.
His corps, well placed on the right flank of the army, would no doubt open the way to Dinant and Aachen tomorrow, with Crocker of course having to guard the Ardennes on his right... With a bit of luck, Gott would be the first British general to enter Germany. Something to be made of it (even if he refuses to think about it at this time) - after all, Montgomery was offered the baton for a mere portion of Hungary...
A fine vision of the future, then... And speaking of visions, Gott looks up: what are those metal dots over there on the horizon? They're not Luftwaffe, are they? Ah, no, they're Americans...

Amiens Town Hall - As the top brass of the British Second Army prepares their working lunch and the tablecloths are spread out between the cards, the sad news is announced: William Gott's Dakota has been shot down by marauding American Mustangs, probably as a result of a misidentification. It is not known whether the general survived - and even if there is an investigation, this does not solve the main problem: XII Corps is now without a commander, and the pace of operations will suffer as a result.

And Brussels broke...
Brussels - The remainder of the 1st Belgian Tancrémont Armoured Brigade pours into the city. Elements of the De Troyer column guide and supervise the new arrivals, with the help of local Resistance fighters, who emerge from their shelters to the sound of their liberators' engines.
There was no significant fighting during the night. Since four o'clock in the morning, Radio Londres - an accomplice - had been broadcasting the Brabançonne. And rumour did the rest. The orders are clear: "Stay at home". This reserve would last until midday, when an armoured vehicle crosses Boulevard Waterloo to enter Place Poelaert. It hoists a black-yellow-red flag on a makeshift flagpole, flapping in the wind.
And then, all of a sudden, discipline gives way to delirium. In spite of the summer rain, which is falling in showers and yet seems warm, a mob appears to cheer the Belgian soldiers perched on their half-tracks. Handkerchiefs are waving, hands are outstretched****, and all the way to the Grand-Place, the center of a finally liberated capital, the procession of soldiers surrounded by soaked but happy civilians forms a vast column that passes many landmarks: the church of Notre-Dame de la Chapelle, the Palais de Bruxelles, the Mont des Arts. With his daring - but not so risky - 100-kilometre raid, comparable to some Soviet achievements, De Troyer and his men have gone down in history forever.
Paul Struye, a journalist with La Libre Belgique, wrote: "All this, happening without transition, in an unhoped-for whirlwind that makes you dizzy, is so moving, so gripping, so pathetic that we sometimes wonder, rubbing our eyes, if we are not in the unreal...". Alas, the first settlements of scores were not long in coming: employees beaten or even shot in the street, women shorn... Paul Struye continues: "A 'traitor' was found in a wood near Houffalize, hanged with butcher's fangs stuck in his throat".
And the looting and devastation caused by crowds of Resistance fighters - many of whom have only been resisting since this morning - has been countless. The Belgian authorities, of course, are doing their best to put a stop to the sinister process - but they are short of manpower, even though most of the army is still stretched out from Brussels to Valenciennes, and the 3rd Belgian Infantry Division (Edmond van Loocke) is clearing Charleroi... in a similar atmosphere.
And in the midst of all this confusion, one question haunts everyone, although no one dares to ask it: where is the King?

On the air - In the evening, Radio-Paris broadcasts a short unsigned government proclamation (but apparently from the pen of Léon Blum). It sends "a friendly greeting from France to our eternal neighbour, friend and ally, who in turn is discovering the joy of freedom after the pains of imprisonment. May this happy day, in a happy year, mark the beginning of a new European concord!"
At the same time, the BBC - which also points out that the British armies are manoeuvring in this sector of the front - prefers to quote Churchill, who says again this lunchtime in the House of Commons: "Surely, we'll have in Belgium a tumultuous welcome... but it's only justice 'our' Belgians get theirs first!". He then pays a heartfelt tribute to Hubert Pierlot's government, which everyone knows would not remain in exile much longer. Winston is organising a European tour of capitals to prepare for the future.

German 1. Armee: defending Lorraine
Meuse - The LXIV. AK, as planned, spreads out in the hills to mark out the routes for the armoured vehicles. Only the 327. ID, which still has to recover its artillery in Verdun, has to march at night to reach the positions of the 541. VolksGrenadier under Wolf Hagemann and the 101. Panzerbrigade (Oberst Richard Schmidthagen), which is camped a little to the west of the town. The 327. ID is therefore able to recover some artillery to replenish its support. No big guns, however, no 8.8 cm or PaK 40s - just old French 75s, often dating back to the Second World War... But it is still better than nothing.
V US Corps continues its pursuit, but has not yet entered the Argonne. The 29th Infantry has difficulty in maintaining contact with XIX US Corps, which is harassed by delaying actions by the 9. Panzer that enables the LXXXVI. AK to entrench in the hills east of Vitry.
In Metz, people are very pleased with the situation! Orders are given to launch Wacht am Rhein as soon as the Americans have reached Verdun. Blocked at the city gates, surrounded and then reduced, the "Friends" will be crushed.

7th US Army: to the rescue of the 1st Army?
Paris Basin - Patch had obviously been informed by Bradley and Ike of the risk Patton was running, and it comes as no surprise when he receives the order to prepare the 7th US Army as quickly as possible to march quickly, leaving enough divisions behind to scale its logistics to the resources immediately available. The 7th's staff, which had been used to this kind of acrobatics for almost a year, responds during the day: by leaving one corps and two or three divisions behind, the rest of the army can try to join Patton.
Ike is informed of this during the evening... which strengthens his conviction that he still has to push. He would have his support, Ike will not abandon him.

FUSAG: a question of logistics
FUSAG Headquarters (Paris) - Despite all his goodwill, Eisenhower is faced with other difficulties, this time of a material nature. Picking up his telephone, the cord of which is trailing inelegantly along the ornate walls of the Château de Versailles, he asks the switchboard to put him through to General Harry Vaughan, who commands all the American logistics services in France, and therefore most of the allied logistics services in the region, whose headquarters had just been relocated to Paris.
- Vaughan? Eisenhower speaking.
- What can I do for you, General?
- Patton will soon need reinforcements on the Meuse. Bradley has told me that he can move with nearly two corps in terms of reinforcements, an estimate confirmed by Patch. Is that feasible, from your point of view?
- Difficult, General. The men are exhausted by the last month of campaigning and the distances they have to cover, and the French railway network is only just beginning to be able to compensate for this fatigue, not to mention ensuring the restoration of the infrastructure ravaged by the fighting and supplying the population. A significant proportion of the freight already available was redirected to units heading for the Atlantic or resting on the Loire. Oil resources are plentiful, but the Rhône pipeline does not go beyond Dijon for the time being. The Red Ball Express delivers as far as Paris and will be able to sustain Patch's thrust for a week, ten days at most. After that, there will be a pause, due to a lack of manpower and logistical equipment. Otherwise, we're heading straight for a situation similar to that of the Italian front at the start of last year, three times worse given the state of devastation of the infrastructure and the huge mass of men to be supplied.
- What are the concrete possibilities?
- We depend entirely on what is landed in the ports and the further away the front gets, the longer it takes for supplies to reach the front-line units. According to our estimates, we could go as far as the Moselle, perhaps even as far as the Rhine in the event of an armoured breakthrough. But whatever happens, between now and the end of the month, we'll have to take a break of at least three weeks to repair the railways, set up depots and extend the supply routes.
A pause, no doubt to take a breather, and then Vaughan resumes without pity: "Even the French are going to have to stop, even though all the logistics are easier on their side: the Rhône pipeline allows enough oil to be brought up to meet requirements, barges and trains take freight as far as Lyon and the SNCF has almost restored the track as far as Dijon. But the southern line, despite its advantages, has also had to feed Cobra, the depots are almost empty and the state of fatigue is equivalent to ours. In other words, General, after June 30th at the latest, we will have to stop, and the later we stop, the longer the break will have to be. I would add that it would take me several months to build a logistical line capable of supplying the three army groups at the same time, time that we obviously won't have. Once we're near the Rhine, General, it's simple: you have to choose which army sector to operate in - one at a time. No more than that. That's not my opinion, General: it's a simple statement of fact, hard as it is."
"Patton wouldn't have liked to hear that," grumbles Ike. But he should have!

French 1st Army - Operation Marguerite
Lorraine, III Corps - Leclerc de Hauteclocque sends word that his 2nd DB would be able to launch a sort of rezzou in the Vosges in a few days' time in order to test the German defences. De Lattre authorises him to do so.
For its part, the 5th DB forces the last defences west of Epinal. It was a 91. Luftlande has to evacuate the town in a hurry, taking advantage of the hills to try and block the eastern outlets. The French don't care for the moment: Epinal has been liberated and Radio-Paris Libre is exultant, announcing the opening of the "route des Vosges". This is followed by a long diatribe by Hansi against the Germans.

Lorraine, II Polish Corps - The 14th Division d'Infanterie of III Corps supports the advance of the 5th DIP as far as Mirecourt. Opposite, Wilhelm Wetzel retreats in an organised fashion to prepared positions along the Moselle. Here, like elsewhere, the front lines of the Other War are beginning to resurface...

Doubs, IV Corps - One day follows another: the 10th DI reoccupies Pont-de-Roide after an artillery barrage that is all the more effective for the clear skies. The German battalion that had taken the Les Roches battery has to withdraw or be wiped out by the shells. The rest of the corps reorganises to gradually surround Montbéliard from the west. Etchebarrigaray has confirmed to Kœltz that his unit is exhausted and should not be engaged in such a violent manner without first recovering a little. The French infantrymen therefore have to content themselves with entrenching themselves in the woods around Pont-de-Roide, while Rabanit and his 3rd DB try to liquidate the last fortifications held by the Germans in the Doubs valley.
Opposite, leaving the defence of Montbéliard to the 363. ID, the two parachute divisions withdraw to recover a little and face the 9th DIC. At the same time, the artillery fire from the Faymont hill becomes increasingly precise - mechanical precision! This is because, among the junior French artillery officers, Second Lieutenant Hugo Cabret, although a pacifist in a personal capacity and mobilised because of his technical skills, has managed to surround the paths of the Mont-Bart fort properly without burying the village it overlooked with shells. In fact, in civilian life, Cabret, aged 25, was a talented young watchmaker and a friend of... Georges Méliès, whom he met at the end of his life, when the latter was making a meagre living selling toys at the Gare Montparnasse.

* ReichsKommissar for the occupied territories of Belgium and Northern France, he had been running a pseudo-administration with no resources for five months. A fat, short-sighted character, the Gauleiter had already fled to Germany. He will never be questioned...
** The Palace of Justice, in particular, which the fire brigade's rapid intervention was unable to save completely... Paradoxically, the fire did much for its later renown thanks to Albert Storrer's new dome, which brought back the flamboyant neo-antiquist architecture of the late Joseph Poelaert.
*** Gott's entire career was marked by a reputation as a hard-working leader, close to his men but with no real flashes of brilliance - "too good a man to be a really great soldier", as Carver put it. A kind of anti-Monty.
**** And in the rain, the dresses get soaked, some veterans will tell you with interest...

 

[Wings]

June 14th, 1944

Liberation and Liberators
The Brittany Festungen
Lorient - The new day resembles the day before and Wednesday resembles Tuesday: in the rain, the American forces continue their arduous melee against the Festung garrison. However, the garrison is beginning to suffer: between fatigue, irreplaceable losses and a shortage of ammunition (despite the fact that the base had large stocks!), the entire German front line is increasingly in danger of giving way. For want of an alternative, Paul Mahlmann has to clear the banks of the Ter a little in the face of the 79th Infantry Cross of Lorraine (Ira Wyche) and even authorises the 942. Grenadier Rgt to gradually withdraw from the Plessis district towards the arsenal. It has to protect the northern suburbs of the town!
Since the shutdown of the Lannénec water station - immediately noted by the occupying forces, who no longer have any pressure at the taps! - The Festung's water supply now depends exclusively (or almost exclusively) on the Keryado installations, to the north of Lorient, very close to the firing line... If the Yankees got hold of them, they would have to fall back on rainwater tanks, with all the risks that entails!
Of course, the French demand that these installations be dealt with as quickly as possible - if necessary, by destroying them, and Collins has all the means at his disposal to do this, in particular the big guns of the US Navy.
In short, the Franco-American forces are doing their homework: they are gradually rediscovering the joys and tricks of ancient siege warfare.

North - After Pheasant
Côte d'Opale - The 1st Canadian Corps is now officially preparing - by refocusing and re-supplying - its action against the Festungen in the Channel. This will target (at least in its first phase) Cap Gris-Nez and Calais. Code name: Operation Undergo. In French, subir... which expresses quite well what Crerar thinks of his present task, as well as the fate he plans to inflict on his adversaries if by any chance they intend to lash out, like others on the Atlantic coast.
In fact, the assault on Calais looks set to be massive. The 4th Canadian Armoured (George Kitching) would strike from the west, moving up the coast from Wissant towards Sangatte, its right wing then overrunning towards Coquelles and Fort Nieulay. At the same time, the 5th Canadian Armoured (Guy Simonds) would try to advance from the south towards Coulogne.
Understandably, Crerar is irritated at risking precious mechanised troops in this way in a semi-urban battle. Especially as Calais has not even been evacuated! French intelligence reports that around 30,000 civilians are holed up there. So many potential victims, so many hostages preventing the town from being razed to the ground "American style".
But it's not all doom and gloom for the Canadians. The proof: General Percy Hobart's 79th Armoured has just arrived on the scene. And everyone was anxious for it to prove its worth against the Hun batteries as quickly as possible, as it has done elsewhere.

Belgium and Holland - Bonneteau of units on both sides
Flat country - The redeployment of the Heer continues in overcast conditions over Holland, which makes it much easier for the last German reserves to reach their postings, although of course nothing can be done for the escapees from Belgium. Nevertheless, some of them reach their destination: Antwerp. The remnants of the LXXXIX. ArmeeKorps (Werner von Gilsa) parade through the night in a city subject to harsh martial law, where destruction and scuttling continues at a frenetic pace.
The LXVII. ArmeeKorps (Walther Fischer von Weikersthal) and the 4. Fallschirmjäger (Heinrich Trettner), things are much worse. The bridges over the double Leopold-Schipdonk canal are narrow, congested and subject to tonnage restrictions. But you have to cross them if you want to continue! A long column of exhausted infantrymen, accompanied by a few vehicles and cluttered with administrators, Helferinen and other collaborators who have followed their masters, make their way all day and all night, at a snail's pace (when it was still possible). It is a parody of an army in disguise, even more pitiful than the French army of 1940 as described by Radio Berlin to its delighted listeners. There are still 55 kilometres to Antwerp. But fortunately, without too many pursuers...
The LXXXVIII. ArmeeKorps (Hans-Wolfgang Reinhard) continues to push south-eastwards, as fast as its poor motorisation and dispersion would allow. It is not expected to reach the Meuse before the 17th - and even then, only the first elements of the 347. ID (Wolf Trierenberg), which race down from Rotterdam.
The German armoured forces (or what is left of them) have already more or less come out on top. The 26. Panzer (Smilo von Lüttwitz) and the 36. PanzerGrenadier (Egon von Neindorff) have also reached the Antwerp sector. Benefiting from a logical priority - maintained with whips by a feldgendarmerie made very aggressive by the congested roads - they are already beginning to cross the Albert Canal towards Wijnegem, their engine beaches covered with infantrymen... There remains the case of the 16. Panzer (Hans-Ulrich Back), which reaches Ghent at the same time after having to abandon dozens of broken-down vehicles. Its dangerously exposed position is still a cause for concern - but Back and his division are used to flying across Europe from Lüttich. That'll do.
The British are pushing forward... very moderately. I Corps (John Crocker) would finish assembling towards Compiègne tomorrow. VIII Corps (Sidney Kirkman) has abandoned Flanders and is beginning to slip towards Charleroi, which it would reach in four or five days. On the other hand, XII Corps, which is preparing to leave Cambrai for Liège, has to postpone its departure for reasons beyond its control...

And Brussels broke...
Brussels - Jules Bastin's II Belgian Corps continues to liberate and reinforce the defences of the capital - in a hodgepodge of different units, some of which are supplied by Van Daele's corps, and whose avowed aim is to maintain a good-natured diversity among the liberators that the population came across in the streets. The "Walloon officers, Flemish soldiers" rancour of the Other War should not be allowed to find a new reason to express itself here.
Against this backdrop, the Belgian army's military effectiveness is moderate, as it is caught up in (already...) political, (alas...) public order and (like its allies!) logistical difficulties. The armoured units nevertheless manage to clear the capital for a distance of around ten kilometres, with Jean-Baptiste Piron's 1st DB regrouping mainly to the south-east, in the Wavre sector, for all practical purposes.
Finally, since the 2nd ID (Charles Bruyère) is still stuck in Charleroi and the 4th ID (Roger Libbrecht) is the rearguard between Mons and Beaumont, it is left to the 1st ID (Jean Jans) and the 3rd ID (Edmond van Loocke), which includes the Dutch brigade, to liberate Flanders via Aalst and Ghent. Balance, always!

British Army - Generals' Bonneteau
Amiens - With no more consideration than is strictly necessary for the circumstances surrounding the death of William Gott* (unfortunately now confirmed), and above all without wasting any time, Neil Ritchie obtains from London a replacement for XII Corps. Unfortunately for him, it is not to be the man of his choice. After all, Monty's uninhabitable Balkans and his bit of Central Europe means that he has the best general officers in the business!
So no Horrocks, MacCreery or even Lavarack or Freyberg. No, he is sent Alfred Reade Godwin-Austen. This is a man who had not been heard from since the Greek campaign of '41, and whose performance during that difficult period had led Ritchie to take over the command of divisions that he felt were being withdrawn too quickly. This, in turn, led Godwin-Austen to tender his resignation. Of course, we can argue about who was right and who was wrong three years earlier... but one thing is certain: to put it simply, the two men do not like each other. In any case, they don't trust each other and they know it.
Sir Allan Brooke succeeded in rescuing one of his protégés... After all, no one in high places - and Churchill in particular - has any reason to prevent Godwin-Austen from trying his luck again. And Ritchie has to resign himself to the fact that it is being forced upon him! But this swordsman from Surrey, who owes everything to his family**, doesn't expect any presents if things go wrong...
On this note, setting an example of British phlegm, Ritchie returns to his work in the conference room with John Crocker and Sidney Kirkman - they have some work to do defining their future campaign in Germany, which would have to be presented to Sir Brooke, who would then go and discuss it with the Americans, alongside Claude Auchinleck. That'll do.

1st US Army
Champagne - To the south, XIX US Corps is still blocked at the exit of Vitry by the action of the 9. Panzer, which blocks any attempt to widen the bridgehead. But Troy Middleton is not overly worried: he is gradually building up his forces, and tomorrow he would be able to break through the German tanks.
On the other hand, on the north wing, V US Corps is beginning to stretch dangerously, and Patton is forced to bring the 29th Infantry close to the other divisions in order to maintain a coherent position.
The 4th Armoured Division is at La Fère Champenoise and would be in Châlons tomorrow. It should be there in time to oppose the German offensive announced by Ike.

1. German Armee: Wacht am Rhein minus two days!
Kesselring HQ (Metz) - The Americans are just beginning to cross the foothills of the Argonne. They will be in front of Verdun by the 17th at the latest. In agreement with Gerd von Rundstedt, Kesselring decides to launch Wacht am Rhein on the 16th. The weather then gives five days of rain to prevent the allied air force from spoiling the party, and the Luftwaffe is able to keep the American planes at bay for a while. The SS tankers have to deploy and remain hidden until the offensive is launched - then they would have to end it in less than two weeks.

French forces: how to create another army?
Staff of the 15th AAG (Avignon) - The logistical problems are already well known to the 15th AAG and its commander, who takes his stand: no more cavalcades until further notice, we're going back to leapfrogging for the time being. I Corps would move up into line on the foothills of the Vosges to see if we can get through there. Behind it, we are going to reorganise, juggling with the limited number of large units to recreate the 3rd Army - we are not yet calling for the return of the 2nd Army staff, which has almost disappeared, but Frère suspects that the Army does not have hundreds of officers available. Ergo, phone call to Noguès!
- My respects, Monsieur le Maréchal. Frère speaking.
- Come on, Aubert, no undue obsequiousness, you're in the TA, so to speak, and I know you're aware of it. My congratulations in advance, by the way. You can call me by my first name. What do you need?
- Copy that, Charles, and thank you. The President of the Council would like the 15th AAG to have another army, this one French, under its command, in order to perpetuate an AAG under national command. As far as the large units are concerned, you know as well as I do that it would be pointless to add any more, especially as we don't have many extra. What brings me to you are...
- The services, of course!" exclaims Noguès without delay. "Army-level communications, relay and logistics units, with a staff to boot. I might as well tell you straight away, we're not at the bone, but almost. More and more of the army's train is being subcontracted to American logistics or even to the SNCF, which wasn't asking for so much. On the other hand, it should be possible to find a headquarters, and signals are less in the doldrums than the other arms.
- What units are available to us?
- There are four staffs: Blanc's, which is still officially the 3rd Army, Giraud's, Daille's, which is being reconstituted and is in remedial training, and then the staff in Syria, which we will soon be able to repatriate. But, and it's a big but, Giraud kept his, he needed it for the Interior Command, and those of Blanc and Daille were no doubt going to be recycled to resurrect the II CA and generate a corps-level staff to oversee the Atlantic Front. That leaves only Syria, and not only is it barely sufficient for an army-level command, but many of its services cannot be moved as they are linked to the Mandates. So you'll be missing some typical army-level units, like the 113th RI.
- So it can't be done?
- I didn't say that. Giraud had several phantom units which, after restructuring and amalgamation, could form the backbone of an army-level command. I could ask Doumenc about the staff in Syria, and there are two or three specialist units scattered among our allies that we could recover, like the 3rd GC, currently with the Canadians. Their amalgamation with the Syrian headquarters could create a viable, if not perfectly effective, command. I'll be discussing this with them shortly. Oh, and I forgot the signals and other units that grease the wheels, so to speak. We had a certain number of them who were doing extra work for Fortitude or swelling the sovereignty divisions. It's not an abundance either, but if we scrape together what's left, it should be possible. Fair, but possible. But that would also mean dipping into the reserve units of the 1st Army, especially the engineers and artillery, which are depleted.
- I thought that the ex-internees in Switzerland had somewhat filled the ranks of these two arms.
- At the tactical level, yes, and fortunately so. But the 45th CAF was not a line unit, so it lacked specialists at the strategic level. A few officers from Laure's X Army also managed to come back to us, but they're in the middle of a refresher course and they're already going to serve with the future II CA. Nothing for you on that front. When do you want to split the 1st Army in two?
- The reorganisation is due to take place during the future operational pause imposed on us by logistics, so in the first half of July.
- That's a hell of a short time. I'll talk to Doumenc about it.


1st French Army - Operation Marguerite
Lorraine, Polish II Corps - The Poles surround the German positions on the Moselle held by the XC. AK. The 14th and 19th Infantry Divisions of III Corps continue to support them.
For a moment, Anders is surprised by the flock of French journalists and politicians of all stripes rushing to his rear to take a few photos in what for him is nothing more than a remote hamlet - the 5th ID has passed a village called Domremy a few days earlier. Once informed that this was the birthplace of a true Catholic saint, and a recent one at that, some pious Poles take advantage of the opportunity to make an impromptu pilgrimage - in these times, the blessing of a saint and a warrior at the same time is quite appropriate!
For the time being, however, the main priority is to prepare the crossing of the Moselle and reduce the Toul bridgehead, which is covered by old Séré de Rivières forts.

Doubs, IV CA - Despite the return of rain, no counter-attack from the 363. ID. Baron von Hirschberg prefers to entrench the 958. Grenadier Rgt on the Mandeure hill, less exposed to French artillery.
An assault by the 3rd DB on Bavans to threaten the Mont-Bar fort fails: the bottlenecks created by the reserve battalions that had been called up have had time to fill the narrow tracks with booby-traps and mines. On the other hand, thanks to the use of the II/11th RDP on the orders of Touzet du Vigier, the 1st Brigade takes Sainte-Marie, blowing up the last blockade to the north-west before the hill of the fort.
Rabanit, for his part, increasingly gives free rein to his subordinates in the 3rd DB, given that the broken terrain is not conducive to the movement of large armoured units. Further north, the 9th DIC and 83rd DIA begin to explore ways of overrunning Belfort, without success for the moment, mainly because of the numerous ambushes set up by German paratroopers.

* Despite numerous British requests and equally numerous investigations by the authorities concerned, the truth about General Gott's death has never been formally established (to the extent that Le Fana de l'Aviation and Aérojournal have both devoted several pages to it). The most likely hypothesis to date points to a sweep by a flight of the 354th Fighter Group, which did indeed claim a Heinkel 111 'above the Ardennes' that no German had ever heard of. Unfortunately for him, the general was travelling unescorted... He was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath and the Order of the British Empire.
** Unlike Ritchie, whose father was a modest planter in Guinea and then in Malaya.

 

[Wings]

May 12th, 1944

Operation Waldfest
Vosges - As a result of the evacuations of 1939 and 1940, the ban on return and German repression, the Resistance found it very difficult to gain a lasting foothold throughout the Forbidden Zone. But despite everything, what began as a group of smugglers' networks became an organisation for intelligence, sabotage and even combat training in the isolated valleys of the Vosges. Despite the efforts of repressive forces, it is very difficult to hunt down the maquis in the mountains, especially when many of the troops at Erich Isselhorst's disposal comes from flatter regions such as central Hesse or Hanover.
Finally, it's difficult when you don't know his positions and hiding places. But if you know how to get the information where it is, it's child's play. After a long week of arbitrary arrests, torture and deportation, Isselhorst is already able to destroy more than a dozen local gangs around Saint-Dié. The town itself, a nest of spies and informers, is burnt down and its population deported. The roads to Colmar and Sélestat (Schlettstadt in German) have been cleared and the Resistance fighters in the southern Vosges are keeping quiet because of the massive presence of troops in their valleys.
The SS now turn their attention to the north and the Moyenmoutier valley where, according to the Gestapo, many of the Resistance fighters in the Vosges have taken refuge.

 

[Wings]

June 12th, 1944

Students who died for France
Marcilly-en-Villette (Loiret) - A dozen lifeless bodies are discovered in a field. The victims are all members of the Velite-Thermopyles network, which had been set up around young baccalaureate holders studying in the preparatory class at the Collège Stanislas. The BCRA had lost track of them at the beginning of May, after the landings, having ordered them to join the maquis. By ministerial decision, they were deemed "Dead for France" in 1945, with posthumous promotion to the rank of FFI second lieutenant, backdated to May 1st, 1944. Little consolation for the families...
The central building of the Collège Stanislas, built in the 1960s, was named "Douze de Cerfbois" in their memory. In 2006, when the former headmaster, the priest Roger Ninféi, died, the building was renamed in his honour, but the pupils continued to call it "le Douze" for a long time.

Operation Waldfest
Vosges - Oberg, who had taken refuge in Strasbourg, personally takes charge of Waldfest. He finds that Isselhorst has been effective, to say the least! Within a month, he had cleared (or ravaged...) the whole of the central Vosges. He deported nearly 4,000 civilians and almost as many were dispersed or... disappeared. More than 300 terrorists have been shot dead, and that's just the beginning, promises the SS!

 

[Wings]

Illustration by "JJMM" on the FTL forum. Dates in red/pink are OTL dates of stationing at BAN Berre.

Farman F.168 "Goliath": Did not see action.

CAMS 55.1: Saw combat during Operation Marignan, two destroyed at Venafiorita airfield during Merkur. Retired from service in early 1941 and replaced with PBY Catalina and Grumman G-21 "Goose" .

LeO-258: Used for maritime patrols in Africa. 18 transferred to the Congolese Public Force based in Madagascar and Zanzibar. Retired from Aeronavale service and replaced with PBY Catalina and Sikorsky S-43. Still in Congolese service as of mid-1944.

Laté 302: Used for maritime patrol in Dakar. Transferred to the Congolese Public Force based at Reunion Island. Replaced in the Aeronavale by the PBY Catalina. Still in Congolese service as of mid-1944.

Bréguet 521: Used for maritime patrol. One aircraft responsible for sinking the Italian submarine Anfitrite on March 6th, 1941, off Kasos. 3 aircraft based in Indochina for Search and Rescue missions. Saw action during the Indochina Campaign. 8 transferred to the Congolese Public Force based in Madagascar. Retired by the Aeronavale in late 1940 and replaced by PBY Catalina. Still in Congolese service as of mid-1944.

Goudron-Leseurre 812: Not mentioned.

Laté 298: Main torpedo bomber of the Aeronavale up to 1942. Saw action throughout the Mediterranean Campaign, operating from Malta and Tunisia. Responsible for the sinking of the Italian submarine Balilla on June 7th, 1940, off Malta, and the submarine Neghelli the next day, off Corsica. Participated in the Naval Battle of Benghazi where they contributed to sink the liner Rex and the cruiser Bartolomeo Colleoni. Two aircraft lost. Participated in Operations Marignan and Merkur. Participated in the sinking of the submarine Pietro Calvi and torpedo boat Procione. 17 aircraft lost. Participated in Operation Marita and Ikarus. Sunk the Italian destroyers Castelfidardo and Giacinto Carini for the loss of 1 aircraft on July 25th, 1941. Participated in the Naval Battle of the Dardanelles, sunk the destroyer Carlo Mirabello, 6 aircraft destroyed. Replaced in late 1941 by the Northrop N-3PB Nomad, then by the Bristol Beaufort and TBF Avenger.

LeO H470: Used for maritime patrol. Unknown if in service or retired.

Laté 523 "Altair": Used for maritime patrol at Casablanca. Transferred to the Congolese Public Force based at Reunion Island. Replaced in the Aeronavale by the PBY Catalina. Still in Congolese service as of mid-1944.

Laté 612 "Achernar": Has a special threadmark here. Flagship of Admiral Bourragué. Still in service as of mid-1944.

Laté 521: On maritime patrol duties at Casablanca and Dakar. Still in service as of mid-1944.

 

[Wings]

June 15th, 1944

Liberation and Liberators
The Brittany Festungen
Lorient - Massive strikes on the Festung. First of all, at dawn, the 15th Air Force once again parades its Bomber Wings over the town, much to the displeasure of the 353. ID, one might add. With operations in Champagne slowing down, the airmen are more available...
However, the most dangerous thing is not in the sky! Off the coast, out of range of the biggest German tubes (the 340 mm from Plouharnel, fortunately closer to Quiberon than to the port), the old battleships Nevada and Texas (escorted by the heavy cruiser Tuscaloosa and the destroyers Baldwin, Butler, Emmons, Endicott, Gherardy and Harding - all Gleaves class) launch a hammering attack of 356 mm. Their huge shells ravage the positions around the submarine base and make all the defenders duck their heads in anticipation of the inevitable...
And indeed, after almost an hour of strikes, what follows proves even more painful: faced with another determined assault, the 942. Grenadier Rgt finally loses its foothold in the Plessis district and withdraws towards the Arsenal. Unfortunately, due to a lack of coordination (radios are jammed, cables crushed by rubble!), the troop completely loses its way in Lanester and is routed - or almost routed - along the banks of the Scorff. In the confusion and fear of a decisive breakthrough that is impossible to contain, the Landsers even find themselves dousing with petrol and then setting fire to the wooden bridge linking them to the east bank, which they had built next to the ruins of the Saint-Christophe bridge*. Now, faced with Ira Wyche's 79th Infantry Cross of Lorraine, their only salvation lay in the arsenal... and in the Gueydon Bridge, just next door, which is the only one still vaguely passable.
On the east bank, Manton Eddy's 9th Infantry Varsity is also keeping up the pressure - and rightly so, particularly in the Keryado sector. For the Germans, the situation is dangerously insoluble: defending everything means sacrificing men and inevitably giving in for lack of reserves. Withdrawing immediately means losing positions that had been carefully advanced, or even conceding irreplaceable resources. The days of the Festung Lorient are decidedly complicated...
Collins, for his part, is satisfied. Admittedly, the Navy's action has not been decisive (the sailors, scalded by the ground fire they had suffered at Cherbourg, had stayed well offshore!), but the spectacular explosions of the 356 mm guns had undoubtedly boosted the morale of his troops, at least as much as they had flattened that of the men on the other side. Everyone is able to understand the disproportion of the forces at play... and, as a result, the inevitable outcome that lays ahead.

North - Operation Undergo
Côte d'Opale - Massive strikes also on Cap Gris-Nez and on Festung Calais - although only land artillery and aircraft are used, as the Royal Navy has no desire to dance under Nazi 380 mm tubes.
Harry Crerar has finally gotten used to the unpleasant task inflicted on him. On the other hand, he aims to do everything in his power to avoid having to do it twice (if not several times). And the earth is turning over around the bunkers and along the lines of the occupying forces - the spectacle will last all day and all night. The French have trouble getting the Canadians to be discerning around the coastal town...

The chase at last
Flat country - End of game for the LXVII. ArmeeKorps (Walther Fischer von Weikersthal) and the 4. Fallschirmjäger (Heinrich Trettner). The tail of their columns is overtaken on the Ghent-Terneuzen canal, near Zelzate, by the motorised vanguards of the 3rd "Benelux" ID - which had passed Ghent without stopping. The 3rd ID and the Dutch Battalion are on the border...
Well informed by local Resistance fighters and patriots**, the Belgians cut a swathe through the remnants of the four German divisions - and, above all, pass on the information to the main body of the 1st ID (Jean Jans), which comes up from Dendermonde to close the gap. The German units disintegrate - only numerous but scattered fragments manage to reach Antwerp. A good result... which could undoubtedly have been even better if the Belgian army had sped straight north from the French border***.
At the same time, Hans-Ulrich Back's 16. Panzer has, against all the odds, managed to escape - it too crosses the Albert Canal at Wijnegem in a disparate and colourful column, with each Panzer towing at least two trucks or half-tracks, or even another tank running out of petrol. Clearly, this exhausted troop would not be able to play any part in the defence of the Reich for some time to come. The plan is therefore for it to take up a position towards Turnhout, ready to try and block the route to Holland for the Allies in the event of a new surge forward. The 26. Panzer (Smilo von Lüttwitz) and the 36. PanzerGrenadier (Egon von Neindorff) continue alone towards Maastricht - they should reach it around the 17th. Whether they would be able to defend it is another matter.
Finally, in Antwerp, the LXXXIX. ArmeeKorps (Werner von Gilsa) has finished moving its troops through. Certain that they would soon have to guard the Scheldt without much in the way of reinforcements or hope of a return, they begin to mine the port facilities and the tunnel on the river. It's a sinister plan, but some people on the ground are prepared to do anything to ensure that it fails, whatever the risks.

Picardy - Neil Ritchie's plan is finally decided - not officially approved, of course, but it could not be otherwise - and the pawns of the 2nd Army begin to fall into place. I Corps (John Crocker) breaks camp at Compiègne to start advancing towards Laon and then Hirson - an area that is now presumed to be undefended. In the centre, the XII Corps, now well in hand under Alfred Reade Godwin-Austen - who has just arrived in Cambrai, his eyes bright and his moustache quivering - finally begins its advance towards Liège, which it hopes to reach within a week. Finally, on the far right, VIII Corps (Sidney Kirkman) continues towards Charleroi, probably before Dinant.

And Brussels broke
Brussels - Now that the capital is secure and both the Tancrémont and the Chasseurs Ardennais have restored a little order to all this joy by doing their best to limit the settling of scores****, there is one essential point left to settle: the triumphant return of the government to its homeland. This will take place today... No, tomorrow! A teasing low-pressure system has forced Hubert Pierlot's plane to land in Amiens instead of the long-awaited Brussels. And as the weather is not forecast to improve - in fact, quite the opposite - the journey will have to be completed by road convoy tomorrow morning.
Well, as those concerned will tell you, they're not a day away. And with aviation, it's better to be cautious. Finally, as if to reward their patience with good news, Jules Bastin sends them word that evening that the 2nd Brigade (Jules Bellefroid) of the 4th Infantry Division (Roger Libbrecht) have liberated Namur. One more beautiful town, while we wait for Liège!

Bricks and mortar
Along the Meuse - Despite all the disasters and setbacks across Europe, the Reich has not yet said its last word. So, of course, neither has Erich Von Manstein. So, just as the Franco-American armies are finally showing signs of running out of steam (and old Rundstedt is going to end up using the elite reinforcements sent from Poland!), substantial forces are deployed in the rain in the Benelux.
- 542. Volksgrenadier Division (Karl Löwrick)
- 543. Volksgrenadier Division (August Dettling)
- 544. Volksgrenadier Division (Werner Ehrig)
- 10. Panzer Division (Freiherr von Broich)
- 102. Panzer Brigade (Major Curt Ehle)
- 105. Panzer Brigade (Major Heinrich Volker)
- 280. StuG Abteilung (Hauptmann Fritz Sebald)
These troops were initially intended for a vague counter-attack towards Lille that nobody ever believed in (you don't repeat the Sickle cut with just one armoured division...). They would be spread out over the coming days between Saint-Vith and Maastricht - the VolksGrenadiers in front and the armoured divisions in reserve, according to doctrine.
These formations are numerous - but their strength is only apparent, even though they would be reinforced by some of the Holland divisions. Manstein is clear: if he is sent armoured brigades and not divisions, it's because we don't have enough tanks. As for the VGDs, everyone knows that they are unsuitable for offensive operations due to a lack of experience or heavy support resources. But that's no bad thing. Because their mission - their mission, the one they were given - is very simple: to defend the Meuse and the Gate of the Reich at all costs. And to do that, you don't need half-tracks or assault artillery.

1st US Army
Meuse - From his command-car, Patton, binoculars in hand, can see for himself the sad spectacle of the Verdun region: square kilometres of fields and villages razed to the ground during the previous conflict by one of the greatest concentrations of fire ever seen. And French intelligence warned him that after nearly thirty years, a large number of explosive charges are still regularly dug up by farmers! Otherwise, the terrain has not changed since the Meuse-Argonne offensive in which he took part twenty-five years earlier, apart from a true coniferous forest that hides the mass grave he knows to be buried further east. In the distance, the spire of the Douaumont ossuary rises up: the Germans didn't dare touch it, as several thousand of their dead also lie beneath the edifice. Beneath his gruff exterior, the American general has a real sensitive side, and he almost feels like he's back in the final days of the Great War, manoeuvring his FT-17 tanks in a sea of mud strewn with trenches and barbed wire.
The Germans seemed to have dug in, probably as a delaying tactic, on the western outskirts of Verdun. Reconnaissance revealed the 327. ID, supported by a newcomer to the front: the 541. VolksGrenadier Division. Tomorrow, the divisions of V US Corps would launch the assault to liberate the town, led by the 83rd Thunderbolt, covered on the northern flank by the 2nd Indianhead and to the south by the 29th Blue and Gray. Ironically, it was at this very spot that V Corps took part in its first offensive, again during the Meuse-Argonne offensive.
Further south, Troy Middleton's XIX US Corps finally manages to break through the 9. Panzer lock, once the 6th Armored has finished crossing the Marne. The German armoured division has to retreat as far as Charmont, where it disappears into the woods. In a well-ordered drawdown, the other German divisions withdraw until they reach partially prepared positions between Alliancelles and Bar-le-Duc.
Around Bar, however, the tired and decimated infantrymen of the 255. ID discover numerous tanks hidden in the vicinity: it is the 14. SS-Panzer Gotz von Berlichingen, of the LVIII. SS-PzK. This armoured corps is to take charge of the Wacht am Rhein annex: to distract as many Franco-American units as possible coming from the south to support the Americans, and if the French reaction proves lukewarm, to turn XIX US Corps to the west to envelop and destroy it in front of the Marne. An ambitious objective...

1. German Army: Wacht am Rhein tomorrow!
Kesselring HQ (Metz) - All corps are were ordered to prepare their troops and to ensure that the maps had been prepared as a matter of urgency. Despite the rain, a few Storch take advantage of the half-light to discreetly observe the American positions. They report some vital information, such as the weakness of the liaison troops between XIX and V US Corps.
Wacht am Rhein would be launched tomorrow, Kesselring reports: "The aim is to break the enemy by shock and fire, without giving them the chance to take advantage of their superiority in numbers, firepower, air capabilities, sometimes equipment and...". So as not to discourage the commanders in the field, the field marshal crosses out the part after "superiority in numbers".

French Forces: more divisions
Place d'Armes (Poitiers) - The new regiments of the Army's three new divisions receive their standards today. The ceremony is presided over by General Giraud, assisted by Major General Philibert Collet, who takes over command of the "Groupement de Divisions de l'Atlantique" and is Giraud's chief of staff (the skeletal staff of his 192nd DIA was disbanded). In front of him, some fifteen senior officers and generals stand at attention to receive their flags and commands.
The numbers of the most prestigious units are reserved for the 1st DI, which is by far the only one of the three divisions to truly resemble an operational division. Formed around survivors of the 14th DI of June 1940, the division's first two infantry regiments are given the numbers 35 and 152, which had distinguished themselves during the fights of 1940: the former receives the Ace of Clubs as its emblem (in addition to the Lion of Belfort), the latter distinguished itself in the fighting at Hartsmanwillerkopf alongside the Alpine chasseurs (hence their nicknames among the Germans as the "Red Devils" for the 152nd and the "Blue Devils" for the Alpins). What's more, unlike the other two divisions, where the third infantry regiment, which was very under-equipped, was used mainly as a training unit, the 1st Infantry Division also includes a 218th Infantry Regiment whose staff, having returned from England, suddenly receives all its hitherto imaginary manpower. The division's only artillery regiment is the 4th RA.
A single cavalry regiment is recreated for the three divisions. Its three battalions are to provide support and reconnaissance as required, which in practice means above all that it would serve as a refresher unit for all the cavalrymen picked up left and right in liberated France, who are badly needed by the armoured divisions. This cavalry regiment is the 12th Cuirassiers. The three divisions also share an engineer regiment, which in practice is more like a battalion: the 6th RG.
At the head of this 1st Division, and to underline the ambition to make this formation permanent, Brigadier General Edgar de Larminat is awarded a third star for the occasion. His Chief of Staff is Lieutenant-Colonel Joseph-Marie Eon, appointed on a temporary basis before he is to be posted to the USSR (Eon was one of the few Russian-speaking senior French officers - captured in May 1940, he had been unable to reach Africa before his escape at the end of July). He is also joined by two brigade commanders, Colonel Rousselier (who was awarded the Liberation Cross for his work in Périgueux as "Colonel Rive") and Colonel André Balle-Gourdon. Both are awarded two stars (temporarily, of course).
The 25th DI is reunited with the 92nd RI and the 38th RI, which for the occasion receive a new flag with, in addition to its usual flag insignia, the inscription "Dunkerque" because of its superb performance during the defence of the pocket, during which the original flag was burnt to prevent its capture. Associated with these regiments are the skeletal 151st RI and 8th RA. They are led by General Alain de Cadoudal, who left the 181st DIA, a sovereignty unit, for a "real" command. His chief of staff is Colonel Mondange, an FFI leader and active officer whose troops were recognised for their quality, particularly for their action in the Truyère Valley. Colonel Pratt, a former commander of the Côte d'Or FFI, whose qualities were highlighted during Marguerite, will be the division's brigade commander.
The 23rd DI, the weakest of the three, takes over the 126th Infantry Regiment, whose flag and traditions had been preserved by FFI from the Corrèze maquis. It is joined by the 146th Infantry Regiment, formed from a core of ex-Swiss internees and a mass of FFI from the Niort region*****, and the 3rd Infantry Regiment, formerly known as the "Piedmont Regiment". As with the 12th Cuirassiers, this is less an operational unit than an administrative framework for upgrading, this time for all the infantrymen specialising in difficult environments who had been left behind in 1940 and whose Alpine divisions are beginning to run out. The artillery regiment is the 1er RA. The division is commanded by General Boivin, whose 7th DIC, which had been involved in Fortitude, has been officially disbanded (the 7th RTS, its only unit, had already been allocated to new, more prestigious regiments, hence the 'colo-métro' affiliation given to the 218th RI of the 1st DI, which had taken over most of the former riflemen). Its chief of staff is Lt-Colonel Baffert, who had been sent from Algiers in 1942 to organise the maquis in the west.
The lack of senior officers leads to the intensive use of FFI cadres: moreover, neither the 25th nor the 23rd DI have any real brigade commanders, apart from Pratt (for whom Paris foresees a fine career), with the regimental commanders also fulfilling these roles.
Among the new corps commanders, the newly promoted Colonel Rudloff receives the reconstituted flag of the 1er RI. The latter is to serve as the corps infantry regiment of the Groupement de Divisions. The 1st Infantry Regiment was never formally disbanded, but only two companies managed to embark in July 40, the rest having been dispersed in Beauce during the fighting in June. Patiently reconstituted in the small villages of the region, it now numbers just over a thousand men and has to its credit violent clashes with a company of feldgendarmes commanded by SS members of the Ahnenerbe, who wanted to loot the Château de Chambord and then set fire to it.
The new French Divisions are thus as follows:
Groupement de Divisions de l'Atlantique (General Henri Giraud)
1st Infantry Division As de Trefle (General Edgar de Larminat): 35th RI, 152nd RI, 218th RI, 4th RA
23rd Infantry Division Poitou (General Boivin): 3rd RI, 126th RI, 146th RI, 1st RA
25th Infantry Division Dunkerque (General Alain de Cadoudal): 38th RI, 92nd RI, 151st RI, 8th RA
6th RG
12th Cuirassiers

1st French Army - Operation Marguerite
1st Army Headquarters (Lyon) - With the end of Operation Marguerite imminent, Montagne takes stock. There was a good chance that Kœltz would finally take Montbéliard or even Belfort, but he would have suffered heavy losses to do so and would need a break. Ditto for de Lattre and III Corps, not to mention the necessary reorganisation of the latter, which has become far too cumbersome with the arrival of three divisions in recent weeks.
It is at this point that Montagne, in agreement with Frère, begins the reorganisation of his 1st Army to allow the formation of the 3rd Army. Montagne's departments are beginning to be unable to keep up: the 1st Army staff has already had to take charge of restructuring the large Foreign Legion units when Frère was busy with the Giraud disputes, and he has no experience of commanding Polish units! Fortunately, Anders seems to be the kind of leader Montagne likes: measured, calm, but inspired and with a touch of daring that marks great generals.
Montagne therefore asks Revers, his chief of staff, to pass on the word to de Lattre in the afternoon, after the orders had left. At the same time, following approval from Paris, he completes the merger of the Legion's units: given the high losses, it has become impossible to maintain the same number of units. A number of units have to be merged. The 4th and 6th BMLE become the 4-6th BMLE Saigon/Brunete, commanded by General Alberto Pablo. The 10th and 15th DBLE merge under the name 10-15th DBLE Kumanovo/Massada/Valmy or KMV. The 11-14th DBLE Teruel/Ebro leaves the army reserve to merge with the 13th DBLE Narvik-Limnos, giving the 13th DBLE Narvik/Limnos/Teruel/Ebro or NLTE, under the command of Colonel Jacques-Pâris de la Bollardière. Finally, the 3rd BMLE Veroia-Tripolis (Le Couteulx de Caumont) iswithdrawn from the front for replenishment.
And there is likely to be more to come... At least there is still a clear separation between the DBLEs and the BMLEs, whose use is supposed to be very different: the former are shock infantry units, flexible and adapted to difficult terrain, while the latter are mechanised maneuver units, powerful and heavily armoured.

Lorraine, III CA - De Lattre receives a call from Major General Revers, Chief of Staff of the 1st Army, who tells him that his corps is far too heavy and would be lightened somewhat. Jean de Lattre is devastated to hear the news: by the end of July, his corps would be halved!
The 1st DIM, which he had deliberately kept in reserve, iss transferred to the I CA, the 1st DB goes (temporarily, of course!) to reinforce the Polish II CA, which seems a little weak given the German opposition in the region, and the 2nd DB is withdrawn for a reason that Montagne does not see fit to mention. For the latter, on the other hand, de Lattre thinks, it is no great loss: he had been able to gauge 'Leclerc' de Hauteclocque in recent years, and the impetuous temperament of the youngest major general in the French army does not suit him at all. Good riddance. Hauteclocque plans to launch his famous 'rezzou' the following day - we'll see what happens!

Lorraine, Polish IInd Corps - The 5th DIP begins to probe the Toul defences, but cautiously and methodically. The French have warned Anders that the Germans have considerable resources on this front, in particular because of the many depots of equipment captured in 1940 that have not yet been used up. The 3rd Infantry Division lines the Moselle opposite the series of bridges that the Germans have blown up, and the 1st Brigade Battalion prepares to pounce at the slightest opportunity.

Doubs, IV CA - The 9th DIC carries out aggressive reconnaissance as far as the Champagney basin, gradually driving the 2. Fallschirmjäger out of the surrounding forest, but the woods are still unsafe.
At the same time, the Touzet du Vigier Brigade begins to clear the approaches to the Mont-Bar fort on the ridge of the same name, before being able to approach the fort itself. The German mortars are still giving voice, but the main artillery seems to have been silenced by the precise fire of the 12th BACA.

* The wooden piers of this structure can still be seen today. They are known as Pont-Brûlé.
** Among a thousand examples, let's mention the case of Simone Brugghe, a teacher in Roeselare, who managed the feat of providing motorcyclists who had just arrived with all the positions and routes of the fleeing occupying forces, the fruit of meticulous - but dangerous - observation carried out over the last few days. This work earned her the Croix de Guerre. A stele in her memory and that of General Bruyère now adorns the entrance to the town.
*** Or, as Churchill would have said in his most private comments, "If [the Belgians] had only wanted to do their job instead of going off to pocket money!"
**** Applying long-standing instructions, which made the re-establishment of the rule of law a priority. Shocked, it seems, by the atrocities and acts of vengeance committed on French soil since September 1943, the Belgians made this a priority: representatives of the legal authorities followed the fighting units very closely, with prosecutors, gendarmes and auditors.
***** The 146th RI is the only former fortress infantry regiment to be reconstituted. The aim is to recognise the value of the former RIF in general, and in particular the bravery of the soldiers of the crew company of the 146th Rgt, who fought like lions until July 13th, 1940 defending the A38 fortress at Téting.

 

[Sport25ing]

More similar to the floatplanes, IF possible (if not, its good enough )

 

[Wings]

HMS Charybdis

HMS Spartan​

HMS Dido: First saw fire during the Battle of Olbia Gulf, where she sunk the destroyer Nicoloso Da Recco as well as two MAS. Provided Anti-Aircraft fire during Operation Merkur, and helped with the evacuation of Corsica. Participated in the Battle of the Gulf of Propriano where she helped sink the heavy cruiser Bolzano and the light cruiser Emanuele Filiberto Duca d'Aosta. Served in the "Aegean Squadron" of Vice-Admiral Pridham-Wippell, as part of "Force B" (Captain H. A. Rowley). Participated in the Battle of Corfu where it sunk the destroyer Libeccio but was damaged by German Ju-88s the next day.
Went to the United States for repairs, where she stayed until March 1942. Immediately sent to rejoin the Aegean Squadron where it was the flagship of Admiral Philip Vian. Took part in the Second and Third Naval Battles of Limnos. In the latter, it sunk the destroyers Alcione and Geniere. Continued operating as a radar/anti-air ship around Limnos, including on March 30th when a German a bomb caused many casualties. It then participated in the Fourth Naval Battle of Limnos, sinking the destroyer Lanciere and the torpedo boats Circe and Lince. After the Limnos campaign, it was sent to Alexandria for repairs. It rejoined the Aegean Squadron at the end of May 1942.
It became the flagship of Captain Guy Grantham, where it participated in naval support operations off Greece, as well as the escort of British forces to Taranto. It then came under the command of Vice-Admiral Algernon Willis when it participated in the Greco-Turkish incident.
Active and in service with the Aegean Squadron as of June 1944.

Battle Honors: MINERVE 1795, EGYPT 1801, SYRIA 1840, CHINA 1842, OLBIA GULF 1941, PROPRIANO 1941, CORSICA 1941, CORFU 1941, AEGEAN 1941-44, LIMNOS 1942, ITALY 1942, GREECE 1943

HMS Argonaut: Commissioned in August 1942, it went in service with the Mediterranean Fleet, and did not see much of combat, mostly being used to escort convoys around Gibraltar and Algeria. It was damaged on December 14th, 1942 by the submarine Mocenigo. It was then sent to the United States for extensive repairs and a refit, which made it re-enter service in December 1943.
It then was affected to Task Force 57.2 in the Indian Ocean, operating out of Fremantle, Darwin or Brisbane.
Active and in service with Task Force 57.2 as of June 1944.

Battle Honors: MEDITERRANEAN 1942, INDIAN OCEAN 1944

HMS Charybdis: Stationed with Home Fleet where it escorted the Long Sword, Stone Age and Pedestal convoys. It was then affected to Admiral Rawlings' Attack Force, covering Operations Avenger and Crusader, then covered Operation Jaguar, operating as a radar/anti-air ship, before returning to Alexandria. During the escort of the Pedestal convoy to Singapore, it was formally transferred to the Indian Ocean Squadron in Trincomalee. It stayed in Trincomalee where it participated in the Battle of the Andaman Sea, then in the cover of Operation Transom (the liberation of Timor).
It was assigned to Task Force 57.1, participating in several raids in the Dutch East Indies.
Active and in service with Task Force 57.1 as of June 1944.

Battle Honors: SINGAPORE CONVOYS 1941-42, GREECE 1941-42, PANTELLERIA 1942, ANDAMAN SEA 1943, TIMOR 1943, INDIAN OCEAN 1943-44

HMS Phoebe: Stationed in Alexandria up to May 1941 where it was affected to Admiral Pridham-Wippell's Aegean Squadron. Participated in the Battle of Corfu, sinking the destroyer Libeccio. It then participated in the Battle of Cephalonia, sinking one tanker, and sunk the Italian submarine Tembien off Crete. It was then transferred to Gibraltar, where it participated in Operation Retribution.
It was then transferred to the Indian Ocean Fleet, escorting the Pedestal convoy and participating in the evacuation of Penang on September 20th, 1942. It saw limited action in the Battle of the Andaman Sea, and supported Operation Transom.
It was then assigned to Task Force 57.1, participating in several raids in the Dutch East Indies.
Active and in service with Task Force 57.1 as of June 1944

Battle Honors: HEUREUX 1797, AFRICAINE 1801, TRAFALGAR 1805, TAMATAVE 1811, JAVA 1811, ESSEX 1814, CORFU 1941, CEPHALONIA 1941, GREECE 1941, ITALY 1941, AEGEAN 1942, SINGAPORE CONVOYS 1942, INDIAN OCEAN 1942-44, ANDAMAN SEA 1943, TIMOR 1943

HMS Hermione: Commissioned in March 1941, it stayed with Home Fleet until June, when it was transferred to the Aegean Squadron. It participated in the Battle of Crete, acting as a radar/anti-air ship. Damaged in an air attack, it capsized and sunk in Souda Bay on July 23rd, 1941.

Battle Honors: CRETE 1941

HMS Bonaventure: Tasked with escorting convoys throughout 1940. It engaged the cruiser Admiral Hipper of Cape Finisterre in December of 1940 while escorting one of these convoys. It then reinforced Admiral Pridham-Wippell's Aegean Squadron in June 1941. Only a week into her posting, it was sunk by the submarine Dagabur off Astakos, on June 18th, 1941.

Battle Honors: LOWESTOFT 1665, FOUR DAYS 1666, ORFORDNESS 1666, SOLEBAY 1672, SCHOONEVELD 1673, TEXEL 1673, BEACHY HEAD 1690, BARFLEUR 1692, CHINA 1900, AEGEAN 1941

HMS Scylla: Commissioned in June 1942, it stayed with Home Fleet for the vast majority of the conflict. It supported the Raid on Dieppe in September 1942, being the flagship of Captain John Hughes-Hallett and the "forward air controller" of the landings, where it saw major anti-air combat. It was sent to the Mediterranean in December 1942, but returned to Home Fleet in early 1943.
It was then assigned to the Arctic Convoys for most of the year, and participated in the Battle of the Barents Sea, and supported Allied troops on Gold Beach during Operation Overlord.
Active and in service with Home Fleet as of June 1944.

Battle Honors: DIEPPE 1942, ARCTIC 1943-44, BARENTS SEA 1943, NORMANDY 1944

HMS Naiad: Transferred to Admiral Cunningham's Mediterranean Fleet at the end of 1940. It first saw combat during Merkur in early 1941, participating in the Battle of Olbia Gulf where it sank the destroyer Nicoloso Da Recco. It continued to serve in evacuation operations in Corsica in March 1941, before being assigned to the Aegean Squadron in August. It briefly became the flagship of Admiral Philip Vian, during which time it participated in the First Naval Battle of Limnos. During this engagement, the cruiser sank the destroyers Giuseppe La Masa and Angelo Bassini and the torpedo boat Centauro. While returning to Alexandria for repairs, it was sunk by a German submarine off Cyprus, on December 12th, 1941.

Battle Honors: TRAFALGAR 1805, SOMALILAND 1902-04, OLBIA GULF 1941, CORSICA 1941, LIMNOS 1941, AEGEAN 1941

HMS Cleopatra: Commissioned in December 1941, she spent her early career at Gibraltar before being transferred to Admiral Philip Vian's Aegean Squadron at the end of March 1942. After being thrown into combat for the first time, it was damaged by two German bombs off Limnos and was sent back to Alexandria. It provided anti-air support in Greece for most of the remainder of the year. It then supported British landings in Italy, but was hit in the Gulf of Gaeta by several bombs thrown by German Ju-88s, and sank on December 26th, 1942.

Battle Honors: BURMA 1852-53, NORTH SEA 1916, LIMNOS 1941, AEGEAN 1941-42, GREECE 1942, ITALY 1942

HMS Sirius: Commissioned in May 1942, it was assigned to Admiral Rawlings' "Carrier Force", and participated in the landings of Operation Ajax, obtaining its baptism of fire there. The cruiser then participated in Operation Torch, especially in the two Gulf of Noto actions. During the latter, the cruiser was severely damaged by several German bombs which forced it to return to England, where it stayed in repairs till January 1943.
It participated in the Arctic convoys afterwards, and thus saw action during the Battle of the Barents Sea. It was also part of the reserve force during Operation Overlord.
Active and in service with Home Fleet as of June 1944.

Battle Honors: TRAFALGAR 1805, BERGERE 1806, GREECE 1942, SICILY 1942, ARCTIC 1943-44, BARENTS SEA 1943

HMS Euryalus: Commissioned in June 1941, it almost immediately joined Admiral Philip Vian's Aegean Squadron. It first saw action during the shelling of Andros, in August, before participating in Operation Retribution in November. The cruiser re-joined the Aegean and participated in the First Naval Battle of Limnos, sinking the destroyers Giuseppe La Masa and Angelo Bassini, and the torpedo boat Centauro. In December, it participated in the escort of the Long Sword convoy.
The following year, the cruiser continued to escort the Singapore convoys, before returning to the Aegean Squadron, where it supported Operation Dark King (the retaking of Limnos). In March of 1942, the cruiser was heavily sollicited during the Axis air offensive on the island, and was one of the first casualties of the battle. On March 6th, it was struck by 3 bombs dropped by Bf-109 "JaBo", and scuttled after it was deemed too risky to tow.

Battle Honors: TRAFALGAR 1805, POTOMAC 1814, JAPAN 1862-64, DARDANELLES 1915, LIMNOS 1941-42, ITALY 1941, SINGAPORE CONVOYS 1942

HMS Bellona: Commissioned in October 1943, it was assigned to the Indian Ocean fleet, first seeing action during Operation Lentil in March 1944. It was assigned to Task Force 57.2 in April.
Active and in service with Task Force 57.2 as of June 1944

Battle honors: CAPE FINISTERRE 1761, COPENHAGEN 1801, INDIAN OCEAN 1944

HMS Royalist: Commissioned in September 1943, it was immediately assigned to the force supporting Operation Dragon, the landings in Provence. It then dashed across the world to support the landings on Timor during Operation Transom.
It was assigned to Task Force 57.2 and participated in several raid against the occupied East Indies. It was then transferred to Task Force 117 in the same theatre of operations.
Active and in service with Task Force 117 as of June 1944.

Battle honors: PRINCE EUGENE 1810, RUSE 1812, JUTLAND 1916, PROVENCE 1943, TIMOR 1943, INDIAN OCEAN 1943-44

HMS Diadem: Commissioned in January 1944, assigned to the Arctic convoys ever since, except for a short stint in supporting the Allied landings at Juno Beach during Operation Overlord.
Active and in service with Home Fleet as of June 1944.

Battle honors: CAPE ST VINCENT 1797, EGYPT 1801, ARCTIC 1944, NORMANDY 1944

HMS Black Prince: Commissioned in November 1943. Assigned to Home Fleet, the cruiser first saw action during the Battle of Sept-Iles, during which it sunk the German torpedo boat T-29. It also provided anti-air cover during Operation Overlord.
Active and in service with Home Fleet as of June 1944.

Battle honors: JUTLAND 1916, SEPT-ILES 1944, NORMANDY 1944

HMS Spartan: Commissioned in August 1943, it followed a similar trajectory to its sister-ship, Royalist. It saw action during Operation Dragon, then Operation Transom. It was likewise assigned to Task Force 57.2, then Task Force 117 and, finally, Task Force 57.1, participating in numerous raids on the occupied East Indies.
Active and in service with Task Force 57.1 as of June 1944.

Battle honors: BAY OF NAPLES 1810, BURMA 1853, CHINA 1856-57, PROVENCE 1943, TIMOR 1943, INDIAN OCEAN 1943-44

 

[Sport25ing]

That's what I'm talking about

 

[Wings]

Primauguet (after conversion to CLAA)​

Duguay-Trouin-class

Duguay-Trouin: Assigned to Admiral Godfroy's Levant Squadron in June 1940, it continued patrolling around Libya in search of Italian convoys or submarines. It first saw action during the Naval Battle of Benghazi, where it helped finish off the light cruiser Bartolomeo Colleoni. It did not participate in Operation Cordite, instead being assigned to convoy escort and ASW operations in the Levant and the Red Sea. During one such convoy mission, it arrived in time to participate in the Battle of the Farasan Islands, during which it sank the destroyer Pantera. In December 1940, it was decided to send it to the Far East in light of the heightened tensions between France and Japan, to reinforce the 6th Cruiser Division under the command of Rear Admiral Jacques Avice.
It saw more action during the Franco-Thai incident, when, under the command of Captain (not yet admiral) Régis Bérenger (Avice having gone down with malaria just a week after his arrival), it sailed out of Cam Ranh to engage the Thai fleet in port. It thus participated in the Battle of Koh-Chang, helping sink the coastal defence ship Thonburi and providing covering fire for the destroyers to annihilate the Thai fleet. It would be damaged by a bomb launched from RThAF aircraft later that day, but continued operations throughout the war regardless, notably participating in the shelling of the Trat naval base. It was repaired after the end of the Franco-Thai incident.
With heightening tensions with Japan in November 1941, the cruiser was affected to several evacuation missions , as well as the covering of the evacuation of the strategic rice and rubber reserves from Saigon to Singapore. On December 7th, 1941, it was in port in Singapore along with Force Z under Royal Navy admiral Tom Phillips. It thus participated in the shelling of Singora on December 19th. On December 30th-31st, it participated in the Battle of the South China Sea. During the exchange, the Japanese battleships destroyed 75% of its armament, including its two forward turrets, while the cruiser damaged the Fuso with a torpedo. While defending the crippled Prince of Wales, it shot down a G4M1 "Betty" which crashed between its chimneys, igniting a fire. During the battle, the cruiser counted 93 dead and 172 wounded, but survived and made it back to Singapore, being sent to Trincomalee on January 9th, 1942.
It was then sent to the United States for conversion into a CLAA, only exiting the American shipyards in 1943, and was sent to the Mediterranean, where it supported the landings of Operation Dragon as part of Task Force 85.1. It was then affected to Admiral Bourragué's Force de Raid in the Indian Ocean, supporting the landings of Operation Transom, in Timor. The cruiser was then affected to Task Force 100 and Task Force 116, all operating in the Indian Ocean for raids on the occupied East Indies.
Active and in service with Task Force 116 as of June 1944.

Battle Honors: TRAFALGAR 1805, CHINA 1884-85, FORMOSA 1884-85, FUZHOU 1884, BENGHAZI 1940, FARASAN ISLANDS 1940, KOH-CHANG 1941, SOUTH CHINA SEA 1941, PROVENCE 1943, TIMOR 1943, INDIAN OCEAN 1943-44

La Motte-Picquet: It was assigned to the Far East Squadron of Rear Admiral Jules Terraux, and did not see combat until the beginning of 1941 and the Franco-Thai incident. It participated in the Battle of Koh-Chang, where it sank the coastal defence ship Sri Ayudhya (which was later raised and sunk again by Australian destroyers at the Battle of Cape Negrais). During the withdrawal, it was hit by two bombs launched from RThAF aircraft, and was sent to Singapore for repairs. Before the opening of hostilities with Japan, it made a visit to Admiral Hart's Asiatic Fleet in Manila and escorted evacuation convoys from Saigon to Singapore.
On December 7th, 1941, it was stationed in Singapore as part of Admiral Tom Phillips' Force Z, and participated in the shelling of Singora. It later participated in the Battle of the South China Sea, damaging the battleship Fuso with a torpedo, while fire from Japanese battleships knocked out one of its turrets. It later participated in the defence of the crippled Prince of Wales. Overall, the cruiser suffered 41 killed and 89 wounded during the battle.
With the damage sustained not being too extensive, the ship was repaired in Singapore and hastily converted to a minelaying cruiser, being one of the last ships to leave Singapore, on January 10th, 1942. It was then stationed at Surabaya, where it continued minelaying operations in the Dutch East Indies, along with civilian evacuation missions. It also participated in the Battle of Balikpapan Bay, covering the retreating American force, where it was damaged by three bombs which severely restrained its steering ability. The engagement prevented it from being able to deliver AA guns to Kupang. The engagement of Balikpapan Bay contributed to Admiral Hart being relieved of his position as head of the Asiatic Fleet, notably in his useless risking of French and Dutch vessels for no gain.
Once its steering was repaired, the cruiser was sent to the United States for a refit, which it completed at the Bethlehem Shipyards in San Francisco in May 1942. It then made for the South Pacific, integrating the French Pacific Squadron, under Admiral Muselier. It greatly participated in the supply of American and Commonwealth troops at Guadalcanal, notably transporting heavy equipment, gasoline and aviation fuel which the Marines desperately needed. It would continue to make these runs up until 1943. One of the mines laid sank the destroyer Oyoshio off Kolombangara. It was then assigned to the new ABDAF-Fleet under the command of Admiral John G. Crace. It joined back the French Pacific Squadron of Admiral Muselier in early 1944.
Active and in service in the Pacific Squadron as of June 1944.

Battle Honors: KOH-CHANG 1941, SOUTH CHINA SEA 1941, DUTCH EAST INDIES 1942, BALIKPAPAN BAY 1942, GUADALCANAL 1942-43, SOLOMON ISLANDS 1943

Primauguet: First saw combat during Operation Marignan, being stationed to support the landings in Sardinia. It was based at Casablanca, and was transferred to Indochina as part of the 6th Cruiser Division (mentioned above) at the end of the year. The cruiser participated in the Battle of Koh-Chang, helping to sink the coastal defence ship Thonburi and providing cover fire for the destroyers during their sweep of the Thai naval base. It also participated in the shelling of the Trat naval base. After the end of the Franco-Thai incident, it paid a courtesy visit to Admiral Hart's Asiatic Fleet in the Philippines, and was assigned to the "Light Attack Force" at Cam Ranh under now Admiral Régis Bérenger.
On December 7th, it was at Cam Ranh, and sallied out during the ill-fated Battle of the Tonkin Gulf on December 9th. The cruiser scored several hits on the Japanese cruiser Takao, but was in turn riddled with shells by the Takao and its escorting destroyers. All of its turrets were put out of action by the Japanese, at it withdrew at full speed towards Haiphong, not without having damaged the destroyer Hagikaze with torpedoes. Once in Haiphong, it managed to escape, reaching Miri on December 13th and Singapore on December 14th. Severely damaged, it made for Colombo on the 21st alongside the battleship Ramilies. It then left for the United States for a full conversion into a CLAA.
It only came out of the shipyards in March 1943, being part of the Jean-Bart task group, later renamed Task Force 100. It thus participated in the landings of Operation Dragon, before leaving for the Far East to support the landings on Timor as part of Operation Transom.
As part of Task Force 100, it completed several missions against targets in the occupied East Indies.
Active and in service as part of Task Force 100 as of June 1944.

Battle Honors: MADAGASCAR 1894, KOH-CHANG 1941, TONKIN GULF 1941, SOUTH CHINA SEA 1941, PROVENCE 1943, TIMOR 1943, INDIAN OCEAN 1943-44

Jeanne d'Arc​

Jeanne d'Arc-class

Jeanne d'Arc: Was assigned for convoy escort in the Atlantic, before supporting French efforts during Operation Marignan. It stayed in support of ground operations until mid-September, when it was transferred to the Pacific via the West Indies. On December 7th, 1941, it was in San Francisco on a courtesy visit to the United States. It carried a company of Colonial Infantry and a seaplane to Canton Island, in the South Pacific, on December 30th. It reached Nouméa on January 26th, 1942, to take place in Admiral Muselier's Pacific Squadron.
Briefly converted to a convoy command cruiser, it was present at the action off Rabaul on February 5th, 1942, though it did not play an active role in it. It then carried various missions across the Pacific, notably the evacuation of Nauru and Banaba, as well as the evacuation of Tuilagi and Guadalcanal. It was then made into the command cruiser of Admiral Richmond K. Turner, who oversaw the supply of troops on Guadalcanal. Carrying these missions, it became quite an unwilling participant of the First Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, where it placed several shells on the Jintsu without being harmed in return.
It would continue operations in the Pacific for the rest of 1942 and most of 1943, with supply and convoy missions in the Solomons and New Guinea. It then participated in Operation Transom as part of ABDAF-Fleet.
It would continue operations with ABDAF throughout 1944. On June 9th, 1944, it was sent back to France for the first time since the end of 1940.
Active and in service, on its way to France as of June 1944.

Battle Honors: DARDANELLES 1915, GUADALCANAL 1942-43, SOLOMON ISLANDS 1942-43, TIMOR 1943, INDIAN OCEAN 1943-44

Emile Bertin (after slight refit into Minelaying cruiser)​

Emile Bertin-class

Emile Bertin: First employed for the evacuation of the gold of the Banque de France, it then joined the Mediterranean and participated in Operation Ravenne, during which it accidentally fired at the HMS Dragon. At the end of 1940, it was transferred to Admiral Godfroy's Levant Squadron.
The cruiser was part of the first units to form Admiral Cunningham's "Strike Force, Aegean" which would then evolve into Admiral Pridham Wippell's Aegean Squadron. The cruiser's role was less combat and more minelaying, as it was capable of carrying up to 200 mines, and thus formed part of the "ABEL Group" along with the HMS Abdiel and Latona, based at Souda Bay. As part of this unit, it participated in the Battle of Cape Matapan, helping to sink the cruiser Pola. It also provided fire support and troop transport during Operation Marita. In July, it proved decisive in its ferrying of CXAM radars to Crete, Chios and Naxos during Operation Ikarus. Throughout August, it continued to provide fuel, ammunition and supplies to the islands of the Aegean. It was finally transferred to the Far East alongside HMS Abdiel in December.
There, it made a run to supply weapons, ammunition and supplies to Saigon, but stayed back with the Abdiel in Singapore during the Battle of the South China Sea.
During the early months of January 1942, the minelaying cruiser continued its Mediterranean duties, but in the East Indies, joining Surabaya on January 11th. It was an involuntary participant in the Battle of Balikpapan Bay, from which it escaped unharmed. It then took on troop convoy duties between Australia and the Dutch East Indies. During one of these missions, the cruiser narrowly escaped destruction by the cruisers Haguro and Myoko. After the fall of Java, it was assigned to Admiral Crace's ABDAF-Fleet, but was quickly transferred back to the French Pacific Squadron under Admiral Muselier. The cruiser would then make several supply runs to Guadalcanal and Tuilagi. During one of these runs, it participated in the Second Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, scoring several hits on Japanese destroyers.
It would continue these missions throughout 1942, 1943 and1944, only stopping to support Operation Transom.
Active and in service in ABDAF-Fleet as of June 1944.

Battle Honors: PANTELLERIA 1940, AEGEAN 1941, CAPE MATAPAN 1941, GREECE 1941, CRETE 1941, SOUTH CHINA SEA 1941, DUTCH EAST INDIES 1942, BALIKPAPAN BAY 1942, GUADALCANAL 1942-43, SOLOMON ISLANDS 1942-43, TIMOR 1943

Jean de Vienne

Marseillaise (after conversion to CLAA)

Montcalm​

La Galissonnière-class

La Galissonnière: Deployed to the Mediterranean, it did not wait long to see combat, as it was damaged by SM.79 torpedo bombers off Bizerte on August 17th, 1940. Quickly repaired, it participated in Operation Marignan, siniking three freighters at Alghero. It stayed in the Mediterranean for the rest of the year, and only saw combat again during Operation Merkur.
During the operation, it sunk several transports concentrating off Elba, shelled Solenzara, and brought reinforcements to Corsica. It participated in the Naval Battle of Solenzara, sinking the torpedo boats Altair and Vega. It then integrated the provisional "Marquis Squadron", commanded by Rear-Admiral Marquis, under which it participated in the Battle of Olbia Gulf. During the battle, it knocked out and sunk the cruiser Luigi Cadorna, helped sink the cruiser Giovanni delle Bande Nere, damaged the destroyer Saetta, but also damaged the French destroyer L'Audacieux, both of which had to be scuttled as a result. After the battle, it helped evacuate civilians and military personnel from Cagliari. After the end of Merkur, it continued its operations in the Mediterranean. It first participated in the Battle of Cape Matapan, helping sink the heavy cruiser Gorizia and the light cruiser Giuseppe Garibaldi. In November, it took part in Operation Retribution, sinking the destroyers Aviere and Ascari. The cruiser then spent the end of 1941 and beginning of 1942 escorting the Singapore convoys.
In the meantime, it joined Admiral Godfroy's Levant Support Force, helping support the landings in the Peloponnese as part of Operation Crusader. It then executed several convoy missions to the Aegean islands, and participated in the fighting at Limnos. It participated directly in the Third Naval Battle of Limnos, sinking the destroyers Emanuele Pessagno and Euro, and helping to cripple the destroyer Geniere. It was in turn hit by one torpedo launched by the Euro, and then a bomb launched by a German Ju-88 which destroyed its rear turret. It was then sent to Alexandria for repairs, and returned in June to escort convoys to the Black Sea. In September, the cruiser was part of the force covering the landings of Operation Torch, seeing action once again in the Naval Battle of Palermo, where it once more sunk a cruiser: the heavy cruiser Zara. With the completion of this operation, the cruiser went for a refit in the United States.
After this refit, it once more took its place in the Mediterranean, supporting the landings of Operation Dragon, staying in the area up until December. The cruiser then left for Devonport, and supported the landings of Operation Overlord, in Normandy. It then rejoined Toulon.
Active and in service in the Mediterranean as of June 1944. It is currently the most decorated French Navy vessel of the War.

Battle Honors: SFAX 1881, CHINA 1884-85, FUZHOU 1884, FORMOSA 1884-85, SARDINIA 1940-41, CORSICA 1941, SOLENZARA 1941, OLBIA GULF 1941, AEGEAN 1941-42, CAPE MATAPAN 1941, SINGAPORE CONVOYS 1941-42, ITALY 1941, LIMNOS 1942, SICILY 1942, PROVENCE 1943-44, NORMANDY 1944

Montcalm: Stationed in the Mediterranean, it first saw action during Operation Cordite, supporting the landings on Rhodes and Karpathos, and narrowly avoiding an Italian torpedo. It continued to support Allied operations in the Aegean by participating in Operation Accolade, supporting the landings at Astypalea, Patmos, Arki, Kos and Leros, becoming the flagship of Admiral de Carpentier during the latter stages of the campaign. After the completion of Accolade, it returned to Alexandria, before being assigned to convoy escort at the start of 1941, operating from Gibraltar.
During one of these convoy missions, it briefly duelled with the German cruiser Admiral Hipper. It then rejoined the Mediterranean during Operation Merkur, participating in the Naval Battle of Calvi during which it sunk the destroyer Luca Tarigo. It also convoyed troops to Corsica, and participated in evacuation operations. It continued operations in the Mediterranean, seeing action in two separate naval battles in May. It first participated in the Battle of the Ionian Sea, sinking the cruiser Raimundo Montecuccoli and the destroyers Bersagliere and Alpino. As part of Admiral Pridham-Wippell's Aegean Squadron, it also participated in the Battle of Corfu, where it sunk the torpedo boat Clio. As part of the Aegean Squadron, it participated in both convoy escort and shelling missions around the Aegean islands.
After the Aegean Squadron passed under the leadership of Admiral Phillip Vian, the cruiser supported Operation Dark King (the recapture of Limnos), being slightly hit by shrapnel during it. It then participated in the Battle of Agios Efstratios, sinking the torpedo boat Calatafimi. However, after the fight, the cruiser was hit by two 500kg bombs launched by German Ju-87s, forcing it to retreat to Rhodes, then Benghazi, having suffered extensive damage. The cruiser would be out for four months of repairs, being back into service in August 1942 as part of the Peloponnese Support Force of Captain Perzo. It stayed within this group until 1943.
The cruiser then supported the Provence landings, before being transferred to the Far East in December as part of Task Force 117, supporting several raids on the occupied East Indies.
Active and in service as part of Task Force 117 as of June 1944.

Battle Honors: RABAUL 1914, RHODES 1940, AEGEAN 1940-43, CORSICA 1941, CALVI 1941, IONIAN SEA 1941, CORFU 1941, GREECE 1941-43, LIMNOS 1942, AGIOS EFSTRATOS 1942, PROVENCE 1943, INDIAN OCEAN 1944

Georges Leygues: Assigned to the 4th Cruiser Division of Admiral Bourragué, it first saw action during Operation Cordite. It then was engaged in Operation Accolade, supporting the landings on Patmos, Kos and Leros. It was then transferred to Gibraltar at the end of this operation in order to escort convoys in the area. During one of these missions, it briefly duelled with the German cruiser Admiral Hipper.
With Operation Merkur, the cruiser was recalled to Mers-el-Kebir, seeing combat during the Naval Battle of Calvi, where it helped sink the destroyer Luca Tarigo. Unfortunately, the destroyer managed to hit a torpedo on the cruiser's side, reducing its speed to 9 knots and making it easy prey for Luftwaffe Ju-87 and Ju-88 which struck it with no less than five 500kg bombs, sinking the cruiser on February 18th, 1941, off Corsica. Its survivors were taken in by the destroyer Tartu.

Battle Honors: RHODES 1940, AEGEAN 1940, CORSICA 1941, CALVI 1941

Jean de Vienne: Assigned to the Mediterranean, the cruiser narrowly avoided two torpedoes as early as June 13th, 1940. It was assigned to Rear Admiral Marquis' 3rd Cruiser Division, participating in Operation Marignan as part of the Fire Support and Remote Force of Vice-Admiral Emile Duplat. It stayed in the area, escorting convoys, until 1941.
It was then thrown back into combat during Operation Merkur, participating in the destruction of the landing fleet concentrating at Elba, and participating in supply and evacuation missions. Despite the numerous naval battles taking place during Merkur, the cruiser would not see a single one, thought it was shaken by several German bombs. It would be sent for repairs at Mers-el-Kébir for a month. Once this refit was complete, the cruiser made several convoy escort missions to Greece, and participated in the Battle of Cape Matapan, helping sink the cruiser Eugenio di Savoia, being hit once in return. However, on September 21st, 1941, while in port at Algiers, the light cruiser would be sunk in shallow waters by men of the Decima MAS. Raised, it would not become operational again until September 1942.
Affected to the Atlantic, the light cruiser did not have to wait long to see action, sinking the German auxiliary cruiser Portland in November. However, it would wait a lot longer to see any kind of action afterwards. Affected to the Aegean Sea, it did not participate in the support of the Provence landings, nor did it move to Devonport to support the Overlord landings.
Active and in service with the Aegean Sea Squadron as of June 1944.

Battle Honors: SARDINIA 1940-41, CORSICA 1941, GREECE 1941, CAPE MATAPAN 1941, AEGEAN 1943-44

Marseillaise: Affected to the Mediterranean under Rear Admiral Marquis' 3rd Cruiser Division, it participated in Operation Marignan as part of the Marignan-2 support force. During the operation, it traded shots with coastal batteries at Oristano. It stayed in the area until September, until which it was withdrawn back to Algeria.
During Merkur, it saw combat during the Naval Battle of Solenzara, helping sink the torpedo boat Canopo. It also participated in the Battle of Olbia Gulf as part of the "Marquis Squadron", sinking the cruiser Giovanni delle Bande Nere, which still destroyed one of the French cruiser's turrets. Following the battle, it would suffer hell as German bombers struck it with several bombs which devastated its superstructures and set fire to part of the ship. Despite this extensive damage, it managed to drag itself to Algeria, where it underwent makeshift repairs before being sent to the United States for a full reconversion into a CLAA.
The cruiser joined Vice-Admiral Godfroy's Support and Amphibious Command in June 1942, escorting convoys across the Mediterranean, before being assigned to the support of Operation Torch, seeing intense action during the Gulf of Noto air battles, shooting down a confirmed 5 aircraft, possibly more. After the exchanges off Sicily, it would escort Allied troops to Italy. While supporting Allied forces during the Battle of Rome, it was hit by a bomb which hit the crew quarters, killing twelve sailors, and was forced to return to Oran.
In April 1943, the cruiser was sent for a courtesy visit at Scapa Flow, before joining Task Force 100 under the command of Vice-Admiral Bourragué. Under this Task Force, it participated in the support of Operation Dragon. Once this was finished, it dashed to the Indian Ocean to participate in Operation Transom, and several raids on the occupied East Indies.
Active and in service with Task Force 100 as of June 1944.

Battle Honors: SARDINIA 1940-41, CORSICA 1941, SOLENZARA 1941, OLBIA GULF 1941, SICILY 1942, ITALY 1942, PROVENCE 1943, TIMOR 1943, INDIAN OCEAN 1943-44

Gloire: Assigned to the 4th Cruiser Division of Admiral Bourragué, it took part in Operation Cordite, then Operation Accolade during which it supported the landings on Astypalea, during which a MAS struck it with a torpedo that did not explode, but still created a leak that forced it back to Alexandria for a month's repairs. It was sent to Gibraltar at the end of 1940, on convoy escort duties.
During one of these missions, in early January, it captured the auxiliary cruiser Nordmark, which was then transferred to the British. With the start of Operation Merkur, the cruiser went back to the Mediterranean, ferrying troops to Corsica and evacuating Sardinia. It would never see combat in a naval battle during these operations, instead waiting till May and the Battle of the Ionian Sea, during which it helped sink the cruiser Raimundo Montecuccoli and the destroyers Alpino and Bersagliere. It was then assigned to Rear Admiral Philip Vian's Aegean Sea squadron in August. While serving in this Squadron, the vessel was hit by a torpedo launched by an Italian mini-submarine off Lesbos, being sent back to Alexandria for repairs and a small refit.
It would see action again in June 1942, providing fire support for the troops in the Peloponnese: it was at this point transferred from the Aegean Sea Squadron to Admiral Rawlings' Strike Force. As part of this force, it participated in the Battle of the Zakynthos Strait, sinking the destroyers Corazziere and Carabiniere. It would then see action during Operation Torch and the Battle of Acireale, sinking the destroyer Nicolo Zeno. It then sunk several barges in the Strait of Messina, and later participated in the convoying of Allied forces to Italy. It actively supported the Battle of Rome, earning an FX-1400 bomb dropped by a German Fw 190 A4, which did only limited damage, but was still sent to the United States for repairs and upgrades.
It would stay there for only a little less than a month, before making its way back to the Mediterranean, in support of the landings of Operation Dragon. Staying in the area, it was then sent to Devonport to support the Overlord landings a few months later, before returning to the Mediterranean.
Active and in service with the Mediterranean Fleet as of June 1944

Battle Honors: CAPE LIZARD 1707, CAPE FINISTERRE 1747, VERACRUZ 1838, RHODES 1940, AEGEAN 1941, IONIAN SEA 1941, GREECE 1942, ZAKYNTHOS 1942, SICILY 1942, ACIREALE 1942, ITALY 1942, PROVENCE 1943, NORMANDY 1944

 

[Look More Closely Later]

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How on Earth does that 'Battle Honours' system work, since I see one ship listed as having fought in 1707, and I'm fairly certain that outside of ASB scenarios they didn't have metal hulled marine engine ships in 1707?
Is it something to do with 'all ships which have had the name?'

 

[iani]

all ships which have had the name?

Most be, or the same Ark Royal was fighting the Spanish armada and Bismark!