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

[Wings]

November 14th, 1943

Balkans - While in Berlin, the Führer has just put a brutal end to the very existence of the Abwehr - an institution in disrepair - the Reich's spy networks are experiencing a notable disruption, following their "change of owner". Indeed, they go from being managed by professionals who were not always efficient but often understanding, to a management by Schutzstaffel, which is much more attached to their ideological principles.
The organization of intelligence gathering - already highly perfectible in the Balkans - will be durably affected during the weeks to come. At the worst moment, some historians will say later... But there is probably no good day to replace Canaris by General Schellenberg, a very moderately effective Nazi animal*. Accustomed to intrigues (he did not hesitate to provide the list of Abwehr agents to Colonel Roger Masson, of the Swiss secret services, in order to harm his competitors!), Schellenberg pushed his paranoia (or prudence?) to the point of having two automatic weapons mounted in his office, pointed at the seats of his visitors, and controlled by a simple button...
Interested above all in consolidating the power of the SS within the Reich - and in strengthening his personal power within the SS, with the Reichsführer and against Müller or even his boss Ernst Kaltenbrunner (who openly despised him) - the Brigadeführer is slow to take an interest in Bucharest again. After all, these are only Latins - and anyway, what could a sailor like Canaris, who had never been able to anticipate anything, claim to know about espionage?

* Among other failures, neither operation Willi (the attempt to rally the Duke of Windsor, ex-Edward VIII), nor operation Zeppelin (the insertion in the USSR of Soviet prisoners supposedly turned over) have never had the slightest success. In the end, Schellenberg owed his promotion to general to the dismantling, in May 1942, of the Soviet Red Orchestra network operating in Germany (116 arrests) thanks to the collaboration of the Abwehr.

 

[Wings]

November 14th, 1943

Burma and Malaya Campaign
Burma Front - The front is agitated today and the raids of the Ki-48 and Ki-89 respond to Hurribomber and Blenheim raids. Two aircraft are shot down on each side.
Further south, the Burma Banshee of the 80th FG are combing the coast between Yé and Tavoy. In order to terrorize the Japanese soldiers, some American pilots have a siren mounted on their aircraft, the sound of which, like the image of the banshees of the fairy tales, will mark the Group's ground attack missions. Journalists do not hesitate to call them the Stuka of the Indian Ocean.
During the day, the Americans only encounter Japanese fighters once, Ki-43s; the engagement causes one casualty on each side.

Indochina Campaign
The siege of Hanoi
Hanoi - In a cellar of a house on Baronna Avenue, a man operates a hand-held generator that powers a radio. The "pianist", at his post, types in a message in Morse code. The two Vietnamese are exhausted by hunger and lack of sleep but they continue their task.
Around them, Vietminh guerrillas sleep on the ground despite the echo of intermittent gunfire from the cemetery at the intersection of Rue Sergent Larrivé and Rue Jaquin. They do not even wake up when an incongruous siren starts to hoot eerily. The crash of flak is heard, then the sound of powerful engines. Bombs explode, momentarily covering the gunfire.

The Hoa-Hao go on a rampage
Chau-Doc (northwest of Cochinchina, on the border with Cambodia) - A large meeting of Hoa-Hao leaders takes place in the small town. Exhilarated by their first victories, the warlords of the sect already imagine themselves masters of Cochinchina. As the first Hoa-Hao commando, now independent, gave full satisfaction, it was decided to create four other units on this principle.
The men in the field listen to their leaders talk but are worried. They want to "liberate" such and such city, such and such region, but they never talk about the most important thing: where to find weapons, ammunition, means of transport... and money in general. Since the sect had turned against the Franco-Vietnamese, they no longer receive anything. The leaders see no problem: it would be enough to help themselves on the enemy! But neither the Japanese nor the Vietminh are ready to let themselves be plundered willingly.

Japan drops Laos
Southern Laos - The units of the 56th Japanese Division coming from Vientiane stop for a few days in Savannakhet. The Thai garrison welcomes them, especially since the Japanese do not seem to want to linger there, let alone retake the Hayabusa base, which the Nipponese continue to believe has been taken over by Americans. In fact, Hanoi headquarters ordered the troops stationed in Laos to join Cambodia. The Japanese army abandons the White Elephant Kingdom completely.

New Guinea Campaign
Salamaua-Lae Campaign - Battle of Lae
Malahang - At dawn, General Vasey launches his troops to assault Chinatown, a district of Lae located on the other bank of the Bumbu. The Japanese who are entrenched there welcome the Australians with MGs, but the momentum of the men of the 7th Division, well supported by their 25 pdr, is irresistible.
Part of the Australian forces continue their advance toward the hospital. The remainder move down the river toward the waterfront and capture Voco Point, but the position is immediately retaken by a Japanese counterattack. Throughout the morning, the situation at Lae remains chaotic. The Australians are faced with infiltrations and a series of local counter-attacks that prevent them from advancing.
Around noon, the hospital is finally captured. The Australians progress rapidly to the north, taking the golf course, the Eriku district and the botanical garden (where the monument to the battle now stands).
In the afternoon, they again attack Voco Point. The confrontation is violent, but after several hours of fierce street fighting, the Australians are able to push the Japanese out of Lae itself. Nevertheless, the defenders hold on to the outskirts of the city.

Pacific Campaign
Operation Galvanic
Tarawa, 04:00 - Banzai ! A hundred Japanese launch an attack. It is the last more or less organized attack by the defenders of Betio. The attackers are killed to the last man, while the American fleet bludgeons the eastern end of the island.
.........
Off Makin, 05:00 - CVE Liscome Bay begins preparing its aircraft for the first missions of the day. At the first light of dawn, five Wildcats take to the skies.
05:10 - CF Naoshi Tabata, on the I-175, approaches the enemy fleet on the surface during the night. With daylight, he has just gone into periscope immersion, when he is delighted to see in his periscope an aircraft carrier without a single destroyer as a screen. In fact, an hour earlier, the Hull had gone to assist a transport with engine trouble and a little later, the Franks went to take a close look at "a periscope" that turned out to be a false alarm.
The I-175 launches four torpedoes, two of which hit. One of them explodes the ammunition bay, poorly protected on this old and very vulnerable transport, and the stern of the Liscome Bay disintegrates in a monstrous explosion. The New Mexico, at more than 1,500 meters, is showered with fragments of metal... and human bodies.
05:33 - The small aircraft carrier sinks by the stern, taking with it Captain Wiltsie, Admiral Mullinix (who commands the carrier escort division of TF-53), 53 officers and 591 men*, as well as 23 of its 28 aircraft. The destroyers that go to the rescue of the Liscome Bay can only rescue 272 men.
.........
Tarawa, 07:00 - What remains of the Japanese positions is shelled without mercy by American artillery and aircraft. The Marines then attack. Overrunning the surviving defenders, they reach the eastern tip of the island around 13:00.
There are still pockets of resistance, which are reduced one after the other. It takes five days to eliminate the last Japanese fighters from all the islets of Tarawa.
.........
Off the Gilberts, 16:30 - American listening services report that six Japanese submarines have just responded to the previous day's orders. Briefly, of course, but it is enough to locate the "barrage" they had set up. At dusk, as if in response to the destruction of the Liscome Bay, TF-53 and TF-50 set a course to the north-west, leaving TF-52 to watch over the transports.
.........
South of the Gilberts, 21:00 - I-7, I-9 and the Mogami-Oyodo duo arrive, separately, in their "hunting zone" on the American rear.

Sino-Japanese War
Operation Zhulin
Hubei Province - The 1st Chinese Army, or what remains of it, reaches Macheng. The Japanese forces stop the pursuit during the night: the food and ammunition of the 40th and 116th Japanese Divisions are too low to be able to continue fighting.
They will now return to Wuhan.

* Including Doris Miller, hero of Pearl Harbor and first black recipient of the Navy Cross.

 

[Wings]

November 14th, 1943

Model camp n°27, Krasnogorsk (north of Moscow) - The Nationalkomitee Freies Deutschland is officially established today. It must gather, among the crowd of German prisoners of war captured (among others!) in Smolensk or during Uranus, Mars, Molot and Rumyantsev, those who are too shaken to continue to believe in the final victory of the Reich. This propaganda organization will have the task of undermining the morale of the fighters of the Ostheer - and more generally to weaken the Nazi regime.
Not overly communist in inspiration (it makes much more use of the symbols of the former German Empire, including the black-white-red flag, rather than the hammer and sickle), the NKFD does not officially aim to prepare for the future. It simply had to convince the Wehrmacht to get rid of Nazism, and then to bring back a new Germany, militaristic but peaceful, to its 1937 borders. However, the Committee is strangely headed by Erich Weinert - an exiled communist writer, former member of the International Brigades (for which he even composed the anthem!). And he only has as deputies two second knives: Lieutenant-Count Heinrich von Einsiedel (an airman shot down during the the battle of Smolensk, but above all a great-grandson of Bismarck) and Major Karl Hetz (a sapper officer of the GrossDeutschland left behind during the battles of Rumyantsev)*. Now it remains to make generals adhere to the project! Few of them dare to accept it, both out of patriotic conviction and fear of reprisals. However, a solution must be found...

* In the end, however, its leadership had 38 members, including 27 prisoners of war (among them 3 senior officers). - the others were refugee communists, among them Herr Pieck and Herr Ulbricht (who were to become famous much later).

 

[Wings]

November 14th, 1943

Italian campaign
Italian Front - The weather is again absolutely miserable, reducing ground activities to their simplest form and forcing the protagonists to cancel all their air missions.

Balkan campaign
Insurrection
Macedonia - The partisans in contact with the Allied troops continue to take part in the battle, according to their possibilities. The others are small and wait for the end of the fighting.

Repression
Southern Serbia - Two days have passed since the 118. Jäger left Nis - and the unit finally arrives in Leskovac in a palpable bad mood. Not all of Tito's supporters have yet been able to leave the city, let alone convince the inhabitants to accompany them.
The city of 25,000 inhabitants is cut in two by the non-navigable Južna Morava, which cannot be used as an obstacle to a determined attacker. Taking their time, and following the method that had been successful in Nis, Josef Kübler's men split up into two Kamftgruppen, Ost and West, aiming at the railway station and Hisar Hill, an archaeological site that has not yet been excavated* but which overlooks the city by 70 meters. From there, it will be possible to mortar bomb the recalcitrant buildings and to transform the avenues into a shooting range for the snipers.
The Jägers sweep through the city again as they had done in Nis three days earlier: the objectives are reached before noon. The rest is a series of bloody reductions of pockets whose defenders fight with a desperate bravery or the massacre of runaways at the bottom of a dead end. The nightfall allows the survivors to slip away, while Kübler announces on the radio that the situation is about to be resolved... The battle of Morava will not have been fought a second time.
..........
Nis - In the night and the fog, a convoy of trucks arrives in Nis, well away from the Serbian or Russian forces. Elsewhere in Europe, to feed the terrible death machine set up by the Nazis, victims are sent to their fate by rail convoys, for reasons of efficiency. But here, despite the presence of the Jasenovac camp nearby, the massacre adapts to local constraints: it is death that moves.
Getting off the trucks, the militiamen dressed in black polish their weapons, adjust their berets and finally rectify the position.. General Rafael Boban, a short, stocky man with drawn features, passes among them dressed as an Italian Black Shirt to gauge the motivation of each one and to encourage them.
Generally satisfied with what he observes, he finally says: "Don't forget, gentlemen, that what we are doing serves the future of our country and the whole of humanity! Do not have any qualms! Eradication, that's our credo!" The war cry that answers him wakes up the neighboring buildings...
.........
Albania, Kosovo and Montenegro - Neither very brave, nor really in a hurry, the men of the 100. Jäger begin their movement towards the east, with great care due to the nature of the terrain. In the evening, the Kampfgruppe has only covered twelve kilometers - it indicates that it will be in Shupenzë tomorrow. Informed of this "progress", General Felmy orders Oberst Franz Weller to press on... for form's sake.
Meanwhile, the Croats of the 373. ID "of the Tiger" remain cautious, waiting for the reinforcements promised by the HQ of the 12. Armee HQ. A probe is nevertheless sent to Shtime, to try to re-establish the link with Skopje via Kacanik: the ballists, too dispersed, cannot react effectively and thus do not cling to the ground. But conversely, the Ustashi do not expose themselves further by trying to enter the city. Each side therefore continues to try to gauge the strengths and intentions of its opponent.

Punishment
Albanian-Kosovar border - In no hurry to scour the mountains for insurgents, and as the S.O.E. multiplies reports in the form of reproaches on the "incidents" of the day before, Enver Hoxha finally orders Mehmet Shehu to suspend operations. The interested party will thus have the leisure to complete the cleaning of the region, reconstitute his forces and prepare the inevitable continuation...

Operation Market
Macedonia (Kičevo): the escape - Grenadiers of 92. Gr Rgt and fighters of the 4. Gebirgs Division have not slept. At about 02:30, the 91. Gebirgsjäger Rgt, commanded by Hauptmann Stapper (replacing Oberst Guder, recently fallen in battle), tries to break through the Allied lines and seize the ruins of the Kitino fortress, on the Podvarosh knoll overlooking the Treska river. Taking heavy losses, it is reinforced by GbJg Battalion 94, which was formed from the line-up of recruits undergoing acclimatization.
The Jägers infiltrate silently in the direction of the ruins, which are only guarded by a Greek battalion and a group of Partisans - no one at the Greek headquarters anticipated such a daring action by exhausted soldiers. Against all odds, the alert is given only 150 meters from the base of the towers - the Greeks and the Resistance fighters, who were in charge of the guard at the time, of having failed to be vigilant (or, more openly, of having slept!). The attackers rush under the machine-gun and the flares to seize the position with the bayonet. Then, as confusion reigned in the allied position, they deploy on the western flank of the fortress, strafing everything that moves. During this time, what remains of the 4. GD (the 13. Gebirgsjäger Rgt, the 94. Gebirgs-Artillerie Rgt, stripped of most of its equipment, some pioneers and reconnaissance elements) slips away to the east, along the Treska, with the survivors of the 92. Grenadier Rgt.
The tactic works for half an hour, before the evzones mount a first counter-attack - which fails in the confusion. Finally, at 03:45, the Greeks succeed in retaking the fortress. The elements of the 91. GbJg Rgt are able to withdraw, but the less experienced GbJg Battalion 94 cannot. It will be captured after a last stand - in Podvarosh, the cadets saved the elders.
A very poor booty: the 92. Grenadier Rgt is reduced to half of its forces, and the 4. Gebirgs Division to a third of its capacities, but both units did manage to escape. Frustrated by a success he had hoped would be decisive, Tsakalotos spends part of the day rallying his troops in disarray, preparing a pursuit... and spreading recriminations against these ungrateful and incompetent Macedonians.
"I warn you that I throw in the river the next one who dares to speak to me about cursed fortress, king Volkashin or any other nonsense! Ah, how beautiful are the atheists who are free from the opium of the people! War is a serious matter, gentlemen, not a child's game! So I ask you for the last time to stop with your stories of haunted cemeteries**, clawed monsters and soldiers caught in the darkness. Your men are amateurs and have been negligent, that's all" (Colonel Tsakalotos - recounted from memory by Captain Mordoh of the 3rd Greek Mountain Brigade and quoted by Robert Stan Pratsky, La Libération de la Grèce et des Balkans, Flammarion, 2005)
The arrival of the first elements of Francis Tuker does not help the colonel's mood - beyond the humiliation of what he has to announce to his partners, he knows too well that his governmentwill not allow him (even if this prohibition will remain unofficial for the moment) to go further than Gostivar.
The Indians, tired and phlegmatic, are content to return to Prilep with a sense of duty accomplished. Almost single-handedly, they have broken through an enemy army corps and dispersed three elite divisions.

Lake Ohrid region: the trap - For three days now, Hans Kreysing's 3. GebirgsJäger wanders in the mountains, crossing steep mountain barriers on foot, dominating the valley bottoms byalmost 500 meters above the valley floor. And while they are descending in the direction of Pesotchani, the Austrians notice that a strong column of the 1st ID of Vrachnos, arriving with great strides, is taking position in front of them! Rare radio contacts inform them of the capture of Kičevo and of the roads 30 kilometers to the north.
On their heels, the Jägers imagine or even observe other Greeks coming up to meet them. What to do? Disperse into the hostile mountains full of bloodthirsty Partisans with a knife between their teeth? From noon onwards, we notice the first surrenders: individual, then by small groups... then by companies. And even if the Germans still prefer to deal with the Greeks than with the Macedonians, the 6th Mountain Brigade does not have the best reputation when it comes to dealing with prisoners. It is thus to the soldiers of Vrachnos, apparently in a better mood, that most of the Jägers surrender. Vasileios Vrachnos can announce with a smile that he has "caught the Germans in his net" - Colonel Katsotas, frustrated with his success, comments: "You didn't have too much trouble, your Germans are slow: in the march, in the reflection and even in the defeat!"
The 3. GD disintegrates. It simply arrived at the end of its capacities of resistance - which, from a military point of view, can only be admired when the unit has been fighting almost continuously since Butress, five months ago. Some courageous people will even try to pass towards Debar, alone or in very small groups, considering that the Allies could not search the whole mountain for them. But very few will succeed... and the artificial lake built in this region in the 1970s (with the financial help of the United Nations) will finish to erase all traces of the past events. The news of this surrender is greeted with fatalism by Alexander Löhr, who had seen that the unit was very exposed at the edge of Lake Ohrid. Unfortunately, the instructions of the OKW asked to "fight to the maximum in Macedonia, whose territory will be used as a buffer in order to preserve the useful areas of Serbia and Bosnia." The chief of the 12. Armee cannot help but find that it is paying a high price for a short reprieve.
.........
"Hans Kreysing (1890-1969): German general born in Göttingen (Lower Saxony). Participated in the whole of the first world conflict and on all fronts in the battalion of the Hanoverian Hunters. Wounded at Verdun in May 1916. Ended the war with the rank of commander and numerous decorations, including the cross of Knight of the Royal Order of the Prussian Houses of Hohenzollern with swords. He quickly joined the Reichsheer, then the Reichswehr, he commanded the 17th Infantry Regiment, then was transferred to the Kommandantur Opole, where he continued to gain rank and became colonel. In command of the 16th Infantry Regiment, he fought in Poland, Holland and France. Following these successes, he was appointed general and put in charge of the 3. GebirgsJäger-Division on October 23rd, 1940. This division was deployed in Greece in 1941. The unit then faces a succession of Allied offensives, culminating in 1943 with General Montgomery's operations. During these operations, which severely tested his troops, his remarkable conduct earned him the Knight's Cross with oak leaves.But this last decoration did not prevent the encirclement of his unit in Macedonia, then its capitulation on November 14th, 1943.
Hoping to reach the German lines on foot, Kreysing was finally captured by soldiers of the 1st Greek ID, who narrowly avoided his lynching by the local Partisans. Accused of having ordered the exactions committed by his division, he was cleared for lack of evidence and released in 1948. The veteran then once again volunteered to serve in the Bundesheer. He died in Heidelberg on April 21st, 1969 and was buried in the presence of a West German military delegation. (Robert Stan Pratsky - Dictionary of the Second World War in the Mediterranean, Flammarion, 2008)

Macedonia (Novatsi): stalling - More fortunate than its sisters, the 1. GebirgsJägers comes out of the mountains and finally arrives at Vatacha, a small town located a few kilometers south of Kavadartsi.
Noting the presence of the British, and perfectly informed of the situation by his hierarchy, Hubert Lanz remains discreet and simply waited for reinforcements.

Macedonia (Prilep): the main offensive - Always impetuous, the 1st Yugoslav Corps goes on the attack in order to break the barrage formed by the 187. ID and the Hornisse at Veles. The fresh 1st Infantry Division under Krstic now leads the fight, while Stefanović's SAV-42s stay slightly behind, fearing to encounter a heavy brake on the fear of encountering a large Hornet.
Progress is desperately slow through this city, which is landlocked in a four-kilometer-wide valley and built along the Vardar River. However, once again, the numerical superiority and the support of the air force eventually pays off - especially since the instructions given to Josef Brauner von Haydringen are to "slow down the enemy while preserving his men as much as possible".
In the evening, the Serbs begin to outflank the German position from the northwest at Bachino Selo - they had taken a strong foothold on the opposite bank after a crossing by canoe. A few dozen meters further on, next to the historical bridge destroyed by the Axis, the engineers hurriedly build one and then two Bailey bridges. It is a question of the 6th and 10th Armoured Divisions to cross the next morning in order to exploit and finally reach the plain.

Macedonia (Kavadartsi): redeployment - The 51st Highland Division and the 32nd Army Tank Brigade pass the rocky barrier south of the Vardar valley and take possession of the town of Kavadartsi. The Allied soldiers, operating in difficult climatic conditions and still worn out by the previous operations, set up a defensive perimeter but do not consider going further - the game is played much further north.

Greek Macedonia (Evzonoi): bluff broken - While the 104. Jäger continues to stall at Udovo, watching the Australians but not yet experiencing any real offensive, the 19. PanzerGrenadier continues its movement and reaches Marena in the dark. It is now only 5 kilometers from Kavadartsi - thanks to the bad weather, this movement was not spotted by the Allies.
"In the cold and wind, we pursued the Huns without forcing them to move north. Why should we have hurried? The enemy was running away and nobody in the unit wanted to die for... Tremnik or Demir Kapiya, villages that would inevitably be abandoned and occupied without a shot being fired. Thessaloniki had bled us - morale was good, but weariness won everyone.
Shivering in the breeze, Matthew took out his harmonica and played a few notes: "On the road again, I just can't wait to get on the road again..." The biting irony of the music made us all smile. "It's heat in a can!" laughed Stanley." (Herbert Clarence Goldsmith - op. cit.)

Bulgarian affair
Worry and comedy
Bulgaria - The 15th Bulgarian Division arrives in the Stroumitsa Valley - even though, in reality, Major-General Mihail Petrov Mateev surprisingly chose to stop at Samuilova Krepost and to deploy on the Bulgarian side of the border. The 22nd Division should follow within two days.
In the meantime, it is certain that the Bulgarian unit, although very reliable and loyal to the regime, would not take any risky initiative that could provoke the Allies by going, for example, to help the Germans. Indeed, the 15th Division has the particularity of having been commanded, until 1942, by a certain Ivan Krastev Marinov - who has been promoted since then.

* In 1999, research was finally undertaken on the site by the Archaeological Institute of Belgrade, under the direction of Doctor Milorad Stojic. The scientists will discover there the vestiges of settlements going from the Neolithic to the Ottoman empire, while going through the Roman and Byzantine periods! They will also find the ruins of the oldest known metallurgical center in Europe... as well as an abundance of shells and corpses from a much more recent past.
** There is indeed a cemetery in Podvaros, not far from the fortress. It was customary for the inhabitants of a fortress to be buried under the walls of the castle on which they depended. Today, the museum of the "National War of Liberation", which obviously gives pride of place to the local Resistance movements, has been installed in the ruins.

 

[Wings]

November 14th, 1943

Reinforcements
Marseille - While the 5th DB finished landing most of its elements a few days ago, it is now the turn of the 13th DBLE to land.
This last one will be put in reserve position in the north of Vaucluse alongside the 15th DBLE.

Redemption
Vercors - The troops of the Tricolor Legion and the French Guard are concentrated in the region of Valence, under the supervision of the Germans. The leaders have all the difficulties of the world to gather a little less than 9 000 men (against 20,000 planned by Doriot!) to storm the Vercors plateau and make an example of the mutineers and their leader. It is true that the Guard and the Legion have additional troops, totaling 8 to 10,000 men, but they are held back by "important missions of public order" (in fact, mainly administrative) in the four corners of France (the other two being now controlled by "Algiers").
During this time, the Republic of Vercors remains impregnable.

 

[Wings]

November 15th, 1943

Athens - From the French Minister of Foreign Affairs to the President of the Council.
"Never say never! On the last day of the conference in Athens, Mr. Mikolajczyk finally met Mr. Bierut, the President of the Polish National People's Council. The latter was able to describe the difficulties currently encountered by the Resistance in occupied Poland.
About fifty partisans were killed last month and the approach of winter is likely to make the fight against the Germans even more difficult. Indeed, all the logistic means of the Soviets are likely to be occupied and no help can come from the West, still too far from Poland. Mr. Bierut expressed his concern that the personalities close to Mr. Mikolajczyk could occupy all the main positions in a united Polish government. Mr. Mikolajczyk replied that he would make sure that the representatives of the other four Polish political parties would be people who have not been "recklessly" opposed to Stalin in an "inconsiderate" way. While this may seem like a good omen, Mr. Mikolajczyk was able to meet with Mr. Molotov for about an hour; unfortunately, this meeting ended with a statement of disagreement on a key point: according to Mr. Molotov, the Lublin Committee should have a majority in the future Polish government.
In the plenary session, Molotov explained that he would like to see Poland, Czechoslovakia as well as Hungary becoming independent anti-Nazi - but also pro-Russian - states. To which we were able to reply that they should be pro-Allied above all. Eden followed us on this position and Molotov finally agreed with his lips.
The question of the partition of Germany was then raised. The idea of a federation with Austria, Bavaria, Württemberg and Baden, with Vienna as its capital, was raised.
Stettinius proposed adding Hungary to this new state, which Molotov opposed. As for the Ruhr and Saarland, nothing was decided. Molotov was in favor of a settlement detaching a future independent Prussian state from Germany, and above all of an internationalization of the Kiel Canal. Even if we did not fully support this proposal, which seemed to us too definitive, we can only support a project aiming at weakening Germany and to save us from a future war against a country which we have fought for the last three generations.
Mr. Molotov again expressed "Comrade Stalin's wish" that within a few months a meeting within a few months between the heads of state or government of the four great Allies concerned with the situation in Europe in a Black Sea port. I took the liberty of showing myself to support this option.
On the subject of the Black Sea, Molotov put forward the idea of revisiting the Montreux Convention which determines, among other things, the conditions for the passage of Russian ships from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean Sea under the double pretext that Japan is a signatory and that the Turkish attitude, in Cairo in particular, was not so favorable to the Allies that it encouraged us to make them a gift.
We have proposed to the Russians that they send us an initial proposal soon which we could work in good understanding. Molotov told us that this one would be "moderate".
In conclusion, Mr. President of the Council, this Athens conference will have acted on the idea of creating a quadripartite commission in each of the European countries that will soon be liberated. The predominance of a Soviet influence on Romania and Bulgaria seems difficult to avoid. On the other hand, the new offensive of General Montgomery's armies in Yugoslav Macedonia is a step in the right direction. Under these conditions, Franco-British influence would be predominant in Yugoslavia as in Greece, which had already been liberated.
Concerning Hungary, Austria and Czechoslovakia, the development of the current conflict will allow us to see their future more clearly. To conclude, the fact that the two Polish authorities were able to meet and discuss together seems to augur well for the months to come."

 

[Wings]

November 15th, 1943

Wilhelmplatz (Berlin) - Less than five days after the start of Titanic's broadcast, the Propaganda Ministry decides to stop the screening of the film iin the whole of the Reich - although it is still allowed in the occupied countries. Not that the film had bad reviews: in fact, it was very popular with the public. But on reflection, and despite the many cuts he had already made, Joseph Goebbels judged that the work risked to arouse undesirable feelings in the audience.
Already, it resonated too much with the daily life of German civilians: the numerous and spectacular scenes of panic in the crowd of passengers seem to remind the spectators of the memories of bombings... Then, the moving visions of passengers trapped behind grates by the cruel British sailors sometimes evoke other scenes for those who live near the railroad tracks and watch the trains to Poland. And finally, that fool Zerlett-Olfenius highlighted a couple of passengers who refuse to part for love and remain united in death. A perfect example of the German Aryan sense of sacrifice... but the (real) characters in question are Jewish!
No, definitely, it is better to stop here - the officials will only have to claim that the copies were destroyed by a bombing - probably motivated by the jealousy of Hollywood's Jewish tycoons.
The poster that adorned the office was thrown away. But Goebbels was not discouraged, he already has other projects. He is already planning his next production, without smiling at this funny situation: the Nazi Party has just succeeded in censoring one of his own films!

 

[Wings]

November 15th, 1943

Burma and Malaya Campaign
Burma Front - As on the previous day, the action develops over the Yé front, each side using cunning to cover its support raids while trying to intercept those of the opponent. After a few skirmishes, the day ends with only damaged aircraft.
On the ground, the two brigades of the 81st West African Division begin to relieve the 14th Indian Division.

Andaman Islands - The event of the day: Sqn 176, specialized in night hunting, detaches two Beaufighter NF.VI to Port Blair to ensure a night watch. Indeed, for some time, Japanese night reconnaissance flights have taken place in this area. The conclusion seems logical: given the situation in Burma, only long-range bombers have enough range to intervene in this sector, and it will probably be at night.

Indochina campaign
The Hoa-Hao anti-Vietminh offensive
Cai Tau Hau (Bassac region, Cochinchina), 06:00 - The first Hoa-Hao commando leaves the city for an important raid along the Nhan-Man and Xeo-Mat rachs in the direction of the Mekong. The goal is to eradicate two Vietminh chi-dois (regular regiments), consisting of more than one thousand soldiers each.

Anh Khant area, on the bank of the Xeo-Mat, 14:00 - One of the patrols flanking the commando's advance falls into an ambush. There are three wounded. Reinforcements arrive quickly and the bo-doïs disperse, followed by the Hoa-Hao.

Phu Huu, 16:00 - The banana and coconut plantations south of the village are transformed thanks to felled trees into fortresses armed with a few machine guns. The first Hoa-Hao who venture there are driven back. A second attack through the rice fields is stopped a hundred meters from the first houses. The commandos have to take cover behind the dikes; they could not raise their heads without unleashing the bursts of two machine guns and several FMs. The dead accumulate among the attackers, whose leaders decide to finish it off! They order to raise the banners and their fanatical troops rush to the attack, singing or shouting insults.
The numerical superiority is finally expressed - Phu Huu is invaded and the huts cleaned with grenades. The attackers do not give any quarter. The only Vietminh who are spared are brutally interrogated and tortured, then killed the same evening. But the fleeing defenders are not pursued. There are many wounded and the Hoa-Hao have only few medical supplies, even less doctors - and it is already 18:00.

New Guinea Campaign
Salamaua-Lae Campaign - Battle of Lae
Lae - Clashes continue in and around the city. The Japanese have almost no ammunition left and are content to counterattack with bayonets.
For the Australians, it was a matter of clearing the enemy pockets one by one.
Some of the defenders manage to flee up the Markham River, west of Lae, but their losses are severe.

Pacific Campaign
Operation Galvanic - Submarine hunt and air massacre
North of the Gilberts - Shortly after daybreak, two Avengers from the Coral Sea see a submarine on the surface. They immediately attack and thought they have sunk it.
In fact, the Japanese submarine, Ro-108, is only severely damaged. It manages to escape and return to Jaluit.
An hour and a half later, the same misfortune happens to the Ro-106, which is also hit by Avengers on patrol, although he manages to escape.
At 13:05 p.m., one of the surviving Wildcats from the Liscome Bay, rebased on the Corregidor, spots an oily fuel stain on the water. The destroyer Taylor, commanded by CF N.J. Frank Jr, is sent to explore the area. It obtains a sonar contact and releases two series of depth charges, but without apparent effect. The Taylor stops to get a better sonar echo. At 15:41, a submarine surfaces at 2,500 meters! The Taylor opens fire and obtains several impacts of 5 inches and much more of 40 mm. At 15:46, the submarine - it is the Ro-101 - sinks by the stern, leaving debris behind. At 15:58, the Taylor drops several depth charges at this place and obtains two underwater explosions.
At the end of the day, informed of the misfortunes of the Ro-106 and 108 and without news of the Ro-101, the Japanese command orders Ro-105, 107 and 109 to abandon their "barrage" and to operate independently, as well as the survivors of the other group of submarines, the I-38, I-175, I-180 and I-181.
.........
But the air battle that takes place at mid-day is probably of greater importance. The Japanese Marshall Command launches most of its remaining operational bombers against TF-50 - 85 G4M2s, escorted by 39 A6M3s and 24 A6M5. With such a powerful strike, the Japanese are convinced that they would get good results.
It is a disaster. The attackers are targeted by two successive waves of about 80 Hellcats each, and 40 more fighters are waiting for those that reach the US fleet. The surprise is that there are still survivors to provide targets for the flak!
Nine G4M2s, all damaged, return to their base, as well as 23 Zeros. The Americans lose eight Hellcats in all, and not a single torpedo hit its target.

Off Tarawa - The cargo ship Monrovia (a 9,000-ton Crescent City-class "attack transport") and the LST Ashland, damaged by coastal artillery, are sent back to Efate. They are escorted by the destroyers Hoel and Hull. The two escorts were apparently chosen because of the similarity of their names by a prankster staff officer... The ways of fate are inscrutable.

Pearl Harbor and Washington - Time for reckoning. The loss of the Liscome Bay and especially of 644 men of its crew is very painfully felt and leads to a further tightening of ASW precautions.
But it is above all the losses suffered by the Marines - nearly 900 dead and two thousand wounded - that worried, even scandalized. The near annihilation of the 3,500 men of the Japanese garrison (the only survivors are an officer, twelve soldiers and a hundred Korean workers) is no consolation.
The study of the difficulties encountered led Nimitz's staff to improve the communications system, naval artillery bombardments and coordination with air support. A large number of losses having been suffered during the landing itself, it is decided that this phase of the operation would be conducted exclusively in Amtrac. Many of these lessons will be put into practice two months later...

Makin, 20:50 - Two G4M2 bomb the lagoon, without causing any damage.

Abemama, 21:30 - This small atoll located south of Tarawa is to be occupied the next day by a commando landed by the submarine Nautilus, which has already been in the area... As a precaution, the destroyer Monaghan (CC Peter H. Horn) will take a look beforehand. It arrives on the spot in the night and spots on the radar at 14,000 meters what it thinks is a small surface vessel. It is in reality the submarine I-7 (CC Nagai), refueling the atoll with its Daihatsu barge, under the supervision of CF Tomejiro Tamaki, chief of the 7th Submarine Division.
The Monaghan races towards the enemy. At 2,000 meters, it opens fire with its 5-inch guns. On the I-7, CC Nagai orders an emergency dive, but two shells devastate the kiosk, killing Tamaki, Nagai and four crewmen. LV Rokuro Sekiguchi takes command and orders to fight on the surface. The I-7 returns fire with its 140 mm gun, but one of the ballast tanks remained open and the submarine heels over, drifts and hits a coral reef.
At this moment, the Daihatsu barge returns from the atoll. Greeted by 40 mm shots from the Monaghan, it turns back in haste. Around midnight, LV Sekiguchi decides to abandon ship... but the affair is not over.

Sino-Japanese war
Operation Zhulin
Jiangxi Province - The 30th Chinese Army begins its defensive redeployment along a line that, starting from the western shores of Poyang Lake, follows the ridge line of the Jiugong Mountains.
The mobilization of a part of the local population, happy to be able to lend a hand to the soldiers in the fight against the Japanese invader (and to eat their fill thanks to the rations distributed to the volunteers), allowed General Wang Lingji to benefit from an appreciable increase in manpower to dig trenches, build earthworks, and even move equipment on the backs of men. It appears that a properly supervised team of coolies can transport even a 105 mm cannon up slopes that no vehicle could negotiate.

 

[Wings]

November 15th, 1943

Moscow - The rumor was brewing since the death of Vatutin... It was only stronger after the bloody failure of Vatra Dornei-Gheorgheni... The Soviet high command is reshuffled!
Taking advantage of the disappearance of the commander of the 3rd Ukrainian Front, leaving a vacuum that Zhukov can fill only temporarily (he is required elsewhere, including to prepare Bagration in Belarus), Stalin proceeds to a real game of musical chairs by appointing Ivan Konev to replace Vatutin and entrusting his 2nd Belorussian Front to Rokossovsky... who must therefore himself abandon his 1st Ukrainian Front - but there is nobody to replace him!
Indeed, as long as Romania has not fallen, the Odessa Front exists and mobilizes Ivan Petrov - initially, it had been planned to absorb it into the 4th Ukrainian Front after the capitulation of Bucharest, thus freeing this valuable general. Unfortunately, due to the lack of a satisfactory incumbent, Marshal Vassilievsky takes over from Rokossovsky at the head of the 1st Ukrainian Front - after all, his presence is anyway required in Ukraine to prepare the post-Bagration period. This interim does not satisfy the interested parties, but allows Stalin to remove in one gesture, and without saying it, the position of representative of the Stavka at the front.
From now on, Zhukov and Vasilyevsky are well-connected Front commanders, with authority over their colleagues for the purpose of coordination during major offensive operations.Not less (which is not bad at all!), but certainly not more...
- 1st Baltic Front: Markian Popov,
- 2nd Baltic Front: Kirill Meretskov,
- 1st Belorussian Front: Vasily Sokolovski,
- 2nd Belorussian Front: Konstantin Rokosskovsky,
- 3rd Belorussian Front, Rodion Malinovsky,
- 3rd Ukrainian Front: Ivan Konev,
- 1st Ukrainian Front: Aleksandr Vasilievsky (acting),
- 2nd Ukrainian Front: Ivan Bagramyan,
- 4th Ukrainian Front: Fyodor Tolbukhin,
- Odessa Front: Ivan Petrov.

 

[Wings]

November 15th, 1943

Italian Campaign
Italian Front - As the bad weather subsided, the entire 325th FG is on a Strangle mission in the Verona area. The railway network being more and more destroyed, it is necessary to go further and further north to find still functional installations and locomotives in working order. Verona being a known base of the JG 77, it is decided to make an approach at high altitude, where the "Jug" is superior, to attack the station in a dive and to climb again at once while the last ones on the beast, the pilots of the 319th FS, will "keep the pigeonhole" to ensure the protection.
The raid goes quite well, the roundhouse is bombed and several locomotives are machine-gunned. The JG 77 is forced to come, in numerical inferiority, to seek the raid at more than 15 000 feet. It is a small massacre: the Germans lose six aircraft against two to the Americans (one of which was already damaged by the flak). Captain Frank Collins, of the 319th, opens the score for his squadron; it is his second victory.

Balkan campaign
Repression
Leskovac - The city remains under the close control of the 118. Jäger, which awaits reinforcements before continuing its movement towards Vranje and Macedonia. Having suffered terribly during the fighting of the day before, Leskovac is from now on only a kind of camp of prisoners, where some survivors seek with derisory means their relatives disappeared among the rubble. The Serbs no longer have the heart to fight - at least for the moment. From the flashes of hatred in their eyes, one can suspect that vengeance will come one day...
..........
Nis - General Rafael Boban has taken possession of the Ottoman fortress with his troops - officially to pay his respects to Alexander Löhr and "to ensure [his] protection against terrorists". In fact, he wants to show Boris Shteifon who is now the boss in the Morava Valley, and to judge the tolerance of his German boss for the actions he plans to take.
In fact, the Ustasha have a plan for the Serbs - a plan that has been perfectly clear since the second half of the nineteenth century, when Ante Starčević* wrote that they were "a race of dogs" - or even "the race of evil". And to fulfill his dream of creating a "purely croatian" state within the appropriate borders, the Ustasha regime has been implementing a purge policy since 1941 that the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mladen Lorkovic, summarized it in these terms: "the Croatian people must get rid of foreign elements that weaken their efforts" and "the Ustasha Party is using the hard way to solve the Serbian problem in Croatia."
This policy is basically twofold: deportation (mostly to the Jasenovac camp) and elimination - most often by means that would make the Germans shudder**. The Orthodox Church has not been spared: the Bishop of Banja Luka and the Archbishop of Sarajevo were recently slaughtered along with a hundred of other popes involved in the uprising. And since the beginning of the conflict, three hundred other clerics, including the archbishop of Zagreb, have been expelled after being tortured! This zeal responds to the perfectly to encourage the departure or the forced conversion of the surviving Orthodox, whose places of worship are systematically desecrated, the quests of money forbidden, the goods confiscated... and even the Julian calendar and the Cyrillic writing are forbidden!
However, in front of the approach of the allied armies, the independent Croatian State (or pretended to be such) is worried somewhat: the important means mobilized for the implementation of this beautiful project could be well useful elsewhere. This is why Pavelic unofficially gives Boban the mission to sound out the head of the 12. Armee about the possibility of the Croats deporting all their undesirables en masse to Serbia - whose culture and religion would obviously be destroyed by them. The chief of the Black Legion evokes at length the official orthodox church, set up in Croatia by Pavelic with the assistance of a defrocked Russian priest and intended to encourage the emigration or the conversion. This point interests him obviously much more than the restoration of order, which seems to him very simple to obtain.
But Alexander Löhr has other things to worry about before he starts to write about the ethnic conflicts in Yugoslavia. Tired of his cumbersome guest and worried above all about his troops, he gives Boban free reign for his actions - as long as they serve the Reich, of course. The Croatian general leaves for inspection with a satisfied smile.
A few hours later, this smile has faded. Boban has walked for a long time through a ruined city where there is nothing more to do - except perhaps to abuse the most imprudent of the Russian militiamen. Nis is now a playground for the Black Legion - even if, on a personal level, Boban is very pleased to see that the town's Serbian population has thinned out. "They'll even have room when we throw them in this hole, what are they complaining about?" So he orders his chief of staff to prepare the descent to Leskovac, where his unit will surely be more useful. However, there are still some formalities to accomplish before leaving, namely the burning of all the Orthodox churches of the city, the dynamiting of the cathedral (built in 1856) and of course the beheading of all the popes among the hostages (Bishop Jovan Ilić managed to escape, what a pity!***). Men have to have some fun.
However, the story of their hobbies will gradually go up the course of the Morava, towards Belgrade and the zone held by the Serbian security forces or by the Chetniks.
.........
Albania and Montenegro - In the Hellmuth Felmy area, the situation seems as peaceful as possible. But the German general is nonetheless more and more worried about the turn of events in Macedonia, a fortiori when one orders him to expose himself by sending units to Debar, even though he was informed of a very strong agitation in Kosovo as in the district of Kukës. Who knows if the Partisans of the region, with the help of the Allies, will not envelop his imprudently deployed Jägers, as has just happened to Dietl? And who knows if he himself will not be surrounded by armored vehicles coming out of Pristina?
Reasoning methodically, the leader of the LXVIII. Armee-Korps decides first of all to reinforce Kampfgruppe Weller (a regiment of the 100. Jäger) by sending the entire 914. StuG Abt in its entirety. After all, he is obeying orders to lend a hand to Dietl's forces, which are in great need of it.
Then, in order to secure his most immediate fallback routes, Felmy orders the 369. ID "of the Devil" to put pressure on Montenegro, and the KG Lungerhausen (164. ID) to press on towards the south of Kosovo, where the 373. ID "Tiger" is eagerly waiting for him to go back on the offensive.
In the north of Albania, only the 162. ID stays, reinforced by a regiment of the 100. Jäger, reduced to one regiment but reinforced by a regiment of the 369. ID and the 907. StuG Abt. In short, a... macedony of units that does not look good for him in case of a shock.
And of course, in Kosovo, Lungerhausen and the 373. ID will not be a match for an allied push towards Pristina, especially with the Ballists on their backs. Felmy therefore informs Rendulic via Löhr of his legitimate concerns about what remains, after all, the sector of the 20. Armee.
.........
Zagreb - Lothar Rendulic hangs up the phone, quite annoyed by his last conversation. The 20. Armee is not here to be a spare for the 12. Armee! But the general must agree that Löhr's argument remains valid: Kosovo is his business. But who to send so close to the front, in a sector so exposed and - seen from Zagreb - not really strategic?
Finally, Rendulic decides to ask the XV. Gebirgs-Armee-Korps of Rudolf Lüters, who detaches a regiment (not Albanian!) of the 11. SS-Gebirgs-Division Handschar. This regiment should be at work in Kosovo around November 25th: late enough not to participate in the fighting, but close enough to have the opportunity to contribute to the clean-up if everyone has not withdrawn by then.

Punishment
Albanian-Kosovar border - For once, the situation is calm in this sector, where each side is taking a breather during a well-deserved break after last week's melee.

Operation Market
Macedonia (Kičevo): here we go again! - Julius Braun, Werner von Hillebrandt and their men of the 4. Gebirgsjäger Division and the 92. Grenadier Rgt take a short break in the vicinity of Kolari, a small and insignificant village on the northern road. The German soldiers are mismatched, exhausted... worn out! They would be in great need of a break, if only to sleep a little. However, this is really not the time. Both units are stuck in hostile territory, unable to fight and globally at the mercy of the slightest engagement. It is thus finally decided to continue to Gostivar, in spite of the bloody feet.
They are not wrong - on their heels, colonel Katsotas (always pricked in his pride), has just given the signal of the pursuit...

Macedonia (Pesotchani) : the trap is full - Continuing the sweep in the region, and considering itself anyway too far to act, the 3rd Greek Mountain Brigade remains on the site of the surrender of the 3. GD in search of possible stragglers. The 1st ID of Vrachnos goes up towards Kičevo in order to hold (firmly this time...) the road junction.

Macedonia (Kavadartsi), 03:00: bad encounter - The night is cold, even hard for the British of the 51st Highland Infantry Division, who are not all from Scotland, and even less from the Highlands, despite the name of their unit. The soldiers are tired after the march they were forced to make from Thrace to here - they made a 250 kilometer detour around the positions of the XXII. Gebirgs-AK.
Wimberley's tommies are anything but amateurs - the days of "Harper's Duds"**** are long gone. But these days, it's more like the "Road Decorators" division, referring to the HD signs that dot the roads it has traveled. And it's been almost four days since we've seen the Hun! Few complain about it obviously, and the fact of knowing it in the rear does not support involvement in this lost region of Macedonia.
All this to say that the joint position of the 51st Division and the 32nd AT Brigade is somewhat relaxed tonight. Both units are oriented northeast toward Negotino, ready to resume the advance the next morning in order to encircle Fehn's troops who are still facing the Australians of the ANZAC.
The 152nd Infantry Brigade (commanded by Sir Gordon H.A. MacMillan, a true Scotsman, head of the MacMillan clan and a professional soldier since 1915) occupies the town and is directed south, where suspicious movements were reported - it is the 1. Gebirgsjäger Division. It is accompanied by the divisional artillery (126th, 127th and 128th Royal Artillery Rgt) but also the 61st Antitank Rgt. Their guns are ready to fire within 15 minutes - a precaution imposed by MacMillan against the advice of his of his hierarchy. The brigade is thus dispersed but ready for combat.
It is the only one. The 154th Infantry Brigade (Thomas Gordon Rennie) spends the night in the village of Glichiḱ with the 2nd Derbyshire Yeomanry (reconnaissance regiment) and the 4th Royal Tank Rgt (49 Sherman, Lt. Col. S.T. James) - whose motto aptly represents the device: Fear Naught. Finally, the 153rd Infantry Brigade (Basil A. Coad) is stationed on the Vozartsi road, in reserve with the 7th Royal Tank Rgt (44 Churchill, Henry R. Bowreman-Foote) and the 1st Royal Tank Rgt (48 Sherman, Richard M. Power-Carver). The latter units did not enter Kavadartsi when they arrived the day before - and it obviously seemed pointless to their commanders to enter the narrow streets at dusk.
Finally, the 7th Battalion of the Middlesex Rgt (support unit) is divided between the three brigades. In the silence of the Vardar plain, while the sentries are sheltering from the wind that freezes them to the bone, a noise of engine is heard...
.........
03:05 - In the darkness, the 154th Infantry Brigade is hit by the assault of the Panzer Abteilung of the 19. PzrGr (27 Panzer IV G1/G2 and 16 Panzer III J), supported by the two Brandenburgers regiments.
Surprised in their sleep, the men of the 4th Royal Tank Regiment run towards their vehicles - many of them are mowed down before reaching their tanks, while two Panzer IV G2 are running up the lines of Shermans lined up along the road. They destroy nine of them before suffering the same fate as their opponents. In the following minutes, S.T. James' unit, surprised "with its pants around its ankles", loses eight more vehicles against only two Panzer III. The Shermans retreat, but the chaos installs itself in the Allied lines as Rennie's men - themselves hard-hit - hurriedly withdraw to Kavadartsi and the banks of the Luda Mara. This river borders the city and could form a good line of defense. The 7th Btn Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders take the brunt of the shock and try to form the rear guard. But the vines and their roots are treacherous and the losses are heavy. Since then, in the region, it is said that the vintages of 1944 to 1946 have the metallic taste of blood.
.........
03:10 - In Kavadartsi, the 152nd Infantry Brigade is awakened to the sound of cannon fire by the attack of the 1. Gebirgs Division. The 99. GbJg Regiment (Oberst Josef Remold) is supported by the few surviving pieces of the 44. Gebirgs-Panzerjäger-Abteilung and the divisional artillery. However, the brigade is not surprised, because the attack started with a delay compared to that of the 19. PzrGr - the fault of faulty radios. Moreover, MacMillan's men have the benefit of the terrain. The assault slams on the 2nd Battalion of the Seaforth Highlanders, which bends but does not break. Better still, it makes the pleasure last by fighting foot to foot in the city, taking a substantial toll on the Bavarians who are forced to expose themselves.
And MacMillan immediately sends the 5th Battalion of the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders to the rescue, with the majority of the available machine guns.
Further east, towards the Vozartsi road, the 153rd Brigade, as well as the 1st and 7th Royal Tank Regiment, are now fully awake and operational. But in the middle of the night, Wimberley and A.C. William, not well informed about the situation, do not know who they are dealing with. In truth, they only know that the 152nd is attacked by infantry and the 154th by tanks and infantry! Fearing that they would be surprised by the assault of a third enemy force, they decide to wait for more information before moving.
.........
03:12 - In his forward headquarters located a few kilometers north of Marena, Joseph Irkens can consider himself satisfied for once. But he is careful not to be triumphalist and remains cautious: the initial shock was certainly in his favor... like in Korinos. But at daybreak, beware of the backlash inflicted by the allied air force...like in Korinos (and even if the monitors are no longer to be feared). "We make them run, gentlemen," he comments under the flickering light of a storm lamp, "but the 2. Brandenburgers and the Panzers have to seize a bridge over the Luda Mara before the enemy can entrench themselves on the other side!"
Oberst Karl-Heinz Œsterwitz therefore pushes his men forward...
.........
03:15 - Informed by the radio of Rennie's command car of the situation in Glichik and of his "urgent need for appropriate support", MacMillan takes time to reflect. He is himself hard pressed on his southern flank, especially since the 98. GbJg Rgt (Oberst Harald von Hirschfeld) has just entered the dance (it thus faces all the 1. Gebirgs Division - quite weakened it is true). Shouldn't he withdraw instead of of risking a disastrous encirclement in the city? After all, Coad is in charge of his unit, and he himself can retreat to the outskirts to await reinforcements without forcing the 152nd to expose themselves further. Finally, the Scotsman in his carmine-beige-green tartan remembers his clan's motto Miseris succurrere disco -- I learn to rescue the unfortunate! And he orders the 5th Battalion of the Seaforth Highlanders, his last unit, to move to the banks of the Luda Mara with the 61st Antitank Rgt.
Then, he calls his superior Wimberley to ask him for the urgent support of the 153rd Infantry Brigade.
.........
03:18 - The 5th and 7th Battalions of the Gordon Highlanders stride up the hill towards Kavadartsi, accompanied by the Churchills of the 7th Royal Tank Regiment. Behind them, the 5th Battalion of the Black Watch, the 1st Battalion of the Gordon Highlanders and the 1st Royal Tank Regiment follow, keeping a safe distance of 500 meters. Wimberley wants to keep a reserve.
.........
03:25 - At the cost of the loss of three Panzers (a precious Pzr IV Ausf G2 and two Pzr IV Ausf G1) and a few dozen men, the 2. Brandenburger Rgt and the Panzer Abt finally reach the banks of the Luda Mara. They complete the bleeding of the 1st Black Watch Battalion and destroy six more Shermans! The unfortunate 7th Battalion of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, definitely dispersed, is no longer in a position to make a difference. It is thus the 7th Battalion of the Black Watch, the only Allied unit ready to fight at this point, which holds the flank of the 152nd Brigade. And this battalion can hardly count on the 26 tanks of S.T. James, scattered and struggling to reform in the streets of Kavadartsi.
Considering the fatigue of the men of Œsterwitz and the losses they suffered, the 1. Brandenburger Rgt (Major Hans-Gerhard Bansen) goes to the first line to cross the river. But with the heavy rains, the level of the river has risen enormously and the current is like crazy*****. Catastrophized by this discovery, whose tragic character is still worsened by the night and the rumbling of the fights (which covers only by moment that of the river!), Bansen questions Irkens, who finally decides that the taking of a bridge is imperative to continue the advance. The city has four bridges, distributed along a north-south axis - the fastest way is to try to take the first one!
.........
03:32 - The men of the 7th Black Watch, led by their leader, Major Robert Hutchison, face the first enemy assault. The men of the 1. Brandenburg, supported by a platoon of two Panzer IVs and two Panzer IIIs, attempt to breach the bridge over the Luda Mara. The bridge is only 30 meters long - but before reaching it, the road crosses an open area and the Germans have to cover almost 100 meters in the open! All this without any possibility for the infantry, given the water level, to pass under the structure. Would Irkens' men have been better off trying to cross another bridge?
An easy reflection from a historian's (or strategist's) armchair, sheltered from the constraints undergone by Major Bansen during that terrible night.
Caught in an enfilade by two Vickers machine guns, the first group of Landsers is mowed down on the small stone bridge with no real parapet. The platoon leader Karl Veiser - already on the front line in Korinos - decides to charge forward with his two Panzer IVs, leaving the two Panzer IIIs to protect the infantry. His tank crosses the bridge to enter the square at the corner of Aleksov Avenue!
Veiser machine-guns the facades facing him, but he is blinded by the night and a hail of bullets that forbids him to put his nose outside. Behind him, the second Panzer IV, recklessly charging one of the buildings to the wall, takes a direct hit from a PIAT that pierces its turret - the vehicle retreats with its tank commander dead and its gun out of action. It is out of action and, worse, it hinders the progression of the Panzer IIIs and the infantry. Powerless, Major Bansen cannot help but notice that the assault stalls...
.........
03:37 - The 5th Seaforth Highlanders, sent by MacMillan, reinforced the 7th Black Watch, which continues to suffer alone from the enemy fire. And the Scots have with them two QF 6-Pounder guns. The first one, under fire, is destroyed by a KwK 39 shot. But the second one, manoeuvred by private Thomas William Baker, manages to hit one of the two Panzer IIIs, which flares up and lights up the bridge as if in daylight. The other Panzer III and the Brandenburgers retreat, leaving Veiser's Panzer IV alone on the other bank!
Seeing the uselessness of continuing the attack in this area, Bansen decides to run towards the second bridge, located 500 meters below, leaving the 2. Brandenburg Rgt to try again to pass after having recovered a little with the help of the StuGs of Hauptmann Ernst Benz. Some soldiers of the 1. Brandenburg climb on the tanks to gain time... At this moment, the Panzer Abt still has 13 Panzer III and 20 Panzer IV (plus the isolated tank of Veiser).
.........
03:45 - MacMillan's men continue to face without hope of reinforcement Hubert Lanz's infantry, which is advancing painfully but inexorably into Kavadartsi. The ongoing melee and the constraints of the urban fabric prevent the 51st Division from using its main and so British advantage: artillery, because the pieces, hemmed in by the buildings, could not be deployed effectively by battery. They are therefore reduced to direct fire - albeit with some effectiveness. However, the absence of the 5th Seaforth Highlanders weighs heavily - and the Allied soldiers have already fallen back 500 metres. MacMillan is forced to leave the defenders of the Luda Mara to fend for themselves. On the other side, Irkens is unaware, fortunately, that the fourth bridge is within reach of the Bavarians! However, it is not certain that the battle would have been different if he had sent men in that direction and the German units have gathered.
On this same flank indeed, S.T. James' tanks have completed their reformation and are now defending the four strategic bridges of the city. The machines pass among the buildings at full speed...
Also, the defenders of the second bridge are not surprised when they see appearing behind them, coming from an avenue, an armored vehicle approaching at high speed... and then starts to open fire! The Panzer IV of Veiser, walking randomly in the streets, has just crossed a road and went up it in the direction of the river. The assault, unexpected and brutal, is very impressive.
One of the British, a little too romantic, will evoke in his diary a pachyderm surrounded by a hoard of bats! In any case, the tank breaks through the hastily erected barricade, scattering its defenders and crushing an anti-tank piece, before turning and destroying one of the Shermans of the 4th Royal Tank Regiment that arrived to the rescue. Indeed, seeing his comrades arrive, Veiser gave up trying to flee.
.........
03:48 - The Brandenburgers cross the bridge, led by a second platoon of two Panzer IVs and two Panzer IIIs, joined by the surviving Panzer III from the first action. They arrive on the avenue, which is 12 meters wide and bordered by a park, these tanks finally have room to maneuver. The town hall (with MacMillan's headquarters!) is only 300 meters away - and the Shermans that would emerge from the adjacent streets would make good targets. The five newcomers overtake Veiser's tank, which stops for a moment to catch its breath and mop his brow. Victory seems within reach. Illusion...
.........
03:50 - Because the reinforcements from the Vozartsi road entered the city a few minutes ago - and they arrive just at the point of convergence of the 1. GD and the 19. PzrGr! The Gordon Highlanders throw themselves into the fray against the German mountain men, while Henry Bowreman-Foote's Churchills deploy in turn, while presenting their thick 102mm front to enemy fire.
Their 6-Pounder QFs immediately destroy a Panzer IV and two Panzer IIIs and the attack comes to a screeching halt.
........
03:55 - The exchange of fire continues between tanks along the avenue Mito Hadzi Vasilev Jasmin - the Germans call for reinforcements. At close range, the fire is deadly, and the Churchill have difficulty to use their numerical superiority in the maze of streets. Three Churchills and two Panzer IVs are eliminated. Under fire, Lieutenant-Colonel Foote, commanding the 7th Royal Tank Regiment, shows a remarkable bravery and drive that inspires his crews. He leaves his tank and walks from a one tank to another, in the middle of the explosions, to encourage his tank leaders to hold their positions at this critical moment. "By his magnificent example," his citation to the Army Order will say, "the avenue was kept clear and the 51st Division was able to resist the enemy assault."
On the Allied rear, the assault of the 1. GebirgsJäger is definitely stopped less than 400 meters from the Allied CP. The Shermans of the 1st Royal Tank Regiment deploy among the infantrymen to start pushing the mountain men out of the area. Reassured on his rear, and with the agreement of Wimberley, Basil A. Coad proposes to MacMillan to deploy the 1st Gordon Highlander in support of the Churchills, but also to send the 5th Black Watch to the first bridge over the Luda Mara. With the support of the surviving Shermans of the 4th Royal Tank Regiment, it might be possible to take up position on the other bank and cut the units from their rear! The proposal is accepted with enthusiasm.
.........
04:10 - General Joseph Irkens ordered his Panzer.Abt to stop the massacre and to withdraw to the right bank of the Luda Mara. These Churchills are real blockhouses on cobbles! The 19. PanzerGrenadier Division loses again one Panzer IV and two Panzer III against only one Churchill - the KwK 39 of the unfortunate Panzer III is completely ineffective against the British steel ! The surviving tanks retreat to the other side of the river, cracking the lining of the bridge - among them, platoon leader Veiser, who is very lucky. The Panzer Abteilung is reduced to 17 Panzer IV G1/G2 and 9 Panzer III J.
As for the Brandenburgers who ventured west, those who were not mowed down by machine-gun fire seem now stuck on the wrong side of the river! The most courageous will try to infiltrate between the wrecks, or even swim across.
.........
04:35 - Judging that the situation is now well stabilized, Wimberley and A.C. Williams order a counter-offensive on the three sectors to destroy the enemy before he could withdraw.
In the south, the Allies commit no less than four battalions, assisted by 48 Shermans and - finally - supported by their divisional artillery, which could now fire without fear of a "friendly fire". The soldiers of the 98. and 99. GbJg Rgt start to flow back. And even if their few anti-tank weapons stop three vehicles of Richard Power-Carver's unit, Oberst Harald von Hirschfeld and Josef Remold signal to Hubert Lanz that they would not be able to hold out. Lanz therefore announces to Irkens that he is withdrawing from the city - to the great disappointment of the leader of the 19. PzrGr, even if he is well aware that "his" window of opportunity has already closed.
In the center, the Churchills attack from the second bridge, with the support of the 1st Gordon Highlanders. But like their opponents less than an hour earlier in the opposite direction, they are greeted by heavy fire from the buildings on the opposite bank. Between these buildings, the Panzerjägers of the 201. StuG Abt, who took over from the tanks. Quietly adjusting the British armored vehicles, which are visible against the glow of the fires, they disable six Churchills, losing only one StuG IV and one StuG III. The Scots stop - their only consolation is that four of their tanks could be repaired the next day.
On the north deck, the same causes leading to the same effects, the survivors of the 4th Royal Tank Rgt, accompanied by the 5th Black Watch, lose three more Shermans to a JadgPanzer IV - they do not insist. Each adversary stays on its position and a kind of calm finally falls on the Luda Mara. From time to time, a careless person raises his nose and fires a sniper or a cannon shot, but otherwise, all that can be heard is the roar of the river, the grumbling of the wounded and the crackling of fires.
.........
04:45 - The 1. Gebirgsjäger-Division leaves the outskirts of Kavadartsi under the shells of the Allied 25-Pounder.
But the Shermans do not pursue, nor do the soldiers of the 5th and 7th Gordon Highlanders - not to mention those of the 152nd Brigade. The men are as exhausted as their opponents. And the night is murderous: everyone knows that they are at the mercy of an ambushed anti-tank or a sniper. The British are content to regain control of the town, keeping the Vozartsi-Kavadartsi axis open and safe.
In the relative calm of this deadly November night, General Wimberley finally takes the time to contact Richard O'Connor in Salonika to make his report. The said O'Connor is obviously aware that the 51st Highland and the 32nd AT Brigade had been attacked by "an enemy force combining armor and infantry elements, of quality and superior in numbers." However, this last point has since proven to be slightly exaggerated... As a result, while describing the events with a strictly British reserve, the 51st Highland Division leader cannot help but think that, in all likelihood, Montgomery is probably listening in on the conversation. But everyone knows what happened to Lumsden after the failure of the first assault on Salonika on September 5th. Finally, Wimberley concludes: "Our unit has repelled the assault and is able to hold its position. However, in order to advance and reach our objective, I am compelled to request reinforcements." After a long silence, O'Connor informs the Scottish general that he will be called back in a big half hour. His interlocutor puts down the device with a tired air, worried about his men and preoccupied by his career.
.........
Salonika, Stavroupoli barracks, 04:50 - General Bernard Montgomery is awakened in the middle of the night by bad news. His eyebrow furrowed, his gaze annoyed and feverish, he observes Richard O'Connor who stands in front of the map of Macedonia, looking for a way to support the 51st Division without weakening the breakthrough to Skopje planned for tomorrow... well, for later!
- We could detach an armored division, with the 4th Indian, towards Kavadartsi?" risks the chief of the 8th Army.
Monty sweeps the proposal aside with a wave of his stick: "No. Both are in front of Veles. To go back to Prilep to go around the mountain barrier would take at least two days. It's silly. As for the 4th Indian, it's exhausted."
- Then I see no other solution than to continue the offensive, Sir," replies a very contrite O'Connor.
- Precisely, that is what we will do, my friend. But without giving up encircling the units that attacked Kavadartsi and will surely fall back soon towards Negotino!
Montgomery stands up, points to the town of Veles with the tip of his stick and then draws two branches from this town: one leads to Skopje, in the northwest - the other to Gradsko and Negotino, in the southeast. He continues: "As we know, the final assault on Veles is planned in the next few hours. As soon as we have eliminated this unpleasant obstacle, the 6th and 10th Armoured will finally arrive in the Vardar valley. The 6th will exploit towards Skopje, but I ask you to order Gatehouse to rush to the south-east with his 10th Armoured in order to catch the intruders who dared to wake up our Scots during their nap.
Their forces must not be very strong, or we would not have had Wimberley on the phone, but Herr Fehn. This will enable us to trap the Hun as we have already done in the mountains."
- What if the enemy units fall back before the 10th Armoured arrives?
- Well, Richard, we'll go after them! To Berlin if we have to! After all, that's what we've been doing since the Peloponnese, right? Anyway, get me General Brasic, I need to speak to him directly. He must understand that the assault of tomorrow morning must succeed if he wants to celebrate Christmas in Belgrade.
No sooner said than done. It must be admitted that Montgomery has a very pertinent argument in the eyes of the Serb, who promises that nothing will stop his men.
Monty hangs up with satisfaction, but still adds: "I'll deal with dear Douglas later." General Wimberley is not out of the woods.
.........
05:00 to 06:26 - The unofficial truce continues on the Luda Mara. Only a few exchanges of fire from one shadow to another occur from time to time. Cautious and lucid about his situation, Joseph Irkens orders his surviving tanks to leave the city and reach the cover of the trees, while the tank hunters camouflage themselves between the buildings (or the rubble). Indeed, the sun will soon rise, and the German general suspects that vultures will soon be prowling over Kavadartsi, eager to indulge in their favorite sport: breaking Panzer.
.........
06:27 - The sun rises on a landscape of carnage and desolation, while the wrecks of the tanks burned during the night are finishing to burn in an awful pungent smell. As expected, the RAF Banshees soon appead over the battlefield. But they have difficulties to find targets in this urban environment: with experience, the Germans have learned to move less and less during the day! Nevertheless, and until the evening, the allied aircraft will keep a vigilant watch, which allows them to continue the destruction of vehicles and heavy equipment of the 1. Gebirgsjäger - this one remains very exposed on the agricultural land surrounding the city.

Macedonia (Veles): the main offensive - The sun has not yet risen on the Vardar that the Serbian sappers are already at work to launch the two Bailey bridges positioned on the south bank. This task is carried out with the help of an SAV-42 which serves as a propeller, in the middle of soldiers so enthusiastic that they cross the river without waiting for the end of the maneuver! As soon as the bridge is deployed, expert hands put in place panels and ribs in order to allow the passage of the armoured vehicles. At 07:30, the Vardar is crossed and the Cromwells of the 10th Armoured Division throw themselves into the breach, overrunning the defenders of the 187. ID that the allied artillery had forced to lower their heads while the bridges were being set up.
Less than an hour later, the Allied armored regiments pour into the German lines like the blood of a hemorrhage, without the Hornisse of Hauptmann Schwarz being able to stop them: they did destroy eleven Allied vehicles, but also saw six of their own chopped up by the shells of the Polish and Czech P-39s, or even by those of the Yugoslav P-38s also chasing the infantry. The chief of the 93. schw Panzerjäger Abt announces to von Haydringen that he is not able to hold back the Allied tanks any longer: his hornets are very inferior in number, and threatened to be engaged directly. However, if the Hornet can strike any allied tank at long range, its armor is not resistant at all tothe shells of its opponents.
The 187. ID and the thirty or so surviving Hornisse withdraw towards Lovozo, in the north-east, in order to avoid being surrounded in the Babuna mountains, south of Veles. They then retreat towards the Serbian border and Vranje via Rankovce, while carefully avoiding the Kochani region, still held by ASNOM.
Landsers and tankers left defeated, but with their heads held high and with a sense of duty accomplished. Alone, they stopped the Allied offensive for four days and certainly saved what remained of the XVIII. and XXII. GAK.
Meanwhile, without deigning to pursue their defeated opponents, the British armoured divisions split up: the 10th Armoured (Alexander Gatehouse) flies to the rescue of the 51st Infantry Division, in the south-east and towards Gradsko, while the 6th Armoured (Charles Gairdner) goes up north and towards Skopje. As soon as it is reorganized, the Serbian corps will also move northwards.
In the evening, Gairdner's tanks see the suburbs of Skopje, where fires are burning. The Mouflon of Stefanović are on their heels. As for Gatehouse, he is already in Gradsko!
.........
Skopje - Informed before noon of the rupture of the Veles cap, Eduard Dietl raises the camp in an emergency in an apocalyptic atmosphere. Leaving his burned HQ for lack of time to move it, the interested one has to face shots from who knows where on his BMW 325 (le.gl.Einheits-Pkw Kfz.1, all-terrain car type 1), which of course triggers a massive and indiscriminate response from his protection squadron.
Leaving the capital of Macedonia, Dietl knows that he will not be missed here - but he will not regret this hostile backwater! The car convoy runs under the low light towards Vranje, to meet the 118. Jäger of Kübler.
.........
Kavadartsi, 15:00 - Joseph Irkens has of course also received the news from Veles, catastrophic for his 19. PzrGr as well as for the 1. GD of Lanz: the survivors of both divisions are now well and truly threatened with encirclement. Gustav Fehn has already ordered him to stall as soon as the night falls in the direction of Negotino, Radovish and Bulgaria. The 104. Jäger, in Udovo, will do the same - the two units should meet before crossing the rocky barrier south of the Stroumitsa valley. These damn Gebirgsjägers of Lanz will only have to follow them.
The leader of the 19. PanzerGrenadier obeys with speed, anxious to shelter his exhausted troops. In the rear guard, the PanzerJägers of the 201. StuG Abt exchange fire with the British during the whole afternoon to give the change. The precious panzers go first, then the main part of the two Brandenburgers and finally the tank hunters, who take the latecomers on their backs.
The British, watching for signs of attack rather than retreat, do not realize it immediately - fortunately night falls early in this season!
On the other hand, for the men of the 1. GD, deprived of vehicles, the journey is going to be difficult...
.........
Kavadartsi, 17:30 - "This is the forward position of the 7th Gordon Highlanders - no enemy activity to report for almost an hour. Either the Krauts are asleep or they are gone! Request to urgently send a reconnaissance section. Over." (Report by Corporal Nigel Nickinson, 51st Div, quoted by Robert Stan Pratsky, op. cit.)
18:30 - It has been dark for almost two hours by the time the British soldiers realize that the enemy positions are deserted - or about to be. Douglas Wimberley represses a discreet sigh of relief. His units are unable to continue. Scattered throughout the city, they also need to be rested, cared and resupplied.
.........
Macedonia (Udovo) - As soon as night falls, and following the example of its comrades, von Ludwiger's 187 Jäger also decamp in the direction of the Grasko valley. The Australians, although on their guard, do not oppose this night movement, for fear (justified) of falling into an ambush.
.........
"The performance of the 51st Highland Division and the 32nd Army Tank Brigade was dissected at length, commented on, analyzed and finally criticized. It is clear today that a form of nonchalance is at the origin of the terrible losses suffered by the 154th Brigade and the 4th Royal Tank Regiment.
Lessons were of course quickly learned from this tragedy - the first being that, even in late 1943, the Heer was still a dangerous opponent. The British would not make the same mistake twice.
Despite this obvious mistake, for which the commanders in charge (and in particular Thomas Gordon Rennie) were partly responsible, it must be admitted that Douglas Wimberley's and A.C. William's units recovered very well and got out of a very delicate situation on their own. All this thanks to the real "gallantry" of his men, whose actions commanded respect. In addition to the performance of the late Major Robert Hutchison, killed by sniper fire on the first bridge of Kavadartsi, we can quote - among many others - the case of Brigadier J.A. Oliver (5th Black Watch). This true tactical genius, respected throughout the division and who had already received a DSO for his actions in Greece, played a primordial role in the reorganization of the units defending this critical point. Then, leading the counter-attack at the head of his men to the cry of "To the bridge!", he ordered their rapid disengagement as soon as the PanzerJägers' intervention was confirmed - thus saving many lives. For his professionalism, he earned a second DSO. He later became the commander of the 152nd Brigade. Furthermore, it would be indecent not mention Captain Philip John Gardner, 4th Royal Tank Regiment, who stepped down from his tank at great personal risk, and while his unit was in disarray, to attach a tow rope to a vehicle filled with wounded to pull it to the friendly lines. This action cost him two wounds (neck and right leg) and earned him the Victoria Cross.
These examples are enough, in our opinion, to erase the murderous criticisms of a part of the British press or post-war literature, which mocked the return of the "Harper's Duds". Montgomery himself was not mistaken, telling the soldiers of the 51st during an inspection tour some time later: "I want to congratulate you personally, and the 51st Division as a whole, on your very fine performance. The Division was caught in action for the first time in this war, but it fought with great bravery and showed great offensive spirit. Scotland can be proud of the 51st Division and the whole Division can be proud of itself." A tribute that is all the more valuable that the man was reputed to be very stingy with his compliments.
On the German side, the 19. PanzerGrenadier Division came out of this engagement with its head held high, even if it could not be called a victory. For a brief moment (and with the underestimated help of the 1. GebirgsJäger Division), the XXII. Gebirgs-Armee-Korps of Gustav Fehn was able to regain the initiative. A logical consequence of the narrowing of the front in the valleys of Macedonia, where the mass of units could no longer maneuver and envelop the Axis as in Greece.
In conclusion, the brief but violent confrontation of Kavadartsi was not the return match of Korinos, for lack of strong strategic stake (and more especially as the adversary of the Germans was not the same one!). While the Brandenburgers went up to the vines, the fate of Veles was already sealed. And even if, with a clear head, rested and with all the cards in hand, Irkens' plan remains globally relevant, taking advantage in particular of the initial configuration favorable to his units as well as the superior quality of his infantry, his character made it fragile and improvised. He failed under the rain which had swollen the river, but also in front of the determination and the courage of a certain number of men, who prevented the situation from tipping over at the critical moment. The Axis was once again unable to take the decision, contenting itself with a tactical victory that could not be exploited because of its disastrous strategic situation. A somewhat futile skirmish, in truth." (Robert Stan Pratsky, op. cit.)

Bulgarian affair
Worry and comedy
Bulgaria - With a discreet smile, General Marinov signals to the troops forming a blockade in the Strumitsa valley that they must "prepare to receive passing units and provide them with all the necessary support in terms of fuel and supplies, as far as is available." Fuel available in Bulgaria in November 1943? It is unlikely... But the Bulgarians are so happy to see their German friends come back, after having left for barely two months, that they should be able to make an effort, right?

* Ante Starčević (1823-1896): radical nationalist writer, supporter of a greater Croatia including selected minorities of Bosnians and Slovenes - considered Croats converted to Islam and mountain Croats, respectively. His writings were a great inspiration to Ante Pavelic.
** Thus, in Vrgin-Most, the Ustasha soldiery massacred the Serbs with axes! In one night, the Orthodox population of the city fell from 5,000 people to 852. In Jasenovac, the same means are used, but on an industrial scale.
*** Bishop Ilić would survive the war and remain in office until his death in 1975!
**** "Harper's Duds", an unflattering nickname given to the unit during the First World War in reference to the very poor results of the latter, under the command of George Montague Harper - notably during the battles of the Somme, of Arras and Cambrai.
***** The town of Kavadartsi is regularly flooded by the Luda Mara - "Luda" means "Mad" in Macedonian. The canalization and bank consolidation works, undertaken since then, have still not completely solved the problem.

 

[Wings]

November 15th, 1943

Languedoc - Captain Donald "Buzz" Beerbower, of the 353rd FS (354th FG) becomes an ace when, on his Bonnie B, he scores a hat-trick over the Gard against Focke-Wulf 190s of II/SG 10.
"We were returning from a patrol to the north when Birdy Control contacted us, reporting an air attack in progress in our sector. We took the indicated course and ran into them right away as they came out of the dirt. We had the advantage of speed and altitude. I opened fire in a semi-deflection and I immediately saw the wing of the first one catch fire, it went into a spin towards the hill. In the resource, I found myself ideally placed to the back of the second one, which was trying to escape from Kenneth's Shellelagh [Captain Kenneth Dahlberg], who was kind enough to serve it to me on a platter. The third one was more difficult, it must have been a mustachioed guy who was flying it, I was sweating profusely as I turned and turned, countering his maneuvers and he mine until I finally got him. After one of my shots, his engine started to spit a fine white smoke and lost power. The pilot finally jumped, I think over our lines. That was my seventh victory."

Scenes of civil war
Vercors - Tricolores and Guardsmen spend the day trying to storm the Vercors plateau from Pont-en-Royans and Saint-Laurent en Royans. They are repulsed by the maquisards and the men of the FST, who have not only a little artillery but also anti-tank equipment, while they have not even received the radio equipment that would allow them to contact the German artillery. They come down with their morale at half-mast. It takes all the fanaticism of the leaders (and their fear of Doriot's anger) to prepare everyone for another assault the next day.

Supply by the tape
Marseille, Allied HQ - Following the meeting of November 9th in Montpellier, General Frère's staff tried to find a way to improve the supply of ammunition of the American armored divisions deployed in the region between Narbonne and Perpignan. Like the other supplies, these munitions were transported along the Nationale 113, which linked Marseille to Narbonne via Arles, Nîmes, Montpellier and Béziers. This route is saturated. The use of the port of Sète will allow a small improvement in spite of the destruction carried out by the Germans when the naval engineers will have operated (end of December), but the Béziers-Narbonne road section will remain clogged.
To solve the problem, it would be necessary to be able to unload at Port la Nouvelle or Port-Vendres, which have just been liberated. Unfortunately, during the occupation, Port la Nouvelle could not benefit from any sweeping operations and the port silted up. It cannot accommodate any vessel larger than a small trawler. In Port-Vendres, the Germans had time to prepare the destruction of the port facilities. They dynamited the lights that allowed for nighttime beaconing of the port's accesses and, above all, they destroyed the docks with explosives. Demolition furnaces were dug every fifteen meters to a depth of five meters. The explosion of these charges transformed the facings into confetti and the blocks detached from the docks were scattered in the basins. Moreover, the port being of no use to them, the Occupiers had the landings heavily mined.
It was then that a French officer from Collioure suggested a possible solution solution: to anchor a transport in front of the small seaside resort and unload it with the help of DUKWs. The latter, taking advantage of the two beaches surrounding the church of Notre Dame des Anges*, will go and deposit their cargo in a depot established near the National 114 road**.
The idea may seem crazy to those who, as inhabitants of the region or sailors, had to suffer a blow from the tramontana, but it seduced the American representatives of the military staff. It must be said that, as good natives of the other side of the Atlantic, pragmatism is an innate virtue for them.
With the agreement of General Bradley, orders are given to direct a division of minesweepers to the small town on the Côte Vermeille with the mission to sanitize the area. Once this mission is completed, the minesweepers begin to sweep the minefields covering Port-Vendres. At the same time, engineering units from the two beaches demolish the obstacles blocking the streets leading to the seaside and to build the future depot. Finally, anti-aircraft batteries will be deployed in the area to ensure the defense of the ships operating on the port and the transhipment depot. This protection will be reinforced by fighter patrols, as one can never be too careful.

* Church built on the seaside and having inspired many painters, famous or anonymous.
** National road linking Perpignan to Spain via Elne, Argelès-sur-Mer, Collioure, Port-Vendres and Cerbère. To the north, Perpignan is connected to Narbonne by the Nationale 9.

 

[Wings]

November 16th, 1943

Calea Victoriei (Bucharest) - Ever since the Franco-British mission was arrested in its former hideout in the Romanian capital, not a day goes by without His Excellency Manfred Freiherr von Killinger returns to claim the captives from Autonomy(ie), in order to send them to Germany to the care of the RHSA/SD. And to his great irritation, the Conducator refuses to give them up! Out of national pride?
Perhaps... But Killinger - who knows nothing of Antonescu's current activities towards the Americans, like the Soviets in the past! - needs to take the lion's share of this success to justify his usefulness to Berlin. With what happened two months ago in Sofia, Minister Ribbentrop became adamant that the Central European countries must be kept on a tight leash, by any means necessary. And if by chance an ambassador finds his task too heavy, another one could take over... Now, His Excellency, who has already already lied a lot to his supervisory authority concerning the extermination program of the Jews of Romania - between corruption and failed pressure on Bucharest, the record is not at all exemplary... - does not even manage to gain the respect of his compatriots - the incident of September 7th, with Albert Göring, also left its mark. He feels the breath of the scythe, which has already come close before*. Not being an SS man like Herr Berckele, von Killinger knows that he will have no one to defend him in case of a hard blow.
This lack of support had a corollary: it is impossible for him to go too hard against Antonescu. If the person concerned were to complain about him to Berlin - there is always the risk of listening to him, who knows?
Killinger would undoubtedly be a first-rate lampoonist to justify a change in German-Romanian relations. The German ambassador is therefore forced to increase pressure, but with tact and even... diplomacy. And he must also continue to show off, claiming to have spotted a pro-Allied spy network in the Romanian ruling circles, a network centered around the writer Marthe Bibesco. It is true that the noble lady - she is the widow of Prince George III Bibesco - does not like the Nazis, and it was she who accompanied Prince Bearded Știrbey on the road to Turkey, from where he never returned... But all the same, this is obviously worldly gossip, without much use for the Final Victory. Decidedly, for Killinger, and despite appearances, times are hard.
.........
Conducator's Villa (Băneasa, northern suburb of Bucharest) - At the same time, Ion Antonescu is also scratching his head: what to do with his prisoners? Impossible to hand them over to the Germans - they know too much, and the discovery of a vast plot to get Romania out of the conflict would not fail to splash him, while undermining the little trust that Berlin still has for him. But he needs this trust to gain time.
And then, these gentlemen... Chastelain and Bergier, right? - can also be used as a bargaining chip, or even channels of access to finally interest the West in its fate. London and Marseille do not decide anything, for him it is a fact. But these secondary powers can always intercede with Washington, to help build a real opposition to the Soviets. Perhaps, with time, his own services will even manage to turn them around, to get them to work loyally with the real legal Romanian government?
Hope springs to life - in the weeks to come, the Conducator will cling to these captives like a lifeline, while trying to negotiate with them the modalities of a real collaboration. All this, however, without the slightest success.

* A former SA leader, Killinger had barely survived the Night of the Long Knives, being considered as "not dangerous" by Hitler. His orientation towards a diplomatic career - i.e. far from Germany, notably in San Francisco for his first assignment - is perhaps not unrelated to this distant memory...

 

[Wings]

November 16th, 1943

Burma and Malaya campaign
Indian Ocean - While on the Burmese front, the situation is rather calm, the Lightning of the 449th and 459th FS raid the northern coast of Sumatra and attack any ship they encounter that might be working for the Japanese. The day passes without loss: than two junks and a speedboat are machine-gunned, but the Japanese fighters take off too late to make an interception.

Indochina Campaign
LOST
Hanoi - Like every morning for the past eight days, Commander Otomo is the first person to receive the weather report. It must be said that he was in charge of the Japanese artillery detachment involved in the recapture of the Tonkin capital. And he was given a special mission. If he is honest with himself, he doesn't like it. However, the order is signed by General Andou Rikichi, so Otomo keeps his feelings to himself.
One thing is crucial for the success of the operation: the complete absence of wind and rain. The weather report is clear: these conditions will be met today.
Otomo raised his voice and the artillery battery suddenly wakes up. The gun commanders finish the adjustments. All the firing calculations have been ready for a long time. Some artillery gunners have left with carts in the direction of a sandbag bunker, which is only the entrance to a deeply buried depot. They come out with several crates. While the ammunition NCOs are getting ready, each one puts on his gas mask and rubber gloves.
The shells are loaded with particular care. It has to be said that there is nothing ordinary. Painted in bright yellow, they bear the initials "ガ ス LOST". The ideogram means "gas". As for the next term, it's not English... it's not any language for that matter, it is the acronym of the name of two chemists, LOmmel and STeinkopf. They invented a process of mass production for military use of something known today as mustard gas. The Japanese are notnew to the business. The gunners of the 33rd Division have had the opportunity since 1937 to use this weapon on several occasions on the Chinese front. In Indochina, it is only the second time they have used mustard.
The guns start to thunder. The firing is slow, each gun firing in turn. The roll of explosions continues for half an hour.
The mustard gas is invisible. Heavier than air, it enters the cellars and rat holes where Vietminh fighters and civilians are located - men, women and children - trapped by the fighting. The first Vietnamese to realize that something is wrong as they feel smell of rancid or rotten fruit. Then the victims complain of watery eyes and have difficulty breathing. An hour after the bombing, people start to suffer from burns that will degenerate into abscesses, some lose their sight. In the immediate future, there are "only" about a hundred deaths. The most pernicious effect is the contamination of water and food.
This will cause digestive disorders aggravating the consequences of malnutrition from which both partisans and non-combatants are already suffering. Children and the elderly are the most affected; more than a thousand will die in the following three weeks.

Giap's failure
Battle of Hà-Giang road (Tonkin), day one - It all started the day before, when Japanese patrols clashed with Vietnamese regular troops, clearly recognizable by their green uniforms. Before dawn, a column of the 33rd Division storms up the hills. Sneaking through the darkness, the Japanese infantrymen reach the first Vietnamese lines at sunrise.
Accustomed to having the initiative and operating at night, the Vietminh are taken by surprise by an adversary superior in numbers and weaponry as well as in professionalism.
After a moment of panic, however, their officers begin to reorganize them, thanks to the respite offered by the network of booby traps covering the first line of defense and that the Vietnamese are fond of. The Japanese have only a few casualties, but their advance is slowed and the Viets' small mod.1911 mountain guns begin to fire back.
At the Vietminh headquarters, Colonel Giap gives orders to re-establish the lines. It is the first time he was in direct command on the front line and it is not at all the kind of battle that he enjoys. Many years later, he would tell of having thought of Austerlitz and the vision that Napoleon had had of the battlefield at sunrise. Like his idol, he ordered to retreat on the axis of attack, to recover on the next line of hills. The reserves were to move south, outflank the Japanese position and counterattack from the flank. Giap relies heavily on his artillery to delay the Japanese, but he is wrong. This artillery is much less trained and less effective than the Emperor's batteries in their time, and the artillerymen make the mistake of staying too long in one place. Their opponents are equipped with 75 mm guns, heavier but with a greater range. The counter-battery fire is bloody.
On his field telephone, the colonel can no longer reach his subordinates.
The lines are cut or he can only find panicked operators.
At that moment, a buzz of engines is heard in the sky. Planes are coming from the southwest. Twin-engine planes... Giap swears when he realizes that they are Japanese - apparently, the Imperial Army Aviation has received reinforcements! The colonel did not know that these Ki-21s had been withdrawn from the Burma front, but if he did it would not change his mood. His radio calls for air support, but Dien-Bien-Phu is far away and short of gasoline - impossible to ensure a permanent coverage. The anti-aircraft means of Giap's men are limited to a few machine guns that are clearly insufficient. The bombs explode on the slopes of the hills, between the two ridges that frame the battlefield. The bombing is imprecise: a good number of projectiles do not cause any casualties and some even hit the attackers, but the shock disorganized several units, turning their retreat into a rout.
Giap abandons for a moment the field telephone to call Epervier himself on the radio. He calls for Colonel Devèze. But in Hanoi, the Japanese have used mustard gas, and all available means are employed to rescue the defenders of the city.
Giap understands that the situation is really getting out of hand when he sees soldiers running through his camp at breakneck speed. Several runaways are shot by officers, but the sounds of gunfire are getting closer. Sergeant Mayer, a strong man detached from the 5th REI to train the Viets in classical infantry combat, throws himself on the colonel and snatches him from his radio. It is indeed more than time to flee.
The battle is already lost, but the situation of the Vietnamese is going to get worse. The contact lost with the headquarters, the units still operational continue to follow the orders given by Giap. This is particularly true of the reserves, which are now posted on the Japanese flank. The men were preparing to launch an attack, but it was they who are surprised. The planes circling over the battlefield are not all bombers. Some old Ki-15 "Babs" reconnaissance aircraft that are controlling the fire of the Japanese guns have spotted the Vietnamese movement. Warned, the Japanese infantry launches a scissor movement to encircle its presumptuous enemies.
The fighting continues into the night. The 108th Regiment of the People's Army is practically put out of action. Perhaps more importantly, HQ and depots are captured intact by the Japanese, who seize ammunition and documents.

New Georgia Archipelago
Evacuation
Kolombangara - The last Tenno soldiers on the island are preparing for their "redeployment", scheduled for tonight. In his CP, Sasaki watches as his officers destroy files and pack up the few personal belongings they can take with them. One item, however, requires special care.
With an authoritative gesture, he points to the portrait of the Emperor to his orderly, who takes it down with veneration. He must take care of it as if it were the living god himself.

New Guinea Campaign
Salamaua-Lae Campaign
Lae - Frank Klukhoni, correspondent for the New York Times, describes the operation leading to the capture of Lae, both amphibious and airborne, as "one of the most remarkable military successes of this war." Nothing less!

Indian Ocean
Operation Jaywick
Christmas Island - While all eyes are on Timor (Operation Transom/Exporter) and the Central Pacific (Operation Galvanic), the twenty-two IJN infantrymen stationed on this island are not complaining: their situation could be much worse. Of course, they know they are exposed because they are at an extreme point of the Japanese deployment, but they have never had to deal with any kind of bombing for year and a half. They still feel forgotten by the gods, especially since the last cargo ship coming to fetch phosphates was torpedoed, one year earlier.
Eighteen months earlier, the island had been conquered rather easily. But now, the garrison lives on the land by forcing the Indian prisoners to grow food. More than half of the population (including the few English and Australian prisoners) was deported to Java. What remains of it is still diminished by the fact that some inhabitants, who refused to work for the Empire, fled into the forest and live there, feeding on crabs or other meager local resources.
It is 23:00 when the submarine Surcouf surfaces not far from Murray Road, at the northern tip of the island. Having left the Andaman Islands a few days ago, it had abandoned its usual milk run to the Mergui for operation Jaywick, a new special operation of the Banana type, a year before, but much smaller. The submarine carries a company of the n°10 Commando, composed in large part of Dutchmen, which arrived from Europe. The landing is made without any problem thanks to kayaks embarked in the seaplane hangar of the "submarine cruiser", and to some rotations of the drome, despite the rocky coastline.

Pacific Campaign
Operation Galvanic - End ?
Abemama, 00:30 - The I-7 contacts the garrison of the atoll and asks for the sending of rafts to evacuate the submarine. However, the submarine is not so badly affected. On its side, fearing to run aground on a reef, the Monaghan moves away and the submarine's crew is able to carry out emergency repairs with the help of the garrison. During this time, the barge returns and allows the evacuation of the dead and the wounded.
04:00 - LV Sekiguchi decides to try to escape, but the Monaghan has not given up. As soon as the I-7 moves away from the shore, the destroyer spots it again on the radar and goes back to the attack. The submarine tries to defend itself with guns, but its crew suffers severe losses. Seriously damaged, it tries to return to the atoll.
04:40 - The Monaghan, not wishing to run aground on the coral reef, stops hunting again.
04:55 - The I-7, sinking, runs aground on the coral reef. The garrison of the atoll manages to save 42 survivors. In total, the crew of the submarine has 58 dead.
.........
During the day, the atoll is occupied without much resistance by a commando of 78 Marines disembarked by the Nautilus. The small garrison, demoralized by the fate of the I-7, surrenders after the suicide of its few officers.

Marshall Islands - Yamamoto's orders are finally obeyed. The surviving bombers evacuate the archipelago - less than twenty aircraft are saved. Meanwhile, Spruance's air force devastates the Mili airfield.

 

[Wings]

November 16th, 1943

Italian campaign
Walrus
Adriatic - The RAF launches a new raid on Venice. If the Niobe is a scarecrow, taking a heavy toll on the raid (two planes shot down and three damaged), it is itself damaged by the Banshee and Beaufighters of Sqn 227 and 89. In the harbor, the destroyer ZI-6 (ex-Premuda, ex-Dubrovnik) is seriously damaged, it will not be repaired. The Beaumonts of Sqn 55 take charge of bombing the shipyards to make sure that the ships occupying them, notably the corvettes Bombarda and Carabina, would never be completed.
JG 53 reacts. Three Spitfires are shot down (two pilots were recovered at sea) against three "Gustavs".
This battle allows flight lieutenant Alfred E. Marshall, of Sqn 73, to obtain his fifth victory.

Balkan campaign
Weather - Rain falls again in the theater of operations, turning the small dirt roads of Macedonia into sticky and painful mud for everyone. However, the Axis benefits by this way a welcome respite, as the clouds protected the retreating troops from air attacks.

Repression
Morava Valley - Informed of the final rout of the XVIII. Gebirgs-Armee-Korps, the 118. Jäger leaves its positions in Leskovac to meet the survivors in Macedonia. The Jägers leave confidently: they know that their backs are covered by the Ustasha Black Legion, whose first detachments have just arrived in town. Very curious soldiers, all the same...
..........
Leskovac and surroundings - Frustrated by the action he was hoping for in Nis, General Rafael Boban intends to let off steam in this new sector, while waiting for even better! Bojnik, Vlasotince, Surdulica... the whole region undergoes soon the anger of the Croatian "Insurgents". And the repression will not stop to intensify in the following days.
And from this night, in Vlasotince, Boban chooses to clear the road to Bulgaria without mercy : he splits his unit into three groups that cross the city from west to east, gathering all the inhabitants seen to shoot them indiscriminately. This terrible act, one of the most abominable war crimes committed in Serbia, will permanently compromise the relations between the two Yugoslav communities - even if it is now proven that isolated elements of the Heer participated in the carnage. Indeed, whatever the responsibility, one terrible fact remains: more than 8,000 people perished in a single night. The entire population is affected; the Ustasha do not spare women, children, hospitalized patients, nor (of course) the popes... The victims do not even end up in the mass grave: a Verbrennungskommando is formed with one hundred Serbs chosen at random to collect the bodies and then burn them in various parts of the city - of course, its members are also executed as soon as their task is completed. Contemplating the inferno, Boban shows a satisfied smile: he has made room. At the beginning of winter of 1943, the Devil is Croatian.
.........
Albania and Montenegro - Operating jointly, the Croatian 373. ID and KG Lungerhausen (from Shkodër) begin to regain control of the area. Worried about the recent incidents with the "comrades" of Enver Hoxha, who are now very close to their main bases, the ballists prudently choose not to hold on to the ground. However, they are preparing to defend the triangle Prizren - Gjakovë - Suharekë. In this hilly area in the south of the province, it should be possible to hold and then wait for the inevitable arrival of the Allies. A significant detail augurs well for the future: the vast majority of the civilian population chose to follow the combatants (for the sympathizers) or to disperse in the mountain (for the others). The terrible episodes of Macedonia served as a warning to each one.
.........
Macedonia - The various groups of Partisans harass the retreating German troops by attacking the most tired and isolated groups, like the Cossacks of the Russian campaign of Napoleon. They obtain some significant successes - and in return unleash the anger of the Germans.

Operation Market
Macedonia (Upper Polog valley): no stopping! - The survivors of the 4. GebirgsJäger Division and of the 92. Grenadier Rgt arrive in sight of Tetovo. For the moment, they are out of trouble: their Greek pursuers have received orders from their government not to pursue past Gostivar, which they reach shortly before noon. But the German soldiers obviously ignore it. On the other hand, they have learned by radio the fall of Skopje - it is therefore not necessary to linger in this valley, recently ravaged by the 373. ID. Julius Braun's troops go back towards Kavanik and Kosovo...

Macedonia (Bitola) : rewards - The 4th Indian Division returns to the ancient Monastir, exhausted but covered with glory. It is Richard O'Connor himself who welcomes the soldiers of the Raj with a full basket of medals and citations. A totally sincere gesture considering the unit's results - and then, as long as we talk about the 4th, we don't talk about the pitiful affair of Kavadartsi... In front of the press, the general (born in Srinagar himself) has simple but eloquent words, that Napoleon would not have disowned on a victory night: "Gentlemen, I just wanted to tell you that you did a fine job! Each of you is destined for a great future." O'Connor is prophetic - among those he congratulates is Company Commander Anthony Stafford Beer, 9th Gurkha Rifles. A very good soldier, certainly, but also a brilliant mind, a future great theoretician in cyber management. The army leads to everything...
But this future is still far away. For the moment, the Gurkhas enjoy decorations, promotions... and free tours. Some of them will take advantage of their new notoriety to launch a subscription to build an orphanage for the children of fallen comrades*. The 4th Indian has indeed become one of the most popular units of the British Army, a shining symbol of a Commonwealth united by the conflict and abandoning the colonial erring ways of yesteryear. Thus, for historian Chand Das, "Beyond her reputation as a fighter, one will remember the spirit of mutual trust and brotherhood that reigned among all the ranks, though from so many different races and creeds." An promising omen for the inevitable post-war Home Rule - or so many hope.

Macedonia (Kavadartsi): after the battle - The 51st Infantry Division and the 32nd Army Tank Brigade remain in place to lick their wounds and wait for reinforcements. These arrive from the north-west in the afternoon, in the form of the tanks of the 10th Armoured. Having noticed that the attackers of the previous night have given up pursuing them. His men will spend the night on the Rosoman road, ready to move north as soon as the ANZAC was in place. In doing so, Gatehouse is obviously obeying his instructions to focus on the objective of the operation rather than on the pursuit. But he may have lost an opportunity to destroy, if not the 19. PanzerGrenadier, at least the 1. Gebirgsjäger - if he could have caught them, of course, before they reached the mountain refuge.

Macedonia: leakage - The units in question have been driving or walking most of the night. And they know that the Australians are already in Demir Kapiya, the men of the 104. Jäger-Division, which has itself withdrawn north, confirmed it this morning. Irkens' tanks pass through Pepelichté without stopping before taking the Strumitsa valley, to finally reach Bulgaria. Behind them, the 1. GebirgsJäger is struggling: General Lanz decides to cut through the mountain roads as soon as he reaches the rocky barrier.
On these paths, he is certainly harassed by the Partisans - but it is better to face a rusty rifle than a brand new Sherman!
North of Skopje, the remnants of the 187. Infantry-Division and the 93. schwere Panzerjäger Abteilung continue to retreat towards Serbia, passing east of Kumanovo. Not far from there, Eduard Dietl, isolated in the plain in the plain under a driving rain, crosses the hostile city with his small escort. The leader of the XVIII. Gebirgs-Armee-Korps no longer has a grip on his units - the survivors of a division and a regiment flee to the northwest, another division is running towards Bulgaria and the third has been devoured by the battle.

Macedonia (Skopje): small triumph - Stefanović's tanks and Krstic's soldiers are the first to enter the city, surrounded by Gairdner's tanks, which have no desire to engage in urban fabric or in the bazaar of the Bezisten. And then, the propaganda has its reasons.
The 1st Yugoslav Army Corps thus triumphantly takes possession of Skopje, the first regional capital in Yugoslavia. The national tricolor flag is hoisted on the city hall, the Ottoman fortress and the Ristiḱ Palace - the former Löhr HQ. The Allied cameras happily film the event - but this one is insignificant for the Serbs, worrying for the inhabitants... and tragic for some.

Cautious satisfaction
Thessaloniki - With his eyes fixed on the calendar, Bernard Montgomery welcomes the news of the liberation of Skopje. It is the ninth day of the Market, a little later than the time limit set by the schedule. Damn Huns hanging on like oysters in Prilep and Veles. Finally, this at least proves that the forecasts were correct. And as soon as the engineering units have estimated the damage, Monty will be able to remind the Prime Minister of his promises with all the cards in hand.
A good day, then, which bodes well for the future. And the leader of the 18th AAG hums a few notes under the mood, before leaving for a conference.

Worry and tragedy
Zagreb - Ante Pavelic receives several reports from Rafael Boban (Black Legion), Marko Mesić (369. ID), Lt. Colonel Viktor Pavičić (from the "Croatian Legion" integrated into the 100. Jäger) and Major Bakarec, of the 373. ID (commanded by the German Zellner). All these Croats thus report to their leader without informing their German leaders - especially since what they have to say might not please them.
Indeed, overall (and without necessarily taking great care of the form), the Ustasha describe with worrying reports a 12. Armee worn out, ready to collapse... and certainly not able to contribute to the defense of the independent state of Croatia. Pavelic frowns, puts the reports down and grabs a chocolate which he crunches with a thoughtful air.
This gloomy picture does not surprise him, in truth - especially since his previous conversation with Lothar Rendulic. But what to do? It's not as if separate peace negotiations have any chance of success! If the Allies win the war, it will be the end for him and his creation, the true Nation of Croats! An inadmissible eventuality indeed. The Poglavnik therefore considers the only viable option - the Reich must triumph, with him on its side. And he will do whatever it takes... First of all, Slavko Štancer and Vilko Begić should be summoned to prepare the army - his army. We may need them much sooner than expected. And to equip it, Pavelic has an idea.

* This establishment, the Kanaya Memorial Hostel, will finally open in the 50s. It still exists today, and is twinned with the Family Memorial Hospital - dedicated (among other things) to veterans.

 

[Wings]

November 16th, 1943

Vercors - The men of the Legion and the Guard manage to negotiate support with their German protector. The staff of the 9. SS-Panzer, which is now training in the Rhône department, agrees to send two batteries of its divisional artillery to the Drôme, with a Fieseler Storch for observation. However, this requires the intervention of von Renthe-Fink with Field Marshal von Rundstedt, following the pitiful results of the previous day. But the coordination is far from being the first virtue of the militiamen of any hair and they are still humiliated on the slopes of the Vercors, notably in the Lente forest or at the Petit Goulet.
On the airwaves, Radio Marseille (that many continue to call Radio Alger) loudly proclaims its support to the Resistance, mocks the soldiers of the NEF and evokes without ambiguity the fate which will await them if they are not killed on the slopes of the Vercors.

 

[demolitiondan]

Well you really should considerer to post it also on our Website. We are always looking for pretty readable maps - they would be appreciated !

My own.

 

[Wings]

Well you really should considerer to post it also on our Website. We are always looking for pretty readable maps - they would be appreciated !

I'll do that, then, thanks!

 

[Wings]

November 17th, 1943

Occupied France - Taking advantage of a clearing after a week heavily marked by rain, the 12th AF brings out both its B-26s and P-47 Fighter Groups equipped with rockets, the latter to precede the twin-engine aircraft and clear the flak from around the Noball sites. Logically, the single-engine aircraft take the most hits, but the bombers can operate more comfortably, and the results are noticeable.

 

[Wings]

November 17th, 1943

Burma and Malaya Campaign
Andaman Islands - They are the real reason for the installation at Diglipur of the P-38s of the 449th and 459th, as well as the deployment of the F5A of the 8th PRG at Rangoon. These are the B-24 of the 436th Bomber Squadron, which land and start to take possession of the base that the sea-bees have expanded since the end of September. The 10th Air Force decides to split its 7th Bomber Group in two: two of its B-24 squadrons (the 436th and 492nd BS) will be based in the Andaman, while two others will remain far away, in Yunnan.

Indochina Campaign
Giap's failure
Battle of the Hà-Giang road (Tonkin), second day - It is still dark, but the battle has already resumed. It is a strange confrontation. We look for each other in the darkness, sometimes we find each other, which provokes violent shootings, but we always end up losing each other again. With his sword in hand, Captain Arima Kihel listens to the distant gunshots before giving the order to advance with a thousand precautions. Twice already, his troop has been ambushed. But the Vietnamese are retreating to the northeast, and they could not be left alone.
General Andou Rikichi's instructions are clear: as many enemy elements as possible must be crushed.
The first light of day bathes the hills that cascade down to the Red River plain. The dawn allows the Japanese troops to find their bearings and to converge in the direction of the retreating Vietnamese. But the morning is a succession of sword hits in the water. During the night, the "rebels" were faster than the Japanese. The only adversaries that the patrols catch up with are the remnants of units destroyed the day before or small groups of runaways who tried to escape in the wrong direction.
The observation Ki-15s circle the sky in search of the enemy, but the cover is too heavy to spot anything. Worse, the presence of the planes attracts P-51s that engage the Ki-43 escort and silence the snitches.
In the early afternoon, the confrontation becomes more violent. First, an artillery battery located somewhere in the hills of Hoang-Sou-Pi opens fire on the Japanese troops advancing along the road to Hà-Giang. Around 15:00, a patrol on the heights northeast of Bac-Quang observes the advance of troops dressed and armed in the American style, perhaps the 1st RIMP. A little later, the column is attacked with machine guns and bombs by P-40s, while P-51s engage the Ki-43 fighters covering the ground troops.
The Allied air force, decidedly very active that day in the area, risks its transport planes to parachute reinforcements to Colonel Giap. At the end of the day, the infantry of a battalion of the 1st REP is parachuted on a marked LZ, a little north of Hà-Giang. The Japanese air force tries to disrupt the operation, but its aircraft are repulsed by French, American and Belgian fighters.
The ground fighting is exhausted by the evening. However, the Japanese air force is the last to score points. At sunset, a Ki-21 raid targets the small town of Hà-Giang itself, which is being fortified. Giap's men and the Legion's paratroopers suffer notable losses.

Vietminh against Hoa-Hao
Iron Triangle Camp, Cochinchina, 07:00 - Like every morning, the Vietminh radio begins his day with a ritual: he calls the various units and camps of Cochinchina. But nothing to do, the 1st Daï-doï, which had left three days earlier from the Iron Triangle, does not answer. The officer in charge shrugs his shoulders. It is a unit commanded by Nguyen Binh himself. Either the radio was not awake or the device is broken. This happens a lot - humidity, right?
An hour later, the Vietminh flag goes up on the camp's main flagpole as a sour bugle sounds. As there is still no news of the One-Eyed Tiger, Commander Nguyen Houàn-Hà asks a unit from a neighboring sector to go and have a look at the action zone of the 1st Daido. In the afternoon, the commander of this unit reports that he has picked up some survivors of the commando. This one was wiped out. Nguyen Binh was killed. It was the Hoa-Hao who did the job.
.........
Dien-Bien-Phu, 20:00 - Ho Chi-Minh's voice rises in the ether. "The Hoa-Hao traitors have just demonstrated once again their determination to murder, to betray and to result to the most detestable baseness. It is with a heart full of sorrow that I announce to Vietnam and to all of Indochina the death of Nguyen Binh, my old comrade and my friend. His murder will not go unpunished."
The very next day, strange rumors begin to circulate. Some people are surprised that Nguyen Binh had ventured into Hoa-Hao territory with so few men.
Others found it curious that the fanatics had known, with precision it seemed, where to find the Vietminh leader. Some voices will soon evoke a betrayal or a settlement of scores...
It was not until a book written in 1954 by General Giap that we learned that Nguyen Binh had gone to his death to provoke the Hoa-Hao on the orders of Ho Chi-Minh himself. His death was to serve to reconcile the French and the Vietnamese on the back of the fanatics. It also allowed him to escape the dishonor of an appearance before a military tribunal.

Dirty beasts
Muong May (Laos), Operation Kagome - While, further south, the Japanese continue to evacuate Laos, a plane flies over the small town. The inhabitants notice the red insignia under the wings, then several objects detached from it.
They are dropped at a low height, but without a parachute, and break up when they hit the ground between the houses. Intrigued, but reassured by the absence of explosion or fire, some inhabitants approach. At first sight, the objects are some kind of cans - empty.
However, some of them will remember afterwards having seen many jumping insects on the scene, perhaps fleas. Very quickly, the city dwellers of Muong May will no longer think about it.
But six days later, some of the inhabitants will fall ill. The symptoms - fevers, chills, dizziness - are not very original at first sight. It is only with the appearance of buboes in some patients that a beginning of panic is triggered. The bubonic plague is a plague that has left its mark on the collective unconscious and its appearance in this region of the world is not unusual. City dwellers know the precautions to take to avoid contamination. In the end, the epidemic will only cause one hundred and ten to one hundred and twenty victims (for two hundred sick) in the whole region.
It was not until the end of the war and the capture of documents at the Japanese HQ in Hanoi that we learned the details of Operation Kagome. It was a question of eradicating the civilian population of Laos by dropping containers filled with infected chips. It was hoped that this would weaken the Laotian rebels and the French troops. However, the chosen vector was the black rat flea, Xenopsylla cheopsis.
However, this insect is not a usual parasite of humans; it only attacks them in the absence of the black rat. As in this season, just after the rice harvest, the rodents are numerous in the granaries, the parasites have no reason to attack the inhabitants. Hence the small size of the epidemic.

New Georgia Archipelago
Evacuation
New Georgia - It is past midnight and General Sasaki watches, melancholic, the island of Kolombangara disappear into the night. For once, the Navy has proven to be useful, alas, to escape. How will his ancestors judge his action, when he did not fight? Did he serve his country, his Emperor, properly?
Deep thoughts, which contrast singularly with the pathetic barge which serves him as a transport! If this parody of a ship does not arrive at its destination, his name would disappear into oblivion with his body in the middle of the South Pacific...
However, General Sasaki need not worry: he will land safely in Bougainville. From there, he will go to Rabaul, where his career will continue. But his soldiers and himself, going from Kolombangara to New Britain, have only changed prisons.

New Guinea Campaign
Salamaua-Lae Campaign - Battle of Salamaua
Charlie Point (north of Salamaua) - The 162nd RCT under Lt-Colonel Archibald Roosevelt surrounds the position. The 75 mm howitzers of the McKechnie Force crush the defenses, then the Americans launch an assault, facing an etic garrison. The Japanese, half-starved and lacking ammunition, throw themselves in vain at the Americans to stop them. The confrontation was brief and the victory easy...for once.

Indian Ocean
Operation Jaywick
Christmas Island - At 00:30 am, off Waterfall Bay and further south, the APD HMAS Brighton, Charlestown, Columbia and Salisbury, of the ABDAF-Fleet* present themselves. The men disembarking from these ships on Lily and Ethel Beach are those of the 40th Royal Marines. If the objective of the commandos disembarked by the Surcouf was to follow the coast to take the capital of the island, Flying Fish Cove, and attract the attention of the Japanese who would resist, the Royal Marines' objective is to go up the hill to seize this high point before spreading out towards the small town, the phosphate factory and the prison, on the other side of the island.
After having neutralized the sentries, the commandos' assault is violent and completely overwhelms the small garrison, most of whose members were sleeping. The 80 men of the commando certainly did not expect the garrison to be so weak. The artillery observer in liaison with the Surcouf did not have to use his skills. Also, on the hill, the Royal Marines find only two unfortunate sentries not even occupying the observation post overlooking the north of the island. During the day, they neutralize three more enemy infantrymen at the other end of Christmas Island. A count of the dead, wounded and prisoners shows that two men of the IJN were able to escape into the forest: the first was captured after three weeks, almost dying of hunger, the second will never be found, swallowed by the jungle.

Pacific Campaign
Operation Galvanic - The end?
Gilbert and Marshall - TF-52 and 53 prepare their withdrawal. Further north, at daybreak, Spruance and TF-50 cover the operation in the most expeditious way: by ravaging Maloelap without opposition, then crushing Jaluit, despite the opposition of some forty Zero and 16 Kawanishi N1K1 Kyofu "Rex" fighter planes, most of which are shot down, in exchange for minimal American losses.
During this time, reconnaissance aircraft photograph Kwajalein and Roi-Namur
The way is clear for the conquest of the Marshalls.

Between Tarawa and Fiji - The LST Ashland and the APA Monrovia, escorted by the destroyers Hoel and Hull, are heading towards Efate at 10 knots. On board these ships and the American staff, no one thinks that the small convoy is in any danger. However, in the afternoon, when the radar of the Hull spots a suspicious echo, the destroyer diverts to get a closer look. It is the I-9, which had seen the ships' masts on its side and took an interception course at 18 knots.
Seeing the Hull coming, it hurries to dive. The destroyer does not succeed in hooking the submarine, but the I-9 does not risk resurfacing until a little after nightfall.
Rather than trying to catch up with the convoy by taking advantage of its surface speed, CV Akiyoshi Fujii alerts the raider cruisers by radio. On the Mogami, CV Ichiro Aitoku, who commands the duo, immediately makes a dash at 28 knots towards the convoy.

Sino-Japanese war
Operation Zhulin - End
Chongqing - In the Chinese General Staff, Chen Cheng and Chiang Kai-shek consider that operation Zhulin has ended after six weeks of fighting. It is, depending on the perspective adopted, a half-success or a half-failure. The Wuhan salient could not be cut and the initial goal of the operation was not achieved, but the Japanese lost ground in Jiangxi: the area between Dongting and Poyang lakes was liberated, along with the major city of Nanchang.
Perhaps more importantly, useful lessons were learned in the operational use of a mechanized force, and the long report that General Zheng Dongguo undertakes to write will be studied carefully by both Chen and Chiang in the weeks that follow. As for Liu Zhi, the architect of this "military feat" (as the Kuo-Min-Tang radio would say), he is promoted to the position of Inspector General of the Army, and would not be assigned to the front until the end of the war.
.........
Nanjing (and Tokyo) - The Japanese, on their side, make the opposite observation: the Imperial Army has valiantly resisted the enemy offensive and the middle Yangtze valley, a neuralgic zone for the control of the economic heart of China, is still in their hands. Moreover, the urban insurrection in Wuhan was put down, albeit at the cost of the near-destruction of the conurbation. The Imperial Army therefore has reason to congratulate itself, while it has just suffered, far from there, some minor setbacks in an island and two atolls in the Pacific - each time due, of course, to the inadequacies of the Navy.
At most, some officers whisper that the Chinese have shown hitherto unknown military capabilities and did not suffer irreparable losses...

* They are four-pipers transferred from the US Navy, the Doran, Bailey, Shubrick and Meade.

 

[Wings]

November 17th, 1943

Sector of the 1st Ukrainian Front - Vassili Grossman, who has been wandering from sector to sector on the back of the front for three weeks without knowing what to do, has finally obtained the leave that will allow him to finish his novel. He is also in great need of rest: the last few weeks have been more than trying for the Ukrainian Jew, who has seen with his own eyes the ravages of the Final Solution, not yet called the Shoah. His painful notes express his already disillusioned state of mind about the regime that will emerge from the victory...
"Berdichev's old men on the boulevard. Their perfectly fantastic conversations about the complete reorganization of the Soviet government after the war.
Aizenchadt Simon, son of a famous rabbi from the town of Ostrovetz. His life was saved thanks to a young Russian girl who hid him in her room for almost a year. His story.
The ghetto, the liquidation, the weak resistance. The weapons given by the Poles. The Polish Jews who wore white ribbons. A place called Treblinka, near Warsaw. An extermination camp for Jews. Under the baths, there was a room mounted on mobile stands. The bodies were cut into pieces and burned. Mountains of ashes of twenty or twenty-five meters. In one place, the Jews were pushed into a pond filled with acid.
The screams were so terrible that the peasants in the vicinity left their homes.
Apparently, 45,000 Jews from Odessa were burned alive in Berezovka. Some of them were taken to a clearing, doused with gasoline and burned.
The account of the secretary of the Obkom [regional committee] Riassentsev. The place of execution of the Jews was Bohdanivka. The execution was carried out by the Ukrainian police. The head of the police killed 12,000 people with his own hands.
One of the most insane was an examining magistrate from Odessa, a Russian, who killed 8 to 9 men a day for fun. He called it "going hunting". His henchmen killed group by group. With machine guns. Children were thrown alive into ditches lined with burning straw. Among those who participated in the torture and executions were three Jews. They are now under arrest. And it is said that in Odessa, when the Jews were led to the trains, it was so cold that they were not able to get off the trains, it was so freezing that the street was littered with the corpses of old men, children, and women who froze to death on the way."
It is understandable that Grossman needs to take his mind off the situation - among the dead are, unfortunately, many people known to the Ukrainian. Before leaving, however, he will have the opposite experience: the resurrection of a character he thought had disappeared, in this case colonel Babdjanyan, "a small, calm and pleasant man" that he would not immediately recognize in front of him, even though he had painted his portrait with precision as the hero of his book The People is Immortal. A character with a tragic fate - at that time, Grossman did not even know what had become of his friend.
Hence this emotional dialogue: "Yes, I was there, but you made me die! - "Yes, I made you die. But I can also resurrect you!"