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

[Wings]

January 23rd, 1944

Uncle Sam's opinion
In the USSR, a Potemkin visit
Magadan, USSR - Accompanied by Owen Lattimore, the American vice president Henry A. Wallace embarks on an Asian tour. And what better place to start than the USSR?
After all, Wallace and Molotov had got on well during their first meeting in Washington. And Wallace had been very successful on his South American tour in 1942 - half a dozen countries joined the United Nations in their fight against Germany and Japan. So everything should go well with the Soviet ally.
That is why President Roosevelt charges Wallace with an additional mission: to solve the problem between the USSR and China concerning this obscure Chinese governor named Sheng Shicai. It seems that this Shicai - sorry? Shicai, that's his his first name, his last name is Sheng? Sorry... So, this Sheng would cause problems in Moscow and prevent the United Nations from really being a problem? This is certainly an exaggeration of diplomats.
For today, Vice President Wallace visits the Magadan labor camp, with none other than General Nikishov as his guide. What a strange name, "labor camp"! Everything seems to be going well here. Although we are in the depths of Siberia, everything is clean and harmonious, perhaps even better than in some military camps in the United States, thinks the vice-president, favorably impressed. As he said so well on his return, this Siberian village is a real forum of diverse opinions, where one can debate like in any New England assembly.
In Moscow, comrade Molotov, informed as he goes along, also thinks that this visit starts very well. But perhaps not for the same reasons as Mr. Wallace.

Romanian (and Soviet) maneuvers
One month and ten days
Bucharest - A month of regained sovereignty has barely passed when King Michael of Romania already has to agree to a first ministerial reshuffle, under the pressure of an RCP kindly supported by the Soviet big brother and his Red Army - which collaborates cordially with the Romanian army, now fully integrated in its system.
The reshuffle concerns only two ministries. But it is (still!) the portfolio of the Interior - General Aurel Aldea is replaced by Nicolae Penescu, from the National Peasant Party - and above all the portfolio of the War Ministry - general Ioan Mihail Racovita gives way to... Constantin Sănătescu himself. This is not ideal, but it is the only solution the prime minister has found to prevent the Communist Party from claiming the position in order to oust the "compromised military"!
The absolute fiction of an independent government of national unity will have lasted a total of 41 days. For Moscow, the maneuvers to put Romania under trusteeship are already well underway - but behind the scenes, of course.

The pride of an admiral
The Turkish way
Budapest - The Hungarian foreign minister Jenő Ghyczy de Ghicz delivers to the Regent his first report on the ongoing negotiations in Ankara with the Allies. They are unfortunately not as encouraging as expected. Indeed, the English refuse almost all of the proposals, although quite reasonable, formulated by Budapest.
However, since the first contacts, the Hungarians had already put a lot of water in their Egri Bikaver; they only ask one thing: the guarantee that the Red Army would not enter their territory - a territory whose exact borders remain to be defined. Alas, in London, they refuse to commit to this point. And yet, King George VI's armies are camped at the gates of Hungary! Really, the courtesy of the British, so much praised by Horthy, seems to have gone out of fashion. For their very simple counter-proposal, Hungary has to break with the Axis immediately, open its territory to all the Allied armies and wait until the end of the conflict to negotiate a peace with the entire United Nations, which will jointly determine the fate of the present regime and its leaders. This is not an unconditional surrender - but it sure looks like it!
Miklós Horthy put the document back on his desk with an air of annoyance. Obviously, the Admiral-Regent was hoping for something better. And he doesn't understand why the Allies are making such a fuss about his personal future. The stability of the current regime is however an asset for the post-war period - no doubt Győrgy Barcza will be able to explain this to them in Bern.
For if one thing seems clear in Horthy's mind, it is that, in this case, the worm is not in the fruit. It is in the one who picks it. What took the diplomatic services to rely for the Ankara negotiations on this George Paloczi-Horwath, an exile presumably circumvented by Tito and his communists! And who is to say that he is not also playing a double game with the British?
An amiral anger later, Ghyczy de Ghicz leaves the Regent's office with the order to replace Paloczi-Horwath with a more reliable figure: this is to be Lázló Veres, an official of the Magyar government press service, who will leave for Turkey to prepare the international fair in Izmir (which will not take place until September). As soon as Veres arrives in Ankara, it will be possible to restart the negotiations through this channel - in the meantime, the other actions must obviously continue.
Admiral Horthy goes back to his files, without realizing that if this Turkish track is a dead end, it is not entirely due to the negotiator. Certainly, it will be well proven after the war that Paloczi-Horwath was a communist militant... but the Hungarian demands were inaudible to the Allies, no matter who made them. The other plenipotentiaries are soon to experience this. And then, the Turkish channel has another serious defect, which is even more important for the future: it includes far too many intermediaries, not all of whom are necessarily well disposed towards Hungary. For Budapest has made many enemies in recent years and not only the communists and other titists...

 

[Wings]

January 23rd, 1944

Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Jäger! (und ein Führer...)
Warnemünde - Invited to Heinkel, General Lucht inspects a model of the He P 1073, sees the studies carried out and discusses with aerodynamicists of the AVA (Aerodynamische Versuchs Anstalt), who give favorable opinions. Impressed, the general calls Hitler's GHQ, manages to contact the Führer and convinces him that the Heinkel is the right choice, and the dictator endorses it. The competition therefore ends to the great displeasure of B&V!

 

[Wings]

January 23d, 1944

Burma Campaign
Air front
Occupied Burma - All day long, the airfields around Tavoy are the target of a general attack. First, the American B-25s escorted by the P-40s of the Burma Banshee, then the three Beaumont squadrons, each accompanied by a Spitfire V squadron. Finally, the Mosquitos of Sqn 47, covered by the Spitfires VIII of Sqn 136 Woodpeckers rake the area. The defenders of the 50th and 64th Sentai request reinforcements from the 11th and 77th Sentai, but they are overwhelmed by the multitude of attacks. The losses are heavy for the Japanese: seven aircraft shot down and more than 20 destroyed on the ground. The Allies lose six aircraft, two P-40s, two Spitfires, a B-25 and a Mosquito.

Port Blair (Andaman) - A Ki-46 reconnaissance aircraft is shot down by a Spitfire of Sqn 152, whose aircraft display a leaping panther. The Spit Mk VIII fulfills all its promises: for the first time, the "Dinah" reconnaissance aircraft are within the reach of the British fighters.

Indonesia
Operation Meridian
Sabang and Sigli - While the French Navy targets the installations and the garrison of Sabang, the British attack the Sigli sector. The 24th Sentai is completely completely overwhelmed (three planes shot down and many planes damaged in the air or on the ground) while the city's railway workshops attract the Royal Navy's Barracudas.
Although the installations receive numerous projectiles, only three locomotives are destroyed.
But that is enough... Indeed, the Japanese, as part of the "cooperation" policy, they have literally plundered the island's fleet, sending many rolling stock to Manchuria or in Japan itself: these three machines constituted the only reserve of the north of the island and were necessary for the transport of oil from certain production areas in the south and centre of the island to the terminals on the northern coast.

Indochina Campaign
Alert in Cochinchina
Saigon - The Kempetai fights the insurgency in its own way. We remember above all the beheadings and torture sessions in the basement of the Hotel Majestic (its local HQ). But the Japanese gendarmerie also acts in a more insidious way. It has the upper hand on the Hei Ho, a corps of supporters of Japan. Its members are treated particularly well. In fact, they are under the authority of the Japanese Army, to the point that Vietnamese justice is no longer applied to them. Moreover, while food shortage reigns, they are exempted from the vegetarian diet in order to improve their physical form. And if the Hei Ho provides soldiers, it also provides spies.
After months of infiltration, one of them, named Tranh Vinh, has finally obtained an important information. Having mixed with the tu-vê, he had accomplished several feats against the Occupation forces (and with their help...). As a reward, he was able to meet with one of the leaders of the local Vietminh. He now points out where the latter's hideout is located - a house at the edge of town, on the road to Tayminh.
The Kempetai and the Hei Ho react swiftly. A net is launched the same day. Surrounded, the tu-vê defend themselves fiercely, but the attackers are more numerous and better armed. After an hour and a half of shooting, the Japanese and their soldiers seize a clandestine grenade factory and a printing house that had been occupied at the time of the attack to take out leaflets.
These leaflets cause a real shock. There is no mention of the date, but the text is clear. The Vietminh call for a general uprising in Saigon! By misfortune, none of the Vietminh leaders survived the attack and the Kempetai will not get any further information from the few workers and tu-vê captured.
Nevertheless, the information is immediately relayed to the Army, the Navy detachments guarding the Cholon construction sites, as well as to the various pro-Japanese militias present in Saigon.

 

[Wings]

January 23rd, 1944

Operation Bagration
The Rhine Gold
Northern Bagration (1st Belorussian Front) - Paradoxically, this is a transition day in this sector of the front. After the dramatic fights of the last few days, the Red Army rallies or advances without encountering any resistance: its enemy evades it when it is not already destroyed.
In the north, along the left bank of the Daugava River, the right wing of the 20th Army of General Vladimir Kurassov's right wing reaches Braslaw. There it is confronted with a barrage of the main corps of the 87. ID (Walter Hartmann), the only surviving unit of the XXIII. AK. The VIII. ArmeeKorps (Gustav Höhne) holds the right bank, from Krāslava to Ludza, on a line roughly following the old Latvian border. Faced with a determined opponent, this position improvised by motivated but exhausted defenders might not hold... But fortunately for the interested parties, the 20th Army is itself too dispersed to be able to continue alone towards Daugavpils. Besides, it is not Kurassov's objective! So things will remain there... for the moment.
Further south, in the region of Hlybokaye, the 10th Armored Corps has finished sweeping the roads and the columns of fugitives. It resumes advancing in the western direction towards Pastavy - its "main intermediate" objective in the expectation of future operations. In addition to this maneuver, Aleksei Popov is content - for today - to send a column towards Miadzel, in order to secure its southern flank. The Soviet does not want to disperse. And then, now that he has more or less closed the direct route to Lithuania, the rest is up to the infantry.
Speaking of infantry, Vasiliy Kuznetsov's 63rd Army continues to run over the LIII. AK on the road to Vileika, now operating in coordination with the Oslikovsky Group, which seems to be happy to provide its cavalry and light armor to pursue an invader in winter - a long local tradition, no doubt... For the moment, the forces of General Friedrich Gollwitzer keep a semblance of cohesion - even if Robert Schlüter's 260. ID (more exposed, at the rear) suffers terribly. In fact, rain, cold and Cossacks turn their march into a real ordeal day after day. And from ordeal to rout, it is only a few steps - but the Neris river is still 40 kilometers away.
Even more worrying: 80 kilometers further south, the 3rd Tank Army has just about finished crossing through. True to the battle plan as well as to his own temperament*, Pavel Rybalko obliques due west, the 2nd Mechanized Corps (V.T. Volsky) in point. Towards Lahoïsk (via Jodzina) then Maladetchna and Achmiany through the gap between Neris and Chapun'ka, in order to close the road to Minsk to any reinforcement coming from the north! Behind the valiant cavalryman-tankist, the infantry is lagging behind... The 1st Guards Army makes its frontovikis cross in single file, in a dangerously ineffective disorder, blocking in addition behind it the 2nd Shock Army in a real traffic jam! The Berezina is a predictable and foreseen obstacle - but anticipating a difficulty does not always mean having the means to solve it.
Worried about this problem duly reported by the Stavka, Stalin decides to ask his opinion, not to Zhukov, but to Konstantin Rokossovky, since, on his side, everything seems to be going well... After all, the brilliant commander of the 2nd Belorussian Front can leave his work for a day to make sure that the operation was well coordinated - as the telex of January 16th invited him to do so!
He obviously has no choice but to accept. He thus runs towards the redoubt of Sokolovsky, west of Vitebsk. But he takes great care, beforehand, to warn Zhukov, in order to avoid any misunderstanding in front of this new vexation that the Vojd inflicts to him.
.........
Bagration Center - Under a rainy sky - which limits the bombardments but bogs down vehicles and facilitates the activity of the "terrorists" - Rudolf von Roman and his XX.AK cross the Berezina at Berazino, covered by the VII. AK deployed in redoubt (but this time as part of a deliberate strategy!) around the crossing point. To the north, the 106. ID (Werner Frost) is at Leskoviči, facing the 3rd Guards Army, which is still waiting for instructions on whether or not to cooperate with Vladimir Kryukov's I Cavalry Corps.
In the center, towards Kukarava, it is once again the sector of the duo 258. ID (Eugen-Heinrich Bleyer) and 209. StuG Abt (Hauptmann Wilhelm Launhardt). They are now in a wooded area very favorable to the defense - the 15th Army (Reuters) will soon realize it. Finally, in the south, the weak point: the 268. ID (Werner Richter) defends alone the Kamennyi Borok plain, bordered by woods where the Pliev Group is on the prowl and crossed by a dangerously open road through which a host of retreating formations, all more or less operational, are moving.
Among them, the XXXIX. PzK (Otto Schünemann), of the 1. PanzerArmee, is trying to reach the friendly lines as quickly as possible. It is followed by the XLIII. AK (Karl von Oven) and XIII. AK (Otto Sponheimer), of the 4. Armee. They try to escape from the 29th Army (Alexander Gorbatov) and the 1st Airborne Corps (V.G. Zholudev), who are marching on their tracks in the ruins of Kirawsk - the former tomb of their comrades - and Klitchaw, before turning north. These troops secure the right flank of the Babruysk crossing point, precisely according to the Soviet plan.
.........
Bagration South (2nd Belorussian Front and 1. PanzerArmee) - Here again, the Germans maneuver and the Soviets cross. Josef Harpe gathers (finally) his army corps to reinforce his Assipovitchy-Svislač line. In addition to the XXV. AK, the LVII. PzK of Friedrich Kirchner thus leaves the Svetlahorsk region to withdraw northward via Hlusk (the direct route through Assipovitchy passes far too close to Soviet lines!).
In their retreat, the Landsers are once again harassed by the Partisans of General Ponomarenko - who are much more annoying than the 54th Army (S.V. Roginski). This one tries to continue, but it is still a bit green for the exercise and must occupy a large strip of difficult terrain.
The 113. ID (Hans-Heinrich Sixt von Arnim) and 183. ID (August Detling) are the first to rally without too much damage... In the evening, they are already in Aktsiabarski - covered, it must be said, by the three Luftwaffen-Feld-Divisions of General Alfred Schlemm, who are very happy (like everybody else!) to leave this region.
But further north, the Red Army is far from remaining inactive... In Babruysk, the 3rd Shock Army and the 4th Guards Army are building bridge after bridge and should be able to resume their advance towards the west tomorrow. As for Mikhail Katukov's 1st Tank Army, it has already sent the 21st Armored Corps (F. Rudkin) to Gluša, in order to cross the Pitch before anyone else...

Emergency measures
HQ of Heeresgruppe Mitte, Minsk - Since it arrived at AG Center - only yesterday, but in such circumstances, hours seem like days - Walter Model has cleaned up and taken the reins. He has been unexpectedly effective, even if those responsible would never admit it.
Having already succeeded in getting the bulk of the necessary cuts validated, while blaming this on the incompetence of Ernst Busch (on his way to Germany without passing through Rastenburg!), the new boss has already undertaken to restore order with brutality.
All he had to do was to stop (or at least slow down) the enemy advance, while waiting for the counter-attack. And to do this, he obviously does not intend to be satisfied with the Ersatz that have just arrived in the capital of White Ruthenia. Using all the necessary means, diverting convoys to other army groups under his own authority, acting without any scruples to collect everything that can walk and hold a gun, Model seems well on the way to giving back to the units of the HG Mitte, decimated and demoralized by their sudden defeats, a certain combat effectiveness. As Hermann Gackenholz writes: "The change of command was associated with a change not only in the style of conducting operations, but also in the relationship to the command. The reputation that the new commander-in-chief had with Hitler immediately asserted itself, [...]. It was noticed with some astonishment by the staff of the Army Group." (L'effondrement du Groupe d'Armée Centre, Perrin, 1995).
This is all well and good - but the authority of the new leader and the final reserves he throws into the furnace ("Up to the Sicherung Divisionen, if need be!" he would have said) will obviously not be enough to stop the red tide. For that, a plan is needed. Now, faithful to his Prussian conception of the decisive battle, Model did not consider the in-depth operations in depth of the Soviet operative art - and he does not imagine either, for the moment, the two saws by which the two Russian armored armies intend to cut his front! He therefore prepares Neptun as a vast operation of counter-encirclement, ambitious but classic, according to the model that the Heer tried to implement in Bar. Two arrows from Maladetchna and Rudzensk will have to hit the flanks of the Reds, once their heads venture towards Minsk. They will then join the 4. Armee in Berazino, thus forming a vast Kessel enclosing the bulk of the enemy's forces. The latter will then have to withdraw or be annihilated (Model doubts to have the necessary manpower to ensure the second possibility), and the situation will not fail to stabilize around the Berezina, for a certain time at least.
Nice project on paper. But to carry it out, we will need some means...
On the north side, Model asked last night for the withdrawal of the 16. Armee towards Pastavy in order to reduce its flank and clear the 2. Armee. This implied, without daring to admit it, the evacuation of a good part of Latvia and of the Panther line. Rejected! The HG Nord will simply provide an Armee Abteilung, with one or two armored elements (probably from Abteilungs of StuG, von Küchler will specify tomorrow). Better than nothing...
On the south side, of course, the HG NordUkraine (still well endowed) will have to contribute much more massively, by sending troops across the Pripyat. The sooner the better, given the distance to cover (510 kilometers!). Fortunately, Model knows this army group well (he commanded it for a few days). He has already communicated his shopping list to Ferdinand Schröner, with the blessing of the Guide:
- 3. PanzerArmee: the 18. Panzer (Martin Unrein);
- 6. Armee: nothing, considering its condition;
- 8. Armee: the 23. Panzer (Nikolaus von Vormann) and the 3. SS-Panzer Totenkopf (Hermann Priess);
- GA Reserve: the 203. StuG Abt (Hauptmann Gerhard Behnke) and the 905. StuG Abt (Major Jobst Veit Braun).
That should give the Russians something to think about... If these troops arrive in time, of course.

* Let's remember that Rybalko had already charged Denikin's Whites in the Kuban peninsula in 1920, before turning to the troops of Wrangel, then to the Ukrainians... and finally to go and slash the Poles (he notably participated in the breakthrough of Uman).

 

[Wings]

January 23rd, 1944

An incurable disease
Kosovo - It is snowing, like it is everywhere in the Balkans, as the allied forces are deploying in Kosovo, finally bringing complete calm to the valleys. The evzones now hold the western part of the province. Only the border with Albania, especially in the Zhur sector, still shows signs of unrest.
This area was the scene of unpleasant incidents in November between Balli Kombëtar fighters and unidentified assailants - probably soldiers of the 1st Assault Brigade of Mehmet Shehu. This undoubtedly explains this.
The ballists, still vexed by the absence of Allied support during the repression episode before the Axis evacuated the province, and then of the recriminations of the SOE during the Christmas massacres, do not seem to be in any hurry to collaborate with the Allied forces. On the other hand, they try, with vehement vigor, to minimize as much as possible any foreign influence in their historic stronghold. In reality, it seems that the militia would like these damned Greek Orthodox to make up their minds: either they evacuate the region and let them settle their affairs in peace (well, in peace... so to speak), or they support them frankly against the collectivists.
Confronted with these political maneuvers, in the absence of valid interlocutors and in order not to let himself involve in a new episode of the Albanian civil war, GGeorgios Tsolakoglou, who had moved from Macedonia to Kosovo, makes a decision that would later be criticized, but which was most logical from his point of view as well as from that of his hierarchy. He halts his advance to the Albanian-Yugoslav border. In this way he confirms the positions of the forces in the Kukës region as they had been fixed since the events following the death of Gani Bey Kryeziu - which corresponds to an extension of the zone devolved to the Albanian Communist Party. This choice, very badly seen by Safet Butka as by General Pervizi, weakens a little more the credibility of the allied arbitrations in the region... but in the end, unless they intervene in the conflict, the Greeks do not really have a choice. For his part, Brian Horrocks did not wish to give his opinion: all this does not concern him any more, he is currently on his way to Belgrade with his whole people. A long journey, through Podujevo and Nis... and by car, for lack of train.

Contact
Milot (Albania) - Sylvestre Audet, for his part, is not interested in these considerations. He did his duty at the Tirana conference and had to manage a bloody Christmas in the Balkan style, but if he came back to the region, it was to take over an operational command: it's up to Athens to deal with the politics! Besides, he is for the moment on the front line, in Albania: Kosovo will wait.
Facing the roaring Mat River, in the company of Generals Anders, Maczek and Bronisław-Duch, the Frenchman can only suppress a pout of spite. The German Jägers had long ago deserted this position - the reconnaissance confirmed this unambiguously. The Axis has nothing left until Lake Scutari, 45 kilometers to the north. And it is probably the same thing in the Puka Mountains.
Audet now looks at his Polish comrades: they seem to wonder what they are doing there.
And especially how long they will stay there! A bored troop is a troop that... "General Anders, what do you say we leave this unpleasant place and go to the Germans? With caution, but at least to show them that we exist?"
The situation on the rear of the 2nd Polish AC is calm, the supply is working without problem from Durrës... The proposal received a satisfies if not enthusiastic approval.
However, in order to secure the Polish flanks, Sylvestre Audet notes to ask Athens the authorization to bring the 4th RST up to the northern border of Albania and the Puka region. It is considered safe and held by the Albanian CP, itself considered to be an ally... But with the strange birds we meet in the region, you never know.

Forced migration
Podgorica (Montenegro) - Emil Zellner's 373. ID Tigar Divizija arrives in the Montenegrin capital, taking the place of the few remaining German elements in the region.
The latter withdraw in the afternoon - the Croats (under German command, however) are now alone in command of a 40-kilometer front section, of which the 373. ID is in charge of the rear with the support of the 3 SS-GAK.
It is therefore a legitimate pride that runs through the ranks of the Ustasha: the Reich finally trusts the Croatian partner. Ante Pavelic is quickly informed of this by his commander-in-chief Slavko Štancer. He is very satisfied, and it is clear to him that this is a precursor for much greater favors - an independent army corps perhaps?

In the east, the new
Drobeta-Turnu Severin (Romanian-Yugoslavian border) - The Royal Engineers' pontoon team following the path traced by Sir Rhodes gives its first conclusions on the technical possibilities for the construction of a bridge over the Danube between Romania and Yugoslavia in the Danube sector. With phlegm, His Majesty's expert sappers say: "the operation, however long and costly it may be, does not involve any major technical difficulties. The whirlpools formed by the Iron Gates, relatively close to the chosen site, could, however, jeopardize the long-term stability of the structure, which we therefore recommend be as light and flexible as possible. Therefore, a boat bridge, which is always liable to be detached in the event of flooding, seems to us to be an ideal intermediate solution, pending further studies.
A fortuitous event can also favour the implementation of our own installations, if it is exploited intelligently: the Reich scuttled several dozen barges and other boats unable to go up the Danube, in order to avoid their capture. These wrecks, although dangerous for navigation, obviously facilitate the crossing and can even be used as a temporary support for the guiding cables necessary for our work. We obviously propose to proceed thus for the continuation of the operations.
In this perspective, a first contact has been made, according to your instructions, with the military authorities on the opposite bank. They do not seem to have any problems with us, as our activities are rigorously announced to them in advance and supervised by their staff. I regret to say that they have indicated that they do not have any human or material means to assist us at the present time. We can only hope that this spirit of tolerance, if not of collaboration, will continue as long as we are led to cross the Danube by this future way."

Serbian machinations
White Palace (Dedinje Royal Estate, Belgrade) - On the direct instruction of the King, the Minister of Justice Milan Gavrilović (former Yugoslav ambassador to Moscow and experienced diplomat) launches an investigation into the alleged links between his ministers Juraj Krnjević and Juraj Sutej (both members of the HSS) and their president Vladimir "Vladko" Maček, who is reportedly under house arrest in Zagreb, but remains a de jure ally of Ante Pavelic. In fact, according to information from the allied secret services (which also report an important political campaign led by August Košutić), Maček is today a major figure in the NDH and considered by some to be "the undisputed leader of the Croatian people", although his personal status is unclear. An information partly confirmed by Krnjević himself, who obviously remains loyal to his political family.
Yet, exclaims Peter II Karađorđević: "How, in the tragic circumstances that our country is going through, is it possible to maintain the slightest connection, the slightest community of thought with traitors who threaten the very unity of the Kingdom and slaughter our fellow-citizens?"
Of course, no one is really blaming the two Croatian ministers... at least for now. It is just a matter of routine checks, which are very common in the context of the current conflict. And very few people in the Yugoslavian state apparatus are really aware of the exact scope of this investigation, apart from the King's small cabinet and Prime Minister Slobodan Jovanović. But still... Suspicions and rumors spread quickly in the palace corridors. For example: "How is it that the German tanks ended up exactly on General Brasic's route?"

 

[Wings]

January 23rd, 1944

Strangle missions
Italian Front - The 57th FG is conducting a new Strangle mission today in the Modena area. The bridges over the Secchio River are the focus of attention when some thirty Bf 109s from the RSI and JG.77 arrive. As the last Mustangs unload their 500-pound bombs to go back up to altitude, the fight begins in the upper levels.
Two P-51s are lost (plus three others damaged) against five Bf 109s shot down.
We note the performances of Captain Roy Thomas, of the 65th FS, scores a double victory, bringing him to 11 confirmed victories, and Lieutenant Paul Carll, 64th FS, who adds a seventh mark on his aircraft, plus a probable win.

Massilia of my fury...
Ventimiglia - The Roya valley is very crowded, this day. No tourists in cars going down to the beaches or going skiing. It is the sky that is black. Black with bombers and fighters. Colonel Dupérier deploys 60 Liberator of the 60th EB(L), preceded by two Mosquito scouts, one of which he pilots himself. These two aircraft were equipped with rocket launchers, loaded with phosphorous and smoke bombs to designate the targets, of which there are three in the valley: the assembly and storage sites of Ventimiglia and Varase, plus the V2 site at Bevera. As usual, the Frenchman chose to pretend, making his four-engine planes arrive at 7 or 8,000 m north over the Nervia valley, as if they went to Austria or Germany, to make them then execute a 180° turn and descend to 5,500 m on the objectives. The "Chasse" provides a cover in front of the bombers, which became the rear-guard protection when the "Lourds" turned back. But the German response remains very weak on the fighter side. The Flak on the other hand shows a certain intensity, seriously damaging four aircraft, which return home as best they can.
In the afternoon, the B-25s of the 23rd EB arrive at the same place. Some of the aircraft, equipped with heavy weapons in the nose, are in charge of stopping the Flak batteries which are firing on their buddies higher up. A kind of finishing of the work of the B-24, if one can be said... Alas, the bombing kills or wounds many Italians who had been requisitioned to clear the rubble of the morning. The lesson is quickly learned - the Germans will have a hard time to find manpower the following times.

 

[Wings]

January 23rd, 1944

Following Dague
Pays de Sault - The Americans complete their reorganization in this sector in the face of a German defense which intends to hold as long as possible and takes advantage of the respite to reinforce its positions. The paratroopers of the 5. and 8. Fallschirm-Jäger-Regiment hold the heights, from the Port de Pailhères and all along the Rebenty valley. They have built log forts, mined the access roads and were supported by a battery of well camouflaged 105 mm howitzers.
Opposite, still from west to east, lined up the 4th Ranger Btn, as well as the 180th and 157th Rgt of the 45th US-ID with, in addition, the divisional artillery, a company of the 3rd Chemical Mortar Battalion as well as a dozen light Stuart M5 tanks of the 757th Tank Battalion. The attack is not yet on the agenda, as the logistics department is still accumulating supplies, which have difficulty reaching this remote area from the Roussillon plain. Major-General Eagles would also prefer to wait until his division was complete; he is missing the 179th Regiment, which is still on the Béziers side.
Nevertheless, Major Roy Murray convinces his superior that his 4th Ranger Btn, guided and supported by the most seasoned Maquis of the Picaussel Maquis, could seize the port (or col) of Pailhères, located at an altitude of 2000 meters, which leads to Ax-les-Thermes. Indeed, their German adversaries do not have any mountain troops in this sector; at most they could count, according to the French, on a few Austrian customs officers used to the summits. The terrain and above all the weather will certainly not have allowed them to establish any kind of hard defense, whose occupants would be condemned to suffer permanently from particularly harsh climatic conditions. The leader of the maquis, Lucien Maury, believes that the real German defense in this sector is located at the edge of the forest, on the western side of the pass. Rangers and Maquis therefore begin to advance towards the pass from the village of Mijanès, taking care to remain under cover to avoid being spotted at an early stage.

Welcome !
Albi - Thanks to the Ultra interceptions, the allied decision-makers are aware of the evolution of the German order of battle. They consider that the results of January are more than positive. At the cost of two small-scale operations in the mountainous zone, they limited the enemy relief by forcing the Wehrmacht to commit their reserves to the line once again and, as a consequence, to drain once again units in the north of France.
In the meantime, the opportunity was too good to miss: the 15th Air Force welcomes in its own way the new Panzergrenadier division that has just arrived in the area. The B-17s of the 2nd and 99th BG bomb the railway station and some other areas reported by the Resistance and photo reconnaissance. If the objective is achieved, i.e. to hinder the rise in line of this new unit and cause some losses, but the toll on French civilians is once again very heavy, with more than twenty dead.

 

[Wings]

January 24th, 1944

The Greeks play hard to get
Athens (Royal Palace) - Following the discreet (but not totally secret) meeting of January 22nd, the government of Georgios Papandreou once again responds to the general staff of the 18th AAG that it opposes "with regret but with absolute firmness a refusal to accept as to the provision of the 5th Infantry Division outside the Greek borders, currently in Xanthi, as well as the 1st Army Corps, deployed in Attica, as long as the security considerations on the Bulgarian border are not resolved and the risks of destabilization of our Nation by foreign agents are not eliminated."
The rest is a little less dry.
"The Kingdom of Greece, which knows nothing of the considerable efforts made by its valiant allies for its liberation, obviously cannot take back its word and reaffirms its full
involvement in the common struggle. But these same allies must also consider the fact that their efforts would be in vain and their sacrifices useless if by any chance, fanned by some evil influence, civil war should engulf the country.
However, the government had no doubt that Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who has already given the Kingdom such generous and disinterested support, will be able to give such assurances that a mutually beneficial agreement can be reached between the two parties."
.........
London - The cable is transmitted to the Foreign Office at about 14:00; it is on Churchill's desk for tea (although the Prime Minister hardly drinks tea). Taking it under Sir Anthony's calmly studied gaze, the political epicurean exclaims: "Guarantees! They want guarantees against Stalin! Whereas I can hardly get any myself in the name of the whole Commonwealth!"
Anthony Eden can only agree, with one reservation: "Prime Minister, I understand your annoyance, which I obviously share. However, this is not a question of a written guarantee - I think that the word of England, which has never failed its allies, should... "
- Yes, yes! Once again we shall have to carry our friends at arm's length. Just like in 1940 ! I tell you, Anthony, it's a good thing Greece is a beautiful country!
Then Churchill takes a particularly expensive Havana cigar out of an elegant box and starts to light it up. A few puffs later, he resumes, looking up at the woodwork on the ceiling: "Hmmm... You're right, of course. Talking to that regent Paul, accommodating Peter II and even talking to the Devil and his minor demons: Stalin and Tito. How is the trip planned for February?"
- The discussions with the Soviet services are progressing well, Prime Minister. The date of February 16th is mentioned for a meeting with Marshal Stalin.
- That's fine. On the way to Moscow, please arrange for me some meetings in Athens. With the Greek regent, but also with the young King Peter and with this Mister Tito. They will make the trip to Athens to see me, hmm? And while you're at it, you'll let the press know about these talks - with the whole world as witness, no one will dare say no to me.
- As you wish, Prime Minister.

The pride of an admiral
German doubts and denunciation
6th Division of the RSHA (Prinz-Albrecht Palace, 102 Wilhelmstraße, Berlin) - The office of SS-Brigadeführer Walter Schellenberg's office is the scene of a succession of informal meetings, official meetings and reports from informants. After the inevitable (and well-deserved!) fall of this incompetent Abwehr, the Ausland-SD* assumes from now on the heavy responsibility of informing Germany about the activities of its numerous enemies. United States, England, France (even here, one begins to lose the habit of saying "Africa"), Middle East, Latin America (including Argentina!)... So much to do and so few resources!
Today, it is Section E that requires the attention of the efficient and formidable SS administrator**. The unit in charge of espionage in Eastern Europe. It hasn't been doing very well lately, to say the least! What does it have to announce that is so important? The young officer - he is only 33 years old! - quickly goes through the typed and typed report and stamped "Streng geheim" in gothic script. Hmm... Apparently, a "Z informant" (thus considered reliable) informs the Great Reich with great detail and documents of secret negotiations in progress between Hungary and the enemy powers of the Reich. The possibility of a changeover, or at least an attempt to change over the country, according to the model inaugurated by Italy and reproduced (with varying degrees of success) by Romania and Bulgaria, seems "serious and imminent".
Schellenberg rejects the document with gravity. The man is obviously a fanatic Nazi, but that does not prevent him from thinking - he has the necessary background. A law graduate, despised by the Schutzstaffel's bigwigs (who always reproached him for his intellectual ways), the SS-Brigadeführer reached his position by dint of hard work, and this in all fields.
In addition to his intelligence responsibilities, he was also in charge of coordination between the Heer and the Einsatzgruppen, and has the ear of the SS Reichsführer himself***! Reinhard Heydrich appreciated him at least as much...
While the SS finally tightened the lace on the necks of incompetent or insufficiently fanatical civilians and soldiers, a place was clearly up for grabs in the new Germany for the head of the 6th Division of the RSHA. Accurately predicting an important event could well ensure the supremacy of his department once and for all! And then, in the end, this report contains nothing really surprising: the Hungarians have long since proven their duplicity and ingratitude, other agents, duly requested, should be able to cross-check this information very quickly.
The document is sent to the Chancellery and Himmler's office with the words "Absolute emergency". This should please the Führer, who will soon meet the Regent! "This old dog is definitely not good for anything anymore," Schellenberg thinks with an evil smile. However, he wonders: "But who could have denounced him?"

* The external intelligence service of the SS, or "Department VI of the Reich's Main Security Office".
** Schellenberg's service was divided into six sections: A (Organization, Administration), B (Western Europe), C (Soviet Union and Japan), D (American sphere), E (Eastern Europe), and F (Technical section).
*** Not least because in 1938, in Austria, Schellenberg saved Himmler's life by preventing a car accident.

 

[Wings]

January 24th, 1944

Indonesia - Operation Meridian
West coast of Sumatra - During the night, the battleships detach from the squadron and conduct a raid against the island of Simalur. Shortly after daybreak, the goal - to destroy a radio transmitter and a radar station - is achieved under the protection of the Seafires, which maintain patrols over the ships. Meanwhile, the Corsairs of the Royal Navy conduct a sweep against the runways of the Medan area, while the French Navy's Corsairs escort the bombers against the ports and terminals of Pangkala Brandan and Pangkala Soesoe. The result is interesting: a tanker being loaded is set on fire and several other ships are hit.

Singapore - At the Japanese HQ, they are now sure that a new allied operation is underway. In the spirit of cooperation with the Navy, the Army gives orders for the Chutai of the 81st Sentai, based in Sumatra, to support the reconnaissance actions of the G4Ms of the 202nd Kikotai. The 601st Kikotai's torpedo bombers are put on alert and, for good measure, the operational conversion unit, the 732nd Kikotai, will support the upcoming attack with its best elements.

Indochina Campaign
Air interdiction
Annam - Since this morning, allied planes have been flying over Hue and its region. Not bombers, fighters. This is not unusual. Since the capture of Chepone, the former imperial capital of Vietnam has been only one flight away from this Colonialist airfield. From time to time, Chepone's fighters launch a major operation to suppress Japanese air traffic. They hunt down anything that flies and displays the Rising Sun.
But today, they have doubled their efforts.

Happy New Year of the Monkey...
Dien Bien Phu - Epervier has taken on a festive air. In the night which starts to spread on the bowl: lanterns are burning. A portico decorated with colored paper strips was raised at the entrance of the village of Dien-Bien-Phu city and proclaims (in Vietnamese and French): "Happy Year of the Monkey". Drums and firecrackers are heard.
This is the second time that the community gathers here by the war has celebrated Têt Nguyên Dán, or Vietnamese New Year. In 1942, the mood is not festive, but in 1943, Tet was already remembered as the most important celebration of the year. However, the festivities had not been prepared with such feverishness. According to the rumors, the next time, it would be in Hanoi, Hue, Saigon... or in France!
While the ordinary soldiers and the inhabitants were rejoicing, the civil and military officials are gathered in a large hut usually used for staff conferences. Decorated on the theme of the Monkey, it hosts an almost posh party. A gramophone plays music and the officers have invited the few women to dance.
The star of the evening is President Ho Chi-Minh. But the leader of the Liên Viêt has difficulty in smiling. He does not let go of the few sheets of paper of the speech he has to give at midnight in front of the microphone of the powerful transmitter of the Épervier base. Next to him, General Mast's eyes are fixed on the wall clock... The seconds are ticking away like hours.

... and Year of Victory
In all of Vietnam, but also in Cambodia and Laos - the rumor has swelled over the days. It circulated among the coolies of the Hô Chi-Minh trail, spread in the maquis, in the clandestine printing houses, in the handmade grenade factories. Uncle Hô is going to make a speech on January 25th at midnight, to celebrate the Tet holiday.
Everywhere, tu-vê, bo-doi, du-kich, gathered in cellars in the city, in clearings in the middle of the jungle, wait around the rare radio sets. But they are not only waiting for the speech. Some of them live close to a target, others have walked for days to get there. Now they are waiting for the order to attack.
The hand is approaching midnight on the clock face.
In a few minutes the Year of the Monkey will begin... The Year of Victory.

 

[Wings]

January 24th, 1944

Operation Bagration
The Rhine Gold
Bagration North (1st Byelorussian Front) - While the weather is clearing up a bit - finally! - over Belarus, the Red Army is about to resume its advance, now that a significant part of its forces have crossed the Berezina.
They no longer seem to have anything to fear on their northern flank. In fact, the 20th Army is redeploying unopposed on both banks of the Daugava. And further south, the 10th Armored Corps captures Miadzel, which had been deserted by the Heer. Alexei Popov and his men do not meet anyone except for a few unlucky collaborators, who were quickly hanged by the Partisans.
But a little further on, things are much more animated. The LIII. AK is not done with the trouble. Thus, still press by the 63rd Army of Kuznetsov, harasses on its left flank by the Oslikovsky Group - which takes advantage of both the multiple woods and folds of the terrain as well as of the maneuver possibilities offered by the Daŭhinava gap - the 260. ID (Robert Schlüter) is now in great danger of annihilation. Obviously, the return of the weather (even temporary) does not help, and the columns are bludgeoned by the VVS, while the Luftwaffe is... elsewhere.
In the evening, the Heer forces hardly reached the banks of the Neris, still pursued by the Reds. The 260. ID is only a shadow of what it was... As for the 293. ID (Karl Arndt), by dint of running, it looks more like a gypsy circus than a fighting force. Only 30 kilometers left until Maladetchna, where they are waiting for... who exactly?
Maybe not necessarily friends, by the way - thus, a little further east, the 3rd Tank Army already seized the road north of Smalyavichy; it then obliquely turned to the right, leaving it to the infantry to reduce the crowd of improvised roadblocks in the plain leading to Minsk. At nightfall, the T-34/85 of comrade Vasily Volsky enter Lahoisk: a small city of 2 000 inhabitants*, located for its great misfortune at the right of a strategic crossroads (which was worth to it multiple plunders by the Tatars or the Swedes) and already devastated by the artillery (the Tyszkiewicz palace, symbol of the presence of the Polish aristocracy, has disappeared, among many other things...). However, the tanks do not stop for tea - and once again they leave it to take care of the strays and other pseudo marching battalions swept away by their push.
Destination: Maladetchna!
Behind them, the 1st Guards Army resumes its advance - admittedly a little sluggish but still vigorous, under the whip of Ivan Chistiakov. Thus, the frontovikis assault behind Katukov's armor and secure Jodzina before continuing the forced march towards Smalyavichy. For the 2nd Shock Army too, things are improving, because Kuzma Galitsky shows again that he is a great leader, somewhat temperamental, of course, but also very courageous**, and above all not hesitating to pay with his life. We find him on the bridges and in the ruins of Baryssaw, personally hunting for latecomers!
But the main, and perhaps the best, reason for this sudden revival of the 1st Belarusian Front lies perhaps in the visit that the comrade Vassili Sokolovsky receives today in his HQ lost in the middle of the woods. It is of course Konstantin Rokossovky. He has chosen to act quickly and, of course, to obey his Vojd - but without exposing himself too much... Which, paradoxically, does not prevent him from taking a malicious pleasure in describing the episode in detail in his memoirs!
Thus, the Pole notices the "submissive" look of Sokolovsky and "his weary tone of guilty, as if he were the subordinate and I the superior." Passivity as well as overwork can change the face of the theoretical leader of the 1st Belarussian Front. But fortunately for Sokolovski, his comrade is not there to audit him and even less to condemn him...
Also, after some exchanges resembling a cruel game, Rokossovky spends a long moment to reassure him, to explain him that he has all the means to fulfill his objectives... before reproaching him for his (obviously) too solitary exercise of command. Then, he goes off to the Chief of Staff, explaining to him that he must not let himself be dispossessed of his prerogatives by his superior. This done, he finally returns to his HQ and hastened to phone Stalin to indicate that his counterpart seemed to him quite competent and up to the task. The Vojd thanks him, of course; things will remain there - from their point of view at least.
As for Zhukov, curiously, he will not breathe a word about this particular episode in his memoirs...
It is impossible to know - even today! - where he was when Rokossovky was with Sokolovski. Just as it is impossible to imagine him anywhere else than in Belarus, lost somewhere on the vastness of the Russian front... The Marshal, ulcerated and humiliated by this incident, probably went to inspect an army, before venting his bad mood on someone responsible. But for him, who feels that his rank has been slipping away since last November, things will not stop there. Even if, on a personal basis, he keeps all his esteem to Vassili Sokolovski.
.........
Bagration Center - In Berazino, the tension rises, while the Red Army now exerts a constant pressure, assisted - it is new - by a 15th Air Army which goes to bomb the Fascist while regularly scanning the clouds in search of the Luftwaffe. This one is absent, or almost: one just raises some attempts of the Fw 190F of the II/SG.1, already few because half of the apparatuses of this unit are still Stukas - there is still some, with the great despair of their crews ! These aircraft remained in the hangar today: they are reserved for better days... or worse, depending on how you look at it.
In short... In spite of the futile efforts of the "blue arrow" aircraft of Oberst Gustav Pressler, who lost 7 of theirs despite the fighter cover while trying to strafe the woods, the Soviets progress. Can it be otherwise? The VII. AK of Enrst-Eberhard Hell is fighting against an army and two cavalry corps, which will probably be reinforced tomorrow by the 1st Parachute Corps of Comrade Gorbatov and the 29th Army of comrade Zholudev! This numerical superiority is not weakened by the departure to Baryssaw of the 3rd Guards Army - Rokossovky has indeed taken advantage of his courtesy visit to send it back to the north, because he rightly fears the traffic jams to cross the river.
During the day, the 1st Cavalry Corps pushes from the north against a 106. ID still valiant, but weakened by days of fighting in the middle of the forests. From Leskoviči, the Reds gradually approach Viašeŭka... and in addition to the crossing point on the river, the flank of the 258. ID, still fighting in the center, in the woods of Kukarava. The
209. StuG is once again called to the rescue, although its operational equipment is melting day by day (it is down to less than 15!).
Finally, in the south, everything is still... almost quiet for the 268. ID, which is hardly confronted on its flank than the incursions of the Pliev Group, in the direction of Milastava. Issa Pliev - who commands not only his cavalrymen, but also the 4th Mechanized Corps of Mitrofan Zinkovich! - could undoubtedly, with some effort, break through Werner Richter's flank to go back north. Only, here is the problem - his troops are still partly in the process of transfer, and must regroup after having harassed for a long time, at the sides of the Partisans, the stragglers of the XLIII. AK (Karl von Oven) and XIII. AK (Otto Sponheimer). These two corps arrive hardly in the Festung while wondering if one will authorize them to continue westward, as Walter Model (and of course Kurt von Tippelskirch) would like.
Meanwhile, the XXXIX. PzK passes the Berezina in relative good order. It approaches Jakšicy to join the rest of the 1. PanzerArmee. That's already a good thing.
.........
Bagration South (2nd Belorussian Front and 1. PanzerArmee) - End of the game for the 1. PanzerArmee, once again confronted with a very dynamic 2nd Belorussian Front, all the more motivated as it knows that with the passage of the Berezina, it has already crossed the last obstacle before its objective.
On the Assipovitchy-Svislač line, the XLI. PanzerKorps, reinforced with the 52. ID (Rudolf Peschel), in total... two divisions and a Hetzer Abteilung... sees the arrival of the 4th Guards Army. Josef Harpe, who expected to see the Reds attacking him, obviously entrenched his decimated infantry behind the Svilasch, while the 20. Panzer (Mortimer von Kessel) defended Assipovitchy with the 23. ID (Paul Gurran): its crossroads, its crossing, its unobstructed banks... This is not his role, but what to do? Hellmuth Weidling is reduced to hoping that his JagdPanzer IVs will be effective in defense and in urban environments.
In any case, he has no choice - in the center, the Hetzer of the 236. StuG Abt are already trying to make the illusion on a far too large front. In fact, the first clash seems to be favorable to the Heer, thanks to the quality of its defense but also to the fact that Ivan Muzychenko himself is waiting for Mikhail Purkayev's 3rd Shock Army to concentrate and attack frankly. The Soviets enter "only" in Assipovitchy and pass the Svilasch river east of Lipen. Not much... but this not much is however obtained without too much effort, and especially without the reinforcements which will not fail to arrive tomorrow in order to take the relay on the left flank. And as it is not the Luftwaffe who will make up for the lack of German manpower...
Speaking of replacement - the LVII. PzK, on which Walter Model counts to serve as a supportwhile waiting for the XXXIX. PzK, reaches Hulsk. There, he has the unpleasant surprise of finding retreating (or routed) marching battalions that signaled that the enemy have crossed the Pitch at Zawołoczyce. Katukov's 1st Tank Army! The LVII. PzK must therefore put itself in defence - at least the time for the II. Luftwaffen-Feld-Korps to join it.
Hans-Heinrich Sixt von Arnim does not want to be surrounded! But, while the T-34 cross the Pitch and that the regrouping of the 1. PanzerArmee seems already very compromised, a question agitates the commanders: why didn't the bridge over the Pitch blow?

Solidarity
HQ of HG NordUkraine - The units designated by General Model have started to withdraw from the front to reach their embarkation stations - with more than 500 kilometers to go, their redeployment can only be done by rail, it is obvious. The new Panther of the SS would not endure such a journey by road - and neither would the troops.
Ferdinand Schröner - who once again obeyed his Führer without the slightest hesitation - is not particularly concerned about the destination of these units. And even less about the chances of success of Neptun! The Führer is infallible, the German army the best in the world. And besides, this is not his sector. Finally, it is Martin Unrein and Hermann Priess who command the designated units - so...
Nevertheless - between the journey to the stations, the embarkation, the train journey (at night, of course), the sabotage, aerial attacks (during the daytime breaks), unloading, the ascent to the front... it seems obvious that the required Panzers will not be ready for the attack before 6 or 7 days. In the meantime, we will have to hold on!
.........
HG Nord, Kaunas - On his side, Georg von Küchler, after having spent again a very bad night - his neighbor of the HG Mitte is at least right about that, he won't take it away from him - puts the final touches to his own contribution to Neptun. At least he had the opportunity
to choose the units in question...
These will be the following formations: 22. Panzer (Eberhard Rodt), 226. StuG Abt (Major Herbert Keysler), 123. ID (Louis Tronnier) and 253. ID (Hans Junck). This Armee Abteilung, under the command of Rodt, should take five days to reach Smarhon - their point of provisioning of the HG Mitte, located west of Maladetchna. By road, of course - because the railroads in the Baltic States are not what they used to be...
.........
Wewelsburg Castle - On the side of the ReichsFührer-SS, there is also a lot of excitement. Because for Heinrich Himmler - whose convictions on the subject have been well established since 1937! - his Schutzstaffeln are now the only real elite troops worthy of the Reich and the time has come for their triumph. His units are already the only ones, he believes, to have performed well on the Eastern Front since last autumn, inflicting heavy blows on the Asians on the road to Kiev before heroically defending the Heer's withdrawal, then going to France to chastise the Americans and the Judeo-Africans. They could not therefore remain on the sidelines in Belarus, or to be satisfied with playing the role of substitute for the regular army. Their efforts must be visible, spectacular and above all decisive.
In short, the Waffen-SS - a political weapon if ever there was one - has to hold its political rank in the battle that was about to begin. The stakes are too high. Model has already asked for the Totenkopf. That's fine. But it won't be enough. The master of the Black Order has therefore demanded from his subordinates that something more be sent to help HG Mitte defeat the red mass. His personal chief of staff, Maximilian von Herff, of course hastened to obey.
However, with all due respect to the chief, it must be admitted that the SS is also somewhat...helpless in White Ruthenia. The enemy was expected elsewhere! Finally, for lack of anything better, von Herff will send to Minsk the order to make available a unit to say the least the 18 Waffen-Grenadier-Division of the SS, formerly the SS-Sturmbrigade Kaminski. This unit did not have to go far from its garrison north of Minsk.
This division is a sinister exception in the ranks of the Black Order - which, however, was not lacking in them. Commanded by an improvised chemical engineer and warlord, the Russian Bronislav Kaminski, it brings together about 12,000 Belarusians and Ukrainians, united by their hatred of the Bolshevik and the Jew... as well as by a certain taste for looting. Some would say that are brigands, or even truck drivers - but collectivist propaganda is so slanderous! Moreover, the unit was equipped with heavy weapons.
Kaminski was quickly ordered to move towards Smalyavichy to repel the enemy, in collaboration with the Heer, to push back the Russian vanguards that have passed Baryssaw. After the French of the Heer, here are the ex-Soviets of the SS. It remains to be seen who will be the most combative: Laval's legionnaires or the embryonic Russian National Liberation Army that some Germans are now planning to form...

Days of thunder
Wolfsschanze (Rastenburg), 15:00 - Another tense day in the Wolf's Lair.
Informed of the progress in the preparation of Neptun - not fast enough, but it is necessary - Hitler decides to send two of the six divisions in formation to East Prussia to contribute to the defense of Minsk. It will be the 357. ID (Knut Eberding) and the 359. ID (Norbert Holm), regrouped in a new ArmeeKorps, the LXXII. AK, entrusted to General der Infanterie Anton Grasser.
However, after these first satisfactions, the Führer is scandalized - with some reason - when he learns about the situation in Zawołoczyce, and the passage of the Pitch on the right of the 1. PanzerArmee. This unit was holding up so well - how to explain such a failure?
"What kind of idiocy is it to let intact bridges fall into the hands of the enemy?" he screamed.
Of course, we have to answer him. We try to reach Model - he is on tour in Tcherven to Josef Harpe, as usual***. But, however brutal a leader he may be, blaming his subordinates is not his style. His staff therefore confirms without delay that the preservation of the bridge in question was a direct order within the framework of the preparation of Neptun (the units must leave from somewhere!). Indeed, it was not envisaged that the main effort of the Reds would be immediately directed towards the west. Obviously, the weather was better yesterday in Poland - today, big black clouds appear in the east...

Tankist (Evgeny Bessonov)
Break
"Arrival of our group in Miadzel. Break - in the rain and cold. After such a cavalcade, Stalingradskiy needed rest and maintenance. Just like us. Especially Nikita and Sasha. It must be said that staying all day balanced on ammunition boxes...
No hot meal or warmth of the fireplace for us. No Pokhnodno-Polevaya Jena for our hotheaded Andrei, who was still repeating vulgarities about guns and big guns to anyone who would listen to him, but he was repeating vulgarities about gunfire and big guns****. He was going to have to calm down and help Fyodor to maintain our machine. That would keep him busy.
After so many successes, so many victories, so much progress, euphoria had given way to exhaustion. The engines were worn out, the drivers tired, the infantrymen were sleeping on our back beaches in spite of the bumps and the rain. In short, it was finally time for our comrades in the south to catch up with us - according to the group. This would not take long. And to the west, the Neris already seemed to be opening her arms as a tender babushka would.

* Before the war - much less so now: a quarter of the population of Lahoisk was made up of Jews, who were almost all exterminated by the Einsatzgruppen.
** He is in the Red Army since... 1918 ! Seriously wounded against the Whites in 1919, he returned to the front before the end of his convalescence. Of course, he then participated in the war against the Poles. Arrested during the purges in 1938, he was released in May 1939 for lack of evidence and/or confession (but especially when Beria took office). Finally, he was one of those responsible for the breakthrough of the Mannerheim Line at the end of the Winter War.
*** On the front, Walter Model's visits, almost daily, followed a protocol that was as effective as it was well established. The general arrived at the forward HQ with a reduced escort and demanded a very clear and brief report as soon as he entered the door. If there is a problem, the local commander must have three different solutions to suggest. The session is over, the local commander has the right to make requests - a decision is then made immediately and the order is then given by telephone to the chief of staff, Krebs, who is asked to obey quickly. Some very specific requests (such as flame throwers for urban combat) will even be sent directly to the material service in Berlin!
**** A misleading play on words, probably due to the fact that the acronym of the "Campaign Wives", PPJ, is very close to that of the PPSh machine pistol.

 

[Wings]

January 24th, 1944

Resuming contact
Albania - With all the precautions born of experience, the 2nd Polish Corps begins to advance a brigade of the 5th Infantry Division of General Bolesław Bronisław-Duch in a northerly direction, towards Shkodër. Although reinforced by an armored regiment, the infantrymen are careful: the Germans have surely left a lot of mines and other traps behind when they withdrew. But no Pole is willing to die to liberate a piece of northern Albania a little faster.
Sylvestre Audet, for his part, obtained from Athens the authorization to advance the 4th RST and the 107th RALCA from Gostivar to Ujmisht, i.e. to the borders of the Land as well as of the zone held by the Albanian CP. Aware that he could not let the problem drag on forever, and with the agreement of his hierarchy, the Frenchman goes back to Kosovo to try once again to control the chaos.

Snowstorm
Yugoslavia - It is snowing today all over the Balkans. These are ideal conditions for the Axis, which launches "Schneesturm", its new "pacification" operation. Having already seen the effectiveness of the process during "Kugelblitz", the 20. Armee sends the men of the XV. Gebirgs-Armee-Korps to the assault of two equivalent circles, centered respectively on Pljevlja and Plužine. It is necessary to clear once and for all the communication routes in the rear of the German units, as they are about to "slip" northwards, according to von Weichs' wishes. For this task, the 117. Jäger of Karl von Le Suire (still in reserve in Goražde) is ready to help. It is reinforced with elements of the SS Polizei Selbstschutz-Regiment Sandjak and the troops of Pavle Đurišić, coming from the south. Finally, a regiment of the 7. SS-Gebirgs-Division Prinz Eugen contributes its expertise, although it is visibly painful to follow the Heer's directives. But it doesn't matter to the common man in the region, everyone is now holding their breath...

Air preparations
18th AAG HQ (Athens) - Air-Marshal Sir Arthur Tedder presides over a joint preparation meeting, in the presence of Antoine Béthouart, Panagiotis Spiliotopoulos and General Weiss, from the Armee de l'Air. The aim of this meeting is to define, within the framework of the triptych, the future needs of the ground forces in air support as well as in advanced campaign. The decisions made state that:
- Weather conditions and the ongoing re-equipment of part of the squadrons prohibit any major action before the beginning of March;
- This constraint is fully consistent with the start of ground operations, scheduled for the end of April, given the rail construction and logistical operations in progress;
- the initial thrust of the three offensives will have to be supported by the maximum number of airborne resources and on their three axes, in order to keep the enemy uncertain about the real goal of the allied action;
- this doubt will have to be instilled beforehand by a semi-strategic bombing campaign spread out throughout March and April, targeting Yugoslavia as well as Hungary, actions on Trieste and Austria not being excluded;
- the redirection of air assets will be carried out, after the initial thrust, according to the results of the three ground actions and by privileging the most favorable ones, it being understood that Plunder retains total priority over the other two operations.
A fine connoisseur of the Balkans and a well-informed diplomat, Béthouart suggests that the formations (seven groups), be specifically assigned to Grenade - a delicate attention which will please (perhaps) the royal staff, and will undoubtedly favour the effectiveness of the support! Obviously, concerning the Yugoslavs, everyone agrees that it is preferable not to provide them with more information than strictly necessary on the delicate interaction between the three offensives - the total "Yugoslavization" of Grenade going of course in this direction.
With that, Béthouart and Spiliotopoulos take their leave. Now between airmen, Tedder and Weiss set to work without delay. There is a lot of work and it is likely that the squadrons of heavy bombers deployed in Italy - whether British or 8th Air Force - would have to be put to work. Negotiations with General Alexander and his staff are going to be very tight...

In the east, something new
Kulata Pass (Bulgarian-Greek border) - Sir Rhodes and his team finally cross the Danube, towards what is not yet called "the West", with a curious impression but with a sense of duty accomplished. Indeed, the road to Belgrade is finally traced and cleared. Apart from the small problems of crossing the Danube, which were in any case foreseeable between Blagoevgrad and the Salonika-Alexandroupolis* line, it is all the same 190 miles of pre-existing tracks, and immediately usable for the allied logistics, which have been identified.
In fact, to establish the connection with Salonika, there is only the construction of the connection mentioned above, as well as the Zaječar-Belgrade line - only 135 miles. Perhaps even less, if it were possible to build a second connection south of Belgrade, on the best preserved sections of the Yugoslav network. In any case, it will still be shorter than the 250 miles of the direct Skopje-Belgrade route, which also passes through war-torn regions.
Of course, Godfrey Rhodes knows that his construction is nothing more than a transitional arrangement, "a detour through the red light district", some people are already joking... But the Canadian is proud of his find and returns to Thessaloniki with the certainty that there will be something left of the bridges he had built to span rivers, borders and regimes.
From his short excursion on the other side of the future "Iron Curtain", and more generally from his long crossing of the Balkans, posterity will draw a novelized biography, entitled A Train for Freedom. This one describes in detail and with a real technical rigor the works by the Supply Service, as well as the capitalist methods and the debauchery of means used by its construction sites - construction sites carried out, it should be remembered, in countries that are agrarian and (recently) communist countries. The story ends tragically when some Soviet soldiers, amazed by the industrial power of the reactionary world attempt to "cross over to the West" under the fire of the border guards and the dejected gaze of Rhodes.
The book was later adapted for the cinema, with William Holden in the role of Rhodes, Sir Alec Guinness as Colonel Canterbry and Donald Pleasance as the sinister Soviet head of the NKVD...
In reality, things didn't go that far - and this was due to the NKVD, which made sure to limit as much as possible the interactions between the representatives of the two worlds, going as far as to organize a sort of invisibility over the construction carried.
This separation obviously responded to considerations of internal propaganda: for Stalinism, there could be no question of envisaging the slightest capitalist success, a fortiori on the soil of a country liberated by the Red Army. The only (and very rare) "passages to the West" were the work of Romanian civilians, some of whom were sometimes pushed back by the Allied soldiers once they reached Yugoslavia.

Serbian machinations
White Palace (royal domain of Dedinje, Belgrade) - In the context of the preparation of the future allied offensive, of which he still knows nothing but which it seems obvious that it will start from Serbia, Peter II decrees "the general mobilization of all Yugoslavs and all energies to liberate the Fatherland". As soon as the civil authorities were reinstalled and a draft of the gendarmerie carried, a massive conscription operation is launched, without it being systematically necessary to resort to force. The Serbian and Macedonian youth (but especially Serbian), hungry but enthusiastic (and perhaps enthusiastic because hungry) is standing. It is on the front line in the Army, whose numbers are swollen by young recruits, as well as on the roads, in the rear, to repair the works of art, to clear the ruins and restore the infrastructure. "If the Westerners don't want to help us, we will do without them!" will say on this subject Peter II Karađorđević - although he will be careful not to do so in public or in front of the cameras.
The cameras of the allied services are already quite busy to be so interested in the country of the Southern Slavs - which does not prevent them from shooting several reports about it, all duly supervised by the Palace services and clearly intended to move the international public. For those who do not know the country, and seen (for example) from the United States, the Kingdom's recovery is a beautiful story, that of a proud and warlike people, who never gave up an inch of their honor. Thus, the photograph of a (very) young man engaged on the Danube front, in the 1st Division of General Krstic, to whom his father (who lived nearby) comes to visit him in his trench, will go around the world and will bring tears to many a thatched cottage in the Middle-West.
But all this, of course, is for the gallery... The reality is much more complex.
Sometimes, alone among the ghosts of his home, Peter II has a vague feeling. He knows that the account is not there and that Yugoslavia is still very far from having found its greatness.
Tonight, he is thinking like this when Momčilo Ninčić enters the room - although he is considered most doubtful by the other allied governments (who reproach him as much for his pan-Serbian extremism as well as a great propensity for intrigue), the Yugoslav foreign minister enjoys a great deal of credit with the young sovereign. This is not necessarily a good thing... But it doesn't matter to Peter, who stands up when he sees him coming: "Ah, Mister Minister! What new disappointment have you come to tell me this time?"
Ninčić is all honey in front of the king: "Disappointment? None, Sire! The situation of the Kingdom is improving day by day. And Victory now seems certain!"
- Certainly, Minister. Certainly. But what victory? That of the Kingdom, of the Westerners or even the Bolsheviks? Our forces are dramatically weak, Mr. Ninčić, due to the fate of the arms or the too little support offered to them. I must confess that I do not know how to remedy this, while treason assails the country.
- If Your Majesty allows me to express an opinion, we must provide local solutions to our local problems. The English and French, for all their undeniable bravery, do not have our vision and our sad experience of sedition. So we must do something about it ourselves, for the good of all.
- And how? With what means to get rid of the Ustashi, then of the band of this...Tito? What allies to find against them?
A silence, a grimacing smile - Momčilo Ninčić starts: "Well, Sire, there are still fighters hiding in the mountains..."
At that moment, a cold draft enters the room - a poorly closed doorframe, a badly sealed window perhaps. Peter II is interloqué, frightened, even, by this suggestion that he rejects all the more because it fascinates him: "But they are murderers and traitors! Would you enlist them? Many of them are not even Serbs!"
- That's true, Sire, but they are Yugoslavs, if we give them the opportunity to prove it...

* Despite the (real!) proximity between the infrastructures, Greece and Bulgaria never deigned to agree on a common network before they joined the European Union. The specifications for the Salonika-Alexandroupolis line even stipulated that the minimum distance from the border or the sea should be 15 km, in order to keep the line away from land and naval artillery fire!

 

[Wings]

January 24th, 1944

"Big cars"
Italian front - If the Allied frontline aviation, in particular the squadrons of the XVIIIth Tactical Air Command, have such good results, it is because its opponent in Italy, the JG.77, is forced, at the same time, to try to intercept in first curtain the raids of the 15th Air Force that are heading towards Germany. The number of pilots lost while trying to attack the "big car" boxes and their escort is no longer counted and the successes are often highlighted to show the infantrymen that, no, the Luftwaffe is not absent, that it fights to protect the Vaterland at all costs.
Today, two pilots give German propaganda something to crow about. The boss of of the I/JG.77, Johannes Steinhoff, succeeds in a quadruple (two P-38, a P-51 and a B-24) and of the II/JG.77, Ernst Wilhem Reinert, a double (two P-51), which brings their respective totals to 109 and 111 confirmed victories respectively.

 

[Wings]

January 24th, 1944

Following Dague
Col de Pailhères - Rangers and maquisards progress over increasingly steep terrain (the average slope was around 10%), but always under the protection of the forest, so as to be able to cross the hundreds of meters of open ground separating them from their objective during the last hours of the night. In spite of the darkness, they manage to find their way easily thanks to the silhouette of the Tarbesou peak, which dominates the pass on the left.
In the early morning, the assault is given, but it falls practically in the vacuum, and for reason: the pass is only guarded by two dozen enemy soldiers who take shelter as they can in the shepherd's huts scattered around the area. In the rush, the attackers start to go back down in the direction of the village of Ascou, but they are greeted by a heavy fire from the edge of the woods on either side of the road. At this place, it is a real line of forts built with tree trunks which forbids any progress. Without support, the rangers and maquisards have to retreat to the pass, which they do not intend to abandon.
.........
South of the Corbières - After a week of forced inactivity due to poor weather and insufficient supplies, the 85th US-ID goes back to attack the German positions.

Relief
Agen - With the rail lines further south congested, it is in Agen that the first elements of the 15. Panzer Division arrive. This division was initially to be assigned to the 19. Armee, but the latter, in spite of the losses suffered during Nordwind, already had four Panzer divisions reinforced with infantry (including the 9. SS in the rear) to defend the 30 kilometers of the Isère river. On the other hand, the 1. Armee has only one Panzer division and two Panzergrenadier divisions, one of which had just been engaged, to defend almost 350 linear kilometers of front with a gap perceived as "porous" of a hundred kilometers between Albi and Limoux.
The arrival of the 15. Panzer allows the 1. Armee to have a mobile reserve made up of the 9. Panzer and the 14 SS-PzGr. The 15. Panzer is assigned to the LXVI. PzK in the Carcassonne gap and the 3. PzGr, about to relieve the elements of the 14. SS around Millau, will be assigned to the XC. ArmeeKorps (which replaces the IV. Luftwaffen Feldkorps, dissolved).

 

[Wings]

January 25th, 1944

Old grudges from Mittel Europa
3-8 Porchester Gate (London), 19:00 - In these discreet offices in the British capital, František Moravec, head of the secret service of the Czechoslovak government in exile, recieves his Minister of Defense, General Jan Sergej Ingr. The two men have a one-on-one conversation - not coincidentally, they both felt that the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jan Garrigue Masaryk, is too turbulent... too impulsive... too honest, in fact.
And in fact, no one but them really knows what they are talking about - even though the general is having dinner tonight with Prime Minister Jan Šrámek and President Edvard Beneš.
It was he who said, in a tone weary of age: "All the same, Moravec, I would have preferred to fight these Hungarians fair and square. Like in the past, in 1919, with my legionnaires! And the Poles as well, I'm sure.
- The Poles would not have helped us in this matter, General... On the other hand, the Yugoslavs would probably agree with us if we asked them for their opinion! I too have fought, but in the Serbian legion. Better to have them as friends, believe me. But that's not the point. And even if I understand your... reserve, you know that our poor country must strike the blows that its means allow.
- Your agents have been very effective, it is true.
František Moravec sits heavily in his chair, both hands crossed in front of him, and asserts: "Finally, general, don't tell me that you have regrets! We weren't going to let this shoddy admiral negotiate our country!
- Do you still believe that the British would have dealt with him?
- The British did sign the Munich Agreement in 1938 - and they gave him the whole of the south from Slovakia to Bratislava [Presburg]! It was only further north that our land went to the Reich. Well, what was taken by Germany will come back to us, of course, but...
- But the rest?
- Yes, the rest... It is better not to take risks - in 1942, Eden was still talking about a "diplomatic success" about Munich. So... Horthy is clever, don't underestimate him. He maneuvered Italy to force the Reich's hand in 1938*. Besides, it was to Ciano that his first thanks went to, not to Hitler! This Protestant claims to have come to power against his own will...
Moravec has a sour little laugh and continues: "Yet he has been in power for a quarter of a century! Do you remember his triumph in 1938 when he entered Kassa victorious, a city that had been taken from us?
General Ingr darkened: "Yes... On his white horse, like when he liberated Budapest from the communists! And on November 11th!"
- All of this under the cameras of the Hungarian propaganda, which made a big fuss about it**!
- A disgusting spectacle...
- And yet it was welcomed by many British people. Lord Rothermere, the main supporter of the Blackshirts, wrote an article hailing "the radiant happiness of a nation hitherto despairing and unjustly treated." And how bitter were we!
A long silence, then the head of the secret service leans forward and finishes: "In the atrocious one, to see our own fellow citizens, Hungarians but whom we had accepted as our brothers, build flower columns and triumphal arches to Horthy.
Then he falls back heavily into his chair: "Ah! 'Isten Hozott' they said! God has brought you here! Well, may the Devil take them away from now on!"
- We will see to that," replies the general. "President Beneš has already asked the Allies to consider the possibility of a "konečné řešení německé otázky" [final solution - sic - of the German problem]. The Sudeten minority has been poisoning our lives for too long.
With that, he puts on his coat and continues: "I intend to propose tonight to the Prime Minister that this system be extended to ethnic Hungarians. You have revived old memories, Moravec..."
The two men shake hands and the General Minister says goodbye: "I will let you know the results of my efforts as soon as possible. Please continue to defend Czechoslovakia against the activities of other nations... whatever they may be! See you later my friend!"
- See you soon, General!
And Jan Sergej Ingr disappears into the night to his car, which would take him to 26 Gwendolen Avenue, for a very constructive evening...

* Following Horthy's disastrous state visit to Kiel in 1938, the German Reich was more than reluctant to the idea of allowing Hungary to benefit from the Munich Agreement. The intervention of fascist Italy was decisive. We can specify - but Moravcek doesn't do this - that the Munich agreement allowed Hungary to have a common border with Poland in order to form a "Catholic glacis" - a situation then favored by the services of Count Ciano.
** See the propaganda film with the evocative title Eszak felé! - Towards the North!

 

[Wings]

January 25th, 1944

Burma Campaign
Air front
Occupied Burma - RAF Rhubarb missions take place between Ye and Tavoy, engaging small groups of Blenheims, Beaumonts or Mosquitos, covered by Spitfires and Beaufighters. The losses are light, but it is a dark day for Sqn 47: a Mosquito was hit by flak and another one crashed on landing, when one of its wings broke off - the wooden structure of the beautiful twin-engine plane seems to have a hard time with the equatorial climate.

Operation Stoker... and retaliation - The Lhokseumawe airfield is now the target of B-24s and P-38s based in the Andaman. Some time earlier, it was this base that had given the Americans trouble on their way home, but today there are nothing more than a dozen Ki-43s, which the P-38s easily repel. Two Ki-43s are shot down against a P-38; a B-24 was damaged by flak. The runway is strewn with craters and some hangars are burned.
During the night, a Ki-21 raid on the Andaman damages the runway and a hangar at Digilpur, destroying a Liberator. None of the attackers are lost, the Beaufighters of Sqn 176 being badly positioned.

Indonesia
Operation Meridian
West coast of Sumatra - The raids of the day take place against Padang, and more precisely against the cement factory of Indaroeng. The latter, the only one in South-East Asia, is completely destroyed by the bombs, in particular those of the French Cormorants, placed with great precision. The Japanese have to bring in all the cement necessary for their fortifications from their homeland, thus slowing down the work on many structures and mobilizing precious tonnage.
Nevertheless, the Japanese manage to score a point when a Ki-46 detected the TF 57-2. It transmitted to Singapore that it had spotted an aircraft carrier and three battleships before disappearing from the airwaves.
The Japanese aircraft take off, but the B6Ns of the 601st Kikotai (which had a Zero escort) do not find the allied squadron - on the other hand, the G4M1s of the 732nd Kokutai and their novice pilots, without escort, made contact... but mostly with the CAP Seafires.
Out of the twelve bombers, five are shot down, justifying the reputation of the aircraft as a "flying lighter", three others are damaged and repulsed, one jettisons its torpedo to escape destruction and only the last three arrive at a suitable distance to consider launching their torpedo. However, they run up against a real wall of fire, even more intense than their instructors had envisioned based on the engagements of the Battle of the Andaman. All three aircraft are destroyed - only two were able to launch against the Allied ships, without result.
Lagadec: "The engagement of the 25th confirmed the lessons of the battle of Timor: the combat has changed its soul. Of course, Danny took the opportunity to regain the lead in our friendly competition, with a victory over a Betty. Ironically, he wanted to continue to fly on Corsair and got a telling off by his superior, who ordered him to take his place at the head of the Victorious' Seafire."
Shortly thereafter, the Allied fleet heads south-southeast to "Trocadero," as fuel and ammunition supplies are running low.

Singapore - The G4M disaster will have significant consequences. The report will underline the deficiencies of the equipment used, will remind the necessity of a fighter escort for any raid against an enemy fleet with aircraft carriers and affirmed the fact that the British ex-fortress is no longer a rear position, but would soon be in the front line.
Rather than lose face by admitting its mistakes, the Navy staff decides to transform the 732nd Kikotai, which had previously been dedicated to operational training, into a true attack unit, the 707th Hikotai, which is equipped with G4M3s and seasoned pilots.

Indochina Campaign
Tet offensive
Dien-Bien-Phu, 00:00 - Ho Chi-Minh is in great shape when he speaks on the Épervier radio. After bitter negotiations, he obtained to pronounce his speech in Vietnamese before its translation into French was broadcast, in exchange for the fact that he addressed it not only to the "People of Vietnam" but also to the "People of the allied countries". He begins by recalling the Japanese invasion, the battles, the victories, the defeats. Then his voice takes on lyrical accents...
- It is an undeniable fact that Japan came to Vietnam without being invited. It came with arms in their hands, spreading their infamous soldiery, looting, burning, raping.
Vietnam is a country, a nation, that has existed for a long time. This country has its history, its language and its literature. Its people, united, live their differences without violence, in sharing.
No foreigner has the right to come and tell us that our land is not ours. That our lives are not ours. No foreigner has the right to impose on us a government sold to its interests or abject laws that have no other purpose than to reduce us to the rank of slaves.
Yet this is what Vietnam has been experiencing for too long.
The Japanese invasion of Vietnam a little over two years ago, which claimed to liberate us, has in fact aggravated our misfortunes and inaugurated the darkest period in our history. What have the Japanese brought to Vietnam, if not new forms of torture! Famine! Fear! Oppression!
However, I announce to you that this year Vietnam will break its chains. The fact that it is with the help of those who thought they were its masters and are now its allies is an irony of Fate. France has even shown, by paying the price of blood, that it could be not only an ally, but a friend.
On this first day of the Year of the Monkey, I announce to you: this year will be the year of Victory.
Long live the Franco-Vietnamese friendship!
Long live a free and independent Vietnam!
The above is the translation of Ho Chi-Minh's words. The official translation in French read at the microphone by a speaker of Epervier, diplomatically rounds off some of the a few sharp edges of this speech...
.........
HQ of the Japanese forces in Indochina, Hôtel Métropole (Hanoi), 03:00 - Major Sasaki hates night guards. As head of communications, he must watch over a suite transformed into an office and occupied by a dozen tables supporting as many transceivers. Moreover, this post is rarely quiet. We always receive calls from outposts under attack, we have to send reinforcements, put other garrisons on alert...
But tonight!
A frazzled and worried lieutenant returns with a full load of messages. The post of the Cloud Pass between Hue and Tourane, does not answer anymore. At the time of his last contact, he was reporting a massive attack of bo-dois. But there is worse to come: to the north of the former imperial capital, the garrisons of Quang-tri and Do-linh are attacked with cannons! The troubles spread far beyond Annam: outposts around Saigon are also attacked and the fort of Cay-Mai, on the road to Mytho, just outside Cholon, is under fire from automatic weapons and mortars. In Mytho, they are shooting all around the city, but also in the streets.
Sasaki gets up to go downstairs to the first floor, where a large conference room has been transformed into a tactical center. Maps on the tables and walls show the current situation. Despite the time of day, many of the generals are present. They surround Andou Rikichi.
Exhausted, the military governor of Indochina shook his head: "It all started at midnight...Just after Ho Chi-Minh's speech, right?" The questioned officer bows: "Yes, Your Excellency. And it is an action on the whole of Vietnam. However, most of the attacks are in Annam and Cochinchina. We have to wait for the day to know whether this is a diversion, a way for them to celebrate the new year or..."
- Or the beginning of a real general offensive," concludes General Rikichi.
The military governor looks at the wall clock.
- I'm going to bed, please wake me up before dawn.
.........
Quang-tri, 08:30 - Dawn...
The sun filters through a gray and sticky mist. The Japanese soldiers, exhausted by a whole night shooting at shadows, discover their camp ravaged by craters that have ripped open their trenches and the low walls of sandbags. Here and there, shredded corpses remind the severity of the artillery bombardment that fell during the night.
Grenade launchers, FMs and Arisaka rifles point out from the firing embrasures. We wait, we know that they will come. The Nipponese are tense, breathing hard, hands clutching their weapons.
A mechanical creaking resounds, distorted by the heavy air, then an engine noise. Some dark silhouettes appear in the mists. There is a flutter among the Japanese. They had expected gunfire or an infantry charge, but tanks? The enemy has no tanks! Moreover, as three vehicles emerge from the fumes, the soldiers recognize the silhouette and camouflage of some of their own tanks: they are Chi-Ha type 97. Reinforcements?
When the 57-mm guns start to spit towards the Japanese lines, the concussion is immense. Their own tanks are firing at them, it must be a mistake!
Some of them stand up, shouting to show their uniforms. But they fall down, chopped up by the machine guns. It is only then that the defenders realize that the tanks, partially repainted, bear an unknown emblem: a gold star on an azure background.
The Belgian Congo Public Force attacks.
.........
Hotel Metropole, Hanoi, 08:45 - Captain Yamada puts the handset down. He turns to Rikichi at the other end of the table: "The Quang-tri garrison reports the presence of blacks in American uniforms cleaning out trenches overrun by tanks."
Rikichi shook his head in disbelief, "Americans? That's impossible!"
One of his subordinates adds: "A troop engaged near Cao-bang a few days ago was also wearing American uniforms, but it was confirmed that they were in fact French."
Both turn to a young lieutenant who quickly flips through some enemy equipment. Among other things, they record the unit emblems and markings used by Colonizer units. "I'm sorry, Your Excellency, but the yellow star on a blue background is not referenced anywhere. It is not a nationality flag, nor is it the insignia of a French or American unit."
The phone rings again and Captain Yamada picks up, "Yes? Yes... What? Yes... I will inform His Excellency immediately". He hangs up the phone: "Your Excellency, the garrisons of Hué, Mytho and Saigon are facing an uprising of the population. Mytho is also under attack from the outside."
In the minutes that follows, the telephone does not stop ringing. The list of cities and posts under attack from the outside or facing a revolt of the population is growing in a dizzying way. Most of the big cities of the center and the south of Vietnam are affected: Buon Ma Thuot, Kontum, Faifo, Tuy Hoa, Tourane, Quinhon, Pleiku. All of them are facing an uprising of the population, armed with handmade grenades and bamboo spears, framed by Vietminh irregulars and sometimes by units of bo-dois armed with a few mortars and FMs. They concentrate their attacks on the headquarters of the occupying forces, the militia barracks and the radio stations.
.........
Saigon, 09:00 - The headquarters of the Saigon and Cholon garrison (mainly composed of the 26th and 27th Infantry of the 7th Infantry Division, General Okiie Osami) is attacked by a well-armed troop of bo-dois who had sneaked into the city. An explosive charge placed against a wall creates a gap through which the commando group enters the Continental Palace. However, the Vietminh leader, who is shouting to motivate his men, is too noticed. A shot rings out from a window and the man rolls to the ground, hit in the chest. Seriously chastised by the Japanese fire, the Bo-Dois withdraw but without lifting the building's encirclement. They go back on the attack several times.
At the same time, other commandos attack the arms warehouses of the "Voluntary Forces of the Interior" (Noi Ung Nghia Binh) and the "White Berets" (Bah Mu Doan), two pro-Japanese militias. The assault itself succeeds, but the depots were practically empty. The White Beret prisoners explained that they had been forced to turn over most of their weapons to the Japanese. As for the Volunteers, they had stored modified Gras Mle 1874 M80 rifles seized during the conquest... but the last 8 mm Lebel cartridges were fired long ago!
Among the rebels, several groups spread out in the most exclusive residential areas. Their targets are not military. They received a black list of known collaborators and go to their homes to flush them out. During the day, entire families are massacred, without trial, without mercy.
.........
Hue, 12:00 - The attack at dawn was a great success. A good half of the city, including the citadel, falls into the hands of the rebels. The pro-Japanese militias still hold three large major districts where they are entrenched, putting up furious resistance. However, the sky is the limit for the Mustang II of the CAFP Mahenge Regiment deployed from Chepone.
Under their cover, the Airacobra of the Tabora Regiment strafe the concentrations of militiamen or drop bombs on the barricades.
In these conditions, the resistance of the pro-Japanese forces is already strongly undermined when the first soldiers of the Public Force enter Hue. The latter, being transported by truck (a great luxury in Indochina!) leave Quang-tri, which was stormed in the early morning, barely two hours earlier.
.........
Tourane, 13:00 - The presence of six thousand Japanese and pro-Japanese militiamen in Tourane causes the city's uprising to fail. However, the garrison finds itself surrounded and is bombarded by both bo-dois mortars and Armee de l'Air planes.
.........
Saigon, 15:00 - There is fighting around the General Government, Norodom Street; around the Central Arresting Station (the prison), the City Hall and the Cochinchina Government, rue d'Espagne ; around the hotels (used as headquarters by the Japanese) between Boulevard de la Somme and the Arroyo Chinois; around the Long Binh naval base (defended by Navy troops). After six hours of fighting, only the radio station is conquered.
The bo-dois had brought a speech of Ho Chi-Minh recorded on disk, proclaiming the liberation of Saigon. Unfortunately, the militiamen who were defending the place ransacked the facilities before perishing.
.........
Hué, 16:00 - Having no trucks, it is only now that General Bourdeau's 10th RIC enters the ancient imperial capital. It is reinforced by the ex-Lao-Issaras of the brand new 1st Regiment of the Royal Laotian Army (of which Bourdeau is also the commander-in-chief). Everywhere, the Vietnamese militiamen surrender, coming out of the ruins with their hands raised. The Japanese resist to the last, as does the Guard (Canh Ve Quan) of the so-called emperor Cong Dê, entrenched near the tombs of the former emperors, who knew to expect no mercy from the Vietminh.
.........
Saigon, 17:00 - The Hei Ho counter-attack around the Continental Palace, pushing back the bo-dois that encircled the Japanese HQ. This counter-attack ends nearly eight hours of confrontation.
.........
Mytho, 18:00 - The 56th Division, although very weakened by a month of siege following months of harassment, has succeeded in repelling all attacks. The rebels inside the city could only hinder the soldiers of the Dragon Division. The bo-dois who are surrounding Mytho prove to be far more dangerous. However, the 75mm guns of the 56th Field Artillery Rgt. inflict heavy casualties on the attackers.
.........
Cao-Bang, 19:00 - Routine garrison report, nothing to report! Not a shot fired, not a single air raid. When General Rikichi reads the message, he blinks and his eyes turn to the map, and especially to the marker indicating Lt. Motoso Yanagida's 33rd Division. The latter is now only five days' march from the supposedly besieged position of Cao-Bang... But far from Hue!

Sino-Japanese war
Preparing for the Spring Festival
Chongqing - Chinese astrologers have known for thousands of years that some years are more favorable than others to upheavals. This is the case of the Year of the Monkey, which begins today. Didn't the Monkey King, Sun Wukong, in a fit of anger, devastate the palace of the Celestial Emperor?
While in the streets of the temporary capital of free China resound the detonations of thousands of firecrackers, the members of the Generalissimo's staff keeps watch until very late at night to settle the final details of operation Bailu. Now that "Project 8" is almost complete, the logistical conditions for the launch of the next offensive will soon be in place.

 

[Wings]

January 25th, 1944

Operation Bagration
The Rhine Gold
Bagration North (1st Belorussian Front) - On the right flank of Bagration - i.e. on the side of Johannes Friessner's 2. Armee - things are coming to an end. Indeed, while the 20th Army and the 10th Armored Corps still firmly hold the road to HG Nord, the LIII. AK finally arrives at Maladetchna - after having managed to lose some of its pursuers in the swamps of Cna... as well as a good part of his own forces! The 260. ID of Robert Schlüter does not exist anymore - it dissolved during the crossing of the Neris to Vileika. Schlüter himself was captured wounded (the nearby explosion of a shell knocked down his car)*.
However, if the 63rd Army and the Oslikovski Group let their prey slip away, it is not only because of the marshes, the river Neris and the crowd of stragglers abandoned along the way and that we have to pick up... It is also and especially because it is not their objective! In fact, the first one continues already towards Vishneva, while the second one goes to Miadzel, to relieve Alexei Popov's tanks. The Heer, no longer really pursued can therefore believe they are safe - for the moment.
However, at the same time, the 3rd Tank Army pushes forward towards Žukaŭka and Maladetchna, knocking down everything in its path - it is true that it is mostly made up of marching battalions and various garrisons that were unaware of its arrival... Not encountering resistance, Pavel Rybalko quickly approaches Radaškovičy through the woods north of Novy Dvor. For the Motherland!
Meanwhile, the soldiers (or so-called soldiers) of the 18. Waffen-Grenadier-Division of the SS - who had unknowingly escaped from this real steamroller - arrive in Slabada, in the middle of a crowd of various routed formations. The 1st Guards Army is not far behind - and with it the 2nd Shock and then the 3rd Guard!
Facing this mass, Bronislav Kaminski is not exactly alone... but he is not really helped by his own troops! Because the 18. SS-Grenadier has been the victim of months of massive desertions. Numerically compensated, it is true, but by the integration of Hiwi and even other prisoners of war or common law from camps or prisons - and the first echoes of Bagration did not help. Skillfully playing with the threat of the rope and the promise of the carrot, the Partisans never stopped trying to turn around their lost comrades, for whom the worst was not yet certain... as long as they make the right choice, and now! Only two months ago, Major Tarasov of the 2nd Regiment, had almost turned his unit around - Kaminski had to personally strangle him in front of his men, along with eight other traitors.
In truth, at this time, his unit is a division in name only: 8,000 men at most, with 8 T-34s and 12 artillery pieces only**. His transformation from Sturmbrigade Kaminski to the 18. Waffen-Grenadier-Division of the SS should have been the occasion for a passage at the Neuhammer training camp, in Poland, for reformation and integration of new integration of new recruits. But this was not the case. Thus, despite his Iron Cross and his rank of Waffen-Brigadeführer, Kaminski could not claim to stop the red wave.
On his right, in the woods of Slabada, the XX. ArmeeKorps of Rudolf von Roman does what it can... but without trying to coordinate with these reinforcements of the eleventh hour, and even without really wanting to help them! By an ironic coincidence of history, this army corps has a significant number of ex-Soviets in its ranks - in this case the Hiwi of 134. ID (Hans Schlemmer), who make up almost 25 % of the personnel of this division. In total, one can therefore estimate that, out of almost 30,000 fighters, no less than 10,000 "Slavs" contribute (or were supposed to contribute) to the defense of the Minsk road.
Obviously, this fact does not change the outcome of the fighting. Ivan Chistiakov - as ruthless as his troops, who will hardly take any prisoners - pushes back without difficulty the flanking of the XX. AK and brutally pushes the 18. Waffen-Grenadier-Division of the SS 7 kilometers back towards Koroljov Stan. Kaminski's men retreat in an indescribable disorder, without their qualities having impressed their opponents or their unwitting partners. Tomorrow, the 2nd Shock Army of Kuzma Galitsky (who finished crossing) will take over on the right flank - then the push will start again.
Meanwhile, west of Vitebsk, things are finally becoming clearer when Marshal Zhukov visits - after his subordinate Konstantin Rokossovky - the head of the 1st Belarussian Front, Vassily Sokolovsky. The latter is still as extinct as the day before... And after a long exchange about the difficulties encountered during the crossing of the Berezina and the mini-chaos of Baryssaw, the marshal finally says, in a strangely calm tone but with a hint of exasperation: "How did all these setbacks happen? It was explained to us here
that your forces and means were insufficient for the crossing to be completed quickly. But you would have known that before, wouldn't you? Why didn't you pick up the phone and call Comrade Stalin or the Stavka and give the reasons why the operations could not be carried out according to plan? What can you answer?" Faced with this storm, the person concerned answers ... he answers nothing.
General Pokrovsky would write about it much later: "There was a long silence. Sokolovski did not answer. I was surprised. But the fact remains: he did not answer a single word. And he really had never called the Stavka... I don't know how to explain this, I can't. Either he did not dare to call Stalin, or he believed that he could accomplish the tasks assigned to his Front with the forces and means he had. He was a very controversial person. He was very intelligent. I would even say that he was exceptionally intelligent.
When he talked to you about operational, strategic, or political issues in general, it was impossible not to listen to him. He took the issues from a very broad perspective, he thought broadly. I will say: he thought politically. Strategically and politically. In a word, he was a great strategist. But in the role of frontline commander, he did not succeed. And it is difficult to explain why."
In truth, Pokrovsky - the head of the military police who would later participate in the Nuremberg trials - probably knows exactly why. Sokolovski, a brilliant theorist who was closer to the cabinets than to the front and preferring ink to gunpowder, was crushed by the weight of his responsibilities, the fear of failure... and the fear of Stalin. Zhukov understood this - so he moved to Vitebsk to take over.
.........
Bagration Center - On the side of the 4. Armee, with the return of the VVS and the threat of an encirclement, it is time to make choices. While a rain of shells is falling on its perimeter, which is shrinking like a stone - two kilometers less in the north, three in the center, five in the south! - Kurt von Tippelskirch feels that he has reached the end of what he can do without being totally destroyed for nothing.
Already, on his right, the XLIII. ArmeeKorps (Karl von Oven) has to take over from the 268. ID in the sector of Rudzienka, so that the VII. AK could concentrate entirely in front of the 1st Cavalry Corps, the 15th Army and the 7th Armored Corps. A wise move - but it will not be able to hold this pseudo-Festung for much longer. So Tippelskirch already takes it upon himself to move the XIII. AK (Otto Sponheimer) to the west bank - Model will not fail to approve, if only because he himself is in great need of defenders in Minsk!
But this transfer takes place under a bright sun and blue sky that allows Nikolai Papivin's 15th Air Force to make an apocalyptic episode out of it! The weak protests of the I/JG.54 (its Fw 190A claimed 14 victories against 4 losses) do nothing - Stalin's Falcons dive almost with impunity and strafe the columns, setting fire to the vehicles, dislocating the waiting groups, spreading terror even in the heart of the Landsers. In truth, if the Tupolev Tu-2 do not destroy the bridges without delay to prevent the enemy from withdrawing, it is not because they cannot, but rather because they do not want to. Their orders are clear: these structures could be used by the Red Army!
Fortunately, the night falls early in this season... Sturmovik and Pe-2 leave the place to the Po-2 sewing machines, which turn while vibrating and prohibit any light, so any hot meal. Not to mention the noise that prevents from sleeping. The Night Witches!
In fact, women are not more numerous than men at the controls of this type of aircraft, far from it, nevertheless, they have marked the imaginations of the German invaders who insult them with raised fists, promising them the worst of fates if they fall in their hands... Even worse than the one reserved for those terrorists who capture the sentries and slit the throats of the wounded.
For Tippelskirch, however, the evening marks the beginning of a relief. The orders from Minsk come down shortly before 20:00: the entire 4. Armee has to evacuate to the west. The movements will continue throughout the night. In the middle of the fighting and bombing, obviously.
.........
Bagration South (2nd Belorussian Front and 1. PanzerArmee) - For the 1. PanzerArmee, the situation continues to deteriorate, now that Josef Harpe and his men have to face coordinated and - above all - continuous assaults by the 15th Air Force, the 4th Guards Army and the 3rd Shock Army. The latter attacks him at two main points: Assipovichy and Lipen.
On the right of the device, at Assipovitchy, the 23. ID and 20. Panzer are still holding on well, even if the urban environment and its ruins are not necessarily the favorite playground of the armored vehicles and if, near the station, the ruins of the terrible attack committed by the Partisan Fedor Krylovich - never completely cleared - appear to many as a dark warning. However, facing Mortimer von Kessel - a "traditionally" competent officer and that Paul Gurran, wounded in battle, can hardly support - Ivan Muzychenko does not hesitate and pushes his pawns frankly, with a lot of artillery and aviation, while trying to envelop the city through Molotyno and Teplukhy. He has seen worse in Ukraine, it is not a few panzers (even recent) that will scare him! The city center as well as the the main road in the north of the city become the scene of the most ferocious fights - meanwhile, the population, holed up in the cellars, is praying and waiting for a miracle***, but one thing is already certain: the Heer retreats, forced to do so, in order not to be totally crushed.
On the banks of the Svilasch River in Lipen, Mikhail Purkayev also forces his way through, facing a 52. ID totally overwhelmed (the XII. AK must also continue to hold the bank around...) and reinforced too late by the three divisions of the XXXIX. PzK coming from Berazino. Relieving Rudolf Peschel (52. ID) totally exhausted and Wilhelm Fahrmbacher (XXV. AK) who does not have units to command, Otto Schünemann installs his blue units 8 to 10 kilometers back, on a Hrodzyanka-Vyaz'ye line. This gives him some time to prepare his own defenses.
And meanwhile, the 1st Tank Army continues to cross the Pitch and already reaches Staryïa Darohi by dismissing with a wave of the hand the flanking positions of the LVII. PzK. This one tries desperately to pass, now that it is relieved behind him, facing Roginsky's 54th Army. Slutsk and the Slŭc are not far away. One might as well say that Katukov's T-34s will soon reach Minsk.

Decisions, decisions...
HQ of Heeresgruppe Mitte (Minsk), 18:00 - In its HQ on Hauptstrasse, buzzing with intense activity and even - this is new - vibrating with a certain feverishness, even with a growing anxiety, Walter Model faces the terrifying reality of his situation.
Neptun has failed before it has begun - at least in its present form, for its situation as it was presented to the Führer is now null and void: the Soviets will soon have reached the starting base of the units that were supposed to surround them! The aerial reconnaissance (finally possible again, at least in theory!) are relentless. The reports of the units in charge of guarding its flanks - in rout as soon as engaged - are just as much.
Model is not a character prone to depression - nor to anger. He has just recieved the first investigators sent by OKH to audit Friessner and Harpe's behavior. He really doesn't have time for such for such childishness, and neither do they. So - method, in order to adapt his plan.
As soon as he took office... four days ago, Model privately expressed reservations about the possibility of holding Minsk. He hopes to lure the Russians there so that they could be crushed - but that also implies that they might get there one day! This is why he has already authorized the evacuation of a large part of the warehouses, hospitals and administrative buildings. Prevention is better than cure, and it is not defeatist to be cautious.
In short - Minsk is now objectively lost. Neptun will not be an encirclement in front of or in the city, but rather a clearing operation, which will eventually lead to its encirclement before its recapture. The orders he will give are therefore perfectly clear and he will assume them: retreat to the west for the 4. Armee as a matter of urgency, while trying to face the force coming down from Baryssaw, total evacuation of Minsk... and rotation towards the west of the 1. PanzerArmee to accompany the movement.
All this will have to be justified. But tomorrow. OKH will take all night to react, so we might as well take advantage of it.
Very quickly, a frenetic activity will seize the capital of White Ruthenia, however already shaken by the transfers and burning with a fever expressing the fear of the insurrection. In the following days, up to 70 trains will leave every day! All loaded with personnel, material, supplies... as well as archives considered to be important, or of collaborators who were lucky enough to be able to evacuate.
And speaking of trains... Model notes that it will also be necessary to inform the Schutzstaffel, not too bright today - and which itself has a detail to deal with in Maly Trostenets. Which, fortunately (for him), is neither his responsibility nor his problem.

Ukraine Front
Appearances
Moscow - General Ivan Petrov is officially appointed head of the 1st Ukrainian Front...but on an interim basis, replacing Marshal Alexsandr Vasilevsky - still more absorbed by the preparation of Vistula-Warsaw. Thus, the winner of the Romanians - alongside Fyodor Tolbukhin, it is true, but still! - still has not finished with the bullying and vexations. Vae victoribus ?...

* Not all will be so lucky. Nowadays, the impounding of the artificial lake of Vileyka has erased the traces of the massacre...
** 8 x 45 mm, 3 x 76 mm and 1 x 122 mm.
*** From time immemorial, and despite the rebuffs of the local authorities, the inhabitants have maintained a very visible cult in the church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (1826).

 

[Wings]

January 25th, 1944

Snowstorm
Yugoslavia - Operation Schneesturm is now in full swing, as the combined Axis forces rake mountains and valleys in spite of very strong difficulties as much from the terrain as from the climate. The storm lives up to its name!
From his advanced HQ in Foča, General von Le Suire is worried: his Jägers are wading through snow and his half-tracks are skating in the snowdrifts! He spoke to Lothar Rendulic: "The movement of our forces is more than hampered by the weather, Herr General! I am told that the Sandjak regiment has not even broken through to the Plužine plateau yet! As for Đurišić, he would be in the Palež valley, as far as we know. I respectfully propose to postpone the operation until the weather conditions are a little more favorable."
But on the other end of the line, Rendulic did not hear it that way: certainly, the Prinz Eugen agreed to lend a regiment intended to close the western part of the blockade by sealing off the Avtovac area, until the Partisans were reduced. But this modest gesture was obtained with the SS-Obergruppenführer Artur Phleps, who was only marginally interested in this operation, which is very far from Mostar. A further delay could jeopardize everything and the head of the 20. Armee does not really want to announce a delay to his superior, von Weichs. Not after his unpleasant reminder about Himmler's eye on this theater - the SS would be only too happy to call it "further proof of the Heer's incompetence".
In the end, Rendulic decides - in the nick of time, as is often the case: "We have no room for maneuver. There are other things at work, General, that go far beyond your army corps. So move on!"

Havel-good-tips
Kaposvár (Hungary) - From time to time, Maximilian von Weichs looks out from behind his desk at the snow falling in the region, relatively satisfied. The redeployment of the 20. Armee is progressing well, the Allies are no longer advancing, the Partisans are absent and the weather forbids any bombing. Peace at last! For two months at least. And as the Hungarians hold the plain of Vojvodina for him (it is their country after all), he can prepare in all serenity a device intended to receive the British tanks next spring.
Machinally, Weichs notes to go shortly to meet the boss of the 2nd Hungarian Army,
Lieutenant-General Gusztav Vitéz Jany, who was now interacting with his forces. While we're at it Jany should bring his subordinates, Majors-General József Heszlényi (4th Corps) and István Kiss (7th Corps). He might as well gauge their reliability. After all, they are neighbors now.
At that moment, and as if to answer the thoughts of the HG E commander, the telephone rings. In the receiver, the operator sounds panicked: "Herr General? My apologies! I have Berlin asking to speak to you urgently about the Hungarians!"

Towards new horizons
Albania - It was still snowing this morning when the entire XIIIth Corps finally leaves the Valley of the Blackbirds, heading north through the Podujevo basin - even though the many Muslim inhabitants of the region would rather say Podujevë.
The soldiers of the Empire leave behind them a very mixed human picture. In a valley governed by Serbs, but populated by Albanians, with a capital under Greek military administration (Georgios Tsolakoglou having chosen, for communication imperatives to remain in Tirana) and whose borders, in Kosovska Mitrovica, are now held by Algerians and Czechs! The latter have - thank God - not yet had any disputes with the local population... but this will undoubtedly happen soon.
"Well, at least it was an original mission!" his car continues painfully on its way to Kuršumlija.

In the east, something new
Calafat (Bulgarian-Romanian border) - The second team of pontonniers sent by Colonel Canterbry arrives at the second crossing point defined by Sir Rhodes. It is obviously already awaited by the political soldiers of the USSR, who take the relay of the very demotivated Bulgarian border guards - but who were still present the day before.
No need to try to understand - Her Majesty's sappers set to work with expertise. It is not a simple river, even beautiful and blue, which is going to frighten them, to them who have already tamed the seas!

Intercession
HQ of the 18th AAG (Athens) - General Montgomery is called from 10 Downing Street!
And, much more surprisingly, the head of the 18th AAG seems delighted to take the call! This does not fail to surprise the operator - even if, of course, he would be careful not to make the slightest comment.
- Prime Minister! Glad to hear from you! I heard from your office that you were going to come and see us.
- That's right, Monty. I would have preferred to tell you myself, but the diplomats... Anyway, you see I always keep my promises. Things are moving forward - and you will have the means for your future campaign to Vienna.
The assertion about Winston's promises is of relative accuracy, but Montgomery is in such good spirits that he is willing to give his leader the benefit of the doubt. So he says, "May I assume that you want my advice on who you are going to meet in February?
- Absolutely. I have our ambassadors' reports, meeting minutes and a whole bunch of frankly boring files on my desk. But you know me. I believe in people, in frank, even honest discussion. I need your field experience.
Montgomery, for all his reserve, is flattered by his leader's attention. But does the latter need his opinion? The chief of the 18th AAG is not known as the most astute connoisseur of human nature, and he knows it! Medisances, obviously - but they incite him to be cautious in the face of what could well be a maneuver.
- About the Greeks and Regent Paul, I don't have much to say. Their Prime Minister, Mr. Papandreou, has been collaborating with us for a long time... Because as long as their
infantry doesn't go north, I'm stuck. The liberation of Yugoslavia and the breakthrough to Vienna is blocked because of the concerns of Athens.
- It is indeed unfortunate... But with the Greeks, there is nothing that I cannot deal with, with a little time. I was thinking more of the Yugoslavs, if you follow me, Monty.
- I don't know their foreign minister, the so-called Ninčić. I must confess that I didn't care too much - as you know, in my opinion, everyone has to play his part. However, I did run into their ruler Peter II once or twice. He made an unpleasant impression.
Montgomery is obviously thinking of their near-collapse last Christmas - only a tactical withdrawal had allowed him to avoid a serious incident.
- An unpleasant feeling? I'm told he's a rather sweet, smiling young man!
- On the lawns of Cambridge, perhaps. But here, it's something else.He is more stubborn than a dead donkey, prouder than a peacock and more resentful than an elephant. His eyes are sometimes black like the night itself. However, I don't think this boy has a bad heart. But he is more than badly surrounded.
- I see. I'll talk to him alone. Then he will be as gentle as a lamb.
- Even without going that far, any improvement in his attitude and that of his government would be most welcome, Prime Minister.
- I promise you that, Monty. On the other hand...
The conversation continues. Churchill has once again made a promise that he is not sure he can keep. This has become a widespread habit in the Balkans - but Bernard Montgomery has not yet realized it.

Serbian machinations
White Palace (Dedinje royal estate, Belgrade) - Meanwhile, in the royal residence, a drama is unfolding. Indeed, perhaps worried about the rumors about his imminent dismissal, and concerned, in any case, about the King's state of mind, Juraj Krnjević - the Yugoslav deputy prime minister and nonetheless Croatian - is not content to go back and forth. He counterattacks and goes straight to Karađorđević in order to protest his loyalty. This profession of faith, however, soon turns into a sharp criticism of the direction taken by the regime - and this despite the presence of Slobodan Jovanović, who tries to serve as a conciliator.
Krnjević is anything but a political novice: he had been involved in all the struggles since the time of the 1920 Constituent Assembly - he was 25 years old and one of the closest collaborators of Stjepan Radić, the first secretary of the HRSS*. Exiled to London and Paris during Alexander I's dictatorship, he actually knew Maček, Košutić... and Pavelic. But these ties date from another time, when all were united against a common adversary. Juraj Krnjević always supported democracy, denounced fascism and fought against foreign influence - be it German, Italian or... French - condemning without reservation the Ustasha abuses. Lorkovic even called him a "traitor to the Croatian people"!**
So, of course, his former comrades in the struggle against a dictatorial power that was partly responsible for the current situation have crossed the line, he says so without embarrassment. But they are not the only ones! Chetniks, communists, benevolent royalists... all have mountains of corpses in the closet. And as president of the Croatian Peasant Party (in exile...), it is up to him to try to prevent further bloodshed and to try to bring at least some of his colleagues to their senses, to gather them around a wiser project. Namely, a powerful Croatian Banoniva, free... but integrated in a federal Yugoslav state.
It is at this price that the Southern Slavs will stop killing each other... and that the communists will not reach power.
Obviously, one can imagine that this politically very marked discourse (but not more than in the Yugoslav average) is difficult to bear in the face of Peter II. For the latter, the Croats had sinned and must atone for their faults. If they wish to avoid a massacre, they must disarm immediately and without conditions - any concession offered in these circumstances would give Pavelic reason. Worse, it would be an insult to the dead for the liberation of the Kingdom - among whom there are hardly any Croats.
Finally, Krnjević utters the last word to Peter II: "I deeply regret that Your Majesty does not deign to follow me in my modest efforts. And I am very much afraid that, by her constant overbidding, she will end up playing into the hands of the enemy." A burst of voice, a door slams shut - it is impossible to know who closed it. But the Yugoslav government seems to be falling apart, just like the country it claims to lead.

And meanwhile, on the airwaves
Balkans - It's cold and wet tonight - a time to sit in front of the fireplace with a good book in hand. Which is unfortunately a luxury that very few Europeans can afford. But this does not discourage Az Igazi Magyar who, on The Wave of the Danube, details at length and in detail the privations and requisitions suffered by the Hungarian population. Which are of course limited and perfectly justified by the prospect of an imminent Axis victory. And then, in the end, all this is not very serious, says the "True Hungarian" without laughing: "What are holiday meals, the comfort and warmth of a home, for all the valiant Magyar soldiers who are watching in the cold against the red wave?" One wonders, indeed.

* The Croatian Republican Peasant Party, ancestor of the HSS and main opponent of the regime of Alexander I. This opposition earned Radić an assassination attempt by the Serbian Petar Teslic (in the middle of an assembly!) then a sentence of 2.5 years in prison for campaigning against the unification of the Kingdom, among other periods of imprisonment more or less justified. By a sad return of the destiny, he will be assassinated on June 20th, 1928, still in the Assembly and with two other colleagues, by Puniša Račić, a killer and former member of the Black Hand, sent by King Alexander. Račić was sentenced to twenty years in prison - to be served in a luxurious villa provided with three servants and whose door was never guarded!
** Count Ciano, minister of a fascist Italy clearly supporting the Ustasha, states at this time in his Journal that "Krnjevic has been an emigrant for a long time: his writings as well as his thought follow a course that does not correspond to the ideology of the national movement".

 

[Wings]

January 25th, 1944

Thaw and reinforcements
Italian front - The thaw continues, freezing the front in a muddy gangue. Activity is reduced to a minimum, much to the delight of the infantrymen on both sides.
.........
Naples - At the same time, new troops continue to arrive from the United States. They are now the M-10 Tank Destroyer of the 894 TD Btn which land. They will join for the moment the armored reserves of the II US Corps.

 

[Wings]

January 25th, 1944

Following Dague
South of the Corbières - This day does not allow the Americans to make any significant progress, but the men of the 337th Rgt of the 85th US-ID do manage a real feat by chasing the German paratroopers from the Bugarach massif. It must be said that the attack was meticulously prepared, with a bombardment by the air force, followed by a bludgeoning by the divisional artillery. The attack itself is supported by a company of the 3rd Chemical Mortar Battalion, which, by its good mobility in rough terrain managed to adapt to the progress of the infantrymen.
The fall of this strong point of the German defense in the Corbières gives hope for a general progression in the days to come. Nevertheless, a new pause is decided because, once again, the Americans have not been stingy with their ammunition.

Battle in the high mountains
Alps - Since December and the Vercors affair, the 77. ID has redeployed to the extreme south of the Isère, at the end of the Grenoble valley, in place of the 2a Alpini Divizione Monterosa. The latter is thus able to concentrate its 1st Regiment in the Ecrins facing the 7th and 15th BCA, as well as part of the 24th BCA.
In the Col de la Croix Haute sector, the 1049. Grenadier Rgt is positioned opposite the 11th and 14th DBLE. The grenadiers thus dominate their opponents from the Barral and Jocou mountains or the crest of the Aup. At the other end of the device, the 1051. GR locks the recent lake of Sautet and the slopes of the Col d'Aspres. But in the center, in the Dévoluy, if the grenadiers of the 1050. Rgt are holding the Saint-Disdier gorges and the Souloise defile, they lack equipment and are unable to set up on the neighboring peaks, which reach heights of more than 2,000, even 2,500 meters. They have to make do with the promise of the Italians, assuring them that they have thoroughly mined the accesses to their former refuges on the Tête de l'Aupet and the Combes de la Fuvelle. The German system is thus spread out from the Pierre Baudinard and the Clos du Mounard to the Gicon and the Aup hut.
But the French are aware of the gap in the enemy lines and they have the specialists and equipment necessary for the high mountains. They even know that it is useless to climb the peaks, since the Alpini are no longer there. Thus, in the west, the 11th BCA
was content with a maneuver of overrunning its Pathfinder-Skier sections by the
Tête de l'Oriol, thus falling on the rear of the Pierre Baudinard and on the flank of the line
going to the Clos du Mounard. Captain Vissac even took a mortar section under
Combes de la Fuvelle, thus dominating the valley and hindering the enemy reinforcements from moving up the line.
reinforcements. Meanwhile, the rest of the battalion put pressure on the valley, on Saint-Disdier. On the other side of the valley, Battalion Chief Héritier sends his high mountain shock company and a section of machine guns to overrun the slopes of the Faraut mountain, towards the Pierroux Peak, at an altitude of almost 2,400 meters. The rest of the battalion will take charge of the support point at Gicon, overlooking Saint-Disdier.
At the end of the day, while the fighting continues around Saint-Disdier and in front of the Clos Mounard, the Pierre Baudinard strongpoint falls to the Alpins. On the other side, the ridge overlooking the Aup hut is taken without a fight, the shock company surprising the occupants of the said hut, who are taken prisoner after a brief fight. It is the same for the Gicon support point, whose survivors surrender after having exhausted their ammunition. The situation thus begins to be very uncomfortable for the defenders of Saint-Disdier, who are now caught in a pincer movement and were on the verge of being overrun: the 13th BCA now has an opening towards the Valley, with a view of the Chapelle de Monestier d'Ambel, and further down the valley on Abel, at the edge of the Sautet lake.

 

[Wings]

January 26th, 1944

Croatian maneuvers
Quai de la Joliette (Marseille) - Léon Blum has in his hands the report of the SOE (kindly transmitted by Sir Anthony) announcing the wish of the Independent State of Croatia to open in its turn negotiations of peace. An information obviously rejoicing, reliable and moreover confirmed by the Swiss diplomatic services. This should be an excellent news - one more in this region - that should be disseminated to all military officials concerned, and as soon as possible. Unfortunately, there are two small difficulties, which make the situation more complex than it seems.
First, this cease-fire proposal seems to come only from a part of the Croatian government, and even from only one part of the NDH political landscape - in this case, the Croatian Peasant Party. It is therefore by no means certain that the people who sollicit the Allies represent anyone other than themselves - and this calls for extreme caution.
The second point is even more embarrassing: the Independent State of Croatia does not exist. At least from the point of view of Yugoslavia, and more generally from that of the United Nations. There is only the members of the Axis, their puppets (of which the NEF, of course!) and certain nations, such as Spain, who deigned to recognize it. Without doubt, other countries that were considered neutral (Sweden, Portugal, Argentina, Switzerland), had diplomatic representations in Zagreb after the invasion of 1941, but without ever clarifying the situation - were they working with Peter II's state or with Pavelic's?
It is impossible to say.
All this is very complicated - and even explosive, in the troubled circumstances that the Kingdom of Yugoslavia currently faces. Blum understands perfectly why Eden solicited him on this subject, as a "privileged partner nation of the Yugoslavs". He has passed on to him the hot potato!
What to do? The diplomatic and legal imbroglio is real. Talk with this Mladen Lorković - since he is apparently the one pulling the strings - is, can potentially save time and lives if successful. But it is also taking a considerable risk if this interlocutor turns out to be a mere huckster, or even a provocateur.
Because negotiating is somehow giving legitimacy to the NDH! Besides... Negotiating what exactly? This pseudo-state claims a significant part of a sovereign state that is a member of the United Nations - not to mention the many crimes for which its rulers have to answer for.
After a telephone conversation with the President of the Council, Léon Blum understands that he must first and foremost inform his Yugoslavian counterpart, Momčilo Ninčić, out of correction of course (the matter concerns him!), but also to solicit his opinion. A purely formal approach - because Blum already has a small idea of the response of the royal government... Finally, as De Gaulle said: "Go to the complicated Balkans with simple ideas, Mr. Minister!"
So Blum asks for a telephone link with Belgrade - hoping that his call will not arrive at the worst moment...