29/03/44 - Balkans
March 29th, 1944
A burst of lightning
Balkans - The sky is clear: the Balkans Air Force can finally put its weight behind the preparation of the next operations, even if Tedder had to modify his program and detach the 19th EB to the AVNOJ, if only so that this damn Slovenian "guest" stop meddling in his affairs. General Weiss has no problem with this.
He had been instructed by Marseille to support the actions of the Titists as much as possible, but without endangering Perun - in addition, his airmen are much less exposed against the Ustasha than over Hungary.
While the EB Gascogne is active on the front, in a more or less well coordinated way with the Partisans, the Allied planes resume their work of undermining the Axis forces.
Squadrons 38 and 227, coming from Italy to support the Balkan Air Force, aim at the traffic on the Danube and Sava rivers. Leaving the Adriatic, Beaufighter and Mosquito act together to annihilate everything that still floats to Budapest. In its momentum, a Mosquito flight even flies over the Magyar capital, on the site of the bombing of March 10th. It was not successful, intercepted by a Schwarm of very aggressive Bf 109Gs bearing the insignia of the Red Puma, which shoot down a twin-engine plane and damage a second one before withdrawing when the NA-89s of the 9th Bohemia-Moravia EC intervene. The 101st Hungarian Fighter Wing is now protecting its capital. At the head of the four fighters, Lieutenant Gyorgy Debrody signs his 18th victory, the first against the Westerners.
The Magyar Királyi Honvéd Légierő could not be everywhere, however. A little further east, the Beaumont II of the 238th Wing bludgeon the rear of the 12. Armee and the 2nd Hungarian Army, losing three of their men to regimental flak. And in Croatia, Sqn 13 and 15 (both Greek) destroy the railway junction of Banova Jarusa.
But the biggest air action takes place much further north. In a gesture of "constructive solidarity", Pe-2s, Tu-2s and other Il-4s of the 5th and 17th Air Armies (2nd and 4th Ukrainian Fronts) attack Bratislava, to saturate the Axis defenses as well as to hit the station of the Slovak capital in a much more "efficient and determined" way than the British during the raid of March 7th. The JG 53 once again launches its Bf 109Gs against the bombers, defended by a mixture of MiG-3UDs and MiG-9s. But for its part, the Slovakian Staffel, led by the inarticulate František Hanovec, adopt a timid attitude, remaining curiously far above the fray, as if hesitating to throw itself into the fire. This will be very strongly reproached to the Slovak airmen on their return to the base - they will try to justify themselves by vague mechanical problems, while obviously promising to do better tomorrow. Meanwhile, the German fighters shoot down 7 Soviet bombers and 5 escort fighters, losing 6 of theirs in the battle (three pilots killed, one seriously wounded). The Luftwaffe continues its slow and inexorable erosion.
That night, the Halifaxes of Sqn 15, 148 and 149 hit the city of Trieste, in a much more massive way than on March 15th. This time, the railway station is put out of action for a long time and 382 inhabitants are killed. But since they were - theoretically - Italians, Kardelj did not object, even though he renewed his wish to be "consulted on any choice of strategic objective, before the mission is launched."
Unblocking
Liberated Yugoslavia - Today is a great day for the 18th AAG, which finally sees its logistical horizon clearing up like the sky overhead - the Niš-Skopje line is finally completed and operational. From there, the whole of liberated Yugoslavia can finally be served again by rail, and all the units concentrated in the north of Serbia properly supplied.
Colonel Canterbry, from the Supply Service, has already done the math: between the Yugoslav railroads and the Red Line, we can hope to have the necessary stocks for the offensive for April 10th - since the beginning of January, supplies have been piling up in Salonika, as road transport has not been able to absorb the (albeit light) flow of supplies.
Sir Rhodes' efforts finally paid off: a post-war estimate concluded that his modest "bricolage" through Bulgaria and Romania had saved the Allied armies 30 days! All that remained was to transport the material to the front line - the handlers and drivers have not finished working.
.............
18th AAG HQ, Athens - Bernard Montgomery is very satisfied with this picture, which finally allows him to consider his progression towards Vienna with serenity. Under a sky that turns to the blue of spring, he leaves on an inspection tour towards the north and Belgrade, to better follow the preparations and to estimate the German entrenchments on the Save and the Danube - the Hun had three months to prepare himself!
Runes against Pentagram
North of Montenegro - On the direct order of the GHQ of the AVNOJ and in spite of the absence of real prospect of a breakthrough, the Partisans set out again to attack the Ustasha positions, sacrificing men and ammunition in order to approach Bijelo Polje. The 1st "proletarian" Corps and the 3rd "Bosnian" Corps are alone in the task - facing them, the 1st Mountain Division and the 2nd Vrbaska ID are supported by elements of more or less regular units, which do not all desert to join the AVNOJ (or to blend into the scenery...). And here the Zrakoplovstvo Nezavisne Države Hrvatske intervenes again: eight Dornier 17E and six Cant Z.1007 bis, escorted by eight Bf 109E, hit the Partisan lines with very relative efficiency. They do much less damage than the twelve Fiat G.50 that strafe with their... two machine guns everything that moves in the valleys, including sometimes their compatriots. One of the small fighters falls, victim of small arms fire - its pilot will never be found.
In the evening, the AVNOJ has made little progress - at least not enough to continue to justify the effort. On the express instruction of Tito's staff, the offensive is suspended until further notice. Under normal circumstances, with properly organized and supported troops, the Croatian armed forces can therefore hold out alone against the Titists. But this is a rare case, and in any case it comes much too late to satisfy Berlin.
.........
North of Nikšić (Montenegro) - In this sector, the situation seems to be on the way to calm down. The Vojni korpus hrvatske legije does not have the means to run the plateaus in northern Montenegro, and the 2nd "shock" Corps no longer has any desire to descend. The confrontation dies out for lack of fighters, and despite the allied parachute drops.
.........
Kolašin (Montenegro) - The Sandjak regiment of Karl von Krempler has almost finished ravaging this area and starts to move towards the north-west to find new lands to "pacify". It is then that he meets the "Greens" of Krsto Popović, still hesitating on the path to follow as well as on which side to support. In theory, these formations are allied... but facing the orthodox Montenegrins, the SS Polizei-Selbstschutz Rgt Sandjak is mainly formed of Albanian mercenaries and Muslims from Bosnia and Croatia, commanded moreover by Hafiz Pačariz. This fanatic had already refused to submit two years earlier at Kosatica, when they had successfully confronted the Serbian infidels.
Despite all of von Krempler's efforts, what had to happen happened: a gunfight breaks out. The soldiers of fortune of both camps slit each other's throats all day long north of Djurdjevina, their leaders respectively hoping for reinforcements from the SS and the Westerners, who are both not far from their confrontation.
.........
Sarajevo - The Skandenberg regiment has cut the capital of Bosnia to pieces, wreaking its revenge through terror. After a night of summary executions of randomly rounded up unfortunate people, August Schmidhuber decides that the joke had gone on long enough - he locks up about 7,500 civilians (that is to say, 8% of the population) in requisitioned buildings on Skenderija Street, while waiting for their fate to be decided. Among them, more than 500 Jews (there were still some left!) - surprisingly, the latter do not leave for Jansenovac immediately, as the SS prefers to keep hostages of all kinds... The death of Phleps will have cost the Bosnian capital about a thousand deaths in less than twenty-four hours, even if a precise assessment remains difficult to make to this day.
Meanwhile, the Tomašević and the 105. StuG Abt continue to move north, to join their brothers-in-arms and decide what to do next. On their way, Dobro Polje, Tošići and Trnovo will be as many expiatory victims of the "crimes" of the AVNOJ. The 3. SS-GAK has no commander, but the soldiers in black do not let themselves be undisciplined.
.........
Mostar - Finally, the most intense action of the day takes place in the big city of Herzegovina, or rather (fortunately for it) in its immediate vicinity. The 20th ID of Kneževića definitely slips away on the plateaus towards Česim to avoid being annihilated, pursued by the Kroatische SS-Kavallerie Abteilung, while the Handschar division sets off again with fury to hunt the Partisans.
The 28th. Waffen-Gebirgsjäger Rgt der SS secures the road to Sarajevo while its counterpart, the 27. Waffen-Gebirgsjäger Rgt der SS, supported by divisional artillery, goes on the offensive again from Rabina and finally reaches the plateau at Nevesinje. The three weak divisions facing it are overwhelmed by a profusion of ammunition. Only the intervention of the Reapers of the EB Gascogne, called to the rescue by the SOE, prevent the Partisans from routing and Vicko Krstulović from being captured while leaving his HQ.
Higher up, the Spitfire IXs of Sqn 260 rush on misguided troublemakers - ten Bf 109E sent by Zagreb. Three Ustasha are shot down and the others flee. The bombers will not be worried. The SS deduced that, if no airman was reliable, the Luftwaffe is less mediocre than the others. The information will be transmitted to the right person.
In the evening, whereas its adversaries seem to disperse after having finally understood that they are no match for them, the Handschar takes a break. Where to strike? Papa Phleps is dead, what's next on the agenda: head north in pursuit of the terrorists or back to Pogdorica as planned? Or maybe go to Nikšić to support the legionnaires?
Due to lack of instructions, the division with the scimitar stopped for the night.
On the other side, the Partisans try to remobilize after what must be called a defeat.
To do so, they use the carrot - additional rations, patriotic encouragement - as well as the stick. More than one recruit who was a little too quick to give up was told, held on his knees by his comrades: "In the name of the revolutionary court, this coward is condemned to death!" Krstulović will finally intervene with the commissioners, led by his counterpart Ivan Kukoč, head of the corps, so that the Revolution's knife would not fall on his fighters more than on his enemies. Decimation has not been very successful in ancient Rome or in modern Italy, especially since the majority of its men are Croats, like their adversaries...
Communist disappointment
Višegrad (Serbia) - Marshal Tito contacts his representative in Moscow, General Velimir Terzic, this morning. He wants to know the position of the Soviet brother on the events of the previous day, as well as on the attitude to adopt in the face of the "treason" of capitalists who refuse to support his offensive - when all they have to do is advance behind his troops! - and prefer to work hand in hand with the Belgrade reactionary.
Broz already knew that the Westerners could not be trusted, and now he is not far from imagining that they are openly accomplices of the Ustasha (if not of the Axis...) against him! The president of the NKOJ is already considering a clean break with his so-called partners... but if and only if Moscow is willing to take over and give its fraternal support in the fight against the disgraced invader. Under these conditions, he is ready to proclaim the deposition of the King and the complete abolition of the present form of Yugoslavia.
It will take long exchanges to Terzic to convince the "Old Man" that, if the Kremlin understands his ambitions, the Stavka does not have yet the means to allow the AVNOJ to act without capitalist support, even if plans are under consideration and the forthcoming fall of fascist Hungary will inevitably allow to... In short, Tito is told that it is urgent to wait, while reminding him that the Great Patriotic War does not revolve around him.
After this new day of fighting, the partisan marshal must therefore plan to stop the expenses and to consolidate his achievements.
A burst of lightning
Balkans - The sky is clear: the Balkans Air Force can finally put its weight behind the preparation of the next operations, even if Tedder had to modify his program and detach the 19th EB to the AVNOJ, if only so that this damn Slovenian "guest" stop meddling in his affairs. General Weiss has no problem with this.
He had been instructed by Marseille to support the actions of the Titists as much as possible, but without endangering Perun - in addition, his airmen are much less exposed against the Ustasha than over Hungary.
While the EB Gascogne is active on the front, in a more or less well coordinated way with the Partisans, the Allied planes resume their work of undermining the Axis forces.
Squadrons 38 and 227, coming from Italy to support the Balkan Air Force, aim at the traffic on the Danube and Sava rivers. Leaving the Adriatic, Beaufighter and Mosquito act together to annihilate everything that still floats to Budapest. In its momentum, a Mosquito flight even flies over the Magyar capital, on the site of the bombing of March 10th. It was not successful, intercepted by a Schwarm of very aggressive Bf 109Gs bearing the insignia of the Red Puma, which shoot down a twin-engine plane and damage a second one before withdrawing when the NA-89s of the 9th Bohemia-Moravia EC intervene. The 101st Hungarian Fighter Wing is now protecting its capital. At the head of the four fighters, Lieutenant Gyorgy Debrody signs his 18th victory, the first against the Westerners.
The Magyar Királyi Honvéd Légierő could not be everywhere, however. A little further east, the Beaumont II of the 238th Wing bludgeon the rear of the 12. Armee and the 2nd Hungarian Army, losing three of their men to regimental flak. And in Croatia, Sqn 13 and 15 (both Greek) destroy the railway junction of Banova Jarusa.
But the biggest air action takes place much further north. In a gesture of "constructive solidarity", Pe-2s, Tu-2s and other Il-4s of the 5th and 17th Air Armies (2nd and 4th Ukrainian Fronts) attack Bratislava, to saturate the Axis defenses as well as to hit the station of the Slovak capital in a much more "efficient and determined" way than the British during the raid of March 7th. The JG 53 once again launches its Bf 109Gs against the bombers, defended by a mixture of MiG-3UDs and MiG-9s. But for its part, the Slovakian Staffel, led by the inarticulate František Hanovec, adopt a timid attitude, remaining curiously far above the fray, as if hesitating to throw itself into the fire. This will be very strongly reproached to the Slovak airmen on their return to the base - they will try to justify themselves by vague mechanical problems, while obviously promising to do better tomorrow. Meanwhile, the German fighters shoot down 7 Soviet bombers and 5 escort fighters, losing 6 of theirs in the battle (three pilots killed, one seriously wounded). The Luftwaffe continues its slow and inexorable erosion.
That night, the Halifaxes of Sqn 15, 148 and 149 hit the city of Trieste, in a much more massive way than on March 15th. This time, the railway station is put out of action for a long time and 382 inhabitants are killed. But since they were - theoretically - Italians, Kardelj did not object, even though he renewed his wish to be "consulted on any choice of strategic objective, before the mission is launched."
Unblocking
Liberated Yugoslavia - Today is a great day for the 18th AAG, which finally sees its logistical horizon clearing up like the sky overhead - the Niš-Skopje line is finally completed and operational. From there, the whole of liberated Yugoslavia can finally be served again by rail, and all the units concentrated in the north of Serbia properly supplied.
Colonel Canterbry, from the Supply Service, has already done the math: between the Yugoslav railroads and the Red Line, we can hope to have the necessary stocks for the offensive for April 10th - since the beginning of January, supplies have been piling up in Salonika, as road transport has not been able to absorb the (albeit light) flow of supplies.
Sir Rhodes' efforts finally paid off: a post-war estimate concluded that his modest "bricolage" through Bulgaria and Romania had saved the Allied armies 30 days! All that remained was to transport the material to the front line - the handlers and drivers have not finished working.
.............
18th AAG HQ, Athens - Bernard Montgomery is very satisfied with this picture, which finally allows him to consider his progression towards Vienna with serenity. Under a sky that turns to the blue of spring, he leaves on an inspection tour towards the north and Belgrade, to better follow the preparations and to estimate the German entrenchments on the Save and the Danube - the Hun had three months to prepare himself!
Runes against Pentagram
North of Montenegro - On the direct order of the GHQ of the AVNOJ and in spite of the absence of real prospect of a breakthrough, the Partisans set out again to attack the Ustasha positions, sacrificing men and ammunition in order to approach Bijelo Polje. The 1st "proletarian" Corps and the 3rd "Bosnian" Corps are alone in the task - facing them, the 1st Mountain Division and the 2nd Vrbaska ID are supported by elements of more or less regular units, which do not all desert to join the AVNOJ (or to blend into the scenery...). And here the Zrakoplovstvo Nezavisne Države Hrvatske intervenes again: eight Dornier 17E and six Cant Z.1007 bis, escorted by eight Bf 109E, hit the Partisan lines with very relative efficiency. They do much less damage than the twelve Fiat G.50 that strafe with their... two machine guns everything that moves in the valleys, including sometimes their compatriots. One of the small fighters falls, victim of small arms fire - its pilot will never be found.
In the evening, the AVNOJ has made little progress - at least not enough to continue to justify the effort. On the express instruction of Tito's staff, the offensive is suspended until further notice. Under normal circumstances, with properly organized and supported troops, the Croatian armed forces can therefore hold out alone against the Titists. But this is a rare case, and in any case it comes much too late to satisfy Berlin.
.........
North of Nikšić (Montenegro) - In this sector, the situation seems to be on the way to calm down. The Vojni korpus hrvatske legije does not have the means to run the plateaus in northern Montenegro, and the 2nd "shock" Corps no longer has any desire to descend. The confrontation dies out for lack of fighters, and despite the allied parachute drops.
.........
Kolašin (Montenegro) - The Sandjak regiment of Karl von Krempler has almost finished ravaging this area and starts to move towards the north-west to find new lands to "pacify". It is then that he meets the "Greens" of Krsto Popović, still hesitating on the path to follow as well as on which side to support. In theory, these formations are allied... but facing the orthodox Montenegrins, the SS Polizei-Selbstschutz Rgt Sandjak is mainly formed of Albanian mercenaries and Muslims from Bosnia and Croatia, commanded moreover by Hafiz Pačariz. This fanatic had already refused to submit two years earlier at Kosatica, when they had successfully confronted the Serbian infidels.
Despite all of von Krempler's efforts, what had to happen happened: a gunfight breaks out. The soldiers of fortune of both camps slit each other's throats all day long north of Djurdjevina, their leaders respectively hoping for reinforcements from the SS and the Westerners, who are both not far from their confrontation.
.........
Sarajevo - The Skandenberg regiment has cut the capital of Bosnia to pieces, wreaking its revenge through terror. After a night of summary executions of randomly rounded up unfortunate people, August Schmidhuber decides that the joke had gone on long enough - he locks up about 7,500 civilians (that is to say, 8% of the population) in requisitioned buildings on Skenderija Street, while waiting for their fate to be decided. Among them, more than 500 Jews (there were still some left!) - surprisingly, the latter do not leave for Jansenovac immediately, as the SS prefers to keep hostages of all kinds... The death of Phleps will have cost the Bosnian capital about a thousand deaths in less than twenty-four hours, even if a precise assessment remains difficult to make to this day.
Meanwhile, the Tomašević and the 105. StuG Abt continue to move north, to join their brothers-in-arms and decide what to do next. On their way, Dobro Polje, Tošići and Trnovo will be as many expiatory victims of the "crimes" of the AVNOJ. The 3. SS-GAK has no commander, but the soldiers in black do not let themselves be undisciplined.
.........
Mostar - Finally, the most intense action of the day takes place in the big city of Herzegovina, or rather (fortunately for it) in its immediate vicinity. The 20th ID of Kneževića definitely slips away on the plateaus towards Česim to avoid being annihilated, pursued by the Kroatische SS-Kavallerie Abteilung, while the Handschar division sets off again with fury to hunt the Partisans.
The 28th. Waffen-Gebirgsjäger Rgt der SS secures the road to Sarajevo while its counterpart, the 27. Waffen-Gebirgsjäger Rgt der SS, supported by divisional artillery, goes on the offensive again from Rabina and finally reaches the plateau at Nevesinje. The three weak divisions facing it are overwhelmed by a profusion of ammunition. Only the intervention of the Reapers of the EB Gascogne, called to the rescue by the SOE, prevent the Partisans from routing and Vicko Krstulović from being captured while leaving his HQ.
Higher up, the Spitfire IXs of Sqn 260 rush on misguided troublemakers - ten Bf 109E sent by Zagreb. Three Ustasha are shot down and the others flee. The bombers will not be worried. The SS deduced that, if no airman was reliable, the Luftwaffe is less mediocre than the others. The information will be transmitted to the right person.
In the evening, whereas its adversaries seem to disperse after having finally understood that they are no match for them, the Handschar takes a break. Where to strike? Papa Phleps is dead, what's next on the agenda: head north in pursuit of the terrorists or back to Pogdorica as planned? Or maybe go to Nikšić to support the legionnaires?
Due to lack of instructions, the division with the scimitar stopped for the night.
On the other side, the Partisans try to remobilize after what must be called a defeat.
To do so, they use the carrot - additional rations, patriotic encouragement - as well as the stick. More than one recruit who was a little too quick to give up was told, held on his knees by his comrades: "In the name of the revolutionary court, this coward is condemned to death!" Krstulović will finally intervene with the commissioners, led by his counterpart Ivan Kukoč, head of the corps, so that the Revolution's knife would not fall on his fighters more than on his enemies. Decimation has not been very successful in ancient Rome or in modern Italy, especially since the majority of its men are Croats, like their adversaries...
Communist disappointment
Višegrad (Serbia) - Marshal Tito contacts his representative in Moscow, General Velimir Terzic, this morning. He wants to know the position of the Soviet brother on the events of the previous day, as well as on the attitude to adopt in the face of the "treason" of capitalists who refuse to support his offensive - when all they have to do is advance behind his troops! - and prefer to work hand in hand with the Belgrade reactionary.
Broz already knew that the Westerners could not be trusted, and now he is not far from imagining that they are openly accomplices of the Ustasha (if not of the Axis...) against him! The president of the NKOJ is already considering a clean break with his so-called partners... but if and only if Moscow is willing to take over and give its fraternal support in the fight against the disgraced invader. Under these conditions, he is ready to proclaim the deposition of the King and the complete abolition of the present form of Yugoslavia.
It will take long exchanges to Terzic to convince the "Old Man" that, if the Kremlin understands his ambitions, the Stavka does not have yet the means to allow the AVNOJ to act without capitalist support, even if plans are under consideration and the forthcoming fall of fascist Hungary will inevitably allow to... In short, Tito is told that it is urgent to wait, while reminding him that the Great Patriotic War does not revolve around him.
After this new day of fighting, the partisan marshal must therefore plan to stop the expenses and to consolidate his achievements.
