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

[Wings]

April 11th, 1944

Indifference
In the rear of the 2nd Ukrainian Front - Talks between Slovaks and Soviets do not produce much of anything constructive. Not that Ivan Bagramyan or Aleksandr Vassilievsky are absolutely not interested (all things considered) in what this Karol Šmidke and his compatriots have to say, but the discussions are technical, long, slowed down by suspicion, communication difficulties (Slovaks talk without being informed about what is happening on the ground!) and above all by a certain hardness of the positions of Moscow, which considers itself to be in a state of war with Slovakia for two years. An important point - and yet one on which, as you can imagine, not everyone around the table is exactly fond of.
Thus, the discussions are stuck on technical details (means, plans, ammunition) or political details (status of the prisoners, project of a government of union) as premature as irrelevant to the point and all the more so since some are trying to drown out the fish.
Unaware of the urgency of the situation (the Slovaks), or downright indifferent to it (the Soviets), the negotiators think they have all the time in the world. This is unfortunately not the case on the other side of the Carpathians.

Banská Bystrica - The final blunder of Minister Mach (who, now stripped of any title, is nothing more than a political corpse) has not, for the time being, given rise to a major German reaction for the time being. Martin's SS have barely begun to leave their barracks to sweep the countryside, no doubt waiting for reinforcements and obviously concerned above all with the protection of their families.
Ján Golian is thus confirmed in his analysis of the situation - the Germans were not ready. This was fortunate, because neither are the Slovaks. So, together with Minister Ferdinand Čatloš - who at the same time was preparing a flamboyant speech intended to galvanize the resistance of all - the lieutenant colonel returns to his preparations. One point worries him particularly these days: fuel. The Slovak army's reserves remain at the Dubova refinery - impossible to transfer them all at once, of course. And now, with the Germans in the middle, it might be even more difficult...

Ultimatum
Budavár Palace (Budapest), 18:00 - Nagybaczon's general prediction has unfortunately come true - but in a less warlike way than expected, at least for the moment. Indeed,
the Reich Chancellery sent a real summons to Hungary this morning, in the form of a letter signed by the Führer himself.
The cold, synthetic letter contained three "directives".
Firstly, the Kállay government, which was far too compromised with the Allies, had to resign without delay to make room for a new cabinet, possibly headed by László Bárdossy - but not necessarily. The Reich obviously reserved the right to issue a "friendly opinion" on the prospective ministers, the majority of whom, it is clear, will have to come from the Arrow Cross movement.
Secondly, the anti-Jewish laws, applied with more than moderate zeal by the present administration - and in any case of very insufficient scope - must be reinforced as quickly as technically possible so that the status of Hungarian Jews is finally aligned with that of other countries that were subservient to the Reich. It goes without saying that the very definition of Jews will also have to be reworked in order to give it a less restrictive meaning.
Finally, as soon as the Kállay government was deposed, the regent Horthy was asked to go to Berlin "within 48 hours of receiving this letter", in order to "meet with Chancellor Hitler in a peaceful atmosphere, which will allow us to iron out the differences between our nations and to finally collaborate in a constructive manner"!
Faced with his disastrous ministers, Horthy could only suffocate with indignation: "In short, Germany requires all at the same time the control of our government, of our citizens and of my person!"
Miklós Kállay replies with a grim look on his face: "I fear that the decisive hour has come, Regent."
General Nagy of Nagybaczon immediately adds: "And the Honvéd is absolutely not prepared for a clash with the Heer or the SS. Almost all our units are in the German system and far from us, in Delvidia or in the Carpathians. I fear massacres, surrenders... betrayals, even. "
- In your opinion, gentlemen, why do you summon me to Hitler? What does he have to fear from me?
Miklós Kállay answes, in a tone that has nothing to do with flattery: "Obviously, Regent, Chancellor Hitler still fears your popularity. No doubt he prefers you to be absent when his armies descend upon us - which will inevitably happen. If you are in Germany, you will be his prisoner and hostage."
- But this is foul! Do you really think that the Reich has fallen so low?
An awkward pause, sorry glances are exchanged between the ministers... Kállay clears his throat before speaking again: "Regent, Admiral... Kormányzója*... I beg you to forgive us, but circumstances lead us to reveal to you something that happened during the Bárdossy government and which we had chosen to keep quiet for the sake of all."
The tone is gloomy, and Horthy, alarmed, suddenly stands up: "How? Finally, by God, what are you talking about?"
- You certainly remember, Regent, the circumstances of our declaration of war against the USSR. Initially, the vast majority of the Army and the government were more than reluctant to join Germany in this conflict...
- With reason, when we see today the result! But I had to resolve to sign it, because the Reds had chosen to consider us as de facto belligerents! They had even started to bomb our troops at... at...
- At Kassa, Regent. However, since I took office, I have asked General Nagy of Nagybaczon, here present, to investigate and clarify the circumstances of this story. And it turns out that...
Kállay is silent. He passes the baton to the general, who salutes and looks Horthy straight in the eye before confessing: "It turns out that on that cursed May 17th, 1942, Russian planes never bombed our troops. They were German planes, commanded by Colonel Cuno Heribert Fütterer, of the Luftwaffe. Worse still, this whole affair was set up with the complicity of some officers of our own Army and ministers of the Bárdossy** government. All this was done in order to deceive you and to involve Hungary in the conflict.
After this shocking revelation, there is a heavy silence, while Horthy, close to collapsing, leans with all his weight on the table. Foreign Minister Jenő Ghyczy de Ghicz then dares to speak again: "This explains why the Russians have at first refused our declaration of war, suggesting that we wait for the results of an investigation. Ambassador József Kristóffy described to me at length the "very surprised" face of Minister Molotov when he handed over this... "
- But why did you hide all this from me, gentlemen?
- We only found out about it six months ago. And we feared, in the complex circumstances we are currently experiencing, we feared that you would be justly angry. Obviously, this precaution was unnecessary.
- Indeed... I will take a few moments to think about this. After all, the Reich is generously offering us 48 hours to act. I will announce my decision later this evening - whether I go to Germany or not. If... if I call for resistance or not. And whether I surrender our country or not. Gentlemen, I would like to be left alone.
The three ministers left the room without the admiral giving them a glance. He sits down again and, with his chin heavily resting on his two hands, gazes blankly at the brightness of the large inlaid table. Who can say what he will do, how he will use the considerable power he still holds in his hands. "For God and the Nation!"
.........
Berlin, 20:00 - Hundreds of miles away, Adolf Hitler is about to have dinner with his inner circle of confidants. Among them, of course, his companion Eva Braun, and, as is often the case, the Goebbels. In an almost light-hearted tone, the Führer discusses with his minister the ultimatum sent to Hungary.
- Do you think the old admiral will bend, Goebbels?
- I don't doubt it, my Führer! He is a degenerate Jew. Do you know that he even has two dragons tattooed on his arms? Just like all the drunken sailors in the Mediterranean!
- Yes. But he's also a real soldier, who commanded a victorious fleet at Otranto.
- Victorious for having fled before the British battleships, with all due respect to you, my Führer.
- We shall see. I was told that the motto of his naval school was "Duty is more valuable than life". No doubt he will see where his duty lies. I look forward to our being able to eradicate the Jewish leprosy that infests his country. Who knows, in a few years he will even thank me! In any case, once Hungary is under control and our friend Pavelic is in charge in Yugoslavia, our little Balkan troubles will finally be over. Ah, dinner is served!
The guests smile like wolves in front of the leader of the pack as the SS waiters enter the room, accompanied as it should be by Hitler's particular taster. The dishes are served, choice dishes are eaten (except by Hitler, who is always frugal) and the conversation drifts to other topics. Meanwhile, everywhere else in Europe, thousands of men and women are suffering and dying - be it for their beliefs, their origins or their oaths.
Would it comfort them to know that within a year, most of tonight's diners will be dead - and almost all by their own hand?

Daisy of Steel
HQ of the 1st Hungarian Army, Szarvasháza, 23:00 - In the middle of the night, and without any prior warning of what is going on in the capital, Major-General Béla Miklós Dálnoki receives from his chief of staff, Lieutenant-General Ferenc Szombathelyi, an order for his troops to be "on alert, ready for any eventuality." An ambiguous message (but the lines are monitored!), without more details...
But Dálnoki did not need to be told what the eventuality was - the host of German movements in progress on his back (officially, we speak about these traitor Slovaks, but nobody is fooled!), as well as the simple fact that on the opposite side, on the Soviet lines, everything is calm, can only mean one thing: Hungary must prepare itself for a change of side, followed by an inevitable Nazi aggression.
Béla Miklós Dálnoki had been a career military officer since 1910, perfectly loyal to the regent who, in 1929, had entrusted him with his military cabinet in 1929 before decorating him with the order of the Vitéz for his services. Dálnoki was also an attaché in Berlin and then Stockholm between 1933 and 1936, before heading the Regent's military cabinet again after the declaration of war. He is therefore also a man of the apparatus, who knows all about the violence of the Germans and the Hungarian weaknesses.
And this is where the problem arises. For, if the major-general is willing to prepare himself to face the Reich on the side of the Soviets - he is clearly in favor of this "Kiugrás" (Jump out!), it is still necessary to have the time and the means! His forces, already qualitatively inferior to those of their past and future adversaries, are just as much outnumbered. Even more seriously, it is not at all certain that his men will obey an order that would lead to the delivery of a part of eternal Hungary to the Communists.
This, while he does not even know when, exactly, the Regent has planned to "jump"... There is not enough time to make sure of everyone. Nevertheless, Dálnoki sends out his orders for "reinforced alert" to his corps leaders, Ferenc K. Farkas and Jenö Halmaji Bor (6th and 8th Corps). He also decides to look for a way to contact the Soviets.
Finally - at least he would not have to go to Ferdinand Schörner, even more than Gotthard Heinrici. That's something. And with a bit of luck, his feeling will be shared by the majority of his troops...
He doesn't know how divided opinions are among them. And a copy of his orders will quickly find its way to the German headquarters in Katowice and Klausenburg.

* Serene Highness. This is Horthy's official title: "His Serene Highness the Regent of the Kingdom of Hungary," or "Főméltósága a Magyar Királyság Kormányzója."
** It is not certain that Bárdossy was actually aware of this set-up. But it suited him so well that he never tried to find out more about it. When asked about the inconsistencies in the dossier, he simply replied: "Since the general staff, obviously in agreement with the Germans, found that it was the Russians and that the government believes in it, it is so and not otherwise!"

 

[Wings]

April 11th, 1944

Burma and Malaysia Campaign
After Black Prince
Rangoon - A staff meeting is held at the highest level for a hot debriefing of the campaign in the presence of all the operational managers and the ABDAF. The Burma Campaign was an undeniable success despite higher than expected losses. While the Japanese had lost three divisions, plus, it seems, an INA division, the 1st Burma Division is out of action, the 81st West African Division is not much better, and the 7th and 8th Indian Divisions suffered heavy losses - they are in the same condition as the 5th British ID and the 14th Indian four months earlier; without the victory, they would be at the breaking point. The 19th Indian Division performed well despite a casualty rate (all causes) exceeding 25 percent - luckily, it was engaged in an area abandoned by the Japanese at the beginning of the campaign.
The 7th Indian Division performed very well, conducting numerous overrun actions in the jungle. In all brigades, officers and NCOs should be trained for operations in this terrain by the 13th Brigade. The engineering units will also have to be provided with more crossing equipment, given the difficulties encountered by certain divisions.
Two-thirds of the armoured vehicles are unavailable: engaged in direct support of the infantry, the three brigades had to suffer from difficult terrain that the enemy had had four months to fortify and an unexpected anti-tank potential on the part of the Tenno soldiers. Will they be united into a large European-style armored division or simply use them separately to support the infantry divisions? The question was left open for debate.
The excellent performance of the parachute brigade calls for comments on vertical envelopment in these difficult areas. All participants agreed that they would support the creation of a real Indian airborne division, with reinforcements from Europe if the conflict ends in time there. Similarly, in the area of special operations supports the validity of the concept of a fortified base on the enemy's rear, supplied by air thanks to a specific air corps.
As far as aviation is concerned, we are satisfied with the use of rockets. The new aircraft models performed well and demonstrated superiority over the Japanese equipment, which seems to be stagnating. However, we hope to receive new units to attack Malaysia.
Finally, if the participants agree to celebrate this victory, they recognize that the losses were proportionally higher than those of Operation Tiger in October.
However, everyone is optimistic about the future of Operation Dracula, since the upcoming monsoon will allow time to replenish all units, not to mention the expected reinforcements.

Singapore - The Japanese are also considering the consequences of the loss of Burma.
After noting (as did their adversaries!) the urgent need for reinforcements in men, planes and armor for future battles in Malaya, it was decided to remind the Imperial General Staff, in Tokyo, the fact that the good supply of the Motherland in Indonesian oil depends on the ability to defend Singapore, but that the Army will not be able to ensure its mission without the full cooperation of the Navy. It will be necessary to reinforce the defense of the coasts since the enemy will be able to arrive only by disembarking, Thailand playing, by its neutrality, the role of a welcome shield. Once again, the responsibility of the Navy is called into question: after its relative success in April of last year, the Navy was unable to prevent the Allies from carrying out amphibious operations on the Burmese coast. This inability could not be masked by the success of the evacuation operation carried out between Burma and Malaysia! However, the said Navy has other worries...
It is reported that most of the INA disappeared in the battle and that its elements only behaved properly in the presence of Japanese officers - such a framework is therefore necessary for what remains of it. On the other hand, the loss of three Japanese divisions (12th, 55th and 71st) is almost ignored. At most, it is stated that these three divisions sacrificed themselves in honor, causing enough losses to the enemy to "prohibit him from violating Thai neutrality". Finally, the prospect of the coming monsoon allows us to consider under the best of auspices the delivery of reinforcements to the defenders of Singapore and Malaya, despite the situation in Indochina, where Japanese forces are now more or less confined to the Hanoi and Haiphong area.

Sino-Japanese War
Operation Bailu
Canton - Governor General Rensuke Isogai orders General Tanaka to begin the destruction of the city's port facilities. Canton is in any case lost for the Japanese and for reasons of prestige, Isogai considered that the priority was now to defend Hong Kong, which had been won from the British "colonialists" and symbol, before Singapore, of their humiliation by the glorious Imperial Army. While Tanaka's staff evacuates its temporary headquarters in the Aiqun Hotel and the 108th and 137th Regiments were engaged in delaying action against the Chinese forces in the northern districts of the new city, the 104th Division's engineers begin the methodical blasting of the port.

 

[Wings]

April 11th, 1944

Bludgeoning
Festung Memel - The shelling resumes under a sky that is less and less overcast - except that the rain has been replaced by steel. The improvement of the weather has a tangible: Sergei Rybalchenko's 13th Air Force is out! And they bomb to their heart's content, for lack of the slightest cover provided by the Luftwaffe, demolishing the positions of the defenders under the dejected look of the German air force infantrymen, who had seen more favorable skies. Once again, Memel calls for help - is it a Reich town or not?

Proletarians of all countries, unite!
Moscow - "Sauvage, Marchi and I have the same room at the Savoy. The hotel is luxurious. It is very hot. We are beginning to regain our confidence. And then the phone rings.
- Go ahead Marchi, answer it", I say.
- Answer what?
- Well, give the number of the room.
- Which one is it?
- It's 17.
- And how do you say 17 again?
- Siemnatsat.
- Siemnatsat... says Marchi on the phone.
It's a young girl on the other end of the line, gibbering unintelligible phrases. A charming voice: Marchi begins to circle the floor. He repeats several times Siemnatsat with tried and tested modulations. Ten minutes later, there is a knock at the door. We open the door. And two charming young Russian women enter, laughing, cheerful, unadorned, dressed very simply. We can't remember a single word, even with the help of our dictionary, our "Slavar". It is so unexpected, amazing. They laugh and still manage to make us understand that they are our... mentors, in charge of leading us through Moscow.
- Padiom Kultur Park (Let's go to the cultural park)" they immediately suggest.
This must be the classic route, a bit like the Eiffel Tower-Arc de Triomphe-Musée Grévin in Paris.
The Kultur Park is half Hyde Park, half Bois de Boulogne. It spreads out on the banks of the Moskowa River and, between its groves, are exposed war trophies taken from the Germans: tanks, cannons, planes, even supply wagons, small arms, equipment. There is even some equipment... French!
(Captain François de Geoffre, Escadre Franche-Comté/Vistule, Charles Corlet ed. 1952, reed. J'ai Lu, 1996)

 

[Wings]

April 11th, 1944

Lightning or wet powder?
Balkans - Decidedly, "Perun" is cursed: the rain, concentrated for a while over Greece, rises in the morning towards Yugoslavia and Hungary, without giving the allied planes the slightest possibility to strike. The 23rd EB, which was to attack the Rosenbach railway station, at the border (not far from Klagenfurt), is cancelled with its escort, as well as the Mosquito of Sqn 227, supposed to clear up this story of river activity...
Taking advantage of a short improvement in the evening, the Wellingtons of Sqn 202 and 205 and the Halifaxes of Sqn 15 goes up the Danube to bomb the marshalling yard of Rákoscsaba, east of Budapest. They accomplished their mission brilliantly, despite the loss of two of their own shot down (plus one damaged) by the Owls of 5/1.

Maneuvers
Knin (Croatia) - The 28th. Waffen-Gebirgsjäger Rgt, dispatched by the Handschar to the southern flank of the enclave of Lika, arrives at its destination without encountering the slightest opposition. The SS soon deploy in defense, according to the possibilities of their limited manpower. Then, noting the total absence of enemy initiatives, SS-Sturmbannführer Hans Hanke sends armed reconnaissance to the north, Gračac and the Otrić Gap.
These expeditions, which do not get very far but are not countered by the AVNOJ either, are soon reported to Andrija Hebrang, whose 4th Corps and 11th Corps are far from this sector. The latter did not expect any action on this side - he therefore urgently orders the 8th Kordun Division (commander Vlado Cetkovic, commissar Arthur Turkulin) and its tanks to go south of Gospić, to wait for the enemy with the support of the 11th "Croatian" Corps, in Bihać. Once again, the central staff could perhaps blame "Fatty" Hebrang for a kind of wait-and-see attitude that is out of place in the present circumstances - but in Tito's cave, everyone has other concerns at the moment...

Black Legion versus Partisans
Požega (northern Croatia) -- Situation still blocked for the Black Legion: the Croats are still unable to force their way through the 28th "Slavonic" ID. It is that its leader, comrade-general Vicko "Pepe" Antic is resourceful! Veteran of the 129th International Brigade, he started at the bottom of the ladder as a simple volunteer to finish the Spanish war as a sergeant. By then he had already become a member of the LCY, but his Party card did not protect him from internment in France, in Camp Arielle. He escaped, like so many others, during the Grand Demenagement to...go north to Germany as a volunteer worker! For him, it was the shortest way to Yugoslavia - and it is true that he was hardly checked until the Austrian border, where he simply jumped off his train and walked back to Croatia and then to Slavonia. Once in the Partisans, his skills enabled him to progress from sergeant to company commander, brigade colonel... general of division.
"Pepe" thus has six years of experience in small wars and Boban's men realize this.
They advance only with hopeless slowness... or on the bodies of their comrades.
Every crossroads, every window, every door can be a trap. And as the legionnaires have no artillery to raze the city...
But for the new 5th ustachi AC, the most serious is not there.
.........
Nova Gradiška - As night fell on the small city, the 12th "Slavonic" Division led by Petar Drapšin himself, attacks the 1st Rgt of the 6th ID of Colonel Sarnbek, coming out of the woods to the north, where it was expected... but later.
Faced with the experienced (and motivated!) veterans of the AVNOJ, the Croats lose their footing very quickly and start to retreat towards the east and Batrina, in search of an illusory protection. The young recruits of the NDH are routed by less than 3,000 men. Pained, colonel Ivan Sarnbek is reduced to soliciting from his commander, General Vjekoslav Servatzy, a quick support, preferably heavy artillery...

Start on time
18th AAG HQ, Athens - Once again, the rain is pounding on the windows of the conference room - a very unpleasant music for the ears of General Montgomery, although he is getting used to it. Opposite him, his two deputies Bethouart and Spiliotopoulos. The trio at the head of the 18th AAG has just talked at length about the preparation of the tryptic "Plunder, Veritable, Grenade", which must lead them to Hungary and (perhaps) to Vienna. This essential preliminary is completed - the units are only waiting for an order to leave their winter burrows and march on the enemy...
They have the means to do so: the Supply Service has triumphantly announced that, since yesterday, the stocks allow to advance westward without any fear of running out of fuel, ammunition, spare parts... Colonel Canterbry, with his moustache quivering, smiles with a sense of pride: he and Sir Rhodes have accomplished miracles, given the circumstances and the limited means at their disposal. So why the silence in the room and the annoyed looks on their faces?
The reason is simple: the Meteorological Service has issued its first forecast for the coming weeks. They are catastrophic: as far as the forecasts in question are reliable, there will not be a single period of good weather for several weeks. Rain, sleet and a lot of water, perhaps until May! "It seems that the general has brought England in his luggage," Spiliotopoulos persists in petto - it's true that the Greeks are not the most concerned (if not the most motivated) by the coming offensive.
So what is Monty going to do? Waiting means giving more time to the Germans and Hungarians to reinforce themselves, the Yugoslavs to create difficulties and (perhaps) the Soviets to blow him away on the road to Vienna... But to walk now? Under the bad weather, without the support of the air force and against a defending enemy - admittedly lacking reserves, but nevertheless well prepared? At the mercy of the first unexpected event?
Montgomery is not an adventurer like other generals. Nor is he a coward. He is a methodical man, intent on saving his meager forces by eliminating one unknown variable after the other. A tropism that comes from far away...Who remembers (except him and the main interested party) that in 1925, he was drawing on the sand of the beach a multitude of scenarios, defensive devices and other deployments, during his romantic meetings with Miss Betty Anderson*? Always method and planning, that's what counts.
In the end, the leader of the 18th AAG made his decision - for him the only reasonable one in such circumstances: "Gentlemen, I will not send our soldiers to run in the rain and the machine gun fire like in Belgium in the past. This damn war has been going on for more than four and a half years - it can wait another month. "Plunder" and its ancillary operations are postponed to the beginning of May. Except for major unforeseen events, of course. Please give the orders to consolidate our preparations, to continue to accumulate stocks and to multiply the reconnaissances in order to specify the dispositions of the enemy and to harass him a little. I see nothing to add."

Last minute guest
Salonika - Major-General B.H. Chappel's 6th Indian Division returns to the Balkan theater, to join the reserve of the 8th Army. Although both competent and well supervised, this Hyderabad formation did not have much opportunity to shine during the past year, apart from a participation (which was noticed) in operation Manna and in the liberation of Attica. Indeed, it was then kept away from the fighting by concerns about the Greek islands and the Middle East - the memory of the Iraq affair and fears of a Persian uprising, or even of an Afghan agitation, had long agitated the minds in London.
The new situation in 1944 put an end to these fears. As soon as it landed, the Indian division moves towards Belgrade. It would be fresh and available to give even greater scope to the projects of General Montgomery... But when will these projects be able to materialize?

Uncertainty
Kikinda (Vojvodina) - General Guztáv Jány has returned from his inspection tour of his 2nd Hungarian Army forces, which are both scattered along the front and surrounded a little too closely by the troops of the German 12. Armee. As for him, he is too far from Budapest to know exactly what is going on there. Between Hungarians, Jány did not hesitate to share the feelings of his two commanders, Heszlényi and Kiss: they agree with him that the Germans are up to something, something that smells very bad.
Colonel Ferenc Osztovics, of the 2nd Armored Division, does not agree.
Italy, Bulgaria... what if Hungary was the future third victim of a "friendly intervention" by the Reich? In any case, Berlin could hardly rely on another European ally, the Slovaks and the RSI do not really count... The officers of the Honvèd coldly consider the matter - at any moment, their allies could stab them in the back, disarm them or even massacre them, as they had done to the Italians at Christmas 42.
Even more serious - unlike the Regio Esercito, which was united around its King, the Hungarian army was no longer united behind its Regent. Worrying information from the units: it would be a question of brotherhood of arms with the Heer, of loyalty forged in the fighting against the Reds, of officers openly expressing their sympathy for Nazi sympathies, and even the infiltration of Ferenc Szálasi's Arrow Crosses. In truth, in case of confrontation with Germany, the 2nd Army was no longer sure of the allegiance of its troops.
Among the most worrying cases, that of Kornél Oszlányi (10th ID, 4th AC) - a great friend of the Reich, willingly cruel with his men, he covered the withdrawal of the Heer from Ukraine by shedding a lot of Hungarian blood. There is also Ferenc Szász (19th ID, 7th AC) - a close friend of the Arrow Crosses, very active in the battle of the Ukraine.
He was very active in the deportation of Jews, to the great satisfaction of the Germans.
It is therefore necessary - like the Germans - to take the necessary measures now, neutralize the unreliable men and prepare for the confrontation. But for such a serious decision, Guztáv Jány needs the approval of Budapest. However, he only managed to reach his command with great difficulty, and the Honvèd staff informed him that "the situation required caution and vigilance in the face of the enemy." A sentence with two meanings on a line that is probably being watched...
General Jány spends the night wondering what to do. Finally, he chose to simply keep his forces on alert and to try, from the next morning, to finally get clear instructions from Budapest. But nothing more.

* The latter finally indicated to Montgomery that she "respected his ambitions" - but she still refused his marriage proposal.

 

[Wings]

April 11th, 1944

Bingo
Italian front - New attack on the Brenner Pass and its installations, led by the South Africans of the 24th and 25th Sqn, accompanied for the first time by the French of the 23rd EB. Despite a very dense flak, all the aircraft return. On the ground, it is the usual pile of twisted rails strewn with craters. At the headquarters, it is estimated that the Bingo missions have at least as much impact on German logistics as Operation Strangle.

 

[Wings]

April 11th, 1944

Air warfare
Massif Central - The 15th Air Force is conducting raids today against the railway stations of Clermont-Ferrand, Brive la Gaillarde and Limoges. The losses are moderate among the civilian population who had been warned the day before by leaflets.
These leaflets suppressed the surprise effect for the Americans, so the French launch a big sweep over the Massif Central, led by the 5th and 41st EC, to "sweep" the path of the bombers. As a result, the German losses are heavier than expected - thirteen fighters against three bombers and four fighters.

Transfer
Orders of battle - The 12th BACA is transferred from the Ist to the IVth Corps. The IVth Corps has to participate in the general offensive, in the Vercors in particular; it would probably need much more heavy artillery than the Ist AC which, at this stage, is content to control the Alpine valleys.

 

[Wings]

April 12th, 1944

King's Eggs
Dangerous imprecision
Occupied France - Mantes-Gassicourt and Mohon for the third time, but also Rouen-Sotteville, Arras, Busigny, Calais, Serqueux, Solesmes, Thionville and Valenciennes. These are the railway stations and nodes targeted by the Allied airmen.
The small town of Solesmes, near Cambrai, is quiet. There iss no war industry, the main employer is a sugar factory. Also, no one cares much about the air raid alerts, they are all too frequent these days, but the planes only pass by, to the great joy of the children who leave school to go home according to the instructions in force. Alas, this time, the Douglas A-20 Havoc of the 409th BG passes by at 09:15, but came back around 10:15, with the bomb bay doors open.
The target is obviously the train station, but it is only 500 m from the city center, which receives the majority of the bombs, the accuracy of the bombers being 1 km at an altitude of 3,500 m.
Fifty-eight victims, 97 buildings destroyed, 128 damaged, without people really understanding the causes of this attack... An example among many others in this total war.
In Mohon and Mézières, it is now the whole population that panics and leaves the cities, in columns reminding the exodus of May 1940...

Long-Nose, again
Lille-Vendeville Flugplatz - A Mosquito PR of squadron 140 having confirmed the presence of the new Focke-Wulf on the Lille field, ten Boeing B-17 of the 91st BG escorted by 35 Mustang P-51 of the 352nd FG drop 380 bombs of 50 kg on the airfield. Against all odds, the attack was not detected, and only the Flak attempted a vain opposition. In fact, the Focke-Wulf 190 are already out on the allied raids, and very busy.
Tired or wounded, while returning from a mission, one of the German pilots does not see a crater on the runway and falls into it when he lands. The pilot and his beautiful Long-Nose disappear in a sinister black cloud signaling the tragedy to the inhabitants of the area.

 

[Wings]

April 12th, 1944

Poland
Return to the (theoretically) promised land
Eaton Place, London - The Polish government in exile is packing its bags - now, in order to govern Poland, you have to be on the spot, that's the minimum. Especially since the bulk of the (now) state apparatus is once again located there. President Władysław Raczkiewicz will soon be flying to Lublin with the Minister of Labor, Social Protection and Health Jan Stańczyk, Treasury Minister Ludwik Grosfeld and, of course, the head of the War Compensation Department Karol Michał Popiel...
On the other hand, the vice president of the Council Stanisław Mikołajczyk would remain in London, as he is in charge of relations with the Western allied powers. In good understanding, it goes without saying, with Foreign Minister Wincenty Rzymowski in Lublin... He will have with him the Minister of Supply and Trade Władysław Banaczyk, who was deemed to have a use here in view of the current contracts - and then, thus, Mikołajczyk will feel less alone. And, no doubt, both of them will also have time to grumble about their powerlessness in the face of a Minister of Trade who will no doubt soon be putting obstacles in their way to discuss and buy exclusively from the Soviet Union.

 

[Wings]

April 12th, 1944

Deceptive calm
Slovakia - The Germans still do not react more than the day before to the affronts of Ružomberok and Martin. However, the Slovak officers who had defected - and, in the forefront, Ján Golian and Ferdinand Čatloš - are convinced that a large-scale operation is imminent. If it is not directed against them... it must be against a bigger fish.

Daisy of Steel
HQ of the 1st Hungarian Army, Szarvasháza - The Hungarian 1st Army - which now has at its back no less than five panzer divisions (!) ready to pounce. It is true that in Banská Bystrica there are two Slovak divisions - so, will the panzers take care of them first...or the future Carpathian traitors? Béla Miklós Dálnoki has his own opinion on the matter, even though he has not been able to get more information from Budapest since the day before. The lines are either busy or under surveillance - which is probably why he is not being told much.
The only good news in this chaos: his two commanders have acknowledged his alert. Without any further details and, of course, without any overall plan having yet been decided yet. Ideally, Dálnoki should meet with Ferenc K. Farkas and Jenö Halmaji Bor as soon as possible to define a strategy. However, this will not be possible before tomorrow. Dálnoki wanted to organize his trip carefully: he does not trust the Germans, who could stop him at the first crossroads! Besides, Ferdinand Schörner would try to summon him to his home in Katowice. Fortunately, the Magyar had foreseen this... In any case, the Hungarian army is not a few hours away, right?

The throes of decision
Budavár Palace (Budapest), 23:00 - Night has long since fallen on Budapest, and nothing can dispel the doubts that beset Admiral Horthy. The Hungarian Regent is simply unable to make a decision. All the possibilities that are offered to him seem at best adventurous, at worst dangerous. To defy the destiny and Chancellor Hitler, in defiance of the danger for his person - which is obviously a detail - but also for his country? Or to lie down and leave the helm to a madman who is already leading Germany to its ruin? The admiral does not know, does not know any more - in his life, he has never been so close to the wall. And yet, at seventy-five years old, he has had many adventures!
But that's not the point. It is the future of Hungary that is at stake... and also the place that he, Miklós Horthy, will leave in history. Until now, however, he was the providential man, the protective father, the savior of the nation. How did he get there? If he had known where life would lead him, when he was training as a sailor between Trieste and Fiume!
It was another time: the fleet of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was still living in the memory of the bitter defeat inflicted on the Italian allies of Prussia, at Lissa, by Admiral Wilhelm von Tegetthoff. Although beaten at Sadowa, Austria-Hungary had nevertheless stood despite all its divisions!
"The Habsburg Empire, here is a real reference!" thinks Horthy, while he is still looking for a solution among his elders and in his memories. "What would the great Kaiser do?"
For in the Regent's mind, if there is a father figure, it is not his father, István Horthy the former*, but Franz Joseph. Four years at his service as aide-de-camp!
He still remembers it very well: it was in August 1909 and Horthy had been in command of the battleship K.u.K. Kaiser Karl VI for only two months when he was called to court in Vienna to occupy this prestigious post. After a long journey full of apprehension, he was introduced, petrified with emotion and mute with admiration, to the sovereign. An understandable shyness, which however had not lasted, at least in society - two weeks later, the young officer dared to question the structure of the command and suggested that it be further decentralized, as suggested by Archduke Franz Ferdinand. This was followed by four blessed years at the Viennese court, between studies, social life and hunting at Bad Ischl**. The austere character of the Emperor agreed perfectly with that of Horthy - meanwhile, his wife Magda was doing the boudoir with Princess Maria Josèphe of Saxony and his older brother István was the Kaiser's packmaster.
Alas, in May 1914, the new captain Horthy had to return to Pola before taking, during the summer, the command of an old pre-dreadnought, the Habsburg. War was already rumbling, it was going to strike.
At the beginning, Horthy was especially bored on the Habsburg: the Kaiserliche und Königliche Kriegsmarine had counted on the support of the Regia Marina against the French and the British to reach a certain numerical parity... but Italy had remained neutral, before turning against the Central Powers, condemning the Austro-Hungarian fleet of the line to the role of a fleet in being! During this period, the young officer had the opportunity to shine by carrying out an important special mission: the convoying from Germany to Pola of the submarine U.8, boldly disguised as a civilian ship***.
Then, once transferred to the new cruiser Novara****, he covered himself with glory during the raid on San Giovanni of Medua*****, before participating in the one against Porto Corsini - which remained a painful memory******. But it was less painful than the death of Emperor Franz Joseph, whom he often thought about. A portrait of the sovereign that he had made during his years in Vienna still hung in his office in Kenderes. A very similar work, very successful, in the opinion of the great emperor himself.
Horthy frowned a little. With Franz Ferdinand, who never trusted Hungarians, things had unfortunately been more complicated... But this had not prevented him from commanding at Otranto, and from winning, sinking an Italian destroyer and the English cruiser Dartmouth*******! Once again, he had set an example, continuing to command on a stretcher, his leg pierced by shrapnel and his cap burned, after the English shells had ravaged the bridge. He had thus earned the love of his men, like the machinists who came up to the bridge to offer him cigarettes.
"So what? Did I do all this to bend to that German chancellor... The emperor would not have given in! Like in Pola." The admiral's face tightened as he recalls other episodes. After having directed the repairs of the Novara, and then having been transferred to the dreadnought Prinz Eugen, Horthy spent two years witnessing the rise of agitation and nationalism in the fleet. The Croatian and Dalmatian minorities - most of the time the majority in the crews, due to the Austro-Hungarian's lack of interest in maritime matters - were constantly conspiring, expressing themselves in their own languages********.
Events were accelerating. On October 5th, 1917, the torpedo boat TB.17 defected to Italy. In February 1918, the sailors of the Kotor base - mainly Czechs and Croats - elected national councils on the Bolshevik model, before the army brought order without bloodshed. In order to change the mood of the navy, the high command, seeing (already!) in him a providential man, bombarded him at the same time commander and rear admiral - a decision that was enthusiastically welcomed by the sailors. Horthy had all the power, the two other rear-admirals in Vienna only serving as advisors. He immediately opposed the sedition by creating counter-propaganda. When it was necessary, it also cracked down, in particular by executing two Italian sailors of the torpedo boat TB.80 who had plotted to assassinate their commander - an affair that earned him the somewhat exaggerated nickname of "Butcher of Cattaro". Above all, he stood his ground professionally - when an Italian launch sank the battleship Szent István with a torpedo on June 10th, 1918 - as well as on a personal level - when his eldest daughter died on October 3rd, 1918.
However, despite his rank, prestige and efforts, Rear Admiral Horthy was to fail.
Another memory. In the bay of Pola, on Thursday, October 31st, 1918. It is 16:30, the sea is beautiful but the weather is cold and Horthy sees himself on the deck of the Viribus Unitis, the flagship and the pride of the fleet. He was about to experience his most bitter failure, the most painful humiliation of his life.
Austria-Hungary was going down the drain. The front had collapsed and the empire itself was faltering.
For four days now, the rear admiral no longer controlled his fleet - his own ship is now led by an elected commander, the Slovenian doctor Jug! That very morning, he received a telegram from the Kaiser ordering him to "hand over the fleet to the Yugoslav forces so that it would not become a hostage to the ongoing discussions with the Allied powers" - In fact, the Kaiser was especially afraid that his ships would fall into the hands of the Italians. Unfortunately, he had to therefore had to receive the mutineers at 21:00, as coldly as possible. Horthy set his conditions, symbolic for want of a better word: he promised to disembark at 17:00 and refused, until then, that the Yugoslav flag be raised.
He went out on the bridge, accompanied by some loyal officers. His orderly carries his bags - but he chose to keep the portrait of the sovereign, his command pennant and the ship's flag of honor. The whole crew is gathered there, watching the scene in a silence disturbed only by the chirping of a few seagulls.
They do not know that only a few moments ago, he sent the following telegram to the Imperial Palace in Vienna: "About to hand over - in accordance with your orders - the imperial fleet to the Yugoslavs, I feel obliged, in these last minutes when the undefeated flag is still flying, to testify to Your Majesty of my unwavering loyalty." Horthy stops for a moment in front of the officer who is going to take command of the Viribus Unitis: Captain Janko Vuković, a Croat considered among the most loyal to the Kaiser - which obviously does not make him the choice of the mutineers, but rather Horthy's choice. The rear admiral stood for a moment in the breeze, derisory with his portrait under his arm, in front of the thousands of eyes watching him. He is terribly moved and cannot find the words - so he decides not to make any statement.
As he descends the accommodation ladder, he knows that all over the bay, dozens of other commanders do the same. It was 17:00. A cannon shot rang out. The imperial flag is brought in and immediately replaced by the tricolor banner of the future Yugoslavia.
And the rear admiral without a fleet returned to Vienna in bitterness, with his relics under his arm and in his pocket a telegram received the same day, which finally officially notified him of his promotion of the previous February! But without a glance for the sailors, who were already tearing each other between Serbs and Croats. He learned in the train about the sinking of the Viribus Unitis, renamed Jugoslavija and immediately sunk at anchor by Italian divers who were said to be unaware of the transfer of the ship to the Yugoslavs. The flagship and its new commander did not survive the end of the Empire - Kaisertreu bis den Tod!
Horthy drank the chalice to the dregs when he was received on December 8th by Kaiser Charles - Franz Josef had been dead for two years... - in an almost deserted Schönbrunn palace, in order to officially resign from his position. This pathetic acknowledgement of failure put an end to his career in what had been the fleet of one of the most powerful nations in the world. Then... Back through Budapest to Kenderes with his family back from Baden, in the prospect of a life as a landowner after his retirement. His disarray had impressed all witnesses, from the emperor to his fellow travelers, such as the embassy counsellor Aladar von Boroviczény, who said he had "rarely seen a man so shaken". In fact, the Regent still has tears in his eyes when he thinks about it today.
"So, history is going to repeat itself? After giving back the fleet, you're going to give back the country?"
The Regent's right hand drops to the table to better support his point. "Nem, nem, nem! Not this time!" Hungary is not alone in the world! The forces of Justice and Order are camped just a few hundred kilometers from here. And even if she were alone... "I will not be the man who has lowered the flag twice!" He is Miklós Horthy, son of an ancient Sicilian family from the Great Plain of Transylvania, ennobled by Ferdinand II in 1635 and whose arms are azure with an ear of gold. He did not make all these efforts, studied hard in Debrecen (the "Calvinist Rome" is also the temple of Hungarian nationalism), argued endlessly with his parents to join the navy (while his father would have seen him rather in the cavalry or in the administration), to fold once again!
What would Kaiser Franz Joseph have done? He would have trusted his people and his army.
Like when he trusted his aide-de-camp. The same goes for Charles IV of Hungary (Charles I of Austria), who had himself crowned in the middle of the war - I know, I was there. In any case, they would not have done less than the Bulgarians or the Romanians!
For he, Miklós Horthy of Nagybánya, is the guardian of the Austro-Hungarian temple, the heir of the Kaisers in spirit if not in blood. He is the regent of Hungary, the true providential man who has already sacrificed himself once to bring order back to his country in the grip of chaos.
He also remembered June 6th, 1919, when he had come to meet Károlyi and Bethlen, who had both approached him to take command of the so-called "counter revolutionary" armies. He had undoubtedly worked on the staging - his theatrical entrance in a raincoat, his lyrical speech, which was a bit conventional: "After struggling with my conscience, I have come. I am committed. I will not listen to the rustling of the grass in Kenderes while in Szeged the Hungarian genius spreads its wings for a second conquest of the country!" His handshake with Károlyi in front of the photographers followed right after.
The important thing then was to remobilize the men and to bring together a country in perdition. This he had done brilliantly. As soon as he was hired, he was appointed Minister of Defense and new commander of the Hungarian nationalist armies, was sworn in on June 15th (before the rest of the government!) and triumphantly marched towards Budapest, crushing Bolshevism.
Of course, he was already thinking about the next step! Like everyone else - Gyula Gömbös had not made him honorary president of his MOVE for a reason. Miklòs Horthy was already a symbol, and everyone wants a symbol back. But he wanted to be more, and he had his own idea in mind: to give himself to the Hungarian nation in order to prevent its dissolution. The people followed him, by the way - they even made songs about it. In the absence of any other popular and unquestionable personality, he had indeed taken the reins of the country, and with what brilliance! While Hungary was in danger of disappearing, torn apart between Czechoslovakia and Romania with the support of France, Horthy had negotiated the support - or at least the neutrality - of the French army (colonel Betrix and general de Lobit), then obtained the help of the British diplomacy. After the crushing of the Republic of the Councils, he had forced the Romanians to withdraw and finally obtained the recognition of his government by the Serbian President Stojan Protić - the first of many.
After these victories came the triumph of November 16th, 1919. His entry into Budapest on his favorite White Arab Charger, to a march composed by his brother Ferenc. His crossing of the city like Arpád the Conqueror, before delivering a speech in front of 30,000 people who had previously been misled by the Councils with the charm of their facade equality.
"A guilty city, a rogue city!" he said. A nationalist restoration, based on religion, would obviously be his watchword for "a Christian Hungary gloriously resurrected! Long live the Holy Crown and long live the King!"
Yes, but which king? The foreign powers did not want a Habsburg, nor a Bolshevik, and even less of a democrat. In the absence of a real alternative, the new assembly appointed him Kormányzó on March 1st, 1920 by 131 votes out of 141. Faithful to his new oath, he was to "defend the territory and the independence of the country" with his Prime Minister, Count Mihály Károlyi. To do this, he would have full executive power*********.
He had only enjoyed the small pleasures that his status offered him. The vacations at Count Gassalkoich's castle in Gödöllő. The long summer stays at the estate of Kenderes, refurbished for sports and horseback riding. At heart, Horthy had always affected to despise luxury. At his age, his life ritual was well established: getting up at 07:00 for a breakfast while reading the newspapers, then he would sit at his desk and contemplate the portrait of Franz Josef before ringing his aide-de-camp... as the Kaiser had done with him**********. Rare evenings at the theater or at the opera (Ah, Caruso in Tosca by Puccini!), a bit of cinema (Hans Mose and Paul Hörbiger in particular) and above all a lot of bridge. Then a bit of reading after dinner while his wife knitted next to him, to go to bed around 23:00. Sweet Magdalena - 43 years together! What luck that this daughter of a deputy married him, a simple naval officer, accepting to live on the heights of Pola and give her four children... of whom only Miklós survives today.
"And they dare to say that I only acted for money or for glory! When I have done everything for this country! I have earned my place."
In fact, thanks to his action - or at least under his government - the Hungarian economyrebounded remarkably well... until the war, of course. "And if I took energetic measures then, it was for the good of all! For the salvation of this divided nation, which needed a king! An emperor even, who alone could make it great again! For that, I assumed everything, suffered everything..."
And speaking of suffering... "The worst was that damn Trianon treaty, which I had to initial on November 15th, 1920! What choice did I have? The country had suffered so much! It was at the mercy of the Bolsheviks or the Romanians, supported by the French. We had just taken back Budapest - we had to accept it! What exactly should I have done? Leave like the Habsburgs? The same ones who came back in 1921 to remind me of my oath, when everything was over!
Similarly, if Hungary had joined the Axis at the end of 1940, it was not by choice, but by
obligation. Just as it had allied itself with Italy in 1927 out of pragmatism. The Italians had been much more noisy than effective.*************
The French, for their part, never seized the hand we were holding out to them!" The Small Entente, the economic union of the Danube... All of this was a pipe dream! Louis Barthou himself had dared to speak about "the return of Transylvania to Romania!" Hypocrite! As for the French loans, they were hardly worth more than the false money that Budapest had printed************!
"Finally, Germany was for lack of anything better - the Westerners will inevitably understand this!
All our action, all our efforts, all our compromises even, had only one goal: to recover what had been unjustly snatched from us! They will end up understanding it! They must absolutely end up understanding it!"
Horthy massaged his aching temples. Perhaps he had made some... mistakes. Not in spirit but in form. Like with Gyula Gömbös, for example. "I never had the slightest sympathy for that individual. He was an anti-clerical populist! The cult of the leader, that was his leitmotiv! It is true that I was the honorary president of the MOVE... but we were in civil war. And I then went to great lengths to neutralize this man."
The admiral leaps to his feet, "I even reneged on my oath as a soldier for Hungary!" His decision is made. As usual, it was the result of the pressure of circumstances and of his own convictions - some would say his hopes. He rings his aide-de-camp with a gesture. "Kállay and his ministers asked me to save Hungary. Well, since I'm left with no choice, I'll save Hungary! After all, we are not alone in the world between the Reds and the Nazis! The English were competent and chivalrous adversaries************* - they will be reliable allies! Come on, for God and the Nation!"
.........
A few moments later, the young aide-de-camp of the Regent came out of his office lighting himself with a candlestick (electricity rationing and curfew obliged). His head full of glorious memories of his boss, he is very proud to serve him. The old lion has chosen to reject the German ultimatum! And he asks to prepare the Hungarian nation for a declaration of neutrality, a neutrality that will undoubtedly have to be defended. It will probably be with support of the English - the Yugoslavs, our southern neighbors, should not help us much, although, basically, we have never had anything against them.
Against the Germans, it's something else. The Germans thought of buying us with our own land and even hire us as mercenaries. They are likely to be disappointed.
Not to mention the Croats and Slovenes... too bad for them.
The rumors about the Regent's fatigue are more than unfounded - he who is with him every day can testify to that! The Admiral deserves his position and the love that the nation has for him - a love that it will continue to show him long after this war**************. He is in great shape, animated by an energy that we no longer imagined... At seventy-five years old! What a man! Pál Teleki was a coward, that's all. Calling the Regent a vampire!
The aide-de-camp shivers - a sudden cold draught had just blown out his candles. He stops, takes out his lighter and nervously starts to relight them - the darkness is so thick this evening. After having thrown a circular glance among the shades of the palace, the young man resumes his walk through the deserted corridors, humming a nóták song that was once in fashion...
"You are Miklós Horthy, the guide of the Hungarians,
In our sweet amputated homeland we are proud of you,
We pray for you to the God of Heaven
May he give you the strength to accomplish your great task,
To find the strength for victory
So that happiness may return to your beautiful Hungary!"
.........
To change the destiny, it can be enough of a flick of the wrist...

* According to a well-established tradition since the 18th century, all Horthy eldest sons were named István. The vice-regent was obviously no exception.
** Where a bronze statue of Kaiser Franz Joseph in hunting clothes still stands.
*** Apart from this feat of arms, his main contribution to the war in the 1914-1915 period was to... shave his moustache following a bet, for the benefit of a collection for the Red Cross!
**** The cruiser Novara was awarded to France as war damage. Renamed Thionville, it was scrapped in 1941.
***** The Novara, accompanied by four destroyers, had surprised an Italian navy that was dilettante to say the least. Entering the cove, the Austrians ordered the crews of the ships present to scuttle their ships! No less than 23 ships were sunk, without any loss for the Austro-Hungarians.
****** The raid on Porto Corsini (the port of Ancona) turned into a tragedy when the destroyer Scharfschütze directed its fire towards the sea front, causing numerous deaths among the civilian population. Admiral Haus, not Horthy, was in command of the expedition.
******* Here, Horthy embellishes... His squadron, composed of three cruisers and two torpedo boats, destroyed some twenty trawlers carrying anti-submarine nets before being attacked by two British cruisers, reinforced by a cruiser and two Italian destroyers. One of the latter was destroyed, but the Austro-Hungarians had to flee to Pola, pursued by the Allies. Only the exit of the battleship Sankt Georg and its escort saved them from disaster! As for the Dartmouth, it was actually sunk after the battle, by a submarine!
******** Unlike the imperial army, which had regiments of the same linguistic affiliation with "local" officers, the navy retained a centralizing tendency until the end. The language of command, that of the majority of the officers, remained German. Horthy himself complied with this, and with good grace. In this regard, it should be noted that the Fiume Naval School had been founded in 1797, after the peace of Campoformio - that is to say if it was a priority of the empire!
********* Except for the attribution of titles of nobility and ecclesiastical patronage. In addition, the Regent could twice refer a law to the parliamentarians and propose a text to them.
********** The ties that had united Horthy and Franz Joseph remained strong: it was the admiral who placed the death mask of the sovereign in the Budapest museum on November 22nd, 1926.
*********** Hungary signed its alliance with Italy in April 1927. But the Italians were going to multiply the unfortunate or counterproductive initiatives. Thus, during the inauguration of the Exhibition of Italian Arts at the Mücsarnok in Budapest in 1936, the Secretary of State Dino Alfieri made a violent criticism of the Trianon Treaty, in the presence of Admiral Horthy (to whom he undoubtedly wished to do a favor). Outraged by this direct attack against his country, the Romanian ambassador Basil Grigorcea left the room with a bang, creating a serious diplomatic incident.
************ In 1925, desperately short of cash, Hungary began printing counterfeit 1,000-franc bills with the help of Ludendorff and (already!) Adolf Hitler's services. Obviously, the affair caused considerable damage to the Hungarian government.
************* On December 19th, 1915, in the Adriatic, the cruiser Novara, commanded by Miklós Horthy, encountered a British flotilla, consisting of a cruiser and an old battleship, which pursued it for a long time. Frustrated at having to avoid an unequal engagement, Horthy suggested that the British cruiser "pull his big brother away" for a a fair duel. The British reply was "I would but I can't!". In addition, Horthy knew England well, especially having participated before the war in the budgetary negotiation of ships acquired in the United Kingdom by Austria-Hungary. He had even ensured in person the delivery of the British-made torpedo boat Boa.
************** Regent Horthy's reign was accompanied by a cult of personality that would have made fascist Italy look good.
Horthy streets, Horthy bridges, Horthy prizes were countless. Epinal pictures in his honor were distributed to schoolchildren and musical pieces were dedicated to him, including the famous Forward, glorious soldiers of Horthy! The Magyar literature was not less dithyrambic, multiplying the eulogistic publications. The latter (at least those that have survived) are now relegated to the hell of the National Library of Hungary, in the Reserved Materials section (Zárt anyag - understand "To be handled with care").

 

[Wings]

April 12th, 1944

Indochina Campaign
Objective Poulo Condore
Island of the Great Condore, Poulo Condore archipelago (southeast of Cochinchina) - The junks of the Binh Xuyen arrived pushed by a good wind, with nearly an hour ahead of the forecast. The sun is not expected for another two hours, but we are working silently and efficiently. The crews are certainly thugs, but they know their business.
In the light of some muffled lanterns that one takes care not to direct towards the island...the boats are launched for the Pirate commando. With a smile, Lieutenant...
"Major" Delayen remembers that he gave this name to his troop when it was operating in the Highlands. He had never imagined that they would actually end up on board buccaneering ships! Fate has its tricks...
The French commandos landed almost without a sound. As Giap said, the beach is only a simple strip of sand, the first coconut trees grow almost at the edge of the sea. Delayen's men slide from tree to tree and discover a bunker of trunks and sandbags, supposed to defend the area.
The attack is a model of its kind - it is true that the Vietnamese and Laotians of the commando are experts. They emerge from the shadows and grab the sentries from behind, putting their hand over their mouths while thrusting a dagger into their chests. Containing the struggling body... wait for the spasms... then lay him on the ground...
The FM's servant, who was behind his weapon, has time to throw a burst of bullets that puts one of Delayen's men down before a grenade thrown in the doorway silences him forever. After a few more shots, calm returns.
A message is sent by projector to the junks, which take advantage of the daybreak to slip between the Great Condore and the Small Condore. Then Jean-Louis Delayen signals to his men, who start to move towards the north.
......
On the way, the Pirate commando meets a patrol. The exchange of fire lasts only a few minutes. Immediately enveloped and attacked in a pincer movement, the Japanese die bravely. As always... At least, Delayen thinks, it avoids worrying about the prisoners and runaways who could alert their buddies.
His men arrive at a road that leads them to the fishing village in the northeast bay. As they walk in this direction, they hear the distant sound of automatic weapons and the clatter of rifles. There is already fighting around the garrison in the southwest bay. The Japanese fire from the first landing had alerted them - so much the better, a sign that the diversion intended to divert the attention of the northeast bay defenders was successful.
In fact, the attack on the small garrison in this bay, installed in a small group of huts is not much more difficult than eliminating the patrol. The commando has no casualties: Delayen begins by killing the sentry posted at the entrance with a rifle shot, then his men throw grenades through the openings. The only Tenno soldier who can get out of his hut is immediately sent to a better world.
While the commando's radio signals to the junks that they can drop their human cargo in the bay, the villagers are questioned. They indicate to Delayen three Japanese positions. The first is a bunker in the hills, guarding the road leading to the northeast point. The second is a pillbox on the road leading to the west coast.
The second is a pillbox on the road leading to the west coast... the same one that the "Pirates" have just crossed! In the shadows, the commando passes by without being seen and without seeing the Japanese. The last one, finally, is formed by two forts of logs and sandbags which frame the road going from the agglomeration of Condore to the west coast. Delayen simply named the three positions Alpha, Beta and Gamma, then calls Colonel Giap by radio to inform him of the information he had received and offered to neutralize all three positions, which Giap immediately accepted.
While the troops of the second wave, who had landed in the northeast bay, were making their way around Con Chime Point, the commando attacks the Alpha position. The first contact with the enemy is a patrol coming down the road. The commandos have no trouble eliminating it but the defenders of the bunker, alerted by the shots, welcome the attackers with ferocity. While one group entertains the Japanese from the front, another group goes around the position by climbing the hill. The bunker taken in reverse is then neutralized in a few moments.
On the face of it, taking the Beta casemate should be even simpler: coming inland, Delayen's men can hope to sweep away any opposition without a blow. Alas, the defenders, alerted, deploy a few men outside the bunker and call in reinforcements, who appeared just as the battle was about to begin. A fierce fight continues for almost twenty minutes before the experience of the Franco-Indochinese tipped the balance. The Japanese withdrew in the middle of the coconut groves towards the Gamma position. With just enough time to destroy the pillbox, their adversaries pursue them.
Meanwhile, Giap launches the assault on Condore and the prison, with the support of two or three pairs of P-40's which turnein the sky and dive to strafe on demand after having dropped a few small bombs on the garrison's cantonment. This air support was decisive and soon, the last Japanese soldiers fall while defending the town. At this moment, most of the jailers guarding the prison had already surrendered - an event rare enough to be highlighted: it is true that they are Koreans, their Nipponese officers having committed suicide.
At the same hour, the group that Delayen was pursuing is caught by the Bo-Dois who had disembarked at dawn in the southwestern bay and duly annihilated.
It takes another two hours to neutralize the bunkers of the Gamma position and eliminate the remains of the garrison.

Burma Campaign (postscript)
The Chinese leave
Burma - The remaining forces of the Chinese expeditionary force in Burma, the 6th and 66th Armies, commanded respectively by Generals Gan Lichu and Ma Weiji, begin their
repatriation. Their presence was no longer useful now that the entire colony had been liberated from the Japanese occupiers.
In fact, this presence had not been necessary for several months, but Chiang Kai-shek deliberately let it drag on to remind his British allies that they could no longer ignore Chinese interests in the region once the war was over. The success of Operation Black Prince simply provides the pretext that Chiang, believing the message to be well received, needed to officially recall his troops.

Sino-Japanese War
Operation Bailu
Canton - The Japanese 108th and 137th Regiments are gradually losing ground in the new city, but meanwhile, the destruction of the port facilities continues.

 

[Wings]

April 12th, 1944

Bludgeoning
OKH, bunker Maybach I (20 km south of Berlin) - Noting the visible deterioration of the situation in Memel, the OKH orders the Kriegsmarine to form and send a new convoy to the Festung as soon as possible. This convoy is to deliver to Wolfgang Erdmann guns, ammunition, medical equipment and other necessary supplies to the Landser, full with red shells. In view of the urgency and the limited capacities of the KM, it was also decided to "slightly postpone, in order to gather faster and larger capacity troop transports" the transfer of the 237. VGD to the Festung. In fact, the German generals want to observe the evolution of the situation. And hope to be able to decide to evacuate - but this, of course, they would only know how to express it in a very small committee.

Workers of all countries, unite!
Moscow - "In the Kultur Park I met a woman who sold pivo (beer). A famous woman! At the second appointment, this Russian Mrs. Angot, cut like a hercule, dragged me, a poor miserable wreck, shivering and mute, almost by force, to her home. Only one thing interested me. A good ration of pivo (unavailable in 44) first, and then vodka. That's how I entered a Russian interior for the first time in my life. Today, what still amazes me is that after having drunk pivo and vodka, I was able, without knowing how to mumble a single Russian word, without knowing the address of my hotel, and dressed in the strangest of uniforms, to come back from the depths of the Moscow suburbs to the cozy Savoy."
(Captain François de Geoffre, op.cit.)

Ukrainian modesty
A remote village in the Ukraine - After a long period of pretending to think about the question, Andriy Melnyk finally rejects the friendly request to form "a German-Ukrainian political committee as the basis for a future alliance". He would not feel ready, not representative... and the circumstances would not be suitable for it. In reality, Melnyk saw the scam coming from far away*. In any case, between the Ukrainian nationalists and the Reich, it is now obvious that trust is impossible to regain - if it ever existed!
Obviously, this refusal will have consequences on the way Berlin considers the aid that it is desirable to give to the Ukrainian independence movement. However, the RSHA does not envisage to stop all collaboration and send Bandera and his friends back to Sachsenhausen. They do not cost much to feed, in any case always less than what they can bring. And then, with time, perhaps they will come to better feelings? Under the pressure of events, for example, when Germany will be the last bastion of the New Europe against the Bolshevik wave. At this decisive moment, we will see if the Ukrainians will still have the modesty of a gazelle!

* It is significant that, in their respective memoirs, Bandera and Melnyk share (without having consulted each other!) the same analysis of the situation, to draw the same conclusions. As the American historian John Armstrong notes with amusement, the only difference between their accounts is that both take credit for not having collaborated at the time, each being obviously convinced that it was his decision alone that was the determining factor!

 

[Wings]

April 12th, 1944

A burst of wet lightning
Balkans - As predicted by the Meteorological Service, the Perun area is still very wet today. The weather is unstable over Croatia, Hungary and Slovenia. The day's activity is once again affected.
Nevertheless, a few timid lulls over central Yugoslavia still allow the British Beaumonts and the Boston greens to chase the SS a bit - not without difficulty, as the men in black have learned caution the hard way. Sqn 139 and 241 (on Beaumont) even go as far as Knin to raze the local train station - where, by the greatest of coincidences, the supply depot of the 28. Waffen-Gebirgsjäger Rgt of the Handschar, which had just arrived, was located. Apart from these episodes, the skies remain desperately empty of Allied or enemy aircraft. The Mustangs of the 9th EC Bohemia-Moravia and the Spitfires of the 244th Wing are circling around waiting in vain for an opponent.
On the Danube, the Beaufighters of Sqn 39 take over from the Mosquitos of the previous day, and patrol between two strato-cumulus in search of... for what exactly ? The Axis has no more hulls floating in the area, the mission is a waste of time. For everyone, it is obvious that nothing more will happen in these latitudes before May...
As if to prove it, Sqn 148 and 149 (on Halifax) and Sqn 104 (Wellington) go up to Vienna in the night to attack the banks of the great blue river, hoping to disrupt the river traffic, or even destroy a bridge on a stroke of luck. In fact, the Reichsbrücke (ex-Kronprinz-Rudolph brücke) is a bit shaken...But the structure, which dates from 1876 and was transformed into a suspension bridge in 1937, has seen others. Two Halifax and two Wellingtons were hit by Flak and Ju 88s of III/NGJ 1, which lost two of its own to French Beaufighters.
For Tedder, this mission was probably the last strategic bombing for a long time. Indeed, the center of gravity of the conflict had shifted to the north and the Alps, due to the lack of favorable weather in the Balkans, and soon, the squadrons based in Italy will inevitably be reoriented towards other targets. Yugoslavia seems to fall asleep under the showers...

Black Legion against Partisans
Požega (northern Croatia) - Informed of the risk of being turned on its back, the Black Legion evacuates Požega, abandoning all the gains it has painstakingly accumulated for two days to withdraw to Batrina. There it joins the 6th ID, which starts to move in a more or less orderly way towards Gradiška - on the other side of the Sava, within range of the monitors. In the long term, the Ustashi plan to set up a line of defense securing the axis Slavonski Brod - Banja Luka - Prijedor - Zagreb, thus avoiding Okučani and Nova Gradiška.
Unable to triumph with the Black Legion and the 6th ID of Petar Drapšin's forces, which amount to less than 5,000 enlisted men, General Vjekoslav Servatzy scratches his head. He is now considering bringing his cavalry brigade up from Banja Luka, or even calling on the SS to send the Kama as soon as it is operational...
During the night, the 28th "Slavonic" ID triumphantly regained its foothold in Požega, raising the Yugoslavian flag with six torches as high as possible in the wet April sky.
The AVNOJ is exultant - it can claim to have liberated a whole area of Croatia by itself and to have repelled those who came to chase them out. The consequences in terms of recruitment - and desertion, in the Ustasha ranks - will not be long in coming, especially since during that time, the zone of Lika-Senj remains perfectly sure for the Titists...

Undecided decision
Kikinda (Vojvodina) - Still less sure of his troops, his position and the attitude of his hierarchy, which seems to be visibly embarrassed as soon as he can reach it by phone General Guztáv Jány, commander of the 2nd Hungarian Army, made an irreversible decision. He orders... No. He gets into his car and drove to Budapest to ask for instructions personally.
The convoy, lightly escorted for reasons of discretion, and hoping to cover the 220 kilometers to the capital, disappears in the night. Its departure did not escape the Germans, who were on the lookout and in any case perfectly informed by their sympathizers scattered throughout the Honvèd. Too late, General. Too late by... three years, perhaps.
.........
"Night was falling on Budapest - but tonight it was for a long time. The great drama of Hungary - less bloody, certainly, than that of Yugoslavia, but unfortunately not less sad - had begun. Some would say that it had even begun on May 16th, 1942, or even since the invasion of Yugoslavia, in 1941...
As we have seen, the chaos of the Balkans, crossing the Danube, extended its influence over all of Central Europe. But before reaching the climax of this symphony of destruction, let's take stock of the situation as the Allies saw it.
For them, it was not bad. After so much effort, both on the front and behind the scenes, the armies of the United Nations were finally back in battle order, united, supplied and able to act without fear of disorder in their rear. This in itself was quite an achievement! One only has to compare the context of April 12th, 1944 with the one of January 1st, 1944 to measure the progress made...
Does this mean that everything was definitively settled, that the divisions between the different nations participating in the 18th AAG were erased? No, of course not. Each capital, whether official (London, Athens), provisional (Marseille), contested (Belgrade) or even unofficial (Višegrad, Skopje) kept in mind its own objectives, often contradictory with those of its neighbor. However, the whole was now oriented towards the sole defeat of the Axis - thanks in particular to the decisive influence of Winston Churchill, whose efforts cannot be praised enough for his diplomatic tour in February 1944.
However, intoxicated by this success, the Bulldog had shown hubris: he thought he had set things up for the end of the war. In reality, he had gained three months, no more and no less. Three critical months, however, for him and his objectives. And since he was not the one who would pay for the arrangements he had made with his freedom...
Arrangements that were, moreover, very much for the future. Without Churchill, there would have been no Greek participation in the 1944 campaign. Without the Greeks, there would not have been "Veritable". And without "Veritable", Marshal Tito would not have reached the position that History has recognized him in. So we can say that Churchill did save Tito, and guaranteed his triumph. In spite of his anti-capitalist prejudices, which are still as strong as ever, the latter knew Churchill is a great man. He is also of course our enemy, because he has always been the opponent of communism. But he is an enemy we must respect, and an adversary we must be happy to face.
One could not find a more beautiful tribute in the mouth of the future dictator. However, for the time being, the triumph of Broz was still far off - indeed, it seemed to be slipping away, as his forces licked their wounds on the borders of Bosnia, Montenegro and Serbia, and Yugoslavia now had the luxury of having three governments at the same time. And without the allied air force, there is no doubt that the AVNOJ would have been driven out of its land, driven back to the area controlled by Peter Karađorđević and then likely wiped out.
"Perun", a considerable but little-known effort in military aviation history, had cost 164 aircraft (excluding Soviet aircraft) destroyed or beyond repair to the Balkans Air Force of Air-Marshal Tedder and General Weiss. A loss rate approaching 20% over 39 days, therefore, and which had nothing to envy to the one of the Bomber Command during its strikes on the Ruhr.
However, the airmen killed had not fallen in vain, or for the exclusive benefit of the AVNOJ. Indeed, the Allied armies would soon resume their advance, against a valiant opponent but weakened by their strikes. And this advance would inevitably pass through Hungary, the Reich's true southern gateway, which was thought to be double-locked, but which we realized a little late in pushing it open that it was not even locked!"
(Robert Stan Pratsky, The Liberation of Greece and the Balkans, Flammarion, 2005)

 

[Wings]

April 12th, 1944

Calm
Italian Front - Activity is minimal. Once again, the sending of most of the supplies arriving in the Western Mediterranean on the French front greatly limits the operations. Although the basic infantryman is quite happy with this situation, everyone thinks that this could not last.

 

[Wings]

April 12th, 1944

Milky Way
Robert Capa - "In two days, I will leave the south of France for England. These last winter months, my reports have been going around in circles. Obviously, the situation is similar to that of the Italian or Greek fronts: small advances, but a situation that saw the Axis forces struggling to resist. For these last notes, I decided to go far from the heroes and the noise of the fights, but closer to the daily life of our boys in the field.
In the Pacific, the Marines have a saying: "Your home is where you dig it". How many times have I found our young men at rest, dozing behind a low wall, the last remnant of what was once a building, or even just simply leaning against a tree. I shared for some time the daily life of a section and their sergeant. In a cave (in fact a kind of cavity, whose entrance is rather the size of a child), they built themselves a home sweet home which they called "Fort Schuster". There, no modern comforts but a conviviality of all the moments around the fireplace which serves as their kitchen area and where Bob improvised himself as a chef, to accommodate and improve the content of the rations, but also to haggle with the locals for a canned vegetable or a few eggs.
Because, you see, on the front line, there is no trace of the sweets that the cornucopia of abundance of the arrivals in the ports. Little by little, over the few dozen kilometers between the rear and the front, a lot of things seem to literally evaporate. Oh, of course, it is not ammunition or other items needed by the combatant, but little things of daily comfort like toilet paper or Milky Way bars. The people responsible may be traffickers - the French newspapers have sometimes reported on high-profile arrests, but it is much more often simply a matter of "those in the back" and the whole logistic chain, who happily help themselves to these goods, so much that the private in the front line only sees these objects in exceptional cases.
I left my new friends after sending my newspaper a short article on their daily life, but especially by leaving them a dozen Milky Ways that I had in my Jeep.
The U.S. Army's ups and downs... "

 

[Wings]

April 13th, 1944

King's Eggs
Hammering
Occupied France - Amiens-Longueau, Béthune, Busigny, Cambrai, Creil, Douai, Tourcoing, Valenciennes and Mohon again, in the fourth service: the horsepower and their railways. But by extending their target zone to the surrounding area, we increase the collateral damage and it is Charleville that takes a few blows, the last ones in the region.
But the entire rail infrastructure was destroyed, and it would take months to re-establish a little traffic, not to mention that the road network has also been severely affected.

Lille-Fives - One month after their disastrous passage over the Lomme-Délivrance station, the Lancasters of the RAF return to the Lille area, this time to the oldest station, Fives, around which many industries have amalgamated. So many targets in perspective, but much more damage to be expected in this densely urbanized area, where many workers' housing estates have been built as companies have moved in.
Nevertheless, Marseille had given its agreement to the bombing - with only lip service - in view of the imperative need to destroy this important communications hub and the requisitioned SNCF workshops adjoining it, on condition that everything would be done to avoid the dispersion of the bombs, the station being enclosed in the city*.
One might as well say that the preparation of the raid was meticulous on all levels, including the selection of the crews. It is notably the famous Squadron 617 "Dambusters" of Sir Leonard Cheshire who will practice the marking in company of four Mosquitos of Squadron 627, the actual bombing being the work of the 5th Bomber Group (Squadrons 9, 50, 61, 97, 463 RAAF and 467 RAAF), for a total of 85 four-engined aircraft.
A preparatory raid takes place in the afternoon, operated by 24 Mosquitos of Squadrons 627 and 515 which drop 40 bombs on Lille-Fives and Hellemmes. Others are launched on the Ronchin and Vendeville airfields. The goal was not so much to obtain a convincing result as to allow the crews of the 627 to reconnoiter the area for the night's mission. One of the aircraft of the 627 is flown by Sq/L Cheshire and Locke (the Master Bomber for the upcoming operation), from Squadron 97. However, the 24 Mossies managed to cut the railroad tracks in direction of Paris!
21:30 to 22:25 - At nightfall, the heavily loaded four-engined planes take off from their English bases and regroup in formations. The weather is cloudy, the moon is sinking but still 82% full. Two planes had mechanical problems and returned to land.
23:20 - First to arrive, the Lancasters of 617 illuminate the target with flares suspended from parachutes before descending to 1,200 feet to follow the Mosquito pathfinders from 627 and mark with them the targets and areas to avoid. Visibility is good, with fog banks or low clouds in places.
If these conditions are good for the accuracy of the bombing, they are also good for the German night fighters. On his Bf 110 of the II/NJG1, Leutnant Friedrich Potthast shoots down a first Lancaster (s/n LM520, coded WS-X of Squadron 9) over Forest sur Marque and one of his teammates does the same with VN-L s/n NN694 of Squadron 50. The plane crashes not far from the same village, in a huge explosion that will be remembered for a long time by the inhabitants.
23:28 - Two of the 617 aircraft estimate the wind (strength and direction) by observing the smoke markers, and refer to the Master Bomber, Sq/L Harry Baker Locke, who is circling at altitude, so that he can calculate and give the crews the axis of attack, from east to west, the wind being from the north (001°) at 14 knots.
23:30 - The first attack group begins bombing at 10,000 feet. The Flak is both present and effective, with a direct hit that explodes the Lancaster WS-D s/n LM528 of Sqn 9. In the cockpit of Sqn 61's Lanc QR-M Mickey the Moocher, F/Lt Bill North sees the WS-D explode in its descent towards the target. By an incredible stroke of luck, the QR-M passes through the debris without any damage other than a blue chill.
23:43 - The ground explosions having blown away the target indicators, Locke suspends the attack and orders the remaining bombers to circle off the target. Critical and frightening moments for the crews, in fear of a collision, so easy in the clouds and at night, despite the navigation lights being on. If one happens without any damage other than the upper turret (without damage to the gunner, who lay down when he saw the black mass of the other Lancaster), but two other aircraft of Squadron 467 collided and their remains fell to the ground.
The Flak of the Vendeville airfield manages to hit the s/n JB708, OF-J of Sqn 97 while it circles. The plane explodes in full flight, scattering its debris on the close city.
23:54 - New illumination of the zone and new marking of the target by the planes of 627 and 617.
23:55 - Resumption of the bombardment which lasts until 00:20, with a better precision, the markers remain visible and the wind is almost nil. The Flak continues to be precise: four other aircraft are shot down, three of them falling on factories in the vicinity of the target. Only the pilot Smith, Sq/L of Sqn 467, reaches the ground alive. In the huge confusion, he manages to escape.
Two other Lancasters from Sqn 50 and 463 are shot down on their way back to Belgium by Leutnant Potthast and Brewes, bringing to twelve the number of planes lost that night, with 83 missing airmen, enough to give white hairs to the Bomber Command leaders, who will consider the operation as "frighteningly and exceptionally bad".
However, the results are excellent! Eight hundred bombs (out of 2,300, 417 tons) fall on the railroads, destroying more than 500 m of the lines of Paris, Valenciennes and Béthune. The Fives depot was razed to the ground, and nine industrial plants were badly hit.
Unfortunately, in the face of this situation, the Lille area was once again severely affected.
Despite the precision of the marking, many bombs fell up to seven kilometers from the target, towards Tourcoing, destroying many houses and again causing innocent victims - 184 dead and about forty seriously injured. It is true that many inhabitants had refused to leave their homes after the previous bombings, thus remaining exposed to the fire of the sky.
.........
"The sirens screamed again and woke me up. I look at my old alarm clock, it is ten past eleven. My father drums on the door, saying that we must go to the shelters. I refuse. He insists, so I explain to him that, given the very relative safety of the mill's cellar, which had almost destroyed the last time, I would rather die in my bed! He looks at me, shrugs his shoulders and goes down to join my mother who is waiting downstairs. The explanation is quick, and I hear them coming back up. I expect to be yelled at by Mom, but they go back to bed. At least if a bomb hits the house, there won't be any crying afterwards..." (Chronicle of a Nordinary Family).

 

[Wings]

April 13th, 1944

Useless capitulation
Sea of Marmara, 11:50 - It is a nice and almost sunny morning on the Bosphorus. In the calm of his yacht, Sir Maurice Peterson - the British ambassador to Turkey, replacing Sir Hughe Knatchbull-Hugessen, recently dismissed by London - receives in urgency, on his very strong insistence, Lázló Veres, special (and secret!) envoy of the kingdom of Hungary for "a step of the utmost importance".
Peterson knows nothing of the Magyar maneuvers of the past, and he sees, like everyone else, from a distance what seems to be the tragic outcome. Peterson is undoubtedly one of the most successful ambassadors of Her Majesty at the Foreign Office. He was notably the fierce defender of British and (for once) French interests in Spain during the tragic hours of 1940 - to the point of being congratulated by Lord Halifax himself. But he was also used to the dirty work of diplomacy, backroom negotiations and oriental dirty tricks. He knows little about Hungary and Central Europe,
On the other hand, he was able to judge on the spot and in reports the sterility of past exchanges.
Indeed, before leaving, Knatchbull-Hugessen gave him a detailed report of the negotiations in progress.
His Excellency's surprise was therefore not easy to hide under the de rigueur phlegm when he sees a visibly dejected Mister Lázló Veres disembarking on the deck of his yacht, who comes to sign Hungary's capitulation to the Allied Powers.
Capitulation after which the armies of the said powers will of course hasten to enter the territory in order to assist Budapest in its fight against the Reich!
Understandably, Sir Maurice is perplexed: he does not necessarily have a mandate for this, and his visitor has nothing to attest to the reality of his mission, except the memory of past meetings and a supposed verbal agreement from the Regent by radio. What to say, what to do? There follow a few minutes of tragic-comic discussion - the Magyar seems convinced that it is possible for the United Nations forces to enter Hungary to defend the Regency against the Germans! Peterson finally agreed to forward this formal request to London, for instructions. In the meantime, Mister Veres is welcome to have lunch... His approach, obviously obsolete, will never go further.
And the seagulls, hovering on the wave, feast on the remains of the sea.

During the Kiugrás, the works continue
Tirana - Ivan Šubašić is not really concerned with the current events in Hungary - although he is probably rather pleased, deep down, that the Magyars are finally paying the price for their treacherous aggression of three years ago. On the other hand, the current offensive in Bosnia interests him much more - it is likely that the Allies will soon gain ground there, which will mechanically increase the territory more or less controlled by his "shadow government".
Sylvestre Audet will therefore need him to deal with the inevitable contingencies! And also to discuss with the AVNOJ... This is not a problem in itself: the Titists have already proved that they had nothing against the Croat and his approaches. In fact, the opposite is true. So there is certainly room for an arrangement - the kind that would satisfy everyone without making Belgrade lose face too visibly.
However, this requires a complete team. Drago Marušič has finally arrived: after a conversation with this very understanding man, Šubašić knows that he has found his "delegate general in charge of maintaining the rule of law" - in fact, his Minister of Justice.

China-USSR
Farewell dinner
Dihua, Xinjiang Province - Sheng Shicai has just chaired his last meeting of the government of Xinjiang province. General Zhu Shaoliang will lead the province on an interim with the help of the irreplaceable Li Yingqi, until a new governor, appointed by the KMT, arrives in Dihua. The troops deployed in Xinjiang are placed under the authority of the Nationalist Military Affairs Commission, headed by Chiang Kai-shek himself - which means that Xinjiang, at least from the military point of view, is directly attached to Chongqing and no longer has any autonomy.
In the evening, Sheng organizes a big farewell dinner, to which are of course invited, in addition to General Zhu and all the top brass of the local administration, the Soviet, British French and American consuls (who would leave his post a few weeks later). The diplomats are very curious to see Zhu Shaoliang up close. The next day, Geoffrey Turral, the British, will describe the general in a very official report: "A splendid chap, with a direct manners, with a jaw like a bulldozer and a booming laugh like a Tommy-Gun... He drinks like an a-hole and cashes in like a British consul!".
While Zhu and the other consuls are having a contest to see who can "cash in" the best (the consuls, even the Soviet, will diplomatically let the general win),
Sheng monopolizes Joseph Hackin for a discreet interview, in the presence only of the private secretary of the governor (the consul speaks Chinese very well). To the surprise of the Frenchman, it will be question neither of politics (to his great satisfaction), nor of archaeology (to his great regret). Sheng is apparently passionate about aviation: "I noticed that you were using a remarkable little twin-engine plane, what a beautiful machine! I have never had the pleasure of flying this type of aircraft and I would like to ask you a favor: lend it to me to make the trip to Chongqing, tomorrow. I know that it can only carry six passengers, but my wife and children left by road last week and I travel light! I will only have my two bodyguards and some luggage with me."
What to say to the future minister? Yes, of course! Even if Mr. Sheng, while wishing good night to Consul Hackin, adds: "It would be good to watch carefully over your little flying wonder. The Reds have agents everywhere, don't they." As soon as he returns to the consulate, Joseph Hackin, perplexed, sends for Lieutenant-Prince Alexieff, who quickly understands: "Don't worry, Mr. Consul. I'm going to watch the Goeland personally, with two of my men."

 

[Wings]

April 13th, 1944

Decapitation
Szeged (Vojvodina), 00:30 - Comfortably seated in his company sedan waiting at a random bridge, but indifferent to the beauty of the fog-cold night on the Tisza, General Guztáv Jány continues to brood over dark concerns. The man knows what to think of the Germans: nothing good, especially since the total lack of coordination he had experienced during the preparation of Zitadelle, the disaster of Bar (and still, if it was the only one!) or by his arrival in Vojvodina at the head of a new 2nd Army, not even really formed, that he had to put in line to defend the southern border of the country ... before, all things considered, the Wehrmacht decided that it only needed support here and not replacements.
Like his superior (and younger!) Ferenc Szombathelyi, Jány was opposed to the war against the USSR from the start. Hungary had nothing to gain from it but blows. And - the Hungarian general is now convinced - the Honvèd lost its honor on the plains of Ukraine. Not by fighting the Bolsheviks, it is true - rather by humiliating itself in a vile position of colonial auxiliary, constantly rebuked and placed in impossible situations.
The past remains the past... Thank God, today, the general is at the head of a formation which, although diminished but nevertheless rather solid, and moreover well placed in front of an honorable opponent, if tomorrow the Regent finally decided to leave the war. Although tomorrow would be a bit early... well, as long as it's not tonight! Yes, it takes time for Guztáv Jány - not a lot, but some. After all, his 2nd Army is probably the only formation in the entire Honvèd that can do something for the Regent against the Reich. The hours are critical, the hours are short.
And, speaking of hours, his car, stopped at one of the many roadblocks, is still not moving! This is intolerable! With an annoyance worthy of his rank and due to the tension, Jány angrily lowers the window of his car to scold the roadblocks who are in his way. However, to his great surprise, it is not a terrorized territorial that answers him, but the barrel of an MP-40. "Nicht bewegen... Ach! Neen mozdoulje Herr Ungarn General..." Obviously, for General Jány, the road to Budapest might take a little longer than expected.

Irrevocable
Downtown Budapest, 01:00 - The night is cold but beautiful in this early spring and Miklós Horthy, the only living son of Regent Horthy, is out and about. Is it, as he likes so much to do, to go out and indulge in the bars and other luxurious "party houses" frequented by the Hungarian upper middle class? The air of time does not lend itself however*...
Walking on the sidewalk in a large coat that hides his elegant suit with, a few steps behind him, his two bodyguards tracking him as much as protecting him, Miklós Horthy lets out a sigh. He is not fooled: the palace wants his security, but also to know where he hangs out! When will it all end?
The war - no one knows for sure. But for him, the end may be closer than he imagines.
At the corner of the street, five men are waiting for him, as badly disguised as they are well armed - all members of the 502. SS-Jäger-Bataillon. Guided by the wise observations of StandartenFührer Edmund Veesenmayer, Berlin decided to strike at the Regent's weak point: his family, and in particular his last blood. It is not a question of killing him, of course, but to kidnap him in order to bring Admiral Horthy to his senses. Five men, that's a very small Kommando, it is true, but Otto Skorzeny was not going to hire more in this mediocre affair. For Operation Margareth, he had 50 Jägers in the capital, not one more.
But the bulk of his troops were already needed elsewhere, for example in the safe houses whose cellar Miklós Horthy will probably soon know! In any case, the SS is not worried: who can arrest the Reich's elite? The Hungarian police?
However, the SS may have presumed their superiority a little: if the intervention goes well (Miklós was neutralized without any violence other than a blow with a baton on the leader), the quick intervention of his bodyguards, who have clear instructions in case of aggression, triggers a lively exchange of fire, which a clearer numerical superiority might not have allowed. An SS man rolls to the sidewalk and is hit in the groin.
Hauptsturmführer Hoyer - the leader of the group, a Dutchman - orders two of his men to evacuate the captive, while his last acolyte takes an MP-40 machine gun from his coat with which he sweeps the street, silencing his opponents, of course, but above all, it triggers a hell of a racket!
The Hungarian military police (not to mention the civilians...) are not long in arriving, in order to quickly understand what is happening, from the mouth of a Hungarian who is still wounded on the battlefield. Now, if the Reich has, alas, many zealots in the Magyar kingdom, not a single real Hungarian would stoop to be an accomplice in the kidnapping of the Regent's son! Except perhaps some Arrow Crosses... but between crass operational incompetence and political prudence, they will not risk it. The streets of Budapest quickly become the scene of a real manhunt, with whistles, sirens and gunshots. The agitation becomes feverish, chaos sets in - it is possible that, in the confusion of these tragic hours, several passers-by braving the curfew (or even real policemen in plain clothes!) were victims of a bad encounter... But how to do better? The military communications are cut, civilians are erratic. In the center of Pest, everyone is looking for the kidnappers, who have little chance to escape, especially as the palace is very quickly warned**.

Caves of Mount Gellért (Buda citadel), 01:00 - At the same time, about fifteen men dressed in Hungarian uniforms and guided by a Magyar officer come to the entrance of what is (after all!) the main communications center of the Honvèd. They are not very suspicious, but their papers are not in order - the sentries make them wait without excessive precautions: what is there to fear here? Some Paratroopers?
For a while, we exchange cordial words and we offer each other cigarettes under the third quarter of the black moon. But after four or five minutes of standing around, Obersturmführer Walter Girg decides that it is no longer time to play around - the rest of the group was waiting and after Landfried, there was no question of risking another failure! The SS therefore gives his troop the orderto force their way through. Pistols and daggers come out of the pockets, and the small group manages to enter and disappear without too much difficulty in a maze of concrete basements of which it had largely the time to study the plans. At 01:25, the communications between the military power station of Budapest and the rest of the world are cut off.

In the vicinity of the Budavár Palace (Budapest), 01:30 - Otto Skorzeny waited for his time. It is time for him to seize the lion's share. Now that - he presumes - Miklós Horthy is in his clutches and that the communications of the Buda citadel are neutralized, he will lead twenty men in person to attack the Regent's palace! The objective is simple: to seize the Regent and force him to sign an act authorizing the Heer to occupy the country, then another one dismissing the Kállay government and calling Ferenc Szálasi and his Arrow Crosses into office. If necessary, it would be with a knife to the throat - Skorzeny is not afraid of his target committing suicide, but in order to counteract any bravado or technical difficulties, he will not fail to play the Miklós Horthy card as soon as possible. One life for two signatures - fair deal? Before, of course, putting the Regent on a train to Germany. On arrival, he must not forget to shake hands with Hitler in front of the cameras and, while he's at it, with a smile, please!
However, Herr Skorzeny has the bad surprise to find, instead of the usual handful of sleeping factionalists, a palace perfectly awake, whose guard is visibly in a state of siege. Searchlights sweep the sky and the ground, armed figures run through the corridors - in short, it's the alert! In these conditions, the affair seems much more complex than expected - it will probably not be necessary to count on the local officers, accomplices of the Arrow Crosses to get through. With the wisdom of experience, the SS decides to postpone its infiltration, the time to find (perhaps...) the way to an assault.
.........
Budavár Palace, 01:30 - At the same time, regent Horthy hurriedly puts on his uniform, with the annoyed dignity of his age. He has before him the lieutenant-general Szilárd Bakay, commander of the military district of Budapest, who came in person to offer him protection while, it seems, the citadel of Buda is attacked by a group of saboteurs! These will certainly be quickly found and imprisoned like rats: in these cellars, they have nowhere to run!
But this is not what worries the admiral the most: "My son, Miklós... Is there any news? How dare they attack my people!"
In difficult but constant contact with his forces on the ground - of which he would like to be as certain of their loyalty as his own... - Bakay can only swear that everything is done to find Miklós Horthy as soon as possible, but the night is dark and Budapest is vast... On the other hand, the origin of the blow is not in doubt. On the ground, there is clear evidence: the shells of an MP-40, which the admiral threw away in rage when presented to him.
- I understand everything! The enemy's maneuver is transparent. My oath to Hungary is unambiguous: I will serve her to the end. Will Prime Minister Miklós Kállay arrive soon?
- As soon as possible under the circumstances, Kormányzója. And you will have to record your proclamation before it is broadcast on the radio.
- Very well. But I need Miklós. Without him... may God give me strength...
Around the Regent, no one says a word - there are hard tests to overcome, and the admiral is 76 years old.
........
02:00 - An escorted government car from Sándor Palace - which is only 300 meters away, but in these times you can never be too careful - arrives at the entrance to Budavár Palace. In the Wanderer (a German car, it's annoying, but that's how it is), Miklos Kállay comes in person to make sure that Regent Horthy is going to record the expected proclamation, without faltering or postponing, as some fear he might do at the last moment.
The convoy, illuminated by all the lights of the palace, must nevertheless wait a moment until the door to the inner court opens...
.........
02:10 - At the same moment, Skorzeny - who understood well that all did not occur as planned but does not know what he has in front of him - decides to finish it. These Hungarians could not resist the Nazi elite! Taking advantage of the opening of the palace door, his Kommando bursts out of the parks overlooking the Danube to force their way through. The attack is extremely brutal and everything is played out in less than five minutes! The Schutzstaffel run across the 50 meters separating them from the corner of the building under the cover of a group that remained behind, storm the square in front of the palace, killing about fifteen guards and losing four men before having to flee under the fire of a squadron that had arrived as reinforcement, led by a 39M Csaba machine gun, which their grenades shake but do not destroy.
Enraged, the SS Obersturmbannführer then attempts a second improvised action by passing through the French gardens, to the north of the building. In the worst case, a window was smashed! But we are in April and the few bare hedges of the place offer only a mediocre cover. After three more deaths, the commando has to withdraw, defeated but by no means neutralized.
........
02:20 - It is a very agitated and shocked Prime Minister Kállay who storms into the apartments of the Regent, the coat scorched by the explosions, surrounded by men with weapons and while outside, still resound isolated shots and gusts! One moment, Admiral Horthy wonders if he is not being dropped off... But his visitor very quickly reassures him.
- Kormányzója, it is no longer time. Germany attacks us, it has already declared war on us. Hungary's only chance now is to find new friends. We need the help of the United Nations.
- But the communists? What about the future of our recovered lands?
We should probably have asked this question earlier... But the answer is implacable.
- Kormányzója, I beg you. Do the Kiugrás. As soon as you give your order, I will order our ambassador in Istanbul to sign an armistice with the allied powers. The English are not far away, I'm sure they will come.
- And my son, what will become of him... But I will not fail in my duty!
With the serious air of those who know they are making history (or believe they are), the admiral-regent took to his desk, on which a working phonograph has been placed - a miracle of the Lord, certainly. He pinches his nose, grimaces painfully for a short moment and finally takes out of his drawer a sheet of paper on which he had written the previous evening the draft of a speech.
"Soldiers!
I no longer expect a decisive and favorable turn for Hungary in the devastating struggle which is being waged at the gates of our beloved country, even if we rely on our fighting forces. That is why I have decided to call a truce.
As commander-in-chief of the armed forces, I urge you to carry out my orders as issued by your superior commanders, in loyalty and unconditional obedience to the army. Our survival depends on all members of the army behaving conscientiously and to the end in a disciplined manner in this serious situation."
.........
02:25 - On leaving the Regent's apartments, where an atmosphere of apocalypse reigns,
Kállay personally hands over the phonogram to Lieutenant-General Szilárd Bakay, it is done. "Take this on your life to the Magyar Rádió. I will take care of the rest."
Bakay clicks his heels and immediately hands the object to László Garai, head of the tax office and brother-in-law of the retired captain Vilmos Tartsay - who is both a loyal follower of the regent and a regular visitor to the palace. The latter will open the way for him, with their escort.
Unfortunately, the most powerful radio broadcasting installation, the Lakihegy*** transmitter, is now inaccessible, because it was under German fire: the 502. SS-Jäger had placed four snipers around it, shooting at anyone who came near! Fortunately, there is still a solution to this: the SS had not thought of the Székesfehérvár-Sóstó site. But alas, it is located 55 kilometers from Budapest, and a bad encounter is not excluded... The group leavesin the night, running at full speed behind a motorized gun. As a result, the stronghold of Budapest is left without a commander at this critical time.
.........
04:00 - Crisis meeting of the Hungarian government, convened in a hurry by a Regent worried about the fate of his blood, in a city in a state of siege mixed with chaos and in a palace in front of which still smokes traces of grenades as well as at least one vehicle. With the energy that can also characterize him now that the dice are thrown and thrown well, Miklós Horthy senior shows himself to be very firm. Especially since his army had just announced news: his son was found in a courtyard in the 6th district, near the ruins of the central station, stunned, shocked, but alive! His kidnappers were caught while trying to get him out of the city center, wrapped in a Persian carpet. Two of them were taken prisoner.
Horthy also has announcements to make! First, he calls for "a truce" with yesterday's enemy - in fact, it is a capitulation. Orders have already been sent to the plenipotentiaries dispatched to the Westerners... as well as the Soviets (Foreign Minister Jenő Ghyczy de Ghicz nods in confirmation, even though his services are still in the process of thinking about the modalities of the thing - an assault on the Lakihegy transmitter is said to be in progress).
Then the Army will do its duty, as its oath requires - this is for General Nagy Nagybaczon, who is already unable to reach the 2nd Army, the one closest to the capital.
As for the 1st Army, in the Carpathians, it would take a miracle... Finally, Hungarian society will follow, as the honor, morality and decency of two millennia of civilization demand.
"Those who do not support this decision are free to leave at once!" Nobody moves around the table. We think today that even if there had been someone in favor at that time and in this place, he would have chosen to remain silent.
"Perfect. So let's summon the Reich ambassador, that parvenu Dietrich von Jagow. I will personally explain to him my way of thinking about the methods of his government." At that moment, the regent's aide-de-camp takes it upon himself to knock on the door, enters and turns on the radio. A sizzling but familiar voice fills the room - that of the Regent. It is 04:30 - Hungary has changed. At least, it is trying to...

Confusion
2nd Hungarian Army (Vojvodina), 04:30 - In the middle of the night and while their commander-in-chief seems to be gone for a long time, the two corps generals of the 2nd Army receive the proclamation of the regent Horthy in their faces. Unlike their counterparts of the 1st Army, their reactions are diverse, even downright opposite.
The first, József Heszlényi, commanded the 4th AC, which, in Jaša Tomić, held the left flank of the German-Hungarian position, with the XXII. Gebirgs-Armee-Korps of Gustav Fehn. He is a former member of all the Hungarian armies since 1911, fiercely anti-communist, perhaps a little bitter about having been very briefly (in 1943) the leader of a 3rd Hungarian Army that died before it was born - but also and above all, he is a legalist. If by any chance the Arrow Crosses had come to power legally (or with the appearance of legality), perhaps Heszlényi would have chosen to close his eyes in the name of the anti-Bolshevik struggle... But this is not the case and, fortunately for Hungary, he has instructions (perhaps not very clear, but it is already that!) and he finds himself facing an honorable adversary, the 18th Allied AG - which does not have the reputation of the Red Army in terms of treatment of prisoners and atrocities against the civilian population****.
Heszlényi's position was therefore unequivocal: he would obey the Regent, even if this meant to defend itself against the armed forces of the Reich. To do this, the 4th Corps had a few advantages: it has an appreciable army reserve nearby (the 2nd Armored Division of Colonel Ferenc Osztovics is in Sutjeska, i.e. very close to its HQ) and it is facing the weakest ArmeeKorps of Alexander Löhr, the XXII. AK of GustavFehn. Alas, he must count, because of this, with the presence of the 19. Panzergrenadier Brandenburg to the north of Jarkovac - a unit equipped with many tanks and whose competence is no longer to be proven, even if its losses have somewhat altered its quality; it is necessary to guard against it like the plague. Moreover, the 4th AC is also the furthest from the allied lines, and therefore the least likely to be quickly rescued by yesterday's enemy, should this prove necessary. Nevertheless, Heszlényi has his forces put on alert - hoping that everyone would be willing and able to play the game. Moreover, in the absence of Guztáv Jány, he decides to contact the 2nd AD directly - something tells him that he may need support soon.
The other Hungarian corps commander is Major-General István Kiss, at the 7th Corps in Titel. For him, things are clear: the defense of Hungary is a priority, all other considerations are secondary. Defense against the Westerners and the Reds, of course - Kiss, apart from his military career, is above all the descendant of a nobleCatholic family from the Nemesvidi region, between Croatia and Lake Balaton. He is therefore culturally a Labanc, close to Germany and partisan as formerly of an arrangement with it... Not to the point of really betraying his country, it is true, but rather to consider that the Germans could not reasonably be part of these invaders against whom he had to defend the Magyar soil. Consequently, like others in the Honvèd, István Kiss ordered his troops to be ready for any eventuality and... wait, but nothing more.
Thus, in the middle of the night, the Hungarian and German armies engage in a curious ballet made of improvisations, incomprehension (everybody is not even informed of the decision of the Regent!), hypocrisy and backstabbing. The ambiguity will last almost one hour. But what follows will only surprise the distracted, the foolish and of course those who did not have the chance to get back to their camp in time...

Panzerfaust, start-up
Border between the Reich and Hungary, 05:30 - All the forces of the Wehrmacht or attached to the Nazi regime receive a simple order: "Execute Panzerfaust".
Immediately, several units deployed in the vicinity or on Hungarian territory are activated to occupy strategic sites that had been designated long before.
At the same time, the Germans are barricading themselves in all the Hungarian industrial sites useful for the Reich, especially the refineries. Thus, on the Budafapuszta oil field, German soldiers and engineers on guard take weapons out of the cupboards, the doors of their installations and arrested almost all Hungarian personnel on site, military or not - in both cases, they had not been warned. Those in charge are not particularly worried: they have already been told on the radio that reinforcements will arrive shortly. And in fact, the SS-Freiwilligen Gebirgs-Brigade Kama left its training center in Nagykanizsa - it is only about 25 kilometers from this strategic point. It should therefore be there in less than three hours. On Csepel Island, the Flak Regiment recently dispatched by Berlin is closing all the bridges still standing linking it to the two banks- the 88 mm and the 20 mm Vierling are put in battery, threatening with their shells over the Danube to the first idiot who dares to approach.
Further north, Walter Krüger's 1. Panzer also leaves the route that should have taken it back to the Carpathians to seize the strategic centers of Székesfehérvár and Dunaföldvár - their railway junctions and their crossings over the Danube, not to mention the bauxite mines in the Gánt region. Then we will see the factories of the Magyar Alumíniumipari Tröszt in Ajka - only 70 kilometers from here as well as from the German border. A major issue but the Hungarians are not stupid enough to sabotage one of their main industrial tools, right? The Panzerdivision is ready for battle, even if it should only meet the troops of the military districts and the 2nd Corps (General János Vörös), which includes only the 2nd ID, in reformation and without designated leader...
Further east, in the great plain, the IV. SS-PanzerKorps of Felix Steiner splits in two: the Wiking and the Totenkopf, each reinforced by some machines of the 102. sPA, will go to respectively occupy the crossroads of Miskolc and Nyíregyháza, before descending, if all goes well, towards Nagyvárad - no further: the rest is the responsibility of HG E. In front of him, he has only the 9th Corps of Major-General Lajos Veress - absent for the moment and whose two divisions (2nd Replacement Division and 25th ID) have only one commander, Major-General Béla Z. Zsombolyay.
Finally, on the rear of the HG B, the 17. Armee of Karl-Adolf Hollidt dispatches the 14. Panzergrenadier (Erich Schneider) and the 17. Panzer (Karl-Friedrich von der Meden) to disarm the 3rd Corps of Lieutenant-General Béla Aggteleky (6th, 7th and 9th Light Divisions), which was being reconstituted in Transylvania. And also to seize the bauxite mines of Dicsőszentmárton, of course...
The lessons of the Italian and Romanian reversals were learned: the Reich strikes fast and hard.
Very hard indeed.
.........
South of Budapest, 05:30 - For his part, SS-Hauptsturmführer Toni Ameiser, "in transit" in Budaörs with his SS-Kampfgruppe Ameiser, did not wait for the order from Berlin to put himself on alert. Very well informed about what was happening in the capital thanks to several well-placed sympathizers, he put into effect a long-standing plan. His KG goes out from his quarters to surround the city, to make sure that no reinforcements could reach the Regent - and especially so that the latter cannot flee or pretend to lead his armed forces.
However, one formation of the Kampfgruppe charges directly towards the city center: the 52. SS-Kavallerie Rgt Maria-Theresa, whose leader, SS- Obersturmbannführer August Zehnder, is eager to play the very special role expected of him. A trifle, after his exploits on the Eastern Front*****. Especially since his cavalry regiment does not go completely alone...
.........
Bečej, 05:30 - "Execute Panzerfaust!" In his secure headquarters on the Danube, Alexander Löhr receives the order he had been dreading as much as he had been anticipating. Thus, it will be necessary to fight the Hungarians... before, no doubt, having to take over the few responsibilities they had assumed on the front. At last! Thanks to the immense wisdom of the Führer, the 12. Armee had plenty of time to prepare itself for this new betrayal - it was therefore ready. Much more so than the Honvèd. So... Execute Panzerfaust! Before the British finally react...

Chaos
Lines of the 2nd Hungarian Army (Vojvodina), 05:30 - In the absence of any communication with Budapest and while its commander-in-chief is still unaccounted for, complete chaos ensues in the Honvèd's lines.
In the 4th Corps, József Heszlényi had a series of disappointments. Of his three divisions - the 10th, 12th and 16th IDs - only the 12th (Béla Németh) has correctly acknowledged receipt of his instructions, but it is in Vlajkovac... that is to say, at the exact opposite of the German-Hungarian device! The other two - the 10th of Kornél Oszlányi and the 16th of Béla Ebesfalvi Lengyal - answer next to it, when they answer!
Well... As for Oszlányi, it was predictable. Renowned for his acts of bravery but also for his brutality towards his men******, he is a well-known pro-German. His failure in the center of the lines, in the Lokve sector - where he cohabited with the 104. Jäger of von Ludwiger - will obviously pose a problem. But it is not within reach of harm right away, that's already a good thing. Béla Ebesfalvi Lengyal, on the other hand, is a different story! His formation is in Jarkovac, in the immediate vicinity of the Heszlényi HQ - intertwined, it is true, with the powerful 19. PanzerGrenadier, which can also explain a certain reserve in the acknowledgement of receipt... We will have to deal with it - hoping that his men will be patriotic enough to refuse to shoot their comrades. However, there is also much better news:Ferenc Osztovics has managed to activate most of his 2nd Armored Division.
The latter is now moving from Sutjeska to him, to Jaša Tomić, to ensure his safety. Before, perhaps, having to move south to meet Fehn and the Brandenburg...
On the side of the 7th AC, things are even less clear. István Kiss certainly adopted a more moderate position than Heszlényi. However, this is already too much for the taste of some of his subordinates! Thus, in Orlovat, the too famous colonel Ferenc Szász, of the 19th ID, announced his refusal of the "surrender", his rallying to the Reich and his intention to go north to overthrow "the traitorous generals"! Obviously, his roommate Josef Kübler, of the 118. Jäger, is delighted... Kiss is a little less pleased, especially since he would very much like to have a definition of what exactly is meant by "treason". At the geographical and political opposite end of the spectrum, Pál Magyar in Farkaždin seems to think that the instructions from Budapest are clear and prepares his 23rd ID for a probable confrontation with the Germans - but his position is strategic, in the center of the XXI. GAK, on the road to Novi Sad and Nagybecskerek*******!
This is why the main reserve of the 12. Armee was immediately behind it, in Ečka: the 2. GebirgsJäger of August Kraukrau and the 93. schwere Panzerjäger Abteilung of Hauptmann Schwarz - a unit whose Nashorn are likely to have the effect of the proverbial hammer on the Hungarian fly. Finally, on the side of the 20th ID of Frigyes Vasváry, nothing is done and they retreat into passivity, waiting for "official orders", i.e. orders from Guztáv Jány.
It was at this moment that the German troops came out of their barracks to march on the Hungarians in full confusion.

Panzerfaust, action!
Szigetszentmiklós, 06:15 - Acting with lightning speed, Kampfgruppe Ameiser seizes the transmission tower of Lakihegy, now definitively in the hands of the Germans. Before continuing on his way, Toni Ameiser did not forget to leave a strong garrison. The connection of Budapest with the rest of the world by this means is again cut off - as German forces were also located between the capital and Székesfehérvár-Sóstó and the Budapest power station is still disputed, it will be impossible for Admiral Horthy to communicate with anyone by radio.
.........
Szatmárnémeti, 06:15 - The local garrisons of the region are defeated by a rapid action of Army Group A, led by the SS-Kosaken-Freiwilligen Kavallerie-Brigade of Helmuth von Pannwitz who, after having shown his... know-how against the Partisans of Ukraine, charges and sabers in the middle of the night the few reservists who clumsily try to resist him. After one hour of an action from another time, the cavalrymen defeat their opponents and seize in one go three artillery batteries (obsolete, but still...) and take 450 prisoners. This feat was the only one of its kind: the region had already been abandoned by Hungary to its new enemy.

Conveniences
Budavár Palace, 07:00 - Herr Dietrich von Jagow, ambassador of the Reich, is introduced in the office of Regent Horthy - who receives him alone, in a very bad mood and without his government having really approved of this perhaps somewhat futile step. In fact, the Hungarian ministers try instead to defend the capital, or to make a desperate attempt to contact the United Nations. The admiral, still clothed in the noble toga of an era that had unfortunately passed, demanded "explanations" for "the now openly hostile attitude of the German forces towards Hungary" and (above all...) on the "inadmissible aggression suffered by [his] son last night".
Faced with this candor, the German, with the arrogance that characterizes those who know they are the strongest, calmly plays the clock... Certainly, the Reich is doing nothing more than defensive measures here, in order to safeguard its interests in the face of the political developments in the Kingdom - which shows that Berlin is right to take precautions.
As for the supposed kidnapping of the Regent's son, as well as this ridiculous story of saboteurs infiltrated into the citadel of Pest, von Jagow knew nothing about it, it was the Regent who reveals them to him! The routine response of a diplomat, in short - one that does not even bother to be credible, but only to respect the rules of propriety. These are brutally undermined when the admiral takes out of his pocket the famous machine-gun casings and throws them in von Jagow's face, which he misses by a small margin.
Yes, it was no longer time to worry about propriety: the communications from Mount Gellért were barely re-established when the cannon thundered in the distance... and, very quickly, closer and closer.

Panzerfaust, continued
Budavár Palace surroundings, 07:30 - The 52. SS-Kavallerie Rgt Maria-Theresa arrives in the royal palace area, without even bothering to reduce all the nests of resistance that were in its way. August Zehnder's troop has several arguments to discourage any opposition by making their way through. On the one hand, its workforce of Hungarian Volksdeutsche, who often succeeded in discouraging the men of the Honvèd who face them by representing the futility of any resistance: thus, several barricades supposed to hinder the progression of the Maria-Theresa have spontaneously let pass under the cordial greetings of their theoretical defenders. But above all, in support of the speeches of the Volksdeutsche, the Maria-Theresa regiment does not hesitate to show its clear superiority in number and armament, symbolized in particular by the presence of four Panzer VIII Löwe, lent by the 102. SS-schw. Pz Abt of Anton Laackmann.
Certainly, the unfortunate Budapest garrison, alone, without support, without artillery or air support (the grounds of Veszprém had just fallen into the hands of a detachment of the 1. Panzer without any real resistance!), could do nothing in the face of these monsters that tear up the paving stones, advancing, crushing under their tons of steel the silent barricades and pulverizing with 88 mm those who dare to fire. Barely an hour and a half after having started, the Maria-Theresa is at the doors of the Hungarian government! A siege begins - it may not be long...

Too late
Caves of Mount Gellért (Buda citadel), 07:50 - As the SS arrive at the gates that some thought were already open to them, the Honvèd high command issues a new proclamation read by Sándor Tavaszy - former vice-bishop of Cluj-Napoca, a well-known orator and editor-in-chief of numerous magazines, alerted urgently by people close to the Palace. Meanwhile, Endre Hlatky, Ferenc Zimmer and János Frigyesy - among others in charge of the antenna - make the announcements and try to guarantee the programming.
Tavaszy has to read the Regent's text, for all those who have not yet been able (or willing) to read it. As long as the Magyar Rádió is still transmitting and as long as it cannot transmit encrypted instructions to others...
In a stentorian voice, Tavaszy attacks - if he was willing to read Horthy's text, he does not fail to add a few words of his own: "Today, there is no doubt in the mind of a sober person that the Germans have lost this war! Aware of my historical responsibility, I must do everything possible to avoid unnecessary bloodshed. (...) I call upon all honest Hungarians to follow the sacrificial path to save Hungary." Broadcast in clear on all possible airwaves, the message will be heard by many soldiers and diplomats in Europe. But it was a little late.

Panzerfaust, again
Miskolc, 08:00 - The city is taken by the 5. SS-Panzer Wiking of Herbert-Otto Gille. This formation had been severely bled by the fighting of Fredericus II, but it is still more than enough to sweep away its opponent, the 2nd Replacement Division, which was not in command and offered no opposition whatsoever! The SS waste no time - leaving a weak garrison just enough to disarm the Hungarians, they climb back into their half-tracks and head south, towards Debrecen.

Popularity too late
Budapest, 08:00 - The Regent's proclamation - which some people had heard as early as last night, but which has just been repeated three times in a row, each time specifying beforehand that it was an announcement "of the greatest importance" - triggers disbelief in the capital. Then enthusiasm. Without a doubt, the cannon thundered from the fortress. But the city center remained relatively untouched by the battle: it is therefore likely that the Honvèd holds strong!
A compact and colourful crowd invades the streets. Intellectuals, young people escaped from military service - Jews too, some of whom are clearly identifiable even though Hungary has never required them to wear the yellow star. The police were not very present (which was not without a certain degree of insecurity), the Hungarian army was absent, the German army has disappeared. As for the Arrow Crosses, they are holed up in their redoubts: little informed by their German allies, some of them despaired, fearing a Romanian-style scenario.
In short, at this hour, in the Hungarian capital, hope dominates. Many praise the courage and wisdom of the Regent, unaware that if they are spared by the Germans for the moment, it is because they are not... a priority. As Emil Kolozsvári Grandpierre******** wrote: "Throughout his long life, Horthy was never as popular as between his proclamation and the announcement of the Arrow Cross government. The Regent was a military man? Why, then, had he not made sure that his country would not be used as a home for Germans? But who could claim to have political sense at that time, could they?"

Disintegration
2nd Hungarian Army, 08:00 - The renewal of the Regent's proclamation to the Magyar Rádió - in plain language on the military frequencies - affects almost everyone, but does not lessen the 2nd Army's worries. One of the two corps was completely shattered! As for the other, it struggles not to collapse under the weight of seditions, desertions, fratricidal confrontations and fighting between Hungarians and Germans.
The 4th Corps of József Heszlényi breaks into three. In the north, the HQ, which had just been joined by a 2nd Armored Division, which is reluctant to take the initiative. Too bad - when it left, Fehn's HQ was only a dozen kilometers away, and a determined action could have put the XXII. GAK in great difficulty... Now it is too late. József Heszlényi, who knows that his 25 tanks are very light against the panzers, must now choose between three possibilities. To rush, standards in the wind, towards Budapest (and thus the 1. Panzer). To try to help the 12th ID of Béla Németh, facing the 1. Gebirgs of Hubert Lanz, a valiant opponent but lonely and decimated (but it will undoubtedly be necessary to face the 10th ID and the 104. Jäger). Or to go south to break through towards the Danube...and the British. But between the 2nd armored division and the British, there is the 19. PanzerGrenadier Brandenburg!
It is for the moment rather busy, it is true, to treat the 16th ID of Béla Ebesfalvi Lengyal, but this one may not last much longer.
Only bad solutions... Finally, after long minutes of hesitations, and probably already suspecting how bad everything is in Budapest, Heszlényi chooses the southern way, towards the Danube and thus... not the English, but the Yugoslavs -if he could get past the 19. PzGd. The men of Ferenc Osztovics are motivated as they can: we go to the rescue of the 16th ID! Even if each one knows well that it is only a pretext. In truth, we flee, that is all! The morale will feel, obviously.
As far as the 7th AC is concerned, the turn of events is becoming (unfortunately...) clearer and clearer.
After a short period of uncertainty, the 19th ID of Ferenc Szász managed to reassure its Teutonic counterparts. It is true that its leader did a lot for that! Leaving the 118. Jäger to hold Orlovat alone - with the support, if necessary, of the 2. GebirgsJäger and the 93. schw Panzerjäger Abt - the Magyar division thus put back in the Axis marches in southwest direction, towards Farkaždin along the Timiș, to assist the 297. ID, which is struggling with the 23rd ID of Pál Magyar. The latter leads a real lose-lose battle against Otto Gullmann's Landsers, without any plan or strategy, on either side.
In fact, Gullmann was a policeman rather than a soldier... and he did not expect to meet any real resistance. So much so that his division is hardly able to win alone! At the end of the confluence of the Timiș, the Danube and various canals, at Čenta, the 20th ID of Frigyes Vasváry gets disarmed by the 42. Jäger of Josef Brauner von Haydringen without much incidents, at least for the time being - although desertions appear to be numerous! Not as much as the Germans might have feared, however - the Hungarian soldiers had to cross the Danube to surrender to the New Zealanders in Freyberg. For further south, on the direct route to Borčan, it is Mihailovich's 2nd Yugoslavian ID... And in his HQ in Titel, General István Kiss can say to himself that, all in all, he was right to be careful - waiting of course to see what his future visitors will say. The 7th Corps is thus lost for the Honvèd, the Hungarian cause... and the Allies.
And if that was all there was to it... in the following moments, the cannon starts to thunder on the Danube. The ordeal of the 2nd Hungarian Army never ends.

Panzerfaust, surrender
Budavár Palace, 08:15 - After a big half hour of strafing and some artillery shots shaking the façades (even if the Germans use mostly Panzerschrecks - they want to keep their targets alive !
Panzerschrecks - they want to keep their targets alive!), the regent Horthy gives the order to the palace garrison to lay down their arms. It is obvious that to persist in this way will bring nothing but death, destruction and (from his point of view) the complete end of the kingdom of Hungary*********.
The doors of the palace opened and the SS flooded into the courtyard, up the stairs, through the floors. Guided by the Jägers-Kommandos - who know the place well - they quickly free a sneering Dietrich von Jagow. In the lead, Otto Skorzeny, with his P38 in his fist, leads his troops to the assault and succeeded in seizing an officer whom he forced to lead him to the communications room to give an order of surrender. Then it was a race to the Regent... but the SS officer arrives too late. He was beaten by StandartenFührer Edmund Veesenmayer, who saw this as the crowning achievement of his meticulous preparatory work. As for von Jagow, who had become useless, had already been evacuated. The Hungarians were gathered in the courtyard, where weapons are being piled up and an inexplicable smell of ashes was wafting through the air.
A few minutes later, the citadel of Buda and then all the government buildings will raise the white flag.
.........
Nyíregyháza, 09:30 - After Miskolc, it is the turn of the largest city in northern Hungary and the Great Plain to fall under the swastika, thanks to the action of Hermann Priess's 3 SS-Panzer Totenkopf. The 25th ID of Béla Z. Zsombolyay was no match for the steel of the panzers - it capitulates after a very brief resistance, hardly helped by the fact that its leader, Major-General Lajos Veress had... left for the USSR, to sign the act of capitulation of Hungary according to a visibly obsolete plan! The Hungarian 9th Corps no longer exists - and, in the whole north of the country, the Magyar authority has disappeared with it.
.........
Székesfehérvár and Dunaföldvár, 09:30 - At about the same time, Walter Krüger - decidedly used to insurrection crushes! - occupied the two centers separating Budapest from the 2nd Hungarian Army. The latter was now cut off from its capital - but it is not as if it could pretend to go north, given its current fate. Having encountered resistance from János Vörös' 2nd Corps, whose existence was theoretical, to say the least, explains its dispersion before any combat, the 1. Panzer can thus send without fear or delay a detachment towards the mines of Gánt and reinforcements towards Veszprém (already fallen), with Ajka in its sights.

Exit through the back door...
Budavár Palace (Budapest), 10:00 - The SS are already busy looting the former residence of the kings of Hungary when the regent Horthy is taken from his apartments. Authorized to take some personal belongings with him, he is led by Obersturmbannführer Otto Skorzeny in person to the nearest train station, from where a train will take him to the Hirschberg Castle in Bavaria. He was assured that his family would join him there - his wife Magda and his son Miklós. Before leaving, Skorzeny did not forget to have him sign a letter of abdication "of his own free will" authorizing the leader of the Arrow Crosses, Ferenc Szálasi, to lead the country. Then the deposed regent goes into exile - but did he leave history for that? Liberated by the Allies, he will go into exile to Portugal, where he died in 1957.

Fatal collision
Jarkovac, 10:30 - Under a stormy sky, the 2nd Armored Division of Colonel Ferenc Osztovics collides with the 19. PanzerGrenadier Brandenburg - which has long since settled the score of the 16th ID, and is thus perfectly ready to receive yesterday's ally, today's enemy!The Brandenburgers fight with their back to the Tisza-Danube canal, it is true...
But they do not fear for the moment any reversal - the other Hungarian formations are rallied or routed, the Yugoslavs still tens of kilometers away.
But this is not a reason to delay. Faced with the Hungarians who are charging forward without any plan or reconnaissance, the 19. PzGr calmly lets the bulk of the enemy force sink into its center before brutally pulling back its flanks. Two assaults led, on one side by the 201. StG Abt, on the other by the 242. StG Abt literally dislocate the enemy formation. The plain of Vojvodina is streaked with lightning and flaming machines, most of which bear the white cross on a black background. The 2nd armoured division - or what remains of it - quickly starts to retreat towards the north and Boka, once the residence of Gustav Fehn, which has long since moved... Obviously, the Honvèd is not able to do the weight.

Panzerfaust, surrender
Budapest, 11:15 - After the fall of the fortress and the governmental complex, the 1st AC, which defended the Magyar capital as a complement to the military district, surrenders, victim of multiple betrayals and failures. Its leader, Major-General Szilárd Bakay, is arrested and deported to Mauthausen along with many other leaders, paying for his active but late policy of resistance to the German invader. In fact, his poor and unique 7th ID - which was hardly worth more than a bad brigade! - had resisted for four hours to the SS on the strategic points of the northern suburbs of Budapest, in conditions of obvious moral, material and strategic inferiority.
Thus, in less than half a day of fighting, the Reich took the Hungarian capital, and at a very low price: 319 dead and wounded against about 800 Hungarian dead, and nearly 10,000 prisoners. Szilárd Bakay had some reason to be bitter: as early as January, he had drawn up a plan for the defense of Budapest, precisely in the "eventuality" of a Kiugrás. This plan made use of a good part of the Honvèd units dispersed in the country - but it was never prepared, let alone executed...
.........
Transylvania, 11:15 - Rushing with all their wheels on roads that are broken but safe and where no plane comes to bother them, the machines of the 14. Panzergrenadier and of the 17. Panzer seize Kolozsvár and Marosvásárhely, scattering to the four winds the not even reconcentrated units of Lieutenant-General Béla Aggteleky's 3rd Corps. The latter was not helped either by its position (stuck between two groups of opposing armies), nor by his own men - and especially not by his deputy, Major-General Iván Hindy, who had come the night before to engage him to join the Arrow Crosses! Of course, Aggteleky had had him arrested - but this detention will not have been long...
In any case, the three unfortunate light divisions of the 3rd Corps, initially eager to defend eternal Hungary against the Romanians and the Reds, had neither the means nor the will to fight the Germans. They therefore offered them, so to speak, no resistance*********.
As for the cities and strategic points closest to the German lines, they were seized by the same garrison units that had collaborated with the Germans the night before. Thus, the heart of Transylvania - or at least its communication nodes and its "useful" elements are already under the control of the Reich or in the process of being so; the panzers only have to advance towards the secondary cities: Nagyszeben, Aranyosgyéres and Dicsőszentmárton, for example. All this without fear for the future.
This, by the way, allows Karl von der Meden (17. Panzer), today accompanied by the propaganda cameras, to indulge in a little exercise in self-congratulation in front of the cameras, not necessarily spontaneous, but which should demonstrate the "rottenness" of the already defeated Hungarian regime. "Our most optimistic forecasts are exceeded. Some regiments come to us spontaneously or surrender without fighting." Like all his Panzerwaffe comrades, Karl-Friedrich von der Meden had become somewhat unaccustomed to not resisting: so even if the enemy was only lining up territorial troops or terrorized conscripts, he would not sulk at the pleasure of parading, he would not sulk in his pleasure...

Cleaning
Buda Government District, 11:55 - After the regent, it is the turn of the main Hungarian government officials to be transferred: Miklós Kállay of course, Nagy of Nagybaczon and Ferenc Szombathelyi, but also Jenő Ghyczy of Ghicz and many others... All of them are shipped to the lands of the Reich and a place of detention as unknown as it is disturbing. All or almost all of the Magyar kingdom's statesmen left the country - most of them would not return until much later, when everything will be played out, if ever. The way is clear for the future occupants of the governmental palaces... and for those who will succeed them!

Triumph
Budavár Palace (Budapest), 12:00 - Now that he is certain that all danger is over, Ferenc Szálasi, leader of a triumphant Nyilaskeresztes Párt - Hungarista Mozgalom, with foreign weapons, enters victoriously into his future home, where he plans to stay now that he has finally left the family home**********.
He is welcomed by some smiling Germans of the 502. Jägers as well as by several Hungarian officers wearing the movement's banner. Not necessarily opportunists, after all, they are perhaps authentic sympathizers of the first hour. Szálasi only plans to make a brief visit to the palace at this time: he has too many details to attend to, too many people to meet (both Hungarians and Germans!) and too much to say to the country.
So he heads for the Magyar Rádió station, leaving others to deal with the business. And in fact, his valiant Arrow Crosses, their legitimate doubts now dispelled, are already on their way out to the city to restore order. Further on, in the square, the troops loyal to the new regime are already being assembled for a German-Hungarian parade, with the Panzer VIII at the head of the column. Yes... there is no doubt that things will change in Hungary.

Funeral march
Budapest, 14:00 - For several hours now, the Magyar Rádió has been broadcasting nothing but Chopin's Funeral March, military marches (Hungarian or German!) or even some more or less humorous songs (Ne higyj magyar a németnek - Don't think that the Hungarian is German, but don't believe that Hungarian is German, dating from 1706!). It hardly broadcasts the various foreign news bulletins.
This eclectic program, perhaps the result of the passive resistance of some technicians, ends however at 2 p.m., when the horn of the opening of the opera Hunyadi László (Ferenc Erkel) sounded on the air. At the microphone, Ferenc Szálasi of course. Which tells in less than two minutes: the discovery of a "foreign plot" (Miklós Kállay is not mentioned by name, but everyone will have understood...), the "friendly" intervention of German troops at the express request of certain Magyar authorities (which ones?), the "sheltering of Regent Horthy" and above all the occupation of Hungary by German troops until further notice, "by mutual agreement" (but with whom?). As for Szálasi himself, in these obviously tragic circumstances, he donated himself to the country by proclaiming himself Nemzetvezető (leader of the Nation), heading a new national government that is being formed.
All this is very nebulous - and yet it is at the same time very clear. The streets of the capital empty as quickly as they were filled, under the effect of fear, rain and the blows of the zealous militiamen.

Panzerfaust: surrender
North of Lake Balaton, 12:30 - The 1. Panzer seizes the mines of Gánt and the Ajka area, which was virtually undefended, as the territorial units and police of the area did not put up more resistance than the Magyar Királyi Honvéd Légierő in Veszprém. The entire "useful" sector of Hungary - useful for the German economy! - is now secured or in the process of being secured. In fact, what is slowing Walter Krüger down is not the the adversary: it is the lack of fuel and manpower!
.........
Debrecen, 13:00 - The tip of the 5. SS-Panzer Wiking of Herbert-Otto Gille - less than one regiment! - takes the "Calvinist Rome" in an atmosphere of generalized surrender, the local authorities having judged preferable not to risk reprisals and destruction for a cause so obviously lost. In fact, the city of the XIVth century possesses some beautiful architectural elements, witnesses of its rich commercial past as well as of its political role. It remains to be seen whether the conflict will continue to be merciful to it.

Panzerfaust, end Ruthenia, 14:00 - Major-General Lajos Veress is intercepted in the Szarvasháza sector by the rear guard of the 11. Panzer, in pursuit of the loyal elements of the 1st Hungarian Army on the Verecke Pass. Attempting rather clumsily to justify his presence when he was visibly heading towards the Soviet lines, he is immediately arrested and brought back to Budapest.
Veress is accused of being the Homo regius, i.e. the deputy regent in place of the vice regent (Hungarian affairs are complex!) if something should happen to Horthy and his designated replacement. In fact, something did happen to the admiral - and, unfortunately for him, the poor major-general might have to explain himself to some Arrow Crosses particularly brutal to the symbols of the old regime.
Thus perishes the only real attempt at Hungarian capitulation to the USSR: far too little, far too late. We know what will happen to the rest.
.........
Nagyvárad, 15:00 - It is the turn of this Transylvanian city to fall into the hands of the Totenkopf: nothing stops the German army anymore! In less than ten hours of cavalcade and (very little) fighting, all the objectives of Panzerfaust were reached. Proud of its success, the IV. SS-PanzerKorps of Felix Steiner is now taking a break, regrouping its forces and refueling its tanks, waiting to see if it will be needed elsewhere. Perhaps in Vojvodina?

Disintegration
2nd Hungarian Army, 14:00 - Ferenc Szálasi's proclamation, widely distributed by the German and "loyalist" forces (loyal to the Arrow Crosses, who were now the law in Budapest), complete the dislocation of the rest of the units in favor of the regent, who now know that all hope is lost. The waiters rally, the hesitators capitulate, the compromised flee.
On the side of the 4th Corps, the 12th ID of Béla Németh tries to escape towards Fejértelep, taking advantage of the fact that the Germans are still still in this sector in clear numerical inferiority. It could still succeed, due to the lack of enemy reinforcements: in the absence of immediate declared adversaries,
Hartwig von Ludwiger chose not to trust Kornél Oszlányi and his 10th ID - who is assured of his safety as long as he keeps quiet... But the lack of motivation, the moral disaster that the fall of the Regency represents and (especially) the presence in front of the Serbs of the general Brasic - in place of the so much hoped for British! - will represent in the days to come a powerful brake on Hungarian attempts to rally. In fact, the Yugoslav army had many bones to gnaw on with the Honvèd. A whole skeleton, in fact, which only asks to come out of the closet... And its men are not really the best disposed towards their Magyar neighbors.
At the 7th AC, the 23rd ID of Pál Magyar - facing two opponents, the most ferocious of which is the 19th Hungarian ID... - disengages and flees towards the marshes in the south, trying to take advantage of the fact that the Germans seem to be very busy with the beginning of a vast allied effort. Pál Magyar did not have the chance to escape - captured by the men of the 297. ID, he avoided the summary execution that Colonel Ferenc Szász*********** apparently wanted!
Finally, a little less than 3,000 men managed to join the lines of the United Nations forces and their prison camps. This was not enough to constitute even the embryo of a cobelligerent Hungarian army that nobody, in any case, would ever want. Among them, no one from the 2nd armoured division and from the 4th Corps HQ - irremediably cut off from any exit door, threatened on their backs by the forces of Walter Krüger able to come from the north and with already more than half of their tanks out of service, the Hungarian tankers capitulate at the end of the afternoon. As Ferenc Osztovics said when he handed over his weapon, "This is fate". A little further on, his superior, General József Heszlényi, did not contradict him.
He shot himself in the head.

Last reprieve
Slovakia, in the evening - The news of the Hungarian reversal and then - a little later - of its pathetic collapse (except perhaps in Vojvodina...) reaches the ears of the Partisans and soldiers of the Slovak army. Who, let's be frank, are a little amused by the situation. Because, among the many hateful neighbors of the Balkans, Slovaks and Hungarians also have a bone to pick: subcarpathian Ruthenia as well as various peripheral territories that they still fought over recently, in 1939, when they were supposed to be on the same side***********! Thus, the Hungarians are punished by the hand that fed them...
Decidedly, the spectacle of the discomfiture of an enemy is always pleasant - and a good omen for the future, when the borders with Budapest will have to be rediscussed.
Nevertheless, the Hungarian rout did not really reassure all the locals - the violence and strength of the German reaction against a Magyar army, certainly eminently perfectible but still far superior to the Slovak one, did not escape anyone here. It is thus advisable to take advantage of this ultimate reprieve to prepare the stocks and to entrench oneself...

NEF
Switzerland and Fair
Ariège - Not everything is black in Europe under the boot... At the castle of La Hille, a kid arrives by bike from Foix, completely exhausted as he had to pedal fast. He asks to see Mr. Dubois, but the latter is absent and it is Miss Naef who listens attentively to what he has to say. Germans landed in Foix and began rounding up families. A gendarme discreetly told her to inform the castle, indicating that it was a matter of an hour or two before the Fritz got there. The director knows what this means.
She called all the children together and ordered them to pack a bundle as quickly as possible, taking only food and what is necessary for a long walk. The Americans are not far away, but it may still be weeks or even months before the Liberation. Until then, the children were all hidden in farms in the area.
This quick action will save more than fifty girls and boys from the horrible fate that awaiting them in deportation. The name of Rosli Naef, director of the Swiss Red Cross foster home in Hille Castle, is today listed among the Righteous in the Yad Vashem Memorial.

* Until the death of his brother István, Miklós had never had any political responsibility and even less ambitions in this field... Nevertheless, at this late hour in many senses of the word, a persistent rumor that the Regent's son was on his way to a clandestine negotiation meeting with representatives of the royal Yugoslav government! The truth has never been clearly established.
** History will remember this sub-operation of Margareth's under the code name Mickey Mouse - it is impossible to know whether this was chosen by the SS at random or as a mark of contempt for Miklós Horthy. Unless it was a mockery of Soviet historians (the first to mention this point) towards the SS Kommando!
*** Its tower, built in 1933, is 284 meters high - the highest in Europe, if not the world, at the time of its inauguration.
**** War crimes that were very real, but (at that time at least...) a good notch below what German propaganda and what the Axis armies had committed in the USSR. The year
1944 would be for the Red Army the occasion to make up for it...
***** All Nazi propaganda aside, Zehnder had succeeded in covering the flank of his division for 48 hours in numerical and armored inferiority in the face of a Soviet counter-attack, commanding in in person on all the hot spots. One week later, his entire regiment was surrounded in a wood after a raid on the Reds' rear - he nevertheless managed to reach the friendly lines after twenty-four hours of uninterrupted fight. Each of these actions was due to his own initiative - hence his Iron Cross and his German Gold Cross, "compensating" for three wounds.
****** Later, in a comfortable (and well-heated) room in Budapest, Oszlányi would tell an assembly of German officers or Arrow Crosses how, with his deputy Colonel Sándor Martsa, he had managed desertions during a Russian winter: "We searched every house, we took out a lot of resting soldiers. With the utmost strength and using a pistol, I began to push back the floods. Even if I had to slaughter a whole army of Hungarians made apathetic by the cold. They just had to obey!"
******* Zrenjanin for the Yugoslavs, Becicherecu Mare for the Romanians, Zreňanin for the Slovaks and Großbetschkerek for the Germans - here, as in Transylvania and Ruthenia, the present text privileges as much as possible the language of the occupying nation, in this case Hungarian.
******* Future Attila József Prize (1964 and 1975) and Kossuth Prize (1980).
******** Most of them are Marders and Panzer IIIs - antiques. The best ones are Panzer IVs of old models andvery light Turán II (a 41M 75 mm L31 gun and 50 mm armor, partly riveted!).
********* The Hungarians do not know it, but they have escaped a much worse fate. Initially, Margareth/Panzerfaust should have been entrusted to the hilarious general Erich von dem Bach-Zelewski, who had planned to crush Budapest like Warsaw at Mörser Karl, to teach these Magyar dogs what it costs to resist the Reich!
Fortunately for the capital, the butcher had been recalled to Berlin after the fall of Warsaw.
************ Aggteleky lived in Hungary until 1956, before fleeing to Switzerland. Until his death in 1977, he compiled an important collection of documents on the events of 1944, which can be consulted today at the Institute of Military History of the Honvèd.
************ At the age of 47, although he was the leader of a fascist movement that accounted for 13 percent of the electorate in 1939, Szálasi still lived with his mother Erzsébét, who was a Catholic of Greek origin who had contributed much to his religious education.
With typical Oedipal fascination, he should say: I received the power of belief and faith through my mother's milk. My mother made me drink faith and it passed through me."
************* It was notably the capital of the short-lived Hungarian Republic in 1849.
************** Pál Magyar was lost after the war. He died somewhere in Hungary in 1948.
****************The "Hungarian ethnic areas" outside of subcarpathian Ruthenia (acquired in the first Vienna arbitration) had been offered to Hungary by Hitler during the Munich crisis in exchange for its military participation in a possible war against Czechoslovakia - at which point the Hungarians had backed down. Six months later, these areas were finally invaded by the Hungarian army in eight days in March 1939, after a campaign against a dying Czechoslovak army: the Magyars had only 8 dead and achieved all their objectives, even shooting down a Letov 328! This waltz-hesitation made Hitler laugh a lot, who threw Kálmán Darányi, the Hungarian Prime Minister of the time: "Last year, I offered you the whole of Slovakia. Why didn't you take it then?"

 

[Wings]

April 13th, 1944

Indian Ocean
Operation Stoker
Sumatra - Business resumes for the Liberators of the 436th and 492nd BS, which go to bomb the Banda Aceh airfield, at the northern tip of the island. The 24th Sentai reacts, but the ten Ki-43s that clashed with the P-38 escort of the 459th FS are unable to approach the bombers and lose four aircraft (against one P-38). Major Maxwell Glenn opened his counter with a double.

Operation Meridian II
Trincomalee, Ceylon - While in Burma, Operation Black Prince was just ending, the population of the Indian port witnesses a new departure of the fleet towards Australia. The composition of the different squadrons is as follows.
- TF-57.1 (RN): CV Illustrious and Victorious, BB King George V, CLAA Charybdis and Spartan, CA Sussex, CL Gambia and Mauritius, DD Hardy, Hotspur, Jervis, Lightning, Ulster and Urchin.
- TF-57.2 (RN): CV Indefatigable and Indomitable, BB Duke of York, BC Renown, CLAA Bellona, CA Norfolk and Suffolk, CL Bermuda and Fiji, DD Duncan, Onslaught, Penn, Petard, Venus and Vigilant.
- TF-100 (MN): CV Jean-Bart, BB Richelieu, CA Algérie, CLAA Marseillaise and Primauguet, DDL Bison, L'Adroit and Le Hardi, DD Chacal, Jaguar, Lynx and Panthère.
.........
This departure is as usual preceded by an intense ASW activity and a scattered departure of TF-116, which regroups in the open sea before setting course for "Trocadero".
- TF-116 (MN and HMS/RFA): CVE MN Dixmude; CLAA MN Duguay-Trouin; CL Montcalm; DDL Cyclone, Mameluk and Siroco, DD Leopard, Lion, Puma and Tigre.
Oil tankers: MN Rhône, Niger; HMS/RFA Cedardale, San Ambrosio, Wave King.
Provisions: MN Ile d'Aix.
Hospital: MN Asie.
Water production: HMS/RFA Bacchus.
Spare parts, crews, workshops: HMS/RFA Bosphorus, Fort Colville (air).
Heavy workshop ship: HMS Resource.
Transport : MN Ile de Batz (H), Allier, Cher ; HMS/RFA Corinda, Heron, Prince of Liege, Robert Maersk.
Combat Store (ammunition): MN Rhin, HMS/RFA City of Dieppe, Kola.
Tugs: 4.

Relief and reinforcements
The sector i also the scene of less spectacular events.
Andaman - The first B-25 "navals" (PBJ) of the 17F squadron arrive in Port Blair from Europe. With the 10F, the French Navy now has a strong anti-ship capability in this area.
.........
Trincomalee - In the afternoon, the submarine cruiser MN Surcouf sails to...retire. Veteran of several campaigns in the Pacific and the Indian Ocean, the ship returns to Toulon. Her pasha, Captain Blaison, already knew that he was going to get his stars with a position on the staff. The officers and sailors will be distributed and trained on three new British S-class units, HMS Satyr, Spiteful and Sportsman, which will become respectively MN Galatee*, Sirene and Sibylle. This will result in a shortfall of ten men per crew, a deficit that was made up by the addition of a few new men (on a junior officer, a petty officer and four licensed seamen) and a liaison and training team from Her Majesty (three specialists from the Royal Navy). These three submarines are to be sent to the Pacific theater after training.
.........
Alger - The general staff of the Navy launches, at the same time, an important operation. Most of the older submarines deployed in the Pacific will return to the liberated Metropole. In exchange, the four S class submarines already in service, the Ariane, Danaé, Naïade and Thétis, as well as the two "Turks", the Morse and Narval**, will be deployed in Darwin with the Aurore and La Créole; on their side, the two U/V class, the Calypso and Circé, which have a smaller range of action, will be based in Dili. The submarines based in Darwin will operate in the China Sea and the two U/Vs in the Celebes, Banda and Molucca seas.
In addition, the EMG Marine studies the question of the submarines of the "2nd Hydrographic Group", i.e. the 1,500-ton Fresnel, Henri-Poincaré and Monge, which, after special missions in the Mediterranean, they ensure the links between Australia and Indochina. Whether it was to disembark or recover people or to put weapons and ammunition ashore, these ships proved to be well adapted to this work. The problem lies in their age: all three were commissioned in the first half of 1932. It was therefore decided to replace them with three other submarines of the same class, but newer. The following submarines were endivisioned to the 2nd Hydrographic Group: Casabianca (commissioned on 1 January 1937), Le Tonnant (commissioned on 1 June 1936) and the youngest of the 1,500-ton vessels, the carrier killer Sidi Ferruch (commissioned on 1 January 1939). They were also based in Darwin, where the support ship Jules-Verne would of course be based.
After having planned the replacement of the French submarines, survivors of the pre-war flotillas, by the new modern units lent by the Royal Navy, Admiral Ollive and his assistants are concerned with their supply vessels.
The X45 Ipanema, whose presence in Great Britain was no longer necessary, as there are no longer any French submarines operating in the North Sea, will have to go to Bizerte for refit and then will head for Darwin where it will operate in the company of the Jules-Verne. It should be on site before the end of May. Upon arrival, the Ville de Mons, a Hog Islander type cargo ship lent by the Belgian Marine Corps, will return to the Mediterranean after transferring to the Ipanema and the Jules Verne its stocks of spare parts, shells and torpedoes. It will be demilitarized in Bizerte before being returned to Belgium. The Ipanema, a ship equipped with a turbo-electric propulsion system, was preferred to the Ville de Mons because of its electrical production capabilities (two Ljungström type turbogenerators of 1,000 KW each delivering a three-phase current of 1,170 volts at 50 Hz), it is better able to meet the electricity needs of eight submarines.
After the submarine refuellers, the EMG is now looking at seaplane refuellers. The case of the X 38 Sidi Aïssa is the easiest to solve. The installation of an NAS at Limnos led to its putting in reserve. On the other hand, the supply of the civilian population of the south of France imposed an increase in the load on the Merchant Navy. It was therefore decided to unload the ship and, after the disembarkation of its seaplane maintenance facilities, to give it back its peacetime role: transporting live sheep and fresh produce between Algeria and the Metropole.
The Berlaimont (ex Ville de Hasselt), another Hog Islander type cargo ship supplied by the Belgian Marine Corps, and the HS6 flotilla (10 J2F-5 Ducks and 4 Floatfires V) are deployed to Dili (Timor Island) to participate in the control of the landings of this port whose airfield has just recieved a squadron of Halifaxes to operate against the oil installations of Java and Sumatra.
The Origny (ex AVP 21 Humboldt) is based in Tulagi in support of the HS2 squadron (4 OS2U-3 Kingfisher) left in this port by the Dunkerque and Strasbourg.
As for the Narvik (ex AVP 22 Matagorda), it is finally used not as a seaplane supply ship, but as a support ship for the fast boats of the 4th Flotilla. The latter were 80-foot Elco's recast as gunboats with two 40 mm Bofors.
Based in Milne Bay, the flotilla is to support the Australian soldiers fighting in New Guinea.

Indochina Campaign
Objective Poulo Condore
Hon Bai Can Island, Poulo Condore archipelago (southeast of Cochinchina) - The bo-dois who disembarked on the island are immediately visited by a white beret carrying a flag of the same color. The garrison in charge of the defense of the lighthouse, formed of these Collabos that the Vietnamese treated with contempt as "local Japanese", prefer to surrender without fighting! Their admiration for the Empire of the Rising Sun obviously did not extend to imitate the determination of its soldiers and to fight to the last man.

Sino-Japanese War
Operation Bailu
Canton - Once the destruction of the port facilities was completed, the last Japanese defenders in the new city leave. They retreat in orderly fashion to the suburbs of Henan, south of the river, despite intense but inaccurate fire from the Chinese artillery, itself countered by the gunboats Hashidate and Okitsu.
As soon as the evacuation was completed, the Japanese bombers blew up the metal bridge of Haizhu, the only one connecting the two banks of the river.

Aeronavale NA-PBJD Mitchell, Pacific Campaign, April 1944

* The sailors of the Galatee will always regret the former name of their unit...
** In fact, they are also S class.

 

[Wings]

April 13th, 1944

Hungary - Ruthenia
From the steel daisy to the armored fist
HQ of the 1st Hungarian Army, Szarvasháza (Ruthenia), 05:00 - Horthy's declaration of Hungary's neutrality - which some might consider a capitulation - explodes like a grenade. Major-General Béla Miklós Dálnoki, barely awake (he was hardly sleeping, as if caught by a bad premonition...), sounds the bugle and tries to prepare his army for an inevitable German reaction.
Easier said than done! Dálnoki did not anticipate - it is a pity - such a rapid evolution of the situation. And his army, deployed over no less than 130 kilometers and cut in two to defend no less than four valleys and three passes, is not really able to refocus quickly. Even worse, from his point of view: he, Béla Dálnoki, was in Szarvasháza, sixty kilometers from most of his troops... and forty from the German tanks in Munkács. He can therefore at any moment see a platoon of Panzermanner in front of his tent! And it is not the 1st Hungarian Cavalry Division (Antal Vattay) - brave, generally loyal and close to its HQ, but... very lonely! - who will defend it. So, without wasting any more time, the Hungarian major-general prepares his front and the Soviet lines. On the side of the 6th or the 8th Army Corps? It will depend on their reactions...
.........
HQ of the German Panzer Divisions in Hungary (Munkács Huszt), 05:30 - The generals Wend von Wietersheim, Helmutt von der Chevallerie and Hans Källner (11., 13. and 19. Panzer) receive by radio from Berlin a short coded order: "Execute Panzerfaust!" All three know what this means: the gentle coercion of Budapest has failed. Only force is left - as much as necessary, up to disarming the Hungarians to secure the passes they are defending. No time to lose! Panzer Marsch, the Leopards leap north, leaving to others the task of securing the heart of Hungary.
.........
HQ of the 6th Hungarian Corps (Tourka), 05:35 - From the side of Major-General Ferenc K. Farkas, things are just as clear. The man is a patriot loyal to the Regent, yes... But he is also a fierce anti-communist*, who heroically defended the road to the Oujok Pass without sparing the blood of his men. And he knows one thing: Horthy wanted to raise a maximum of divisions in order to defend eternal Hungary, but he did not want to help the Germans too much either. This reserve has a tangible consequence: each of the divisions on the Hungarian front is missing a regiment. In addition, these divisions have only about half of the anti-tank weapons and machine guns of their German counterparts, and only one tenth of their motorized transports. And yet, the Heer is not what it used to be...
In addition, its three divisions are stretched over 40 kilometers, to defend three valleys at Spas, Pidmonastyrok and Boryslav. It is impossible to concentrate them at the moment, even if he wanted to. Let's say it frankly - Farkas does not believe that it is possible to resist the Germans and did not want to do it for the benefit of the Reds. However, he does not want to shoot his countrymen either. So, the major-general decides to camp his positions to defend eternal Hungary, leaving Dálnoki to do his own thing.
.........
HQ of the 8th Hungarian Corps (Plav'ya), 05:35 - The troop of Major-General Jenö Halmaji Bor, divided into two equal forces to defend the Verecke and Torun passes (5th ID, 1st Mountain Brigade on one side, 8th ID, 2nd Mountain Brigade on the other) is not more able to resist the Germans than the 6th Corps. A competent but lackluster soldier, Bor finally chose to wait and see. This suited his generals very well indeed.
In fact, all of them were either in the same frame of mind, or openly pro-German.
.........
Lvov (rear of the 2nd Ukrainian Front), 06:00 - The radio news of the Hungarian surrender also reaches the 2nd Ukrainian Front of Ivan Bagramian - who did not receive orders from Moscow for this eventuality. To tell the truth, we were rather expecting news from the Slovaks... Fortunately, his neighbor, Marshal Aleksandr Vassilievski, also in contact with the Hungarians, is just around the corner - after a short conciliation with him on the phone, it is decided... to contact the Stavka to define the way to proceed.
Of course, Antonov and Chtemenko answer immediately, but we keep losing time. The reform of the Red Army command imposed by Stalin last month has just made its first victims.
.........
HQ of the 1st Hungarian Army, Szarvasháza, 07:30 - As the sun rises over a camp in chaos, Major General Béla Miklós Dálnoki is still unable to mobilize his army, or even to know precisely what forces he has at his disposal. At the 8th Corps, Jenö Bor does not respond. At the 6th Corps, Ferenc K. Farkas guaranteed Dálnoki "security in his lines" but refused to move southward, abandoning his positions in front of the Reds. However, his men could quite easily go down to his leader and take position on the Oujok and Verecke passes to defend them against the Germans! All this does not smell very good... But Dálnoki had no choice - he had burned his ships by giving the alert two days ago, and the Regent has done the same. So... off to Tourka and Farkas HQ before it's too late - although there are likely to be desertions on the way.
In fact, Antal Vattay (1st DC) himself was not particularly happy to go up to Poland. It was he who commanded the territorial force very recently put at the disposal of the Reich during the events in Warsaw. And even if he did not stay there very long (barely five days, the time to be noticed for his "complacency" towards a secret army that willingly exploited the gaping holes left in its lines...), he suspects that over there, he will probably not be welcomed with roses. Finally, he remains loyal to the Regent. And he holds his troop, that's something.
.........
Lvov (rear of the 2nd Ukrainian Front), 07:30 - Gathered on the same telephone line, Bagramian, Vassilievski and Antonov agree that the affair goes beyond the purely military framework. To go towards the Hungarians in this way is first of all to take the risk of encountering a resistance, perhaps weakened by the recent about-face of their government but still possible. Nevertheless, it is also and above all to accept their belated repentance - and therefore to forgive their past attitude.
Taking losses is acceptable. But dealing with fascists is dangerous. Therefore, better to be sure before acting. General Chtemenko went to see Stalin, who was not sleeping anyway. We are waiting for his decision. Until then, the 1st and 2nd Ukrainian Fronts will prepare for an assault - of infantry, of course. No need to shake the Magyars with 122 mm if the Vojd decides to accept their change of camp...
.........
Kremlin (Moscow), 07:45 - General Sergei Shtemenko is introduced in the office of the Little Father of the Peoples, who is obviously all smiles at this umpteenth happy event. Stalin knows why we come to see him - so he decided to make it short. The 1st and 2nd Ukrainian Fronts must go without delay to the Hungarian lines, to disarm them with all the necessary vigor before continuing south. "We are going to be able to anticipate on Cluj-Debrecen, my dear Serguei! Without having had to do anything! Excellent news."
The Vojd is very happy and even enthusiastic - no wonder, Horthy's defection would only weaken the Axis even more. However, and contrary to its usual practice, it did not set any specific objective and did not send additional troops. He does not trust the Regent's declaration and is not sure of the chances of success of the maneuver. But it costs nothing to try to take advantage of it.
.........
HQ of the 1st Hungarian Army, Szarvasháza, 09:30 - Dálnoki and his staff leave the camp in a hurry and left for the north. German motorized elements were spotted crossing Szolyva, only 20 kilometers away. Even slowed down by the gorges, the weather, and the disarmament of the local police (who do not resist at all!), they can be here in an hour or two. The 1st Cavalry Division embarks all those who want it in its trucks, cars and... carts, to get to the Verecke Pass before it was too late.
As he leaves, Béla Miklós Dálnoki tries a last dice trick: faced with the passivity of his subordinates, he launches a message on the radio, addressed to... all those who could hear it: "Soldiers and officers of the Hungarian army! In this terrible hour, remember your oath! Obey the Regent, face the German enemy! And if tomorrow the battle should become unequal, seek refuge in the lines of the allied nations, so that tomorrow you can.., take up the fight again. Serve the regency, defend Hungary!"
This shows the discomfiture of the 1st Hungarian Army: its leader is reduced to addressing all his soldiers by radio. But it is too late to have regrets. The major-general puts on his kepi, puts on his coat bearing the Vitez Cross, then gets into his car. A Mercedes...unpleasant, but that's how it is. As he slams the door, he couldn't help but notice that his HQ already seems to have fewer men than yesterday...
09:45 - Departure under the rain of the 1st Cavalry Division and the staff of the 1st Hungarian Army. Antal Vattay left a handful of volunteer elements in Szarvasháza to delay the panzers at least a few hours. Even if he did not believe it - among these volunteers, he suspects that there are a large number of Reich sympathizers...or cowards, who will quickly surrender at the sight of the first Landser. But does he have a choice? To stay is to perish. To sort out his men is to destroy the best... There are 12 kilometers to Verecke and 60 to Tourka. With a little luck (and by abandoning a good part of the heavy equipment!) we will be there tonight...
.........
Lines of the 1st and 2nd Ukrainian Fronts, 10:00 - After a barrage of... loudspeakers to explain to the Magyars that, for them, the war is over, the Soviet forces advance in motorized columns towards the Magyar lines. For this operation, which was as opportunistic as it was improvised, elements of three formations are immediately engaged: 3rd Army (Mikhail Shumilov, in Sambir and on the road to Tourka), 9th Guards (Nikolai Pukhov, in Boryslav and also towards Tourka) and 59th Army (Ivan Korovnikov, south of Stryï, towards the Verecke Pass). he 10th Army (Vasily Popov, towards Dolyna, on the road to the Torun Pass) is a little further away from the enemy lines - it will join the movement later on.
Behind, and even if they defend themselves, the generals of these forces are not really serene. Their frontovikis set off blindly - it was raining, it is impossible to ask the air force for prior reconnaissance. Who could see what, anyway? Moreover, they had the opportunity to judge on the spot, last month, the solidity of the enemy positions as well as the fact that the Hungarians still seem to be motivated enough to put up a firm resistance...
.........
Positions of the 5th Hungarian ID, Nyzhnya Stynava (Ruthenia), 10:45 - The 59th Army, in contact or almost with the Magyar lines since the fight for Lyubyntsi, advances with force but in a relatively peaceful way towards the Stryi gorges. Unfortunately, this is the sector of General Zoltán Algya-Papp, for whom it was out of the question to let the Reds enter Hungary. And his officers agree - as one of his captains says to the servants of a machine gun: "Well, what are you waiting for? Open fire!" Which was soon done, like almost everywhere else on the 5th ID front.
.........
HQ of the 1st Hungarian Army and 1st DC, Verecke Pass road, 10:50 - Stuck in his car, which was bouncing around in the middle of a convoy in which General Antal Vattay is constantly trying to keep some kind of cohesion, Major-General Dálnoki is obviously unaware of what is happening on the front. Communications had never been the strong point of the Hungarian army, let alone mobility... The only positive point in this chaos: being motorized, he will soon have passed the pass and should therefore soon be safe. This is not necessarily the case for everyone behind him.
.........
Szarvasháza, 10:50 - The head of the 11. Panzer of Wend von Wietersheim enters a deserted town, to seize with authority but without much violence the Hungarian installations and stocks, which obviously nobody had the time or the desire to destroy. Antal Vattay is right to have doubts: between authentic pro-German soldiers with their rifle butts in the air in front of the first half-tracked man and less politicized fighters who were reasonable enough to realize that their 47 mm guns can't do much against a Leopard, there is hardly any fightinghere...
Von Wietersheim soon seizes the town - and the whole valley. At the same time, a little to the east, the 13. Panzer (Helmutt von der Chevallerie) and the 19. Panzer (Hans Källner) arrives in Ökörmező from Huszt - a little late, because of a kind of big traffic jam in the rain. The Hungarian traitors have flown away! These two divisions prepare to continue from now on in order to take the passes, still without really knowing whether or not they should expect to meet resistance.
And to spoil nothing, the rare news from the front are as fragmentary as confused...
.........
Lines of the 1st and 2nd Ukrainian Fronts, 11:00 - Barely an hour after the start of the operation intended to "help" the supposedly neutral Hungarians to change sides, the Red Army is forced to realize that everything is not going exactly as hoped for.
Almost everywhere, the frontovikis meet a real opposition, and as vigorous as before. Only on the right wing, between Staryi Sambir and Tershiv, that Mikhail Shumilov's 3rd Army finds itself facing a 24th ID whose leader - Major-General Aldár Pintér - seems willing to... let's say, work with the Soviets. A commendable attitude, but unfortunately not necessarily shared by all his troops. As a result, instead of opening its lines wide, the Magyar division sank into total confusion: they split and even confront each other within regiments, battalions - even companies or even sections. This unit is unable to help the Red Army to advance. But hey, at least it doesn't stand in the way anymore.
However, it is better than nothing. Because elsewhere, it is the failure, which turns to the melee. To the south of Boryslav, on the road to Skhidnytsya, Gusztáv Deseö's 1st ID did not stay long in the wait-and-see attitude. Caught in the first moments by a doubt which allowed the Soviets to approach, it violently reared up half an hour after the first contacts, as if under the effect of a whip, and now holds with energy the road to the Oujok pass. Moreover, it is supported on its left by a 27th ID (András Zákó), whose anti-Sovietism has never known the slightest ambiguity! The attackers are therefore skating, facing two divisions fiercely defending their mountains as others had done here in the past against the Tatars. Obviously, the Hungarian army remains inferior in all - but the assault will be long and hard, especially since it was improvised.
In Nyzhnya Stynava, as we know, the 59th Army faces the 5th ID of Zoltán Algya-Papp, which has only a gorge less than 2 km wide to defend. It was in fact supported on its flanks by the 1st and 2nd Mountain Brigades (Ferenc Lóskay and Géza Fehér), perfectly loyal to the Axis or at least to the defense of Hungary against the Reds.
Obviously, we do not advance here either - Ivan Korovnikov already solicits the commitment of armored reserves (the 2nd Armored Corps of Ivan Lazarev, in this case), which should be brought together from the region of Bourchtyn - it is that Bagramian rather envisaged an assault towards the south from Stanyslaviv!
Finally, in Dolyna, the 10th Army of Vasily Popov, just out of its positions, reports that it recieves artillery fire. Opposite, the 8th ID of Árpád Maltary has also obviously made its choice...
In short, all this does not smell good. Only on the extreme right of its lines the Red Army progresses. Too bad, this is the longest way to the Uzhok Pass, about 55 kilometers.
.........
Ökörmező, 11:55 - As they finish securing the valley before continuing north and west, the 13. Panzer (Helmutt von der Chevallerie) and the 19. Panzer (Hans Källner) receive a call in clear: the 8th Hungarian ID, in Vyhoda, asks for help! It is completely isolated (that's right!) and, subjected to a fierce Bolshevik assault, will have to withdraw, abandoning the Shevchenkove gap to better defend the Torun pass. Understandably, the Germans were surprised. - happily surprised even. After all, they still have allies in the region! All the more reason to act quickly. The two divisions split up.
The first one goes to help its loyal comrades towards Torun, while they withdraw. The second one continues towards Szarvasháza and the Verecke pass, in order to assist the 11. Panzer, which would have (small) difficulties.
.........
HQ of the 1st Hungarian Army and 1st DC, Verecke Pass, 12:00 - Hungarian forces loyal to the Regent cross the pass at an altitude of 841 meters, at the end of a long winding road, easy to defend. From up there, the Hungarians could easily observe the Germans who come from Szarvasháza, motorcyclists and half-trackers in the lead, but panzers in their wake. A depressing sight... The Magyar officers decide that there is no point in hanging around - it would only encourage desertions. The cavalry division uses its explosives to try to delay the enemy: tree barrage, destruction of roads - alas, there are no cliffs here to collapse. The column resumes its route, always less orderly and always in a hurry.
.........
Road to the Verecke Pass, 12:30 - Five kilometers behind and two hundred and fifty meters under, Oberst Meinrad von Lauchert (11. PanzerRgt) is not satisfied. The division to which he belongs - the Gespensterdivision, a phantom division since its exploits in the year 40 - will end up losing its name, by dint of being dragged along infamous roads lost in the middle of the forests. When they left, the Hungarians did not leave many men, it is true - and even fewer who tried to fight to delay the panzers. On the other hand, the panzers are still blocked by tree trunks, rocks, and even broken down trucks blocking the road. It was like being in the Rhone Valley in 1940. A good memory - but at that time, it did not rain, and above all we had planes and a large infantry for the work without glory. This year, in this lost corner, the glorious panzers are skating in the mud and on the while the grenadiers wade, water up to the top of their boots, to go and clear the track - sometimes with the help of their SdKfz, when these can approach without getting bogged down!
In truth, the whole thing is more than frustrating. We waste time for nothing, between mediocrity and contingencies. And meanwhile, the enemy - the former ally - is escaping.
.........
HQ of the 1st Hungarian Army and 1st DC, Tukhol'ka, 13:30 - The units of Dálnoki and Vattay, stretched to the point of fraying, finally broke through to the Carpathian Plateau - no more climbing, just driving. A lot of road: 45 kilometers to Tourka from this intersection. And right in front of them is also the road to Plav'ya, thus to the HQ of the 8th Corps, which seems to be facing the Red Army with vigor. For even if Béla Dálnoki could not reach Jenö Bor, his lack of reaction this morning leaves no doubt.
So what to do? Bor's tent is not ten kilometers away! Without doubt, the cavalry division could reach it and remove its leader in order to allow Dálnoki to order the 8th Corps to stop opposing the Soviets. But it is not certain that this instruction would be listened to carefully - and in order to do so, it would undoubtedly have to start by killing Hungarians.
So, go for Torkun. Farther, more painful, but paradoxically less risky. Dálnoki and Vattay are not keen on shedding Hungarian blood before they ended up being crushed between their compatriots and the panzers that emerged from the rear. This decision would be reproached to them, much later - but in the end, it only crowned the lamentable and complete failure of the 1st Hungarian Army.
.........
Verecke Pass, 14:00- The 11. Panzer, which finally got out of the mud and tree trunks, takes the pass - without any trouble, of course. More than a little irritated by this grotesque situation, von Wietersheim gives his orders: head north, at full speed, to seize the road to Stryï and the headquarters of the Hungarian 8th Corps. This is the natural path of the enemy and the first road to be secured in the face of the Red peril. Moreover, due to the lack of reconnaissance and information on the attitude of the 8th Corps, it was impossible to consider anything else!
.........
Torun Pass, 14:30 - The 13. Panzer of Helmutt von der Chevallerie takes this pass located at 940 m above sea level, without having encountered any resistance either. It starts to descend towards Myslivka, to meet a Hungarian 8th ID perhaps not as much in difficulty as it was asserting earlier on the radio.
.........
HQ of the Hungarian 8th Corps, Plav'ya, 15:15 - Major-General Jenö Halmaji Bor, commander of a Hungarian corps which remains - perhaps by default - the ally of the Reich, is surprised to see a rather bad-tempered 11. Panzer, which quickly puts everyone under arrest and to consign vehicles, stocks and transmissions. Now a prisoner of those to whom he had remained loyal, Bor had to wait for the arrival of General von Wietersheim. He would arrive as soon as the road was deemed safe and clear... The 8th Corps was thus decapitated and the operations of support and coordination of the divisions are interrupted - which of course led to a kind of floating in the Hungarian lines. Not enough, however, to turn into a stampede in front of the Red Army.
.........
HQ of the 1st Hungarian Army and 1st DC, between Matkiv and Verkhnje Vysots'ke, 15:15 - Meanwhile, the forces loyal to the Regent note with surprise that nobody seems to pursue them, at least for the moment. Less than 30 kilometers to go to Torkun - they will arrive there undoubtedly, but in which state!... Indeed, by dint of running up and down, the 1st Hungarian Cavalry Division is dislocated little by little, between desertions and abandonment or destruction of equipment... In reality, it was no longer a fighting unit. And yet, Dálnoki and Vattay were lucky.
.........
Szarvasháza, 15:55 - Arrival of the 19. Panzer of Hans Källner in the former headquarters of the 1st Hungarian Army - where it found no more animation than the previous division. The division, which was supposed to help control the road to the Torun Pass, finds itself unemployed. The resistance of the traitors has really collapsed! Holy Hungarians... We nothing was expected of them, yet they still managed to disappoint. Informed by radio that the 11. Panzer was heading towards Stryï, Källner had only one last corridor to secure: the one leading to Tourka. And still: at the same time, others take care of the Oujok pass!
.........
Ensemble of the 1st Hungarian Army, 16:00 - The announcement of the forfeiture of the Hungarian government, announced by Ferenc Szálasi with the blessing of the German authorities, completes the illusions of some and dashes the hopes of others. It is now clear that the Hungarian turnaround had failed - the cohesion of the few units loyal to the Regent of the 1st Army is affected. As for the others, whether they chose to align themselves or the - more prudent - wait-and-see attitude, they will see in this tragi-comedy the proof of the rightness of their attitude... which it is urgent not to change! In any case, it is now far too late to do anything else...
.........
Lines of the 1st and 2nd Ukrainian Fronts, 16:30 - The friendly Soviet offensive that this is how Moscow expected the affair to unfold - is stalling, at least.
South of Boryslav, Nikolai Pukhov's 9th Guards pushes back 6 kilometers Gusztáv Deseö's 1st ID by 6 kilometers to the heights on the outskirts of Skhidnytsya, but in difficult terrain (i.e. without hope of a quick breakthrough...). Problem: in front of this advance, the 27th ID of András Zákó has in turn withdrawn to Opaka, from where it now fully supports its neighbor. The situation, not yet blocked, seems nevertheless sterile in the immediate future. It will take time to get through.
In Nyzhnya Stynava, the same causes and effects - except that the progress is even more mediocre. The 59th Army of Ivan Korovnikov is still fighting to force the lock set up by Zoltán Algya-Papp's 5th ID, which retreats foot by foot to Synovydsko Vyzhnia, still well covered on its flanks by the mountain brigades... and the mountain.
We did not advance more than 5 kilometers, and yet the occasion was supposed to be historic.
As for Vasily Popov's 10th Army, in the Dolyna sector, despite a calamitous start despite a bad start, it seems to have succeeded in pushing back Árpád Maltary's 8th ID to Shevchenkove, on open ground across the Svicha. The Hungarians are now reported to be withdrawing into the mountains on the road to the Torun Pass, which they will no doubt try to defend. A success indeed - but a deceptive success. The Fascists have only given up unimportant, even indefensible ground.
Finally, on the side of the 3rd Army, things are going a little less badly. Mikhail Shumilov has finally broken through the lines of the 24th ID (now split, even destroyed) to advance in the direction of Turka. He approaches Strilky - without much opposition, but without more perspective. By the time he reaches the Oujok Pass...
.........
Kremlin (Moscow), 17:30 - Due to the lack of very favorable results of the day and the confusion reigning on the operations in progress, the Vojd recalls to him, for advice, Marshals Vasilyevsky and Zhukov. They are expected first thing tomorrow morning - it is up to them to find a fast way of transportation despite the rain.
.........
HQ of the 8th Hungarian Corps, Plav'ya, 18:00 - Wend von Wietersheim arrived well on the spot, and met with Major General Jenö Halmaji Bor - who, fortunately for him, has a few things some elements to put forward in order not to be sent incontinently to Oflag! His forces continue the fight against the Bolshevik adversary, and have not made any mistakes. Better still, they defend themselves with a certain success: at home, the Red has not broken through anywhere! Well, maybe towards Dolyna... But it would not be the first time that an isolated Hungarian unit found itself in trouble and in need of urgent support.
Von Wietersheim had no authority to decide the fate of Bor and the men of the 8th AC. On the other hand, he is a pragmatist, known for avoiding too much bloodshed for nothing.
A provisional modus operandi is thus arranged - the army corps of Jenö Halmaji Bor becomes a force, no longer allied but cobelligerent to the Axis, and no hostile act will be committed against it. While waiting, of course, for a more global settlement of the Hungarian question, which the Silesian has no desire to interfere with!
.........
Tukhol'ka, 18:25 - The 19. Panzer of Hans Källner has finished passing the Verecke pass and its elements arrive at the crossroads near Tukhol'ka, where five hours ago the loyalist forces now on the road to Tourka were. These forces are only about thirty kilometres away but Källner, who already had to deal with the weather, road conditions and supplies, was reluctant to advance recklessly. He therefore orders to advance with caution this night. After all, there's no need to hurry now.
.........
Oujok Pass, 20:00 - After a long and very difficult journey from Perecseny - fortunately without opposition, which allowed the bikers to open the way! - the 5. SS- Panzer Wiking seizes this 889-meter-high pass, which connects the Tourka and Ungvár regions - the heart of Slovakia and the Danube. From then on, all the Carpathian passes are now held by German units.
.........
HQ of the Hungarian 6th Corps, Tourka, 22:30 - Forces loyal to the Regent (a depressed Army HQ and a mismatched cavalry division...) finally reach the HQ of the Hungarian 6th Corps, where Major-General Ferenc K. Farkas is waiting for them, not hostile, but not cordial. In fact, he had long ago announced by radio to anyone who would listen that he would "obviously" obey the new authorities of his country...

* Colonel Stephen L. Renner, in his book Broken Wings: The Hungarian Air Force, 1918-1945, will speak of "conditional loyalty". The same loyalty that made Hungarian soldiers (for example, and already!) fiercely defend Slovakia on behalf of Béla Kun's Republic of Councils in 1919, before deserting this "Red Army" as soon as they received the order to abandon the "Red Army". Officers were seen to join Kun's troops, shouting "Even if we start the struggle under the red flag, when we reach the Carpathians, it will have become red-white-green!" Later, in a curious compliment a posteriori, a political commissar was to write in a communist magazine: "The Red Army [of Kun] was in essence a Hungarian army - its purpose was to defend Hungary from foreign attacks."

 

[Wings]

April 13th, 1944

Irrevocable (bis)
GQG of the 18th GAA (Syntagma square, Athens), 06:30 - Like two days ago, the rain beats the windows of the conference room. Two days ago, Bernard Law Montgomery had decided to postpone at least until May, mainly because of the weather, his trio of Plunder-Grenade-Veritable offensives. The decisive action that would allow him to force the the road to Vienna through the Sava valley and Lake Balaton to finally escape from the Yugoslav mud and Yugoslavia in general...
Alas, this night, something happened in Budapest... Until then, the weather was playing for Monty: the weather was not on his side and each day that passed filled his stocks much faster than those of his opponents, who were forced to take a defensive stance. And then... Those damn Hungarians decided to change sides! No one had asked them anything! They had been on the side of the Huns for years, they could have stayed there three more weeks! But no, they had to get restless and demolish the British plans. In the middle of Orthodox Easter, too!
The stick is banging on the table, like raindrops on the windows. Monty masters the allied military strategy of course, especially in the Balkans: and for good reason, it is his! But, forced and constrained, he also masters better and better the political stakes. And he already knows one thing: London will never forgive him for a new evasion, like the one inflicted on the Bulgarians in September 1943. At the time, he was able to invoke the race through Greece, the siege of Salonika, the fact that it was on Germany's side that victory had to be sought - arguments that were all the more admissible because they were relevant and true. But today, his armies are ready and his troops are motivated - he even noted this during his recent and thorough inspection tour. And above all, his stocks are sufficient - even if, during these three months of winter, he has been juggling with logistical capacities, and in particular rail and port capacities are still insufficient. Even negotiating, through the invaluable Supply Service, or even directly with London, each convoy of ammunition, each reinforcement - all of which were practically diverted from the Italian front (against Alexander) and the French front (against Marseille and even Washington!).
The Commonwealth is literally carrying the Balkan theater at arm's length - if it fails, its insufficient supply capabilities will not give it a second chance. The other fronts would be only too happy to "make better use" of its precious resources.
Montgomery is well aware of this, and this also encouraged him to be cautious, in keeping with his character, which was not very inclined to be aggressive.
The weather would eventually clear up, facilitating attacks and authorizing energetic air support... Alas, today, refusing the opportunity - we are talking about a possible collapse, or at least a strong destabilization of the enemy left flank! - would allow Alexander, the French and the Americans to claim that the 18th AAG, his 18th Allied Army Group, was useless. That it was unable to take advantage of a golden opportunity. That it was, in fact, only pushing back the Axis forces, who were nevertheless starving, at a snail's pace. And that if the Magyar revolt that he undoubtedly favored in large part weakens the Germans, it is finally in favor of the Soviets! A most serious sin, in the mind of Sir Winston.
So yes, in reality, Monty feels he has no choice. And it is with the tempered enthusiasm of one who tries to make do with the circumstances that he finally throws to his staff, and in particular to Béthouart and Spiliotopoulos: "Well, Gentlemen, let's go!"

Operation Plunder - Snatch and grab
Danube and Sava valleys, 08:00 - The skies are uncertain over the waters of the two great rivers of Yugoslavia and Central Europe when Operation Plunder begins to force its way to Vienna through southern Hungary. The weather did not facilitate the advance and limits the power of the air support - fortunately, to compensate, the 18th AAG had a weapon of choice in the great British tradition: artillery! And at 08:00, all the allied batteries open fire.
With many other tubes, three large heavy artillery units bludgeon the Axis front lines, based on information obtained throughout the winter: 2th and 5th Army Group Royal Artillery (for the benefit, respectively, of the ANZAC and the XIIIth Corps), and 107th RALCA (as reinforcement to the XIIIth Corps). The distant deployment of this unit belonging to the French 2nd Army certainly caused some grumbling in Tirana, and even in Marseille... but London was categorical: Montgomery was the leader of the whole 18th AAG and he manages his forces as he sees fit. Moreover, the decisive action would take place in the north - has he repeated often enough that his armies had no time to lose in the goat mountains!
And neither do his guns. 25-Pounder, 155 mm and 7.2 inch howitzers pounded for half an hour the main enemy trenches for half an hour, before bringing up a rolling fire towards the west while the bulk of the allied troops attacked in two main sectors. Indeed, Montgomery conceived Plunder with two axes of attack, more or less parallel along the Sava River in order to cover each other.
The first one, Plunder-Right, will be the business of John Lavarack's ANZAC, reinforced by the 6th Armored. From its positions west of Belgrade, near the confluence of the Sava and the Danube, it is to cross the Danube towards Novi Sad, then to penetrate in Vojvodina until Sombor, in order to threaten the region of Mohács and Pécs. The second axis, Plunder-Left, could thus progress along the Sava without the risk of being countered from the north - in the south, the Bosnian mountains, nothing is expected from this side. Bijeljina, Vinkovci, Slatina... A long ascent awaits the XIIIth Corps of Brian Horrocks and the 10th Armoured, before converging with Plunder-Right about 50 kilometers southeast of Nagykanizsa, near Lake Balaton.
Then, according to the possibilities of the moment and the enemy reactions, we could advance towards the Reich border through Zalaegerszeg, Szombathely and Sopron. Or perhaps, with a slight detour, through Varaždin and eastern Slovenia, depending on Alexander's progress in Italy.
The first scenario, which is more direct and avoids the Alps, is certainly preferred by planners. But we are not there yet, we are talking about a two-month forecast. And such a salient in enemy territory measuring (if all goes well!) 300 kilometers will not be able to hold, obviously, only if its flanks are guarded and expanded. This is the role of Veritable and Grenade - once the shock and uncertainty that these operations will not fail to raise are over. Plunder starts! On almost 90 km of front, the soldiers of the Crown go up to the assault. On the other side, the Landsers are inferior in number and in armament - moreover, they cannot count on any reinforcement, at least as long as the Hungarian affair was not settled. The Wehrmacht is therefore forced to take a strict defensive stance - it is true that the entrenchment work carried out during the last three months can help it to absorb the shock on the spot. Fortunately for the Nazi commanders, who had known since March 15th that any retreat that was too rapid could easily be considered as defeatism...
For Plunder-Right, the ANZAC engaged on a wide plain almost without obstacle and quickly reaches the heart of the German position, after having broken through the relatively bald front lines. Facing Lavarack, Rudolf Lüters did not pretend to defend stupidly every centimeter of ground: his real line of defense is at a distance from the deployment of the Englander, and follows a line Novi-Sad - Ruma - Jarak in order to take advantage as much as possible of the woods and rivers of the Vrdnik region. However, its XV. Gebirgs-Armee-Korps had only three divisions to block the enemy's path, only three divisions - one of which, the 277. ID, is composed of Ostruppen reinforced with some Arab elements (!). It is little for what is expected of him.
In the evening, the ANZAC methodically progress everywhere, more or less quickly depending on circumstances. On the left, the 6th Australian Division (Jack Stevens) passes Pećinci, and repels without too much difficulty a 117. Jäger (Karl von Le Suire), well entrenched but a bit too stretched over 17 kilometers of plain. On the other hand, on the right, facing the 114. Jäger (Karl Eglseer), Freyberg's 2nd New-Zealand is still lagging behind at Inđija - it is true that it had to make the connection with the Yugoslavs in Grenade. But the most important thing is happening in the center, where Horace Stevenson's 1st Australian Armored is moving into the Mali Radinci sector, to strike at the junction of the 117. Jäger-Division and the 277. ID (Albert Praun), which has to hold the line until Vrdnik. That it passes, and it is the breakthrough, with in addition a risk of Le Suire being surrounded by the 6th Armoured Division (Vyvyan Evelegh), waiting behind Stevens' men to exploit ! The problem, for the 20. Gebirgs-Armee of Rendulic, is that there is only the very mediocre 264. ID (Albin Nake), which must be taken from the equally mediocre XVIII. Gebirgs-Armee-Korps (Julius Ringel), stretched in second line until the north of Bosnia and unfit for any large-scale action! And moreover, Lothar Rendulic has other worries to manage!
Indeed, for Plunder-Left, the XIIIth Corps goes on the attack south of the Sava. Left of Obrenovac, the 4th Indian (Arthur Holworthy) starts to move up the river, preceded by a heavy artillery barrage offered by the 5th AGRA. Soon enough, somewhere between Ušće and Debrc, it meets the trenches of the 162. ID (Johann Fortner) - a poor unit that has only two regiments since the defection to Albania of the ex-Soviet (but still Muslims) who form the third. Stuck in an already uncomfortable position in front of a seasoned and well-supported formation, it quickly finds itself in difficulty. In the evening, it still fights, it is true, but without being able to do anything other than delay the Indians on the road to Vladimirci. Of course, the army HQ promised her reinforcements!
A little further south, in the valley east of the Koceljeva, the 173. ID (Heinrich von Behr) - recently created and reinforced by the 907. StuG Abt (Hauptmann Friedrich von Lessen) holds its line much better. It is true that it only had to deal with the 32nd Army Tank Brigade (A.C. William) - which was not trying to break through, but only to open a passage on the northern flank, towards Tulary, for the 10th Armoured of Horace L. Birks! Then, it will always be time to fall back and take care of the stragglers... And by the way, on the left of the tanks, the 51st Infantry (Charles Bullen-Smith) starts to slide towards Babina Luka, north of Valjevo. The town is held by the 181. ID (Hermann Fischer), unable to move because already solicited by the Greeks on its right! In summary, on the left flank of Plunder-Left, the Allied lines are loose, yes... but in front, those of the Germans are completely sparse. Slow start or not, if they persist in their static defense, they will be inevitably encircled and annihilated !

Operation Veritable - The one nobody wanted
Eastern Bosnia, 07:30 - For the French 2nd Army (which many in this sector are beginning to call the Fabvier* army, because the Greeks are in the majority...), things are moving too. A real, vast sweeping operation on a very wide front, from Valjevo to Montenegro (210 kilometers!), does not have the ambitions of Plunder. It must simply advance in the valleys towards the west in order to cover the southern flank of the XIIIth Corps, taking advantage of the many advantages the Allies had here: air superiority, support of the AVNOJ forces, numerical and fire superiority (two reinforced army corps are opposed to two or three SS divisions - for some, the Croats do not count!). It is to be hoped that this will compensate for the minor inconveniences resulting from the arbitrations of the Syntagma square: difficult ground and supply... non-priority.
And it must be recognized that, this morning, the progress of the forces of Sylvestre Audet - but especially of Alexandros Othonaios - would rather prove Montgomery right. After Morgenstern, followed by a limited counter-offensive that saved the Titian forces from total destruction last month, the Allied troops advance without encountering much resistance in the narrow Balkan valleys, more or less in agreement with local resistance forces.
In the north, the Greek 6th Mountain Brigade (Colonel Pafsanias Katsotas) slips through almost unopposed from Osečenica to Bačevci, in order to isolate Valjevo from the south. The 1st ID (Vasileios Vrachnos) remains in reserve at Bajina Bašta - as long as Plunder has not advanced, it must ensure the protection of the Titist forces facing north, against a very unlikely German effort from Bratunac. But in the south, the 3rd Mountain Brigade of colonel Thrasyvoulos Tsakalotos advances towards Rudo, well covered by the 192nd DIA of General Paul Jouffrault. The troops go up towards the opposing lines under the acclamations of the Partisans just enrolled in the 29th "Herzegovina" Division of Vlado Segrt. At his HQ in Užice, Lt. General Giorgios Kosmas is obviously delighted that things are going on like this, despite the non-negligible risk of communist contagion (Kosmas' political profile is... monarcho-republican). The general can only hope that things continue in this way. The Greek is wary and he is right! On his back, the Serbian freebooters prowl around, looking for a bad move against an opponent not always clearly identified but who could well be just as Yugoslav as they are. The risk of civil war is real...in the middle of a conflict with the Axis, and with its troops in the middle. The 1st Greek Corps thus walks on on eggshells - and Kosmas is anxious to ensure his back.
For Dimitrios Papadopoulos and his 2nd Corps, things are more simple. In the absence of any contact with the enemy, his troops simply had to advance in order to reach and then cross the AVNOJ posts - all without fearing the Ustasha in front of them or an ambush in their rear. The 2nd Corps was already next to the 1st Brigade of the Department for the Protection of the People - so everything will be fine! On the right, the 13th ID (General Charalambos Katsimitros) passes from Prijepolje to Jabuka - tomorrow, it will probably be in Pljevlja, where it will join the reconstituted AVNOJ formations, including the 2nd "shock" Corps of Peko Dapcevic. Further south, the 5th ID (Georgios Stanotas) descends from the plateau towards Berane, in the direction of the IIIrd Croatian Corps, with all the less concern that it knows it is covered on its right by the 1st Czechoslovak ID of Alois Liška and on its left by the 4th Regiment of Tunisian Spahis of Colonel Roux, in Kuqishtë! The whole of these troops should enter tomorrow evening in contact with the two divisions of Ivan Markuli (III AC). Without apprehension: if they are wary of the Ustashi, they do not fear them. The news of their rout against the Titists last month has quickly made the tour of the front ...
Finally, in the center of the 2nd Corps, the 1st Armored Brigade of Colonel Socrates Demaratos advances facing the 3rd Croatian ID Osijek of Emil Radl (I CA). From noon, its scouts seize Brodarevo, weakly defended. Faced with armored vehicles, the Croats did not consider it necessary to garrison their first line... Comforted by this first success, the Greek tanks progress towards the south, for what looks like a relatively easy fight...but perhaps not without risk.
.........
Operation Veritable - The Eagle and the Checkerboard
Montenegro, 07:30 - For the Poles of General Władysław Anders, too, it is time for the confrontation. In the sector of the 2nd Polish Corps, all around Lake Scutari (Shkodra in Albanian, Skadar in Serbo-Croatian), the battle is going to be tough: already, because the Allies start with a slight numerical inferiority (only two divisions and one armored brigade) against the three divisions of the Kroatian Legion Armee Korps of Ivo Herenčić. The latter certainly does not benefit from the substantial experience of the army of exiles, both for part of his troops as well as for their command... However, he is equipped in the German style thanks to the generosity of Berlin, according to an order of battle that was certainly old (the InfantryDivision format at the end of 1942) but still far superior to the rest of the Ustasha army. Moreover, the KLAK had several months to entrench itself, in a sector that some had been monitoring since the autumn.
But, in general, Montenegro is easy to defend. The Poles will only be able to advance along two routes. The northern one, which goes from Koplik to Podgorica by following the shore of Lake Scutari or passing through the Skorać hills. And the southern one, which passes through Bar, between the sea and the lake - a truly mountainous terrain: the Dinaric Alps, reaching 1,500 meters in places...
In both cases, II Corps expects to face strong resistance, from the terrain if not from the Croats - and probably both. The Allied command, which is well aware of this, has assigned to it objectives that are limited, to say the least... There is no question here of racing towards Nikšić or Dubrovnik with the Hellenes, but above all to fix the KLAK in its position, by forcing it into a war of attrition. Either it stays, and takes losses, risking, in the long run, to be enveloped. Or it withdraws and gives up very favourable defensive positions. In both cases, the 18th AAG is the winner... but this is not necessarily the point of view of the men of the 3rd ID (Zygmunt Piotr Bohusz-Szyszko), of the 5th ID (Bolesław Bronisław-Duch) or the 1st Armored Brigade (Stanisław Maczek).
It must be said: the Poles are frankly disgusted with the recent events in Warsaw, and in their native land. If they are willing to give the Americans - and even the French! - to have at least made the effort to try to help the martyred Poland, the lack of solidarity or empathy and even contempt or lack of humanity that they felt from the British got the better of their lack of enthusiasm. Not their professionalism, certainly not! They are still soldiers, and they will not be called slackers, let alone give the dirty work to others. But as far as going up to the assault under the machine gun as in 1808 in Spain, it will have to wait. And since the Croats are well entrenched, that the artillery support is weak and that the aviation is hampered by the weather, the attack slows down quite quickly...
From Koplik, the 3rd ID advances towards Ivanaj. Opposite, it is the 369. ID, Vražja divizija - the division of the Devil (Marko Mesić), whose reputation is well known in the region.
This awakens a little the ardor of the Poles - if not to take revenge on the SS in Warsaw, why not do justice to their imitators? However, Mesić is a competent commander - perhaps the only one in his entire corps. And so he masterfully retreats to the north, gaining time while giving up unnecessary ground. In the south, it is even worse: the 392. ID Plava divizija - the Blue Division (Artur Gustovic) brings down on the 5th ID a paralyzing fire from the foothills of Brajše and Krute, from the outskirts of Vladimir. Or, Bronisław-Duch does not have much room for maneuver, constrained as he is by slopes, the Mediterranean Sea and the small lake Šasko, which constrain his attacks... Artur Gustovic can command simple recruits who left their training too early - here, he plays on velvet! In total, the lines only move by 5 or 6 kilometers, despite the surprise and the initial impetus, both of which are as theoretical as the other. Obviously, in such a configuration, Maczek's brigade is not engaged, except in small groups, in fire support.
In the evening, Sylvestre Audet sent his first mixed report from Tirana to Athens.
The Frenchman, who knows nothing of the morale problems of the Poles, is nevertheless encouraging. The launching of Veritable was done in a hurry, it is necessary to feel the ground, wear out the men of the KLAK. And, for that, a support of aviation and naval artillery would be most useful!

Operation Grenade - Explosive diversion
Vojvodina, 07:30 - Like almost the entire Allied line, the 1st Yugoslav Corps of Gen. Ilija Brasic rushes towards the enemy. It benefited from apparently the most favorable circumstances: on the flank of Plunder-Right, facing opponents trapped in the plain, and moreover occupied at that hour of the morning.
Moreover, they were busy fighting between Germans and Hungarians at that time...
However, this is not the case. And in truth, Grenade was the poor relation of the offensive trio conceived by Montgomery, action involving a single corps against the entire right flank of the 12. Armee. The latter is certainly not the most brilliant or the most numerous of the German formations, but all the same! This simple fact led logically enough the allied command to review its ambitions. It was therefore out of the question to reach the northern border of the Kingdom south of Szeged to enter Hungary (and to do what, by the way?) but rather, by a vast hook from Kovačica forming a pincer between Yugoslavs and New Zealanders, to seize the confluence between Timiș and Danube. This done, it will always be time to stabilize a defensive position somewhere between canals and rivers, then to advance as opportunities arise, perhaps to seize Zrenjanin. While waiting for the Reds to break through on Hungary, of course, which will allow everyone to border again the old border again, as on the Romanian side.
Border guards, border guards... In the end, the Yugoslavs are not much better off than the Poles. Fortunately for them, they have their own air force, in this case the 80th EC, 82nd EC, 81st EB and (soon) the new 83rd EB, equipped thanks to the benevolence of the French. And the weather, on this side, seems correct - unless the Yugoslavian airmen are indifferent to the clouds... The troops on the ground advance thus without fear of ambush. The 2nd ID (Mihailovich) leaves its positions in Borča to advance to Čenta, passing through Padinska Skela, where it stops for the night. The 1st ID (Krstic) advances toward Crepaja, with the 1st Yugoslav Armored Brigade (Milutin D. Stefanović) which opens the way - very marked by Leskovac, this unit shows more cautiousness than in the past... Nevertheless! The Yugoslavs - who are mostly Serbs here - are still very motivated, unlike the Poles. They are faced with the German murderers and the Hungarian traitors. Moreover, they are also fighting to liberate their soil. That counts, for the soldiers - even if, as often in the Balkans, one cannot exclude that this entails a risk of... that nobody will have known or wanted to anticipate...

Operation Perun - The sky caught unawares
Balkan Theatre - Taking advantage of a quite acceptable weather (at least for a British man), the Balkans Air Force continues Perun, adapting it to the ongoing offensive which unfortunately started earlier than expected. Also, while hastening the repairs and resupply necessary after the hard campaign of the last weeks, it dispatched several wings and squadrons to light and support the attacks. For technical reasons, this improvised effort is however limited to the morning (except for the FARY...), but it is to be expected that it will soon be amplified.
During the night, according to its old plans, the RAF sends the Wellingtons of Sqn 104 and 202 to bomb Tulln-an-der-Donau, north of Vienna, while the Bomber Command Home bomb the former Austrian capital. Obviously, the bridges over the Danube and the railway are tatgeted but even if the night is clear, the old twin-engines do not have enough bombs to treat this objective properly. Most of the projectiles hit the tracks, but the Reich had seen others, and every day - the logistics of the Heer will be only moderately hampered. One Wellington was shot down and two damaged.
Aware of this mediocre result, Air Marshal Tedder decides to suspend the most distant raids , while waiting to see how the ground operations would turn out.

Heeresgruppe E - The beginning of trouble
Mohács (Hungary) - A busy day is coming to an end, and for General Maximilian Von Weichs, it is time to take stock. It is certainly very worrying - but not as catastrophic as he might have feared. First, because Panzerfaust was a success. The Kingdom of Hungary was finally brought to heel, and probably for a long time. The 12. Armee succeeded in neutralizing the 2nd Army of this Nagy, now on its way to the Reich, and the scarecrow of a British offensive coordinated with a more...energetic attempt by Regent Horthy is therefore to be forgotten.
Does this mean that the allied efforts in this region can be neglected? That remains to be seen! For, from the Saxon point of view, instead of the frank thrust towards Budapest, both feared but also anticipated, the adversary seems to be dispersed in efforts all azimuths and whose direction does not yet make sense to him. Montgomery attacked everywhere: in Vojvodina, on the Sava, on the Danube and even in Bosnia and Montenegro. Fortunately, these ungrateful mountainous areas were not really the responsibility of the HG E, but of the Schutzstaffel. That's good!
But that doesn't solve all the problems.
For if there is one thing that is certain in this spring of 1944, it is that the Balkan theater is the poor relation of the Wehrmacht - even worse than Italy, or even Norway. As a result, if the neutralization of the Hungarians is a good thing, the loss of all their troops who were assisting the HG E remains a bad deal. To face an enemy offensive, Weichs could only count on one reinforcement, the 199. ID (Walter Wißmath), recently arrived from Norway! And he already suspects that the losses suffered today will be very difficult to replace...
In such circumstances, one must consider the most important thing. The priority of the Reich is and will remain Hungary: its oil fields, its mines, its factories. It is therefore to this sector that Weichs must give priority to. The German general decides to send his only reinforcement to Lothar Rendulic, so that he could defend Novi Sad. That's the most important thing.
For the rest, let's do the best we can and let it run: the enemy Schwerpunkt will reveal itself in the days to come, because it is certain that the Allies will not be able to sustain such a large effort in all sectors indefinitely. They can't pretend to break through everywhere!

Waffen-SS of HG E - Tranquility
Sarajevo - In the evening, in his lair on the banks of the Miljacka, Friedrich-Wilhelm Krüger also takes stock of his day. The Obergruppenführer-SS is concerned (from his point of view) only with Veritable and therefore does not want to hear about anything other than the Greeks and Poles. He sees no reason to be concerned: he is certainly a little stressed on his left (although still less than those incapable Croats on his right), but that was expected. Between sub-humans of the Balkans, we understand each other, whether we are Greeks, Yugoslavs or what else? Bolshevism and bigoted royalism have the same root: Jewry!
In short - anyway, his III. SS Gebirgs-Armee-Korps has room to grow. A lot of ground to give up, and moreover terrain unsuitable for any great armored cavalcade, infested with brigands and with already ravaged roads, when they exist. Krüger only has to defend on foot the passes and valleys to save his blood, while retreating if necessary to the level of the Heer to avoid being surrounded. This retreat should not have any consequences: if an Anglo-Saxon breakthrough towards Zagreb would certainly be a catastrophe, it is as likely to happen as a marriage between a German and a Pole! The strategy, necessarily slow, costly and predictable, is thus without issue. In any case, there are only two locks in Bosnia: Mostar, in the south... and Sarajevo, of course.

AVNOJ
Tito jumps on the occasion
A cave north of Višegrad - In his cave on the borders of Serbia and Bosnia, Marshal Tito is not of the same opinion. Now that his British (and other) allies had moved west, they could not stop short of the Reich's borders. The fascist enemy is too weak, and the allied means too strong. It is regrettable, however, that these capitalists were not so agitated when the AVNOJ was being hit by the Nazi Morgenstern!
It does not matter... In these circumstances, Tito has only two choices: to accompany and to anticipate the allied movement - to support it, to be grafted to it, all depends on the point of view - or to undergo it by conceding to the despot Karađorđević, whose troops and credibility will inevitably grow stronger in the coming months.
The choice is quickly made... So the Marshal of Yugoslavia calls his very close Milovan Đilas: he has to take stock as quickly as possible of the AVNOJ units in reserve, in training, or even reconstituted, to see what can be dispatched to support the Allies. And for the others, the fight goes on!
.........
Discretion
Požega, northern Croatia - After the last few days of pantalony, Zagreb has made it clear to Vjekoslav Servatzy that his forces are really not a priority at the moment. His V Ustasha Corps is therefore keeping quiet today, and is content to bring up the Schlacher cavalry brigade up from Banja Luka to Sbrac, as planned the day before. It is risky... But everyone here suspects that tomorrow or the day after, Slavko Štancer or Vilko Begić could demand to attack again towards Nova Gradiška in order to clear the road to Zagreb for the German friends. So it is better to anticipate!
On the other side, the 6th "Slavonic" Corps secures the terrain, hunts down collaborators - and above all they recruit and reinforce. Petar Drapšin is deprived of his favorite cruel game - so he tries to organize "his" insurrection as well as possible, trying to make forget the shameful episode of 1941**.
.........
Indifference
Between Gospić and Knin - In the valley of the Zrmanja, under a gray sky of the Adriatic spring, the 8th Kordun Division (commander Vlado Cetkovic, commissar Arthur Turkulin), of the 4th "Croatian" Corps, meets the 28. SS-Gebirgsjäger Rgt of the Handschar Division (Sturmbannführer Hans Hanke). The two units have various means at their disposal: Italian and French capture tanks for one, a handful of... French tanks for the first one, a handful of Semovente 75/18 (also of capture) for the other. On the scale of this theater, it is a lot! However, neither of the two protagonists has a great desire to throw himself immediately at the throat of the other.
The mission of the SS was defensive: for the time being, it was a matter of preventing any encircling of the Lika enclave from the south, in order to secure the rear of the III. SS Gebirgs-Armee-Korps. The sector currently held by the AVNOJ was of little value in itself: a desert plateau without interest. Let the Partisans stay there and rot! When the situation will be settled further east, it will be time to burst this abscess. And on the Partisan side, the strategy of Andrija Hebrang, boss of the AVNOJ in Dalmatia, is all in reserve, even in passivity.
The Titist forces do not take any initiative being able to worry the Axis...

Independent state of Croatia
Catastrophic plotters
Region of Zagreb - Already flabbergasted, like everyone else, by the Hungarian attempt, the conspirators of Mladen Lorković's group are dismayed by the start of the Allied offensive in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in the Sava valley. They realize with horror that, as a result, all their plans are down.
Impossible to claim to conclude a negotiation, then to organize serenely a turnaround in such conditions! Not with troops engaged and the Germans... wide awake!
The circumstances do not lend themselves to any action and everyone has to deal with a host of more or less urgent and personal matters - for example, Ante Vokić also had to manage his national guard!- these more or less repentant Ustashi agree to meet again "later". Even if the two main things they had to negotiate - namely their army and the land it occupies - may soon lose much of their value...

* Charles Fabvier (1782- 1855), general of artillery under the First Empire and freemason. Aide-de-camp to Marmont, he was one of the signatories of the capitulation of 1814, after a career that kept him away from almost all the great battles (with the notable exception of Moskowa, where he was seriously wounded and presented to Napoleon - see War and Peace). Convinced liberal, he joins again Napoleon during the Hundred Days - he fears for his life during the Restoration, especially since he also participates in several anti-royalist plots in France or in Spain. He then fled to Greece to join the independence movements and form the Taktikon - the first regular Greek army, strong of 3 700 men. Appointed syntagmatarque (head of battalion), he covers himself with glory during his raid to supply the Acropolis in December 1826, as well as in 1827, during his failed landing at Chio. He is today one of the heroes of the Hellenic independence. Victor Hugo describes it thus in his Things seen: "Rather large, enormous head, hair and thick black moustaches, a mask, heroic and formidable that one would have said kneaded and fiddled by the hand of a giant; finesse in the smile, a fast and jerky speech. A great Homeric savagery, such that one would rather have said that he came out of Achilles' tent than from Napoleon's camp.
** Just after the invasion, Drapšin had been charged with organizing an uprising in Herzegovina. He had failed so miserably that he had been disciplined! Perhaps the tough Partisan was not sharp enough at the time... His current command is therefore his second and last chance - as well as the proof that the AVNOJ still has great difficulty in renewing its cadres.