France Fights On (English Translation) - Thread II - To the continent!
- Thread starter Wings
- Start date
22/05/44 - Balkans
May 22nd, 1944
Balkan campaign
Operation Vremya Tsvetov (Time of Flowers) - White corollas and poppies
Sarajevo region - The Kampfgruppen deployed by the Waffen-SS throughout the sector comb the valleys in the rain - taking very few prisoners, of course. Vremya Tsvetov is over. The USSR has just wasted the bulk of an airborne corps - two brigades out of three, i.e. 7 or 8,000 men - for nothing. The parachuting has achieved nothing in the sector, apart from causing a certain amount of uncertainty in the German system - although this uncertainty is largely due to the increased pressure from Greece and Yugoslavia in an attempt to rescue the Soviets.
Not all the parachutists are killed or captured, of course. A large number of small groups remain in the region, all fighting separately: more or less distant (depending on their drop-off points...), more or less numerous (from a complete section to a lone soldier!), more or less supplied (depending on the intensity of the fighting and where the containers fell). The 1st Soviet Airborne Corps no longer exists - apart, of course, from Vasily Glazkov's 211th Brigade and a remnant of the 1st Brigade, which were never deployed, but those concerned won't complain. Alexander Rumyantsev is somewhere in the Brezovik sector, fighting gloriously like a Partisan hidden in the fascist rear. Of course, he no longer leads anything but the handful of men around him. And in the valleys of both Lepenica and Bosnia, the flowers have already faded.
Operation Veritable - The siege of Sarajevo and Operation Ratweek
Sarajevo region - It's the same old story for this martyred city. It is pouring rain all over Bosnia and a bitter, bitter trench war is still going on, as the AVNOJ tries to break through the Nazi defenses. It's still a long way off. And the weather, which prevents any air support and even hampers artillery adjustments, is not helping to break the deadlock.
The situation at the sources of Bosnia remained confused. The two AVNOJ corps facing the 13. SS-Freiwilligen Gebirgsjäger Rgt Artur Phleps (Ernst Deutsch) and the 7. SS-Panzergrenadier Rgt (Alfred Wünnenberg) are no match, either in terms of numbers or energy. At least, not after everything that had happened over the last few days. Charalambos Katsimitros's 13th Infantry Division, which has been instructed to support the Yugoslavs, albeit cautiously, is advancing in drawer on the small road north of Mount Igman, taking over from the Titists who are fighting to finally capture Hadžići and the massifs in the Ušivak sector. This is done, or almost done... at the end of the day, mainly thanks to a certain reserve on the part of the SS, who are preparing their redeployment in response to the arrival of the Greeks in the sector. In the evening, the last "collectivist" machines of the 1st "proletarian" Corps have to stop for lack of ammunition and maintenance. The intensity of the infantry fighting, still bloody and confused, diminishes in the rain... We'll probably be here for a day or two. As for the Zujevina valley, progress there remains blocked, of course.
To the east of the basin, the first attempts in the direction of the Miljacka by the 12th "Vojvodina" Corps (Danilo Lekic Spaniard, Stefan Mitrović) come up against the determined defence of the 14. SS-Freiwilligen Gebirgsjäger Rgt Reinhard-Heydrich (August Schmidhuber). However, this regiment also has to hold the hills of Donje Međuše against the concentric attacks of the 9th and 19th "Dalmatian" divisions and Thrasyvoulos Tsakalotos's 3rd Mountain Brigade. Their preliminary maneuvers, from the Greek point of view - Tsakalotos isn't going to send his precious specialists to climb rocks in the rain like that! - are worrying for the SS, who find themselves unable to prevent any infiltration. The sector to the east of Studenkovići seems particularly threatened. It's upsetting... If by any chance this position fell tomorrow, all the defenders of the ridge overlooking Donje Međuše would find themselves surrounded and doomed to extermination in short order. And as Friedrich-Wilheim Krüger has nothing left to send to Schmidhuber to fortify his rear - the 8. SS-Panzergrenadier Rgt (Walther Schimana) has to stay where it is, facing the Titists and other Greeks coming down from the mountains - the suggestion he has slipped to his boss yesterday has once again proved its worth.
A slightly forced decision
Heeresgruppe E HQ - The handset rings three times before Lothar Rendulic's aide-de-camp picks it up. He already knew that it is SS-Obergruppenführer Walter Krüger in Keszthely on the other end of the line - the Schutzstaffel has come again to complain that his men are being killed in Bosnia for nothing. And yet it wants this sector. Obviously, the head of the 2. SS-AK has no trouble getting his boss: HG E is not a prestigious position, and even if Rendulic does not have the aura of disgrace that surrounds von Weichs permanently, it would be an understatement to say that he is favoured by the chiefs.
- Heil Hitler, Herr General!
- Heil Hitler, Herr SS-Obergruppenführer. I suppose you're calling about Sarajevo?
- I am indeed. Have you heard from the OKW about their response to my suggestion?
- Not yet.
Rendulic restrains himself from grumbling that, at a time when Paris is perhaps being considered for abandonment, the Bosnian capital is not necessarily at the top of the OKW's agenda. On the phone, Krüger - who surely means no less - insists, obviously: "It's a real problem. We need to make a decision."
"We!" Quite a hypocrisy, for a deliberate slip of the tongue. Rendulic knows perfectly well that he is the superior of the head of the 2. SS-GebirgsArmee, for better or for worse... but above all, in theory. The Waffen-SS, who have always operated more or less independently, only agree to fall in line if the rank in question carries their black and white banner - and Rendulic is not SS. What's more, he knows perfectly well that Krüger has long been in the habit of reporting over his head to Reichsführer-SS Himmler, whose taste for ethnic experimentation is becoming well known in the region.
If the head of the HG E accepts Krüger's 'suggestion', he would probably be held responsible, should there be a problem on the ground. If, on the other hand, he refuses, Himmler would certainly accuse him of having sacrificed three objectively irreplaceable divisions for little or nothing.
He is in a bind, and he knows it perfectly well. But he also knows which choice is the least risky. So it is without hesitation that he finally says: "Do what you have to do, I've got your back."
AVNOJ
The fight is back on!
Croatia (west), Lika-Senj - The "operational pause" continues between the I Corps of the Croatian army (Ivan Brozovic) and (essentially) the 4th "Croatian" Corps of the AVNOJ (Ivan Gosnjak, Veeslav Holjevac). The failure of the Ustashi is becoming increasingly obvious. As a result, Andrija Hebrang is thinking ever more seriously of launching his 11th Corps in a vast overrun towards Banja Luka, in coordination with Vladimir Matetić's "Croatian" 10th Corps. Although... that will also depend on that comrade's plans and the movements of the fascists further south.
On the other hand, in the Donja Previja sector, Vojislav Djokic - who is seeing more and more Ustasha deserters coming to reinforce his 7th Banija Division - is no longer planning to wait. Tomorrow, he would force his way up Čađavica and, spurred on by the spirit of Tito and Stalin, smash to smithereens what is left of Colonel Roman Domanic's 5th Croatian Bosanka ID, deployed in front of him: the enemy is so weak, and the prospects so great! Djokic would not be denied. If by any chance he succeeds, a whole section of the Axis defence south of Banja Luka would open up tomorrow, probably as far as Zenica, i.e. in the rear of the III. SS-GAK.
Births
Slovenia - The Pavlek Miškina and Nikola Demonja assault brigades come on line. Both benefited from a month (or so!) of training in the Bočko mountains to perfect their skills. These small mobile units, under the direct command of Edvard Kardelj's staff, are not intended to join the main AVNOJ force in Slovenia, in the Žumberak mountains. Very soon, however, they would be planning major sabotage operations in the Sava valley, to strike where the fascist enemy thinks it is safe.
18th Allied Army Group
Departure to the west
Balkan Theatre - The rain makes the handover ceremony at some of the airfields of General Pierre Weiss's 1st Air Army, between Albania and Serbia, even sadder - the NA-89 and 93 of the 10th EC (P) Poniatowski break camp for France, in the wake of General Władysław Albert Anders's 2nd Army Corps. There is no doubt that the recent chill between the British and Polish authorities (still in exile...) weighed somewhat in this decision, which was quite logical given the events in Montenegro. The British no longer want the Poles in the Balkans, but the French are keen to get them back to liberate their own country. As for the Poles themselves, they are always willing to go and kill Germans... So we find ourselves in this sad situation, with brave fighters being shuffled around to suit everyone's moods.
Be that as it may, even with their withdrawal from operations, the Poles have not yet completely left the Balkans. They would be transferring equipment for days. In this respect, the Poles have copied the French: several of the convoy pilots are women*. The equipment is precious, of course, but their pilots would certainly be missed by the 1st Air Force - their ranks include many aces, experts who have been fighting since 1939 and who, as the ultimate insult, had been forbidden to get too close to their own country, for fear of an incident with the Soviets...
Unfortunately for the 1st Airborne Army, there is still one case pending. After the Poles, it is the fate of the Czechoslovak (well, mainly Czech!) squadrons that are under discussion. The Allied General Staff would like to send the 9th EC Bohemia-Moravia to France, as well as Alois Liška's division: both could be very useful against the Festungen on the Atlantic coast. On the other hand, for those concerned, the ideal solution would of course be to join the insurrection under way in their own country... Unfortunately, this is probably not very realistic.
And that's without mentioning the 22nd E-ACCS Tatras - which poses a different kind of problem. The 18th AAG needs a ground support unit much more than a fighter unit. What's more, the Tatras is a mixed Polish-Czech unit, and not everyone in its ranks wants to go to the same place, if they're asked!
Croatia
Regrettable miss
Sarajevo - The irreplaceable Ustashi Vjekoslav "Maks" Luburić - whose expertise as an executioner is notoriously appreciated by the Germans - does not only have friends. This was to be expected, given his track record. What was less expected, however, was that while he was planning the retreat of his house of terror - after all, you can't work properly under fire any more! - the Croatian is the target of an attack. A belt of grenades explodes under his vehicle as it waits to cross the Miljacka, tearing apart all its occupants... but Luburić was not in his car.
The person responsible, a young communist named Halid Nazečić, is quickly denounced by a comrade who had been taken from prison, and then effectively interrogated. And as there are still four dead - that's intolerable! - Luburić decides to leave a good impression on Sarajevo before heading off, first to the north bank, and probably further afield tomorrow, to work in peace.
Interview with an Ustashi
"- The hunt for deserters, what did that cover?
- In not too crude terms, I suppose?
- Let's just say I'm getting used to it. Let's cut to the chase, if you don't mind. Starting at the beginning.
- So, after the little episode in May '44 that I told you about, things began more... tenderly, shall we say.
The word surprises me. He had obviously anticipated his little effect and continued, with a greedy air: "We hung around Mrkonjić Grad, on the rear of Ivan Markuli's III Corps, looking for young idiots stupid enough to run away but too cowardly to join the terrorist ranks. This often turned into the role of school supervisor - we'd catch them, we'd... correct them and we'd take them back to their units, for further punishment if their superior thought it advisable."
- So they came back in one piece?
- More often than not. You know, I was dealing with people who were far inferior to my Vukas. Kids as young as sixteen sometimes, it hurt me to see them there, if you only knew. Generally speaking, they didn't make any trouble.
- And if they resisted?
- Then we cracked down. We soon made a name for ourselves.
- And there was often... additional punishment?
- Oh, not very much. At that time, the Croatian army couldn't afford to make too many examples, it would have cut too much into the numbers.
- That bad?
- That bad. Otherwise, we wouldn't have found ourselves facing the Titists by chance, just a few days after arriving in the area."
(Dans la tête du monstre - Conversation avec un officier oustachi, Robert Stan Pratsky, Flammarion 1982)
Yugoslavia torn apart
The endgame?
White Palace (Dedinje royal estate, Belgrade) - Tension, serious faces and knives drawn... Under the rain, Sir Reginald's mission has the colours of the big days! Ready to defend himself fiercely, Peter II Karađorđević is waiting for him in the great hall of the royal house with his close guard - of course, one of the Knezevic brothers, Radoje, leading a few loyal followers, but also Colonel Miodrag Rakić, from the King's military cabinet. Reginald Leeper obviously knows all these people. He also knows that they are not particularly well disposed towards him - and this is not likely to improve with the message he is carrying...
This theoretically cordial letter is a true ultimatum. Relying on what is considered, in London, to be the first sign of weakness in the royal power, Whitehall tries without hesitation to coerce Belgrade, by defining the terms of the future "collaboration" between the Yugoslav royal forces and General Robert Graham Stone, who unfortunately cannot be present today - but it's only a postponement, he's on his way. Unsurprisingly, this 'collaboration' is nothing more than a complete tutelage - in fact, all military decisions, although already largely taken at 18th AAG level, will now have to be validated by Graham, who will be responsible for ensuring that the Yugoslav army takes 'correct' account of allied imperatives.
These minor contingencies settled, the letter then broadly repeats the terms of the threat made on May 8th, which admittedly never received the honour of a reply. Naturally, the Foreign Office was surprised. But it chooses to see this delay as an assurance that these... friendly suggestions are already being implemented by those entitled to do so, for the common good. He does not fail to mention this below...
The ultimate insult: the letter Leeper handed over is not even signed by Anthony Eden, let alone Churchill. A vague civil servant unknown in these latitudes - Harold Macmillan, close to the Prime Minister and... former Under-Secretary for the Colonies! - obviously seems to fit the bill.
As you can imagine, this is a serious matter. Peter II, still perched three steps above Leeper, considers the missive, reads it, obviously translates a few passages for his court, then nervously crumples the paper in his hand, stamped with Her Britannic Majesty's seal (without going so far as to throw it away) before speaking in a voice that he hopes would be assured...
- As Foreign Minister Momčilo Ninčić is not with us, it is my unpleasant duty to inform you, Excellency, that you are today persona non grata in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.
The Excellency in question shows no emotion; he seems in no way impressed by this furious proof of impotence. He bows and replies politely.
- It is most regrettable, Your Majesty, that a reciprocal dismissal of ambassadors and the mistrust which accompanies it should result from facts which do not directly concern either the United Kingdom or the Commonwealth. The Empire has not taken any hostile action against Yugoslavia (No, Sir Reginald did not mention the Kingdom of Yugoslavia!).
- Apart from banning the activities of our merchants and bankers in the City, and supporting seditious officers calling for the overthrow of our government!
- These are insinuations, Your Majesty.
- And what of the concentration of your armies near our capital? What about the almost complete shutdown of our air force? The situation of General Brasic's army? The proven support given to the communist forces of the so-called AVNOJ? Both Bosnia and Montenegro are part of the Kingdom, Excellency, in the same way as all its other provinces. If they are attacked, so is Serbia.
- I'm afraid that we also need to look into the questions concerning the possible rebellion of the King's Freecorps - because collaboration with the Ustashi cannot be described in any other way - and the criminal attempt on the life of Marshal Tito [the audience gags at the mention of this rank, then of this name]. The exact nature of the role played by each person in these distressing episodes remains to be determined. Quod ad me attinet, I am not authorised to express an opinion on the operations of the military forces involved in the current conflict.
Leeper theatrically spreads his hands in a sign of overflowing goodwill...
"As Your Majesty knows, the private affairs of His Military Cabinet are extraneous to Her Gracious Majesty's Government. To a certain extent this is regrettable - we could thus have avoided the situation to which we are reduced at this hour. Since I am no longer wanted here, I shall of course take my leave. But please be assured that Your Majesty may reconsider her decision in the days to come - in any case, the government I represent will not go back on its position as already expressed, solely out of concern for my personal fate."
The Yugoslav audience does not move. They neither reply nor greet Sir Reginald, who walks backwards away from Peter II (on the stairs!), bowing three times as protocol obliges him to do. He does not turn his back on the King until he is through the door, and then immediately gets into his car - it is raining, and his secretary has already prepared the umbrella to protect his top hat.
The Kingdom of Yugoslavia and the United Kingdom have thus severed their relations, which had been worsening for weeks. In a time of war and facing a common enemy... So much for London's hopes of resolving the situation quickly.
Franco-Titist negotiations
Goražde (HQ of the 2nd Greek Army Corps) - The connection with Belgrade is poor, of course - Margerie is not naive enough to even attempt to contact Marseille, but the embassy would pass the message on. But that's not why His Excellency Roger Maugras asks his interlocutor to repeat himself.
- If I understand correctly, Marshal Tito wants to go to Belgrade to hold talks with the legislature?
- That is correct, Your Excellency.
- And to do this he is asking for France's support and even protection?
- It is implied, Your Excellency.
- All this in order to claim a role as a rallying force within a new political organisation that has not even been formally created yet?
- I don't have any more information on this subject than you do.
- I didn't have any! That's news to me! OK, then. And in the meantime, our Marshal is asking that certain high-ranking Ustasha prisoners in our possession be handed over to him as a matter of urgency, including a general...?
- Marko Mesić. He was very insistent on that name.
- Did he tell you exactly what he intended to do with them?
- He spoke of a major initiative. And he vouched for the safety of the transferred captives.
- I'm surprised... very surprised.
- So am I! But I don't think it's good form to respond to this overture with a denial of trust. I suggest that you seek Marseille's approval at the highest level. On this subject... like on all the others.
- I understand... Well, yes and no. Forgive me for being abrupt, Mr de Margerie, but in your opinion, what exactly is Marshal Tito looking for?
- I believe, Your Excellency, that he is looking for a way of bypassing the royal government to make peace, as it were, directly with the Yugoslav state.
The information will very quickly reach Minister Léon Blum, under the dual seals of urgency and absolute confidentiality.
The Hebrang affair (continued)
A cave north of Višegrad (Marshal Tito's residence) - Tito is enraged by the small decisions taken by Andrija Hebrang and his coterie. As soon as his French guest leaves, the Marshal sends his subordinate a most authoritarian message, in which he clearly expresses what he thinks of this initiative.
"Immediately stop the work of this so-called telegraph agency - TAH. What does that mean? You are sliding rapidly towards separatism. You don't realise that even the federal states have a single telegraph agency. Take a leaf out of the Soviet Union's book!
Obviously, by criticising the Croatian Telegraphic Agency and only the Croatian Telegraphic Agency, Tito chooses for the time being to hit where it doesn't hurt too much - the rest would come, if need be. In fact, as soon as the dispatch leaves, he begins to think about how to send Gospić a man he could trust to restore order and act as his eyes and ears on the spot. Yes... but who could he send without interfering too much with his current plans?
The path of reason
Kruševac - This small town in the west of Serbia, in a region ravaged by fighting between pro-Nazi forces and the 'former collaborators' of the late General Mihailovic, was not often honoured with the attention of the Allied armies, nor of the new royal administration. Close to the borders of Bosnia, the city is underdeveloped, with little infrastructure and virtually no strategic value. Yet it was here that Milovan Đilas chooses to engage in discussions with politicians from Hrvatska seljačka stranka and the Democratic Party to establish a common programme, under the protection of AVNOJ forces and thanks to the new benevolence of the Allied authorities.
What a challenge! The HSS is certainly primarily concerned with social justice, particularly as far as its electorate is concerned, but it is also and above all a fierce defender of Croatian autonomy. We owe them the ban of Croatia, it's true - we could also blame them for the rallying of a significant proportion of their members to the NDH as soon as it was proclaimed by Ante Pavelic. Now that the war has been lost for Pavelic, it's only a short step to say that these people have come to the soup. At last! The Marshal insists that they be treated with respect: despite everything, they represent one of the most important Croatian political parties, and are well regarded by the population - and by the French, no less! The current position of Ivan Šubašić bears witness to this... Moreover, given their current state of fragmentation, they will not be very dangerous. Besides, their representatives are never more than second-rate: Tomislav Jančiković (a wait-and-see supporter who was arrested several times by the Ustasa but was unable or unwilling to flee Croatia - he certainly doesn't represent very many people), Božidar Magovac (an NDH opponent who imagines that his party has a place in future political pluralism - to the point, incidentally, of deepening those divisions, with Titist approval), August Košutić (who went into hiding under the skirts of the Partisans when his pitiful attempt at a U-turn failed) - all cordially supported by Franjo Gaži, a former colleague who joined the Titist movement in 1943. It is also hoped that one day Juraj Šutej will be released from prison in Niš - a former minister would be more serious. But not Juraj Krnjević, on the other hand, who perhaps doesn't understand the honour that would be done to him by proposing to involve him in the country's future.
Milan Grol's Jugoslavenska demokratska stranka, on the other hand, is something else. An entity still recognised by the government in exile, the JDS (Democratic Party) has several uncompromised high-level officials in its ranks. What's more, its "unifying" ideology is bound to appeal to certain communists - although in 1929, under the pressure of events, it had to accept the idea of federalism. Finally, the JDS also showed a certain resilience by not disintegrating completely like the HSS during the 1941 invasion. It is true that there were some collaborators among its members - but these remained relatively rare. On the other hand, some of its members were among the founders of the Chetnik movement and even of its terrorist organisation, ORJUNA - given the way it all turned out, they no doubt now want to make amends or even slaughter the beast they fed. As the largest party in Yugoslavia in the 1920s - Ivan Ribar himself was a member - the JDS can still claim to represent part of 'reasonable' Serbian opinion, as it did when it had to ally itself with the HSS to resolve the Croatian question.
In short, Milan Grol may stand for something - but he's all alone. Around him, there's only ever Mile Perunicic - a Montenegrin who has since fought with the Partisans - and Adam Pribićević - a defector from the Independent Democratic Party (a faction of the JDS that split in 1924), who may no longer have much of a grip on reality.
So all these people and their opinions will have to fit into the "Soviet socialist federalist" project already defined by the AVNOJ, around a common program. A tall order... but on the other hand - and Đilas holds back a smile at the thought - if "these people" are here, it's also because they want to be part of the project. Whether they believe in it or simply hope to continue to exist, they've already accepted the principle. All that's left is to wrap reality in fine words, which can always be revisited later. Tito himself said no different when he gave him his mandate: "Do business and then we'll move on." So much for promises only...
Between Comrades...
Moscow - The famous Yugoslav elite division formed by the Red Army in Romania will soon be returning home. This excellent news comes from STAVKA itself, via one of its junior officers (Vasilievsky and Antonov have urgent duties to attend to...) to General Velimir Terzić, head of the AVNOJ military mission in Moscow. Clearly - and the Soviet will not fail to make this clear to his dear comrade - the Yugoslavs, who have already been successfully waging guerrilla warfare against the fascists for three years, are eager to show what they can do in pitched battle. In this respect, we also deeply regret the sluggishness of the Titist reaction to Vremya Tsvetov - the airborne operation would have been much more successful if "we" had supported it. Traditional Balkan indiscipline, no doubt... like during the 1941 invasion.
On his way out, Terzić blurts out (softly and in Croatian) a few unpleasant words. He who spent a lot of energy explaining to everyone that the defeat of '41 was essentially due to treason, and not to any supposed dissension between Yugoslavs, doesn't like his brothers-in-arms being questioned in this way. Since then, the Soviets haven't done much for them - in fact, it could be said that the AVNOJ only began to interest them once the capitalists were on the Danube. What did they imagine, Moscow? That victory would come singingly? That the local Nazis would disperse at the first shot, like the Croatian units of the defunct kingdom? In short, that pearls would be strung in the Balkans?
Of course, the USSR remains the Partisans' sponsor, reference and model. But the Red Army hasn't made much of an impression in Yugoslavia lately, even though it seems obvious that it has imposing forces everywhere else.
So, will the five thousand men of the new 1st Yugoslav Brigade be able to make up for it? Its commander, finally appointed by the Marshal himself, will be Milutin Morača - a former Croatian officer liberated from the Hungarian prison camps, veteran of the fight against the Chetniks and the Italians, then the Ustachis and the Germans. It is up to him to pass on his experience to a troop formed somewhat haphazardly from Yugoslavs present throughout the Soviet Union. A troop which, it should be pointed out, didn't exactly impress the Marshal on his last visit to the Workers' Paradise.
* For example Anna Leska-Daab, glider and hot-air balloon pilot at the Warsaw Aero Club, who fled her country in September 1939 and immediately enlisted in the Air Transport Auxiliary.
Balkan campaign
Operation Vremya Tsvetov (Time of Flowers) - White corollas and poppies
Sarajevo region - The Kampfgruppen deployed by the Waffen-SS throughout the sector comb the valleys in the rain - taking very few prisoners, of course. Vremya Tsvetov is over. The USSR has just wasted the bulk of an airborne corps - two brigades out of three, i.e. 7 or 8,000 men - for nothing. The parachuting has achieved nothing in the sector, apart from causing a certain amount of uncertainty in the German system - although this uncertainty is largely due to the increased pressure from Greece and Yugoslavia in an attempt to rescue the Soviets.
Not all the parachutists are killed or captured, of course. A large number of small groups remain in the region, all fighting separately: more or less distant (depending on their drop-off points...), more or less numerous (from a complete section to a lone soldier!), more or less supplied (depending on the intensity of the fighting and where the containers fell). The 1st Soviet Airborne Corps no longer exists - apart, of course, from Vasily Glazkov's 211th Brigade and a remnant of the 1st Brigade, which were never deployed, but those concerned won't complain. Alexander Rumyantsev is somewhere in the Brezovik sector, fighting gloriously like a Partisan hidden in the fascist rear. Of course, he no longer leads anything but the handful of men around him. And in the valleys of both Lepenica and Bosnia, the flowers have already faded.
Operation Veritable - The siege of Sarajevo and Operation Ratweek
Sarajevo region - It's the same old story for this martyred city. It is pouring rain all over Bosnia and a bitter, bitter trench war is still going on, as the AVNOJ tries to break through the Nazi defenses. It's still a long way off. And the weather, which prevents any air support and even hampers artillery adjustments, is not helping to break the deadlock.
The situation at the sources of Bosnia remained confused. The two AVNOJ corps facing the 13. SS-Freiwilligen Gebirgsjäger Rgt Artur Phleps (Ernst Deutsch) and the 7. SS-Panzergrenadier Rgt (Alfred Wünnenberg) are no match, either in terms of numbers or energy. At least, not after everything that had happened over the last few days. Charalambos Katsimitros's 13th Infantry Division, which has been instructed to support the Yugoslavs, albeit cautiously, is advancing in drawer on the small road north of Mount Igman, taking over from the Titists who are fighting to finally capture Hadžići and the massifs in the Ušivak sector. This is done, or almost done... at the end of the day, mainly thanks to a certain reserve on the part of the SS, who are preparing their redeployment in response to the arrival of the Greeks in the sector. In the evening, the last "collectivist" machines of the 1st "proletarian" Corps have to stop for lack of ammunition and maintenance. The intensity of the infantry fighting, still bloody and confused, diminishes in the rain... We'll probably be here for a day or two. As for the Zujevina valley, progress there remains blocked, of course.
To the east of the basin, the first attempts in the direction of the Miljacka by the 12th "Vojvodina" Corps (Danilo Lekic Spaniard, Stefan Mitrović) come up against the determined defence of the 14. SS-Freiwilligen Gebirgsjäger Rgt Reinhard-Heydrich (August Schmidhuber). However, this regiment also has to hold the hills of Donje Međuše against the concentric attacks of the 9th and 19th "Dalmatian" divisions and Thrasyvoulos Tsakalotos's 3rd Mountain Brigade. Their preliminary maneuvers, from the Greek point of view - Tsakalotos isn't going to send his precious specialists to climb rocks in the rain like that! - are worrying for the SS, who find themselves unable to prevent any infiltration. The sector to the east of Studenkovići seems particularly threatened. It's upsetting... If by any chance this position fell tomorrow, all the defenders of the ridge overlooking Donje Međuše would find themselves surrounded and doomed to extermination in short order. And as Friedrich-Wilheim Krüger has nothing left to send to Schmidhuber to fortify his rear - the 8. SS-Panzergrenadier Rgt (Walther Schimana) has to stay where it is, facing the Titists and other Greeks coming down from the mountains - the suggestion he has slipped to his boss yesterday has once again proved its worth.
A slightly forced decision
Heeresgruppe E HQ - The handset rings three times before Lothar Rendulic's aide-de-camp picks it up. He already knew that it is SS-Obergruppenführer Walter Krüger in Keszthely on the other end of the line - the Schutzstaffel has come again to complain that his men are being killed in Bosnia for nothing. And yet it wants this sector. Obviously, the head of the 2. SS-AK has no trouble getting his boss: HG E is not a prestigious position, and even if Rendulic does not have the aura of disgrace that surrounds von Weichs permanently, it would be an understatement to say that he is favoured by the chiefs.
- Heil Hitler, Herr General!
- Heil Hitler, Herr SS-Obergruppenführer. I suppose you're calling about Sarajevo?
- I am indeed. Have you heard from the OKW about their response to my suggestion?
- Not yet.
Rendulic restrains himself from grumbling that, at a time when Paris is perhaps being considered for abandonment, the Bosnian capital is not necessarily at the top of the OKW's agenda. On the phone, Krüger - who surely means no less - insists, obviously: "It's a real problem. We need to make a decision."
"We!" Quite a hypocrisy, for a deliberate slip of the tongue. Rendulic knows perfectly well that he is the superior of the head of the 2. SS-GebirgsArmee, for better or for worse... but above all, in theory. The Waffen-SS, who have always operated more or less independently, only agree to fall in line if the rank in question carries their black and white banner - and Rendulic is not SS. What's more, he knows perfectly well that Krüger has long been in the habit of reporting over his head to Reichsführer-SS Himmler, whose taste for ethnic experimentation is becoming well known in the region.
If the head of the HG E accepts Krüger's 'suggestion', he would probably be held responsible, should there be a problem on the ground. If, on the other hand, he refuses, Himmler would certainly accuse him of having sacrificed three objectively irreplaceable divisions for little or nothing.
He is in a bind, and he knows it perfectly well. But he also knows which choice is the least risky. So it is without hesitation that he finally says: "Do what you have to do, I've got your back."
AVNOJ
The fight is back on!
Croatia (west), Lika-Senj - The "operational pause" continues between the I Corps of the Croatian army (Ivan Brozovic) and (essentially) the 4th "Croatian" Corps of the AVNOJ (Ivan Gosnjak, Veeslav Holjevac). The failure of the Ustashi is becoming increasingly obvious. As a result, Andrija Hebrang is thinking ever more seriously of launching his 11th Corps in a vast overrun towards Banja Luka, in coordination with Vladimir Matetić's "Croatian" 10th Corps. Although... that will also depend on that comrade's plans and the movements of the fascists further south.
On the other hand, in the Donja Previja sector, Vojislav Djokic - who is seeing more and more Ustasha deserters coming to reinforce his 7th Banija Division - is no longer planning to wait. Tomorrow, he would force his way up Čađavica and, spurred on by the spirit of Tito and Stalin, smash to smithereens what is left of Colonel Roman Domanic's 5th Croatian Bosanka ID, deployed in front of him: the enemy is so weak, and the prospects so great! Djokic would not be denied. If by any chance he succeeds, a whole section of the Axis defence south of Banja Luka would open up tomorrow, probably as far as Zenica, i.e. in the rear of the III. SS-GAK.
Births
Slovenia - The Pavlek Miškina and Nikola Demonja assault brigades come on line. Both benefited from a month (or so!) of training in the Bočko mountains to perfect their skills. These small mobile units, under the direct command of Edvard Kardelj's staff, are not intended to join the main AVNOJ force in Slovenia, in the Žumberak mountains. Very soon, however, they would be planning major sabotage operations in the Sava valley, to strike where the fascist enemy thinks it is safe.
18th Allied Army Group
Departure to the west
Balkan Theatre - The rain makes the handover ceremony at some of the airfields of General Pierre Weiss's 1st Air Army, between Albania and Serbia, even sadder - the NA-89 and 93 of the 10th EC (P) Poniatowski break camp for France, in the wake of General Władysław Albert Anders's 2nd Army Corps. There is no doubt that the recent chill between the British and Polish authorities (still in exile...) weighed somewhat in this decision, which was quite logical given the events in Montenegro. The British no longer want the Poles in the Balkans, but the French are keen to get them back to liberate their own country. As for the Poles themselves, they are always willing to go and kill Germans... So we find ourselves in this sad situation, with brave fighters being shuffled around to suit everyone's moods.
Be that as it may, even with their withdrawal from operations, the Poles have not yet completely left the Balkans. They would be transferring equipment for days. In this respect, the Poles have copied the French: several of the convoy pilots are women*. The equipment is precious, of course, but their pilots would certainly be missed by the 1st Air Force - their ranks include many aces, experts who have been fighting since 1939 and who, as the ultimate insult, had been forbidden to get too close to their own country, for fear of an incident with the Soviets...
Unfortunately for the 1st Airborne Army, there is still one case pending. After the Poles, it is the fate of the Czechoslovak (well, mainly Czech!) squadrons that are under discussion. The Allied General Staff would like to send the 9th EC Bohemia-Moravia to France, as well as Alois Liška's division: both could be very useful against the Festungen on the Atlantic coast. On the other hand, for those concerned, the ideal solution would of course be to join the insurrection under way in their own country... Unfortunately, this is probably not very realistic.
And that's without mentioning the 22nd E-ACCS Tatras - which poses a different kind of problem. The 18th AAG needs a ground support unit much more than a fighter unit. What's more, the Tatras is a mixed Polish-Czech unit, and not everyone in its ranks wants to go to the same place, if they're asked!
Croatia
Regrettable miss
Sarajevo - The irreplaceable Ustashi Vjekoslav "Maks" Luburić - whose expertise as an executioner is notoriously appreciated by the Germans - does not only have friends. This was to be expected, given his track record. What was less expected, however, was that while he was planning the retreat of his house of terror - after all, you can't work properly under fire any more! - the Croatian is the target of an attack. A belt of grenades explodes under his vehicle as it waits to cross the Miljacka, tearing apart all its occupants... but Luburić was not in his car.
The person responsible, a young communist named Halid Nazečić, is quickly denounced by a comrade who had been taken from prison, and then effectively interrogated. And as there are still four dead - that's intolerable! - Luburić decides to leave a good impression on Sarajevo before heading off, first to the north bank, and probably further afield tomorrow, to work in peace.
Interview with an Ustashi
"- The hunt for deserters, what did that cover?
- In not too crude terms, I suppose?
- Let's just say I'm getting used to it. Let's cut to the chase, if you don't mind. Starting at the beginning.
- So, after the little episode in May '44 that I told you about, things began more... tenderly, shall we say.
The word surprises me. He had obviously anticipated his little effect and continued, with a greedy air: "We hung around Mrkonjić Grad, on the rear of Ivan Markuli's III Corps, looking for young idiots stupid enough to run away but too cowardly to join the terrorist ranks. This often turned into the role of school supervisor - we'd catch them, we'd... correct them and we'd take them back to their units, for further punishment if their superior thought it advisable."
- So they came back in one piece?
- More often than not. You know, I was dealing with people who were far inferior to my Vukas. Kids as young as sixteen sometimes, it hurt me to see them there, if you only knew. Generally speaking, they didn't make any trouble.
- And if they resisted?
- Then we cracked down. We soon made a name for ourselves.
- And there was often... additional punishment?
- Oh, not very much. At that time, the Croatian army couldn't afford to make too many examples, it would have cut too much into the numbers.
- That bad?
- That bad. Otherwise, we wouldn't have found ourselves facing the Titists by chance, just a few days after arriving in the area."
(Dans la tête du monstre - Conversation avec un officier oustachi, Robert Stan Pratsky, Flammarion 1982)
Yugoslavia torn apart
The endgame?
White Palace (Dedinje royal estate, Belgrade) - Tension, serious faces and knives drawn... Under the rain, Sir Reginald's mission has the colours of the big days! Ready to defend himself fiercely, Peter II Karađorđević is waiting for him in the great hall of the royal house with his close guard - of course, one of the Knezevic brothers, Radoje, leading a few loyal followers, but also Colonel Miodrag Rakić, from the King's military cabinet. Reginald Leeper obviously knows all these people. He also knows that they are not particularly well disposed towards him - and this is not likely to improve with the message he is carrying...
This theoretically cordial letter is a true ultimatum. Relying on what is considered, in London, to be the first sign of weakness in the royal power, Whitehall tries without hesitation to coerce Belgrade, by defining the terms of the future "collaboration" between the Yugoslav royal forces and General Robert Graham Stone, who unfortunately cannot be present today - but it's only a postponement, he's on his way. Unsurprisingly, this 'collaboration' is nothing more than a complete tutelage - in fact, all military decisions, although already largely taken at 18th AAG level, will now have to be validated by Graham, who will be responsible for ensuring that the Yugoslav army takes 'correct' account of allied imperatives.
These minor contingencies settled, the letter then broadly repeats the terms of the threat made on May 8th, which admittedly never received the honour of a reply. Naturally, the Foreign Office was surprised. But it chooses to see this delay as an assurance that these... friendly suggestions are already being implemented by those entitled to do so, for the common good. He does not fail to mention this below...
The ultimate insult: the letter Leeper handed over is not even signed by Anthony Eden, let alone Churchill. A vague civil servant unknown in these latitudes - Harold Macmillan, close to the Prime Minister and... former Under-Secretary for the Colonies! - obviously seems to fit the bill.
As you can imagine, this is a serious matter. Peter II, still perched three steps above Leeper, considers the missive, reads it, obviously translates a few passages for his court, then nervously crumples the paper in his hand, stamped with Her Britannic Majesty's seal (without going so far as to throw it away) before speaking in a voice that he hopes would be assured...
- As Foreign Minister Momčilo Ninčić is not with us, it is my unpleasant duty to inform you, Excellency, that you are today persona non grata in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.
The Excellency in question shows no emotion; he seems in no way impressed by this furious proof of impotence. He bows and replies politely.
- It is most regrettable, Your Majesty, that a reciprocal dismissal of ambassadors and the mistrust which accompanies it should result from facts which do not directly concern either the United Kingdom or the Commonwealth. The Empire has not taken any hostile action against Yugoslavia (No, Sir Reginald did not mention the Kingdom of Yugoslavia!).
- Apart from banning the activities of our merchants and bankers in the City, and supporting seditious officers calling for the overthrow of our government!
- These are insinuations, Your Majesty.
- And what of the concentration of your armies near our capital? What about the almost complete shutdown of our air force? The situation of General Brasic's army? The proven support given to the communist forces of the so-called AVNOJ? Both Bosnia and Montenegro are part of the Kingdom, Excellency, in the same way as all its other provinces. If they are attacked, so is Serbia.
- I'm afraid that we also need to look into the questions concerning the possible rebellion of the King's Freecorps - because collaboration with the Ustashi cannot be described in any other way - and the criminal attempt on the life of Marshal Tito [the audience gags at the mention of this rank, then of this name]. The exact nature of the role played by each person in these distressing episodes remains to be determined. Quod ad me attinet, I am not authorised to express an opinion on the operations of the military forces involved in the current conflict.
Leeper theatrically spreads his hands in a sign of overflowing goodwill...
"As Your Majesty knows, the private affairs of His Military Cabinet are extraneous to Her Gracious Majesty's Government. To a certain extent this is regrettable - we could thus have avoided the situation to which we are reduced at this hour. Since I am no longer wanted here, I shall of course take my leave. But please be assured that Your Majesty may reconsider her decision in the days to come - in any case, the government I represent will not go back on its position as already expressed, solely out of concern for my personal fate."
The Yugoslav audience does not move. They neither reply nor greet Sir Reginald, who walks backwards away from Peter II (on the stairs!), bowing three times as protocol obliges him to do. He does not turn his back on the King until he is through the door, and then immediately gets into his car - it is raining, and his secretary has already prepared the umbrella to protect his top hat.
The Kingdom of Yugoslavia and the United Kingdom have thus severed their relations, which had been worsening for weeks. In a time of war and facing a common enemy... So much for London's hopes of resolving the situation quickly.
Franco-Titist negotiations
Goražde (HQ of the 2nd Greek Army Corps) - The connection with Belgrade is poor, of course - Margerie is not naive enough to even attempt to contact Marseille, but the embassy would pass the message on. But that's not why His Excellency Roger Maugras asks his interlocutor to repeat himself.
- If I understand correctly, Marshal Tito wants to go to Belgrade to hold talks with the legislature?
- That is correct, Your Excellency.
- And to do this he is asking for France's support and even protection?
- It is implied, Your Excellency.
- All this in order to claim a role as a rallying force within a new political organisation that has not even been formally created yet?
- I don't have any more information on this subject than you do.
- I didn't have any! That's news to me! OK, then. And in the meantime, our Marshal is asking that certain high-ranking Ustasha prisoners in our possession be handed over to him as a matter of urgency, including a general...?
- Marko Mesić. He was very insistent on that name.
- Did he tell you exactly what he intended to do with them?
- He spoke of a major initiative. And he vouched for the safety of the transferred captives.
- I'm surprised... very surprised.
- So am I! But I don't think it's good form to respond to this overture with a denial of trust. I suggest that you seek Marseille's approval at the highest level. On this subject... like on all the others.
- I understand... Well, yes and no. Forgive me for being abrupt, Mr de Margerie, but in your opinion, what exactly is Marshal Tito looking for?
- I believe, Your Excellency, that he is looking for a way of bypassing the royal government to make peace, as it were, directly with the Yugoslav state.
The information will very quickly reach Minister Léon Blum, under the dual seals of urgency and absolute confidentiality.
The Hebrang affair (continued)
A cave north of Višegrad (Marshal Tito's residence) - Tito is enraged by the small decisions taken by Andrija Hebrang and his coterie. As soon as his French guest leaves, the Marshal sends his subordinate a most authoritarian message, in which he clearly expresses what he thinks of this initiative.
"Immediately stop the work of this so-called telegraph agency - TAH. What does that mean? You are sliding rapidly towards separatism. You don't realise that even the federal states have a single telegraph agency. Take a leaf out of the Soviet Union's book!
Obviously, by criticising the Croatian Telegraphic Agency and only the Croatian Telegraphic Agency, Tito chooses for the time being to hit where it doesn't hurt too much - the rest would come, if need be. In fact, as soon as the dispatch leaves, he begins to think about how to send Gospić a man he could trust to restore order and act as his eyes and ears on the spot. Yes... but who could he send without interfering too much with his current plans?
The path of reason
Kruševac - This small town in the west of Serbia, in a region ravaged by fighting between pro-Nazi forces and the 'former collaborators' of the late General Mihailovic, was not often honoured with the attention of the Allied armies, nor of the new royal administration. Close to the borders of Bosnia, the city is underdeveloped, with little infrastructure and virtually no strategic value. Yet it was here that Milovan Đilas chooses to engage in discussions with politicians from Hrvatska seljačka stranka and the Democratic Party to establish a common programme, under the protection of AVNOJ forces and thanks to the new benevolence of the Allied authorities.
What a challenge! The HSS is certainly primarily concerned with social justice, particularly as far as its electorate is concerned, but it is also and above all a fierce defender of Croatian autonomy. We owe them the ban of Croatia, it's true - we could also blame them for the rallying of a significant proportion of their members to the NDH as soon as it was proclaimed by Ante Pavelic. Now that the war has been lost for Pavelic, it's only a short step to say that these people have come to the soup. At last! The Marshal insists that they be treated with respect: despite everything, they represent one of the most important Croatian political parties, and are well regarded by the population - and by the French, no less! The current position of Ivan Šubašić bears witness to this... Moreover, given their current state of fragmentation, they will not be very dangerous. Besides, their representatives are never more than second-rate: Tomislav Jančiković (a wait-and-see supporter who was arrested several times by the Ustasa but was unable or unwilling to flee Croatia - he certainly doesn't represent very many people), Božidar Magovac (an NDH opponent who imagines that his party has a place in future political pluralism - to the point, incidentally, of deepening those divisions, with Titist approval), August Košutić (who went into hiding under the skirts of the Partisans when his pitiful attempt at a U-turn failed) - all cordially supported by Franjo Gaži, a former colleague who joined the Titist movement in 1943. It is also hoped that one day Juraj Šutej will be released from prison in Niš - a former minister would be more serious. But not Juraj Krnjević, on the other hand, who perhaps doesn't understand the honour that would be done to him by proposing to involve him in the country's future.
Milan Grol's Jugoslavenska demokratska stranka, on the other hand, is something else. An entity still recognised by the government in exile, the JDS (Democratic Party) has several uncompromised high-level officials in its ranks. What's more, its "unifying" ideology is bound to appeal to certain communists - although in 1929, under the pressure of events, it had to accept the idea of federalism. Finally, the JDS also showed a certain resilience by not disintegrating completely like the HSS during the 1941 invasion. It is true that there were some collaborators among its members - but these remained relatively rare. On the other hand, some of its members were among the founders of the Chetnik movement and even of its terrorist organisation, ORJUNA - given the way it all turned out, they no doubt now want to make amends or even slaughter the beast they fed. As the largest party in Yugoslavia in the 1920s - Ivan Ribar himself was a member - the JDS can still claim to represent part of 'reasonable' Serbian opinion, as it did when it had to ally itself with the HSS to resolve the Croatian question.
In short, Milan Grol may stand for something - but he's all alone. Around him, there's only ever Mile Perunicic - a Montenegrin who has since fought with the Partisans - and Adam Pribićević - a defector from the Independent Democratic Party (a faction of the JDS that split in 1924), who may no longer have much of a grip on reality.
So all these people and their opinions will have to fit into the "Soviet socialist federalist" project already defined by the AVNOJ, around a common program. A tall order... but on the other hand - and Đilas holds back a smile at the thought - if "these people" are here, it's also because they want to be part of the project. Whether they believe in it or simply hope to continue to exist, they've already accepted the principle. All that's left is to wrap reality in fine words, which can always be revisited later. Tito himself said no different when he gave him his mandate: "Do business and then we'll move on." So much for promises only...
Between Comrades...
Moscow - The famous Yugoslav elite division formed by the Red Army in Romania will soon be returning home. This excellent news comes from STAVKA itself, via one of its junior officers (Vasilievsky and Antonov have urgent duties to attend to...) to General Velimir Terzić, head of the AVNOJ military mission in Moscow. Clearly - and the Soviet will not fail to make this clear to his dear comrade - the Yugoslavs, who have already been successfully waging guerrilla warfare against the fascists for three years, are eager to show what they can do in pitched battle. In this respect, we also deeply regret the sluggishness of the Titist reaction to Vremya Tsvetov - the airborne operation would have been much more successful if "we" had supported it. Traditional Balkan indiscipline, no doubt... like during the 1941 invasion.
On his way out, Terzić blurts out (softly and in Croatian) a few unpleasant words. He who spent a lot of energy explaining to everyone that the defeat of '41 was essentially due to treason, and not to any supposed dissension between Yugoslavs, doesn't like his brothers-in-arms being questioned in this way. Since then, the Soviets haven't done much for them - in fact, it could be said that the AVNOJ only began to interest them once the capitalists were on the Danube. What did they imagine, Moscow? That victory would come singingly? That the local Nazis would disperse at the first shot, like the Croatian units of the defunct kingdom? In short, that pearls would be strung in the Balkans?
Of course, the USSR remains the Partisans' sponsor, reference and model. But the Red Army hasn't made much of an impression in Yugoslavia lately, even though it seems obvious that it has imposing forces everywhere else.
So, will the five thousand men of the new 1st Yugoslav Brigade be able to make up for it? Its commander, finally appointed by the Marshal himself, will be Milutin Morača - a former Croatian officer liberated from the Hungarian prison camps, veteran of the fight against the Chetniks and the Italians, then the Ustachis and the Germans. It is up to him to pass on his experience to a troop formed somewhat haphazardly from Yugoslavs present throughout the Soviet Union. A troop which, it should be pointed out, didn't exactly impress the Marshal on his last visit to the Workers' Paradise.
* For example Anna Leska-Daab, glider and hot-air balloon pilot at the Warsaw Aero Club, who fled her country in September 1939 and immediately enlisted in the Air Transport Auxiliary.
23/05/44 - Balkans
May 23rd, 1944
Balkan campaign
Operation Vremya Tsvetov (Time of Flowers) - White corollas and poppies
Sarajevo region - As part of the Axis' major redeployment effort towards the west, the KGs of the SS-Prinz Eugen, Nederland and (to a certain extent) Polizei abandon their thankless tasks of sweeping up and securing the rear to secure mainly the communication routes in the Lepenica and Bosnia valleys, all along the road leading to Zenica, as well as guaranteeing the link to Mostar via Konjic. Over the following days, these 'pacification' units are to move further west towards the Banja Luka and Split sectors, withdrawal after withdrawal, behind their comrades on the front.
This withdrawal has virtually no impact on Soviet possibilities. The elements of the 1st Airborne Corps that had already parachuted in are not in a condition to fight. As for the VVS, despite everything, they do attempt a few supply and support operations from Romania... but the bulk of Comrade Verchinin's 4th Air Army is occupied with more useful tasks, such as supporting the Cluj-Debrecen offensive. The forces in Poland aremore interested in the Oder - besides, in order to drop a few missiles in the Bosnian mountains, they would have to cross the Carpathians and then Hungary.
The total absence of air-ground coordination does the rest. The rare aircraft bearing the red star that make it through the clouds simply drop their bombs or containers at random. Their action therefore has absolutely no effect on the German forces.
Operation Veritable - The siege of Sarajevo and Operation Ratweek
Sarajevo region - III. SS-GAK Kommando Slawonien of Friedrich-Wilheim Krüger begins a vast but controlled withdrawal in the direction of Zenica, trying to avoid the artillery strikes and the few allied air raids that the improved weather is beginning to allow. While the former are still unpleasantly accurate (but the front lines were evacuated), the latter are not to be feared too much: the flight envelope in the Sarajevo basin is narrow and difficult to negotiate without entering a corridor heavily manned by Flak. Hellenic Air Force planes therefore usually fly at medium altitude (3 to 4,000 metres, above the peaks, or even the clouds) to bomb without taking too many risks. In other words, they give up the idea of being really precise.
.........
The 7. SS Gebirgs-Division Prinz Eugen (Karl Reichsritter von Oberkamp) is the first to disengage - logical, since it is the most advanced unit.
On the east side, abandoning its positions south of the Miljacka, including the Gornje Međuše ridges, so fiercely contested, the 14. SS-Freiwilligen Gebirgsjäger Rgt Reinhard-Heydrich (August Schmidhuber) begins evacuating Sarajevo city centre, his line running east-west along the Miljacka to the White Fortress. Behind him, the 8. SS-Panzer-Grenadier Rgt (Walther Schimana) remains where it is for the time being - from Radava to Semizovac. Its withdrawal is planned to take place as and when the SS vanguard is extracted from the basin.
On the other side of the field, as you would expect, it is a surprise. The Titists, who had fought so hard over the last few days and made so many sacrifices in the face of a stubborn, devious opponent who has also suffered severe losses, cannot explain their withdrawal. What is the point of having bled for so long in the line of fire, only to leave overnight, under no particular pressure? Obviously, the AVNOJ staff, who are competent and used to small-scale warfare, suspect that the wear and tear suffered by the SS has something to do with it - as do the Greeks in the 1st Corps (Giorgios Kosmas), who are relieved to see that their Fabian strategy of erosion and peripheral nibbling seeming to be bearing fruit without them having to get their feet wet...
That's all well and good, but the reaction to what is (after all!) a success differs from flag to flag. Obviously, the Yugoslavs would like to move forward again straight away - now that their opponents are staggering and getting into trouble, they have to shoot them down before they can entrench themselves further away. But the Greeks see no point in running over the SS. The Franco-Greek 2nd Army, deployed in difficult terrain in a guard-rail position for the benefit of British operations in Hungary, has no interest in multiplying its efforts for the benefit of... others. The objective defined by Montgomery via Audet - to support the AVNOJ while settling the matter of the disturbing Soviet initiative - seems on the way to being achieved: the Nazis are leaving, Sarajevo would soon be taken and what paratroopers remained would be evacuated. Are there any left, in fact? Controversy, on this subject in particular (but not only...), rages on in Greek-Yugoslav exchanges - regular, professional, but alas still not as constructive or realistic (depending on your point of view!) as it should be.
Be that as it may, the 8th 'Dalmatian' Corps (Vicko Krstulović, Ivan Kukoč) does not need Greek authorisation to occupy the positions abandoned by the enemy. Before nightfall, the area around Mount Trebević is cleared. The 9th Dalmatian Division (Ante Banina, Eduard Santini), which had given so much over the last few days, has the honour of hoisting the six-headed flag over the last Fascist redoubt for good. At the same time, the 19th North Dalmatian Division (Milan Sakic Micun, Petar Babić) is securing Studenkovići, indifferent to the intermittent fire it is still receiving from the White Fortress. Behind it, Thrasyvoulos Tsakalotos's 3rd Mountain Brigade is consolidating the main road through the Miljacka Gorge, in liaison with Pafsanias Katsotas's 6th Mountain Brigade - which is much less busy than its neighbour, given that the 20th and 26th 'Dalmatian' Divisions are still completely unable to break through the defences of the 8. SS-Panzer-Grenadier Rgt (Walther Schimana).
On the western side of the basin, the 13. SS-Freiwilligen Gebirgsjäger Rgt Artur Phleps (Ernst Deutsch) finally abandons the hotly contested sector of the Bosnian springs and Hadžići. He moves northwards towards Rakovica - in liaison with the Reinhard-Heydrich on his left (of course) and on his right, with the 7. SS-Panzer-Grenadier Rgt (Alfred Wünnenberg). The latter retreats in relative good order towards Tarčin, abandoning the Zujevina valley under the intermittent strikes of the allied artillery (still Charalambos Katsimitros' 13th ID).
Here, however, the Titists do not wish to continue. The "proletarian" 1st Corps (Koča Popović, Mijalko Todorovic) and the "Bosnian" 3rd Corps (Kosta Nađ, Osman Karabegovic) really do not have the luxury of playing the bourgeois lovers of the hunt - not in such difficult terrain, against such well-armed game and after such costly efforts. So the AVNOJ are happy to take what they can get away with: Hadžići, Grude, Hrasnica... waging a war that is as tedious as it is effective - but no more.
Obviously, this is satisfactory - but the Titist high command is still a little disappointed. The new Yugoslav army is not just going to occupy the ground left to the enemy! That would not be very glorious... and would jeopardize its future victorious status. So we have to do better - Arsenije "Arso" Jovanović will tell us, on behalf of the leader. Move forward, with all the means still available... in other words, not much more. However, Petar "Peko" Dapcevic obeys, of course. Tomorrow, the 16th "Muslim" Shock Brigade (Salim Ćerić, Muhidin Begić), the only fresh elite unit in the sector, will have the honour of assaulting the White Fortress sector, all the way to the city centre.
Dalmatia - To Krüger's right, the V. SS-Gebirgs-Armee-Korps Kommando Adria (Obergruppenführer Georg Keppler) is obviously preparing to follow. The liaison with the III. SS-GAK, based in Konjic, is entrusted to the SS-Freiwilligen Panzergrenadier-Brigade Nederland (Brigadeführer Jürgen Wagner) - which is beginning to descend from Sarajevo at this very moment. Among the troops, the news of this withdrawal is the subject of debate. In the absence of pressure from their adversary, the Greek 2nd Corps, the defenders of the Neretva can feel that they have not been defeated and are surprised to be made to pack up.
Of course, the Croatians of the KLAK - increasingly discouraged since their misadventure on Lake Scutari, not to mention a number of recent defections... - are not much heartened by this umpteenth setback. And while Jurgen's Dutchmen couldn't care less, one unit on their left is complaining more: the 11. SS-Gebirgs-Division Handschar under Brigadeführer Karl-Gustav Sauberzweig. In the upper echelons, people have forgotten, because of all the changes of uniform, that this division is mainly made up of Croats and Bosnians... But none of the liaison officers, whether or not they wear the verdigris uniform, see fit to remind their masters.
AVNOJ
The fight is on!
Croatia (west), Lika-Senj - As was to be expected, the improvement in the weather does not exactly mean the resumption of the offensive for Ivan Brozovic's I Croatian Corps, which is still stuck at the limit of both the weather and its possibilities.
To the north, the 1st Mountain Division (Matija Čanić) continues to slide towards Mazin, without quite succeeding for the moment - the fault of a relatively effective intervention by the 43rd "Istrian" Division (Milan Šakić Mićun, Marijan Badel), which partly comes down from Bihać to support the 8th Kordun Division (Vlado Cetkovic, Arthur Turkulin). With no support on its right, the advance of the 3rd ID Osijek (Emil Radl) towards Otrić remains... potential. And given that the 2nd ID Vrbaska (Colonel Mirko Greguric) is not doing much better on the climb up to Krupa either, we were once again heading for a stalemate in this sector of the front, for one day at least. Informed, the Germans let it go - in any case, with the retreat of the V. SS-GAK, the situation seems likely to resolve itself.
Much more serious, however, were developments in the Donja Previja sector. Here, the 7th Banija Division (Vojislav Djokic, Kluro Kladarin) suddenly attacks the positions of the 5th Croatian Division Bosanka (Colonel Roman Domanic), which is defending the Čađavica crossroads. The assault is carried out with almost equal numbers of men (although this had not been the case a few days earlier!) - but, faced with demotivated and unsupported troops, it proves devastating. Especially as the attackers seem to know the Croatian position very well! The 5th Infantry Division quickly loses its footing and has to ask for the full support of Antun Prohaska's 2nd Mountain Division (although it is responsible for protecting the road to Banja Luka from possible infiltration!) in order to hold the right flank, i.e. the north. To the south, Ivan Markuli makes do with what he has... expediency.
By evening, the darkness has not stopped the fighting and the Titists are infiltrating everywhere: they are in Gornji Graci, Stražice and all around Čađavica.
Gospić - The couriers of the 10th "Croatian" Corps have reached Andrija Fatty Hebrang's HQ. Hebrang, calmed by the course of operations (the return of fine weather had not helped the fascists, on the contrary!), is willing to consider with Vladimir Matetić a joint assault towards Banja Luka - the 34th "Croatian" Division and the 35th Lika Division joining forces to slip over the enemy flank while the Banija holds the occupied Ustasha to the south. It is ambitious... but it is likely to work, given the probable weakness of the enemy. And then, who knows why, Hebrang gives the impression of having something to make up for... Anyway! Time to put all this together and we attack. It's a matter of three or four days.
Croatia
Enraged executioner
Sarajevo (Marindvor district) - Carrying the NDH colours high through the ravaged streets of the city, forty-five victims hung from lampposts and trees, swaying in the spittle, a "Long live the Poglavnik!" echoes. The crows and other scavengers are already feasting... and not just on the flesh. In fact, during the night, immediately after the execution, several courageous people tried to remove the bodies, taking advantage of the confusion in the town. The effort was worthwhile but futile: Luburić had snipers stationed on the neighbouring buildings - they remained on the lookout until morning and were happy to add a few more deaths to the butcher's bill... Meanwhile, the Ustasha executioner takes to the north with his court, somewhat ahead of his masters. As a result, before leaving, he didn't have time to clean up after himself - but others will soon realise that.
Interview with an Ustashi
"- The fighting around Čađavica?
- Yes, that's right.
- And how did it go?
- Badly. Very badly. I was called in with my shock group to reinforce the road to Mrkonjić Grad, in the Gornji Graci sector, all in an atmosphere of improvisation and visible panic. As soon as we got to the edge of a stream [according to the maps, this is probably the Zelinikovac, which runs north-south from Gornji Graci to Podrašnica], we accelerated under fire, only to come across a section of Croatian conscripts who were clearly struggling, if not dying! The sergeant had just enough time to say to us through the gunfire: "I'm glad you could come", and Bim [he hits his temple with his index finger], he took a bullet to the head.
The major shakes his head, sorry to see that he's done a very, very poor job, before continuing...
- Fools! What did they expect, staying out in the open like that to fire a shot? On the other side, the enemy was still relatively dispersed - he was probably aiming for the northern road, the road to Banja Luka. We knocked out his scouts with automatic weapons, then set up an advanced position in the woods immediately to the west.
- What exactly did you expect to do here, with no backup and no means of communication?
- We had a wireless radio!
- Oh, but that was rare in those days.
- My... relationship with the SS at the time, which you liked to mention earlier, made things a bit easier for me. Shall I continue?
- Please do.
- In short, we managed to reach General Markuli's HQ in Mrkonjić Grad. I think I spoke to him in person on the phone... He said to me, with worrying frankness: "Ratko? I've lost touch with everyone back home. I think you're all I've got left around here! Indeed, considering the bodies scattered all around us, that was likely.
- That said, did he still have orders for you?
- Of course he did! Orders that I was only moderately happy to follow, but what choice did we really have, me and my Vukas? I can still remember... " You and your men are to advance into the woods in the Donji Graci sector to create insecurity on the opposing flank, towards the Čađavica."
- That's a lot, for just one shock group....
- Indeed. But Ivan Markuli wasn't responsible for having idiots under his command. He was a competent man. He knew that, to have a reasonable chance of success, we needed explanations. From memory, it went like this: "As long as the enemy believes its right flank is secure, it will enclose Čađavica and prevent those still there from fleeing. From their current positions, they observe all our movements and we are systematically countered. If their flank looks threatened, we can stall. I hope you succeed, Ratko."
- Too kind. Did you go all the same?
- Not too hard, but yes. As I said, what choice did we have? Run away like others? Surrender? Turn our backs? That wasn't - and still isn't - in my character. What's more, with our reputation, each of us already knew that some brave hero would want to take revenge on us as soon as we'd had the stupidity to lay down our arms."
(Dans la tête du monstre - Conversation avec un officier oustachi, Robert Stan Pratsky, Flammarion 1982)
Crushed Hungary
The American season
Western Hungary - Another alert take-off for the Red Pumas. They sent 12 aircraft (4 from the 101/1 század Zongora and 8 from the 101/2 század Retek) to join 20 other interceptors, most of them German, to intercept a bomber flight detected over Slovenia.
Unfortunately for them, due to the capricious weather in the Balkan theater and above all a ground control error, the fighters miss the raid en route to Austria and return to their bases without losses. That's for another time...
Yugoslavia torn apart
Game over?
Belgrade and London - The announced and assumed breakdown in relations between the United Kingdom and the Kingdom of Yugoslavia has had its first unpleasant consequences. In addition to the reciprocal diplomatic dismissal of His Excellency Bogoljub Jevtić (who will be replaced by a chargé d'affaires), London has officially ordered the suspension of all current transactions, the freezing of Yugoslav assets and the end of all assistance missions deployed in the country. None of this seems to faze Peter II's court - after a few weeks of hesitation, the sovereign has clearly adopted the hard-line stance of those closest to him. If Winston Churchill still regards the Balkans as a strategic region, sooner or later he will have to come to his senses if he is to play his 'great game' - or else he will have to give up: after all, nobody in Belgrade has asked him for anything!
However, the White Palace seems convinced that the showdown - as unpleasant as it is - cannot last. Not when victory is so close! And especially not in favour of a Red who has done nothing for the Common Cause before 1942! At worst, when the war was over, we would see to it that the British be totally sidelined, before working with more reasonable people - the French, for example, whose President of the Council is reputed to be pro-monarchist and therefore inevitably anti-communist. If need be, the Americans will also be ready to support the right side in a possible civil war, once their current bout of bad temper has passed. In the meantime, all we can do is hold out.
For the time being, only military collaboration is escaping British vindictiveness. The 18th AAG still needs General Brasic's 1st Corps, if only to cover its flank on the Carpathian side... In addition, London does not want to alienate the "mostly reasonable" (in the words of the Foreign Office) part of the Royal Army, a part which at the moment maintains a healthy reserve with regard to political disorder. The attitude of Mirković's group remains to be assessed when Robert Stone arrives in Belgrade...
Franco-Tibetan negotiations
French Embassy (Belgrade) - His Excellency Roger Maugras naturally expects to be recalled by Marseille following his report on Roland de Margerie's communication. But not so quickly, and not least by a leading minister.
Léon Blum is not the least enthusiastic at the mention of what he sees as the beginnings of a solution - from the Socialist camp, moreover. Hasn't he said it often enough: Communists also know how to be reasonable! At the other end of the line, Maugras - who undoubtedly knows the Yugoslavs better - is not exactly as euphoric. And without going so far as to say it outright, he diplomatically tried to make it clear, especially when his minister was already talking about moving on.
- If I may say so, Minister, wouldn't we need the agreement of... the whole government before considering coordinated action with Mr Tito?
- The President of the Council is busy, to say the least. And most of the state apparatus with him. I myself hope to soon have the pleasure of... moving again. And then, we are already partly in business with this Marshal! It's an historic opportunity, don't you think?
- Well... Given the current state of unrest in Belgrade, a constructive proposal from the AVNOJ has a good chance of succeeding. Mr Tito might even succeed in... convincing them if we can organise a meeting...
- So that's very encouraging. On the other hand, Sir Leeper's dismissal by Belgrade meant that we had to act as quickly as possible before we were swamped for good. So I'm using my authority to cover the minor adjustments requested by Marshal Tito, and you can go ahead. My office will call you back with the details and will contact General Audet's HQ in Tirana directly. Thank you for your excellent work in what I imagine will be a very difficult situation, Your Excellency!
And Blum hangs up. For his part, Maugras thinks he might have benefited from expressing his thoughts more frankly. He looks at the mute handset for a moment, before bursting into a bitter laugh. Then, to his astonished assistant, he slips in this darkly prophetic phrase: "Do you know that when I was talking to the Minister, I almost said that Tito might succeed in swindling them!"
The Hebrang affair (continued)
A cave north of Višegrad (Marshal Tito's residence) - Josip Broz has found the right guard for this agitated Andrija Hebrang. It would be Edvard Kardelj - for the moment still busy with liaison duties between Tirana and Pogdorica. Tito sends him an explicit message about his future mission with his Croatian comrades...
"Meet me urgently in Croatia. They are creating incredible nonsense. Firstly, ZAVNOH has passed a resolution making religious education a compulsory subject in schools. Secondly, they have founded a telegraph agency called TAH. All this shows that separatist tendencies are quite strong [there], and this is true even for our comrades. There's nothing to joke about: we'll have to take the toughest measures. Andrija is responsible for all this. Find out for yourself, and if Andrija doesn't accept our advice, we'll have to dismiss him immediately as secretary of the CC [Central Committee].
No doubt some might object that Kardelj is just as useful where he is, negotiating with the Franco-Greeks... Never mind, AVNOJ unity is the priority, and comrade "Fatty" is proving decidedly uncontrollable as long as he's away from the leader!
The path of reason
Kruševac - Continued negotiations between the AVNOJ (represented by Milovan Đilas), the Hrvatska seljačka stranka of Jančiković, Magovac and Košutić and the Jugoslavenska demokratska stranka of Grol, Perunicic and Pribićević. The discussions, which unfortunately drag on a little (from the Partisan's point of view...), focus mainly on post-war policy. In particular, the contours of Croatia's future federal status are discussed (but much less so that of Macedonia, which everyone already sees being punished for its Bulgarian friendships...) as well as those of maintaining decision-making institutions in Serbia. And then there's the talk of maroquins in the months to come. But in this area, like in many others, it costs Đilas nothing to promise. In the end, it won't even be him who decides!
Rubble
Somewhere in western Serbia - A curious coincidence: just as his former friend Dimitrije Ljotić has just been laid to rest, Jevrem Simić - head of the Royal Corps, former leader of the late Draza Mihailovic's 2nd Assault Corps and once Ljotić's contact in his quest for asylum after the failure of Glaive of Justice - is in turn the victim of a curious 'accident' in the woods south of Gradačac. His convoy disappears in circumstances that remain obscure to this day - only the decapitated body of one of his bodyguards is found at the bottom of a ravine. And no one will ever hear from the Serbian warlord again...
.........
"Jevrem Ješa Simić, ?-1944 - Yugoslav warlord, Chetnik colonel. A student at the military academy in the same class as Draza Mihailovic, an artillery officer and veteran of the Balkan wars and the First World War, Jevrem Simic retired at the time of the invasion in May 1941, after having been a director of the Hanau company for a time.
Hiding out in Belgrade until the end of operations, he spontaneously resumed contact with Mihailovic in February 1942 and, thanks to their friendship, soon obtained the post of inspector in the Supreme Command. Jevrem Simić navigated the nebulous, ambiguous and precarious relations between the Chetniks and the occupiers with relative skill. Alongside Nikola Kalabić (who was far more committed to the Nazis), he was one of the signatories of the spring 42 agreements with the Wehrmacht, which established the principle of Serbian-German collaboration against the Titist forces. The rapid advance of Allied forces towards northern Greece, the Macedonian campaign and finally the German decision to disarm the Serbian militias put an end to these arrangements, the exact influence of which has still not been fully measured to this day - although it is clear that they resulted in many deaths, mainly for the benefit of Germany.
At the time in charge of the 2nd Assault Corps of 'pro-Allied' Chetniks, Jevrem Simić took a half-hearted part in the fratricidal fighting in the Kragujevac sector against the Serbian Volunteer Corps, then against KG Braun, both deployed by the Wehrmacht to block the road to Belgrade for those who wanted to go up there to help the insurrection. Cornered by the arrival of German reinforcements - the 297. ID - Simić's unit found itself partly surrounded on a wooded hill south of Vinjište, in confused circumstances that saw Draza Mihailovic killed, while Simić escaped.
Now suspected of treason in the eyes of his peers - nothing was ever proven on this point, but his venality was common knowledge - Jevrem Simić nevertheless inherited a post in the freecorps of Peter II Karađorđević, perhaps at the insistence of minister Momčilo Ninčić. This unit was then deployed in southern Serbia, in the Preseka sector - which at the same time saw numerous Ustasha and AVNOJ units clashing. The exact make-up and activities of this unit - as with many of the freecorps - remain a mystery to this day. The most we know is that, on May 7th, it was somewhere to the north-east of Sarajevo. It was around Gradačac, on May 23rd, that the trail of Jevrem Simić was finally lost - all that was found of his troop was a decapitated body, identified only by its insignia. Even today, a macabre rumour claims that some people took revenge for one betrayal too many on the part of this war leader; his head and those of his family members are said to form a pyramid somewhere at the bottom of a cave. The above is of course impossible to confirm... but just as impossible to refute, for anyone who knows the Balkans and what can be found there on the corner of a wood".
(Robert Stan Pratsky - Dictionnaire de la Seconde Guerre Mondiale en Méditerranée, Flammarion, 2008)
Balkan campaign
Operation Vremya Tsvetov (Time of Flowers) - White corollas and poppies
Sarajevo region - As part of the Axis' major redeployment effort towards the west, the KGs of the SS-Prinz Eugen, Nederland and (to a certain extent) Polizei abandon their thankless tasks of sweeping up and securing the rear to secure mainly the communication routes in the Lepenica and Bosnia valleys, all along the road leading to Zenica, as well as guaranteeing the link to Mostar via Konjic. Over the following days, these 'pacification' units are to move further west towards the Banja Luka and Split sectors, withdrawal after withdrawal, behind their comrades on the front.
This withdrawal has virtually no impact on Soviet possibilities. The elements of the 1st Airborne Corps that had already parachuted in are not in a condition to fight. As for the VVS, despite everything, they do attempt a few supply and support operations from Romania... but the bulk of Comrade Verchinin's 4th Air Army is occupied with more useful tasks, such as supporting the Cluj-Debrecen offensive. The forces in Poland aremore interested in the Oder - besides, in order to drop a few missiles in the Bosnian mountains, they would have to cross the Carpathians and then Hungary.
The total absence of air-ground coordination does the rest. The rare aircraft bearing the red star that make it through the clouds simply drop their bombs or containers at random. Their action therefore has absolutely no effect on the German forces.
Operation Veritable - The siege of Sarajevo and Operation Ratweek
Sarajevo region - III. SS-GAK Kommando Slawonien of Friedrich-Wilheim Krüger begins a vast but controlled withdrawal in the direction of Zenica, trying to avoid the artillery strikes and the few allied air raids that the improved weather is beginning to allow. While the former are still unpleasantly accurate (but the front lines were evacuated), the latter are not to be feared too much: the flight envelope in the Sarajevo basin is narrow and difficult to negotiate without entering a corridor heavily manned by Flak. Hellenic Air Force planes therefore usually fly at medium altitude (3 to 4,000 metres, above the peaks, or even the clouds) to bomb without taking too many risks. In other words, they give up the idea of being really precise.
.........
The 7. SS Gebirgs-Division Prinz Eugen (Karl Reichsritter von Oberkamp) is the first to disengage - logical, since it is the most advanced unit.
On the east side, abandoning its positions south of the Miljacka, including the Gornje Međuše ridges, so fiercely contested, the 14. SS-Freiwilligen Gebirgsjäger Rgt Reinhard-Heydrich (August Schmidhuber) begins evacuating Sarajevo city centre, his line running east-west along the Miljacka to the White Fortress. Behind him, the 8. SS-Panzer-Grenadier Rgt (Walther Schimana) remains where it is for the time being - from Radava to Semizovac. Its withdrawal is planned to take place as and when the SS vanguard is extracted from the basin.
On the other side of the field, as you would expect, it is a surprise. The Titists, who had fought so hard over the last few days and made so many sacrifices in the face of a stubborn, devious opponent who has also suffered severe losses, cannot explain their withdrawal. What is the point of having bled for so long in the line of fire, only to leave overnight, under no particular pressure? Obviously, the AVNOJ staff, who are competent and used to small-scale warfare, suspect that the wear and tear suffered by the SS has something to do with it - as do the Greeks in the 1st Corps (Giorgios Kosmas), who are relieved to see that their Fabian strategy of erosion and peripheral nibbling seeming to be bearing fruit without them having to get their feet wet...
That's all well and good, but the reaction to what is (after all!) a success differs from flag to flag. Obviously, the Yugoslavs would like to move forward again straight away - now that their opponents are staggering and getting into trouble, they have to shoot them down before they can entrench themselves further away. But the Greeks see no point in running over the SS. The Franco-Greek 2nd Army, deployed in difficult terrain in a guard-rail position for the benefit of British operations in Hungary, has no interest in multiplying its efforts for the benefit of... others. The objective defined by Montgomery via Audet - to support the AVNOJ while settling the matter of the disturbing Soviet initiative - seems on the way to being achieved: the Nazis are leaving, Sarajevo would soon be taken and what paratroopers remained would be evacuated. Are there any left, in fact? Controversy, on this subject in particular (but not only...), rages on in Greek-Yugoslav exchanges - regular, professional, but alas still not as constructive or realistic (depending on your point of view!) as it should be.
Be that as it may, the 8th 'Dalmatian' Corps (Vicko Krstulović, Ivan Kukoč) does not need Greek authorisation to occupy the positions abandoned by the enemy. Before nightfall, the area around Mount Trebević is cleared. The 9th Dalmatian Division (Ante Banina, Eduard Santini), which had given so much over the last few days, has the honour of hoisting the six-headed flag over the last Fascist redoubt for good. At the same time, the 19th North Dalmatian Division (Milan Sakic Micun, Petar Babić) is securing Studenkovići, indifferent to the intermittent fire it is still receiving from the White Fortress. Behind it, Thrasyvoulos Tsakalotos's 3rd Mountain Brigade is consolidating the main road through the Miljacka Gorge, in liaison with Pafsanias Katsotas's 6th Mountain Brigade - which is much less busy than its neighbour, given that the 20th and 26th 'Dalmatian' Divisions are still completely unable to break through the defences of the 8. SS-Panzer-Grenadier Rgt (Walther Schimana).
On the western side of the basin, the 13. SS-Freiwilligen Gebirgsjäger Rgt Artur Phleps (Ernst Deutsch) finally abandons the hotly contested sector of the Bosnian springs and Hadžići. He moves northwards towards Rakovica - in liaison with the Reinhard-Heydrich on his left (of course) and on his right, with the 7. SS-Panzer-Grenadier Rgt (Alfred Wünnenberg). The latter retreats in relative good order towards Tarčin, abandoning the Zujevina valley under the intermittent strikes of the allied artillery (still Charalambos Katsimitros' 13th ID).
Here, however, the Titists do not wish to continue. The "proletarian" 1st Corps (Koča Popović, Mijalko Todorovic) and the "Bosnian" 3rd Corps (Kosta Nađ, Osman Karabegovic) really do not have the luxury of playing the bourgeois lovers of the hunt - not in such difficult terrain, against such well-armed game and after such costly efforts. So the AVNOJ are happy to take what they can get away with: Hadžići, Grude, Hrasnica... waging a war that is as tedious as it is effective - but no more.
Obviously, this is satisfactory - but the Titist high command is still a little disappointed. The new Yugoslav army is not just going to occupy the ground left to the enemy! That would not be very glorious... and would jeopardize its future victorious status. So we have to do better - Arsenije "Arso" Jovanović will tell us, on behalf of the leader. Move forward, with all the means still available... in other words, not much more. However, Petar "Peko" Dapcevic obeys, of course. Tomorrow, the 16th "Muslim" Shock Brigade (Salim Ćerić, Muhidin Begić), the only fresh elite unit in the sector, will have the honour of assaulting the White Fortress sector, all the way to the city centre.
Dalmatia - To Krüger's right, the V. SS-Gebirgs-Armee-Korps Kommando Adria (Obergruppenführer Georg Keppler) is obviously preparing to follow. The liaison with the III. SS-GAK, based in Konjic, is entrusted to the SS-Freiwilligen Panzergrenadier-Brigade Nederland (Brigadeführer Jürgen Wagner) - which is beginning to descend from Sarajevo at this very moment. Among the troops, the news of this withdrawal is the subject of debate. In the absence of pressure from their adversary, the Greek 2nd Corps, the defenders of the Neretva can feel that they have not been defeated and are surprised to be made to pack up.
Of course, the Croatians of the KLAK - increasingly discouraged since their misadventure on Lake Scutari, not to mention a number of recent defections... - are not much heartened by this umpteenth setback. And while Jurgen's Dutchmen couldn't care less, one unit on their left is complaining more: the 11. SS-Gebirgs-Division Handschar under Brigadeführer Karl-Gustav Sauberzweig. In the upper echelons, people have forgotten, because of all the changes of uniform, that this division is mainly made up of Croats and Bosnians... But none of the liaison officers, whether or not they wear the verdigris uniform, see fit to remind their masters.
AVNOJ
The fight is on!
Croatia (west), Lika-Senj - As was to be expected, the improvement in the weather does not exactly mean the resumption of the offensive for Ivan Brozovic's I Croatian Corps, which is still stuck at the limit of both the weather and its possibilities.
To the north, the 1st Mountain Division (Matija Čanić) continues to slide towards Mazin, without quite succeeding for the moment - the fault of a relatively effective intervention by the 43rd "Istrian" Division (Milan Šakić Mićun, Marijan Badel), which partly comes down from Bihać to support the 8th Kordun Division (Vlado Cetkovic, Arthur Turkulin). With no support on its right, the advance of the 3rd ID Osijek (Emil Radl) towards Otrić remains... potential. And given that the 2nd ID Vrbaska (Colonel Mirko Greguric) is not doing much better on the climb up to Krupa either, we were once again heading for a stalemate in this sector of the front, for one day at least. Informed, the Germans let it go - in any case, with the retreat of the V. SS-GAK, the situation seems likely to resolve itself.
Much more serious, however, were developments in the Donja Previja sector. Here, the 7th Banija Division (Vojislav Djokic, Kluro Kladarin) suddenly attacks the positions of the 5th Croatian Division Bosanka (Colonel Roman Domanic), which is defending the Čađavica crossroads. The assault is carried out with almost equal numbers of men (although this had not been the case a few days earlier!) - but, faced with demotivated and unsupported troops, it proves devastating. Especially as the attackers seem to know the Croatian position very well! The 5th Infantry Division quickly loses its footing and has to ask for the full support of Antun Prohaska's 2nd Mountain Division (although it is responsible for protecting the road to Banja Luka from possible infiltration!) in order to hold the right flank, i.e. the north. To the south, Ivan Markuli makes do with what he has... expediency.
By evening, the darkness has not stopped the fighting and the Titists are infiltrating everywhere: they are in Gornji Graci, Stražice and all around Čađavica.
Gospić - The couriers of the 10th "Croatian" Corps have reached Andrija Fatty Hebrang's HQ. Hebrang, calmed by the course of operations (the return of fine weather had not helped the fascists, on the contrary!), is willing to consider with Vladimir Matetić a joint assault towards Banja Luka - the 34th "Croatian" Division and the 35th Lika Division joining forces to slip over the enemy flank while the Banija holds the occupied Ustasha to the south. It is ambitious... but it is likely to work, given the probable weakness of the enemy. And then, who knows why, Hebrang gives the impression of having something to make up for... Anyway! Time to put all this together and we attack. It's a matter of three or four days.
Croatia
Enraged executioner
Sarajevo (Marindvor district) - Carrying the NDH colours high through the ravaged streets of the city, forty-five victims hung from lampposts and trees, swaying in the spittle, a "Long live the Poglavnik!" echoes. The crows and other scavengers are already feasting... and not just on the flesh. In fact, during the night, immediately after the execution, several courageous people tried to remove the bodies, taking advantage of the confusion in the town. The effort was worthwhile but futile: Luburić had snipers stationed on the neighbouring buildings - they remained on the lookout until morning and were happy to add a few more deaths to the butcher's bill... Meanwhile, the Ustasha executioner takes to the north with his court, somewhat ahead of his masters. As a result, before leaving, he didn't have time to clean up after himself - but others will soon realise that.
Interview with an Ustashi
"- The fighting around Čađavica?
- Yes, that's right.
- And how did it go?
- Badly. Very badly. I was called in with my shock group to reinforce the road to Mrkonjić Grad, in the Gornji Graci sector, all in an atmosphere of improvisation and visible panic. As soon as we got to the edge of a stream [according to the maps, this is probably the Zelinikovac, which runs north-south from Gornji Graci to Podrašnica], we accelerated under fire, only to come across a section of Croatian conscripts who were clearly struggling, if not dying! The sergeant had just enough time to say to us through the gunfire: "I'm glad you could come", and Bim [he hits his temple with his index finger], he took a bullet to the head.
The major shakes his head, sorry to see that he's done a very, very poor job, before continuing...
- Fools! What did they expect, staying out in the open like that to fire a shot? On the other side, the enemy was still relatively dispersed - he was probably aiming for the northern road, the road to Banja Luka. We knocked out his scouts with automatic weapons, then set up an advanced position in the woods immediately to the west.
- What exactly did you expect to do here, with no backup and no means of communication?
- We had a wireless radio!
- Oh, but that was rare in those days.
- My... relationship with the SS at the time, which you liked to mention earlier, made things a bit easier for me. Shall I continue?
- Please do.
- In short, we managed to reach General Markuli's HQ in Mrkonjić Grad. I think I spoke to him in person on the phone... He said to me, with worrying frankness: "Ratko? I've lost touch with everyone back home. I think you're all I've got left around here! Indeed, considering the bodies scattered all around us, that was likely.
- That said, did he still have orders for you?
- Of course he did! Orders that I was only moderately happy to follow, but what choice did we really have, me and my Vukas? I can still remember... " You and your men are to advance into the woods in the Donji Graci sector to create insecurity on the opposing flank, towards the Čađavica."
- That's a lot, for just one shock group....
- Indeed. But Ivan Markuli wasn't responsible for having idiots under his command. He was a competent man. He knew that, to have a reasonable chance of success, we needed explanations. From memory, it went like this: "As long as the enemy believes its right flank is secure, it will enclose Čađavica and prevent those still there from fleeing. From their current positions, they observe all our movements and we are systematically countered. If their flank looks threatened, we can stall. I hope you succeed, Ratko."
- Too kind. Did you go all the same?
- Not too hard, but yes. As I said, what choice did we have? Run away like others? Surrender? Turn our backs? That wasn't - and still isn't - in my character. What's more, with our reputation, each of us already knew that some brave hero would want to take revenge on us as soon as we'd had the stupidity to lay down our arms."
(Dans la tête du monstre - Conversation avec un officier oustachi, Robert Stan Pratsky, Flammarion 1982)
Crushed Hungary
The American season
Western Hungary - Another alert take-off for the Red Pumas. They sent 12 aircraft (4 from the 101/1 század Zongora and 8 from the 101/2 század Retek) to join 20 other interceptors, most of them German, to intercept a bomber flight detected over Slovenia.
Unfortunately for them, due to the capricious weather in the Balkan theater and above all a ground control error, the fighters miss the raid en route to Austria and return to their bases without losses. That's for another time...
Yugoslavia torn apart
Game over?
Belgrade and London - The announced and assumed breakdown in relations between the United Kingdom and the Kingdom of Yugoslavia has had its first unpleasant consequences. In addition to the reciprocal diplomatic dismissal of His Excellency Bogoljub Jevtić (who will be replaced by a chargé d'affaires), London has officially ordered the suspension of all current transactions, the freezing of Yugoslav assets and the end of all assistance missions deployed in the country. None of this seems to faze Peter II's court - after a few weeks of hesitation, the sovereign has clearly adopted the hard-line stance of those closest to him. If Winston Churchill still regards the Balkans as a strategic region, sooner or later he will have to come to his senses if he is to play his 'great game' - or else he will have to give up: after all, nobody in Belgrade has asked him for anything!
However, the White Palace seems convinced that the showdown - as unpleasant as it is - cannot last. Not when victory is so close! And especially not in favour of a Red who has done nothing for the Common Cause before 1942! At worst, when the war was over, we would see to it that the British be totally sidelined, before working with more reasonable people - the French, for example, whose President of the Council is reputed to be pro-monarchist and therefore inevitably anti-communist. If need be, the Americans will also be ready to support the right side in a possible civil war, once their current bout of bad temper has passed. In the meantime, all we can do is hold out.
For the time being, only military collaboration is escaping British vindictiveness. The 18th AAG still needs General Brasic's 1st Corps, if only to cover its flank on the Carpathian side... In addition, London does not want to alienate the "mostly reasonable" (in the words of the Foreign Office) part of the Royal Army, a part which at the moment maintains a healthy reserve with regard to political disorder. The attitude of Mirković's group remains to be assessed when Robert Stone arrives in Belgrade...
Franco-Tibetan negotiations
French Embassy (Belgrade) - His Excellency Roger Maugras naturally expects to be recalled by Marseille following his report on Roland de Margerie's communication. But not so quickly, and not least by a leading minister.
Léon Blum is not the least enthusiastic at the mention of what he sees as the beginnings of a solution - from the Socialist camp, moreover. Hasn't he said it often enough: Communists also know how to be reasonable! At the other end of the line, Maugras - who undoubtedly knows the Yugoslavs better - is not exactly as euphoric. And without going so far as to say it outright, he diplomatically tried to make it clear, especially when his minister was already talking about moving on.
- If I may say so, Minister, wouldn't we need the agreement of... the whole government before considering coordinated action with Mr Tito?
- The President of the Council is busy, to say the least. And most of the state apparatus with him. I myself hope to soon have the pleasure of... moving again. And then, we are already partly in business with this Marshal! It's an historic opportunity, don't you think?
- Well... Given the current state of unrest in Belgrade, a constructive proposal from the AVNOJ has a good chance of succeeding. Mr Tito might even succeed in... convincing them if we can organise a meeting...
- So that's very encouraging. On the other hand, Sir Leeper's dismissal by Belgrade meant that we had to act as quickly as possible before we were swamped for good. So I'm using my authority to cover the minor adjustments requested by Marshal Tito, and you can go ahead. My office will call you back with the details and will contact General Audet's HQ in Tirana directly. Thank you for your excellent work in what I imagine will be a very difficult situation, Your Excellency!
And Blum hangs up. For his part, Maugras thinks he might have benefited from expressing his thoughts more frankly. He looks at the mute handset for a moment, before bursting into a bitter laugh. Then, to his astonished assistant, he slips in this darkly prophetic phrase: "Do you know that when I was talking to the Minister, I almost said that Tito might succeed in swindling them!"
The Hebrang affair (continued)
A cave north of Višegrad (Marshal Tito's residence) - Josip Broz has found the right guard for this agitated Andrija Hebrang. It would be Edvard Kardelj - for the moment still busy with liaison duties between Tirana and Pogdorica. Tito sends him an explicit message about his future mission with his Croatian comrades...
"Meet me urgently in Croatia. They are creating incredible nonsense. Firstly, ZAVNOH has passed a resolution making religious education a compulsory subject in schools. Secondly, they have founded a telegraph agency called TAH. All this shows that separatist tendencies are quite strong [there], and this is true even for our comrades. There's nothing to joke about: we'll have to take the toughest measures. Andrija is responsible for all this. Find out for yourself, and if Andrija doesn't accept our advice, we'll have to dismiss him immediately as secretary of the CC [Central Committee].
No doubt some might object that Kardelj is just as useful where he is, negotiating with the Franco-Greeks... Never mind, AVNOJ unity is the priority, and comrade "Fatty" is proving decidedly uncontrollable as long as he's away from the leader!
The path of reason
Kruševac - Continued negotiations between the AVNOJ (represented by Milovan Đilas), the Hrvatska seljačka stranka of Jančiković, Magovac and Košutić and the Jugoslavenska demokratska stranka of Grol, Perunicic and Pribićević. The discussions, which unfortunately drag on a little (from the Partisan's point of view...), focus mainly on post-war policy. In particular, the contours of Croatia's future federal status are discussed (but much less so that of Macedonia, which everyone already sees being punished for its Bulgarian friendships...) as well as those of maintaining decision-making institutions in Serbia. And then there's the talk of maroquins in the months to come. But in this area, like in many others, it costs Đilas nothing to promise. In the end, it won't even be him who decides!
Rubble
Somewhere in western Serbia - A curious coincidence: just as his former friend Dimitrije Ljotić has just been laid to rest, Jevrem Simić - head of the Royal Corps, former leader of the late Draza Mihailovic's 2nd Assault Corps and once Ljotić's contact in his quest for asylum after the failure of Glaive of Justice - is in turn the victim of a curious 'accident' in the woods south of Gradačac. His convoy disappears in circumstances that remain obscure to this day - only the decapitated body of one of his bodyguards is found at the bottom of a ravine. And no one will ever hear from the Serbian warlord again...
.........
"Jevrem Ješa Simić, ?-1944 - Yugoslav warlord, Chetnik colonel. A student at the military academy in the same class as Draza Mihailovic, an artillery officer and veteran of the Balkan wars and the First World War, Jevrem Simic retired at the time of the invasion in May 1941, after having been a director of the Hanau company for a time.
Hiding out in Belgrade until the end of operations, he spontaneously resumed contact with Mihailovic in February 1942 and, thanks to their friendship, soon obtained the post of inspector in the Supreme Command. Jevrem Simić navigated the nebulous, ambiguous and precarious relations between the Chetniks and the occupiers with relative skill. Alongside Nikola Kalabić (who was far more committed to the Nazis), he was one of the signatories of the spring 42 agreements with the Wehrmacht, which established the principle of Serbian-German collaboration against the Titist forces. The rapid advance of Allied forces towards northern Greece, the Macedonian campaign and finally the German decision to disarm the Serbian militias put an end to these arrangements, the exact influence of which has still not been fully measured to this day - although it is clear that they resulted in many deaths, mainly for the benefit of Germany.
At the time in charge of the 2nd Assault Corps of 'pro-Allied' Chetniks, Jevrem Simić took a half-hearted part in the fratricidal fighting in the Kragujevac sector against the Serbian Volunteer Corps, then against KG Braun, both deployed by the Wehrmacht to block the road to Belgrade for those who wanted to go up there to help the insurrection. Cornered by the arrival of German reinforcements - the 297. ID - Simić's unit found itself partly surrounded on a wooded hill south of Vinjište, in confused circumstances that saw Draza Mihailovic killed, while Simić escaped.
Now suspected of treason in the eyes of his peers - nothing was ever proven on this point, but his venality was common knowledge - Jevrem Simić nevertheless inherited a post in the freecorps of Peter II Karađorđević, perhaps at the insistence of minister Momčilo Ninčić. This unit was then deployed in southern Serbia, in the Preseka sector - which at the same time saw numerous Ustasha and AVNOJ units clashing. The exact make-up and activities of this unit - as with many of the freecorps - remain a mystery to this day. The most we know is that, on May 7th, it was somewhere to the north-east of Sarajevo. It was around Gradačac, on May 23rd, that the trail of Jevrem Simić was finally lost - all that was found of his troop was a decapitated body, identified only by its insignia. Even today, a macabre rumour claims that some people took revenge for one betrayal too many on the part of this war leader; his head and those of his family members are said to form a pyramid somewhere at the bottom of a cave. The above is of course impossible to confirm... but just as impossible to refute, for anyone who knows the Balkans and what can be found there on the corner of a wood".
(Robert Stan Pratsky - Dictionnaire de la Seconde Guerre Mondiale en Méditerranée, Flammarion, 2008)
24/05/44 - Balkans, Liberation of Sarajevo
May 24th, 1944
Balkan campaign
Operation Vremya Tsvetov (Time of Flowers) - White corollas and poppies
Sarajevo region - "The break was over. Our Yugoslav comrades, who had taken us in, cared for us and fed us, were already heading back south in pursuit of the fascist enemy. As the most senior officer in the group - at Red Army level, of course - it was up to me to decide what to do next.
"What do we do?" said Dimitri to the group. The answer was not self-evident. Some wanted to leave with the Titists. Others preferred to head north, following the Greeks or even other Yugoslavs, to see if there were any comrades left in our drop zone. Finally, the last group would simply like to stay here and wait for what comes next. Quite a unit for a group of just ten men!
My mother had always told me: "To visit a friend, no road is too long". And since the Titists were our friends, I figured a long diversions with them wouldn't kill me. In the end, some - not all - followed me. Sometimes grumbling, but they followed me. And they didn't regret it."
Sergeant Victor Bondarenko, whom I met through an intermediary in Split in 1988, remained in Yugoslavia after the war under the name Viktor Bogdanović. Clearly, this Ukrainian from a ravaged village near Brody was not interested in returning to the USSR. He was the last known survivor of a unit that was officially wiped out during the parachute drop on May 17th.
Declared missing by the Red Army, Bondarenko benefited, in an unexpected twist of fate, from the amnesty offered to all by Marshal Tito in 1944. In three months of fighting, he had won the esteem and friendship of his peers in the 3rd 'Bosnian' Corps. They had no trouble finding him a new identity as a repentant Ustashi, which enabled him to get a job as a car repairer and settle in the sunny Adriatic coast... Readers will forgive the late nature of the end of this story. This delay is directly due to the discretion I was obliged to exercise towards Bondarenko-Bogdanović, at least until his death. The Red Army does not like deserters..."
(Robert Stan Pratsky, The Liberation of Greece and the Balkans, Flammarion, 2005)
Operation Veritable - The siege of Sarajevo and Operation Ratweek
Sarajevo region - In the wind and sadness, the 16th "Muslim" Shock Brigade (Salim Ćerić, Muhidin Begić) is the first to enter Sarajevo, skirting the Miljacka after a hook designed to secure the high point of the White Fortress.
The city is deserted - or almost. Only a few forgotten idiots, a handful of fanatics and a few mines (although the Axis no longer had many here) are still in the way of the Partisans... On the other hand, Sarajevo is overflowing with corpses. It smells of death and misfortune. And on their way to Kiseljak and Podlugovi - where they have already arrived - the SS of the 14. SS-Freiwilligen Gebirgsjäger Rgt Reinhard-Heydrich and the 8. SS-Panzergrenadier Rgt took great care to destroy everything they could not take with them. So this is not the place for the AVNOJ to recruit new forces! And while the 8th 'Dalmatian' Corps (Vicko Krstulović, Ivan Kukoč) and the 12th 'Vojvodina' Corps (Danilo Lekic Spaniard, Stefan Mitrović) descend from their mountains ahead of the Greeks to join in the victory, everyone suspects that the celebrations would have to wait a little longer... For sure, the liberation of Sarajevo would not be the same as the liberation of Paris.
Further south, in the Lepenica valley, the 13. SS-Freiwilligen Gebirgsjäger Rgt Artur-Phleps and the 7. SS-Panzergrenadier Rgt have no trouble reaching Brnjaci and then Kiseljak, following the Reinhard-Heydrich. They leave it to Jürgen Wagner's Nederland to reach Prozor via Donjic, in liaison with the rest of the V. SS-GAK. Their opponents - Koča Popović's "Proletarians" and Kosta Nađ's "Bosnians" - have run out of energy. For the time being, they are simply planning to move south to reinforce the 2nd "shock" Corps, leaving the road to Banja Luka to others.
The elite troops of the AVNOJ will not even have the pleasure of marching through the town for the time being! The 16th Vojvodina Division (Danilo Lekić, Savo Miljanović) can run across the Miljacka to hoist the six-pointed flag over the town hall and the mosque of Gazi Husrev-bey (1531) - thereby showing the comrades of the 12th Corps the politeness of the 8th Dalmatian Corps - but it is hardly a triumph.
In front, the allied air force did what it could... not as much as had been hoped, in truth. It seemed that the long-awaited victory was nothing more than a bitter leap into the void.
Dalmatia - The 11. SS-Gebirgs-Division Handschar (Karl-Gustav Sauberzweig) begins to abandon the Neretva line, and thus Mostar - as far as Posušje to begin with. This should logically lead to the withdrawal of the Kroatian Legion Armee Korps of Ivo Herenčić and Johann Mickl to its right, towards the Zagvozd sector. A 45-kilometre leap backwards, awaiting the Nederland, to be carried out under the indifferent eye of the Greeks and the hateful - but exhausted - gaze of the Titists. Shouldn't that be fine?
No doubt... But the problem is that, while the task may not be too difficult, it is not without meaning for those who are supposed to carry it out. A good number of Handschar soldiers - and, to a certain extent, Kama soldiers, but the latter don't back down... - come from regions that are being abandoned to the enemy today, or will be tomorrow. And they don't particularly see the point of retreating to Lika or central Croatia (or even Istria?) to defend a land they don't care about for the benefit of others*.
So, of course, the Bosnian SS - like all their compatriots - swore loyalty to the Führer. And they also proudly wear the uniform with the runes and the fez - which bring them glory and status... while also inspiring fear, given the pedigree of the division since its creation. Fear of the scimitar has served the Handschar volunteers well. In a fair (?) twist of fate, it now constitutes the main obstacle - much more so than honour or loyalty - to a turnaround in the Muslim SS. There is no guarantee that they would be welcomed with open arms if they dared to defect!
Nevertheless, the mercenaries - pragmatic men - like to keep a way out. It is rumoured that Marshal Tito recently offered a general amnesty - wouldn't that apply to them too? And while we're waiting to find out, the Handschar is dragging its feet, dawdling, strangely much less effective than before - and some units are verging on insubordination.
But General Muhamed Hromić (who represents the NDH to the 11. SS-GD) is unable to get his German counterparts to accept all this. Unlike Johann Mickl, from the KLAK - who was much more understanding, although he had forgotten all about the Croats... - Georg Keppler, this one-eyed, stubborn military man, competent but inflexibly strict, would have none of it! As far as he's concerned, the edifice has to hold together, with a pat on the back and a whip if necessary. A precarious balance, to say the least...
NDH Army
Valuable reinforcements
OKH (Berlin) - After many annoying pleas and long hours spent begging on the phone, the NDH army is finally getting a handout from its German godfather. It's a dozen... Austrian Steyr ADGZ self-propelled guns.
Dating from 1934, this little machine is armed with a 45mm ws.1932 gun and three MG-34s (not bad). Like the trams, it also had two driver's cabs at either end - so it didn't have to turn round to maneuver on the back roads of the Balkans! However, its armouring leaves something to be desired: just 11 mm. This means that its lifespan against anything more than individual weapons (and even then!) will be counted in minutes in the event of an engagement. But in any case, the Reich can't or doesn't want to give anything else.
Air warfare
Allied return
Yugoslav Front - With the return of relatively good weather came the return of the Banshee, Beaumont and other A-20s, which display their varied colours to distribute their projectiles all over the front line. The lines of communication of the Croatian V Corps, at Oriovac and Nova Gradiska, are particularly hard hit by the Allied aircraft, which mercilessly strafe anything that moves. It is bad enough that the Ustachis don't have many lorries left...
More importantly, it is also the main supply route to Zenica for the III. SS-GAK and V. SS-GAK, is targeted. In the absence of a sizeable opponent in the area - or indeed any opponent at all - the 1st Air Army and the 1st TAF do as they please...
Croatian misery
Zagreb - General Adalbert Rogulja, head of a ZNDH in the throes of doubt, if not outright decomposition, must be saddened to note that his godmother the Luftwaffe is not making too great an effort to help him pick up the gauntlet. Apart from the late and supposedly generous delivery of a few MS-406, MC-200 and MC-202 fighters - and even then, pilots have to be sent to Northern Italy for training** before they can be made available - Rogulja is now seeing the availability of its aircraft dwindle to a trickle, between fuel shortages and a lack of spare parts. In fact, most of the aircraft can only fly, let's say, on special dispensation, after extensive testing and tinkering***! The factories at Zemun (WNF/ZMAJ), which have been badly damaged, are only repairing airframes intermittently. As for the engines, while the Motor site in Zagreb is still there, the Avia site in Sarajevo is obviously no longer available!
Worse still: today, the Croatian air force no longer has the material resources to train new pilots - and the Germans stubbornly refuse to take over! So we have to start disbanding the flying schools set up since 1942 (for example, the 1st School in Borovo), and send the staff to the front and the aircraft to other institutions, which are still partially open. Where they would fly when they could, and when the weather was fine****...
So the newspaper Tempo may have a front page headline about virile mechanics repairing a Dornier, but the reality is quite different: for want of any other choice, the ZNDH is devouring its substance as well as its future. And, no doubt, its children tomorrow.
AVNOJ
The fight is on!
Croatia (west), Lika-Senj - Clashes in the Otrić sector between Ivan Brozovic's I Croatian Corps and the 8th Kordun Division (Vlado Cetkovic, Arthur Turkulin), reinforced on its left by the 43rd 'Istrian' Division (Milan Šakić Mićun, Marijan Badel), are still slow. Urged on by their masters, but also suffering from a severe lack of ammunition - not to mention a serious lack of... energy - the Ustase make little progress and the day degeneratesonce again into a succession of small clashes with nothing at stake. Here we fight for a modest eminence, there for a small road.
The few AVNOJ tanks in the area (rare, but very real) hold firm on the direct road to Gračac, all the more easily because their opponents had hardly any anti-tank equipment... In addition, the Bucephalus of 336th Squadron (H) make several notable appearances on the front line - each time, their 20 mm guns and rockets energetically calm the timid Axis attempts. It would seem that the allied air force has received specific support instructions from certain high officials...
Further east, around Čađavica, the 7th Banija Division (Vojislav Djokic, Kluro Kladarin) violently pushes back the 5th Bosanka Division (Colonel Roman Domanic) as far as Gornje Ratkovo. And the intervention of the 2nd Mountain Division (Antun Prohaska) is decisive in halting the rout and replenishing the Croatian lines, which has been particularly sparse of late! So for the time being, the situation is stabilising in the north - as long as Axis units don't desert too badly. In the south, on the other hand, the road to Mrkonjić Grad remains wide open - and Ivan Markuli can do nothing about it other than withdraw his HQ to Banja Luka and wait for reinforcements. With obvious disgust, the SS promise him that the SS-Freiwilligen Gebirgs-Brigade Kama (Helmuth Raithel) would be sent from Laktaši... since he has to do everything here!
Interview with an Ustashi
Near suicide mission
"I dare not ask if your mission was a success.
- You're doing well. And yet we managed to gain time! Enough for others to take advantage, I don't know - I doubt it - but still enough to force Tito's terrorists to send some reinforcements to confront us. [He clicks his tongue contemptuously and settles back into his chair with his back straight]. We were no match for so many enemies. And getting people killed for nothing - good people, my people! - has never been my policy.
- So you fled?
- We withdrew as soon as the situation in the woods of Donji Graci became hopeless. As we passed through a grove, I lost two of my men, victims of an ambush by former compatriots who had dared to use their uniforms against us.
- An attack under a false flag?
- I don't really understand your expression. Anyway, they didn't take it to heaven. But this episode made us furious. The troops were angry. I was angry. Losing friends like that because some twisted youngsters turned their backs at the first opportunity! When we got to Podbrdo, near Mrkonjić Grad, HQ told us that reinforcements were on their way. It was up to us to join them... But we were still furious."
(Dans la tête du monstre - Conversation avec un officier oustachi, Robert Stan Pratsky, Flammarion 1982)
Bosnia
Horror
Sarajevo (Marindvor district) - Upon reaching the former "houses of terror" of Vjekoslav "Maks" Luburić, the AVNOJ and then the allied forces discover a true carnage. In addition to the 323 victims (only...) whose names are cited in the partially destroyed archives, and what are presumed to be several hundred "missing" deportees yet to be identified, the Croatian butcher has left several mass graves in his backyard, both literally and figuratively. Their exhumation before the cameras of the Allied forces will enable a film to be made, which will be carefully preserved in the Yugoslav audiovisual archives. Although the film is accessible to all without any great formalities, it is nevertheless a spectacle that is difficult to bear, especially when it was realised that a significant proportion of the corpses were those of children.
The American journalist Landrum Bolling - one of the very few overseas correspondents in the region - preferred to give his readers a more eloquent description for the future: "In front, a room full of bodies piled like firewood on top of each other. Many of the corpses showed signs of torture and mutilation. Among the corpses was that of Halid Nazečić, whose head had been mutilated, eyes gouged out and genitals scalded."
To be sure, the man responsible for the assassination attempt on Luburić did not die the sweetest of deaths. But his killer will not be taking him to heaven - or so we hope. Indeed, notwithstanding the well-known circumstances of the attack on May 7th, Bolling's articles will do much to document the crimes of the NDH's worst cultists in preparation for their inevitable future trial. They will also help to bring some reality to the appalling inter-ethnic conflict in Yugoslavia, in the eyes of those US citizens who are willing to read his prose.
Yugoslavia torn apart
A game that's not really fun any more - but with new rules
Belgrade - General Robert Stone arrives late - but arrives nonetheless - in the Yugoslav capital. His first act is to visit the trio of Borivoje Mirković, Dušan Simović and Bogoljub Ilić, in a rare display of diplomatic delicacy towards the mutineers - a display that the royal government, for its part, was sure to interpret as a sign of mistrust towards him. This is undoubtedly true to some extent... but if Stone had first gone to see Peter II, Prime Minister Petar Živković or Colonel Miodrag Rakić, it would have been the so-called pro-British officers who would have been offended! What's more, he would have had no guarantee of being well received by the royalists.
In short, Stone has the subtlety of the Royal Engineers, the thoughtfulness of Camberley Staff College and (also) the experience of the unrest that periodically shook an Egyptian army that was epidermically nervous. So he has the intelligence to walk on eggshells with his hosts. And somewhat surprisingly, the welcome he receives turns out to be quite good! The mutineers, courteous if not cordial, confirm their desire to continue to cooperate fraternally with the Allies, now that it is clear that the King's military cabinet would not be able to voluntarily go up the hill it is currently descending. They do, however, have one demand: reintegration into the Yugoslav army as soon as possible, in order to continue the conflict under their colours. From this point of view, the Briton is willing to promise to... do his best, to the extent of his future powers to be confirmed, but without more certainty for the moment.
All the same, Stone's mission gets off to a better start than had been feared. On the other hand, the general does not manage to be received by the royal authorities on the same day. They are clearly reluctant, even though there is nothing to compel them to follow up - the breakdown in diplomatic relations between Belgrade and London does nothing to help the matter, of course. Of course, all this does nothing to resolve the underlying issue, let alone the continuation of the war against the Reich...
Emergency measures (reinforced)
A prison camp in Albania - The French 2nd Army is ordered to prepare to transfer all the Ustasha officers who have defected from the KLAK, including General Marko Mesić. They are to be taken from their cells, loaded into lorries - in a saloon car for Mesić, let's respect his rank ... - then driven in a civilised but quiet manner to Podgorica, to be handed over to authorities to be specified, who will take charge of them.
At the same time, DESTROMO is also quickly asked for a special Podgorica-Belgrade flight - heavily escorted, but again to be organized with the utmost discretion.
Red Messiah
A cave north of Višegrad (Marshal Tito's residence) - The Marshal's new and enigmatic political maneuvers do not make everyone happy, despite the trust that everyone placed in him. In fact, no member of the Soviet mission (starting with its head, Major General Nikolai Vasilevich Korneev) was consulted about the announced formation of this famous popular front - even though it claims to include the reactionaries of the Democratic Party and the fascist traitors of the Croatian Peasant Party.
With the general amnesty decreed by Tito a few days ago, that's a lot of deviationism! And unfortunately, there is no one in Višegrad with any real decision-making power to answer the questions of the USSR representatives. We apologise, we understand, we suggest patience. In the meantime, collaboration continued - of course. Korneev, in particular, whose friendship for Tito is sincere, does his utmost. Moreover, he has not received any instructions to the contrary! But all the same... we can't wait for the 1st Yugoslav Brigade to arrive, to put Tito's clock back a little on Soviet time.
The Hebrang affair (continued)
Port of Bar - Edvard Kardelj sets sail for Croatia on one of the small ships of the Partisan naval dust, which travel from island to island along the Adriatic coast. On his departure, he leaves his liaison mission to Montenegrin Moša Pijade - a member of the central committee and a pragmatic figure, who is responsible for drawing up the laws regulating the liberation committees at the time of the defunct Republic of Foča. A Cartesian mind, then. But a literary man too: he is the founder of the Danas Srbije (News from Serbia) press agency, which acts as a mouthpiece for the Partisans. Incidentally, Pijade knows how to be brutal towards anyone who strays from the Party line - it is no doubt partly his doing that Milovan Đilas lost his command in 1942, as a result of repression.
In short, it would be better if Kardelj doesn't hang around too long. That's why the Slovenian would no doubt have preferred a plane (but planes fall!) or, ideally, one of those capitalist speedboats that are as fast as they are well-armed... Alas, the Old Man is adamant: his arrival has to be swift, of course - but also, and above all, discreet. The Franco-Greeks have nothing to do with the internal tensions of the AVNOJ. And of course, Hebrang must not be told either.
The path of reason
Kruševac - After several days of argumentation, tug-of-war and other trifles arising from distant plans on the comet, the unified parties - in the meantime reinforced by a host of smaller formations more or less invoked - finally agree on a joint declaration, in the absence of a real programme.
In fact, the intentions of this Narodni Front, however laudable, still seemed rather generic:
"The territorial liberation of Yugoslavia,
- national and social emancipation of all the peoples of Yugoslavia,
- establishment of fraternity, unity and equality among the people of Yugoslavia,
- creation of a new state, renovated in economic and political terms".
All this is very good, even if everyone will notice that, in essence, nothing in this text completely closes the door to the preservation of a monarchy. Details like this will have to wait - for example, they will be discussed at a congress to be organised after Victory, which will enable the country to be completely reformed.
But who cares? The small parties or the big old ones, stuck in a corner, exist again. The AVNOJ, once pushed to the ropes by anti-communism, now has its symbol and is emerging from its isolation, leaving the Belgrade nerves to play the role of dividers. That's not entirely untrue, it's true - but to conclude from this ostentatious rally that the Titist movement has been politically blameless since 1941 (or even before!) would be saying a lot.
In short! Be that as it may, Milovan Đilas is not the least satisfied with the completion of his - admittedly particularly thankless - mission. The joint declaration will be published tomorrow. And to conclude, Đilas says to his comrade, the propagandist Vladimir Vlado Dedijer: "Now, let's go and negotiate with that scumbag Bozidar Purić!" In fact, it is now up to the Prime Minister to defend both his legitimacy and his existence.
NDH
Brought to heel
Lepoglav prison (northern Croatia) - After five days of pointless pseudo-debates, the special court set up by Interior Minister Andrija Artuković delivers its verdict against the "traitors of May 7th", as Ante Vokić and Mladen Lorković - among other failed conspirators - are now known. Unsurprisingly, the sentence is death, for them and their accomplices Ljudevit Tomašić and Ivanko Farolfi (among others). Fedor Dragojlov, on the other hand, escapes execution: the head of the Hrvatske Oruzane Snage - the former Croatian National Guard - escapes without a scratch, despite the doubts of some. In fact, he reacted against the conspirators as soon as the attack failed, with a zeal and celerity that were a pleasure to see.
The so-called justice system of the independent state of Croatia should not have been expected to do any better than it had done two weeks earlier against the Serbian airmen who had been taken prisoner. At least we are spared the hate-filled rantings of 'Dido' Kvaternik... The condemned men are put back in their cells to await their inevitable execution - the day and time of which have not yet been scheduled!
.........
"Due to the complete collapse of the NDH at the end of the summer of 1944, it is not possible today to know with any certainty the precise circumstances surrounding the end of the May 7th conspirators. If we are to believe a few duly cross-checked accounts, Mladen Lorković was shot fairly quickly, around July 20th, 1944. As for Ante Vokić, he was dragged from cage to cage and finally shot in unclear circumstances on the very day of the German surrender. Were they afraid he would talk? It's quite possible, given the fact that almost everyone involved in the bombing of the Maksimir Stadium met an untimely and tragic end. The same is true of Ljudevit Tomašić and Ivanko Farolfi, who literally disappeared in the dungeons of Lepoglav. No one is yet able to say what happened to them.
Unfortunately, things are no clearer for the Ustasha Arm of Vengeance. The executioner Vjekoslav "Maks" Luburić died in Spain in the 1960s, murdered by Yugoslav agents, perhaps inspired by the Nazi elimination operations organised by Israel. Ante Moškov, for his part, swore until his death that he knew nothing about the precise circumstances of the post-May 7th repression - even to the point of denying having taken part in the events in question! But here again, the trail has gone cold: after his trial followed by his execution in Sarajevo in 1947, the archives of his interrogations mysteriously disappeared... As for Fedor Dragojlov, while everyone agrees that he managed to flee to South America, no one has heard from him since.
That leaves August Košutić, who, as some know, became a third-rate official in the new Yugoslavia. For having kindly affixed his name as head of the HSS to the proclamation forming the Yugoslav Popular Front, he had obviously earned the right to a quiet and very discreet life in Zagreb, where he lived without any political activity and rarely went out. His death, on November 12th, 1964, seems to have been a natural occurrence, without anyone ever managing to get the slightest interview with him.
Thus, the Independent State of Croatia had succeeded, with incomparable efficiency and flawless speed, in eliminating all those who had sought its preservation in an attenuated form, and who were therefore of course perfectly well known. Whether this wish was objectively a pipe dream is of little importance. On the other hand, their 'disappearances' undoubtedly suited many people, if we are to believe the rare testimonies of certain well-placed witnesses that the author has had occasion to mention in this book... Testimonies, alas, that it will probably never be possible to confirm.
All that remains, therefore, beyond the conjectures - however solid they may seem - is one certainty: Lorković, Vokić and the others were anything but heroes of the anti-Nazi struggle and paragons of an ideal of Croatian nationalist purity, whatever some may think*****. As Germanophile Ustase long before the invasion of 1941, these men were not bothered by the massacres, crimes and other abuses committed during the three years of existence of the young "state". Nor were the Germans of the Ides of March conspiracy troubled by the crimes of the Nazi regime until 1944! True opportunists, ready to do anything to safeguard their creation while preserving their lives, the conspirators of the Lorković-Vokić group simply proved to be more pro-active than their compatriots, if not more clever. Without being any more courageous, the Valkyrie conspirators, as clumsy and presumptuous as they were, at least had the advantage of having exposed themselves in person."
(Robert Stan Pratsky, The Liberation of Greece and the Balkans, Flammarion, 2005)
* And often, moreover, from a richer third party - indeed, mercenarism was relatively strong at the beginning of the Handschar.
** At the Sesto San Giovanni factory, near Milan.
*** This was particularly true of the Fokker F.VII, whose potential had been exceeded and whose flights were now limited to the Zagreb sector, with a load of 400 kg, no more... and always over a plain.
**** Despite all its efforts, the ZNDH never managed to set up a network of weather stations - these were systematically destroyed by the Partisans!
***** Let us recall here that a street in western Mostar proudly bears the name of Ulica Vokića i Lorkovića!
Balkan campaign
Operation Vremya Tsvetov (Time of Flowers) - White corollas and poppies
Sarajevo region - "The break was over. Our Yugoslav comrades, who had taken us in, cared for us and fed us, were already heading back south in pursuit of the fascist enemy. As the most senior officer in the group - at Red Army level, of course - it was up to me to decide what to do next.
"What do we do?" said Dimitri to the group. The answer was not self-evident. Some wanted to leave with the Titists. Others preferred to head north, following the Greeks or even other Yugoslavs, to see if there were any comrades left in our drop zone. Finally, the last group would simply like to stay here and wait for what comes next. Quite a unit for a group of just ten men!
My mother had always told me: "To visit a friend, no road is too long". And since the Titists were our friends, I figured a long diversions with them wouldn't kill me. In the end, some - not all - followed me. Sometimes grumbling, but they followed me. And they didn't regret it."
Sergeant Victor Bondarenko, whom I met through an intermediary in Split in 1988, remained in Yugoslavia after the war under the name Viktor Bogdanović. Clearly, this Ukrainian from a ravaged village near Brody was not interested in returning to the USSR. He was the last known survivor of a unit that was officially wiped out during the parachute drop on May 17th.
Declared missing by the Red Army, Bondarenko benefited, in an unexpected twist of fate, from the amnesty offered to all by Marshal Tito in 1944. In three months of fighting, he had won the esteem and friendship of his peers in the 3rd 'Bosnian' Corps. They had no trouble finding him a new identity as a repentant Ustashi, which enabled him to get a job as a car repairer and settle in the sunny Adriatic coast... Readers will forgive the late nature of the end of this story. This delay is directly due to the discretion I was obliged to exercise towards Bondarenko-Bogdanović, at least until his death. The Red Army does not like deserters..."
(Robert Stan Pratsky, The Liberation of Greece and the Balkans, Flammarion, 2005)
Operation Veritable - The siege of Sarajevo and Operation Ratweek
Sarajevo region - In the wind and sadness, the 16th "Muslim" Shock Brigade (Salim Ćerić, Muhidin Begić) is the first to enter Sarajevo, skirting the Miljacka after a hook designed to secure the high point of the White Fortress.
The city is deserted - or almost. Only a few forgotten idiots, a handful of fanatics and a few mines (although the Axis no longer had many here) are still in the way of the Partisans... On the other hand, Sarajevo is overflowing with corpses. It smells of death and misfortune. And on their way to Kiseljak and Podlugovi - where they have already arrived - the SS of the 14. SS-Freiwilligen Gebirgsjäger Rgt Reinhard-Heydrich and the 8. SS-Panzergrenadier Rgt took great care to destroy everything they could not take with them. So this is not the place for the AVNOJ to recruit new forces! And while the 8th 'Dalmatian' Corps (Vicko Krstulović, Ivan Kukoč) and the 12th 'Vojvodina' Corps (Danilo Lekic Spaniard, Stefan Mitrović) descend from their mountains ahead of the Greeks to join in the victory, everyone suspects that the celebrations would have to wait a little longer... For sure, the liberation of Sarajevo would not be the same as the liberation of Paris.
Further south, in the Lepenica valley, the 13. SS-Freiwilligen Gebirgsjäger Rgt Artur-Phleps and the 7. SS-Panzergrenadier Rgt have no trouble reaching Brnjaci and then Kiseljak, following the Reinhard-Heydrich. They leave it to Jürgen Wagner's Nederland to reach Prozor via Donjic, in liaison with the rest of the V. SS-GAK. Their opponents - Koča Popović's "Proletarians" and Kosta Nađ's "Bosnians" - have run out of energy. For the time being, they are simply planning to move south to reinforce the 2nd "shock" Corps, leaving the road to Banja Luka to others.
The elite troops of the AVNOJ will not even have the pleasure of marching through the town for the time being! The 16th Vojvodina Division (Danilo Lekić, Savo Miljanović) can run across the Miljacka to hoist the six-pointed flag over the town hall and the mosque of Gazi Husrev-bey (1531) - thereby showing the comrades of the 12th Corps the politeness of the 8th Dalmatian Corps - but it is hardly a triumph.
In front, the allied air force did what it could... not as much as had been hoped, in truth. It seemed that the long-awaited victory was nothing more than a bitter leap into the void.
Dalmatia - The 11. SS-Gebirgs-Division Handschar (Karl-Gustav Sauberzweig) begins to abandon the Neretva line, and thus Mostar - as far as Posušje to begin with. This should logically lead to the withdrawal of the Kroatian Legion Armee Korps of Ivo Herenčić and Johann Mickl to its right, towards the Zagvozd sector. A 45-kilometre leap backwards, awaiting the Nederland, to be carried out under the indifferent eye of the Greeks and the hateful - but exhausted - gaze of the Titists. Shouldn't that be fine?
No doubt... But the problem is that, while the task may not be too difficult, it is not without meaning for those who are supposed to carry it out. A good number of Handschar soldiers - and, to a certain extent, Kama soldiers, but the latter don't back down... - come from regions that are being abandoned to the enemy today, or will be tomorrow. And they don't particularly see the point of retreating to Lika or central Croatia (or even Istria?) to defend a land they don't care about for the benefit of others*.
So, of course, the Bosnian SS - like all their compatriots - swore loyalty to the Führer. And they also proudly wear the uniform with the runes and the fez - which bring them glory and status... while also inspiring fear, given the pedigree of the division since its creation. Fear of the scimitar has served the Handschar volunteers well. In a fair (?) twist of fate, it now constitutes the main obstacle - much more so than honour or loyalty - to a turnaround in the Muslim SS. There is no guarantee that they would be welcomed with open arms if they dared to defect!
Nevertheless, the mercenaries - pragmatic men - like to keep a way out. It is rumoured that Marshal Tito recently offered a general amnesty - wouldn't that apply to them too? And while we're waiting to find out, the Handschar is dragging its feet, dawdling, strangely much less effective than before - and some units are verging on insubordination.
But General Muhamed Hromić (who represents the NDH to the 11. SS-GD) is unable to get his German counterparts to accept all this. Unlike Johann Mickl, from the KLAK - who was much more understanding, although he had forgotten all about the Croats... - Georg Keppler, this one-eyed, stubborn military man, competent but inflexibly strict, would have none of it! As far as he's concerned, the edifice has to hold together, with a pat on the back and a whip if necessary. A precarious balance, to say the least...
NDH Army
Valuable reinforcements
OKH (Berlin) - After many annoying pleas and long hours spent begging on the phone, the NDH army is finally getting a handout from its German godfather. It's a dozen... Austrian Steyr ADGZ self-propelled guns.
Dating from 1934, this little machine is armed with a 45mm ws.1932 gun and three MG-34s (not bad). Like the trams, it also had two driver's cabs at either end - so it didn't have to turn round to maneuver on the back roads of the Balkans! However, its armouring leaves something to be desired: just 11 mm. This means that its lifespan against anything more than individual weapons (and even then!) will be counted in minutes in the event of an engagement. But in any case, the Reich can't or doesn't want to give anything else.
Air warfare
Allied return
Yugoslav Front - With the return of relatively good weather came the return of the Banshee, Beaumont and other A-20s, which display their varied colours to distribute their projectiles all over the front line. The lines of communication of the Croatian V Corps, at Oriovac and Nova Gradiska, are particularly hard hit by the Allied aircraft, which mercilessly strafe anything that moves. It is bad enough that the Ustachis don't have many lorries left...
More importantly, it is also the main supply route to Zenica for the III. SS-GAK and V. SS-GAK, is targeted. In the absence of a sizeable opponent in the area - or indeed any opponent at all - the 1st Air Army and the 1st TAF do as they please...
Croatian misery
Zagreb - General Adalbert Rogulja, head of a ZNDH in the throes of doubt, if not outright decomposition, must be saddened to note that his godmother the Luftwaffe is not making too great an effort to help him pick up the gauntlet. Apart from the late and supposedly generous delivery of a few MS-406, MC-200 and MC-202 fighters - and even then, pilots have to be sent to Northern Italy for training** before they can be made available - Rogulja is now seeing the availability of its aircraft dwindle to a trickle, between fuel shortages and a lack of spare parts. In fact, most of the aircraft can only fly, let's say, on special dispensation, after extensive testing and tinkering***! The factories at Zemun (WNF/ZMAJ), which have been badly damaged, are only repairing airframes intermittently. As for the engines, while the Motor site in Zagreb is still there, the Avia site in Sarajevo is obviously no longer available!
Worse still: today, the Croatian air force no longer has the material resources to train new pilots - and the Germans stubbornly refuse to take over! So we have to start disbanding the flying schools set up since 1942 (for example, the 1st School in Borovo), and send the staff to the front and the aircraft to other institutions, which are still partially open. Where they would fly when they could, and when the weather was fine****...
So the newspaper Tempo may have a front page headline about virile mechanics repairing a Dornier, but the reality is quite different: for want of any other choice, the ZNDH is devouring its substance as well as its future. And, no doubt, its children tomorrow.
AVNOJ
The fight is on!
Croatia (west), Lika-Senj - Clashes in the Otrić sector between Ivan Brozovic's I Croatian Corps and the 8th Kordun Division (Vlado Cetkovic, Arthur Turkulin), reinforced on its left by the 43rd 'Istrian' Division (Milan Šakić Mićun, Marijan Badel), are still slow. Urged on by their masters, but also suffering from a severe lack of ammunition - not to mention a serious lack of... energy - the Ustase make little progress and the day degeneratesonce again into a succession of small clashes with nothing at stake. Here we fight for a modest eminence, there for a small road.
The few AVNOJ tanks in the area (rare, but very real) hold firm on the direct road to Gračac, all the more easily because their opponents had hardly any anti-tank equipment... In addition, the Bucephalus of 336th Squadron (H) make several notable appearances on the front line - each time, their 20 mm guns and rockets energetically calm the timid Axis attempts. It would seem that the allied air force has received specific support instructions from certain high officials...
Further east, around Čađavica, the 7th Banija Division (Vojislav Djokic, Kluro Kladarin) violently pushes back the 5th Bosanka Division (Colonel Roman Domanic) as far as Gornje Ratkovo. And the intervention of the 2nd Mountain Division (Antun Prohaska) is decisive in halting the rout and replenishing the Croatian lines, which has been particularly sparse of late! So for the time being, the situation is stabilising in the north - as long as Axis units don't desert too badly. In the south, on the other hand, the road to Mrkonjić Grad remains wide open - and Ivan Markuli can do nothing about it other than withdraw his HQ to Banja Luka and wait for reinforcements. With obvious disgust, the SS promise him that the SS-Freiwilligen Gebirgs-Brigade Kama (Helmuth Raithel) would be sent from Laktaši... since he has to do everything here!
Interview with an Ustashi
Near suicide mission
"I dare not ask if your mission was a success.
- You're doing well. And yet we managed to gain time! Enough for others to take advantage, I don't know - I doubt it - but still enough to force Tito's terrorists to send some reinforcements to confront us. [He clicks his tongue contemptuously and settles back into his chair with his back straight]. We were no match for so many enemies. And getting people killed for nothing - good people, my people! - has never been my policy.
- So you fled?
- We withdrew as soon as the situation in the woods of Donji Graci became hopeless. As we passed through a grove, I lost two of my men, victims of an ambush by former compatriots who had dared to use their uniforms against us.
- An attack under a false flag?
- I don't really understand your expression. Anyway, they didn't take it to heaven. But this episode made us furious. The troops were angry. I was angry. Losing friends like that because some twisted youngsters turned their backs at the first opportunity! When we got to Podbrdo, near Mrkonjić Grad, HQ told us that reinforcements were on their way. It was up to us to join them... But we were still furious."
(Dans la tête du monstre - Conversation avec un officier oustachi, Robert Stan Pratsky, Flammarion 1982)
Bosnia
Horror
Sarajevo (Marindvor district) - Upon reaching the former "houses of terror" of Vjekoslav "Maks" Luburić, the AVNOJ and then the allied forces discover a true carnage. In addition to the 323 victims (only...) whose names are cited in the partially destroyed archives, and what are presumed to be several hundred "missing" deportees yet to be identified, the Croatian butcher has left several mass graves in his backyard, both literally and figuratively. Their exhumation before the cameras of the Allied forces will enable a film to be made, which will be carefully preserved in the Yugoslav audiovisual archives. Although the film is accessible to all without any great formalities, it is nevertheless a spectacle that is difficult to bear, especially when it was realised that a significant proportion of the corpses were those of children.
The American journalist Landrum Bolling - one of the very few overseas correspondents in the region - preferred to give his readers a more eloquent description for the future: "In front, a room full of bodies piled like firewood on top of each other. Many of the corpses showed signs of torture and mutilation. Among the corpses was that of Halid Nazečić, whose head had been mutilated, eyes gouged out and genitals scalded."
To be sure, the man responsible for the assassination attempt on Luburić did not die the sweetest of deaths. But his killer will not be taking him to heaven - or so we hope. Indeed, notwithstanding the well-known circumstances of the attack on May 7th, Bolling's articles will do much to document the crimes of the NDH's worst cultists in preparation for their inevitable future trial. They will also help to bring some reality to the appalling inter-ethnic conflict in Yugoslavia, in the eyes of those US citizens who are willing to read his prose.
Yugoslavia torn apart
A game that's not really fun any more - but with new rules
Belgrade - General Robert Stone arrives late - but arrives nonetheless - in the Yugoslav capital. His first act is to visit the trio of Borivoje Mirković, Dušan Simović and Bogoljub Ilić, in a rare display of diplomatic delicacy towards the mutineers - a display that the royal government, for its part, was sure to interpret as a sign of mistrust towards him. This is undoubtedly true to some extent... but if Stone had first gone to see Peter II, Prime Minister Petar Živković or Colonel Miodrag Rakić, it would have been the so-called pro-British officers who would have been offended! What's more, he would have had no guarantee of being well received by the royalists.
In short, Stone has the subtlety of the Royal Engineers, the thoughtfulness of Camberley Staff College and (also) the experience of the unrest that periodically shook an Egyptian army that was epidermically nervous. So he has the intelligence to walk on eggshells with his hosts. And somewhat surprisingly, the welcome he receives turns out to be quite good! The mutineers, courteous if not cordial, confirm their desire to continue to cooperate fraternally with the Allies, now that it is clear that the King's military cabinet would not be able to voluntarily go up the hill it is currently descending. They do, however, have one demand: reintegration into the Yugoslav army as soon as possible, in order to continue the conflict under their colours. From this point of view, the Briton is willing to promise to... do his best, to the extent of his future powers to be confirmed, but without more certainty for the moment.
All the same, Stone's mission gets off to a better start than had been feared. On the other hand, the general does not manage to be received by the royal authorities on the same day. They are clearly reluctant, even though there is nothing to compel them to follow up - the breakdown in diplomatic relations between Belgrade and London does nothing to help the matter, of course. Of course, all this does nothing to resolve the underlying issue, let alone the continuation of the war against the Reich...
Emergency measures (reinforced)
A prison camp in Albania - The French 2nd Army is ordered to prepare to transfer all the Ustasha officers who have defected from the KLAK, including General Marko Mesić. They are to be taken from their cells, loaded into lorries - in a saloon car for Mesić, let's respect his rank ... - then driven in a civilised but quiet manner to Podgorica, to be handed over to authorities to be specified, who will take charge of them.
At the same time, DESTROMO is also quickly asked for a special Podgorica-Belgrade flight - heavily escorted, but again to be organized with the utmost discretion.
Red Messiah
A cave north of Višegrad (Marshal Tito's residence) - The Marshal's new and enigmatic political maneuvers do not make everyone happy, despite the trust that everyone placed in him. In fact, no member of the Soviet mission (starting with its head, Major General Nikolai Vasilevich Korneev) was consulted about the announced formation of this famous popular front - even though it claims to include the reactionaries of the Democratic Party and the fascist traitors of the Croatian Peasant Party.
With the general amnesty decreed by Tito a few days ago, that's a lot of deviationism! And unfortunately, there is no one in Višegrad with any real decision-making power to answer the questions of the USSR representatives. We apologise, we understand, we suggest patience. In the meantime, collaboration continued - of course. Korneev, in particular, whose friendship for Tito is sincere, does his utmost. Moreover, he has not received any instructions to the contrary! But all the same... we can't wait for the 1st Yugoslav Brigade to arrive, to put Tito's clock back a little on Soviet time.
The Hebrang affair (continued)
Port of Bar - Edvard Kardelj sets sail for Croatia on one of the small ships of the Partisan naval dust, which travel from island to island along the Adriatic coast. On his departure, he leaves his liaison mission to Montenegrin Moša Pijade - a member of the central committee and a pragmatic figure, who is responsible for drawing up the laws regulating the liberation committees at the time of the defunct Republic of Foča. A Cartesian mind, then. But a literary man too: he is the founder of the Danas Srbije (News from Serbia) press agency, which acts as a mouthpiece for the Partisans. Incidentally, Pijade knows how to be brutal towards anyone who strays from the Party line - it is no doubt partly his doing that Milovan Đilas lost his command in 1942, as a result of repression.
In short, it would be better if Kardelj doesn't hang around too long. That's why the Slovenian would no doubt have preferred a plane (but planes fall!) or, ideally, one of those capitalist speedboats that are as fast as they are well-armed... Alas, the Old Man is adamant: his arrival has to be swift, of course - but also, and above all, discreet. The Franco-Greeks have nothing to do with the internal tensions of the AVNOJ. And of course, Hebrang must not be told either.
The path of reason
Kruševac - After several days of argumentation, tug-of-war and other trifles arising from distant plans on the comet, the unified parties - in the meantime reinforced by a host of smaller formations more or less invoked - finally agree on a joint declaration, in the absence of a real programme.
In fact, the intentions of this Narodni Front, however laudable, still seemed rather generic:
"The territorial liberation of Yugoslavia,
- national and social emancipation of all the peoples of Yugoslavia,
- establishment of fraternity, unity and equality among the people of Yugoslavia,
- creation of a new state, renovated in economic and political terms".
All this is very good, even if everyone will notice that, in essence, nothing in this text completely closes the door to the preservation of a monarchy. Details like this will have to wait - for example, they will be discussed at a congress to be organised after Victory, which will enable the country to be completely reformed.
But who cares? The small parties or the big old ones, stuck in a corner, exist again. The AVNOJ, once pushed to the ropes by anti-communism, now has its symbol and is emerging from its isolation, leaving the Belgrade nerves to play the role of dividers. That's not entirely untrue, it's true - but to conclude from this ostentatious rally that the Titist movement has been politically blameless since 1941 (or even before!) would be saying a lot.
In short! Be that as it may, Milovan Đilas is not the least satisfied with the completion of his - admittedly particularly thankless - mission. The joint declaration will be published tomorrow. And to conclude, Đilas says to his comrade, the propagandist Vladimir Vlado Dedijer: "Now, let's go and negotiate with that scumbag Bozidar Purić!" In fact, it is now up to the Prime Minister to defend both his legitimacy and his existence.
NDH
Brought to heel
Lepoglav prison (northern Croatia) - After five days of pointless pseudo-debates, the special court set up by Interior Minister Andrija Artuković delivers its verdict against the "traitors of May 7th", as Ante Vokić and Mladen Lorković - among other failed conspirators - are now known. Unsurprisingly, the sentence is death, for them and their accomplices Ljudevit Tomašić and Ivanko Farolfi (among others). Fedor Dragojlov, on the other hand, escapes execution: the head of the Hrvatske Oruzane Snage - the former Croatian National Guard - escapes without a scratch, despite the doubts of some. In fact, he reacted against the conspirators as soon as the attack failed, with a zeal and celerity that were a pleasure to see.
The so-called justice system of the independent state of Croatia should not have been expected to do any better than it had done two weeks earlier against the Serbian airmen who had been taken prisoner. At least we are spared the hate-filled rantings of 'Dido' Kvaternik... The condemned men are put back in their cells to await their inevitable execution - the day and time of which have not yet been scheduled!
.........
"Due to the complete collapse of the NDH at the end of the summer of 1944, it is not possible today to know with any certainty the precise circumstances surrounding the end of the May 7th conspirators. If we are to believe a few duly cross-checked accounts, Mladen Lorković was shot fairly quickly, around July 20th, 1944. As for Ante Vokić, he was dragged from cage to cage and finally shot in unclear circumstances on the very day of the German surrender. Were they afraid he would talk? It's quite possible, given the fact that almost everyone involved in the bombing of the Maksimir Stadium met an untimely and tragic end. The same is true of Ljudevit Tomašić and Ivanko Farolfi, who literally disappeared in the dungeons of Lepoglav. No one is yet able to say what happened to them.
Unfortunately, things are no clearer for the Ustasha Arm of Vengeance. The executioner Vjekoslav "Maks" Luburić died in Spain in the 1960s, murdered by Yugoslav agents, perhaps inspired by the Nazi elimination operations organised by Israel. Ante Moškov, for his part, swore until his death that he knew nothing about the precise circumstances of the post-May 7th repression - even to the point of denying having taken part in the events in question! But here again, the trail has gone cold: after his trial followed by his execution in Sarajevo in 1947, the archives of his interrogations mysteriously disappeared... As for Fedor Dragojlov, while everyone agrees that he managed to flee to South America, no one has heard from him since.
That leaves August Košutić, who, as some know, became a third-rate official in the new Yugoslavia. For having kindly affixed his name as head of the HSS to the proclamation forming the Yugoslav Popular Front, he had obviously earned the right to a quiet and very discreet life in Zagreb, where he lived without any political activity and rarely went out. His death, on November 12th, 1964, seems to have been a natural occurrence, without anyone ever managing to get the slightest interview with him.
Thus, the Independent State of Croatia had succeeded, with incomparable efficiency and flawless speed, in eliminating all those who had sought its preservation in an attenuated form, and who were therefore of course perfectly well known. Whether this wish was objectively a pipe dream is of little importance. On the other hand, their 'disappearances' undoubtedly suited many people, if we are to believe the rare testimonies of certain well-placed witnesses that the author has had occasion to mention in this book... Testimonies, alas, that it will probably never be possible to confirm.
All that remains, therefore, beyond the conjectures - however solid they may seem - is one certainty: Lorković, Vokić and the others were anything but heroes of the anti-Nazi struggle and paragons of an ideal of Croatian nationalist purity, whatever some may think*****. As Germanophile Ustase long before the invasion of 1941, these men were not bothered by the massacres, crimes and other abuses committed during the three years of existence of the young "state". Nor were the Germans of the Ides of March conspiracy troubled by the crimes of the Nazi regime until 1944! True opportunists, ready to do anything to safeguard their creation while preserving their lives, the conspirators of the Lorković-Vokić group simply proved to be more pro-active than their compatriots, if not more clever. Without being any more courageous, the Valkyrie conspirators, as clumsy and presumptuous as they were, at least had the advantage of having exposed themselves in person."
(Robert Stan Pratsky, The Liberation of Greece and the Balkans, Flammarion, 2005)
* And often, moreover, from a richer third party - indeed, mercenarism was relatively strong at the beginning of the Handschar.
** At the Sesto San Giovanni factory, near Milan.
*** This was particularly true of the Fokker F.VII, whose potential had been exceeded and whose flights were now limited to the Zagreb sector, with a load of 400 kg, no more... and always over a plain.
**** Despite all its efforts, the ZNDH never managed to set up a network of weather stations - these were systematically destroyed by the Partisans!
***** Let us recall here that a street in western Mostar proudly bears the name of Ulica Vokića i Lorkovića!
25/05/44 - Balkans
May 25th, 1944
Balkans campaign
Operation Veritable - The liberation of Sarajevo and Operation Ratweek
Sarajevo region - The Axis troops have almost finished retreating to their positions in the valleys of Bosnia and Kosica. These new lines, designed to extend the XVIII. Gebirgs-Armee-Korps (Julius Ringel), are based on two strong positions: Kakanj and Busovača. These two key locations, situated in the middle of a narrow valley, mean that the enemy would find it difficult to push forward here.
Friedrich-Wilhelm Krüger is therefore not worried about his III. SS-GAK. So much so that Kakanj and Busovača would only be defended, respectively, by the 8. SS-Panzer-Grenadier Rgt (Walther Schimana) and the 7. SS-Panzer-Grenadier Rgt (Alfred Wünnenberg) - which should be more than enough to hold the line, with the reinforcement of a few machines from the 105. SS-StuG Abt (Hauptsturmführer Mühlenkamp) handed over by the V. SS-GAK.
In the process, the 4. SS-Polizei frees up almost all of the SS-Prinz Eugen - which hasgiven a great deal to the defence of Sarajevo and is therefore in great need of reinforcement and reorganisation. This division therefore retreats to the Banja Luka sector - although it would remain available there for all practical purposes. In short, the Waffen-SS has done well to abandon this shabby city lost in the mountains to the Judeo-Bolshevik soldiery!
It's true that on the other side, the gloom continues, despite the welcome return of the air force. The bulk of the Greco-Titist forces remained behind, securing and clearing the town and helping those who could still be rescued... Sarajevo is in a pitiful state. During the winter, as a result of Operation Brzo - the famine organised by the Ustashi - it had already seen a mass influx of civilians fleeing the shortages. These wretched people (at least those who survived) now clog the streets, hiding in the smallest shelters (a habit they had adopted to avoid the bombs and the SS!), heating themselves with wood salvaged from the ruins and abandoned houses. Vjekoslav "Maks" Luburić isn't the only one who likes signs: at almost every crossroads, there is the abandoned body of someone who had been shot, bearing an inscription that he had been forced to write himself: "Ja sam lopov" - I'm a thief!
"The dead, quickly buried in accordance with Muslim tradition, are piled up in pits - for want of wood for the coffin, cardboard is used, and for want of cloth for the shroud, a fishing net. Finally - in the right cases: because of Nazi martial law, the needs of the living, the lack of means of transport... Corpses sometimes remained unburied for fourteen to eighteen days. For the survivors, it is often impossible to live inside their homes because of the stench of the dead, so they stay outside, with all the risks that entails. When a child died, the parents themselves were asked to bring the body to the grave!" [Letter to London from a British liaison officer, June 5th, J.S.H. Weinberg collection, folder 10].
All this has to be sorted out. This would be a job for the men of the AVNOJ, the allied military police and, to a certain extent, the 6th Greek Mountain Brigade (Colonel Pafsanias Katsotas). In fact, it already seems certain that the pursuit towards the north-west and Banja Luka would only be led by the 3rd Mountain Brigade (Colonel Thrasyvoulos Tsakalotos) and the 1st ID (Vasileios Vrachnos), which has finally come down from its mountain. Charalambos Katsimitros' 13th Infantry Division, for its part, has to rejoin its 2nd Corps by descending towards Konjic, following the elite troops of the Titist army.
At the same time, the SS-Freiwilligen Panzergrenadier-Brigade Nederland (Brigadeführer Jürgen Wagner) abandons Konjic and redeploys towards Jablanica and then Prozor Rama. The Nederland thus finally frees Kommando Adria from the remnants of its guard on the Neretva...
But we haven't finished talking about Sarajevo. Especially in the corridors of the allied HQs. To start with!
Dalmatia - The 11. SS-Gebirgs-Division Handschar (Karl-Gustav Sauberzweig) glides limply towards Grude and Široki Brijeg - with Ivo Herenčić's Vojni korpus hrvatske legije on its right, in Vrgorac or Vitina. But above all, with an increasingly visible bad mood. Faced with German officers who are always quick to use the stick instead of the carrot, Muhamed Hromić once again multiplied his warnings... to no avail!
...........
"We had crossed the Neretva in the morning, in the vanguard of the armoured brigade, to make sure that, yes, the Croats were indeed withdrawing. They had. In front of us was a vast abandoned riverbank, overlooking hills with paths that we suspected were mined. The enemy had moved off. "They've buggered off, the rats! Like a city-dweller from Corinth who gives up at my first catch."
Gáïos waved his big wrestler's hands and smiled greedily - before the war, he had had a fine start to his career in the gymnasium, between Pankration and Palaismata. Another victim of the German invasion... But hey, it makes the others laugh: Gáïos, the bull of the Isthmus, the locomotive of Patras!
- OK, that's enough Delta, we're moving forward, but cautiously. We have no idea what awaits us in these hills."
(Markus Amynthe - Machines de guerre - Souvenirs de la campagne de Bosnie, Kedros éditeur via LGF, 1993)
Weak point
Tirana (HQ of the 2nd French Army) - General Sylvestre Audet, encouraged in this by certain members of his government as well as by a form of self-love - to remain armed in Albania! While Paris is being liberated! - puts the finishing touches to a report to the 18th AAG's headquarters in Athens. Perhaps Montgomery or one of his deputies will read it, between two fabulous Hungarian adventures...
The subject of the letter is rather unexpected: the independent state of Croatia under Dr Ante Pavelic, and particularly its armed forces. Which, as we all know, are in a sorry state! Subjected to a threefold decline in numbers, equipment and morale - the Croatians are no longer so numerous, the Germans no longer give them anything and the Titist propaganda is in full swing - the Croatian army is no more than a shadow of its former self. This erasure may seem insignificant - and it is, of course, on the scale of the world conflict. But on the scale of the Balkan theatre, it's a different story...
"The considerable crisis experienced by the Wehrmacht as a result of the combined and continuous Allied and Soviet offensives in all theaters of operations logically led to a significant stretching of the German lines, which proved to be less and less manned. This was particularly obvious in the case of the French 2nd Army sector, especially as it was considered to be non-strategic.
Of course, this state of affairs was not lost on the enemy. This is why, in order to concentrate German forces on the axes, regions and localities of greatest value to them, the defence of most of this sector was logically entrusted to Croatian collaborating forces. According to the information available to us - cross-checked by secret service memoranda and even certain AVNOJ sources considered reliable - this long-standing policy appears to be reaching its limits. At present, the armed forces of the so-called NDH appear to be in a total strategic and moral impasse.
It would therefore seem appropriate for the 2nd Army Command to take advantage of this state of affairs, given that the harsh confrontations that preceded the recent capture of Sarajevo had undoubtedly led to a clear erosion of the German army's possibilities of action in southern Yugoslavia. We are referring here in particular to the divisions of the two Waffen-SS mountain corps, which we are now virtually certain have suffered such heavy losses that it will be impossible for them to carry out any significant offensive action in the coming weeks.
The army of the so-called NDH, negligible though it is today, remains an indispensable auxiliary of the Wehrmacht. Without it, the Axis would be unable, for lack of resources, to hold its line in Dalmatia. A limited offensive action towards Knin therefore seems to us to have a good chance of success, culminating in a junction with the sectors controlled by the Titist forces of Gospić and Bihać. This link-up would lead to a complete collapse of the enemy right flank.
The Franco-Greek command is certainly aware of the logistical difficulties in the region and the problems associated with the terrain. While the former can be partly resolved by maritime means, the latter cannot be neglected. This is why, if we can indeed envisage an advance in this sector of the front, the 2nd French Army would not fundamentally seek a breakthrough.
A cautious and thrifty effort, but carried out with determination, seems much more promising to us: in fact, it can only force the enemy to send reinforcements to his right, in order to make up for the inevitable Croatian failure. In so doing, the latter will certainly weaken its centre, and even its left, by mobilising precious resources and reserves, which will be lacking in the next efforts to be made towards Lake Balaton."
Hungary! So by exerting powerful and prolonged pressure on the Croatians, it seems possible to disintegrate what remained of the Ustasha forces, thus gaining a large chunk of the Adriatic coast in one fell swoop - which is of little importance - but above all forcing the Wehrmacht to commit its meagre reserves to plugging the gaps. Germany, still stuck in its strategy of static defence, would have to try to be everywhere and incur further losses in support of the Croatian remnants in order to defend... what exactly? Croatia's centre? Audet doesn't think that far ahead. Perhaps he should have. Because it's a dangerous line of thinking, one that others may well follow one day - and it's easy to see where it leads for Zagreb.
Change of head for the Commonwealth
Novi Sad - General John D. Lavarack, commander of ANZAC in the Balkans since January 1943, has amply served his country. Canberra therefore sends him home, perhaps at his request and in any case for services rendered. After a leave of absence, he crosses an ocean again - this time the Pacific - bound for the United States, to head the Australian mission sent there. A technical post, then, but also a political one - at a time when American influence is growing in Oceania, some are whispering that by sending one of its best officers to the USA, Australia is sending a message...
Possibly - but if that's the case, we shouldn't overestimate the significance. In reality, Lavarack's transfer may have more to do with certain staff intrigues... In any case, at this time, ANZAC is only providing cover for the flank of Brian Horrocks' British XIII Corps. Lavarack's departure - obviously disapproved of by Montgomery, but without him being able to prevent it - therefore has no influence on the plans of the 18th AAG in general, and the 8th Army in particular. The Oceanian Corps comes under the command of Lt-General J. Northcott - who has had no real responsibility since leaving Malaya shortly before his glorious fall. It is an appointment that greatly saddens Robert Freyberg - who would have liked to have been promoted. But "A Kiwi commanding the Kangaroos, that would be a bit messy", Monty explains to him without being asked, and with his legendary delicacy.
Forced migration
Western Bosnia - The recent Titist actions in the Mrkonjić Grad area - a mere thirty kilometres from its current position - are not doing the Montenegrin National Army of Sekula Drljević any favours, as it is still trying to survive by fleeing into the mountains towards a destination that is completely unknown, as it is probably illusory. In fact, the remnants of the former collaborationist formation are at a loss to know where to turn. For want of anything better to do, they dig in and hide, hoping that they would be forgotten... or that someone would offer them an opening to hide even further away.
Back home
Around Craiova (Romania) - Milutin Morača's 1st Yugoslav Brigade begins a priority redeployment by air transport from the Moscow region to Romania. The Soviet eagerness is visible! In a few days' time, after further reorganisation and delivery of light and medium armaments, it will make a second leap towards the Višegrad region. The USSR is keen to deliver its new shock unit as quickly as possible to the future Marshal of Yugoslavia. This time, after having informed the allied authorities precisely of the route taken by the air convoys and the days and times of the transfers... Of course!
AVNOJ
The fight is on!
Croatia (west), Lika-Senj - The announced retreat of the Handschar and the KLAK legionnaires logically means the end of the poor efforts of the I Croatian Corps (Ivan Brozovic) to break through the AVNOJ pocket in Dalmatia. The Ustasha forces, exhausted and out of breath, go on the defensive, waiting to be relieved by more motivated and better-equipped compatriots.
Then they would be redeployed - probably to the centre of the country, to relieve other comrades and other SS, who are themselves in more or less difficulty elsewhere. The Ustasha army, which started out as a bad patch, is looking more and more like a used plaster that is being stubbornly reused everywhere for want of a change, even though it is no longer holding anything.
Especially as things aren't much better in the Čađavica sector. In fact, it could be said that only a crying lack of manpower prevented the 7th Banija Division from overrunning the new positions of III Corps (Ivan Markuli) at Gornje Ratkovo via Mrkonjić Grad to threaten Jajce, or even outright Travnik or Banja Luka! Unfortunately for the Titists, the arrival in the sector of the SS-Freiwilligen Gebirgs-Brigade Kama (Helmuth Raithel) seems to show that the window of opportunity has already closed. It seems obvious that a well-trained SS unit under German supervision could only motivate the Croats and strengthen the line. This is in fact what happened at Karlovac.
So is Vojislav Djokic's offensive already doomed to failure? That remains to be seen. After all, the Kama, which was put together in a hurry with Croats, Bosnians and even a few Hungarians (!), has neither the level nor the expertise - let alone the fanaticism - of its compatriots. There's a world of difference between her and Hans Brandt's (Slovenian) Karstjäger! So, perhaps not everything is settled in this sector.
.........
Gospić - Noting the overall collapse of enemy offensive efforts in his sector, Andrija "Fatty" Hebrang removes the last obstacles he placed in the way of a coordinated move towards Banja Luka with Vladimir Matetić's 10th "Croatian" Corps. Tomorrow, his 35th "Lika" Division (Stanko Perhavec, Šime Balen) and his 43rd "Istrian" Division (Milan Šakić Mićun, Marijan Badel) will therefore begin a vast turning movement from Sanski Most and Bihać to hit the artery feeding the SS front from the flank. "For the Marshal! Death to fascism, freedom for the people!"
.........
Slovenia - At the same time, and without having coordinated in the slightest with their comrades further south (it is true that the orders from HQ had not really changed since April: all-out offensive!), the Titist troops in Slovenia - mainly the 7th and 9th 'Slovenian' Corps, entrenched in the Žumberak mountains, but also the Pavlek Miškina and Nikola Demonja Brigades in the Bočko - launch a new campaign of harassment of the Axis troops. This will begin in earnest tomorrow. The infiltration and sabotage detachments disappear during the night.
The AVNOJ assault brigades, for their part, have chosen a choice piece: the bridge over the Savo, near the town of Pogonik.
Interview with an Ustachi
Finish your beer
"- Furious, then?
- So we rode back to our lines. On the road to Banja Luka, towards a village that must have been called... Krupa na Vrbasu. Milorad went ahead with our families and my daughter Renata. He was the only one I trusted that much.
- And you stayed behind?
- We needed a rearguard, if only to make sure that our loved ones' throats weren't slit. It lasted until evening. Then I gave the order to pull out. It was a calm, beautiful night. Surprisingly peaceful. A beautiful spring night.
- A good memory?
- Well, not exactly.
- Ah.
- As we drove north, I saw a campfire at the edge of a cave, on a hill to our right. Nothing too serious, just an isolated fire pit high above the valley. Only a moron would put himself on display like that. He might as well have put up a sign on the road saying "This is the way to kill me".
Silence. He hesitates, it's obvious. But he goes on. In what I interpret as a cathartic effort.
- I went to see. On my own. Out of curiosity. I didn't think I was risking much, and I wasn't disappointed. In front of the campfire, a young man in a patched uniform jacket, who had obviously been away from his unit for several days. [A pause] Since me and my Vukas didn't have regular uniforms, he didn't exactly understand who I was. He welcomed me, the idiot! With a beer in one hand and a rabbit on the spit in the other, he'd probably have shared if you'd asked him. But above all he was lost. So he started talking to me, about himself, his enlistment, his eighteenth birthday, which he was celebrating this evening, a little late. I said, "Happy birthday!
I have a feeling it's going to be unpleasant. But I don't dare interrupt him.
- I've never been a good actor. Subtlety is one thing, deception is another. It's the weapon of those who can't achieve their ends by force or wit. And then he saw my wolf's head badge. "Oh shit, I know who you are!" He began to cry without a sound, with his bottle in his hand. That he'd lost his parents, that he and his girlfriend hadn't seen each other for three months, that he'd never... Arh. Well, young people stuff.
- So what did you do?
- So I told him to finish his beer. He'd given up hope and told me to finish it.
It took me a while before I dared ask the question: "And then?
- And then I left the cave. The sun was rising, the morning was beautiful. The fresh air did me good".
(Dans la tête du monstre - Conversation avec un officier oustachi, Robert Stan Pratsky, Flammarion 1982)
Yugoslavia torn apart
The path of reason
Yugoslavia - The proclamation by all the AVNOJ media that two of the most important pre-war political parties had joined the Narodni Front - because everyone had already realised that this was what it was all about - causes a real upheaval in the Yugoslav political landscape. It has to be said that the Yugoslav political landscape, which was already in a shaky state after the dictatorship of Alexander I, has never really recovered from the invasion of 1941.
Now, a whole host of MPs, senators and other politicians "on the right side of the front line" are more or less openly wondering what to do - in small groups or on their own. In fact, although few people really trust a communist, even a so-called realist like Marshal Broz, almost everyone agrees that royal policy has reached a dead end. The administration of Peter II, already not really legal - forgivable in wartime - gives little sign of a desire to return to parliamentary monarchy. Officially, the Palace made it known that it was difficult to organise a congress in the circumstances of the conflict, that certain mandates no longer represent much, and that several personalities (mainly Croatian or Slovenian) have compromised themselves to the point of no longer being able to represent their mandate...
All this is certainly audible. In fact, much of it is true. However, once again, while no one can criticize Peter for failing to achieve union, many are not far from reproaching him for not even trying. And in the days to come, an ever-growing number of leaders, without going so far as to cross the Rubicon, will be carefully weighing up the stakes of a possible position in the future - between an authoritarian and unpredictable king and an equally unpredictable adventurer, but one who at least seems to care about the country's institutions and unity, or even a form of return to the old order.
The endgame?
White Palace (royal estate of Dedinje, Belgrade) - In the still closed circle of the sovereign, one hesitates between irony and contempt at this umpteenth demonstration, not of strength - if Josip Broz considers himself powerful enough to take power, let him come! - but rather a desperate attempt to give the AVNOJ a semblance of legality.
According to the Chetniks and other Panserbs gathered around King Karađođević, it seems obvious that this pathetic circus has no other purpose than to try to conciliate the great powers. "But the Americans, the French and even the British will never let a coup d'état be carried out against us and with their weapons. Especially in the middle of a war! Let the Bolsheviks stir themselves up in vain and reveal the traitors for us - all we have to do is write down the names for later". This speech is, of course, that of Radoje Knezevic - who once again cares very little about harmony within his population and even within his government. But as there is no one to contradict him in the Palace...
Meanwhile, as suggested, the purges continue. For example, that snake Milan Grol, from the Democratic Party and now a member of the Popular Front! Formerly Minister of Foreign Affairs, he has now been relieved of his duties, in favour of Momčilo Ninčić. He has thus returned to a position where he is well known.
.........
Belgrade - His Excellency Roger Maugras, Ambassador representing the French Republic in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, has been instructed to ask the legal authorities for an urgent audience with a high-ranking official - the King, Prime Minister Božidar Purić or at the very least the new Minister of Foreign Affairs. It would appear that Paris - and we can now say Paris, that's it! - wishes to clarify its position in the light of the latest developments in the region. And as the White Palace no longer has many interlocutors, the Quai de la Joliette - already in the process of moving to the Quai d'Orsay - has no doubt that its request will find an attentive ear.
A game that's not really fun any more - but with new rules
Belgrade - Taking note of the fact that it is impossible 'for the moment' to be received by the Kingdom's legal authorities - all of whom are busy with more important tasks - General Robert Stone takes this vexation in his stride and takes advantage of the opportunity to make the rounds. Thanks to the good offices of Colonel Žarko Popović's network, the Briton sets about meeting all the leaders and senior officers who were sympathetic - whether declared or not - to the mutinous group. It is a long task, but a highly instructive one!
In fact, since the proclamation of May 8th, the regular Yugoslav army - no one is talking about the freecorps, their loyalty to the Palace is in no doubt - has been subtly sliding from a fragmented status to an increasingly visible shift towards opposition, short of open rebellion. Not that there are any Bolshevik sympathisers in its ranks - but on the contrary, the more time passes, the more the situation evolves in a direction unfavourable to the return of a strong, independent, non-communist state. The latest news proves the point!
Stone, who does not have a directly political mission, can therefore gradually hope to extend London's influence deep into Yugoslavia's military fabric. In the days to come, he may even consider approaching the formidable head of the 1st Army Corps, General Ilija Brasic, directly.
Red Messiah
A cave north of Višegrad (Marshal Tito's residence) - Whatever its declared desire for independence and the many "Yugoslav peculiarities", the AVNOJ must regularly explain itself to the Fatherland of the Workers... It does so through the voice of its leader himself, who addresses General Major Nikolai Korneev. Nikolai Vassilievich may be a benevolent man, but he too is regularly called to account. And to a far less understanding person than himself. Tito is aware of this and will therefore use all his diplomacy to explain the "latest developments" that have so annoyed Moscow.
First of all, the creation of this "Popular Front" should not be seen as the slightest deviation from the Party line, of course! And even less Trotskyism, calling for revolution by force of arms! The AVNOJ, in adopting a unifying role for the future, does not give up an inch of its convictions - it defends not only equality, but also unity, as rightly proclaimed by the Central Committee in 1938, after the Munich crisis: "Peoples of Yugoslavia! All of you who hold freedom and democracy dear, all of you who love your Fatherland and your People, all of you patriotic citizens who refuse to behave like lackeys in the face of the fascist conquerors, unite"*. Secondly, no one can question Josip Broz's convictions: he took over the leadership of the Party in a spirit of harmony, thanks to the fact that he was the most critical of the former leadership**, and also thanks to his exemplary past and his working-class origins.
And finally, Broz is not the most gifted of political schemers, and will no doubt have made one or two blunders for which he apologizes profusely. Like when he failed to expose the shenanigans of this same former management - which had therefore succeeded in taking power*** and failed to eliminate him, just as it had eliminated many of his comrades. But since then he has learned his lesson. And he therefore expects - to conclude - that, thanks to the wise advice of the USSR, the capitalist and reactionary traps will be turned against those who manipulate them.
In short, the Marshal is playing the ingénue. Some might even say the fool. But even if Moscow has some reservations, there is nothing it can do about it at the moment.
Emergency measures (reinforced)
North of Pogdorica (Montenegro) - A lost valley on the road to Kolašin: the ideal setting for the transfer of Croatian legionnaires held prisoner by the AVNOJ - which, although it is willing to say that nothing will happen to them, has for the time being refrains from saying exactly what it intends to do with them. The French have the impression that they are delivering calves to the slaughterhouse...
General Marko Mesić is not the least worried about his fate when he discovers his new hosts. Why them? Why now? Why at all? And why here, in this hotbed of the struggle between Ustasha legionnaires and allied or Titist forces? The whole thing has a decidedly nasty smell about it... But Aleksandar Leka Ranković - the fearsome head of the OZNA - is not here to dispense swift justice. Quite the opposite! He has a lot to discuss with Mesić...
Crushed Hungary
An update
Budapest - The clear deterioration of the situation in the Carpathians - and Edmund Veesenmayer was unaware, on the banks of the Danube, of just how bad things are on the Eastern Front! - logically led the "friends" of the Arrow Cross regime to consider how to reorganize the Hungarian war effort as quickly as possible.
From this point of view, and since last month, it has to be admitted that things had not moved very much... Hungarian industries, by their very nature extremely dependent on German production (they are at best service providers, more often than not mere sub-contractors), simply do not at this time have the human resources and technical means to achieve the efficiency expected by the Reich. All the more so now that the Magyar territory is being bludgeoned by Allied bombers and its road and rail infrastructure is showing dangerous signs of weakness!
In these conditions, the SS see no other way out than to organize the sheltering of critical installations and essential mobile manpower, while reinforcing the protection of the rest (particularly Csepel island). It's the only solution, obviously. But it's still a little disappointing... Fortunately, Veesenmayer doesn't only have this subject to deal with. But here at least he knows that the SS has obvious expertise that can be deployed on the ground at any time.
* Official history will not remember that this was also the first manifestation of a real pan-Yugoslav will, whereas the previous policy of the YCP tended towards a form of dislocation of the country...
** That of Milan Gorkić, executed by the NKVD in 1937 - but we won't talk about that...
*** With Moscow's blessing, thanks to Gorkić's many supporters within the Comintern and under the vague pretext that Broz's appointment would "increase the sectarian drift of the Party". Moscow's message before the takeover was unambiguous: "Since you did not nominate Gorkić, the only one in whom the Comintern has complete confidence - because it does not have confidence in you - we will not allow you to have a representative in the Comintern, but only a candidate, and that candidate will be Gorkić. Let that be a lesson to you."
Balkans campaign
Operation Veritable - The liberation of Sarajevo and Operation Ratweek
Sarajevo region - The Axis troops have almost finished retreating to their positions in the valleys of Bosnia and Kosica. These new lines, designed to extend the XVIII. Gebirgs-Armee-Korps (Julius Ringel), are based on two strong positions: Kakanj and Busovača. These two key locations, situated in the middle of a narrow valley, mean that the enemy would find it difficult to push forward here.
Friedrich-Wilhelm Krüger is therefore not worried about his III. SS-GAK. So much so that Kakanj and Busovača would only be defended, respectively, by the 8. SS-Panzer-Grenadier Rgt (Walther Schimana) and the 7. SS-Panzer-Grenadier Rgt (Alfred Wünnenberg) - which should be more than enough to hold the line, with the reinforcement of a few machines from the 105. SS-StuG Abt (Hauptsturmführer Mühlenkamp) handed over by the V. SS-GAK.
In the process, the 4. SS-Polizei frees up almost all of the SS-Prinz Eugen - which hasgiven a great deal to the defence of Sarajevo and is therefore in great need of reinforcement and reorganisation. This division therefore retreats to the Banja Luka sector - although it would remain available there for all practical purposes. In short, the Waffen-SS has done well to abandon this shabby city lost in the mountains to the Judeo-Bolshevik soldiery!
It's true that on the other side, the gloom continues, despite the welcome return of the air force. The bulk of the Greco-Titist forces remained behind, securing and clearing the town and helping those who could still be rescued... Sarajevo is in a pitiful state. During the winter, as a result of Operation Brzo - the famine organised by the Ustashi - it had already seen a mass influx of civilians fleeing the shortages. These wretched people (at least those who survived) now clog the streets, hiding in the smallest shelters (a habit they had adopted to avoid the bombs and the SS!), heating themselves with wood salvaged from the ruins and abandoned houses. Vjekoslav "Maks" Luburić isn't the only one who likes signs: at almost every crossroads, there is the abandoned body of someone who had been shot, bearing an inscription that he had been forced to write himself: "Ja sam lopov" - I'm a thief!
"The dead, quickly buried in accordance with Muslim tradition, are piled up in pits - for want of wood for the coffin, cardboard is used, and for want of cloth for the shroud, a fishing net. Finally - in the right cases: because of Nazi martial law, the needs of the living, the lack of means of transport... Corpses sometimes remained unburied for fourteen to eighteen days. For the survivors, it is often impossible to live inside their homes because of the stench of the dead, so they stay outside, with all the risks that entails. When a child died, the parents themselves were asked to bring the body to the grave!" [Letter to London from a British liaison officer, June 5th, J.S.H. Weinberg collection, folder 10].
All this has to be sorted out. This would be a job for the men of the AVNOJ, the allied military police and, to a certain extent, the 6th Greek Mountain Brigade (Colonel Pafsanias Katsotas). In fact, it already seems certain that the pursuit towards the north-west and Banja Luka would only be led by the 3rd Mountain Brigade (Colonel Thrasyvoulos Tsakalotos) and the 1st ID (Vasileios Vrachnos), which has finally come down from its mountain. Charalambos Katsimitros' 13th Infantry Division, for its part, has to rejoin its 2nd Corps by descending towards Konjic, following the elite troops of the Titist army.
At the same time, the SS-Freiwilligen Panzergrenadier-Brigade Nederland (Brigadeführer Jürgen Wagner) abandons Konjic and redeploys towards Jablanica and then Prozor Rama. The Nederland thus finally frees Kommando Adria from the remnants of its guard on the Neretva...
But we haven't finished talking about Sarajevo. Especially in the corridors of the allied HQs. To start with!
Dalmatia - The 11. SS-Gebirgs-Division Handschar (Karl-Gustav Sauberzweig) glides limply towards Grude and Široki Brijeg - with Ivo Herenčić's Vojni korpus hrvatske legije on its right, in Vrgorac or Vitina. But above all, with an increasingly visible bad mood. Faced with German officers who are always quick to use the stick instead of the carrot, Muhamed Hromić once again multiplied his warnings... to no avail!
...........
"We had crossed the Neretva in the morning, in the vanguard of the armoured brigade, to make sure that, yes, the Croats were indeed withdrawing. They had. In front of us was a vast abandoned riverbank, overlooking hills with paths that we suspected were mined. The enemy had moved off. "They've buggered off, the rats! Like a city-dweller from Corinth who gives up at my first catch."
Gáïos waved his big wrestler's hands and smiled greedily - before the war, he had had a fine start to his career in the gymnasium, between Pankration and Palaismata. Another victim of the German invasion... But hey, it makes the others laugh: Gáïos, the bull of the Isthmus, the locomotive of Patras!
- OK, that's enough Delta, we're moving forward, but cautiously. We have no idea what awaits us in these hills."
(Markus Amynthe - Machines de guerre - Souvenirs de la campagne de Bosnie, Kedros éditeur via LGF, 1993)
Weak point
Tirana (HQ of the 2nd French Army) - General Sylvestre Audet, encouraged in this by certain members of his government as well as by a form of self-love - to remain armed in Albania! While Paris is being liberated! - puts the finishing touches to a report to the 18th AAG's headquarters in Athens. Perhaps Montgomery or one of his deputies will read it, between two fabulous Hungarian adventures...
The subject of the letter is rather unexpected: the independent state of Croatia under Dr Ante Pavelic, and particularly its armed forces. Which, as we all know, are in a sorry state! Subjected to a threefold decline in numbers, equipment and morale - the Croatians are no longer so numerous, the Germans no longer give them anything and the Titist propaganda is in full swing - the Croatian army is no more than a shadow of its former self. This erasure may seem insignificant - and it is, of course, on the scale of the world conflict. But on the scale of the Balkan theatre, it's a different story...
"The considerable crisis experienced by the Wehrmacht as a result of the combined and continuous Allied and Soviet offensives in all theaters of operations logically led to a significant stretching of the German lines, which proved to be less and less manned. This was particularly obvious in the case of the French 2nd Army sector, especially as it was considered to be non-strategic.
Of course, this state of affairs was not lost on the enemy. This is why, in order to concentrate German forces on the axes, regions and localities of greatest value to them, the defence of most of this sector was logically entrusted to Croatian collaborating forces. According to the information available to us - cross-checked by secret service memoranda and even certain AVNOJ sources considered reliable - this long-standing policy appears to be reaching its limits. At present, the armed forces of the so-called NDH appear to be in a total strategic and moral impasse.
It would therefore seem appropriate for the 2nd Army Command to take advantage of this state of affairs, given that the harsh confrontations that preceded the recent capture of Sarajevo had undoubtedly led to a clear erosion of the German army's possibilities of action in southern Yugoslavia. We are referring here in particular to the divisions of the two Waffen-SS mountain corps, which we are now virtually certain have suffered such heavy losses that it will be impossible for them to carry out any significant offensive action in the coming weeks.
The army of the so-called NDH, negligible though it is today, remains an indispensable auxiliary of the Wehrmacht. Without it, the Axis would be unable, for lack of resources, to hold its line in Dalmatia. A limited offensive action towards Knin therefore seems to us to have a good chance of success, culminating in a junction with the sectors controlled by the Titist forces of Gospić and Bihać. This link-up would lead to a complete collapse of the enemy right flank.
The Franco-Greek command is certainly aware of the logistical difficulties in the region and the problems associated with the terrain. While the former can be partly resolved by maritime means, the latter cannot be neglected. This is why, if we can indeed envisage an advance in this sector of the front, the 2nd French Army would not fundamentally seek a breakthrough.
A cautious and thrifty effort, but carried out with determination, seems much more promising to us: in fact, it can only force the enemy to send reinforcements to his right, in order to make up for the inevitable Croatian failure. In so doing, the latter will certainly weaken its centre, and even its left, by mobilising precious resources and reserves, which will be lacking in the next efforts to be made towards Lake Balaton."
Hungary! So by exerting powerful and prolonged pressure on the Croatians, it seems possible to disintegrate what remained of the Ustasha forces, thus gaining a large chunk of the Adriatic coast in one fell swoop - which is of little importance - but above all forcing the Wehrmacht to commit its meagre reserves to plugging the gaps. Germany, still stuck in its strategy of static defence, would have to try to be everywhere and incur further losses in support of the Croatian remnants in order to defend... what exactly? Croatia's centre? Audet doesn't think that far ahead. Perhaps he should have. Because it's a dangerous line of thinking, one that others may well follow one day - and it's easy to see where it leads for Zagreb.
Change of head for the Commonwealth
Novi Sad - General John D. Lavarack, commander of ANZAC in the Balkans since January 1943, has amply served his country. Canberra therefore sends him home, perhaps at his request and in any case for services rendered. After a leave of absence, he crosses an ocean again - this time the Pacific - bound for the United States, to head the Australian mission sent there. A technical post, then, but also a political one - at a time when American influence is growing in Oceania, some are whispering that by sending one of its best officers to the USA, Australia is sending a message...
Possibly - but if that's the case, we shouldn't overestimate the significance. In reality, Lavarack's transfer may have more to do with certain staff intrigues... In any case, at this time, ANZAC is only providing cover for the flank of Brian Horrocks' British XIII Corps. Lavarack's departure - obviously disapproved of by Montgomery, but without him being able to prevent it - therefore has no influence on the plans of the 18th AAG in general, and the 8th Army in particular. The Oceanian Corps comes under the command of Lt-General J. Northcott - who has had no real responsibility since leaving Malaya shortly before his glorious fall. It is an appointment that greatly saddens Robert Freyberg - who would have liked to have been promoted. But "A Kiwi commanding the Kangaroos, that would be a bit messy", Monty explains to him without being asked, and with his legendary delicacy.
Forced migration
Western Bosnia - The recent Titist actions in the Mrkonjić Grad area - a mere thirty kilometres from its current position - are not doing the Montenegrin National Army of Sekula Drljević any favours, as it is still trying to survive by fleeing into the mountains towards a destination that is completely unknown, as it is probably illusory. In fact, the remnants of the former collaborationist formation are at a loss to know where to turn. For want of anything better to do, they dig in and hide, hoping that they would be forgotten... or that someone would offer them an opening to hide even further away.
Back home
Around Craiova (Romania) - Milutin Morača's 1st Yugoslav Brigade begins a priority redeployment by air transport from the Moscow region to Romania. The Soviet eagerness is visible! In a few days' time, after further reorganisation and delivery of light and medium armaments, it will make a second leap towards the Višegrad region. The USSR is keen to deliver its new shock unit as quickly as possible to the future Marshal of Yugoslavia. This time, after having informed the allied authorities precisely of the route taken by the air convoys and the days and times of the transfers... Of course!
AVNOJ
The fight is on!
Croatia (west), Lika-Senj - The announced retreat of the Handschar and the KLAK legionnaires logically means the end of the poor efforts of the I Croatian Corps (Ivan Brozovic) to break through the AVNOJ pocket in Dalmatia. The Ustasha forces, exhausted and out of breath, go on the defensive, waiting to be relieved by more motivated and better-equipped compatriots.
Then they would be redeployed - probably to the centre of the country, to relieve other comrades and other SS, who are themselves in more or less difficulty elsewhere. The Ustasha army, which started out as a bad patch, is looking more and more like a used plaster that is being stubbornly reused everywhere for want of a change, even though it is no longer holding anything.
Especially as things aren't much better in the Čađavica sector. In fact, it could be said that only a crying lack of manpower prevented the 7th Banija Division from overrunning the new positions of III Corps (Ivan Markuli) at Gornje Ratkovo via Mrkonjić Grad to threaten Jajce, or even outright Travnik or Banja Luka! Unfortunately for the Titists, the arrival in the sector of the SS-Freiwilligen Gebirgs-Brigade Kama (Helmuth Raithel) seems to show that the window of opportunity has already closed. It seems obvious that a well-trained SS unit under German supervision could only motivate the Croats and strengthen the line. This is in fact what happened at Karlovac.
So is Vojislav Djokic's offensive already doomed to failure? That remains to be seen. After all, the Kama, which was put together in a hurry with Croats, Bosnians and even a few Hungarians (!), has neither the level nor the expertise - let alone the fanaticism - of its compatriots. There's a world of difference between her and Hans Brandt's (Slovenian) Karstjäger! So, perhaps not everything is settled in this sector.
.........
Gospić - Noting the overall collapse of enemy offensive efforts in his sector, Andrija "Fatty" Hebrang removes the last obstacles he placed in the way of a coordinated move towards Banja Luka with Vladimir Matetić's 10th "Croatian" Corps. Tomorrow, his 35th "Lika" Division (Stanko Perhavec, Šime Balen) and his 43rd "Istrian" Division (Milan Šakić Mićun, Marijan Badel) will therefore begin a vast turning movement from Sanski Most and Bihać to hit the artery feeding the SS front from the flank. "For the Marshal! Death to fascism, freedom for the people!"
.........
Slovenia - At the same time, and without having coordinated in the slightest with their comrades further south (it is true that the orders from HQ had not really changed since April: all-out offensive!), the Titist troops in Slovenia - mainly the 7th and 9th 'Slovenian' Corps, entrenched in the Žumberak mountains, but also the Pavlek Miškina and Nikola Demonja Brigades in the Bočko - launch a new campaign of harassment of the Axis troops. This will begin in earnest tomorrow. The infiltration and sabotage detachments disappear during the night.
The AVNOJ assault brigades, for their part, have chosen a choice piece: the bridge over the Savo, near the town of Pogonik.
Interview with an Ustachi
Finish your beer
"- Furious, then?
- So we rode back to our lines. On the road to Banja Luka, towards a village that must have been called... Krupa na Vrbasu. Milorad went ahead with our families and my daughter Renata. He was the only one I trusted that much.
- And you stayed behind?
- We needed a rearguard, if only to make sure that our loved ones' throats weren't slit. It lasted until evening. Then I gave the order to pull out. It was a calm, beautiful night. Surprisingly peaceful. A beautiful spring night.
- A good memory?
- Well, not exactly.
- Ah.
- As we drove north, I saw a campfire at the edge of a cave, on a hill to our right. Nothing too serious, just an isolated fire pit high above the valley. Only a moron would put himself on display like that. He might as well have put up a sign on the road saying "This is the way to kill me".
Silence. He hesitates, it's obvious. But he goes on. In what I interpret as a cathartic effort.
- I went to see. On my own. Out of curiosity. I didn't think I was risking much, and I wasn't disappointed. In front of the campfire, a young man in a patched uniform jacket, who had obviously been away from his unit for several days. [A pause] Since me and my Vukas didn't have regular uniforms, he didn't exactly understand who I was. He welcomed me, the idiot! With a beer in one hand and a rabbit on the spit in the other, he'd probably have shared if you'd asked him. But above all he was lost. So he started talking to me, about himself, his enlistment, his eighteenth birthday, which he was celebrating this evening, a little late. I said, "Happy birthday!
I have a feeling it's going to be unpleasant. But I don't dare interrupt him.
- I've never been a good actor. Subtlety is one thing, deception is another. It's the weapon of those who can't achieve their ends by force or wit. And then he saw my wolf's head badge. "Oh shit, I know who you are!" He began to cry without a sound, with his bottle in his hand. That he'd lost his parents, that he and his girlfriend hadn't seen each other for three months, that he'd never... Arh. Well, young people stuff.
- So what did you do?
- So I told him to finish his beer. He'd given up hope and told me to finish it.
It took me a while before I dared ask the question: "And then?
- And then I left the cave. The sun was rising, the morning was beautiful. The fresh air did me good".
(Dans la tête du monstre - Conversation avec un officier oustachi, Robert Stan Pratsky, Flammarion 1982)
Yugoslavia torn apart
The path of reason
Yugoslavia - The proclamation by all the AVNOJ media that two of the most important pre-war political parties had joined the Narodni Front - because everyone had already realised that this was what it was all about - causes a real upheaval in the Yugoslav political landscape. It has to be said that the Yugoslav political landscape, which was already in a shaky state after the dictatorship of Alexander I, has never really recovered from the invasion of 1941.
Now, a whole host of MPs, senators and other politicians "on the right side of the front line" are more or less openly wondering what to do - in small groups or on their own. In fact, although few people really trust a communist, even a so-called realist like Marshal Broz, almost everyone agrees that royal policy has reached a dead end. The administration of Peter II, already not really legal - forgivable in wartime - gives little sign of a desire to return to parliamentary monarchy. Officially, the Palace made it known that it was difficult to organise a congress in the circumstances of the conflict, that certain mandates no longer represent much, and that several personalities (mainly Croatian or Slovenian) have compromised themselves to the point of no longer being able to represent their mandate...
All this is certainly audible. In fact, much of it is true. However, once again, while no one can criticize Peter for failing to achieve union, many are not far from reproaching him for not even trying. And in the days to come, an ever-growing number of leaders, without going so far as to cross the Rubicon, will be carefully weighing up the stakes of a possible position in the future - between an authoritarian and unpredictable king and an equally unpredictable adventurer, but one who at least seems to care about the country's institutions and unity, or even a form of return to the old order.
The endgame?
White Palace (royal estate of Dedinje, Belgrade) - In the still closed circle of the sovereign, one hesitates between irony and contempt at this umpteenth demonstration, not of strength - if Josip Broz considers himself powerful enough to take power, let him come! - but rather a desperate attempt to give the AVNOJ a semblance of legality.
According to the Chetniks and other Panserbs gathered around King Karađođević, it seems obvious that this pathetic circus has no other purpose than to try to conciliate the great powers. "But the Americans, the French and even the British will never let a coup d'état be carried out against us and with their weapons. Especially in the middle of a war! Let the Bolsheviks stir themselves up in vain and reveal the traitors for us - all we have to do is write down the names for later". This speech is, of course, that of Radoje Knezevic - who once again cares very little about harmony within his population and even within his government. But as there is no one to contradict him in the Palace...
Meanwhile, as suggested, the purges continue. For example, that snake Milan Grol, from the Democratic Party and now a member of the Popular Front! Formerly Minister of Foreign Affairs, he has now been relieved of his duties, in favour of Momčilo Ninčić. He has thus returned to a position where he is well known.
.........
Belgrade - His Excellency Roger Maugras, Ambassador representing the French Republic in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, has been instructed to ask the legal authorities for an urgent audience with a high-ranking official - the King, Prime Minister Božidar Purić or at the very least the new Minister of Foreign Affairs. It would appear that Paris - and we can now say Paris, that's it! - wishes to clarify its position in the light of the latest developments in the region. And as the White Palace no longer has many interlocutors, the Quai de la Joliette - already in the process of moving to the Quai d'Orsay - has no doubt that its request will find an attentive ear.
A game that's not really fun any more - but with new rules
Belgrade - Taking note of the fact that it is impossible 'for the moment' to be received by the Kingdom's legal authorities - all of whom are busy with more important tasks - General Robert Stone takes this vexation in his stride and takes advantage of the opportunity to make the rounds. Thanks to the good offices of Colonel Žarko Popović's network, the Briton sets about meeting all the leaders and senior officers who were sympathetic - whether declared or not - to the mutinous group. It is a long task, but a highly instructive one!
In fact, since the proclamation of May 8th, the regular Yugoslav army - no one is talking about the freecorps, their loyalty to the Palace is in no doubt - has been subtly sliding from a fragmented status to an increasingly visible shift towards opposition, short of open rebellion. Not that there are any Bolshevik sympathisers in its ranks - but on the contrary, the more time passes, the more the situation evolves in a direction unfavourable to the return of a strong, independent, non-communist state. The latest news proves the point!
Stone, who does not have a directly political mission, can therefore gradually hope to extend London's influence deep into Yugoslavia's military fabric. In the days to come, he may even consider approaching the formidable head of the 1st Army Corps, General Ilija Brasic, directly.
Red Messiah
A cave north of Višegrad (Marshal Tito's residence) - Whatever its declared desire for independence and the many "Yugoslav peculiarities", the AVNOJ must regularly explain itself to the Fatherland of the Workers... It does so through the voice of its leader himself, who addresses General Major Nikolai Korneev. Nikolai Vassilievich may be a benevolent man, but he too is regularly called to account. And to a far less understanding person than himself. Tito is aware of this and will therefore use all his diplomacy to explain the "latest developments" that have so annoyed Moscow.
First of all, the creation of this "Popular Front" should not be seen as the slightest deviation from the Party line, of course! And even less Trotskyism, calling for revolution by force of arms! The AVNOJ, in adopting a unifying role for the future, does not give up an inch of its convictions - it defends not only equality, but also unity, as rightly proclaimed by the Central Committee in 1938, after the Munich crisis: "Peoples of Yugoslavia! All of you who hold freedom and democracy dear, all of you who love your Fatherland and your People, all of you patriotic citizens who refuse to behave like lackeys in the face of the fascist conquerors, unite"*. Secondly, no one can question Josip Broz's convictions: he took over the leadership of the Party in a spirit of harmony, thanks to the fact that he was the most critical of the former leadership**, and also thanks to his exemplary past and his working-class origins.
And finally, Broz is not the most gifted of political schemers, and will no doubt have made one or two blunders for which he apologizes profusely. Like when he failed to expose the shenanigans of this same former management - which had therefore succeeded in taking power*** and failed to eliminate him, just as it had eliminated many of his comrades. But since then he has learned his lesson. And he therefore expects - to conclude - that, thanks to the wise advice of the USSR, the capitalist and reactionary traps will be turned against those who manipulate them.
In short, the Marshal is playing the ingénue. Some might even say the fool. But even if Moscow has some reservations, there is nothing it can do about it at the moment.
Emergency measures (reinforced)
North of Pogdorica (Montenegro) - A lost valley on the road to Kolašin: the ideal setting for the transfer of Croatian legionnaires held prisoner by the AVNOJ - which, although it is willing to say that nothing will happen to them, has for the time being refrains from saying exactly what it intends to do with them. The French have the impression that they are delivering calves to the slaughterhouse...
General Marko Mesić is not the least worried about his fate when he discovers his new hosts. Why them? Why now? Why at all? And why here, in this hotbed of the struggle between Ustasha legionnaires and allied or Titist forces? The whole thing has a decidedly nasty smell about it... But Aleksandar Leka Ranković - the fearsome head of the OZNA - is not here to dispense swift justice. Quite the opposite! He has a lot to discuss with Mesić...
Crushed Hungary
An update
Budapest - The clear deterioration of the situation in the Carpathians - and Edmund Veesenmayer was unaware, on the banks of the Danube, of just how bad things are on the Eastern Front! - logically led the "friends" of the Arrow Cross regime to consider how to reorganize the Hungarian war effort as quickly as possible.
From this point of view, and since last month, it has to be admitted that things had not moved very much... Hungarian industries, by their very nature extremely dependent on German production (they are at best service providers, more often than not mere sub-contractors), simply do not at this time have the human resources and technical means to achieve the efficiency expected by the Reich. All the more so now that the Magyar territory is being bludgeoned by Allied bombers and its road and rail infrastructure is showing dangerous signs of weakness!
In these conditions, the SS see no other way out than to organize the sheltering of critical installations and essential mobile manpower, while reinforcing the protection of the rest (particularly Csepel island). It's the only solution, obviously. But it's still a little disappointing... Fortunately, Veesenmayer doesn't only have this subject to deal with. But here at least he knows that the SS has obvious expertise that can be deployed on the ground at any time.
* Official history will not remember that this was also the first manifestation of a real pan-Yugoslav will, whereas the previous policy of the YCP tended towards a form of dislocation of the country...
** That of Milan Gorkić, executed by the NKVD in 1937 - but we won't talk about that...
*** With Moscow's blessing, thanks to Gorkić's many supporters within the Comintern and under the vague pretext that Broz's appointment would "increase the sectarian drift of the Party". Moscow's message before the takeover was unambiguous: "Since you did not nominate Gorkić, the only one in whom the Comintern has complete confidence - because it does not have confidence in you - we will not allow you to have a representative in the Comintern, but only a candidate, and that candidate will be Gorkić. Let that be a lesson to you."
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26/05/44 - Balkans
May 26th, 1944
Balkans campaign
Operation Veritable - After Sarajevo and Operation Ratweek
Sarajevo region - The motorised vanguards of the 1st Greek Infantry Division (Vasileios Vrachnos) come into contact with the new lines of the 8. SS-Panzer-Grenadier Rgt (Walther Schimana) in the Kakanj sector. For its part, the 3rd Mountain Brigade (Colonel Thrasyvoulos Tsakalotos) is still somewhere towards Jehovac, in the Mlava valley (an extension of the Kosica valley). It will probably not reach Busovača and the lines of the 7 SS-Panzer-Grenadier Rgt (Alfred Wünnenberg) until tomorrow...
The allied forces - who are under no obligation to take any risks by hurrying forward, apart from some nagging from their Titist allies marching as scouts - are of course delayed by the terrain, supply difficulties (getting fuel here was a real ordeal!) and by encounters of all kinds. Along the way, they come across a number of detachments or other groups of Soviet paratroopers - who have emerged from the woods, the caves or the cliffs. These glorious fighters of the USSR, "defeated but undefeated"*, do not always come to the capitalist forces without suspicion or tension**. In the days that followed, no fewer than 927 men would be found (including Alexander Rumyantsev), whether they had come to meet the allied forces or had been reported by the Titists. This still represents a casualty rate of 85% of the 8,000 men involved... Obviously (let's not get angry with our Red ally), the first concern of the Allied forces would be to return these survivors to their barracks, in a tenuous but uninterrupted flow of C-47s bound for Romania.
.........
"Vremya Tsvetov, the Time of the Flowers that were supposed to fall on Bosnia, therefore ended in a real disaster - a minor one, admittedly, but a disaster nonetheless. The causes are as obvious as they are too numerous to mention here: lack of anticipation and planning, absence of the slightest feedback on large-scale airborne operations, vague and inaccessible objectives, gross underestimation of the enemy's capacity to react, and at least as great an overestimation of the Titists' resources. It seems that, in the great game of lying poker that was subtly beginning to take shape between the AVNOJ and the USSR, the two protagonists intoxicated each other!
On the one hand, there was the AVNOJ mission in Moscow led by General Velimir Terzic, who spent his time asking for weapons, emphasising the obvious superiority of the Titists in terms of numbers against the Nazis, who were of course out of breath, perhaps to the point of exaggerating their actual capabilities. On the other, the Stavka, drunk on its successes in Poland and the Carpathians, which no doubt imagined that a few thousand elite soldiers would be enough to solve the irritating little Yugoslav problem and move on - even if it meant overstretching the potential of the 1st Airborne Corps. And between the two, of course, the omnipresent figure of Stalin, whose political agenda and proven fear of Yugoslavia slipping out of his future sphere of influence meant that he had to act as quickly as possible.
All the warning signs, all the doubts, all the feedback had been meticulously ignored, under the leaden blanket of a Stalinist hierarchy on the verge of becoming dangerously invasive, although still confined to the rear of the front at the time. In these circumstances, disaster was inevitable. Moreover, all the Red Army leaders concerned were aware of this. That's probably why their superiors hardly bothered them - apart from Georgy Zhukov, of course, but later, in a very different context and for the reasons we know. And this despite the fact that he was one of those who had played the least part in preparing the operation!
Fyodor Tolbukhin had already erased his (small) mistake by advancing to Transylvania. He would have the opportunity to go even further over the coming months, until he was remembered only for his brilliant victories. Viktor Zholudev, for his part, was to lead his amputated 1st Airborne Corps to the end of the conflict, in the Carpathians and with the success we all know. Alexander Rumyantsev himself was to survive the defeat. Recovered wounded by Greek forces, he spent a month convalescing in Bucharest before being sent to command the 51st Rifle Corps (38th Army, 2nd Ukrainian Front). He took part in the siege of Budapest and ended his career peacefully as deputy commander of the Baltic military district for military educational establishments. Anisim Svetlyakov himself saw his sacrifice commemorated by the Order of the Flag and the Order of Kutusov! Suffice to say, his ghost was not held in contempt.
Having said that, one question remains: in view of the fall of Sarajevo and the withdrawal of the III. SS-GAK, couldn't we say, paradoxically, that Vremya Tsvetov had succeeded? In operational terms, it's audible. It is true that the Soviet action caused a certain amount of chaos in the SS's rear, causing their lines to falter and probably ultimately favouring the German decision to retreat - even though it seems certain that this decision would have been taken in the medium term.
In political terms, however, it was a different matter: by sowing disorder in the sad bludgeoning of a martyred town, Time of Flowers had provided an impetus where the Allies would no doubt have been more happy to let the situation fester. The operation was therefore a sort of victory for the Titists - but it was a victory for the Franco-Greeks, who were forced to react, and the Red Army could not seriously claim to have won the day.
In truth, and in this light, it can be said without a doubt that Vremya Tsvetov encouraged... collaboration between the Western Allies and the Titists. In other words, the exact opposite of the desired effect! In our view, therefore, such an eminently political operation cannot be considered a success. All that remains today is the hazy memory of an objectively pointless bloodbath".
(Robert Stan Pratsky, The Liberation of Greece and the Balkans, Flammarion, 2005)
.........
Further south, the SS-Freiwilligen Panzergrenadier-Brigade Nederland under Brigadeführer Jürgen Wagner reaches Prozor Rama - its new defensive position, well ahead of the 1st 'Proletarian' Corps (Koča Popović, Mijalko Todorovic) and the 3rd 'Bosnian' Corps (Peko Dapcevic, Mitar Bakić). By this time, they have taken Konjic and are heading west up the Neretva. A narrow sector, easy to defend***... Even for motivated - but exhausted - light infantry, it would take a long time.
Behind them, Charalambos Katsimitros' 13th Infantry Division marches at a snail's pace. It is accompanied by a handful of AVNOJ armoured vehicles (French prize vehicles), which have been kindly supplied with petrol.
Dalmatia - Now that the SS-Nederland is in place, Karl-Gustav Sauberzweig and his leader, Obergruppenführer Georg Keppler (V. SS-GAK Kommando Adria), see no reason to linger any longer. Spurring on Croats of all origins, the SS officers push back their entire force: the legionnaires of Ivo Herenčić's Vojni korpus hrvatske legije to the south, along the coast as far as Slivno (while waiting for Zagvozd), and the 11. SS-Gebirgs-Division Handschar towards Posušje and Imotski. While Karl-Gustav Sauberzweig still refuses to admit that his troop is in danger of losing its head! For the SS, the most important thing is that Dimitrios Papadopoulos's Greeks are still a long way off, cautiously crossing the Neretva and showing no sign of pursuing!
Horror
Sarajevo - The terrifying news following the liberation of the Bosnian capital is once again causing consternation among Balkan public opinion and among allied officials - audiences who, with time, might have been expected to be used to it... On the ground, the clean-up is nevertheless progressing, in terrible conditions, as one student who witnessed the scene recounts...
"The corpses were collected in handcarts for transport to the cemeteries. There, they are piled on top of each other. They all disappear into a large pit. The family cannot attend the burial - efficiency comes first. Some have gone weeks without being buried. The undertakers are overwhelmed. They have to be paid in advance and if they are given a little butter or sugar, there is little chance of acquiring a plot or a coffin.
The Germans stole most of the vehicles in order to loot everything they could. This was one reason for the lack of food. It's not surprising that in these conditions, and given the black market prices, so many people are dying, especially the elderly and small children. Life seems to have become so inhuman! I saw with my own eyes people slowly collapsing and falling in the street or in the queues outside the soup kitchens offered by the Allies. There were many beggars, including a few singers with horrible voices. Others went from house to house begging for a piece of bread or a potato.
At the same time, the black market flourished. Residents carrying boxes haunt the streets. They shuffle along, looking for anything they can get their hands on at outrageous prices. In the cafés, business goes on. You can literally buy anything. There are lookouts at the crossroads, but the police do nothing anyway. They're busier stealing sacks of potatoes from people returning from a long walk in the mountains. It's always a case of continuity: official members of the Occupation authorities and sometimes even ordinary German officers made their fortunes on the black market. The SS ran their small businesses out of cafés! And their soldiers boasted that they didn't need to go to brothels or pay. For half a loaf of bread, you could get anything you wanted."
To be sure, the impact of these atrocities - which were not the first, alas - on the scale of the conflict will remain very limited. On the other hand, they were bound to add fuel to the fire of Peter II's government, which could once again complain that its British allies, so ungrateful and complacent, were doing nothing to save the kingdom and its people from ruin. To the point of delegating the management of part of its territory to communist adventurers or to an administrative authority without a mandate. Scandalous, isn't it?
Abandon
Wewelsburg - The report from the 2 SS-GebirgsArmee on the 'mayor of Zagreb' - the word is already making the corridors abuzz with scornful jokes - has reached the office of the head of the Black Order. Who, it should be remembered, is probably the last leading German official to pretend to care, at least a little, about Ante Pavelic's fragile creation.
Of course, Heinrich Himmler does not go so far as to question the underlying causes of the collapse of Croatia's performance. He does, however, go so far as to consider that there is no point in depriving "his" divisions of "his" army of material support for the benefit of such a despicable pseudo-ally. Since he can't defend his land and can't be counted on, the Ustashi can no longer be a partner, not even a deputy - from then on he would be, at best, a Hiwi, a colonial auxiliary, who would have to make do with what is left to him.
The fact that the supplies in question have already been reduced to a meagre portion does nothing to change the Chief's opinion. Himmler likes to have decisive opinions - like his general's report. Which, in reality - albeit in a very formal way - raises the question of the real meaning of the support given to the NDH.
Air warfare
Yugoslav Front - Allied air efforts continue over the Balkans - but especially over Hungary, in preparation for what Monty is interested in: the restart of Plunder. According to rumours in the corridors, this is imminent - and the chief is only waiting for a sign from London, which is no doubt itself conditional on Belgrade's submission.
"We can always wait..." some people quip. Perhaps, but in the meantime, the British army intends to be ready. All the communication routes south of Lake Balaton - in particular the Székesfehérvár-Zagreb axis - are therefore targeted by the allied Marauders and Banshees. The British of Squadron 213 lose a twin-engine aircraft to flak (the pilot is captured). Neither the Luftwaffe nor the MKHL intervene - they are busy today on the Hungarian side...
AVNOJ
The struggle has resumed!
North of Čađavica - The 7th Banija Division (Vojislav Djokic, Kluro Kladarin) now appears to be well stalled in its ride towards Banja Luka. Djokic, informed of the maneuvers underway all around him - that's new... - does not insist on forcing his way through, preferring to try once again a meticulous job of undermining the units facing him. It worked against the Ustachis once, it could probably work again... and also against Helmuth Raithel's SS? Surprisingly, the Kama's mercenaries (mercenaries, a misnomer, but a contemptuous term - and therefore useful!) don't seem to be that formidable at the moment. As proof, no major offensive action on their part has been reported for the moment. Just skirmishes and tests! Djokic is beginning to think his opponent has been a little oversold...
.........
Croatia (west), Lika-Senj - The AVNOJ forces set to work - commensurate with their still limited numbers... - in a triangle roughly corresponding to the western fringe of Bosnia. The 34th 'Croatian' Division (Martin Dasović, Francis Knebl) leaves Novi Grad for Prijedor, which is virtually undefended. To the south, the 35th Lika Division (Stanko Perhavec, Šime Balen) also moves up from Sanski Most towards Prijedor, in order to link up with Dasović's forces. Finally, a little further back, the 43rd 'Istrian' Division (Milan Šakić Mićun, Marijan Badel) moves out of Bihać towards Bosanka Krupa, before reaching Novi Grad.
In all, the Partisan movement activates almost 10,000 fighters in this sector. And they are all converging, more or less, on Banja Luka. Towards a town where - but Hebrang doesn't know yet, and it's not his fault - Karl Reichsritter von Oberkamp's 7. SS Gebirgs-Division Prinz Eugen plans to arrive in two days' time.
.........
Slovenia - Start of offensive operations and small-scale warfare around the Žumberak mountains, in particular towards Brežice and Metlica (the AVNOJ avoids Novo Mesto at this time, where Hans Brandt's formidable Karstjäger brigade is located). Obviously, this unleashes the fury of the German Occupation authorities and the Slovenian collaborationist militias - there are still some of them - who all turn their attention southwards... quite a long way from the Bočko mountains, where the Titist assault brigades are emerging at the same time.
Extension of the field of combat
Požega (Slavonia) - After weeks of consolidation and treatment in an attempt to recover from the wounds inflicted on it by Helmuth von Pannwitz's formidable SS-Kosaken-Freiwilligen Kavallerie-Brigade, the 6th 'Slavonic' Corps is finally back in action. First of all, it has a new leader: Mate Jerković, to replace the late Petar Drapšin, who has died in... regrettable circumstances. Jerković isCroatian, a former reserve second lieutenant and student communist sympathiser who had managed to escape capture during the 1941 invasion. Very active in his village within the anti-fascist movements, a deserter from the Croatian National Guard - he left with his returned comrades and all the equipment available!**** - he then climbed the ranks of the Partisans through battle and skill.
With his commissar Otmar Kreacic, Mate Jerković's first concern is to flesh out the order of battle of the 6th "Slavonic" Corps. This means, in particular, that the 40th Slavonic Division (Veljko Kovačević, Ivan Vondracek) will be lined up today, presumably to resume offensive action in June. After all, 4,700 men and women, even novices, is an appreciable reinforcement.
Hungary
The American season
Eastern Hungary - More than 400 bombers hit all the major cities in this part of the country, as part of a "hook" flight plan. The planes depart from Italy and land towards Crete. This is because the Soviets would no longer allow American bombers to land on their airfields!
Miskolc, Szeged, Nagyvárad and Arad are all attacked... which, paradoxically, is probably of more use to the Red Army maneuvering in the Carpathians than to the Imperials on the Danube. Thirty Pumas set out to attack this formation, indifferent to the 200 escort fighters announced. They charge forward and... miss their targets, once again masked by the clouds. One exception is Warrant Officer (Zàszlov) Gyula Zsíros of the 101/2 század Retek (Captain György Újszászy). Zsíros, who was late for take-off, stumbles across an American box and shoots down a Flying Fortress with his Bf 109G-4 before ducking out.
Small consolation! On the ground, it is carnage: 2,387 Magyars and 174 Germans lose their lives under the bombs. This is the highest total of civilian casualties recorded in Hungary since the start of the war...
Yugoslavia torn apart
The path of reason (encouraged)
Yugoslavia - The formation of the Popular Front is accompanied by an intense campaign to "popularise" Marshal Tito, carefully orchestrated by the AVNOJ services, supported by Moscow's resources, and even to a certain extent by certain British officials who have been instructed to do so. This new campaign is, of course, designed to cover up the vileness revealed by the Franco-Yugoslav collaborationist press last month.
On the contrary, carefully selected reporters and commentators are portraying everything that should be seen in the Yugoslav leader: a man of the people, a peasant who worked his way up, a patriotic soldier who never stopped fighting against all the Occupiers and who knew how to surround himself with friends who all did the same. And last but not least, he is a political visionary who understands that the time for the hegemony of some had passed, and that while it is necessary to come together in union, that union can only be built on an egalitarian, or even federal, basis - if only to avoid repeating certain recent mistakes.
Hollowed out by, or even in opposition to, Broz's personality, is the portrait of another character. Obviously, this is deliberate - the supporters are playing on the velvet of weariness. And as comrade Milovan Đilas said: Tito must be popularised!
The endgame?
White Palace (Dedinje royal estate, Belgrade) - The Yugoslav royal government is once again in chaos - and this is particularly the case in the Foreign Ministry: Momčilo Ninčić is still sorting out his civil servants, between those loyal to the former minister and those loyal to the king! As a result, His Excellency Roger Maugras has been informed that the requested audience cannot take place until tomorrow. Time for the Frenchman to hone his arguments...
In the evening, Maugras will bid a cordial farewell to his friend and (former) counterpart Sir Reginald Leeper, who is on his way out. In the warmth of a comfortably heated lounge, and with the help of an excellent brandy, the two diplomats - who are definitely getting to know Yugoslavia well! - will have plenty of time to exchange their impressions, thoughts and plans... within the limits authorised by their governments, of course.
Red Messiah
A cave to the north of Višegrad (Marshal Tito's residence) - Between two minor apologies to his Soviet godfather, Marshal Tito wishes to summon the press for what he presents as "a major announcement" aimed at the population and the nation's fighters. It is impossible to know exactly what it is, but those closest to him claim to have seen him spending the day with Aleksandar Rankovic in a particularly isolated cave. Of course, the allied war correspondents and the few representatives of sympathetic titles will be there. As for Pavle Savić, the head of Yugoslav Free Radio - "war radio" in AVNOJ jargon - he has been ordered to check his installations rigorously...
The Hebrang affair (part two)
Port of Karlobag - The Adriatic is beautiful and the evening falls on the beautiful landscape of the island of Pag . In other circumstances, this might have pleased Edvard Kardelj - who, it has to be said, does not find it unpleasant to be closer to home. Alas, the Slovenian is not here on holiday. And as soon as his status as a government envoy is recognised, he has to find transport to Gospić - a place where he would probably not arrive until the middle of the night. He needs to regain control of Comrade Fatty, and as soon as possible!
Emergency measures (reinforced)
Montenegro and Albania - While the mountains and shores of the Adriatic rustle with a thousand mysteries, the 2nd French Army launches the second phase of Rog Izobilja - Operation Horn of Plenty. After the first deliveries to Slovenia, this time the focus will be on northern Dalmatia, and in particular the Gospić region, as much out of humanitarian necessity as in anticipation of the projects that the French have in mind here. One nuance, however! Given the myriad of islands and the navigational difficulties in the area, future trips to and from the Horn will be by light transport - via a supply depot set up especially for the purpose on the island of Dugi Otok. Dugi Otok will serve as the logistics center for the Partisan fleet...
In the meantime, supplies to the Žumberak mountains will of course continue - mainly by parachute, which is considered less risky. The Slovenian Resistance has to be encouraged.
* According to post-war Soviet literature - one can appreciate the meaning of the phrase...
** To this day, the archives of the Greek armed forces, like those of the 2nd French Army, do not record the slightest incident with Soviet paratroopers that resulted in casualties, either dead or wounded. Nevertheless, such incidents were undoubtedly possible - all the more so as it was later proved that the Soviets had not even received a description of the uniforms of the so-called "minor" allied forces engaged in Bosnia!
*** It was here that the Jablanica dam was built after the war, one of the first electricity production facilities in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
**** History will even record that Jerković deserted twice: once in 1941, and again in 1942 after a second mobilisation!
Balkans campaign
Operation Veritable - After Sarajevo and Operation Ratweek
Sarajevo region - The motorised vanguards of the 1st Greek Infantry Division (Vasileios Vrachnos) come into contact with the new lines of the 8. SS-Panzer-Grenadier Rgt (Walther Schimana) in the Kakanj sector. For its part, the 3rd Mountain Brigade (Colonel Thrasyvoulos Tsakalotos) is still somewhere towards Jehovac, in the Mlava valley (an extension of the Kosica valley). It will probably not reach Busovača and the lines of the 7 SS-Panzer-Grenadier Rgt (Alfred Wünnenberg) until tomorrow...
The allied forces - who are under no obligation to take any risks by hurrying forward, apart from some nagging from their Titist allies marching as scouts - are of course delayed by the terrain, supply difficulties (getting fuel here was a real ordeal!) and by encounters of all kinds. Along the way, they come across a number of detachments or other groups of Soviet paratroopers - who have emerged from the woods, the caves or the cliffs. These glorious fighters of the USSR, "defeated but undefeated"*, do not always come to the capitalist forces without suspicion or tension**. In the days that followed, no fewer than 927 men would be found (including Alexander Rumyantsev), whether they had come to meet the allied forces or had been reported by the Titists. This still represents a casualty rate of 85% of the 8,000 men involved... Obviously (let's not get angry with our Red ally), the first concern of the Allied forces would be to return these survivors to their barracks, in a tenuous but uninterrupted flow of C-47s bound for Romania.
.........
"Vremya Tsvetov, the Time of the Flowers that were supposed to fall on Bosnia, therefore ended in a real disaster - a minor one, admittedly, but a disaster nonetheless. The causes are as obvious as they are too numerous to mention here: lack of anticipation and planning, absence of the slightest feedback on large-scale airborne operations, vague and inaccessible objectives, gross underestimation of the enemy's capacity to react, and at least as great an overestimation of the Titists' resources. It seems that, in the great game of lying poker that was subtly beginning to take shape between the AVNOJ and the USSR, the two protagonists intoxicated each other!
On the one hand, there was the AVNOJ mission in Moscow led by General Velimir Terzic, who spent his time asking for weapons, emphasising the obvious superiority of the Titists in terms of numbers against the Nazis, who were of course out of breath, perhaps to the point of exaggerating their actual capabilities. On the other, the Stavka, drunk on its successes in Poland and the Carpathians, which no doubt imagined that a few thousand elite soldiers would be enough to solve the irritating little Yugoslav problem and move on - even if it meant overstretching the potential of the 1st Airborne Corps. And between the two, of course, the omnipresent figure of Stalin, whose political agenda and proven fear of Yugoslavia slipping out of his future sphere of influence meant that he had to act as quickly as possible.
All the warning signs, all the doubts, all the feedback had been meticulously ignored, under the leaden blanket of a Stalinist hierarchy on the verge of becoming dangerously invasive, although still confined to the rear of the front at the time. In these circumstances, disaster was inevitable. Moreover, all the Red Army leaders concerned were aware of this. That's probably why their superiors hardly bothered them - apart from Georgy Zhukov, of course, but later, in a very different context and for the reasons we know. And this despite the fact that he was one of those who had played the least part in preparing the operation!
Fyodor Tolbukhin had already erased his (small) mistake by advancing to Transylvania. He would have the opportunity to go even further over the coming months, until he was remembered only for his brilliant victories. Viktor Zholudev, for his part, was to lead his amputated 1st Airborne Corps to the end of the conflict, in the Carpathians and with the success we all know. Alexander Rumyantsev himself was to survive the defeat. Recovered wounded by Greek forces, he spent a month convalescing in Bucharest before being sent to command the 51st Rifle Corps (38th Army, 2nd Ukrainian Front). He took part in the siege of Budapest and ended his career peacefully as deputy commander of the Baltic military district for military educational establishments. Anisim Svetlyakov himself saw his sacrifice commemorated by the Order of the Flag and the Order of Kutusov! Suffice to say, his ghost was not held in contempt.
Having said that, one question remains: in view of the fall of Sarajevo and the withdrawal of the III. SS-GAK, couldn't we say, paradoxically, that Vremya Tsvetov had succeeded? In operational terms, it's audible. It is true that the Soviet action caused a certain amount of chaos in the SS's rear, causing their lines to falter and probably ultimately favouring the German decision to retreat - even though it seems certain that this decision would have been taken in the medium term.
In political terms, however, it was a different matter: by sowing disorder in the sad bludgeoning of a martyred town, Time of Flowers had provided an impetus where the Allies would no doubt have been more happy to let the situation fester. The operation was therefore a sort of victory for the Titists - but it was a victory for the Franco-Greeks, who were forced to react, and the Red Army could not seriously claim to have won the day.
In truth, and in this light, it can be said without a doubt that Vremya Tsvetov encouraged... collaboration between the Western Allies and the Titists. In other words, the exact opposite of the desired effect! In our view, therefore, such an eminently political operation cannot be considered a success. All that remains today is the hazy memory of an objectively pointless bloodbath".
(Robert Stan Pratsky, The Liberation of Greece and the Balkans, Flammarion, 2005)
.........
Further south, the SS-Freiwilligen Panzergrenadier-Brigade Nederland under Brigadeführer Jürgen Wagner reaches Prozor Rama - its new defensive position, well ahead of the 1st 'Proletarian' Corps (Koča Popović, Mijalko Todorovic) and the 3rd 'Bosnian' Corps (Peko Dapcevic, Mitar Bakić). By this time, they have taken Konjic and are heading west up the Neretva. A narrow sector, easy to defend***... Even for motivated - but exhausted - light infantry, it would take a long time.
Behind them, Charalambos Katsimitros' 13th Infantry Division marches at a snail's pace. It is accompanied by a handful of AVNOJ armoured vehicles (French prize vehicles), which have been kindly supplied with petrol.
Dalmatia - Now that the SS-Nederland is in place, Karl-Gustav Sauberzweig and his leader, Obergruppenführer Georg Keppler (V. SS-GAK Kommando Adria), see no reason to linger any longer. Spurring on Croats of all origins, the SS officers push back their entire force: the legionnaires of Ivo Herenčić's Vojni korpus hrvatske legije to the south, along the coast as far as Slivno (while waiting for Zagvozd), and the 11. SS-Gebirgs-Division Handschar towards Posušje and Imotski. While Karl-Gustav Sauberzweig still refuses to admit that his troop is in danger of losing its head! For the SS, the most important thing is that Dimitrios Papadopoulos's Greeks are still a long way off, cautiously crossing the Neretva and showing no sign of pursuing!
Horror
Sarajevo - The terrifying news following the liberation of the Bosnian capital is once again causing consternation among Balkan public opinion and among allied officials - audiences who, with time, might have been expected to be used to it... On the ground, the clean-up is nevertheless progressing, in terrible conditions, as one student who witnessed the scene recounts...
"The corpses were collected in handcarts for transport to the cemeteries. There, they are piled on top of each other. They all disappear into a large pit. The family cannot attend the burial - efficiency comes first. Some have gone weeks without being buried. The undertakers are overwhelmed. They have to be paid in advance and if they are given a little butter or sugar, there is little chance of acquiring a plot or a coffin.
The Germans stole most of the vehicles in order to loot everything they could. This was one reason for the lack of food. It's not surprising that in these conditions, and given the black market prices, so many people are dying, especially the elderly and small children. Life seems to have become so inhuman! I saw with my own eyes people slowly collapsing and falling in the street or in the queues outside the soup kitchens offered by the Allies. There were many beggars, including a few singers with horrible voices. Others went from house to house begging for a piece of bread or a potato.
At the same time, the black market flourished. Residents carrying boxes haunt the streets. They shuffle along, looking for anything they can get their hands on at outrageous prices. In the cafés, business goes on. You can literally buy anything. There are lookouts at the crossroads, but the police do nothing anyway. They're busier stealing sacks of potatoes from people returning from a long walk in the mountains. It's always a case of continuity: official members of the Occupation authorities and sometimes even ordinary German officers made their fortunes on the black market. The SS ran their small businesses out of cafés! And their soldiers boasted that they didn't need to go to brothels or pay. For half a loaf of bread, you could get anything you wanted."
To be sure, the impact of these atrocities - which were not the first, alas - on the scale of the conflict will remain very limited. On the other hand, they were bound to add fuel to the fire of Peter II's government, which could once again complain that its British allies, so ungrateful and complacent, were doing nothing to save the kingdom and its people from ruin. To the point of delegating the management of part of its territory to communist adventurers or to an administrative authority without a mandate. Scandalous, isn't it?
Abandon
Wewelsburg - The report from the 2 SS-GebirgsArmee on the 'mayor of Zagreb' - the word is already making the corridors abuzz with scornful jokes - has reached the office of the head of the Black Order. Who, it should be remembered, is probably the last leading German official to pretend to care, at least a little, about Ante Pavelic's fragile creation.
Of course, Heinrich Himmler does not go so far as to question the underlying causes of the collapse of Croatia's performance. He does, however, go so far as to consider that there is no point in depriving "his" divisions of "his" army of material support for the benefit of such a despicable pseudo-ally. Since he can't defend his land and can't be counted on, the Ustashi can no longer be a partner, not even a deputy - from then on he would be, at best, a Hiwi, a colonial auxiliary, who would have to make do with what is left to him.
The fact that the supplies in question have already been reduced to a meagre portion does nothing to change the Chief's opinion. Himmler likes to have decisive opinions - like his general's report. Which, in reality - albeit in a very formal way - raises the question of the real meaning of the support given to the NDH.
Air warfare
Yugoslav Front - Allied air efforts continue over the Balkans - but especially over Hungary, in preparation for what Monty is interested in: the restart of Plunder. According to rumours in the corridors, this is imminent - and the chief is only waiting for a sign from London, which is no doubt itself conditional on Belgrade's submission.
"We can always wait..." some people quip. Perhaps, but in the meantime, the British army intends to be ready. All the communication routes south of Lake Balaton - in particular the Székesfehérvár-Zagreb axis - are therefore targeted by the allied Marauders and Banshees. The British of Squadron 213 lose a twin-engine aircraft to flak (the pilot is captured). Neither the Luftwaffe nor the MKHL intervene - they are busy today on the Hungarian side...
AVNOJ
The struggle has resumed!
North of Čađavica - The 7th Banija Division (Vojislav Djokic, Kluro Kladarin) now appears to be well stalled in its ride towards Banja Luka. Djokic, informed of the maneuvers underway all around him - that's new... - does not insist on forcing his way through, preferring to try once again a meticulous job of undermining the units facing him. It worked against the Ustachis once, it could probably work again... and also against Helmuth Raithel's SS? Surprisingly, the Kama's mercenaries (mercenaries, a misnomer, but a contemptuous term - and therefore useful!) don't seem to be that formidable at the moment. As proof, no major offensive action on their part has been reported for the moment. Just skirmishes and tests! Djokic is beginning to think his opponent has been a little oversold...
.........
Croatia (west), Lika-Senj - The AVNOJ forces set to work - commensurate with their still limited numbers... - in a triangle roughly corresponding to the western fringe of Bosnia. The 34th 'Croatian' Division (Martin Dasović, Francis Knebl) leaves Novi Grad for Prijedor, which is virtually undefended. To the south, the 35th Lika Division (Stanko Perhavec, Šime Balen) also moves up from Sanski Most towards Prijedor, in order to link up with Dasović's forces. Finally, a little further back, the 43rd 'Istrian' Division (Milan Šakić Mićun, Marijan Badel) moves out of Bihać towards Bosanka Krupa, before reaching Novi Grad.
In all, the Partisan movement activates almost 10,000 fighters in this sector. And they are all converging, more or less, on Banja Luka. Towards a town where - but Hebrang doesn't know yet, and it's not his fault - Karl Reichsritter von Oberkamp's 7. SS Gebirgs-Division Prinz Eugen plans to arrive in two days' time.
.........
Slovenia - Start of offensive operations and small-scale warfare around the Žumberak mountains, in particular towards Brežice and Metlica (the AVNOJ avoids Novo Mesto at this time, where Hans Brandt's formidable Karstjäger brigade is located). Obviously, this unleashes the fury of the German Occupation authorities and the Slovenian collaborationist militias - there are still some of them - who all turn their attention southwards... quite a long way from the Bočko mountains, where the Titist assault brigades are emerging at the same time.
Extension of the field of combat
Požega (Slavonia) - After weeks of consolidation and treatment in an attempt to recover from the wounds inflicted on it by Helmuth von Pannwitz's formidable SS-Kosaken-Freiwilligen Kavallerie-Brigade, the 6th 'Slavonic' Corps is finally back in action. First of all, it has a new leader: Mate Jerković, to replace the late Petar Drapšin, who has died in... regrettable circumstances. Jerković isCroatian, a former reserve second lieutenant and student communist sympathiser who had managed to escape capture during the 1941 invasion. Very active in his village within the anti-fascist movements, a deserter from the Croatian National Guard - he left with his returned comrades and all the equipment available!**** - he then climbed the ranks of the Partisans through battle and skill.
With his commissar Otmar Kreacic, Mate Jerković's first concern is to flesh out the order of battle of the 6th "Slavonic" Corps. This means, in particular, that the 40th Slavonic Division (Veljko Kovačević, Ivan Vondracek) will be lined up today, presumably to resume offensive action in June. After all, 4,700 men and women, even novices, is an appreciable reinforcement.
Hungary
The American season
Eastern Hungary - More than 400 bombers hit all the major cities in this part of the country, as part of a "hook" flight plan. The planes depart from Italy and land towards Crete. This is because the Soviets would no longer allow American bombers to land on their airfields!
Miskolc, Szeged, Nagyvárad and Arad are all attacked... which, paradoxically, is probably of more use to the Red Army maneuvering in the Carpathians than to the Imperials on the Danube. Thirty Pumas set out to attack this formation, indifferent to the 200 escort fighters announced. They charge forward and... miss their targets, once again masked by the clouds. One exception is Warrant Officer (Zàszlov) Gyula Zsíros of the 101/2 század Retek (Captain György Újszászy). Zsíros, who was late for take-off, stumbles across an American box and shoots down a Flying Fortress with his Bf 109G-4 before ducking out.
Small consolation! On the ground, it is carnage: 2,387 Magyars and 174 Germans lose their lives under the bombs. This is the highest total of civilian casualties recorded in Hungary since the start of the war...
Yugoslavia torn apart
The path of reason (encouraged)
Yugoslavia - The formation of the Popular Front is accompanied by an intense campaign to "popularise" Marshal Tito, carefully orchestrated by the AVNOJ services, supported by Moscow's resources, and even to a certain extent by certain British officials who have been instructed to do so. This new campaign is, of course, designed to cover up the vileness revealed by the Franco-Yugoslav collaborationist press last month.
On the contrary, carefully selected reporters and commentators are portraying everything that should be seen in the Yugoslav leader: a man of the people, a peasant who worked his way up, a patriotic soldier who never stopped fighting against all the Occupiers and who knew how to surround himself with friends who all did the same. And last but not least, he is a political visionary who understands that the time for the hegemony of some had passed, and that while it is necessary to come together in union, that union can only be built on an egalitarian, or even federal, basis - if only to avoid repeating certain recent mistakes.
Hollowed out by, or even in opposition to, Broz's personality, is the portrait of another character. Obviously, this is deliberate - the supporters are playing on the velvet of weariness. And as comrade Milovan Đilas said: Tito must be popularised!
The endgame?
White Palace (Dedinje royal estate, Belgrade) - The Yugoslav royal government is once again in chaos - and this is particularly the case in the Foreign Ministry: Momčilo Ninčić is still sorting out his civil servants, between those loyal to the former minister and those loyal to the king! As a result, His Excellency Roger Maugras has been informed that the requested audience cannot take place until tomorrow. Time for the Frenchman to hone his arguments...
In the evening, Maugras will bid a cordial farewell to his friend and (former) counterpart Sir Reginald Leeper, who is on his way out. In the warmth of a comfortably heated lounge, and with the help of an excellent brandy, the two diplomats - who are definitely getting to know Yugoslavia well! - will have plenty of time to exchange their impressions, thoughts and plans... within the limits authorised by their governments, of course.
Red Messiah
A cave to the north of Višegrad (Marshal Tito's residence) - Between two minor apologies to his Soviet godfather, Marshal Tito wishes to summon the press for what he presents as "a major announcement" aimed at the population and the nation's fighters. It is impossible to know exactly what it is, but those closest to him claim to have seen him spending the day with Aleksandar Rankovic in a particularly isolated cave. Of course, the allied war correspondents and the few representatives of sympathetic titles will be there. As for Pavle Savić, the head of Yugoslav Free Radio - "war radio" in AVNOJ jargon - he has been ordered to check his installations rigorously...
The Hebrang affair (part two)
Port of Karlobag - The Adriatic is beautiful and the evening falls on the beautiful landscape of the island of Pag . In other circumstances, this might have pleased Edvard Kardelj - who, it has to be said, does not find it unpleasant to be closer to home. Alas, the Slovenian is not here on holiday. And as soon as his status as a government envoy is recognised, he has to find transport to Gospić - a place where he would probably not arrive until the middle of the night. He needs to regain control of Comrade Fatty, and as soon as possible!
Emergency measures (reinforced)
Montenegro and Albania - While the mountains and shores of the Adriatic rustle with a thousand mysteries, the 2nd French Army launches the second phase of Rog Izobilja - Operation Horn of Plenty. After the first deliveries to Slovenia, this time the focus will be on northern Dalmatia, and in particular the Gospić region, as much out of humanitarian necessity as in anticipation of the projects that the French have in mind here. One nuance, however! Given the myriad of islands and the navigational difficulties in the area, future trips to and from the Horn will be by light transport - via a supply depot set up especially for the purpose on the island of Dugi Otok. Dugi Otok will serve as the logistics center for the Partisan fleet...
In the meantime, supplies to the Žumberak mountains will of course continue - mainly by parachute, which is considered less risky. The Slovenian Resistance has to be encouraged.
* According to post-war Soviet literature - one can appreciate the meaning of the phrase...
** To this day, the archives of the Greek armed forces, like those of the 2nd French Army, do not record the slightest incident with Soviet paratroopers that resulted in casualties, either dead or wounded. Nevertheless, such incidents were undoubtedly possible - all the more so as it was later proved that the Soviets had not even received a description of the uniforms of the so-called "minor" allied forces engaged in Bosnia!
*** It was here that the Jablanica dam was built after the war, one of the first electricity production facilities in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
**** History will even record that Jerković deserted twice: once in 1941, and again in 1942 after a second mobilisation!
27/05/44 - Balkans
May 27th, 1944
Balkans campaign
Operation Veritable - After Sarajevo and Operation Ratweek
Sarajevo region - The return of a stormy front completes the cooling of operations in the sector. With the arrival of the 3rd Mountain Brigade (Thrasyvoulos Tsakalotos) in front of Busovača, facing the 7. SS-PanzerGrenadier Rgt (Alfred Wünnenber), Jürgen Wagner's 4. SS-Polizei and the Greek 1st Corps are once again staring each other in the face. This is unlikely to change for some time...
A few hills away, Brigadeführer Helmut Scholz's Nederland digs in at Prozor Rama - in an orderly and controlled fashion. "Proletarians", Bosnians and Greeks are still a long way off!
Dalmatia - This relative calm and the... moderate reaction of the Partisans and the Allies logically encourages Kommando Adria to move more quickly - especially as it is no longer very far from its new planned position and today the clouds were covering its movements a little. The sky is certainly a little clearer today on the Dalmatian coast, but only a little... The Vojni korpus hrvatske legije (the KLAK, as the Germans now condescendingly call it*) is gliding as far as Zagvoz. Tomorrow, it will finally reach its position in the Tijarica - Šestanovac sector, between the Adriatic and the Buško basin, reputed to be wet and unsuitable for rapid advances**.
To the north of this same basin, between Grabovica and Tomislavgrad (to the west of Mount Vran and as far as the foothills of the latter), it would be up to the 11. SS-Gebirgs Handschar. The problem is that until the evening, the division continues to drag its feet, never going beyond Mrkodol, despite admonishments, encouragement, bonuses... and even the first collective punishments. And it's not likely to get any better, with what's being announced on the airwaves today...
Hope in spite of everything
XIII British Corps HQ (Osijek Town Hall) - While he is already busy preparing his next leap to Hungary - constantly monitoring the actions of Brian Horrocks and John O'Connor - Bernard Montgomery is worried that the Sarajevo affair might develop into a new scandal.
To prevent this, he once again takes up his pen - more diplomatic than his tongue, especially under the influence of those around him - to write (a little) to Eisenhower and (even more so) to Churchill...
"The dilemma seems clear to me. I have no troops available to attack the Germans immediately in western Yugoslavia. If they withdraw in that direction, I have to follow them to fight them. But with my current resources, I can't go west while marching north into Hungary. I can follow one of these two options, but not both... So I don't understand why I should be the scapegoat for the current stalemate. Unless you think it's normal for mud to accumulate around me and for me to have to clean it up!"
Certainly... Once again, Monty takes advantage of the unpleasant situation he finds himself in to preach for his parish and demand supplies (he knows he won't get any more troops!). Without forgetting, of course, to cover his tracks. All the same, the Marshal is fundamentally right. He cannot claim to be solving all the problems in this part of the world on his own. So he needs help, if that's what he's aiming for - by putting pressure on Belgrade and sending it tonnes of ammunition and tonnes of food, for example.
Meanwhile, in Szentlőrinc, in the foothills of the Hungarian forests, the deplorable Yugoslav affair inspires Master Corporal Matthew with a new tune on his harmonica. "I close both locks below the window / I close both blinds and turn away/ Sometimes solutions aren't so simple / Sometimes goodbye's the only way, oh! / And the sun will set for you. / The sun will set for you. / And the shadow of the day / Will embrace the world in grey. / And the sun will set for you!"
Then the Australian gets up and goes to pack his bag. Because, despite everything, the sun will still rise tomorrow - and the world is closer to the end of the conflict than the beginning.
Weak point
18th AAG HQ (Athens) - Audet's report-proposal on Dalmatia has reached the senior staff. With Monty away in Hungary and busy dealing with a completely different matter, the Marshal's military staff decides not to pass the document on to his boss immediately, but to keep it under wraps for study.
For study - but not for the archives. In fact, although it would be an understatement to say that the British are passionate about the Adriatic coast, they fully appreciate the very pertinent arguments put forward by the Frenchman, who is proposing to take action without asking for more resources, with limited support and for a result that seems, on the whole, certain! So the project goes into the "Possibles" folder. It has even been given a code name, another sign of its value. Valuable?
Air warfare
Yugoslav Front - Today's weather over the center of the country is uncertain. The Balkans Air Force is therefore confining itself to a few raids on the Adriatic, as a prelude to the small maritime operations planned in the area. Obviously, in these conditions, the Greek Bucephalus of the 244th Wing have a field day! At the expense of a few modest sailing ships, not all of them Croatian-German and which, in any case, were certainly not asking for so much.
Wreckage
Somewhere along the Bosnian river - With the death of Jevrem Simic and in view of the growing tensions with the allied forces, what remains of the Yugoslav Free Corps - under the triple command of Dobroslav Jevđević, Vojislav Lukačević and Zaharije Ostojić - agrees that the region is no longer suitable for any kind of operation. Amputated of a certain number of fighters - but reinforced by an almost equally large number of Serbian veterans of unspecified origin... - the irregular royalist units move camp towards the north and the Sava valley. Everyone - engineers, writers, former career officers, opportunists of every stripe - agree that there is nothing more to be done here. We're killing time...
So off to Brčko. Before perhaps returning to Belgrade. There's talk of having the troop blessed by Archbishop Nikolaj Velimirović and catching up on Orthodox Easter... It's true, the leaders of the free corps are well regarded by the Church. Some even remember that they were in the front rows at Peter II's wedding.
"Croatian "reinforcements
Zagreb and NDH territory - The conscription recently ordered by Befehlshaber Gruppenführer Konstantin Kammerhofer is showing its first results - which are not particularly encouraging. In fact, despite all the propaganda efforts, it seems difficult to motivate Croats to go spontaneously to the recruitment offices. So, as the Ustasha bureaucracy proves to be splendidly ineffective, the SS recruiting officers have to round up civilians house by house and street by street, forcing them to join a unit of the former Hrvatske Oruzane Snage in order to fill its ranks a little, or even to recruit them into the Handschar or Prinz-Eugen.
Surely, there are better ways of motivating crowds. And the motivation and quality of the recruits obviously suffer. But Kammerhofer doesn't care - discipline is someone else's problem, he has targets to meet. In this case, to find 20,000 soldiers - at least! - before the end of June.
Interview with an Ustachi
Back to normal - for now
"This affair has managed to wring an air of sadness from him... maybe even regret? Who knows? But I don't think it's a good idea to go down that road any further. As if to change the subject, the Major decided to move on to the next stage of the story.
- We reached the Kama's rear in Banja Luka without too much difficulty. The whole Vuka family was waiting for us. After all the people we had lost over the last few days, the ever-present fear of an untimely reaction from our Schutzstaffel allies had made my emergency return all the more necessary.
- The Kama doesn't have the best - or worst! - of reputations these days.
- That was the problem. The Handschar knew me. And she had my group on her books somewhere. The Prinz-Eugen? More complicated, but with a bit of interpersonal skills, and even a few well-greased paws, we could still manage. As for the Slovenian gang, I've never come across them. So much the better. But let me remind you that a kama is not a soldier's weapon. Nor is a prince's scimitar, for that matter. More like a shepherd's dagger, poorly sharpened and of dubious workmanship. The Kama - the unit! - lived up to its name. [I don't need to tell you what happens when you send amateurs into professional territory].
- You run into... trouble?
- Absolutely. Unforeseeable trouble, the occurrence of which was nonetheless perfectly predictable."
(Dans la tête du monstre - Conversation avec un officier oustachi, Robert Stan Pratsky, Flammarion 1982)
AVNOJ
The struggle has resumed!
North of Čađavica - The situation in the sector is still ambivalent - the Axis forces, although enjoying a certain numerical and material superiority, are still not openly attacking the positions of the 7th Banija Division. Vojislav Djokic, its commander, notes only a strong thrust from Gornje Sokolovo cutting straight west of Gornje Ratkovo - a thrust that is all the easier to evade as it is not aimed at a critical sector. The Banija therefore has plenty of time to calmly retreat towards the Sitnica bottleneck without risking being overwhelmed...
And that's not the only surprise. Kluro Kladarin, the Banija commissioner, is adamant that while the flow of Ustasha deserters has been moderate but steady for several weeks now, what's new is that they are now accompanied by... SS! Croats, but SS. The AVNOJ political officer has not received any precise instructions on how to deal with these men. While many of his soldiers - and he himself - would personally like to put a bullet in the back of these treacherous mercenaries' necks, the Partisan feels that this is not the most productive approach... Hurrah for Stalin and thank you Tito, the command will answer his question later today. And without him even having to ask!
.........
Croatia (west), Lika-Senj - The 34th "Croatian" Division (Martin Dasović, Francis Knebl) and the 35th Lika Division (Stanko Perhavec, Šime Balen) join up at Prijedor and begin to advance towards Banja Luka. Covered by the 43rd 'Istrian' Division (Milan Šakić Mićun, Marijan Badel), which at the same time passed Novi Grad, 25 kilometres behind them, the two divisions reach Omarska during the night. The site of the valiant defence (despite its final defeat) of Slavko Rodić's 5th 'Bosnian' Corps earlier this year. Just goes to show that the "small war" is an eternal restart!
At the same time, Karl Reichsritter von Oberkamp's 7. SS Gebirgs-Division Prinz Eugen is in Kotor Varoš - just 25 kilometres from Banja Luka.
.........
Slovenia - In the midst of the chaos spread throughout the south of the province, the two assault brigades, Pavlek Miškina and Nikola Demonja, find their way to their objective in the Sava valley. Camped discreetly in the hills around Pogonik, the AVNOJ's elite troops in the north of the kingdom are preparing to strike. Tomorrow the weather will be fine - according to radio reports. This is excellent news for what lies ahead.
Progress report
Truppenübungsplatz in Neuhammer (Silesia) - One month after its formation, announced with great fanfare and with the perverse ingenuity of those who thought they could create something new from rubble, Standartenführer Thomas Müller has to send an initial report on the formation of "his" 19. Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS (ungarisch) Hunyadi. It is not very good... The Hungarians, although supposedly hand-picked and grouped around the hard core of the former 19th ID, are not overly fanatical about the idea of fighting under the black uniform and for Greater Germany.
Of course, they all claim to be very patriotic... at least when it comes to defending Hungary against the Red Scare! But the 20,000 men (approximately...) assembled under Müller's command are still finding it hard to bend to Germanic discipline and clearly don't see what they are also doing in the north. Not to mention swearing an oath to the Führer!
What's more - it's deplorable, but there's nothing Müller can do about it - we're still waiting for the means of transport and equipment that will allow us to maneuver and start training. Even the small arms are lacking - we are working with French Lebels! Nothing very glorious, then - let's hope things improve. And also that the Russians keep quiet behind the Vistula.
Yugoslavia torn apart
Red Messiah
North of Višegrad (near Marshal Tito's residence) - The rain pouring down in buckets on the Bosnian mountains only makes the scene a little more incongruous... At the threshold of a hut and at the bottom of a ravine - admittedly a large and very well equipped hut (the AVNOJ has gained equipment since last year!), but the place is very damp and open to all winds - the partisans have set up a kind of press room under a vast tarpaulin. Chairs line up one behind the other, trestles, a carpet to hide a few traces of blood... There's even a microphone (which is useless, as the area is so small...), on a platform essentially formed by a balcony reached by a staircase of exactly four steps. Behind them, of course, the flag with the six ears of corn. It all smacks of improvisation in the middle of a military campaign.
You could make fun of it. Yet this is precisely the image Tito wants to project: that of a war leader who lives as close as possible to his troops and shares their suffering - and by extension, that of the entire nation. Of course, Aleksandar "Leka" Ranković brought together all the press correspondents he could find in Yugoslavia. Obviously, this is less than in France (especially if you don't count the members of the propaganda service): a Canadian (Bill Boss), an Englishman (William Forrest), a Belgian (Paul Michel Gabriel Lévy), a Greek officer (Lieutenant Kostis M. Papadakis) - the Greeks are always interested in what's going on with their neighbours... An American (Landrum Bolling, still him), who has come with a fellow writer, George Sessions Perry... Oh, and a Frenchman too, named Marcel Picard. But not a single Soviet!
Not many. But it's still more than we could have feared or hoped for a few months ago. And then, it's not serious. Peter II also organised tourist tours along the Danube and the Sava at the beginning of the year, to make the world witness to German and Hungarian crimes - without much success. The services of Vice-President Vladislav S. Ribnikar will be on hand when it comes to writing articles - with the 'war radio', this should be enough to give the event all the publicity it deserves. Especially as, given what he is about to announce, the Marshal has no doubt that the event in question will be widely reported.
Tito suppresses a smile as he steps forward in his handsome white uniform, ostensibly covered by a common soldier's capote. And after a few brief words of thanks and an equally brief review of current operations - not necessarily the most favourable to the AVNOJ, but it also gave him the opportunity to pay tribute to the "glorious liberators of Sarajevo" - the Marshal dropped his bombshell.
"A few months ago, the King of Belgrade [Well, some would say he's no longer the despot of the White Palace? That's progress...] decided to enlist a certain number of fighters of unknown origin - and therefore all too well known - to strengthen his army. This was the famous decree of January 21st, 1944. At the time, this decision was the subject of much comment. And much criticised. I myself denounced it, believing that it allowed some people to escape justice.
And I was wrong.
Because the important thing today is not so much immediate justice, which by its very nature is hasty and even open to criticism, as Unity and Victory. The ultimate objective, which must underpin all our actions, is not to settle scores full of outdated rancour, but to free our entire nation and all Yugoslavs as quickly as possible from the terrible yoke of the Nazi boot [A daring metaphor, but that's war...]. In the face of such an existential threat, any goodwill assistance - however belated - is by its very nature welcome.
Of course, we have already made this point known through the amnesty announced by the Central Committee on May 19th. The amnesty produced some fine results. Unfortunately, it has not always been understood by everyone for what it is: a fraternal and sincere promise of forgiveness for those who return to the right camp, the camp of Justice, the camp of Victory from now on. Some will object that forgiveness is by its very nature personal, even fleeting. That not everyone deserves it, that some crimes are too serious, some faults too onerous... We do not believe this.
And that is why I hereby solemnly reaffirm that the ranks of the Yugoslav army are open, not only to the combatants - sometimes mobilised against their will - of the so-called state of the butcher Pavelic, but to all Yugoslavs, including those who at this time are operating under German uniform".
A more than slightly astonished silence greeted this innovation. Tito has surprised even his own camp - and even his closest circle. He knows it. And that amuses him - even if he can easily imagine the reaction of the Soviet delegation, who might be hearing about it on the radio right now. He also seems to see Comrade Korneev choking in the distance...
"This is a formal undertaking by the NKOJ and its Central Committee. Not just a promise threatened with oblivion. As a witness to this, I would like to introduce the person who is here with me. This is General Marko Mesić, former commander of the 369th German Division. Now repentant, the general has come to us to put his skills to good use. He will speak here to his former comrades, and invite them to join him in ceasing the fight against us at once!"
From the shadows emerges a figure all too familiar to some, with a round face, a clean-shaven chin and a charitable look beneath a very short haircut parted to the left. Mesić has, of course, swapped his verdigris uniform for a very Communist khaki. Propelled onto the stage by Tito himself, with a courteous but generously firm hand (the most observant will notice that at this moment, the Old Man's bodyguard has stiffened noticeably, as Mesić is indeed wearing the regulation pistol on his belt), the former Ustasha asserts himself reassured. He stammers out a few conciliatory words in a very controlled voice and concludes with a very conventional "Death to fascism, freedom for the people!"
That was fine. Just then, a flash lights up the stage. It's William Forrest - who speaks Serbo-Croatian and has understood everything. "This photo is going to be all over Europe!"
Possibly... Indeed, in one spectacular gesture, Tito poses as a generous unifier, gaining political credit for something he hadn't really dared do before. So much for Peter II and his hypocritically magnanimous policy. The AVNOJ goes further, for the Nation, for unity and for fraternity!
Now, what's going to happen in Moscow? Broz soon gets a glimpse: as he leaves the 'press room', he runs into a furious Nikolai Korneev, who told him: "You will be personally responsible if anything happens to a Soviet general and his mission! You're the one who got us into this situation!" In fact, faced with this wolf in the henhouse, Korneev fears for his life. In the evening, he will contact his chiefs to inform them of what is happening here. And ask to be evacuated at the same time!
The (encouraged) path of reason
Yugoslavia - Obviously, the Narodni Front's partners were not informed in advance of their new friend's poker game either - which has led to... diverse reactions. While the Croats of the Peasant Party obviously choose to retain only the promise of a full pardon to the "realistic" Ustasha - and therefore, no doubt, to a large part of the Croatian people - the Democratic Party and the minor members are more circumspect.
First of all, what will be the concrete consequences of this appeal in political and military terms? The NDH army already appears to be on the verge of collapse, so did we really need to open the door wide to these gangs of murderers? And how will Peter II react to such a provocation? Belgrade is going to have a field day criticising the AVNOJ and its friends... Some people can already see Politika running a five-column headline on the front page: "Tito: his puppets and his murderers".
For sure, the royal reaction promises to be acid. But it remains to be seen whether it will go much further than yet another spat.
Game over?
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia (Belgrade) - The (new) Minister of Foreign Affairs, Momčilo Ninčić, chooses to receive the French ambassador in his old office with solemnity. This is to make it clear that he does not consider himself to be in a position of weakness - any more than the government he represents - and even less willing to give his visitor everything.
Indeed, while the Frenchman is - obviously - welcome, Roger Maugras is nonetheless the emissary of an ally that is historic (yes), valiant (certainly), well-disposed (who doubts it?) but also with an unfortunate tendency to interfere, to the point of illegally nurturing a de facto authority in one part of the country that assumes the regalian functions of the legal government in its place. Admittedly, for the time being, this famous General Delegation for the Administration of Liberated Yugoslav Territories has not openly opposed Belgrade. What's more, it is also, and above all, active in areas under military control, some of the most deprived in the kingdom - Macedonia, Montenegro, part of Bosnia... So it's catchable and forgivable. At least as forgivable as the cordial but professional relations that the French army has with the Titists.
All the same, Ninčić - convinced pan-Serb and man of few words that he is - is no fool. He suspects that the Frenchman has not come to offer him flowers. So he chooses to attack, before observing the reaction and letting it come: "Dear friend, how nice to see you. Are we going to talk about Mr Šubasic and his... team? Or the latest fads of the adventurer Broz and his court, now open to assassins?"
Roger Maugras bows, top hat under his arm, before taking a seat without really having been invited to - Ninčić hasn't deigned to get up. In a way, that's encouraging: entrenched behind his desk, but willing to talk...
- My friendly regards, Minister. Of course, if you wish, I am at your disposal to discuss my government's position on these two issues. Having said that, I must begin by expressing to you the deep friendship that the French Republic has with the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.
- A friendship of which we have no doubt...
- The French government, which I have the honour of representing, has only one aim here. The return of civil peace and Yugoslav unity, by and for all Yugoslavs.
Silence. Ninčić is not going to dispute that... So Maugras continues.
- As you so rightly point out, for several months now my country has been working in complete transparency to achieve what must be defined as a rapprochement of points of view - with the sole aim of enabling us to win the war as quickly as possible, it goes without saying. We do not need to remind you of the many attempts made by Mr Ivan Šubasic, a man of rare probity and competence, who has succeeded in getting a diverse group of personalities to work with him.
- Personalities who are often nothing more than civil servants or ministers who have given up their posts!
- It is indeed deplorable. But this has also enabled us, through the intermediary of this administration which is by nature provisional and neutral, to come to the aid of your populations. Operation Corne d'abondance, which you may have heard about, is a case in point. It also helped us a great deal to obtain the collaboration of... various military forces, to win major battles against the Nazis as quickly as possible and despite very difficult conditions.
Slight pause. No reaction from the other side... The Frenchman resumes.
- Our action, Minister, has only one goal. Peace between Yugoslavs for a common victory. And as friends, we feel that this is the best gift we can give you. Imagine, Minister, what would have become of France during the terrible days of 1940, if it had not been possible to unite around the legal government of Monsieur Reynaud? An even greater disaster, a divided army, a civil war, a humiliating armistice, what have you! The situation has changed, thank God - for the war as for politics. But there is still a long way to go before Victory.
- You spoke of unity around the legal government, if I'm not mistaken...
- That has always been and always will be our position. But we have to admit, unfortunately, that Her Majesty is no longer able to unite around her person alone - either because she has been slandered too much in recent months, or because certain members of her cabinet have indulged in regrettable errors...
- What are you talking about?
- Well, for example, a certain number of war crimes and massacres in Vojvodina, committed by uncontrolled elements of the royal army.
- What proof do you have? And I suppose that your red terrorist friends swear, hand on heart, that they have never committed anything of the sort, here or elsewhere?
- Minister, France is not accusing. It has no mandate to play the role of prosecutor and has no vocation to take the place of Yugoslav justice. On the other hand, it has observed facts that are perfectly documented and attested to by its own armed forces. In so doing, as your friends, we are alerting you to these serious events, which could seriously disturb the already tense political climate in your country, if they were to be revealed to the greatest number of people.
Yes, what would the Titist propaganda say, whose leader has just generously opened his arms to all murderers? The British, so quick to jump at the slightest opportunity to undermine the throne? The Soviets, great defenders of all opponents of the monarchy? The Americans - not that the fate of a few Hungarians is of much concern to them, but their public opinion loves a good story and hates disorder...
Ninčić refrains from grimacing: "These crimes, if they exist, are most certainly the work of uncontrolled elements. If they are found and found guilty, the sword of Justice will fall upon them, in the name of the entire Kingdom."
"After the savage Ustashis of 1941, the savage Chetniks!" squeaks Maugras inwardly. "Decidedly, no matter which side of the fence you're on, the landscape remains the same!"
And Ninčić continues: "Fortunately, I presume you will help us in this salutary task, Your Excellency. Won't you? And in friendship and general concord, because I suppose that's what you're going to suggest?"
- I am indeed. We propose, Minister, that you call a meeting of the National Assembly as soon as possible, with all the senators and deputies who are honest and can be reached, to form a government of national unity with all the parties, which could then bring together under its authority all the movements fighting against the Axis.
- Including the Popular Front united around the AVNOJ?
- Under the authority of His Majesty, within a government in which he could not have a majority - by the simple arithmetic of the vote count - and with a limited number of ministers, whose choice would be validated by Congress...
- Only the King appoints ministers!
- Absolutely. But through this historic consultative gesture, His Majesty would also be showing his concern - a concern I have no doubt about - to bring the people together and to consider their representatives.
- And I suppose that Mr Broz is ready to apply? As Prime Minister, for that matter?
- We are doing our best to moderate Mr Broz's ambitions. Which, as you have seen, does not prevent him from being realistic when he needs to be. Rest assured that we are ready to convince him, if need be, of the need to relinquish certain prerogatives that are critical to His Majesty.
A Greek-style solution? Why not? Degraded certainly - but if we manage tomorrow to bring the HSS and the Democratic Party back into the legal fold, it will then be possible to marginalise the communists, manipulate Peter against James - sorry, Petar against Jackues - and everything will start again. Besides, ministers can be dismissed! A sort of transitional phase, then...
- Obviously, Mr Broz would be keen to express this position himself, as he told us, if given the chance...
- Which already implies that he is in government.
- But why not? In a relatively minor position...
- And who's to say he'll accept?
- We're working on it. In truth, we are already convinced of his answer - the formation of the Popular Front is also a good thing in that he may no longer see the need to occupy the top of the bill. After that, if Mr Broz wants to embark on a political career...
Another pause. The Serb has not replied. Now it's time for the conclusion. The one that should make it clear to Ninčić that this is the last best offer history will make to Peter II.
- Help your friend France, Minister, to build unity around you. Including by bringing the Popular Front back to Belgrade. That is the best guarantee that Mr Broz will never threaten to overthrow the monarchy.
That, however, Momčilo Ninčić has no trouble understanding. So he passes the proposal on to Peter II. Explaining to him, along with his colleague Petar Živković, that this is still the best solution, that the alternative would be a civil war that the royalists are no longer so sure of winning. That way, the Americans and Europeans will have no excuse not to support them, if and when the time comes...
Of course, if Belgrade is willing to take the first step, the agreement proposed by Maugras will require tens of thousands of deaths to be swept under the carpet for the good cause. What a nice diplomatic moral!
The Hebrang affair (part two)
Gospić - Edvard Kardelj has arrived at "Fatty" Hebrang's headquarters. He finds comrade Hebrang friendly and cordial, very busy managing current military operations and who readily admits that he has probably made a few mistakes, as he hasn't had much time to sit on the Central Committee recently. Kardelj is happy to take note. For the next few days and until further notice, he will take on the back-breaking but necessary administrative tasks in place of Comrade Hebrang. All in the name of the Chief - without specifying which, of course. And above all, he will remain permanently next to the radio.
Allied aircraft strafe sailing vessels off Dalmatia
* But not yet with contempt - at the time, the "legionnaire" units were probably the only Croatian formations still considered to be "rank B professionals" by the Wehrmacht.
** Buško - marsh in Bosnian. Today it is an artificial lake created by a dam opened in the 1970s.
Balkans campaign
Operation Veritable - After Sarajevo and Operation Ratweek
Sarajevo region - The return of a stormy front completes the cooling of operations in the sector. With the arrival of the 3rd Mountain Brigade (Thrasyvoulos Tsakalotos) in front of Busovača, facing the 7. SS-PanzerGrenadier Rgt (Alfred Wünnenber), Jürgen Wagner's 4. SS-Polizei and the Greek 1st Corps are once again staring each other in the face. This is unlikely to change for some time...
A few hills away, Brigadeführer Helmut Scholz's Nederland digs in at Prozor Rama - in an orderly and controlled fashion. "Proletarians", Bosnians and Greeks are still a long way off!
Dalmatia - This relative calm and the... moderate reaction of the Partisans and the Allies logically encourages Kommando Adria to move more quickly - especially as it is no longer very far from its new planned position and today the clouds were covering its movements a little. The sky is certainly a little clearer today on the Dalmatian coast, but only a little... The Vojni korpus hrvatske legije (the KLAK, as the Germans now condescendingly call it*) is gliding as far as Zagvoz. Tomorrow, it will finally reach its position in the Tijarica - Šestanovac sector, between the Adriatic and the Buško basin, reputed to be wet and unsuitable for rapid advances**.
To the north of this same basin, between Grabovica and Tomislavgrad (to the west of Mount Vran and as far as the foothills of the latter), it would be up to the 11. SS-Gebirgs Handschar. The problem is that until the evening, the division continues to drag its feet, never going beyond Mrkodol, despite admonishments, encouragement, bonuses... and even the first collective punishments. And it's not likely to get any better, with what's being announced on the airwaves today...
Hope in spite of everything
XIII British Corps HQ (Osijek Town Hall) - While he is already busy preparing his next leap to Hungary - constantly monitoring the actions of Brian Horrocks and John O'Connor - Bernard Montgomery is worried that the Sarajevo affair might develop into a new scandal.
To prevent this, he once again takes up his pen - more diplomatic than his tongue, especially under the influence of those around him - to write (a little) to Eisenhower and (even more so) to Churchill...
"The dilemma seems clear to me. I have no troops available to attack the Germans immediately in western Yugoslavia. If they withdraw in that direction, I have to follow them to fight them. But with my current resources, I can't go west while marching north into Hungary. I can follow one of these two options, but not both... So I don't understand why I should be the scapegoat for the current stalemate. Unless you think it's normal for mud to accumulate around me and for me to have to clean it up!"
Certainly... Once again, Monty takes advantage of the unpleasant situation he finds himself in to preach for his parish and demand supplies (he knows he won't get any more troops!). Without forgetting, of course, to cover his tracks. All the same, the Marshal is fundamentally right. He cannot claim to be solving all the problems in this part of the world on his own. So he needs help, if that's what he's aiming for - by putting pressure on Belgrade and sending it tonnes of ammunition and tonnes of food, for example.
Meanwhile, in Szentlőrinc, in the foothills of the Hungarian forests, the deplorable Yugoslav affair inspires Master Corporal Matthew with a new tune on his harmonica. "I close both locks below the window / I close both blinds and turn away/ Sometimes solutions aren't so simple / Sometimes goodbye's the only way, oh! / And the sun will set for you. / The sun will set for you. / And the shadow of the day / Will embrace the world in grey. / And the sun will set for you!"
Then the Australian gets up and goes to pack his bag. Because, despite everything, the sun will still rise tomorrow - and the world is closer to the end of the conflict than the beginning.
Weak point
18th AAG HQ (Athens) - Audet's report-proposal on Dalmatia has reached the senior staff. With Monty away in Hungary and busy dealing with a completely different matter, the Marshal's military staff decides not to pass the document on to his boss immediately, but to keep it under wraps for study.
For study - but not for the archives. In fact, although it would be an understatement to say that the British are passionate about the Adriatic coast, they fully appreciate the very pertinent arguments put forward by the Frenchman, who is proposing to take action without asking for more resources, with limited support and for a result that seems, on the whole, certain! So the project goes into the "Possibles" folder. It has even been given a code name, another sign of its value. Valuable?
Air warfare
Yugoslav Front - Today's weather over the center of the country is uncertain. The Balkans Air Force is therefore confining itself to a few raids on the Adriatic, as a prelude to the small maritime operations planned in the area. Obviously, in these conditions, the Greek Bucephalus of the 244th Wing have a field day! At the expense of a few modest sailing ships, not all of them Croatian-German and which, in any case, were certainly not asking for so much.
Wreckage
Somewhere along the Bosnian river - With the death of Jevrem Simic and in view of the growing tensions with the allied forces, what remains of the Yugoslav Free Corps - under the triple command of Dobroslav Jevđević, Vojislav Lukačević and Zaharije Ostojić - agrees that the region is no longer suitable for any kind of operation. Amputated of a certain number of fighters - but reinforced by an almost equally large number of Serbian veterans of unspecified origin... - the irregular royalist units move camp towards the north and the Sava valley. Everyone - engineers, writers, former career officers, opportunists of every stripe - agree that there is nothing more to be done here. We're killing time...
So off to Brčko. Before perhaps returning to Belgrade. There's talk of having the troop blessed by Archbishop Nikolaj Velimirović and catching up on Orthodox Easter... It's true, the leaders of the free corps are well regarded by the Church. Some even remember that they were in the front rows at Peter II's wedding.
"Croatian "reinforcements
Zagreb and NDH territory - The conscription recently ordered by Befehlshaber Gruppenführer Konstantin Kammerhofer is showing its first results - which are not particularly encouraging. In fact, despite all the propaganda efforts, it seems difficult to motivate Croats to go spontaneously to the recruitment offices. So, as the Ustasha bureaucracy proves to be splendidly ineffective, the SS recruiting officers have to round up civilians house by house and street by street, forcing them to join a unit of the former Hrvatske Oruzane Snage in order to fill its ranks a little, or even to recruit them into the Handschar or Prinz-Eugen.
Surely, there are better ways of motivating crowds. And the motivation and quality of the recruits obviously suffer. But Kammerhofer doesn't care - discipline is someone else's problem, he has targets to meet. In this case, to find 20,000 soldiers - at least! - before the end of June.
Interview with an Ustachi
Back to normal - for now
"This affair has managed to wring an air of sadness from him... maybe even regret? Who knows? But I don't think it's a good idea to go down that road any further. As if to change the subject, the Major decided to move on to the next stage of the story.
- We reached the Kama's rear in Banja Luka without too much difficulty. The whole Vuka family was waiting for us. After all the people we had lost over the last few days, the ever-present fear of an untimely reaction from our Schutzstaffel allies had made my emergency return all the more necessary.
- The Kama doesn't have the best - or worst! - of reputations these days.
- That was the problem. The Handschar knew me. And she had my group on her books somewhere. The Prinz-Eugen? More complicated, but with a bit of interpersonal skills, and even a few well-greased paws, we could still manage. As for the Slovenian gang, I've never come across them. So much the better. But let me remind you that a kama is not a soldier's weapon. Nor is a prince's scimitar, for that matter. More like a shepherd's dagger, poorly sharpened and of dubious workmanship. The Kama - the unit! - lived up to its name. [I don't need to tell you what happens when you send amateurs into professional territory].
- You run into... trouble?
- Absolutely. Unforeseeable trouble, the occurrence of which was nonetheless perfectly predictable."
(Dans la tête du monstre - Conversation avec un officier oustachi, Robert Stan Pratsky, Flammarion 1982)
AVNOJ
The struggle has resumed!
North of Čađavica - The situation in the sector is still ambivalent - the Axis forces, although enjoying a certain numerical and material superiority, are still not openly attacking the positions of the 7th Banija Division. Vojislav Djokic, its commander, notes only a strong thrust from Gornje Sokolovo cutting straight west of Gornje Ratkovo - a thrust that is all the easier to evade as it is not aimed at a critical sector. The Banija therefore has plenty of time to calmly retreat towards the Sitnica bottleneck without risking being overwhelmed...
And that's not the only surprise. Kluro Kladarin, the Banija commissioner, is adamant that while the flow of Ustasha deserters has been moderate but steady for several weeks now, what's new is that they are now accompanied by... SS! Croats, but SS. The AVNOJ political officer has not received any precise instructions on how to deal with these men. While many of his soldiers - and he himself - would personally like to put a bullet in the back of these treacherous mercenaries' necks, the Partisan feels that this is not the most productive approach... Hurrah for Stalin and thank you Tito, the command will answer his question later today. And without him even having to ask!
.........
Croatia (west), Lika-Senj - The 34th "Croatian" Division (Martin Dasović, Francis Knebl) and the 35th Lika Division (Stanko Perhavec, Šime Balen) join up at Prijedor and begin to advance towards Banja Luka. Covered by the 43rd 'Istrian' Division (Milan Šakić Mićun, Marijan Badel), which at the same time passed Novi Grad, 25 kilometres behind them, the two divisions reach Omarska during the night. The site of the valiant defence (despite its final defeat) of Slavko Rodić's 5th 'Bosnian' Corps earlier this year. Just goes to show that the "small war" is an eternal restart!
At the same time, Karl Reichsritter von Oberkamp's 7. SS Gebirgs-Division Prinz Eugen is in Kotor Varoš - just 25 kilometres from Banja Luka.
.........
Slovenia - In the midst of the chaos spread throughout the south of the province, the two assault brigades, Pavlek Miškina and Nikola Demonja, find their way to their objective in the Sava valley. Camped discreetly in the hills around Pogonik, the AVNOJ's elite troops in the north of the kingdom are preparing to strike. Tomorrow the weather will be fine - according to radio reports. This is excellent news for what lies ahead.
Progress report
Truppenübungsplatz in Neuhammer (Silesia) - One month after its formation, announced with great fanfare and with the perverse ingenuity of those who thought they could create something new from rubble, Standartenführer Thomas Müller has to send an initial report on the formation of "his" 19. Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS (ungarisch) Hunyadi. It is not very good... The Hungarians, although supposedly hand-picked and grouped around the hard core of the former 19th ID, are not overly fanatical about the idea of fighting under the black uniform and for Greater Germany.
Of course, they all claim to be very patriotic... at least when it comes to defending Hungary against the Red Scare! But the 20,000 men (approximately...) assembled under Müller's command are still finding it hard to bend to Germanic discipline and clearly don't see what they are also doing in the north. Not to mention swearing an oath to the Führer!
What's more - it's deplorable, but there's nothing Müller can do about it - we're still waiting for the means of transport and equipment that will allow us to maneuver and start training. Even the small arms are lacking - we are working with French Lebels! Nothing very glorious, then - let's hope things improve. And also that the Russians keep quiet behind the Vistula.
Yugoslavia torn apart
Red Messiah
North of Višegrad (near Marshal Tito's residence) - The rain pouring down in buckets on the Bosnian mountains only makes the scene a little more incongruous... At the threshold of a hut and at the bottom of a ravine - admittedly a large and very well equipped hut (the AVNOJ has gained equipment since last year!), but the place is very damp and open to all winds - the partisans have set up a kind of press room under a vast tarpaulin. Chairs line up one behind the other, trestles, a carpet to hide a few traces of blood... There's even a microphone (which is useless, as the area is so small...), on a platform essentially formed by a balcony reached by a staircase of exactly four steps. Behind them, of course, the flag with the six ears of corn. It all smacks of improvisation in the middle of a military campaign.
You could make fun of it. Yet this is precisely the image Tito wants to project: that of a war leader who lives as close as possible to his troops and shares their suffering - and by extension, that of the entire nation. Of course, Aleksandar "Leka" Ranković brought together all the press correspondents he could find in Yugoslavia. Obviously, this is less than in France (especially if you don't count the members of the propaganda service): a Canadian (Bill Boss), an Englishman (William Forrest), a Belgian (Paul Michel Gabriel Lévy), a Greek officer (Lieutenant Kostis M. Papadakis) - the Greeks are always interested in what's going on with their neighbours... An American (Landrum Bolling, still him), who has come with a fellow writer, George Sessions Perry... Oh, and a Frenchman too, named Marcel Picard. But not a single Soviet!
Not many. But it's still more than we could have feared or hoped for a few months ago. And then, it's not serious. Peter II also organised tourist tours along the Danube and the Sava at the beginning of the year, to make the world witness to German and Hungarian crimes - without much success. The services of Vice-President Vladislav S. Ribnikar will be on hand when it comes to writing articles - with the 'war radio', this should be enough to give the event all the publicity it deserves. Especially as, given what he is about to announce, the Marshal has no doubt that the event in question will be widely reported.
Tito suppresses a smile as he steps forward in his handsome white uniform, ostensibly covered by a common soldier's capote. And after a few brief words of thanks and an equally brief review of current operations - not necessarily the most favourable to the AVNOJ, but it also gave him the opportunity to pay tribute to the "glorious liberators of Sarajevo" - the Marshal dropped his bombshell.
"A few months ago, the King of Belgrade [Well, some would say he's no longer the despot of the White Palace? That's progress...] decided to enlist a certain number of fighters of unknown origin - and therefore all too well known - to strengthen his army. This was the famous decree of January 21st, 1944. At the time, this decision was the subject of much comment. And much criticised. I myself denounced it, believing that it allowed some people to escape justice.
And I was wrong.
Because the important thing today is not so much immediate justice, which by its very nature is hasty and even open to criticism, as Unity and Victory. The ultimate objective, which must underpin all our actions, is not to settle scores full of outdated rancour, but to free our entire nation and all Yugoslavs as quickly as possible from the terrible yoke of the Nazi boot [A daring metaphor, but that's war...]. In the face of such an existential threat, any goodwill assistance - however belated - is by its very nature welcome.
Of course, we have already made this point known through the amnesty announced by the Central Committee on May 19th. The amnesty produced some fine results. Unfortunately, it has not always been understood by everyone for what it is: a fraternal and sincere promise of forgiveness for those who return to the right camp, the camp of Justice, the camp of Victory from now on. Some will object that forgiveness is by its very nature personal, even fleeting. That not everyone deserves it, that some crimes are too serious, some faults too onerous... We do not believe this.
And that is why I hereby solemnly reaffirm that the ranks of the Yugoslav army are open, not only to the combatants - sometimes mobilised against their will - of the so-called state of the butcher Pavelic, but to all Yugoslavs, including those who at this time are operating under German uniform".
A more than slightly astonished silence greeted this innovation. Tito has surprised even his own camp - and even his closest circle. He knows it. And that amuses him - even if he can easily imagine the reaction of the Soviet delegation, who might be hearing about it on the radio right now. He also seems to see Comrade Korneev choking in the distance...
"This is a formal undertaking by the NKOJ and its Central Committee. Not just a promise threatened with oblivion. As a witness to this, I would like to introduce the person who is here with me. This is General Marko Mesić, former commander of the 369th German Division. Now repentant, the general has come to us to put his skills to good use. He will speak here to his former comrades, and invite them to join him in ceasing the fight against us at once!"
From the shadows emerges a figure all too familiar to some, with a round face, a clean-shaven chin and a charitable look beneath a very short haircut parted to the left. Mesić has, of course, swapped his verdigris uniform for a very Communist khaki. Propelled onto the stage by Tito himself, with a courteous but generously firm hand (the most observant will notice that at this moment, the Old Man's bodyguard has stiffened noticeably, as Mesić is indeed wearing the regulation pistol on his belt), the former Ustasha asserts himself reassured. He stammers out a few conciliatory words in a very controlled voice and concludes with a very conventional "Death to fascism, freedom for the people!"
That was fine. Just then, a flash lights up the stage. It's William Forrest - who speaks Serbo-Croatian and has understood everything. "This photo is going to be all over Europe!"
Possibly... Indeed, in one spectacular gesture, Tito poses as a generous unifier, gaining political credit for something he hadn't really dared do before. So much for Peter II and his hypocritically magnanimous policy. The AVNOJ goes further, for the Nation, for unity and for fraternity!
Now, what's going to happen in Moscow? Broz soon gets a glimpse: as he leaves the 'press room', he runs into a furious Nikolai Korneev, who told him: "You will be personally responsible if anything happens to a Soviet general and his mission! You're the one who got us into this situation!" In fact, faced with this wolf in the henhouse, Korneev fears for his life. In the evening, he will contact his chiefs to inform them of what is happening here. And ask to be evacuated at the same time!
The (encouraged) path of reason
Yugoslavia - Obviously, the Narodni Front's partners were not informed in advance of their new friend's poker game either - which has led to... diverse reactions. While the Croats of the Peasant Party obviously choose to retain only the promise of a full pardon to the "realistic" Ustasha - and therefore, no doubt, to a large part of the Croatian people - the Democratic Party and the minor members are more circumspect.
First of all, what will be the concrete consequences of this appeal in political and military terms? The NDH army already appears to be on the verge of collapse, so did we really need to open the door wide to these gangs of murderers? And how will Peter II react to such a provocation? Belgrade is going to have a field day criticising the AVNOJ and its friends... Some people can already see Politika running a five-column headline on the front page: "Tito: his puppets and his murderers".
For sure, the royal reaction promises to be acid. But it remains to be seen whether it will go much further than yet another spat.
Game over?
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia (Belgrade) - The (new) Minister of Foreign Affairs, Momčilo Ninčić, chooses to receive the French ambassador in his old office with solemnity. This is to make it clear that he does not consider himself to be in a position of weakness - any more than the government he represents - and even less willing to give his visitor everything.
Indeed, while the Frenchman is - obviously - welcome, Roger Maugras is nonetheless the emissary of an ally that is historic (yes), valiant (certainly), well-disposed (who doubts it?) but also with an unfortunate tendency to interfere, to the point of illegally nurturing a de facto authority in one part of the country that assumes the regalian functions of the legal government in its place. Admittedly, for the time being, this famous General Delegation for the Administration of Liberated Yugoslav Territories has not openly opposed Belgrade. What's more, it is also, and above all, active in areas under military control, some of the most deprived in the kingdom - Macedonia, Montenegro, part of Bosnia... So it's catchable and forgivable. At least as forgivable as the cordial but professional relations that the French army has with the Titists.
All the same, Ninčić - convinced pan-Serb and man of few words that he is - is no fool. He suspects that the Frenchman has not come to offer him flowers. So he chooses to attack, before observing the reaction and letting it come: "Dear friend, how nice to see you. Are we going to talk about Mr Šubasic and his... team? Or the latest fads of the adventurer Broz and his court, now open to assassins?"
Roger Maugras bows, top hat under his arm, before taking a seat without really having been invited to - Ninčić hasn't deigned to get up. In a way, that's encouraging: entrenched behind his desk, but willing to talk...
- My friendly regards, Minister. Of course, if you wish, I am at your disposal to discuss my government's position on these two issues. Having said that, I must begin by expressing to you the deep friendship that the French Republic has with the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.
- A friendship of which we have no doubt...
- The French government, which I have the honour of representing, has only one aim here. The return of civil peace and Yugoslav unity, by and for all Yugoslavs.
Silence. Ninčić is not going to dispute that... So Maugras continues.
- As you so rightly point out, for several months now my country has been working in complete transparency to achieve what must be defined as a rapprochement of points of view - with the sole aim of enabling us to win the war as quickly as possible, it goes without saying. We do not need to remind you of the many attempts made by Mr Ivan Šubasic, a man of rare probity and competence, who has succeeded in getting a diverse group of personalities to work with him.
- Personalities who are often nothing more than civil servants or ministers who have given up their posts!
- It is indeed deplorable. But this has also enabled us, through the intermediary of this administration which is by nature provisional and neutral, to come to the aid of your populations. Operation Corne d'abondance, which you may have heard about, is a case in point. It also helped us a great deal to obtain the collaboration of... various military forces, to win major battles against the Nazis as quickly as possible and despite very difficult conditions.
Slight pause. No reaction from the other side... The Frenchman resumes.
- Our action, Minister, has only one goal. Peace between Yugoslavs for a common victory. And as friends, we feel that this is the best gift we can give you. Imagine, Minister, what would have become of France during the terrible days of 1940, if it had not been possible to unite around the legal government of Monsieur Reynaud? An even greater disaster, a divided army, a civil war, a humiliating armistice, what have you! The situation has changed, thank God - for the war as for politics. But there is still a long way to go before Victory.
- You spoke of unity around the legal government, if I'm not mistaken...
- That has always been and always will be our position. But we have to admit, unfortunately, that Her Majesty is no longer able to unite around her person alone - either because she has been slandered too much in recent months, or because certain members of her cabinet have indulged in regrettable errors...
- What are you talking about?
- Well, for example, a certain number of war crimes and massacres in Vojvodina, committed by uncontrolled elements of the royal army.
- What proof do you have? And I suppose that your red terrorist friends swear, hand on heart, that they have never committed anything of the sort, here or elsewhere?
- Minister, France is not accusing. It has no mandate to play the role of prosecutor and has no vocation to take the place of Yugoslav justice. On the other hand, it has observed facts that are perfectly documented and attested to by its own armed forces. In so doing, as your friends, we are alerting you to these serious events, which could seriously disturb the already tense political climate in your country, if they were to be revealed to the greatest number of people.
Yes, what would the Titist propaganda say, whose leader has just generously opened his arms to all murderers? The British, so quick to jump at the slightest opportunity to undermine the throne? The Soviets, great defenders of all opponents of the monarchy? The Americans - not that the fate of a few Hungarians is of much concern to them, but their public opinion loves a good story and hates disorder...
Ninčić refrains from grimacing: "These crimes, if they exist, are most certainly the work of uncontrolled elements. If they are found and found guilty, the sword of Justice will fall upon them, in the name of the entire Kingdom."
"After the savage Ustashis of 1941, the savage Chetniks!" squeaks Maugras inwardly. "Decidedly, no matter which side of the fence you're on, the landscape remains the same!"
And Ninčić continues: "Fortunately, I presume you will help us in this salutary task, Your Excellency. Won't you? And in friendship and general concord, because I suppose that's what you're going to suggest?"
- I am indeed. We propose, Minister, that you call a meeting of the National Assembly as soon as possible, with all the senators and deputies who are honest and can be reached, to form a government of national unity with all the parties, which could then bring together under its authority all the movements fighting against the Axis.
- Including the Popular Front united around the AVNOJ?
- Under the authority of His Majesty, within a government in which he could not have a majority - by the simple arithmetic of the vote count - and with a limited number of ministers, whose choice would be validated by Congress...
- Only the King appoints ministers!
- Absolutely. But through this historic consultative gesture, His Majesty would also be showing his concern - a concern I have no doubt about - to bring the people together and to consider their representatives.
- And I suppose that Mr Broz is ready to apply? As Prime Minister, for that matter?
- We are doing our best to moderate Mr Broz's ambitions. Which, as you have seen, does not prevent him from being realistic when he needs to be. Rest assured that we are ready to convince him, if need be, of the need to relinquish certain prerogatives that are critical to His Majesty.
A Greek-style solution? Why not? Degraded certainly - but if we manage tomorrow to bring the HSS and the Democratic Party back into the legal fold, it will then be possible to marginalise the communists, manipulate Peter against James - sorry, Petar against Jackues - and everything will start again. Besides, ministers can be dismissed! A sort of transitional phase, then...
- Obviously, Mr Broz would be keen to express this position himself, as he told us, if given the chance...
- Which already implies that he is in government.
- But why not? In a relatively minor position...
- And who's to say he'll accept?
- We're working on it. In truth, we are already convinced of his answer - the formation of the Popular Front is also a good thing in that he may no longer see the need to occupy the top of the bill. After that, if Mr Broz wants to embark on a political career...
Another pause. The Serb has not replied. Now it's time for the conclusion. The one that should make it clear to Ninčić that this is the last best offer history will make to Peter II.
- Help your friend France, Minister, to build unity around you. Including by bringing the Popular Front back to Belgrade. That is the best guarantee that Mr Broz will never threaten to overthrow the monarchy.
That, however, Momčilo Ninčić has no trouble understanding. So he passes the proposal on to Peter II. Explaining to him, along with his colleague Petar Živković, that this is still the best solution, that the alternative would be a civil war that the royalists are no longer so sure of winning. That way, the Americans and Europeans will have no excuse not to support them, if and when the time comes...
Of course, if Belgrade is willing to take the first step, the agreement proposed by Maugras will require tens of thousands of deaths to be swept under the carpet for the good cause. What a nice diplomatic moral!
The Hebrang affair (part two)
Gospić - Edvard Kardelj has arrived at "Fatty" Hebrang's headquarters. He finds comrade Hebrang friendly and cordial, very busy managing current military operations and who readily admits that he has probably made a few mistakes, as he hasn't had much time to sit on the Central Committee recently. Kardelj is happy to take note. For the next few days and until further notice, he will take on the back-breaking but necessary administrative tasks in place of Comrade Hebrang. All in the name of the Chief - without specifying which, of course. And above all, he will remain permanently next to the radio.
Allied aircraft strafe sailing vessels off Dalmatia
* But not yet with contempt - at the time, the "legionnaire" units were probably the only Croatian formations still considered to be "rank B professionals" by the Wehrmacht.
** Buško - marsh in Bosnian. Today it is an artificial lake created by a dam opened in the 1970s.
28/05/44 - Balkans, Liberation of Mostar
May 28th, 1944
Balkans campaign
Operation Veritable - After Sarajevo and Operation Ratweek
Sarajevo region - Calm situation in the sector - the Titists lick their wounds in the rear, among the civilian population, while the Greek 1st Corps under Lt-General Giorgios Kosmas turns north towards the road to Banja Luka... and therefore towards the III. SS-GAK Kommando Slawonien under Obergruppenführer Friedrich-Wilhelm Krüger.
Somewhat recovered from the bloodletting suffered during the siege, the AVNOJ army puts its propaganda into full swing. It sends several platoons to pose for photographers on the slopes of Mount Igman, which has been so hard won. One of the shots will go down in history: Igmanka, the portrait of the very pretty (and smiling) Milja Marin, posing proudly, Titist beret on her head and MP40 slung over her shoulder*. Anything to encourage young Yugoslavs to join the ranks of the Partisans!
.........
Dalmatia - On the right flank, Brigadeführer Helmut Scholz's Nederland sees the first hostile elements arrive on the road to Konjic - the 2nd 'Proletarian' Division (Peko Dapcevic, Mitar Bakić), followed by the rest of the 2nd 'Shock' Corps, as well as the 1st and 3rd AVNOJ Corps. It is substantial... Nevertheless, for the time being, the Titists do not attack. Some would say that this is because the Greeks are not pushing them very hard.
This situation allows Ivo Herenčić's KLAK to finally take up its spring quarters on the Tijarica - Šestanovac line. The 1st Greek Armoured Brigade under colonel Socrates Demaratos pursues it limply after turning left at Imotsk. Georgios Stanotas' 5th ID is not planning to go much further for the time being. It has to cover Demaratos' flank towards Tomislavgrad against an unlikely (but possible...) Handschar counter-attack towards Posušje, as long as Charalambos Katsimitros' 13th ID is not in place.
The plan is to move this unit down towards Mostar - liberated the day before by Pero Cetkovic and Radomir Babic's 3rd 'Shock' Division. It is true that the place of a line division is not to play the role of a stopgap in narrow valleys for ever! That's what the Titists are there for. Besides, what exactly is feared in the sector - a Dutch assault on Konjic to retake Sarajevo? Of course not! Finally, if Sylvestre Audet's plans are met with a favourable response from the Allied GHQ tomorrow, the units of the 2nd Greek AC would already be in place...
But the cautious advance of the Greek divisions is by no means the biggest problem facing the Schutzstaffel at the moment.
Abandonment
Tomislavgrad sector - It was unexpected... and yet so predictable: the Handschar mutinies! Oh, not all at once of course - and certainly not in an organised way. But it is nevertheless a very, very bad surprise for Kommando Adria - and indeed for the whole Waffen-SS in general, which had rather naively imagined that the Aryanised and Nazified Goths were going to march in ranks towards the abyss until the end.
The 27. Waffen-Gebirgsjäger Rgt under SS-Sturmbannführer Desiderius Hampel, which was supposed to defend the Tomislavgrad crossroads, has serious disciplinary problems. For the time being, however, it retains a certain cohesion - either because Hampel proves to be smarter than his colleagues (we won't go so far as to talk about affect...), or because the vast, desolate plateaux of Dalmatia are not the best place to turn one's back. In fact, the movement, spontaneous as it is, is not widespread here and this regiment still has a substantial number of loyal Croats or Bosnians - perhaps not very convinced of the Reich's victory, but in any case forced to stay in line for their own good or that of their families.
At the 28. Waffen-Gebirgsjäger Rgt under SS-Sturmbannführer Hans Hanke, on the other hand, it is a different story... Stuck in difficult terrain right up to the outskirts of Mount Vran, the unit experiences mass desertions. At Križevac, an entire company jumps at the throats of its officers, massacre them and disappears eastwards in search of new friends! The boot prints are easy to follow in the damp earth, but the Germans are unable to prevent anything due to a lack of manpower.
In his Tomislavgrad HQ, Brigadeführer Karl-Gustav Sauberzweig, who had always been committed to keeping Muslim traditions alive in his unit**, has seen this coming. But he now feels powerless. Had he been facing the Titists alone, he might have tried to play the Bosnian card against the Croats or the Serbs... But now, what prospect can he give his men? "It was a foregone conclusion, especially since the events in France last year," he sighs, shaking his glasses. It's true that the Brigadeführer has been a little nervous recently. But he urgently needs to make his soldiers want to stay in the Handschar - even if that means overstepping his prerogatives a little.
.........
"After three days of clearing mines and bad roads, we finally came up against new static enemy lines that were easy to spot. Along the way, we'd come across a number of deserters and others who'd been forgotten - well, who had mostly forgotten their uniforms and clearly trying to blend in with the landscape.
What was new, however, were these groups of soldiers - up to fifteen of them - who came to us with weapons and baggage, asking to join our friends in pentagrams. We sent them to the rear, of course - but unarmed. After that, it's up to others to decide what to do with them. More often than not, they seem disappointed!
"Nikos says to me: "They don't doubt a thing! "Do they think they're clever?"
I reply that they really are! "They know it's all over. And they're giving up while they still can. But the others?"
"Yes, the others?" (That's the conscript who's been following us since April).
"Well, the others are either too stupid or too far gone to take the chance. And that worries me. Don't get carried away, Delta. The guys you see coming now, that's the wine from the jug. Then you'll have to go down and scrape the resin off!"
(Markus Amynthe - Machines de guerre - Souvenirs de la campagne de Bosnie, Kedros éditeur via LGF, 1993)
Forced migration
Western Bosnia - Noting that, all things considered, the battle seems to be shifting north towards Banja Luka, what remains of Sekula Drljević's Montenegrin National Army prepares for a new (and very discreet) leapfrog towards Drvar, hoping to slip between the belligerents when the time comes. Unfortunately for the former Montenegrin collaborators, the weather is not on their side. The weather is fine - so it's too risky. Perhaps tomorrow?
Air warfare
Yugoslav Front - Continued sweeps and Rhubarbs all over the north of the country, but even more so on the border with Hungary - and particularly in the Sava valley. The supply convoys of the LVI. PzK and the LXIX. AK are particularly sought after. Major Milislav Semiz, of the FARY, takes advantage of the situation to win his seventeenth victory, at the expense of an unfortunate Croatian Junker W34 liaison plane. That's right: the 80th Yugoslav EC is flying again - time has passed since May 7th, and Monty needs everyone he can get to prepare his push towards the Nagykanizsa oil wells.
Interview with an Ustashi
Fratricidal combat
"When I think that history - your history, the one you claim to write - has given this bunch of bastards the title of regular unit and not us...
- You really don't seem to appreciate the Kama.
- We actually had to fight one of their sections who had deserted south of Banja Luka! These traitors came up against us at a bend in the road, when they had already raised the red flag!
- A bit quick, wasn't it?
- They were probably more afraid of the Titists. It didn't work out for them... but it didn't work out for us either. I lost five men, you heard me, five men including Filip and Jojo, from the lead group, because we'd given those bastards an MG34 - and not us.
- I suppose there was no quarter given?
- We cut off their... family jewels and hung them up by their feet along the road. Then, as the battle was raging to the north, we ran off to shelter the families to the east, in the mountains near Jagare. And before you think anything unpleasant, let me make something clear: a warrior can retreat. He doesn't run. He can ambush. They don't hide. They may win or lose, but they never stop serving. We didn't run. In fact, we recognised this quite quickly when we had to go back up through the mountains towards the Vrbas and support the Prinz-Eugen, as General Markuli had requested."
(Dans la tête du monstre - Conversation avec un officier oustachi, Robert Stan Pratsky, Flammarion 1982)
AVNOJ
The fight is back on!
North of Čađavica - Vojislav Djokic's 7th Banija Division continues to retreat masterfully towards Čađavica and its hard-won crossroads. In fact, the Kama, which was supposed to be leading the Axis counter-offensive - far ahead of what remained of Ivan Markuli's two III Corps divisions, still in the midst of "restructuring" in Banja Luka - still doesn't really seem intent on moving forward... quite the contrary!
Since the previous night, and at an ever-increasing rate, several hundred SS men in uniform have been switching sides with arms and baggage. Most of them are Croats, of course: the Hungarians are a long way from home and in a hostile land - and the Bosnians, as usual, are waiting to see.
.........
Croatia (west), Banja-Luka - It's encouraging. Especially as, at the same time, the two divisions sent by Andrija Hebrang to lead his troops - the 34th 'Croatian' Division (Martin Dasović, Francis Knebl) and the 35th Lika Division (Stanko Perhavec, Šime Balen) - enter Banja Luka from the west. The Partisans sweep through the rearguard of the III Croatian Corps, spreading panic in the already theoretical supply lines of the Ustashi.
Unfortunately for the AVNOJ, their joy is short-lived. The 13. SS-Freiwilligen Gebirgsjäger Rgt Artur-Phleps (Standartenführer Ernst Deutsch), which has given so much in vain for the defence of Sarajevo, arrives at the same time from the east, followed by the 14. SS-Freiwilligen Gebirgsjäger Rgt Reinhard-Heydrich (Standartenführer August Schmidhuber), marching quickly.
However, the first engagements prove deceptively encouraging for the Titists. They surprise - and even ambush - the first motorised SS columns. They could see that something was going on ahead, but still grossly underestimated their opponents. The vanguards of the Rgt Artur-Phleps suffer heavy losses in an unprepared urban battle. But Karl Reichsritter von Oberkamp soon realises what is going on. And he refuses to lose any more men for nothing - especially with these planes flying over his head! So he throws forward all his remaining armour, almost all of it captured: Somua S-35s, T-70s, Bison Is and even Skoda Turtles. All this menagerie, supported by artillery - including a few rare Bunkerflak (88 mm anti-aircraft guns mounted on half-tracked machines, formerly used by the Führer's bodyguard), assault the Partisan lines, which are still seriously lacking in anti-tank and counter-battery resources.
Not far away, the 43rd 'Istrian' Division (Milan Šakić-Mićun, Marijan Badel) - who does not know exactly what is going on - also presses forward to join the party. The nights are definitely long in Banja Luka.
.........
Slovenia - The Pavlek Miškina and Nikola Demonja assault brigades set their sights on a more modest objective: the bridge over the Savo, near Pogonik. This is Operation Lithia*** - meticulously prepared by Edvard Kardelj's staff, who has used their good relations with the Capitalists to obtain the support of the Bucephalus of the 334th Wing (H).
And it works! For once, the air-land action goes according to plan. After an initial preparatory air strike involving eight aircraft, the two brigades take advantage of the resulting disorder to attack. The bridge is guarded by around a hundred German soldiers, entrenched in bunkers and supported by two old Panzer IIIs. From the very first attack, the Titists destroy the two tanks with Piat blows - and above all, neutralise the Flak batteries. A second strike by the Bucephalus, guided by smoke bombs, blows up the bunkers and allows to capture 44 defenders. The bunker is immediately mined and collapsed at nightfall. It would not be repaired until the end of the war...
Crushed Hungary
Requisition
Budapest - After a month of virtual looting and other more or less regulation recovery of everything the Reich army still has that could be used in the region, Obersturmbannführer Skorzeny can be satisfied: His SS-Jagdverband Mitte has got its hands not only on around a hundred Brandenburgers taken from Irkens, but also around as many Waffen-SS, plus around fifty Heer soldiers and even around twenty Luftwaffe paratroopers. The latter are therefore not going to be killed in France - any more than their comrades from the former Abwehr in Hungary.
There is enough here to organise two companies in the Jagdverband - despite the losses of Margareth and Lanfried... or that story about that Kessel in Ruthenia. More than enough to see them through. Satisfied, the scarred SS goes out onto the balcony of the comfortable property he has allocated himself to admire the garden. And so much the worse if this noble Belgian lady - a cross between a social parasite and an ethnic aberration! - is still within its walls. He's got work to do for the Reich and the Final Victory! First of all, he's going to have to organise a training programme... accelerated, of course.
Yugoslavia torn apart
Red Messiah
Yugoslavia - As part of his vast campaign to raise the profile of the Leader, Milovan Đilas launches a mass distribution (over the airwaves and in leaflets) of a little-known song composed in 1943 (already!) by a certain Vladimir Nazor. This Croatian poet had escaped from Zagreb before joining the Partisan movement**** and then becoming head of the anti-fascist State Council for the National Liberation of Croatia. In Titist Yugoslavia, he is something of a cultural star.
Initially intended only for Croats and Bosnians who reject the fable of a vague Gothic origin, and in order to better glorify the Slavic origins of all the brother peoples of Yugoslavia, the song is already being taken up with gusto in the ranks of certain units. The AVNOJ hopes that, with its catchy music, it will become a big hit - and by extension... those to whom it is dedicated. Well, one of them in particular - comrade Stalin doesn't need a song!*****
"Uz Staljina i Tita, dva junačka sina.
nas neće ni pakao smest'.
Mi dižemo čelo,
mi kročimo smjelo
i čvrsto stiskamo pest. (bis)
.........
Rod prastari svi smo, a Goti mi nismo,
Slavenstva smo drevnoga čest.
Ko drukčije kaže, kleveće i laže,
našu će osjetit' pest. (bis)
.........
Sve prste na ruci u jadu i muci
Partizanska složila je svijest.
Pa sad kad i treba, do sunca do neba,
visoko mi dižemo pest. (bis)"
"With Stalin and Tito, the heroic sons
We are stronger than hell!
We raise our heads courageously,
And not gloomily,
And we clench our fists firmly. (encore)
.........
We're from an ancient tribe, but not the Goths,
For we are children of ancient Slavs
Anyone who says otherwise is only slandering and lying,
And will surely face our wrath (bis)
.........
All the fingers of our hands will fight to save our land,
As Partisans are always alert.
When we die, we don't cry to the sun or even the sky,
We raise our fists in the air (bis)".
Red anger
Moscow - The news of the confirmed rallying to the AVNOJ of Ustasha generals and - even more seriously - Waffen-SS triggers a veritable commotion in the ranks of the Red Army. It is true that the Red Army can still turn a blind eye, from a distance, to the repentance of ordinary soldiers and even non-commissioned officers... But reintegrating genuine Nazis and mercenaries into the ranks of the Revolution is intolerable.
Faced with this deviationism - the word is out, it comes from Molotov (who is not going to miss this opportunity to harm Beria and Dimitrov...) - we absolutely have to react. First of all, with a very firm - indeed downright threatening - note addressed directly to Tito, via his military mission in Moscow. A mission, moreover, whose resources are to be significantly reduced, without however abandoning the transfer of the 1st Yugoslav Brigade, which is still in progress! Next, the AVNOJ comrades will be asked what they think of the positions of their leader - Andrija Hebrang, for example, that good man, loyal to the USSR! Wouldn't he have an opinion on the matter? Unfortunately, it seems that Hebrang cannot be reached at the moment (at least, for those who are not authorised to speak to him...). But who can say what will happen tomorrow?
To cover all eventualities, Sergei Shtemenko has been ordered to look into repatriating the Korneev mission - just in case things go really wrong over there.
.........
Marshal Tito's residence - For the time being, this Soviet reaction does not seem to really rattle the "Old Man" - even if, as usual, the slightest movement of Soviet anger causes him real personal pain. The Soviet-Titist collaboration continues, that's all that matters.
Discontent
AVNOJ HQ (north of Višegrad) - While the cut flowers are being collected... and the dead of Vremya Tsvetov, the Titist general staff receives disturbing reports about the behaviour of the Soviet paratroopers who had rallied or been released during the liberation of Sarajevo.
First of all, there is talk of a certain propensity for looting - which is, after all, acceptable at a time of food shortages and when the military campaign is continuing. However, that is not the worst of it: it would seem that in several villages occupied by Red Army paratroopers, and even in the case of relations with female Partisan detachments, the Soviets also showed some... problematic behaviour towards their comrades, and sometimes several of them.
It should be remembered that the AVNOJ, all progressive and free of false reactionary morals that it claims to be, still strictly forbids the slightest sentimental relationship between its members. Even if, incidentally, it's not exactly feelings that Aleksandar "Leca" Ranković would talk about when he reads the reports sent to him by his fearsome OZNA. So, with the agreement of those in authority, the head of the political police decides to dig around, just in case...
A game that's not really fun any more - but with new rules
HQ of the 1st Yugoslav Corps (Pančevo, Vojvodina) - After several days of roundabout dealings, discovered thanks to various intermediaries who had to be approached, General Robert Stone is finally received by what is undoubtedly the most powerful military officer in the Kingdom: General Ilija Brasic. Some would say the warlord, if his army were not as regular as it is loyal to the Crown.
And that's the crux of the problem - which also explains why the Briton has made the trip in complete secrecy, under the protection of Floydforce commandos: he needs to sound out Brasic on his intentions in the event of open conflict - certainly potential but looking less and less avoidable - between the Westerners and Peter II. A risk that Brasic himself is perfectly aware of.
Just as he must be aware of the situation he finds himself in. For the general, proud and bravura as he is, never forgets that his army can only hold out thanks to supplies from the Allies - the same Allies who have already supplied him with all his equipment. Nor, going back three terrible years, does Brasic forget that it was the swift intervention of the French at Kumanovo that saved his 3rd Army from complete rout in Macedonia - thus saving his troops from being cut off from the Allies, surrounded, driven into the Adriatic with no hope of rescue... and then completely annihilated.
Thank God it didn't come to that in '41. And the defeat, catastrophic though it was objectively, still allowed part of its forces to be saved, the royal army to remain in the allied ranks and - as a result - some of the political weight of the Karađorđević monarchy to be preserved. Ilija Brašić knows all this well. He also remembers the support that French generals - Dentz, in particular - once gave him at the time of the return to the Balkans, when it was not even certain that the West would ever want to set foot in Yugoslavia again. Well, they started with the Peloponnese and he would have liked to have landed further north. But all in all, the result is more or less the same!
In short, although Brasic does not particularly like the British, he is grateful to them for having fought alongside him, for having enabled him to return victorious to Belgrade and - to a certain extent - for having gained a real stature as a leader and war hero, which he would probably not have achieved in other circumstances. So his answer to Stone will be the same as that given to Richard O'Connor on May 7th: the 1st Yugoslav Corps will obey orders. Those of the Crown, therefore those of the Allied Command - possibly through this Briton. And as long as it is clear that the two are not in conflict.
The endgame?
White Palace (Belgrade) - Momčilo Ninčić, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, requests an urgent audience with King Peter II Karađorđević, for a strictly private meeting. To this day, it is impossible to know exactly what the two men said to each other - but the meeting was reportedly a stormy one, if the rumours circulating in the household are to be believed.
In fact, as soon as Ninčić leaves the room, the hearings begin: first the Knežević brothers, backed up by Colonel Miodrag Rakić. All three are well-known opponents of Ninčić, who is just as panserbic as they are, but visibly more... reasonable. Then comes General Petar Živković, Minister of Defence, opposed to the two brothers, who leave, looking glum. Then it is Prime Minister Bozidar Purić's turn, close to Ninčić, and it is Rakić who leaves... before returning accompanied by two loyal followers of the Knežević brothers: his predecessor Miodrag Lozić and Major Petar Baćović, a personal friend of the King whose empty sleeve held in place by a clasp testifies to his spirit of sacrifice. Later, Deputy Prime Minister Miloš Trifunović reinforces the camp in favour of negotiation, while Interior Minister Vladeta Milicevic, a visceral anti-communist, is called to the rescue by the King's military cabinet.
Clearly, the royal Yugoslav government, which has previously been simply divided, is tearing itself apart! It is now divided into two camps: pragmatists and hardliners, who openly confront each other in a fierce battle that is destined to go on until very late at night.
Emergency measures (reinforced)
Montenegro and Albania - Between two parachute drops to the Slovenians, DESTROMO informs the command of the 2nd French Army that the "special flight" from Podgorica to Belgrade that it had been asked to provide is ready. A Bloch 220 is now on standby with its crew, on alert 24 hours a day, on the outskirts of the Montenegrin city. All under guard... but with the utmost discretion, of course.
* A Bosnian Serb and member of the 11th Krajina Brigade (2nd 'Bosnian' Corps), Milja Marin was probably the most famous subject of Georgij 'Žorž' Skrigin - director of the Ballet of the Theatre of National Liberation and (also) a great propaganda photographer. The photo was obviously posed: chosen from among five nurses and completely unarmed (although she had a fierce hatred of the Ustasha because of her time in the Sisak camp), the young Marin - barely 17 - was dressed from head to toe (literally) and asked to smile before passing in front of the Rolleiflex. The caption on the photograph tells a different story, of course: "This young woman was captured during the first enemy offensive. She managed to escape, even from Germany, and reached Igman, where she became a fighter with the Mount Igman forces."
The young Serb should not gain any more fame during the war or afterwards - it would have damaged her legend, and therefore the government. Having survived the conflict, she married a fellow fighter, Pero Marin, and settled in Prijedor (the large town in the area), where she lived peacefully and raised five children. She died in her own bed on November 11th, 2007, aged 81. The pseudo-Igmanka became a true pop culture icon in post-war Yugoslavia - to the point of appearing on the cover of some records, on a par with Marylin Monroe! But without her machine pistol this time.
** To the point of officially celebrating Milad Al-Nabi (the Prophet's birthday), with ceremonies, sermons and banquets!
*** Operation Lithia is one of the subjects of the board game Postanipartizan (Become a Partisan) - a tactical wargame based on operations in Slovenia from '42 to '45. With its sympathetic comic-book-style graphics, it also aims to go beyond the purely military field by bringing to life the everyday life of AVNOJ soldiers through more... down-to-earth missions! Cooking, theatre, school, singing... History doesn't always have to be sombre - even and especially in Yugoslavia.
**** According to Nedjeljko Mihanović (Croatian writer and politician), this rallying must have been a little "encouraged": aged 67 at the time, the poet was suffering from several health problems...
***** Moreover, after 1948, the mention of Stalin disappeared from the first verse, without anyone seeing fit to explain why...
Balkans campaign
Operation Veritable - After Sarajevo and Operation Ratweek
Sarajevo region - Calm situation in the sector - the Titists lick their wounds in the rear, among the civilian population, while the Greek 1st Corps under Lt-General Giorgios Kosmas turns north towards the road to Banja Luka... and therefore towards the III. SS-GAK Kommando Slawonien under Obergruppenführer Friedrich-Wilhelm Krüger.
Somewhat recovered from the bloodletting suffered during the siege, the AVNOJ army puts its propaganda into full swing. It sends several platoons to pose for photographers on the slopes of Mount Igman, which has been so hard won. One of the shots will go down in history: Igmanka, the portrait of the very pretty (and smiling) Milja Marin, posing proudly, Titist beret on her head and MP40 slung over her shoulder*. Anything to encourage young Yugoslavs to join the ranks of the Partisans!
.........
Dalmatia - On the right flank, Brigadeführer Helmut Scholz's Nederland sees the first hostile elements arrive on the road to Konjic - the 2nd 'Proletarian' Division (Peko Dapcevic, Mitar Bakić), followed by the rest of the 2nd 'Shock' Corps, as well as the 1st and 3rd AVNOJ Corps. It is substantial... Nevertheless, for the time being, the Titists do not attack. Some would say that this is because the Greeks are not pushing them very hard.
This situation allows Ivo Herenčić's KLAK to finally take up its spring quarters on the Tijarica - Šestanovac line. The 1st Greek Armoured Brigade under colonel Socrates Demaratos pursues it limply after turning left at Imotsk. Georgios Stanotas' 5th ID is not planning to go much further for the time being. It has to cover Demaratos' flank towards Tomislavgrad against an unlikely (but possible...) Handschar counter-attack towards Posušje, as long as Charalambos Katsimitros' 13th ID is not in place.
The plan is to move this unit down towards Mostar - liberated the day before by Pero Cetkovic and Radomir Babic's 3rd 'Shock' Division. It is true that the place of a line division is not to play the role of a stopgap in narrow valleys for ever! That's what the Titists are there for. Besides, what exactly is feared in the sector - a Dutch assault on Konjic to retake Sarajevo? Of course not! Finally, if Sylvestre Audet's plans are met with a favourable response from the Allied GHQ tomorrow, the units of the 2nd Greek AC would already be in place...
But the cautious advance of the Greek divisions is by no means the biggest problem facing the Schutzstaffel at the moment.
Abandonment
Tomislavgrad sector - It was unexpected... and yet so predictable: the Handschar mutinies! Oh, not all at once of course - and certainly not in an organised way. But it is nevertheless a very, very bad surprise for Kommando Adria - and indeed for the whole Waffen-SS in general, which had rather naively imagined that the Aryanised and Nazified Goths were going to march in ranks towards the abyss until the end.
The 27. Waffen-Gebirgsjäger Rgt under SS-Sturmbannführer Desiderius Hampel, which was supposed to defend the Tomislavgrad crossroads, has serious disciplinary problems. For the time being, however, it retains a certain cohesion - either because Hampel proves to be smarter than his colleagues (we won't go so far as to talk about affect...), or because the vast, desolate plateaux of Dalmatia are not the best place to turn one's back. In fact, the movement, spontaneous as it is, is not widespread here and this regiment still has a substantial number of loyal Croats or Bosnians - perhaps not very convinced of the Reich's victory, but in any case forced to stay in line for their own good or that of their families.
At the 28. Waffen-Gebirgsjäger Rgt under SS-Sturmbannführer Hans Hanke, on the other hand, it is a different story... Stuck in difficult terrain right up to the outskirts of Mount Vran, the unit experiences mass desertions. At Križevac, an entire company jumps at the throats of its officers, massacre them and disappears eastwards in search of new friends! The boot prints are easy to follow in the damp earth, but the Germans are unable to prevent anything due to a lack of manpower.
In his Tomislavgrad HQ, Brigadeführer Karl-Gustav Sauberzweig, who had always been committed to keeping Muslim traditions alive in his unit**, has seen this coming. But he now feels powerless. Had he been facing the Titists alone, he might have tried to play the Bosnian card against the Croats or the Serbs... But now, what prospect can he give his men? "It was a foregone conclusion, especially since the events in France last year," he sighs, shaking his glasses. It's true that the Brigadeführer has been a little nervous recently. But he urgently needs to make his soldiers want to stay in the Handschar - even if that means overstepping his prerogatives a little.
.........
"After three days of clearing mines and bad roads, we finally came up against new static enemy lines that were easy to spot. Along the way, we'd come across a number of deserters and others who'd been forgotten - well, who had mostly forgotten their uniforms and clearly trying to blend in with the landscape.
What was new, however, were these groups of soldiers - up to fifteen of them - who came to us with weapons and baggage, asking to join our friends in pentagrams. We sent them to the rear, of course - but unarmed. After that, it's up to others to decide what to do with them. More often than not, they seem disappointed!
"Nikos says to me: "They don't doubt a thing! "Do they think they're clever?"
I reply that they really are! "They know it's all over. And they're giving up while they still can. But the others?"
"Yes, the others?" (That's the conscript who's been following us since April).
"Well, the others are either too stupid or too far gone to take the chance. And that worries me. Don't get carried away, Delta. The guys you see coming now, that's the wine from the jug. Then you'll have to go down and scrape the resin off!"
(Markus Amynthe - Machines de guerre - Souvenirs de la campagne de Bosnie, Kedros éditeur via LGF, 1993)
Forced migration
Western Bosnia - Noting that, all things considered, the battle seems to be shifting north towards Banja Luka, what remains of Sekula Drljević's Montenegrin National Army prepares for a new (and very discreet) leapfrog towards Drvar, hoping to slip between the belligerents when the time comes. Unfortunately for the former Montenegrin collaborators, the weather is not on their side. The weather is fine - so it's too risky. Perhaps tomorrow?
Air warfare
Yugoslav Front - Continued sweeps and Rhubarbs all over the north of the country, but even more so on the border with Hungary - and particularly in the Sava valley. The supply convoys of the LVI. PzK and the LXIX. AK are particularly sought after. Major Milislav Semiz, of the FARY, takes advantage of the situation to win his seventeenth victory, at the expense of an unfortunate Croatian Junker W34 liaison plane. That's right: the 80th Yugoslav EC is flying again - time has passed since May 7th, and Monty needs everyone he can get to prepare his push towards the Nagykanizsa oil wells.
Interview with an Ustashi
Fratricidal combat
"When I think that history - your history, the one you claim to write - has given this bunch of bastards the title of regular unit and not us...
- You really don't seem to appreciate the Kama.
- We actually had to fight one of their sections who had deserted south of Banja Luka! These traitors came up against us at a bend in the road, when they had already raised the red flag!
- A bit quick, wasn't it?
- They were probably more afraid of the Titists. It didn't work out for them... but it didn't work out for us either. I lost five men, you heard me, five men including Filip and Jojo, from the lead group, because we'd given those bastards an MG34 - and not us.
- I suppose there was no quarter given?
- We cut off their... family jewels and hung them up by their feet along the road. Then, as the battle was raging to the north, we ran off to shelter the families to the east, in the mountains near Jagare. And before you think anything unpleasant, let me make something clear: a warrior can retreat. He doesn't run. He can ambush. They don't hide. They may win or lose, but they never stop serving. We didn't run. In fact, we recognised this quite quickly when we had to go back up through the mountains towards the Vrbas and support the Prinz-Eugen, as General Markuli had requested."
(Dans la tête du monstre - Conversation avec un officier oustachi, Robert Stan Pratsky, Flammarion 1982)
AVNOJ
The fight is back on!
North of Čađavica - Vojislav Djokic's 7th Banija Division continues to retreat masterfully towards Čađavica and its hard-won crossroads. In fact, the Kama, which was supposed to be leading the Axis counter-offensive - far ahead of what remained of Ivan Markuli's two III Corps divisions, still in the midst of "restructuring" in Banja Luka - still doesn't really seem intent on moving forward... quite the contrary!
Since the previous night, and at an ever-increasing rate, several hundred SS men in uniform have been switching sides with arms and baggage. Most of them are Croats, of course: the Hungarians are a long way from home and in a hostile land - and the Bosnians, as usual, are waiting to see.
.........
Croatia (west), Banja-Luka - It's encouraging. Especially as, at the same time, the two divisions sent by Andrija Hebrang to lead his troops - the 34th 'Croatian' Division (Martin Dasović, Francis Knebl) and the 35th Lika Division (Stanko Perhavec, Šime Balen) - enter Banja Luka from the west. The Partisans sweep through the rearguard of the III Croatian Corps, spreading panic in the already theoretical supply lines of the Ustashi.
Unfortunately for the AVNOJ, their joy is short-lived. The 13. SS-Freiwilligen Gebirgsjäger Rgt Artur-Phleps (Standartenführer Ernst Deutsch), which has given so much in vain for the defence of Sarajevo, arrives at the same time from the east, followed by the 14. SS-Freiwilligen Gebirgsjäger Rgt Reinhard-Heydrich (Standartenführer August Schmidhuber), marching quickly.
However, the first engagements prove deceptively encouraging for the Titists. They surprise - and even ambush - the first motorised SS columns. They could see that something was going on ahead, but still grossly underestimated their opponents. The vanguards of the Rgt Artur-Phleps suffer heavy losses in an unprepared urban battle. But Karl Reichsritter von Oberkamp soon realises what is going on. And he refuses to lose any more men for nothing - especially with these planes flying over his head! So he throws forward all his remaining armour, almost all of it captured: Somua S-35s, T-70s, Bison Is and even Skoda Turtles. All this menagerie, supported by artillery - including a few rare Bunkerflak (88 mm anti-aircraft guns mounted on half-tracked machines, formerly used by the Führer's bodyguard), assault the Partisan lines, which are still seriously lacking in anti-tank and counter-battery resources.
Not far away, the 43rd 'Istrian' Division (Milan Šakić-Mićun, Marijan Badel) - who does not know exactly what is going on - also presses forward to join the party. The nights are definitely long in Banja Luka.
.........
Slovenia - The Pavlek Miškina and Nikola Demonja assault brigades set their sights on a more modest objective: the bridge over the Savo, near Pogonik. This is Operation Lithia*** - meticulously prepared by Edvard Kardelj's staff, who has used their good relations with the Capitalists to obtain the support of the Bucephalus of the 334th Wing (H).
And it works! For once, the air-land action goes according to plan. After an initial preparatory air strike involving eight aircraft, the two brigades take advantage of the resulting disorder to attack. The bridge is guarded by around a hundred German soldiers, entrenched in bunkers and supported by two old Panzer IIIs. From the very first attack, the Titists destroy the two tanks with Piat blows - and above all, neutralise the Flak batteries. A second strike by the Bucephalus, guided by smoke bombs, blows up the bunkers and allows to capture 44 defenders. The bunker is immediately mined and collapsed at nightfall. It would not be repaired until the end of the war...
Crushed Hungary
Requisition
Budapest - After a month of virtual looting and other more or less regulation recovery of everything the Reich army still has that could be used in the region, Obersturmbannführer Skorzeny can be satisfied: His SS-Jagdverband Mitte has got its hands not only on around a hundred Brandenburgers taken from Irkens, but also around as many Waffen-SS, plus around fifty Heer soldiers and even around twenty Luftwaffe paratroopers. The latter are therefore not going to be killed in France - any more than their comrades from the former Abwehr in Hungary.
There is enough here to organise two companies in the Jagdverband - despite the losses of Margareth and Lanfried... or that story about that Kessel in Ruthenia. More than enough to see them through. Satisfied, the scarred SS goes out onto the balcony of the comfortable property he has allocated himself to admire the garden. And so much the worse if this noble Belgian lady - a cross between a social parasite and an ethnic aberration! - is still within its walls. He's got work to do for the Reich and the Final Victory! First of all, he's going to have to organise a training programme... accelerated, of course.
Yugoslavia torn apart
Red Messiah
Yugoslavia - As part of his vast campaign to raise the profile of the Leader, Milovan Đilas launches a mass distribution (over the airwaves and in leaflets) of a little-known song composed in 1943 (already!) by a certain Vladimir Nazor. This Croatian poet had escaped from Zagreb before joining the Partisan movement**** and then becoming head of the anti-fascist State Council for the National Liberation of Croatia. In Titist Yugoslavia, he is something of a cultural star.
Initially intended only for Croats and Bosnians who reject the fable of a vague Gothic origin, and in order to better glorify the Slavic origins of all the brother peoples of Yugoslavia, the song is already being taken up with gusto in the ranks of certain units. The AVNOJ hopes that, with its catchy music, it will become a big hit - and by extension... those to whom it is dedicated. Well, one of them in particular - comrade Stalin doesn't need a song!*****
"Uz Staljina i Tita, dva junačka sina.
nas neće ni pakao smest'.
Mi dižemo čelo,
mi kročimo smjelo
i čvrsto stiskamo pest. (bis)
.........
Rod prastari svi smo, a Goti mi nismo,
Slavenstva smo drevnoga čest.
Ko drukčije kaže, kleveće i laže,
našu će osjetit' pest. (bis)
.........
Sve prste na ruci u jadu i muci
Partizanska složila je svijest.
Pa sad kad i treba, do sunca do neba,
visoko mi dižemo pest. (bis)"
"With Stalin and Tito, the heroic sons
We are stronger than hell!
We raise our heads courageously,
And not gloomily,
And we clench our fists firmly. (encore)
.........
We're from an ancient tribe, but not the Goths,
For we are children of ancient Slavs
Anyone who says otherwise is only slandering and lying,
And will surely face our wrath (bis)
.........
All the fingers of our hands will fight to save our land,
As Partisans are always alert.
When we die, we don't cry to the sun or even the sky,
We raise our fists in the air (bis)".
Red anger
Moscow - The news of the confirmed rallying to the AVNOJ of Ustasha generals and - even more seriously - Waffen-SS triggers a veritable commotion in the ranks of the Red Army. It is true that the Red Army can still turn a blind eye, from a distance, to the repentance of ordinary soldiers and even non-commissioned officers... But reintegrating genuine Nazis and mercenaries into the ranks of the Revolution is intolerable.
Faced with this deviationism - the word is out, it comes from Molotov (who is not going to miss this opportunity to harm Beria and Dimitrov...) - we absolutely have to react. First of all, with a very firm - indeed downright threatening - note addressed directly to Tito, via his military mission in Moscow. A mission, moreover, whose resources are to be significantly reduced, without however abandoning the transfer of the 1st Yugoslav Brigade, which is still in progress! Next, the AVNOJ comrades will be asked what they think of the positions of their leader - Andrija Hebrang, for example, that good man, loyal to the USSR! Wouldn't he have an opinion on the matter? Unfortunately, it seems that Hebrang cannot be reached at the moment (at least, for those who are not authorised to speak to him...). But who can say what will happen tomorrow?
To cover all eventualities, Sergei Shtemenko has been ordered to look into repatriating the Korneev mission - just in case things go really wrong over there.
.........
Marshal Tito's residence - For the time being, this Soviet reaction does not seem to really rattle the "Old Man" - even if, as usual, the slightest movement of Soviet anger causes him real personal pain. The Soviet-Titist collaboration continues, that's all that matters.
Discontent
AVNOJ HQ (north of Višegrad) - While the cut flowers are being collected... and the dead of Vremya Tsvetov, the Titist general staff receives disturbing reports about the behaviour of the Soviet paratroopers who had rallied or been released during the liberation of Sarajevo.
First of all, there is talk of a certain propensity for looting - which is, after all, acceptable at a time of food shortages and when the military campaign is continuing. However, that is not the worst of it: it would seem that in several villages occupied by Red Army paratroopers, and even in the case of relations with female Partisan detachments, the Soviets also showed some... problematic behaviour towards their comrades, and sometimes several of them.
It should be remembered that the AVNOJ, all progressive and free of false reactionary morals that it claims to be, still strictly forbids the slightest sentimental relationship between its members. Even if, incidentally, it's not exactly feelings that Aleksandar "Leca" Ranković would talk about when he reads the reports sent to him by his fearsome OZNA. So, with the agreement of those in authority, the head of the political police decides to dig around, just in case...
A game that's not really fun any more - but with new rules
HQ of the 1st Yugoslav Corps (Pančevo, Vojvodina) - After several days of roundabout dealings, discovered thanks to various intermediaries who had to be approached, General Robert Stone is finally received by what is undoubtedly the most powerful military officer in the Kingdom: General Ilija Brasic. Some would say the warlord, if his army were not as regular as it is loyal to the Crown.
And that's the crux of the problem - which also explains why the Briton has made the trip in complete secrecy, under the protection of Floydforce commandos: he needs to sound out Brasic on his intentions in the event of open conflict - certainly potential but looking less and less avoidable - between the Westerners and Peter II. A risk that Brasic himself is perfectly aware of.
Just as he must be aware of the situation he finds himself in. For the general, proud and bravura as he is, never forgets that his army can only hold out thanks to supplies from the Allies - the same Allies who have already supplied him with all his equipment. Nor, going back three terrible years, does Brasic forget that it was the swift intervention of the French at Kumanovo that saved his 3rd Army from complete rout in Macedonia - thus saving his troops from being cut off from the Allies, surrounded, driven into the Adriatic with no hope of rescue... and then completely annihilated.
Thank God it didn't come to that in '41. And the defeat, catastrophic though it was objectively, still allowed part of its forces to be saved, the royal army to remain in the allied ranks and - as a result - some of the political weight of the Karađorđević monarchy to be preserved. Ilija Brašić knows all this well. He also remembers the support that French generals - Dentz, in particular - once gave him at the time of the return to the Balkans, when it was not even certain that the West would ever want to set foot in Yugoslavia again. Well, they started with the Peloponnese and he would have liked to have landed further north. But all in all, the result is more or less the same!
In short, although Brasic does not particularly like the British, he is grateful to them for having fought alongside him, for having enabled him to return victorious to Belgrade and - to a certain extent - for having gained a real stature as a leader and war hero, which he would probably not have achieved in other circumstances. So his answer to Stone will be the same as that given to Richard O'Connor on May 7th: the 1st Yugoslav Corps will obey orders. Those of the Crown, therefore those of the Allied Command - possibly through this Briton. And as long as it is clear that the two are not in conflict.
The endgame?
White Palace (Belgrade) - Momčilo Ninčić, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, requests an urgent audience with King Peter II Karađorđević, for a strictly private meeting. To this day, it is impossible to know exactly what the two men said to each other - but the meeting was reportedly a stormy one, if the rumours circulating in the household are to be believed.
In fact, as soon as Ninčić leaves the room, the hearings begin: first the Knežević brothers, backed up by Colonel Miodrag Rakić. All three are well-known opponents of Ninčić, who is just as panserbic as they are, but visibly more... reasonable. Then comes General Petar Živković, Minister of Defence, opposed to the two brothers, who leave, looking glum. Then it is Prime Minister Bozidar Purić's turn, close to Ninčić, and it is Rakić who leaves... before returning accompanied by two loyal followers of the Knežević brothers: his predecessor Miodrag Lozić and Major Petar Baćović, a personal friend of the King whose empty sleeve held in place by a clasp testifies to his spirit of sacrifice. Later, Deputy Prime Minister Miloš Trifunović reinforces the camp in favour of negotiation, while Interior Minister Vladeta Milicevic, a visceral anti-communist, is called to the rescue by the King's military cabinet.
Clearly, the royal Yugoslav government, which has previously been simply divided, is tearing itself apart! It is now divided into two camps: pragmatists and hardliners, who openly confront each other in a fierce battle that is destined to go on until very late at night.
Emergency measures (reinforced)
Montenegro and Albania - Between two parachute drops to the Slovenians, DESTROMO informs the command of the 2nd French Army that the "special flight" from Podgorica to Belgrade that it had been asked to provide is ready. A Bloch 220 is now on standby with its crew, on alert 24 hours a day, on the outskirts of the Montenegrin city. All under guard... but with the utmost discretion, of course.
* A Bosnian Serb and member of the 11th Krajina Brigade (2nd 'Bosnian' Corps), Milja Marin was probably the most famous subject of Georgij 'Žorž' Skrigin - director of the Ballet of the Theatre of National Liberation and (also) a great propaganda photographer. The photo was obviously posed: chosen from among five nurses and completely unarmed (although she had a fierce hatred of the Ustasha because of her time in the Sisak camp), the young Marin - barely 17 - was dressed from head to toe (literally) and asked to smile before passing in front of the Rolleiflex. The caption on the photograph tells a different story, of course: "This young woman was captured during the first enemy offensive. She managed to escape, even from Germany, and reached Igman, where she became a fighter with the Mount Igman forces."
The young Serb should not gain any more fame during the war or afterwards - it would have damaged her legend, and therefore the government. Having survived the conflict, she married a fellow fighter, Pero Marin, and settled in Prijedor (the large town in the area), where she lived peacefully and raised five children. She died in her own bed on November 11th, 2007, aged 81. The pseudo-Igmanka became a true pop culture icon in post-war Yugoslavia - to the point of appearing on the cover of some records, on a par with Marylin Monroe! But without her machine pistol this time.
** To the point of officially celebrating Milad Al-Nabi (the Prophet's birthday), with ceremonies, sermons and banquets!
*** Operation Lithia is one of the subjects of the board game Postanipartizan (Become a Partisan) - a tactical wargame based on operations in Slovenia from '42 to '45. With its sympathetic comic-book-style graphics, it also aims to go beyond the purely military field by bringing to life the everyday life of AVNOJ soldiers through more... down-to-earth missions! Cooking, theatre, school, singing... History doesn't always have to be sombre - even and especially in Yugoslavia.
**** According to Nedjeljko Mihanović (Croatian writer and politician), this rallying must have been a little "encouraged": aged 67 at the time, the poet was suffering from several health problems...
***** Moreover, after 1948, the mention of Stalin disappeared from the first verse, without anyone seeing fit to explain why...
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Love stuff like this, I'm such a visual guy.Composition of the 11e BACA of the French Army by FREGATON
It makes sense, sure, but perhaps during the events of TTL they perhaps lost the manufacturing capability (where was it made anyway?) and since it was notoriously harder to make than other combat helmets, perhaps they switched to a different, simpler design?
John Farson
Banned
If I recall, the uniforms of the Belgian Army in France in 1943-44 is similar to that of the US Army, leading to them being initially mistaken for Americans whenever they liberated a new area.
Correct. Add to that the fact that all their tanks are fully American (Sherman Vs and Fireflys instead of SAV-43/44 Taureau, with some Cromwells in there) and they're very similar to American troops.
The FTL French forces helmet would be visually more based on the Mod.39, but with the basic specifications of the old Adrian helmet:
World War Helmets - Casque Modèle 39
Fiche historique et technique du casque modèle 39 de marine, utilisé durant la seconde guerre mondiale par les équipages embarqués de la marine française. Le modèle 39 a été conçu afin d'être utilisé avec le masque à gaz A.F.M 34.
www.world-war-helmets.com
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29/05/44 - Balkans
May 29th, 1944
Balkan campaign
Hope in spite of everything
Sarajevo - After three days of freedom and care sparingly provided - but provided nonetheless! - by the Greek-Yugoslav forces, Sarajevo is emerging from its torpor. The population is leaving its shelters a little more often, and we are seeing the beginnings of economic activity - especially among the Greeks, who really appreciate the local bread and plum alcohol. You have to make a living, even if nothing is settled...
Informed of the efforts - limited but true - of the Allied authorities and Marshal Montgomery to obtain additional supplies, Allied correspondents and other visitors observe - and would continue to observe over the following days - the crowds going about their business under the blue-white and sometimes red flags. It is encouraging - and totally misleading, because when you are dying of hunger or disease, you are more likely to be in bed than out expressing your joy.
But Sarajevo will survive the conflict - that's the main thing. There is even talk of resuming work on the Nacionalna i univerzitetska biblioteka Bosne i Hercegovine, which has been at a standstill since the building that was supposed to house it was converted into the town hall. What a shame! And after all, Bosnians are used to recovering from bloody conflicts.
.........
"Sarajevo was the first notable victory, both politically and ethnically neutral, for the embryonic Titist regime. Admittedly, its operations in eastern Bosnia had been just as successful - but, however militarily valid they were, they had taken place without many witnesses, and had moreover provoked Morgenstern's SS backlash.
Naturally, artists were quick to seize upon the subject. Among the large (and often mediocre) wave of government film production in the 60s and 70s, let's remember Valter brani Sarajevo (Walter defends Sarajevo, by Hajrudin Krvavac, 1971) - which essentially recounts the adventures of a Partisan, Velimir 'Bata' Zivojinovic, who acts in the German rear to destroy enemy supplies, as part of a battle being waged elsewhere by an ill-defined army. Opposing him is the vile SS-Standartenführer von Dietrich, who has infiltrated his group with the intention of killing him. Carried out with the full support of the Yugoslav army (T-34s, M7s, heavy weapons and 105mm howitzers abound), this production, which takes its cue from the famous Soviet 'Liberation' trilogy, is without doubt the best that Yugoslav cinema had to offer at the time - with the added bonus of undisguised sordidness and minus the violins of Yuri Levitin. What's more, while the pseudonym Walter is a transparent homage to a well-known personality, and, curiously, Vremya Tsvetov is not mentioned anywhere in the script. An oversight, no doubt...
After the war, the Yugoslav government launched, among other priorities, the immediate reconstruction of Sarajevo - which was carried out at the same time as that of Belgrade, if not even faster! The aim, of course, was to emphasize once again, and rather heavily, the rediscovered fraternity between the peoples of the nation. It was against this backdrop of comprehensive urban renewal - or even outright rebuilding from scratch - that wide avenues were laid out or rehabilitated, such as the Bulevar jugoslavenske armije (now Zmaja od Bosne). Broadly following the route of the ancient Roman road, it crosses the city from one end to the other, following and then spanning the Miljacka, in an almost straight line 8 kilometres long. Eight traffic lanes, two tram lanes, at least 40 metres wide, enough for an armoured division to pass through...".
(Robert Stan Pratsky, The Liberation of Greece and the Balkans, Flammarion, 2005)
Operation Veritable - After Sarajevo and Operation Ratweek
Sarajevo region - It is still calm around the great Bosnian city - well, what is left of it - and in front of the new Waffen SS lines. The 1st Greek Corps and its Titist friends are still holding their own, between replenishment, a welcome rest and Soviet comrades being sent back to the rear. At least until further notice!
.........
Dalmatia - On the coast, the front lines are hardly moving either. Dimitrios Papadopoulos's left wing still feels it cannot maneuver until Charalambos Katsimitros's 13th Infantry Division arrives from Mostar - which would be two days at best. And as, on the right wing, the combined Titist forces of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Corps are not going to advance alone into difficult terrain, a sort of pat isonce again taking shape, similar to the one at the beginning of the month - but without the Neretva. There is one notable difference, however: the allied lines are inundated with... deserters.
Abandon
Tomislavgrad sector - The "mutiny in spades" in the 11. SS-Gebirgs-Division Handschar continues to spread, in circumstances similar to those of the previous day - and as impossible to control as ever. The 27. Waffen-Gebirgsjäger Rgt under SS-Sturmbannführer Desiderius Hampel is practically out of action - it can (probably!) defend the center of the V. SS-GAK in Tomislavgrad, but any offensive initiative is impossible. As for the 28. Waffen-Gebirgsjäger Rgt under SS-Sturmbannführer Hans Hanke, we simply cannot count its ranks! It is a truly defeated unit - in the truest sense of the word - which is now seeking authorisation from its superiors to retreat in haste towards the desolate plateaux of Mokronoge and Lug. Farther from the land, farther from temptation... Or how to avoid combat - or even just being put in a line - in order to save your unit!
Faced with this disaster, Karl-Gustav Sauberzweig - who has to report to his immediate superior Georg Keppler, who immediately passes on to his own, Walter Krüger, even if only in relation to Wewelsburg - has to take the initiative. To ward off this fate, the Prussian steps up his initiatives. Disciplinary initiatives, certainly, and always first and foremost - but not only. Firstly, because it seems dangerous, in these times, to have rebellious Bosnians punished by wait-and-see Bosnians... and also because taking revenge on those who remained makes no sense! Showing a cynical common sense that is rare in the Schutzstaffel, Sauberzweig sees himself instead taking advantage of the complete collapse of the NDH in this sector of Dalmatia to achieve his ends. The civil authority has disappeared, the economy has ground to a halt... No one will blame him for doing the best he can.
So, opportunely pulling out of his cupboards a little guide he had prepared in other times, Leitlinien für die Befreiung von Bosnien*, the SS launches several programmes for his mercenaries, in a field that can almost be described as social: inclusion of family needs in food allowances (with a great deal of requisitioning, but that's not far off...), opening of kindergartens (! ), doubling of bonuses, days off... The SS is shaving the ground from now on to avoid a humiliating defeat without even having fought. And it's announcing it loud and clear. As to whether this will be enough... it's too early to say.
At the top of the hierarchy of the II SS-AK, Krüger does not wait to act - worried about a total collapse of his forces, he orders the KLAK to take action on the Greek flank, not to succeed (nobody is naive enough to believe that!), but to dissuade the royalists from advancing. At worst, it might get a few Croats killed... but frankly, who cares? Faced with this direct and absurd order - from his point of view - Ivo Herenčić can only obey, despite the reservations of his German 'correspondent' Johann Mickl (for once agreeing with him). The attack will be launched tomorrow. The 373. ID Tigar divizija (Nikolaus Boicetta) and the 392. ID Plava divizija (Artur Gustovic) will have to leave their lines and march towards Imotski. Only the two of them - after the... recent disappearance of its leader, no one believes at this time that the 369. ID Vražja divizija is capable of anything.
18th Allied Army Group
Departure to the west
Theatre of the Balkans - The last crawler of the 10th EC (P) Poniatowski leaves Yugoslavia. This marks the end of a long redeployment that saw the B-25s of the 31st EB (P) also leave the Balkans, as well as the Polish half of the 22nd E-ACCS Tatras - the Czech NA-92/93s, on the other hand, remain in the sector until further notice. It is true that they are quite close to home. But the four groups remain in contact with each other - in fact, the Armee de l'Air still considers them to be part of the same squadron, divided into Tatra-Nord (the Poles) and Tatra-Sud (the Czechs) units... although on reflection, Tatra-Ouest and Tatra-Est would be more appropriate today.
The destination for these two and a half squadrons of the army of exiles: France. Who knows? With the two army corps already there, it might one day be possible to form a genuine 1st Polish Army (no one gives this title to Berling's creature) destined to return to Krakow victorious. Hope lives on! And it will live on for a long time to come**..
.........
"They were very calm, very well-manered, and excellent pilots, really eager to learn our ways and methods. They were some of the bravest people I have ever known." (F/O David Moore Crook, DFC, talking about the Polish pilots).
AVNOJ
The fight is back on!
Croatian Bosnia: north of Čađavica - Vojislav Djokic's 7th Banija Division finds that it is virtually no longer being called upon by its adversary. With everything that is happening in Banja Luka, barely 35 kilometres behind, the Axis no doubt feels it has better things to do than recapture a lost crossroads in Bosnia... As a result, the AVNOJ forces - who now really only have the SS-Freiwilligen Gebirgs-Brigade Kama (Standartenführer Helmuth Raithel) in front of them - to breathe a sigh of relief by reforming their ranks. There have been losses over the last few days... but we have at least as many new recruits to integrate. And that's not all!
.........
Croatian Bosnia: Banja-Luka - Once again, it's been a long, bloody and merciless night throughout the region. The 13. SS-Freiwilligen Gebirgsjäger Rgt Artur-Phleps - outnumbered but still motivated and outgunned - acts like a cinder block thrown under the wheels of a car speeding towards victory - in this case Andrija Hebrang's Partisans.
Hebrang spends the morning discussing the situation with his divisional commanders by radio, before finally concluding that the situation is such that there is no way forward. The 34th 'Croatian' Division (Martin Dasović, Francis Knebl) is the first to move up the line and, after having pushed back the Artur-Phleps as far as the Vrbas - which at least enables it to gain a favourable defensive position - finds itself in great difficulty in the face of a movement turning to the south. The 43rd "Istrian" Division (Milan Šakić-Mićun, Marijan Badel), which has fortunately arrived in the meantime, has to commit the bulk of its forces to counter it.
But on the right, the Reinhard-Heydrich is also advancing southwards towards Obilićevo, with the support (forced and coerced!) of the Croats of Ivan Markuli's III Corps and a few irregular units, which have become much more competent in recent days. The 35th Lika Division (Stanko Perhavec, Šime Balen) is incapable of countering this risk of envelopment - or, failing that, of being crushed under the shells - on its own. Clearly, the AVNOJ has again thought too big - despite what 'Fatty' says, his troops are incapable of defeating the SS on their own.
Before nightfall, the Partisans begin to methodically retreat through the ruins towards Ramići, at the edge of the Ivaštanka valley, before it is too late... But without forgetting to collect anything that might be useful when they leave.
.........
Slovenia - The Slovenian Partisans continue their disorganisation efforts in the Sava valley sector, in the face of the collaborating forces, who are in doubt and outnumbered, and unable to control them. Obviously, in the face of this latest miserable slap in the face for its henchmen, the Waffen-SS - including Hans Brandt's formidable Karstjäger - deploys KampfGruppen. But they too cannot claim to do everything. So it is to be another game of cat and mouse... just as the Axis had thought they had settled everything in Karlovac at the beginning of the month!
Interview with an Ustashi
Banja Luka
"I deduce that you took part in the second battle of Banja Luka. Under what conditions?
- I'm not going to lie to you, it was neither planned nor particularly desired. Street fighting has never been a speciality of the Vukas, and that's understandable. We simply walked north to Obilićevo, where we found ourselves on the flank of one of the Prinz-Eugen regiments. Which received us rather badly, I have to say, despite our insignia worn prominently and my officer's jacket. Which goes to show that, at the time, none of this was of such great value any more, with all due respect to Your Justice...
- I can imagine that in these... confusing circumstances, you weren't received with flowers.
- Yes. In fact, what helped me was that I found that... Arh, do you remember? That big arrogant aggressive Stromheim. Him again! But for once, he was in a good mood - obviously happy to be going into battle. He was as big and burly as ever, with that white smile under his blond hairbrush. He recognised me straight away and immediately ordered me to pull my group in behind a Turtle that was sweeping forward with machine guns. Classic, back-breaking work. Advancing, clearing, marking... But the terrorists didn't have any anti-tank guns. So I was able to get through without any real damage. What's more, our opponents had already started to withdraw - we'd arrived late!... Which was fortunate, after the Kama episode.
- Not a very memorable experience, then,
- Urban combat, my dear sir, is always far too memorable. That said, I think you'll be more interested in what happened next."
(Dans la tête du monstre - Conversation avec un officier oustachi, Robert Stan Pratsky, Flammarion 1982)
Yugoslavia torn apart
The endgame?
White Palace (Belgrade) - In a move that was as unexpected as it was spectacular - despite a certain discretion in its announcement - the King of Yugoslavia has once again (and for the last time?) overturned the organisation chart of his closest advisers with a series of radical decisions. Firstly, Colonel Miodrag Rakić has been relieved of his post as Chief of Staff of the Royal Yugoslav Armed Forces and is leaving the King's military cabinet - his replacement has not yet been appointed. There are whispers that he will be an old hand, working in tandem with a foreign officer.
Živan Knežević, although only a major, has been promoted to the post of head of the Yugoslav procurement delegation in Washington - it is well known that the Kingdom has considerable financial resources, which will give him plenty of time to play with equipment... and perhaps, some will quibble, to make his hosts aware of the danger represented by a figure who is already influential in the country. As for his brother Nikola, he is leaving his strategic position in the Cipher Department of the King's Office to go to the front in Vojvodina - a long way from the telegrams and dispatches that he has been constantly intercepting, distributing and sometimes distorting over the last few months. As for Radoje Knezevic, the politician who is reputed to be the most influential of the three brothers, he is leaving for Lisbon to take up the highly strategic post of chargé d'affaires with Salazar's government.
Of the group of hardliners, the only one left in the Palace was Petar Baćović, the King's personal friend, who has been crippled since the liberation of Belgrade. Wreathed in the glory of 1943, he remains close to the sovereign, in memory of days gone by. And perhaps also for the future...
The message is no less clear. Peter II has made a choice: between the dreams of grandeur of his most fervent supporters and the preservation of his throne, he has decided to safeguard his essential interests. The victims of this decision - who had largely contributed to his seizure of power in 1941 - are understandably bitter***... And there's more to come: the sovereign is due to speak on Radio-Belgrade tomorrow.
A game that's not really funny any more - but with new rules
Belgrade - A military attaché on a motorbike arrives at the headquarters of the Mirković-Simović-Ilić-Popović mutineers, bearing a letter stamped with the famous two-headed eagle. He hands it to a particularly phlegmatic Lieutenant-Colonel R.W.B. Simonds, who is perhaps also tired of breaking noses on the Danube.
Generals Mirković, Simović and Ilić are therefore invited to visit the War Ministry tomorrow morning as part of a delegation - General Graham Stone will also be welcome. And although Colonel Žarko Popović is not mentioned, the Royal Yugoslav Military Intelligence officer takes no offence. He considers that he and his troops have won, so to speak.
Emergency measures (reinforced)
French Embassy in Belgrade - His Excellency Roger Maugras receives a phone call - not from the Minister of Foreign Affairs himself (rumour has it that Momčilo Ninčić is suffering from a particularly acidic bout of gastritis...), but from a chargé d'affaires at the Ministry. The latter, after the usual thanks for "the kind and friendly mediation of our French friends", invites him to ask the AVNOJ - in other words, all the member parties of the Popular Front - on behalf of the Palace, for the Titists to send a plenipotentiary to Belgrade as a matter of urgency. On the other side, Maugras can only agree - obviously and at last!
* Guidelines for the liberation of Bosnia.
** Such as Stefan Knapp, a fighter pilot who escaped from the Gulag, settled in the UK and became a renowned painter at the Royal Academy of Arts. His frescoes of the Battle of Britain now adorn Heathrow Airport and one of Warsaw's underground stations. Several of his paintings are on display at the United Nations headquarters in Geneva. To date, he is the only Pole to have been awarded the Churchill Prize. See his autobiography, The Square Sun.
*** Thus, Colonel Rakić would much later recount with acidity, abroad and above all to those entitled, how, "after having stayed with [our] young inexperienced sovereign until 1944, I was removed from the court in an unexpected, sudden and brutal manner. I had been [with the King] since the beginning of the war and he made me leave the country. I rightly expected a more beautiful farewell. It was a move by the British puppets". His diary has since been published in the anthology of March 27th, 1941, edited by the Institute of Contemporary Yugoslav History and the Royal Palace Fund, then exclusively by Novosti.
Balkan campaign
Hope in spite of everything
Sarajevo - After three days of freedom and care sparingly provided - but provided nonetheless! - by the Greek-Yugoslav forces, Sarajevo is emerging from its torpor. The population is leaving its shelters a little more often, and we are seeing the beginnings of economic activity - especially among the Greeks, who really appreciate the local bread and plum alcohol. You have to make a living, even if nothing is settled...
Informed of the efforts - limited but true - of the Allied authorities and Marshal Montgomery to obtain additional supplies, Allied correspondents and other visitors observe - and would continue to observe over the following days - the crowds going about their business under the blue-white and sometimes red flags. It is encouraging - and totally misleading, because when you are dying of hunger or disease, you are more likely to be in bed than out expressing your joy.
But Sarajevo will survive the conflict - that's the main thing. There is even talk of resuming work on the Nacionalna i univerzitetska biblioteka Bosne i Hercegovine, which has been at a standstill since the building that was supposed to house it was converted into the town hall. What a shame! And after all, Bosnians are used to recovering from bloody conflicts.
.........
"Sarajevo was the first notable victory, both politically and ethnically neutral, for the embryonic Titist regime. Admittedly, its operations in eastern Bosnia had been just as successful - but, however militarily valid they were, they had taken place without many witnesses, and had moreover provoked Morgenstern's SS backlash.
Naturally, artists were quick to seize upon the subject. Among the large (and often mediocre) wave of government film production in the 60s and 70s, let's remember Valter brani Sarajevo (Walter defends Sarajevo, by Hajrudin Krvavac, 1971) - which essentially recounts the adventures of a Partisan, Velimir 'Bata' Zivojinovic, who acts in the German rear to destroy enemy supplies, as part of a battle being waged elsewhere by an ill-defined army. Opposing him is the vile SS-Standartenführer von Dietrich, who has infiltrated his group with the intention of killing him. Carried out with the full support of the Yugoslav army (T-34s, M7s, heavy weapons and 105mm howitzers abound), this production, which takes its cue from the famous Soviet 'Liberation' trilogy, is without doubt the best that Yugoslav cinema had to offer at the time - with the added bonus of undisguised sordidness and minus the violins of Yuri Levitin. What's more, while the pseudonym Walter is a transparent homage to a well-known personality, and, curiously, Vremya Tsvetov is not mentioned anywhere in the script. An oversight, no doubt...
After the war, the Yugoslav government launched, among other priorities, the immediate reconstruction of Sarajevo - which was carried out at the same time as that of Belgrade, if not even faster! The aim, of course, was to emphasize once again, and rather heavily, the rediscovered fraternity between the peoples of the nation. It was against this backdrop of comprehensive urban renewal - or even outright rebuilding from scratch - that wide avenues were laid out or rehabilitated, such as the Bulevar jugoslavenske armije (now Zmaja od Bosne). Broadly following the route of the ancient Roman road, it crosses the city from one end to the other, following and then spanning the Miljacka, in an almost straight line 8 kilometres long. Eight traffic lanes, two tram lanes, at least 40 metres wide, enough for an armoured division to pass through...".
(Robert Stan Pratsky, The Liberation of Greece and the Balkans, Flammarion, 2005)
Operation Veritable - After Sarajevo and Operation Ratweek
Sarajevo region - It is still calm around the great Bosnian city - well, what is left of it - and in front of the new Waffen SS lines. The 1st Greek Corps and its Titist friends are still holding their own, between replenishment, a welcome rest and Soviet comrades being sent back to the rear. At least until further notice!
.........
Dalmatia - On the coast, the front lines are hardly moving either. Dimitrios Papadopoulos's left wing still feels it cannot maneuver until Charalambos Katsimitros's 13th Infantry Division arrives from Mostar - which would be two days at best. And as, on the right wing, the combined Titist forces of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Corps are not going to advance alone into difficult terrain, a sort of pat isonce again taking shape, similar to the one at the beginning of the month - but without the Neretva. There is one notable difference, however: the allied lines are inundated with... deserters.
Abandon
Tomislavgrad sector - The "mutiny in spades" in the 11. SS-Gebirgs-Division Handschar continues to spread, in circumstances similar to those of the previous day - and as impossible to control as ever. The 27. Waffen-Gebirgsjäger Rgt under SS-Sturmbannführer Desiderius Hampel is practically out of action - it can (probably!) defend the center of the V. SS-GAK in Tomislavgrad, but any offensive initiative is impossible. As for the 28. Waffen-Gebirgsjäger Rgt under SS-Sturmbannführer Hans Hanke, we simply cannot count its ranks! It is a truly defeated unit - in the truest sense of the word - which is now seeking authorisation from its superiors to retreat in haste towards the desolate plateaux of Mokronoge and Lug. Farther from the land, farther from temptation... Or how to avoid combat - or even just being put in a line - in order to save your unit!
Faced with this disaster, Karl-Gustav Sauberzweig - who has to report to his immediate superior Georg Keppler, who immediately passes on to his own, Walter Krüger, even if only in relation to Wewelsburg - has to take the initiative. To ward off this fate, the Prussian steps up his initiatives. Disciplinary initiatives, certainly, and always first and foremost - but not only. Firstly, because it seems dangerous, in these times, to have rebellious Bosnians punished by wait-and-see Bosnians... and also because taking revenge on those who remained makes no sense! Showing a cynical common sense that is rare in the Schutzstaffel, Sauberzweig sees himself instead taking advantage of the complete collapse of the NDH in this sector of Dalmatia to achieve his ends. The civil authority has disappeared, the economy has ground to a halt... No one will blame him for doing the best he can.
So, opportunely pulling out of his cupboards a little guide he had prepared in other times, Leitlinien für die Befreiung von Bosnien*, the SS launches several programmes for his mercenaries, in a field that can almost be described as social: inclusion of family needs in food allowances (with a great deal of requisitioning, but that's not far off...), opening of kindergartens (! ), doubling of bonuses, days off... The SS is shaving the ground from now on to avoid a humiliating defeat without even having fought. And it's announcing it loud and clear. As to whether this will be enough... it's too early to say.
At the top of the hierarchy of the II SS-AK, Krüger does not wait to act - worried about a total collapse of his forces, he orders the KLAK to take action on the Greek flank, not to succeed (nobody is naive enough to believe that!), but to dissuade the royalists from advancing. At worst, it might get a few Croats killed... but frankly, who cares? Faced with this direct and absurd order - from his point of view - Ivo Herenčić can only obey, despite the reservations of his German 'correspondent' Johann Mickl (for once agreeing with him). The attack will be launched tomorrow. The 373. ID Tigar divizija (Nikolaus Boicetta) and the 392. ID Plava divizija (Artur Gustovic) will have to leave their lines and march towards Imotski. Only the two of them - after the... recent disappearance of its leader, no one believes at this time that the 369. ID Vražja divizija is capable of anything.
18th Allied Army Group
Departure to the west
Theatre of the Balkans - The last crawler of the 10th EC (P) Poniatowski leaves Yugoslavia. This marks the end of a long redeployment that saw the B-25s of the 31st EB (P) also leave the Balkans, as well as the Polish half of the 22nd E-ACCS Tatras - the Czech NA-92/93s, on the other hand, remain in the sector until further notice. It is true that they are quite close to home. But the four groups remain in contact with each other - in fact, the Armee de l'Air still considers them to be part of the same squadron, divided into Tatra-Nord (the Poles) and Tatra-Sud (the Czechs) units... although on reflection, Tatra-Ouest and Tatra-Est would be more appropriate today.
The destination for these two and a half squadrons of the army of exiles: France. Who knows? With the two army corps already there, it might one day be possible to form a genuine 1st Polish Army (no one gives this title to Berling's creature) destined to return to Krakow victorious. Hope lives on! And it will live on for a long time to come**..
.........
"They were very calm, very well-manered, and excellent pilots, really eager to learn our ways and methods. They were some of the bravest people I have ever known." (F/O David Moore Crook, DFC, talking about the Polish pilots).
AVNOJ
The fight is back on!
Croatian Bosnia: north of Čađavica - Vojislav Djokic's 7th Banija Division finds that it is virtually no longer being called upon by its adversary. With everything that is happening in Banja Luka, barely 35 kilometres behind, the Axis no doubt feels it has better things to do than recapture a lost crossroads in Bosnia... As a result, the AVNOJ forces - who now really only have the SS-Freiwilligen Gebirgs-Brigade Kama (Standartenführer Helmuth Raithel) in front of them - to breathe a sigh of relief by reforming their ranks. There have been losses over the last few days... but we have at least as many new recruits to integrate. And that's not all!
.........
Croatian Bosnia: Banja-Luka - Once again, it's been a long, bloody and merciless night throughout the region. The 13. SS-Freiwilligen Gebirgsjäger Rgt Artur-Phleps - outnumbered but still motivated and outgunned - acts like a cinder block thrown under the wheels of a car speeding towards victory - in this case Andrija Hebrang's Partisans.
Hebrang spends the morning discussing the situation with his divisional commanders by radio, before finally concluding that the situation is such that there is no way forward. The 34th 'Croatian' Division (Martin Dasović, Francis Knebl) is the first to move up the line and, after having pushed back the Artur-Phleps as far as the Vrbas - which at least enables it to gain a favourable defensive position - finds itself in great difficulty in the face of a movement turning to the south. The 43rd "Istrian" Division (Milan Šakić-Mićun, Marijan Badel), which has fortunately arrived in the meantime, has to commit the bulk of its forces to counter it.
But on the right, the Reinhard-Heydrich is also advancing southwards towards Obilićevo, with the support (forced and coerced!) of the Croats of Ivan Markuli's III Corps and a few irregular units, which have become much more competent in recent days. The 35th Lika Division (Stanko Perhavec, Šime Balen) is incapable of countering this risk of envelopment - or, failing that, of being crushed under the shells - on its own. Clearly, the AVNOJ has again thought too big - despite what 'Fatty' says, his troops are incapable of defeating the SS on their own.
Before nightfall, the Partisans begin to methodically retreat through the ruins towards Ramići, at the edge of the Ivaštanka valley, before it is too late... But without forgetting to collect anything that might be useful when they leave.
.........
Slovenia - The Slovenian Partisans continue their disorganisation efforts in the Sava valley sector, in the face of the collaborating forces, who are in doubt and outnumbered, and unable to control them. Obviously, in the face of this latest miserable slap in the face for its henchmen, the Waffen-SS - including Hans Brandt's formidable Karstjäger - deploys KampfGruppen. But they too cannot claim to do everything. So it is to be another game of cat and mouse... just as the Axis had thought they had settled everything in Karlovac at the beginning of the month!
Interview with an Ustashi
Banja Luka
"I deduce that you took part in the second battle of Banja Luka. Under what conditions?
- I'm not going to lie to you, it was neither planned nor particularly desired. Street fighting has never been a speciality of the Vukas, and that's understandable. We simply walked north to Obilićevo, where we found ourselves on the flank of one of the Prinz-Eugen regiments. Which received us rather badly, I have to say, despite our insignia worn prominently and my officer's jacket. Which goes to show that, at the time, none of this was of such great value any more, with all due respect to Your Justice...
- I can imagine that in these... confusing circumstances, you weren't received with flowers.
- Yes. In fact, what helped me was that I found that... Arh, do you remember? That big arrogant aggressive Stromheim. Him again! But for once, he was in a good mood - obviously happy to be going into battle. He was as big and burly as ever, with that white smile under his blond hairbrush. He recognised me straight away and immediately ordered me to pull my group in behind a Turtle that was sweeping forward with machine guns. Classic, back-breaking work. Advancing, clearing, marking... But the terrorists didn't have any anti-tank guns. So I was able to get through without any real damage. What's more, our opponents had already started to withdraw - we'd arrived late!... Which was fortunate, after the Kama episode.
- Not a very memorable experience, then,
- Urban combat, my dear sir, is always far too memorable. That said, I think you'll be more interested in what happened next."
(Dans la tête du monstre - Conversation avec un officier oustachi, Robert Stan Pratsky, Flammarion 1982)
Yugoslavia torn apart
The endgame?
White Palace (Belgrade) - In a move that was as unexpected as it was spectacular - despite a certain discretion in its announcement - the King of Yugoslavia has once again (and for the last time?) overturned the organisation chart of his closest advisers with a series of radical decisions. Firstly, Colonel Miodrag Rakić has been relieved of his post as Chief of Staff of the Royal Yugoslav Armed Forces and is leaving the King's military cabinet - his replacement has not yet been appointed. There are whispers that he will be an old hand, working in tandem with a foreign officer.
Živan Knežević, although only a major, has been promoted to the post of head of the Yugoslav procurement delegation in Washington - it is well known that the Kingdom has considerable financial resources, which will give him plenty of time to play with equipment... and perhaps, some will quibble, to make his hosts aware of the danger represented by a figure who is already influential in the country. As for his brother Nikola, he is leaving his strategic position in the Cipher Department of the King's Office to go to the front in Vojvodina - a long way from the telegrams and dispatches that he has been constantly intercepting, distributing and sometimes distorting over the last few months. As for Radoje Knezevic, the politician who is reputed to be the most influential of the three brothers, he is leaving for Lisbon to take up the highly strategic post of chargé d'affaires with Salazar's government.
Of the group of hardliners, the only one left in the Palace was Petar Baćović, the King's personal friend, who has been crippled since the liberation of Belgrade. Wreathed in the glory of 1943, he remains close to the sovereign, in memory of days gone by. And perhaps also for the future...
The message is no less clear. Peter II has made a choice: between the dreams of grandeur of his most fervent supporters and the preservation of his throne, he has decided to safeguard his essential interests. The victims of this decision - who had largely contributed to his seizure of power in 1941 - are understandably bitter***... And there's more to come: the sovereign is due to speak on Radio-Belgrade tomorrow.
A game that's not really funny any more - but with new rules
Belgrade - A military attaché on a motorbike arrives at the headquarters of the Mirković-Simović-Ilić-Popović mutineers, bearing a letter stamped with the famous two-headed eagle. He hands it to a particularly phlegmatic Lieutenant-Colonel R.W.B. Simonds, who is perhaps also tired of breaking noses on the Danube.
Generals Mirković, Simović and Ilić are therefore invited to visit the War Ministry tomorrow morning as part of a delegation - General Graham Stone will also be welcome. And although Colonel Žarko Popović is not mentioned, the Royal Yugoslav Military Intelligence officer takes no offence. He considers that he and his troops have won, so to speak.
Emergency measures (reinforced)
French Embassy in Belgrade - His Excellency Roger Maugras receives a phone call - not from the Minister of Foreign Affairs himself (rumour has it that Momčilo Ninčić is suffering from a particularly acidic bout of gastritis...), but from a chargé d'affaires at the Ministry. The latter, after the usual thanks for "the kind and friendly mediation of our French friends", invites him to ask the AVNOJ - in other words, all the member parties of the Popular Front - on behalf of the Palace, for the Titists to send a plenipotentiary to Belgrade as a matter of urgency. On the other side, Maugras can only agree - obviously and at last!
* Guidelines for the liberation of Bosnia.
** Such as Stefan Knapp, a fighter pilot who escaped from the Gulag, settled in the UK and became a renowned painter at the Royal Academy of Arts. His frescoes of the Battle of Britain now adorn Heathrow Airport and one of Warsaw's underground stations. Several of his paintings are on display at the United Nations headquarters in Geneva. To date, he is the only Pole to have been awarded the Churchill Prize. See his autobiography, The Square Sun.
*** Thus, Colonel Rakić would much later recount with acidity, abroad and above all to those entitled, how, "after having stayed with [our] young inexperienced sovereign until 1944, I was removed from the court in an unexpected, sudden and brutal manner. I had been [with the King] since the beginning of the war and he made me leave the country. I rightly expected a more beautiful farewell. It was a move by the British puppets". His diary has since been published in the anthology of March 27th, 1941, edited by the Institute of Contemporary Yugoslav History and the Royal Palace Fund, then exclusively by Novosti.
30/05/44 - Balkans, "Official" end of Operation Plunder
May 30th, 1944
Balkan Campaign
Operation Veritable - After Sarajevo and Operation Ratweek
Dalmatia - From the Tijarica - Šestanovac sector, the 373. ID Tigar divizija (Nikolaus Boicetta) and the 392. ID Plava divizija (Artur Gustovic) of the Kroatian Legion Armee Korps attack Imotski with part of their troops. This futile effort is obviously doomed to failure - and Johann Mickl is well aware of this. He had already had to take command of what was left of the 369. ID Vražja divizija after the desertion of its leader and has therefore... strongly advised Ivo Herenčić to send only the most recent, the most motivated, but also the least trained and the least well-equipped - in short, the most expendable - elements to the assault.
The result, as expected, will be zero. The only real effect will be to add Croatian deaths to an already long list. It is not even certain that this diversion, ordered from afar by the SS general staff, has any effect on the allied positions.
.........
"I spoke to the locals yesterday. I might have some information about Nikos's wife, but it's not...
A dull burst of artillery fire interrupts our lieutenant, who runs off to the radio and returns a moment later: "I'll tell you about it later. I've got to get back to HQ, the Croats are attacking!
Obviously, my second-in-command isn't happy about this, and he lets us know: "Fuck's sake! I'm going to kill all the bastards!
And it's true. After the beating they'd taken over the last few days, we weren't expecting the legionnaires to take the initiative again.
- We're off!
- The Croatians have got some balls showing up here!
- I don't think it's anything to do with courage. They just don't know that we've sent them into the fray, that's all.
For once, I agreed with Bias. Just goes to show, he knew how to be clever when he wanted to. Nevertheless, I added: "Or it's out of desperation."
- What's that supposed to mean?
- Maybe we've hurt them more than we thought. Or maybe there's something going on with them, I don't know.
- Markus, take positions in the row by each window. My group will take the back.
The small road from the east leading to Glavina Donja is perfectly clear, visible for miles around. The perfect place for an ambush: "Take cover, but wait until they're right underneath us before opening fire. We need to take out as many as we can the first time.
The first house in front of us was hit by a mortar shell and collapsed. Obviously, we didn't have anyone inside. Reassured by this brilliant result, our opponents moved forward eagerly, with a nice running pace. I've set myself a wagon carcass as a landmark. And when they reach it: "Fire! Shoot them!"
It's quick. Nikos is letting off steam and you can tell: "Yeah! Take that in the face*!"
The initiative came back to us as quickly as the Croats had arrived - as if they'd come to deliver it to us. We're now advancing in skirmishes, Nikos on my left, Bias's group on my right.
- They're trying to fall back! Don't let them go! Don't let them go!
To my left I could see a Bucephalus flying over the road, letting off a few bursts of 20 mm as it went. It was obviously using opportunity fire... like us, but very close to us too! So much so that I throw myself to the ground when the roar overtakes us, sending a few shards of glass flying in my direction.
- Nikos, tell them to cease fire and get out of the way! We've got our own guys here!
But immediately on the radio, the pilot: "Control, from Red 5, semi-tracked approaching Drum on the road, coming from the east!"
- Centaur, from Control, requesting reinforcements to Drum. The southern sector is under attack!
- Copy control! From Centaur 1 to Centaur 1 to 8, we intervene.
With our cumbersome ally gone, I enter a house unannounced, opening the door with a flick of my shoulder to find myself facing three opponents who clearly weren't expecting me. I dispatched the first with a reflex shot before immediately reversing out of the house, leaving them my only grenade as a souvenir. No survivors!
Reloading, regrouping. Nikos is back behind me and the hunt continues. Another stowaway gets a burst. He leaves us an MP-40 as a legacy... "Give me that!"
The last houses disappear and we arrive in a landscape of vines and groves. Running, rolling (a little), anything to get ahead of this opponent who is evading us and taking advantage of the slightest cover to try and delay our counter-attack a little. Nikos lands a nice shot.
- Did you see that Markus? He's finished with his face in the savannah!
It's possible. Further down the road, a strong group reformed and began to put up serious resistance. It was immediately flanked by machine guns from a Centaur, which passed in front of us to spray the enemy unopposed. We had no trouble advancing along the side of the road with such support.
That's it, they're on the run. The last of them fled in scattered groups back the way they came. One idiot lets off a few random bursts, thinking he's going to scare us...
- Hey guys, where are you going? There's no point in shooting! I'm gonna shoot you in the arse!
- You're pretty tense, Nikos, tell me,
- It's normal. I miss my family. I'll kill every last one of those bastards!
- Right, let's go back to the lieutenant and talk about your case."
(Markus Amynthe - Machines de guerre - Souvenirs de la campagne de Bosnie, Kedros éditeur via LGF, 1993)
Air warfare
Yugoslav Front - As a result of the events taking place on the coast and Sylvestre Audet's plans - the obvious potential of which is beginning to be seen in Athens, especially in view of the increasingly visible collapse of the Croats - the 1st Air Army joins the party in which the 1st Tactical Air Force was already taking part. A vast air interdiction operation is carried out as far as Slovenia. Over the coming days, the few Croatian convoys still travelling between Zagreb and the front would suffer. And everyone knows that neither the ZNDH nor the local flak force will be able to do much about it.
AVNOJ
The fight is on!
Croatian Bosnia: north of Čađavica - Informed by its command of the turnaround underway in Banja Luka and the arrival in the sector of an adversary that is both formidable and inspiring (for its allies...), the 7th Banija Division prudently chooses to start withdrawing towards Čađavica, even preparing in advance routes of retreat towards the Kopjenica hills. Vojislav Djokic doesn't really think his opponent will come looking for him that low, it's true... but better safe than sorry.
What's more, with the end of operations underway further north and the absence of any possibility of progress, what is now just a raid for the AVNOJ must remain a success: equipment, territory, food, prisoners... or rather, recruits!
.........
Croatian Bosnia: Banja-Luka - The Titist divisions begin to find themselves in difficulty, despite increased support from the NA-93s of the 22nd E-ACCS Tatras-Nord - which no doubt save units on the verge of being surrounded from tactical disaster once or twice.
With the Vrbas barrier down, the SS tanks advance everywhere, perhaps evoking what some imagine to be the Blitzkrieg once vaunted as the pinnacle of German military art. It would be almost comical, given the colourful origins of the machines in action. Nevertheless, the 43rd 'Istrian' Division (Milan Šakić-Mićun, Marijan Badel), already tired and having had to position itself on the southern flank to counter the 14. SS-Freiwilligen Gebirgsjäger Rgt Reinhard-Heydrich (Standartenführer August Schmidhuber), is now unable to rally its comrades, the 34th "Croatian" Division and the 35th Lika Division.
They were fighting further north towards Ramići, against the 13. SS-Freiwilligen Gebirgsjäger Rgt Artur-Phleps (Standartenführer Ernst Deutsch), who drives them back violently towards the Ivaštanka valley as far as Potkozarje, possibly before Prijedor. As a result of all this, Milan Šakić-Mićun's unit, increasingly isolated and on the verge of breaking up, withdraws across the hills via the Stratinska Rijeka valley, cutting straight back to Sanski Most before it is too late. A risky manoeuvre, which could well lead to the break-up of the unit. But the Titists travel light and Milan Šakić-Mićun is a valuable commander, particularly experienced**. It'll be fine... besides, on the other side, the SS seem more concerned about the loyalty of their allies than the hunt for communists these days.
Interview with an Ustashi
Banja Luka
An interim assessment
"Once Banja Luka had been taken over, it was time for reckoning and settling scores. The SS were... crabby, as you can imagine. According to their custom, they intended to avenge their losses by blaming the incompetence - admitted, but all the same - of others. In this case, we Croats. It could have gone badly for us... as it did for some others. But once again, my name and the mediation of that great idiot Stromheim came in handy.
I was having a hard time making arrangements with Fritz Neidholdt's deputy*** and I was getting ready to grease a few paws to get out of a tight spot, when this blond Golgoth came up behind me, put his big hand on my shoulder and said: "So, rodent, did you have a good fight?" As you can imagine, that sent a chill down my spine. He didn't seem to mind... or even realise.
- He's... on our side... for you, Herr Sturmbannführer?" my interlocutor asked him.
- Yes, he is! Not to the point of being a real proud German soldier. But he didn't flinch. The greatness of human beings is when they face their fear with pride. This guy isn't afraid. And neither were his boys!
Then he left with his group, clearly very pleased with himself. They were singing something, I remember... It went: "Der Mensch ist böse... Der Mensch ist böse... Der Mensch ist böse, Der Mensch muss besser und böser werden..." By the way, isn't it? Man is evil... Well, that got me through it. But that wasn't to be taken for granted.
You know, after the... little attempt on May 7th, the traitors Vokić and Lorković were in the process of acquiring an aura of holy martyrs in the ranks of the Croatian army. Most of them had not waited for Tito's call to desert to the Partisans. Did you know that in just two weeks, between May 7th and 21st, no fewer than... um... 245 men from the National Guard in Dalmatia had already defected? With their full equipment and without even waiting for the Reds to invite them to do so? And of course, the betrayal of the Handschar and the disintegration of the Kama had not helped matters. In short, the Germans no longer trusted us to do anything.
- To a certain extent, that's understandable. But thanks to your past exploits and a helping hand from the right person at the right time, you and your Vukas remained... on the wrong side of the fence?
- That's about it."
(Dans la tête du monstre - Conversation avec un officier oustachi, Robert Stan Pratsky, Flammarion 1982)
18th Allied Army Group
Beautiful projects
Between Athens and Hungary - The announced resolution of the 'Yugoslav problem' - via the French, of course, but what does it matter? - opens up great prospects for Bernard Law Montgomery. Today, when it seems certain that his troubles here are finally over, that the Huns are collapsing all over Europe... and that even the Soviets have finally broken through in the Carpathians, the British Marshal's entourage is buzzing with anticipation.
Who knows whether, in a few months' time, with the reinforcement of Alexander's troops (good Brits, who will replace these rebellious continentalists to their advantage), it will not be possible this summer to force fate a little further? And not just take Vienna, but storm into Bavaria to hold out a hand to Frère's French?
Decidedly, the offensive towards Lake Balaton has to be resumed as soon as possible. Once again the Marshal, as professional as he is (in addition to being particularly intrusive and meticulous****), is thinking big. It's a fault that can come to him, especially when he's afraid of seeing glory slip from his grasp and fly into the arms of others. Besides, he has something to prove, first to London and then to those arrogant Americans.
Admittedly, a mustachioed French general has already burnt his wings at this game, some would say... But that was two years ago. A lot has changed since then. Who today can claim that Germany has the slightest chance of winning the war? So let's get to work, with enthusiasm but in order: planning Blockbuster (the sequel to Plunder), preparing in parallel for the little Valuable (which we don't really know if and when we'll unleash, but we have to please the Franco-Greeks - and then it will still occupy the German right flank and muddy the waters), making an arrangement with the Soviets, who have just proposed a dividing line in Hungary to the West via the Americans (in response, a staff conference has been requested for the end of this month...). The Marshal is clearly very busy. And as usual, convinced as he is that he is right, he takes no notice of any observations*****. At the risk of annoying, or even shutting himself away in a bubble that is impervious to all those who preach caution, advise in-depth revision of a plan that has hardly changed since last February... and above all recommend patience, given all that is still going on at the back!
On this subject, as on that of the Serbian difficulties, the Marshal's vision remains the same: "Victories win wars. Give the people victory and they won't care who wins it". And the Balkans are so susceptible...
Yugoslavia torn apart
Red Messiah
A cave north of Višegrad (Marshal Tito's residence) - The excellent news from Belgrade - the reactionaries have given in! - positively delighted the Marshal of the AVNOJ. The latter, a shrewd political sleuth - but perhaps still a little cautious about his own person... - is therefore quick to order his close friend Milovan Đilas to be sent to the capital, with the full support of the French, who put a plane at his disposal.
And speaking of the French, Broz doesn't miss the opportunity offered by the presence of Roland de Margerie: "Dear friend, will you accompany Comrade Đilas to conclude the peace?" Obviously, the interested party can't say no... Even if he wonders if his presence isn't intended solely to ensure that the envoy arrives safely alive. Nevertheless, for good measure and in keeping with the project and history, Margerie has the idea of asking an important person to join him on the Danube...
Is it game over?
White Palace (Belgrade) - After his spectacular change of direction the day before, Peter II Karađorđević addresses the Nation on Radio Belgrade. In a stirring speech, in which he talks about everything - but curiously never names Tito or his movement - the sovereign begins by doubling down on the previous calls for defection made by some: "All Yugoslavs of good will must join the state-recognised Liberation forces as soon as possible, regardless of their insignia or location. Those who don't will be considered traitors to the Fatherland!" Remember that at the beginning of the year, the King more or less recognised the legality of the Titist units, if not that of the institutions that lead them. Tartuffe, but in Serbo-Croatian...
But that's not all! Peter also announces the imminent formation of a long-awaited government of national unity, "which will have only one objective: victory in unity". It will therefore include representatives of all political currents - meaning that the HSS and the Democratic Party will undoubtedly be called upon... along with, by extension, their allies.
Such a step, which is as obviously historic as it is... legally debatable, cannot be taken by just one man. So, finally, the King calls on "all the elected patriots, senators and deputies" to Belgrade to form an assembly that would vote on each ministerial appointment by an absolute majority, in a consultative vote. The trap here is obvious: there were not many communists or socialists on the pre-war benches. This is enough to test the strength of the Narodni Front.
As far as military collaboration is concerned, the royalists plan to send two of the King's aides-de-camp, Vlastimir Roždjalovski and Svetislav Vohoska, to the AVNOJ headquarters for liaison purposes. They are close to Božidar Purić and have not been too involved in Chetnik affairs... well. But their new partners still need to accept them, and see them as something other than spies and troublemakers! We're a long way from that. Yet another reason, of course, for the pre-war government to complain about Titist double-dealing.
In short, Peter II is making an effort. A great deal, in fact. But it would be naive to think that he has capitulated.
A game that's not really fun any more - but with new rules
Ministry of Defence (Belgrade) - General Graham Stone, General Borivoje Mirković, General Dušan Simović and General Bogoljub Ilić arrive as a delegation, at the appointed place and time, in a convoy accompanied by a discreet (but visibly armed) escort provided by Floydforce and the Yugoslav 1st Corps.
In his office, the Minister of Defence, General Petar Živković, a warm and friendly compatriot, welcomes his visitors with smiles and handshakes. After lamenting at length (but not too loudly) past misunderstandings and tensions - "Although I'm all for goodwill: I was even one of the first to suggest that we recruit Italians, that's saying something!" - the Serb opens his gift basket.
Bogoljub Ilić, the hero of the defence of Bosnia, is offered the position of Chief of Staff of the Yugoslav army - replacing Miodrag Rakić, who has moved on. Graham Stone, the Briton, will be his deputy - and adviser, but no more. For Dušan Simović, a government post has been announced, initially in the Ministry of Defence. It may be elsewhere tomorrow, depending on the negotiations to come. Finally, Borivoje Mirković is back in his rightful place as head of the air force - a post he never really left, after all!
Petar Živković and his master are clearly looking to please and recreate unity around them. In doing so, and even if the maneuver is disgustingly transparent, they are not dealing with too strong a party. The soldiers in front of them will not go to Tito for the pleasure of displeasing the King. "The days ahead are going to be decisive, and we're counting on you, dear friends!" The dear friends have no doubt.
Emergency measures (reinforced)
Skopje - Ivan Šubašić, a friend to all good people and a neutral intermediary in all good causes, receives a radio message from AVNOJ HQ via the French 2nd Army. He is asked to jump on a plane - any plane, just ask for one at one of the nearby airfields - bound for Belgrade. Ideally, the Croatian should arrive there tomorrow evening at the latest. There he will meet Margerie for "discussions of the utmost importance". Šubašić is no newcomer... and he also has unshakeable faith in the future. So, just enough time to gather his files, give a few instructions to the people around him and he's off in his car, heading for the airfield.
* The translator has toned down the original text here, which mentioned a particularly expressive and typically Greek swearword referring to the sister of the person being addressed. Interested readers can do their own research.
** Teacher, second lieutenant, escaped from a Stalag in Germany in 1941, veteran of all the battles against the Ustashi and Chetniks.
*** A liaison officer between the Waffen-SS and what remained of the NDH's armed forces (he had made a major contribution to the formation of the three legionnaire divisions), Neidholdt was at that time a general without a command. A real butcher, driven out of his unit after a failed operation in 1943 (he had only made a name for himself with... the highest number of casualties reported), this individual had always camouflaged his incompetence with the most extreme violence. He was therefore perfectly at home at Prinz-Eugen in the spring of 1944. The British historian Ben H. Shepherd said of him that his only distinction was that he had killed more civilians than his colleagues.
**** Between his post and his game of cricket, one officer phlegmatically remarked: "No one will be able to claim that we liberated the Continent without being prepared for it".
***** There is a well-known anecdote about Montgomery: in 1930, he was chosen to rewrite the infantry manual. Faced with the protests of a fastidious proofreading committee, which corrected his work chapter by chapter, paragraph by paragraph, he decided to postpone publication while his censors concluded their work... and then submitted a final version omitting all the amendments made by the now dissolved committee!
Balkan Campaign
Operation Veritable - After Sarajevo and Operation Ratweek
Dalmatia - From the Tijarica - Šestanovac sector, the 373. ID Tigar divizija (Nikolaus Boicetta) and the 392. ID Plava divizija (Artur Gustovic) of the Kroatian Legion Armee Korps attack Imotski with part of their troops. This futile effort is obviously doomed to failure - and Johann Mickl is well aware of this. He had already had to take command of what was left of the 369. ID Vražja divizija after the desertion of its leader and has therefore... strongly advised Ivo Herenčić to send only the most recent, the most motivated, but also the least trained and the least well-equipped - in short, the most expendable - elements to the assault.
The result, as expected, will be zero. The only real effect will be to add Croatian deaths to an already long list. It is not even certain that this diversion, ordered from afar by the SS general staff, has any effect on the allied positions.
.........
"I spoke to the locals yesterday. I might have some information about Nikos's wife, but it's not...
A dull burst of artillery fire interrupts our lieutenant, who runs off to the radio and returns a moment later: "I'll tell you about it later. I've got to get back to HQ, the Croats are attacking!
Obviously, my second-in-command isn't happy about this, and he lets us know: "Fuck's sake! I'm going to kill all the bastards!
And it's true. After the beating they'd taken over the last few days, we weren't expecting the legionnaires to take the initiative again.
- We're off!
- The Croatians have got some balls showing up here!
- I don't think it's anything to do with courage. They just don't know that we've sent them into the fray, that's all.
For once, I agreed with Bias. Just goes to show, he knew how to be clever when he wanted to. Nevertheless, I added: "Or it's out of desperation."
- What's that supposed to mean?
- Maybe we've hurt them more than we thought. Or maybe there's something going on with them, I don't know.
- Markus, take positions in the row by each window. My group will take the back.
The small road from the east leading to Glavina Donja is perfectly clear, visible for miles around. The perfect place for an ambush: "Take cover, but wait until they're right underneath us before opening fire. We need to take out as many as we can the first time.
The first house in front of us was hit by a mortar shell and collapsed. Obviously, we didn't have anyone inside. Reassured by this brilliant result, our opponents moved forward eagerly, with a nice running pace. I've set myself a wagon carcass as a landmark. And when they reach it: "Fire! Shoot them!"
It's quick. Nikos is letting off steam and you can tell: "Yeah! Take that in the face*!"
The initiative came back to us as quickly as the Croats had arrived - as if they'd come to deliver it to us. We're now advancing in skirmishes, Nikos on my left, Bias's group on my right.
- They're trying to fall back! Don't let them go! Don't let them go!
To my left I could see a Bucephalus flying over the road, letting off a few bursts of 20 mm as it went. It was obviously using opportunity fire... like us, but very close to us too! So much so that I throw myself to the ground when the roar overtakes us, sending a few shards of glass flying in my direction.
- Nikos, tell them to cease fire and get out of the way! We've got our own guys here!
But immediately on the radio, the pilot: "Control, from Red 5, semi-tracked approaching Drum on the road, coming from the east!"
- Centaur, from Control, requesting reinforcements to Drum. The southern sector is under attack!
- Copy control! From Centaur 1 to Centaur 1 to 8, we intervene.
With our cumbersome ally gone, I enter a house unannounced, opening the door with a flick of my shoulder to find myself facing three opponents who clearly weren't expecting me. I dispatched the first with a reflex shot before immediately reversing out of the house, leaving them my only grenade as a souvenir. No survivors!
Reloading, regrouping. Nikos is back behind me and the hunt continues. Another stowaway gets a burst. He leaves us an MP-40 as a legacy... "Give me that!"
The last houses disappear and we arrive in a landscape of vines and groves. Running, rolling (a little), anything to get ahead of this opponent who is evading us and taking advantage of the slightest cover to try and delay our counter-attack a little. Nikos lands a nice shot.
- Did you see that Markus? He's finished with his face in the savannah!
It's possible. Further down the road, a strong group reformed and began to put up serious resistance. It was immediately flanked by machine guns from a Centaur, which passed in front of us to spray the enemy unopposed. We had no trouble advancing along the side of the road with such support.
That's it, they're on the run. The last of them fled in scattered groups back the way they came. One idiot lets off a few random bursts, thinking he's going to scare us...
- Hey guys, where are you going? There's no point in shooting! I'm gonna shoot you in the arse!
- You're pretty tense, Nikos, tell me,
- It's normal. I miss my family. I'll kill every last one of those bastards!
- Right, let's go back to the lieutenant and talk about your case."
(Markus Amynthe - Machines de guerre - Souvenirs de la campagne de Bosnie, Kedros éditeur via LGF, 1993)
Air warfare
Yugoslav Front - As a result of the events taking place on the coast and Sylvestre Audet's plans - the obvious potential of which is beginning to be seen in Athens, especially in view of the increasingly visible collapse of the Croats - the 1st Air Army joins the party in which the 1st Tactical Air Force was already taking part. A vast air interdiction operation is carried out as far as Slovenia. Over the coming days, the few Croatian convoys still travelling between Zagreb and the front would suffer. And everyone knows that neither the ZNDH nor the local flak force will be able to do much about it.
AVNOJ
The fight is on!
Croatian Bosnia: north of Čađavica - Informed by its command of the turnaround underway in Banja Luka and the arrival in the sector of an adversary that is both formidable and inspiring (for its allies...), the 7th Banija Division prudently chooses to start withdrawing towards Čađavica, even preparing in advance routes of retreat towards the Kopjenica hills. Vojislav Djokic doesn't really think his opponent will come looking for him that low, it's true... but better safe than sorry.
What's more, with the end of operations underway further north and the absence of any possibility of progress, what is now just a raid for the AVNOJ must remain a success: equipment, territory, food, prisoners... or rather, recruits!
.........
Croatian Bosnia: Banja-Luka - The Titist divisions begin to find themselves in difficulty, despite increased support from the NA-93s of the 22nd E-ACCS Tatras-Nord - which no doubt save units on the verge of being surrounded from tactical disaster once or twice.
With the Vrbas barrier down, the SS tanks advance everywhere, perhaps evoking what some imagine to be the Blitzkrieg once vaunted as the pinnacle of German military art. It would be almost comical, given the colourful origins of the machines in action. Nevertheless, the 43rd 'Istrian' Division (Milan Šakić-Mićun, Marijan Badel), already tired and having had to position itself on the southern flank to counter the 14. SS-Freiwilligen Gebirgsjäger Rgt Reinhard-Heydrich (Standartenführer August Schmidhuber), is now unable to rally its comrades, the 34th "Croatian" Division and the 35th Lika Division.
They were fighting further north towards Ramići, against the 13. SS-Freiwilligen Gebirgsjäger Rgt Artur-Phleps (Standartenführer Ernst Deutsch), who drives them back violently towards the Ivaštanka valley as far as Potkozarje, possibly before Prijedor. As a result of all this, Milan Šakić-Mićun's unit, increasingly isolated and on the verge of breaking up, withdraws across the hills via the Stratinska Rijeka valley, cutting straight back to Sanski Most before it is too late. A risky manoeuvre, which could well lead to the break-up of the unit. But the Titists travel light and Milan Šakić-Mićun is a valuable commander, particularly experienced**. It'll be fine... besides, on the other side, the SS seem more concerned about the loyalty of their allies than the hunt for communists these days.
Interview with an Ustashi
Banja Luka
An interim assessment
"Once Banja Luka had been taken over, it was time for reckoning and settling scores. The SS were... crabby, as you can imagine. According to their custom, they intended to avenge their losses by blaming the incompetence - admitted, but all the same - of others. In this case, we Croats. It could have gone badly for us... as it did for some others. But once again, my name and the mediation of that great idiot Stromheim came in handy.
I was having a hard time making arrangements with Fritz Neidholdt's deputy*** and I was getting ready to grease a few paws to get out of a tight spot, when this blond Golgoth came up behind me, put his big hand on my shoulder and said: "So, rodent, did you have a good fight?" As you can imagine, that sent a chill down my spine. He didn't seem to mind... or even realise.
- He's... on our side... for you, Herr Sturmbannführer?" my interlocutor asked him.
- Yes, he is! Not to the point of being a real proud German soldier. But he didn't flinch. The greatness of human beings is when they face their fear with pride. This guy isn't afraid. And neither were his boys!
Then he left with his group, clearly very pleased with himself. They were singing something, I remember... It went: "Der Mensch ist böse... Der Mensch ist böse... Der Mensch ist böse, Der Mensch muss besser und böser werden..." By the way, isn't it? Man is evil... Well, that got me through it. But that wasn't to be taken for granted.
You know, after the... little attempt on May 7th, the traitors Vokić and Lorković were in the process of acquiring an aura of holy martyrs in the ranks of the Croatian army. Most of them had not waited for Tito's call to desert to the Partisans. Did you know that in just two weeks, between May 7th and 21st, no fewer than... um... 245 men from the National Guard in Dalmatia had already defected? With their full equipment and without even waiting for the Reds to invite them to do so? And of course, the betrayal of the Handschar and the disintegration of the Kama had not helped matters. In short, the Germans no longer trusted us to do anything.
- To a certain extent, that's understandable. But thanks to your past exploits and a helping hand from the right person at the right time, you and your Vukas remained... on the wrong side of the fence?
- That's about it."
(Dans la tête du monstre - Conversation avec un officier oustachi, Robert Stan Pratsky, Flammarion 1982)
18th Allied Army Group
Beautiful projects
Between Athens and Hungary - The announced resolution of the 'Yugoslav problem' - via the French, of course, but what does it matter? - opens up great prospects for Bernard Law Montgomery. Today, when it seems certain that his troubles here are finally over, that the Huns are collapsing all over Europe... and that even the Soviets have finally broken through in the Carpathians, the British Marshal's entourage is buzzing with anticipation.
Who knows whether, in a few months' time, with the reinforcement of Alexander's troops (good Brits, who will replace these rebellious continentalists to their advantage), it will not be possible this summer to force fate a little further? And not just take Vienna, but storm into Bavaria to hold out a hand to Frère's French?
Decidedly, the offensive towards Lake Balaton has to be resumed as soon as possible. Once again the Marshal, as professional as he is (in addition to being particularly intrusive and meticulous****), is thinking big. It's a fault that can come to him, especially when he's afraid of seeing glory slip from his grasp and fly into the arms of others. Besides, he has something to prove, first to London and then to those arrogant Americans.
Admittedly, a mustachioed French general has already burnt his wings at this game, some would say... But that was two years ago. A lot has changed since then. Who today can claim that Germany has the slightest chance of winning the war? So let's get to work, with enthusiasm but in order: planning Blockbuster (the sequel to Plunder), preparing in parallel for the little Valuable (which we don't really know if and when we'll unleash, but we have to please the Franco-Greeks - and then it will still occupy the German right flank and muddy the waters), making an arrangement with the Soviets, who have just proposed a dividing line in Hungary to the West via the Americans (in response, a staff conference has been requested for the end of this month...). The Marshal is clearly very busy. And as usual, convinced as he is that he is right, he takes no notice of any observations*****. At the risk of annoying, or even shutting himself away in a bubble that is impervious to all those who preach caution, advise in-depth revision of a plan that has hardly changed since last February... and above all recommend patience, given all that is still going on at the back!
On this subject, as on that of the Serbian difficulties, the Marshal's vision remains the same: "Victories win wars. Give the people victory and they won't care who wins it". And the Balkans are so susceptible...
Yugoslavia torn apart
Red Messiah
A cave north of Višegrad (Marshal Tito's residence) - The excellent news from Belgrade - the reactionaries have given in! - positively delighted the Marshal of the AVNOJ. The latter, a shrewd political sleuth - but perhaps still a little cautious about his own person... - is therefore quick to order his close friend Milovan Đilas to be sent to the capital, with the full support of the French, who put a plane at his disposal.
And speaking of the French, Broz doesn't miss the opportunity offered by the presence of Roland de Margerie: "Dear friend, will you accompany Comrade Đilas to conclude the peace?" Obviously, the interested party can't say no... Even if he wonders if his presence isn't intended solely to ensure that the envoy arrives safely alive. Nevertheless, for good measure and in keeping with the project and history, Margerie has the idea of asking an important person to join him on the Danube...
Is it game over?
White Palace (Belgrade) - After his spectacular change of direction the day before, Peter II Karađorđević addresses the Nation on Radio Belgrade. In a stirring speech, in which he talks about everything - but curiously never names Tito or his movement - the sovereign begins by doubling down on the previous calls for defection made by some: "All Yugoslavs of good will must join the state-recognised Liberation forces as soon as possible, regardless of their insignia or location. Those who don't will be considered traitors to the Fatherland!" Remember that at the beginning of the year, the King more or less recognised the legality of the Titist units, if not that of the institutions that lead them. Tartuffe, but in Serbo-Croatian...
But that's not all! Peter also announces the imminent formation of a long-awaited government of national unity, "which will have only one objective: victory in unity". It will therefore include representatives of all political currents - meaning that the HSS and the Democratic Party will undoubtedly be called upon... along with, by extension, their allies.
Such a step, which is as obviously historic as it is... legally debatable, cannot be taken by just one man. So, finally, the King calls on "all the elected patriots, senators and deputies" to Belgrade to form an assembly that would vote on each ministerial appointment by an absolute majority, in a consultative vote. The trap here is obvious: there were not many communists or socialists on the pre-war benches. This is enough to test the strength of the Narodni Front.
As far as military collaboration is concerned, the royalists plan to send two of the King's aides-de-camp, Vlastimir Roždjalovski and Svetislav Vohoska, to the AVNOJ headquarters for liaison purposes. They are close to Božidar Purić and have not been too involved in Chetnik affairs... well. But their new partners still need to accept them, and see them as something other than spies and troublemakers! We're a long way from that. Yet another reason, of course, for the pre-war government to complain about Titist double-dealing.
In short, Peter II is making an effort. A great deal, in fact. But it would be naive to think that he has capitulated.
A game that's not really fun any more - but with new rules
Ministry of Defence (Belgrade) - General Graham Stone, General Borivoje Mirković, General Dušan Simović and General Bogoljub Ilić arrive as a delegation, at the appointed place and time, in a convoy accompanied by a discreet (but visibly armed) escort provided by Floydforce and the Yugoslav 1st Corps.
In his office, the Minister of Defence, General Petar Živković, a warm and friendly compatriot, welcomes his visitors with smiles and handshakes. After lamenting at length (but not too loudly) past misunderstandings and tensions - "Although I'm all for goodwill: I was even one of the first to suggest that we recruit Italians, that's saying something!" - the Serb opens his gift basket.
Bogoljub Ilić, the hero of the defence of Bosnia, is offered the position of Chief of Staff of the Yugoslav army - replacing Miodrag Rakić, who has moved on. Graham Stone, the Briton, will be his deputy - and adviser, but no more. For Dušan Simović, a government post has been announced, initially in the Ministry of Defence. It may be elsewhere tomorrow, depending on the negotiations to come. Finally, Borivoje Mirković is back in his rightful place as head of the air force - a post he never really left, after all!
Petar Živković and his master are clearly looking to please and recreate unity around them. In doing so, and even if the maneuver is disgustingly transparent, they are not dealing with too strong a party. The soldiers in front of them will not go to Tito for the pleasure of displeasing the King. "The days ahead are going to be decisive, and we're counting on you, dear friends!" The dear friends have no doubt.
Emergency measures (reinforced)
Skopje - Ivan Šubašić, a friend to all good people and a neutral intermediary in all good causes, receives a radio message from AVNOJ HQ via the French 2nd Army. He is asked to jump on a plane - any plane, just ask for one at one of the nearby airfields - bound for Belgrade. Ideally, the Croatian should arrive there tomorrow evening at the latest. There he will meet Margerie for "discussions of the utmost importance". Šubašić is no newcomer... and he also has unshakeable faith in the future. So, just enough time to gather his files, give a few instructions to the people around him and he's off in his car, heading for the airfield.
* The translator has toned down the original text here, which mentioned a particularly expressive and typically Greek swearword referring to the sister of the person being addressed. Interested readers can do their own research.
** Teacher, second lieutenant, escaped from a Stalag in Germany in 1941, veteran of all the battles against the Ustashi and Chetniks.
*** A liaison officer between the Waffen-SS and what remained of the NDH's armed forces (he had made a major contribution to the formation of the three legionnaire divisions), Neidholdt was at that time a general without a command. A real butcher, driven out of his unit after a failed operation in 1943 (he had only made a name for himself with... the highest number of casualties reported), this individual had always camouflaged his incompetence with the most extreme violence. He was therefore perfectly at home at Prinz-Eugen in the spring of 1944. The British historian Ben H. Shepherd said of him that his only distinction was that he had killed more civilians than his colleagues.
**** Between his post and his game of cricket, one officer phlegmatically remarked: "No one will be able to claim that we liberated the Continent without being prepared for it".
***** There is a well-known anecdote about Montgomery: in 1930, he was chosen to rewrite the infantry manual. Faced with the protests of a fastidious proofreading committee, which corrected his work chapter by chapter, paragraph by paragraph, he decided to postpone publication while his censors concluded their work... and then submitted a final version omitting all the amendments made by the now dissolved committee!