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

[Wings]

November 2nd, 1943

Operation Span
Languedoc - It is still raining over the Hérault, although less steadily. The slowdown in operations has allowed the Germans to reorganize on a new line along the Orb, where the 344. ID now occupies well-prepared positions. If, south of Béziers, the lack of infantry leads the panzergrenadiers to withdraw behind the course of the coastal river swollen by the rains, to the north, the defense is in front of the river. The sector is held by elements of the 11. Panzer, of the 344. ID and remnants of the 326. ID, covered by the 503. sPz Abt.
Further north, the 60. PzrGr, although very weakened, recovered well and reconstituted its line of defense between the south of Bédarieux and the east of Lodève. The three US-AD will take the whole day to regain contact with the German line. Indeed, in addition to the rain, the ground is riddled with minefields covered by delaying elements, while the lack of air support makes the unit commanders much more circumspect.
The redeployment of the 60. PzrGr results in the castling of the 867. Grenadier of the 355. ID, which come to plug the hole to the southeast of the division's positions, taking advantage of the shelter that the Séranne massif constitutes. The 355. ID is now stretched over about forty kilometers, but the Americans of the Rock of the Marne, made cautious by their misadventure of the day before, do not exploit this advantage. They also take advantage of the rain to reorganize and reinforce their rear, thanks to the arrival of the 117th Cavalry Rgt. This reinforcement makes it possible to ask the French HQ to reposition the Tancrémont armoured brigade in reserve south of Barjac, on the rear of the 45th US-ID.

Operation Chambord
Provence - The 725. Grenadier Rgt is forced to withdraw from Mont Macaron, under the pressure of the skirmishers of the 4th RTS, who sometimes arrive in close combat. The Germans withdraw to new positions, blocking the valley between Berre-les-Alpes and Contes.
During this time, Mont Chauve is still holding out, but the threat to its rear becomes more precise.

 

[naraht]

Still waiting for the Anvil from the UK...

 

[demolitiondan]

Still waiting for the Anvil from the UK...

Got plenty of time for it. In fact, it is nearly published on site.

 

[Wings]

Still waiting for the Anvil from the UK...

Can't do that until conditions clear in the Channel, meaning Spring 1944.

 

[Wings]

November 3rd, 1943

A discreet apartment in the center of Bucharest - Now well installed in the hideout provided by General Sanatescu - where visitors of all kinds pass by at regular intervals - operator Nicolae Turcanu emits his first HF bulletin to Athens. He receives a few hours later an answer: perfect, the post is operational!
The National Democratic Bloc and the Autonomy(ie) mission will be able to communicate directly with their partners or superiors, without passing by uncertain crossroads... Understandably, the news will be welcomed with joy - especially by the members of the Bloc, who have so much to say to their new allies!
Of course. However, like any means of communication - and even if everyone seems to have forgotten - the Turcanu post is not impossible to spot. And the German forces garrisoned in Bucharest have listening devices that they have never told their Romanian friends about...

 

[Wings]

November 3rd, 1943

North Atlantic - The Fusijama is the first to try to force the passage. It left Bordeaux on the evening of the 2nd and the night passed without any alert, but at 10:20 on the 3rd, the first Sunderland is seen. The seaplane turned at a good distance around the freighter to stay out of range of the Flak and gives the alert by radio. Two Liberators respond to its calls and arrive on the scene at 11:05. The attack is as professional as it is precise. Hit by five bombs in the rear, the Fusijama catches fire. Aggravating circumstance, the remote flooding of the shell bunker for the 10.5 cm anti-submarine gun is put out of action.
The crew hurriedly evacuates in the lifeboats that set sail for the Spanish coast, 70 nautical miles to the south. At around 13:00, the Spanish cargo ship Maruja y Aurora*, which was sailing from Ireland to Gijon, spots the shipwrecked and takes them in. They will be discreetly exfiltrated to France before the end of the year.

* This cargo ship is the former River Clyde, which distinguished itself on April 25th, 1915 during the Dardanelles landing by beaching itself voluntarily at Seddul Bahr to put 2,100 men ashore.

 

[Wings]

November 3rd, 1943

Burma and Malaya Campaign
Burma Front - The 23rd Indian Brigade continues its advance and arrives at the end of the day in the village of Wei Paug. However, the Japanese had fortified this crossroads and a first attack is curtly repulsed by the Japanese artillery on the heights where the 71st Division was deployed to collect the retreating 55th Division.
Further east, the 26th Indian Brigade continues its efforts and its progression. Overlooking the treetops, Hill 365, which the 1st Burmese Division had captured a week ago, can be seen a few miles away.

Indochina Campaign
Lashio (Burma), 06:00 - Colonel Leboutte seems to be everywhere at once on the air base, giving the last instructions and energetically scolding those who dawdle. It is because the decoding of the last messages received the day before revealed long-awaited news. The entire CAFP can finally make its way to the Epervier base! The hum of the engines mingles with last minute orders and the calls of the dazed ones who always forget something.
With the exception of the personnel who will form the rear echelon with their colleagues from Myitkyina, everyone is on the move. The first planes should land in Indochina in the middle of the morning.

Dien-Bien-Phu, 07:00 - On the freshly finished runways, we are preparing to receive the Belgian aircraft, as well as the usual cargo planes coming from China or Burma. In the sky, the first coverage patrols are in place.
On the Bald Mountain, the operators are working hard to make the radar operational. It must be said that it is reactive, not really appreciating the local climate. This is why they don't immediately detect the intruders coming from the east. In groups of three to six, more than twenty planes decorated with the Rising Sun approach Dien-Bien-Phu. This had not been seen for more than three months!
In fact, the Japanese had launched a reconnaissance in force to find out the state of the installations in the area, but also to find out if the Westerners really have a radio detection system on site. In order not to send once again their Ki-46 [Dinah] reconnaissance aircraft to the slaughterhouse, they have them accompanied by Ki-44 Shoki [Tojo]. In addition, a diversion is planned, with the help of a shotai from Kawasaki Ki-45 Toryu [Nick], who are in Tonkin and are being being transferred to Burma. The latter, eager to fight, did not object to the fact that they could be used as bait (due to the similarity in appearance between Ki-45 and Ki-46). They are covered by Ki-43 Hayabusa [Oscar].
It is a supply flight which will give the alarm by unexpectedly crossing a trio of Ki-45 accompanied by three Ki-43. The first victim is a C-87 loaded with gasoline which explodes under the 37 mm shells of a Toryu. A patrol from the 76th FS rushes in, but before it arrives, one C-54 is finished and two damaged. The P-40s finally step in and take out a Hayabusa, forcing the rest of the group to evade.
Over Thuan, another similar group is hooked by a patrol. Two Allied pilots make the mistake of attacking the twin-engine aircraft head-on, which turn out not to be Ki-46s, but Ki-45s which spit out 37 mm shells! A P-51 of the III/40 is destroyed while another one goes down on its belly at Tuan Giao. Nevertheless, their teammates shoot down two Ki-43s and put the rest of the group on the run, but not without damaging a Ki-45, which is forced to land at Hoa Binh.
Meanwhile, the real Ki-46s have free rein to photograph the area.
After taking their pictures, the Japanese leave without delay, greeted by a very angry flak.
This is the only major sortie of the "Wild Eagles" for that day.
Nevertheless, knowing the Japanese mania of the twisted tricks, the base remains in alert.
Planned movements are delayed, adding to the worry of the Epervier leaders.

Hanoi, Gia Lam Field, 09:00 - As he prepares to board the Ki-56 [Thalia] which is to take him to Haiphong, General Kuwana is overtaken by a courier carrying an urgent personal letter from General Hikosaburo, at the Army Aviation HQ, in Tokyo. It concerns the problem of the squadrons recently redeployed in Cochinchina, which aroused the desire of the Hanoi HQ, to the great irritation of Singapore HQ.
As Kuwana feared, from the first lines, it appears that the answer is no: it is not possible at present to use any of the aircraft for "law enforcement tasks" at this time. The rest of the document however, takes a different turn.
General Hikosaburo explains that he fully understands the difficulties endured by the men and machines of the 3rd Hikodan. By his dedication and sense of sacrifice, his unit is a credit to the Yamato minzoku* and it is not neglected by the Tokyo staff, nor even by the Singapore HQ. As a proof, General Obata has made a proposal to satisfy both parties.
The Thai aircraft currently sequestered in Cochinchina are now at the disposal of the 3rd Hikodan to track down the gangs operating in Tonkin. They will be piloted by novice pilots arriving from Akeno. They will thus be able to accumulate a few more hours before being assigned to frontline squadrons. Their training will be supervised by veterans who are nearing the end of their convalescence, for whom this task will serve as a refresher course.
A certain relief is painted on the face of the Japanese officer. After all, one of your own is better than two! This is not what General Rikichi was hoping for, but he can't afford to be picky. This is a substantial reinforcement for the Ki-27 [Nate] and Ki-30 [Ann], survivors of the June-July battles and currently devoted to the anti-guerrilla warfare around Saigon.

Hainan Strait, 11:00 - Along the Lei-Tchéou peninsula, a small convoy bound to Haiphong is attacked at the exit of the strait by twelve B-25s and six P- 51s of the 14th AF.
The cargo vessels Kurenai Maru (1,541 GRT) and Shozan Maru (2,937 GRT) and the coastal vessels Yamatogawa Maru (776 GRT), Shinwa Maru n°3 (288 GRT) and Hachiman Maru (130 GRT) were escorted by the Patrol boat n°2** and the destroyer Shiokaze. The Mitchells, several of which are equipped with the 75 mm "nose gun", attack the three small transports, all three of which are sunk. Meanwhile, the Mustangs harass the escorts with machine guns, killing and wounding them on the decks. In this game, one of them is shot down, but the other allied planes leave for the continent.

Luang-Prabang (Laos), 14:00 - A strange agitation animates the royal palace. The news has spread that Viceroy Phetsarath Rattanavongsa is leaving the country.
Officially, he has just left for Japan to participate in the Greater East Asia Conference. It is difficult, however, not to be intrigued by the extent of the upheaval caused by this trip, which the press under the orders of the occupying power describes as "brief but important". A dozen Japanese cars and trucks entered the main courtyard and now a veritable noria of servants is busy moving objects that all have in common that they are precious.
Perhaps even more surprisingly, the Embassy of the Empire of Japan is also unusually busy. Cars have come to pick up the diplomatic staff. Since then, soldiers have lit a large fire and are working on burning thick bundles of documents in the courtyard.
The inhabitants of the capital discuss the events in hushed tones, glancing around furtively, fearing the watchful ears of the Kempetai agents.
But they are conspicuous by their absence. A resident of the neighborhood remarks that he has not been woken up once during the night. The remark is important: the rents have been halved since the installation of the Japanese State Police... The horrible screams of the tortured prisoners keep the neighborhood awake.
In fact, the Kempetai also decided to carry out a major cleaning of its headquarters.
In the morning, all the prisoners (we did not bother to sort them out) are gathered in the courtyard. A machine gun is waiting for them... Those who are still moving are killed with the saber.
.........
In the evening, Luang-Prabang presents a singular aspect.
After the departure without fanfare of the viceroy, the members of his government all beg for a few seats in the Japanese trucks for themselves and their relatives, and leave with them. The collabos of all social classes then rush to leave the city, taking all kinds of vehicles, the less fortunate (but not necessarily the least hated) leave on foot.
The doors of many official buildings remain open. However, if the Japanese and their Laotian collaborators have disappeared, the Laotian police and army continue to patrol without seeming to notice the strangeness of the situation.

Haiphong, Cat Bi Field, 14:00 - Since the return of the morning mission to the Dien Bien Phu basin, the photographic development workshop has been buzzing with intense activity. The prints are barely dry when the photo specialists get out the magnifying glasses and begin the tedious work of analysis and interpretation.
The workshop manager announces that compiling all this information will take time, because he lacks personnel. This answer is not to the liking of the 3rd Hikodan's commander. "Not enough people? What about them?" he exclaims, pointing to a group of G3M3s stationed in the field. Many of his men look at him as if he had just uttered an abominable blasphemy. Ask for the Navy's help, some would still prefer to commit seppuku!
- It's not about begging them! But the Navy has photo specialists too, right? Let's ask them if they would be interested in looking at these prints.
So it's the Army that seems to be doing the Navy a favor... Appreciative murmurs follow General Kuwana's pirouette, and ten minutes later, five sailors add their eyes to those of the Army aviators.
The main clues that the Japanese discovered do not delight them.
First, the runways at Dien-Bien-Phu have been expanded and are more numerous. This means that in the future, the French will see their supplies improved, and/or receive reinforcements more quickly and in greater numbers. On the other hand, Tuan Giao still appears to be abandoned, but the density of anti-aircraft fire there has increased.
Next, a Ki-46 crew reported that while flying over the two hills called "Mont Fictif" and "Mont Chauve", the flak, already very aggressive, was even more dense. The plane was severely hit at the tail and returned only with its right elevator amputated. After two hours of examining the photos of the area, the men start to have tingling eyes and headaches. Suddenly, a sailor lets out a muffled exclamation. His colleagues from both armies crowd around and approve with excited interjections.
Eager to know more and breaking with protocol, Kuwana approaches and asks what justifies this disorder. The sailor promptly shows him the photograph: "Look, General, at this device partly visible on top of a hill despite the camouflage. It's a radio detection system!
- Are you really sure? Couldn't it be a long-distance radio transmission antenna?
Kuwana asks, staring straight into his eyes.
The chu-i answers without blinking: "No, General, the shape and size of this device are almost identical to those used by the English ships. My colleagues agree.
Scanning the room with his eyes, Kuwana relaxes: "Be sure that His Excellency General Rikichi will be informed of your valuable contribution. I thank you."
On the plane back to Hanoi, the head of the 3rd Hikodan writes a report to General Rikichi as well as to the Sanbō Honbu.
"The presence of radio wave detection equipment dispels any questions about the latest Ki-46 losses. These were in no way due to bad luck (or sorcery, as some seemed to believe!) but to an evolution of enemy technology on the battlefield.
This fact has a very worrying meaning: the Westerners continue to strengthen in the Tonkin Highlands. Before long, it will be impossible to launch any operation in this direction without devoting very large resources to it.
This is why the reinforcement of the fighter and bombing sentries, the increase of the flak of our air bases as well as the installation of radio detection means must become priorities in North Vietnam. These reinforcements are necessary to counter more effectively the enemy's air intrusions, which will not be satisfied with a harassing posture indefinitely.
The Imperial General Staff must understand that improved air defense capabilities in the Tonkinese plain is not a waste, but a necessity if our forces want to maintain control of the area between the Gulf of Tonkin and the Gulf of Siam."
Of course, this draft will have to be reworded according to the rules so as not to be seen as a manifestation of insubordination...

Saigon - Tan-Son-Nhut, 16:00 - Since the end of the morning, many crawlers are at work on the ex-Thai aircraft. On the wings and fuselages of the Ki-43 and Ki-36, hinomarus replace white elephants, while maintenance personnel dismantle, check, reassemble or repair anything that needs it. The message sent to the base commander asks that all these planes be operational as soon as possible. Their mission will be to subdue once and for all the "hordes of scoundrels" that are rampant between the Trian Falls and the Camau plain, flouting imperial authority.

Haiphong, Cat Bi field, 22:30 - "Tonight, we enjoy a good meal as a thank you for important information we brought back from Dien Bien Phu, with the bonus of a barrel of namazake*** offered by General Kuwana himself! We even toasted the health of the Navy! Because it seems that without the fortuitous presence of a G3M Rikko formation in the course of refueling, we would still be tearing our hair out trying to figure out what kind of tricks the French were up to.
My table neighbor is the one who identified the aerial detection device that has already cost us several comrades - we take the opportunity to drink to their memory. Normally, my neighbor works at the "War Committee on Research" in Tokyo. But, because of the situation in Burma, the training cycle for the crews had to be shortened. So he accompanied the "special" G3Ms to Malaysia to take care of the last adjustments and finish the training of the personnel.
Slightly fogged by the sake (very good), we go out to take the fresh air while discussing everything and anything. The conversation stops on what we were doing before the war. I discover that my neighbor, named Masaru Ibuka****, a graduate in electro-communication from Waseda*****, was working in a photo lab, while I was in my last year of art studies at Todai******. But all this was before the world went up in flames.
As the hour was getting late, we went to bed and said goodbye with the respect of a kohai towards a senpai*******. At dawn they will leave for Singapore, while we will be on patrol over Hanoi." (Diary of sho-i Urashima)

Battle of Bac-Me
Bac-Me sector, 11:00 - This time, the Japanese open the night festivities: a trio of Ki-48s takes advantage of the darkness to bomb the Allied positions without opposition, but without doing any serious damage. The French answer arrives an hour later with two Lysanders of the "Louvre", which obtain an identical result.

Southwest Pacific Campaign
Operation Transom/Exporter
Kupang - The capital of West Timor is almost entirely in Dutch hands, although skirmishes will still occur for several days.
.........
The fall of Kupang marks the end of the heaviest fighting for Timor.
The objective of Transom/Exporter was not to completely liberate the two parts of Timor from the Japanese. The double operation allowed to secure two solid support points and two well-protected airfields, where it will be possible to base in the medium term heavy bombers capable of attacking the oil fields of Borneo. The operation could also distract the Imperial Navy from what is being prepared in the Central Pacific (the failure of this diversion will not be of much importance...). But once the main objective was achieved, the allied staff did not think it necessary to clean the whole island. The Australians believe that if the Japanese want to take refuge in the interior of the island, they can stay there until the end of the war!
However, the Dutch command had already expressed reservations at the planning stage: Her Majesty the Queen would be very saddened if some of her subjects, even if they were natives, fell victim to the Japanese vindictiveness. The Australian command had to promise that, if the double operation was successful and if the allied logistics allowed it, all or part of the 8th ID (AIF), reconstituted after its destruction in Singapore and Malaysia, would be sent to Kupang. The 1st Division of the KNIL would then be available to liberate the interior of the island (or at least its western part).

Pacific Campaign
Operation Galvanic
Efate (New Hebrides - now Vanuatu) - Task Force 53, or Northern Attack Force, sails under the command of Rear Admiral Hill. It includes :
- three old battleships: Idaho, New Mexico and Mississippi (flag) ;
- three escort carriers: Coral Sea, Corregidor and Liscome Bay;
- two heavy cruisers: Chester and San Francisco ;
- and 20 destroyers: Bailey, Frazier, Hull, Monaghan, Boyd, Cotten, Franks, Harrison, Hazelwood, Heermann, Hoel, John Rodgers, McKee, Murray, Saufley, Schroeder, Sigsbee, Taylor, Maury, Hughes.
These ships escort sixteen transports containing the men of the 1st Marine Division and an LST loaded with tanks.

Sino-Japanese War
Operation Zhulin
Jiangxi Province - Delayed by logistical problems, the 30th Army reaches Jiujiang, but Liu Zhi's gamble on speed could not be kept: instead of a defenseless city, the Chinese have two Japanese divisions in front of them, hastily but effectively entrenched, while they themselves were forced to abandon behind them a part of their artillery and almost half of their armored means.
Reconnaissance in force is nevertheless launched to probe the Japanese defensive system, without direct result - but they allow the Chinese command to be informed by the local resistance of a weak point in the Japanese defenses between Lake Saihu and the Yangtze.

* "Yamato race" : this term designates the majority ethnic group of the Japanese archipelago. It is not used anymore since 1945 because of its nationalistic and racist connotation.
** Former destroyer Nadakaze, converted in April 1940 into a patrol and escort ship (Dai-ni Shokaitei = Patrol boat n°2).
*** Variety of sake.
**** Future co-founder of the Sony company.
***** Famous private university in Tokyo.
****** Contraction of Tokyo teikoku daigaku (Tokyo Imperial University), also famous. It will be renamed Tokyo daigaku (University of Tokyo) in 1947.
******* These words respectively designate the younger (kohai) and the older (senpai), in Japanese society - here between two former students - as in a sibling. The cadet owes respect to his elder, who in return has a role of guardian. This type of hierarchy still applies in today's Japan.

 

[Wings]

November 3rd, 1943

Danube Front
Romania - "After several days of marching, we finally arrived at our new assignment: the small town of Saf'yany, near Lake Sofiana, on the rear of the 18th Army. A place, alas, significantly less comfortable than the previous one, between stagnant waters, crowded insects, reptiles, batrachians and other not always pleasant bugs.
New installation of the camp thus - but a specificity only for me or almost.
Indeed, the command was looking for volunteers "having seen the fire" for "a heroic action in the swamps". And obviously, with my past experience in Moldova or my Dantean crossing of Chișinău, I must have seemed well placed... And a fellow officer - I never really knew which one - did me the friendship of thinking of me by recommending me for the upcoming operation, planned in a big week... " (Farewell my country... once again, Vasil Gravil, Gallimard 1957)

Black Sea
A small and lonely island
Ostriv Zmeinyy - The miracle does not happen - anticipating the Romanians' feeble attempts to rescue the shipwrecked on Snake Island, the force of Rear Admiral Gorshkov shows up in front of Insula Șerpilor at around 10:00, preceded by the two wing minesweepers (in case their little brothers had forgotten a mine) and overflown by a mass of MiG-3Us and Yak-1s and 9s coming from Odessa.
While the Molotov's broadsides (9 x 180 mm and 3 x 100 mm), reinforced by the 15 x 130 mm from Yerevan, Soobrazitelny, Sposobny and Svobodny, force the defenders to hide in order to survive, the marine riflemen embark in the boats. It will take them thirty minutes to get ashore - at this moment, the shelling stops and the Soviets launch themselves into the attack, shouting "Hurrah!"
Faced with such a debauchery of means, the garrison can only surrender very quickly... The only real fight that the attackers had to wage was a symbolic baroud around the main buildings (including the garrison). In about twenty minutes, everything is over.
The only annoyance in this operation, which was definitely carried out as if it were a drill, was the destruction of the lighthouse, carried away by a clumsy shell or destroyed at the last minute by the Romanians, we don't really know...
No matter - while the prisoners are being loaded into the boats, the Soviets take possession of the more or less ravaged buildings, hoist the red flag wherever possible, then begin to study the banks in search of the most favorable locations for the installation of docks. During this time, the four vessels of the escort do not stop moving while the two minesweepers and the Nezamojnik take the captives on board.
The latter take the place of an abundant supply of water in the hold (bitter irony!) for the occupying forces of the island. These will be able to arrange their conquest without fearing thirst!
Finally, at 17:00, the squadron moves away. But the Chernomorsky Float will come back soon to set up a relay base for the Beriev 4 seaplanes coming from Sevastopol or Odessa. With such a base, they will be able to harass more and more the Axis submarines, right up to the door of their lairs! All this, of course, without having to fear an interruption of supplies, which will be faithfully assured by the small ships of the Red Flag Fleet.
.........
"Occupied until the end of the conflict by the Red Army and not restored after the armistice, Snake Island was officially annexed by the USSR in 1947, when the signing of the peace treaty with Bucharest was made official. This treaty specified in its protocol on the border between the new People's Republic of Romania and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics - that almost everything north of the Danube delta was part of the territory of the Union. Even if it means twisting the Chilia basin and to consider the side arms of the blue river - which also made the Devil's Coast islands, the island of Maican and the island of Limba to the Soviet side.
An official report signed later, in May 1947, even stated that "Snake Island [was] returned by the PR of Romania to the Soviet Union" - this while Insula Șerpilor had never been part of Soviet territory!
A sign of Moscow's (very relative) discomfort on the subject - the USSR was not supposed to annex territory of its new allies - as well as strategic imperatives, these documents remained secret (the protocol was not even officially approved by the Supreme Soviet!) and the transfer of sovereignty was carried out with the greatest discretion. Thus, the coast guards present on Limba were simply woken up one morning by Soviet riflemen, loaded onto ships within the hour and then disembarked at Sulina without any other form of ceremony... a process that was very similar to operation Serpentary in 1943.
But let's get back to Snake Island. A high-powered radar intended to monitor the Turkish coasts was installed there. This installation did nothing, of course, to calm down an already situation already quite confused! After the war, showing more and more its paranoia, the Red Army gradually transformed Insula Șerpilor into a veritable entrenched camp, a top-secret military field. The ships in distress (most often Romanian trawlers) that tried to take refuge there in a storm were invariably rejected by shots that were rarely warning shots. A certain number of
deaths were reported... And Bucharest had to suffer, each day more difficult, the presence of this possibly hostile outpost installed at its door.
Time did nothing to calm things down - it is that, against all expectations, the island did not stop to attract covetousness! Indeed, the discovery in the 80's of considerable oil reserves (10 million tons) and natural gas (1 billion m3) suddenly gave its exclusive economic zone a more than obvious interest... although not immediately exploited due to complex technical problems. As one can imagine, the island had become a potential source of income, one that is readily disputed, like in the Maldives or the Kerguelen Islands.
When the Union was suddenly dissolved, the future of Insula Șerpilor was not the subject of negotiations: it was de facto integrated into the territory of the new Republic of Ukraine -which had absolutely no interest in discussing its future with Romania. The negotiations lasted more than twenty years... Today, and although its case has theoretically been settled in the context of the new "peaceful relations" between Kiev and Bucharest (a judgement of the ICJ having confirmed the terms of the treaties signed in the past, while granting 80% of the EEZ to Romania), the island continues to be primarily a military garrison regularly reinforced by fastidious factionaries, who vigilantly watch over this piece of land as they do over the other islands of the Black Sea that were once annexed by the USSR and are still claimed by Bucharest. This, of course, while the Russians, very close, are watching the situation with keen interest..." (The Black Sea and the Straits of the Bosphorus, Essay on Contemporary History - University of Paris La Sorbonne, Patrick Misbosse, 1995)

 

[Wings]

November 3rd, 1943

Italian campaign
Strangle
Italian front - With the end of the rain, air activity resumes.
The French of the 3rd EC are on a Strangle mission on the Bologna-Rimini line. The station of Imola is attacked, an already damaged locomotive is destroyed. The only opposition is that of the Flak and all the aircraft return, despite various damages. During this time, the 60th EB(L) tries to attack objectives near Turin, but bad weather disrupts the mission.

Walrus
Adriatic - The RAF launches operation Walrus. The aim is to track down German submarines and surface ships in the Adriatic Sea, even in their ports. The first mission of this type, launched against the Venice lagoon, brings together nearly one hundred aircraft of various types: Beaumonts from Sqn 18, Banshees from Sqn 39 and Beaufighters from Sqn 89, covered by Spitfires from Sqn 73 and 119. Several light units are damaged and the minelayer Laurana is sunk. The shipyards are also targeted and the corvettes Bombarda, Carabina and Spingarda, on hold, are seriously damaged (their construction was cancelled, they will be dismembered to recover their metal).
A Beaumont, a Banshee and a Beaufighter are shot down by Flak, notably by the fire of the gunboat Niobe, which the Germans had transformed into a flak boat. The JG 53 reacts, but it is hit by the Spitfire IX escort; two fighters on each side are shot down.

Balkan campaign
Operation Derby
Balkans - The allied reconnaissance planes (in particular those of the RG II/33) resumed their missions over the enemy lines and lines of communication, estimating the positions of the concentrations of forces and the damage inflicted by the strikes.
But the bombers do not wait for the return of the trials to start the assault again: all the provinces close to the front line are struck, even if the Adriatic coast is the object of a sustained attention with, in particular, a raid by the Beaumonts of the 237th Wing and the Blenheims of the 238th Wing on Trebinje. The allied hopes to revive the fear of an amphibious operation in the minds of the Axis command. As for the Boston (during the day) and the Wellington (at night), they target the Kraljevo road junction, which serves Macedonia, Belgrade and Bosnia-Herzegovina at the same time. The German troops on the front line are preparing for a shock that they fear.

Around Has (Albanian-Kosovan border) - As the sun rises over the Balkan mountains, the camp of Gani Bey Kryeziu is already busy. Suddenly, three shots ring out - and it is obvious that they are not coming from the firing range set up at a good distance, but from the tent of the group's commander in person.
Everyone rushes in, guns drawn, and a ferocious scene is revealed: two men lie in their own blood, it seems that they have killed each other... or tried to. Gani Kryeziu, his Astra 900 pistol in his hand, is badly hit. Opposite him, a man, armed with a Soviet TT33, still groans. The individual, said to have been sent by the Communists to confer on the upcoming operation, is promptly finished off - a pity, he might have been able to speak - while the Bey is hurriedly carried to the tent that served as an infirmary.
The fate of the chief is uncertain and while the doubt takes hold of the camp, everyone gets agitated, discusses, gets angry...and then bursts into flames. Where did the blow come from? From the fascists (therefore from the Germans). Or the communists (so the Albanians), allied to the Serbs, the same ones who are trying to chase the "ballist brothers" from their ancestral lands? The most thoughtful then point out that the aggression smells of amateurism: Mehmet Shehu and his 1st Assault (or Assassination) Brigade are not in the habit of missing - if it were them, Gani Kryeziu would already be dead. But while waiting for more information, it seems impossible to continue to collaborate with the collectivists, with the British of the SOE... or with anyone else. And if a communist shows his nose, Serb, Albanian or Croat - too bad for him! The group evolves dangerously towards the pack, answering the call of blood by the desire to bite ...

Around Gorazdevac (Albanian-Montenegrin border) - In the hiding place that the men of the Communist Party have kindly (?) offered to share with him, Lt-Colonel Neil Loudon Desmond MacLean is catastrophized. This assassination attempt calls into question months of work. Who could have committed such a madness? Contacted urgently and with insistence by the allied services, Enver Hoxha swears obviously he had nothing to do with it. And the British would tend to believe him - this attempt is both too clumsy and too big for the cunning leader of the Albanian CP. Moreover, if one wanted to strike a blow at the Kosovar ballists and autonomists, Gani Bey Kryeziu is surely not the most obvious choice, nor the most formidable rival...
But on closer examination, MacLean cannot rule out the idea of a particularly underhanded move. Murdering Gani Kryeziu, even without claiming it, sends a threatening message to the other Kryeziu brothers, of uncertain allegiance. Who knows, Hoxha may even feel that he can now do without them? And then... an uncontrolled and violent reaction of the ballists and consorts would put them offside for the offensive to come and would deprive them of any support from the Allies! These last ones would be then constrained to support only the Communist Party, the only reliable power and judged cooperative! All this while sacrificing finally only one exalted person (in addition to a certain number of soldiers of His Majesty, whose offensive would be more difficult...). Yes, it would be terribly brilliant - risky but brilliant...
Powerless in his hideout, the Musketeer asks Tirana to send as soon as possible experienced people to untangle this skein, and quickly. Other members of the SOE? Not Krymer - he is in Serbia at the moment... And the Allies could not afford to wait for the Pole to return, or MacLean himself. Yet we must act before all the partisan movements in Kosovo become enraged. There are already whispers that Muharrem Bajraktari is hesitating about what to do...

 

[Wings]

November 3rd, 1943

Operation Span
Languedoc - Today's headline is the liberation of Sete! The Rangers receive the surrender of the men of the 752. and 753. Grenadier Rgt of the 326. ID, who have exhausted their ammunition. The final cleaning of the city will however be left to the good care of the 1st Rgt of the 1st SSF, arrived in haste, the Rangers being called more to the west to assist the armored divisions, which lack accompanying infantry.
The 326. ID is the last of the divisions originally defending the Mediterranean arc. The German general staff has already planned, once the current battle is over, to send what remains of it to the rear, for reconstitution or for dismantling and distribution of the survivors in other units.
.........
In the Hérault plain, the fighting starts again. The German infantrymen resist well, but the CCA of the Old Ironside succeeds in obtaining a bridgehead south of Sérignan. The men of the 854 Grenadier Rgt, supported by some armoured attempt a counter-attack against the intruders, but this attempt is brutally chastised by the air support and especially by the naval artillery.
In the Béziers sector, the infantrymen of the CCB of the Spearhead enter the city, but the attempt to overrun through the remains of the 326. ID, to the north of the city, is blocked by the Tiger troops of the 503 sPz Abt.
Finally, the 2nd Armored could only obtain a draw against the positions of KG Stenkhoff and the 950. Grenadier Rgt. Indeed, the American unit is somewhat torn between its push on the front line, its pursuit of the 60. PanzerGrenadier and the support it had to provide to the 53rd RCT (now reinforced, after the 601st TD Btn, by elements of the 1st SSF), which covered its northern flank.
Further north, the fighting calms down between the 3rd US-ID and the 355. ID, well withdrawn on the hills. The Rock of the Marne has nevertheless fulfilled its function; it does not push further, especially as the 6th Artillery Group, operating on its rear, starts to redeploy northward.
In the air, the hauptman Egon Mayer, from JG 2, signs the exploit of the day. After having intercepted a formation of the 15th Air Force, he shot down four American aircraft including two B-17s, bringing his total to 63 victories, including 15 four-engine planes.
For this feat, the swords are added to his knight's cross.

Operation Chambord
Provence - The 5th RTS takes position near the summit of Mont Chauve, which the men of the 715. ID are in the process of abandoning to reposition themselves on Mont Férion. In the rear, the legionnaires of the 4th BMLE come to clean up the sector of the 4th RTS, while the latter reorients itself.
Indeed, phase one of operation Chambord is coming to an end. In this sector, the valley is now open, allowing to expose the rear of Mount Agel, which commands the defense of the Monaco sector. In phase two, while the infantry overrun through the hills, the 6th RCA will put pressure along the coast and on the Corniches, while a group consisting of the 3rd RSM and the 3rd Choc of Colonel Malraux will exploit towards the north.

 

[Wings]

November 4th, 1943

Occupied France - New outing of the Marauder of the 12th AF on the Noball sites, by a weather unusual for this season. The concentrations of Flak are more and more important and cause real bleedings in the American ranks.
On the ground, in addition to the damage caused, the interruption of the work sites during the alerts or the attacks make the people in charge of the works grind their teeth, as they see the construction delays... Especially since the sabotage of the Resistance, or simply the lack of enthusiasm of the forced workers, do not make things any easier.

 

[Wings]

November 4th, 1943

Burma and Malaya Campaign
Burmese Front - The 26th Brigade of the 19th Indian Division links up with the 1st Burmese Division on its eastern flank. Its orders are to move forward of the road from the village of Wei Paug and secure it, advancing if necessary into the first foothills of the mountains in front of it, where the Japanese troops are entrenched. In doing so, the 26th must also try to reach out to the 23rd Brigade on its right, which is having some difficulty in taking Wei Paug.
.........
Tavoy - IJA technicians finish installing a radar. The device is only tested and calibrated only for short periods so as not to arouse Allied suspicion. Its operational use is not planned until the following week, with the return of the fighter sentai in the area.

Indochina Campaign
Ruse
Bac-Me area (Tonkin), 10:00 - Colonel Sakamura looks at the map spread out on the table in the staff tent with the air he usually reserved for his personal enemies. A young officer enters and stands at attention.
- Lieutenant Sakai, report.
- Well...
With his finger, the colonel points to the cedar needle he has just stuck into the map:
"Tell me what happened."
- A classic ambush, sir, in a particularly wooded area. Some firing positions had been prepared in advance throughout the area. A professional. The patrol was wiped out. All killed. The wounded were finished off.
- How many men?
- Fifteen, sir. The enemy must have had casualties, but they took their dead and wounded.
Stiff as a board, Sakamura ostensibly crosses his arms behind his back and forces himself to take thirty seconds to strengthen his voice.
- Launch a retaliatory operation. Raze the nearest village, burn the crops, leave no one alive. And remember to announce it to the whole region.
- Yes, sir. Uh...
- What's wrong?
- I wanted to report something unusual... All the bodies were found... uh, naked.
- Naked?
Sakamura immediately pushes back his first thought. No, it wasn't a humiliation, it was...
- We must expect an infiltration of rebels in Japanese uniforms. Pass the word to all the posts in the area. Have them prepare questions...to ask any unknown soldier.
- Trick questions, sir?
- Yes, sir. For example, ask them the difference between Noh and Kabuki!

Evacuation
Vientiane (Laos), noon - As the Japanese troops leave the city, the Thai garrison bids them farewell in a small ceremony. The propaganda services of both countries film the scene. Their job is surprisingly easy. For the first time since their arrival in Indochina, they do not need to gather the population with rifle butts or make the audience repeat pro-Japanese slogans before launching the cameras. The day passes without the slightest incident.
When the Emperor's soldiers march through the city, some women even give them bouquets of flowers! The experience is astonishing for the Nipponese, who were used to the hostility of the population they had come to liberate from the colonialist yoke.
Another operation, much less publicized, takes place simultaneously not far from there.
It is the withdrawal of the 105 mm Bofors howitzers that cover the city from the Thai side of the river. Officially, the disappearance of tensions in the region allows this lightening of the Thai military apparatus. The Royal Thai Air Force has not operated over Laos for more than a month, the Vientiane garrison is now left to its own devices. But what does it matter, since calm reigns?

Battle of Bac-Me
Bac-Me sector, 13:30 - Pitting on the enemy positions, six Ki-51s attack with anti-personnel bombs and 12.7 mm bursts. Above, the Ki-43 escorts remain on the lookout. Hit by Browning bursts from the ground, a "Sonia" lands near the city, allowing its crew to evacuate it.
16:15 - An identical formation comes to support the garrison again, forcing the French-Vietnamese to remain under the cover of trees and vegetation.
18:00 - Four P-40s of the 76th FS covered by four P-51s of the 340 (B) come to bomb and strafe the city's defenses. They surprise the Japanese who thought they were dealing with friendly aircraft. This is the only appearance of the Epervier aircraft in the Bac-Me area during the day.
22:00 - Four Ki-48s bomb the Franco-Vietnamese lines blindly. A 50 kg bomb hits a first aid post, causing serious casualties among medical personnel and wounded.

Entente cordiale
Cao Bang (Tonkin), 22:30 - Night has fallen. It is cold and the sentries who are on guard duty between the blockhouses of the fortified line near the Chinese border are numb. But the Japanese soldiers remain attentive. They know that rebels on both sides of the border with China, despite multiple pacification operations - a long litany of looting, murder, rape and burning in the surrounding villages and towns. If the Japanese do not show it and admit it even less, they are anxious. It is enough to see the sentries to the slightest noise or the incessant surprise inspections of the lookout posts to understand that everyone is nervous, very nervous.
Supplies arrive at the fortress sparingly. Moreover, it would not arrive if it were not solidly escorted. Finally, at least the garrison soldiers do not risk being murdered on a street corner. The danger is maximum during the patrols between the posts that defend the roads. Given the number of attacks in recent months, it has become a disciplinary chore to be assigned. And let's not talk about the engineering units in charge of repairing the roads! If the soldiers were familiar with Greek mythology, they would probably compare their men to poor Sisyphus, condemned to start again each morning the task he had completed the previous evening.
Two sentries survey a section of the concrete trench that closes off the peninsula where Cao Bang is located, between the Song Bang River and one of its tributaries, when the two men perceive a noise of engines. Planes...
- Probably another raid on Hanoi. I feel sorry for those who will receive the bombs from the Americans.
- So far, raids have never passed through here. In fact, it seems to be coming from the southwest. Oh but, it's getting closer!
At that moment, the roar of the alarm siren echoed through the night. Some searchlights come on, as men rush to the cannons and flak guns. In the blinding rays appear, fleetingly, some black and squat forms appear in the blinding rays. By the time the soldiers get used to the idea that this time it is for them, bombs fall on the fortress, raising geysers of fire and debris. The shelter where the sentinels have taken refuge is shaken by the fist of a giant. Other explosions resound, more distant, then silence returns. The planes are moving away.
- What was that? The French? The Americans?
Actually, "that" was the Wellingtons of the 1st Burma Volunteer Air Squadron (1st BVAS), who are flying their first long-range mission over French Indochina.

New Georgia Archipelago
Operation Littlefoot
Vella Lavella - In his Barakoma HQ, General Harold Barrowclough puts the finishing touches on his plan to drive the last Japanese defenders from the northwestern peninsula of Vella Lavella. Unwilling to overexpose his men to this great cleanup, he chooses to proceed by small amphibious operations, which will be as many jumps allowing to save the troops of the marches through the jungle.
Moreover, he aims to use this mobility, which his opponents do not seem to have, to deny the Nipponese any possibility of maneuver, withdrawal or evacuation.
His 3rd ID will therefore provide the 35th and 37th Battalions, which will go up respectively the southern and northern coasts, thanks to two groups of eight Landing Crafts escorted by PT-Boats. Stopping at each intermediate anchorage, they will secure it before being relieved by other units, mainly from the 30th Battalion. The progression will thus be carried out in a clamp, a clamp that will close on the three northernmost bays of the island, namely Warambari Bay, Marquana Bay and Timbala Bay (from north to south). The 14th Brigade, which remains in reserve, will provide support in the unlikely event of a major blow.
With the orders in place, the units prepare for the first planned landings.

Sino-Japanese War
Operation Zhulin
Jiujiang (Jiangxi) - Wang Lingji, considering that time was against him because the enemy will be better and better entrenched and could receive reinforcements, launches a massive attack on three axes.
The Chinese offensive is supported by a raid of 19 B-25 of the ROCAF, escorted by 10 P-40. The Mitchells particularly target the Japanese artillery concentrations, but do not disdain to strafe groups of soldiers who venture into the open. Thus supported, the 200th Division (or what is left of it), which has bypassed the Dachengmen and Saihu lakes from the west and along the Yangtze River, manages to break through the Japanese front lines at their weakest point, while the 27th and 31st Divisions attack respectively from the east and the south.
But the terrain, dotted with natural and artificial waterways, favors the defense.
The Japanese 39th Division makes the best use of it. It resists with determination and succeeds, not without severe losses, in repelling the Chinese breakthrough.

 

[Wings]

November 4th, 1943

Operation Rumyantsev-TBT- The aftermath
Satisfaction
Berlin - After a long search for a general of the 8. Armee likely to be honored for propaganda purposes - with the operations in Romania ending on a favorable note, heroes are needed to raise the morale of the troops of the HG NordUkraine! - the OKH finally decides to award the Knight's Cross to Karl Burdach (XXVII. ArmeeKorps) for his extreme bravery on the battlefield. It is true that, if we except the very unfortunate incineration of the 125. ID on the banks of the Zbruch last month, his army corps is far from having done badly. It is even the one that has done the best on the whole right of the HG NU! Burdach, however, remains at his post - he may be brave but certainly not Nazi enough to rise to a higher position in these times.

Danube Front
A Romanian Maginot Line
Brăila (Romania) - The Panzer IIIs of the 24. Panzer of von Edelsheim, reinforced by the some Tiger and Panzer IVs of the 502. schw. Pz. Abt, finally arrive at their destination, after an uneventful journey. There they find TACAM and Panzer 747 (r) (in other words, T-34!) of the Romanian armored formations. The handover takes place without any ceremony.
With the phlegm that characterizes soldiers who have no choice but to obey, the men of 1st Armored Division (Alexandru Beldiceanu) and the Armored Guard Division (Radu Gherghe) leave the camp towards the east, leaving to the 8th ID (Dumitru Carlaont) the care to welcome these new guests. However - notwithstanding Antonescu and the German command - the 1st Armored Division will not go to Tulcea. No, it will stop much earlier, in Horia. In order to counter the communist incursions towards Babadag? Perhaps... But in any case, it will be able to intervene in the face of any change of situation along the Danube.
The Bucharest staff would not hold it against Alexandru Beldiceanu - after all, he has to keep in touch with his supervising cavalry corps!

 

[Wings]

November 4th, 1943

Italian campaign
Repression
Occupied Italy - The 15. SS Panzergrenadier Division, taking advantage of the reinforcement of two Czech battalions, sends a Kampfgruppe to operate in the western part of occupied Italy, in the area north of La Spezia. This grouping is to be supported by elements of the Hermann-Göring Division.
In the meantime, the operations of the SS Division Reichsführer between Bologna and Florence are completed. For the last ten days, the balance of the operation reached only 19 "terrorists" killed, 75 prisoners and 33 deported (suspects arrested in the towns and villages of the area), in addition to the more than 700 dead and more than 450 deported.

O Corsa Bella
Ventimiglia - The bad weather over Corsica that hampered take-offs yesterday is easing off a little, swept along by an east wind. The B-24s of the 60th EB(L) managed to find a clearing to return over the valley of the border town. Normally, the Americans of the 15th AF would have joined them (Dupérier was heard), but it is still raining on the Rome side, preventing take-offs. No matter, in a sky free of threats, both cloudy and mechanical, the bombers do their job, not so easily though, because a strong wind blows the pilots around and deflects the bombs - their task is not of any rest.

Balkan campaign
Operation Derby
Balkans - The air raids continue, with an intensity not known since "Apprentice". As if to illustrate the events that are taking place there, it is now Kosovo's turn to be hit hard. The road junctions of Kosovska Mitrovica, Pristina, Prizren and Gnjilane are visited (and shot at) by allied bombers, and the poor railway facilities of Fushë Kosovë (a line in the extension of Skopje) are reduced to useless scrap heaps. More bombers greet Zaječar with their noisy visit. This city is a crossroads not far from the Romanian border... Would the Allies fear an intervention of the Central-Ukrainian AG?

In the beginning was chaos
Around Has (Albanian-Kosovan border) - The night does not calm the spirits of Gani Bey Kryeziu's men - to say the least! Forgetting in their anger who provided them with weapons and ammunition, the fighters call for revenge against the despised collectivists. And woe to the British or the French if they oppose them! This struggle is none of their business! Besides, the Partisans were fighting without their help against the Italians (which is true) and against the Germans (which is much less true...).
While the camp is raised to go back down south, on the rear of the LXVIII. Armee-Korps and in a zone known as acquired with the Communist Party, messengers are dispatched to the various groups of the area: Muharrem Bajraktari, the Hasa brothers as well as the Kelmendi of Prek Cali. For the thinking heads or the uncertain "lords" such as Safet Butka, Prenk Pervizi and the two other Kryeziu brothers, it is considered better to wait.

The Devil's Division
Lezhë (Albania) - About ten kilometers from the front of the river Mat - particularly calm it is true - a ceremony of international integration of an unprecedented kind is taking place. Indeed, convinced by the zeal of the Ustasha in Serbia and Montenegro and by Ante Pavelic's assaults of kindness, Alexander Löhr finally decides to take "on trial" a Croatian regiment to hold a sector of the front. An experiment not necessarily encouraged by his hierarchy, which was always suspicious of Central European auxiliaries, especially since the disasters suffered by the Romanian armies on the Eastern Front. But the chief of the 12. Armee ignored these considerations, putting forward the "Croatian specificity", the excellent results of the 369. ID and above all... his imperative need to use all the firepower.
The unit chosen is the 1st Regiment of the "Devil's Division", commanded by Lt. Col. Viktor Pavičić and renamed for convenience "369th Reinforced Infantry Regiment" or, more pompously, "Croatian Legion" by Ustasha propaganda. This "Legion" replaces one of the regiments of the 100 Jäger of Willibald Utz. Someone in the general staff thought it safer to test the interested parties in the middle of very adaptable elite soldiers... The regiment thus freed will go to replenish the poor 164. ID of Carl-Heinz Lungerhausen, still in reserve at Shkodër since the disaster of "Presage". Thus reinforced both in number and quality, this division could return to the front line.
Croats and Germans, now brothers in arms, exchange flags and salutes at the edge of the Drin River while a brass band plays successively the Horst Wessel Lied and the Lijepa naša domovino (Our Beautiful Homeland, the anthem of the independent state of Croatia). Finally, after the exchange of officers, comes the fascist salute - right arms raised in unison under the lenses of the Propaganda Staffel. The integration of the Croats is good news for Hellmuth Felmy, the leader of the LXVIII. Armee-Korps - but not for almost all the inhabitants of the region, who were already not too spoiled by the march of history...

Dark prospects
Reich Embassy in Sofia - SS-Obergruppenführer Adolf Beckerle is aware of the latest Allied air strikes of Operation Derby, even if he obviously does not know the name. And like Beckerle, like many others, deduced from the noise of the bombs that the Allied armies would soon be going into action again. However, centered on his home turf, the pseudo-diplomat could only note that the allied bombings in Bulgaria are very weak - even if one takes into account the bombing of November 1st. However, he thinks, Bulgaria is still a valuable target for the British. And not one bombing on Sofia, Pernik or Plovdiv, nothing! Finally, if Bulgaria was neutral, he would know about it!
If the British are sparing this country, it is thus that they hope to accommodate it, or even... to seize it? With perhaps with the support of that deceitful Marinov! The monarchies hold each other's elbows, it is well known, with the help of the Jews, as always. Based on these dark deductions, the SS hurriedly sends a new report to his hierarchy, stating that there is a risk of collapse or perhaps even of the toppling of a Bulgarian army in case of an allied offensive. Slavic duplicity!
Beckerle rambles a bit, it is true - but he keeps the humiliation of September 6th in his throat. This time, no one can say that he had not warned!

 

[Wings]

November 4th, 1943

Operation Span
Languedoc - Old Ironside is at it again. Not only does it succeed in expanding its bridgehead, but its CCB, launched in operation, starts a turning movement on the rear of Béziers, where the 3rd Armored, accompanied by the 1st and 3rd Rangers Btn, which had rallied, is in contact. The 11. Panzer retreats in disorder, because it is threatened with envelopment. As a result, the 854 Grenadier Rgt, of the 344. ID, drops out, and above all the 503 sPz Abt had to come to the south of its position to take position in the hole created, in front of the Old Ironside.
North of Béziers, having lost its main support, what remains of the 326. ID is forced to retreat behind the Orb under the blows of the Spearhead's CCA, in company of the 950. Grenadier Rgt. The latter is also subjected to enormous pressure, exerted by the CCA of the Hell on Wheels and by the 18th Artillery Group. KG Stenhoff of the 11. Panzer counterattacks numerous times during the day to cover the retreat of these units, but at this rate, it wears out little by little... At the end of the day, his Panzer Rgt 15 has only three armored vehicles in working order.
A little to the north, the 7th US-ID fights all day around the cirque of Mourèze, pressing hard on the Feldhernhalle. On the other hand, the front is stable at the level of the 3rd US-ID, the latter limiting its operations. But it is not the same all the way to the north of the American sector.
Indeed, in this zone, it is the turn of the 45th US-ID, in the center, to lead the charge against the 165. ID, while, on each wing, the 28th and 1st US-ID are active to fix respectively in an aggressive way the 334. and 243. ID. On the side of the 28th US-ID, attacks against the 754. Grenadier Rgt of the 334. ID, pushed softly from Alès in the direction of the Grand Combe, do not yield much. On the contrary, those against the 755. Grenadier Rgt of this same division are a great success. The pincer attack of the 10th RCT of the 28th US-ID and of the 180th RCT of the 45th US-ID allows, by seizing the Petit Montézé, above Saint-Ambroix, to control the access to the D51 and to drive a wedge into the wing of the 165. ID, between this one and the 334. ID.
In the same sector, the 179th RCT, accompanied by the tanks of the 191st Tank Btn and 645th TD Btn, succeed in breaking through the lines of the 260th Grenadier Rgt of the 165. ID at the hole of St Sauveur de Cruzières. This breakthrough is made possible in particular thanks to the air support provided by the 86th and 358th FG, which deal some very hard blows to the divisional artillery of the 165. ID.
.........
For a few days now, the 86th FG has been flying its new P-51B-A Workhorse aircraft, which have replaced the A-36s that previously equipped it.
Lieutenant Forst, 526th FS, said, "Externally, it's the same aircraft, except for those two huge guns in the wings - and an extra power reserve, but of course, it's not immediately obvious. On the other hand, the way to use it is totally different. Usually, when we worked with the guys from the 358th, they would come in low and draw in the flak while we were diving. Now it's the opposite, the mission of neutralizing the 20 mm is for us while the others arrive from higher up, to attack the artillery positions with the 500-pounder. Actually, I'm quite happy with that. It seems more dangerous, but the Workhorse has the means to defend itself, believe me! With its 40, I have enough to make the first Jerry who looks at me the wrong way swallow his smile. If he's unfortunate enough to open fire, it'll be the last thing he ever does!" [The last sentence was deleted when the interview was published in the Kansas City Star].
.........
This leaves 165. ID almost unsupported at key moments in the assault. At the same time, the attack on the Col de la Serre, held by the 215. Grenadier Rgt, by the 157th RCT of the 45th US-ID, ends in a draw.
Finally, the Big Red One is not outdone by the latest arrival, the Thunderbird. They spend the day fighting in the hills east of Vallon Pont d'Arc, thus preventing any reaction against its neighbor on the left.

Operation Chambord
Provence - The fight for Mount Agel begins. First stage: the attack of La Turbie. The progression is difficult, especially along the coast. The tanks of the 6e RCA, who had orders to limit their losses, systematically call on the Cormorants of GAN 2, but also to the fleet, which has detached two groups of ships to provide close support. One is composed of the cruiser Gloire, the monitor Brisquard (M 100 class) and the destroyers Ouragan, Simoun and Typhon.
The other is composed of the cruiser La Galissonnière, the light monitor Grognard and the destroyers Bordelais, Fougueux and Frondeur. The two groups take turns to ensure a permanent fire support.
The overall impression is that the enemy's defense has not yet stiffened.

 

[Wings]

November 5th, 1943

Mimoyecques - Close to Calais, the fortress of Mimoyecques is considered wrongly as a V2 launching site. dug under a chalky hill, the size of the installations and the fact of finding wells at about 50° of inclination could lead one to believe that, but it is in fact the third retaliation weapon (V3) of the Reich: long-range cannons that could theoretically reach London. 127 meters long, each gun, with a smooth bore, has 32 auxiliary thrust chambers. The whole thing is rigorously untransportable, hence the construction of fixed sites.
For the bombers of the 12th AF, it doesn't matter what the intended use is: it is a target to be treated, period. Alas, the optimistic weather forecasts were not very much in line with reality. A whole group of aircraft cannot find the target, and many planes cannot drop their load either, because they cannot see the target...

 

[Wings]

November 5th, 1943

Tokyo - Stiff as a board, his moustache bristling, Prime Minister Hideki Tojo clears his throat before delivering the opening speech of the Greater East Asia Conference that he had long been calling for. Greater East Asia and its Co-Prosperity Sphere are formed around Japan, the territories conquered by the imperial armed forces and the countries to which the Empire had given back their freedom confiscated by the Western colonialists. In order to organize the development of these countries, Tojo had created the previous year a specific ministry, entrusted to Kazuo Aoki, who officially presides over the conference. The Japanese Prime Minister glances through one of the large windows of the conference room towards the morning sun that is beginning to rise in the sky and allows himself a naively satisfied thought: "Our Empire of the Rising Sun has never been so well named". The room falls silent.
"As a representative of the host nation, it is my privilege to convey to you the sincere thanks of His Imperial Majesty's Government for your participation in this Conference and to provide an update on its vision. Some time ago, Japan proposed the organization of an Assembly of Greater East Asian Nations for the purpose to deliberate as frankly as possible on the policies for continuing the Great East Asian War until its victorious conclusion and the establishment of a New Order in Greater East Asia."
Tojo continues at length. He recalls the glorious exploits of the Armies and Fleets of Japan, armies and fleets that liberated Greater East Asia. He mentions with contempt the colonial empires of the British oppressors of the Indians, Burmese and Malays, of the Dutch oppressors of the Indonesians and the French oppressors of the peoples of Indochina, then he criticizes with virulence the United States of America, "vicious exploiters of the peoples of the Philippines, launched in the vain and suicidal quest for world hegemony". But at no time does he mention the name of one of the countries that had come to pledge allegiance to Japan by participating in the conference...
.........
At the end of the first day of the conference, the representatives of the participating countries come out the vast staircase to be cheered by the crowd massed in front of the building where the meeting is held and pose, of course, for the official photo. Tojo, Aoki and the new Minister of Foreign Affairs, Shigemitsu*, hope that this photo will show in a striking way that the representatives of Greater East Asia, united under the Japanese umbrella, have nothing to envy this clique that the Allies have pompously named "United Nations". The hubbub of the delirious crowd drowns out the voices of the poor photographers who are screaming to explain that we will have to move back a little more so that all the leaders of Greater Asia enter the frame. Their gesticulations bring big smiles to the faces of the assembled diplomats and pleasantly relax the atmosphere of this often tedious conference. These smiles are in no way forced: have we ever seen dogs regretting being flattered by their master?
While everyone goes up or down the steps, readjusting his tie or straightening his hat, Tojo remains at the top of the stairs to get an overview of his "partners".
Although "clients" would be a better name for these almost all self-proclaimed states whose existence is often uncertain, but who have linked their fate to Japan and will certainly see their decision justified by the victory of the Emperor's armies over the cowardly Westerners. There will be many friends of Japan who will reap the fruits of the victory against the despised Colonialists!
The kingdom of Thailand is at the forefront. Certainly, it has given these last months many worries and concerns to the diplomats, sailors and soldiers of the Empire! For a while, some people even believed in a betrayal like those that the German ally had to manage with Italy... But no.
It is true that Thailand declared its neutrality, but its links with Japan remained solid and its support, even indirectly, helped the Imperial Army to preserve Malaya, Singapore and Indochina. In addition, their official representative looks good - which is not unimportant in this part of the world where the important thing is to keep face! It is the Phraya Phaonphon Phayuhasena, Inspector General of the Royal Thai Armed Forces and one of the main conspirators of the 1932 coup d'état that established a constitutional monarchy in Siam: he read in person at that time the "Declaration of the New Siamese State" before serving as Prime Minister of the kingdom for five and a half years. Moreover, he befriended Hermann Göring, who was his fellow student at the Prussian Military Academy at the beginning of the century - this can be useful. Of course, the Foreign Office would have preferred the ace of Thai diplomacy, Prince Wan Waithayakon, former (and brilliant) representative of the country to the League of Nations, before the war. But it seems that he was unavailable... Moreover, the delegation is very few and its members are for the most part unknown to the world of Asian diplomacy, while Thailand is the only state present that is not - frankly speaking - a puppet of Tokyo. The fact that Phraya Phaon is a very close to the former Prime Minister, the famous Phibun, who today has hardly any influence on Thai diplomacy, might be a bit worrying, but for the sake of form (and this is what counts), the kingdom is duly represented. The regent of the said kingdom, Prince Aditya Dibabha Abhakara, has even officially addressed a message to His Imperial Majesty in which he explains that he "has no doubt that he will succeed in the noble task of establishing peace and prosperity in Asia."** So ...
Well! Who is this clumsy and overdressed translator*** trying to get into the picture? Oh, but it is the very official representative of the no less official government of Laos (recognized by the Axis countries and their allies): the viceroy Phetsarath Rattanavongsa, to whom the Japanese gave back his title of nobility (which is not a big deal - anyway, the Japanese do not consider Laos as a kingdom, well not for the moment...for what it changes!). The man is one of the rare pre-war political figures who did not remain loyal to the French colonialists. But viceroy, head of government, Prime Minister or whatever he may be, his authority is hardly recognized outside the capital Luang-Prabang, or even beyond the walls of his palace! And for how much longer?... Finally, for the time being, he brings legitimacy and a little coherence to the dreams of a Greater East Asia, purely Asian, totally free from Western imperialism... and totally submitted to the diktats of the Empire of Japan.
The same can be said of the emperor of Vietnam, Cuong De, a Vietnamese nobleman of the Nguyen lineage, the reigning family to which Bao Dai also belongs, the villain who placed himself under the protection of the colonialists! His personal guard, the Canh Ve Quan, plays a role of the Japanese forces. At least, it tried to do so. Whether it was effective in this role is readily debated by the officers of the Imperial Army... But hey, the title is a nice one and Cuong De has a very nice emperor's costume, obviously ridiculous compared to the one of Showa, but very photogenic.
Ah, finally! A quality collaborator! The very young Son Ngoc Thanh, not yet 35 years old, president of the Khmer Republic. A republic that has offered fighting troops (well, everything is relative, at least disciplined) who fought on the Burmese front against the Allies (well, they ensured the security of the rear). He seems to have some support from his people and has decided to link his fate to that of Greater East Asia as long as his Republic is not touched. If this helps to win the war, why not?
The China of Chen Gongbo (who succeeded Wang Jinwei after the latter's assassination in April) is present, although it is suffering from the rise of Chiang's KMT and the accompanying increase in legitimacy. In recent months, the Kempetai has even suspected that certain high dignitaries of the reorganized government of the "Republic of China" are playing double game - even triple game: one should not forget Mao's communists, even if the Imperial Army gave them very hard blows to punish them for having welcomed the Yankee planes who dared to bomb Tokyo. However, a semblance of order is maintained in the "useful" China that Japan occupies, so the essentials are assured.
Zhang Jinghui is Prime Minister of Manchukuo. The puppet state is now well established thanks to him and his loyalty is exemplary. This warlord who betrayed Chiang Kai-shek will never dare to turn back to the one he betrayed, who seems to believe that his war has been won since the Westerners have been supplying him with arms and equipment via the Burma Road... His Majesty Puyi, sovereign of Manchukuo and ex-emperor of China, was left in his capital so as not to overshadow the Chinese leaders, but Zhang's regime is stable. It is high time that the 200,000 or so men of the Manchu army provide more help to the imperial armies in the quagmire that has become the Chinese front.
Prince Demchugdongrub, the (theoretical) ruler of Mengchuko**** and zealous servant of the pan-Mongolian cause, should have come but cancelled at the last moment. It is said that the war against the Chinese servants of the Colonialists requires all the attention of the prince, anxious to preserve the ancestral glory of his Manchu dynasty, as well as the interests of his position as "prefect of the Right Bank" in the purest style of Imperial China... After all, was he not elevated to the dignity of Jinong of Wude by the emperor Pu-Yi himself?
In reality, the presence of this principal would have made Chen Gongbo lose face, because the Autonomous Federation of Mongolia is (theoretically) vassal of China.
José Laurel's Second Republic of the Philippines is young (not even a month old!) and its balance is precarious. Famine affects the civilian population and empty stomachs tend to revolt more easily... Nevertheless, compared to other places in the Pacific, the Imperial Army and Navy are still relatively quiet there, as long as they are in control of the coasts and the main cities. This Conference is a good way to put forward and give credibility to Japan's front man.
Finally, here is the charismatic Subhas Chandra Bose, head of the Provisional Government of India, who a few weeks ago declared war on the United States, the British Empire and the French Republic. No less! This brilliant orator did a lot for Japanese propaganda among the Indian diaspora. Alas, his Indian National Army is only two divisions strong! Well, let's say one and a half... Worse still: his Free and Independent India only governs the Cathay Building in Singapore. Japan has not been able to give her a square meter of territory to make the illusion. Not even the Andaman Islands, the Navy did try... Bose promised the Indians freedom if they gave their blood. It's time to see how much blood the Indian independence fighters are ready to offer for the victory of Japan. Several Japanese soldiers have already answered this question of the Prime Minister, one of their reports said: "The farther the front line is from the river Padma River is [in present-day Bangladesh], the more the fighting spirit of the Indians will diminish". But since the events of October, the front line is hundreds of kilometers away as the crow flies from the Padma.
The events in question forced the Japanese to abandon the idea of including a Burmese government among the participants in the conference. This was not enough for the press of the allied and even neutral countries, which ironized. A Central American newspaper went so far as to write: "One can say many things about this Tokyo conference, but it will at least have had the merit of making us revise our geography by making us discover countries whose existence we did not even suspect! It is not sure that even their inhabitants know that they live there!"
Finally, the photographers are able to adjust their cameras, the enthusiasm of the crowd does not weaken, the eight heads of state and government are only waiting for the Japanese Prime Minister to immortalize the moment.
As he descends the few steps, Hideki Tojo is thinking. Of China. Of Malaysia. Of American (and even Chinese, the fact was hidden to the people, but he does not ignore it) bombers who dared to bloody the cities of the Japanese archipelago. To the guerrillas in Indonesia, Indochina and the Philippines, which are all thorns in the imperial side. To the Navy and the Army which cannot get along. To the sad lackeys on whom Japanese diplomacy is obliged to rely on in order not to lose the fruits of the conquests of the past years. Does Hideki Tojo, Prime Minister of the Empire of Japan, fear for a moment that all this will not have a happy ending?

* Shigemitsu has replaced Masayuki, who had the crazy idea of trying at all costs and through all official and unofficial channels to get a separate peace signed between Germany and the USSR. Did he really think that an ally of Japan needed this kind of assistance to triumph over its enemies?
** This was the last official act of the prince. Indeed, the Thai Parliament decided a few days later to replace him in the Regency by Pridi Banomyong, a long-time pro-ally.
*** It is amusing to note that the language spoken at this international conference between the countries of Greater East Asia is English...
**** Or Autonomous Federation of Mongolia, not to be confused with Mongolia, a faithful ally of the USSR.

 

[Wings]

November 5th, 1943

North Atlantic - HMS Telemachus (T-class submarine, P 321) sailed from Devonport to reach the Indian Ocean. It was ordered to cruise at about 100 miles between the Gironde and Cape Finisterre, on the probable route of the blockade runners. However, the bad weather prevents it from sailing on the surface and using its radar.
At around 00:30, the hydrophone operator detects a ship at short distance. Back to periscope immersion, the commander discovers a cargo ship sailing on a south-westerly course, with all lights off and will cross the Telemachus' path on the bow at about 700 meters. Without hesitating, he launches six torpedoes from his forward inner tubes. Four of them hit the starboard side of the freighter, which sinks in less than thirty seconds. At daybreak, the Telemachus rescues four men, the only survivors of the Kulmerland.

 

[Wings]

November 5th, 1943

Burma and Malaya Campaign
Burmese Front - The 55th Indian Brigade of the 1st Burmese Division, its right flank secured by the arrival of troops of the 19th Indian Division, launches an assault supported by the 1st Burmese Brigade towards two twin hills marked on the maps by their hills: 480 North and South. The progression is easier than expected: indeed, the 55th Division has almost completed its withdrawal, leaving only a few delaying elements. In front of the improvised entrenchments abandoned by the Japanese, it is easy to deduce that these hills were in fact only a stage in their retreat.
Meanwhile, after reorganizing his troops and calling on the Beaumonts of Sqn 45 and 84, Major General Wynford Rees has the satisfaction of seeing his 23rd Brigade finally take Wei Paug. At the end of the day, it joins the 26th Brigade, on its left.
The orders are not to go further, considering the losses suffered. After Tiger, the 19th Indian Division needs reinforcements and rest.
The 55th Japanese Division can also take a break, now that it had taken refuge behind the lines of the 71st Division. Its orders are to join Tavoy to be reconstituted there while serving as a reserve.

Indochina Campaign
Under cover
Bac-Me area (Tonkin), 11:00 - "The convoy consisted of five trucks coming back from the combat zone and heading towards the depots in the rear. They had been escorted by a self-propelled gunner on the way out, but now they were driving alone. Nevertheless, next to the driver of each vehicle was an armed guard and two others in the back. This was just a precaution, no one was expecting an ambush on a road that is traveled daily by troops going into battle. Besides, on the way back, the trucks were empty (apart from the occasional lucky casualty) and therefore of little interest.
The guard sitting at the front of the first truck straightened up.
Gotou, the guys at this guard post are being overzealous, I swear!" he said to the driver.
The driver nodded. Usually, the soldiers stayed in the shelter of the building that housed the post. With the roadblock across the road and the soldiers in front of it, it looked like something serious had happened.
The truck stopped at the entrance to a chicane formed by two barricades of sandbags and bamboo stakes. Two FMs on the sides covered the approaches.
Gotou leaned out of the car door when the lieutenant in charge of the detachment asked for his papers in a barely intelligible voice.
- Has something happened, Lieutenant?
- We are looking for rebels in Japanese uniforms.
The driver shuddered. Rebels in disguise! That explained the strange attitude of the guards at the roadblock. All of them had guns in their hands and none of them were talking. The officer himself even seemed unusually tense. Gotou hesitated, but the natural deference for an officer-an almost godlike being to a private, or even to a corporal like him-nailed his tongue to the floor.
- Get down!
The dry voice, without a single unnecessary word, urged Gotou to comply without reluctance. But as soon as he was on the ground, he felt in danger. The scene was becoming disturbing. The silent soldiers were not watching their surroundings, but they did not take their eyes off the trucks. Almost involuntarily, Gotou's gaze fell on a small round hole in the soldier's jacket, in the middle of a large dark halo, which was all the more strange because the uniform seemed to have been washed recently. Gotou looked at another soldier. He, too, was wearing a clean uniform, but the laundry had failed to remove all traces of a large stain from which a faded halo remained. For some reason, these cleaning failures suddenly seemed very important to the driver. A round hole... Stains... Rebels in Japanese uniforms...
Gotou shuddered and turned to the postmaster. The latter, surprised, stood still, his hand on the Nambu pistol at his belt. The two men stared at each other for a moment. It was as if they were reading each other's minds. "These are not Japanese!
Gotou shouted as he pounced on his opponent. "Fire!" commanded the pseudo-lieutenant.
As Gotou and the "rebel" rolled to the ground, the FMs opened fire on the convoy's guards, cutting them down. Some tried to flee into the forest, but the Vietnamese came out and shot them. It was over in an instant. Only the corporal was captured alive, the fake Japanese knocking him out with rifle butts.
The only European in the group, Lieutenant Delayen turned to Warrant Officer Bui: "Well, that was a close call. Go and hide the bodies of the couriers with those of the post, there's no need to leave more traces than necessary. Let's move on to phase four!"
Looking at his men running around to carry out the rest of the plan, he couldn't help but notice the rings left by the blood. The Congai had tried every trick in the book to remove them, but it hadn't worked."
.........
11:45 - "Depot No. 75, quickly improvised to store ammunition and explosives, was a vast hole in the ground surrounded by sandbag walls. Its roof of boards covered with vegetation as camouflage, was not a very reliable protection in case of an air raid, but an embankment topped by a bamboo hedge, reinforced by sandbag bunkers and watchtowers, prevented any attack from the outside.
The men guarding the perimeter were worried. They had heard gunshots half an hour earlier. The officer in charge of the depot, Lieutenant Osuke Kanagawa, had sent a brief message to report the incident, but he had received no response.
A whirring of engines drew a thin smile from the lieutenant. He took out his binoculars and scanned the road to look at the five trucks rattling in the dust. They were a little late, but nothing dramatic. As the first vehicle reached the entrance to the depot, gunfire suddenly erupted from the rice fields and nearby forest. A mortar shell detonated against the embankment, denting the perimeter a bit. Kanagawa swore - the shot must have been aimed at trucks, a rare and precious commodity on this front.
- Let the convoy through, let them take cover, quickly!
The vehicles entered the camp and that's when everything changed. Some men jumped out of the trucks. Some were in Japanese uniforms, but others had a variety of outfits and an arsenal that was just as varied. Vietnamese! They must have known the area, because they split into several groups, attacking the the defenses in reverse. An FM was placed in battery at the foot of the large watchtower and shot down the sentries. A Viet armed with a Thompson opened fire on Japanese soldiers who were swinging a machine gun on the rampart inward. Another attacker pulled the pin on a grenade and threw it into a tree trunk blockhouse. The headquarters barrack was stormed in an instant; the radio operator collapsed at his post before he could even get a message out.
Attacked by surprise from the inside and the outside, the garrison offered only a weak resistance. Ten minutes after the beginning of the attack, the shots became sporadic before completely dying out. Already, Lieutenant Delayen was taking matters into his own hands.
"Load the trucks with the 75 mm shells, quickly! We have to be gone in half an hour!"
While some men were busy carrying boxes of ammunition, others were laying out sticks of dynamite, detonators and other demolition tools. The half hour had passed, they were the last to set the timer.
The attackers had strayed into the forest when a powerful explosion depleted the ammunition stockpile in Depot No. 75 in one fell swoop. The trucks were already far away, driving at high speed. They had a rendezvous with sampans waiting in one of the innumerable waterways of the region. Once the shells had been transferred to these more discreet transports, the compromising vehicles would be burned. It would be hard to guess which way the members of the Pirate commando had fled." (According to Pascal N'Guyen-Minh, Le Guerrier des Rizières, op. cit.)

Anti-guerrilla warfare
Saigon - Tan-Son-Nhut - The flight tests follow one another for the ex-Thai planes and their young pilots under the supervision of a few experienced pilots coming out of hospitals. Run-in, aerial maneuvers, target shooting follow one another until the Ki-43 and Ki-36 are declared operational.
Their flights take them as far as the Lap-vo chain, and even the Gulf of Siam. They show themselves as much as possible to raise the morale of the soldiers... and above all to prove to the rebels that in Cochinchina, it is still the Imperial Army that controlled the skies.
.........
Mekong Delta (Cochinchina) - Flying over the Western Vai-co, a Ki-76 [Stella] spots a group of individuals loading sampans in one of the many branches of the river. Circling away, the small plane is joined after ten minutes by two E7K2 [Alf] who heard his radio call. But as soon as they approach, the du-kich* disappear into the vegetation while the Japanese planes smash their boats to smithereens.

Sino-Japanese War
Operation Zhulin
Jiujiang (Jiangxi) - The situation in Jiujiang becomes bogged down. General Wang Lingji attempts this time to concentrate his mechanized elements and the 27th ID to the east, while a diversionary attack is carried out by the 31st ID, to the south.
The situation seems for a moment on the verge of tipping in favor of the Chinese, but the Japanese air force launches 16 Ki-51 escorted by nine Ki-43 coming from Wuhan, which take all the risks to support their troops efficiently. If three "Sonia" are shot down, the attack is stopped and the Chinese are forced to withdraw to their positions.

* Soldiers of the Vietminh irregular units (while the bo-dois are those of the regular regiments).

 

[Wings]

November 5th, 1943

Liberated Ukraine - After long days of tracking, Taras Bulba-Borovets issues an order to his still loyal troops prescribing "new tactics of struggle" - which now imply avoiding combat and blending in with the population.
In reality, this instruction is not far from signing the dissolution of the UPA, ravaged by desertions and now facing the hostility of the peasants on which it traditionally relied - who are tired of its requisitions and reprisals. The Ukrainian People's Revolutionary Army has lived on - even if some detachments will still be active several more years, roaming about in near-autarchy. According to some, Alfred Hitchcock was inspired by their looting for the famous scene of the bus stopped by highwaymen in his film The Torn Curtain. However, for Ukrainian independence fighters - now harassed by vast raids, later followed by the infiltration of Turkmen units or the use by the NKVD of "unconventional" methods (fake troops of the ARPU, diffusion of drugs, poisoning of wells, promises of pardon never followed by effect...) - the times are hard.
Taras Bulba-Borovets will thus leave his country in 1947, to emigrate to the United States then to Canada. Across the Atlantic, he will continue to write manifestos and to publish patriotic magazines (among which The Sword and the Will), which will be sometimes diffused in Ukraine thanks to the services of the CIA. Very active in the circles of resistance to the Soviet regime, he participated in the formation of the Ukrainian National Guard as well as in the direction of the Union for the Liberation of Ukraine. Then, he will fall out with his political friends of the Ukrainian Radical Democratic Party - from which he will withdraw - before being for a time member of the organization of the Ukrainian Free Cossacks. Still later, finally returned to a more civil life, he will decide to write his memoirs under the title Army without State - these memoirs will be published in the magazines that were secretly distributed beyond the Iron Curtain.
Bulba-Borovets died in New York in 1981. The entire Ukrainian diaspora was represented at his funeral, from the singer Lina Shirei to General Peter Smorodsky (former head of the People's Republic of Ukraine). And in his funeral oration, the archbishop of the Belarusian Autocephalous Orthodox Church, Archbishop Izyaslav, did not fail to express his "firm conviction that the recent struggles of the two neighboring and fraternal nations against ungodly enemies will not have been in vain and will bear fruit in the form of the independent states of Ukraine and Belarus."
The future was to prove the archbishop partly right. Today, Taras Bulba-Borovets is an honored in many Ukrainian towns with busts, monuments, streets, while he regularly appears in various historical works or in novels, and in particular in the trilogy The Blood of the Holidays, of which he is one of the main characters. This last work describes the events that led to the creation of the creation of the UPA, recounts its struggle against the Soviets and then against the Germans and the brief existence of the Olevsk Republic. As is only fitting, in 2019 - and despite the many shadowy areas as to the true activities of the UPA - the Ukrainian government finally decided to offer the few remaining Bulba-Borovets fighters the status of veterans - exactly as for the veterans of the Red Army.