ColonelY wrote: Fri Apr 03, 2020 9:39 am
SCENARIO: OPERATION VÉSUVE – THE LIBERATION OF CORSICA:
Although not very well known, the Liberation of Corsica is a true epic!
Let me introduce it to you first, then we can dive more deeply towards the actual corresponding scenario…
Well, in short:
Networks, "maquis" (scrub), secret missions of the Free French, undercover English agents, an island occupied by 80,000 Italian soldiers, airdrops and arms deliveries by submarines from Algiers, shootings, ambushes, daily survival, radio links, clandestine printing works, caves in the maquis, betrayals, arrests, executions by the Ovra (the Italian gestapo), liberating battles from the 9th September to the 4th October 1943...
The internal Resistance (almost 12’000 fighters wearing Moorish-headed armbands!) fought first against the Italians and then, once Italy had surrendered to the Allies, fought massively against the Germans (including some formidable SS unit!) sent to hold their island... At that time, even the Italians will sometimes help the Resistance to fight against their former allies, the Germans... Then the Free French sent reinforcements: 5'000 men of shock battalions and Moroccan battalions. With the internal Resistance, even the help of Italian divisions, the fight continued against the German divisions.
The final battle will take place in Bastia, a martyred city...
The liberation of Corsica, it was a total surprise in the political landscape of 1943. It fed in real time Charles de Gaulle's political will and thinking and accelerated the Allied victory. Indeed, this strategic island for Hitler was liberated a year ahead of Eisenhower's plans! And this, even without the help of the 6 divisions initially planned!
******
After the Franco-German armistice signed on the 22nd June 1940, Corsica was in the Free Zone. It will remain so until the 11th November 1942, when Italian troops invaded Corsica: 85’000 Italian soldiers! The period of Italian-occupied Corsica, as well as the development of the Resistance, has begun… These 85’000 Italians will be joined a little later, in June 1943, by 15’000 soldiers of the German troops, i.e. a total army of 100’000 men for a population of “only” 215’000 inhabitants. So almost one occupier for every two inhabitants took position all over Corsica and requisitioned the houses…
So, from the 11th November 1942 on, the Resistance took shape and organized itself. And from North Africa, where the Allies had already gained a foothold, arms, ammunition and radio sets arrived clandestinely. These deliveries were made by submarines and their missions from mid-December 1942, and by parachuting from the spring of 1943.
Two missions left Algiers for Corsica in December 1942 and January 1943. They acted without consultation. One of them, “Sea Urchin”, was prepared in London under the control of General de Gaulle (few guys disembarked from the British submarine Tribune during the night of 6 to 7 January), later followed by the “Frederick” mission (few guys disembarked from the British submarine Saracen during the night of 10 to 11 February). The other, “Pearl Harbor”, was the emissary of the services of General Giraud installed in Algiers (few guys disembarked from the French submarine Casabianca during the nights of 5 to 7 February).
Then as famous anecdotes, there was too:
The 10th March, after an unsuccessful attempt at Canelle, the submarine Casabianca went further south, to the cove of Favone, and succeeded in its mission of recovering two members of the Pearl Harbor mission and five crew members of the submarine who had remained involuntarily (!) in Corsica during previous landings on the west coast of the island.
Please take as good note that the Free French submarine Casabianca has even been called the elusive "
Phantom Submarine"!
(
This is enough nice to be mentioned, to appear somewhere within this scenario…)
In the summer of 1943, the Casinca Resistance (
yeah, they needed names!) had set up its HQ, where they installed the printing equipment which they had taken from the Italian Consulate in Bastia… there, more than 50’000 leaflets and "
Le patriote", the National Front newspaper as well as "
Terre corse", the Communist Party newspaper, will be printed...
Yeah, here as well there was many Communists!
Here is already a map of Corsica showing the different locations where the submarine Casabianca was acting (1942-1943):
http://www.itineraires-liberation-corse ... li/1170%20
This is, of course, just a glimpse of the whole... But there is no real point in developing it all. Let’s focus on what may be useful to create scenarios, shall we?
But still, like this there should already be enough matter to make nice and relevant scenario briefings and descriptions…
*******
When Italy's capitulation was announced, the National Front of the Insular Resistance issued an insurrection order on 9th September 9. Ajaccio was liberated the same day (with some fighting against the Germans, and Italian support for the resistance fighters). Ajaccio thus became the bridgehead where the troops, almost exclusively French, from Algiers, landed from 13 September.
Maps of the action (with arrows!):
https://www.secondeguerre.net/articles/ ... corse.html (with airfields too!)
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File ... uselang=fr
***
Known forces:
French forces:
-> Local partisans (from various groups): almost 12’000 men
-> “1er bataillon de choc” (elite paratroopers, who had partly travelled on… the famous submarine Casabianca!)
-> An important part of the “4e Division marocaine de montagne” (4e DMM), commanded by gen. Louchet, i.e. the “1er Régiment de tirailleurs marocains”, the two first squadrons of the “4e Régiment de spahis marocains” (almost like a recon unit, but on light tanks – the Stuart?), the third group (or a squadron) of the “69e Régiment d’artillerie de montagne”.
-> “2e Groupe de tabors marocains” (2e GTM), around 3’000 men, called « les goumiers » (who were in principle Berbers;
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File ... uselang=fr)… light infantry, composed by 3 battalions, the “1er Tabor”, the “6e Tabor” and the “15e Tabor”… (by the way, this 2e GTM was one of the six most decorated French infantry units of the Second World War!)
-> Naval forces: cruiser Jeanne d’Arc, destroyers Le Fantasque, Le Terrible, Alcyon, Fortune et Tempête, submarine Casabianca… The cruiser Montcalm appeared sometimes to help -> so may be spawned at some point !
Italian forces on French side:
-> A part of the occupational garrison, namely the divisions Friuli and Cremona… These two units have been put, by the Italian HQ, directly under the command of the French general Louchet (4e DMM)!
20th Infantry Division “Friuli” (gen. Lorenzis): 87th Infantry Regiment, 88th Infantry Regiment, 35th Artillery Regiment (with an AA group, 20 mm, and with 100/17, 75/27, 2x 75/18 field cannons groups), 88th Blackshirt Legion (!), 20th Engineer Battalion and 20th AT Company (47/32 AT-guns), for the main relevant units…
44th Infantry Division “Cremona” (gen. Pedrotti), composed mainly by the 21st Infantry Regiment, the 22nd Infantry Regiment, the 90th Calabria Blackshirt Legion (!), 7th Artillery Regiment (with an AA group, 20 mm, and with 100/17, 2x 75/27 field cannons groups), 144th AT Company (47/32 guns), 13th Armored battalion (with motorized MG company)…
-> Destroyer Aliseo + gunboat Cormorano (both having sunk at least seven German ships in the Bastia’s harbor on the 9th September 1943 – small battle of Pietracorbara!)
US special forces:
It seems that around 400 of them were involved in Corsica too, towards the end of the action...
German forces:
“90e Panzergrenadier Division”, including as “Panzergrenadier Regiment” (motorized) the 200th and the 361st and maybe still the 155th*, plus the “190th Panzer Battalion”, the “190th Artillery Regiment”, the “242nd Sturmgeschütz Battalion” and the “1st/190th AT Company” (with tank-destroyers!)
*If they had already no longer the 155th Panzergrenadier Regiment, then they should have had instead the recon group “Panzer Aufklärungs Abteilung 190”…
SS Sturmbrigade “Reichsführer SS” (which contained at least a motorized battalion – but could have already been upgraded to a real division – with another name, I’m not sure… ‘should be checked!) -> this brigade (
or more!) oversaw the defense of the Teghime Pass, over Bastia, a Pass they begin to lose the 2nd October 1943…
Italian forces staying on German side:
An unit of paratroopers…
***
The Germans have retaken Bastia; the Resistance strongly held the central mountains to prevent the Germans to use them to send troops from the East to the West or the opposite… the Germans received troops from Sardinia but were in a process of evacuation!
The “4e division marocaine de montagne”, disembarked in Ajaccio from Algiers, must intercept these evacuating German troops, covered by the RAF and the USAAF for air support, whereas the Germans must reach the Northern Italy to help putting there a stand…
=> This will make a great and somewhat unusual scenario: Germans evacuating an island, trying to delay the Allies, while Italians helping Frenchies full on pursuit...
I suggest starting this scenario on September 29, 1943, when the Allies have already disembarked and conquered a good part of the island... including
Porto-Vecchio in the southeast. So duration:
September 29 - October 4! (
This seems a reasonable and won't impose too many "crossroads").
The Germans are evacuating from Bastia and other ports on the east coast, blowing up bridges to slow the Allies down...
The
San Stefano pass must be taken, then the
Teghime pass (
historically this was done on September 30 and October 3 respectively), then the final push to seize
Bastia!
With as objectives, of course, the capture of several places on the map, perhaps even with deadlines, but also (
why not? ) the sinking of several German ships fleeing to the east and/or northeast... For this, there is at least a famous Free French cruiser and a famous Free French submarine (the
Casabianca, nicknamed the elusive "
Phantom Submarine" – this should be mentioned), as well as, if needed, an overwhelming air superiority and few of the other mentioned ships...
Finally, within the texts for "Major Victory", “Minor Victory”, etc. the following facts could/should be mentioned to respect the History and add even more flavor to the campaign:
1. Corsica is the first part of France (as such, therefore without considering the colonies here) to have been liberated from the Occupation.
2. It has been liberated a year earlier than Eisenhower's plan and even without the help of the six divisions provided for that purpose.
3. The island, nicknamed "USS Corsica", serves from now on as a very useful and welcomed air base for Allied operations in Northern Italy and in Provence (Southern France). 
Two big pictures, just in case:
https://france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr ... 81695.html
https://france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr ... 38064.html
The supporting British ships have to leave these waters at some points, that's on purpose, so that shouldn't be an issue. 
Does it mean that you've seen the 
) there should be 1 western Construction group (
and it is obvious that it is a mistake to deploy planes in north ( i haven't tested it) 
