Evidence suggested eight aircraft lost on the flight, which meant that the division was still effective and able to do what it was supposed to do.
That could not be said of the Polish Parachute Brigade to the north-east, who had suffered under the night-fighters and flak, losing a number of valuable aircraft and gliders.
Part of the unit, nearly three companies in total, jumped over unfriendly forces, receiving ground fire from Soviet NKVD troops and members of Polish 2nd Army. The latter had no idea of the identity of their attackers as they had not been involved in the Polish deception.
Polish soldiers of the 36th Regiment, 8th Infantry Division, slaughtered over two hundred paratroopers of the Polish Parachute Brigade.
On the 26th March 1946, the British Broadcasting Corporation began its new BBC Russian Service, broadcasting short wave radio programming toward the Soviet Union.
The initial item was a news programme, describing the war as the Allies saw it, and impressing upon the Soviet people the inevitable conclusion.
The concept had initially been part-propaganda tool, part genuine wish to share unembellished news.
The announcements that followed the news also served a third purpose, as an item regarding a new Government policy towards the Nationalist movement in the Ukraine reached waiting ears.
Those ears that only needed to hear the six key words to initiate a revolt within the USSR, bringing the Ukrainian people into more direct opposition with those that they saw as occupiers and oppressors.
The radio in a small factory office in Chaiky, Kiev, struggled to stay on frequency as the announcer went through his script.
“Therefore, in the matter of a sovereign Ukraine…”
“…His Majesty’s Government is increasingly adamant…”
“…That the matter should be incorporated in any agreements on the political restructuring of the post-war Soviet State.”
Shouts of joy and encouragement rang out, the coded message for action quite clearly received, and the armed group moved off to visit itself upon the nearby Soviet airbase.
In scores of places across the vast Ukraine, men and women slipped out into the early morning cold to hit pre-selected targets, intent on damaging as much of the Soviet war machine as possible, before slipping away to recover and repeat the process the following night.
And, for that matter, repeat it every night necessary until the Soviet Union no longer held sway over their country.
The Ukrainian Uprising had begun.
High and low tides were not a problem for the approaching seaborne forces, as the Baltic had no significant tidal range.
The major issue had always been ice, and for weeks, reconnaissance aircraft had been studying the sea ice, and other aircraft had visited particular areas with bombs or napalm, just to assist the thawing process.
Allied planning made sure that the alternate areas in the Baltic States and Norway also received attention.
Last observations had confirmed that ice would not inhibit the landing forces. However, its continued presence in the North, and in the Gulf of Bothnia, would not help any Soviet response, not that the Red Navy had much capacity to interdict the large Allied Naval forces committed to the enterprise.
As per the Allied request, the friendly Polish forces had set out coloured markers in lines of three, designed to steer incoming landing craft into the correct beach areas.
Lessons learned off the coast of Normandy could be applied, but landing on friendly territory, with the cooperation of forces in situ, made the whole operation much smoother.
The chugging of the approaching landing craft made many a Polish soldier tighten his grip on his weapon, until the familiar tones of Polish voices raised in excitement relaxed them.
Soldiers of the 8th Brigade, 4th Free Polish Infantry Division, supported by tanks from the 14th Lancers of the 16th Polish Armoured Brigade, led the first wave. Heavily laden soldiers ran down the grounded ramps, through the chilly waters of the Baltic, buoyed by their return to their native land.
The organised beach deployment rapidly descended into happy chaos, as soldiers in different uniforms, united by a common language and nationality, embraced each other in celebration.
Officers and NCOs barked orders, trying to separate the two forces and gain some sort of order, but the Poles had been subjugated for far too long for such an historical moment to pass quickly.
It was 0630 before the first organised units from either group made their way off the beach and inland, leaving room for the next wave to land behind them.
A number of the assembled orders group showed the signs of their stiff encounter with the NKVD unit that had tried to force its way up Route 11.
2nd Fallschirmjager’s 7th Regiment had been tasked with blocking any movement by Soviet forces, and had arrived at Route 11 just in time to engage a large force of NKVD troops.
A hasty attack had cut the road and a blocking force was set in place to hold any further Soviet attempts to advance.
Two such efforts had been made, and made with great force, the final attempt only being stopped by a swiftly organised counter-attack, led by Major Kurt Schuster, formerly of FallschirmBatallion Perlmann, heroes of the defence of Hamburg.
The Perlman soldiers had been absorbed into the 7th Regiment, serving as its third battalion.
Perlmann now commanded the regiment, or what was left of it, as the NKVD assaults had badly savaged his jager platoons. His temporary aid stations were overflowing and already creaking under the pressure of work created by two hours of hideous battle.
A brief radio conversation took place with the headquarters of the commanding General, Wladyslaw Bortnowski, Lieutenant General of the Polish Liberation Army Group.
The Group had been created on the shores of the Baltic and consisted of friendly units of the 1st Polish Army, the specially constituted Polish Tenth Army, whose units were still coming ashore, and the 1st Allied Airborne Corps, whose paratrooper and glider elements had landed throughout Northern Poland.
By the time Perlmann handed back the radio handset he understood that, although help would soon be at hand for the Fallschirmjager, things were not all going the Allies way, and that there was still the potential for abject failure.
Chapter 140 – THE BEGINNING
History shows that there are no invincible armies.
From the Baltic to the Adriatic, eyes watched, waiting, as innumerable second hands swept round circular dials, bringing Europe inexorably to renewed conflict on a huge scale.
Five Allied Army Groups were ready to move forward and take the fight the Red Army, ready to start the long road back to the Polish border… and beyond.
At 0845 precisely, the Spectrum plans required huge artillery forces to commence a short sharp bombardment of enemy defences.
Along the Allied lines, thousands of gun commanders gave orders that triggered their weapons and launched metal into the cold air. The artillerymen worked hard, oblivious to the damage caused when their contributions arrived on target; they just concentrated on serving their gun.
Allied reconnaissance had been excellent, or so it seemed, and many Soviet positions had been discovered and slated for destruction.
The artillery was superbly handled and accurate, and many a Soviet soldier died without truly understanding that the war had suddenly gone ‘hot’ again.