WesWorld

[SIZE=3]Q2/1942 SUMMARY[/SIZE]

April 1
The movie La Symphonie fantastique opens at the Cinema Normandie in Paris.

April 2 - Le Figaro
Capitaine Jean Mallet-Percier and Monsieur François Hussenot announced the formation of a school in Brétigny-sur-Orge specifically for aircraft test-pilots. Called the Ecole du Personnel Navigant, the school will teach both theoretical and practical skills. "The goal of the test pilot is to push the bounds of the human experience," Mallet-Percier explained. "They must be part pilot and part polytechnician. The goal of our Ecole is to bring together in one program the synthesis of the aeronautical engineer and the pilot."

April 5
The Protestant and Catholic world celebrates Easter.

April 6 - Paris-Soir
A Hòn Non Bô garden has opened in the Paris suburb of Suresnes. The garden, created by Vietnamese poet and gardener Dao Vang Tong, is intended to help expose French people to the culture of Indochina, and as such admission to the garden is free.

April 7
After some preliminary at-sea exercises in the Mer Celtique and port calls in Cherbourg and Dunkerque, the heavy cruiser Téméraire and the destroyers of the 4th Flotilla Torpilleurs have arrived at Antwerp, beginning a week-long port call on the Belgian capital city.

April 8
The Aeronavale has placed an order for an unidentified number of Bloch MB.1050D Milan Royals, an updated variant of the current carrier-based fighter. Also ordering the MB.1050D is the Indochinese Air Defense Group.

April 9 - Le Nouvel Economiste
With the rise of a more affluent upper and middle class in Liban comes opportunities for business. Amongst the new Lebanese entrepreneur class are the five Rasamny brothers, who founded Rasamny Motors in Beirut two years ago after a failed venture in Liberia. Rasamny Motors quickly became the largest dealer of automobiles in the region, importing Citroen cars and Renault trucks. The brothers have also established an import business working with Colgate-Palmolive, an American consumer products corporation. The brothers are currently exploring the possibility of offering other automobile brands.

April 10
The Marine Nationale bade farewell to the battleships Provence and Bretagne today during simple ceremonies in Marseilles and Tunis, where the ships are being scrapped.

April 12
The heavy cruiser Téméraire and the destroyers of the 4th Flotilla Torpilleurs have completed their port call at Antwerp, and have departed to wander around the North Sea for a few days before their scheduled arrival for a port call at Oslo.

April 14 - Agence Havas
Prime Minister Monnerville announced today that he plans to hold a Conference for the Development of Colonial Africa in mid June. The Conference will bring together French colonial governors and local leaders in order to discuss issues of regional planning, economics, transportation, education, and political movements.

April 15
Pierre Veyron drove his Bugatti racing car to victory in the French Grand Prix, held at the Reims-Gueux circuit. Placing a close second was Jean-Pierre Wimille, driving for Panhard.

April 15
ONERA announced today that the Centre d'Essais en Vol in Brétigny-sur-Orge has completed the first in-flight test of the Rateau-Anxionnaz A.60 turbojet engine, lashed to a Bloch MB.161 mothership. A previous flight testing attempt on April 10th ended prematurely when the engine caught fire shortly before takeoff. Following the necessary minor repairs, the engine was re-mounted aboard the MB.161.

According to sources within ONERA, the A.60 turbojet has fallen well short of its design goals thus far despite its successful trial today, producing only six hundred kilograms of thrust rather than the sixteen hundred kgf intended. The turbojet has been running fairly successfully on the test stand for nearly nine months now.

April 17
The heavy cruiser Indochinie, escorted by destroyers Le Terrible, Unité, Corcyre and oiler Cap Ferrat, departed Suva, Fidji today to conduct a series of port calls along the western Pacific coast.

April 18
Heavy cruiser Téméraire completed its port call at Oslo and departed to return to Brest.

April 20
The French parliament voted today on a proposal, supported by M. Frédéric Joliot-Curie and President Theisman, to create the Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique.

April 24
The movie La duchesse de Langeais debuted today in Paris. The movie, based on a novella by Balzac, is directed by Jacques de Baroncelli, and stars Edwige Feuillère, Pierre Richard-Willm, and Aimé Clariond.

April 27
The heavy cruiser Indochinie and its escorts arrived at the Japanese port of Sasebo for a visit.

April 30
The best-looking battleships in the world are completed in La Rochelle for the French Navy. The two new vessels, Liberte and Justice, will replace the old battleships Provence and Bretagne.

May 1
Four thousand members of the French Communist Party marched in May Day demonstrations down the Champs-Élysées. The march proved to be particularly boisterous and disruptive, with one of the march leaders, Bernard Robert, exhorting the crowd to 'rise up against the tyranny of the secret iron-fisted World Hegemony.'

When the Communists marchers became particularly disruptive as they approached the Arc de Triomphe, setting fire to parked cars and accosting uninvolved bystanders, gendarmes moved in to restore order. Eighty-five Communist marchers were arrested after clashing with the police.

May 4
The French cruiser Indochinie departed Sasebo, Japan, for her next port call in Vladivostok. A spokesman for the Marine Nationale stated "We'd like to thank the Japanese for their warm welcome."

May 6
The Indochinie and her naval task group arrived at the Russian port of Vladivostok for a port call.

May 7
Construction crews have started work near the town of Forbach to link the French A5 autoroute to the German autobahn terminus at Saarbrucken. Once the A5 is completed, an event planned for April 1943, it will be possible to travel easily between Paris and Berlin.

May 9
Hermann Lang of Germany narrowly edged out René Dreyfus of France and Giuseppe Farina of Italy to score a victory in the Monaco Grand Prix.

May 12
The cruiser Indochine and her task group departed Vladivostok today at the close of a week-long port call. The Indochine and the other ships of the task force were opened to public tours by the Russian populace, and Capitaine de Vaisseau Jean-Pierre Courtois took the opportunity to host a banquet and reception on the cruiser's aft deck, inviting the local notables and numerous Russian naval officers.

May 14
The Parcs Nationaux de France submitted their official recommendation to the French Parliament today, nominating seven regions to become French national parks. Parliament is unlikely to forward any bills for the creation of national parks until later this year.

May 15
The Indochinie and her task group anchored today in the mouth of the of the Yangtze River. Indochinie paid traditional respects to the Chinese warships in the estuary.

May 18
DEFA has established the Ballistics and Aeronautical Research Laboratory (LRBA) to oversee weapons development. Among the projects which shall be overseen by the LRBA is the development of artillery rockets, as well as other miscellaneous armaments.

May 19
Groupement Aérien de Transport 1 reported their successful conversion to the new Breguet-Nord Normandie heavy transport. The Groupement is one of five re-equipping to support the 1ère Brigade Parachutiste.

May 20
The Cannes Film Festival opened today on the French Riviera. The festival is rapidly becoming one of the major events on international cinema scene, and many of Europe's renowned actors, actresses, and directors have come to attend.

May 21
The Indochinie and her task group departed Shanghai after the completion of a successful port call. The cruiser's next stop will be Manila.

May 23
The Cannes Film Festival finished today, with Armand Brulé's Joyeux Noël, recounting the 1914 Christmas Truce, taking the top honor of the Grand Prix du Festival International du Film. Also highly regarded by critics, although little-noticed by press or movie-goers in 1941, was the movie Tezekka, about a French officer leading Algerian troops during the Rif-Atlas Revolt.

May 25
Heavy cruiser Indochinie and her task group arrived at the Filipino capital city of Manila today, beginning a week-long port call. The cruiser was escorted into the harbor by the Filipino 3rd Torpedo Boat Squadron, "the Expendables", and exchanged salutes with the Filipino navy ships present at Manila.

May 27
Societie Bloch confirmed that it has acquired a controlling interest in Avions Amiot and Loire-Nieuport, and stockholders have approved a three-way merger of the companies.

May 30
The Eiffel Tower was closed for six hours today as police talked down a young woman who had declared her intent to jump off. Tourists reported that the woman was acting suspiciously and attempted to climb out from one of the observation platforms, whereupon gendarmes were summoned. A police negotiator spoke with the woman for an extended period of time before she consented to climb back down to the observation platform and be taken into police care. According to police, the woman was distraught that her Italian boyfriend had broken up with her.

June 2
The cruiser Indochinie and her task group departed Manila today at the completion of a week-long port call. Capitaine de Vaisseau Jean-Pierre Courtois and the task group's senior officers dined as guests of Filippino Admiral Sebastian Casca at the Officers Club of the Cavite Naval Station, while enlisted men received shore liberty to tour one of the great cities of the Pacific Rim.

Indochinie's task group will be returning to Suva.

June 5 - Le Matin
Henri Ziegler has accepted the job of director for the Centre d'Essais en Vol (CEV). As assistant director of the CEV since 1938 and a graduate of the prestigious École Nationale Supérieure de l'Aéronautique, Ziegler has many years of experience in the aeronautical field.

June 6
Alsthom unveiled a new prototype diesel-electric locomotive proposed for use on French railways. The prototype, a B-B unit powered by a V-12 diesel engine, will be trialed on the Chemin de Fer du Nord. Alsthom hopes to compete with the Swiss Sulzer company, which currently controls most of the European diesel and electric locomotive market.

June 11
The first VB.20 heavy fighter was accepted into service today by the Armee de l'Aire.

June 14
Large crowds are attending the Tall Ships Race port call currently underway at La Rochelle.

June 15
Prime Minister Monnerville's Conference for the Development of Colonial Africa began today in Paris. The conference aims to bring together native leaders with French colonial governors and authorities to chart a broad course for economic and social development in the African continent.

The opening ceremonies were marred when native Algerian leaders were denied entry to the conference on the grounds that Algeria does not constitute a part of Colonial Africa. One French government spokesman vehemently replied to a foreign journalist's questions by shouting "Algeria is France!"

June 16
Senegalese and Malian workers on the Dakar-Niger Railway began a strike today, requesting equivalent pay to the white railway workers. According to sources in Senegal, the strike was called to coincide with the Conference for the Development of Colonial Africa, in order to call attention to the inequalities of native black workers.

June 19 - Le Nouvel Economiste
The Conference for the Development of Colonial Africa closed today in Paris. Read more...

June 19
The cruiser Indochinie arrived in Sattahip, Thailand, to begin a week-long port call.

June 20
A number of Arab protesters gathered in Algiers today to march and protest the barring of Algerian native leaders from the Conference for the Development of Colonial Africa this week, with an estimated five hundred people gathering to protest.. Ahmed Ben Messali Hadj, the founder of the Algerian nationalist group Étoile nord-africaine, spoke to reporters on behalf of many of the marchers. "They say our Algeria as part of France, but we see otherwise. They deny us access to the corridors of power, and we protest."

A spokesman for Prime Minister Monnerville addressed reporters about the protests. "Algerie is governed differently than the other colonies and protectorates in Africa. There is no reason to include them in such a conference, as they are not a colony."

June 22
The Salon des Tuileries, an art and sculpture show, opened today in Paris.

June 23 - Paris-Soir
Public reaction to yesterday's announcement of the creation of the Grande Alliance has varied substantially. Some veterans groups and pro-nationalist organizations have protested Germany's participation, but opposition has proven to be unorganized and relatively muted. Some veterans groups, however, have welcomed the move, with the president of the Organisation nationale des anciens combattants, writing in a letter to the editor, "There is no victory more complete than to turn an enemy into a friend."

June 29
The battlecruisers Dunkerque and Strasbourg departed Brest today to conduct at-sea training and make port calls.

[SIZE=3]Literature Review: Bruits de guerre lointaine[/SIZE]
Article from Le Spectateur militaire. Literature Review is a monthly feature which reviews literary works of interest to military readers.

Bruits de guerre lointaine (Eng. "Sounds of Distant War") is the second book in a military fiction quartet written by military wargame umpire Pierre Michaux. In his first book, Les Actes des Aigles ("The Affairs of Eagles"), Michaux narrates the opening stages of a war between the United States and Brazil on one side, and the South African Empire on the other. For the South Africans, the war has gone well, as they've bloodied the nose of the American navy and captured Rio de Janeiro. However, the American and Brazilian defeats have hardened the fighting spirit of both nations, and American industry began ramping up for a long struggle.

As the book opens, the action evolves on land and sea. Although the Brazilian Army suffered a terrible defeat in the Siege of Rio, their remaining forces are regrouping in Minas Gerais, around a small but growing American mechanized corps led by Lieutenant General David Starkweather. Opposing him in command of the South African general Nicolaas Blomkamp, the victor of Rio, who plans an armoured advance into Minas Gerais in order to seize the rich Brazilian province and capture the temporary Brazilian capital at Belo Horizonte. While the armies of Starkweather and Blomkamp clash in eastern Brazil, the US Navy tries to disrupt the South African sea lines of communication. Having suffered losses in the opening stage of the war, the US Fourth Fleet must depend on Vice Admiral Michael Phillips' four carriers and their two battlecruiser protectors.

Readers of Bruits de guerre lointaine will also be treated to a freestanding novella set in the same timeline. Titled Le bord du nuage (Eng. "The Edge of the Cloud"), the story follows the crew of the American armed merchant raider USS Yosemite operating on the Indian Ocean as the ship and others like it disrupt the flow of oil from the Dutch East Indies to South Africa.

In this installation of the planned quartet, Michaux again proves his technical expertise. Although a reserve naval officer, former naval attache, and wargaming umpire, Michaux shows an unusual proficiency in understanding land and air warfare, apparently the result of meticulous research. Continuing with his pattern from Les Actes des Aigles, Michaux details political and economic concerns in the way each of the combatants participates in the war. In Le bord du nuage, Michaux also delves deeply into the concepts of international law and neutrality, as American commerce raiding forces South Africa to transfer their vital tankers to another flag. Despite Michaux's technical fluency, the narrative only bogs down in a few places, and the emphasis remains on the characters and action.

Michaux's greatest strength in the novel, however, is his disinterest in portraying one side or the other as heroes or villains. This is most evident in the author's treatment of the gritty Minas Gerais Campaign, with the American Starkweather and the African Blomkamp both being likeable characters, each duty-bound to fight and win. Michaux also follows smaller characters, such as the American tank commander Sergeant Johnnie Wade and a South African pilot, Lieutenant Piet van der Byl.

Like its predecessor volume, Bruits de guerre lointaine is highly recommended for readers seeking a broad and insightful postulation of modern war. Michaux has announced that the next novel in the series, Sous un ciel de feu, will be published sometime next year.

April 1
The movie La Symphonie fantastique opens at the Cinema Normandie in Paris.

The Spectateur Militaire article is a most interesting read. I hope that M. Michaux's follow-on work is of equal calibre.

Quoted

Originally posted by BruceDuncan
The Spectateur Militaire article is a most interesting read. I hope that M. Michaux's follow-on work is of equal calibre.

It will always be high caliber so long as I don't have to write the whole book to prove it!

Quoted

Originally posted by Brockpaine

Quoted

Originally posted by BruceDuncan
The Spectateur Militaire article is a most interesting read. I hope that M. Michaux's follow-on work is of equal calibre.

It will always be high caliber so long as I don't have to write the whole book to prove it!

You mean you didn't write the entire book first?

Quoted

Originally posted by BruceDuncan
You mean you didn't write the entire book first?

I wish.

Cause I'd have totally sent it to a publisher already...

Pity I wouldn't mind reading that.

April 2 - Le Figaro
Capitaine Jean Mallet-Percier and Monsieur François Hussenot announced the formation of a school in Brétigny-sur-Orge specifically for aircraft test-pilots. Called the Ecole du Personnel Navigant, the school will teach both theoretical and practical skills. "The goal of the test pilot is to push the bounds of the human experience," Mallet-Percier explained. "They must be part pilot and part polytechnician. The goal of our Ecole is to bring together in one program the synthesis of the aeronautical engineer and the pilot."

April 5
The Protestant and Catholic world celebrates Easter.

April 6 - Paris-Soir
A Hòn Non Bô garden has opened in the Paris suburb of Suresnes. The garden, created by Vietnamese poet and gardener Dao Vang Tong, is intended to help expose French people to the culture of Indochina, and as such admission to the garden is free.

April 7
After some preliminary at-sea exercises in the Mer Celtique and port calls in Cherbourg and Dunkerque, the heavy cruiser Téméraire and the destroyers of the 4th Flotilla Torpilleurs have arrived at Antwerp, beginning a week-long port call on the Belgian capital city.

April 8
The Aeronavale has placed an order for an unidentified number of Bloch MB.1050D Milan Royals, an updated variant of the current carrier-based fighter. Also ordering the MB.1050D is the Indochinese Air Defense Group.

April 9 - Le Nouvel Economiste
With the rise of a more affluent upper and middle class in Liban comes opportunities for business. Amongst the new Lebanese entrepreneur class are the five Rasamny brothers, who founded Rasamny Motors in Beirut two years ago after a failed venture in Liberia. Rasamny Motors quickly became the largest dealer of automobiles in the region, importing Citroen cars and Renault trucks. The brothers have also established an import business working with Colgate-Palmolive, an American consumer products corporation. The brothers are currently exploring the possibility of offering other automobile brands.

April 10
The Marine Nationale bade farewell to the battleships Provence and Bretagne today during simple ceremonies in Marseilles and Tunis, where the ships are being scrapped.

April 12
The heavy cruiser Téméraire and the destroyers of the 4th Flotilla Torpilleurs have completed their port call at Antwerp, and have departed to wander around the North Sea for a few days before their scheduled arrival for a port call at Oslo.

April 14 - Agence Havas
Prime Minister Monnerville announced today that he plans to hold a Conference for the Development of Colonial Africa in mid June. The Conference will bring together French colonial governors and local leaders in order to discuss issues of regional planning, economics, transportation, education, and political movements.

April 15
ONERA announced today that the Centre d'Essais en Vol in Brétigny-sur-Orge has completed the first in-flight test of the Rateau-Anxionnaz A.60 turbojet engine, lashed to a Bloch MB.161 mothership. A previous flight testing attempt on April 10th ended prematurely when the engine caught fire shortly before takeoff. Following the necessary minor repairs, the engine was re-mounted aboard the MB.161.

According to sources within ONERA, the A.60 turbojet has fallen well short of its design goals thus far despite its successful trial today, producing only six hundred kilograms of thrust rather than the sixteen hundred kgf intended. The turbojet has been running fairly successfully on the test stand for nearly nine months now.


[SIZE=1]The MB.161 with it's turbojet engine sits on the runway at CEV following its flight.[/SIZE]

April 17
The heavy cruiser Indochinie, escorted by destroyers Le Terrible, Unité, Corcyre and oiler Cap Ferrat, departed Suva, Fidji today to conduct a series of port calls along the western Pacific coast.

April 18
Heavy cruiser Téméraire completed its port call at Oslo and departed to return to Brest.

April 20
The French parliament voted today on a proposal, supported by M. Frédéric Joliot-Curie and President Theisman, to create the Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique. The new body, CEA, is the first civilian nuclear energy agency in the world, and will oversee all research and development into nuclear power. The new agency's budget is classified. The new agency will be headed by esteemed railway manager Raoul Dautry, who will oversee the various different efforts.

The CEA will assume control of several individual programs previously run by the French military, as well as a special committee formed by special order in 1939. Included in these programs is the heavy water plant at Mazingarbe, the uranium mines at Montmassacrot, Arlit, and elsewhere, the uranium conversion facilities at Le Bouchet, and the prototype heavy water reactor now under construction at Fort de Châtillon.

We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it.

France is the first to declare such a public body publically. Centralisation is wise though, no doubt French public are pleased the government is pouring money into something they've never heard of too. Still the CEA can tell them the future is glowing with promises of limitless power, cheap clean affordable energy, and that France beats the world in such technology.

Somewhere an MI6 bug picks up a conversation "We've got to have Le bloody Tricolour on top it it!"

I agree with your earlier statement, the fact you hve a Heavy Water Reactor under construction puts France at least a year ahead of Britain. Not even a site has been surveyed in Britain yet and the plan to go critical sometime in 1945 is perhaps 2-3 years behind France.

April 24
The movie La duchesse de Langeais debuted today in Paris. The movie, based on a novella by Balzac, is directed by Jacques de Baroncelli, and stars Edwige Feuillère, Pierre Richard-Willm, and Aimé Clariond.

April 27
The heavy cruiser Indochinie and its escorts arrived at the Japanese port of Sasebo for a visit.

April 30
The best-looking battleships in the world are completed in La Rochelle for the French Navy. The two new vessels, Liberte and Justice, will replace the old battleships Provence and Bretagne.

the brutal looking brawler bristling with guns look,

But those new MN BBs do turn heads...

That is one sweet-looking ship, and an idyllic-lookng locale too!

Quoted

Originally posted by Hood
That is one sweet-looking ship, and an idyllic-lookng locale too!

I really liked the setting, myself. It's apparently from a 1950s or 1960s postcard I found somewhere on internet. Pretty sure the location is the French Riviera, since it's too mountainous to be one of the Atlantic coast ports.

May 1
Four thousand members of the French Communist Party marched in May Day demonstrations down the Champs-Élysées. The march proved to be particularly boisterous and disruptive, with one of the march leaders, Bernard Robert, exhorting the crowd to 'rise up against the tyranny of the secret iron-fisted World Hegemony.'

When the Communists marchers became particularly disruptive as they approached the Arc de Triomphe, setting fire to parked cars and accosting uninvolved bystanders, gendarmes moved in to restore order. Eighty-five Communist marchers were arrested after clashing with the police.

May 3 - Editorial, La Croix
"The recent May Day marches by the French Communist Party provide an ample opportunity to expound on the cold hard truth of the last five years. French leaders, President Theisman most notably, have adopted a temperate policy of reconciliation and rapprochement with former European enemies, such as Germany and Hungary. Polls of French citizens conducted within the last year show that the French people strongly approve of Theisman's efforts to reconcile Paris and Berlin, although many in our nation are still apprehensive of the economic and military potency of our eastern neighbor.

"Such policy of engagement has allowed for an unprecedented unity of purpose amongst the most modern and powerful of the continental European powers, with the resulting benefits to trade and the rise of the human condition. The small Citroen 2CVs, Renault 4CVs, and Simca Beetles, so laughably regarded by the motoring press, are flooding into the hands of citizens who are buying a car for the first time. Nearly a third of all automobile buyers in 1941 were first-time purchasers.

"Curiously, and perhaps ironically, the leaders of this social re-invigoration are the Classical Liberals of the United States, France and Germany - the same people accused by Communists and Socialists alike as the "oppressing enemy" of the working classes. Following in the wake of the new economic innovators is traditionally dominant Great Britain, which is attempting to copy the French and German success, albeit with social leftist ideals and leadership. Within the last few months, British leaders announced the creation of a national motorway, doubtless inspired by the growing German autobahns, the Warsaw Pact's expanding autostrada, and the infant French autoroutes. Though the British replicate the language of the Continental Economic Innovators, their stubborn refusal to abandon Imperial Preference shows their mentality to still be mired in the dark ages of protectionalist neo-mercantilism, while France and the other continental powers of PETA advocate free trade. It remains to be seen if Britain can replicate the Continent's successes while still adhering to such discredited principles."

May 4
The French cruiser Indochinie departed Sasebo, Japan, for her next port call in Vladivostok. A spokesman for the Marine Nationale stated "We'd like to thank the Japanese for their warm welcome."

April 15
Pierre Veyron drove his Bugatti racing car to victory in the French Grand Prix, held at the Reims-Gueux circuit. Placing a close second was Jean-Pierre Wimille, driving for Panhard.