1946, September 10th - 11th:
- Dutra takes over; things start to happen very quickly.
- Our troop transports are useless for evacuating provinces without ports, but the Navy gets all 22 assault landing flotillas to Rome and every Brazilian division gets safe away to Naples. We even had room enough for both American units also trapped in the Rome pocket, but both (possibly because they insisted upon American transports) surrendered instead of retreating.
- Our marines escaping from Pescara arrive in Cassino and immediately start marching to Foggia. German armor breaks through into Pescara, chasing eight American and Brazilian formations southward.
- Brazilian air relocates to Naples and the island of Sardinia (which the USA has managed to get supplies to again) and steps up attrition of panzers trundling down the Italian spine.
1946, September 12th:
- Despite it being obvious that 19 mech/cav divisions do not a left hook make, Mascarenhas de Morais nevertheless orders them into Genoa and then straight into whatever lurks in La Spezia. That whatever turns out to be 39 German infantry divisions. Despite extremely heavy offshore fire support, we lack the mass needed to defeat them at acceptable cost. de Morais calls for pickup. Vasconcelos busies himself in harassing the Vichy French.
1946, September 12-13th:
- Brazilian forces in southern Italy and the Navy coordinate a series of spoiling attacks on Axis advance elements in Perugia and Anzio, effectively preventing any further uncontrolled retreats. The immediate crisis is over. An increasingly optimistic Dutra orders our marines in Cassino to cease their retreat and get mechanized reinforcements on the march towards them to ensure we hold the heights.
1946, September 13th - 15th:
- For some unaccountable reason the Germans are disinclined to wait for us to perfect our defences: 18 divisions hurl themselves at Cassino. Mountain and fortress together cause their deadly panzers to become nearly useless and Brazilian marines hold fast. The next day Kludge raises his bid to 22 divisions and we likewise ante up, putting all defenders on maximum supply. Supply, in fact, is what some of the Germans strangely lack, despite enjoying a clear and uninterrupted chain of communication back to Berlin.
- Kludge sorts out the supplies problem at midnight and applies ever greater leverage to crack the nut that is Cassino. By noon on the 15th, he has 42 divisions under his command and is wrecking our marine formations. With reinforcements more than three days away, and our front line not far from uncontrolled rout, General Pitaluga orders everyone to make for Foggia. The Axis have won another victory. Estimated losses are: Brazilian/American - 10,000; German/Axis - perhaps 25,000.
- Six more Brazilian mechanized-AC divisions arrive in Italy. In all probability they are the last reinforcements our Army will get.
1946, September 16th - 22nd:
- The Germans have gained both Cassino and the Volturno River; attacking out of South Italy will be difficult. Brazilian armed forces commanders gather to discuss ways and means. Epaminondas dos Santos prepares with great care for the meeting and his presentation triggers a major shift in Brazilian strategy:
1946, September 23rd - 26th:
- Where Brazilians fear to tread, Germans dare: Stumne leads 46 divisions, mostly foot infantry, across the Volturno against our entrenched positions. Despite greatly superior numbers and total lack of shore bombardment (due to the province being under our control and no pre-positioned bombardment fleet ready to accept incoming ships), our enemies make only slow progress against stiff Allied opposition. Our three marine divisions in Naples prove easy targets; Field Marshal Castro orders them out while he rallies his steel-clad veteran mechanized and armoured cavalry formations to smash one enemy crossing after another. Superior hardness makes the difference in what becomes a great ordeal of arms.
- De Morais, Dutra, and Lott vigilantly monitor the morale of both sides and repeatedly authorize continued fighting. This is one of the few times this war Brazilian leaders, wedded to superior attrition through coordinated offensive action, have been prepared to accept a truly slamming battle on defence.
- When Enrique Lott's reinforcements arrive late on the 25th, the enemy divisions, already bleeding, start to crumble. At 10 in the morning on the 26th, exactly 72 hours after the first assault, Stumne ceases operations. Brazilian casualties are at least 10,000; German losses perhaps five times as great. Or more: an important side-effect of this battle was the increased opportunities given to our CAS against the now no longer due-in enemy.
- Two task forces leave Italy: One, of five marine and one mechanized division, makes for Palermo and points west. The other, of four marine divisions, turns its attention to Greece, clearing out all three German garrisons and occupying Athens for Brazil.
And skill of Justo?
