AFTER THE BATTLE N.195 - FINAL ISSUE

LA PUBBLICAZIONE DI QUESTO PERIODICO CESSA CON QUESTO NUMERO 195

UNDERGROUND AIRCRAFT FACTORY AT KAHLA — In this final issue of After the Battle magazine we start with Patrick Brion telling us how in April 1944, as part of their programme to transfer their armaments production to underground facilities, the Germans began building a subterranean aircraft factory near the town of Kahla in Thuringia. Using a large number of forced workers from all over Europe, they started construction of a tunnel system inside the Walpersberg mountain, modernising existing tunnels and drilling new ones. At the same time, a number of very large bunkers were built against the mountainside to be used as provisional assembly halls. Although the planned tunnel system was never completed in its entirety, production of the revolutionary Me 262 jet aircraft was begun, the first aircraft coming off the production line in February 1945. The factory was known as REIMAHG, the name being an acronym of Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring. THE ARREST OF ARTHUR SEYSS-INQUART — Karel Margry tells the story of the capture and arrest of Arthur Seyss-Inquart, one of the top men in the Nazi hierarchy. An Austrian by birth, and an ardent admirer of Hitler, he was instrumental in organising the Anschluss, the annexation of Austria into Germany in March 1938, and from 1940 to 1945 served as Reichskommissar (Nazi Governor) of the occupied Netherlands, where for five years he sought to faithfully carry out all of the Führer’s instructions. Hitler saw him as one of ablest followers, putting much confidence in his political skills, so much so that in his political testament, drawn up on the eve of his suicide in his Berlin bunker, he appointed him Germany’s new foreign minister. Regarded by the Allies as the traitor of Austria and the henchman of the Netherlands, Seyss-Inquart was high on the list of most-wanted war criminals and his arrest by troops of the 53rd (Welsh) Division in Hamburg on May 7, 1945 made the headlines. THE ‘SYMBOL’ CONFERENCE AT CASABLANCA — During the Second World War, more than 20 top-level conferences between the Allies were held in a variety of locations: from Washington to Moscow, Quebec to Cairo, and Teheran to Casablanca. Of all these meetings, probably the most significant was that held in the Moroccan capital Casablanca in January 1943, when US President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill met with the Combined Chiefs-of-Staff for a ten-day conference. Code-named ‘Symbol’, it ended with a unified statement of intent that the Allies would accept nothing less than unconditional surrender from the Axis forces. As meticulous and precise as ever, Jean Paul Pallud, After the Battle’s longest standing contributor, recounts the conference in full detail. A WORD OF FAREWELL FROM YOUR EDITOR — Karel Margry shares some memories of his many years as Editor of After the Battle and says his goodbyes in this very last edition of the magazine to be published. Together with recently-retired Editor-in-Chief Winston Ramsey, he worked hard to forge ATB’s reputation, which is widely accepted as second to none. The company, now in the safe hands of Pen & Sword Books Ltd, will concentrate on publishing exciting new book titles under the guidance of Rob Green, who has been with After the Battle for well over three decades and is privileged to have worked alongside both Karel and Winston for all that time.