“Kosaria however had no chance to
recover from these exhausting wars as World War One broke out in the following
year. In 1915 Kosaria was attacked by the Bulgars. The Kosarians allied
themselves with the Serbs and Montenegrins. In a series of desperate defensive
battles they were able to defeat the Bulgars in the rugged Dragavista
Mountains.”
“Then, in October 1915, a
combined German-Austrian Army Group, led by Feld Marschall von Mackensen,
defeated the Serbians. In December 1915 the German and Austrian forces broke
into Kosaria through the Vulture’s Pass, despite a stubborn defence by the
outnumbered and outgunned Kosarians. General Ritnik was able to save most of
the army by a brilliant delaying defence which allowed time for the regiments
facing the Bulgars to fall back to help defend the capital.”
“The Kosarians fought on grimly
against a German Army with vastly superior artillery but, as the first snow
began to fall, they had to make a bitter choice. The Serbian Army on their left
flank had begun to retreat and, if they did not fall back with them, the
Kosarian army would be surrounded and annihilated. The King decided to abandon
Dragavia and save the army.”
“The Royal Family, Treasury, the
Thigh Bone of St Joris, and thousands of civilian refugees joined the troops in
an agonizing retreat over the frozen mountains of Albania. German and Austrian
forces pushed hard against their rearguards.”
“As the army struggled to cross
the flooded Narga River by the only bridge a regiment of Austrian Mountain troops
cut into the middle of the column and blocked the road. Ina howling blizzard
General Ritnik led a desperate counter-attack using the Royal Guard Regiment.
They were able to re-open the road but Ritnik was mortally wounded. The army
managed to cross the river in time.”
“The retreat went on in a
blizzard. Austrian ski troops harried their flanks. King Peter stayed with the
dying Ritnik, personally commanding the rearguard.
Snow and
bitter cold killed thousands.
Others died to bullets, hunger and
disease. Ritnik died just as the army reached the sea.”
“British and French ships
evacuated the survivors under fire and took them to safety in Corfu or Malta.
Among those rescued were the Royal Family and most Government Ministers. They
had with them the Thigh Bone of St Joris, and the Crown Jewels. But, sometime
during the retreat or evacuation, the Treasurer, Slimo Nikoffovitch went
missing. So also did the Treasury of over a million gold coins. Some said
they last saw him at the battle of the Narga River. Others thought they saw him
disembarking from a French troopship at Bizerta in Tunisia.”
Inspector Sharpe stopped reading
and looked up.
“Gold!”
Graham cried.
“A million gold coins,” Peter
gasped.
“Why, they must be worth - er
must be worth millions,” Roger added.
They all laughed.
“Is that what these men are after
then, gold?” Stephen asked.
Inspector Sharpe shook his head
and made
himself
more comfortable.
“Could
be.
It would make more sense than an old bone. Are you
bored ?
You can go to bed if you like.”
“No sir. Keep reading. This is
gripping stuff,” Roger said.
Stephen agreed.
“More interesting than our boring old history: bloody convicts,
goldrushes and depressions.”
“We fought in the First World War
too,” Graham defended.
“Have the debate later,”
Inspector Sharpe said. “I’ll go on. It is still during World War One. With the
invading German and Austrian armies came the Archduke Paul. He was established
as King of Kosaria, but owing allegiance to the Kaiser of Austria, with a
palace guard of Austrian Imperial Grenadiers. Here’s a photo of him arriving at
Dragavia Railway Station and being met by the German General Von Blotwitz.”
“Blotwitz!”
Stephen snorted.
Peter frowned. “You’re a blot.
Clot rather. Shut up and listen Steve,” he chided.
Inspector Sharpe nodded agreement
and resumed, “In 1916 the remnants of the Serbian and Kosarian armies were
re-armed by the British and French and then shipped to join the allied army at
Salonika in northern Greece. Where’s that on the Atlas
Graham
?”
Graham showed them.
Inspector Sharpe read on, “The
Kosarian army played a small but important part in the Salonika Offensives of 1917
and 1918 which led to the defeat of the Bulgars. The Germans, defeated in
France by the allies, withdrew their troops. The Austrians went with them. The
Serbian and Kosarian armies followed them north.”
“When the Germans and Austrians
pulled out of Dragavia in October 1918 King Paul and his supporters went with
them. King Peter returned to his capital amid great rejoicing. There followed
20 happy years for Kosaria. King Peter set about improving his country. He
established a democratically elected Parliament with real power. He built
schools, hospitals, roads and bridges. There was peace and prosperity. People
called him ‘Good King Peter’. There was much joy when he married a beautiful
exiled Russian Princess, Princess Kalia. Here’s a photo of her.”
Graham whistled. “Strewth! She’s
a stunner alright.”
Inspector Sharpe smiled at his
enthusiasm and went on. “There was more rejoicing when a son, Peter (the fifth)
was born in 1938. A daughter, Princess Karena, was born in 1940.”
“But trouble was brewing. Paul II
had gone into exile in Spain. Before the war Paul had married a German
Princess, Helga of Zeitheiligen, and they had a son, Paul III, who was born in
1912. When Paul II died in 1929 the young Archduke Paul declared himself to be
the rightful king of Kosaria. However he remained living with his mother in
Germany.”
“For a number of years Paul made
no active moves to secure the throne but when the Nazi Party, led by Adolf
Hitler, became the government of Germany in 1933 he joined their organization.
In Germany in 1934 Paul set up a secret organization from Kosarians who
supported him. This included a political party modelled on the Nazis, and the
Kosarian Schutz Staffeln, the KSS; similar to the German SS who armed and
trained them. Well, we already knew that bit as we’ve met some of these chaps
haven’t we?”
The others
chorused agreement.
Inspector Sharpe went on. “The KSS had its own Secret Service Branch, the ‘Iron
Claw’. They infiltrated secretly into Kosaria and prepared to take over the
government by force. In preparation they carried out murders of selected
leaders loyal to King Peter and spread deliberate lies about the Royal Family;
that they practised witchcraft and that both the King and Queen had secret
lovers and so on.”
“I wish I had a secret lover,”
Stephen said.
His friends scoffed and laughed.
Inspector Sharpe eyed him speculatively. “How old are you Stephen?”
Stephen went red and took off his
glasses to polish them. “Er, fifteen
sir
.
Old enough.”
“Hmmm.
Technically yes, legally no.
Let’s get on with this story. Before dawn on 6th April 1941 the KSS struck.
Special Action Teams attacked the Palace, Army HQ, Police HQ, the Radio
Station, government offices and the countries only airport. Iron Claw murder
squads began killing selected important people in their homes.”
As Roger listened to this he felt
a chill of horror. “What disgusting animals!” he cried.
Inspector Sharpe nodded grimly
and read on. “At first light German paratroops were dropped in to assist the
KSS. This was part of a simultaneous attack by two German Army Groups on
Yugoslavia, Kosaria and Greece.” He turned the book to show photos of aircraft
with black crosses on them; and of parachutes scattered across the sky.
Stephen pointed to one of the
aircraft. “I’ve got a model of one of those,” Stephen said, “That’s a JU 52,
the transport plane with three motors.”
DS Crowe turned and growled. “I
wish you kids would shut up. We’ll be here all night otherwise.”
The boys fell silent, all
secretly afraid of the tough looking man. Inspector Sharpe resumed reading.
“By treachery the KSS managed to
penetrate the palace, but the Royal Guard fought bravely. There was desperate
fighting in and around the palace which went on for over an hour. The Germans
then landed glider-borne troops in the nearby park and these tipped the balance
in favour of the attackers. The King, Queen and baby Crown Prince were trapped
in the East Wing of the palace, which was on fire.”
“At that critical moment help
arrived. As soon as the first German attackers had been identified the British
Ambassador had called for assistance from the British forces that had moved
into Greece. The commander of the British 1st Armoured Brigade, the formation
which was the corps covering force, at once ordered the nearest squadron of the
4th Hussars to the area.
At 8am a troop of armoured cars led
by 2nd Lieutenant Ponsonby-Smythe, arrived in the capital after driving from
the border.”
Graham couldn’t help himself. He
broke into an exaggerated imitation of an English officer.
“By
Jove!
Ponsonby!
In the nick of time too!”
“Jolly good show!” Peter replied.
“Stout
chap
Ponsonby.”
Even DS Crowe laughed. Stephen
added. “It reminds me of the joke about Ponsonby and the Burmese Princess.”
“That will do!” Inspector Sharpe
said severely.
Stephen grinned.
“Oh sir!
We know all the jokes about when The Regiment was
in India.”
“I don’t doubt. But this story is
in Kosaria, so let me get on with it. The British armoured cars were led to the
palace by a captain of the Royal Guard. The King, Queen and Crown Prince were
bundled in and driven to safety. The survivors of the Royal Guard then fought
their way clear.”
“Only then was it realized that
the baby Princess Karena and her nurse were not with the group. A
counter-attack was launched by the Royal Guard but failed with heavy loss of
life.” He paused and looked at the boys. “You have probably guessed who the
captain was. It was Boris Krapinski. He also led the counter-attack to try to
rescue the princess but was badly wounded. He was carried to safety in one of
the British armoured cars.”
There was a moment’s silence.
Roger felt somehow that he had been honoured to have touched such a brave and
loyal man, even if only in death. He felt an unaccustomed constriction in the
throat.
Inspector Sharpe resumed, “The
British armoured cars, with the Royal Family, plus survivors of the Royal Guard
and remnants of other loyal army units fought their way out of the capital and
withdraw to Greece, only just ahead of a German Panzer Division which had
smashed its way in from Bulgaria. In Greece the royal family were driven to
Athens,
then
evacuated by sea to Egypt on the British
cruiser HMS
Orion
and the Australian cruiser HMAS
Perth
.”
Graham spoke up. “My Grandad was
on
Perth
sir. He was a lieutenant then.”
“Was he eh? Did he survive the
war?
Perth
was sunk by the Japanese in Sunda Strait only a few months
later.”
Graham nodded. “Yes sir. He was
transferred to a corvette and fought around New Guinea. He lives in Mareeba
now.”
“Good. Well that is the Royal
Family safe, except for the Princess Karena. She was never seen again. As part
of the coup the KSS sent a Special Action Team to the Cathedral to seize the
Thigh Bone of St Joris. They shot down the ceremonial guard of five officers
who always guarded it, as well as two priests and a dozen people who were at
morning Mass.”
“However, as the KSS were leaving
the Cathedral they were counter-attacked by a squad of Royal Guards. There was
a savage hand-to-hand battle on the steps and the Thigh Bone of Joris has never
been seen from that day to this.”
“The bloody Thigh Bone of St
Joris!” Peter groaned. “That has to be what these mongrels are looking for.”
“Could be,” the Inspector agreed.
“Anyway, Yugoslavia- it doesn’t exist anymore remember-Kosaria and Greece all
come under German control. The Archduke Paul was installed as ruler of Kosaria
but the Germans never allowed him to crown himself King. In reality he was just
a ‘puppet’. He was extremely unpopular and the KSS were widely hated for their
brutal methods. Resistance to the Germans soon developed. This was led by the
Kosarian Kommunist Party under the leadership of Comrade Chairman Slobodan
Turderov.”
“Turderov!”
Stephen snickered.
Inspector Sharpe frowned at him
then read on. “By 1943 the Kommunist Partisans had set up an army of resistance
and an intelligence network throughout the country. They began a guerrilla war
against the KSS and Germans. By early 1944 the Partisans controlled nearly all
the western mountains and the Germans could only move freely on the heavily
guarded main routes.”