Page "Leskovac" Paragraph 12

Fitzroy Maclean the head of the British military mission to the Partisans wrote ..... as we watched the whole of Leskovac seemed to rise bodily in the air in a tornado of dust and smoke and debris, and a great rending noise fell on our ears.

..... What was left of Leskovac lay enveloped in a pall of smoke ; several buildings seemed to be burning fiercely.

Even the Partisans seemed subdued.

This was part of Operation Ratweek to attack the enemy withdrawal, and air reconnaissance had confirmed the presence of a strong concentration of armour and motor transport there, although he said the use of 50 ‘ Heavies ’ or Flying Fortresses did seem rather like taking a sledge-hammer to crack a walnut ..