Zipper ZIGZAGGING See anti-submarine warfare; convoys; Laconia Order ZIPPER Code name for the proposed British and Commonwealth reoccupation of Malaya and recapture of Singapore It was premised on a new British 12th Army finishing operations in Burma, while veteran British 14th Army was moved from Burma to carry out ZIPPER It was scheduled to begin in December 1945, but was not carried out Upon Japan’s surrender on August 15, reoccupation of Malaya saw an unopposed amphibious assault beginning on September 9, 1945 ZITADELLE ( JULY 1943) “Citadel.” Wehrmacht code name for the initial operation that attempted to encircle Soviet forces at Kursk in July 1943, which was instead halted by a Soviet layered defense then smashed by a brilliant set of Red Army counteroffensives Adolf Hitler had early, desperate enthusiasm for the plan but suffered serious doubts about ZITADELLE as the launch date approached, as did others on the OKH The first draft was issued on March 13, 1943 It called for an April attack, soon postponed to May due to the lateness of the rasputitsa and Field Marshal Erich von Manstein’s refit requirements after the Third Battle of Kharkov It was postponed again to permit new German armor and anti-tank guns in development to resolve technical problems and arrive in larger numbers on the battlefield: Mark V “Panther” and Mark VI “Tiger” tanks, and the dubiously lumbering “Elefant” (or “Ferdinand”) assault gun The lay of the Kursk salient made the German operational plan obvious to all: Panzers would thrust from the north and south in two great pincers that must aim to pinch off the Soviet bulge and turn it into a vast Kessel, cooking the armies trapped inside Soviet intelligence was especially good prior to the battle It provided accurate advance warning about timing and strength of the ZITADELLE offensive, even though it mistook the Schwerpunkt as the north side of the salient when the Germans intended it to develop in the south Soviet maskirovka operations were even better: they concealed entire reserve Fronts from the Germans and a densely laid-out defense-in-depth of minefields, artillery, anti-tank guns, and vast supporting tank and infantry armies Only a few days into the operation Hitler cancelled the offensive, correctly countermanding the insistence of several generals that they were on the point of breakthrough Soviet resistance in fact had proved much harder than anticipated, and German losses became insupportable Also, the Western Allies drew Hitler’s attention to the HUSKY landings in Sicily, where he sent significant German air and ground forces that he pulled out of the fight at Kursk See also KUTUZOV; RUMIANTSEV ZOG I (1895–1961) aka Zogu I, né Ahmed Bey Zogu He served in the Austrian Army in World War I and as Albanian minister of war from 1921 He was premier in 1922–1924 and president in 1925–1928 He became king in 1928 He pursued a policy of close collaboration with Benito Mussolini, which did not save Albania from Italian invasion on April 7, 1939 Zog fled into exile and lobbied Great 1212