Chapter 145: Earth, Wind and Fire (1 to 24 August 1941)
Chapter 145: Earth, Wind and Fire (1 to 24 August 1941)
Foreword: Welcome back everyone – into it again with a big update and plenty of action. As mentioned above, I’m trying to push the story along and also give the AIs a longer period to make their moves. Although it affects the Soviets just as much as the Axis, so should all balance out in terms of any disadvantage. And on the main fronts, the AIs (especially the Axis ones) have been doing a pretty good job, I reckon. I won’t say anything about the British AI.
1 Aug 41
At his HQ in Sofiya, Inönü considers the current strategic situation on the Patriotic Front while looking at a map that compares the current front line [thicker dashed blue line] with the situation almost a year before [thin dashed green line in the east, thin dashed blue in France]. France may have fallen since then and the Axis has made broad gains in Russia and the Balkans, but there has been no collapse. If the Comintern can just survive the rest of summer and autumn in fighting shape, perhaps 1942 can see the front stabilised and even a counter-offensive. But much remains uncertain after almost two full years of the Second Great War.
With the reinforcement demand low for now, spare industrial capacity is used to begin training another mountain brigade – for the day when five brigade divisions can be fielded (probably by around mid 1942).
News Report: Washington DC, US. US President Franklin Roosevelt announces an embargo on the export of oil and aviation fuel to anywhere outside the Western Hemisphere with the exception of the British Empire. This action is aimed at Japan.
2 Aug 41
GRU Agent SkitalecS3 has returned from a ‘consultation visit’ back in Moscow: he is still alive and returned to his post as liaison officer to the Milli Şef. An impressive feat of survival under the sometime capricious regime of his master! After expressing some curiosity about the Midnight Express counter-espionage operation, he is invited to conduct a month-long inspection tour. Given the number of ‘passengers’ these days [and the fact I’m trying to cram most of August into this chapter] he will be invited to report his findings to Minister Kaya (and of course his GRU masters in Moscow) at the end of the month. [Meaning there won’t be daily spy-catching reports in this chapter – I’ll group them at the end of the next, as one of the monthly summary reports.]
Before he heads off to Ankara, he does advise that there are problems in the northern sector: the Germans have broken out east of Riga and now have a two-province deep and wide bridgehead. The Soviet line there is thinly held and they are trying to scramble a defence, with the important Baltic port of Tallinn thought to be in some danger. In Romania, the Soviets had successfully counter-attacked and retaken the province of Piatra Neamt from the Axis but were now themselves being quickly counter-attacked by the Germans.
And in the south of the Yeniçeri Line, Italian TAC were raiding Soviet forces trying to hold the mountain of Gacko, where they were under Axis attack. At 2am, all three Turkish fighter wings were sent to teach them a lesson – it would be the first combat mission of the new 3 Avci Filo, armed with the new but much-criticised (by external observers) LaGG-3 fighters. They had engaged the enemy by 3am.
The after-action reports assessed they had moderately damaged one enemy bomber wing, with 3 Avci Filo doing most of the fighting [judging by their loss of 5% strength from the engagement].
Another aerial engagement was fought in the mid-morning, with some very favourable results: one enemy wing was badly shot up, with minimal Turkish losses.
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3 Aug 41
Soviet liaison sent a report early that morning, proudly stating they had retaken the mountains of Tirgu Jiu in Romania, just north of the eastern end of the Danube Line. Good news as far as it went, but the ensuing heavy Axis attack to take it back looked like it would prevail, despite the brilliant counter-attacking tactics of the MAJGEN Tyulen commanding 121 SD.
The latest Soviet EF arrived in Ankara that morning from Persia. It was sent straight on by rail to Sofiya, where its final destination would be decided.
OTL: Eastern Front. German 16th Panzer and 1st Mountain Divisions linked up at Pervomaisk (Ukraine, Germans six provinces distant) and closed the Uman pocket.
4 Aug 41
OTL: Eastern Front. Kirovohrad fell to the Germans (Ukraine, eight provinces distant).
5 Aug 41
An urgent diplomatic cable arrived at midnight: another Comintern minor ally had fallen into imperialist clutches.
Turkish fighters clashed again with the enemy bombers in Gacko. This time it was the Hungarians having a go. Only one wing appeared – and it was harshly dealt with. Huzzah!
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6 Aug 41
Another liaison report came in early that morning, this time from the Romanians: their cavalry had charged the enemy and taken retaken Cincu! Brave indeed though no doubt doomed, least it is not all bad news in Romania these days (the Soviets were - as expected - now retreating from Piatra Neamt further north and from Tirgu Jiu to the south).
All remained quiet for now on the ground along the Turkish sector of the front. Some spare industrial capacity was used to set another militia brigade in training. They were cheap [in IC and manpower] and quick to produce. They should come in handy either for bolstering 4th Corps HQ or fleshing out the depth emergency garrisons along the Blue Line.
Alas, despite the effective intervention of the Air Force, the Soviets reported they had lost Gacko at 3pm that afternoon.
7 Aug 41
In Naples, Vittorio ‘Vito’ Corleone entertains two ‘business associates’ at his home. Pete Clemenza and Sal Tessio are sitting at the dinner table. They are discussing Don Fanucci’s demand for protection money from their budding small-scale criminal enterprise.
“6,000 lire - suppose we don't pay?” asks Tessio.
“You know his gang, Tessio - real animals,” says Clemenza. “Maranzalla himself let Fanucci work this neighbourhood. He's got connections with the Carabinieri, too. We have to pay him the 2,000 each. Everybody agreed?”
“Why do we have to pay him?” questions Vito as he dishes out spaghetti.
“Vito, leave this to us,” asserts Clemenza.
But Vito is not willing to let it go. “He's one person, we're three. He's got guns, we've got guns. Why should we give him the money we sweated for?”
“This is his neighbourhood!”
Vito persists. “I know two bookies who don't give anything to Fanucci.”
“Who?”
“Uh - Joe the Greek on Tessimo Avenue and Frank Pennitanlo. They don't pay Fanucci.”
Tessio chimes in. “If they don't pay Fanucci, they pay somebody else who collects for Maranzalla!”
Clemenza wants the easy way out. “We'll all be better off if we just pay him. Don't worry.”
“Now what I say stays in this room,” says Vito. “If you both like, why not give me 500 lire each to pay Fanucci? I guarantee he'll accept what I give him.”
Tessio is dubious. “If Fanucci says 2,000 he means it, Vito!”
“I'll reason with him,” replies Vito, calmly but firmly. “Leave everything to me. I'll take care of it. I never lie to my friends. Tomorrow you both go talk to Fanucci. He'll ask for the money. Tell him you'll pay whatever he wants. Don't argue with him. I'll go and get him to agree. Don't argue with him since he's so tough.”
“How can you get him to take less?” asks Clemenza, curious now.
“That's my business. Just remember that I did you a favour. Is it a deal?”
“Si,” says Tessio. Clemenza pauses for a while in thought, then simply raises his glass in acknowledgement.
“Salute!” says Vito, as they toast and then set upon their dinner.
“Salute!” Clemenza (l), Vito (c) and Tessio (r).
8 Aug 41
Shrugging off their loss in Gacko, the Soviets have made another bold attack, tossing a division of Italian troops out of Ljubinje.
OTL: Eastern Front. The Battle of Uman (Ukraine, four provinces distant) ended in Axis victory.
9 Aug 41
The current policy was to try to harry Axis bombers wherever they appeared, to gain experience for Turkish pilots and in the hope that enemy bombers would not be fit to raid Turkish lines when the time came. Cincu was out of range for the antiquated Hawk IIIs of 1 Avci Filo (AF), so 2 and 3 AF were sent to see what they could do to assist the beleaguered Romanian cavalrymen.
They soon discovered a little more than they had bargained for!
The fighters returned to Beograd carrying some damage: the LaGG-3s of 3 AF [97% strength, 87% org] faring better than the older I-16s of 2 AF [93% strength, 81% org]. But, having discovered where the Hungarian fighter group was operating through ‘recon by fire’, the intercept mission was aborted. Sadly, the Romanian cavalry would have to fend for themselves.
OTL Event: Newfoundland, Canada. Roosevelt and Churchill met secretly in Placentia Bay, Newfoundland.
Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill aboard HMS Prince of Wales in Placentia Bay, August 1941.
10 Aug 41
Early that morning the Soviets reported they had reoccupied Ljubinje, but the salient did not look sustainable with the earlier loss of Gacko to its north-east.
At midday, three Hungarian fighter wings conducted a patrol sortie over Beograd. The earlier Turkish intervention over Cincu must have drawn their attention! For now, the Turkish fighter wings continued to regroup and repair. But the Hungarian patrols would persist, with them returning at 3pm and again at 6pm. This time, Turkish honour demanded a response. All three fighter wings were ordered up to test themselves the next time the Hungarians appeared. They did so later that night, but only 2 AF responded – outnumbered three-to-one by the Hungarians, they were lucky not to sustain too much damage.
11 Aug 41
Three more dogfights over Beograd occurred during the early morning of 11 August. The first two saw the Turkish flyers come off second best, but the last engagement was better. Again, the LaGG-3s of 3 AF emerged in the best shape.
As a comparison, here are the relative key stats of the four different aircraft types jousting in the skies.
Hungary. Fiat CR.32 Freccias: 1918 pilot training; Air Def 6; Air Atk 6.
Turkish Fighters:
Although they didn’t seem to be under attack, the Soviets reported they were pulling out of Ljubinje by 9pm. Perhaps it had just been a diversionary attack.
OTL: Eastern Front. The Red Army counterattacked around Yelnya (south-east of Smolensk, ten provinces distant).
12 Aug 41
OTL Event: Newfoundland. The Placentia Bay meetings between Roosevelt and Churchill concluded. The Atlantic Charter was signed but not made public until two days later.
13 Aug 41
Just after midnight, after a longer than usual quiet period on the Turkish sector, reports came in of another German attempt to cross the Danube – at Pozarevac again. Early indications were the Germans would have difficulty getting across, but both their formations were more powerful than the leaderless 14 Inf Div and the Corps HQ trying to hold it, though they were evenly matched in numbers. LTGEN Yamut used an elastic defence to try to hold up the attackers, hoping they could be worn down. The fighting would go on all day.
OTL Event: Dearborn, Michigan, US. The ‘soybean car’, an automobile made with a plastic body at the behest of Henry Ford, was introduced to the public at a community festival in Dearborn, Michigan.
The 'soybean car' was a prototype car built with agricultural plastic. The New York Times in 1941 stated the car body and fenders were made from a strong material derived from soy beans, wheat and corn. The body was lighter and therefore more fuel efficient than a normal metal body. It was made, in part, as a hedge against the rationing of steel during World War II. It was designed to run on hemp fuel.
14 Aug 41
The battle for Pozarevac continued throughout the day with no major change to the situation.
OTL: Eastern Front. German forces captured Krivoy Rog (Kryvyy Rih) (Ukraine, eight provinces distant).
15 Aug 41
After two and a half days of fighting in Pozarevac, 14 Inf Div was starting to show the early signs of wear, while the enemy still seemed fresh. As a precaution, 3 Cav Div was ordered over to bolster the defence, given Pozega was now firmly held and under no immediate threat.
Allied Reporting: Moscow, USSR. Roosevelt and Churchill sent a joint message of assistance to the Soviet Union. "We realise fully how vitally important to the defeat of Hitlerism is the brave and steadfast resistance of the Soviet Union and we feel therefore that we must not in any circumstances fail to act quickly and immediately in this matter on planning the program for the future allocation of our joint resources," the statement concluded.
16 Aug 41
As they passed through Sofiya, 171 SD were sent on to Turnu Severin, the easternmost part of the Danube Line, currently held by a single Turkish division and one Soviet division (which of course could not be relied upon to stay indefinitely). Equipped with an AT brigade, they should be fairly well suited to defending against German armoured assaults.
OTL: Eastern Front. The Germans occupied the important Soviet naval base at Mykolaiv (Ukraine, Black Sea coast, seven provinces distant) and captured warships, ammunition and repair facilities.
Mid-Month Summaries
The situation on the wider Patriotic Front at the mid point of August 1941 was a mixed bag. The north had not collapsed as feared, with some Soviet counter-offensives to balance German advances. But the centre and especially the south and Romania had seen Axis progress since 1 August (thicker dashed blue line). The Yeniçeri-Danube Line remained stable.
The Far East was as bad as ever, though territory losses were more incremental than catastrophic at this point - the fall of Tannu Tuva aside.
The British line in Libya has collapsed, with only retreating HQs in sight and nothing guarding Tobruch. It is believed the single Iraqi infantry division was surrounded and destroyed in the Italian advance from Bengasi. Five British divisions were still milling around aimlessly in East Africa, with more loitering in Yemen and Iraq. Perhaps they don't trust us? 
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17 Aug 41
As the fighting in Pozarevac dragged into a fifth day, 14 Inf Div continued to wear down, with 11 Pz Division showing only minor signs of damage. 3 Cav Div approached from the west. And at 10am, Hungarian bombers began hitting the defenders: 2 and 3 AFs were scrambled to intercept them.
The ensuing dogfight over Pozarevac saw some decent damage inflicted on the Hungarians and, as there were no reports of damage on the ground, they must have been forced to abort their ground attack mission. They did not reappear: another successful thwarting of Axis air power.
OTL: Eastern Front. German forces captured Novgorod (south-east of Leningrad, six provinces distant) and Narva (Estonia, Baltic coast, six provinces distant).
18 Aug 41
3 Cav Div arrived in Pozarevac on the early afternoon of 18 August, with 14 Inf Div now quite hard pressed after almost a week of trying to repel enemy panzers and infantry. The odds were improved again, but 3 Cav would need to reinforce the front line to make any practical difference.
In the south-west, Ljubinje was retaken by the Slovakian troops later in that afternoon. But the Soviets decided to have another crack at it! Two divisions were sent to do the job, but it appeared that a large column of Axis troops was also approaching from the west. This may not turn out so well, but it was providing great protection on the southern flank, and hopefully causing the Axis some heavy casualties.
In Pozarevac, the redoubtable MAJGEN Toüdemür showed his usual alacrity and had reinforced the line by 6pm that evening! This was good, as the original defenders continued to weaken more quickly than their attackers.
Entertainment News: Occupied Zagreb, Croatia (it was occupied Belgrade in OTL). Radio Zagreb played an obscure two-year old German song called "Lili Marleen", sung by Lale Andersen. The song was an instant hit and was destined to become one of the most popular songs of the war among Axis and Allied troops alike. Written in 1915 as a poem, the song was published in 1937 and first recorded by Andersen in 1939.
(3:12m)
Lili Marleen – original 1939 version by Lale Andersen.
(3:25m)
And to honour the bipartisan spirit of the song during the war, Andersen doing the English version, from 1942.
OTL: Eastern Front. The Germans reached the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhia (Zaporizhzhya) (Ukraine, Dnieper River, eleven provinces distant). The Red Army dynamited the Dnieper Hydroelectric Station to delay the enemy from getting across the Dnieper, resulting in many civilian and military deaths.
19 Aug 41
The fight in Pozarevac went into its eighth day.
OTL: Eastern Front. The Germans captured Gomel (Homel) (Belarus, seven provinces distant).
20 Aug 41
By late in the night of 20 August, the Germans had commenced a refreshed assault in Pozarevac, but were finally starting to show signs of appreciable wear and tear. 14 Inf Div was however becoming increasingly disorganised.
OTL: Eastern Front. The German 17th Army gained a bridgehead over the Dnieper at Kremenchuk (Ukraine, nine provinces distant).
21 Aug 41
The battle for Pozarevac had now been going for more than nine days and still the two sides slugged it out.
OTL: Eastern Front. The Germans captured the Ukrainian port city of Kherson (seven provinces distant). Hitler ordered Army Group North to encircle Leningrad, believing that the loss of the symbolic capital of the Russian Revolution would deal a crushing blow to Soviet morale.
22 Aug 41
The acting commander of 14 Inf Div reported his organisation continued to erode [down to 8.0 by 1am] but his men still valiantly manned their trenches.
Two new militia brigades finished basic training and were deployed. The first went to HQ 4 Corps, which now meant it would be able to help hold ground itself if attacked, in addition to providing AT and AA support. They still awaitied the appointment of a corps commander.
The other new brigade was sent to the port of Varna in the Bulgarian GNR – to establish a garrison of the easternmost point of the putative Blue Line.
A new standard infantry brigade was put into training to replace them on the production queue. Another down payment for the hoped-for future five-brigade divisions.
By 5am, LTGEN Yamut reported from Pozarevac that his own HQ’s militia brigade (the only unit allowing him to hold ground) was reduced to under one third effectiveness [ie 10.1 org out of 31.6]. Once that brigade failed, his whole HQ would be forced to retreat. But for now, they hung on grimly.
OTL: Eastern Front. German forces occupied Cherkasy (northern Ukraine, Dnieper River, seven provinces distant).
Allied Reporting: Moscow, USSR. Joseph Stalin decrees that every Soviet soldier should receive 100 grams of vodka per day. [Comment: This is clearly why he was such a great wartime leader. @El Pip - at least we know what the Russians have in their hip flasks!]
23 Aug 41
After eleven days of fighting, both sides were suffering in Pozarevac. 14 Inf Div was almost on its last legs and HQ 3 Corps was not too far behind.
In the south, at 9am the Soviets advised they had now been pushed out of the mountains of Niksic, with the defenders retreating back towards Turkish positions on the reformed Yeniçeri Line.
To the east, the grim struggle in Pozarevac continued, with the desperate Germans now resorting to a reckless assault to try to force the Danube crossing: this would increase casualties on both sides, but especially for the defenders. 3 Cav Div was now also starting to take appreciable damage.
OTL: Eastern Front. The First Battle of Kiev began (four provinces distant). Heinz Guderian met with Hitler at the Wolf's Lair with a large number of other officers present. Guderian was allowed to present his reasons for continuing to advance on Moscow, but after he finished Hitler gave his own reasons for concentrating on the south until Kiev was in German hands. The other officers nodded in agreement with each of Hitler's points, and it became obvious to Guderian that the decision had already been made. The Finnish (still neutral in the ATL) reconquest of Ladoga Karelia was completed.
News Report: Aldershot, UK. Canadian Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King made a speech to 10,000 Canadian troops in Aldershot, England. Some of the soldiers, tired of endless training exercises and anxious to see some action, booed and heckled the Prime Minister. [Comment: an OTL report, but given British inaction in this war so far, too good to pass up!]
24 Aug 41
The early hours of 24 August saw the Germans revert to a simple attack in Pozarevac, after exactly twelve gruelling days of combat. 14 Inf Div was almost out on its feet [2.0 org] and would soon have to be ordered out or risk fleeing in rout. By 7am, HQ 3 Corps’ militia brigade was also failing [4.3 org]. It looked like Toüdemür would once again be called upon to take over a desperate defence.
At this point, the Air Force was ordered back into offensive action: they would risk interception by the Hungarian fighter group to try to support their colleagues fighting so desperately to prevent the Germans gaining a Danube bridgehead. At 7am, 1 TAK was ordered to conduct around the clock ground strikes on 11 Pz Division in Vrsac, with 2 and 3 AFs providing fighter cover. 1 AF was still recovering its organisation from the previous dogfight with the Hungarians over Beograd and would constitute a fighter reserve for now.
As they headed towards Vrsac, Örlungat’s bombers also hit German infantry positions in Panavo: it seemed we would be getting two strikes for the price of one! [I specifically checked, and the bombers were still headed towards Vrsac after hitting Panavo. Bonus.]
While 1 TAK was still en route to Vrsac from Panavo, the Turkish fighters met with three Hungarian wings in a desperate dogfight over Vrsac. 2 AF suffered fairly heavy casualties, but the favour was returned on one of the Hungarian wings. 3 AF was relatively unscathed. But 1 TAK continued with its bombing mission on Vrsac and was not troubled by the Hungarian fighters, which had withdrawn by then.
1 TAK finished their air strike there at 3pm and returned to Beograd, to get ready to repeat the dose, hitting Panavo again later that evening [interestingly, even though I’d specifically ordered them to strike Vrsac, they continued to hit Panavo more heavily, but given the German infantry there were also attacking Pozarevac, I didn’t really mind].
14 Inf Div reached the end of their tether at 2pm that afternoon and were ordered to withdraw to Arandelovac before they were forced to rout. HQ 3rd Corps remained for now, but they too were under heavy pressure [the militia brigade org being the key factor to them holding.] Given this deteriorating situation, 8 Inf Div was ordered across from Petrovac to try to rebalance the defence. But could they get there in time?
At the same time, 1 TAK was hitting Vrsac again while the fighters fought off their Hungarian counterparts in another vicious dogfight. After the latest mission, 2 AF was badly cut up and ordered to recover in Beograd.
An I-16 downed over Vrsac, 24 August 1941. Fortunately, the pilot was rescued after this crash landing, but was taken prisoner by the Germans.
1 TAK and 3 AF were however fine and continued with their orders. And for good measure, 1 TAK hit Panavo again on the way back. Vur ha! They reported a second (fresh) Axis infantry division had now arrived there, however. This was ominous.
Air Report. During the day, Turkish bombers killed 60 Axis troops in two raids on Panavo and another 46 in one raid on Vrsac.
OTL: Eastern Front. The German 6th Army reached Desna (Ukraine, north of Kiev, six provinces distant).
Endnote: so, what started off as a quiet month certainly heated up! This is already a long chapter so, while the session was gamed through to the end of the month, I must leave the Battle of Pozarevac unresolved and therefore a cliffhanger for now. Still too much fighting left to fit it in this episode. The next episode will finish the month off and see all the end of month summaries – including the new Midnight Express monthly report.
Coming Up: Can the Turkish Air Force continue to contest the skies and provide ground attack support for the valiant defenders of Pozarevac? Can 3 Cav Div hold out and prevent the Germans getting across the Danube? Can reinforcements be rushed to them in time – and then reinforce the line? How does young Vittorio Corleone intend to persuade Don Fanucci of the Neapolitan Black Hand to take a smaller pay off? Will the front hold in Romania and Russia itself – word is filtering through of some major Axis advances in Romania and the southern Ukraine.
Foreword: Welcome back everyone – into it again with a big update and plenty of action. As mentioned above, I’m trying to push the story along and also give the AIs a longer period to make their moves. Although it affects the Soviets just as much as the Axis, so should all balance out in terms of any disadvantage. And on the main fronts, the AIs (especially the Axis ones) have been doing a pretty good job, I reckon. I won’t say anything about the British AI.
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1 Aug 41
At his HQ in Sofiya, Inönü considers the current strategic situation on the Patriotic Front while looking at a map that compares the current front line [thicker dashed blue line] with the situation almost a year before [thin dashed green line in the east, thin dashed blue in France]. France may have fallen since then and the Axis has made broad gains in Russia and the Balkans, but there has been no collapse. If the Comintern can just survive the rest of summer and autumn in fighting shape, perhaps 1942 can see the front stabilised and even a counter-offensive. But much remains uncertain after almost two full years of the Second Great War.
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2 Aug 41
GRU Agent SkitalecS3 has returned from a ‘consultation visit’ back in Moscow: he is still alive and returned to his post as liaison officer to the Milli Şef. An impressive feat of survival under the sometime capricious regime of his master! After expressing some curiosity about the Midnight Express counter-espionage operation, he is invited to conduct a month-long inspection tour. Given the number of ‘passengers’ these days [and the fact I’m trying to cram most of August into this chapter] he will be invited to report his findings to Minister Kaya (and of course his GRU masters in Moscow) at the end of the month. [Meaning there won’t be daily spy-catching reports in this chapter – I’ll group them at the end of the next, as one of the monthly summary reports.]
Before he heads off to Ankara, he does advise that there are problems in the northern sector: the Germans have broken out east of Riga and now have a two-province deep and wide bridgehead. The Soviet line there is thinly held and they are trying to scramble a defence, with the important Baltic port of Tallinn thought to be in some danger. In Romania, the Soviets had successfully counter-attacked and retaken the province of Piatra Neamt from the Axis but were now themselves being quickly counter-attacked by the Germans.
And in the south of the Yeniçeri Line, Italian TAC were raiding Soviet forces trying to hold the mountain of Gacko, where they were under Axis attack. At 2am, all three Turkish fighter wings were sent to teach them a lesson – it would be the first combat mission of the new 3 Avci Filo, armed with the new but much-criticised (by external observers) LaGG-3 fighters. They had engaged the enemy by 3am.
Another aerial engagement was fought in the mid-morning, with some very favourable results: one enemy wing was badly shot up, with minimal Turkish losses.
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3 Aug 41
Soviet liaison sent a report early that morning, proudly stating they had retaken the mountains of Tirgu Jiu in Romania, just north of the eastern end of the Danube Line. Good news as far as it went, but the ensuing heavy Axis attack to take it back looked like it would prevail, despite the brilliant counter-attacking tactics of the MAJGEN Tyulen commanding 121 SD.
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4 Aug 41
OTL: Eastern Front. Kirovohrad fell to the Germans (Ukraine, eight provinces distant).
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5 Aug 41
An urgent diplomatic cable arrived at midnight: another Comintern minor ally had fallen into imperialist clutches.
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6 Aug 41
Another liaison report came in early that morning, this time from the Romanians: their cavalry had charged the enemy and taken retaken Cincu! Brave indeed though no doubt doomed, least it is not all bad news in Romania these days (the Soviets were - as expected - now retreating from Piatra Neamt further north and from Tirgu Jiu to the south).
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7 Aug 41
In Naples, Vittorio ‘Vito’ Corleone entertains two ‘business associates’ at his home. Pete Clemenza and Sal Tessio are sitting at the dinner table. They are discussing Don Fanucci’s demand for protection money from their budding small-scale criminal enterprise.
“6,000 lire - suppose we don't pay?” asks Tessio.
“You know his gang, Tessio - real animals,” says Clemenza. “Maranzalla himself let Fanucci work this neighbourhood. He's got connections with the Carabinieri, too. We have to pay him the 2,000 each. Everybody agreed?”
“Why do we have to pay him?” questions Vito as he dishes out spaghetti.
“Vito, leave this to us,” asserts Clemenza.
But Vito is not willing to let it go. “He's one person, we're three. He's got guns, we've got guns. Why should we give him the money we sweated for?”
“This is his neighbourhood!”
Vito persists. “I know two bookies who don't give anything to Fanucci.”
“Who?”
“Uh - Joe the Greek on Tessimo Avenue and Frank Pennitanlo. They don't pay Fanucci.”
Tessio chimes in. “If they don't pay Fanucci, they pay somebody else who collects for Maranzalla!”
Clemenza wants the easy way out. “We'll all be better off if we just pay him. Don't worry.”
“Now what I say stays in this room,” says Vito. “If you both like, why not give me 500 lire each to pay Fanucci? I guarantee he'll accept what I give him.”
Tessio is dubious. “If Fanucci says 2,000 he means it, Vito!”
“I'll reason with him,” replies Vito, calmly but firmly. “Leave everything to me. I'll take care of it. I never lie to my friends. Tomorrow you both go talk to Fanucci. He'll ask for the money. Tell him you'll pay whatever he wants. Don't argue with him. I'll go and get him to agree. Don't argue with him since he's so tough.”
“How can you get him to take less?” asks Clemenza, curious now.
“That's my business. Just remember that I did you a favour. Is it a deal?”
“Si,” says Tessio. Clemenza pauses for a while in thought, then simply raises his glass in acknowledgement.
“Salute!” says Vito, as they toast and then set upon their dinner.
“Salute!” Clemenza (l), Vito (c) and Tessio (r).
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8 Aug 41
Shrugging off their loss in Gacko, the Soviets have made another bold attack, tossing a division of Italian troops out of Ljubinje.
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9 Aug 41
“Namut, our gallant Romanian allies in Cincu are being hounded by Hungarian bombers. See if you can teach the goulash-eaters a lesson!” [NB: this is General Namut’s identical twin who serves as an Air Force General! ]
“At once, Milli Şef!”
]“At once, Milli Şef!”
The current policy was to try to harry Axis bombers wherever they appeared, to gain experience for Turkish pilots and in the hope that enemy bombers would not be fit to raid Turkish lines when the time came. Cincu was out of range for the antiquated Hawk IIIs of 1 Avci Filo (AF), so 2 and 3 AF were sent to see what they could do to assist the beleaguered Romanian cavalrymen.
They soon discovered a little more than they had bargained for!
OTL Event: Newfoundland, Canada. Roosevelt and Churchill met secretly in Placentia Bay, Newfoundland.
Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill aboard HMS Prince of Wales in Placentia Bay, August 1941.
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10 Aug 41
Early that morning the Soviets reported they had reoccupied Ljubinje, but the salient did not look sustainable with the earlier loss of Gacko to its north-east.
At midday, three Hungarian fighter wings conducted a patrol sortie over Beograd. The earlier Turkish intervention over Cincu must have drawn their attention! For now, the Turkish fighter wings continued to regroup and repair. But the Hungarian patrols would persist, with them returning at 3pm and again at 6pm. This time, Turkish honour demanded a response. All three fighter wings were ordered up to test themselves the next time the Hungarians appeared. They did so later that night, but only 2 AF responded – outnumbered three-to-one by the Hungarians, they were lucky not to sustain too much damage.
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11 Aug 41
Three more dogfights over Beograd occurred during the early morning of 11 August. The first two saw the Turkish flyers come off second best, but the last engagement was better. Again, the LaGG-3s of 3 AF emerged in the best shape.
Hungary. Fiat CR.32 Freccias: 1918 pilot training; Air Def 6; Air Atk 6.
Turkish Fighters:
- Hawk IIIs (1 AF): 1936 training; Air Def 5.5; Air Atk 4.
- Polikarpov I-16s (2 AF): 1936 training; Air Def 5; Air Atk 6.
- LaGG-3s (3 AF): 1938 training; Air Def 5; Air Atk 8.
Although they didn’t seem to be under attack, the Soviets reported they were pulling out of Ljubinje by 9pm. Perhaps it had just been a diversionary attack.
OTL: Eastern Front. The Red Army counterattacked around Yelnya (south-east of Smolensk, ten provinces distant).
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12 Aug 41
OTL Event: Newfoundland. The Placentia Bay meetings between Roosevelt and Churchill concluded. The Atlantic Charter was signed but not made public until two days later.
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13 Aug 41
Just after midnight, after a longer than usual quiet period on the Turkish sector, reports came in of another German attempt to cross the Danube – at Pozarevac again. Early indications were the Germans would have difficulty getting across, but both their formations were more powerful than the leaderless 14 Inf Div and the Corps HQ trying to hold it, though they were evenly matched in numbers. LTGEN Yamut used an elastic defence to try to hold up the attackers, hoping they could be worn down. The fighting would go on all day.
The 'soybean car' was a prototype car built with agricultural plastic. The New York Times in 1941 stated the car body and fenders were made from a strong material derived from soy beans, wheat and corn. The body was lighter and therefore more fuel efficient than a normal metal body. It was made, in part, as a hedge against the rationing of steel during World War II. It was designed to run on hemp fuel.
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14 Aug 41
The battle for Pozarevac continued throughout the day with no major change to the situation.
OTL: Eastern Front. German forces captured Krivoy Rog (Kryvyy Rih) (Ukraine, eight provinces distant).
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15 Aug 41
After two and a half days of fighting in Pozarevac, 14 Inf Div was starting to show the early signs of wear, while the enemy still seemed fresh. As a precaution, 3 Cav Div was ordered over to bolster the defence, given Pozega was now firmly held and under no immediate threat.
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16 Aug 41
As they passed through Sofiya, 171 SD were sent on to Turnu Severin, the easternmost part of the Danube Line, currently held by a single Turkish division and one Soviet division (which of course could not be relied upon to stay indefinitely). Equipped with an AT brigade, they should be fairly well suited to defending against German armoured assaults.
Mid-Month Summaries
The situation on the wider Patriotic Front at the mid point of August 1941 was a mixed bag. The north had not collapsed as feared, with some Soviet counter-offensives to balance German advances. But the centre and especially the south and Romania had seen Axis progress since 1 August (thicker dashed blue line). The Yeniçeri-Danube Line remained stable.
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17 Aug 41
As the fighting in Pozarevac dragged into a fifth day, 14 Inf Div continued to wear down, with 11 Pz Division showing only minor signs of damage. 3 Cav Div approached from the west. And at 10am, Hungarian bombers began hitting the defenders: 2 and 3 AFs were scrambled to intercept them.
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18 Aug 41
3 Cav Div arrived in Pozarevac on the early afternoon of 18 August, with 14 Inf Div now quite hard pressed after almost a week of trying to repel enemy panzers and infantry. The odds were improved again, but 3 Cav would need to reinforce the front line to make any practical difference.
Lili Marleen – original 1939 version by Lale Andersen.
And to honour the bipartisan spirit of the song during the war, Andersen doing the English version, from 1942.
OTL: Eastern Front. The Germans reached the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhia (Zaporizhzhya) (Ukraine, Dnieper River, eleven provinces distant). The Red Army dynamited the Dnieper Hydroelectric Station to delay the enemy from getting across the Dnieper, resulting in many civilian and military deaths.
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19 Aug 41
The fight in Pozarevac went into its eighth day.
OTL: Eastern Front. The Germans captured Gomel (Homel) (Belarus, seven provinces distant).
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20 Aug 41
By late in the night of 20 August, the Germans had commenced a refreshed assault in Pozarevac, but were finally starting to show signs of appreciable wear and tear. 14 Inf Div was however becoming increasingly disorganised.
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21 Aug 41
The battle for Pozarevac had now been going for more than nine days and still the two sides slugged it out.
OTL: Eastern Front. The Germans captured the Ukrainian port city of Kherson (seven provinces distant). Hitler ordered Army Group North to encircle Leningrad, believing that the loss of the symbolic capital of the Russian Revolution would deal a crushing blow to Soviet morale.
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22 Aug 41
The acting commander of 14 Inf Div reported his organisation continued to erode [down to 8.0 by 1am] but his men still valiantly manned their trenches.
Two new militia brigades finished basic training and were deployed. The first went to HQ 4 Corps, which now meant it would be able to help hold ground itself if attacked, in addition to providing AT and AA support. They still awaitied the appointment of a corps commander.
By 5am, LTGEN Yamut reported from Pozarevac that his own HQ’s militia brigade (the only unit allowing him to hold ground) was reduced to under one third effectiveness [ie 10.1 org out of 31.6]. Once that brigade failed, his whole HQ would be forced to retreat. But for now, they hung on grimly.
OTL: Eastern Front. German forces occupied Cherkasy (northern Ukraine, Dnieper River, seven provinces distant).
Allied Reporting: Moscow, USSR. Joseph Stalin decrees that every Soviet soldier should receive 100 grams of vodka per day. [Comment: This is clearly why he was such a great wartime leader. @El Pip - at least we know what the Russians have in their hip flasks!]
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23 Aug 41
After eleven days of fighting, both sides were suffering in Pozarevac. 14 Inf Div was almost on its last legs and HQ 3 Corps was not too far behind.
To the east, the grim struggle in Pozarevac continued, with the desperate Germans now resorting to a reckless assault to try to force the Danube crossing: this would increase casualties on both sides, but especially for the defenders. 3 Cav Div was now also starting to take appreciable damage.
News Report: Aldershot, UK. Canadian Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King made a speech to 10,000 Canadian troops in Aldershot, England. Some of the soldiers, tired of endless training exercises and anxious to see some action, booed and heckled the Prime Minister. [Comment: an OTL report, but given British inaction in this war so far, too good to pass up!
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24 Aug 41
The early hours of 24 August saw the Germans revert to a simple attack in Pozarevac, after exactly twelve gruelling days of combat. 14 Inf Div was almost out on its feet [2.0 org] and would soon have to be ordered out or risk fleeing in rout. By 7am, HQ 3 Corps’ militia brigade was also failing [4.3 org]. It looked like Toüdemür would once again be called upon to take over a desperate defence.
At this point, the Air Force was ordered back into offensive action: they would risk interception by the Hungarian fighter group to try to support their colleagues fighting so desperately to prevent the Germans gaining a Danube bridgehead. At 7am, 1 TAK was ordered to conduct around the clock ground strikes on 11 Pz Division in Vrsac, with 2 and 3 AFs providing fighter cover. 1 AF was still recovering its organisation from the previous dogfight with the Hungarians over Beograd and would constitute a fighter reserve for now.
As they headed towards Vrsac, Örlungat’s bombers also hit German infantry positions in Panavo: it seemed we would be getting two strikes for the price of one! [I specifically checked, and the bombers were still headed towards Vrsac after hitting Panavo. Bonus.
]While 1 TAK was still en route to Vrsac from Panavo, the Turkish fighters met with three Hungarian wings in a desperate dogfight over Vrsac. 2 AF suffered fairly heavy casualties, but the favour was returned on one of the Hungarian wings. 3 AF was relatively unscathed. But 1 TAK continued with its bombing mission on Vrsac and was not troubled by the Hungarian fighters, which had withdrawn by then.
14 Inf Div reached the end of their tether at 2pm that afternoon and were ordered to withdraw to Arandelovac before they were forced to rout. HQ 3rd Corps remained for now, but they too were under heavy pressure [the militia brigade org being the key factor to them holding.] Given this deteriorating situation, 8 Inf Div was ordered across from Petrovac to try to rebalance the defence. But could they get there in time?
An I-16 downed over Vrsac, 24 August 1941. Fortunately, the pilot was rescued after this crash landing, but was taken prisoner by the Germans.
1 TAK and 3 AF were however fine and continued with their orders. And for good measure, 1 TAK hit Panavo again on the way back. Vur ha! They reported a second (fresh) Axis infantry division had now arrived there, however. This was ominous.
Air Report. During the day, Turkish bombers killed 60 Axis troops in two raids on Panavo and another 46 in one raid on Vrsac.
OTL: Eastern Front. The German 6th Army reached Desna (Ukraine, north of Kiev, six provinces distant).
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Endnote: so, what started off as a quiet month certainly heated up! This is already a long chapter so, while the session was gamed through to the end of the month, I must leave the Battle of Pozarevac unresolved and therefore a cliffhanger for now. Still too much fighting left to fit it in this episode. The next episode will finish the month off and see all the end of month summaries – including the new Midnight Express monthly report.
Coming Up: Can the Turkish Air Force continue to contest the skies and provide ground attack support for the valiant defenders of Pozarevac? Can 3 Cav Div hold out and prevent the Germans getting across the Danube? Can reinforcements be rushed to them in time – and then reinforce the line? How does young Vittorio Corleone intend to persuade Don Fanucci of the Neapolitan Black Hand to take a smaller pay off? Will the front hold in Romania and Russia itself – word is filtering through of some major Axis advances in Romania and the southern Ukraine.
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