Chapter 169: Fighting Season (1 to 15 July 1942)
1 Jul 42
The month begins with the strong enemy attack on
Pljevjla continuing. COL Diskoerekto from 3 Mtn Div has reported the Comintern defenders are holding strong and inflicting heavy casualties on the persistent Axis attackers. The latest partisan uprising in the
Dodecanese was also put down easily by the garrison there. The battle for Kabul has been won, but the race is on to beat the Ghazni Militia there as 2 TAK pounds it from the air. The Turkish Cabinet is also meeting to decide how it might assist the STAVKA to arrive at a clear East-West balance in its strategic priorities as the Patriotic Front in Russia threatens to disintegrate.
Another probe across the Danube is launched early that morning on
Pozarevac, but 1st Corps Commander LTGEN Cakmak advises there is little to worry about: “We will let you know when it has been defeated, as surely it will be.”
War Cabinet Meeting, Sofiya, Midnight
In Afghanistan,
Kabul is likely to be occupied within about two weeks following the recent victory there. The War Cabinet, meeting in
Sofiya in the early hours of the morning so Inönü can remain at 1st Army HQ, considers how best to handle the peace negotiations. It soon transpires that there is little choice.
“My President, we have already declared that we would conquer Afghanistan and enforce Communism on it. The iron laws of diplomacy mean we can only add to those goals, not revoke or change them,” states Foreign Minister Aras apologetically.
“Even though we may now prefer to install a puppet regime and have their forces available to help defend against the approaching Japanese and
their puppets?” asks an incredulous Inönü.
“Quite so, Milli Şef. There is nothing we can do about it.”
“Ridiculous,” harrumphs the President, though he realises there is nothing more to be said on the subject and turns to the next item on the agenda.
[This is a bit irritating and I knew it would be the case. But the circumstances have changed since Afghanistan first entered the war and these goals were chosen. If I had a choice, I’d have preferred to now puppet them, but the game mechanics don’t allow it. Growl. 
]
“Field Marshal Örlungat, what can you tell us of the wider war and the position of our Soviet allies. In particular, we need to see if we can assist them to gain clarity of thought and purpose with this disturbing mass flow of forces from the west to the east.”
“Here is a map of the current overall position. Although the Japanese have advanced on what is now being called the Eastern Front, they are still a long way from the Soviet Union’s European heartland. As we have previously discussed, confusion at STAVKA has seen the Patriotic Front dangerously weakened, but most of the forces set in motion are thousands of miles away from where they can make themselves useful.”
“Your recommendation?”
“That we remove
all objectives we have sought to influence our Soviet allies with, both east
and west. Just let the STAVKA sort its own priorities from there and see how the chips fall. In time, we believe they will seek to hold the west with the strongest force but still use a good proportion of the units further east to help shore up that front.”
“Are you all agreed on this?” asks Inönü of the other Chiefs of Staff and the rest of the Cabinet. They all nodded their agreement.
“Very well then. It is a big risk, but perhaps that will be the best way to ensure things return to equilibrium. We will also remove a few excess US objectives –
Kamchatka, which they have ignored and is now threatened directly by the Japanese; and
Wake Island, now that
Midway has be retaken by the Japanese. Leave the rest of them in place and also the objectives set for Romania – they seem to be working fine.”
The meeting concluded just before dawn.
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On the
Danube Line, a stronger Axis probe is launched after dawn on
Turnu Severin, this time involving the Tigers of the 5th Heavy Panzer Division. While it is unlikely to succeed, the Germans have managed to get their heavy panzers out of the mountains, although they are now attacking across a major river.
Air Report. A single Turkish raid on
Ghazni killed 143 Afghan soldiers.
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2 Jul 42
Soviet liaison reported that the Germans are closing on
Kyiv and are now just three provinces distant. The line defending it is continuous but still fairly thin.
Even more worrisome is the position on the approaches to
Leningrad. While there is as yet only one German division visible nearby, there are large gaps in the Soviet line after the pocketing of 4-5 divisions in the Estonian SSR around
Tallinn late in June.
Narva was soon taken and advance Axis elements are now only two provinces distant from the key centre.
At 5am Cakmak advised the Axis attack on
Pozarevac had finished, but there were no reports available on any casualties
[Again. This has been happening a bit of late.]
At 2pm, the defenders of
Pljevlja, still under land attack, reported that three wings of Italian bombers – two TAC and one NAV – had begun bombing them. 1 AG (La-5s) and 1 AF (Hawk 3s) were sent to intercept the unescorted bombers. They engaged them for three hours and caused some damage, but the Italians were able to see their raid home, causing quite heavy casualties.
By late that night, the attack on
Pljevlja went on, but the Axis forces were becoming disorganised while the defenders were bearing up well.
Air Report. Two Turkish raids on
Ghazni killed 153 Afghan soldiers. The Italian raid on
Pljevlja had caused 231 Comintern casualties, but the bombers were not seen there again, having apparently been deterred by the Turkish interception that evening.
---xxx---
3 Jul 42
The early morning staff meeting in
Sofiya finalised a battle plan Inönü had ordered prepared early that morning. Four divisions would assault the Italian 4th Alpini in
Danilovgrad, who now occupied the mountains there alone. The attack would be led by Muzir’s 1 Mtn Div: most support would be from
Pozega and 17 Inf Div would attack across the river from
Kolasin to provide a flanking distraction to the enemy. The attack would go in at 8am.
“We will show the garlic-munchers and potato-eaters what a
real assault on a set line looks like! Major Durden, you may wish to travel forward again to observe!”
The US liaison officer saluted and was off like a shot. Fight Club would be on again, with a vengeance: Muzir’s Mountaineers had finally been unleashed to attack in their element.
In Sicily, Vito Corleone was busy drumming up business for Genco Olive Oil and extending the 'sales' network. Of course, key ports are important distribution hubs (as well as invasion targets), even during wartime. But he was also keen to spread the distribution system inland.
“How will you get Sicilians to buy imported olive oil, boss?” asked one of his henchmen as they wandered through another dusty country town, a tin of the merchandise in hand.
“You should know by now, Bruno. I’ll make ‘em an offer they
don’t refuse.”
Genco Olive Oil. Vito won’t be beaten on price. Easy when it is subsidised by S.I.T.H. funding drawn through International Immobiliare in Zurich.
Air Report. Two Turkish raids on
Ghazni killed 224 Afghan soldiers.
---xxx---
4 Jul 42
By 4am, Muzir reported good progress in
Danilovgrad, with the Italian 4th Alpini down to an estimated 50% organisation. To the north, the attack on
Pljevlja was almost spent
[down to 1% odds]. That afternoon, good news came from both battles in quick succession. The attack on
Danilovgrad had been a great success, with enemy casualties far heavier than the attackers, despite the terrain. And the eventual enemy casualties in
Pljevlja were enormous! Vur ha!
These two victories triggered the next stage of Turkey’s Summer Offensive, which Inönü hoped would at least distract the Axis as the Soviets continued to do it tough in Russia. Four divisions, evenly split from
Beograd and
Pozega (leaving one infantry division in each to maintain an entrenched defence) launched a powerful attack on
Valjevo over open ground, striking the enemy at 2pm. The IS-1s of 1 Inf Div and the newly delivered (and now fully organised) IS-2s of 15 Inf Div would have a chance to show their mettle in a major attack. Huzzah! But the enemy were entrenched and a hard fight was expected.
That night Romanian LO Agent RasaUrs75 advised that a couple of Soviet infantry divisions had been released from expeditionary force duty and were heading back to Russia.
Air Report. Two more Turkish raids on
Ghazni killed 167 Afghan soldiers. That night, it was decided the Ghazni Militia had been sufficiently ‘softened up’ and 2 TAK was ordered to reorganise in
Herat until further notice. Four days of raids had caused an estimated total of 687 Afghan casualties - a heavy toll indeed.
---xxx---
5 Jul 42
“Milli Şef, I have good news!” It was MAJGEN Gataly on the field telephone from the Valjevo battle front. “Enemy resistance has crumbled more quickly than we had dared hope. They are retreating in disorder! After only 12 hours of fighting, the Axis scum have broken.”
“Excellent news, Gataly. 2 Mot Div has now finished its work-up training and is ready for action. I will push them into Pozega to be ready for exploitation. Advise when Valjevo has been occupied. We will not be stopping there.”
However, 13 Inf Div was ordered to hold in
Beograd and not push on to
Valjevo with the rest of the attackers. It was still important to maintain a strong garrison in
Beograd - the ‘jewel of the Balkans’ - and important bastion for the
Yeniçeri-Danube Line.
At the same time, the fight in
Turnu Severin continued. The Hungarian infantry division had broken off, but the 5th Heavy Panzer Division was persistent.
At 9pm, Muzir reported from
Danilovgrad: the mountain province had been reoccupied by 1 Mtn Div, naturally the first to arrive there. But it would take another 111 hours before the division would be ready for further offensive operations (ie by 1200hr on 10 July).
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6 Jul 42
2 Mot Div arrived in
Pozega quickly – it was in position and awaiting further orders by midnight. For now, they would await the next opportunity. 97 SD joined 1 Mtn Div in
Danilovgrad by 1pm: they would be free to attack again by 2100hr on 10 July. They were followed by 11 Inf Div at 10pm, who would be ready to attack again by 1700 on 10 July.
Meanwhile in
Valjevo, another German division had managed to occupy the province in the early afternoon, before the Turks could secure it. But the Germans had no time to dig in and the three remaining assaulting divisions launched a ‘masterful blitz’ attack under Gataly’s orders. The prospects were good in this new battle.
7 Jul 42
The fresh 6 Inf Div was ordered into
Danilovgrad from
Kolasin at 3am: they should arrive by 1500 on 9 Jul and would be ready for immediate offensive operations if required.
The renewed battle in
Valjevo had progressed well by that time also, with the defenders judged to be worn down to around 50% organisation. Victory was had by 10am, but again no detailed report of casualties was available
[Dammit!]. The three advancing divisions - 1, 3 and 15 Inf Divs – were all now in
Valjevo and would all be able to attack again in around 70 hours (midday 10 July).
[Really looking forward to that next tech advance decreasing the attack wait time again].
By 1pm the fight in
Turnu Severin was still going, but nearing it’s conclusion. Despite the unfavourable river crossing, the German heavy armoured blitz had succeeded in causing appreciable casualties and disorganisation for the defenders, but the Germans were almost spent themselves.
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8 Jul 42
“Miss Perse, Miss Perse!” It is an excited Mehmet from the Propaganda Department in
Ankara. He was a former actor who had been recently recruited from the Turkish film industry.
“Ye-es, Mehmet?” Perse replied cautiously, looking up from the latest proposed war bonds poster. He thought a bit too highly of himself for her liking.
“Our Soviet colleagues have been producing some cracking propaganda. Come take a look at the latest – we have it set up for you to review in the theatre room."
Perse followed along. Mehmet was a bit of a ‘lad’ and fancied himself something of a lady’s man. He was lucky that his acting credentials and a few connections in the Government had so far enabled him to steer clear of the front lines.
He led Perse into the small viewing room, threaded the latest Soviet scene through the projector and turned down the lights. The clip was of unusually high cinematic quality, shot in full colour.
(3:23min)
The Soviets are producing some high-quality propaganda, showing a brave face despite recent setbacks on the Patriotic Front. Here, they show a counter-attack against assaulting German tanks and infantry. Ourah!
As it finished, Perse noticed Mehmet was now sitting next to her and he excitedly put a hand on her arm as he extolled the virtues of such propaganda, as if he himself was responsible for it.
“A great scene is it not, Miss Perse?" Pause. "Perhaps we could have our
own scene together ... in private,” he insinuated suggestively, the hand on her arm threatening to wander.
“That’s quite enough, Mehmet. Remember I am your boss. You should keep your wandering hands to yourself!”
“You should keep your wandering hands to yourself!”
Mehmet seemed not to take this brush-off too seriously and remained a little too close – and insouciant - for her liking. Seeing this, Perse continued.
“Of course, you
could star in a heroic propaganda film of your own. A gallant Turkish soldier fighting in the Great Liberation War.” Mehmet continued smirking, thinking he was being encouraged.
“In fact, some ‘method acting’ experience for you could be very
enlightening. Perhaps I could have a word to my good friend Propaganda Minister and Supreme Commander Calistar: I’m sure he could find you a frontline position with the famous 1st Infantry Division as they fight to the death for freedom against the Nazi menace.”
Mehmet blanched. Perse had made her point. He retreated quickly and abjectly, muttering excuses about ‘too much work to do here at the Department’, ‘my skills are probably best used for the Motherland in promoting the war effort on the home front’ and ‘Oh, is that the time? I must rush’.
---xxx---
9 Jul 42
Victory was won in
Turnu Severin by 1am – but again there was no detailed battle report, much to the chagrin of the staff at HQ 1st Army!
And then, a more surprising report was received: the Italians were bombing
Athens. It was a single TAC wing, which was probably based from southern Italy. The raid lasted from 2 to 5am and killed a few of the garrison brigade stationed there. What did this portend? Would they return? The raid was considered too insignificant to require the relocation of any fighters there to conduct combat air patrols. And the bombers did not reappear for the rest of the day.
Further north, 6 Inf Div pulled into
Danilovgrad at 3pm. Four Comintern divisions were now in place. 1 Mtn Div was another 21 hours away from being ready to attack again, with the other two divisions on a similar timetable.
Then, at 8pm the reason for the earlier Italian air raid on
Athens became apparent: they were trying to storm the beaches of
Chalkida (to the north of
Athens) again! Had they tried to provide a naval escort to their troop ships this time? There was only one way to find out. The fleet was ordered from nearby
Izmir to attack the invaders, while the 1st ‘Mk1 Eyeball’ Sub Flotilla sailed from
Athens to do the same.
Air Report. The one-off Italian raid on
Athens at 5am had killed 22 Turkish garrison troops.
---xxx---
10 Jul 42
What turned out to be a single unescorted Italian transport fleet trying to conduct the landing on
Chalkida ran as soon as the 1st Fleet appeared in the
Central Aegean Sea. Romanian and British units were also on the hunt for them. Another foolhardy Italian foray.
11 Jul 42
Cebesoy pursued the Italians into the
Western Aegean, hoping to sink them, but the Italians disengaged again and kept running. Cebesoy followed.
But there were bigger fish to fry further north: at 8am 1 AF (Hawk 3s) and 1 Tank AF (Il-2 CAS) were ordered to strike the enemy in the mountains of
Cevo. The next phase of the Summer Offensive was ready to launch. An hour later, a larger raid was ordered on
Visegrad: 1 TAK (Blenheim Mk1) and 4 AG (La-5 M/R) would launch ground attacks, with interception escort from 1 AG (LaGG-3). All these strikes would be daylight-only raids. As those raids began to hit home, at 9am two large-scale ground assaults struck their targets. Six divisions hit
Cevo from three different directions, while in
Visegrad the river crossing penalty would be balanced by outflanking attacks, with seven divisions attacking two Axis divisions, including the not yet fully recovered LSAH SS Division. Inönü was determined to shatter the enemy lines in the south by main force. Inflicting casualties was as big an objective as gaining any ground.
There was no aerial opposition to the air raid on
Visegrad, which commenced at 10 am. But it was a very different story in
Cevo, where three Italian interceptor wings engaged the badly outnumbered and obsolete Hawk 3s of the 1 AF fighter escort. 2 AG (F4Fs), which had been left in reserve in
Beograd, were immediately ordered to lend their assistance. But they could not arrive before 1 AF had been badly damaged and forced to return to their base in
Kursumlija much the worse for wear.
[Note also, I saw later that I had mistakenly ordered interdiction rather than air interception in Cevo for 2 AG – missed this at the time during a very busy period of combat].
At 1300, 4 AG was diverted from
Visegrad to
Cevo. This left just 1 TAK and 1 AG to continue hitting
Visegrad.
Off the African coast, near enemy occupied
Tobruch, Cebesoy caught up with the Italian transports once again. He engaged for three hours, doing more damage, but once again he just missed being able to destroy them before they escaped. After this, the pursuit was broken off.
That evening and into the next morning, three more air battles were fought over
Cevo. By the time they were done, the superior numbers of the Turks actually proved to be getting in the way and they ended up suffering considerably more damage than their Italian opponents. 4 AF and the Il-2s of 1 TAG suffered the most heavily.
Air Report. The two raids on
Cevo only killed 58 defenders: as CAS was being used against ‘soft’ targets, little better had been expected, especially when so vigorously opposed by enemy fighters. Though unopposed, the two raids that day on
Visegrad did little better, with only 85 defenders killed (most in the first raid when 4 AG had been assisting). And the Turkish Air Force had suffered considerable (though not catastrophic) damage in the process.
---xxx---
12 Jul 42
At midnight, the work on the new air base expansion in
Beograd was completed, bringing it up to full Level 8 capacity. A good thing, as new aircraft deliveries were expected in coming months.
Victory in
Cevo came at 6am, after hard fighting but again inflicting heavy casualties on the enemy.
Then at 7am, three Axis divisions (Italian and Hungarian) in
Ruma launch a cross-river spoiling attack on
Visegrad, clearly attempting to disrupt the units attacking
Visegrad from
Valjevo [and compensating the river crossing with a flanking bonus]. An interesting ploy, but the Turkish attackers persisted despite the distraction.
The current orders for all aircraft engaged in
Cevo were cancelled when they returned to their various bases at 8am. Time to lick their wounds.
That afternoon, word came of yet another attack trying to divert attention from
Visegrad: a single Hungarian division was assaulting
Pljevlja from
Rudo. Though only the single division attacking
Visegrad would suffer the flanking penalty: 3 Mtn Div and their colleagues prepared to exact another heavy toll on the Axis invaders.
While all this was happening, another red-letter dawned for Turkish capability development: the first Turkish marine brigade finished initial training and was deployed with their American counterparts in
Istanbul to work up.
At the same time, word came from the Soviets that a German panzer-grenadier division (hidden under the Soviet HQ 1st Army in the illustration) had been spotted closing on a lightly defended
Leningrad! At this point, an exception was made to the ‘no Soviet objective rule’: it would be a disaster if this key centre was lost. The Germans were also advancing strongly in Ukraine, though the Soviets had struck back in a couple of locations.
The air tasking of 1 TAK and 1 AF was switched from
Visegrad to
Ruma at 3pm, to try to break up the spoiling attack on
Valjevo.
Victory came in
Visegrad at 5pm, with another significant loss of troops for the Axis. 15 Inf Div (armed with the IS-2 brigade) held in
Valjevo while 97 ID, held back in
Užice until that point, was ordered up into
Visegrad instead, so it would be fresh for any subsequent attacks.
The Axis loss in
Visegrad soon led them to break off their two diversionary attacks – which had been costly in casualties and had ultimately failed. It showed how much they had wanted to avoid ceding a bridgehead the Turks could later exploit.
Air Report. The air mission on
Ruma was cancelled after the current raid finished at 8pm. The last two ground attacks on
Cevo (before they were broken off at 7am) had killed 60 Axis troops, while three raids on
Visegrad had killed 78 and the one raid on
Ruma killed 69.
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13 Jul 42
As combat lulled for a time with units in movement, at midday production priorities were reviewed by Inönü. For some time, freed capacity from unit deliveries had been soaked up by high upgrade costs
[20.17 IC], heavy reinforcement demands from the recent heavy combat
[11.4 IC] and the need to rebuild supply holdings, where the previously healthy stockpile was now being eroded
[losing 475 net per day from a base of 42,120]. For some time, supply production would once more take up the slack
[currently only 4.09 IC left for them after production costs of 148.58 IC were fully met, with a demand of 15.88].
At 1pm, Wehib Pasha’s 1 Armd Div (formerly 1 Cav Div) pulled into
Visegrad to secure the bridgehead. They would not be able to attack again until 1100hr on 18 July. In fact, they soon found themselves under attack, but it was only the battered LSAH SS Division, which must have been moving forward to reinforce the defence and instead found the powerful and still fresh 1 Armd Div in occupation. The probe was over in three hours.
14 Jul 42
The first espionage action in some time was reported in Italy. Slovak agents apprehend a Turkish team at midnight. Strength had quickly been topped up to ten again and three teams remained in reserve. Italian (excluding allies, whose numbers were unknown) counterespionage strength was just one team. The full focus on tech espionage was maintained.
More Comintern troops began arriving in
Visegrad to join 1 Armd Div. 10 Inf Div made it in at 6am, with their readiness for more attacks expected from 0700hr on 18 July.
Then, a day earlier than expected (perhaps due to improved weather conditions) 47 SD arrived in
Kabul. They had beaten the Ghazni Militia Division and now only had to hold the city until Afghan surrender terms were finalised (at midnight).
The broader situation for the Soviets in the east was starting to show a little promise. Units that had been approaching at the beginning of the month when the objectives were lifted had continued east and some seemed to be heading towards the yawning gap in the line to the south-east. A check of movements to the west showed a slow realignment of units that way as well – though the distances involved meant it would take some time to be sure whether the trend continued there as well
[and survived the next game save].
The Ghazni Militia briefly probed the newly arrived 47 SD at 10am, but slunk away immediately, after losing ten men for no Soviet casualties. There would be no last-minute rescue for the Afghan capital. Envoys began meeting to conclude surrender terms.
Toüdemür’s 2 Mot Div arrived in
Visegrad at 10am, and it too would not be ready to attack again until 18 July. 97 SD made it in there two hours later, but they were free to attack immediately if required.
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15 Jul 42
The Afghans surrendered at midnight. The conquest enforced ceded territory already controlled to either Turkey or the Soviets to the controlling power, while the rest went to Turkey. The Afghan Army threw down its arms (supposedly, anyway) and returned home.
Kabul was kept by the Soviets;
Herat went to Turkey. At least the prospect of a Japanese Afghan link-up had been avoided.
The three Turkish-controlled divisions in Afghanistan we’re given orders to strategically redeploy to form a screen on favourable defensive ground to forestall a Japanese breakthrough from the east. A range of hills overlooking a river was the best that could be found at short notice. It was hoped that Soviet reinforcements approaching from the north-west might help fill in the gaps, but nothing was certain. Objective setting was avoided lest it trigger another bout of strategic confusion in the STAVKA.
With no air bases (including Soviet) anywhere near the new defensive line and the main action for Turkey now all happening in the Balkans, 2 TAK with its Yak-4s was sent back to
Beograd to rejoin 1 TAK in readiness for more ground support operations. The Summer Offensive was far from over.
---xxx---
Coming Up: Can the Turks maintain the momentum of their offensive, despite the slow recovery time in between attacks caused by antiquated doctrine?
[Level 2 operational organisation doctrine should complete research on 31 October.] Will the Soviets be able to hold
Leningrad and
Kyiv and begin to stabilise the Patriotic Front while also stemming the Japanese onslaught in the east? Will the Germans divert resources south again, or will they sacrifice territory in the Balkans to keep pressing on in Russia?
Elsewhere, how will the British fare in North Africa, Malaya and Burma? Will the US do
anything and would they support Turkish requests for support in Sicily when the time comes? And when might their navy start participating meaningfully in the Pacific War against the Japanese?
End Note: By 15 July, Turkish forces in the Balkans had caused 7,779 known Axis casualties in ground combat (not including those that went unreported due to ‘accounting irregularities’) and a further 581 in air raids, losing just under 2,000 men themselves. How many more will fall before the month ends? The Turks can only hope their effort may be causing some consternation to the Axis and aid for their Soviet allies.
