The Germans ran out some time ago. I believe the Italians still have plenty.
- 3
- 1
-
We have updated our Community Code of Conduct. Please read through the new rules for the forum that are an integral part of Paradox Interactive’s User Agreement.
Name drop achievement unlocked.
Turns out this works extremely well, most of the time. The axis never learn how to counter it.
Take a shot.
A very strange figure and government he ran, that TTL Mr Chamberlain...
and so it was so.great backstory
Now this was not so long ago...must be catching up fast then!
First of all, he completely blanks the polite and subtle way I was telling everyone I was back in hospital. Then it takes a full half hour for him to realise-
Rather magical insight into the mind of an extremely attentive and productive AAR writer.Edit: So is that actually engaged!? Betrothed ‘n all? If so - Congratulations!
At this point, SITH are basically the secret police in Turkey, and everyone's sort of accepted it. They've come a long way from a weird little assasin cult in Kaya's terrible agency...that's for sure.
Rather good news for everyone but Britain. Their ai starts acting even worse once Churchill takes over...
I rate this reference a solid 8.
Remember Imperator? Or whatever its called.A bit of shameless cross-promotion here: I have started a new AAR (another of my little side-projects) using the old EU Rome game! It promises to be short, sharp and quick-fire. For those that are familiar, a little more in the 'Quick and Dirty' style of my HOI3 France AAR, but this time being played live rather than off saves.
The reference is in my signature and also below. Please drop on by - I'd love to see you! Forget about Mussolini and these Fascist Italian wannabe Roman Empire successors: watch the original and best as it tries to grow from a small-middle sized regional power into the biggest of them all
Ah, so many fond memories of Latin jokes and terrible translations from all sides.
Oh yeah, the Saudis joined the axis, joined the war and pretty much immediately got tanked into the dirt by Turkey.
This is a lot more.impressove than it sounds, especially as Turkey at the time was slowly losing ground in Europe.
I...I'm starting to think he's not coming back...
Russian radios in this universe, as well as tanks in general, never break down or become unaligned.
And everyone is using UK convention because...Australia.
This was a bit of a strange side story, now I'm reminded of it.
Ah, a good summer and world Cup year that was. I remember that day for two reasons. One, the germans ended up bottom of their group for a while, and two, some shit got their jaw broken for assaulting a disabled girl.Er, that doesn't sound very nice.
Alcoholic Fleming really should make a return at some point.
Ha. We do have fun.
- 2
- 1
They know they're screwed elsewhere, so trying to disrupt us and lure more troops here. If we can keep the front intact with not moving a lot of divisions here, it'll pay off
Oh God, awful results. There was a time we were able to fight them back, they maybe got new hardware? Or is it because we're closer to their heartland now so they focus more wings?
Like a wolf pack
Not comfortable at all, being probed and everything!Meanwhile, over in the Adriatic Sector, 3 Mtn Div found themselves probed three times in one day [how indecent
Thus it began
What an episode with ups and downs, open half empty plains in the north that lies until Warsaw and Berlin on the one hand, getting pounded by numerous divisions and bomber wings on the other hand. Does the future look bright as day or dark as night? Difficult to tell at this critical point. Press onwards and we'll break their backs, or we'll die trying. My guess is, we'll take out Slovakia, make to the outskirts of Krakow in good order and begin reorganizing while stabilizing the front in the Adriatic sector. If the Soviets tie the bag in the Ladoga sector and come meet us at Krakow, it will become brighter. I hope it doesn't become necessary to pull more troops for stopping the enemy in Adriatic though.
- 2
- 1
- 1
The second part of the 'split episode' to finish off July 1943 will go up soon, as it was already mostly written and illustrated, sitting in my 'back pocket' and I have a little time available to get it finished and posted.
Some more comment-feedback follws. It really is appreciated and I hope the typical 'post-holiday forum slow time' has now drawn to an end. Any general commentary or suggestions to Cabinet about where Turkey should go next after the end of July (you'll soon see where things have ended up) would be most welcome. In fact, if there is enough, it may be turned into a Cabinet Meeting!
To All: hope to get the next episode up in a couple of hours.
Some more comment-feedback follws. It really is appreciated and I hope the typical 'post-holiday forum slow time' has now drawn to an end. Any general commentary or suggestions to Cabinet about where Turkey should go next after the end of July (you'll soon see where things have ended up) would be most welcome. In fact, if there is enough, it may be turned into a Cabinet Meeting!
I think you are right
Bounder got what they deserved, as I recall.
We do, and I really hope you will be able to again soon enough, my friend. Still thinking of you daily and hoping for the best health-wise. <3
Yes, just too many and too high quality at the moment. We d have some more wings on the way and will need them whichever direction we push next towards their respective heartlands.
Indeed not - but they were all successfully repelled and honour maintained!Not comfortable at all, being probed and everything!
You will soon see how this latest episode has gone, then once again its a strategic open book from there.
To All: hope to get the next episode up in a couple of hours.
Last edited:
- 3
Chapter 208: Havoc and Chaos (26 to 31 July 1943)
Chapter 208: Havoc and Chaos (26 to 31 July 1943)
Foreword
The Race to Bratislava continues – but how many horses are in it? And what colours will the jockeys be riding in? But in the Adriatic Sector, ground has been lost to support the bold offensives against Hungary and now Slovakia.
This chapter is dedicated to our good friend @TheButterflyComposer (aka the Dark Lord Kelebek) in the hope of his full and speedy recovery from COVID (again).
26 Jul 43
The main worries for Inönü remained the Adriatic Sector and manpower. At 1am, the bedraggled 222 SD arrived in Karlobag but were almost immediately attacked by the pursuing and full-strength German 6. Infanterie Division. Even though the Soviet commander Devyatov tried a skilful counter-attack, the situation was hopeless and they were unable to properly man a defensive line: they were ordered out immediately.
And as 14 Inf Div was still only partly recovered from their earlier attack on Rijeka and could not expect to hold or retake Karlobag themselves, they were diverted to Perusic instead, in the hope of establishing a defence on better ground there. And the garrison in Split was called forward, in case they too may be required to help defend Ubdina. 18 Inf Div, called over from the east a few days prior, was by then in Virovitica and now headed for Perusic.
Manpower Report. At 4am, the Turkish manpower report showed the reserve was down to 17,000 men, with 8,110 reinforcements needed.
In the Krakow area, 5 Inf Div was in Nowy Sacz by 5am and was also pushed forward to Grybow, to join 17 Inf Div on the advance to the key Polish city (both formations were armed with heavy tank brigades).
Gataly’s veteran 15 Inf Div Div (also equipped with IS-2s) made it to Györ at 9am but was soon attacked by a German infantry division from Sopron, to their south-west. The attack was broken off by the enemy they took disproportionate losses (9 Turks v 55 Germans killed). LT Metin Sadik’s platoon was relieved to see them go: “A quick fight is a good fight, in my book,” said the by-now grizzled veteran of many battles.
The Turks were now making rapid progress across the approaches to Bratislava. By midday, 3 Cav Div had taken Piestany and was moving on to Kuty. They reported a large column of German formations withdrawing north-west. That night, 2 Mot Div was first into Trnava: with 2 Inf Div following up, Toüdemür did not wait but sped straight for Bratislava, which was now undefended. Soon after, 15 Inf Div would look to advance on Tata, to try to pocket two German divisions currently occupying forts south-east of Bratislava.
---xxx---
27 Jul 43
The advance on Tata was soon delayed by a holding attack on Györ by the Germans in Sopron, which began at 1am with heavy air support. It stood no real chance of success, but would slow things down and the air raids would hit hard.
An interesting aside was that at 11am it was noticed that two Soviet air wings (one M/R, one transport) had turned up in the vacant air base in Székesfehérvár, but there was no indication about their mission. Was Durden going to be getting some ‘friendly competition’ in the dirty deeds department? At the same time 11 Inf Div secured Veszprém to its immediate west.
By midday 3 Cav Div secured Kuty, directly north of Bratislava, and halted there to secure that approach while 2 Mot Div pushed on to the Slovakian capital [and only VP city].
At 1pm the German holding attack on Györ was heavily defeated (61 Turk v 357 German casualties), and 15 Inf Div’s advance on Tata could resume, while 2 Inf Div secured Trnava behind 2 Mot Div. The pace of the offensive was picking up as the main prize came into view.
Air Damage Report. Four days of heavy Italian raids began on Györ.
28 Jul 43
In the Bratislava offensive, at midnight an Italian motorised division pulled into Tata to establish a hasty defence, with Gataly trying to blitz them while the Italians sought delay. The Turkish commander got the tactical edge from that trade-off and pressed on with the attack.
At the same time, the building 3 Mot Div (not to be confused with 3 Cav Div operating near Bratislava) received the first SP rocket artillery brigade to be produced (under license) in Turkey. It may not stay with them ultimately, but was a good enough fit for now. Its place in the production queue was taken by another garrison brigade upgrade in Dubrovnik, where another such conversion was already in progress. It took 1,000 men from the pool, which was then down to 15,000 with 5,230 reinforcements required.
At 4am, 171 SD filled in the gap left in Piestany by 3 Cav Div’s advance on Kuty – and just in time, as a column of German troops was then approaching from the north. Then, the race to Bratislava finished suddenly at 6am, as 2 Mot Div seized the city, Toüdemür at the head of the column in his T-34 command tank! But they didn’t have long to gloat as a German attack (made on Slovakian orders) from the forming pocket at Dunajska Streda came an hour later as the Turks hastily occupied the city’s damaged fortifications. In the meantime, Slovakian representatives were summoned, escorted in by a menacing Durden and his henchmen, who had found them cowering in a 'command hut', muttering something about poets, carpet bombing, hip flasks and inevitable defeat.
In the Krakow sector, 5 and 17 Inf Divs took Grybow at 5am, with the 5th securing it while the 17th pushed on to Tarnów. Two hours later, Ruzemberok was taken by 3 and 7 Inf Divs, cutting off the Italian 5th Alpini Division in Vazek. The latter had suddenly adopted Slovakian colours during the night and attacked Ruzemberok under their command in a breakout attempt at 10am, reinforced by the German 23rd Infanterie attacking from Terchova to the north at 5pm.
In the Far East, that evening the Turkish force had consolidated again in Youvi Feng, where it was decided the main body would advance on Hrebet Iolgo while 4 Cav Div would attempt a daring cavalry raid to its south into Mongolia along the (neutral) Sinkiang border (with whom the Turks also had a military access agreement).
And on the Adriatic coast, 18 Inf Div finished its long redeployment in Ubdina at 8pm, ahead of the exhausted and fleeing 222 SD, with the Germans still advancing on Karlobag from Lussino.
29 Jul 43
The Slovak government capitulated, as the iron laws of war decreed, at midnight. This time, as had been decided years ago, Slovakia became a Communist puppet state of Turkey and thus a Comintern member.
A second Axis country had been overcome in the space of two weeks – by Turkey. But the chaos of this situation had some time to play out. The suddenly Comintern Slovak command reported that within the surrounding region, one Italian and six German divisions remained under Slovak colours as expeditionary forces as the armistice came into effect. Including the three Axis divisions currently pocketed, one in Vazek (the 5th Alpini) and two German divisions in Dunajska Streda. This meant the breakout attacks on Ruzemberok and Bratislava were suddenly over [ie no reports].
The Italians in Tata remained under their own national control, but had been very badly mauled by 15 Inf Div and retreated north-west at 2am. By then, the situation became even more chaotic when 201 Sicherungs Divisie in Dunajska Streda reverted to German command, but the 61st Infanterie still snuck out towards Bratislava in Slovakian colours, escaping the carefully laid trap by a perfidious subterfuge. This was maddening for the Turks, but once again the iron laws of war prevented them doing anything about it.
Just as MAJ Durden was getting ready to arrange some ‘summary battlefield justice’ for the outgoing government … it appeared they became the incoming government of Communist Slovakia. Even if every one of them was a disgusting preserved meat-eating Fascist!
I thought there might have been a change of personnel but, no. Not yet it seems: Hlinka and Tiso remain in charge. Sigh. Maybe later? Or never?
15 Inf Div completed the encirclement of Dunajska Streda at 4am and within two hours, 201 Sich Div was trying to break out, making a desperate attack on the US Marines holding Györ to their south. MAJGEN Fort had no concerns about holding. MAJ Kenny 'Wraith' Loggins, patched up and released from the field hospital but not yet fully fit for front-line danger zone service, observed keenly from the divisional CP, munching on a Cuban cigar.
---xxx---
30 Jul 43
The day began with 17 Inf Div securing Tarnów at midnight and beginning a hasty river-crossing operation to approach Krakow via Miechow, while 177 SD was ordered to secure Bochnia. Of concern was the the 5th Alpini escaping the pocket in Vazek towards Ruzemberok under a false Slovak flag, while two German divisions approached 5 Inf Div in Grybow from the north-east under a similar deception. In the post-surrender chaos, no-one knew quite what would happen.
A new attack on 15 Inf Div in Tata by the German 16th Infanterie in Sopron began at 2am. Gataly’s men had it well in hand, but it showed the enemy were trying to break the encirclement of their soldiers trapped in Dunajska Streda – by hook or by crook. Speaking of the latter, 61 Infanterie was still sneaking into Bratislava under Slovak colours.
Manpower Report. By that stage, the manpower reserve had shrunk to 14,000 but only 4,360 reinforcements were needed, meaning the net balance had remained fairly steady over the last four days, with only the small offensive towards Krakow now active, the rest of the Northern and Adriatic Sectors now largely on the defensive.
The 5th Alpini slipped into Ruzemberok, still cowering under Slovak protection, at 5am. The swine seemed to have escaped their trap by the lowest and most craven of means.
Soviet Agent SkitalecS3 had better news a few hours later though: the Soviets had established a two-province-wide cut-off of Army Group North on the Baltic, just north of Riga. It remained to be seen if it could be held this time.
No great pockets of Axis troops had been cut off with recent the Hungarian and Slovakian collapses. The Soviets had so far been slow to follow up in the sector between Lwow and Krakow, while there was still reporting of German troops in Slovakian colours advancing towards Turkish positions. 5 Inf Div was braced for another ‘piratical’ attack on – or even in - Grybow.
An hour later, there was confirmation the German 6th Infanterie, now under Italian command, had seized the beachhead of Karlobag, with 14 Inf Div still marching to block off the gap to its north-east in Perusic. But the Germans were still isolated, so may not be willing to advance for some time. 18 Inf Div had sealed up Ubdina and were digging in with the battered 222 SD.
Then at 1pm, the secure land line from Ruzemberok rang at the HQ 1st Army CP:
The battle lasted for six hours, when the Italians fled with heavy casualties – but it seemed the remaining dregs would escape to Terchova. No pursuit was ordered – enough good Turkish and Soviet lives had been expended already on these cowardly dogs.
Just an hour after the Italians revolted in Ruzemberok, Toüdemür heard reports from Tyler Durden that the German 61st Infanterie had slipped into Bratislava, still hiding behind their Slovak flag-of-convenience: he braced for trouble, but none emerged – at first.
Wanting to tidy things up around Bratislava and estimating the Germans in Dunajska Streda were now ripe for the picking, an attack went in there by 1 Mar Div and 4 SD, hitting their exposed flank at 3pm. By 6pm the Germans finally abandoned their desperate attack on Györ to concentrate on their defence, which looked doomed. 156 SD was ordered forward to augment 4 US Mar Div in case Györ yet again. The battle in Tata continued.
In the Far East, the two infantry divisions attacking Hrebet Iolgo won an expensive victory against the three weakened Japanese divisions trying to hold it – losing more troops than the Turkish High Command were comfortable with this time. Further frontal attacks there may need to be reconsidered. 4 Cav Div simultaneously continued their southern flanking march.
Air Damage Report. The four days of continuous air raids on Györ killed 2,313 Comintern troops from various formations but never shook their resolve in the attack or defence over that time. A new enemy raid mission began on Tata that night.
An Arado Ar 234 'Blitz'.
---xxx---
31 Jul 43
There was no problem in pushing on the open door in the central sector between Bratislava and Ruzemberok, with five divisions ordered into the gap early that morning to see if they could gain the ground before the Germans recovered their poise.
Victory was declared in Tata at 7am, the Germans abandoning their attack after taking heavy casualties against 15 Inf Div.
Manpower Report. After that battle, the manpower reserve was holding at 14,000 with 3,740 reinforcements needed. Op tempo was now decreasing in all Turkish theatres.
At 9am, 17 Inf Div struck the full-strength, four-brigade German 45th Infanterie in Miechow, who had just arrived to block the river crossing east of Krakow. The Turkish attack had little chance of success [just 6% progress] so was called off straight away (9 Turk v 3 German casualties). Just three hours later, the Germans were seen moving west to Krakow itself, which was likely now out of easy reach: a line would be established on the river to its south, stretching west to Katowice.
At midday, the feared uprising of German turncoats erupted in Bratislava, as the Germans discarded their Slovak flags and replaced them with the hated Nazi battle standard. As the fully-manned and organised troopers of 2 Mot Div braced for the battle in their midst, a furious Toüdemür called Durden into his CP.
“Major Durden, I want you to find this dastardly German pirate and kill him, while we do the same to his running-dog crew.”
“I can try, sir, but it seems to be impossible to ever kill or capture generals in this war. They always mysteriously escape, even when completely surrounded.”
“What do they think they are – ‘Untouchable’?” frothed the angry cavalryman.
The battle would still be going as the month ended, as would that in Dunajska Streda. Elsewhere, the various fronts were relatively quiet for now.
Air Damage Report. The air strikes on Tata begun the night before killed 753 men from 15 Inf Div before the enemy attack on it failed.
On the broader Patriotic Front, the Soviets still maintained a very narrow cut-off near Riga, but the Germans had been counter-attacking. Modest gains had been made in the Southern Russian sector and of course enormous swathes of Hungarian (up to the yellow line on 16 July) and then Slovakian territory had been occupied since the start of the month, with some ground lost in the Adriatic Sector.
Between 17-31 July, Turkey had lost 4,673 men in ground fighting and another 7,738 on all fronts (including the Far East), making a total of 12,411. They had inflicted 8,548 ground casualties on all Axis enemies over the same period.
More detailed reporting showed how difficult it had been for the Soviets to gain and hold ground in their attempt to isolate Army Group North, with little progress made during the whole month, but it looked like they were counter-attacking the province they had just lost
As noted, the last two weeks in the Turkish Northern Sector had seen more great gains, with most fighting concentrated around Bratislava and to its south and in Ruzemberok on the approach to Krakow. Otherwise, pitched battles had been avoided where possible.
The story had been grimmer in the Adriatic Sector, with several Comintern reverses in the air and on the ground. In part, it showed the loss of the Hungarian Air Force to the Axis had not really made the Turkish Air Force any more competitive against its Axis – mainly Italian – counterparts. More of the new fighters on order would be needed to change that.
The Far East had witnessed more positive developments during July, with steady Soviet progress in the key southern part of the front and the Japanese apparently now in a general though deliberate retreat there.
Overall, in both the Balkans and the Far East, reported Turkish casualties for the two weeks from 18 July were 4,673 in ground combat plus another 7,738 from Axis (mainly Italian) air strikes, for a total of 12,411. Axis battle casualties against Turkish forces on both fronts were 8,548 on the ground and none from the air.
There were no ground casualty reports from the long battle for Lussino (14-21 July), or the two battles in Bratislava (28-29 July) and Ruzemberok (also 28-29 July) that ended when Slovakia surrendered. And of course, during the month many thousands of Hungarian troops had simply surrendered and headed home when the country was conquered. The latest battles against German forces in Dunajska Streda and Bratislava would continue in August.
British reporting indicated the Dutch partisan network was causing some problems behind the German lines. There was also evidence of British strategic air raids occurring on German industry.
While in Libya, abject British incompetence saw the month’s early advance to the outskirts of an undefended Tripoli apparently abandoned.
The Japanese had made only limited gains in India and Calcutta had not yet fallen, though it looked like Bhutan could soon be forced to surrender.
While the situation in South East Asia was once again little changed, with Singapore still holding and a small British gain in Borneo.
But there was bad news in Australasia. Rabaul and its environs had been occupied by the Japanese and there had been little significant change in New Zealand.
But (as at least one media pundit had recently predicted) the Japanese had recently invaded Australia, landing in an undefended Sydney [of course ]. The only Australian fighting troops on the whole eastern seaboard were way up north of Brisbane.
As usual, here was no evidence of any activity in the Pacific more generally.
Naval Report
There had been little apparent naval combat activity in the last month and just one major ships had been lost on any side. For the Allies, the British and French had lost one destroyer flotilla each and the French two submarine flotillas plus the light cruiser Lamotte-Picquet. In the Axis, Germany and Japan had also lost one destroyer flotilla each.
Lamotte-Picquet was a French Duguay-Trouin-class light cruiser. Laid down 17 January 1923; launched 21 March 1924; commissioned 5 March 1927. Standard displacement 7,249 tons; complement 27 officers, 551 sailors; main armament 8 × 155 mm (6.1 in) (4 × 2). Sunk by Japanese naval bombers in July 1941.
Intelligence Report
It had been a totally quiet month operationally, with no enemy spies apprehended in Turkey or Italy and none lost. There was reporting of some enemy spy presence in Turkey, but all domestic efforts were currently directed at raising national unity [currently at 76%] [may need to revisit that]. The Italians had not introduced any new spy teams at home and had none in the field. Two-thirds of the Turkish effort was directed at lowering enemy morale [NU down to 72.6%], one-third at counter-intelligence.
By the end of July, the FBI had gained intelligence that Perse’s presence in the US had been discovered by MI6 as a result of debriefings following her RAF escape flight. And it was also almost certain the Soviets and through them the other Comintern intelligence agencies would be aware.
Rather than only hiding in a safe house, Perse decided she would do her bit for her new hosts – and be seen to be supporting the war effort of what was, after all, an active member of the Comintern Pact. Which may lead either to a softening of the animus felt towards her by America’s pact partners. Or if that was a pipe dream, her visible appearances supporting the war effort may make it politically more problematic for those partners to attempt an assassination on US soil.
B.J. Guildenstern also had it communicated to his Comintern partners that perhaps they might save face if, publicly at least, Perse’s sudden and hitherto unexplained absence from the Turkish propaganda effort was in fact part of an official visit to their alliance partners in the US to help bolster the war effort more generally and foster support of Turkey there.
It remained to be seen whether this would be enough for all the Soviet, Turkish and Romanian attack dogs to be called off. So, in between any public engagements, Perse’s specific whereabouts were kept secret, with safe houses regularly changed as she travelled from city to city.
Perse helping to sell US War Bonds in Jacksonville, Florida, 27 July 1943. It was said at the time within the FBI that she was playing a game of “peek-a-boo” with the other Comintern Pact intelligence agencies.
---xxx---
Coming up: with Slovakia now in the Comintern and Turkish manpower reserves hovering at a low level, Turkey’s immediate operational and mid-term strategic aspirations in Central Europe and Italy would again have to be reviewed. The spy operation in Italy proceeded quietly but usefully, while Perse had partly re-emerged into public life in the US, hoping to be able to return to England one day when things were safer. Will Tyler Durden be able to track down and eliminate the dastardly Tröger in Bratislava – or will the iron laws of war once more prevent his apprehension?
Foreword
The Race to Bratislava continues – but how many horses are in it? And what colours will the jockeys be riding in? But in the Adriatic Sector, ground has been lost to support the bold offensives against Hungary and now Slovakia.
This chapter is dedicated to our good friend @TheButterflyComposer (aka the Dark Lord Kelebek) in the hope of his full and speedy recovery from COVID (again).
---xxx---
26 Jul 43
The main worries for Inönü remained the Adriatic Sector and manpower. At 1am, the bedraggled 222 SD arrived in Karlobag but were almost immediately attacked by the pursuing and full-strength German 6. Infanterie Division. Even though the Soviet commander Devyatov tried a skilful counter-attack, the situation was hopeless and they were unable to properly man a defensive line: they were ordered out immediately.
And as 14 Inf Div was still only partly recovered from their earlier attack on Rijeka and could not expect to hold or retake Karlobag themselves, they were diverted to Perusic instead, in the hope of establishing a defence on better ground there. And the garrison in Split was called forward, in case they too may be required to help defend Ubdina. 18 Inf Div, called over from the east a few days prior, was by then in Virovitica and now headed for Perusic.
In the Krakow area, 5 Inf Div was in Nowy Sacz by 5am and was also pushed forward to Grybow, to join 17 Inf Div on the advance to the key Polish city (both formations were armed with heavy tank brigades).
The Turks were now making rapid progress across the approaches to Bratislava. By midday, 3 Cav Div had taken Piestany and was moving on to Kuty. They reported a large column of German formations withdrawing north-west. That night, 2 Mot Div was first into Trnava: with 2 Inf Div following up, Toüdemür did not wait but sped straight for Bratislava, which was now undefended. Soon after, 15 Inf Div would look to advance on Tata, to try to pocket two German divisions currently occupying forts south-east of Bratislava.
---xxx---
27 Jul 43
The advance on Tata was soon delayed by a holding attack on Györ by the Germans in Sopron, which began at 1am with heavy air support. It stood no real chance of success, but would slow things down and the air raids would hit hard.
An interesting aside was that at 11am it was noticed that two Soviet air wings (one M/R, one transport) had turned up in the vacant air base in Székesfehérvár, but there was no indication about their mission. Was Durden going to be getting some ‘friendly competition’ in the dirty deeds department? At the same time 11 Inf Div secured Veszprém to its immediate west.
By midday 3 Cav Div secured Kuty, directly north of Bratislava, and halted there to secure that approach while 2 Mot Div pushed on to the Slovakian capital [and only VP city].
Air Damage Report. Four days of heavy Italian raids began on Györ.
---xxx---
28 Jul 43
In the Bratislava offensive, at midnight an Italian motorised division pulled into Tata to establish a hasty defence, with Gataly trying to blitz them while the Italians sought delay. The Turkish commander got the tactical edge from that trade-off and pressed on with the attack.
In the Far East, that evening the Turkish force had consolidated again in Youvi Feng, where it was decided the main body would advance on Hrebet Iolgo while 4 Cav Div would attempt a daring cavalry raid to its south into Mongolia along the (neutral) Sinkiang border (with whom the Turks also had a military access agreement).
News Report: London, UK. At the Old Bailey in London, Communist Party member Douglas Springhall was sentenced to seven years in prison for obtaining information about munitions "calculated to be useful to the enemy." Justice Oliver told Springhall, "I do not think, on your record, it is likely that your purpose was to communicate these things to Germany, but to communicate them to someone I have no doubt whatever." [Comment: contemporary OTL evidence of Soviet espionage activities in Old Blighty! Tactfully put by the judge. ]
]---xxx---
29 Jul 43
The Slovak government capitulated, as the iron laws of war decreed, at midnight. This time, as had been decided years ago, Slovakia became a Communist puppet state of Turkey and thus a Comintern member.
The Italians in Tata remained under their own national control, but had been very badly mauled by 15 Inf Div and retreated north-west at 2am. By then, the situation became even more chaotic when 201 Sicherungs Divisie in Dunajska Streda reverted to German command, but the 61st Infanterie still snuck out towards Bratislava in Slovakian colours, escaping the carefully laid trap by a perfidious subterfuge. This was maddening for the Turks, but once again the iron laws of war prevented them doing anything about it.
I thought there might have been a change of personnel but, no. Not yet it seems: Hlinka and Tiso remain in charge. Sigh. Maybe later? Or never?
15 Inf Div completed the encirclement of Dunajska Streda at 4am and within two hours, 201 Sich Div was trying to break out, making a desperate attack on the US Marines holding Györ to their south. MAJGEN Fort had no concerns about holding. MAJ Kenny 'Wraith' Loggins, patched up and released from the field hospital but not yet fully fit for front-line danger zone service, observed keenly from the divisional CP, munching on a Cuban cigar.
---xxx---
30 Jul 43
The day began with 17 Inf Div securing Tarnów at midnight and beginning a hasty river-crossing operation to approach Krakow via Miechow, while 177 SD was ordered to secure Bochnia. Of concern was the the 5th Alpini escaping the pocket in Vazek towards Ruzemberok under a false Slovak flag, while two German divisions approached 5 Inf Div in Grybow from the north-east under a similar deception. In the post-surrender chaos, no-one knew quite what would happen.
Manpower Report. By that stage, the manpower reserve had shrunk to 14,000 but only 4,360 reinforcements were needed, meaning the net balance had remained fairly steady over the last four days, with only the small offensive towards Krakow now active, the rest of the Northern and Adriatic Sectors now largely on the defensive.
The 5th Alpini slipped into Ruzemberok, still cowering under Slovak protection, at 5am. The swine seemed to have escaped their trap by the lowest and most craven of means.
Soviet Agent SkitalecS3 had better news a few hours later though: the Soviets had established a two-province-wide cut-off of Army Group North on the Baltic, just north of Riga. It remained to be seen if it could be held this time.
Then at 1pm, the secure land line from Ruzemberok rang at the HQ 1st Army CP:
“This is Gürzlin here – the Alpini curs have revolted and are attacking us from within the town here in Ruzemberok! Alert all other units to this fifth column danger. We will hunt the bastards down and cut their treacherous throats!”
The battle lasted for six hours, when the Italians fled with heavy casualties – but it seemed the remaining dregs would escape to Terchova. No pursuit was ordered – enough good Turkish and Soviet lives had been expended already on these cowardly dogs.
Wanting to tidy things up around Bratislava and estimating the Germans in Dunajska Streda were now ripe for the picking, an attack went in there by 1 Mar Div and 4 SD, hitting their exposed flank at 3pm. By 6pm the Germans finally abandoned their desperate attack on Györ to concentrate on their defence, which looked doomed. 156 SD was ordered forward to augment 4 US Mar Div in case Györ yet again. The battle in Tata continued.
OTL Technology Reports. The world's first jet-powered bomber aircraft, the German Arado Ar 234 'Blitz', made its first flight. And Igor Kurchatov, the Soviet physicist assigned to developing the first nuclear bomb for the U.S.S.R., reported to Deputy Premier Vyacheslav Molotov that the program had advanced significantly from secrets gathered in espionage on the United States.
An Arado Ar 234 'Blitz'.
---xxx---
31 Jul 43
There was no problem in pushing on the open door in the central sector between Bratislava and Ruzemberok, with five divisions ordered into the gap early that morning to see if they could gain the ground before the Germans recovered their poise.
At 9am, 17 Inf Div struck the full-strength, four-brigade German 45th Infanterie in Miechow, who had just arrived to block the river crossing east of Krakow. The Turkish attack had little chance of success [just 6% progress] so was called off straight away (9 Turk v 3 German casualties). Just three hours later, the Germans were seen moving west to Krakow itself, which was likely now out of easy reach: a line would be established on the river to its south, stretching west to Katowice.
At midday, the feared uprising of German turncoats erupted in Bratislava, as the Germans discarded their Slovak flags and replaced them with the hated Nazi battle standard. As the fully-manned and organised troopers of 2 Mot Div braced for the battle in their midst, a furious Toüdemür called Durden into his CP.
“Major Durden, I want you to find this dastardly German pirate and kill him, while we do the same to his running-dog crew.”
“I can try, sir, but it seems to be impossible to ever kill or capture generals in this war. They always mysteriously escape, even when completely surrounded.”
“What do they think they are – ‘Untouchable’?” frothed the angry cavalryman.
Yes, I know I’ve used this trope before, but it summarises the vibe perfectly on this occasion. Even while meeting with the same success as it does in the movie!
The battle would still be going as the month ended, as would that in Dunajska Streda. Elsewhere, the various fronts were relatively quiet for now.
Air Damage Report. The air strikes on Tata begun the night before killed 753 men from 15 Inf Div before the enemy attack on it failed.
OTL News: Free France. General Henri Giraud was designated as commander-in-chief of the French Resistance forces, as the new National Committee of Liberation held its first meeting, establishing a government in French Algeria. General Charles de Gaulle was named as President of the Committee.
---xxx---
Theatre Reports
Theatre Reports
On the broader Patriotic Front, the Soviets still maintained a very narrow cut-off near Riga, but the Germans had been counter-attacking. Modest gains had been made in the Southern Russian sector and of course enormous swathes of Hungarian (up to the yellow line on 16 July) and then Slovakian territory had been occupied since the start of the month, with some ground lost in the Adriatic Sector.
More detailed reporting showed how difficult it had been for the Soviets to gain and hold ground in their attempt to isolate Army Group North, with little progress made during the whole month, but it looked like they were counter-attacking the province they had just lost
There were no ground casualty reports from the long battle for Lussino (14-21 July), or the two battles in Bratislava (28-29 July) and Ruzemberok (also 28-29 July) that ended when Slovakia surrendered. And of course, during the month many thousands of Hungarian troops had simply surrendered and headed home when the country was conquered. The latest battles against German forces in Dunajska Streda and Bratislava would continue in August.
---xxx---
British reporting indicated the Dutch partisan network was causing some problems behind the German lines. There was also evidence of British strategic air raids occurring on German industry.
The Japanese had made only limited gains in India and Calcutta had not yet fallen, though it looked like Bhutan could soon be forced to surrender.
But there was bad news in Australasia. Rabaul and its environs had been occupied by the Japanese and there had been little significant change in New Zealand.
]. The only Australian fighting troops on the whole eastern seaboard were way up north of Brisbane.As usual, here was no evidence of any activity in the Pacific more generally.
---xxx---
Naval Report
There had been little apparent naval combat activity in the last month and just one major ships had been lost on any side. For the Allies, the British and French had lost one destroyer flotilla each and the French two submarine flotillas plus the light cruiser Lamotte-Picquet. In the Axis, Germany and Japan had also lost one destroyer flotilla each.
---xxx---
Intelligence Report
It had been a totally quiet month operationally, with no enemy spies apprehended in Turkey or Italy and none lost. There was reporting of some enemy spy presence in Turkey, but all domestic efforts were currently directed at raising national unity [currently at 76%] [may need to revisit that]. The Italians had not introduced any new spy teams at home and had none in the field. Two-thirds of the Turkish effort was directed at lowering enemy morale [NU down to 72.6%], one-third at counter-intelligence.
By the end of July, the FBI had gained intelligence that Perse’s presence in the US had been discovered by MI6 as a result of debriefings following her RAF escape flight. And it was also almost certain the Soviets and through them the other Comintern intelligence agencies would be aware.
Rather than only hiding in a safe house, Perse decided she would do her bit for her new hosts – and be seen to be supporting the war effort of what was, after all, an active member of the Comintern Pact. Which may lead either to a softening of the animus felt towards her by America’s pact partners. Or if that was a pipe dream, her visible appearances supporting the war effort may make it politically more problematic for those partners to attempt an assassination on US soil.
B.J. Guildenstern also had it communicated to his Comintern partners that perhaps they might save face if, publicly at least, Perse’s sudden and hitherto unexplained absence from the Turkish propaganda effort was in fact part of an official visit to their alliance partners in the US to help bolster the war effort more generally and foster support of Turkey there.
It remained to be seen whether this would be enough for all the Soviet, Turkish and Romanian attack dogs to be called off. So, in between any public engagements, Perse’s specific whereabouts were kept secret, with safe houses regularly changed as she travelled from city to city.
Perse helping to sell US War Bonds in Jacksonville, Florida, 27 July 1943. It was said at the time within the FBI that she was playing a game of “peek-a-boo” with the other Comintern Pact intelligence agencies.
---xxx---
Coming up: with Slovakia now in the Comintern and Turkish manpower reserves hovering at a low level, Turkey’s immediate operational and mid-term strategic aspirations in Central Europe and Italy would again have to be reviewed. The spy operation in Italy proceeded quietly but usefully, while Perse had partly re-emerged into public life in the US, hoping to be able to return to England one day when things were safer. Will Tyler Durden be able to track down and eliminate the dastardly Tröger in Bratislava – or will the iron laws of war once more prevent his apprehension?
Last edited:
- 3
- 1
Unfortunately, cabinets are unable to be changed as you wish in the game. I resorted to save game edits for them in my AAR.
- 1
He's such a character!
And they get to keep the recently defected Italian division? That would be hilarious!
Hahaha it really happened. The chaos of this 24 hours in Slovakia would make for a great comedy episode in itself!
In a more serious tone, I can't believe we're actually at the gates of Wien!
Wow, I was expecting for them to use the forts + urban + river terrain of Krakow and try to hold it as an island, but seems may be possible to take outright?
In the beginning I thought they permanently became Slovakian thus friendly units but apparently I couldn't be more mistaken.
Seems much more robust this time
I was hoping there'd be some great encirclement of Axis troops between us and the Soviets, but alas
Hahaha Pust is a common curse word in both Turkish and Greek. It's fitting the 5th column Italian division was named the Pusteria. All pusts!
What I first feared happened, well it was still worth a try
I at least expect to have the fortress bonus against the pirates?
Not as robust as I thought it was this time :/
Am I seeing an Ethiopian EF there who somehow managed to turn the province to their color as well?
Not good, but not as bad as it looks. I think we still have some depth to trade as long as we can hold on to Zagreb in the medium run.
So the Japanese are running amok on SE Asia and Australasia, but the allies aren't even contesting that. Good job allies.
I'd say keep a straight-ish front passing from Adriatic-Zagreb-Bratislava-outskirts of Katowice. If we can get a defendible foothold across Vistula, definitely let's go for that. If we can get hold of some weakly defended Czech fortress provinces, that's a good thing to hold during a reorganization and consolidating period as well. If by any big blunder by AI we can get an urban province, of course that's another opportunity that can be taken advantage of.
Except for these short to mid term objectives, I think we shouldn't move the front west (western than the Zagreb Bratislava axis) until the Soviets catch up with us but of course any holes left by the enemy we can make exceptions for. If there'll be any operations it should be across Vistula. Once the Soviets catch up with us we can continue west.
Future looks bright!
- 2
- 1
I'd imagine that the situation is tantamount to the end of Bagration: the enemy line is virtually demolished, but we don't have the strategic reserve to properly follow it up.
- 3
- 2
Nice development on the Eastern Front. Taking Slovakia is a valuable accomplishment, and it is actually good for you that the Germans offer stiff resistance in the former Poland and the Baltics.
Why did you choose to puppet Slovakia instead of annexing it? I think you do have strategic considerations for that decision. Or, maybe, there was a longing for the longer than real life Slovakia AAR at play?
Interesting the story of the German units under Slovak control. What happened exactly when Slovakia effectively changed sides? Did they remained in the Slovak service? From the bits of provided information, I got that some units were not returned to Nazi control immediately.
The setbacks in Western Balkans are a clear warning signal for Turkey to stand back for a few months, recover MP and improve Air defence capabilities.
It looks like you've got to choose between two expansion directions. Both Germany and Italy are way too powerful for the Turkish army. My advice is: Let the Soviet Union degrade the German army for half a year (and vice-versa), and when Germany looks exhausted, make a daring move to capture Berlin. Should that be unattainable, Italy would be a second distant good price as well.
If you take Germany, you could be able even to turn against the Soviet Union (by console), simulating deep political divisions. Historically, that wouldn't be far fetched at all, given the simmering conflict for primacy in the Communist block between China and Soviet Russia.
How did the US join Comintern !? Did Turkey use her limited LP to achieve that?
Why did you choose to puppet Slovakia instead of annexing it? I think you do have strategic considerations for that decision. Or, maybe, there was a longing for the longer than real life Slovakia AAR at play?
Interesting the story of the German units under Slovak control. What happened exactly when Slovakia effectively changed sides? Did they remained in the Slovak service? From the bits of provided information, I got that some units were not returned to Nazi control immediately.
The setbacks in Western Balkans are a clear warning signal for Turkey to stand back for a few months, recover MP and improve Air defence capabilities.
It looks like you've got to choose between two expansion directions. Both Germany and Italy are way too powerful for the Turkish army. My advice is: Let the Soviet Union degrade the German army for half a year (and vice-versa), and when Germany looks exhausted, make a daring move to capture Berlin. Should that be unattainable, Italy would be a second distant good price as well.
If you take Germany, you could be able even to turn against the Soviet Union (by console), simulating deep political divisions. Historically, that wouldn't be far fetched at all, given the simmering conflict for primacy in the Communist block between China and Soviet Russia.
How did the US join Comintern !? Did Turkey use her limited LP to achieve that?
Last edited:
- 3
Huzzah for Turkey's daring charge to take Slovakia out of the fight, even if Turkish bureaucrats have clearly been hoodwinked by Tiso and Tuka into letting the pair stay on as leaders of the 'new' puppet government. Maybe there was an exchange of hipflasks under the negotiating table?
I have to admit, I wasn't sure what Turkey's intentions were in their opportunistic (and brilliant) drive northwards, the creation of the Slovak puppet government, along with the existing Romanian one now forms a good buffer between the future expanded Soviet Union and the UGNR, allowing both Comintern partners to run their sphere of influence without unnecessary border disputes. Some excellent forward thinking from the Turkish government that might well prevent a future war. As long as Turkey's ambitions remain clearly focused on Southern Europe and a good buffer of puppet states and neutral countries is put in place, I don't see too many territorial issues.
As for Vienna. For Turkey to succeed where it's Ottoman ancestors failed in both 1529 and 1683 would cement the UGNR in the world's imagination as a true great power, even if it may take some time to build up the bureaucracy, military, economy, and infrastructure of a full-fledged great power. This brings up the question of Austria. Will it become a puppet of Turkey, or will it be annexed into the UGNR outright as a clear and definitive message that this is Turkey's golden age, and that Vienna will now remain under Turkish control for centuries, or until the UGNR collapses.
I do hope the Red Army and Romanian Army will soon be able to reduce the Turkish Army' Northern frontage, so that preparations for the Turkish invasion of Italy can begin. For, now, of course, the most sensible course of action is to take maximum advantage of the Axis Armies' disarray. Maybe there is potential for a large encirclement operation through Austria, over the alps into Northern Italy. If you can cut off the Italian Adriatic front, you probably take out at least a third of their Armed forces on the continent. The only way to get rid of those pesky Italian bombers for ever is to take out Italy itself.
If the strategic picture remains so that Turkey can easily bush into the soft underbelly of the Third Reich while most of the German Army keeps up it's vicious fight to avoid the definitive encirclement of Army Group North, there will have to be some serious negotiations about post-war borders. Once again the creation of Slovakia as a puppet has been reluctantly perceived in Moscow as a gesture of good will. As much as he may have liked a Moscow-controlled Czechoslovak puppet government, Stalin's most important aims are to secure Poland, and as much of Germany as possible. Everyone in STAVKA is holding their breath, hoping that the pocket has now been shut for good and that it's contents may now be digested as quickly as possible. If the Turkish Army takes Berlin, the national humiliation may well prompt another round of disappearing generals, and maybe a diplomatic rift with Turkey. I would strongly advise Turkey that, if the opportunity presents itself, it should use Soviet expeditionary forces to take the German capital itself, jointly or not with Turkish forces.
The Eastern front is really moving now, with Tannu Tuuva and Mongolia ripe for liberation by joint Turko-Soviet forces.
Our biggest worry now is what the Allies are going to do, as even if the Northern pocket is pried open a couple more time, it is clear the German position is now entirely unsustainable. A split of Germany along an East-West Axis must really be avoided, we can't have the Allies swooping in when the Germans are on the run, and claiming the Ruhr for themselves, or some 'West-German' puppet state. We're also hoping (and possibly planning) for a post-war French revolution to bring France in line with the Comintern. And to the South, of course, Turkey gets to play around the med, as long as the Red Navy gets to lease a few naval bases in the expanded UGNR to make life easier for it's fleets transiting from one theatre to the next.
I raise my hipflask to the Turkish Army and their speedy conquest of Bratislava. May the manpower losses remain low, and the territorial gains extensive,
SkitalecS3,
I have to admit, I wasn't sure what Turkey's intentions were in their opportunistic (and brilliant) drive northwards, the creation of the Slovak puppet government, along with the existing Romanian one now forms a good buffer between the future expanded Soviet Union and the UGNR, allowing both Comintern partners to run their sphere of influence without unnecessary border disputes. Some excellent forward thinking from the Turkish government that might well prevent a future war. As long as Turkey's ambitions remain clearly focused on Southern Europe and a good buffer of puppet states and neutral countries is put in place, I don't see too many territorial issues.
As for Vienna. For Turkey to succeed where it's Ottoman ancestors failed in both 1529 and 1683 would cement the UGNR in the world's imagination as a true great power, even if it may take some time to build up the bureaucracy, military, economy, and infrastructure of a full-fledged great power. This brings up the question of Austria. Will it become a puppet of Turkey, or will it be annexed into the UGNR outright as a clear and definitive message that this is Turkey's golden age, and that Vienna will now remain under Turkish control for centuries, or until the UGNR collapses.
I do hope the Red Army and Romanian Army will soon be able to reduce the Turkish Army' Northern frontage, so that preparations for the Turkish invasion of Italy can begin. For, now, of course, the most sensible course of action is to take maximum advantage of the Axis Armies' disarray. Maybe there is potential for a large encirclement operation through Austria, over the alps into Northern Italy. If you can cut off the Italian Adriatic front, you probably take out at least a third of their Armed forces on the continent. The only way to get rid of those pesky Italian bombers for ever is to take out Italy itself.
If the strategic picture remains so that Turkey can easily bush into the soft underbelly of the Third Reich while most of the German Army keeps up it's vicious fight to avoid the definitive encirclement of Army Group North, there will have to be some serious negotiations about post-war borders. Once again the creation of Slovakia as a puppet has been reluctantly perceived in Moscow as a gesture of good will. As much as he may have liked a Moscow-controlled Czechoslovak puppet government, Stalin's most important aims are to secure Poland, and as much of Germany as possible. Everyone in STAVKA is holding their breath, hoping that the pocket has now been shut for good and that it's contents may now be digested as quickly as possible. If the Turkish Army takes Berlin, the national humiliation may well prompt another round of disappearing generals, and maybe a diplomatic rift with Turkey. I would strongly advise Turkey that, if the opportunity presents itself, it should use Soviet expeditionary forces to take the German capital itself, jointly or not with Turkish forces.
The Eastern front is really moving now, with Tannu Tuuva and Mongolia ripe for liberation by joint Turko-Soviet forces.
Our biggest worry now is what the Allies are going to do, as even if the Northern pocket is pried open a couple more time, it is clear the German position is now entirely unsustainable. A split of Germany along an East-West Axis must really be avoided, we can't have the Allies swooping in when the Germans are on the run, and claiming the Ruhr for themselves, or some 'West-German' puppet state. We're also hoping (and possibly planning) for a post-war French revolution to bring France in line with the Comintern. And to the South, of course, Turkey gets to play around the med, as long as the Red Navy gets to lease a few naval bases in the expanded UGNR to make life easier for it's fleets transiting from one theatre to the next.
I raise my hipflask to the Turkish Army and their speedy conquest of Bratislava. May the manpower losses remain low, and the territorial gains extensive,
SkitalecS3,
- 2
- 1
- 1
Honestly every time I puppet a nation I get to steal any expeditionary force.
Case in point: Manchukuo, where I think I carjacked all the (non-garrison) Japanese army which seemingly had been expeditioned to Manchukuo
Case in point: Manchukuo, where I think I carjacked all the (non-garrison) Japanese army which seemingly had been expeditioned to Manchukuo
- 2
- 1
Yes, they keep turning up from more distant points, as Slovakia is in the Comintern now but remains neutral (with no option for me to call them to arms, it seems). But the drip feed of EFs keep reverting to German control one at a time, usually ambushing my forces like a parachute drop in the same province!
- 2
- 1
- 1
Another action-packed (somewhat shorter and more consumable, I hope) chapter is ready to go, so remaining comment feedback follows first.
But yes, Vienna is so close by - the hills are alive with the sound of ... Turkish marching songs!
Probably something like limiting the physical UGNR construct in the Balkans with Hungary and leaving the rest as puppets - and maybe not expecting to ever liberate Slovakia ourselves. Puppeting can be useful for some larger countries that still have decent standing forces (it worked excellently with Romania, for example), but in this case it's been a terrible pain in the ass.
BTW, get better soon @TheButterflyComposer <3
But it would be a sweet moment if it comes to pass.
To All: There you have it. The scene is now set for the next episode, where will continue to Talk Turkey ...
Curses. I won't do that here, as part of the challenge and 'charm' of this AAR is to try to reconcile AI and game system madness into the alternate reality, no matter what contortions result.
You discovered the answer to this later. Given the Slovakians remain neutral (I don't know, maybe until all the EFs have been repatriated?) even though they are now Turkish puppets in the Comintern, this has become way more of a curse than a blessing.
Dark comedy. That gets un-funnier each time the gag is repeated!Hahaha it really happened. The chaos of this 24 hours in Slovakia would make for a great comedy episode in itself!
In a more serious tone, I can't believe we're actually at the gates of Wien!
But yes, Vienna is so close by - the hills are alive with the sound of ... Turkish marching songs! Could be, but ...
Alas no. It gets worse/more irritating.
I always knew the Soviet AI would be way less incisive than a human player, but that makes for a more balanced game.
There may be other opportunities.
Yes, that's right. A long way from home.Am I seeing an Ethiopian EF there who somehow managed to turn the province to their color as well?
This sector won't be surrendered easily, even if some tactical retreats must be endured.
Par for the course.
You may find the next little period interesting in terms of seeing which of these projections come to pass. The first instalment of those will be up soon.
A very accurate summary. Poised to drive a dagger into the heart of Germany, but without the strength to drive it all the way home, when doing so might expose our own necks to the counter-stroke. But I think Turkey has so far done a great deal to assist the Soviets overcome their own sticky situation earlier. Imagine the trouble they could have been in without this great Balkan Campaign sapping enemy strength and attention over the last three years!
Yes, very true. The strategic plan has always been to put the Germans in a bind. Even after France fell, with Turkey and Russia each having their turn at grinding the Germans down, we have now averted the threat of an outright German victory in the east. But there's still plenty of tough fighting to go.
Honestly, it was so long ago I can only very dimly remember, as you can't change these decisions once you make them.
Probably something like limiting the physical UGNR construct in the Balkans with Hungary and leaving the rest as puppets - and maybe not expecting to ever liberate Slovakia ourselves. Puppeting can be useful for some larger countries that still have decent standing forces (it worked excellently with Romania, for example), but in this case it's been a terrible pain in the ass. You will see more of it in the coming chapters. Essentially, Slovakia has stayed neutral for now, the EFs stay nominally under Slovak command but none are therefore doing any fighting on either side - they all just seem to be returning to Slovakia, then going rogue at random times as they revert to parent control - usually in the same province as one of my own units. In my view, this is an obvious game glitch and they should have all reverted to parent control straight away. As I have avoided modding the save game files to change such things, I'm just going to let it run and make some narrative mileage out of it along the way.
The Adriatic back-pedalling was the result of a calculated risk which in the end I think was justified for taking down Hungary and Slovakia. I think you're right on the bigger picture - but will Axis recovery and/or Turkish ambition and the temptation of all those open spaces result in a larger clash instead? Only time will tell ...
Oh, the hoodwinking goes deeper and darker than has even been revealed so far. Curse them - an interrogation by Kelebek would be too good for them. Even after he pisses a brimstone solution into their hip-flasks!
BTW, get better soon @TheButterflyComposer <3I think former Yugoslavia-Hungary will be the northern boundary of UGNR territorail ambitions. Anything else in that direction should be either Soviet conquests or Comintern puppets (whether nominally in Soviet or Turkish name).
Vienna is tempting ... but will Inonu have the desire and ability to take it, before the Germans manage to organise their defences once more? Re Austria, because its no longer a separate country in-game, I've not needed to decide any war goal for it. If we were to conquer it, it would be an interesting issue (as it could presumably be released as a puppet later).
Yes to all this. We need the Soviets to now take up the cudgels in earnest, as we simply don't have the forces to spread out much further. And we really need more air power if we want to succeed against the formidable Italian Air Force. Especially with the Germans now also coming in range (Vienna is a major air base for them, I suspect).
This is the big question. Hopefully, it is a lose-lose for the Germans: if they divert enough forces to halt or even begin to push back on the mad Turkish advance of recent weeks, it should mean Army Group North is consigned to destruction and the Soviets can push hard into Poland next. If not, then we can keep pushing into their heartland as far as frontages and manpower allow. And maybe the more Romanian and Soviet divisions could eventually come in to take part, as they did earlier in Romania. For now, we can still only dream of Turkey being a direct part of the fall of Berlin.
But it would be a sweet moment if it comes to pass.The East is looking OK, even if from a Turkish perspective it has always been a secondary priority - Germany and Italy First! The Allies is really only Britain now, and they seem able (or willing, anyway) to do very little. France we hope to jointly 'liberate' with the Soviets (and maybe the Americans if they ever take an interest) and bring into the 'joys' of the Comintern Pact by force of arms. Always happy to grant the Red Navy basing rights wherever they like in the Med: it's not like the Turkish Navy will be using much of the port capacity!
To All: There you have it. The scene is now set for the next episode, where will continue to Talk Turkey ...
- 2
Well that i dont actually understand, I did get a call to arms option, and once I called the to arms they were here to stay. because japan couldn't take their army back as they were at war
which is actually kinda funny now I think about it
- 3
I think if you declare war on any country (are there any microcountries that aren't guaranteed by anybody for example?) slovakia will join the general war effort. I really hope one day Paradox makes the code for this game open source and we fix and make it the game we deserve.
- 1
- 1
- 1
Chapter 209: Pushing on an Open Door (1 to 8 August 1943)
Chapter 209: Pushing on an Open Door (1 to 8 August 1943)
Foreword
Turkey seeks to exploit the recent collapses of Hungary and Slovakia, even while manpower reserves continue to trend down towards zero. At least they know the Germans are even worse off. The aim now is to gain real estate as cheaply as possible while it is at bargain prices and provide a big enough distraction to the Germans that the Soviets can make more progress on the rest of the Patriotic Front.
In AAR terms, I’m going to consciously make the chapters a little shorter (less dense) and hopefully easier to follow/keep up with and a bit more frequent (across the other AARs too). It means Ive been able to flesh it out with a little bit more of the 'decorative' stuff, thoughb the espionage scene has remained fairly quiet for now. The whole of August is played through – and the pace varies quite noticeably during the month. This eight-day period fairly neatly encapsulates the first phase of that tempo and has a logical break point.
1 Aug 43
As August began, two battles remained in progress: both were nearing their end and looking like Turkish victories. In Bratislava, Toüdemür’s ‘turncoat battle’ against the despicable Tröger was nearly over, though the enemy commander seemed to have evaded [as they always do] Tyler Durden’s best efforts to visit mayhem upon him personally. And near Bratislava, the small Dunajska Streda pocket was almost closed out.
Meanwhile, near Krakow Turkish forces continued to push forward into vacant provinces where it seemed prudent to do so, though with a wary eye kept on more returning German divisions still under Slovakian command, approaching Grybow from the north-east. The month began with 14,000 men in the manpower reserve and 3,400 reinforcements needed, with a predicted monthly gain of 16,100.
Yet another probe on 3 Mtn Div in Novo Mesto was quickly fought off at 2am (eight Turkish and two Axis casualties), but otherwise the Adriatic Sector remained fairly quiet for now after the Axis advances of the previous month.
Then at 10am, great news was received from Dunajska Streda: the battle was over, with 181 Comintern casualties and 684 Germans killed, with the remaining 5,904 enemy soldiers marched off into captivity after surrendering.
In the Krakow Sector, the German 72nd Infanterie pulled into Grybow at midday, still professing to be under Slovakian command: the enemy within! Just three hours later, another German division in Slovakian colours was seen approaching Zilina (between Krakow and Bratislava). The Turks had begun to suspect a plot from the puppet Slovakian government of those Fascists Hlinka and Tiso to deliberately infiltrate German troops for nefarious counter-revolutionary purposes!
Despite this, the careful advance continued, with 13 Inf Div taking Bielsko Biala at 10pm. It bordered both Katowice (to its north-west) and Krakow (north-east) on the southern bank of the Vistula River.
August 1, 1943: American B-24s carry out first bombing of German oil production.
2 Aug 43
The temporary quiet on the Adriatic was broken violently at midday when two nearly full-strength German divisions attacked Otocac from Karlobag and Rijeka. It was a strong and potentially dangerous attack, so a spoiling attack was launched on Karlobag straight away.
At the same time, the forests of Zilina, on the Slovakian border with the Reich, were occupied by 8 Inf Div. By mid-afternoon, 177 SD pushed into Bochnia and, advised by patrols from 13 Inf Div that Krakow was now undefended, began a crossing of the Vistula to hopefully take it. There were also reports of a Polish uprising to the north, where they had set up a temporary ‘capital’ just two provinces north of Krakow.
Lieutenant John F. Kennedy, USNR, (standing at right) with other crewmen on board PT-109, 1943. The USN is not so active in this ATL!
---xxx---
3 Aug 43
The fighting in Otocac had continued throughout the previous day and had intensified with heavy air raids there and on 18 Inf Div in Ubdina. Now the German 9th Infanterie had joined in from Delnice.
19 Inf Div was sent in to spoil this effort: it was becoming another of those complex battles with troops from five provinces now involved. An unwelcome drain on scarce manpower, but Otocac was a key position that Inönü did not want to surrender without a hard fight.
As that battle continued, victory came in the ‘turncoat battle’ of Bratislava. The enemy’s commander may have escaped, but Toüdemür’s and Durden had certainly killed a great many of the German scum, the survivors alas able to flee to the west. Even while more likely turncoats approached Zilina, to the north-east.
By 10am, the Turkish spoiling attacks in support of Otocac had succeeded in forcing the enemy divisions attacking from both Delnice and Karlobag to pull out and focus on their own defence. The attack on Delnice was called off (49 Turkish v 47 German troops killed), while the attack on Karlobag continued for now. The remaining Germans were only attacking Otocac from Rijeka and were almost spent [down to -10% progress], though the air strikes continued.
From 1 to 5pm, an Italian motorised division tried a shock attack on the dug-in 15 Inf Div in Tata, just south of Bratislava. It failed miserably against the veteran troops and their IS-1 heavy support tanks, with only 19 Turkish troops lost compared to 139 Italian attackers. LT Metin Sadik didn't break a sweat as the Italians first advanced and then quickly retreated.
Then sure enough, at 1pm the German 25th Infanterie hoisted the hated Nazi battle flag once in Zilina. But they were out of supply and outnumbered three-to-one. Without even mouldy bratwurst or even a few potatoes to munch on, the renegades should soon be defeated, it was hoped.
Way over on the distant (Far) Eastern Front, 4 Cav Div secured Ulan Usu in western Mongolia, while their brethren still advanced on Hrebet Iolgo. The Japanese and their allies seemed to be in a general retreat in this sector. 4 Cav pushed forward to Tasgan Nur, where a retreating Army Group HQ was soon expelled.
The hard fight for Otocac ended in victory at 2pm, even if the air raids continued for the rest of the day. The attack on Karlobag kept going for now: it would make the line much stronger if it could be liberated once more. And 14 Inf Div resumed its interrupted march to Perusic, where 222 SD still recovered from its earlier ordeal in Lussino.
South of Bratislava, 156 SD arrived in Györ mid-afternoon and took the opportunity to push on south-west to grab the unoccupied Szombathely. More would come of this later, but for now German resistance in the general vicinity of western Hungary remained patchy and disorganised (four divisions covering six provinces). The same situation prevailed in the Slovakian border area north-east of Bratislava, where 6 Inf Div secured Trencín unopposed, while to its direct north-east the chaotic fight within Zilina continued. The beginning of a German line was forming in front of them, but their coverage remained uneven.
And chaos still prevailed around Krakow, with three 'Slovak-German' divisions approaching (or already lurking within) Turkish lines that evening. Inönü did his best to account for these while still pushing forward where there was no apparent resistance. 307 SD was being pushed to secure Bochnia against potential infiltrators behind the cutting edge of the advance, while 2 Armd Div had arrived in Tarnów and immediately started bridging the Vistula, for another attempt to take Miechow and widen the bridgehead to the east of Krakow.
Around Bratislava, the securing of Dunajska Streda at 8pm released more units to reinforce the front line. A plan was forming for the seizure of Vienna. The liberation of the Fuhrer’s former home city – one of the great cities of Europe – would be an excellent propaganda coup and eventually a boost to Turkish research and production if it could be integrated into the Glorious Union. 1 Mot Div could now play a part in that, having mainly recovered from its earlier battle damage incurred during the Bratislava Offensive in July.
The ‘turncoat’ battle in Zilina had finished by the end of 3 August, but no battle report for it was available.
Air Damage Report. Axis air strikes resumed with a day of Italian raids on Otocac, which killed 787 Turkish defenders in support of the Axis attack there. Raids also started that afternoon in Ubdina, where 18 Inf Div was conducting the spoiling attack on Karlobag. Those raids would continue until the end of the following day.
Patton in Sicily, 1943.
---xxx---
4 Aug 43
Near Krakow, there were still great gaps in the enemy lines along the Vistula. 7 Inf Div leap-frogged through Bielsko Biala to take advantage and at 2am they started to bridge the Vistula at Katowice.
And given the recent dominance of Axis air power in the Balkans, there was welcome news when the first of the newest Soviet fighters 9 AF, equipped with Yak-7s, was introduced into service. Although they would take some time to work up to operational readiness. The next most modern Turkish fighters, the F4F Wildcats, were weaker in air attack and equal in air speed, but superior in some other aspects, such as morale (ie ground crew training), radar and night fighting capability.
With one bomber and two more Yak-7 wings well into production, another B-26 license was sought from the US. But there was a surprise when the request was rejected. Not wishing to delay production and knowing fighter strength was a key defensive requirement – especially if contemplating an attack on Italy – another wing of the latest Yak-7 model was ordered.
Some thought had been given to the slightly improved F4Fs now on offer (at 620kph faster than the current Turkish model and with a 20% night attack bonus, among other advantages), but the Yak-7s had better range and air attack and were available now (would have had to wait for a ‘return of diplomats’ for the F4Fs), so they were selected. If the Americans could just introduce a new fighter model, it should definitely be a superior option. But for the present, numbers were sought and the Yak-7s would do well enough for that.
Even though it had been progressing reasonably well, the one-division attack on Karlobag was called off at 5pm, given the continuing drain on manpower. With a little luck, the invaders’ hash would be settled later, when more forces were available to do it, with less Turkish bloodshed. 6 Mil Bde was despatched to reinforce Otocac after 14 Inf Div arrived in Perusic.
That night, a routine report was received from the garrison commander in the Dodecanese: over the last day or two, another Japanese-inspired rebellion had been efficiently suppressed, without any Turkish lives lost and 88 rebels killed.
More importantly, 8pm saw 177 SD liberate Krakow from its four-year Nazi occupation. Meanwhile, the Soviets were only slowly advancing north-west from Lwow against thin German opposition. Comintern forces were crossing the Vistula up- and down-stream of Krakow (2 Armd Div secured Miechow an hour later). German infiltrators still skulked around the sector under Slovakian flags-of-convenience.
Krakow was subsequently removed as a Soviet offensive objective – Turkey had once more done the heavy lifting there, though at least Soviet EFs had been a key part of the offensive. And perhaps this effort had also sapped German resistance on the rest of the front: Agent SkitalecS3 reported that the Soviets had once more expanded the ‘neck’ or the Baltic Pocket closing around Army Group North and were continuing to advance north and south of Riga!
Air Damage Report. The Italian raids on Ubdina finished that day, having killed a total of 1,041 Turkish troops over their two day duration.
5 Aug 43
On a promising note, it seemed recent conquests had continued to boost Turkish leadership stocks for research and training [total leadership now 10.98]: the surplus [around 0.32 LS as at 1am on 5 August], was put into officer training. Eight research projects remained on the books, a little espionage [0.05] and diplomat [0.10] training continued, with the officer schools [2.84] now seeking to increase officer holdings beyond the 100% mark it had stayed at for some time now.
Hrebet Iolgo was taken at 11am, creating a pocket in Tashanta on the Eastern Front. Many Japanese/puppet units were escaping, though many seemed to be HQs.
Manpower Report. But with the recent fighting, the manpower situation was deteriorating again, down to 11,000 in reserve with 4,880 replacements required. Monthly gain had risen a little (by 300) to 16,400.
Late that night, President Hlinka reported that Slovakia was mobilising again and would “soon be able to field a strong army”. This communique was met with snorts of derision at HQ 1st Army. The only thing that seemed to be growing was the number of disloyal German units behind Turkish lines!
---xxx---
6 Aug 43
Slovakian shenanigans notwithstanding, the promised offensive to capture Vienna began at 9am on the morning of 6 August 1943, when 1 Mot Div reached Bratislava. They would hold for now while 2 Mot set off for Gänserdorf. As had been done on the advance to Bratislava, 3 Cav Div would secure the northern flank of the advance by seizing Breclav. 156 SD then occupied Szombathely mid-afternoon.
But at 10pm that night, the first signs of a German response to these easy gains came with a savage shock attack on 156 SD from Körmend. 11 Inf Div was ordered to assist from Veszprém, but it would take some time to arrive and then reinforce the battle.
---xxx---
7 Aug 43
At 3am, 7 Inf Div encountered stragglers from the retreating German 24th Infanterie in Katowice. They lost three men to none for the Germans, but fortunately the latter retreated immediately and the river-crossing continued.
A couple of hours later, the fast-moving 2 Mot Div arrived in Gänserdorf and its lead elements could now see the spires of Vienna. Scouts reported that the air base there contained eight German wings, with a maximum capacity of ten. With 4 SD approaching Bratislava, 1 Mot Div was ordered to backfill in Gänserdorf while 2 Mot drove on boldly for Vienna itself.
Things hotted up that afternoon, with the first development being 3 Mot Div securing Breclav. Next, 1 Mar Div (Turkish) arrived in Tata, freeing up 15 Inf Div to begin an assault on Eisenstadt, to secure the southern approaches to Vienna, meeting resistance from determined but somewhat disorganised German and Italian troops. 4 SD was ordered to reinforce that attack as soon as it arrived in Bratislava at 5pm.
By then, three Comintern Pact (Slovakian and Soviet) air wings were based in the Slovak capital: perhaps they could do something useful – though the transports would be of dubious value, it was thought. And the situation in Szombathely was deteriorating badly, with more German units joining in and air strikes sapping 156 SD’s defence.
Back in the Krakow Sector, 7 Inf Div captured Katowice at 4pm. They easily beat off a probe by the German 23rd Infanterie in a two-hour firefight that saw 14 Germans killed for no Turkish casualties.
In the Far East, 4 Cav Div took Tsagan Nur at 6pm, but because of both manpower concerns and the risk of isolation, they were ordered to halt in place and allow the main Soviet front to catch up to the north.
At that time, three German divisions were engaged in Szombathely and 156 SD was down to about 50% organisation. In the hope of buying time for 11 Inf Div to reinforce, the Turkish Air Force was once again activated to see if they could make a difference – without being destroyed! 1 TAK (2 x M/R, 2 x TAC wings) was sent to strike the Germans attacking from Körmend, while 1 AG (I-16s and LaGG-3s) was ordered to provide interception cover over Szombathely (where an Italian group of 1 x MR and 2 x TAC wings was currently bombing), in the hope of splitting the enemy air response.
Dogfights broke out in both locations simultaneously that evening. The old planes of 1 AG came out of their fight in surprisingly good order, though they couldn’t abort the enemy’s raid completely. But 1 TAK was jumped by five Italian fighter wings, with one wing of Yak-4s taking heavy damage. Still, they managed to get their raid in on the ground troops and returned for another go at midnight.
Air Damage Report. The Axis began striking Szombathely and would continue until the following morning. The one Turkish raid that struck home on Körmend killed just 72 German defenders there.
8 Aug 43
A welcome advance in supply production (which currently took up a considerable proportion of the Turkish industrial effort) came on 8 August. With manpower still a concern (though holding for now with slightly lessened op tempo in the last few days) and no new units likely to be built for some time, plus heavy damage in aerial combat the norm, it was decided civil defence should be improved to get damage repaired more quickly.
The next attempt by 1 AG to intercept enemy raids on Szombathely was rudely interrupted by a group of two Italian fighter wings jumping them over Budapest. Two dogfights were fought that morning, with the welcome assistance of a wing of Romanian fighters.
Örlungat declared ‘victory’ on both occasions, but the claims seemed a little exaggerated given damage taken on both sides and the persistent return of the Italian fighters. With Szombathely failing and the Turkish fighters unable to intervene in the raids (where the enemy bombed them again at 2am while the fighters were diverted over Budapest), the interception mission was cancelled at 8am.
Meanwhile, the second Turkish raid on Körmend was interrupted by the Italian fighters again at 2am. Serious damage was being taken and the results on the ground did not justify the losses: this mission was also cancelled and 1 TAK once more underwent repairs at their base in Budapest.
None of this stopped the intrepid Toüdemür’s drive on Vienna, which fell to his 2 Mot Div at 6am on 8 August. This symbolic victory should now bring the war home to Germany and begin to sap their will to resist. A hasty shock attack mounted by tired German troops from the south in Eisenstadt (itself still under Turkish attack) was soon defeated with disproportionate casualties.
But in Szombathely, 11 Inf Div was still distant, casualties were mounting and the attempts by the Air Force to relieve the situation had been abandoned. The province was simply not worth the cost at the moment. 156 SD was ordered out while it still had some organisation left; 11 Inf Div halted again in Veszprém. This part of the line would revert to the defensive while the operations to secure Vienna were completed.
At 10am, 1 Mot Div arrived in Gänserdorf and began digging in to secure the corridor to Vienna. On the Vistula, the bridgehead was now four provinces wide, from Katowice to Miechow, with Chrzanow occupied by 4 Inf Div at the same time. The German infiltrators behind the lines were still a concern and further exploitation would probably have to await the resolution of that potential fifth column problem.
Manpower Report. At 10am, the manpower reserve still held at 11,000 with only 2,240 replacements needed. The forecast monthly gain had risen substantially, to 17,800.
Air Damage Report. The Axis raids on Szombathely finished that morning, having killed 467 Soviet troops since they started the day before.
For the rest of the day, the only ground combat continued in Eisenstadt, where Axis resistance was beginning to crumble [up to 72% progress]. Elsewhere, entrenchment and repair was the order of the day.
In reporting of known battle casualties on the Turkish Front during the first eight days of August, Turkey had lost 1,709 men in ground fighting and 2,295 to Axis air raids, a total of 4,004. The Axis had lost 3,710 on the ground and 72 from the air, a total of 3,782. But the additional 5,904 German prisoners taken at Dunajska Streda on 1 August helped make this a more positive period for Turkish arms.
The ‘Glorious Truth’ was given the scoop on the capture of Vienna as it occurred on a Sunday. Their more sensationalist take on the news is reflected in their jingoistic coverage of events. That, and an attempt at face-saving to explain the sudden disappearance from view in Turkey of Perse ‘Fungifips’.
---xxx---
Coming Up: The extent of any German stabilisation of the line against the Turkish Summer Offensive, which was now essentially coming to an end with the capture of Vienna and the Vistula bridgehead, would soon be known. Comintern eyes now turned to the north and the great Soviet attempt to secure the Baltic Pocket and complete the destruction of Army Group North, while hopefully also advancing in the centre of the front to support the Turkish breakout with Stalin’s ‘big battalions’.
Foreword
Turkey seeks to exploit the recent collapses of Hungary and Slovakia, even while manpower reserves continue to trend down towards zero. At least they know the Germans are even worse off. The aim now is to gain real estate as cheaply as possible while it is at bargain prices and provide a big enough distraction to the Germans that the Soviets can make more progress on the rest of the Patriotic Front.
In AAR terms, I’m going to consciously make the chapters a little shorter (less dense) and hopefully easier to follow/keep up with and a bit more frequent (across the other AARs too). It means Ive been able to flesh it out with a little bit more of the 'decorative' stuff, thoughb the espionage scene has remained fairly quiet for now. The whole of August is played through – and the pace varies quite noticeably during the month. This eight-day period fairly neatly encapsulates the first phase of that tempo and has a logical break point.
---xxx---
1 Aug 43
As August began, two battles remained in progress: both were nearing their end and looking like Turkish victories. In Bratislava, Toüdemür’s ‘turncoat battle’ against the despicable Tröger was nearly over, though the enemy commander seemed to have evaded [as they always do] Tyler Durden’s best efforts to visit mayhem upon him personally. And near Bratislava, the small Dunajska Streda pocket was almost closed out.
Yet another probe on 3 Mtn Div in Novo Mesto was quickly fought off at 2am (eight Turkish and two Axis casualties), but otherwise the Adriatic Sector remained fairly quiet for now after the Axis advances of the previous month.
Then at 10am, great news was received from Dunajska Streda: the battle was over, with 181 Comintern casualties and 684 Germans killed, with the remaining 5,904 enemy soldiers marched off into captivity after surrendering.
In the Krakow Sector, the German 72nd Infanterie pulled into Grybow at midday, still professing to be under Slovakian command: the enemy within! Just three hours later, another German division in Slovakian colours was seen approaching Zilina (between Krakow and Bratislava). The Turks had begun to suspect a plot from the puppet Slovakian government of those Fascists Hlinka and Tiso to deliberately infiltrate German troops for nefarious counter-revolutionary purposes!
Despite this, the careful advance continued, with 13 Inf Div taking Bielsko Biala at 10pm. It bordered both Katowice (to its north-west) and Krakow (north-east) on the southern bank of the Vistula River.
OTL Event: Ploieşti, Romania. Operation Tidal Wave began as a group of 177 American B-24 Liberator bombers, with 1,726 total crew, departed from Libya to make the first bombing of the oil refineries at Ploieşti, Romania, the major supplier of fuel to Germany. The mission temporarily halted oil production, but 532 airmen and 54 of the planes were lost. After a 40% loss of production, the refineries would be repaired more quickly than projected.
August 1, 1943: American B-24s carry out first bombing of German oil production.
News Report: Moscow, USSR. Lydia Litvyak, 21, a Soviet fighter ace who shot down at least 11 German planes was killed in action. She was one of two women who were at the time, the other being Yekaterina Budanova, whose death we reported on July 19. Note: Litvyak's remains would be found in 1979, and she would be posthumously awarded the medal of Hero of the Soviet Union in 1990.
---xxx---
2 Aug 43
The temporary quiet on the Adriatic was broken violently at midday when two nearly full-strength German divisions attacked Otocac from Karlobag and Rijeka. It was a strong and potentially dangerous attack, so a spoiling attack was launched on Karlobag straight away.
OTL Event: The Pacific Theatre. At 2:00 am local time, the U.S. Navy patrol torpedo boat PT-109, with a crew of 13 commanded by Lieutenant (j.g.) John F. Kennedy, was travelling through the Blackett Strait in the Solomon Islands, when it was rammed and sunk by the Japanese destroyer Amagiri. Though two of the crew were killed, Kennedy and the other ten men swam three miles to a small island and then to Olasana Island, both of which were uninhabited. Kennedy and Ensign George H. R. Ross would make their way to Naru Island where they were found by natives Biuku Gasa and Eroni Kumana who delivered a message that Kennedy had carved on a coconut to the PT base at Rendova Island. The PT-109 survivors were rescued on August 8, and Kennedy received the Navy and Marine Corps Medal for his heroism.
Lieutenant John F. Kennedy, USNR, (standing at right) with other crewmen on board PT-109, 1943. The USN is not so active in this ATL!
---xxx---
3 Aug 43
The fighting in Otocac had continued throughout the previous day and had intensified with heavy air raids there and on 18 Inf Div in Ubdina. Now the German 9th Infanterie had joined in from Delnice.
As that battle continued, victory came in the ‘turncoat battle’ of Bratislava. The enemy’s commander may have escaped, but Toüdemür’s and Durden had certainly killed a great many of the German scum, the survivors alas able to flee to the west. Even while more likely turncoats approached Zilina, to the north-east.
From 1 to 5pm, an Italian motorised division tried a shock attack on the dug-in 15 Inf Div in Tata, just south of Bratislava. It failed miserably against the veteran troops and their IS-1 heavy support tanks, with only 19 Turkish troops lost compared to 139 Italian attackers. LT Metin Sadik didn't break a sweat as the Italians first advanced and then quickly retreated.
Then sure enough, at 1pm the German 25th Infanterie hoisted the hated Nazi battle flag once in Zilina. But they were out of supply and outnumbered three-to-one. Without even mouldy bratwurst or even a few potatoes to munch on, the renegades should soon be defeated, it was hoped.
And chaos still prevailed around Krakow, with three 'Slovak-German' divisions approaching (or already lurking within) Turkish lines that evening. Inönü did his best to account for these while still pushing forward where there was no apparent resistance. 307 SD was being pushed to secure Bochnia against potential infiltrators behind the cutting edge of the advance, while 2 Armd Div had arrived in Tarnów and immediately started bridging the Vistula, for another attempt to take Miechow and widen the bridgehead to the east of Krakow.
Air Damage Report. Axis air strikes resumed with a day of Italian raids on Otocac, which killed 787 Turkish defenders in support of the Axis attack there. Raids also started that afternoon in Ubdina, where 18 Inf Div was conducting the spoiling attack on Karlobag. Those raids would continue until the end of the following day.
OTL Event: Nicosia, Cyprus. General George S. Patton was visiting the 15th Evacuation Hospital in Nicosia, Cyprus, when he encountered Private Charles H. Kuhl, who was in the hospital for malaria and dysentery as well as for shell shock. Patton asked Private Kuhl what he was in for, and Kuhl replied, "I guess I just can't take it." Patton lost his temper and struck Kuhl with his gloves. On August 10, Patton would strike another soldier, and the incidents became public knowledge.
Patton in Sicily, 1943.
---xxx---
4 Aug 43
Near Krakow, there were still great gaps in the enemy lines along the Vistula. 7 Inf Div leap-frogged through Bielsko Biala to take advantage and at 2am they started to bridge the Vistula at Katowice.
Even though it had been progressing reasonably well, the one-division attack on Karlobag was called off at 5pm, given the continuing drain on manpower. With a little luck, the invaders’ hash would be settled later, when more forces were available to do it, with less Turkish bloodshed. 6 Mil Bde was despatched to reinforce Otocac after 14 Inf Div arrived in Perusic.
More importantly, 8pm saw 177 SD liberate Krakow from its four-year Nazi occupation. Meanwhile, the Soviets were only slowly advancing north-west from Lwow against thin German opposition. Comintern forces were crossing the Vistula up- and down-stream of Krakow (2 Armd Div secured Miechow an hour later). German infiltrators still skulked around the sector under Slovakian flags-of-convenience.
---xxx---
5 Aug 43
On a promising note, it seemed recent conquests had continued to boost Turkish leadership stocks for research and training [total leadership now 10.98]: the surplus [around 0.32 LS as at 1am on 5 August], was put into officer training. Eight research projects remained on the books, a little espionage [0.05] and diplomat [0.10] training continued, with the officer schools [2.84] now seeking to increase officer holdings beyond the 100% mark it had stayed at for some time now.
Hrebet Iolgo was taken at 11am, creating a pocket in Tashanta on the Eastern Front. Many Japanese/puppet units were escaping, though many seemed to be HQs.
Late that night, President Hlinka reported that Slovakia was mobilising again and would “soon be able to field a strong army”. This communique was met with snorts of derision at HQ 1st Army. The only thing that seemed to be growing was the number of disloyal German units behind Turkish lines!
---xxx---
6 Aug 43
Slovakian shenanigans notwithstanding, the promised offensive to capture Vienna began at 9am on the morning of 6 August 1943, when 1 Mot Div reached Bratislava. They would hold for now while 2 Mot set off for Gänserdorf. As had been done on the advance to Bratislava, 3 Cav Div would secure the northern flank of the advance by seizing Breclav. 156 SD then occupied Szombathely mid-afternoon.
---xxx---
7 Aug 43
At 3am, 7 Inf Div encountered stragglers from the retreating German 24th Infanterie in Katowice. They lost three men to none for the Germans, but fortunately the latter retreated immediately and the river-crossing continued.
A couple of hours later, the fast-moving 2 Mot Div arrived in Gänserdorf and its lead elements could now see the spires of Vienna. Scouts reported that the air base there contained eight German wings, with a maximum capacity of ten. With 4 SD approaching Bratislava, 1 Mot Div was ordered to backfill in Gänserdorf while 2 Mot drove on boldly for Vienna itself.
Things hotted up that afternoon, with the first development being 3 Mot Div securing Breclav. Next, 1 Mar Div (Turkish) arrived in Tata, freeing up 15 Inf Div to begin an assault on Eisenstadt, to secure the southern approaches to Vienna, meeting resistance from determined but somewhat disorganised German and Italian troops. 4 SD was ordered to reinforce that attack as soon as it arrived in Bratislava at 5pm.
Back in the Krakow Sector, 7 Inf Div captured Katowice at 4pm. They easily beat off a probe by the German 23rd Infanterie in a two-hour firefight that saw 14 Germans killed for no Turkish casualties.
In the Far East, 4 Cav Div took Tsagan Nur at 6pm, but because of both manpower concerns and the risk of isolation, they were ordered to halt in place and allow the main Soviet front to catch up to the north.
At that time, three German divisions were engaged in Szombathely and 156 SD was down to about 50% organisation. In the hope of buying time for 11 Inf Div to reinforce, the Turkish Air Force was once again activated to see if they could make a difference – without being destroyed! 1 TAK (2 x M/R, 2 x TAC wings) was sent to strike the Germans attacking from Körmend, while 1 AG (I-16s and LaGG-3s) was ordered to provide interception cover over Szombathely (where an Italian group of 1 x MR and 2 x TAC wings was currently bombing), in the hope of splitting the enemy air response.
Dogfights broke out in both locations simultaneously that evening. The old planes of 1 AG came out of their fight in surprisingly good order, though they couldn’t abort the enemy’s raid completely. But 1 TAK was jumped by five Italian fighter wings, with one wing of Yak-4s taking heavy damage. Still, they managed to get their raid in on the ground troops and returned for another go at midnight.
OTL Event: Pacific Theatre. On the first anniversary of the beginning of the U.S. battle in the south Pacific Ocean against Japanese forces, and almost two years to the day before the bombing of Hiroshima, U.S. Navy Admiral William F. Halsey, Jr. told a press conference that "We will destroy the enemy. We shall push forward until the Battle of the South Pacific becomes the Battle of Japan." Comment: we need ‘the Bull’ to put a grenade under the US Joint Chiefs in this ATL's war.
---xxx---
8 Aug 43
A welcome advance in supply production (which currently took up a considerable proportion of the Turkish industrial effort) came on 8 August. With manpower still a concern (though holding for now with slightly lessened op tempo in the last few days) and no new units likely to be built for some time, plus heavy damage in aerial combat the norm, it was decided civil defence should be improved to get damage repaired more quickly.
Meanwhile, the second Turkish raid on Körmend was interrupted by the Italian fighters again at 2am. Serious damage was being taken and the results on the ground did not justify the losses: this mission was also cancelled and 1 TAK once more underwent repairs at their base in Budapest.
At 10am, 1 Mot Div arrived in Gänserdorf and began digging in to secure the corridor to Vienna. On the Vistula, the bridgehead was now four provinces wide, from Katowice to Miechow, with Chrzanow occupied by 4 Inf Div at the same time. The German infiltrators behind the lines were still a concern and further exploitation would probably have to await the resolution of that potential fifth column problem.
Air Damage Report. The Axis raids on Szombathely finished that morning, having killed 467 Soviet troops since they started the day before.
For the rest of the day, the only ground combat continued in Eisenstadt, where Axis resistance was beginning to crumble [up to 72% progress]. Elsewhere, entrenchment and repair was the order of the day.
In reporting of known battle casualties on the Turkish Front during the first eight days of August, Turkey had lost 1,709 men in ground fighting and 2,295 to Axis air raids, a total of 4,004. The Axis had lost 3,710 on the ground and 72 from the air, a total of 3,782. But the additional 5,904 German prisoners taken at Dunajska Streda on 1 August helped make this a more positive period for Turkish arms.
The ‘Glorious Truth’ was given the scoop on the capture of Vienna as it occurred on a Sunday. Their more sensationalist take on the news is reflected in their jingoistic coverage of events. That, and an attempt at face-saving to explain the sudden disappearance from view in Turkey of Perse ‘Fungifips’.
---xxx---
Coming Up: The extent of any German stabilisation of the line against the Turkish Summer Offensive, which was now essentially coming to an end with the capture of Vienna and the Vistula bridgehead, would soon be known. Comintern eyes now turned to the north and the great Soviet attempt to secure the Baltic Pocket and complete the destruction of Army Group North, while hopefully also advancing in the centre of the front to support the Turkish breakout with Stalin’s ‘big battalions’.
Last edited:
- 3
- 2
- 1
facepalm
fingers crossed!
soon there'll be provinces with some leadership points in them (not only Wien, but also Czech cities and south Poland), what was our occupation policy again? There won't be a lot but there'll be some and every little bit helps
can we please keep those cities?
at this point the most efficient manpower saving measure seems to be building interceptors
Unbelievable! I never thought it'd be this easy! Great progress, much easier area to hold than the area just east, has resources and air base, one of the provinces with the biggest possible emotional value as well! Viyana kapıları açıldı! (gates of Wien open!) And it was the redoubtable Toüdemür who probably entered the city in the first armored column, out of the cupola of the vehicle waist up, wind in his hair and a sword in his hand pointing forward!
I was advocating to stabilize the front at one point but now it seems like there's no harm in moving into empty provinces while we're waiting for the Soviets to catch up
Great episode! We're going crazy! VUR HA!- 2
- 1
I'm surprised the capture of Vienna by the turks isn't greeted with more of a reaction, both by the comjntern and the world in general. Hungary and Slovakia being taken down are big war news, but this? This is edging the german state itself, and in a very significant place.
The begining of the end?
The begining of the end?
- 4
Where Suleiman and Mehmed IV failed, Inonu and the Glorious Union have succeeded. The curse of Vienna has been lifted, and the Ottoman empire can finally expand further into Southern and South-Western Europe. Impressive. Not only was Vienna taken, but Turkish troops continue to run amok in Southern and in Austria. I do have one question about Turkish strategy in this respect. It looks, to the outside observer, that Turkey is prioritising liberating urban centres, over encircling and capturing enemy forces. While this will give Turkey a boost in leadership, and in manpower, it might allow the Axis to form a new line more quickly. A focus on encircling and digesting isolated enemy forces would durably take these force out of the equation. Territory can be ceded or retaken, but troops, once captured, tend to be lost forever. Of course, the Red Army's Ukrainian Fronts have put in a disappointing performance in this respect, as they have been unable to meet up with the Turkish Army in the Krakow Area and close a pocket to their south.
At least, the Turkish RAW tactics have destablilised the Germans so much that the Red Army's Baltic and Northern Fronts have been able to close the Northern pocket, and keep it closed. Fingers crossed that this is it for the Northern pocket, and that now it will be slowly digested. After that, the Red Army should be able to push towards Berlin with relative ease. Interestingly, it now looks almost certain that Germany will fall before Italy. The Axis Adriatic front is still going strong, while the combination of the likely loss of Army Group North and Turkey's rapid advances is bound to critically weaken the German war machine. Maybe once Germany has been taken out, Soviet troops could be sent south as expeditionary forces to help the Turks deal with the Italians, as a thank you for Turkey's push through Slovakia into Southern Poland and Austria.
The manpower situation remains tenuous. However the UGNR is proving quite adept at convincing newly liberated Hungarians, Poles, and even Austrians to join the Turkish Army. That said, things are still going downhill, mostly due to enemy bombers. At least those new La-7's should be able to mitigate that damage, as will simply avoiding battles as long as there are still large enough gaps in the lines. Maybe at some point a strategic withdrawal to a more defensible line will be necessary to preserve manpower and avoid a total breakdown of Turkish armed forces.
I'm also impressed by the sheer amount of spin 'The Glorious Truth' has put on Perse's relocation to the US. A beautiful piece of Comintern-style journalism that wouldn't be amiss on the front page of Pravda.
To Berlin!
SkitalecS3
At least, the Turkish RAW tactics have destablilised the Germans so much that the Red Army's Baltic and Northern Fronts have been able to close the Northern pocket, and keep it closed. Fingers crossed that this is it for the Northern pocket, and that now it will be slowly digested. After that, the Red Army should be able to push towards Berlin with relative ease. Interestingly, it now looks almost certain that Germany will fall before Italy. The Axis Adriatic front is still going strong, while the combination of the likely loss of Army Group North and Turkey's rapid advances is bound to critically weaken the German war machine. Maybe once Germany has been taken out, Soviet troops could be sent south as expeditionary forces to help the Turks deal with the Italians, as a thank you for Turkey's push through Slovakia into Southern Poland and Austria.
The manpower situation remains tenuous. However the UGNR is proving quite adept at convincing newly liberated Hungarians, Poles, and even Austrians to join the Turkish Army. That said, things are still going downhill, mostly due to enemy bombers. At least those new La-7's should be able to mitigate that damage, as will simply avoiding battles as long as there are still large enough gaps in the lines. Maybe at some point a strategic withdrawal to a more defensible line will be necessary to preserve manpower and avoid a total breakdown of Turkish armed forces.
I'm also impressed by the sheer amount of spin 'The Glorious Truth' has put on Perse's relocation to the US. A beautiful piece of Comintern-style journalism that wouldn't be amiss on the front page of Pravda.
To Berlin!
SkitalecS3
- 3
- 1
It's good empire building, perhaps at the expense of good warmaking. But to be totally fair and brutally honest, Turkey is not that concerned with taking down Germany itself. Turkey wants what she's already taken, plus Italy. It's for Russia to bleed, smash through a take Germany and become the European hegemon. Turkey is supposed to be a partner to that, specifically in the Mediterranean, southern Europe and the balkans, and hopefully the middle east postwar. Everyone including Stalin has agreed to that for years at this point.
Germany armies getting away to Germany are ultimately Russian problems, which they're making worse by not closing their own pockets. You can't pin it on Turkey, who have taken out two junior axis members by themselves, are about to throw down with Italy and still have found resources to fight for Russia against Japan, limited as our means are.
Whilst our goverment and nation continues to hold nothing but respect and admiration for Russia and her people, her war leaders could bear to start pushing the enemy a bit more if they want some results of their own.
Germany armies getting away to Germany are ultimately Russian problems, which they're making worse by not closing their own pockets. You can't pin it on Turkey, who have taken out two junior axis members by themselves, are about to throw down with Italy and still have found resources to fight for Russia against Japan, limited as our means are.
Whilst our goverment and nation continues to hold nothing but respect and admiration for Russia and her people, her war leaders could bear to start pushing the enemy a bit more if they want some results of their own.
- 2
- 1