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In small part due to this, but largely for other ideas of his, I'm starting to believe this admiral has lost some of his mental faculties. Before he spun it as a training ship, he was actually advocating to buy some Russian Su-33s (each more expensive than the whole junk itself), and nowhere in Turkish naval doctrine it calls for a carrier. Could be a fun experiment to watch though
In small part due to this, but largely for other ideas of his, I'm starting to believe this admiral has lost some of his mental faculties. Before he spun it as a training ship, he was actually advocating to buy some Russian Su-33s (each more expensive than the whole junk itself), and nowhere in Turkish naval doctrine it calls for a carrier. Could be a fun experiment to watch though
It makes even less sense than just buying 2 second hand supertankers, putting them next to each other lengthwise and use ordinary F16s to take off with a little fuel and refueling in air
It makes even less sense than just buying 2 second hand supertankers, putting them next to each other lengthwise and use ordinary F16s to take off with a little fuel and refueling in air
why don't we send the english an unfucking device?
the device consists of the method to quickly resolve the horrible situation their empire finds themselves in
it consists of an expendable pole with blank fabric mounted at the end
really, what the fuck england? my bloody home lost, and you don't even have the guts to actually tell everyone about it?
It might be necessary to do some big ship investment to be able to project power as desired in the mid-late game. I’d be playing on the very hard setting, of course, but would be micro-managing the small armed forces. Probably do quite a bit of side-history as well, Talking Turkey style.
It might be necessary to do some big ship investment to be able to project power as desired in the mid-late game. I’d be playing on the very hard setting, of course, but would be micro-managing the small armed forces. Probably do quite a bit of side-history as well, Talking Turkey style.
This could very well be your Butterfly if you're not careful about the scope. As a native I'm sure you would find no shortage of side plots, interesting digressions into the history of Aussie film production, and things of that nature.
I know you can do better! I think I once did Tokyo by 1942 as Nat chi but on normal. Though I figure that nationalist chinas non existant navy indicates that it is possible for australia to pull off a japanese mainland landing by 1942.
I know you can do better! I think I once did Tokyo by 1942 as Nat chi but on normal. Though I figure that nationalist chinas non existant navy indicates that it is possible for australia to pull off a japanese mainland landing by 1942.
May see what is possible. Though by my figuring, I want to finish three of my current four AARs off before I start another one, as I’d rather have no more than two going at a time (I’ve also put my mod development on hold for a while, so I can free up a bit of time for it by completing AARs).
Let's see...the British empire continues to collapse...
Italy is in a much better place than OTL (still holding on somehow in Africa and dealing with one defensive line against Turkey).
Germany is screwed with huge loses and the red army gearing up for a full out invasion of the homeland.
And the comintern are doing really well. Considering the war started late, France didn't fall until much later and the comintern only got involved a few years ago, we've obliterated the axis menace and now it's only a question as to HOW MUCH of Europe we can claim and grab before the end comes.
Tick.
Tick.
Tick.
Actually, the war started pretty much on time and we brought the Soviets in a year earlier than in OTL. France did last for a while longer than in OTL, but not vastly so - unfortunately. But yes, the Comintern now finds itself well-placed after three-plus years (ie since June 1940) of hard fighting. The next few months coyuld either be more of the habitual grind, or an acceleration of German decline: we can but try to grind them mercilessly into the mud and blood of their shattered homelands.
Come on guys, it shouldn't be that difficult to actually join the fight, we'll just walk to the general direction of the enemy and when there's contact we'll have found the front!... Oh never mind guys they're running anwyay...
This is going to backfire badly. It would have been far better to send them directly west to widen the encirclement of Lussino. Ten bucks says the Germans throw a wrench into things now.
True. Though I'm a bit glass-half-full on this: at least they went to the effort of attempting it in a serious WW2 game. A shame it wasn't properly tidied up/seen through at this level.
Rapid advance into the empty space would be ideal here if we can get enough troops to the line soon enough. Pushing the Balkan lines up into the bottom of the Alps would give us much better defensive terrain to work with while the main body of our force continues working its way through Poland. Plus it would shorten the lines a bit anyways.
That's the big if: may be enough to grab some quick gains, but not always hold them. And, as it was early in the war, Axis air power is probably the real killer again. Interestingly, this was my original fear/expectation when we first embarked on the anti-Fascist path and why the Calistar-Iskandar Lines were first constructed all those years ago, bristling with heavy AA batteries.
That's a giant gaping hole in the German line across basically all of Latvia. If the Red Army can exploit the gaps we may be able to do a lot of damage before the Germans re-form their lines.
Ah, but it was me who chopped down that cherry tree! If I take credit for what goes right, then - must take the lumps when it doesn't. Sir! Yessir! Give myself 20!
Once again, the British only showing up to the party once everyone else has done the hard work and painful dying. It's a good geopolitical strategy, no doubt, but leaves something to be desired in the swashbuckling department.
I actually picked up some time ago the short book Badoglio published recounting his experience with the fall and reconstruction of Italy and how she was treated by the Allies. An interesting read, though as one would expect a bit self-affirming in places, but certainly a different perspective on a little-explored part of the war history.
This is a topic of some controversy. Basically, saving on the 31st of the month (etc.) means that when you reload and the clock ticks over to the 1st of the next month, events will be checked and fired as usual on the 2nd, 3rd, etc. Saving on the 1st of a month for some reason causes events not to be checked and fired until the following month, in yet another classic example of excellent Paradox workmanship.
The theory, then, is that saving on the 2nd of the month will mean saving after all of those events have fired, leaving the remaining 29/30th of the month to accumulate things like espionage and political points which are ostensibly not tracked in the save file (this is also a subject of debate). However, as we see here events are not guaranteed to fire on the 2nd of the month, and could fire on the 3rd or even later depending on how lazy the game engine decides to be that month. With mods like HPP or BICE it is possible especially in the first few months when a lot of setup is happening for events to fire as late as the double-digit dates although usually sometime between the 6th and 9th is the more likely stopping point.
This means that to be perfectly safe one really wants to save on the first date after the 1st on which no events have fired, but this may be several days into the month which means several days of whatever quantities one claims are not tracked being lost to the ether.
Of course, whether any quantities are in fact lost when the game is saved and reloaded, and if so which ones and to what degree, remains a great unknown.
In small part due to this, but largely for other ideas of his, I'm starting to believe this admiral has lost some of his mental faculties. Before he spun it as a training ship, he was actually advocating to buy some Russian Su-33s (each more expensive than the whole junk itself), and nowhere in Turkish naval doctrine it calls for a carrier. Could be a fun experiment to watch though
It makes even less sense than just buying 2 second hand supertankers, putting them next to each other lengthwise and use ordinary F16s to take off with a little fuel and refueling in air
Following on from my earlier exchange with @37th Armoured div - I am seriously considering playing Australia next. But will always adhere to a no-tag approach (except for limited AAR-related info gathering). I think we'd want capital ships and carriers, but would honourably develop them indigenously. Though would probably take the same approach with aircraft as with Turkey in this game, concentrating on licenses and focusing on major ship development (as it seems one must with anything larger that CLs).
I know you can do better! I think I once did Tokyo by 1942 as Nat chi but on normal. Though I figure that nationalist chinas non existant navy indicates that it is possible for australia to pull off a japanese mainland landing by 1942.
Maybe, but haven't played Australia in a game since HOI1, so don't have much to base my guesswork.
To All: Now to publishing the next episode! Thanks so much for all the comments and readership. We are moving into a decisive phase of the War in Europe, I believe, so it should be pretty interesting from here on.
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Chapter 213: An Autumn Chill (12 to 30 September 1943)
Chapter 213: An Autumn Chill (12 to 30 September 1943)
Foreword
The first eleven days of September had seen both sides fiercely contesting the Adriatic Sector on the Balkan Front, while the Soviets looked to choke off the ‘Leningrad Pocket’ and liberate the rest of the Baltic SSRs. The Italians had finally been ejected from Libya, but the Australian heartland was rapidly falling under Japanese occupation. The 'End of the Beginning' may be at hand, but the Axis is far from beaten yet, while Turkish manpower has fallen to a bare break-even point for replacing losses and introducing a few new air units.
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12 Sep 43
The temporary calm on the Balkan Front was broken at 6am by the beginning of a ‘police operation’ by the reinforced HQ 2nd Corps (Mech) (8,000 men) against German fifth columnists in Bratislava. The 57th Infanterie was poorly organised, out of supply and had only 1,368 men left, but was using the urban terrain and city fortifications to prolong the action, which would last until 14 September.
An hour later, the Axis launched a strong attack on Ljubljana, heavily outnumbering the exposed 217 SD, who at least had terrain, entrenchment and the weather on their side, though the Italian 132a ‘Ariete’ armoured division outmatched the Soviet AT capability. Italian bombers were supporting the attack.
Straight away, a spoiling attack was launched on Cerknica, which struck at 8am and would at least distract the Italian 1st Mtn Div, while their 2nd Alpina was out of supply. Italian bombers also began to hit the Turkish attackers in Ribnica. The diversionary attack forced a Comintern win in Ljubljana within an hour, while the attack on the Italians in Cerknica had succeeded by midday.
By 5pm, the latest manpower report showed 5,000 were left in reserve, but 6,030 replacements were needed, with a monthly gain of 18,800. It was the first small net deficit noted so far. At the same time, west of Katowice, Rybnik was left unoccupied by the Axis, so 177 SD was ordered to take it via Katowice, while 9 Inf Div was shuffled forward from reserve Krakow to reinforce the forward lines. Otherwise, the Vistula bridgehead remained quiet.
But the enemy attack on Ljubljana was renewed at 11pm, this time just from Celje and Kranj. The shock tactics used made it a bit more difficult for MAJGEN Semenyuk of 217 SD, but he was hopeful of holding [-23% initial attack progress].
Air Damage Report. Italian raids on Ljubljana would continue until the end of 14 September, but the two raids on this day alone killed over 400 defenders. Two Italian strikes on Ribnica also killed 360 more.
OTL Event: Italy.In the Gran Sasso raid, German SS Sturmbannfuhrer Otto Skorzeny led a rescue of Benito Mussolini, the recently deposed Italian dictator, who had been imprisoned at the Campo Imperiale Hotel, located in the Abruzzi Mountains. Shortly after 2:00 pm, eight gliders landed silently at the resort, bringing a team of German commandos. They were followed by 70 paratroopers, who secured the grounds while Skorzeny's team overpowered the Italian Army prison guards, who surrendered without a fight. Twenty minutes after the attack began, a German Fiesler Storch plane departed Gran Sasso with Mussolini and Skorzeny on board.[Comment: In this ATL, Mussolini’s regime remains secure, to this point anyway.]
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13 Sep 43
17 Inf Div (IS-2 equipped) finished its redeployment from the east of the Balkan line to Delnice at 7am. They had another 94 hours of reorganisation ahead of them, but were initially ordered to move forward to Kostel via Ribnica to get into position for future operations. At the same time, 1 US Marine Div (only 3 x MAR bdes) was ordered to move via Novo Mesto to reinforce the Soviets in Ljubljana.
By 7pm, 217 SD in Ljubljana was showing signs of disorganisation and the enemy attack odds had improved [-30%] as the air raids continued.
Air Damage Report. The air strikes in Ljubljana continued.
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14 Sep 43
Capodistria was taken at 5am, putting MAJGEN Öktem’s 18 Inf Div on the outskirts of Trieste. That stopped the enemy who had been retreating from Cerknica, who went into a quick attack at 6am (with Italian air support). And that in turn led 2 Mtn Div to make a new 'automatic' quick attack on Cerknica, where they had been advancing to after their victory there on 12 September. The enemy attack on Ljubljana continued to slowly gain ground.
An hour later, as more Axis units began to join the attack on Capodistria, 12 SD launched a spoiling attack on the Germans cut off in Umago, who were trying to break out to Capodistria. The whole sector was now in flames, from Ljubljana to the coast. It was perhaps a necessary sacrifice, but would not be doing the Turkish manpower situation any good.
Ten hours later, the situation in Capodistria had worsened, with air raids continuing. Three Axis units were in reserve and trying to join the attack, though the Comintern spoiling attacks on Umago and Cerknica were going quite well.
An hour later, 1st US Mar Div reached Novo Mesto, but were held back, as the odds got worse for 217 SD in Ljubljana [-48%]. This was to avoid another ‘reinforcing defeat’ situation. If Ljubljana was lost, then the US Marines would be expected to help retake it. MAJ Kenny ‘Wraith’ Loggins was itching to join the fight, but acknowledged the tactical factors at play reluctantly, as his Soviet comrades died amid the city’s ruins.
At 11pm, word came from Bratislava that victory had been won by HQ 2nd Corps, (Turkey 214/7998, Germans 342/1366 killed). 57th Infanterie fled east – still behind the lines, but now posing little threat. HQ 2nd Corps stayed put to secure the Slovakian capital.
Air Damage Report. Italian raids on Ljubljana from 12-14 September killed a total of 1,835 of the Soviet defenders. Raids on Capodistria started that day and would last until the morning of 16 September.
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15 Sep 43
With the defence of Capodistria failing by the afternoon of 15 August, 1 Mtn Div added its weight to the spoiling attack on Cerknica, trying to ‘shake something loose’, as MAJGEN Muzir put it. Fighting all along the Adriatic Sector remained fierce.
Air Damage Report. The air strikes in Capodistria continued, while Italian air raids on Rovigno commenced.
OTL Event: United States. The United States Army revealed the existence of its formerly top secret weapon, the bazooka (officially the AT M-1 rocket launcher), the first rocket-propelled grenade weapon. A demonstration was given to assembled reporters at the Army Infantry School at Fort Benning, Georgia.
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16 Sep 43
The logisticians advanced Turkish supply organisation to another level and were ordered to continue this vital work that had previously been neglected earlier in the war - when supply lines were shorter and the demand lower.
The stubborn defence of Capodistria ended in defeat at 1am, 18 Inf Div having ended up outnumbered three-to-one and attacked from multiple directions. The casualties were heavy – at a time when these really hurt the wider manpower situation. The odds immediately worsened in Umago and the Germans there would soon be freed, so that attack by 12 SD was also abandoned an hour later. But the two mountain divisions persisted in their assault on Cerknica – for the present. The position in Ljubljana continued to deteriorate.
Near Katowice, Rybnik was occupied unopposed at 11am and 177 SD began to entrench in their exposed position. In northern Russia, the Baltic Coast was now liberated from the west of Riga to the outskirts of Leningrad, except for one doomed German pocket west of Narva.
Lead Soviet elements had advanced over the border into East Prussia and were now nearing Konigsberg, though the Germans still controlled a string of Baltic ports north of there.
Recent gains in eastern Poland were more modest at this stage, however.
Back down in the Adriatic Sector, manpower concerns and the need to consolidate with the likely imminent fall of Ljubljana led Inönü to call off the attack on Cerknica, even though it had been progressing well enough. He also figured the great gains being made by the Soviets in the north would permit him to take a more defensive posture for now. And Kostel could soon come under attack – Muzir’s Mountaineers needed to dig in again, just in case.
Capodistria was lost at 1pm, as the Germans had extracted themselves from Umago. An hour later, the Battle for Ljubljana was lost; it would re-occupied by the enemy just before midnight.
The autumn chill had definitely set in on the Adriatic Sector. Though it would be nothing compared to that being suffered by Army Group North! The Comintern was overall still well pleased with progress on the wider Patriotic Front.
Air Damage Report. The air strikes in Capodistria from 14-16 September killed 507 troops, while two days of small raids on Rovigno killed 237 defenders.
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17 Sep 43
At the midnight ‘witching hour’ it was not a spy apprehension but news of a revolt by Persian nationalist guerrillas that had Kaya excited - though hardly apoplectic. The regular security brigade based in Tehran was despatched to deal with them. No new combat on the Turkish front lines occurred that day.
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18-19 Sep 43
From 4-6pm on 18 September the Axis probed Katowice with two divisions, but MAJGEN Gürzlin’s 7 Inf Div repelled (27 Turk, 32 German casualties). The rest of the front remained quiet.
The decrease in tempo showed up in the manpower equation early on 19 September. The reserve stood at 5,000 with 5,060 replacements required by 3pm on 19 September. That night, 17 Inf Div arrived in Ribnica and, having completed their post-redeployment reorganisation, they combined with the US 1st Marines in Novo Mesto to attack Ljubljana. 132a ‘Ariete’ put up only token resistance and the Comintern forces advanced to retake the city.
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20 Sep 43
The short period of low tempo was ended early on the morning of 20 September when another Italian light armoured division, the 133a 'Littorio', launched a serious attack on Rovigno. 18 Inf Div had been retreating through there to Rijeka and they were sent on their way again immediately, leaving 12 SD and 6 Mil Div – neither really front-line formations – to try to hold on.
A new radar station which became available that morning was held in reserve for now.
OTL Event: United Kingdom. The British de Havilland Vampire jet fighter aircraft made its first flight, taking off from and landing at an airfield at Hatfield, Hertfordshire, with designer Geoffrey de Havilland piloting.
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21 Sep 43
At 1am, the fifth columnists of 57th Infanterie passed through Piestany without a fight and kept heading north to German-held territory over the Slovak border: they now only had 1,010 men left.
The attack on Rovigno continued and was trending against the Comintern defenders. At 7am, the Italians expanded their counter-offensive with a major attack on Kostel, being held by a mix of veteran mountain troops and inexperienced militia.
This time it was 1 Mtn Div being assisted by their comrades of 2 Mtn Div, as MAJGEN Türkes led a spoiling attack on Cerknica. It soon took some pressure off Kostel, but both battles continued.
With this sustained pressure in the Adriatic sector – mainly led by the Italians – at 4pm another formation was peeled away from the quiet Slovak sector: 177 SD was put on trucks and sent down from Piestany to Karlovac, just south-west of Zagreb, to help bolster the line.
Some good news was received when Ljubljana was re-occupied at 9pm, the US Marines being the first in. ‘Wraith’ Loggins, munching a cigar and toting a Thompson gun, was with the lead patrol as they picked their way through the ruined streets.
Air Damage Report. Enemy air raids resumed, with three on Rovigno killing 427..
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22 Sep 43
Yet another partisan revolt broke out in the Dodecanese at midnight. By now, this was a familiar event for the local militia commander. The fighting continued all day in the three battles on the Adriatic Sector.
Air Damage Report. Italian attention switched to Kostel, with raids continuing there in support of their attack until the 24th.
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23 Sep 43
17 Inf Div made it into Ljubljana at midnight (nb, they are an infantry division with heavy tanks, so only move at foot pace). They were instructed to pivot left and open a new flank on 2 Mtn Div’s attack on Cerknica. The Italian bombers were hitting Ljubljana by then, as they were Kostel too. The militiamen of 8 Mil Bde in Kostel had broken by 6am, taking their AA battery with them and leaving 1 Mtn Div alone and now under heavy pressure, though Muzir was mounting a very effective elastic defence.
At 4am, 19 Inf Div was ordered to reinforce Ljubljana as well from Novo Mesto, leaving 3 Mtn Div to hold the hills there by themselves.
Another probe on Katowice, this time by an SS Division, was called off as soon as it began at 1pm. Both 7 and 9 Inf Divs were defending it by then, the SS finding themselves outnumbered four-to-one, fighting against entrenched defenders in fortifications and urban terrain (Turkey 18/21,992, Germany 63/5,063 killed).
Six hours later, the Japanese-funded partisans in the Dodecanese were defeated once more, with 90 bandits killed for the loss of two Turkish militiamen.
The day finished with the Adriatic battles still raging, and the converted 12th Gar (Mot) Bde completing 3 Mot Div in Zilina. Just an hour later, 177 SD came under attack in Rybnik from Ratibor by Italian mountain troops.
Air Damage Report. The Italian air strikes on Kostel continued and they resumed on Ljubljana. A one-off Luftwaffe raid on Katowice killed 180 men.
OTL Event: Italy. The Italian Social Republic, with its capital at Venice, was founded in northern Italy as a puppet state of Nazi Germany, with former Italian premier Benito Mussolini as the Head of State. The office of Mussolini, and most of the government ministries, was located in the resort town of Salò.
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24 Sep 43
Midnight saw yet another British spy captured in Ankara. He was lucky, in relative terms, as by now Kelebek was getting a little bored and even Kaya was becoming uninterested. He was delivered in person by the Dark Lord of the S.I.T.H. to Sir Stewart Menzies, Head of MI6 – in his London office!
“Şükrü Kaya sends his regards,” hissed Kelebek as he dropped off the gibbering agent. “He is released on parole. You may use him against the Germans or some other Axis power. But if he is ever discovered in a Comintern country, he will be more severely ... punished.”
Then, after a short pause, Kelebek added “As will you.”
After which, he walked into a corner and just seemed to fade away, leaving only a cold breeze and a faint odour of sulphur.
“Şükrü Kaya sends his regards.”
No matter how often or meticulously Menzies got his men to ‘sweep’ the room, he could discover no more. When Kim Philby heard about the story, he laughed heartily – on the inside.
Over in America, Perse laid low, in fear of the so-called ‘Duke of Midnight'. She was almost becoming a recluse these days. Even Cennet was unable to get a line on her. Yet.
Back at the front, the air base in Zagreb received its upgrade and another was commenced. Not only would it be of use in the current campaign, but it could be used later for longer range aircraft operating over the Italian peninsular.
The latest new interceptor wing – 10 AF, armed with Yak-7s – was deployed for work-up in Gyöngyos, where 9 AF’s Yaks had now completed theirs. Next to be license-built were some upgraded F4F Wildcats, which had superior night-fighting characteristics to the Soviet equivalents (and the current Wildcats in Turkish service). Alas, the next American fighter model was still not available. The precious manpower (1,000 men) to raise the wing was expended.
9 AF was redeployed to Split via Zagreb in two ‘reserve mission’ flights, to preserve their organisation, arriving at their new base at 2am. The wings there were reorganised again, the Yak-7s joining the existing (and now repaired) F4Fs, grouped back under Hitay’s 3 AG.
At this time, the three Adriatic battles still raged. Rovigno was now just holding as the attacking Italian armour weakened. Kostel was looking bad, as 1 Mtn Div faded, while 17 Inf Div was yet to reinforce the spoiling attack on Cerknica, where 2 Mtn Div was almost out of organisation. All while the Italian air assault continued on Kostel and Ljubljana.
Over in Rybnik, west of Katowice, the battle had turned against the defending Soviet EF (177 SD) by 7am, when a German infantry division reinforced the attack of the Italian mountain troops [-72% progress].
The next piece of infrastructure preparation for the mooted invasion of Italy was the starting of an expansion of the air base at Dubrovnik to second level facilities.
Great news was brought by an excited GRU Agent SkitalecS3 at the same time: Leningrad had been liberated! Ourah and vur ha! The remains of Army Group North had lost their last port in what was now the Karelian Pocket. It was a significant day for the Anti-Fascist Coalition.
As the day wore on, the three battles on the Adriatic sector came to a head. Kostel was lost at 11am, with heavy ground combat casualties once more, in addition to the losses from the air. The Cerknica spoiling attack was immediately called off – which had also racked up a heavy casualty list. 19 Inf Div was switched from reinforcing Ljubljana to the ‘rallying point’ at Rijeka, as more Comintern formations were forced into retreat.
But there was some relief at 3pm: even though 12 SD had been forced to retreat from Rovigno, the militiamen of 6 Mil Div had held out against the odds. The Comintern had once more suffered heavy casualties, but had inflicted even more on the attacking Italian armour.
Air Damage Report. The Italian air strikes on Kostel finished, having killed 1,231 defenders. Those on Ljubljana also ended, killing 808 there. A day of Luftwaffe raids on Rybnik killed 625 men.
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25 Sep 43
After the climactic events of 24 September, the Turkish front was less frenetic the next day. At midnight, the manpower report showed 5,000 still in reserve with 3,610 replacements needed, though after recent heavy casualties this seemed a little optimistic. Perhaps there was a lag in reporting from the front.
Given the fragility of the replacement pipeline and worsening odds [-81%], 177 SD was ordered to withdraw from Rybnik at that time (399/7,992 Soviet, 277/14,873 Axis troops killed), even though they still had plenty of fight left in them. With events in the Soviet Union, Turkey could afford a period of consolidation along the whole line.
OTL Event: Soviet Union-Eastern Front. The Soviet Red Army recaptured the Ukrainian SSR city of Smolensk from German occupiers leading to the total abandonment of the U.S.S.R. by German forces in what was described as "the greatest mass retreat in history".
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26 Sep 43
Early that morning, the true manpower situation had become clear: the reserve of 5,000 men was now balanced by an estimated requirement for 7,640 replacements. On the Adriatic, the enemy retook Kostel at 7am – though the Italians didn’t seem that keen to hold it. 171 SD finished their strategic redeployment to Karlovac that evening and were ordered on to Rijeka.
The short lull in fighting ended at 10pm with a German attack on Cieszyn. Their shock tactics were balanced out by a deficit in numbers, plus the defenders’ entrenchment in good terrain. This key province would not be surrendered easily, as MAJGEN Bözer vowed to hold it come what may.
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27 Sep 43
A much awaited doctrine advance came at midnight with the implementation of combined arms warfare in the Turkish Army. Assault concentration would be pursued next to help the ‘supporting arms’ of Turkey’s many artillery, AT and (fewer) AA brigades.
At midnight, 18 Inf Div, which had partly [about 25% org] recovered in Rijeka after its flight from Capodistria, was sent back to Rovigno to bolster the militia holding it – and allow MAJGEN Öktem to command any renewed defence that may be called upon. The exhausted 12 Inf Div finished its forced retreat from Rovigno to Rijeka two hours later.
Rybnik fell to the Germans at 2pm, but Cieszyn still held strongly to its south.
Air Damage Report. The Luftwaffe started raiding Cieszyn, which would end the following night.
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28 Sep 43
At 8am the enemy attack on Cieszyn was over: they had suffered an expensive defeat (213/21,995 Turkish, 839/4,819 German casualties).
In Persia, 1.13 Inf Bde attacked rebellious Emamrud at 6pm – only for the rebels to disappear without a fight. And as a side-note, the Polish HQs that had retreated from their latest uprising were by then just past Ankara, apparently on their way to the Allied-held territory of Iraq!
Air Damage Report. The German raids on Cieszyn in support of their attack killed a total of 1,172 Turks, but the defenders held.
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29 Sep 43
A brief fire-fight in Katowice disturbed the recent quiet along the front at 1pm, with the Germans fielding medium panzers and an SS division, supported by Italian elite Alpinieri against the well-prepared 7 and 9 Inf Divs, commanded by MAJGEN Gürzlin. But the skirmish only lasted two hours before the enemy withdrew (53 Turkish, 76 Axis troops killed).
But the period of peace around Vienna was more conclusively shattered at 10pm, with a heavy German attack on Gänserdorf, including medium panzers and Luftwaffe air support. MAJGEN Kanatli’s 1 Mot Div’s older equipment was outmatched by that of 7 Pz Div, so an attempt to decrease the pressure was made with a spoiling attack on the panzer division in Breclav. This soon helped 1 Mot, but they were still under considerable pressure.
As this attack was beginning, the elite, full-strength and rested ‘binary’ Italian 2a Alpina Div renewed the assault on Rovigno against the still recovering 6 Mil Div: the early signs were not good [-80% progress].
Air Damage Report. A one-off Luftwaffe raid on Katowice killed 149 men.
OTL Event: Italy. On the Royal Navy battleship HMS Nelson, anchored in the harbour of Valletta at Malta, Marshal Badoglio of Italy, accompanied by four of his generals and an admiral, met with U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower and his entourage, to sign Italy's articles of surrender.
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30 Sep 43
The spoiling attack on Breclav had peeled 7 Pz Div away from the attack on Gänserdorf by 5am, so it was called off (40 Turk, 43 German casualties) to avoid more losses now the Germans could concentrate on their defence. However, the assault on Gänserdorf was still a threat [-52% progress]. Fortunately, the change in odds was not to the liking of the Italians left with it and they broke off the attack just an hour later (148 Turkish, 95 Axis troops killed).
The same mix of Axis units as the day before probed Katowice from 7-8am, but once more broke off quickly (25 Turk, 35 Axis casualties).
In Rovigno, the gallant militia had once again held firm and by 5pm 18 Inf Div [up to about 50% org by then] had joined and then reinforced (better Turkish doctrine no doubt helping), putting Öktem in charge and turning the battle around [-32% progress]. The battle would still be going as the month ended [progress -26.4%, 9 Turkish vs 2 Italian brigades].
More free IC was invested in the build-up of air bases along the Adriatic, with Tirane having work begun on building it up to level three facilities.
Air Damage Report. Three German raids on Gänserdorf in support of the Axis attack there killed 836 defenders. In Rovigno, the Italian Air Force reappeared after a break of some days, three raids there killing 450 men.
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Monthly Summaries
General progress on the Patriotic Front over the whole of September was very pleasing. Most Comintern advances were in the north, from Leningrad along Baltic coast (now secured down to East Prussia) and inroads into German-held Poland. However, little had been done in the south of Poland to close up with the Turkish salient on the north bank of the Vistula. In the to-and-fro of the fighting in the Adriatic Sector, Turkey had made some minor net gains during the month.
Turkey had taken another 15,410 battle casualties in the period 12-30 September, bringing it to almost 24,700 for the month (not including any attrition or men supplied to new air units) – more than the recruitment rate of around 18,800.
The Karelian Pocket remained firmly sealed off, with a large amount of German units presumably now starting to run out of supplies as autumn lengthened into winter.
Diplomatically, Finland appeared to be at no risk of joining the Axis: they were being influenced by both the UK and Germany, but were drifting more towards the Allies [24.29] than the Axis [21.86].
Finland was about a quarter or more along the ‘diplomatic triangle’ from Axis to Allied alignment – out of the join the Axis ‘danger zone’.
In the Far East, the Soviets had made modest gains. The Turkish task force was in trains heading west, then passing north of Lake Balkash.
As reported in the last chapter, Libya had been fully secured earlier in the month. But the Japanese invasion of Australia had pushed somewhat deeper into the hinterland, while Canberra had been taken earlier in the month. There were still no fighting Allied troops of any sort deployed on the entire eastern seaboard to oppose the Japanese.
This is because all the Australian regular and garrison divisions appeared to be deployed in New Guinea and the South West Pacific Area (SWPA), where Lae had been retaken. Cold comfort back home, no doubt.
The Japanese had made no progress in New Zealand, the Pacific or South East Asia, where the British still controlled Singapore.
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Naval Report
During the month, the Allies lost a number of minor ship flotillas, while the RN had three major fleet units sunk. The British lost a CVL, CA, CL, two DD and one TP flotillas. The US lost two SS flotillas.
For the Axis, the Japanese lost a CA, one DD and two TP flotillas, while the Germans also lost two TP flotillas.
Major fleet units sunk during September 1943.
IJNS Chōkai (鳥海) was a Takao-class heavy cruiser, designed with the Imperial Japanese Navy strategy of the great "Decisive Battle" in mind. Laid down 26 March 1928; launched 5 April 1931; commissioned 30 June 1932. Displacement 15,781 tons; complement 773; main armament 10 × 20 cm (8 in) guns (5 x 2). Sunk by HMS Rodney (BB) in September 1943.
HMS Eagle was an early aircraft carrier of the Royal Navy. Ordered by Chile during the South American dreadnought race as the Almirante Latorre-class battleship Almirante Cochrane, she was laid down before World War I. In early 1918 she was purchased by Britain for conversion to an aircraft carrier; this work was finished in 1924. Laid down 20 February 1913; launched 8 June 1918; commissioned 20 February 1924. Standard displacement 22,200 t; complement 791; main armament 9 × 6 in (152 mm) guns; aircraft carried 25–30. Sunk by IJNS Soryu (CV) in September 1943.
HMS Cumberland was a County-class heavy cruiser of the Royal Navy. Laid down 18 October 1924; launched 16 March 1926; commissioned 23 February 1928. Standard displacement 9,924 t; complement 679; main armament 8 × 8 in (203 mm) guns (4 x 2). Sunk by IJNS Zuiho (CVL) in September 1943.
HMS Enterprise was one of two Emerald-class light cruisers built for the Royal Navy. In the early 1930s, Enterprise was fitted with a prototype twin 6" turret in place of her two forward single mounts; and with the trials proving successful it was retained for the rest of her service career. Laid down 28 June 1918; launched 23 December 1919; commissioned 7 April 1926. Standard displacement 7,700 t; complement 572; main armament 7 × 6-inch (152 mm) guns (1 x 2, 5 x 1). Sunk by IJNS Ryujo (CV) in September 1943.
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Coming Up:Can Turkey hold the line without going further into manpower ‘debt’, as they wait for the Soviets to wrap up the Karelian Pocket and close up to the Turkish Vistula Salient in Poland? When will the growing Turkish Air Force be able to offer some genuine relief from the destructive Italian and German air raids that continue to plague the Turks?
Early thoughts for the coming invasion of Italy are now being entertained by the Turkish War Cabinet. Professor Nukeluru Slorepee, MAJGEN Diskoerekto, Darth Kelebek, MAJ ‘Wraith’ Loggins and other strategic advocates for prosecuting the war against Italy may wish to provide any thoughts they may have on preparations, requirements and capabilities they believe would be required for a successful amphibious invasion. The first question is whether Sicily should be invaded first, or ignored, with a direct assault on the peninsula, with either option perhaps accompanied by a major land offensive in the Adriatic Sector, aimed at northern Italy to split Italian attentions.
Will Australia relocate any credible forces from New Guinea to defend their own homeland before Japan forces them to surrender? What (if anything) might the British do next after having tossed the Italians out of Libya? Once more, will the US Sleeping Giant ever wake up, other than the busy marines in the Balkans and some modest submarine warfare in the Pacific?
Overall, its good news for the Comintern. The two most important pieces of info are, in my view:
1. The Germans did indeed get pocketed and trapped against Finland, which means Hitler has fewer men to defend his own country.
2. The Italians are still fighting the Russians in the north, rather than hightailing everything back to Italy for the inevitable invasion there.
This tells us a number of things. The Germans are not confident of defending against the Russians by themselves and so are ordering what remains of the axis to defend them. The Italians, for some reason, are obeying. They have ground forces, HQs and maybe airplanes fighting to hold back Russia. They have the rest of their forces on the front lines with Turkey, and are being pushed back in both, along a huge (for them) front.
This means Italy itself is under-defended. If there was ever a time to navally land...
OTL Event: Italy.In the Gran Sasso raid, German SS Sturmbannfuhrer Otto Skorzeny led a rescue of Benito Mussolini, the recently deposed Italian dictator, who had been imprisoned at the Campo Imperiale Hotel, located in the Abruzzi Mountains. Shortly after 2:00 pm, eight gliders landed silently at the resort, bringing a team of German commandos. They were followed by 70 paratroopers, who secured the grounds while Skorzeny's team overpowered the Italian Army prison guards, who surrendered without a fight. Twenty minutes after the attack began, a German Fiesler Storch plane departed Gran Sasso with Mussolini and Skorzeny on board.[Comment: In this ATL, Mussolini’s regime remains secure, to this point anyway.]
Lead Soviet elements had advanced over the border into East Prussia and were now nearing Konigsberg, though the Germans still controlled a string of Baltic ports north of there.
Capodistria was lost at 1pm, as the Germans had extracted themselves from Umago. An hour later, the Battle for Ljubljana was lost; it would re-occupied by the enemy just before midnight.
The decrease in tempo showed up in the manpower equation early on 19 September. The reserve stood at 5,000 with 5,060 replacements required by 3pm on 19 September. That night, 17 Inf Div arrived in Ribnica and, having completed their post-redeployment reorganisation, they combined with the US 1st Marines in Novo Mesto to attack Ljubljana. 132a ‘Ariete’ put up only token resistance and the Comintern forces advanced to retake the city.
The day finished with the Adriatic battles still raging, and the converted 12th Gar (Mot) Bde completing 3 Mot Div in Zilina. Just an hour later, 177 SD came under attack in Rybnik from Ratibor by Italian mountain troops.
Midnight saw yet another British spy captured in Ankara. He was lucky, in relative terms, as by now Kelebek was getting a little bored and even Kaya was becoming uninterested. He was delivered in person by the Dark Lord of the S.I.T.H. to Sir Stewart Menzies, Head of MI6 – in his London office!
Great news was brought by an excited GRU Agent SkitalecS3 at the same time: Leningrad had been liberated! Ourah and vur ha! The remains of Army Group North had lost their last port in what was now the Karelian Pocket. It was a significant day for the Anti-Fascist Coalition.
The short lull in fighting ended at 10pm with a German attack on Cieszyn. Their shock tactics were balanced out by a deficit in numbers, plus the defenders’ entrenchment in good terrain. This key province would not be surrendered easily, as MAJGEN Bözer vowed to hold it come what may.
if they wait until their organization runs out, they seem to be a single division on that fort province which would also let us consolidate 2 provinces wide into 1 province so maybe we can spare a counterattack here
A much awaited doctrine advance came at midnight with the implementation of combined arms warfare in the Turkish Army. Assault concentration would be pursued next to help the ‘supporting arms’ of Turkey’s many artillery, AT and (fewer) AA brigades.
In Rovigno, the gallant militia had once again held firm and by 5pm 18 Inf Div [up to about 50% org by then] had joined and then reinforced (better Turkish doctrine no doubt helping), putting Öktem in charge and turning the battle around [-32% progress].
This is because all the Australian regular and garrison divisions appeared to be deployed in New Guinea and the South West Pacific Area (SWPA), where Lae had been retaken. Cold comfort back home, no doubt.
The first question is whether Sicily should be invaded first, or ignored, with a direct assault on the peninsula, with either option perhaps accompanied by a major land offensive in the Adriatic Sector, aimed at northern Italy to split Italian attentions.
I say skip Sicily (it's good to have, but once we have the island, we're still in the same position with an easily defensible strait ahead of us so why not start from the next step and invade the mainland itself?) and landfall to 2-3 provinces from 3 different seazones with 4 transports (I have 2 scenarios). But to be able to make a more concrete plans we need to see if we can figure out which provinces are undefended to plan accordingly. I'll still put here my plans, and I'll later edit them depending on where is more heavily defended and where's not.
Yeşil Plan:
So we'll come from 3 seazones, they cannot mass all their planes to one and decimate the marines. They'll either probably leave at least one free, or they'll thin their numbers. But after landfall, we'll still have our forces more or less massed together in 2 lumps and not scattered a lot. I drew the arrows thinking Pescara would be defended, if it's not defended of course the nobrainer option is to just take it. Once we are established and carry more units after the initial operation, after a bit of mountain fighting even Rome can be captured.
Kırmızı Plan:
Again, 3 seazones mean they cannot mass their airpower on us, and this is a bit further from their center so maybe there'll be even less. Also again, I assumed Taranto would be defended, if not, just make a landfall there. From the Southern Coast of Dalmatia; if Bari is undefended go for there, if not Monopoli. From Southern Adriatic and Gulf of Taranto, go for Brindisi (and if there is defended Monopoli & Bernalda). Once the beachhead is there, we'll go for Taranto for the airfield and VP. After that, it's sweeping northwest like it happened in our timeline, it's 3-4 provinces wide until and including Rome.
I still vote that Sicily gives us a good lodgement against the Italians. My argument arises from exactly what others have pointed out: it's defensible from the strait side, and will sucker whatever the Italians have left down the toe of the boot. At which point, another SMELT operation could be conducted behind their lines, cut them off and then win the war. I sincerely believe that only landing on home territory will cause the Italians to forego the front lines for their own nation. The more time we allow for that to process a bit, the more chances the Glorious Union and the Soviets have to force the issue into Germany and bring things to a conclusion.
As for a few RFIs that I'd need to adequately make recommendations: Does our intelligence from the Soviets or the Americans have an idea for what might be left in port? What are they working on in terms of ground forces? Clearly, they have enough air power (that's really an unfortunate side-effect of HoI3 versus HoI4 in that losses are nebulously "replaced" rather than actual airframes getting killed and thus penalizing production) to make a contest of it.
On the other hand, crossing the Adriatic brings certain efficiencies as far as supply as well as the rapidity of the campaign. I don't think that a speed lunge to Rome will be enough to knock Italy out of the war, and I really have a question to where we wind up when we do finally get stopped at some point. The key to any of these options is how much time will we have to secure territory, and how much time will the Italians have to bring forces home to fight.
