Talking Turkey: Alternate History from 1936

[diskoerekto]

There was a selection of black and green olives, cucumber, a variety of cured meats, dips and sauces, eggs, cheeses, tomato, fresh baked bread, preserves and jams, honey and pastries. Much of this was excellent fresh produce from southern France, some specially shipped over from the Motherland. With a bit of Extra Virgin Genco Olive Oil specially despatched from its new processing plant in Sicily.

Oooh there's some Muhammara and some hot Menemen as well! Good breakfast, VUR HA!

Turkish leadership and research capacity received a boost, with education practices improving. Effort was directed into a bold (for Turkey) new area of research: carrier aircraft development, which could lead eventually to an indigenous carrier design, as they could not be purchased on license.

Sweet!

Rumours buzz about the possible next amphibious target in Spain as the Turks try to wrap up the campaign as quickly as possible. They want to celebrate Victory in Europe Day, while the Soviets and Allies still struggle on against the Japanese in Asia. Can a peace conference be convened while that part of the anti-Fascist War still rages on?

How many VP provinces left? The end is cleanly in sight but it's no less exciting

 

[Wraith11B]

Certainly, someone took a page from @Eurasia 's book about making everyone hungry!

It really is annoying that Paradox made all carriers "capital ships." Light carriers, as I've pointed out before, were widely shopped around, and I would definitely see the USN shopping off some of their CVLs to Turkey in TTL, especially given that they have already purchased a pile of F4F Wildcats.

Totally forgot that I was in Beirut... Time to SMELT our way ashore! Cadiz beckons, I think.

 

[madchemist76]

I’m up to Chapter 206 and just finished reading through TBC’s synopsis of the AAR. Vur Ha!

 

[TheButterflyComposer]

I’m up to Chapter 206 and just finished reading through TBC’s synopsis of the AAR. Vur Ha!

I did a summary of this aar too? Why do I keep doing those?

I will search...

 

[Bullfilter]

I’m up to Chapter 206 and just finished reading through TBC’s synopsis of the AAR. Vur Ha!

Fantastic progress and great dedication. You’re closing in on the AAR-present <3

I did a summary of this aar too? Why do I keep doing those?

I will search...

I will too….

 

[SSmith]

By 11am, reports came that all the units trapped in Monzón, except the HQ commanded by Franco himself, had surrendered – well over 50,000 POWs, surely signalling the death knell of any serious Spanish resistance.

Yes, this is surely a knockout blow for the Spanish army. All they seem to have left now are a few isolated units. I’m thinking it might be best to avoid destroying any more of them, though? The new government will need them.

At midday, the 2nd Armd Div had secured Fraga and Franco’s HQ had also surrendered – but the man himself seemed to have slipped away [as the game will do with the leaders of surrounded and surrendered units]. The Monzón pocket was formally liquidated.

It is most regrettable that Franco is still in play. Scrupulous adherence to the Paradox Convention on the treatment of captured generals is all well and good, but there is a time and a place for everything. This was neither the time nor the place!

Back on the Madrid axis of advance, late that night 9 Inf Div branched north from Cariñena to try to dislodge a Spanish division digging in at Tarazona. They ran into determined opposition from an enemy ambush but maintained the attack. The main news was that General Franco was reported to be there directing the enemy effort – probably with the barely established HQ 1st Army.

Franco’s best plan right now is probably to slip across the border into Portugal and find a ship sailing for Macao…

In Almería, all the Soviet infantry of the invasion force was ashore without incident by 8am and they started spreading out to expand the beachhead as rapidly at the soldiers could march in the rugged terrain and poor weather (which wasn’t fast at all: around 0.71 kph).

How large is the port in Almería? Because it doesn’t look like the landing force will reach Málaga or Cartagena any time soon at those speeds. Supply might become a problem? Having said that, those are Soviet divisions and they are probably quite light.

But MAJ Kenny ‘Wraith’ Loggins did not sail with the fleet: due to an oversight of Soviet Five Year Plan proportions, the Turkish-American Marine Corps had been left back in Beirut all this time, never having been ferried over after the successful invasion of Lebanon.

I’m sure we’ve all been there and done that! It is really quite surprising how something so significant can end up being missed even when you’re documenting this game with such a meticulous attention to detail.

That night, with the delivery of many new transport freighters, all Turkish convoy management was reopened under autonomous control of the War Ministry – just in time to support the naval landings in Spain, which would include a supply run for Almería. After all resource and supply requirements were met, there were still another 30 transports spare.

At least that problem is fully and finally solved.

Late that night, fighter support in the south was switched from Oran to Casablanca: this would provide cover over a larger area of southern Spain – including the larger Spanish port of Cadiz and the Spanish air base at Seville.

The air base in Valencia should also be useful.

“Captain Edmund Exley. Chief of Detectives. Los Angeles Police Department,” announces the Chief.

Ed has come out of this much better than I ever imagined… assuming this really is the end of the story, of course. And Bud actually survived, which at this point was quite a surprise.

After the party, a waiter took away Miss Lake's gin and tonic glass – but instead of sending it for washing, it was carefully slipped into a brown paper evidence bag and spirited away.

My immediate reaction to this was that I was witnessing the aftermath of a poisoning and they were disposing of the evidence… but it became clear something else was going on as the glass continued on its long journey.

What is going on about that glass that Veronica Lake had been holding and what is Cennet’s theory?

I can only assume the thought is that Persephonee is hiding in plain sight and pretending to be Veronica, and the glass has been taken for finger-printing? I may be proved wrong, but I have to say I don’t find the theory particularly compelling. For one thing, it would demonstrate an uncharacteristic lack of caution on Perse’s part. Moreover, she would need to be able to play the role of Veronica very convincingly to be able to pull it off at all – and she could very easily run into people who actually know the actress well.

 

[TheButterflyComposer]

I did a summary of this aar too? Why do I keep doing those?

I will search...

It's not in fact one of my big epic post summaries. More like a series of posts commenting on everything that stands out and is of interest both AAR and AAR interaction wise. These begin here, if one is interested:

Talking Turkey: Alternate History from 1936

Start Year: 1936, standard Road to War Difficulty: Normal Version: Vanilla TFH 4.02 Cheats/Mods: "Prepare for War" event extended to 12 March 1937* Style: Gameplay as alternate history, with screenshots President Kemal Atatürk entering the...

forum.paradoxplaza.com

 

[Midnite Duke]

Thank you for spending over five years entertaining us.

 

[Bullfilter]

Well, the time has come around again for a return to TT and the 'after party' in Spain. Thanks once more for the comments! May be up to a day or so for any more if anyone wishes to before the next episode is ready.

Turkey is, very briefly, going to own a massive swathe of europe all to itself before it gets sorted out at the peace conference...

True. And it may prove hard for them to hold on to it all so tightly once the post-war settlement comes around.

Oooh there's some Muhammara and some hot Menemen as well! Good breakfast, VUR HA!

Nice!

Sweet!

Thought you, among maybe one or two others, would like that. Even if the capability is unlikely to be ready for use in this war.

How many VP provinces left? The end is cleanly in sight but it's no less exciting

I'll summarise in the next chapter. Quite a few, as Spain is close to 100% NU, I pretty much need to take them all.

Certainly, someone took a page from @Eurasia 's book about making everyone hungry!

And in this AAR, there is a long-standing tradition of food served at special Turkish Cabinet and other meetings. As well as a preoccupation with the processed-meat-munching habits of opposing Fascist regimes.

It really is annoying that Paradox made all carriers "capital ships." Light carriers, as I've pointed out before, were widely shopped around, and I would definitely see the USN shopping off some of their CVLs to Turkey in TTL, especially given that they have already purchased a pile of F4F Wildcats.

Yes, it was a pity. I'd have liked to build a few of these 'trophy ships' for the Turkish Navy once IC rose and MP decreased and they could be afforded.

Totally forgot that I was in Beirut... Time to SMELT our way ashore! Cadiz beckons, I think.

Oh, you were in West Africa all along, it was just the rest of the Marines enjoying themselves in Beirut. Unlike a later OTL generation

Yes, this is surely a knockout blow for the Spanish army. All they seem to have left now are a few isolated units. I’m thinking it might be best to avoid destroying any more of them, though? The new government will need them.

Quite. They were already on the ropes before this. In the end, they were too slow for Turkey's more mobile forces in the south and the battle-trained, relatively modern and beefed up 5-brigade Turkish divisions.

It is most regrettable that Franco is still in play. Scrupulous adherence to the Paradox Convention on the treatment of captured generals is all well and good, but there is a time and a place for everything. This was neither the time nor the place!

Franco’s best plan right now is probably to slip across the border into Portugal and find a ship sailing for Macao…

A show trial would have been handy! But of course he slithered away. We'll see what happens to him post-war.

How large is the port in Almería? Because it doesn’t look like the landing force will reach Málaga or Cartagena any time soon at those speeds. Supply might become a problem? Having said that, those are Soviet divisions and they are probably quite light.

It's small, and the province mountainous. Not the ideal beachhead, but it was unoccupied so was pinched. It won't be the last landing in the south ... the supply convoys can at least now be maintained at full strength, though the throughput may be problematic for a while.

I’m sure we’ve all been there and done that! It is really quite surprising how something so significant can end up being missed even when you’re documenting this game with such a meticulous attention to detail.

I had to chuckle to myself. It comes of having longer breaks between play sessions when you doing a write-as-you-play AAR.

At least that problem is fully and finally solved.

Yes, it was one of the considerations in the timing of the naval landings. The three Ls: logistics, logistics and logistics!

The air base in Valencia should also be useful.

Oh yes, very much so, for central and south-eastern Spain.

Ed has come out of this much better than I ever imagined… assuming this really is the end of the story, of course. And Bud actually survived, which at this point was quite a surprise.

He does come out of it well enough, though not without some regrets. It's the end of the story from the movie plot, but whether there's more to say about him and the others as part of the wider AAR story arc, well ... we must wait and see.

My immediate reaction to this was that I was witnessing the aftermath of a poisoning and they were disposing of the evidence… but it became clear something else was going on as the glass continued on its long journey.

I'm glad that was the initial impression, given I'd tied it in to the premiere screening of 'Arsenic and Old Lace': well spotted.

I can only assume the thought is that Persephonee is hiding in plain sight and pretending to be Veronica, and the glass has been taken for finger-printing? I may be proved wrong, but I have to say I don’t find the theory particularly compelling. For one thing, it would demonstrate an uncharacteristic lack of caution on Perse’s part. Moreover, she would need to be able to play the role of Veronica very convincingly to be able to pull it off at all – and she could very easily run into people who actually know the actress well.

A pretty good guess. I won't comment on whether or not such a theory, if indeed it is held by Cennet, is true or not. But more will be revealed in the next episode.

Thank you for spending over five years entertaining us.

You're welcome. I certainly didn't think it would clock up five real time years when I started it! Then again, if I hadn't decided to do another four AARs since (only one of which has completed yet) it would already be finished!

 

[Bullfilter]

Chapter 235: Any Port in a Storm (17-30 September 1944)

Introduction

Comintern forces closed in on Madrid from the east, while the offensive along the east coast reached Valencia. Soviet divisions under Turkish command had landed unopposed in the small southern port of Almería on 10-11 September. The race was on to secure enough key Spanish cities to force Franco’s Nationalist (Fascist) regime to surrender and allow the re-establishment of a Popular Front government in Spain – under Turkish ‘fraternal guidance’.

In Los Angeles, things appear to have returned to ‘normal’, with Ed Exley now a Police Captain and the chief of the detective bureau. Meanwhile, Lynn Bracken has taken Detective Sergeant ‘Bud’ White back to her home town of Bisbee, Arizona, to recuperate from the serious wounds he sustained helping to take down corrupt (but now publicly eulogised) Captain Dudley Smith in the shootout at the Victory Motel.

And in Ankara, S.I.T.H. forensic scientists have begun to analyse a glass smuggled out of New York, with the fingerprints of the actress Veronica Lake. Cennet, though currently operating behind the lines in southern Spain, has put forward a pet theory she wants to test with direct evidence …

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17 Sep 44

Three new troop transport flotillas (Marmara, Ege and Karadeniz) were commissioned and delivered to Palermo in the early morning, where the modern new light cruiser TCG Reşadiye was already about half way through its post-launch work-up training. They too began to organise themselves to be ready for operations when called upon.

On the main front in Spain, the Turkish attack on Ágreda was won at 5am, with the benefit of air support from 1 BG. This was designed to secure the northern flank of the drive to Madrid and open up a path to the key [VP] town of Burgos, while other troops advanced on Bilbao through rough terrain.

​

By this time, supply in the Spanish theatre remained fairly good, with supply through southern France being augmented by convoys running to Barcelona, Valencia and Almería.

​

But before it could be occupied, another hasty defence of Ágreda was mounted by the disorganised Spanish 22a Division late that night. They would resist until the following evening, but were eventually forced to retreat.

​

Air Damage Report. The Turkish ground attack mission on Ágreda had begun on 15 September. There would be two more raids on the 17th, killing 172 defenders. These would resume late that night after the second battle broke out, but the results were not recorded until the following day.

OTL Events: Western Front. Operation Market Garden began when Allied paratroopers landed in the Netherlands and Germany. The Battle of Arnhem began in the Netherlands. The 3rd Canadian Division began Operation Wellhit to take the fortified town of Boulogne in northern France. Operation Paravane ended when a bomb hit the German battleship Tirpitz, disabling her and causing the Germans to tow her south to Tromsø where she would be sunk in Operation Catechism two months later.​

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18 Sep 44

Turkey’s first new assault ship flotilla was deployed to Palermo at 4am, joining the small fleet now working up there. Three more convoys (30 ships) were put into the production queue, even though 22 ships remained in the reserve pool and 30 more in the queue: future needs and losses were being allowed for. And it required no manpower allocation.

With reinforcements now arrived in Valencia and a (former) German SS division already advancing on their western flank, that afternoon 4 Cav Div resumed its run down the east coast from Valenci, aiming for the Spanish port of Cartagena and a link-up with the Soviet troops advancing slowly out of Almería.

​

Some excitement erupted in Cantavieja, south of Zaragoza, a few hours later. A battle had broken out at 4pm as 307 SD ran into the 2nd Spanish Armd Bde, which resisted for almost a day. Then the Spanish Air Force put in another reappearance, this time from two TAC wings with a fighter escort, which would begin their raids just after midnight the next morning. This triggered a response from the Valencia-based Turkish INT wings on the attackers in Hijar.

​

These bombing raids and dogfights as the Turks tried to suppress them would continue until the afternoon of the 19th. Only light casualties were suffered on the ground, while the Spanish wings proved difficult to get rid of in either night flying or poor weather conditions.

That night, 1 BG (2 x M/R, 3 x TAC) began preparation bombing on a two-brigade Spanish division in Soria, three provinces south-east of Burgos.

Air Damage Report. The Turkish ground attacks resumed on Ágreda killing 497 defenders on the 18th in three raids, for a total of 1,225 over the period 15-18 September.

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Bisbee, Arizona

Lynn had settled Bud down in her old home in Bisbee, Arizona. She had brought back the little embroidered cushion Bud had seen in her apartment in Los Angeles, which he was now looking at fondly, as Lynn ventured out for groceries. He remained weak, but slowly recovering. He was glad to have left his difficult, violent and complicated past behind him. For now, anyway.

Bisbee, Arizona. An isolated and peaceful haven for a battered Bud White and a bruised Lynn Bracken.​

OTL Event: Warsaw Uprising. American B-17 bombers dropped 1,284 containers of supplies to the Home Army in Warsaw, but only 228 fell on Polish-controlled territory. This was the only major supply drop of the war that the Soviets allowed the western Allies to carry out.​

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19 Sep 44

In preparation for a planned naval landing in Cadiz, at 1pm a patrol of two M/R wings (8 and 9 AFs) set off to reconnoitre the Coast of Cadiz as the main fleet sailed into Tanger with 1st Marine Corps aboard. MAJ ‘Wraith’ Loggins was there to meet COL ‘Chesty’ Puller as the latter disembarked. They would later meet for discussions with consultant Professor Nukeluru Slorepee on plans for the landings. But first, they hoped to gain some more information on what may lay in store for them.

The air patrols did not encounter any opposition or sight any enemy shipping, so the fleet, now rebased and supplied out of Tanger, set off that afternoon. And they encountered a considerable surprise at 6pm that evening. They encountered an almost fully repaired Spanish battle fleet, headed up by the ARNE España, that had slipped into the area undetected by any Turkish or allied reporting! Undaunted, Admiral Üngen led the attack on board the Turkish flagship and Pride of the Fleet, the mighty TCG Yavuz.

At a distance of 13,00m, the Yavuz’s main batteries opened up on the light cruiser ARE Almirante Cervera, while it was also attacked at shorter range by 3. Destroyer Filosu, with which it exchanged fire. The España opened up on the light cruiser TCG Mecidiye 9,000m out, the light cruiser ARE Miguel de Cervantes joining in at a range of 6,000m, while the Mecidiye returned fire on the Cervantes at 3,000m. More dangerously for the landing troops, the heavy cruiser ARNE Jaime I (confusingly, two vessels were identified this ship, but later reports indicated there was only the one heavy cruiser present) hit the troop carriers of the Resid Pasa Filosu, doing immediate damage.

​

By 7pm, the Almirante Cervera was substantially damaged, on fire from several hits from both the Yavuz and the Mecidye, which had taken some return fire but was only lightly damage. A number of transports from the Resid Pasa Filosu were damaged but none had sunk. By 11pm, the Miguel de Cervantes had also been lightly damaged, and the Almirante Cervera was ablaze and listing badly, but remained under power.

​

A Spanish submarine flotilla arrived at this time, after which the main Spanish fleet managed to slip away in the darkness of the early morning. The battle formally ended at 6am the next morning when the Spanish subs were the last to depart the Coast of Cadiz. The Almirante Cervera had managed to escape, though barely afloat. Üngen pressed on: the invasion would continue. This ranked as a significant solo victory for the Turkish Navy in a surface action where they had been quite evenly matched with their opponents and no allied assistance had been available.

In West Africa, 19 Inf Div closed in again on the Spanish 7th Cavalry Regiment in Sidi Ifni and assaulted just before midnight. The battle ended the next morning with the surrender of the remainder of the enemy brigade: the infrastructure of Tan Tan was too poor for them to move into. This mini-campaign was successfully concluded.

​

Air Damage Report. The first day of air strikes on Soria killed 390 Spanish troops. The three Spanish raids in Hijar killed 69 Comintern troops.

OTL Event: Finland. The Continuation War between Finland and the Soviet Union came to an end with the signing of the Moscow Armistice.​

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20 Sep 44

Attempts by the two M/R wings (not really suited to the task) to hit the Spanish sub flotilla from 3am appeared to do little if any damage. By then, the Spanish fleet was holed up in Cadiz. At 7am, the Turkish fighters returned to flying a continuous CAP (air superiority mission) over the fleet.

And at 11am, as the troops began to head ashore, above them three Spanish fighter wings engaged – and seemed to have taken the upper hand by 1pm, with 8 & 9 AFs being withdrawn after they returned. Three wings of Turkish interceptors (4 AG) were rapidly rebased from Oran to Casablanca at 2pm that afternoon (so had to suffer the disorganisation penalty), but they were engaged over Casablanca as they attempted to head of for an intercept mission over the fleet that evening.

​

A furious dogfight ensued, with one Spanish and one Turkish wing each severely damaged. 4 AG was also withdrawn early the following morning, with a composite group being formed while the two most damaged wings were repaired.

Air Damage Report. The second day of air strikes on Soria killed 473 Spanish troops.

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Bisbee, Arizona

Life in Bisbee went on much as it had since before the war started. It was founded back in 1880 as a copper, gold, and silver mining town. Bisbee these days is the county seat of Cochise County in south-eastern Arizona, United States. It is 92 miles (148 km) southeast of Tucson and 11 miles (18 km) north of the Mexican border. In the most recent 1940 census, the population was 5,853, down considerably from its peak just after the First Great War.

Downtown Bisbee in May 1940.

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21 Sep 44

The troops of the Cadiz invasion force were all ashore and had secured Cadiz without a fight by 7am. The fleet then headed back for the safety of port in Tanger while the enemy fleet prepared to leave the now occupied port: no need to risk another naval battle when there were more troops waiting to be embarked back in Tanger.

Note: VP map mode with specific VP locations in red.
​

The Turkish and US Marines were soon spreading out to expand the beach-head as HQ 1 Marine Corps secure the city.

​

By 11am, the fleet was safely back in Tanger, the Spanish fleet having slipped out of Cadiz without the Turks having observed their course. They hoped one of the US, German or Soviet fleets that regularly patrolled the area might tangle with them. The fleet next picked up 2 Mot, 4 Mot and 1 Inf Divs, which had been resting in Tanger following their successful capture of Spanish Morocco.

By 6pm, these troops had been ferried across to Cadiz and added their weight (for the motorised divisions, their speed) to the landing. An unidentified Spanish fleet (perhaps even subs) was spotted in the Coast of Cadiz, but no engagement had occurred when the Turkish fleet headed back to Oran – where a few more Turkish divisions awaited their new mission.

​

At this time, the Foreign Ministry officially registered a war goal to claim Morocco from Spain permanently. Installing Communism could wait for now.

​

Back on the main central front, the drive on Madrid had left some gaps on the flank of the Turkish advance. Spanish infantry took advantage of this by slipping back into Almazán at 10pm that night. 1 BG was soon switched onto bombing them as the four lead divisions ignored the distraction. The following morning, the new 4 Mtn Div was sent in to hold and then evict the Spaniards.

​

But Spain was not ready to give up yet, sending bombers in to attack Edelhun’s men in Calatayud, which in turn triggered a response from the old Turkish fighters of 1 AF.

Air Damage Report. The third and last day of raids on Soria killed another 455 Spanish troops, for a total of 1,318.

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Los Angeles

Captain Ed Exley was in his still new office at LAPD HQ when a rather short and swarthy looking man was escorted into his office by FBI Agent-in-Charge in LA, Chief Special Agent Richard Hood. Hood was well connected: Ed had previously seen a picture of Hood with J. Edgar Hoover taken earlier that year in Hood’s LA office.

“Captain Exley, please let me introduce Mr Polat Cumali, an officer of the Turkish Milli Emniyet Hizmeti, or M.A.H. as I believe they abbreviate it. He’s here on a special investigation,” said Hood.

Exley looked a bit quizzical as he shook hands with the smiling and jovial but somehow dangerous-looking Cumali.

We last met Polat ‘Fat Pete’ Cumali a couple of years ago, running field operation in Switzerland, Vichy France, Monaco and Italy for Ambassador ‘Mike’ Ceylan. Among other things, he had arranged a little fishing expedition for Mike’s disgraced brother ‘Fredo’ Ceylan. After which Fredo was never seen again, ‘presumed drowned’. In reality, sleeping with the fishes.

“Hey, Captain Exley, call me ‘Pete’, please,” his ready smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. “I have a letter here that explains my, ah, request for assistance in a delicate matter.”

“Hey, Captain Exley, call me ‘Pete’, please.”​

The letter was from J. Edgar Hoover himself. Cumali also took out a worn manilla envelope with an official looking seal on it, spreading out some additional items on the desk. One was a badge, presumably of the MAH. There was a photo of a young man posing in a field uniform of some sort and a playing card.

“Perhaps you could take a look at these for me, Captain, and see if any of these, how do you say it hear, ‘ring a bell’ for you. Please, take your time.”

Left to right: The Hoover letter, the MAH badge, the portrait of the man in question, the playing card and (as Exley recalled it) the photo of Hood and Hoover he had seen in the agent's office. Note: the Hoover-Hood photo wasn’t part of the package presented that afternoon.​

What the hell is this guy doing with a picture of a young Bud White? Was Exley’s first thought, and then – and that strange calling card looked familiar, now when was it I saw that …

“Hmm, thank you Mr Cumali,” Ed replied carefully. A small smile from Cumali. “Ah, Pete. The photo looks to be of one of my Detective Sergeants, recently wounded in the line of duty, but as a younger man. The playing card looks vaguely familiar to me, but I will need to check our records. I’ll get back to you when I have more information on that.”

“Yes, Detective Sergeant Wendell ‘Bud’ White,” said Cumali in a languid tone. “You may be interested to discover there is more to him than meets the eye. Let me tell you a little story …”

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22 Sep 44

In the hard, cold world of the front lines, from 10am to midday 1 AF did it’s best to stop the two Spanish CAS wings that had been harrying 4 Mtn Div in Calatayud. By 1pm the raid was over, with some damage done to the enemy dive bombers and 21 Turkish troops killed on the ground as their attack on Almazán continued, with the air support of 1 BG. The latest dogfight seemed to have been enough to discourage the Spaniards from any further raids.

That evening, the Turkish fleet pulled into Oran at 5pm. The TCG Mesidiye (75% strength) and the Reside Pasa Filosu (70% strength) were detached for repairs. The rest of the fleet, though many ships were now carrying at least light damage, picked up 1 Armd Div and set out to ferry it to Valencia. It would reinforce the drive down the eastern coast with a speedier unit.

Then at 9pm, the report came from Edelhun: the attack on Almazán had ended in victory. Meanwhile, the lead elements were over the mountains and now approaching Guadalajara (another VP location).

​

Air Damage Report. The day of 1 BG ground attacks in support of the attack on Almazán killed 302 Spanish troops, while the single Spanish strike that made it through to Calatayud killed just 21 Turkish mountain troopers.

OTL Events: European Operations. Operation Wellhit ended in Allied victory when Boulogne fell to the 3rd Canadian Division. Operation Undergo now began with the objective of taking the French port of Calais. Units of the Red Army captured Tallinn and American troops captured the Il Giogo pass on the Gothic Line in Italy.​

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Ankara

“Director Ögel, here are the results of our analysis of the glass retrieved from New York,” said the S.I.T.H. Chief Scientist as he passed over a report to his ultimate boss. “The results are conclusive …”

“And they are?”

“It is all in the report, Director.”

With a good deal of curiosity, Ögel opened the sealed envelope …

… after reading it, he replaced the report and gave instructions to his secretary: “Cennet Kavgaci will want to see this. And send word to Cumali over in Los Angeles via the Consulate there. This may impact on his investigation.”

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23 Sep 44

The newly restarted domestic light tank research program saw an advance in armour which could now be applied to the old CV-33 brigade and the recently converted light tank brigades that had been equipped with indigenous vehicles. But more research capacity was needed for more advanced technology, so more effort was put into computing machines.

​

At 1am, with the battle for Almazán won, with no ground combat currently in progress, 1 BG switched its raids to harrying Spanish divisions moving through Ágreda. To the north, Logroño was liberated and the advance of two Spanish divisions that had been retreating there from Ágreda was blocked. 9 Inf Div, which had been following up, put in a quick attack but ran into strong initial opposition, even though the Spaniards were quite badly disorganised.

​

In the south, Comintern troops in the two invasion beach-heads were starting to widen them, with 2 Mot Div already overtaking their ‘leg infantry’ marine colleagues out of Cadiz. A Spanish blocking force that had appeared in the mountains north of Almería was being ignored for now.

​

Guadalajara was taken at 10am by the fast-moving 3 Cav Div, as 2 Armd Div closed in from the east.

​

While down in West Africa, Sidi Ifni was occupied by 19 Inf Div just before midnight: this was as far as they could advance for now, hemmed in to the south and east by impassable terrain.

Air Damage Report. The first two air raids on Ágreda killed 215 Spanish troops.

OTL Event, Hungary. The Soviet Army crossed into Hungarian territory.​

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24 Sep 44

At midnight, a detachment of Interior Minister Kaya’s dreaded Secret Police raided an upmarket apartment in Ankara. They had received a report earlier in the day from two Foreign Office officials who had been taking their morning coffee and baklava in a café near the Ministry building. A suspicious looking gentleman “possibly of oriental appearance, though it was hard to tell as he had been hiding behind a potted palm” had apparently been trying to listen in to their conversation.

Investigations that afternoon had led to this raid, where an agent who – under a none-too-gentle interrogation – had proven to be a Japanese spy. What little information he could be forced to divulge was extracted, then he was taken down to “the Basement”, where he was reputedly “neutralised”.

In southern Spain, Huelva was taken at 1am by 4 Mot Div as other units from the Cadiz beach-head made for Seville and Malaga, skirting around the British bastion of Gibraltar.

​

At the same time, up in the north 3 Cav Div had closed up to the outskirts of Madrid. Their attack found only a couple of Spanish HQs that were unable to put up a fight: the lightning dash had outrun any Spanish attempts to mount a serious defence of the capital. The whole province would ultimately fall early the next morning.

​

Air Damage Report. A full day of ground attack strikes on Ágreda killed 247 more Spanish troops as the fighting there continued.

---xxx---​

25 Sep 44

One piece of evidence found at the scene led to another Japanese spy being found the next day. A midnight raid in Istanbul found her bound on the Midnight Express for Ankara and ‘neutralisation’. Her ultimate fate remained unknown.

The supply situation in Spain remained acceptable, if a little patchy in parts of the Cadiz beach-head. But Cadiz was a large port and plenty of supply flowed through. A fair amount was shipped into Valencia to supplement the land routes and far less in Almería, but it supported a smaller invasion force.

​

At 3am, 4 Cav Div had been joined by 156 SD on a two-province wide advance from south of Valencia towards Murcia [1 VP] and the nearby port of Cartagena. In the centre, two hours later 3 Cav Div turned north from Madrid and began striking north for Valladolid [1 VP] as more forces came forward to secure Madrid behind them.

By that time, lead Turksih elements were two provinces south-east of Burgos, while the attack on Ágreda [85%] reached its last stages, with one of the defending divisions already retreating. Two hours later, the tough fight was done.

​

The major prize of Seville was secured without a fight by 2 Mot Div at 10am, bringing the Nationalist regime ever closer to surrender. Supply problems were delaying the advance on Malaga, however.

​

That evening, 3 AG (2 x F4F Wildcat wings) relocated from Valencia to Madrid and two Yak-7 wings from Toulouse to Barcelona. 1 BG, having finished its last run on Ágreda, also relocated from Toulouse to the large air base in Madrid.

Air Damage Report. The last two ground attacks on Ágreda killed 262 Spanish soldiers, bringing the total to 724 over three days.

OTL Event: Western Front. Operation Market Garden ended in defeat for the Allies when they failed to cross the Rhine.​

---xxx---​

26 Sep 44

The task force of newly delivered troop transports (3 x TP, 1 x AS, all about 1/3 organised) set out at midnight from Palermo to Oran, escorted by the TCG Reşadiye, to be ready for the next phase of amphibious operations, whatever that may be.

In the north, 171 SD was in Haro and marching on Burgos, while 3 Inf Div headed north to Bilbao. Neither had any Spanish opposition in front of them as yet.

​

No further battles, nor air attacks, occurred that day.

OTL Events: European Operations. The Tallinn Offensive ended in Soviet victory. The Battle of Arnhem ended in German victory. The British Eighth Army in Italy crossed the Rubicon.​

---xxx---​

Seville, Southern Spain

A small meeting of some key personnel occurred in the recently captured city. Cennet had just received a copy of the report from Ankara by courier. She opened it, to discover …

… the fingerprints on the ‘Veronica Lake glass’ were of, well, Veronica Lake. Her theory that Lake and the traitorous (in Cennet’s eyes, certainly) Perse Fotheringay-Phipps had somehow effected a ‘switcheroo’ in LA had been categorically disproved. The cross-check of at S.I.T.H. had confirmed Perse was not hiding in plain sight and had perhaps disappeared from Turkish and Soviet view forever.

Sharing a drink next to her was USMC LO MAJ Kenny ‘Wraith’ Loggins. There had been no combat for the US marines yet during the Cadiz landing. He had heard rumours of mayhem being caused behind the lines by the murky ‘Major’ Tyler Durden, but once more the elusive operative refused to make contact with Loggins, who believed he had in fact gone rogue, or was working now for the Turks rather than the US – if he ever had.

No longer able to dismiss his concerns, he had sent a confidential inquiry back to Washington to see if he could shed light on the whole sordid mess. He feared Durden’s actions could bring the reputation of the US into disrepute and that Durden in fact ran a whole battery of loose cannons!

Neither of the two mentioned these concerns to each other, nor shared them with Agent SkitalecS3, who had come over with the invasion for a bit of ‘fact finding’. They just smiled at each other, drank their sangria and celebrated the impending victory of the ‘Big Three’ Comintern partners.

---xxx---​

27 Sep 44

No battles were fought during the day, as Comintern forces advanced to secure key Spanish cities as soon as they could.

OTL Events: European Operations. Soviet troops and Yugoslav Partisans crossed the border into Albania. The Battle of Metz began in France.

---xxx---​

Los Angeles

As Fat Pete Cumali related it, it turned out that Bud White may have also been an operative of the MAH. Born in the US but raised for part of his adolescence in Turkey when his maternal grandfather – having rescued the young Wendell from an abusive father - had moved there with his grandmother for business reasons after the First Great War. According to Cumali, sometime during his time over there, he had been lured into working for Turkish intelligence.

“So, Captain Exley, ‘Bud’ White was our leading, how shall I put it, ‘wet operations’ agent in the US. Until recently, when we went out of contact after exceeding his guidelines. A certain US intelligence dignitary was in the wrong place at the wrong time and was unfortunately killed by White during a hit on another target.”

“Yes,” chimed in Hood, not looking too happy about all this. “Our investigation of the matter led back to the Turkish S.I.T.H. organisation, whose methods have not always been appropriate. Our friends at the MAH came clean when we confronted them with the evidence. Finding White and bringing him in is part of the process for them making amends both for the specific crime and for having run this clandestine operation in the US without our knowledge or clearance.”

“Quite so, Mr Hood,” nodded Cumali, trying (and failing) to give a plausible impression of humility. “That Jack of Spades was his calling card. Have you seen it here, in Los Angeles, in recent times? Do you know where White is at the present – I understand he is on convalescent leave somewhere.”

Exley paused, soaking this information in. It was at once difficult to believe, but also very easy to comprehend, given how Bud had handled himself during the saga with Dudley Smith. What, then had he been doing in Los Angeles? Was the episode with Smith linked, or just an incidental matter? Was Lynn safe with him – of from these Turkish goons should they be discovered? He certainly did now recall Lynn hand at one point been given such a calling card, presumably by White. Had it been a threat, or a warning?

Ed knew none of the answers to these questions, but retained his love for Lynn and blood debt to Bud. For now, he would try to mark time as he worked all this through. Should he warn Bud? Or Lynn – to get away from him? Or turn White into the FBI and MAH, to safeguard or even advance the national interest – and his career?

“This is all quite something to take in, gentlemen,” said a surprised and confused looking Exley. “I don’t know where Sergeant White is now – he headed off without saying where he was going. I’ll see if I can track him down for you. And we’ll do a comprehensive search of our records from the last, say, eight months, to see if we can shed any light on that playing card. But we’re very busy and short staffed right now, so I’m not sure how long it will take.”

Cumali looked a little dissatisfied, while Hood looked coldly stern.

“That may well be, Edmund, but this has the Director’s highest priority,” said the senior FBI Agent. “I suggest you put your best men on it. Right away.”

“Will do, Richard. At once!” But Exley, after his recent testing adventures, was not to be easily bullied. Though he did have a fair bit of thinking to do.

Spoiler: An Early Clue

The revelation about Bud White may come as a surprise to many humble readAARs, but a clue was placed way back on 20 April 1944 (Chapter 226) very much in plain sight, back when the L.A. Confidential story arc began:

“A new file was opened and Ögel would have to decide whether the Duke of Midnight (pictured below in the background holding the shotgun) should be pulled back or let loose.”​

Have a close look at that picture … It also reveals that the Turks are being a bit evasive with the FBI at this point: when this episode started in L.A., after the murders of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, the ‘Duke of Midnight’ was still acting under Ögel’s orders, even if may not be now.

---xxx---​

28 Sep 44

The Spanish holding positions in the mountains north of Almería were deemed a potential threat to supply lines as the beach-head expanded. An initial attack by 9 Gds Div soon had to be reinforced. And 1 BG, now well rested in Madrid, began strikes on Vélez-Rubio to support the attack.

​

By 6am the next day, the attack remained in the balance, but 97 and 217 SDs had reinforced the front line.

At 11am, the 2nd Task Force (led by the Reşadiye ) arrived in Oran to complete their work up training. Just before midnight the main fleet, with the Yavuz, Hamidiye and three escorting destroyer flotillas having undergone most of the repairs they required, set out from Oran with 16 Inf Div aboard to rebase in Cadiz.

Air Damage Report. The first day of raids on Vélez-Rubio killed 427 Spanish soldiers.

OTL Event: Yugoslavia. Soviet, Yugoslav Partisan and Bulgarian forces began the Belgrade Offensive.​

---xxx---​

29 Sep 44

Soviet troops occupied Burgos that afternoon, as the Turks tried to effect another small encirclement of Spanish troops trying to escape from Ágreda, with Turkish and German troops pushing up more slowly to Bilbao.

​

Late that night, the Turkish fleet completed its redeployment to Cadiz, now with the brand new Reşadiye joining them. But naval planners, working with amphibious consultant Professor Slorepee, discovered that a hoped for landing in north-western Spain was out of range, even from this most forward base to the objectives of Corunna or Vigo. One idea was to rebase the fleet to Bilbao when that was captured, then launch a coast-hopping operation from there to speed up the defeat of Spain at the end.

Air Damage Report. The second day of raids on Vélez-Rubio killed 257 Spanish soldiers.

---xxx---​

30 Sep 44

Air Damage Report. The fighting in Vélez-Rubio lasted for the rest of 30 September, as did the air strikes on it, killing 212 more Spanish garrison troops for a total of 896 so far from the last three days.

​

As the month ended, Nationalist Spain was clearly in its final days. Turkish battle casualties were fairly modest for the month, while for Spain, POWs and air strike casualties made up the vast bulk of their losses.

OTL Events: European Operations. The secondary stage of the Lublin–Brest Offensive concluded with Soviet objectives met. The besieged German garrison at Calais surrendered to Canadian forces. The Germans commence a counter offensive to retake the Nijmegen salient which had been taken by the allies in Operation Market Garden.​

---xxx---​

Theatre Summaries

There had been minor Soviet progress in the Far East and the rebellion on the Pacific Coast was proving persistent, but the war there seemed far from being concluded.

​

Little had changed in eastern India or South East Asia.

​

The British reported a broad stalemate on the Bengal-Burmese front.

​

Nothing had changed in Australia, New Zealand or the Pacific.

---xxx---​

Manpower and Industry

Turkey had accumulated a manpower reserve of 70,000 men by the end of September, with only 1,090 troops required to fill vacancies, with 34,300 new recruits coming in every month.

Production was healthy, with modest upgrade and reinforcement demands, supplies remaining sufficient at under 50 IC. This meant the large production queue could be entirely satisfied. A large fleet of surplus merchant shipping was in the pipeline so that shortages would hopefully be a thing of the past.

---xxx---​

Coming Up: Can the time remaining to the Nationalists in Spain now be counted in days, rather than weeks? Will there be a great peace conference to settle the New Comintern-dominated World Order in Europe? Which countries will be invited, where will it be held and who will chair it? And what will be done about the war in Asia, where Japan still held most of the gains it had made in recent years?

In the US, the plot has definitely thickened around Wendell ‘Bud’ White and his mysterious apparent double life as the Duke of Midnight. How will Exley handle this latest tricky and delicate situation? And what does it mean for Lynn Bracken – she must now be in some danger, whether directly or as ‘collateral damage’ from Turkish reprisals. What will ‘Wraith’ Loggins’ inquiry about Tyler Durden turn up? And with Cennet baulked in her search for Perse, will she let it go or keep trying to track her down? And would Ankara rather let that sleeping dog lie?

 

[roverS3]

Sevilla is nice this time of year. I must say I'm thoroughly enjoy the sights, the mix of Spanish and Moorish architecture , really gives the city it's own aesthetic. Considering how well the war is going, it's more of a holiday at this point. Honed by years of combat against the Axis war-machine, and bolstered by an increased naval transport capacity and modern armour, Turkey's modern iteration of R.A.W. is impressive to say the least. I'm sure the whole world is taking note of the blistering speed at which Turkey is steamrolling Nationalist Spain. Some might make the parallel with the German invasions of Poland and France.

Looks like the Far Eastern Front is struggling a bit with the wider front East of Lake Baikal, with potentially some supply bottlenecks due to supplies having to go around the lake. At least, progress is being made, and that encirclement pinning Japanese forces against the Lake is promising. Let's hope the Red Army can wipe a few Japanes units off the board for good there.

It's also encouraging to see that Japan's front in Burma has stalled entirely. This means that they probably won't be pulling out forces from there to slow down the Red Army, unless we start getting into Machuria and closer to the Japanese mainland. Let's hope they continue to stall the Allies while the Comintern takes back ground. We might yet see Communist China, Korea, maybe even Japan if things go on like this.

As for the events in the USA, I must say that I am impressed that MAH and Turkish intelligence managed to keep Bud White's role from the GRU. In retrospect, the signs were there. (loving the payoff from the little hint in that update from six months ago, it definitely didn't strike me at the time.)

Let's drink to our Spanish holiday,

SkitalecS3

 

[SSmith]

They encountered an almost fully repaired Spanish battle fleet, headed up by the ARNE España, that had slipped into the area undetected by any Turkish or allied reporting! Undaunted, Admiral Üngen led the attack on board the Turkish flagship and Pride of the Fleet, the mighty TCG Yavuz.

Not the surprise you want when you’ve got vulnerable troop ships packed full of men!

Fortunately, the Turkish Navy acquitted itself admirably in this dramatic action - but it certainly won’t have helped the Spanish cause to have their two dreadnoughts classed as heavy cruisers.

At the same time, up in the north 3 Cav Div had closed up to the outskirts of Madrid. Their attack found only a couple of Spanish HQs that were unable to put up a fight: the lightning dash had outrun any Spanish attempts to mount a serious defence of the capital. The whole province would ultimately fall early the next morning.

So Madrid falls without a fight? That shows just how badly the Spanish position has unravelled.

At midnight, a detachment of Interior Minister Kaya’s dreaded Secret Police raided an upmarket apartment in Ankara. They had received a report earlier in the day from two Foreign Office officials who had been taking their morning coffee and baklava in a café near the Ministry building. A suspicious looking gentleman “possibly of oriental appearance, though it was hard to tell as he had been hiding behind a potted palm” had apparently been trying to listen in to their conversation.

It's nice to know our two friends from the Foreign Ministry are still around. I can imagine them becoming quite concerned about this situation. Was the oriental-looking gentleman really an enemy agent or one of Kaya’s goons? Perhaps they were under some kind of suspicion? Should they risk attracting unwanted attention to themselves by reporting him or would it be safer to pretend they hadn’t even seen him? It seems they made the right call.

One piece of evidence found at the scene led to another Japanese spy being found the next day. A midnight raid in Istanbul found her bound on the Midnight Express for Ankara and ‘neutralisation’. Her ultimate fate remained unknown.

The unusually ambiguous outcome for this unfortunate woman reminded me of the fate of Yoshiko Kawashima - the Manchu princess/Japanese spy “neutralised” back in 1941 (chapter 131, if anyone’s interested) and last heard of securely locked away beneath Kaya’s headquarters. Do you suppose she’s still there now?

Soviet troops occupied Burgos that afternoon, as the Turks tried to effect another small encirclement of Spanish troops trying to escape from Ágreda, with Turkish and German troops pushing up more slowly to Bilbao.

Probably best now not to destroy them if you don’t have to?

Late that night, the Turkish fleet completed its redeployment to Cadiz, now with the brand new Reşadiye joining them. But naval planners, working with amphibious consultant Professor Slorepee, discovered that a hoped for landing in north-western Spain was out of range, even from this most forward base to the objectives of Corunna or Vigo. One idea was to rebase the fleet to Bilbao when that was captured, then launch a coast-hopping operation from there to speed up the defeat of Spain at the end.

Have the officers on the naval staff considered the operational radius of the individual ships in the fleet? It's quite possible it’s only one or two of the older vessels that can’t make the distance?

Cennet had just received a copy of the report from Ankara by courier. She opened it, to discover …

… the fingerprints on the ‘Veronica Lake glass’ were of, well, Veronica Lake. Her theory that Lake and the traitorous (in Cennet’s eyes, certainly) Perse Fotheringay-Phipps had somehow effected a ‘switcheroo’ in LA had been categorically disproved. The cross-check of at S.I.T.H. had confirmed Perse was not hiding in plain sight and had perhaps disappeared from Turkish and Soviet view forever.

Glad to have my faith in Perse’s good sense reaffirmed.

“Captain Exley, please let me introduce Mr Polat Cumali, an officer of the Turkish Milli Emniyet Hizmeti, or M.A.H. as I believe they abbreviate it. He’s here on a special investigation,” said Hood.

What the hell is this guy doing with a picture of a young Bud White? Was Exley’s first thought, and then – and that strange calling card looked familiar, now when was it I saw that …

Whoa! What?!?

“So, Captain Exley, ‘Bud’ White was our leading, how shall I put it, ‘wet operations’ agent in the US. Until recently, when we went out of contact after exceeding his guidelines. A certain US intelligence dignitary was in the wrong place at the wrong time and was unfortunately killed by White during a hit on another target.”

So the Duke’s gone rogue because of Lynn Bracken? Seems likely. It seems he is being put in the frame here for the assassination of General Guildenstern - but was he even involved in that? At the time the incident took place (chapter 211 – I’m having to do some serious homework this week!) we knew Cennet was responsible for poisoning the food, but there was also a waiter in the scene (who could have been the Duke) and it was open to interpretation whether he was involved.

Ed knew none of the answers to these questions, but retained his love for Lynn and blood debt to Bud. For now, he would try to mark time as he worked all this through. Should he warn Bud? Or Lynn – to get away from him? Or turn White into the FBI and MAH, to safeguard or even advance the national interest – and his career?

A tricky one for Ed. I suspect his loyalty to Lynn and Bud will win out here.

“A new file was opened and Ögel would have to decide whether the Duke of Midnight (pictured below in the background holding the shotgun) should be pulled back or let loose.”

Strangely enough, one of my first thoughts when Bud pushed his way into the investigation was to ask myself if he could be the Duke of Midnight! However, the back story you set out painted him as a genuine L.A.P.D. detective and very quickly (and completely) allayed my suspicions. I certainly never considered he might have Turkish connections!

 

[diskoerekto]

OTL Events: Western Front. Operation Market Garden began when Allied paratroopers landed in the Netherlands and Germany. The Battle of Arnhem began in the Netherlands. The 3rd Canadian Division began Operation Wellhit to take the fortified town of Boulogne in northern France. Operation Paravane ended when a bomb hit the German battleship Tirpitz, disabling her and causing the Germans to tow her south to Tromsø where she would be sunk in Operation Catechism two months later.

What a wonderful movie was A Bridge Too Far!

A Spanish submarine flotilla arrived at this time, after which the main Spanish fleet managed to slip away in the darkness of the early morning. The battle formally ended at 6am the next morning when the Spanish subs were the last to depart the Coast of Cadiz. The Almirante Cervera had managed to escape, though barely afloat. Üngen pressed on: the invasion would continue. This ranked as a significant solo victory for the Turkish Navy in a surface action where they had been quite evenly matched with their opponents and no allied assistance had been available.

The first naval encounter of this size and parity in this AAR! I enjoyed it a lot!

Exley looked a bit quizzical as he shook hands with the smiling and jovial but somehow dangerous-looking Cumali.

Things getting more interesting

“Yes, Detective Sergeant Wendell ‘Bud’ White,” said Cumali in a languid tone. “You may be interested to discover there is more to him than meets the eye. Let me tell you a little story …”

and even more interesting

… after reading it, he replaced the report and gave instructions to his secretary: “Cennet Kavgaci will want to see this. And send word to Cumali over in Los Angeles via the Consulate there. This may impact on his investigation.”

and yet more interesting

Spoiler: An Early Clue

Coming Up: Can the time remaining to the Nationalists in Spain now be counted in days, rather than weeks? Will there be great peace conference to settle the New Comintern-dominated World Order in Europe? Which countries will be invited, where will it be held and who will chair it? And what will be done about the war in Asia, where Japan still held most of the gains it had made in recent years?

The end is in sight for Spain, but wouldn't that leave Portugal like a sore thumb in the map? Just saying

 

[Midnite Duke]

Thank you for updating. Desert heat is good for healing, so I have been told. There are a few differences between the AccurateTimeLine and the ObsoleteTimeLine that will have major repercussions on the postwar world. 1) Victory Europe will be years before Victory Pacific. Will USA finance a European rebuild (Marshall Plan), while still involved in a Pacific war? 2) Japanese invasion of India, Australia and New Zealand will change Britain's focus. Britain will probably focus on Aus/NZ rebuild before Europe. (How badly did Germany bomb Britain in the ATL?) Will East Pakistan (Bangladesh) be granted independence when India is partitioned, or will Bangladesh/Burma need be rebuilt by UK before independence? 3) Will Eastern/Central Europe get started rebuilding while SU is dealing with Japan and will places liberated by Turkey remain non-communist? 4) With less VE involvement, will US be more isolationist? 5) At peace talks, will France have any role beyond pouring the wine?

 

[TheButterflyComposer]

Will USA finance a European rebuild (Marshall Plan), while still involved in a Pacific war?

Yes, they'll have to. Stalin is in western Europe already. Everything the allies have needs to be securely bribed into staying that way.

And we have discussed already the mountain of bribes and favours and bidding war that will go on between the USSR and the USA, over the UGNR.

 

[Wraith11B]

Certainly, I doubt De Gaulle will get quite the length of leash he got in OTL...

(BTW, @Midnite Duke , it's ATL for Alternate/AARs Time Line and OTL for Original/Our Time Line! Sometimes there is TTL for This Time Line, when specifically speaking for the AAR)

 

[Bullfilter]

True. Though I suspect @Midnite Duke was being a bit sarcastic? He’s a prolific inventor of Alternate Text Language for acronyms Anything is permitted in the TTTL

 

[SSmith]

Certainly, I doubt De Gaulle will get quite the length of leash he got in OTL...

As I recall, General de Gaulle is somewhere in the Congo in this timeline and doesn't wield any political power. From the British perspective, I think the main aim will be to persuade the French government-in-exile to pack their bags and return to Paris - something they have been noticeably reluctant to do so far.

 

[TheButterflyComposer]

I strongly suspect the french colonial empire is going to be dismantled in the peace agreements. The allies are going to have a hard enough time trying to get vichy France back, to bother with Algeria (clearly in turkeys sphere) and the far east (under Japanese occupation anyway).

 

[Bullfilter]

I will soon be playing the next phase of the Spanish campaign - not sure if it will end in this month or not. The Peace Conference beckons after that and I hope many of my dear readAARs may be willing to RP the various attendees who will be summoned to negotiate. More details on all that later.

Sevilla is nice this time of year. I must say I'm thoroughly enjoy the sights, the mix of Spanish and Moorish architecture , really gives the city it's own aesthetic. Considering how well the war is going, it's more of a holiday at this point. Honed by years of combat against the Axis war-machine, and bolstered by an increased naval transport capacity and modern armour, Turkey's modern iteration of R.A.W. is impressive to say the least. I'm sure the whole world is taking note of the blistering speed at which Turkey is steamrolling Nationalist Spain. Some might make the parallel with the German invasions of Poland and France.

Not too much resistance on the ground in the south-west - surprised them there. Spain in this case is outclassed in both equipment and experience. Given the terrain, it is a pleasing lightning/RAW campaign.

Looks like the Far Eastern Front is struggling a bit with the wider front East of Lake Baikal, with potentially some supply bottlenecks due to supplies having to go around the lake. At least, progress is being made, and that encirclement pinning Japanese forces against the Lake is promising. Let's hope the Red Army can wipe a few Japanes units off the board for good there.

Both supply and terrain are hindering things, one suspects, as well as Japanese proficiency. Other experience suggests this war would be a slow and grinding one, especially AI v AI.

It's also encouraging to see that Japan's front in Burma has stalled entirely. This means that they probably won't be pulling out forces from there to slow down the Red Army, unless we start getting into Machuria and closer to the Japanese mainland. Let's hope they continue to stall the Allies while the Comintern takes back ground. We might yet see Communist China, Korea, maybe even Japan if things go on like this.

For the Comintern, a stalemate in Burma may well be the best short-term outcome. Longer term, we'll see if the major belligerents in the east want to go on or come to terms. There are plans to invite the Japanese to preliminary negotiations in a neutral venue to test the possibilities for some arrangement.

As for the events in the USA, I must say that I am impressed that MAH and Turkish intelligence managed to keep Bud White's role from the GRU. In retrospect, the signs were there. (loving the payoff from the little hint in that update from six months ago, it definitely didn't strike me at the time.)

Let's drink to our Spanish holiday,

Bud played his role well - or has he gone native? The truth will out, eventually.

Not the surprise you want when you’ve got vulnerable troop ships packed full of men!

Fortunately, the Turkish Navy acquitted itself admirably in this dramatic action - but it certainly won’t have helped the Spanish cause to have their two dreadnoughts classed as heavy cruisers.

Indeed not, but I was very pleased with the way the Turkish Navy managed to hold its own, without Allied help this time, and stay on mission.

So Madrid falls without a fight? That shows just how badly the Spanish position has unravelled.

Yes, the mech advance was just to quick for them, while the encirclements deprived them of too many units.

It's nice to know our two friends from the Foreign Ministry are still around. I can imagine them becoming quite concerned about this situation. Was the oriental-looking gentleman really an enemy agent or one of Kaya’s goons? Perhaps they were under some kind of suspicion? Should they risk attracting unwanted attention to themselves by reporting him or would it be safer to pretend they hadn’t even seen him? It seems they made the right call.

Yes, they had to keep a low profile for a while as things got a bit sticky with Kaya, the Perse episode etc. But they are still around and will be playing a role in the formulation of Turkey's approach to the forthcoming peace conferences.

The unusually ambiguous outcome for this unfortunate woman reminded me of the fate of Yoshiko Kawashima - the Manchu princess/Japanese spy “neutralised” back in 1941 (chapter 131, if anyone’s interested) and last heard of securely locked away beneath Kaya’s headquarters. Do you suppose she’s still there now?

Nice pick up! Perhaps she (Kawashima) is ... and may even play a role in the near future (ie you've given me a nice little plot point - thanks ).

Probably best now not to destroy them if you don’t have to?

Probably, but if they present to tempting a target, the pink mist is likely to rise and a cruel fate befall them.

Have the officers on the naval staff considered the operational radius of the individual ships in the fleet? It's quite possible it’s only one or two of the older vessels that can’t make the distance?

Good point ... good to have an RN LO at the Supreme HQ. I shall check it out.

Glad to have my faith in Perse’s good sense reaffirmed.

Yes, as you picked it, she was never going to be that easy to nail.

Whoa! What?!?

So the Duke’s gone rogue because of Lynn Bracken? Seems likely. It seems he is being put in the frame here for the assassination of General Guildenstern - but was he even involved in that? At the time the incident took place (chapter 211 – I’m having to do some serious homework this week!) we knew Cennet was responsible for poisoning the food, but there was also a waiter in the scene (who could have been the Duke) and it was open to interpretation whether he was involved.

It is unclear to all sides (except Bud himself) when or even whether he may have gone rogue. Or is he playing an even deeper game than that? Even I'm not quite sure of that yet!

A tricky one for Ed. I suspect his loyalty to Lynn and Bud will win out here.

Maybe, but he's a survivor too - and no traitor to his country. A pretty problem indeed.

Strangely enough, one of my first thoughts when Bud pushed his way into the investigation was to ask myself if he could be the Duke of Midnight! However, the back story you set out painted him as a genuine L.A.P.D. detective and very quickly (and completely) allayed my suspicions. I certainly never considered he might have Turkish connections!

Both aspects were true, to an extent anyway. To be effective, his 'sleeper' cover needed to be as authentic as possible. Ed has not yet figured out Bud's full history yet ... and will that affect how he regards his former rival, now 'blood brother'? Hmmm ...

What a wonderful movie was A Bridge Too Far!

A classic.

The first naval encounter of this size and parity in this AAR! I enjoyed it a lot!

Very much so - and I really enjoyed it too, so decided to dive down into the details of the combat. And it comes for Turkey so close to the end of the War in the West.

Things getting more interesting

and even more interesting

and yet more interesting

Glad it kept you interested! There are a few more twists left yet, even as things approach their resolution.

The end is in sight for Spain, but wouldn't that leave Portugal like a sore thumb in the map? Just saying

Oh, very naughty! Though for now, Spain remains a fair target (as well as a Comintern victory objective). Maybe the US and British might be displeased by such an unwarranted expansion?

Thank you for updating. Desert heat is good for healing, so I have been told. There are a few differences between the AccurateTimeLine and the ObsoleteTimeLine that will have major repercussions on the postwar world. 1) Victory Europe will be years before Victory Pacific. Will USA finance a European rebuild (Marshall Plan), while still involved in a Pacific war? 2) Japanese invasion of India, Australia and New Zealand will change Britain's focus. Britain will probably focus on Aus/NZ rebuild before Europe. (How badly did Germany bomb Britain in the ATL?) Will East Pakistan (Bangladesh) be granted independence when India is partitioned, or will Bangladesh/Burma need be rebuilt by UK before independence? 3) Will Eastern/Central Europe get started rebuilding while SU is dealing with Japan and will places liberated by Turkey remain non-communist? 4) With less VE involvement, will US be more isolationist? 5) At peace talks, will France have any role beyond pouring the wine?

You are very welcome.
1) VE soon (really, the Spanish campaign just extended the timeline a little). The US would probably revert to supporting the Allied-aligned countries (mainly France?) after the Comintern 'marriage of convenience' breaks up in the post-war world. They may (depending on other geopolitical developments) be persuaded to do a Marshall Plan Light for the Turkish-aligned satellites, but suspect they'd leave those strictly in the Soviet (puppet) sphere to the Communists to deal with.
2) Britain's focus will probably be, as you say, only the Commonwealth, but India will still want its independence, among other more colonial parts of the old Empire. No real idea whether Germany bombed England much - I suspect not. Would have been more the other way around, I think.
3) I suspect Stalin will let their Eastern European sphere languish (probably not much different to the joys of Communist economic expertise anyway ), especially while the fight against Japan goes on. If it does. Turkey's aim would be for Kemalism-Inonuism in its sphere, rather than Communism. And whether that remains under the nominal Comintern banner or not would take time to decide too.
4) In-game, the US has already been very isolationist in strict military terms other than their small contribution to Turkey early on. The Comintern alignment (and lacklustre AI performance) have made them pretty passive, except in terms of providing great Lend-Lease. At home, they've felt compelled to garrison the Canadian and Mexican borders. But they will still have important interests in Europe, with Turkey and the increasingly important oil reserves in and around the Persian Gulf (owned by Turkey).
5) Yes, France will have a role! Albeit not as prominent as they would like.

Yes, they'll have to. Stalin is in western Europe already. Everything the allies have needs to be securely bribed into staying that way.

And we have discussed already the mountain of bribes and favours and bidding war that will go on between the USSR and the USA, over the UGNR.

True, and per above: "Give me a large enough lever and I will move the world". Turkey/UGNR wants to be that lever ... but who will wield it?

Certainly, I doubt De Gaulle will get quite the length of leash he got in OTL...

Agree.

As I recall, General de Gaulle is somewhere in the Congo in this timeline and doesn't wield any political power. From the British perspective, I think the main aim will be to persuade the French government-in-exile to pack their bags and return to Paris - something they have been noticeably reluctant to do so far.

True, but we'll see who is around when the Peace Conference starts. Even if I have to do a bit of narrative tweaking/minor save game modding!

I strongly suspect the french colonial empire is going to be dismantled in the peace agreements. The allies are going to have a hard enough time trying to get vichy France back, to bother with Algeria (clearly in turkeys sphere) and the far east (under Japanese occupation anyway).

Safe bet - and a slice of it has already gone to Turkey with the annexation of Vichy France.

So, thanks for all the comments. I'm off to play the next session now, will see where it takes us! It will be a few days yet before the next chapter comes out.