Chapter 79A: The Drums of War, Part A (7 to 13 June 1940)
Week Two of the Great Liberation War – the Eastern Front
Prologue – Editor’s Note
Now that the Second Great War has begun in earnest, I will try taking a weekly (game week) summary approach and provide commentary by each theatre or subject, rather than strictly chronologically. I will see whether that makes each entry more easily ‘consumable’ – or not. Happy to get feedback about such things and what readers find easier to take in at a single sitting (too long/short, too much/not enough detail, etc). I will be calibrating this as the war heats up or slows down (and also when Turkish units start engaging in more serious combat). To make it more readable, this chapter has again been broken into two parts – the Eastern Front and ‘the Rest of the World’.
I have also tried a few different map summary formats, in part to experiment, in part because different types of ops and situations – defending or attacking, Turkish, allied or co-belligerent reporting – seem suited to different types of summary. Detailed battle reporting will largely be reserved for those involving Turkey only, with the odd exception where an allied ‘info/reporting tag’ happens to coincide with an interesting battle in progress. Let me know if you find some formats better than others.
But my approach, as all along, remains to give a detailed coverage of all the events worth reporting, not just Turkey’s specific role, and to do so in a way that allows a fairly full alternate history to be related, plus narrative and character content along the way. And chapters will continue to vary in type and scope, as the events and your authAAR’s (or the characters') whims dictate! Various people who may not have been reported on for a while are still out there, going about their business. They will reappear as the circumstances demand, while new characters will come and go - as cameos or maybe for longer stretches.
1. Eastern Front: Turkish Sector, 7-13 Jun 40
Hungarian forces broke the Romanians in
Sânnicolau Mare (north east of
Timisoara), at 1300 on 7 June. Inönü, now in the field commanding the Turkish 1st Army from his HQ in
Kraljevo, ordered 8 Inf Div (Light) from its reserve position to safeguard the key Romanian VP location, which anchors the north of the Turkish defensive line. If lost, it could create a gap between the two armies.
Sânnicolau Mare subsequently fell at 0800 on 8 Jun, with 8 Inf Div still in
Jasa Tomic – the race could be close!
Three days later (at 0800 on 11 June), the race for
Timisoara is still on, with 8 Inf Div in
Lugoj. It looks like the Romanians are retreating to
Timisoara and the Hungarians are now heading south-west, but it is hard to tell for sure. In any case, this part of the front needs to be shored up and the rest of the Turkish defensive line has not yet been engaged, so 8 Inf Div pushes on.
By 2300 on 12 June,
Timisoara is secured and other Romanian forces seem to be pushing down to help reverse earlier Hungarian gains in
Sânnicolau Mare and
Arad.
Ljubljana (capital of the Slovenia GNR) fell to the Hungarians on 8 June. There have been no attacks on Turkish units yet, despite Hungarian units in the north-east of the line having been adjacent since 9 June. Perhaps the defences are too formidable for them to try! Instead, they seem to be sliding along to line to the south-west, perhaps in the hope of outflanking it: little do they know the whole line is now firmly entrenched all the way to the Adriatic. Other Italian and Hungarian forces approach from the north, but not yet in such strength to cause Inönü any concerns and he is happy to trade ground for time. The summary below shows the rate of advance of Axis units in former Yugoslavia from 7-13 June, from where they were at the end of 6 June. The Germans eventually took a couple of northern provinces and haven’t been seen since. Hard to tell whether they continue south and are out of sight, or headed elsewhere.
2. Eastern Front: Romanian Sector, 7-13 Jun 40
The boundary between the Turkish and Romanian sectors is proving troublesome: at 1300 on 7 June, word came through that Hungarian troops had occupied the Romanian border province of
Arad, and (as previously reported) were advancing on the adjacent
Sânnicolau Mare. The Hungarian attack was not in enough strength to cause a major breakthrough, but it is of concern. On the morning of 8 June, that ‘errant’ Romanian rifle division had passed
Odessa and was still heading east: word was sent through to the Romanian High Command to advise on where it was going. It took them some time to reply – perhaps they were stalling?
In better news, Romania, on the evening of 8 June, having secured
Kisvarda, were now marching north-west towards
Secovce: if pushed far enough – or met with a Soviet attack from the north – this could pocket up to six Hungarian divisions in the east of their country (the four shown defending on the map, and two more still retreating from their defeat at
Rachov).
8 June 1940: troops from Romanian MAJGEN Mitranescu’s
hard-charging 5th Inf Div continue their lightning offensive
to divide the Hungarian Army in two.
Two days later, the Romanians had taken
Secovce: would they push on further? Would the Soviets assist by striking west and trying to close the pocket?
By the evening of 11 June, the Soviets were continuing an attack on the Hungarian province of
Volove - welcome pressure, at last! We also noted a Soviet rifle division had moved into Romania – we hope to lend some support to operations, and not stake a claim on Bessarabia, Baltic States style! Surely not, now we’re all on the same side!
A heartening Romanian cavalry attack on
Arad has succeeded – the Hungarian defenders must have been weakened by previous casualties – and by the morning of 13 June the province had been liberated. The Hungarians also appeared to be pulling out of neighbouring
Sânnicolau Mare. By midnight on 13 June, gains in the Romanian sector easily outweighed any losses. In the north of the sector, they had continued to advance, with eastern Hungary now almost sealed of with the capture of
Humenne late that day, though the brave Romanian division that took it is very isolated – they need reinforcement, and the Turkish High Command will relay orders to that effect soon, by setting some objectives in the recently occupied provinces. And also for the Soviets to attack the one German-occupied province still connecting eastern Hungary to the rest of the Axis.
Arrows mark provinces which have changed hands in the last week (except for Arad which was lost and then won back by Romania). Yellow marks the front line at the start of the week.
And Romanian forces now seem to be switching south-east to reinforce the line in that area of the previous Hungarian attacks: though they might be better employed reinforcing the lightning advance to the north and strengthening the east Hungarian pocket. And Inönü finally found out where that Romanian division moving east was going
[Ed. had to wait to the end of the week to tag over, don’t want to be doing it too often, even just to look]: it transpires a corps of three Romanian divisions has been commandeered by the Soviets and ordered to the Far East Front, north of Manchuria! They are meant to be Turkey’s puppets, but Stalin was clearly not kidding when he declared they would be ‘taking over the war’. Ah well, we still benefit from the bargain, but that corps would have been useful in Hungary.
3. Eastern Front: Soviet Sector, 7-13 Jun 40
The Germans take
Lomza, due west of
Bialystock and north-west of
Brest-Litovsk, on the early afternoon of 7 June. However, Soviet tanks and infantry have begun to counter-attack in
Zambrow, immediately to the south. German strength in this area is clearly too little for now to sustain a real offensive there. At the same time, further north in Lithuania, a rash and isolated German breakout from
Rietavas and
Taurage is now being confronted by arriving Soviet forces from further east; the 5th Tank Division in
Kaunas; and a motorised division advancing from
Gumbinnen towards
Tilsit. It will be interesting to see whether the Germans will be able to block this apparent large gap in the north of their line.
By 1800 on 8 June, 5th Tank Div is advancing on
Raseiniai and the Germans are (wisely) retreating from there, back to the west, with other Soviet forces beginning to close in. Further south, Soviet tanks have retaken
Zambrow and it looks like the Soviets are reinforcing the attack with other units from the
Brest-Litovsk area. By early on the morning of 9 June, 5th Tank Div has retaken
Raseiniai and is driving on towards
Taurage, being followed up by the best part of an infantry corps. A few hours later, at 0700, a Soviet submarine patrol reports a large column of unidentified German units in line of march, stretched out from the west of
Danzig to past
Konigsberg, along the Baltic coast and heading towards Lithuania. There could be more units further inland, but if there are they can’t be detected. It seems the Germans are awake to the threat!
The Germans have also not been idle in the
Bialystock and
Brest-Litovsk area (memories of Max Bialystock and
‘Springtime for Hitler’ come flooding back to members of the Turkish command when they hear that city’s name mentioned in dispatches). They take
Augustow at 8pm on 10 June, though heavy Soviet reinforcements seem to be heading their way. German multi-role aircraft can also be seen pounding Soviet positions in
Zambrow, a sign their air efforts at least are being split between the Western and Eastern Fronts.
While two German infantry divisions continue to advance along the Baltic coast in Lithuania – further into danger of being cut off – the Soviet 5th Tank Div has retaken
Taurage and now strikes north-west to
Rietavas, in what appears to be an attempt to cut the Germans off. Meanwhile, the Soviet 163 Tank Div has now rushed through and taken
Tilsit, to widen the Soviet bridgehead into East Prussia, with more Soviet forces starting to reinforce the front. It will be interesting to see what happens if they clash with those German reinforcements spotted the day before heading through
Konigsberg. There could be a genuine encounter battle brewing in East Prussia.
A BT-7M medium 'fast tank' of the Soviet 5th Tank Div races
through Taurage on its way to Rietavas, in Lithuania.
By the evening of 11 June, the first German reinforcements have begun to appear in East Prussia, forming a hasty defensive line east of
Konigsberg, but their two divisions in Lithuania continue to advance recklessly. What they cannot see, but we can, is about two corps of Soviet reinforcements heading their way, though still more than three provinces away. The Soviet 5th Tank Div seizes
Rietavas, immediately east of
Memel (which is unguarded), at 0300 on 13 June: they are close to cutting the German’s Lithuanian assault off from its supply lines. The 2nd Armd Bde, equipped with BT-7M medium tanks (the same Turkey has on order from the Soviets, that has superseded the T-28) is the division’s tank spearhead.
A short excerpt from 2nd Armd Bde’s battle diary for the week follows:
The Brigade began the week in Kaunas, preparing to liberate Raseiniai – whose open plains are perfect tank country. The Fascist infantry had no stomach for the fight and were already in retreat. Orders to move were soon received, and by 1800 on 8 June we were in hot pursuit of the Fascists – who were fleeing south-west like the beaten curs they surely are. Comrade Stalin’s wisdom in attacking the Germans while they fight the Capitalists in the West has surely been vindicated!
Lead elements of the Brigade entered Raseiniai at 0500 on 9 June, to find the Germans gone. Racing along in the hope of catching them and administering some Soviet retributive justice, the unrelenting advance continued south-west to Taurage, which was retaken at 2000 on 10 June. We cannot tell whether the enemy has moved beyond our visibility or dissolved into the wooded countryside: alas, there will be no battle today. New orders come through straight from HQ 8ya Armiya: 5th Tankovaya Diviziya is to head immediately north-west to Rietavas, on the border with East Prussia.
There are reports of German forces to the north who we hope to trap in a pincer movement. The night of 13 June finds the Brigade holding in the forests of Rietavas. A lone German infantry division has been sighted to the north, while the East Prussian port of Memel lies open to the west. We can smell the Baltic from our forward positions and seabirds can be spied! With no orders, our brave Red Army soldiers chafe: whichever direction we are ordered to take, they are ready to keep the wind in their hair and get the enemy in their sights. They wish to continue the rapid advance that has seen them secure three enemy held provinces in six days. Onwards to Victory and Liberation! Long Live Stalin and the Rodina!
A composite map of the Soviet sector shows positions at midnight on 13 June. The Germans have now gathered in some force east of
Konigsberg and are counter-attacking the Soviets in
Tilsit. To the north, the advance elements of the Soviet reinforcing columns in Lithuania have begun to close with the German incursion there. With the Soviet 5th Tank Div paused in
Rietavas, perhaps Inönü will telegram a suggestion to the Soviets to drive on to
Memel and pocket those Germans if they don’t look like ordering it themselves. They may well ignore such ‘interference’, but it wouldn’t hurt to suggest it
[ie. via an objective]. The situation around
Bialystock remains confused, but more fighting looks likely soon. Of note, no German panzer or motorised divisions have yet been spotted anywhere on the Eastern Front. Either they remain in France, or some could be
en route by rail but as yet unseen.
A grand strategic summary of the whole Eastern Front situation at midnight on 13 June is shown below. The battle lines are drawn all the way from the Baltic to the Adriatic. A few Soviet units can be seen heading towards both the Romanian and Turkish sectors: perhaps some of them are answering the call for reinforcements to muster in
Beograd, possibly even as Expeditionary Forces (EFs). The Turks anticipate the fighting will continue to intensify and become general along the whole front before the month ends.
(Part B - Other Fronts - continued below)
