Chapter 92: The Year the World Burned (16 August to 1 September 1940)
1. Prologue
As the War Cabinet meeting concludes, Persephonee finds herself still Acting Editor of the
Path to Glory 'news' (ie state propaganda) magazine. She is in need of an editorial for the next day’s edition. An anonymous letter has been provided by a mysterious source. The author seems to be classically educated and perhaps some insider bureaucrat in the foreign affairs or state security apparatus.
There seems to be something almost Shakespearean about the language, she thinks to herself …
[ahem!]
Anyway, the author has volunteered this piece for the
PtG’s use and it seems just the kind of jingoistic pro-government bromide needed at this time. With just a little editing for the readership (she wouldn’t use the term ‘dumbing down’, out loud, anyway), it will do just fine. She has been very busy of late, trying to impress her Turkish employers in the hope of not only replacing BJ Guildenstern as the editor of the
PtG, but indeed assuming his overall role as the chief consultant in the propaganda department. She is fully dedicated to this purpose, with a surprising fervour and determination: this has been noticed by her superiors. If this latest foray works well, she could be offered the position, at which time she has a few good ideas to throw into the mix. Including a name for the editor of the new pro-Comintern tabloid they are looking to launch soon.
Editorial for the Path to Glory, Edition XCII, 17 August 1940
Loyal Readers, Patriotic Turks! To mark our entry and continued success in the Great Liberation War to Defeat Fascism, we present this rousing tribute to the power and bravery of Turkey and the Union of Glorious National Republics. It describes the first days of the war and our march to meet the Fascist enemy. Read on, and let these words inspire pride and determination in the bosom of every citizen.
Now all the youth of Turkey are on fire,
And fancy clothing in the wardrobe lies:
Now thrive the armourers, and honour's thought
Reigns solely in the breast of every man:
They trade the plough now for the gun,
Following the example of our Glorious Leaders,
With winged heels, as if Turkish Hermes.
For now sits Expectation in the air,
And hides a bayonet from hilt up to the point
With liberation, glory and laurel wreaths,
Promised to the Milli Şef and his followers.
The Germans, advised by good intelligence
Of this most dreadful preparation,
Shook in their fear and with pale policy
Sought to divert the Turkish purposes.
O Turkey! model to your inward greatness,
Like little body with a mighty heart,
What might you do, that honour would you do,
Were all your children kind and natural!
But see your fault! Germany has in you found out
A nest of hollow bosoms, which he fills
With treacherous spies and Mafia gangsters.
One, Virgil Sollozzo called ‘The Turk’, and the second,
Muhtar, Captain of Polis, and the third,
Bruno of Tattaglia, in far off Sicily,
Did, for Fascist gilt, - Oh guilt indeed!
Confirm a Great Conspiracy with fearful Italy;
That by their hands our Glorious Milli Şef would die,
If hell and treason hold their promises,
Before he should head to the Front, and in Istanbul.
Linger your patience on; and we'll digest
The abuse of distance; force a play:
The sum was paid; the traitors were agreed;
The President set out from Ankara; and the scene
Was set, gentlefolk, in Istanbul;
Where this foul plot was laid to rest:
Two plotters righteously dead, the other still distantly abed;
And after to the Front the President was safely conveyed.
Two strikes and yet a third to be made dead!
Like a Winged Hermes do Turkish youths rush to the colours to defend the Motherland and fight Fascism!
This last will also serve as a public message to the Tattaglia clan and the Mafia more widely: designed to cow them and publicly proclaim that they will be “done slowly”, to force them into rash error or craven hiding. If Bruno did not already know it, he is a very obviously marked man.
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2. Contingency Plan Orange – Reorganisation
No sooner had Cabinet (
16 August) decided on its plan to prepare for a possible strike in Hungary than forces began to receive their orders. Initially, the selected units for the new force were ordered to the assembly area in
Timisoara, where one of the intended units – 8 Inf Div (Lt) – already waited. HQ 3 Corps would eventually be placed in command. Reallocation of corps commands across the front would occur once units were largely in place.
As discussed in Cabinet, 1 Cav Div (now basically an armoured division) and the pride of the army – the mighty 1 Inf Div – would join them, along with the more recently raised 12 Inf Div (Support). Normal movement would be used, to save supplies and ensure the units being moved would be ready to fight at any time along the way or on arrival. 1 Cav Div arrived in
Timisoara on
25 August, HQ 3 Corps on
27 August and 1 Inf Div on
28 August, with 12 Inf Div still on the way (it would still be travelling at the end of the month).
Corps command reorganisations are carried out on the night of
28 August. On the south of the
Yeniçeri Line, 3 Inf Div was reallocated to 2nd Corps, which is now spread with one division across five frontline provinces from the Adriatic north-east to
Visegrad, where the corps boundary with 1st Corps will run. The only reserve is the reinforced Corps HQ itself. However, it is good defensive terrain and the front has been very quiet, so the risk will be run until a new reserve can be constituted.
1st Corps is allocated 6 Inf Div (in
Ada) and 9 Inf Div (in
Kikinda), on the most active part of the line: north-east from
Visegrad to the Romanian border. With two divisions defending
Sabac (on the boundary with 2nd Corps) and two in the hotspot of
Ada (10 Inf Div where will remain under 3rd Corps command for now), the only reserve is again the Corps HQ, located in
Beograd.
HQ 3 Corps now has its full quota of divisions attached, although 10 Inf Div cannot yet be spared for offensive tasks and will need to man the defensive line in support of 1st Corps until more troops can be found to man it (or 15 Inf Div is returned from its duties in the Mediterranean).
And early on the morning of
1 September the impressive new Soviet-licensed tank destroyer brigade was raised in
Kikinda and immediately sent to
Timisoara, where it would join 1 Cav Div and reinforce to full strength.
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3. The Second Battle of Ada
29 Aug 40
Staying on the
Yeniçeri Line, soon after the corps reorganisations were completed, the Axis launched another attack on
Ada, at 1am. It seemed this would be the focal point of their efforts! Things started off in a similar fashion to the earlier attack, with this time a Slovakian division leading the assault across the river from
Srboban. Despite their superior leadership and tactics, the battlefield balance was very heavily weighted against the attackers, who are assaulting entrenched troops defending a river line. Given the relative lack of action on the Turkish front for the last few months and the importance of this engagement as a test of the plan to strip additional forces from the line for a possible attack in Hungary, there will be quite a detailed focus on this battle.
But only two hours later, the Slovakians were joined by two German infantry divisions, currently in reserve, with the attack now coming from three separate directions. This may prove a sterner test than in the first battle. At least the Plan Orange forces are concentrated nearby if support is needed (either a diversionary attack on the German 28th Inf Div in
Senta or reinforcements for
Ada).
Alarmingly, by 8am both the German divisions have reinforced – very unlike last time, when the supporting divisions never did. This improves the Axis’ odds significantly. In addition, Hungarian aircraft have begun bombing the gallant Turkish defenders, causing 92 casualties in two comparatively light raids that day.
30 Aug 40
By 2am the next day, in the face of a gradually declining position, the Axis forces, commanded by the Slovakian MAJGEN Turanec
[SK3], go all out with an attempt at a
masterful breakthrough. The less experienced Turkish commander, MAJGEN Gürler
[SK1], does his best to counter this with
delay tactics.
The battle rages all that day, but by 8pm the German 28th Inf Div withdraws from the battle and is in retreat from
Senta. The Slovakian 2nd Inf Div has lost a lot of organisation but remain persistently committed to the battle. So far, the defence of
Ada is looking solid, so no plans are made to send any reinforcements.
31 Aug 40
The battle goes on and by 5am that morning, the Slovakians stubbornly remain in the battle and Italian aircraft join in, but the effort is now fading badly. In four Italian air raids over the next 24 hours, Turkish defenders sustain 449 casualties. In acknowledgement of the Slovakian efforts, visiting Slovakian President ('Vodca') Jozef Tiso is granted an audience with Hitler, who is hosting a meeting of the Axis leadership the next day to commemorate the anniversary of the launch of their war of aggression, a conflict which has now spread to become the
Second Great War. This petty dictator is feted by Hitler now - but should beware if he ever comes before a Peoples' Court (either Soviet or Turkish) in the future!
By 9am that morning the Slovakians are on their last legs and by 1pm they finally pull out of the battle, but hold their position in
Srboban, leaving the command of the battle to German MAJGEN von Stülpnagel and his still relatively fresh 17th Inf Div. The Turkish 6 Inf Div has by now suffered some attrition, but still appears to be holding strong. With no other Axis reinforcements seen nearby, and despite continuing Italian air raids every eight hours, it looks like they will hold comfortably.
1 Sep 40
By 7am on the anniversary of the start of GW2, the battle continues, with the Germans now trying
shock tactics to try to blast their way through, but are making little headway.
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4. Operation Rodos Devi
16 Aug 40
The other operational decision to emerge from the
recent Cabinet meeting was the plan to probe
Rhodes in preparation for a possible invasion (
Op Rodos Devi – ‘Colossus of Rhodes’). This would commence with an air phase, with the Navy and 15 Inf Div waiting in readiness should the circumstances seem propitious to do so.
15 Inf Div and the main fleet are already concentrated in
Athens and ready for immediate loading and operations, as required. Orders are given for Hitay’s interceptor wing in Crete to maintain continuous air superiority patrols over
Rhodes, while Örlungat’s tactical bombers are trying a new (for Turkey) tactic: they are going to hit the Italian airfield to try to damage facilities and impede the Italian’s naval bombers. The plan is to see how the air engagements pan out, then switch to ground preparation attacks later. Örlungat is using this operation as something of a battlefield testing ground – he will be very cautious before ordering ground attacks and a naval landing here. It also means, in an emergency, 15 Inf Div can still be sent by rail to the front if it is needed during the reallocation of forces there. By 12:00, the first airfield cratering raid on
Rhodes is in progress.
In four raids on
16 and 17 August, the Turks do around 40% damage to the airfield, reducing in from four to about two and a half wings repair capacity. But only two Italian wings are based there and the attrition on the Turkish TAC wing’s low organisation (unimproved by any doctrine advances) sees a rest ordered. These are mixed results, but interesting for the air force’s strategists.
20 Aug 40
There is a short air battle over Rhodes. Little damage is done on either side and no conclusive results are apparent.
Given the Italian air sortie and after a few days of rest, Örlungat’s Blenheims resume cratering attacks on
Rhodes the same day. A report from one such raid (on
21 August) is shown below.
23 Aug 40
Over the following three days 40% more damage is again done to the airfield, reducing (and noting repair efforts) its efficiency to about 1.75 wings at a time. But by the morning of
23 August organisation is again run down
[to around 21 out of 34 maximum], so Örlungat again orders his bombers to rest. Once back up to strength, they will be directed to ground attack role to attempt a pre-invasion ‘softening up’.
28 Aug 40
As part of the general corps reorganisation, 15 Inf Div is reallocated from HQ 3 Corps to HQ 1st Army Group, in preparation for any naval landing.
31 Aug - 1 Sep 40
There is another inconclusive interception of Italian naval bombers over Rhodes on 31 August. And on the morning of 1 September, Örlungat reports the organisation of the tactical bombers is back to about 84%
[28.5/34.0]. He won’t send them back in until they are back up to full strength, because once committed to ground attack they will be run to the point of exhaustion.
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5. Strategic Summaries
The monthly ACCC report is exchanged with the Allies and the usual reports from Comintern partners are compiled for a special
‘Anniversary of the Outbreak of GW2’ presentation to Cabinet members (provided on this occasion as a written dossier).
France
One year on, Germany has made slow but steady progress on the Western Front. Denmark, Holland and Belgium have been occupied, while a large slice of northern France is also now under the German jackboot. With the occupation of
Troyes [2 VP] in the last fortnight, French surrender progress gradually climbs but is not yet at a critical level.
France, overall situation 1 September 1940.
A more detailed map shows the tactical situation as reported by the French. Although there have again been no lightning breakthroughs, there are two principal areas of concern. First is the group of four provinces to the north-east of
Paris that have been won by the Germans. This isolates
Calais in the north and approaches ever closer to the capital itself, with the occupation of the forests of
Arras,
Amiens and
Compeigne. The second area of concern is in the centre, where the Germans have taken the key city of
Troyes and a wide band of provinces in a line south-east to
Xertigny. This is an area of open terrain with few natural obstacles left. It also threatens to isolate the remaining strongly held portion of the
Maginot Line.
There has been no change in the situation in southern France, nor on Sardinia, where France has occupied
Cagliari but advanced no further. But in the last two weeks, there
has been some action in French North Africa, with a single Italian militia division having seized four Tunisian provinces unopposed.
Tunisia, 1 September 1940.
Western Desert
This theatre has seen Britain basically hand over the whole campaign to the Iraqi Army, which appears to have the Italians completely on the run. Over the last two weeks they have thrown the Italians out of the key city of
Tobruk [3 VP] and defeated them in
Gazala, where two enemy divisions are in danger of being surrounded and bagged if the Iraqi 4th Inf Div can complete a flanking move into
At Tamimi. Of course, with their French allies under the hammer, this begs the question of what the hell Britain is doing elsewhere!
Hungary
Early in the preceding period, Romanian and Soviet forces were able to break through from
Bekescsaba and advance as far as
Szolnok on
24 August, prompting Inönü to add
Budapest to the list of objectives Turkey has asked the Soviets to target (it was already a Romanian objective). But a strong Axis counter-attack soon saw
Szolnok retaken on
25 August and then then rolled on to retake
Bekescsaba by late on
31 August.
Along the front, provinces were swapped back and forth by Romania and Hungary – with the much-contested
Debrecen yet again changing hands and back in Hungarian possession, meaning all the victory objectives in Hungary are again back in enemy hands. In the south,
Senta was again seized by the Axis on
25 August, which (as we saw above) was then used as a base for flanking
Ada a couple of days later. This also prompted the Romanians being asked on
27 August to defend Timisoara (which borders
Senta), so that the contingency assault force can be freed up in case it is called into action.
By
1 September, the Soviets seem to have thinned out their forces present in Romania, which has undermined the earlier advances, given a large proportion of the Romanian Army is now headed to the Far East (another corps at least looks to have been put on trains towards the Far Eastern Front. Conditions there are not yet propitious for a major Turkish offensive.
Soviet Sector
Few provinces have changed hands on the Soviet Sector after another two weeks, but one of them is significant: the fortified city of
Bialystock. To the north, a large Soviet attack seems to be going in on
Tilsit and
Gumbinnen, but the Soviets appear to be retreating along the Lithuanian SSR border. The see-sawing pattern of combat continues: clearly, without any armour in play, the Germans will find it hard to make any big gains here, even with the inspiration of Hitler’s Destiny propaganda still in force. It is a war of attrition that will hopefully break them in time.
However, with
Bialystock lost, further south
Bielsk Podlaski was taken, in turn threatening the important centre of
Brest-Litovsk. Though it looks like a Soviet counter-attack is set to retake
Bielsk Podlaski. In the Polish Salient over the Bug River, the Germans have managed to retake
Jaroslaw and are attacking
Bilgoraj – though Soviet snipers take a heavy toll in this close combat. More promisingly, a corps-sized Soviet assault is going in on
Krasnystaw, led by a powerful medium tank division, fighting a division German SS Panzergrenadiers (among others). The German line is thin here, so it will be interesting to see if any real headway can be made in September.
A large scale map shows the current front line across the entirety of the Eastern Front.
Far East
The Romanian reinforcement vanguard is now half-way between the
Aral Sea and
Lake Balkash.
The situation further east remains dire, with the Soviet Far Eastern forces still not out of danger of encirclement.
The main body of the Soviet Far Eastern forces remain in headlong retreat – which is just as well, given the danger they are in of being cut off by Japanese advances from Manchuria (Manchukuo) further west. There is a long way to relative safety yet.
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6. General
16 Aug 40
News Report: Washington DC, US. The Spanish Surrealist artist Salvador Dalí and wife Gala arrived in New York to escape the war in Europe.
Dalí photographed by Carl Van Vechten on 29 November 1939. Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquis of Dalí de Púbol (b. 11 May 1904) is a prominent Spanish surrealist artist.
Dalí’s extraordinary ‘Persistence of Memory’, painted in 1931.
17 Aug 40
News Report: Elwood, Indiana, US. Wendell Willkie makes a speech in his hometown of Elwood, Indiana formally accepting the Republican nomination for President. Willkie promises to return "to those same American principles that overcame German autocracy once before, both in business and in war, to out-distance Hitler in any contest he chooses in 1940 or after."
19 Aug 40
News Report: Washington DC, US. Gallup publishes the results of a poll asking Americans whether they approved of a proposal to sell 50 old destroyers to England. 62% approved of the idea, 38% disapproved.
23 Aug 40
News Report: London, UK. King George VI commands that the names of all Germans and Italians be stricken from the lists of British titles and decorations. The order affects Benito Mussolini, who had been made a member of the Order of the Bath in 1923, as well as King Victor Emmanuel III who had been a member of the Order of the Garter. No prominent Nazis are affected as few Germans hold any British titles.
24 Aug 40
News Report: Oxford, UK. A team of pathologists at Oxford University including Howard Florey, Ernst Chain and Norman Heatley publish laboratory results in The Lancet describing methods for the production of penicillin and the effects of its chemotherapeutic action on lab mice.
31 Aug 40
Naval Report. In the last two weeks, one more German submarine flotilla has been sunk, bringing the total since the war began a year ago to nine. No other naval units are reported sunk since 15 August.
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7. Secret War
In Zurich, Vito and Sonny Ceylan debate the way ahead for the S.I.T.H. campaign against the Mafia in Sicily. Sonny chafes under his father's more conservative approach, but would not dare openly defy him. After the failed attempt by Luca Brasi to infiltrate the Tattaglia crime family, Cennet is also recalled to Zurich. Darth Kelebek takes advantage of the slow period to make one of his trademark ‘disappearances’ – to do who knows what. Rumours of him heading towards Mt Etna (conveniently located in Sicily, not far from the Tattaglia’s home base) for some kind of ‘rest cure’ cannot be confirmed. Apart from a cryptic remark about ‘fond memories of 1766’, as usual nothing is confirmed or denied.
An artist’s impression of Mt. Etna’s eruption in 1766.
No spies were apprehended in the Glorious Union during this time – fortunate for them, given Kaya’s continuing ill-humour following the Cabinet meeting of 16 August. Had he caught one, he may have tried to rival the cruel ferocity of Kelebek’s interrogation techniques, such was his residual anger and rededication to maintaining harsh internal security and repression.
For their part, the Tattaglia’s also laid low for now, as too much violence can be ‘bad for business’. They also consider themselves to be secure in their Sicilian stronghold. Time will tell as to whether that is a safe assumption. They do not yet rise to any propaganda baits offered by the Turks: they disdain the efforts of those Turkish
pezzonovante and their laughable literary barbs in the latest
Path to Glory magazine. Verbally threaten a Sicilian? Amateurs! Though Bruno Tattaglia has recently doubled his security detail and now avoids public places.
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Coming Up: Has the French campaign become a ‘long slow wave goodbye’? Or do the Germans lack the numbers in the west to back up their panzer divisions and deliver a knockout blow before winter. The battle in
Ada looks like it may soon be ended favourably, but will the Axis try again, there or elsewhere on the
Yeniçeri Line? Will the Iraqi Army go all the way and toss the Italians out of Libya? Will the British Army do
anything, let alone rescue their hard-pressed French allies on the Western Front? Probably not!
The situation in Hungary and on the Eastern Front looks like it will continue to be closely contested for the foreseeable future – but will an opportunity present itself for a Turkish offensive in coming weeks or months? And will the trigger be pressed for a full attack on
Rhodes, or will the passage of time and innate caution prevent the risk being taken? And finally, can the Soviets rescue their beleaguered forces in the Far East and somehow stabilise a defensive line further west – where even the independence of Mongolia is in danger?
. The GU is starting to approach the SU in size, scope and diversity, if not in power, population or economic capacity. Such rivalries are natural.
