Where are they in relation to the front and are they still alive? If we can somehow yoyo the axis between focusing on rebels and us, that would be good. Or have revolts spread all over the place, the further west the better.
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Where are they in relation to the front and are they still alive? If we can somehow yoyo the axis between focusing on rebels and us, that would be good. Or have revolts spread all over the place, the further west the better.
If (I reaaaaalllyyy hope not) Toüdemür dies, you can write it so that he is not dead but covertly sent to Poland to courageously charge panzers with a lance and wings.Maybe Luca Brasí, but he’s still in recovery mode. And, alas, Polish uprisings almost always end up being wild goose chases. Valiant but doomed.
Speaking of which, I remember I was going to write a small something about him.
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Will cover that in the next update: nothing much changes there in 4 days and I wanted to keep the chapter length in some kind of control.
No revolts spreading, too far away for me to be able to affect or make use of, but as noted above it could be helping the Soviets in the Ukraine. Polish revolts tend to come and go in HOI3, like the seasons. Commanders don’t die in battle in HOI3 - just sometimes pre-programmed old age, I think. So Toüdemür should be safe.
PS: a winged hussar maybe? I like the reference. The Polish cavalry weren’t bad against German armour, but to be fair they used AT guns and never actually charged with lances, though it is a popular and romantic myth.
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Speaking of which, we're REAAALLY very lucky Wehib Pasha is still there with us, he should be at least 65 by now and those guys didn't have the longest lifespans.Commanders don’t die in battle in HOI3 - just sometimes pre-programmed old age, I think. So Toüdemür should be safe.
I'm guessing the pre-programmed old age hits at new year's day just like how all agents are caught at midnight?
I do not remember such a story point but did we ever lost a special general and that got mentioned in the narrative?
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I think it is a 1 January thing. There's a wiki page somewhere that lists them, I think start and (if applicable) death dates for generals and political figures.
No, only narrative characters have been killed - plus the special game event of Ataturk, of course.
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Cemil Cahid was the son of Mehmet Cahid, who had to flee the Circassian Genocide from Imperial Russia to Ottoman Empire, present day Turkey. They were the part of a Ubykh family called the Therhets. A small aside I will make about the Ubykhs. They are one of the 12 Circassian tribes, one of the most proud people of the world. The first Turkish Miss Universe was another Ubykh refugee, and Atatürk himself gave her the surname "Ece" (Queen) when the surname law was passed. She recently passed away in 2012 at 99 years old.
The Ubykh language is (unfortunately was) one of the weirdest languages of the world with 2 vowels and around 80 consonants along with other weird mechanics. They got assimilated in Turkish, and in other Caucasian tribes and the last native speaker of the language passed away in 1992 in Turkey. If you want to listen to this extinct language here's a link for you:
Back to our general, Cemil Cahid was born in İstanbul in 1873. Like many of his contemporaries (who managed not to die a premature death), in a collapsing Empire with wars on every corner and officers dying like flies he rose fast and by the time the First World War was lost he was the commander of the 5th Caucasian Division. He was one of the few officers that did not attend to the academy after officer school (I don't know how to call them in English) but still managed to became a general.
Young Cemil Cahid in Beirut as a 2nd Lieutenant some time between 1903-09
It was in his house in Amasya where Mustafa Kemal did the very first meeting along with another in-game admiral Orbay and 3 other generals to spark the flame of the War of Independence in Amasya in his house.
A photo from the earlier Sivas Congress. Left to right: Muzaffer Kılıç, Rauf (Orbay), Bekir Sami (Kunduh), Mustafa Kemal (Atatürk), Ruşen Eşref (Ünaydın), Cemil Cahit (Toydemir), Cevat Abbas (Gürer)
Toydemir and Atatürk in Toydemir's house in Amasya
He sounds like a stern person. During the War of Independence, where dodging the compulsory draft was a crime punishable by execution by gallows on the spot the draftee is caught, he reportedly went on to burn houses who harbor runaways in order to intimidate the populace from hiding them. On the other hand, many such stories are created about people from those years so who knows. I came across nationalists embracing him as a nationalist, other nationalists hating him because they think he's a communist, seperatist movements calling him a genocider, communist Circassians loving him because he's such a good communist and nationalist Circassians loving him because he's such a good anti-communist. So much disinformation out there, I just do not want to judge him on their bullshit. I'll just go with the facts.
Cemil Cahid inspecting his troops in Caucasian front in 1916
He took the surname Toydemir, which is very Altaic sounding. I couldn't find if he chose it himself, or he has a story with Atatürk where he gave him a surname. There is a hill named Toydemir where he fought valiantly during the critical days of the War of Independence, and I'm guessing he took the name of the hill and not the other way around but as I said I'm not sure. He was the leader of the first party summiting the Erciyes mountain (3917 m.) along with 6 officers and a private in 1924. He is regarded as one of the pioneers of mountaineering in Turkey who brought the sports to Turkey.
Erciyes base camp. Fun fact: one of the officers (Cevdet Sunay, Lieutenant at the time) went on to be the 5th president of Turkey between 1966-73
He became the commander of the 5th Cavalry Corps (Yes Cavalry! YAY) as a LTGEN in 1933.
Toydemir as a LTGEN in 1935
LTGEN Toydemir discussing military strategy with FM Atatürk
He rose through the ranks a few more times before becoming the 1st Army Commander succeeding the most famous Cavalry General Altay (who, outrageously, is not in game) in 1943 as a full general.
Toydemir and Altay leading the van of the honor guard carrying the funeral procession of Atatürk
Now is the juicy part: Hitler called for some of our generals for a tour, in order to impress them with a show of force and sway to their cause, later to convince İnönü to join Axis. İnönü just secretly met with Churchill a few months ago in my hometown Adana, but he does not want to piss off Hitler just yet, so he sends a team leaded by Toydemir. There, he toured the Atlantic wall (between Calais and Le Havre) and the Eastern front (Belgorod) along with Keitl and von Manstein. The Allies were completely furious with this as they saw this as a huge influencing by Nazi Germany, and thought this was a big sign of Turkey joining Axis.
Hitler, Toydemir and Rommel (I'm guessing not THAT Rommel); with Keitl in the back
Interestingly, this high profile swaying attempt by Hitler completely backfired. Him being a more than competent soldier, saw the incoming downfall of the Nazis and hastily produced a report to İnönü telling him that they are not a big threat that can defeat us as they were perceived to be at the time. So Turkey, without this visit maybe would be strong armed into joining Axis fearing an invasion, completely decided against it.
I really wish you could read the entire report but it's really long to translate. I just want to say either his foresight is excellent or somebody edited the report after the WWII ended.
After the World War, he retired and later elected an MP and became the Minister of National Defense, but after his extensive reformation plan for the Turkish Armed Forces are not adopted, he resigned from the post. For some time he was the president of the İstanbul Chess Club in his civilian life before he passed away in 1956 at the age of 73, may he rest in peace.
The Ubykh language is (unfortunately was) one of the weirdest languages of the world with 2 vowels and around 80 consonants along with other weird mechanics. They got assimilated in Turkish, and in other Caucasian tribes and the last native speaker of the language passed away in 1992 in Turkey. If you want to listen to this extinct language here's a link for you:
Back to our general, Cemil Cahid was born in İstanbul in 1873. Like many of his contemporaries (who managed not to die a premature death), in a collapsing Empire with wars on every corner and officers dying like flies he rose fast and by the time the First World War was lost he was the commander of the 5th Caucasian Division. He was one of the few officers that did not attend to the academy after officer school (I don't know how to call them in English) but still managed to became a general.
Young Cemil Cahid in Beirut as a 2nd Lieutenant some time between 1903-09
It was in his house in Amasya where Mustafa Kemal did the very first meeting along with another in-game admiral Orbay and 3 other generals to spark the flame of the War of Independence in Amasya in his house.
A photo from the earlier Sivas Congress. Left to right: Muzaffer Kılıç, Rauf (Orbay), Bekir Sami (Kunduh), Mustafa Kemal (Atatürk), Ruşen Eşref (Ünaydın), Cemil Cahit (Toydemir), Cevat Abbas (Gürer)
Toydemir and Atatürk in Toydemir's house in Amasya
He sounds like a stern person. During the War of Independence, where dodging the compulsory draft was a crime punishable by execution by gallows on the spot the draftee is caught, he reportedly went on to burn houses who harbor runaways in order to intimidate the populace from hiding them. On the other hand, many such stories are created about people from those years so who knows. I came across nationalists embracing him as a nationalist, other nationalists hating him because they think he's a communist, seperatist movements calling him a genocider, communist Circassians loving him because he's such a good communist and nationalist Circassians loving him because he's such a good anti-communist. So much disinformation out there, I just do not want to judge him on their bullshit. I'll just go with the facts.
Cemil Cahid inspecting his troops in Caucasian front in 1916
He took the surname Toydemir, which is very Altaic sounding. I couldn't find if he chose it himself, or he has a story with Atatürk where he gave him a surname. There is a hill named Toydemir where he fought valiantly during the critical days of the War of Independence, and I'm guessing he took the name of the hill and not the other way around but as I said I'm not sure. He was the leader of the first party summiting the Erciyes mountain (3917 m.) along with 6 officers and a private in 1924. He is regarded as one of the pioneers of mountaineering in Turkey who brought the sports to Turkey.
Erciyes base camp. Fun fact: one of the officers (Cevdet Sunay, Lieutenant at the time) went on to be the 5th president of Turkey between 1966-73
He became the commander of the 5th Cavalry Corps (Yes Cavalry! YAY) as a LTGEN in 1933.
Toydemir as a LTGEN in 1935
LTGEN Toydemir discussing military strategy with FM Atatürk
He rose through the ranks a few more times before becoming the 1st Army Commander succeeding the most famous Cavalry General Altay (who, outrageously, is not in game) in 1943 as a full general.
Toydemir and Altay leading the van of the honor guard carrying the funeral procession of Atatürk
Now is the juicy part: Hitler called for some of our generals for a tour, in order to impress them with a show of force and sway to their cause, later to convince İnönü to join Axis. İnönü just secretly met with Churchill a few months ago in my hometown Adana, but he does not want to piss off Hitler just yet, so he sends a team leaded by Toydemir. There, he toured the Atlantic wall (between Calais and Le Havre) and the Eastern front (Belgorod) along with Keitl and von Manstein. The Allies were completely furious with this as they saw this as a huge influencing by Nazi Germany, and thought this was a big sign of Turkey joining Axis.
Hitler, Toydemir and Rommel (I'm guessing not THAT Rommel); with Keitl in the back
Interestingly, this high profile swaying attempt by Hitler completely backfired. Him being a more than competent soldier, saw the incoming downfall of the Nazis and hastily produced a report to İnönü telling him that they are not a big threat that can defeat us as they were perceived to be at the time. So Turkey, without this visit maybe would be strong armed into joining Axis fearing an invasion, completely decided against it.
I really wish you could read the entire report but it's really long to translate. I just want to say either his foresight is excellent or somebody edited the report after the WWII ended.
After the World War, he retired and later elected an MP and became the Minister of National Defense, but after his extensive reformation plan for the Turkish Armed Forces are not adopted, he resigned from the post. For some time he was the president of the İstanbul Chess Club in his civilian life before he passed away in 1956 at the age of 73, may he rest in peace.
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I just checked the wiki page, and Çalıştar should've died in 1939 and Wehib Pasha in 1940. Whatever is keeping them alive, I hope that continues. (or wiki page is outdated)
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Great update on Toydemir! An interesting character indeed.
Ah, fingers crossed! Maybe it is something like they are not available in starts after those dates, but if they are already in-game they are left there?
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I was assuming he'll turn out to be a Tatar like my mom or something similar, but he turned out to be an entire different kind.
REDACTEDAh, fingers crossed! Maybe it is something like they are not available in starts after those dates, but if they are already in-game they are left there?
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Alright, we'll keep it in mind as a temporary, unreliable but returning buff to soviet attacks everybody often.
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Best way to treat them. Alas, it mirrors real life at that time.
The Russians will let them die then come in after to mop up. which comment?
You guys!
Re Kelebek: outside the TT universe, you have nothing to fear but fear itself! - 1
Best way to treat them. Alas, it mirrors real life at that time.
Be careful with that. Remember the exact same thing can be said about turkey itself
You guys!
And garuntees. But not for long...
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Great update on Toydemir! An interesting character indeed.
Ah, fingers crossed! Maybe it is something like they are not available in starts after those dates, but if they are already in-game they are left there?
I can confirm this is exactly how it works. The game will never remove a general based on the end dates in the game files (only by events), but if you choose a later start date after that general's end date then he will not be available.
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A good point. I expect no big favours from Uncle Joe. Fortunately for me, my last resort homeland border is far more defensible against Germany (and an Italy with virtually no navy) than that terrible border the Poles had to try to defend in 1939. Or the completely dependent position they found themselves in in 1944 during the uprising.
My father was in Warsaw as a seven year old when that happened. They didn’t retain fond memories of the Soviets for that, or what came afterwards. You’re right: Turkey must sink or swim through its own efforts, even if relying on other events to navigate the fraught waters.- 1
A good point. I expect no big favours from Uncle Joe. Fortunately for me, my last resort homeland border is far more defensible against Germany (and an Italy with virtually no navy) than that terrible border the Poles had to try to defend in 1939. Or the completely dependent position they found themselves in in 1944 during the uprising.
I remember that the Poles were absolutely stoked in 1994 to be out from underneath the bootheel of the Soviets. I lived there for two years with my parents and vividly remember that there were buildings scattered liberally throughout Warsaw that remained pockmarked with bullet holes from the war... and that was 49 years after the whole thing had ended!
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Chapter 135: Uphill Battles (5 to 10 June 1941)
Chapter 135: Uphill Battles (5 to 10 June 1941)
Introduction – Situation as at 2300 hr 4 Jun 41
Just as Inönü was preparing to turn in for a few fitful hours of sleep at his 1st Army HQ in Kraljevo, his orderly knocked on the door. He carried a manila folder with some reports from the CP.
“My General, the Duty Officer thought you might like to see these before you retire for the night.” He saluted and then left the material with his President.
The first report was a pleasant surprise: the Axis had given up on their attack across the river on Sabac – clearly, the casualties suffered and the odds encountered were not to their liking! This was a great relief, given the desperate situation in Visegrad. Had Sabac started to buckle as well, it would have been difficult to split any new reinforcements between the two.
NB: This happened immediately when the game restarted. Obviously, the AI had a chance to consider its position and decided discretion would be the better part of valour there!
The other reports were summaries of the battles currently in progress in Visegrad and Zrenjanin. Both were finely balanced now, but the trend had been for the Axis weight of numbers and the application of air power (which now just seemed to be provided by two Italian TAC wings – the Hungarian bombers must be operating in Romania) to gradually overcome an initially strong defence in a majority of cases. Though not all.
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5 Jun 41
Midnight. The 1st Army intelligence chief at Kraljevo received a report from Ankara, marked ‘Top Secret’. Not another one of those theatrical counter-intelligence reports from Interior Minister Kaya, he thought to himself. I’m certainly not going to wake the Milli Şef for that old rubbish.
While the President was allowed a little well-earned sleep, another report he would see in the morning confirmed the arrival of the still-battered 8 Inf Div into its holding position in Mehadia. This was meant to be in the Soviet-Romanian sector, but with Namut’s 5 Inf Div still positioned in Resita and no move yet by the Soviets to occupy this boundary position, Mehadia would be used as a stronghold for them to fall back through if needed.
During the early morning, the position of 156 SD in Zrenjanin deteriorated further. Unwilling to weaken Beograd to reinforce it, at 8am MAJGEN Shvydkoi was ordered to withdraw to the Serbian GNR capital before he lost too much more strength and organisation. Casualties were beginning to mount and his men would be needed to hold the critical point of the entire line – indeed the main Turkish reason for continuing to defend forward in the Balkans.
The main part of the day passed with more heavy fighting and repeated air raids in Visegrad. By the evening, the situation of 6 Inf Div (who had relieved the defeated 3 Inf Div in place and therefore not had any chance to dig in) was getting difficult. The fresh 10 Inf Div arrived in Valjevo at 5pm and was sent immediately to Visegrad. It was hoped they could get there before either 6 Inf Div had to retreat or at least before the Axis could occupy it: they had no desire to attempt an opposed river crossing on its hilly terrain themselves.
Way to the rear, the latest Soviet expeditionary division diverted from Iran (no doubt previously intended by the Soviets to travel to the Far East) had completed its long train trip and was ferried across to Istanbul. Late that evening, they were transferred to new trains on the European side and sent on to the front: they were bound to see heavy action as soon as they arrived.
Another British liaison report came through that night: the Polish uprising was now cornered in Lublin. And, unfortunately, the Germans had opened a lifeline to their trapped panzer division in the Ukraine, which would now probably be able to escape destruction. A pity.
Air Report. Three Italian air raids on Visegrad levied a murderous toll of 608 casualties on Gürler’s by now badly mauled 6 Inf Div on that day alone.
OTL Event: Iceland. United States landed 4,000 marines in Iceland to replace the British garrison. [Comment: No visibility if it happened in game.]
6 Jun 41
A couple of local Polis officers patrol the streets of Cizre, a town in south-eastern Anatolia, on the border with Syria, and just to the north-west of the Turkish-Syrian-Iraqi tripoint. It is midnight; no honest citizen should be out at this time of night. They see movement in an alleyway and move to investigate. An individual huddles in the shadows, trying not to be seen – but he is discovered and asked for his papers.
“Hmm, your papers appear to be in order,” says one of the officers, handing them back. “What is your business here? What are you doing out tonight?”
The man answers, in Turkish but with an Iraqi accent. “I am making my way to the capital. I haven’t found any accommodation for the night, I’m afraid.”
“For what purpose are you going to Ankara?”
“I will join up to fight the Axis. I hear the Mother of all Battles is upon us.”
“Really? You look a little old for that. Anyway, you should be off the streets at this time of night. There is a hostel just down the road – I suggest you check into it straight away.”
While the officer questions the man – and is about to wave him on his way – his partner had been shuffling through a pack of playing cards with images of wanted men on them. He suddenly seizes the man by the arm and puts a pistol to his head.
“I thought I recognised him, Kemal! Here, look at this!” His partner looks at the card.
“That’s him, all right. Well done, Ahmet.” He turns to their prisoner. “You will be going to Ankara, all right. On the Midnight Express!”
A subsequent search of the area revealed the dead letter drop the man had been in the process of checking – there were clearly more of these Iraqi agents in the area. The British were getting around their undertaking not to spy on Turkey by using their surrogates. Duplicitous imperialists!
The next formation to arrive in Valjevo was the now-famous 3 Cav Div, led by the dashing MAJGEN Toüdemür. [@Diskoerekto I’ll continue to use the game’s spelling for consistency but acknowledge your prior research and the no doubt correct spelling of Toydemir.] The fast-moving unit was still quite disorganised from its recent valiant rear-guard fight in Jasa Tomic but was sent on to make a desperate dash to help secure Visegrad.
The need for that urgency was demonstrated six hours later. Without warning [or a battle outcome report, which either didn’t appear or was missed], 6 Inf Div was forced into a rout from Visegrad, which was now open to the advancing enemy. The incessant heavy air raids had made things very difficult: Gürler had been instructed to stay until forced out – which had now happened. The collective breaths of all at HQ 1st Army, from the Milli Şef down, were bated. It would be an uphill fight to hold the line now: there simply weren’t the units at present to adequately hold the provinces Visegrad opened onto, if the Axis could feed the units in to expand across the river.
This suspense persisted throughout the day, as two Axis and two Turkish divisions now raced to occupy Visegrad. At 4pm, the radio net burst into life: it was Toüdemür, whose division had now overtaken 10 Inf Div in the race to Visegrad, his armoured car brigade scouting ahead.
The bated breaths in the CP were finally let out in a general sigh of relief. A potential disaster had been narrowly averted – for now, anyway. Though Visegrad was not yet safely occupied, 3 Cav should now be able to get there before any potential Axis follow-up force could be mobilised. But where would the Axis strike next? To the north again, if recent patterns were to repeat. As to why they had pulled back, it seemed the worn Axis divisions did not think they were ready for a third battle for the province. But then to retreat away from the front? That was something of a mystery – but one the Turks were happy to see.
At 10pm, the heavily drained and exhausted original defenders of Visegrad – Karabekir’s veteran 3 Inf Div – finally arrived in Pozega to begin their recovery. They would remain there for now, hopefully repairing enough to reconstitute a commander’s reserve after a period of some days.
OTL Event: US. President Roosevelt signed a bill authorizing the requisitioning of all foreign merchant ships idling in American ports. He then issued an executive order authorising the Maritime Commission to operate or dispose of the ships in the interest of national defence. 84 vessels were affected by the order. He also said during a press conference the same day that many Americans were being duped by German propaganda into believing that Britain was on the verge of collapse and would soon be suing for peace. [Comment: Let’s hope an equivalent drift towards getting involved in the war is happening in-game.]
OTL Event: Finland. German troops arrived in Finland. [Comment: In-game, Finland has fully aligned with but not yet joined the Axis. We shall have a report on where Finland stands diplomatically in this ATL at the end of the chapter.]
Air Report. Two more Italian TAC raids hit Visegrad that day before 6 Inf Div were forced to retreat, killing another 479 men.
7 Jun 41
Theatre Commander Field Marshal Calistar was informed early that morning of another Soviet rifle division in Iran that had been assigned to Turkish command. He immediately countermanded its travel orders to the Far East, got their trains turned around and had them head to Ankara. Turkey could use them to very good effect to try to hold the Balkans, rather than wasting their time on that Far Eastern sideshow! And the Soviets already had half the Romanian Army over there chasing their own tails, after all. MAJGEN Pogodin’s 171 SD would soon be finding out what a real war looked like! And there was another Soviet division about to cross the border along the Caspian coast: maybe they would be assigned to Turkish control as well?
This good news was balanced by bad: those devils from the SS Verf Division had occupied the mountains of Zrenjanin: though they were looking suitably ground down, by all reports [they were down to a 3-4 combat strength, which probably meant they had lost about 25% of their actual troop strength].
Also at 4am, Commander 2nd Corps, LTGEN Artunkal (the one whose wife had a little lap-dog and who had invested in Springtime for Hitler musical), reported a large build-up of Axis troops on the far southern end of the Yeniçeri Line. There were no specific indications of an impending attack in this relatively quiet sector of the front and the Soviets had still maintained a fair presence there. But the Turkish defence was thinly-spread in that sector and one could never be complacent, as events further north had shown. Even good defensive terrain could be breached by determined attackers in sufficient numbers and with air superiority.
As it happened, LTCOL Diskoerekto was in the HQ 2nd Corps CP at that time, compiling a report on attrition in mountain provinces. The mountain troops of 1 Mtn Div in Nevesinje were well equipped for the conditions and appeared not to be suffering from any attrition. But the regular 5 Inf Div in Resita did seem to be suffering some attrition effects. Apart from not being a mountain unit [though having general mountain gear, which provided a 1% discount on the usual 2% attrition rate], Resita was in Romania. So it was not possible to be certain what effect being on ‘home territory' may also be having on attrition rates. Nor that of the weather: ie it was now summer – would winter and freezing conditions make a difference to the troops?
An hour later, 156 SD had crossed over into Beograd from Zrenjanin. The last bridges were blown up behind them. They had some fighting strength left and were put to work reinforcing the defensive perimeter. Time to entrench and recover organisation and strength was hoped for - but could not be banked upon.
At 6am, word came through that the Germans had retaken Lublin, apparently putting an end to the brave Polish uprising. To its east, the Soviets had now retaken Berezne but, as seen before, too late to cut off the Germans there – now identified at 6 Pz Division, who were retreating west towards their comrades’ relief column. The rest of the previous Soviet salient had either been reoccupied by the Germans, or soon would be. But the Red Army was present in considerable strength in this area, so there was cautious optimism that this front would stand strong for the foreseeable future. More Soviet offensives would be welcome if they could be managed.
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3 Cav Div had beaten 10 Inf Div (and the Axis, of course) into Visegrad, reoccupying and beginning to repair the damaged defences previously held by 3 and then 6 Inf Divs. No further Axis opposition had been encountered and the previously attacking divisions were still headed away from the front. A cheer went through the 1st Army HQ CP when the message was received: and Toüdemür’s reputation went up another notch. Who said well-equipped and boldly led cavalry had no place on the modern battlefield? Huzzah!
Any celebrations - and appreciation of a relatively quiet front line with no land combat or air raids - lasted for only five hours. And it was the much-tested MAJGEN Namut and his 5 Inf Div who made the report:
A major attack had been launched on Resita. This time a Soviet division was also in place, while more seemed to be heading towards the mountainous province from the north-east. Perhaps this time they would have the numbers to hold? This could be an expensive attack for the enemy.
11 Pz Div is involved – but they suffer an even higher terrain penalty than their infantry counterparts, offsetting their usual great advantage when operating in better terrain. And that Soviet rifle division has very good AT weapons, with a piercing attack of 9 vs German armour of 8.
By 2pm, 10 Inf Div had also arrived in Visegrad. Noyan’s men would form the main basis for the defence and began entrenching straight away.
The air raid alert went off in Resita at 3pm. It was the Italians again – this could get nasty. And five hours later, it did: it seemed the Soviets didn’t like the heat and were getting out of the kitchen. 41 SD had abandoned the fight and were heading south, leaving Namut alone and in charge of the battle. He continued the effective ambush tactics in the mountain passes that his Soviet colleague had begun. But the odds of holding had worsened now and Axis air power was beginning to bite. The early optimism was beginning to wane somewhat. Fighting would continue all night while Namut hoped for some relief from those Soviet forces approaching from the north-east. But he had no idea whether they would actually arrive, or when that might be if they did. But the night conditions would help him for the next little while, anyway.
Air Report. The single air attack the Axis had managed to put in on Resita that evening killed 217 of the Turkish and Soviet defenders.
8 Jun 41
In Ankara, bureaucrats from the War Ministry prepared an update for the President on the latest from Turkish researchers. An advance in fighter pilot training would be of some use to their older fighter wing. But it was now time to start upgrading the infantry again, starting with support weapons to improve their defensive capacity.
The overnight conditions in Resita favoured the defenders – and showed how poorly placed the German panzers were when employed fighting in mountains, at night. But despite all this, the air raids continued, Namut was badly outnumbered and had started the battle not fully recovered from previous fighting. And the enemy divisions were still showing less wear and tear that the Turks.
The day passed in much the same way: enemy pressure in Resita increasing with daybreak and the air raids continuing. At 1pm, there was an interesting piece of news: the Polish partisans had retaken Lublin! Whether this was a fresh rising or some kind of counter-attack was unknown. It may not last, but anything that distracted the Germans was welcome.
By nightfall, the odds were lengthening again in Resita, despite storms and the cover of darkness. The German commander had initiated a major assault, which Namut was trying to delay. While this tactic negated the enemy’s attacking advantage and speed, it also decreased the amount of damage caused on them by the defenders. Where were those Soviet reinforcements? Probably caught up in the winding mountain passes [moving slowly from one mountain province to another].
Air Report. Once again, probably the most damaging factor for the defenders was Axis air power, with the three Italian raids causing another 520 deaths in Resita.
OTL Event: Vichy Syria. The Syria–Lebanon Campaign began with the Allied invasion of Vichy French-controlled Syria and Lebanon. [Comment: No sign of anything similar in this ATL. Vichy is currently aligned almost exactly in the centre of the diplomatic ‘triangle’.]
9 Jun 41
It was 9 o'clock in the morning. In downtown Istanbul, Luca Brasi was arriving outside the brand-new offices of his olive oil export business, located in a fashionable commercial district of the great city. Luca’s S.I.T.H. work and some, ah, ‘side ventures’ over the years, plus a recent cash grant from a grateful nation, meant he was not short of funds. As he got out of his chauffeur-driven limousine, he admired the façade: GENCO would, he hoped, become something to see him through to a comfortable retirement. And, if the Fascists were finally defeated, a lucrative state-sponsored olive oil trade into Italy. Selling olive oil to the Sicilians would be like selling snow to eskimos or coals to Newcastle!
Luca Brasi arrives at GENCO's head office in Istanbul, 9 June 1941.
In Resita, by 10am the Soviet relief force had not yet arrived, casualties were mounting, organisation fracturing [5 Inf Div down to 7.7 org] and the odds of holding on blowing out [now at 65% in favour of the attackers]. But still Namut fought on in hope of being relieved.
To the south-west, Gürler’s 6 Inf Div - badly wrecked after its last-man stand in Visegrad – arrived in Pozega at 2pm, having suffered heavy casualties and still thoroughly disorganised. They were redirected north to Valjevo. There, they could dig in and perhaps recuperate to the point where they could replace another, fresher unit in the line, allowing it to perhaps reinforce Sabac, which was still too thinly held for Inönü’s liking.
At the same time, in Kraljevo, the President read the latest SITREP from Resita. The Soviet 90 SD had not yet arrived, the odds had worsened considerably and 5 Inf Div was now taking disproportionate casualties. The battle was over: Namut’s command must be saved before it became completely spent defending ground that should be a Soviet-Romanian responsibility to hold.
5 Inf Div left for the fall-back position in Mehadia, with just enough organisation left to determine its own destination, rather than being forced back in rout randomly. There had been no further air raids that day – but the damage was already done, both from the air and on the ground. There was a faint hope the Soviet division would continue on to Resita and take up position before the enemy could – but that was now their problem.
News Report: Doorn, Occupied Netherlands. The funeral of ex-Kaiser Wilhelm II was held. Although Hitler had wanted a state funeral in Berlin with himself in a prominent role, Wilhelm's family insisted on respecting instructions he'd given in 1933 that he was to be buried in Doorn if Germany was not a monarchy at the time of his death. However, a delegation of Nazi officials led by Arthur Seyss-Inquart was allowed to attend as well as a Wehrmacht guard of honour. Wilhelm's wishes that Nazi regalia not be displayed at his funeral were ignored. [Comment: typical arrogant Nazi swine!]
10 Jun 41
Inönü’s hasty breakfast that morning was consumed as he visited LTGEN Cakmak at his HQ 1st Corps in Beograd. It was not improved by reports that German medium armour had been sighted moving from Zrenjanin to the plains of Panavo earlier that morning.
“At least, Milli Şef, we assess the potato-eaters will be suffering some attrition while they are in those mountains,” observed LTCOL Diskoerekto, who had been directed to brief the visiting Army Commander on some of his recent findings.
“We will take every small advantage we can – it was one of the reasons I was willing to cede Zrenjanin to them while we fortify behind the river in this great city. Anyone forced to stay there in hostile mountain country for a prolonged period may, we hope, suffer for their many sins in doing so.”
“We can only hope so, Milli Şef,” finished the Mountain Komando Combat School Chief Instructor. “It will depend on the level of the occupying troops’ mountain and cold weather equipment.” He saluted and left the briefing room.
“At least 1 Cav Div is almost in position in Arandelovac to help secure the right flank of Beograd,” commented Fevzi Cakmak. “A prescient arrangement, My President, as the defence there was looking a little thin – especially against German panzers. I hope they are not well-provisioned with engineers: we are pinning all our hopes on holding this river line for as long as we can.”
“With Sabac and Visegrad holding for now, we hope to do the same here. This line is now firming up and the units in it recovering. But I remain concerned about the Axis’ ability to generate local operational superiority and also what may happen to our east, along the troublesome boundary with the Soviets and Romanians. We don’t have the troops to keep pushing right: we need them all back here.”
There was no reply: Cakmak knew the implied question was rhetorical and the answer imponderable: it will all rely on the STAVKA and the views of Stalin.
Summary Reports
While in Beograd, Inönü was also brought up to date on developments elsewhere as at 7am on the morning of 10 June 1941. The Patriotic Front as a whole had been comparatively stable during the first ten days of the month. The Northern Sector had held; the Centre had seen the Soviets push the invaders back somewhat; while the South after the initial excitement of the Soviet offensive and brief encirclement of 6 Pz Division in Berezne, had ended up surrendering those gains and losing a little ground since 1 June. In Romania and the north of the Yeniçeri Line, the Axis had again made inroads, though no sweeping breakthrough. The Polish Revolt had finally been wrapped up by the Germans.
Next was a comprehensive strategic air report, showing bombings and (highlighted in red) air-air battles between Soviet and Axis planes over the last week. The current known dispositions of all Comintern aircraft on the Patriotic Front was also shown. The Soviets appear to have deployed about half their interceptor strength on the Patriotic Front (most of that in the northern part of the front) and all their tactical bombers (mainly in the Centre and South), but not much else. It will be checked next time, but perhaps the bulk of their CAS and multirole aircraft had been deployed in the Far East.
In Libya, the British reported they had pushed out of Agedabia into Mersa El Brega since 1 June, defying earlier predictions of an imminent defeat in that theatre.
The Far East was as grim as ever, though at least no more of the Trans-Siberian Railway had been seized by the Japanese so far this month.
A special report from Foreign Minister Aras on the diplomatic situation with Finland was also provided. There was continuing concern they might join the Axis, diverting Soviet effort away from the main fight and even granting access to German troops. While they were fully aligned with Germany and under their persistent influence, President Kallio had neither joined the Axis as yet or granted Germany military access. How long this might last was unknown, of course. They could join the enemy at any time.
Finally, the War Ministry had sent an update on production, including the latest delivery schedule for major acquisitions. A new tank destroyer brigade was due to be delivered the next day – it would most likely be given to bolster 1 Mot Div’s AT capabilities. Then a week later, the first of the new fighter wings would be delivered, with a new mountain division finishing training two days after that: they would have been very useful in the recent fighting around Zrenjanin and Resita but would really come into their own if the mountain terrain to the south came into play later in the campaign. LTCOL Diskorekto would soon be returning to the School to observe the completion of their training. Manpower had taken a hit in recent weeks due to the heavy casualties on the front, with losses outweighing gains by around 9,000 men [taking each MP point as 1,000 men]. That was with a recruitment of around 12,700 per month.
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Coming Up: the latest phase of trading ground slowly for time will change to trying to hold the next main defensive line centred on Beograd, utilising the main available river lines from the Romanian border through to Visegrad. Will it hold? Can the Soviets maintain their lines and the pressure on the Germans as the summer campaigning season continues? What will Turkey’s next acquisition priorities be once the next round of units is received over the coming ten days [with over 35 IC being released, with around 4 IC of ‘lag’ in delayed projects at present]? Ground troops soon, or higher tech capabilities that will take longer to produce? Or a mix of both? As the new spy teams slowly build up [nine now available], how many will Ögel believe is enough and then what will he do with them? When will Kelebek and Cennet next be ‘let off the leash’? Will Luca be satisfied with simply running his olive oil business?
Introduction – Situation as at 2300 hr 4 Jun 41
Just as Inönü was preparing to turn in for a few fitful hours of sleep at his 1st Army HQ in Kraljevo, his orderly knocked on the door. He carried a manila folder with some reports from the CP.
“My General, the Duty Officer thought you might like to see these before you retire for the night.” He saluted and then left the material with his President.
The first report was a pleasant surprise: the Axis had given up on their attack across the river on Sabac – clearly, the casualties suffered and the odds encountered were not to their liking! This was a great relief, given the desperate situation in Visegrad. Had Sabac started to buckle as well, it would have been difficult to split any new reinforcements between the two.
NB: This happened immediately when the game restarted. Obviously, the AI had a chance to consider its position and decided discretion would be the better part of valour there!
The other reports were summaries of the battles currently in progress in Visegrad and Zrenjanin. Both were finely balanced now, but the trend had been for the Axis weight of numbers and the application of air power (which now just seemed to be provided by two Italian TAC wings – the Hungarian bombers must be operating in Romania) to gradually overcome an initially strong defence in a majority of cases. Though not all.
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5 Jun 41
Midnight. The 1st Army intelligence chief at Kraljevo received a report from Ankara, marked ‘Top Secret’. Not another one of those theatrical counter-intelligence reports from Interior Minister Kaya, he thought to himself. I’m certainly not going to wake the Milli Şef for that old rubbish.
But it was instead information passed on from the British MI6 liaison officer at the British Embassy in Ankara – a report on the Polish uprising around Lublin. Apparently, both LTCOL Diskoerekto (still conducting a study tour of the front) and the dreaded Darth Kelebek of the S.I.T.H. had asked for the information. Interesting, but not urgent. It would be included in the President’s morning intelligence update.
While the President was allowed a little well-earned sleep, another report he would see in the morning confirmed the arrival of the still-battered 8 Inf Div into its holding position in Mehadia. This was meant to be in the Soviet-Romanian sector, but with Namut’s 5 Inf Div still positioned in Resita and no move yet by the Soviets to occupy this boundary position, Mehadia would be used as a stronghold for them to fall back through if needed.
Another British liaison report came through that night: the Polish uprising was now cornered in Lublin. And, unfortunately, the Germans had opened a lifeline to their trapped panzer division in the Ukraine, which would now probably be able to escape destruction. A pity.
OTL Event: Iceland. United States landed 4,000 marines in Iceland to replace the British garrison. [Comment: No visibility if it happened in game.]
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6 Jun 41
A couple of local Polis officers patrol the streets of Cizre, a town in south-eastern Anatolia, on the border with Syria, and just to the north-west of the Turkish-Syrian-Iraqi tripoint. It is midnight; no honest citizen should be out at this time of night. They see movement in an alleyway and move to investigate. An individual huddles in the shadows, trying not to be seen – but he is discovered and asked for his papers.
“Hmm, your papers appear to be in order,” says one of the officers, handing them back. “What is your business here? What are you doing out tonight?”
The man answers, in Turkish but with an Iraqi accent. “I am making my way to the capital. I haven’t found any accommodation for the night, I’m afraid.”
“For what purpose are you going to Ankara?”
“I will join up to fight the Axis. I hear the Mother of all Battles is upon us.”
“Really? You look a little old for that. Anyway, you should be off the streets at this time of night. There is a hostel just down the road – I suggest you check into it straight away.”
While the officer questions the man – and is about to wave him on his way – his partner had been shuffling through a pack of playing cards with images of wanted men on them. He suddenly seizes the man by the arm and puts a pistol to his head.
“I thought I recognised him, Kemal! Here, look at this!” His partner looks at the card.
“That’s him, all right. Well done, Ahmet.” He turns to their prisoner. “You will be going to Ankara, all right. On the Midnight Express!”
The next formation to arrive in Valjevo was the now-famous 3 Cav Div, led by the dashing MAJGEN Toüdemür. [@Diskoerekto I’ll continue to use the game’s spelling for consistency but acknowledge your prior research and the no doubt correct spelling of Toydemir.] The fast-moving unit was still quite disorganised from its recent valiant rear-guard fight in Jasa Tomic but was sent on to make a desperate dash to help secure Visegrad.
“Sunray Major, this is Three-Charlie. Our lead scouts report the enemy advancing on Visegrad have both turned around. They have not just stopped advancing but have turned around 180 degrees and are both heading north-west, away from the city! It is a miracle. We will continue to move forward with all speed. Vur ha!”
“Sunray Major speaking. Wonderful news: continue as you are. Start digging as soon as you get there. You should soon have support. We can’t know when the goulash-eaters may be back for another crack at us.”
“Roger, wilco, out!”
“Sunray Major speaking. Wonderful news: continue as you are. Start digging as soon as you get there. You should soon have support. We can’t know when the goulash-eaters may be back for another crack at us.”
“Roger, wilco, out!”
At 10pm, the heavily drained and exhausted original defenders of Visegrad – Karabekir’s veteran 3 Inf Div – finally arrived in Pozega to begin their recovery. They would remain there for now, hopefully repairing enough to reconstitute a commander’s reserve after a period of some days.
OTL Event: Finland. German troops arrived in Finland. [Comment: In-game, Finland has fully aligned with but not yet joined the Axis. We shall have a report on where Finland stands diplomatically in this ATL at the end of the chapter.]
Air Report. Two more Italian TAC raids hit Visegrad that day before 6 Inf Div were forced to retreat, killing another 479 men.
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7 Jun 41
Theatre Commander Field Marshal Calistar was informed early that morning of another Soviet rifle division in Iran that had been assigned to Turkish command. He immediately countermanded its travel orders to the Far East, got their trains turned around and had them head to Ankara. Turkey could use them to very good effect to try to hold the Balkans, rather than wasting their time on that Far Eastern sideshow! And the Soviets already had half the Romanian Army over there chasing their own tails, after all. MAJGEN Pogodin’s 171 SD would soon be finding out what a real war looked like! And there was another Soviet division about to cross the border along the Caspian coast: maybe they would be assigned to Turkish control as well?
Also at 4am, Commander 2nd Corps, LTGEN Artunkal (the one whose wife had a little lap-dog and who had invested in Springtime for Hitler musical), reported a large build-up of Axis troops on the far southern end of the Yeniçeri Line. There were no specific indications of an impending attack in this relatively quiet sector of the front and the Soviets had still maintained a fair presence there. But the Turkish defence was thinly-spread in that sector and one could never be complacent, as events further north had shown. Even good defensive terrain could be breached by determined attackers in sufficient numbers and with air superiority.
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“One this is Three-Charlie. Objective Citadel secured. I say again, Objective Citadel secured.”
3 Cav Div had beaten 10 Inf Div (and the Axis, of course) into Visegrad, reoccupying and beginning to repair the damaged defences previously held by 3 and then 6 Inf Divs. No further Axis opposition had been encountered and the previously attacking divisions were still headed away from the front. A cheer went through the 1st Army HQ CP when the message was received: and Toüdemür’s reputation went up another notch. Who said well-equipped and boldly led cavalry had no place on the modern battlefield? Huzzah!
“Contact, we are being attacked in near corps strength from three different directions. The Soviet general on the spot has assumed command. More details to follow. Out!”
A major attack had been launched on Resita. This time a Soviet division was also in place, while more seemed to be heading towards the mountainous province from the north-east. Perhaps this time they would have the numbers to hold? This could be an expensive attack for the enemy.
11 Pz Div is involved – but they suffer an even higher terrain penalty than their infantry counterparts, offsetting their usual great advantage when operating in better terrain. And that Soviet rifle division has very good AT weapons, with a piercing attack of 9 vs German armour of 8.
By 2pm, 10 Inf Div had also arrived in Visegrad. Noyan’s men would form the main basis for the defence and began entrenching straight away.
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8 Jun 41
In Ankara, bureaucrats from the War Ministry prepared an update for the President on the latest from Turkish researchers. An advance in fighter pilot training would be of some use to their older fighter wing. But it was now time to start upgrading the infantry again, starting with support weapons to improve their defensive capacity.
By nightfall, the odds were lengthening again in Resita, despite storms and the cover of darkness. The German commander had initiated a major assault, which Namut was trying to delay. While this tactic negated the enemy’s attacking advantage and speed, it also decreased the amount of damage caused on them by the defenders. Where were those Soviet reinforcements? Probably caught up in the winding mountain passes [moving slowly from one mountain province to another].
OTL Event: Vichy Syria. The Syria–Lebanon Campaign began with the Allied invasion of Vichy French-controlled Syria and Lebanon. [Comment: No sign of anything similar in this ATL. Vichy is currently aligned almost exactly in the centre of the diplomatic ‘triangle’.]
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9 Jun 41
It was 9 o'clock in the morning. In downtown Istanbul, Luca Brasi was arriving outside the brand-new offices of his olive oil export business, located in a fashionable commercial district of the great city. Luca’s S.I.T.H. work and some, ah, ‘side ventures’ over the years, plus a recent cash grant from a grateful nation, meant he was not short of funds. As he got out of his chauffeur-driven limousine, he admired the façade: GENCO would, he hoped, become something to see him through to a comfortable retirement. And, if the Fascists were finally defeated, a lucrative state-sponsored olive oil trade into Italy. Selling olive oil to the Sicilians would be like selling snow to eskimos or coals to Newcastle!
Luca Brasi arrives at GENCO's head office in Istanbul, 9 June 1941.
To the south-west, Gürler’s 6 Inf Div - badly wrecked after its last-man stand in Visegrad – arrived in Pozega at 2pm, having suffered heavy casualties and still thoroughly disorganised. They were redirected north to Valjevo. There, they could dig in and perhaps recuperate to the point where they could replace another, fresher unit in the line, allowing it to perhaps reinforce Sabac, which was still too thinly held for Inönü’s liking.
“Get me Namut on the line.”
“I’m sorry, sir, the land line to Resita is down.”
“The radio, then. Give him the code-phrase ‘Timisoara has been remembered’. He will know what it means.”
“Right away, sir!”
“I’m sorry, sir, the land line to Resita is down.”
“The radio, then. Give him the code-phrase ‘Timisoara has been remembered’. He will know what it means.”
“Right away, sir!”
News Report: Doorn, Occupied Netherlands. The funeral of ex-Kaiser Wilhelm II was held. Although Hitler had wanted a state funeral in Berlin with himself in a prominent role, Wilhelm's family insisted on respecting instructions he'd given in 1933 that he was to be buried in Doorn if Germany was not a monarchy at the time of his death. However, a delegation of Nazi officials led by Arthur Seyss-Inquart was allowed to attend as well as a Wehrmacht guard of honour. Wilhelm's wishes that Nazi regalia not be displayed at his funeral were ignored. [Comment: typical arrogant Nazi swine!]
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10 Jun 41
Inönü’s hasty breakfast that morning was consumed as he visited LTGEN Cakmak at his HQ 1st Corps in Beograd. It was not improved by reports that German medium armour had been sighted moving from Zrenjanin to the plains of Panavo earlier that morning.
“At least, Milli Şef, we assess the potato-eaters will be suffering some attrition while they are in those mountains,” observed LTCOL Diskoerekto, who had been directed to brief the visiting Army Commander on some of his recent findings.
“We will take every small advantage we can – it was one of the reasons I was willing to cede Zrenjanin to them while we fortify behind the river in this great city. Anyone forced to stay there in hostile mountain country for a prolonged period may, we hope, suffer for their many sins in doing so.”
“We can only hope so, Milli Şef,” finished the Mountain Komando Combat School Chief Instructor. “It will depend on the level of the occupying troops’ mountain and cold weather equipment.” He saluted and left the briefing room.
“With Sabac and Visegrad holding for now, we hope to do the same here. This line is now firming up and the units in it recovering. But I remain concerned about the Axis’ ability to generate local operational superiority and also what may happen to our east, along the troublesome boundary with the Soviets and Romanians. We don’t have the troops to keep pushing right: we need them all back here.”
There was no reply: Cakmak knew the implied question was rhetorical and the answer imponderable: it will all rely on the STAVKA and the views of Stalin.
---xxx---
Summary Reports
While in Beograd, Inönü was also brought up to date on developments elsewhere as at 7am on the morning of 10 June 1941. The Patriotic Front as a whole had been comparatively stable during the first ten days of the month. The Northern Sector had held; the Centre had seen the Soviets push the invaders back somewhat; while the South after the initial excitement of the Soviet offensive and brief encirclement of 6 Pz Division in Berezne, had ended up surrendering those gains and losing a little ground since 1 June. In Romania and the north of the Yeniçeri Line, the Axis had again made inroads, though no sweeping breakthrough. The Polish Revolt had finally been wrapped up by the Germans.
---xxx---
Coming Up: the latest phase of trading ground slowly for time will change to trying to hold the next main defensive line centred on Beograd, utilising the main available river lines from the Romanian border through to Visegrad. Will it hold? Can the Soviets maintain their lines and the pressure on the Germans as the summer campaigning season continues? What will Turkey’s next acquisition priorities be once the next round of units is received over the coming ten days [with over 35 IC being released, with around 4 IC of ‘lag’ in delayed projects at present]? Ground troops soon, or higher tech capabilities that will take longer to produce? Or a mix of both? As the new spy teams slowly build up [nine now available], how many will Ögel believe is enough and then what will he do with them? When will Kelebek and Cennet next be ‘let off the leash’? Will Luca be satisfied with simply running his olive oil business?
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