In fact I have an award for marksmanship from the cadet school but we were shooting G3 rifles, I'm guessing not the best duel weapon so I'll leave firearm duel to you and keep the fencing bit.
Well, works in CK2, so maybe here too? :S
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Unfortunately, I think so. Unless we send our bombers out and they'll for sure get jumped by the Hungarian or Italian fighters around the area.
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If I remember correctly depending on how many spies you assigned to a nation you could right click or something on a province they controlled and assign agents to that region to do certain operations.....
I tried it in the French AAR a couple of times I think....
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In fact I have an award for marksmanship from the cadet school but we were shooting G3 rifles, I'm guessing not the best duel weapon so I'll leave firearm duel to you and keep the fencing bit.
Depending on how lax the rules are or what blades we pick, I could cover unarmed and blade combat as well. Of course I'd much prefer to crush him in a duel of words or, falling back on military stuff, blow him to hell with heavy ordinance or tanks. Fry's Lord Nelson had it right when he threw away the pistols and got out the canons.
On the scouting thing, I think we are running the risk of just indicating where we are going to attack if the cav runs in and runs out again. Unless you want the poor horses to do it to every div on the line???
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Will reply in more detail to the above conversations in a bit (been playing cricket all day and another game tomorrow) but without spoiling too much, you might be surprised by what the Turks are prepared to risk!
And we used to have a thing called ‘recon by fire’. If you were dashing along in your tank and were worried someone may be hiding in a copse of trees, you could brass it up with youR coax MG and see if anything fired back ...
And we used to have a thing called ‘recon by fire’. If you were dashing along in your tank and were worried someone may be hiding in a copse of trees, you could brass it up with youR coax MG and see if anything fired back ...
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I enjoy fencing too much to let you cover blade combat, but thanks for the consideration. What would be your blade of choice? About unarmed combat, well I'm from a region famous for unnecessary fights but I feel too old (36) for that now
Among the two of us, there is no love lost for that rosencrantz
Perse will not be left to him Maybe you can join the rosencrantz bashing fun with your cricket bat?Will reply in more detail to the above conversations in a bit (been playing cricket all day and another game tomorrow) but without spoiling too much, you might be surprised by what the Turks are prepared to risk!
I'm waiting anxiously for the next episode already
Sounds like what a hot blooded LTCOL might want to do. Speaking of which, do we know in universe when is he due for a promotion?And we used to have a thing called ‘recon by fire’. If you were dashing along in your tank and were worried someone may be hiding in a copse of trees, you could brass it up with youR coax MG and see if anything fired back ...
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You’re all going to have to put up with Tom - an old friend of Perse’s and she was the one who recommended him for the new editing job. For now, the grisly forms of personal combat will need to be reserved for the enemy. But it’s good to see Perse’s protectors keen to preserve her honour!
And Tom is quite charming, isn’t he? The radical newspaperman and the advertising guru - match made in heaven, no? But is everything you see as simple as it may seem? Who can tell!
@diskoerekto , perhaps an acting command of one the brigades in the new 3rd Mtn Div might be of interest? Are you requesting a transfer to the front from the Mountain Warfare School? A promotion to COL would be involved.
But it’s good to see Perse’s protectors keen to preserve her honour!And Tom is quite charming, isn’t he? The radical newspaperman and the advertising guru - match made in heaven, no?
But is everything you see as simple as it may seem? Who can tell! @diskoerekto , perhaps an acting command of one the brigades in the new 3rd Mtn Div might be of interest? Are you requesting a transfer to the front from the Mountain Warfare School? A promotion to COL would be involved.
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For all I know he can even be a spy or something.And Tom is quite charming, isn’t he? The radical newspaperman and the advertising guru - match made in heaven, no?
Oh yes, the mountain divisions are now getting on the field and there's not much to do but enjoy the scenery of the Lake Eğirdir in the now empty Dağ Komando Okulu. Not in this time when the motherland needs all leadership there is. If it's not the time for a duel with Tom, it's the perfect time to fight with the Axis swine. Now is the time to prove my worth to the cause. Yaşasın tam bağımsız Türkiye! (Live long, fully independent Turkey!). We will eat them alive in the mountains.@diskoerekto , perhaps an acting command of one the brigades in the new 3rd Mtn Div might be of interest? Are you requesting a transfer to the front from the Mountain Warfare School? A promotion to COL would be involved.
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Mm...sabre or short sword. Past experience has led my instructors to shout get in close and just snap the other persons arm.
About unarmed combat, well I'm from a region famous for unnecessary fights but I feel too old (36) for that now
Well as mentioned in past editions of this AAR, I got out of hosptial and then crushed a man's jaw by accident when I walloped him after Germany got knocked out of the world cup. Unarmed combat for me is more about not hurting them so much.
Among the two of us, there is no love lost for that rosencrantz
I'm not so sure he deserves whatever we'll dish out, no.
Maybe you can join the rosencrantz bashing fun with your cricket bat?
Christ...after we end him we'll have the australian give him a few wacks to make his body flat packed.
perhaps an acting command of one the brigades in the new 3rd Mtn Div might be of interest? Are you requesting a transfer to the front from the Mountain Warfare School? A promotion to COL would be involved.
Oh no...not a theorist/trainer coming to the front. We're going to get a repeat of austrian and french high command in ww1.
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More great comments, thanks everyone! More sport today, then I’ll be able to return to editing the latest thrills and spills at the front - and elsewhere. And responding to the latest comments. From now we start to parallel Barbarossa itself, so we’ll see how we do there. The Germans of course start ahead of where they were Russia but well behind in the Balkans. And the Soviets have a two-front War. So it should be interesting!
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Hold that thought.
Alas, I don't have the network to try that here.
While a theoretical possibility, I won't be doing any 'recon by fire' on the line any time soon. But there are ways and means ...
Very suspicious of you ... what would a good communistic lad like Tom be doing , dealing with such murky business?For all I know he can even be a spy or something.
You will soon have a chance to see things up a bit closer and more personal! And I'm not talking about Perse!
I think our good LTCOL Diskoerekto has had some previous experience at the battalion command level with the mountain troops. As Chief Instructor of the School, he is more of a hands-on tactical operator than a theorist or 'armchair general'.
Thank you, @Arnulf Floyd, nice to have you here on this one too.Nice update for this impressive AAR. Keep work on, mate
All: Next update (the first of a another double-part to keep the length manageable) should be up soon.
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Chapter 138: An Alternate Barbarossa – Part 1 (20 to 23 June 1941)
Chapter 138: An Alternate Barbarossa – Part 1 (20 to 23 June 1941)
20 Jun 41
The story resumes at 7am on the morning of 20 June 1941, with a major battle that started on the early afternoon of 18 June continuing to rage in Visegrad. Turkish interceptors had returned to the skies, successfully seeing off the two Italian TAC wings that had been plaguing the Turks for weeks.
At the Mountain Komando Training School, LTCOL Diskoerekto is distracted from his jealous romantic thoughts about the delectable publicity chief Persephonee Fotheringay-Phipps after he opens his morning mail.
It is off to the front for the mountain warfare expert. He will now be responsible for bringing one of the brigades he has recently helped train up to full battle readiness on the Yeniçeri Line.
Just to the north of the not-yet-ready 3 Mtn Div, the latest Battle for Visegrad continues to rage. By mid-afternoon, neither side has the ascendancy, but the Axis has the numbers and pressure is growing on the Turkish defenders.
In Ankara, Tom Rosencrantz – down from Istanbul that morning – pays Perse a visit at the Propaganda Department.
“Perse, I really must see you. I’ve missed you so much. How about we have dinner tonight – I know a nice little place not far from here. Romantic. Quiet. Nice food.”
“Really, Tom? Things are so busy here at the moment. I’m working on another Air Force recruiting campaign and there is never enough time.”
Even as she speaks, members of her staff rush back and forth while two stand queued up at her office door, looking at her urgently with papers in hand.
“We can make it late – say 8pm – but I simply must talk to you.” Tom looks around briefly at the staff members standing at the door. He then says, lowering his voice a little and saying, with a mix of sheepish but determined sincerity, “I must talk of my feelings for you, Perse. It means a lot to me.”
The officials cough nervously or look away and shuffle their feet, feeling they intrude on a personal moment. But they are also very protective of their glamorous boss and refuse to leave.
“Very well then, Tom. For old time’s sake.”
“Perse, I really must see you!”
At Luca’s olive farm, he proudly holds his first can of premium olive oil – this one is for the export market, with a trade route he has arranged through Allied-controlled Iraq and thence to the US.
News Report: Washington DC, US. President Roosevelt told Congress that the United States would not yield to such "outrageous and indefensible" acts as the sinking of the SS Robin Moor and said that Germany would be held accountable. [Comment: readers may recall the 5,000t freighter SS Robin Moor had been torpedoed and shelled by German U-Boat U-69 west of Sierra Leone on 21 May 1941.]
OTL Event: Romania. Germany first briefed Romania on the plan to invade the Soviet Union.
Entertainment News: US. The comedy film The Big Store starring the Marx Brothers was released. [Comment: More Marx Brothers – hurrah! The Turkish propaganda department will no doubt again mistake them for the Communist variety of Marx and seek to use them for wartime morale-boosting.]
(1:44 min)
“A Battalion of these Marx Brothers infiltrated into Germany would surely bring their war effort to a standstill!” The Propaganda Department will never learn.
21 Jun 41
The barracks of the Turkish ‘Riyadh Garrison’ lies nearby the UGNR ‘Supervisory Office’ for the Arabian GNR. Which is also the HQ for Kaya’s security police for the occupied territory. A problem with the primitive pipes has caused all the toilets to back up, so an out-of-hours response from the local plumbers has been sought.
The man arrives and begins working on the problem. But one of the guards notices that he doesn’t seem to be very efficient – itself not unusual, it must be said – and he is also not one of the usual plumbers.
“You there, are you going to fix this, or what?” he asks in broken Arabic.
“I’m doing my best,” the tradesman answers, also in Arabic. Of which the guard only has a basic understanding and follows with difficulty. “I need to get some more tools.” He gestures to try to get his meaning across. The guard nods.
When the plumber returns, after quite a long delay, the guard has brought one of the Saudi local police on duty to help with translation.
“Who are you, I haven’t seen you before? Where is Salman? He usually does this kind of work for us,” the policeman asks.
“Salman is sick tonight. I have been sent instead.” The man is clearly now a little nervous and uneasy.
The policeman looks at the plumber’s papers but is still suspicious. There is something a little wrong about this man. “Show me your tool bag.”
Instead of complying, the ‘plumber’ flings the bag at the Saudi and makes a dash for the door. But the Turkish guard reacts quickly and butt-strokes him with his rifle stock. After an inspection, they find a small camera inside the bag in a hidden pouch, which when developed shows the man had been snooping that evening around the barracks and had found some improperly secured classified reports of dispositions in the Arabian GNR.
On interrogation, the man proved to be a Yemeni spy. And Salman’s ‘sickness’ later turned out to have been violent and terminal. As was the Yemeni’s final fate.
At 2am, the air raid alert went off in Visegrad: it had been hoped the Italian TAC wings would have been discouraged for longer than this. 1 and 2 Avci Filo were scrambled to intercept what turned out to be two wings of Hungarian TAC bombers this time. May they choke on a particularly gristly goulash that turns out to be horse meat! 1 Avci Filo had recovered to 97.2% strength and 2 Avci Filo to 99.9%. Both were near 100% organisation as well.
Battle was joined in the air at 3am with the unescorted Hungarian JU-86s over Visegrad. The Turkish fighter pilots had soon gained the upper hand and the Hungarians were unable to complete their raid, meaning no Turkish casualties on the ground. As usual, the older Hawk IIIs of 1 Avci Filo suffered more heavily than the newer I-16 wing, but both were pleased with their success. One of the enemy wings had been quite badly disorganised, even if not many of its aircraft were shot down in the mainly night fighting.
The Hungarians attempted another bombing run at midday, but this time with only one wing – the other having been too badly disorganised after the first run. Both fighter wings intercepted again – with more violent effect! It was a clear victory for the Turkish Air Force, with one in six enemy bombers shot down and their second wing now very badly disorganised. Again, their bombing run was aborted. Vur ha!
At 4pm, the heavily damaged 5 Inf Div, under the command of gun general Namut, arrived in Petrovac, on the eastern side of the newly forming Danube Line. The slow process of recovery and entrenchment began as they awaited the fresher 8 Inf Div to join them. An hour later, attention had swung back west to Visegrad.
“Sir, we have the latest SITREP from Visegrad,” said one of the CP duty officers to the Army Commander. “It is mixed news. The German 8th Infantry Division has withdrawn, but our own 10th and 3 Cav Divisions are becoming dangerously disorganised. The Italian General Calcagno has now taken over command for the Axis, we understand.”
“Hmm, that should be a good thing,” mused Inönü. “But I see from this report he has initiated an effective assault. He must be learning! Let’s hope Noyan can do something to deal with it.”
After a pause, he continues. “97 SD are taking too long to get there from Valjevo and we are losing our grip on the battle. Wehib Pasha will get there before them with 1 Cav, and we again run the risk of having our reinforcements turn up in time to go into reserve, but not to reinforce before a retreat is sounded. I don’t like it!”
OTL Event: Berlin and Rome. Hitler sent Benito Mussolini a secret message informing him of the German invasion of the Soviet Union. "I waited until this moment, Duce, to send you this information, it is because the final decision itself will not be made until 7 o'clock tonight," Hitler wrote. "I earnestly beg you, therefore, to refrain, above all, from making any explanation to your Ambassador at Moscow, for there is no absolute guarantee that our coded reports cannot be decoded. I, too, shall wait until the last moment to have my own Ambassador informed of the decisions reached." [Comment: And so the alternate and real worlds again draw somewhat parallel to each other.]
News Report: Washington DC, US. The United States completes the tit-for-tat exchange of consulate closings with Germany and Italy by ordering all Italian consulates to close before July 15.
22 Jun 41
At 4am 8 Inf Div pulled into Petrovac, without any active Axis pursuit. The enemy seemed to be shuffling their forces north-east against the Soviets instead, leaving the nascent Danube Line unmolested for now. The ‘Baja de Arama Gap’ is still wide open. And 4 Inf Div in Turnu Severin was still very low in organisation and needed more than 500 more replacements to come back up to full manning.
Shortly afterwards, Noyan reports bad news from Visegrad:
Although the enemy is also under pressure, their numbers are beginning to prevail.
Then, at 6am, another new battle starts. And the initial report, from a duty officer in at HQ 1 Mtn Div in Nevesinje, is alarming – or perhaps alarmist.
Then, just two hours later, there is yet another report of an enemy attack – this time in the hills of Rudo, just to the south-west of Visegrad. The Axis effort on this previously long-dormant section of the line has suddenly hotted up! The hills provide a reasonable boost to the defenders, as does their full entrenchment. But the enemy’s assault offsets these advantages somewhat. The battle is closer than in Nevesinje, but with only one enemy division attacking at this stage, MAJGEN Köldecan, the commander of 17 Inf Div - one of the original ‘1936 divisions’ – remains confident of holding on.
In the early afternoon, the redoubtable Toüdemür of 3 Cav Div reports he has initiated an ambush to help counteract the enemy assault on Visegrad. It is emerging as a favourite tactic of his and effectively negates their assault, but the numbers are still against the defenders and the odds are slowly deteriorating.
The rest of the day passes with the three battles continuing. The efforts of the Turkish Air Force prevented any Axis air raids making it to their targets today.
OTL Event: Barbarossa Launched! German forces launched Operation Barbarossa, the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union. At 3:25 a.m. Georgy Zhukov woke up Joseph Stalin by phone to inform him of the invasion, but Stalin initially believed it to only be a German provocation and refused to give Zhukov permission to strike back. Only three hours later did he realize it was a full-scale invasion and authorise the Red Army to resist. Hitler issued a lengthy proclamation of war with the Soviet Union presenting his justification for the German invasion. As usual, Hitler presented himself as doing everything he could to preserve peace and only turning to force as a last resort. [Comment: true to form, the lying maniacal Fascist scum.] Italy and Romania also declared war on the Soviet Union that day.
Hitler planning Operation Barbarossa with his henchmen. Let’s hope the pre-emptive Great Liberation War of this ATL can do as good or better a job of smashing the Nazis as that decision eventually led to in OTL.
OTL Event: Moscow, USSR. Vyacheslav Molotov gave a broadcast authorised by Stalin to the citizens of the Soviet Union. "This war has been forced upon us, not by the German people, not by German workers, peasants and intellectuals, whose sufferings we well understand, but by the clique of bloodthirsty Fascist rulers of Germany who have enslaved Frenchmen, Czechs, Poles, Serbians, Norway, Belgium, Denmark, Holland, Greece and other nations," Molotov said. "The government of the Soviet Union expresses its unshakable confidence that our valiant army and navy and brave falcons of the Soviet Air Force will acquit themselves with honour in performing their duty to the fatherland and to the Soviet people, and will inflict a crushing blow upon the aggressor." [Comment: go for it, Vysacheslav. Throw a few cocktails in, as well! Interesting the translation here (courtesy of Wikipedia) refers to the ‘fatherland’. I wonder if that is accurate? Would have thought Rodina/Motherland might have been used.]
Molotov does the talking while Stalin attempts to recover from the shock of Hitler’s betrayal – and his inability to believe it was coming, despite many warnings from his own intelligence staff and the West.
OTL Event: London, UK. Winston Churchill gave a speech announcing the German invasion of the Soviet Union and explaining Britain's new alliance with Russia. "No one has been a more consistent opponent of Communism than I have for the last twenty-five years," Churchill said. "I will unsay no word that I have spoken about it. But all this fades away before the spectacle which is now unfolding ... Any man or state who fights on against Nazidom will have our aid. Any man or state who marches with Hitler is our foe ... It follows, therefore, that we shall give whatever help we can to Russia and the Russian people. We shall appeal to all our friends and allies in every part of the world to take the same course and pursue it, as we shall, faithfully and steadfastly to the end."
23 Jun 41
OTL: Barbarossa. The front page of the New York Times on 23 June says it all.
In Visegrad, 3 Cav Div still holds on in the mid-afternoon – just - and Toüdemür pulls yet another trick out of his saddle-bag: as the Italian commander Calcagno launches a reckless attack in the hope of finishing off the Turkish defence, the cavalryman responds with a perfectly timed counter-attack! Both sides now are running on empty. Then, to improve things further, 1 Cav Div arrives and goes into the reserve. But while their presence may discourage the enemy somewhat, their reinforcement chance is very low.
---xxx---
Tom Rosencrantz welcomes Perse to a cosy little restaurant in Ankara that night. Perse cannot help but respond happily to his infectious smile.
“Lovely to see you looking so beautiful, Perse. It reminds me of our time back at Cambridge.”
“I must admit, it is good to get away, even if just for an hour or two. Thank you for asking me, Tom”
“Lovely to see you.” “It is good to get away.”
They settle down to an intimate dinner. It looks like the beginning of a beautiful romance. Even if their respective jobs normally keep them in two different cities – and very busy. Two English strangers in a strange land.
OTL: Barbarossa. The General Headquarters (Stavka) of the USSR Armed Forces was formed, under the instruction of the Soviet of People’s Commissars of USSR and the All-Russian Communist Party of Bolsheviks Central Committee. It was headed by People’s Commissar for Defence, Marshal of the Soviet Union S. K. Timoshenko. Among Stavka members there were the members of Politburo of the Central Committee of the All-Russian Communist Party of Bolsheviks I. V. Stalin, V. M. Molotov, Marshal of the Soviet Union K. E. Voroshilov, People’s Commissar for Defense assistant, Marshal of the Soviet Union S. M. Budyonny, People’s Commissar of the Navy N. G. Kuznetsov and the General staff Head, Army-General G. K. Zhukov.
OTL: Barbarossa. Slovakia declared war on the Soviet Union. [Comment: @El Pip, their inevitable defeat beckons. ]
Coming Up: The second part of this report on the six-day period surrounding the commencement of the OTL Operation Barbarossa will continue soon. It is already written and illustrated, but I will wait for this portion to be digested before serving the next course. For now, we leave the Yeniçeri Line alight with battle on the ground and in the air.
20 Jun 41
The story resumes at 7am on the morning of 20 June 1941, with a major battle that started on the early afternoon of 18 June continuing to rage in Visegrad. Turkish interceptors had returned to the skies, successfully seeing off the two Italian TAC wings that had been plaguing the Turks for weeks.
At the Mountain Komando Training School, LTCOL Diskoerekto is distracted from his jealous romantic thoughts about the delectable publicity chief Persephonee Fotheringay-Phipps after he opens his morning mail.
Just to the north of the not-yet-ready 3 Mtn Div, the latest Battle for Visegrad continues to rage. By mid-afternoon, neither side has the ascendancy, but the Axis has the numbers and pressure is growing on the Turkish defenders.
“Perse, I really must see you. I’ve missed you so much. How about we have dinner tonight – I know a nice little place not far from here. Romantic. Quiet. Nice food.”
“Really, Tom? Things are so busy here at the moment. I’m working on another Air Force recruiting campaign and there is never enough time.”
Even as she speaks, members of her staff rush back and forth while two stand queued up at her office door, looking at her urgently with papers in hand.
“We can make it late – say 8pm – but I simply must talk to you.” Tom looks around briefly at the staff members standing at the door. He then says, lowering his voice a little and saying, with a mix of sheepish but determined sincerity, “I must talk of my feelings for you, Perse. It means a lot to me.”
The officials cough nervously or look away and shuffle their feet, feeling they intrude on a personal moment. But they are also very protective of their glamorous boss and refuse to leave.
“Very well then, Tom. For old time’s sake.”
“Perse, I really must see you!”
At Luca’s olive farm, he proudly holds his first can of premium olive oil – this one is for the export market, with a trade route he has arranged through Allied-controlled Iraq and thence to the US.
OTL Event: Romania. Germany first briefed Romania on the plan to invade the Soviet Union.
Entertainment News: US. The comedy film The Big Store starring the Marx Brothers was released. [Comment: More Marx Brothers – hurrah! The Turkish propaganda department will no doubt again mistake them for the Communist variety of Marx and seek to use them for wartime morale-boosting.]
“A Battalion of these Marx Brothers infiltrated into Germany would surely bring their war effort to a standstill!” The Propaganda Department will never learn.
---xxx---
21 Jun 41
The barracks of the Turkish ‘Riyadh Garrison’ lies nearby the UGNR ‘Supervisory Office’ for the Arabian GNR. Which is also the HQ for Kaya’s security police for the occupied territory. A problem with the primitive pipes has caused all the toilets to back up, so an out-of-hours response from the local plumbers has been sought.
The man arrives and begins working on the problem. But one of the guards notices that he doesn’t seem to be very efficient – itself not unusual, it must be said – and he is also not one of the usual plumbers.
“You there, are you going to fix this, or what?” he asks in broken Arabic.
“I’m doing my best,” the tradesman answers, also in Arabic. Of which the guard only has a basic understanding and follows with difficulty. “I need to get some more tools.” He gestures to try to get his meaning across. The guard nods.
When the plumber returns, after quite a long delay, the guard has brought one of the Saudi local police on duty to help with translation.
“Who are you, I haven’t seen you before? Where is Salman? He usually does this kind of work for us,” the policeman asks.
“Salman is sick tonight. I have been sent instead.” The man is clearly now a little nervous and uneasy.
The policeman looks at the plumber’s papers but is still suspicious. There is something a little wrong about this man. “Show me your tool bag.”
Instead of complying, the ‘plumber’ flings the bag at the Saudi and makes a dash for the door. But the Turkish guard reacts quickly and butt-strokes him with his rifle stock. After an inspection, they find a small camera inside the bag in a hidden pouch, which when developed shows the man had been snooping that evening around the barracks and had found some improperly secured classified reports of dispositions in the Arabian GNR.
On interrogation, the man proved to be a Yemeni spy. And Salman’s ‘sickness’ later turned out to have been violent and terminal. As was the Yemeni’s final fate.
---xxx---
At 2am, the air raid alert went off in Visegrad: it had been hoped the Italian TAC wings would have been discouraged for longer than this. 1 and 2 Avci Filo were scrambled to intercept what turned out to be two wings of Hungarian TAC bombers this time. May they choke on a particularly gristly goulash that turns out to be horse meat! 1 Avci Filo had recovered to 97.2% strength and 2 Avci Filo to 99.9%. Both were near 100% organisation as well.
Battle was joined in the air at 3am with the unescorted Hungarian JU-86s over Visegrad. The Turkish fighter pilots had soon gained the upper hand and the Hungarians were unable to complete their raid, meaning no Turkish casualties on the ground. As usual, the older Hawk IIIs of 1 Avci Filo suffered more heavily than the newer I-16 wing, but both were pleased with their success. One of the enemy wings had been quite badly disorganised, even if not many of its aircraft were shot down in the mainly night fighting.
“Sir, we have the latest SITREP from Visegrad,” said one of the CP duty officers to the Army Commander. “It is mixed news. The German 8th Infantry Division has withdrawn, but our own 10th and 3 Cav Divisions are becoming dangerously disorganised. The Italian General Calcagno has now taken over command for the Axis, we understand.”
“Hmm, that should be a good thing,” mused Inönü. “But I see from this report he has initiated an effective assault. He must be learning! Let’s hope Noyan can do something to deal with it.”
After a pause, he continues. “97 SD are taking too long to get there from Valjevo and we are losing our grip on the battle. Wehib Pasha will get there before them with 1 Cav, and we again run the risk of having our reinforcements turn up in time to go into reserve, but not to reinforce before a retreat is sounded. I don’t like it!”
News Report: Washington DC, US. The United States completes the tit-for-tat exchange of consulate closings with Germany and Italy by ordering all Italian consulates to close before July 15.
---xxx---
22 Jun 41
At 4am 8 Inf Div pulled into Petrovac, without any active Axis pursuit. The enemy seemed to be shuffling their forces north-east against the Soviets instead, leaving the nascent Danube Line unmolested for now. The ‘Baja de Arama Gap’ is still wide open. And 4 Inf Div in Turnu Severin was still very low in organisation and needed more than 500 more replacements to come back up to full manning.
“One this is Ten, I have relinquished command of the battle here to Sunray Three-Charlie. My own troops are spent and are retreating to Pozega. We have lost over 1,000 men and I fear Three Charlie will not be able to hold on too much longer either. Out.”
Although the enemy is also under pressure, their numbers are beginning to prevail.
“One this is One Mike: we are under attack! We have initial reports of an entire corps of infantry – five infantry divisions from Germany, Hunagry and Italy – attacking from three different directions!”
“Get your Sunray immediately. Confirm enemy strength.”
After a short pause, the renowned MAJGEN Muzir comes on the command net.
“One this is One Mike, Sunray speaking. Initial reports were a little confused. I can confirm only one of the enemy formations – the German 62nd Infanterie – is actually participating in the attack. It is MAJGEN Haarde again! And again, his allies have sold him out. He is attempting an assault, but our positions here are very strong. I am confident he will once more find he is doing things ‘the Haarde Way’, over.”
“Roger One Mike, good hunting, out.”
“Get your Sunray immediately. Confirm enemy strength.”
After a short pause, the renowned MAJGEN Muzir comes on the command net.
“One this is One Mike, Sunray speaking. Initial reports were a little confused. I can confirm only one of the enemy formations – the German 62nd Infanterie – is actually participating in the attack. It is MAJGEN Haarde again! And again, his allies have sold him out. He is attempting an assault, but our positions here are very strong. I am confident he will once more find he is doing things ‘the Haarde Way’, over.”
“Roger One Mike, good hunting, out.”
---xxx---
OTL Event: Barbarossa Launched! German forces launched Operation Barbarossa, the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union. At 3:25 a.m. Georgy Zhukov woke up Joseph Stalin by phone to inform him of the invasion, but Stalin initially believed it to only be a German provocation and refused to give Zhukov permission to strike back. Only three hours later did he realize it was a full-scale invasion and authorise the Red Army to resist. Hitler issued a lengthy proclamation of war with the Soviet Union presenting his justification for the German invasion. As usual, Hitler presented himself as doing everything he could to preserve peace and only turning to force as a last resort. [Comment: true to form, the lying maniacal Fascist scum.] Italy and Romania also declared war on the Soviet Union that day.
Hitler planning Operation Barbarossa with his henchmen. Let’s hope the pre-emptive Great Liberation War of this ATL can do as good or better a job of smashing the Nazis as that decision eventually led to in OTL.
OTL Event: Moscow, USSR. Vyacheslav Molotov gave a broadcast authorised by Stalin to the citizens of the Soviet Union. "This war has been forced upon us, not by the German people, not by German workers, peasants and intellectuals, whose sufferings we well understand, but by the clique of bloodthirsty Fascist rulers of Germany who have enslaved Frenchmen, Czechs, Poles, Serbians, Norway, Belgium, Denmark, Holland, Greece and other nations," Molotov said. "The government of the Soviet Union expresses its unshakable confidence that our valiant army and navy and brave falcons of the Soviet Air Force will acquit themselves with honour in performing their duty to the fatherland and to the Soviet people, and will inflict a crushing blow upon the aggressor." [Comment: go for it, Vysacheslav. Throw a few cocktails in, as well! Interesting the translation here (courtesy of Wikipedia) refers to the ‘fatherland’. I wonder if that is accurate? Would have thought Rodina/Motherland might have been used.]
Molotov does the talking while Stalin attempts to recover from the shock of Hitler’s betrayal – and his inability to believe it was coming, despite many warnings from his own intelligence staff and the West.
OTL Event: London, UK. Winston Churchill gave a speech announcing the German invasion of the Soviet Union and explaining Britain's new alliance with Russia. "No one has been a more consistent opponent of Communism than I have for the last twenty-five years," Churchill said. "I will unsay no word that I have spoken about it. But all this fades away before the spectacle which is now unfolding ... Any man or state who fights on against Nazidom will have our aid. Any man or state who marches with Hitler is our foe ... It follows, therefore, that we shall give whatever help we can to Russia and the Russian people. We shall appeal to all our friends and allies in every part of the world to take the same course and pursue it, as we shall, faithfully and steadfastly to the end."
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23 Jun 41
OTL: Barbarossa. The front page of the New York Times on 23 June says it all.
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“Lovely to see you looking so beautiful, Perse. It reminds me of our time back at Cambridge.”
“I must admit, it is good to get away, even if just for an hour or two. Thank you for asking me, Tom”
“Lovely to see you.” “It is good to get away.”
They settle down to an intimate dinner. It looks like the beginning of a beautiful romance. Even if their respective jobs normally keep them in two different cities – and very busy. Two English strangers in a strange land.
OTL: Barbarossa. The General Headquarters (Stavka) of the USSR Armed Forces was formed, under the instruction of the Soviet of People’s Commissars of USSR and the All-Russian Communist Party of Bolsheviks Central Committee. It was headed by People’s Commissar for Defence, Marshal of the Soviet Union S. K. Timoshenko. Among Stavka members there were the members of Politburo of the Central Committee of the All-Russian Communist Party of Bolsheviks I. V. Stalin, V. M. Molotov, Marshal of the Soviet Union K. E. Voroshilov, People’s Commissar for Defense assistant, Marshal of the Soviet Union S. M. Budyonny, People’s Commissar of the Navy N. G. Kuznetsov and the General staff Head, Army-General G. K. Zhukov.
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Coming Up: The second part of this report on the six-day period surrounding the commencement of the OTL Operation Barbarossa will continue soon. It is already written and illustrated, but I will wait for this portion to be digested before serving the next course. For now, we leave the Yeniçeri Line alight with battle on the ground and in the air.
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What could've been a better way to start a week? First thing I want on my desk any monday morning is a new TT episode! For a bit more time, I will not be the person in the office dreading the monday but LTCOL.. sorry COL diskoerekto who is in a completely different universe. Thanks for this
Feels good to be back on the field. The smell of Zorkun tava in the morning! The sounds of the defeated enemies! Let's see what this new adventure has to bring
I think the best way to compare our Barbarossa with the real Barbarossa would be to determine when in real life the front was approximately at its position in our alternate universe, then try to beat that time by holding onto our lines longer
THIS is going to be in my signatureAt the Mountain Komando Training School, LTCOL Diskoerekto is distracted from his jealous romantic thoughts about the delectable publicity chief Persephonee Fotheringay-Phipps after he opens his morning mail.
It is off to the front for the mountain warfare expert. He will now be responsible for bringing one of the brigades he has recently helped train up to full battle readiness on the Yeniçeri Line.
Feels good to be back on the field. The smell of Zorkun tava in the morning! The sounds of the defeated enemies! Let's see what this new adventure has to bring He has quite the nerves, doesn't he. I hope he doesn't ever cross my path because that might mean court martial for me.
small nitpick: Zeytin with a y.
That's the spirit! İstikbal göklerdedir!
At least, even if we lose they will be too disorganized to hold the province, Wehib Pasha will kick them out as soon as they come. Toüdemür is the real deal
I was hoping for the midnight express to end this night prematurely to take Tom away
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It is nice to see that Turkey seems to have control of the skies. I guess there is an advantage to the Germans having their air power focused in Russia. But I am not too happy with the ground war.
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Another interesting update for this awesome story
I have a question: I've see as some readers are secondary characters in this AAR, I can become a minor character with my username?
I have a question: I've see as some readers are secondary characters in this AAR, I can become a minor character with my username?
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THIS is going to be in my signature
And to think you started by trying to sneak through the air ducts of SITH HQ.
He has quite the nerves, doesn't he. I hope he doesn't ever cross my path because that might mean court martial for me.
Kelebek is not quite sure what to make of the sudden declaration of feeling from the Colonel but he supposed that having a favour owed for investigating the man to the minute detail and then clearing him through enhanced interrogation was worth it. Probably. To be honest, it was more a dislike of the englishman than anything else but Perse and Colonel never needed to know that.
I was hoping for the midnight express to end this night prematurely to take Tom away
Well we do have some standards. We are not Nazis, after all.
Indeed but to be honest, I prefer us holding our own in the skies to any battle on land. We specifically were never going to win on land and rely on pure defence at the moment...and that requires good air cover. And we've suffered thouasnds of deaths due to not having it till now. For as long as we can maintain it...we should. The only reason to retreat would be because we would lose our airforce which we need for the final defence.
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What a rollercoaster of a career, right
This is the standard Kelebek mode of operation as we know and love it.
He'll turn out to be a spy, just wait and see.
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by the way, what is our occupation policy? it affects leadership acquisition from annexed provinces, right? or is foreign leadership totally zero? I was looking at the earliest episodes and saw our leadership has not increased very much from what we had in 1936. If that is the case, I wish it was possible to tell puppets what to research and what to produce and order them to hand over their units to us. Would've been a much efficient rule of our glorious republic.
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