The Fortress Balkan - Yugoslavia

[General War]

I've started a game with Yugoslavia in 1936, with the goal of making it a Balkan superpower, conquering its neighbors, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary.

Phase One - Preparations
January 1936 - May 1939

The first thing I did was reorganize my army into 6 corps, two defending my border with Italy and Hungary, two defending border with Greece and Bulgaria, which I perceived as the greatest threat. One corps was left as a strategic reserve, and one as a mobile force, with best units and commanders, intended do be used as my main striking force.

I immediately started recruiting new troops, mostly infantry with some armored and motorized brigades.

My first priority at this point was to improve the industrial capacity and economy. I've established several trade deals, mostly with Italy, Germany, Romania and Turkey. Soon the supplies started to pile up.

I've taken the steps to approach the Axis powers, Germany and Italy,and started to convince my people that the Bulgaria is our greatest enemy. In the meantime I made an alliance with Turkey. Greece allied with Romania.

In June 1937 I joined the Axis, which secured my western border with Italy, and allowed me to concentrate my forces in other areas, mostly along Hungarian and Bulgarian borders.

Early morning on 1st of May 1939 I started to mobilize my forces. As if I had known that later that day Germany will invade Poland. Eight days later Soviet Union declared war on Germany.

The world war has begun.

 

[S0ny B1ack]

oh!! Finnally a yugoslavia AAR for HOI3. Could become interesting... How many divisions do you have?

 

[General War]

oh!! Finnally a yugoslavia AAR for HOI3. Could become interesting... How many divisions do you have?

At that time I had 19 divisions: 1 Armored, 1 Motorized, 2 Cavalry, 1 Mountain, and the rest was Infantry.

I'm now actually well into the game, and I write these reports a bit after the events took place. Looking at the bright side, the new reports will be posted with much smaller delay.

 

[Myth]

Looking good so far! How's your neutrality?

 

[General War]

Looking good so far! How's your neutrality?

It's around 40 and getting lower. With the elevated Bulgarian threat and my bonus for being an Axis member, I'll be able to get into the action soon.

 

[Mico94]

soviets declaring war?
good luck

Edit: the title would be better like this: Yugoslavia - The Balkan Fortress and not The Fortress Balkan - Yugoslavia

 

[General War]

soviets declaring war?
good luck

Thanks, I'm gonna need it.

Edit: the title would be better like this: Yugoslavia - The Balkan Fortress and not The Fortress Balkan - Yugoslavia

You're right, it's probably incorrect, but I opted for it out of the poetic freedom, and to paraphrase "Fortress Europe" . Anyway, English is not my native language, which is probably obvious from my posts.

 

[S0ny B1ack]

How are the germans doing again russia?
If they can hold their border you just have to leave romania as an neutral barrier between you and the soviets, to prepare your army for them.

 

[General War]

Phase Two - The Conquest
September 1939 - June 1940

Bulgaria

On 12 September 1939 Yugoslavia declared war on Bulgaria. Three corps (III i V, organized into the 1st Army, and IV Corps) were already stationed along the border, and the next day entered Bulgarian territory, attacking on a broad front.

Even though the Bulgarian army was not prepared for the war, and wasn't fully mobilized, it offered strong initial resistance. But after a few days their frontline collapsed and our forces entered Sofia. Bulgarian troops started to retreat towards port of Varna, followed by our troops, mostly by armored and motorized divisions of IV Corps.
By 29 October all organized resistance ceased, and the Bulgarian government fled into exile. The Yugoslav army achieved its first victory!



Hungary

After the successful Bulgarian campaign, 1st Army returned to its original position along the Greek border, which was left virtualy undefended. Greeks massed their army along the border, obviously preparing something.
IV Corps was deployed to Hungarian border, where it met with the forces of 2nd Army (II and VII Corps).

Finally, on 20 November Yugoslavia declared war on Hungary.
The border was defended with about 10 divisions, against 15 Yugoslav. The plan was to use the Lake of Balaton in the rear of Hungarian army to cut them off with the pincer movement. The first attack was made on the right flank, by the forces of IV Corps, spearheaded by armored and motorized divisions. At the left arm of the pincer were forces of II Corps, attacking only with infantry because they had to cover less territory. To support the maneuver, others forces attacked on a broad front. After 10 days of fierce combat, IV Corps reached Balaton. IV Corps did the same on the right flank, 7 days later. Six Hungarian divisions were traped in the pocked and destroyed.

After the victory, Yugoslav troops raced towards Budapest from several directions. It finally fell on 4 January 1940, and Hungarian army laid down their weapons. The government, however, escaped and choose to fight on.
The only thing that casted a shadow on a bright Yugoslav victory was the loss of 1st Tactical Bomber Wing, annihilated during the Battle of Balaton.

The 2nd Army rushed to northwest to a newly established border with Soviet Union, and to link with the German troops who formed a front across Poland.
IV Corps was deployed south.

On the Western front, Germany occupied Netherlands and stopped at the Belgian border. Italy penetrated into the French territory almost reaching Toulon. Turkey, who entered the war as Yugoslav ally but not Axis member, was under attack by the Soviets, but manage to establish a solid front line and hold it.
At that time Italy declared war on Greece. Germany and Yugoslavia joined.

 

[General War]

Romania and Greece

Even though there was a war between Yugoslavia and Greece, the front line was quiet. My main concern was Romania, who was allied to Greece. We had good relations in the past, but I was worried that they will honor their alliance and attack. I had very weak defense along the border, concentrated mostly around Belgrade.

That's why I made a decision to strike first! Not having the time or forces to establish a proper defense line, I made a risky plan to make a swift dash towards Bucharest and Ploesti, hoping that it will deliver a crushing blow. This is one decision I will soon regret.

It was 24th of January when the forces of IV Corps, supported by elements of 1st Army crossed the border. Within two weeks my forces reached their objectives.
But the Romanian forces didn't loose their will to fight. They penetrated the border on several locations, threatening Belgrade which was saved in the last moment. They have also attacked and captured Varna, a port on the Black Sea. That's were I launched a counteroffensive, and after I regained control of Varna, Romanian government left the country, and their army was defeated. It was 6th of March.

Fall of Romania created a big problem. It opened a vast border with Soviet Union, stretching from Hungary to Black Sea. And it was mostly undefended. Fortunately the bulk of Soviet troops was engaged in Poland.

By stretching out the 1st Army, and deploying the IV Corps I managed to form a more-less solid front. Defeating the Greeks was imperative, in order to be able to send more troops to the East. For that purpose I committed my reserve, the I Corps. Italians helped with the expeditionary force consisting of two mountain division, Germans did the same with one motorized.

Situation on 26th of March 1940


These troops joined the 2nd Army, defending the Greek border. The plan was to thrust from the center towards the Aegean Sea, cutting off their right flank, simultaneously attacking that flank from the east. After destroying the pocked, my troops will proceed towards the Athens. The offensive started on 26th of March.

The Greeks launched a counteroffensive, with only limited success on the west. The campaign progressed slowly but steadily. At the beginning of May I destroyed the pocket around Salonica and marched into Athens on 19 June.

The Greece surrendered.


The other fronts

In the meantime situation on other fronts was not good. Germany occupied Belgium and headed towards Paris but were stoped.

The French pushed Italians out of France and all the way to Adriatic coast, capturing Venice.
They've also broken through German lines NE of Switzerland and pushed deep into Germany.

At the Eastern front, Soviets made a breakthrough in Hungary. I deployed the V Corps there, out of Greece, to contain the Soviets, but with limited success.

Turkish southern flank collapsed, and it looks like they won't be able to resist much longer.

 

[General War]

How are the germans doing again russia?
If they can hold their border you just have to leave romania as an neutral barrier between you and the soviets, to prepare your army for them.

As you can see from the picture above, it's not doing great.

Leaving Romania as a buffer would be wise thing to do, and would allow me to defend only Hungarian border. Which would be easily accomplished with a corps or two.
But since Romania allied with Greece, and we were at war, I was afraid they'll attack.
Anyway, it was probably a big mistake to invade Romania...

 

[MastahCheef117]

Why is everyone taking Hungary? Hungary is awesome XD

Nice job BTW so far

 

[S0ny B1ack]

Nice job at uniting balkan.But it seems that it's only a matter of time when germany surrender if they can't defeat france :wacko:

 

[General War]

It does seem that the Germany is beaten. I guess the Soviets attacked too soon...

 

[Myth]

That does look a bit like a losing war...

 

[General War]

That does look a bit like a losing war...

"We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender..."

 

[Barkas]

Will be watching this Good luck!
Sretno!

 

[General War]

Will be watching this Good luck!
Sretno!

Hvala!

 

[unmerged(131628)]

Will be watching this Good luck!
Sretno!

+1

Nice AAR

 

[General War]

Phase Three - Defense
June - October 1940

Establishing the line

While the fighting in Greece was still raging, I dispatched some units from there to Romanian front, where I managed to form a somewhat solid line. The Soviets launched an offensive along the coast, reaching a former Bulgarian border, but my counteroffensive at the end of the May pushed them back to their starting positions.

During July, Yugoslav forces launched an offensive along that same coast. Motorized and armored forces of IV Corps, supported by newly formed IX Corps, penetrated deep behind enemy lines, surrounding and destroying a significant amount of Soviet soldiers. The offensive turned to west, hitting the exposed Soviet flank. The fighting lasted until September, when Soviets brought fresh troops, grinding the offensive to a halt.

Battle of Salonta

At the beginning of August, Soviet troops attacked at the center. They quickly overrun my week defenses and created a large bulge, obviously going to Belgrade, not far away.

Without any reserves, and with only a small garrison in Belgrade, my only option was to deploy some troops stationed elsewhere on the front, to halt the offensive. That created week spots along the frontline, but I had to take the risk.

While my forces where retreating in front of the advancing Soviet troops, I attacked the base of the bulge from both sides. The Soviet offensive halted, probably due to the overstretched supply lines, and they began to withdraw, realizing the danger of being trapped.

It was too late. By the end of the month, my forces linked behind the bulge, creating a large Soviet pocket in Salonta. The Soviet resistance ended 19th of September, with more than 30,000 dead, wounded or surrendered.

Hungary

During the Spring of 1940, Soviet forces broke through our lines in Hungary. In June they occupied most of the country and established their government.

In summer, Germans started their offensive in that area, and encouraged by their success, my forces joined the fight. My offensive get a large boost after the battle of Salonta, where I secured the frontline and had two corps in reserve (III and VII). These were sent to Hungary, west of Balaton.

The Soviet forces where tied fighting the Germans, so I started a broad front attack throughout the Hungary. By the end of October, most of the Soviet troops were out of the country, and I established my own government there.

The Soviets brought great number of fresh troops to the front and I stopped, to give my battle-weary troops some deserved rest before forthcoming battles.

Operations Jul-Oct 1940



The Italian disaster

French forces in Italy continued their offensive to the south, and reached the outskirts of Rome in August. They were also heavily engaged with the Germans on the north, so I took advantage of the situation and started a offensive, with only a small forces (the Italian expeditionary forces, left-over from Greek campaign). I've entered Venice without any resistance and continued to push westwards, with the ultimate goal of reaching the west Italian coast, cutting off supplies from the French troops around Rome.

At first, the offensive was going well, with little or no resistance. But halfway through we were stopped by superior forces, and had to retreat all the way to Istria, in order to avoid cutting off.

In the meantime, the French captured Rome.

On 3rd of October Italy surrendered.

Strategic situation. The Western front is mostly stable, with minor German gains. The French are mostly kicked out of Germany. Italy is kicked out of war. Eastern front is holding. So is Turkey.