Operations until May 31, 1951
While the northern sector has accomplished its initial mission of destroying the bulk of the French armored forces, the southern wing of the advance now grinds into stiff resistance. French reserve armored units crash into Soviet positions in southern Poland. The battle stalemates for nearly a week until Soviet reinforcements exhaust the French advance which bogs down outside of Przemysl.
However, with Soviet reserves committed, Syndicalist forces oust three Russian divisions from Uzhorod, widening the breach between Soviet army groups South Ukraine and Romania. As French mechanized forces pour into Debrecen, and with pressure still on the tank armies further north, STAVKA needs to cobble together two corps of semi-reliable allied Bulgarian and Romanian forces to plug the gap and is even considering moving armored forces from northern Poland which would severely hamper any attempts at a meaningful follow-up in that sector.
By mid-month, Syndicalist forces have knocked allied units out of northern Hungary, and, though losses are relatively light, the entire front is now in danger of collapse if the breaches cannot be closed in soon.
Facing disaster, Soviet high command redeploys two elite armored corps from the Batlic/Prussian front to southern Poland and on May 14th, they begin to push back Franco-German forces in Hungary. The Front has now stabilized but the relocation of 40% of the armored strength in the Northern sector means that the Soviets have likely lost the punch they need for a decisive strike into Germany.
Just as the attack is going in, Syndicalist combined forces open up a strong attack on the flank of the Soviet southern army group. All along the Balkan front, French guns open up on Turkish and Bulgarian formations. Russian intelligence had predicted only sporadic defense in this sector and that French forces would be concentrated in Poland and Hungary. However, French high command has perhaps seen the wisdom in focusing their attacks on our less effective allies. Within a few days, allied units are knocked decisively out of Bosnia and back into Hungary.
Isolated units in Banja Luka are evacuated over the Sava River to shorten the defensive line and are ordered to dig in until reinforcements can reach them.
In other News, Italian forces are assaulting the Turkish garrison on Lesbos. Naval command is currently deciding whether to risk the recently redeployed far-Eastern fleet in an attempt to stop the landings.
The Soviet southern front continues to shrink in the face of massed Syndicalist attacks. On the 24th of May, fifteen divisions are forced out of Zalaegerszeg and retreat to the southeast of Lake Balaton.
On the following day, allied units are knocked out of Uzice on the Serbian front, an area previously thought safe of Syndicalist attacks.
The southern successes come at a cost however as the French are forced back out of eastern Hungary after the protracted battle of Miskolc where the casualty numbers favor the Soviets for the first time in weeks.
After a month of fighting, Norwegian troops finally force the exhausted 3rd alpine corps out of Alta. Although this is a setback, no one on either side believes the Norwegians have the strength to press on into Finland.