The Carpathian War
September 23th, 1937-
The thunder and rumble of war echoed throughout the Carpathian mountains. Infantry scurried down mountain passes wupported by tanks rumbling along. Up above, the screaming drone of Avialz Av.13 Dive Bombers was heard, as they dropped their load of death and fire upon the unsuspecting Romanians.
The War had begun.
September 28th, 1937-After light fighting, Cariova is taken by Forces under General Verees' Corps.
September 29th, 1937-
Striking from the north in hopes of cutting Romania in two, Field Marshal Rendulic takes Iasi with minimal casualties. He makes suprising progress without any heavy armour to speak of.
October 7th, 1937-
The Austrian General Staff orders a halt of operations in order for supply lines to catch up and organization to return to units. This is to prove a costly mistake, as it gives the Romanian's time to regroup and strengthen.
October 16th, 1937-
After the October 14th order to advance once again, Field Marshal von Hubicki’s 4th Armee takes Ploesti and it's massive oil fields. Unfortunatly, upon retreating, the Romanian army blew up the fields and refineries. The Fields won't return to full capacity until at least the Summer of 1938.
November 1st, 1937-
Field Marshal Rendulic takes Chisinau, cutting the north of Romania from the South. Army Group North's first objective has been fufilled.
November 3rd, 1937-
Field Marshal von Hubicki attacks Constanta with his 4th Armee and a Czech Armoured Corps. "Constanta" He was quoted saying. "Is the key to all of Romania. If Constanta falls, Romania falls with it."
November 7th, 1937-
Facing 3:1 odds, von Hubicki is forced to retreat out of Constanta with heavy casualties. With it's Rivers, hills, and canals, Constanta forms a natrual fortress. Plans are being drawn up to avoid a future catastrophe.
November 14th, 1937-
Admiral Horthy leads two cruisers, Zenta and Wein to victory against the Romanian Fleet in the Battle of the Western Black Sea. Romania is now completely blocked from oversea aid.
November 14th, 1937-
On the same day as Horthy’s victory, the Czech General Beyer brings the Northern Campaign to a close, capturing Beltsy. The White Russian population there greets them as liberators, hoping that they will be treated with the same respect that the new Austrian Empire treats all it's ethnic groups. The White Russian leader, Igor Stapanovitch is flown to Vienna for talks.
December 7th, 1937
A Huge offensive launched with aims of taking Constanta. A trimultious artillery and naval bombardment starts the offensive. Avialz Av.50 Tactical and Av.13 Dive Bombers fly nonstop missions to assist the troops on the ground. The Romanian Air Force, after being harried and almost destroyed since the opening day of the war, is finally obliderated, after bravely and foolishly trying to take on the well-trained Luftfahrtruppe. The Italian Expationary Force lands via sea, completing the surrounding of the Romanian armies there. A total of 15 Austrian and 3 Italian divisions take part in the attack.
December 16th, 1937-
Constanta falls after heavy house to house fighting. The “Key to Rumania”, Constanta opens the way to offensives in Bucharest. The battle was a perfect example of Axis cooperation.
Romania, shortly after the fall of Constanta and it's port facalities.
December 27th, 1937-
The Combined Austro-Italian fleet in the Black sea detects a Romanian Submarine Flotilia and destroys it.
January 18th, 1938-
Another Austro-Italian offensive leads to the capture of Dobrich. The city fell quite easily, the Romanians seem to be wearing out, their morale is low.
Dobrich Falls.
Febuary 18th, 1938-
The Final offensive on Rumania. 37 Austro-Italian divisions attack 30 undermanned Rumanian ones. It is the single largest battle since The Great War. The Austrian Tank force, as mighty as it is, was stopped cold after reaching the city's suburbs. von Hubicki, Rendulic, and de Stepfanis have to rely on Stormtrooper tactis that were developed by Germany in 1918. This battle is to prove very educational to the Axis. The entire Austrian Air Force in this sector is using all available resources to pummel Bucharest into dust.
March 3rd, 1938-
Bucharest Falls! The Terrible battle cost the Axis forces roughly 100,000 casualties, while the entire Romanian army was slaughtered. Later that day, Emperor Otto von Habsburg formally annexed the Kingdom of Romania into the Austrian Empire, becoming part of the Kingdom of Hungary.
Of the 30,000 soldiers of the Italian expeditionary force, only 10 managed to survive the battle. A monument is being erected in Vienna to commemorate their great bravery, and skill, even though the Italians seemed to lose morale and organization as soon as the battle started.
The Austro-Hungarian Empire, March of 1938
March 14th, 1938-
Austrian Intelligence agents deep inside the German Government have sent reports back that Germany had been planning to attempt to get an Austrian-German Union, or Ansculuss, but decided not to due to the victory over Rumania, which instantly turned Austria into a European Superpower. This happened because, although the Austrian army is larger than the Romanian one, the army that Austria was able to field against Romania was 50% the size of the total Romanian military. Agents say Germany backed down as to not “Create More Tension”
March 15th, 1938-
In light of the Austro-Italian triumph over Romania, King Boris III of Bulgaria requested entrance to the Vienna-Rome Axis. Of course, Vienna quickly agreed, and Bulgaria formally became a member of the Axis powers at 9 AM on March 15.
Boris III, King of Bulgaria
April 1st, 1938-
The Austrian company Skoda releases its LT-40 Tank. It boasts a high-velocity 75mm gun, and enough armor to resist any anti-tank shell in use. To the Public, the Austrian Military will say it’s most advanced tank is the LT-38, with a 47mm Gun, but in reality, it will be the LT-40.
Front View of the LT vz 40
With the oilfields of Ploesti secured, I guess Austria will never run out of fuel.