23rd October 1944
23rd October 1944
The Slovak War Cabinet has been assembled. With the return of the prodigal hero (and part time Minister for the Navy) General Turanec to Bratislava the cabinet is at full strength for the first time since the Slovak National Uprising. This is not expected to make any significant difference to anything, but at least they are making the effort
"General Turanec, what is the Central Adriatic Naval Command?" Tiso asked the question on everybody's lips.
"It is the central administrative division of the Coastal and Maritime Traffic Command." Turanec lived up to the Slovak General Staff's grand tradition of literal question answering.
Tiso sighed. Tuka took a more direct approach.
"And what the hell is that!?!" He yelled.
"The Navy of the Independent State of Croatia." Turanec answered.
"Does Croatia even have a navy?" Tiso rejoined the conversation.
"Technically yes. It even had some ships, though most of the ships were second hand or worse."
The Croatian cruiser Znaim floating around the Adriatic in happier times. Originally the SMS Niobe in the Imperial German High Seas Fleet, she became the plain Niobe in the republican Reichsmarine before being sold to the Royal Yugoslav Navy, where she became the Dalmacija (Dalmatia). Many years later, after the Axis invasion of Yugoslavia she was captured by the Italians who renamed her the Cattaro, when the Italians surrendered she was transferred by the Germans to the Croatians who named her Znaim. However, once the unreliable nature of the Croatian crew became apparent, she was seized and returned to German service as the Kriegsmarine cruiser Niobe. After this career she was justly named the Bike of the Adriatic, as everyone had enjoyed a ride at some point. Shortly after returning to German service she crashed into some well charted rocks, perhaps out of shame, and was then permanently sunk by a pair of Royal Navy Motor Torpedo Boats.
"So Makarska is a major headquarters of the Croatian Navy?" Tiso tried to drag the conversation back to the point.
"Possibly. Their navy is entirely sunk now, so they may have scrapped the headquarters as pointless." Turanec volunteered.
"Can you think of any reason the British would invade there, rather than an actual harbour like Split?" Tuka asked.
"Because it's the last thing the enemy would expect them to do?" Turanec guessed.
Meanwhile, in Rome, the Allied High Command has just got news of the progress of Plan C
"It appears everything is going well according to young Gubbins." Montgomery read from the telegram.
"You should know the names of your subordinates." Eisenhower chided Monty.
"I do. That's his name, General Gubbins." Monty patiently explained.
"Isn't he the head of your Special Operations Executive?" Bradly asked.
"He was. But he was so disappointed by the failure of the French Resistance to do anything to help D-Day, he asked for transfer to a proper unit." Monty explained the sudden career change.
"So we gave him the Chindits and let him loose in the Balkans." Alanbrooke finished.
"You sent the Chindits, jungle trained special forces, into the Yugoslav mountains, under the command of an intelligence officer?!" Eisenhower visibly staggered.
"Of course. Are you all right old chap?" Alanbrooke asked in concern as Eisenhower turned a range of odd colours.
"But that's madness!"
Alanbrooke gestured at the map.
The Chindits are making a surprisingly good job of the second Yugoslav Invasion, considering they are troops trained to fight behind the lines against Japan, being led by the British Army's premier expert on guerilla and partisan warfare. The USMC 3rd "Generic Nickname Here" Marine Division has turned up in the follow up second wave. Because leading an amphibious invasion with a Marine division would have been silly.
"They've broken out of the beachhead, got the second wave ashore and pushed back the local defending forces. I'm not sure what more progress you expect them to make in 24 hours." He queried.
"Maybe if you had a bit more of that sort of "madness" you might have got to Paris or the low countries by now." Alexander offered.
--
Notes:
The 2nd Yugoslav Invasion is going surprisingly well given the choice of unit. And Commander. And the decision to hit the province next door to the one the 1st Invasion landed in. And the fact the Marines only turned up after the initial landing.
For those who are unaware, the Chindits were a special forces units raised in Burma in 1942. Their alternate name was the Long Range Penetration Group, so in many ways they were a more jungle based version of the Long Range Desert Group of North African fame. While hard as nails and masters of jungle warfare, they never left Burma and definitely were not regular line infantry. Could be worse though, the British AI has sent the other Chindits unit to guard Bermuda...
The much travelled Niobe is all true, it has very little bearing on anything I just found out about it while researching Makarska in case there were any interesting/funny facts about it. Instead I found out about the Independent Croatian Navy and their short lived flagship, at which point I had to include it.
General Gubbins did indeed mastermind SOE, he also directly ran the France operation in the run up to D-Day and organised the resistance activities that coincided with the attack. Post-war he went on to run a carpet company while being a member of that conspiracy theorist favourite the Bilderberg Group, so a man of contradictions.
The Slovak War Cabinet has been assembled. With the return of the prodigal hero (and part time Minister for the Navy) General Turanec to Bratislava the cabinet is at full strength for the first time since the Slovak National Uprising. This is not expected to make any significant difference to anything, but at least they are making the effort
"General Turanec, what is the Central Adriatic Naval Command?" Tiso asked the question on everybody's lips.
"It is the central administrative division of the Coastal and Maritime Traffic Command." Turanec lived up to the Slovak General Staff's grand tradition of literal question answering.
Tiso sighed. Tuka took a more direct approach.
"And what the hell is that!?!" He yelled.
"The Navy of the Independent State of Croatia." Turanec answered.
"Does Croatia even have a navy?" Tiso rejoined the conversation.
"Technically yes. It even had some ships, though most of the ships were second hand or worse."
The Croatian cruiser Znaim floating around the Adriatic in happier times. Originally the SMS Niobe in the Imperial German High Seas Fleet, she became the plain Niobe in the republican Reichsmarine before being sold to the Royal Yugoslav Navy, where she became the Dalmacija (Dalmatia). Many years later, after the Axis invasion of Yugoslavia she was captured by the Italians who renamed her the Cattaro, when the Italians surrendered she was transferred by the Germans to the Croatians who named her Znaim. However, once the unreliable nature of the Croatian crew became apparent, she was seized and returned to German service as the Kriegsmarine cruiser Niobe. After this career she was justly named the Bike of the Adriatic, as everyone had enjoyed a ride at some point. Shortly after returning to German service she crashed into some well charted rocks, perhaps out of shame, and was then permanently sunk by a pair of Royal Navy Motor Torpedo Boats.
"So Makarska is a major headquarters of the Croatian Navy?" Tiso tried to drag the conversation back to the point.
"Possibly. Their navy is entirely sunk now, so they may have scrapped the headquarters as pointless." Turanec volunteered.
"Can you think of any reason the British would invade there, rather than an actual harbour like Split?" Tuka asked.
"Because it's the last thing the enemy would expect them to do?" Turanec guessed.
Meanwhile, in Rome, the Allied High Command has just got news of the progress of Plan C
"It appears everything is going well according to young Gubbins." Montgomery read from the telegram.
"You should know the names of your subordinates." Eisenhower chided Monty.
"I do. That's his name, General Gubbins." Monty patiently explained.
"Isn't he the head of your Special Operations Executive?" Bradly asked.
"He was. But he was so disappointed by the failure of the French Resistance to do anything to help D-Day, he asked for transfer to a proper unit." Monty explained the sudden career change.
"So we gave him the Chindits and let him loose in the Balkans." Alanbrooke finished.
"You sent the Chindits, jungle trained special forces, into the Yugoslav mountains, under the command of an intelligence officer?!" Eisenhower visibly staggered.
"Of course. Are you all right old chap?" Alanbrooke asked in concern as Eisenhower turned a range of odd colours.
"But that's madness!"
Alanbrooke gestured at the map.
The Chindits are making a surprisingly good job of the second Yugoslav Invasion, considering they are troops trained to fight behind the lines against Japan, being led by the British Army's premier expert on guerilla and partisan warfare. The USMC 3rd "Generic Nickname Here" Marine Division has turned up in the follow up second wave. Because leading an amphibious invasion with a Marine division would have been silly.
"They've broken out of the beachhead, got the second wave ashore and pushed back the local defending forces. I'm not sure what more progress you expect them to make in 24 hours." He queried.
"Maybe if you had a bit more of that sort of "madness" you might have got to Paris or the low countries by now." Alexander offered.
--
Notes:
The 2nd Yugoslav Invasion is going surprisingly well given the choice of unit. And Commander. And the decision to hit the province next door to the one the 1st Invasion landed in. And the fact the Marines only turned up after the initial landing.
For those who are unaware, the Chindits were a special forces units raised in Burma in 1942. Their alternate name was the Long Range Penetration Group, so in many ways they were a more jungle based version of the Long Range Desert Group of North African fame. While hard as nails and masters of jungle warfare, they never left Burma and definitely were not regular line infantry. Could be worse though, the British AI has sent the other Chindits unit to guard Bermuda...
The much travelled Niobe is all true, it has very little bearing on anything I just found out about it while researching Makarska in case there were any interesting/funny facts about it. Instead I found out about the Independent Croatian Navy and their short lived flagship, at which point I had to include it.
General Gubbins did indeed mastermind SOE, he also directly ran the France operation in the run up to D-Day and organised the resistance activities that coincided with the attack. Post-war he went on to run a carpet company while being a member of that conspiracy theorist favourite the Bilderberg Group, so a man of contradictions.
