Chapter 9 – November 1944
AuthAAR’s Notes: The game once again played without a hitch. And I learned more about the vagaries of AI combat management. 
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1. Far East Land Combat - Central Sector
There were no battles or skirmishes to report in the far Northern sector in November, with 6th Army firming up its positions and the Japanese not willing to attack. No territory exchanged hands there. The Central sector once again saw the most combat in the Far East, but it was generally less intense than in recent months, with the Soviets doing most of the attacking as the month wore on.
As the month began, fighting in
Sinyuga continued from 24 October, where two Japanese infantry divisions were attacking 8 Tank Div (medium tanks). That battle finished in a Soviet victory at 0400 hr on 1 November, with over 800 Soviet and 1,500 Japanese soldiers falling.
The Japanese renewed their attack on
Sinyuga at 2200 hr that night, with a fresh infantry division attacking the newly arrived 123 SD; 8 Tank Div was spent and was forced to withdraw as soon as the new attack began. The skirmish was over in five hours after the Japanese withdrew, with only light casualties on each side.
The next major action started at 0100 hr on 5 November, with two Soviet rifle divisions attacking a Manchurian infantry division (and assorted HQs) in the mountains of
Mogoca. This battle would last for another ten days before the Soviets emerged victorious, killing 1,465 enemy soldiers for 577 Soviet heroes lost.
An attack at 1200 hr on 11 November by 21 Tank Div (medium) on a Manchurian militia division defending
Novaya Chara was successful by 1700 hr on 14 November, with heavy Manchurian casualties, compared to light Soviet losses.
But a follow-up Soviet attack by 123 SD on the Japanese 53rd Hoheishidan (their earlier adversaries in
Sinyuga) on
Kedrovyy at 1900 hr on 14 November met with sterner resistance, when their assault was ambushed. The Soviets were forced to withdraw three days later, with moderately heavy casualties suffered by both sides.
As 100 and 324 SDs continued their advance on
Mogoca (where they had won on 15 November), at 0400 hr on 25 November they encountered an already damaged
[around 40% organisation] Manchurian militia division attempting a delaying defence. The Soviet commander MAJGEN Ponedelin launched a shock attack on the ill-prepared Manchurian militiamen, whose tactics were completely disrupted. This second (and smaller) battle of
Mogoca was over by 2100 hr the following day, the Manchurians brushed aside with only light Soviet casualties.
By the end of the month,
Sorgo had been reoccupied (earlier in the month, after a Soviet victory there in October),
Novaya Chara was secured and Soviet forces were still advancing on the mountainous
Mogoca. There were no battles in progress as midnight approached on 30 November. No air sorties had been performed by either side in the Northern or Central sectors during the month.
Operational summary, Soviet Far East – Central Sector, November 1944.
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2. Far East Land Combat - Southern Sector
Early in November, the Japanese had started an attack on Mongolian troops defending
Ider, north-east of
Uliastay. No Soviet ground forces were involved, but
Irkutsk-based Soviet aircraft launched a series of ground attacks in support of their allies on the Japanese forces attacking from
Taryacin.
This triggered a dogfight on the early morning of 3 November, when a Japanese fighter wing (based out of
Ulaanbataar, where it must have recently relocated) attempted to intercept the attacking Soviet aircraft. But they never even got to engage the Soviet bomber escorts: with commendable enthusiasm and efficiency, two INT wings (44 and 47 IADs, flying Yak-3s) scrambled and intercepted the Japanese fighters over
Muren. They savaged the Japanese, who were so badly damaged and demoralised that a rare ‘aerial victory’ was proclaimed by the Air Force Chief Yakov Alksnis. The enemy fighters didn’t attempt to intercept any more Soviet air missions for the rest of the month.
But despite over 800 attacking enemy troops being killed in these raids from 3-4 November, the Mongolians were forced to retreat on 4 November.
The Japanese followed up their victory in
Ider ten days later with an ill-considered attack on
Uliastay by one infantry division from
Tarycin, at 1000 hr on 14 November. The provisional Mongolian capital was defended by the Soviet 2nd Guards Div and 187 SD, plus three Mongolian infantry divisions. There was another infantry division, and a garrison and militia division in reserve, while heavy Soviet air raids on
Taryacin also disrupted the attackers. By the time the Japanese called off the attack three days later, they had lost over 1,100 men on the ground for about 200 Comintern casualties, while a further 1,500 were killed in Soviet air strikes.
In response to the earlier Japanese advance on
Ider, on 15 November 1st Army was ordered to switch to an attacking stance, which 7th Army had been instructed to do – to little discernible effect – the month before. On 18 November, the Japanese occupied
Ider and both 1st and 7th Armies (both of which had forces in the vicinity) were ordered to retake it. However neither had acted on this command by the end of the month.
1st Army had by now prepared an impressive build-up of divisions in the sector north-east of
Lake Baikal: twelve divisions in all were poised there by the evening of 25 November. 1st Army had refrained all month from attacking
Burjatija or
Bukacaca, but with orders to attack and plenty of air support in range, maybe a major offensive would commence soon
[If nothing happens in early December, I might assign a couple of specific objectives for those two provinces to see if it might prod them into action.]
Operational summary, Soviet Far East – Southern Sector, November 1944.
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3. Persia
After the Persian front again remained quiet in early November, a fact-finding mission was sent from STAVKA on 6 November to investigate. The mystery was solved: due to a mistake in the transmission of orders, the Western Front commander Marshal Magon had had all his Persian objectives cancelled.
[Duh! No real idea how this happened – perhaps it resulted from a reorg or temporary detachment/reattachment of units the month before.] Too afraid to challenge what Magon thought must have been orders to hold in place, nothing had happened there for some weeks.
No-one from Magon upwards to STAVKA itself could be sure who was to blame and, afraid any attempt to assign such might rebound on the accusers, the whole debacle was simply brushed under the carpet. New orders were soon reissued to conquer all key Persian centres.
The troops were all eager enough and an attack on the Persian 1st Cavalry Division defending
Ardabil began just two hours after the new orders were issued! 1st Guards Div and 28 SD shocked the defenders with the aggression of their assault. They had won their victory by 0800 hr on 9 November.
By this time, both the western and eastern sectors were inspired by admirable revolutionary zeal (or fear of the NKVD) to resume the offensive, with broad advances on both fronts now well underway. The Persian Front had changed from ‘sleepy hollow’ to a hive of activity in just a few days.
The battle of
Diz Chah (western sector) began at 2200 hr on 10 November, as 69 Mtn Div and 325 SD closed with the Persian 5th Infantry. Victory came a day later after a short but sharp battle.
The major battle of the front for the month began in
Gorgan, a hilly province in the north of the Western sector, at 0100 hr on 14 November. Two Soviet second-string garrison divisions took on the well-entrenched Persian 2nd Infantry – and the initial odds were tough for the Soviets.
A little over a day later, the attackers were reinforced by 68 Mtn Div, attacking from a new flank in
Mayamey. This flank attack shocked the defending Persians, who had been attempting to delay. And having regular specialist mountain troops involved also made a big difference. The tide of battle in
Gorgan began to swing to the Soviets.
But it would take another four days of bitter fighting before the Soviets emerged victorious in
Gorgan at 0300 hr on 19 November, both sides losing over a thousand men.
183 SD attacked the retreating Persian 1st Cavalry in
Abhar – due west of
Tehran – at 0500 hr on 20 November, encountering no resistance as the Persians kept retreating east to their capital. By then, good progress had been made in both the east and west.
Skirmishes followed in the west as the Soviet advance continued, with the Persians being beaten in
Robat e Khan (1100-1700 hr on 24 November) and
Darband (1300-1500 hr on 30 November), while Soviet troops had occupied
Abhar, on T
ehran's doorstep.
Operational summary, Persia, November 1944.
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4. Naval Operations
A new transport flotilla was completed on 26 November and deployed to Admiral Kuznetsov’s Red Banner Pacific Fleet in
Petropavlovsk Kamcackji. The first instalment of the forces which may one day embark on an invasion of the Japanese Home Islands.
Five Japanese convoys were sunk by Soviet submarines during the month, with no discernible opposition.
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5. Diplomatic and Intelligence
2 November was a black day for the GRU in Manchukuo, with the locals arresting two Soviet spies at once, though they were soon replaced.
In the west, the Soviets finally got sick of the Hungarian and German aircraft occupying Soviet air bases near the border with the Allied nations. Though not before Soviet agents had provided a detailed report of the types and characteristics of the planes stationed there.
[I had to tag over briefly to get rid of them, so took the opportunity for a close look, which I thought was only fair and quite reasonable.]
The Hungarian planes (CAS, TAC and INT) proved to be antiquated, pre-war crates. Nothing much to worry about there! They were sent back to their homeland with derisory gestures.
However, once the German aircraft were flushed out of their closely guarded hangars in
Nowogródek, the sight was far more sobering. All had jet engines, with the TAC (Ar-234B
Blitzes) sporting radar-guided missiles and bombs, and the CAS (Hs-132s) were also equipped with radar-guided missiles. The Multi-role fighters (Me 262s) looked very nasty too, though at least they weren’t yet equipped with air-air missiles.
If this was the standard of equipment among the leading Allied powers, then the recent frenetic technical research in Soviet aircraft design, engines and rockets was shown to be vital to prepare for any future conflict.
[Game Question: for both these foreign air forces, their unit screens said they were being supplied from the location of their bases. Does this mean they may be getting supplies (if available) by air from their respective homelands? Or has the Soviet Union been supplying them all this time?]
NKVD Head Ivan Proskurov reported on 20 November that the Finnish resistance cell detected the month before in
Kalliosami had been located and destroyed. He furnished a report on revolt risk in Finland, which was worst in the south-east, near the Soviet border. There was also a report on unrest in the patchwork areas of French-occupied Romania, where patriots agitated against foreign occupation (as opposed to the reactionary troublemakers in Finland). The wisdom of the Soviet Union ‘liberating’ those parts of Romania they had taken at the end of the war against the Axis in Europe was trumpeted.
On 29 November, Molotov reported that the Tibetans had again started to align towards the Comintern. All were welcome, no matter how small or out of the way.
In Japan, the Kempeitai had started the month with no teams in the field. They added three during the month, but then all had been liquidated again by the end of it. No Soviet agents were lost there. Manchukuo had started with two agents and didn’t lose either of them, though they added none either. As mentioned previously, the Soviets lost two agents there early, but no more by the end of the month. Manchurian national unity was reduced marginally from 70% to 69.7% by the end of the month – the rate of decrease lessened due to a partial switch back to a counter-espionage focus in October.
The Soviets had lost the two teams in Manchukuo mentioned above, but had trained four more, so finished with a full 10-team presence at home, in Japan and in Manchukuo, and now had ten in reserve: up two in total from the end of October. This was approaching the point where a third overseas mission might be contemplated – perhaps to one of the major Allied nations (France, Britain, Germany or the US, all of which had been regularly sending spies to the Soviet Union). But more reserves would be needed for that. The usual diverse collection of foreign spies
[14 according to the intel mouse-over] was also apprehended during the month in the Soviet Union.
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6. Research
It was a fruitful month for Soviet researchers, with seven advances made in a range of fields. The main (though not exclusive) focus of new projects was on improving the air force.
Supply production was improved (and was now well in hand again), while more fighter airframe research could eventually also lead to helicopter development.
Superior firepower doctrine will permit five-brigade divisions to be establish – while would gradually be phased in later, as new brigades could be produced (no mass-amalgamations were contemplated). Schwerpunkt doctrine – learned from the Germans in earlier fighting – was the next to be researched.
With industrial production methods improved, attention was turned to developing better fighter interception tactics.
Top secret nuclear physics research reached the next level on 17 November and those scientists were kept at it – at an undisclosed location, of course!
Advanced aircraft design capabilities allowed the development of airborne radar for Soviet aircraft – something which the leading Allied air forces had as a matter of course by then. A small air search radar would be the first to be developed – and should be a welcome improvement for detection and night fighting.
Next came the development of a marine infantry capability, which was rolled straight into the development of amphibious warfare equipment for them. Marines would start being trained in due course.
And on 29 November heavy bomber pilot training received its first improvement: the doctrine team was kept on the same task, given they were starting from such a low base.
7. Production
It was also a busy month for Soviet industry, with upgrade and supply demands lowering significantly and a number of projects being completed. First was a new INT wing, which was sent to
Irkutsk on 9 November. It had been so long in production that it deployed with obsolete LaGG-3s and had to go through an immediate upgrade program.
Another new fighter wing became available on 17 November, but was sent to
Kaunas on the German border instead, as the Far East was assessed as having more than enough already. They too were old LaGG-3s. By that time, the production queue was almost all at full efficiency, with even the new battleship
Sovyetskiy Soyuz at the bottom of the list resuming construction after being left idle for months. Supply production was down to under 40IC per day.
A first improvement to the
Olenek air base on 18 November was followed up immediately with work on level three facilities.
And by 19 November, there was enough capacity to commission new land units once again: four infantry brigades were put in training, to begin the gradual top-up of divisions to five brigade strength.
Another new INT wing was deployed to
Kaunas on 21 November. This freed capacity for the construction of three new radar stations and a couple more infantry brigades.
Another infantry brigade was squeezed into the queue on 26 November. Then on 28 November, a red-letter (how appropriate
) day for Soviet aircraft manufacturing: the first strategic bomber wing was set into production. It was time to start getting some practical production experience. And there was enough capacity to fully fund it, if the supply stockpile was allowed to run down for a while.
8. Global Summaries
The Far East had seen some limited exchange of ground: some hard-won gains in the Central sector, with the Mongolians losing
Ider in the south.
Total recorded losses to land combat for battles were less than in previous months, even with increased activity in Persia. The Soviets were lost 3,599 men against 6,922 Axis soldiers killed in both theatres. There were again no Soviet losses from air raids, with 2,395 Axis soldiers killed in from air strikes – all on
Taryacin. Total combat losses for the USSR were therefore 3,599, with the Axis losing 9,313.
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South East Asia again showed mixed results for the Allies.
They had again lost ground in Indo-China – which continued
not to worry the Soviets much, so long as the front didn’t collapse and kept drawing top-line Japanese marine divisions into the fight.
The Allies (Anglo-French units) had finally broken out in Malaya, liberating
Kuala Lumpur and threatening Japan’s hold on the great naval and resources base of
Singapore.
And the Dutch had recovered most of their lost territory in Java and seemed to be attacking the last isolated (and perhaps unsupplied) Japanese marine division west of
Djogjakarta.
Guerrillas had liberated some territory in eastern Sumatra, but little else had changed there. And other than an isolated partisan uprising in Mindanao, nothing else had changed in the rest of South East Asia.
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In Australia, the Allies were finally pushing back to the north in Queensland, where new divisions seemed to have been landed during the month. But they had lost some ground in Victoria, around
Melbourne.
British and American forces under Australian command were beginning to roll through undefended land along the Pacific coast and hinterland towards distant
Brisbane.
And although some recently won ground had been lost again, the Australians and their Allies still seemed to be holding onto
Melbourne, where they had counter-attacked towards the north-east.
As usual, there were no observed changes or major actions in the Central Pacific.
