Talking Turkey: Alternate History from 1936

[Midnite Duke]

Finished #2823, The Kent was a survivor. Trivia: What movie did Crosby first sing White Christmas?

 

[Midnite Duke]

What is this Leningrad and Stalingrad that you speak of? Every century I buy a new map, whether I need it or not. I have seen Babylon become Baghdad, Byzantium become Constantinople become Istanbul, New Amsterdam become New York. Even in my native Virginia, I saw Big Lick become Roanoke. I looked at my 1900 map and saw not Leningrad and Stalingrad so I turned to 2000 thinking that they were new cities. But neither Leningrad or Stalingrad could be found. Leningrad and Stalingrad, where art thou?

 

[37th Armoured div]

What is this Leningrad and Stalingrad that you speak of? Every century I buy a new map, whether I need it or not. I have seen Babylon become Baghdad, Byzantium become Constantinople become Istanbul, New Amsterdam become New York. Even in my native Virginia, I saw Big Lick become Roanoke. I looked at my 1900 map and saw not Leningrad and Stalingrad so I turned to 2000 thinking that they were new cities. But neither Leningrad or Stalingrad could be found. Leningrad and Stalingrad, where art thou?

St petersburg, and volgograd (Tsaritsin in 1900)
Try a map set in the year 1941.
It'll give you these names and more

 

[Midnite Duke]

St petersburg, and volgograd
Try a map set in the year 1941.
It'll give you these names and more

If you are not worthy of a century, why even bother. And no Soviet Union Balderdash, either. Russia First! Russia Last! Russia Always!

 

[Midnite Duke]

It all went without a hitch, so fingers crossed, plain sailing from here. I’m just very suspicious of these things and prepare for them like the Y2K ‘bug’!

Y2K was nothing but extortion! The tech gurus should have had to fix out of their own pockets with a daily shooting until fixed. I could understand if they invented computer in 1485! But someone in 1985 who could not visualize 2000, probably could not invent a wooden block.

 

[Bullfilter]

Is Mexico also in the allies? I wish comrade Stalin swayed them to the Comintern cause

Just checked, Canada is of course in the Allies, but Mexico is not. I think they must be in the other (Quick & Dirty) AAR.

All: now, on to the next chapter, where in this ATL Leningrad and Stalingrad look like they could be staying that way for a long time to come!

 

[TheButterflyComposer]

Just checked, Canada is of course in the Allies, but Mexico is not. I think they must be in the other (Quick & Dirty) AAR.

All: now, on to the next chapter, where in this ATL Leningrad and Stalingrad look like they could be staying that way for a long time to come!

Mm. Mexico is switchable then...

 

[Wraith11B]

And certainly if the USA went and joined the Comintern, then Mexico wouldn't be far behind in the timeline.

 

[37th Armoured div]

maybe we could influence them if we had leadership to spare. I remember how you went savegame modding at the start, maybe you could add an event adding mexico to the comintern

 

[Wraith11B]

I would imagine that in TTL, with Canada safely ensconced in the Commonwealth of the British Empire, Mexico would clearly follow the US into the Comintern. It's also not a difficult fix.

 

[Bullfilter]

Chapter 214: A Rising Tide (1 to 10 October 1943)​

Foreword

Following the War Cabinet sub-committee meeting of 30 September 1943 in Beograd, the Turkish high command went back to their various places of duty. Inönü waited at his 1st Army HQ for the events of the month to be reported. His hopes were to limit the amount of battle casualties Turkey suffered, to repair manpower reserves and keep building support infrastructure to assist with a future invasion of Italy.

He also needed the Soviets to start relieving Turkey of some of the long front it now held against increasing Axis pressure. A secondary objective was to see how close Turkey could get to the approaches to Venice for the offensive in northern Italy, intended to complement any naval landings further south.

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1 Oct 43

The enemy’s attack on Rovigno that had begun on 29 September ended in Turkish victory first thing on 1 October (Turkey 135/18,858, Axis 295/5995 killed). But there would be no time for complete peace along the front quite yet, as at midnight the enemy launched a probe on Eisenstadt – the first of many attacks there during October – which ended up being repulsed by 3am (Turkey 13/12,988, Axis 29/21,655 killed).

It was still quiet at 7am as MAJGEN Muzir, with his recovering 1 Mtn Div in Rijeka, gazed out at a large gap in the enemy line at Kostel, a few provinces south-east of Trieste. Alas, only one (19 Inf Div) of the four divisions in Rijeka was in decent fighting shape by then, while the divisions in Rovigno were worn out after the recent battle. And an Italian armoured division was on its way, so they were all ordered to hold tight.

Sure enough, after this short respite combat was renewed at 9am with a German attack (19. Infanterie) on Györ, which was escalated when 78. Infanterie joined in an hour later and the air raids started. The US and Soviet defenders were seriously challenged, despite being dug in on forested terrain.

​

The fighting briefly spread to Eisenstadt again, with another German probe being defeated between 10am and midday (Turkey 12/12,739, Germany 91/7,920 killed). Also at midday, 78. Infanterie reinforced the front line at Györ, further increasing the pressure on the Comintern defenders.

At this point, it was decided that ‘a stitch in time saves nine lives’: at 1pm three Comintern divisions launched a heavy spoiling attack on Szombathely. As this did not stop the attack on Györ as the day went on, the Turkish 1 Mar Div (MAJGEN Selisek) struck Sopron at 10pm to further break up the enemy attack. The marines were soon making good progress as the Germans were forced to fight on two flanks, as they were in Szombathely too.

​

As the marines began their attack on Sopron, the enemy were launching two new attacks of their own, on Vienna and Gänserndorf, one of the two provinces that linked the Austrian capital to the rest of the Turkish front. In Vienna, the tank guns of 2 Mot Div were just enough to match the armour of the German medium panzers (11 Pz Div) and the defenders had their partly-completed trenches, some light fortifications (level one) and the urban terrain to help them. But in Gänserndorf, the older tanks of 1 Mot Div were overmatched by 7 Pz Div, which would halve the Germans’ casualties: the position looked grim for Kanatli’s men.

​

Air Damage Report. A mix of Axis planes hit Eisenstadt all day, killing 682 Turkish defenders. A single Italian raid on Györ killed 146.

News Report: Moscow, USSR. W. Averell Harriman, a wealthy American capitalist, Democratic politician and previously a senior envoy to Europe, is named as the new U.S. Ambassador to the Soviet Union.​

​

OTL Event: Naples, Italy. The U.S. Fifth Army captured Naples. Before retreating, the German Army laid waste to the city, damaging or destroying the cultural landmarks, including the University of Naples and the Teatro di San Carlo. More than 200,000 books, many of them priceless, were soaked in gasoline and burned.​

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2 Oct 43

As 2 October started, the manpower reserve was down to just 1,000 with 4,610 replacements needed and an accrual rate of 18,800 per month. Five battles were in progress: not the rest and recuperation time Inönü had hoped for. It would get worse as the month wore on.

Good news came at 1am with victory in Györ (Comintern 223/17,989, Germany 274/13,066 killed). At 2am, yet another probe on Eisenstadt was made and then beaten off by 3am (Turkey 3/12,493, Germany 34/7,828 killed), at the same time the attack on Vienna was abandoned (Turkey 13/10,984, Germany 52/12,763 killed).

That was the signal for the two spoiling attacks on Sopron (Turkey 16/12,997, Germany 30/5,681 killed) and Szombathely (Turkey 332/29,990, Germany 522/17,147 killed) to be called off.

Also at 3am, 3 Cav Div (in Kuty, no leader) finished its reorganisation and immediately attacked the eastern flank of 7 Pz Div in Breclav, hoping to disrupt their attack on Gänserndorf, where the situation remained worrying [-72% progress]. They struck at 4am and the effect was immediate [Gänserndorf to -40%], even though the German panzers’ armour outmatched the AT guns of 3 Cav Div.

​

The next step was to shift the newly completed 3 Mot Div (no leader, 3 x MOT, 1 x TD, 1 x SP-RART) down from Trencin to Bratislava at 5am, further thinning the line on the Slovakian border.

The defenders of Gänserndorf suffered repeated air raids that were hampering their defence [back up to -76% after enemy reinforcement], so the Turkish Air Force once more attempted to provide some relief. At 11am, two interceptor (1 AG) and two M/R fighter wings (from 1 TAK Gp, bombers detached) were ordered to fly interception missions over Gänserndorf.

A series of complex dogfights followed that afternoon – and in both cases the would-be Turkish interceptors were themselves intercepted first, over Breclav and Gänserndorf, before they could hunt any enemy bombers. 1 AG was soon under attack by six Luftwaffe fighter wings and their mission was cancelled. On the way back to base, they joined the fighters of 1 TAK, who had been jumped over Gänserndorf by three Italian wings. Three of the four Turkish fighter wings were mauled by these engagements and all were ordered back to base to recover.

​

While they were duelling in the air, another probe on Eisenstadt (1-3pm) was defeated (Turkey 16/12,259, Germany 89/7,794 killed). And 8 Inf Div (no leader, Trencin) was ordered to join the redeployment of border divisions to the Vienna sector as the fighting there dragged on.

Before the Turkish fighters over Gänserndorf could get back to base, at 5pm they became engaged with two more Axis bomber groups and their escorts, creating the largest dogfight seen yet on the Turkish Front, with 13 enemy wings involved. The Turks suffered more damage, though 3 AF remained virtually unscathed. 4 AF was badly mauled, 2 and 9 AFs less so. This time, they all made it back to base that night and were taken off line for much-needed repairs. Sadly, the troops on the ground along the front would need to fend for themselves against the incessant enemy air attacks.

​

To make matters worse, at 9pm Italian armour attacked the two partly-recovered divisions defending Rovigno. It looked like they may have trouble holding, so 19 Inf Div (no leader) was ordered into Kostel from Rijeka, to see if they could eventually attempt a spoiling attack against Capodistria to help their comrades in Rovigno. The rest of the troops in Rijeka continued to recover organisation (noting replacements were now slowed to a trickle).

​

Air Damage Report. The Axis began new air missions in support of their attacks on Gänserndorf, Vienna and Eisenstadt that would continue into the next day. Three Italian raids on Tata (trying to disrupt the spoiling attack on Sopron) killed 180 Turkish marines.

OTL Event: Free France. After General Henri Giraud stepped aside as a co-director, General Charles de Gaulle became the sole leader of France's Committee for National Liberation, which would form the basis of the nation's post-war government.​

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3 Oct 43

There was relief at 1am when 4 SD finished its reorganisation and was able to join the spoiling attack on Breclav. By 3am, this had caused the Germans to halt their attack on Gänserndorf and the spoiler on Breclav was called off before any more troops were lost. A little time had been bought, but the corridor to Vienna was still not strongly held.

​

At 3am, 1,000 recruits remained in reserve, but 5,760 replacements were needed: the deficit was creeping up day by day. Rovigno was the one battle still continuing at that time – and the Turkish defenders were slowly losing ground [-72%]. Italian air strikes had also commenced.

Another probe on Eisenstadt (7-8am) was beaten (Turkey 7/12,059, Germany 62/7,704 killed), the IS-2s of 15 Inf Div helping to minimise casualties as the German 16. Infanterie launched attack after attack, seeking an opening. At 7am, HQ 2nd Corps (2 x INF, 1 x ENGR) was ordered from Bratislava into Gänserndorf, but its pace was slowed to a crawl (0.30 kph) by a lack of fuel.

At 1pm, the enemy renewed their attack on the tired defenders of Gänserndorf, this time with the fresh (though under-strength) 22. Infanterie. The shock of their attack caught Kanatli off guard and they were soon under pressure again, though an armour advantage would help decrease casualties this time. The Comintern troops in Kuty were still reorganising after their last spoiling attack and would be unavailable for a while – though 4 SD had only been engaged briefly and would be ready again in seven hours). Probes on Vienna at 1pm (Turkey 32/10,237, Axis 135/12,751 killed) and Eisenstadt at 4pm (Turkey 8/11,894, Germany 89/7,641 killed) followed but were both defeated by 6pm.

​

At 2pm, 3 Cav Div was ordered to march to Gänserndorf instead when ready, while HQ 2nd Corps (given its snail-like progress) was redirected north to fill in at Kuty instead. Meanwhile, 4 SD was ready again by 9pm and began advancing for another spoiling attack on Breclav. They went in at 10pm with great elan in a reckless assault to help their comrades in 1 Mot Div, who were failing quickly [-91%] after the German 45. Infanterie had joined the Gänserndorf attack from Hollabrunn early the next morning. Taking the risk of sacrificing their partly-completed entrenchments, Toüdemür then launched a typically bold sortie to hit the German flank in Hollabrunn from Vienna.

​

Another complex and desperate defensive battle had begun – and the Turkish manpower deficit continued to grow even faster.

Air Damage Report. The raids on Gänserndorf continued, while those on Vienna (921 casualties) and Eisenstadt (767 casualties) concluded. The new mission on Rovigno would last into the next day.

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4 Oct 43

By 4am, the manpower reserve had been completely exhausted, with 5,910 replacements reported as needed – a figure which would soon be growing. This prompted a deliberate withdrawal from the losing battle of Rovigno [now -88%], 18 Inf Div to Pola, 6 Mil Div to Rijeka, before the troops routed (Turkey 310/18,519, Italy 176/7,996 killed). This left just the three battles in the Vienna sector still going.

And a fourth engagement started there at 7am, with 11 Pz Div hitting the flank of 2 Mot Div’s spoiling attack on Hollabrunn ‘spoiling the spoilers’, as the tactic had become known. Again, neither side had an armour advantage in this combat.

​

With Turkey unable to directly affect any more of the attacking German formations around Vienna, the three remaining divisions assigned to the Slovakian border were ordered to simultaneously advance into the now open provinces in front of them at 9am. It was hoped this might at least distract the Axis and prevent them reinforcing their Vienna counter-offensive any further, as none of the Turkish defensive or spoiling battles were going well by then.

On the Adriatic, that afternoon 19 Inf Div reached Kostel by 1pm and was ordered to start a holding attack on the three Axis divisions in Capodistria, with the aim of keeping Rovigno unoccupied so reserve forces could slip in to defend it. Kostel could also be a handy stepping stone to Trieste – if it could be held. But the leaderless 19 Inf Div’s attack got off to a poor start.

​

Eisenstadt was probed yet again by the Germans at 3pm, but it was over almost as soon as it began (Turkey 6/11,896, Germany 26/13,195 killed). However, this was no help in the other three battles. Even though casualties in Gänserndorf had been minimised, 1 Mot Div’s organisation was almost spent. They were ordered to evacuate to Bratislava and the two spoiling attacks were called off. Vienna now needed to be defended – and scarce manpower preserved, as much as it could be.

​

This did at least allow Toüdemür to concentrate on his defence of Vienna, which the Germans stopped attacking at 6pm (Turkey 49/10,224, Germany 99/4,747 killed).

But this consolidation did not stop the Germans from maintaining their relentless pressure. They attacked Györ again at 10pm in a reckless assault, with 19. Infanterie (in Szombathely) joined early the next morning by 78. Infanterie (Sopron) for another fairly dangerous attack [-46%].

Air Damage Report. The combined Axis raids on Gänserndorf concluded once the battle was lost (1,470 killed). The Italian raids on Rovigno also finished that morning (566 Turks killed).

OTL Event: Corsica. The island of Corsica, seized by Italy and Germany from France in the 1940 conquest, was liberated by the Allies after a battle of 25 days. [Comment: in this ATL, Corsica remains part of Vichy. But there you go @37th Armoured div – Corsica gets a mention ]​

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5 Oct 43

At 1am, the second line formations of 12 SD and 8 Mil Div were deemed sufficiently recovered to begin advancing on Rovigno from Rijeka to see if they could hold it from the Italian push, while 19 Inf Div fought its difficult holding attack on Capodistria [18%]. 1 Mtn Div remained behind in Rijeka (still only about 50% organisation) to recover more and provide a stable base in case things did not work out.

With no Soviet progress so far this month in southern Poland and no formations coming west to bolster the Turkish lines, a new objective was set at 2am for German-occupied Sandomierz, where a number of Soviet divisions were massing to its east: hint, hint, Uncle Joe!

As fighting in Györ and Capodistria continued through the morning, 1 Mot Div finished its retreat from Gänserndorf to Bratislava at 10am. It was badly disorganised and its strength was at 8,133 men compared to its establishment of 11,000, with its SP ART brigade taking the worst of the air strikes, down to 520/1,000 men, the INF bdes at around 2,300/3,000.

At 1pm, the 19 Inf Div holding attack on Capodistria was halted as casualties mounted and the odds worsened (Turkey 750/12,998, Axis 193/26,275 killed). Within two hours, they had themselves been attacked in Kostel from Capodistria by an Italian mountain division.

Air Damage Report. A day of Italian attacks on Kostel provided support for their defence of Capodistria then later in the day for their attack, killing 419 troops. Italian raids began that morning to support the attack on Györ.

OTL Event: Ankara, Turkey. Theodore Morde of Reader's Digest met with Franz von Papen, the German ambassador to Turkey, in what would be described later as "a crazy attempt at personal diplomacy". At the request of OSS chief Bill Donovan, without the knowledge of President Roosevelt, Morde attempted to persuade Papen to lead a coup to overthrow Adolf Hitler, with Papen to be the new leader of Germany. Papen declined the offer. [Comment: Wow! Not possible in this ATL of course, as Papen was expelled back in June 1940.]​

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6 Oct 43

The comparative decline in op tempo was soon dispelled by a blitzing attack at midnight by German armour and infantry on Wehib Pasha’s 1 Armd Div, which had pushed forward to secure Novy Jicin at 10pm the night on the 5th. With the odds looking difficult and the enemy distracted, Bözer commanded a three-division advance against the forts of Cesky Tesin soon afterwards in a spoiling attack from Cieszyn and Terchova. But that effort was savagely counter-attacked even as the Germans kept up their own attack on Novy Jicin. 6 Inf Div advanced unopposed into Prerov further south.

​

Seeing the way open and trying to draw off enemy forces, 6 Inf Div (Gürler) pushed on towards Olomouc from Prerov at 5am. Similarly, 2 Inf Div (Gürman) arrived in Uhersje Hradiste at 6am and advanced ‘blindly’ towards Blansko straight away. They encountered 14 Pz Div passing through Blansko, heading east towards Olomouc, an hour later. A short skirmish was fought, but the Germans broke off after an hour (Turkey 15/11,000, Germany 10/2,887 killed) and kept heading east.

The Italian 134a Armoured Div arrived in Rovigno at midday, before the Comintern relief column (171 SD had since joined 12 SD and 8 Mil Div) could get there. But in the encounter battle than occurred the enemy did not try to hold, racing back north at first contact (Turkey 19/23,265, Italy 23/7,934).

Supply had been restored to Bratislava, so that night HQ 2nd Corps was once again redirected to advance on Gänserndorf after 3 Mot Div had finished its redeployment from the north to support them.

​

Air Damage Report. The Italian raids on Györ finished that evening, with 1,009 defenders killed over the two days. Heavy strikes by a mix of German and Italian aircraft began on 1 Armd Div in Novy Jicin in support of the German attack and would last until the morning of 8 October.

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7 Oct 43

Once more, the Axis allowed no respite, with a new attack started on Vienna at 1am, this time by German and Italian infantry. 2 Mot Div once more knuckled down to the defence. An hour later, MAJGEN Shvydkoi (commanding the defence of Györ, with 156 SD and US 4 Mar Div) radioed in that their position was getting difficult [-66%]: what MAJ Wraith Loggins, then with the marines after recovering from recent wounds, described as “the danger zone” - as was his wont.

In a familiar pattern, two new spoiling attacks were then launched on Sopron and Szombathely to break up the Axis attack – and this time it worked quickly. A big victory was won at Györ by 3am and the diversionary attack on Sopron was called off an hour later, its job done.

​

But this time, the heavy attack Szombathely from three different directions continued: MAJGEN Baransel vowed to throw out the three German divisions there “bag and baggage”.

The next development came shortly afterwards: LTGEN Artunkal, commander 2nd Corps, reported initial contact with recently arrived elements of 7 Pz Div in Gänserndorf at 5am. The Germans had slipped in first and Artunkal (one of Turkey’s most skilful commanders) led a quick assault to try to eject them, with Vienna (still under attack itself) now only connected via the corridor through Eisenstadt.

​

The recent fighting had seen the manpower situation deteriorate further, with the replacement deficit now 7,510 by 6am. And Comintern Pact progress in southern Poland remained slow: two more defensive requests were issue to both STAVKA and the Romanian High Command at 7am, as no attack had yet been made on Sandomierz, or indeed anywhere in that sector.

​

With little progress being made against Gänserndorf [37%], the risk was taken to throw 15 Inf Div in Eisenstadt north into a cross-river attack on 7 Pz Div’s southern flank. The IS-2s of their tank brigade would at least be a match against the German medium panzers.

Down on the Adriatic, with its marine brigade the ‘last men standing’ (and only just), that afternoon 19 Inf Div was ordered to withdraw from Kostel after having put up a good fight to cover the retaking of Rovigno to its west.

​

The spoiling attack by 15 Inf Div on Gänserndorf was interrupted at 4pm by a German assault from Oberwart. After two hours, with 3 Cav Div having joined Artunkal’s assault from Kuty, 15 Inf Div pulled out to concentrate on their defence. The attack on Eisenstadt was defeated an hour later.

​

On the Slovakian sector, by that night 1 Armd Div’s defence of Novy Jicin was failing, but 8 Inf Div had seized Hodonin and 2 and 6 Inf Divs were advancing to the north-west, trying to draw German attention away from their comrades on the left and right flanks of the front.

​

Air Damage Report. The German and Italian raids on Novy Jicin continued, taking a very heavy toll on 1 Armd Div. Equally heavy Axis raids also commenced on Cieszyn, defensive support against the Turkish spoiling attack on Cesky Tecin. Two Italian raids on Kostel killed 291 defenders before 19 Inf Div retreated. One light Italian raid (just 28 killed) had hit Vienna, but the Germans would add their weight to those in coming days.

Entertainment News: US. The children's film Lassie Come Home, the first in a series of seven MGM movies starring the fictional Rough Collie dog Lassie, was released. A young Roddy McDowall played Lassie's companion. [Comment: Awww!]​

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8 Oct 43

The day began with evidence that Darth Kelebek’s recent warning, many ‘neutralisations’ and by now clear Soviet penetration of MI6 had failed to dampen British enthusiasm for spying on Turkey. Midnight brought another knock on the door – this time in an up-market Istanbul hotel – and another ticket on the Midnight Express for some MI6 ‘toff’ posing as a monocle salesman.

“What ho?” exclaimed the grinning ‘gentleman’ as Kaya’s agents burst in. He would soon have that gormless smile wiped off his pasty face.

“Bloody English amateurs,” muttered the Interior Minister as he received this latest report.

“What ho?”​

In another small piece of good news, 11 AF (another new Yak-7 INT wing) was deployed to Beograd to begin work-up training. And at 1am, 12 SD reported they had retaken Rovigno and had begun to dig in.

The salient extending from the Slovakian border deepened at 2am with the arrival of 6 Inf Div in Olomouc. They had intercepted and halted 14 Pz Div after winning a quick fire-fight (Turkey 5, Germany 2 casualties). But this meant 14 Pz Div now stopped in Blansko and was attacked again by 2 Inf Div: the battle did not start well this time, with Gürman surprised by a brisk counter-attack. Then just an hour after that, with heavy air raids continuing, ground casualties mounting and the odds worsening, 1 Armd Div was ordered to withdraw from Novy Jicin before they routed.

​

The loss of the battle for Novy Jicin meant the German defenders of Cesky Tecin were no longer distracted by fighting on two flanks, dramatically worsening the odds on what had started as a spoiling attack for Novy Jicin. This would also start to increase the casualty rate without a realistic chance of success, so that attack was also halted.

​

Novy Jicin was re-occupied by the Germans at 11am, thus exposing the flank of 6 Inf Div in Olomouc and by midday Gürler’s men were under attack from the north-west and east, with a dangerous gap opened from Prerov to Zilinin, due to the earlier thinning of the line. With the strength of the resistance in Blansko and the increasing exposure of the divisions in the salient, 6 Inf Div was ordered to pull back to Prerov and 2 Inf Div to halt its attack on Blansko.

​

In the Vienna sector, fighting continued in Szombathely, Vienna and the much-disputed Gänserndorf.

The Germans probed Eisenstadt again with two divisions at 4pm but called the assault off after two hours (Turkey 18/12,515, Germany 99/12,999 killed). At 10pm, 10 AF (also Yak-7s, about 50% org) joined 11 AF in Beograd to form 3 AG and continue their own work-up training.

Air Damage Report. By the time the two and a bit days of raids on Novy Jicin finished that morning, 2,022 men of 1 Armd Div had been killed, probably the major cause of their defeat. The raids on Cieszyn also finished (1,066 casualties), there was a single raid on Uhersje Hradiste (defensive support for Blansko, 140 casualties), while another light Italian raid (only 15 killed) hit Vienna.

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9 Oct 43

Rovigno may have been secured, but Kostel was lost at 1am, leaving Rovigno’s position somewhat exposed. Of more importance was a major attack on Katowice, where the large concentration of enemy units near it finally went into action. MAJGEN Özdulek commanded the defence and it was a strong position; the two commanders traded expert tactics. The quality of the enemy attackers was concerning, with all at or near full strength and organisation: a medium panzer, SS and Italian elite Alpinieri division. And of course an Axis aerial bombardment that soon started up.

​

With no manpower reserve to construct new units, excess industrial capacity was being sunk into infrastructure projects, with a large upgrade of the UGNR’s railway network commenced. It would cover 31 provinces in Turkey proper; the route to Tehran; and the Adriatic coast around Albania, to ensure good logistics connections to the growing invasion airbases.

​

To help better secure the Rovigno-Pola salient, Lussino was probed at midday – and it was found the lack of supplies had finally hit the defending Germans: they put up no fight, with almost 5,000 prisoners taken. A few hours later, 14 Inf Div would halt and then move to Rijeka, while 222 SD advanced from the south to reoccupy the positions they had surrendered so bloodily when the Germans had first attacked. Revenge – oorah and vur ha!

​

Midday proved a busy time for reporting, as Olomouc was lost to the Germans before 6 Inf Div had completed their retreat from there to Prerov. But better news came from Szombathely, with a hard-fought and very bloody victory won in the attack designed to shorten the Turkish line a little.

​

The push into the Slovakian Salient had certainly drawn the attention of the German panzers, with strong attacks by 12 Pz Div (at 4pm) and 14 Pz Div (7pm) launched on Uhersje Hradiste and Hodonin respectively. Caught in the open by under-strength but well organised panzer divisions in open country, Inönü didn’t like the odds and by 7pm both Turkish divisions were retreating back to their start points in Slovakia, before any more lives were lost.

​

With the situation from Vienna to Katowice deteriorating, it was decided that the thinning of the line in the east could not be delayed any longer. 5 Inf Div was put on trains in Staszów for Trnava, just east of Bratislava. It would be seen whether (and if so, how quickly) the Soviets and Romanians might occupy what would now be a two-province wide gap on the front boundary. By then, the Turkish manpower deficit had increased to 8,260 men.

Air Damage Report. The Germans took up the bombing of Vienna, which remained under ground attack, and casualties began to increase greatly (around 800 defenders killed that day alone). The Italians began striking Katowice in support of the German attack there.

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10 Oct 43

With the manpower situation getting worse, a welcome advance in agricultural processes was made, meaning more men could be diverted to the military recruiters. The agricultural research continued, given the circumstances.

​

Two full-strength Italian armoured divisions assaulted Rovigno at 2am and had the initial advantage, despite attacking in poor weather. There were three defending divisions (two Soviet and a Turkish militia outfit) partially dug in. At least their AT guns were enough to match the Italian light tank armour.

​

When 6 Inf Div reached Prerov, they were attacked immediately by another German panzer division (2 Pz Div – light tanks). The Turks retreated immediately (Turkey 8/10,941, Germany 3/8,163 killed) and kept fleeing south-east, to Trencin, where they planned to re-establish their defence.

The attack on Vienna, which had begun on 7 October, was finally over at 10am. The ground battle had proved a very expensive defeat for the Germans.

​

Meanwhile, the retreat back to the Slovakian border was in full swing – it had at least diverted the efforts of three German panzer divisions for a while.

The sigh of relief in Vienna was very short lived. At 1pm, the strongest attack yet on Vienna was launched on 2 Mot Div, by a mixture of German infantry and tanks [-89%]. While this complex battle was developing, the speedy German panzers rolled into Prerov at 4pm, again before 6 Inf Div had completed their withdrawal.

Faced with possible defeat in Vienna, Gataly’s 15 Inf Div made a spoiling attack on Wiener Neustadt at 7pm, which at least forced one of the Axis divisions to withdraw and distracted 57. Infanterie’s attack on Vienna, which weakened somewhat [to -63%]. But the Germans did not leave it at that, in turn assaulting 15 Inf Div in Eisenstadt at 10pm. LT Mehtin Sadik and his platoon found themselves under crossfire from the defenders in the west and the new spoiling attack from the south. He was genuinely concerned this was one situation he may not survive.

​

In a ‘third level’ spoiling attack, the Turkish marines of 1 Mar Div assaulted Sopron at 11pm, hoping to aid the defence of Eisenstadt and allow 15 Inf Div to keep up their own spoiling attack in support of Vienna. The demonic-looking MAJGEN Hell responded with a very effective counter-attack. 176 SD occupied Szombathely at 11pm, but they had over two days of post-attack reorganisation to complete before they could join the attack on Sopron.

This complicated ‘dance of death’ in and around Vienna was sardonically nicknamed ‘The Viennese Quadrille’ by some of the more culturally aware (and sarcastic) participants. No-one was smiling, though, with the sound of artillery, machine-gun fire and falling bombs the musical accompaniment to the grim choreography.

(56 sec)
‘The Viennese Quadrille’ of October 1943 resembled a complicated and deadly dance, where many dancers would not survive. Indeed, many would end up dancing the ‘Spandau Ballet’!​

A report from the STAVKA advised the Karelian Pocket was being squeezed, but still resisted. In northern Poland and East Prussia, a mechanised thrust had reached the north-eastern outskirts of Warsaw and the Red Army was at the gates of Konigsberg.

​

As the day ended, Inönü contemplated the seven fierce battles currently in progress, three of them attacks and four defences, from Katowice in southern Poland to Rovigno on the Adriatic. It was hardly the period of rest and recovery he had been hoping for. Little did he know that things would become even more frenetic – and the situation more dangerous – as the month wore on.

Air Damage Report. Air attacks on Vienna since 7 October had killed a total of 1,396 Turkish troops by the end of the day, most of them in the last two days. Two days of air strikes on Katowice had already caused 475 Turkish casualties.

General Casualties. In completed ground battles from 1-10 October 1943, the Turks recorded 6,852 casualties, with another 11,550 from air attacks. An unsustainable total of 18,402 men in ten days: approaching their entire monthly recruitment quota. The Axis had lost 9,653 men to ground combat, plus the 4,843 prisoners taken in Lussino, for a total loss of 14,496.

OTL Event: China. Chiang Kai-shek formally took the oath of office as Chairman of the National Government in China, a position equivalent to President. He would hold it until 1949 in mainland China and, after fleeing to Taiwan, until his death on April 5, 1975.​

---xxx---​

Coming Up: Can Vienna hold and Gänserndorf be retaken? Will the German panzers stop at the Slovakian border or keep rolling south, bringing the reluctant Comintern converts into the war and striking a depleted and disorganised defensive line? Will the hard-pressed defence hold on the Adriatic sector?

Will Turkey’s Comintern partners start making progress in southern Poland, or at least take up the responsibility for the provinces Turkey has begun evacuating on the east of their line? Can the UGNR sustain the increasing manpower deficit without their lines crumbling and how large might the deficit get?

More widely, what further progress might the Soviets be making in destroying the remnants of Army Group North in the Karelian Pocket? And in their offensive along the Baltic coast towards Konigsberg and Danzig, given the resources the Germans seem to have directed against the Turks in Central Europe?

In the US, Perse laid low, in fear of the Duke of Midnight – and unaware of the dangerous presence of Cennet, pulling the strings for S.I.T.H. in the capital of their Comintern partner. The UK seemed largely dormant now Libya had been taken, but Australia remained in danger of being conquered. And the US slept on, other than it’s subs in the Pacific and the Marines serving with the Turks in Europe

 

[Bullfilter]

Had the latest chapter partly uploaded, so needed to finish that off first. To the Mexico debate. First, here is a snapshot of Mexico's diplomatic position as at 31 Oct 43 (where I'm actually up to in the game):

​

As you can see, they are half way between Allies and Comintern, with no direct influence being applied. So no great danger of declaring against the US, anyway.

The US itself is either being influenced or is self-aligning (pointlessly) to the Allies. The only country they're influencing is Panama - I think because the UK is.

​

Just checked, Canada is of course in the Allies, but Mexico is not. I think they must be in the other (Quick & Dirty) AAR.

Mm. Mexico is switchable then...

And certainly if the USA went and joined the Comintern, then Mexico wouldn't be far behind in the timeline.

maybe we could influence them if we had leadership to spare. I remember how you went savegame modding at the start, maybe you could add an event adding mexico to the comintern

Alas, we don't have the spare LS: it would take a quarter of our research budget to fund it

I would imagine that in TTL, with Canada safely ensconced in the Commonwealth of the British Empire, Mexico would clearly follow the US into the Comintern. It's also not a difficult fix.

They would, but I will let Paradoxian nature take its course!

The only save game mod I did at the start was to extend the decrease neutrality event for Turkey by a few months, or the AAR premise wouldn't have worked. Later there was a small manpower bump I recall, basically to mimic in a small way what the major powers were getting. Nothing of substance since (I did add @diskoerekto as a commander though for narrative and tribute purposes ). This would fall under my self-imposed ban not to generally do things that would aid me in game: even though it is a very logical premise. If the US won't influence them (I wish I could ask them too), then I'll leave it as is.

If it does come to war with the Allies (not a given) then having some extra challenges for the US would be a good game balance, I think. In another type of game though, I may well have followed the suggestion.

 

[Eurasia]

Not happy with those loses. The Axis seems to have gotten second wind and are causing Turkey problems. And this may allow the Soviets to take more of Europe than the leadership of Turkey may like.

 

[37th Armoured div]

we have grave news from the reich! In order to pretend that Germany itself is not in danger, Hitler has arranged an award ceremony to thank those responsible for the continuing “growth” of the reich! He has given Rommel a runner up ribbon, as well as to those of his other generals. He has given himself the third place award, but it seems he’s exporting the other two! Must be for Hirohito and Mussolini, it’s fine.

Breaking news!​

Spoiler

FDR and Churchill receive first and second place awards from hitler

 

[Wraith11B]

Those are certainly some absolutely vicious losses... Have we looked into making sure the rear echelon forces are not reinforcing if they don't need the troops? How about disbanding some of them, even? I don't recall offhand (and forget where it written) the current OOB for the Turkish Army, but certainly we need to figure something out.

Though, in light of the Axis air supremacy (no other way around it, honestly) our goal should probably be much like the Allies on the Western Front in 1944/45: best way to eliminate the threat of the (V1/2s in the original case, but here...) enemy air would be to overrun their bases.

 

[Bullfilter]

Not happy with those loses. The Axis seems to have gotten second wind and are causing Turkey problems. And this may allow the Soviets to take more of Europe than the leadership of Turkey may like.

No, not happy at all. I suspect they have done one of those ‘pendulum swings’ and have sent enough to hold us in place and then administer a sound hammering. I quite admire the poor maligned AI for managing it so well. They kept hitting places exactly when I didn’t want them to and kept up a rain of blows when all I wanted was to hold quietly in place, maybe with a few limited attacks. As to the Soviets: at this point, I’m happy for them to do as much as they want, so long as the Comintern wins.

we have grave news from the reich! In order to pretend that Germany itself is not in danger, Hitler has arranged an award ceremony to thank those responsible for the continuing “growth” of the reich! He has given Rommel a runner up ribbon, as well as to those of his other generals. He has given himself the third place award, but it seems he’s exporting the other two! Must be for Hirohito and Mussolini, it’s fine.

Breaking news!​

Spoiler

FDR and Churchill receive first and second place awards from hitler

Very good!

Those are certainly some absolutely vicious losses... Have we looked into making sure the rear echelon forces are not reinforcing if they don't need the troops? How about disbanding some of them, even? I don't recall offhand (and forget where it written) the current OOB for the Turkish Army, but certainly we need to figure something out.

Terrible - and this is just the beginning: eyes will be watering by the end of the month. You will see some such measures applied later in the month. I’d rather avoid disbandments, but we’ll see down the track. But as you will see as the month draws on, even considerable disbandments may make little impression on the deficit ...

Though, in light of the Axis air supremacy (no other way around it, honestly) our goal should probably be much like the Allies on the Western Front in 1944/45: best way to eliminate the threat of the (V1/2s in the original case, but here...) enemy air would be to overrun their bases.

There are more fighters coming, whether they’ll be enough is another matter. Alas, every time we advance, they have plenty more bases to fall back to. We just need the Soviets to roll over the top of Germany and take them out completely, I think.

 

[nuclearslurpee]

As 2 October started, the manpower reserve was down to just 1,000 with 4,610 replacements needed and an accrual rate of 18,800 per month. Five battles were in progress: not the rest and recuperation time Inönü had hoped for. It would get worse as the month wore on.

Sounds like the beginning of a very Red October!!

On the Slovakian sector, by that night 1 Armd Div’s defence of Novy Jicin was failing, but 8 Inf Div had seized Hodonin and 2 and 6 Inf Divs were advancing to the north-west, trying to draw German attention away from their comrades on the left and right flanks of the front.

​

This ought to work, if nothing else we can roll up behind them and maybe get a little bit of a pocket going.

Novy Jicin was re-occupied by the Germans at 11am, thus exposing the flank of 6 Inf Div in Olomouc and by midday Gürler’s men were under attack from the north-west and east, with a dangerous gap opened from Prerov to Zilinin, due to the earlier thinning of the line. With the strength of the resistance in Blansko and the increasing exposure of the divisions in the salient, 6 Inf Div was ordered to pull back to Prerov and 2 Inf Div to halt its attack on Blansko.

​

An interesting front across the board, here. Seems both sides are able to take and keep local superiority, but neither side is able to hold the whole line or mount a coherent offensive on the strategic level. Which makes for a good read, but a difficult strategic situation for poor İnönü!

Of more importance was a major attack on Katowice, where the large concentration of enemy units near it finally went into action. MAJGEN Özdulek commanded the defence and it was a strong position and the two commanders traded expert tactics. The quality of the enemy attackers was concerning, with all at or near full strength and organisation: a medium panzer, SS and Italian elite Alpinieri division. And of course an Axis aerial bombardment that soon started up.

Not too worrisome, really, since the attackers are not quite optimized for attacking into urban terrain, particularly the panzer division. I think we can hold them.

To help better secure the Rovigno-Pola salient, Lussino was probed at midday – and it was found the lack of supplies had finally hit the defending Germans: they put up no fight, with almost 5,000 prisoners taken. A few hours later, 14 Inf Div would halt and then move to Rijeka, while 222 SD advanced from the south to reoccupy the positions they had surrendered so bloodily when the Germans had first attacked. Revenge – oorah and vur ha!

Hurrah! Vur ha!!

The demonic-looking MAJGEN Hell

Pfft.

A report from the STAVKA advised the Karelian Pocket was being squeezed, but still resisted. In northern Poland and East Prussia, a mechanised thrust had reached the north-eastern outskirts of Warsaw and the Red Army was at the gates of Konigsberg.

Finally, some help around here.

Doesn't sound like the situation will get much better anytime soon - any fears about the front becoming one-sided are thus far unfounded! Hopefully by the end of the month the Germans will have exhausted their last reserves and we can get on with this Race for Berlin business.

 

[diskoerekto]

to make matters worse, at 9pm Italian armour attacked the two partly-recovered divisions defending Rovigno.

The month has not started very bright :/

Seeing the way open and trying to draw off enemy forces, 6 Inf Div (Gürler) pushed on towards Olomouc from Prerov at 5am. Similarly, 2 Inf Div (Gürman) arrived in Uhersje Hradiste at 6am and advanced ‘blindly’ towards Blansko straight away. They encountered 14 Pz Div passing through Blansko, heading east towards Olomouc, an hour later. A short skirmish was fought, but the Germans broke off after an hour (Turkey 15/11,000, Germany 10/2,887 killed) and kept heading east.

If we can unopposed get to the Czech forts and hold them that would be a great strategic win

Later addition: well, at least we managed to run back with minimal losses, those enemy divisions were scary

Entertainment News: US. The children's film Lassie Come Home, the first in a series of seven MGM movies starring the fictional Rough Collie dog Lassie, was released. A young Roddy McDowall played Lassie's companion. [Comment: Awww!]

Never knew that series started this far back!

Little did he know that things would become even more frenetic – and the situation more dangerous – as the month wore on.

So the bloodbath will persist and even thicken?

(I did add @diskoerekto as a commander though for narrative and tribute purposes )

hat tip


What a crazy start to a month! We're bleeding dry but the Germans must have been much worse than us. Still, the death raining from above is not good at all. If we have some free IC lying around somewhere due to manpower shortage, we can also build some static AA and radar stations maybe? Would that help? Or will the front be far away from where it's now by the time they're finished?

 

[Bullfilter]

Sounds like the beginning of a very Red October!!

Touché! Probably correct in both senses, but where, and when ... and how much?

This ought to work, if nothing else we can roll up behind them and maybe get a little bit of a pocket going.

That woulda been nice, but at least a diversion was hoped for - which I suppose got.

An interesting front across the board, here. Seems both sides are able to take and keep local superiority, but neither side is able to hold the whole line or mount a coherent offensive on the strategic level. Which makes for a good read, but a difficult strategic situation for poor İnönü!

Yes on all counts. Let’s say the rest of the month is just as ‘interesting’, if not more so!

Not too worrisome, really, since the attackers are not quite optimized for attacking into urban terrain, particularly the panzer division. I think we can hold them.

I suppose it depends on how determined they are to push it, and how much air power they’re willing to invest. Turkey won’t surrender it without a big fight ... but will it be enough?

Hurrah! Vur ha!!

A ray of light for Turkey in this trying month. Those bratwurst munchers won’t be returning to the fight, at least.

Finally, some help around here.

Doesn't sound like the situation will get much better anytime soon - any fears about the front becoming one-sided are thus far unfounded! Hopefully by the end of the month the Germans will have exhausted their last reserves and we can get on with this Race for Berlin business.

A little, anyway. But nothing yet in southern Poland - as the thin green line gets a bit thinner each day.

The month has not started very bright :/

Tough, and not the recovery we’d been hoping for.

If we can unopposed get to the Czech forts and hold them that would be a great strategic win

Later addition: well, at least we managed to run back with minimal losses, those enemy divisions were scary

It‘s like a dog that runs out barking hard into the park, only to be chased off yelping by a Rottweiler.

Never knew that series started this far back!

78 years ago!

So the bloodbath will persist and even thicken?

Ooh yeah. You ain’t seen nuthin lime it yet.

hat tip

Welcome.

What a crazy start to a month! We're bleeding dry but the Germans must have been much worse than us. Still, the death raining from above is not good at all. If we have some free IC lying around somewhere due to manpower shortage, we can also build some static AA and radar stations maybe? Would that help? Or will the front be far away from where it's now by the time they're finished?

I suspect the shifting lines are probably enough to mainly render them dubious value for money, unfortunately. I think I just need to shorten the line, hold desperately and wait for the Soviets to do their thang.

This was always the issue when we were planning those defensive lines back when we were defending southern Yugoslavia and Romania: the big spring and summer offensives drew us forward and wide, now we’re paying for it. Still, it seems to have worked strategically, as the Soviets are going forward pretty solidly now. And wiping out the Karelian Pocket should free up a lot of troops.

 

[TheButterflyComposer]

You know, I think it may be time for another great summit, because the time is fast approaching when we are entering Germany and Italy proper, and the question of the vichy French to resolve.

At the very least, Stalin, FDR and the Turks need to meet up and figure out how operation downfall is going to play out, and how they're going to take down Italy and when they're going to invade vichy France. That last question means they're probably lying going to have to involve the allies in some capacity, maybe Chruchill gets an invite to try and get an idea where the british are at in North Africa and what they and the free french think of vichy France etx.

As annoying as it is, especially now with the germans switching into being really good defenders mode, we need to get this resolved.

If nothing else, Kelebek may gather together our dark little circle of advisors and miscreants to have an unofficial official summit.