Chapter 125: Timisoara (23 to 30 April 1941)
Prologue
In
Monte Carlo, Cennet has rendezvoused with Kelebek. They work out how they will proceed with Mike Ceylan’s next move in the Secret War. In
Ankara, Perse continues to make her reputation as Turkey’s ace propagandist: “A real English Rose” as Calistar likes to say of her nickname. And our two intrepid foreign office officials emerge from relative seclusion after the latest ‘witch-hunt’ for spies by that infernal Kaya: they arrange to meet for a cup of coffee and some baklava on May First – to celebrate May Day, which is now an occasion thanks to the Comintern Pact. There will be a gala reception at the Soviet Embassy – though they are not invited.
Meanwhile, in
Istanbul Tom Rosencrantz hopes to impress Perse (and his bosses) with the next issue of
The Glorious Truth, which awaits battlefield events to determine its next headline-grabbing publicity scoop: will it be glorious victory over the Axis hordes? Or a valiant and equally glorious but more difficult report of retreat in the face of insurmountable odds on the
Yeniçeri Line? And in Hawaii, B.J. Guildenstern suns himself on Waikiki Beach, a world away from the trouble and strife of war. Though his funds are starting run (or more accurately, have been drunk) dry.
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23 Apr 41
Despite the victory in
Lipova, recent events have confirmed the view that having some combat engineers would be a useful addition to the Turkish Army; for attack, defence and mobility. Soviet advisers will be asked to help train some as soon as the industrial capacity to do so is freed up.
5 Inf Div, under their crack commander MAJGEN Namut, arrives in
Lugoj to start recovering. They are now the designated reserve for the northern sector, but still have a long way to go to regain full combat preparedness.
Air Raids. Two air raids were conducted by the Hungarian Air Force before the attack on
Lipova was broken off, then another just after, causing a total of 518 Turkish and Soviet casualties that day.
OTL Event: Greece. King George II of Greece and the Greek government fled to Crete.
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24 Apr 41
An early morning report from the right flank east of
Lipova reveals the group of mainly Romanian units gathered in
Deva is in fact five co-located HQs. No wonder they haven’t been moving forward to plug the
Dezna gap, which remains open but fortunately unfilled by the enemy. It also seems the Romanians have begun to withdraw from their forward position in
Oradea (probably just as well), but are still moving to reoccupy
Beius, which would help guard the northern flank of
Lipova. The situation around
Cluj is somewhat confused, but it remains in Axis hands.
The rest of the day is relatively quiet on the
Yeniçeri Line, with no Axis air raids conducted on Turkish positions.
OTL Event: Greece. The Battle of Thermopylae ended in German victory, although the Allies fought a successful delaying action. Hitler issued Directive No. 28, Invasion of Crete.
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25 Apr 41
The early morning brings some mixed news from Romania, though on balance it is positive: a German light panzer division has pushed them out of their salient in
Oradea, but they have reoccupied
Beius with a couple of divisions. Though whether they can hold this open terrain for long with a number of German units in the area remains to be seen.
By mid-afternoon, Gataly’s 15 Inf Div arrived in
Kikinda, where they will continue their recovery from recent combat. The Axis build-up in the four provinces from
Sânnicolau Mare in the north to
Novi Sad in the south is concerning, but they have not moved to attack. Perhaps they are having second thoughts about tackling the reconstituted
Yeniçeri Line. Inönü’s main concerns are two-fold and complementary: the Axis forces, including German panzer and other units, are stronger than last time; and many of the Turkish units are still recovering from recent combat. This makes the line more vulnerable to attack and more difficult for the Turks to counter-attack or bring in reinforcements from one part of the line without weakening another too much. But the longer the Axis waits, the better it is for Turkey.
Again, the rest of the day passes relatively quietly.
News Report: Washington DC, US. During a press conference, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt seems to compare Charles Lindbergh to Clement Vallandigham and the Copperheads of the American Civil War. Without using Lindbergh's name, Roosevelt says, "There are people in this country ... [who] say out of one side of the mouth, 'No, I don't like it, I don't like dictatorship,' and then out of the other side of the mouth, 'Well, it's going to beat democracy, it's going to defeat democracy, therefore I might just as well accept it.' Now, I don't call that good Americanism ... Well, Vallandigham, as you know, was an appeaser. He wanted to make peace from 1863 on because the North 'couldn't win.' Once upon a time there was a place called Valley Forge and there were an awful lot of appeasers that pleaded with Washington to quit, because he 'couldn't win.' Just because he 'couldn't win.' See what Tom Paine said at that time in favor of Washington keeping on fighting!"
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26 Apr 41
The Milli Sef has just drifted off into a light sleep when he is awoken by his adjutant. The man is tense. “Sir, could you please come to the CP at once? The Axis have launched a major attack!”
“Where?” says Inönü as he quickly tries to get his bearings and clear his mind.
“
Timisoara, sir!”
He nods calmly – no sense panicking his men. But, to himself, he thinks:
Damn, they’ve unerringly picked the weak spot I was worried about when we had to send 1 Motorlu to Lipova! He hopes this will be another of those foolhardy probes they have beaten off easily in the past. But it is not.
As he arrives in the 1st Army HQ’s CP, his chief of staff briefs him:
“Yamut has reported a major attack on
Timisoara, including German medium armour, the SS-Verf Div, Italian light armour and line infantry divisions from Germany and Italy! Five well-prepared divisions in all, attacking from
Senta and
Sannicolau Mare.”
“How are they holding up?”
“Well enough to start with, despite being heavily outnumbered and facing two enemy armoured divisions. Yamut has taken personal command.”
“And his initial assessment?”
“I’ll read directly from his first contact report, sir:"
'We believe the Hungarians have once again given command of the entire attack to that idiot Arena! With confidence in their numbers, he launched a reckless assault, which I have counter-attacked. My own reinforced Corps HQ is in the front line. We are mowing them down by the bushel, but their armour and numbers will tell in the end, especially if they ever wise up with their tactics. We will definitely need reinforcement if we are to hold.'
“He certainly will. Give orders to 1 Motorlu to return to
Timisoara immediately. How long will it take them?”
“Sir, they have of course prepared for this – they estimate they can make it there in less than a day – before midnight tonight.”
“Good. We will see how the battle develops but start looking at where else we can scour reinforcements from along the line. And let Namut know he is on one hours’ notice to move: I think the 5th has had just about all the rest it is going to get in
Lugoj.”
By midday on 26 April 1941, militia troops from HQ 3rd Corps are in position on the front line in Timisoara, awaiting the inevitable enemy assault as it builds up intensity. The main brunt of the assault is currently falling on 1 Inf Div.
1 Mot Div arrives at 11pm that night, initially taking up a reserve position as it attempts to reinforce the front line. 1 Inf Div is beginning to take heavy casualties, as is the German 23rd Inf Division.
Note, the attacking percentages (currently affected by night fighting for the attackers) of the two strongest German units versus 8 Inf Div (1 Inf Div had similar numbers). The mixture of terrain, entrenchment and tactics is heavily favouring the Turks, but the Axis has the numbers and the armour … and it’s a very good thing neither of the German generals were placed in command! 8 Inf Div and HQ 3rd Corps are both equipped with AT brigades, which is just well.
No air raids again today – one small mercy …
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27 Apr 41
… a mercy which is short-lived, as Italian TAC beginnings hitting
Timisoara early that morning and throughout the day. His initial reckless assault having been foiled, the Axis commander Arena (of the Italian 132a 'Ariete' armoured division) changes his tactics for the attack on
Timisoara: he tries to employ German doctrine and orders a blitz attack. But the crafty Yamut once again stymies the Italian general by employing an elastic defence. Also, he has managed to plug 1 Mot Div into the line quickly. Whatever happens, Yamut will deserve a medal after this battle!
Despite all this, the assessed likelihood of the defence holding is very gradually eroding. At 1pm, Inönü not only orders 5 Inf Div to start heading to the defence of the beleaguered
Timisoara: he also takes the risk of marching the new and untried 14 Inf Div (which doesn’t yet have a permanent commander assigned) from
Kikinda, which will only be held by a weak Corps HQ (the new 4th Corps, again without an assigned commander) and two still-recovering infantry divisions. But if these reinforcements aren’t started now, they would likely arrive too late to have any impact on what is shaping into a very large and long battle (they will take much longer to arrive than the speedy 1 Mot Div and are marching over rougher terrain to get there).
Air Raids. The Italian TAC kills 421 Turkish defenders in
Timisoara in three raids that day. Hopefully the HQ 3rd Corps AA brigade is causing them
some attrition.
OTL Event: Greece. German troops marched into Athens.
News Report: London, UK. Winston Churchill makes a radio broadcast reporting on the war situation. "When I spoke to you early in February many people believed the Nazi boastings that the invasion of Britain was about to begin. Now it has not begun yet, and with every week that passes we grow stronger on the sea, in the air and in the number, quality, training and equipment of the great armies that now guard our island," Churchill said. Returning to the line in that February speech asking for the "tools" to "finish the job," Churchill said that "that is what it now seems the Americans are going to do. And that is why I feel a very strong conviction that though the Battle of the Atlantic will be long and hard and its issue is by no means yet determined, it has entered upon a more grim but at the same time a far more favourable phase." Comment: Turkish Intelligence now believes this speech may have been both a call to arms and a distraction, for operational security reasons, based on later revelations.
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28 Apr 41
Another Iraqi spy is apprehended in
Ankara as he approaches a dead-letter drop at midnight (of course). Unfortunately for him, it has been staked out by Kaya’s secret police - into the cells for him, likely never to emerge alive. The rest of the day is taken up with desperate fighting in the outskirts and some streets of
Timisoara. So far, the defence holds as casualties mount on both sides. Late in the day, an intelligence report asserts there is unusual British activity taking place in the central and western Med, but no details are forthcoming from British liaison, who remain tight-lipped, offering ‘No comment, my dear chaps. We will let you know if or when there is anything to report.” Damned Anglo insouciance!
Air Raids. The Italians continue to pummel
Timisoara, this time managing to squeeze in four raids and killing another 550 Turkish soldiers. Örlungat is itching to send his fighters up in an attempt to intercept them, but Inönü does not authorise it: “Stay patient, we may risk it if we reach a dangerous but finely balanced tipping point, but we are not at that point yet. Time for steady nerves, my friend.”
News Reports: US. Charles Lindbergh announces in a letter that he is resigning as a member of the Army Air Corps Reserve due to President Roosevelt's implied criticism of him. The U.S. War Department accepts his resignation the following day.
Another Gallup poll result was released asking Americans, "If you were asked to vote today on the question of the United States entering the war against Germany and Italy, how would you vote — to go into the war, or to stay out of the war?" 81% said stay out, a 7 percent decrease since the same question was polled in January. Another question asked, "If it appeared certain that there was no other way to defeat Germany and Italy except for the United States to go to war against them, would you be in favor of the United States going to war?" 68% said yes, 24% said no, and 8% expressed no opinion.
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29 Apr 41
In
Ankara, two men meet at midnight in a dingy alleyway. One looks Asian in appearance, the other looks like he may be from the Levant. The Asian-looking man nonchalantly passes an envelope over to the other – at which point a detail of Kaya’s men emerges from the shadows to quickly apprehend the two and seize the message. It turns out one is a spy from Thailand (an Axis member), the other a Syrian in the service of the Vichy French. It seems they have been cooperating – damned Vichy collaborators and Fascist fellow-travellers! Once decoded, the message poses a question – the same being asked by the Turks themselves:
“Who is this British-run agent, ‘The Thorn’? Find out his identity and report back with whatever you can.”
Who indeed? Under interrogation, it becomes clear the Axis are happy to use Vichy agents as convenient collectors of information in Turkey.
Those scum will be dealt with – in due course, Kaya thinks to himself.
“Perhaps we need Darth K…” he
just manages to stop himself uttering the S.I.T.H. operative's name aloud “... ah, er, one of our
S.I.T.H colleagues to pay them a visit and remind them of the folly of collaboration with Fascists. I will even bring myself to talk to Ögel about it, in the interests of national security!” He pops a precautionary apoplexy tablet, just in case the thought of having to speak civilly to Ögel is enough to trigger an episode.
At the front in
Timisoara, the effects of the fighting during the previous day are assessed. All three of the original defending units are now suffering significant disorganisation, though the enemy’s two line infantry divisions are in an even worse state. The odds for the battle have again deteriorated a little further, with Arena finally settling on a tactic (a breakthrough attempt) that is not completely negated by Yamut, who does his best with another counter-attack.
Just as the casualties are starting to mount and the next reinforcements are still some way off, Arena reverts to a simple attack – to which Yamut responds with masterful delaying tactics! Just what was needed under the circumstances, buying some time for friendly reinforcements to make it there.
Troops from the hard-pressed 1 Inf Div, pride of the Turkish Army, engaged in street fighting in the increasingly battered cityscape of Timisoara, 29 April 1941.
Sitrep: HQ 3rd Corps to HQ 1st Army, as at 1400 hrs 29 April 1941.
Enemy
1. The Italian 13a Division has broken off the attack in disorder.
2. The German 23rd Inf Division looks to also be close to breaking point.
3. 11 Pz, SS-Verf and 132a Armoured Divisions are assessed as having taken some damage but remain in strong fighting order.
Friendly
4. 8 Inf Div has taken heavy casualties and is weakening, may need to be withdrawn soon.
5. 1 Inf Div and HQ 3rd Corps have both taken heavy casualties, with organisation slipping.
6. 1 Mot Div remains at almost 100% effectiveness.
Tactical Assessment
7. We continue to employ delaying tactics, but despite the withdrawal of 13a Division the enemy continues to gradually gain the upper hand.
Troops from the fanatical Hitlerite SS-Verfügungstruppe pause briefly in their attack on Timisoara, on the afternoon of 29 April 1941. They may be tough, battle hardened and fanatical but the pressure of the intense battle is written on their faces. This is no push-over against timid defenders.
That evening, HQ 1st Army receives an update report from the Romanians. German troops have pushed them out of
Beius, while the Hungarians have retaken the
Oradea-Bologa salient: it is not clear if any Romanian divisions were trapped or they all made it out in time.
And in the Far East, GRU Agent SkitalecS3 advises the temporary Mongolian capital of
Uliastay has still not fallen to the Japanese. It is unclear if the Soviet 60th Mtn Div will be able to get there from
Tesin in time – though at least they will move more quickly in mountain terrain than other units would. Only one Japanese division now seems to be heading to
Uliastay, so there is still some hope it can be saved, and Mongolia kept in the war.
Air Raids. The Italians launch another three raids on
Timisoara during the day, but their effectiveness has decreased, with only 291 casualties inflicted this time. Perhaps they too are beginning to suffer from mission exhaustion.
OTL Event: Greece. Allied resistance ceased on the Greek mainland when 8,000 British, New Zealand, Australian, Greek and Yugoslavian troops surrendered at Kalamata.
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30 Apr 41
After the continued fighting on 29 April, 5 Inf Div arrives from
Lugoj shortly after midnight, and though they are still not fully recovered, they shift the battle odds assessment back into Turkey’s favour, even if they remain in reserve for now. 11 Pz and SS-Verf Divisions are beginning to show signs of wear and tear now, which is very good: if
they can’t be worn down, the attack will never be defeated. The enemy’s 23rd Inf Division seems to be on its last legs but fights on. The same can be said of the Turkish 8 Inf Div, while both HQ 3rd Corps and 1 Inf Div are also doing it tough. Further south, large Axis concentrations in
Srboban and
Novi Sad – principally threatening Ada – remain inactive but cannot be discounted: they will ensure no further units are taken from there for the meatgrinder of
Timisoara.
By 6am, another report is received of an enemy division breaking off the attack: the German 23 Inf Division has had enough. At this point, the two exhausted sides have reverted to simple attack and defend tactics.
Then, out of the blue, at 9am news is received that HQ 3rd Corps has broken and is fleeing
Timisoara: it seems that while the overall organisation of the unit showed it had some fight remaining in it, the single front-line 4th Militia Brigade had been completely exhausted. The rest followed when they broke, with the whole HQ routing to
Faget. It also means Yamut must relinquish command of the battle. He has done a wonderful job to date, but will it be enough?
And at 1pm, 8 Inf Div has very nearly reached its breaking point. To avoid another involuntary withdrawal, they are ordered out to recover in
Lugoj. They are sufficiently spent that they would be unable to recover in time to defend that location if
Timisoara were to fall in the next few days, but they are ordered to do the best they can. MAJGEN Orbay of the 'Mighty First Division' has taken command of the forces defending
Timisoara.
Air Raids. There is no significant change to the situation on the ground in
Timisoara for the rest of the day – the battle will continue into May after five days of furious combat so far and remains in the balance. Three more Italian air raids killed another 228 defenders during the day – another drop-off in the effectiveness of their ground strikes.
OTL Event: Berlin, Germany. Hitler set the launch date of Operation Barbarossa to June 22.
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Monthly Theatre Summaries
As the
Battle of Timisoara hangs in the balance
[reporting is now up to date, so I don’t yet know how it will end either], the war continues elsewhere. And Churchill has managed to spring another surprise in the Med!
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Libya remains in stalemate, with only one British and one Iraqi infantry division in the area around
Bengasi. But the Italians remain paralysed, unwilling or (most likely) unable for logistical reasons to take advantage of their superior numbers. There has been no change in the front line since the beginning of April.
But the British now report they have landed in
Sardinia, taking the key port and air base of
Cagliari! More will be seen of the activities of the aircraft based there in the subsequent Naval Report.
The
Far East summary reveals the latest Japanese advances have been limited to the north-east in the last week and are steady but relatively modest over the month (from the yellow line marking the front line as at 1 April). As at midnight on 30 April,
Uliastay remains in Comintern hands and Mongolia in the war.
The
Patriotic Front as a whole provides a mixed picture. Recent German advances have been most rapid in the North and Central sectors. After initial advances at the beginning of the month in the
South, the Soviets seem to have halted German momentum and are even pushing back in some places. At Inönü’s request, the Soviets have provided a list of all battles currently in progress (some of those listed below may be occurring in the Far East) and their estimated progress
[for those not so familiar with HOI3, green is an attack, red a defence, with low numbers being in the defender’s favour and higher percentages in the attacker’s]. A couple of specific snapshots of a few key battles are provided further below.
The
North sector shows continued Axis progress towards
Riga, which is now under direct attack. There are significant Soviet forces in the area, but they need to form a solid defensive line, using favourable forest and river terrain.
The
Battle of Riga is a fierce contest. And though they have numbers on their side, it can be seen the Soviets lack organisation and look to be losing here. German shock tactics have thwarted the Soviet commander’s attempted delaying defence.
German troops pressing in on Riga on 30 April 1941, with anti-tank gunners taking on Soviet armour – which may not be best employed in an urban defence but may have been all that was available.
The
Centre sector shows a major reason for the Germans’ momentum in this area: there seems to be a large concentration of heavy panzer divisions in this area, which are leading the grinding offensive that is steadily pushing the Soviets back here, though their defence of the Pripet Marshes has held so far.
The
South sector is interesting. Perhaps the Turkish and then Romanian offensives have sufficiently decreased Axis strength in that area to blunt their momentum in what
should be conducive open terrain for the offensive. Their line is looking quite thin across the front there and the Soviets have taken advantage of that in a couple of locations.
The
Battle of Zloczow shows a coordinated Soviet shock attack from two different directions (three if 122 SD can reinforce from
Krzemieniec) has the attempted delaying defence of the German 79th Inf Division in potential trouble, though so far they remain relatively unscathed.
And to the south of that, the
Battle of Stanislawow shows an even more complex attack from four directions, including from the Soviet 1st Guards Division, going in on a single German infantry division – the 25th – which is in trouble. However, a strong German relief column can be seen moving in from the north-west, including an SS brigade. This could get hot indeed!
Troops from the Soviet 1st Guards Division attack Stanislawow with tank support, 30 April 1941.
The situation in
Romania is already reasonably well-known to the Turkish command. The Axis looks to have consolidated their hold on the
Cluj-Dej salient for now but otherwise, the Comintern Pact defence – from the Turkish 6 Inf Div in
Lipova in the south to the Romanian-Soviet defensive line stretching up to the north-east – appears to be holding for the moment.
And the summary of the northern
Yeniçeri Line shows how the gains from the beginning of the month following Op KURT SÜRÜSÜ have all been rolled back. However, there have been no further Axis gains in the last week, with of course the major attack on
Timisoara still hanging in a delicate balance. If it were to fall, it could be difficult to keep the line solid in that area if it is followed up strongly. If it holds, the Axis will have been dealt a major blow, though they may renew the attack elsewhere.
The usual monthly Naval Report, an intelligence report on German combined arms tactics and doctrine and a digest of current Turkish research priorities will follow shortly
[not enough room for them in what is already a weighty update].
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Coming Up: The next few days should
surely settle the latest
Battle of Timisoara – though
could it drag on for longer? The Secret War continues to build in Monaco and perhaps in Italy and Vichy France, but Mike Ceylan is not yet in a position to enact his next major strike. The Thorn continues to evade any Turkish attempts to capture him. And the propaganda presses wait for news from the front to see what the party line will be: gloating triumph, stoic resistance or trying to put the best light possible on a disastrous defeat and a possible breach of the lines in the Balkans.
