[BnW- Ita vs Byz] 7- The Thermopylae

[StuccoFresco]

Valona has fallen, and the Byzantines are retreating west. The richest, most fertile parts of Albania are in our hands through our pupp-esteemed ally King Zog. But our military smells blood, and someone is already calling for an invasion of the Byzantine states themselves. To do that we must pursue the retreating enemy and prevent them from regrouping.

In particular, the northern “gate” to the main Byzantine lands passes through a narrow opening between the river Vjose, the Dinaric Alps and the northern woodlands. The pass is called the Thermopylae, from the town that sits in the middle of it. Historically, it has served well as a defensive position for the Byzantines. If we want to pass through it, we must do it now, before the enemy can fortify the hell out of it.

To do so, we are rushing forward with our already tired and battered vanguards. We are logistically overextended already, and the further we advance the worse it will get. Fortunately, the Byzantines have set up numerous supply depots for their retreating units, so IF we are fast enough we can conquer those. Every 5 turns the enemy will blow up or exhaust the easternmost depots, all of which are defended by enemy units. As the battle goes on, the Byzantines will also build fortifications and plant minefields, so again the faster I advance the less resistance I’ll have to fight through. And the faster I advance the more Byzantine troops I can destroy before they reach their new defensive lines.

It’s going to be an interesting battle.



1/10/1941
The II Coorte marches onward, overrunning a Byzantine Engineer Battalion and reaching the retreating 66th Koursorses Division. The heavily mechanized and armored Coorte easily tears through the enemy ranks, but every fight means less ground covered. There are supply depots in two villages ahead: one northwest, one southwest. I chose to move southwest because it’s the route the enemy troops have taken: I’ll try to pin them down and destroy them in open battle rather than having to fight them later when entrenched. I have to leave a single Regiment of the 7th “Arretium” to guard our main supply point at Sarande, though. Some of my units receive elite reinforcements.

In the south, there are weakened remnants of destroyed Byzantine units retreating through the open fields, so I use the 13th and 28th Divisioni Motorizzate to finish them off. A couple of routed companies are eliminated through bombing runs from the 9° and 33° Gruppo Bombardieri.

The I Coorte approaches the town of Ura. The enemy has placed the 107th Hoplitai Division as a roadblock, supported by anti-tank and anti-aircraft guns. The 12th “Fufluna” Division charges right through their ranks with its APCs and elite Centuria infantry, but the tanks of the 8th Clibanarii Division (assigned to the IV Coorte) have to steer clear of the town. The armored unit swings south and catches the tail of the retreating Byzantine XVII Thema, crushing two rearguard Regiments of the 58th Hoplitai Division.



2/10/1941
The 5th Katafraktoi Division counterattacks bravely near Ura, in the south: the Byzantine tanks avoid a direct confrontation with the heavier Italian tanks at first, flanking the forward elements of the 8th Clibanarii Division and cutting them off from supplies. One of the leading Regiments is strafed and bombed by the Byzantine Peltastes CAS planes, leaving a dozen tanks burning in the fields, and then charged by the enemy tanks. The Regiment is decimated in the heavy fighting, and I have to push forward the 12th “Fufluna” to rescue them.

The 25° Arditi Brigade leads the offensive against the 5th Katafraktoi: a two-hours barrage from the artillery of the IV Coorte leaves an enemy Regiment shaken, and the Arditi assaults drive deep in their formation. Eventually, the Byzantine unit is forced to retreat, but the 28th Divisione Motorizzata pursues it and almost forces a complete surrender. The 13th Divisione Motorizzata joins the battle at Ura, further decimating the 107th Hoplitai Division. The 5th Katafraktoi Division is then bombed relentlessly by my air force and attacked by the 8th Clibanarii Division, leading to the encirclement of one of their Regiments.

In the north, the II Coorte pushes against the retreating Byzantine forces. It seems however the enemy columns have stopped marching west and are instead thinking of holding their ground… Well, I will oblige them: the 7th “Arretium” and the 6th “Rusel” push further back the 66th Koursorses Division, approaching the enemy supply depots in the nearby village. A Regiment of the “Arretium” has engaged the 57th Hoplitai Division northwest of Sarande: if I have to keep them back to avoid a Byzantine drive against Sarandes’ supplies, I might as well try to eliminate the threat altogether…


3/10/1941
The 6th Katafraktoi has tried to stop my advance and probably trying to save their supply depot from capture, but the 24° Arditi and the 14th Clibanarii break through its ranks. The 10th “Rusel” exploits the breach, and by the end of the day the Byzantine armored division is shattered and decimated. Once again the enemy’s light tanks prove to be vulnerable to artillery fire, with the 24° Arditi’s new assault guns able to disable them even with a close miss if the explosion is near enough the Byzantine tanks’ flanks or rear.

The 7th “Arretium” occupies the enemy’s supply depots. Other mechanized troops are threatening another one further north.

Enemy resistance around Ura has collapsed, so I decide to push the 8th Clibanarii Division and the 12th “Fufluna” southwest toward the next objective, Kucove. Ura is surrounded by my Motorized troops.



4/10/1941
The I and IV Coorte advance toward Kucove encircling and destroying part of the 58th Hoplitai Division together with a Byzantine artillery Regiment. Ura is about to fall, but the enemy will probably be able to destroy the supply depots before I can capture them. I should have used my motorized troops to assault the town en masse instead of using just a single Regiment.

The II Coorte demolishes the enemy armored troops and approaches Kruje, defended by the 106th Hoplitai Division. It seems at least part of the Byzantine XVI Thema retreated west. The 10th “Rusel” Division has to protect the rearguard and supply lines from an infiltrating enemy Koursorses Regiment.


5/10/1941
Kucove is reached by the I and IV Coorte. The town is still defended by the retreating 56th Hoplitai Division, and I fear there are anti-tank guns on the other side of the town, so I order the 8th Clibanarii and 25° Arditi Brigade to cross the river north of the bridge. Ura is taken by storm by the 13th Divisione Motorizzata, conquering the supply depots just in time.

The 31st Peltastes Wing has pummeled a Regiment of the 8th Clibanarii, but is now under fire by both I and IV Coorte’s HQ Battalions and their deadly SPAAs.

The II Coorte launches its attack against Kruje; the town has a full Support Regiment defending the 106th Hoplitai Division so I have to send the 7th “Arretium” around its northern defenses to engage them directly. After the mechanized troops have destroyed enough guns, the 24° Arditi Brigade charges the enemy infantry, decimating an enemy Regiment. The 14th Clibanarii Division starts encircling the town.

The “Rusel” Division is still fighting northwest of Sarande.

[StuccoFresco]

6/10/1941
The Byzantines blow up the Kucove bridge to slow down the I and IV Coorte’s advance, as well as the depot in the village northwest of Sarande. The higher-ups decide to assign three Engineering Battalions to the X Legione to clear minefields and build back some bridges along the way.

The last remaining Regiment of the 6th Katafraktoi Division retakes a village behind the II Coorte, threatening the supply routes again, so I have to bring back a Regiment of the 7th “Arretium” to drive them black once again. The rest of the Division pushes deep into Ura, crushing the enemy Support Regiment and takes the town. This leaves our armored forces free to assault the 106th Hoplitai Division, almost wiping it out. Enemy CAS Wings storm the area targeting our tanks with their incendiary bombs; dozens of tanks are left as burning wrecks, but my AA cover in the area is so thick that around 40 planes are shot down. Our 51° and 45° Stormo Caccia finish the rest of the enemy CAS force.

Around Kucove the fight flares up as the veteran 64th Hoplitai Division attacks the 28th Divisione Motorizzata from the south, threatening the flank of the I Coorte. The 13th Divisione Motorizzata is sent immediately against the new threat.

Meanwhile, the 12th “Fufluna” and the 25° Arditi Brigade assaults Kucove proper, pushing back the defenders and occupying the town. The Arditi assault guns are pivotal in the attack, but start taking losses from anti-tank fire coming from the ranks of the defending 108th Hoplitai Division. There’s clearly a Support Regiment shoring up their defenses.

The 8th Clibanarii Division tries to cross the river north of the town, but the enemy has mined many of the available fording sites, causing several losses as the heavier tanks set them off. Two Regiments of the “Fufluna” manages to ford the bridge further north, followed immediately by an armored Regiment.




7/10/1941
The enemy Interceptor Wings come back to the fight, but I put enough escorts on my bombers to avoid massive losses. Once I get all my Bombardieri Wings in the air, I concentrate them on the 64th Hoplitai Division in the south, crippling their remaining full-strength Regiment. The other two are quickly encircled and decimated by the 13th and 28th Divisione Motorizzata.

The 12th “Fufluna” starts fording the river north of Kucove, pushing back the enemy infantry. The town proper is under attack but a single Regiment of the 28th Motorizzata is holding well. Further north, the 25° Arditi clears one of the riverside minefields, the rest of the “Fufluna” has forded the river, as well as a Regiment of the 8th Clibanarii.

Enemy presence around Kruje has been wiped out, the II Coorte starts moving further west and spreads out to re-establish contact with the enemy troops. It finds none.

Back at Sarande, the enemy infantry keeps getting reinforcements, and the lone Regiment of the 7th “Arretium” is rapidly getting exhausted. I decide to reinforce them with one of the Engineering Battalions that arrived yesterday. Not much, but I don’t want to pull back more valuable units.


8/10/1941
The 64th Hoplitai Division is again thoroughly bombed from the air, and then wiped out by the 13th Divisione Motorizzata. The rest of the I and IV Coorte are enveloping the 108th Hoplitai Division around Kucove. The lightly armed Byzantine infantry has been fighting against overwhelming Italian forces for three days now, never giving up any ground without making us drop blood for it. You have to respect their determination, as well as the prowess of the gunners of the Voitho Regiment helping them with their anti-aircraft and anti-tank guns.

Further north, the 7th “Arretium” and the 10th “Rusel” push their vanguards toward Bajram, closely followed by the 24° Arditi Brigade and a Regiment of the 14th Clibanarii Division.

Back at Sarande, the enemy threatens to cut off the supply routes to the II Coorte; I have to divert a Regiment of the 8th Clibanarii from Kucove toward Kruje to link up the road networks supplying my force and avoid a disaster. The lone 7th “Arretium” Regiment holding up the enemy infantry northwest of Sarande is clearly struggling, now.



9/10/1941
The II Coorte reaches Bajram, which they discover being garrisoned by the 26° Varangian Brigade. The leading elements engage the defenders in a fierce battle for the town’s bridge: the 24° Arditi artillery and assault guns relentlessly shell the enemy position as the mechanized infantry tries to storm them. The Italian troops conquer the eastern shore and almost take the bridges, but despite losing more than half its combat strength the Byzantines manage to hold their ground. As the sun sets down, Byzantine sappers blow up the bridge.

I have already decided to skip a direct assault against Shkoder: I’ll try to cross the river at Bajram and attack the city from the south.

As predicted, the enemy infantry blocks the main road between Kruje and Sarande, but I’m able to use the southern roads to supply the II Coorte.

At Kucove, another round of bombing runs and the direct assault against the Voitho Regiment finally crack the 108th Hoplitai Division’s resolve. The enemy infantry is pushed outside of the town’s outskirts and reduced to a single understrength Regiment. I advance the Engineers so I can build a temporary bridge. Meanwhile, the 13th and 28th Divisione Motorizzata drive around the southern woods to skip the river entirely.

I’m reaching the limit of my Fighters’ combat range.
[Imgur](https://imgur.com/sqjWlFE)
[Imgur](https://imgur.com/6cZyBZo)


10/10/1941
Our supply rate drops again, just as the Kurje supply depots are finally reaching full capacity again. Not many Byzantine supply depots available for capture now…

Bajram is conquered: the 26° Varangian Brigade tries desperately to hold the western part of the town, but is overrun by mechanized and assault troops. The XVII Thema’s HQ is still active near the airfields. The whole II Coorte is amassing on the eastern shore: I have to bring the Engineers forward and build a field bridge.

Enemy presence around Kucove is wiped out; the I and IV Coorte moves west toward Bulqize.
[Imgur](https://imgur.com/fmrVN7K)


11/10/1941
Well there’s good news and bad news. The good one is that the capture of Bajram, Kucove and Kruje allowed our engineers to build a new Airfield near the latter, and the 77° Gruppo Bombardieri (11° and 12° Wing) was able to redeploy there to support us. The bad news is that the 24° Varangian Brigade has materialized out of nowhere to threaten the undefended town. In fact, the Varangians have already assaulted the newly constructed airfield, and I have nothing in the area to contest them…

I am therefore forced to bring some, hoping they’ll arrive in time: a Regiment of the 7th “Arretium” and an armored one from the 8th Clibanarii Division are urgently redirected toward Kruje. Meanwhile, all my bomber force relentlessly attacks the Varangian unit.

At Bajram, enemy engineers complete their work on a new fortified area north of the town, blocking the direct way toward Shkoder. Bad news, again, but at least I’m able to push back the enemy HQ unit and put enough of my troops across the river. Unfortunately, one of my armored Regiments discovers that the enemy has mined one of the fording spots the hard way, losing several tanks.

The 56th Hoplitai Division who we lost sight of a week ago resurfaces southeast of Bajram, threatening the II Coorte’s flank. My artillery, which I was planning on bombing the new enemy fortified line, has to turn its guns against the new threat. The leading enemy Regiment eats a sustained barrage and a frontal attack from the 10th “Rusel” Division’s rearguard Regiment, and is ultimately pushed back with heavy losses.

The leading elements of the I Coorte reach Bulqize and spots a series of concrete bunkers as well as minefields protecting the town’s supply depots. I think I’ll pass.

[StuccoFresco]

12/10/1941
Enemy Interceptors attack my bombers, despite losing at least 30 planes from my fighter escorts. The Varangians occupy Kruje, but another full day of bombing runs leave the enemy Brigade crippled and shell-shocked, helping the 7th “Arretium”’s Regiment with his subsequent attack. The enemy suffers heavy losses, but refuses to be dislodged from the town. With the armored Regiment from the 8th Clibanarii approaching from the south, the threat will be soon eradicated; the airfield is still operational… barely.

The I and IV Coorte avoid Bulqize and link up with the II Coorte, crushing the 56th Hoplitai Division with a surprise attack from behind. The 10th “Rusel” supported by the 24° Arditi and a Regiment from the 14th Clibanarii assaults the enemy fortifications and clears most of them.



13/10/1941
Enemy resistance around Bajram is eliminated; the bridge is repaired and the II Coorte is advancing north. I and IV Coorte approach the town to cross as well.

Kruje is recaptured, the Varangians surrender.



14-15/10/1941
Our advancing troops and our bombers provide some intel on enemy positions around Shkoder: the eastern shore is heavily defended by entrenched troops from the 31st and 36th Hoplitai Divisions, supported by a single Regiment from the 23rd Hoplitai and an Artillery Regiment. The city proper has more troops from the 31st Hoplitai Division, the VI Thema’s HQ and the 3rd Tagma HQ, as well as a fortified area just outside the city center.

I don’t have much time to conquer both Shkoder and the Thermopylae. Minefields are slowing down my advance from Bajram, and one Regiment of the 14th Clibanarii has suffered high losses during his advance: at least 22 tanks have been tracked or otherwise damaged, if not outright destroyed, by enemy mines. I also have to rest some of my units: they are too exhausted and disorganized to fight or advance anymore.
[Imgur](https://imgur.com/TqiCwhz)


16/10/1941
An enemy counterattack involving an armored regiment from the 6th Katafraktoi Division hits our advancing troops southeast of Thermopylae, but I immediately bring forward my own armored units from the 14th Clibanarii Division and push back the enemy.

The assault on Shkoder begins: the 24° Arditi Brigade assaults the enemy fortified positions, demolishing numerous bunkers and clearing a path for the 10th “Rusel”’s own attack. The enemy forts fall one after the other, their garrisons unprepared for the onslaught of artillery and determined mechanized assault unleashed on them. In a few hours the Italian troops destroy almost the entire fortified area. Meanwhile, the 7th “Arretium” and the 25° Arditi Brigade engage the entrenched 31st Hoplitai Division.




17/10/1941
The 8th Clibanarii Division takes the lead of the Thermopylae front, crushing the enemy’s counterattack. The town proper is defended by enemy infantry from the 67th Koursorses Division, remnants from the great Byzantine retreat of the last weeks. There are two fortified areas right behind the towns, minefields and a Voitho support Regiment. All that anti-tank fire makes our own tanks sacrificial lambs, so the actual assault on the town will be led by the mechanized infantry. The 10th “Rusel” Division and a Regiment from the 12th “Fufluna” will lead the way.

On the Shkoder front, the Arditi have finished off the enemy fortifications, and the mechanized and motorized infantry have dislodged the enemy infantry, pushing the survivors over the river. The city center is lightly defended by two enemy HQs.

Further air recon flights spot more artillery and anti-tank units around Thermopylae.



18/10/1941
Both Shkoder and Thermopylae fall in the same day to the 10th “Rusel” troops after concentrated artillery strikes and the help of the 24° Arditi Brigade (at Shkoder). The enemy defending infantry can’t muster enough defenses against the mechanized assaults, and the urban battle is short and brutal. I decide to use my armored units to overrun as much enemy artillery and HQs I can see, and also attack the enemy airfields. A Byzantine Voitho Regiment vehemently defends the XVI Thema’s HQ, destroying at least 30 Italian tanks.

Our bombers are back in action, hitting the enemy infantry that is trying to cross the river to push us out of Shkoder.

In the east, the lone Regiment of the 7th “Arretium” Division has finally pushed the enemy infantry far off Sarande, with the help of the brave Engineering Battalion that has accepted the surrender of a cut-off enemy Hoplitai Regiment a couple days before.



19/10/1941
With Shkoder lost, the Byzantines destroy the city’s highway and railway bridges. I’m moving my Engineers forward, but they won’t repair them in time.

I decide to sacrifice my bombers to destroy as many artillery guns behind the Thermopylae as I could, to avoid any nasty surprises. At least 50 bombers are lost, but an enemy Artillery Regiment is decimated. My motorized troops are similarily sacrificed to clear a path through the enemy minefields so I can advance with my tanks and mechanized infantry.

The enemy infantry pushes at Shkoder are repulsed with heavy losses. The 8th Clibanarii Division has been redeployed in this area and has crushed an enemy Artillery Regiment; it will now help push the enemy infantry off the city entirely.




20-21/10/1941
Our motorized vanguards’ sacrifice allowed the armored and mechanized troops to break through the enemy line and devastate their artillery and anti-tank Regiments. The Thermopylae’s fortifications are now completely unsupported and isolated, and thus useless as soon as we bring the artillery to bear.

At Shkoder, the last enemy infantry units are pushed toward the river or on the eastern shore. They have no way to recapture the city, and they face annihilation as soon as we secure the Byzantine supply routes. They’ll be forced to surrender in a short time.

The last Byzantine Interceptors fight to the last plane as my troops overrun their last airfield. You have to respect their courage: fighting against my superior Fighter frames must have been hard.

The campaign is over: with the Thermopylae pass overran, the Byzantines will be forced to the next geographical bottleneck, the last one before their homeland. Albania has been seized entirely, and with King Zog on the throne it will end up being a fine puppet state. The Senate will likely push for a peace treaty, but I think the King will press for an all-out offensive that could break the Byzantine Free States once for all. Ultimately, the House of Commons’ vote will be decisive.