[Brave new World] 5- Operation Southern Hook

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SOUTHERN HOOK
With the Battle for Bucarest still raging, the Yugoslavian Eastern Front decide it’s time for a counteroffensive. The overwhelming majority of British armored forces is tied in the battle for the capital, so their southern flank is comparatively very weak, and Yugoslavia’s own armored force is free to strike. Given the overextension of the British 15th Army, a breakthrough on its southern flank could lead to its encirclement and total destruction.

The southern front itself has devolved into a staring contest before the Battle for Bucarest started, since the British realized pretty quickly that Yugoslavian defences at Chisinau and Timisoara were too strong to be overcome without significant numbers of armored units, and decided to concentrate those on Bucarest. Now, this front will move again.

This will be an offensive battle, finally. I have to break through entrenched British infantry supported by antitank guns and minefields, but I have enough Huszàr Brigades and Tenkovske Divisions to do it. Given that time is limited, I’ll have to make as many encirclements as possible and let Motostrelci and Pešadija Divisions mop up if possible.





10/3/1940
VIII Pešadija Korpus shifts positions to allow Engineers to move toward the minefields and Artiljerija Regiments to shell the enemy. V Konjica Korpus moves forward, ready to exploit the gaps. A Teska Artiljerija Regiment that was put in position during the last night opens fire on British Heavy Guns behind the frontline. 1° Combined Group doesn’t attack yet.

In front of Olanesti, 42nd Pešadija Division moves toward a gap in our minefields to allow a more aggressive positioning of an Artiljerija Regiment.

On the Chisinau front, 61st Pešadija Division moves forward, making contact with British 74th Inf Division, but does not engage the entrenched enemy positions. Engineer Battalions and the whole X Konjica Korpus advance and make contact with enemy lines. Following a bombardment of a Teska Ariljerija Regiment, 5th Huszàr and a Regiment of 62nd Pešadija Division engage a British Infantry Regiment, that takes heavy losses but holds its ground.

4° Combined Group attacks British Artillery behind enemy lines.




11/3/1940
1° Combined Group is attacked by two British Fighter Wings; its 60th CAS Wing suffers heavy losses and is forced to land. Enemy bombers swarm the area around Tiraspol, but our heavy AA cover makes them pay dearly: an entire Bomber Wing is shot down. Given our slight inferiority in air combat, the contribution of our ground AA is always much appreciated.

22nd and 23rd Pešadija Division advance on the northern flank of VIII Korpus, while V Konjica Korpus is ready to pass through the gaps in the minefields that the Engineers have cleared.

Enemy forces in front of Olanesti counterattack the 42nd Pešadija Division Regiment that was trying to ford the river and annihilate it! Our artillery can’t do anything but firing e reailatory bombardment.

In the South, 5th and 2nd Huszàr Brigades move through a cap in the enemy lines thanks to support from a Teska Ariljerija Regiment (that decimated an enemy Support Guns Rgt) and 62nd Pešadija Division. 8th Huszàr does the same with some more difficulty and losses.

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12/3/1940
22nd and 23rd Pešadija Division keep pushin successfully, opening a gap in the British flank. V Konjica Korpus similarly punch a hole in the enemy lines and threatens its support units. British Fighters however have crippled 21st Interceptor Wing, so 1° Combined Group is still unable to provide CAS to the ground forces in this area.

In the south, X Konjica Korpus has sliced through the British infantry lines, and is setting up encirclements. Huszàrs Brigades are leading the advance.






13/3/1940
V Konjica Korpus is fighting through the deep British defensive lines around Chisinau, but AT guns limit its progress. Despite numerous Artiljerija Regiments and a Teska Artiljerija one, the advance is slow.

The situation is much easier in the south, where the X Konjica Korpus manage to completely liquefy the British lines and starts to advance toward Ocnele Mari.






14/1940
With the help of 22nd Pešadija Division, V Konjica Korpus manages to pull off a double pincer maneuver and encircle British 254th Infantry Division. The whole VIII Korpus advances, making contact and routing enemy artillery and support guns.

In the south the front is broken and X Konjica Korpus advances together with XI Korpus. 2nd Huszàr Brigade, however, spots 43rd British Armored Division north of Ocnele Mari. Podržavaju Regiments are brought forward.




15/3/1940
As expected, British 43rd Armored Division counterattacks in the south, destroying a Regiment of 82nd Motostrelci Division. 1° and 4° Combined Groups muster their CAS Wings and attack it, mauling one of its Regiments. 254th Infantry Division manages to break the encirclement in the north, but it’s surrounded again in the morning.

All fronts advance, Ocnele Mari is surrounded.

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ZMT-40 Tank

The Zastava was the most important factory of pre-revolutionary Serbia and a staunch supporter of the monarchy. In a dramatic coup, the nephews of the at-the-time owner of the factory, Zlatan and Dimitri, overthrew their uncle Sergej Zastava and the whole board of directors. The Red Brothers gave the prisoners an ultimatum: join the Revolution or get shot. Anyone who called what he/she thought was a bluff was summarily executed in the meeting room, and the Zastava started supplying the revolutionary forces.

After the victory, the new communist government reached an agreement with the Red Brothers: no significant changes would be forced on the powerful firm, as long as it coordinated the production with the Industry Committee.

Since then, the Zastava has supplied the Serbian and then the Yugoslavian Army with most of its heavy equipment. The ZMT line is the workhorse of the Army and has now reached its fourth iteration: the ZMT-40.

The need for a simple design to accomodate for the production capability of the Zastava, spread thin by the multitude of goods it had to produce, has long since steered its tank designs to a turretless one, and the ZMT-40 is no exception. The lack of turret is somewhat countered by an excellent mobility, decent protection, low silhouette and the powerful 50mm high-velocity AT gun, that is the standard AT gun of the Army.

The standardization and fairly simple design led to the production of a considerable amount of tanks, and the ability to upgrade “old” models with new engines and guns, as well as uparmoring as needed. As of 1940 the ZMT-40 is a solid tank that can’t face a Duke head-on lighthearted but it’s much more cost efficient.

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16 to 17/3/1940
Thanks to continuous air support and clever AT positioning, British 43rd Armored Division is surrounded and surrenders after a day of continuous combat. Vanguards of 90th Tenkovske Division approach Kazanesti. The powerful "Duke" heavy tanks are towed or driven toward the backlines for repairs/disassemble or incorporated by the advancing units. Those behemots will provide some useful additional firepower, albeit the Yugoslavian maintenance crews already hate them.

In the north, 254th Infantry Division surrenders after heavy fighting. The Yugoslavian advance slows down as British resistence reorganizes and thickens between Vastu and Solca. Pešadija Divisions are called up on the northern flank to clear a way through AT units, while the armored units shift south and separate the two strongholds while crippling a counterattack led by two Ironsides Brigades.




18/3/1940
X Konjica Korpus has surrounded Kazanest and will occupies it easily since it was defended only by a British XXXI Corps HQ. The rest of the British Corps still hold the line in front of Pešadija Korpus but a wide encirclement is in the plans.

In the north, the armored push north of Solca is in full swing, with the objective of encircling and destroying multiple enemy Regiments and Ironsides Brigades. The gap between the British forces in the two towns is widening.




19/3/1940
A quick advance by 2nd and 8th Huszàr Brigades supported by 90th Tenkovske Division and 45th Pešadija Division encircles British 71st Infantry Division near Olanesti. Thousands of British soldiers are trapped without any real chance of escaping the much faster Yugoslavian units.

In the north, British forces counterattack and cut off most of 85th Tenkovske, which prompts a swift counter-move that re-establish supply lines and encircles a Motorized Regiment. The quick response has turned a potential costly defeat into an oppostunity! Engineers and Huszàrs reach the outskirts of Vastau.




20/3/1940
85th Tenkovske launches an offensive that cuts off 23rd and 90th Ironsides Brigades between Vastau and Solca. British forces are now scattered and disorganized, the area seems ripe for the taking.

South of Beresti, 71st Infantry Division is still surrounded together with a Regiment from 70th Infantry Division. 90th Tenkovske encircles a second Regiment of the latter Division. British XXXI Corps is facing complete annihilation. Kazanesti is occupied. 14th and 5th Huszàr Brigades lead the charge toward Borsec, followed by 151st Motostrelci with several Podržavaju and Artiljerija Regiments.

In the south, Ocnele Mari’s garrison surrenders after days of heavy bombardments and attacks from Engineering Battalions and a 62nd Pešadija Division Regiment.






21/3/1940
23rd and 90th Ironsides are decimated and trapped; as soon as they are destroyed, the attack on Vastau and Solca can commence.

90th Tenkovske closes the pocket and traps 260th Infantry Division too. The British presence in the area is doomed. Motostrelci Divisions move toward Borsec and occupy it.




22/3/1940
14th and 5th Huszàr Brigades occupy Vorsec with the help of 151st Motostrelci; the city was only defended by a depleted Infantry Regiment. The airfield is immediately besieged and almost entirely occupied on the same day. The pocket between Beresti and Olanesti is almost crushed.

British 38th Motorized Division is spotted north of Kazanesti driving toward Vorsec. 62nd Pešadija Division and 8th Huszàr Brigade are sent to intercept.

In the north, 85th Tenkovske crushed British resistence between Vastau and Solca; the former is under attack by 22nd and 23rd Pešadija Divisions.

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Commonwealth 38mm MK-3 FAT

The Commonwealth Army have always mostly relied on tanks for anti-tank role, leaving the towed guns branch behind in terms of development. As of 1940 the Commonwealth Army employs a 38mm gun that is becoming obsolete and needs replacement. The MK-3 FAT is not a bad gun: it’s easy to mass produce, has a decent HE shell for anti-infantry use, a good range and precision, and it’s light so infantry can move it relatively easily. Its main problem is just that the AP shell is getting outpaced by the armor of most medium tanks around: to score a kill, the MK-3 has to get close to the target or hit its sides.

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23/3/1940
Vastau is conquered by 23rd Pešadija Division. 85th Tenkosvkes mistakenly splits up: a Regiment goes east toward Baile while the rest tries to encircle British troops around Solca. Other troops are surging from Vorsec to close the trap. British resistence in the pocket between Beresti and Olanesti ceases as the remaining troops surrender.

After the fall of Vastau, British troops across the battlefield lack supplies.





24/3/1940
Solca is under heavy fire from our Teska Artiljerija Regiment near Chisinau. Other Artiljerija Regiments are firing at a British Strongpoint further north. Organized British resistence in the area is all but annihilated and Solca itself has been encircled. Infantry resists around the town's Strongpoint and surrounding woods.

85th Tenkovske races for Baile, together with 12th Huszàr Brigade.

British 38th Motorized is intercepted and suffers heavy losses as it tries to retreat north.


25/3/1940
20th and 21st Pešadija Division in the far north cross the river and join the battle against the now undersupplied British Infantry Divisions in front of them.

Solca is on its last legs as only the decimated town garrison resists. 85th Tenkovske conquers Baile without encountering resistence. British 38th Motorized is almost destroyed and clearly not a threat anymore. The battle is all but won.


26 to 29/3/1940
Solca falls to an infantry assault following another heavy artillery barrage. 20th and 21st Pešadija Division keep pushing British infantry back, and the battle ends just as they broke their lines and rout them.







CONCLUSIONS
The battle was perhaps a bit too easy: Yugoslavian forces have plenty of heavy hitting units, and the British don’t. In the final release I’ll add an Infantry Division with Support Guns defending Vastau’s southern approaches, and sharply decrease the player’s starting resources. Smaller changes will be enacted to provide a better challenge.

With those changes, getting to the objectives in time will be significantly harder, but still very possible.