Slitherine

SPEARHEAD

With the British southern flank shattered, X Konjica Korpus leads an ambitious flanking move against British 4th Army that is still retreating from the Bucarest region. The advancing Yugoslavian armor and cavalry puts the British Staging Area of Cavnic directly in their path. The massive complex of supply depots, garages, field hospitals, encampment and repair depots makes this area the soft belly of the entire Commonwealth force in the region.

The area is also lightly defended, forcing the Western Command to put together a mishmash of depleted veteran units and freshly recruited divisions to stop the Yugoslavian advance. X Konjica Korpus itself has suffered consistent losses in the past battles, but is now probably the best Korpus in the entire Yugoslavian Army. Both parties will pour reinforcements in the area as soon as possible.

My objective is clear and the strategy is too: move fast, leave encircled units to the motorized infantry and go take the Primary Objective.




2 to 5/4/1940
The triumph in the Southern Offensive awarded us much needed extra resources.

X Konjica Korpus advances toward the riverline, guarded by a green British 261st Infantry Division, one of which Regiments is encircled and swiftly destroyed in the town of Aninoasa. Without AT support, enemy infantry is an easy prey despite the defensive bonus of the small town's buildings. British Bombers try to slow our advance.

151st Motostrelci arrives to bolster the attack.




6/4/1940
X Konjica Korpus launches a double pincer maneuver against the entrenched British 259th Infantry Division that blocks the roads heading north. The Division is supported by a Support Guns Regiment, so an armored frontal assault would be costly. 261st Division surrenders after heavy fighting: definitely not the best way to enter combat for the first time.




7/4/1940
British 259th Infantry Division is encircled. One of its Regiments tries to break the western side of the pocket but is driven back with high losses; once again inexperienced troops show a lack of initiative that allow the Yugoslavian troops to outmaneuver them easily. The British Western Command sends aerial and land reinforcements to the area.

Avro XIV Bomber

Avro is the largest airframe producer of the entire Commonwealth, providing the Air Force with a multitude of small aircrafts and of course its entire bomber fleet. The Avro XIV is the latest design, and is a solid and reliable bombing platform. Powered by two Aston Martin engines, the Avro has an enormous range, high cruise altitude and four machine guns for self-defense. The light armor provides a certain degree of protection, but makes the plane relatively slow.

The bomb bays are spacious and can be loaded with several different types of bombs. Targeting optics are quite advanced, making the Avro e remarkable precise bomber.

8/4/1940
12th Huszàr Brigade moves forward and reaches the city of Cavnic. The target is heavily defended, so the Brigade moves further north and attacks its airfield. Most of 85th and 90th Tenkovske are heading toward the British staging areas while 151st Motostrelci help crushing the encircled 259th Infantry Division.

A furious air battle rages on west of the pocket, where British Bombers and Fighters are trying to destroy an Artiljerija Regiment while Yugoslavian Interceptors try do defend it.




9 to 11/4/1940
85th and 90th Tenkovske push for the British staging areas, but a Regiment is cut off by a swift counterattack by British 258th Infantry Division. 12th Huszàr is similarily cut off, this time by veteran 100th Motorized Division, just arrived from the Bucarest front.

A rapid reorganization of the front brings those units back in supply, and inflicts serious losses to any unsupported British infantry unit. 82nd Motostrelci arrives on the battlefield.




12/4/1940
5th Huszàr leads the charge through the British ranks defending the staging facilities, with 85th and 90th Tenkovske helping the push. Motostrelci units follow through, but the British units don’t fragment and keep fighting. A depleted Armored Regiment is destroyed in the clashes. British infantry defend Cavnic from any assault and can prove to be a hard bone to chew thanks to the Support Gun Regiments mixed in their ranks.

CAI-4a Close Air Support

The second commission sent to the CAI was the creation of an aircraft that could help the ground troops dealing with massed enemy armor in case of war against the British Commonwealth. The CAI had troubles trying to satisfy the demanding specifics asked by the War Committee, and the development of the new aircraft was troubled.

Several prototypes were rejected, and by 1939 the Yugoslavian air force still lacked a modern ground attack aircraft. Given the multiple report of the growing numbers of new British heavy tanks, the committee decided to accept one of the latest CAI designs, the

The aircraft is a fearsome tank hunter, thanks to its modified version of the army's 40mm AT gun mounted under the chassis. The gun is much less powerful than the army version, but its rate of fire has increased dramatically. The aircraft can also carry two 50kg APHE or fragmentation bombs.

The aircraft is however relatively slow and has a poor turning rate, making it vulnerable to AA fire and enemy fighters. The committee decided it was good enough: predicted considerable losses would be acceptable if the aircraft could kill enough enemy tanks, and that was it.

13/4/1940
5th Huszàr and 85th Tenkovske launch a violent frontal assault on British lines and manage to break through, occupying two of the three British staging facilities. British forces retreat toward their last one, supported by the newly arrived 32nd Motorized Division and a depleted Regiment of veteran 2nd Armored Division.

British position in Cavnic are under sustained artillery fire, with 82nd and 151st Motostrelci forcing their way through British ranks in the outskirts.


14/4/1940
82nd and 151st Motostrelci start to encircle Cavnic with the help of one Regiment of 90th Tenkovske and copious artillery support. All the remaining armored and cavalry units are now pushing toward the final British staging are and the town of Ramnicu. The aerial war doesn’t stop: this day Yugoslavian Interceptors crush a depleted British Bomber Wing.




15 to 17/4/1940
The urban battle for Cavnic lasts much less than expected: as the British supplies start to dwindle, their infantry loses ground rapidly under the artillery onslaught and the constant pressure of 82nd and 151st Motostrelci, and by the end of the day the entire city is liberated.

Despite a temporary cutoff due to a bold but weak British counterattack, X Konjica Korpus smashes the last defenders of the staging facilities and occupy the last of them. The lone British Armored Regiment of 2nd Armored Division retreats into Ramnicu, where it’s promptly bombed by 58th CAS Wing.

After another day of assaults, British resistance ceases in the battlefield.





CAMPAIGN END
The war is over: the Yugoslavian counteroffensive risked cutting off what was left of 4th Army, and forced the whole Western Command to retreat toward the old border. The decisive armored losses suffered in front of Bucarest left the British southern flank too weak and vulnerable, and the Yugoslavian 2nd Armija capitalized it with an offensive that ended the war.

The Western Command has failed spectacularly its surprise winter offensive, mostly because of poor command and control in the decisive battle for Bucarest, where the powerful Armored Divisions were used almost exclusively in costly frontal assaults against entrenched infantry backed by powerful antitank guns. The AI acted competently in the scenarios, moving toward the assigned objectives, but sometimes it left behind its support units and ate costly counterattacks/banged its head against entrenched defenses. It also very seldom used its fighters to escort its bombers. Artillery use was inconsistent.

The Yugoslavians suffered much more losses overall, with entire Armijas destroyed, but managed to win the war despite the material inferiority. The use of favorable terrain, delaying tactics and multiple defensive lines was coupled with swift and determined armored counterattacks to achieve local superiority. The player has to move its frontline units in coordination with its support units, which is a favorable outcome. Armored units can try to overreach, of course. Clever maneuvering at the strategic level is advisable, but many scenarios are a bit too straightforward: I'll introduce more possibilities in future campaigns.

The war ends in a Status Quo Ante, with a ceasefire in effect. Both sides have racked up enough combat experience to address multiple weak points of their arsenal and tactics.

Thanks for the enjoyable read .

Edmon wrote: ↑Mon Jul 08, 2024 9:09 am Thanks for the enjoyable read .

Thanks to you, I love writing AARs and I love feedback even more