[Brave new World] 7- Fire and Steel

[StuccoFresco]

The Irish offensive cut off the entire Varna Salient, trapping the strongest concentration of British forces in Bulgaria. The Yugoslavian and Irish troops are pushing against the enemy perimeter as the British aviation tries to supply it by air, but the strength of the trapped forces is so great that they are barely contained. Our new mission is to solidify the trap: the British are organizing an armored offensive to re-establish contact with Varna, and the Irish army can’t deal with that. It’s up to the II Oklopni Korpus to launch a pre-emptive strike against the amassing British forces before they become too strong even for that.

The 5th and 6th Tenkovske Divisions will fight side by side with the 4th and 17th Huszàr Brigades. The Huszàrs are fielding the latest VK-20 light tank models, but the Tenkovske Divisions are stuck with the ZMT-40(p); it’s a good tank, but it’s just an update of an old 1940 model: the enemy heavy tanks are stronger. To win this battle I’ll have to rely heavily on the Huszàrs and keep my HQ very close to my unit so I can coordinate my strikes better.



15-18/12/1943
My forces advance on the battlefield unnoticed in the snowfall. The 4th Huszàr Brigade’s patrols spot the enemy tanks northeast of the town of Lom, parked in a massive military base complete with enormous supply and fuel depots.


19/12/1943
The Huszàrs launch their attacks: both Brigades tear through the enemy’s “Demolisher” heavy tanks with ease, outmaneuvering them and hitting their flanks at leisure. Whenever the enemy tanks hit, they blew a VK-20 up, but the number, speed and maneuverability of the light tanks are enough to keep losses at a minimum. The infantry and cavalry follows the tanks closely, bringing their own anti-tank guns to deal with the British lighter tanks and infantry.

The Huszàrs break through the enemy lines, and as soon as their advance starts to slow down the 6th Tenkovske Division charges in. It is a disaster for the British 1st Armored Division: two of its Regiments are almost wiped out, and the last one suffers considerable losses. The British fuel depots are also destroyed, and the supplies captured.



20/12/1943
The British retaliation is fierce: three Ironsides Brigades roll forward and blast through the 5th Tenkovske Division’s ranks decimating one of its Regiments. The “Destroyer” heavy tanks prove once again to be undoubtedly superior to any Yugoslavian design, absorbing every hit on their frontal armor and dishing out tremendously punishing blows.

The Huszàr concentrate on the steel behemots, using again their overwhelming numbers and speed to saturate the enemy tankers with targets and force them into a close range combat where their range advantage is nullified. The tactic works, and one Regiment of the British 29th Armored Division is decimated and forced to retreat. The opening is capitalized upon by the Tenkovske Division, which can concentrate their assaults against the Ironsides Brigades: the 60° Ironsides is almost destroyed. One of the fleeing Regiments of the 1st Armored Division is wiped out and the last one is decimated.

The British are suffering from a lack of supplies after their first base went up in flames.

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21/12/1943
The battle rages on: the British try to engage my tanks on their terms, with long-range cannon duels, but the II Oklopni Korpus’ HQ is doing a great work coordinating massed charges from several Regiments at once. Several enemy Brigades and Regiments are victims of concentrated assaults that are leaving hundreds of vehicles as charred husks in the snow-covered landscape. The old “Bison” assault guns of the 60° Ironsides have all been destroyed, the Brigade reduced to a single understrength Battalion.



22/12/1943
The British try a frontal charge to retake the military base lost in the first day of battle, but my units manage to open their ranks, let the enemy unit overextend, and trap it. A full Regiment of the 29th Armored Division is now encircled, and soon after is engaged by all sides. Huszàrs and armored troops hit the British heavy tanks from all sides, bombing their accompanying infantry and closing in with their own troops. Before the night stops the combat, the once proud British Armored Regiment is reduced to a fifth of its nominal strength.

Up north the situation is similar, but different: the British heavy tanks are still intact and a deadly threat, but my units focus on the weakened Ironsides and wipe them out almost entirely.

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VK-20
The 1941’s VK-15 has been extremely successful, giving the Huszàr Brigades much needed survivability in armored combat. The shortcomings of the Romanian-designed tank were mostly regarding the very cramped interior and the single-man turret, both problems severely hindering the ability of the crews to fight for long stretches of time and be aware of their surroundings.

The 1942 redesign of the tank was radical: the turret and the entire front were swapped for a new improved version specifically to address those issues. The new turret was much larger and could host two crewmen, and the frontal plate redesign kept the same level of protection while allowing more interior space and much better visibility for the driver.

The armor was improved all around, especially around the engine and flanks. The increase in weight was balanced by a more efficient engine, more efficient at all temperatures and with better air filtering. The VK-20 entered service in early 1943 and proved to be a reliable workhorse.

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BAE Systems AG-44 “Behemoth”
BAE Systems was mainly a subcontractor for other vehicle producers, but in 1942 it started importing designers from all over the world at a great cost to develop its own designs. Sensing the impending need of a new Assault Gun design, BAE Systems prepared to enter the market with a bang: a completely indigenous turreted design.

The AG-42 was the first prototype, and as it’s common with the first endeavor in a new area, it was riddled with problems and rejected in favor of Rolls Royce’s “Baron”. However, the AG-42 was a good start for a more refined product.

In 1943 several upgrades and redesigns led to a new tank, the AG-43: it had an extremely thick armor, a long chassis and a three-men turret with a powerful SOG-25p gun. Early tests showed the engine was underpowered, so the BAE switched to the Rolls Royce R-300 engine. The SOG-25p was replaced by a shorter, meaner 180mm gun with specialized munitions, and the new tank was named AG-43b. The range was much shorter than the “Baron”, but the heavy armor allowed the AG-43b to get close enough to any target. Minor fixes and changes moved the first delivery to active units to January 1944, so the tank was finally accepted into service with the name AG-44.

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23-24/12/1943
The British forces are melting away: the single remaining heavy tanks’ Regiment is just not enough to engage my forces, that simply drive around it finishing off the other British units. A second military base and supply depot is occupied and destroyed, and the 17th Huszàr Brigade finds, engages and destroys the enemy HQ in the town of Lom.



25/12/1943
The battle has been a thunderous victory! We outmaneuvered the British at every turn, concentrating our force against their weaker units until we could outnumber and overrun their strongest ones. Losses have been high, but the British ones were devastating: the 1st Armored Division has been wiped out, the 29th has been decimated, and three Ironsides Brigades have been destroyed. Two big supply depots are burning, and a British General has been captured with all its high command. The upcoming British offensive is doomed before it can even start, and the fate of the Varna Pocket is sealed.