Balkan War, H2/1912

[miketr]

One of the large halls in the Grand Masters Palace, Valletta, Malta
July 2nd, 1912

All of the available squadron commanders, captains and ships executive officers of the Scouting Force are present.

A large map of the sea and coast of Pylos has been drawn in chalk on fine marble floor the floor.  Several white wooden blocks with the names printed in red of Madrid, Rio de Janeiro, TBD-73, TBD-74, TBD-75, TBD-76 & TBD-77.   In a tray on the side are several green blocks with white lettering. 

Vicealmirante Bermejo steps into the center of the room, "Gentlemen this is to be a review of the action that took place off Pylos Greece on June 29th.  The objective is to learn what we can from this battle.  But first of all I would like to congratulate Contraalmirante Soares and his men for getting their ships home and the crew of the lost TBD-74.  It was a fine piece of seamanship."

Vicealmirante Bermejo a pause as a number of the officers give quiet applause to Soares and his men and then continues, "Now Contraalmirante Soares if you would review the engagement for us please."

Soares nods and then steps on to the center of the floor.  As he talks several aids with long sticks move the little wooden blocks around on the floor.  An officer translates Soares story into German for the Hapsburg officers present. 

When Soares gets to the point were he orders a torpedo attack Bermejo interrupts, "What was your mission Contraalmirante Soares?"

"To scout the coast and support the rebels Admiral."`   

Bermejo nods, "That is correct Contraalmirante Soares please continue then."

Soares story in due course reaches its conclusion. 

Bermejo asks, "So Contraalmirante Soares do you believe that you carried out your assigned mission?"

Soares looks uncomfortable and several of the other officers do also; especially the Hapsburg officers. 

After moment Soares answers, "Only in part Admiral.  While I doubt that we sunk the Ottoman Monitor I am fairly certain it had to leave the area to make repairs.  If we are lucky she did take a second torpedo hit and she might have sunk."

Looking around at his officers for a moment Bermejo then asks, "In what way did you not carry out your instructions Contraalmirante Soares?"

"Of course we were not able to land any supplies to the rebels this trip and we left the field to the Turks."

"You are correct in part Contraalmirante Soares."

"Sir?"

Looking around as he speaks Bermejo says, "You mission was never to take the field from the Turks in the first place Contraalmirante."

With a look of confusion and a little worry on his face Soares says, "I don't understand sir."

"What was the best result you expected from your attack Contraalmirante?"

"Why the total destruction of the Ottoman force and for the freighters waiting off shore to then be able to drop off the supplies for the rebels, Sir."

"But even if you successes at that what type of shape did you expect your command to be in Contraalmirante?"

Soares answers at once, "About what it turned out to be perhaps another one of the Destroyers Sunk."

"Good Contraalmirante, good, aggression, willingness to take risks and accept losses are qualities I expect of officers under my command but at the same time you can't loose sight of big picture.  There are several key lessons I want EVERYONE to learn from this." 

Bermejo then nods to one of the aids who put another green block on the floor to the south.  "So either way you have your damaged force now several miles off Pylos when lookouts report a large smoke plume to the south.  What do you do?"

Soares looks very uncomfortable, "Dispatched TBD-77 to investigate, she was undamaged, Sir."

"Very well Contraalmirante you soon receive a report that the smoke plume is the Yavuz Sultan Selim and escorts.  What now?"

Soares still looking uncomfortable answers, "We die, Sir. Well at least the Madrid and TBD-76 no way we could out run them.  Rio and the rest could escape though."

"First good accepting that you have lost a battle and not throwing good money after bad is an important lesson all on its own and why would you not be able to escape Soares?"

"Well sir we had no covering force and there is no way we could out run that armored cruiser in our current state."

"You have identified another one of the mistakes; you had no covering force to fall back upon in the event you ran into trouble.  That was my mistake but at the same time with your undamaged speed advantage there are few ships in the Sultans navy that could run you down as long as you were not damage.  Perhaps the Hamadiye's but they are lighter ships and some of their newer Torpedo Boat Destroyers but I don't think either would have liked to have made the attempt." Several officers chuckle at the comment.  "Which bring back to the next error, it would have been better Contraalmirante if you did not attempt to engage the enemy.  As I said before your mission was never to take that stretch of the ocean from the Turks.  Your primary mission is to scout.  Its one thing if you have a clear advantage in fire power then by all means I would expect you to take advantage of the situation and destroy the enemy but always remember your situation, in particular that Malta is a long ways away for damage ships to go."  As Bermejo finishes his gaze sweeps across the room. 

"I think I see sir, so you would have preferred that I observed the Turks and reported what was going on?"

"Exactly Contraalmirante, because what do you think the Turks would have done if you lingering off shore with your radio blazing away?"

"Ah... Most likely run for shelter or towards any support they had.  Perhaps called in support if they had any near by."

"Which support we would then know about as you followed after them or waited for it to arrive and if they left the area the bombardment would also have been ended.  Perhaps allowing you to complete the 2nd part of your mission which was to land supplies to the rebels."

Nodding as he answered, "Sorry sir I see what you mean."

"Its fine, we learn by doing and over all your fought your battle well; it is possible that you did sink the monitor and at least she won't be shelling any civilians any time soon."  Bermejo then turns to the other officers, "Remember gentlemen information is the key, know where the enemy is and what he has is half the battle.  This is our job Gentlemen, to go out and find that information and to then provide that information to Vize-Admiral Srnicek.  I trust everyone will remember this?"

At the replies, 'Good!  Now Gentlemen while we have the map drawn up let's do this a little differently, bring out some other ships and..."

For the next several hours various scouting scenarios were reviewed and each of the present officers questioned about how they would handle things.

[Borys]

July, valley of the Sava

Various noises and smells mixed in the air - the clang-clang of steam and gasoline artillery tractors, the farts and neighs or moos of the horses and oxen (and the braying of the odd mule) made it an unfortgetable experience for everybody involved.

Artillery was being massed for the assault on the Ottoman fortified line. The guns, in unprecedented number, in some places were positioned hub to hub. To coax out more range from the flat-firing 3" cannon, holes were dug to bring their trails lower. Telephone and telegraph lines made a crazy quilt pattern on the ground, trees and designer poles.

The infantry marching forwards was from the best formations - the professional Reichswehr and the "almost as good" Landwehr. They looked down at the "amateurs" from the Heinwehr, some of the later drilling to bring themselves up to some semblance of the Regulars' standard, some used as unskilled manpower for moving or setting up ordnance. Or for road repair and improvement.

The artillery readying itself for action was, however, from all three grades of the Habsburg military. 

[The Rock Doctor]

4 July 1912

To:     HQ, 1 Army
   HQ, 2 Army
   HQ, 3 Army
   HQ, Heer
   HQ, Iberian Expeditionary Force
   HQ, Ejercito

Frm:   Heer Intelligence

Date:     4 July 1912

Subject:  Ottoman Mobile Forces Disposition

This is a summary of information available on the disposition of Ottoman mobile forces.  Please note that it relies in large part upon information from non-Heer sources, who can not necessarily be considered reliable.

Our own pre-war estimates place the Ottoman Army's total strength at sixteen corps:  five Janissary and four reserve infantry, five Sipahi (cavalry), and two mountain infantry corps.  Given the occasional restlessness of the Ottoman's subjects and, the Alliance's ability to undertake large amphibious operations, we believe it is likely that one to two corps of mobile troops may still be assigned to each of the Levant/Sinai, Arabian, Mesopotamian, and Asia Minor regions of the Empire. 

Ottoman unit sightings in the last month consist of:

-Our assets in the Levant have indicated the presence of both cavalry and infantry headquarter units.  The cavalry has been identified as 3rd Sipahi; the infantry has not yet been identified, but is likely a reserve formation.

-Sympathetic sources within the Romanian army have indicated that janissaries are patrolling their border with the Ottoman empire.  No unit identification has been possible.

-First and Second Armys' attached hussars reported skirmishes with Ottoman cavalry during the push across the border to the Ottoman defensive lines in early June.  Prisoners and bodies collected by our forces are entirely from units under 5th Sipahi, which may be dispersed across the Ottoman fortified lines.

-After-action reports from Second Army indicate that night raids launched by the Ottomans on 20 and 27 June were conducted by elements of 4th Janissary, as identified by bodies left in our trenches. 

-Greek partisan groups have variously reported fighting six to eight corps of Janissary, mountain troops, and cavalry in different parts of that region.  It is possible that the partisans are over-estimating the quantity and quality of Ottoman forces in the region, due both to a lack of coherent intelligence-gathering and a deliberate interest in overstating the odds they face.

-We have no data on possible Ottoman forces present in the central Balkans, south of the Ottoman lines and north of the Greek rebellion.

In summary, information is sparse, and we can not pinpoint the bulk of Ottoman forces with any degree of accuracy.  Given the data above, we estimate that a minimum of three and a maximum of ten corps may be operating in Greece and the central Balkans at the present time.

[maddox]

A mosque in Algers, la Blanche.

13 august 1912.


In the name of Allah, The Merciful, The All-Knowing,
What has happened to the hearts of the Believers ? How have they come to falter and stand idle, when the House of War enlarges its borders and the heavy foot-falls of unclean heathen dogs are suffered by the very earth who has once been the House of Peace ? How can we allow these crusaders, these conquistadores as they so proudly call themselves, these filthy dogs who desecrate everything they touch, to roam free and defile the land and its people with their unholy beliefs ?
For verily, as the Holy Qu'ran says that the People of the Book are like brothers unto us, so does the Holy Qu'ran also tell us to be wary of them and to smite them when they fail to observe the Laws that Allah, ever The Bestower and The Generous, has bestowed upon us unworthy worms. We are unworthy because we fail to obey. We fail to obey the call that can be found in the Holy Qu'ran times and times again ! The holy obligation to wage war upon the unbelievers, to smite their armies and ravage their homes. We are failing in our task to obey !
Has not The Profet, Peace Be Upon Him, shown us the way ? Has He not lead His armies in person and waged fierce battle ? Has He not reaped the spoils and slain the foe ? The Perfect Servant of The Truth and The Protector, he has allowed those heathen infidels to choose for the Light, to become slaves of God as Allah, The Merciful and The Generous, has intended us all to be.
Thus I say to you my brethern: take up the sword ! Gird your loins with the weapons needed to smite these infidels and obey the holy commands that are written in this most holy of Books ! Death to the conquistadores ! Victory for the House of Peace !!!
It's up to the holy armies of Allah to smite the infidels, the Infidels that are so evil that they can't be converted at all. Not the poor misguided people. No we must smite those who even after centuries still call up to the demonic inspired crusades. For Us, glorious warriors of Allah, we can do our part, we can set the example and ride out to kill the so called christians occupying the Moorish lands west of us.

[Borys]

Circular distributed to Regmental and higher Commanders of the Habsburg Heer

Gentleman, take care to avoid massacres of civilians. The acts of Schadenfreude and Rezunov at Aden should not be imitated, and will not go unpunished. Officers and Other Ranks, all will face severe justice.

General-Oberst von Kindermord*,
Field Justice Department



* promoted after the "Mass rape at Bittercreek" affair, during the invasion of Tasmania in 1907, which actually turned to be exposure of Tasmanian females to the horrors of contemporary Scandinavian dancing music by Basshunter.

http://www.navalism.org/index.php?topic=1157.msg11554#msg11554
http://www.navalism.org/index.php?topic=1246.msg12487#msg12487

[P3D]

...

General-Oberst von Kindermord*,
Field Justice Department

* promoted after the "Mass rape at Bittercreek" affair, during the invasion of Tasmania in 1907, which actually turned to be exposure of Tasmanian females to the horrors of contemporary Scandinavian dancing music by Basshunter.

http://www.navalism.org/index.php?topic=1157.msg11554#msg11554
http://www.navalism.org/index.php?topic=1246.msg12487#msg12487

I remember. That alleged massacre happened before the Austrian troops were landed on the Island. I was waiting for someone to notice that slight discrepancy about the date, but no...

[Borys]

Me wrong - 1908

[Borys]

July 1912
The Habsburg Empire introduces a 200% border tax on goods imported from Romania. A similar levy is charged for Vlach goods in transit through Habsburg lands to other markets.
With the unrest in Ukrania, this is expected to severly curtail exports to west. Especially that shipping companies and insurers are charging arm and leg for merchandise passing through the Straits and Aegan Sea.

[The Rock Doctor]

Nasty...

[Sachmle]

Ouch... that's gotta hurt the bottom line.

[Borys]

OOC
In OTL A-H waged the infamous Schweinkrieg, over Serbian exports of oink-oink

[The Rock Doctor]

"Schweinkrieg" has a certain ring to it, doesn't it?

[Borys]

The Habsburg authorities have instructed border guards to give young males trying to slip into the Empire through the Bavarian frontier special treatment.
Namely, to direct them to Salzburg - where the Freikorps Bayern and Tirol were being raised, or Theresienstadt - where Freikorps Sachsen, was being organised.
The situation on the Ukranian border was more complicated. With the Red unrest in Ukraina the motives of men crossing the border could be questionnable. But still, those cheerfully accepting directions how to reach Freikorps Polen in Krakau, or Friekorps Vladimir in Lemberg are considered as having provided proof of no ill intentions towards the Empire. While those declining the invitation put themselves in a world of hurt.

[The Rock Doctor]

Ahem...

1 July 1912:  Gibraltar

The Dutch armored frigate Count der Assen departs the Russian enclave, steaming west.  She continues around the Iberian coast and heads north for the Norman Channel, an Iberian cruiser diligently following her the entire time.

6 July 1912:  Sava Valley, Ottoman/Hapsburger Frontier

Hapsburger troops are being funneled into the flat plains south of Sabac in preparation for an assault on Ottoman fortified lines.  The plan calls for no less than eighteen corps - nine hundred thousand men - to be part of the attack, but there simply isn't room enough to deploy them, nor the logistics necessary to move them all at once.  Priority is given to moving the Reichswehr and Landwehr formations that are designated for the intial assault; their guns are in place by the end of the week and join in a steady barrage that pummels the Ottoman fortified line between Koceljevo and Provo (southwest of Belgrade). 

The Ottomans can not fail to notice this escalation in shelling, and observers in balloons behind the front lines can confirm an apparent build up of Hapsburger troops behind the enemy's trenchworks.  Emergency orders go out to the Ottomans' mobile forces in the region.

8 July 1912:  Southern Greece

An Allied supply run to the town of Methoni is delayed when one of the two Hapsburger minesweepers (M-7) assigned to clear a path into the town instead strikes a mine and sinks.

11 July 1912:  Sava Valley, Ottoman/Hapsburger Frontier

The Hapsburger artillery ceases firing, and an eerie silence settles over the valley as the rattled Ottoman garrison troops make their way out of their bunkers.  At 10:00 Hours, a distant cacaphony of bugles, whistles, drums and shouting announce the coming Hapsburger assault.  Six corps - three hundred thousand men - are attacking across a thirty kilometer front in a series of lines; an Ottoman officer later describes the sight as, "A sea of gray malice, washing across the plain."

The Ottoman garrison troops, bolstered by the late addition of elements of 3 Janissary Corps, fight with resolution; they have little optimism that they will repel the attack, but after being shelled incessantly for several days, they are rather keen to serve the Hapsburgers a taste of their own medicine.

Unfortunately for the Ottomans, the shelling has caused considerable damage to their fortifications, knocking out guns, communications, and of course the men themselves.  This compounds two decades of neglect that has seen the once vaunted fortifications slowly decay.  Mines do kill Hapsburger troops, and the Janissaries' machine guns mow down more, but there are simply too many Hapsburgers to kill and not enough time in which to kill them before the latter are shooting their rifles, throwing hand grenades, and storming trenches.

The garrison troops hold their ground and fight as best they can; the Janissaries, despite wishing to stand their ground, obey orders to withdraw as the Hapsburgers surge across the foremost trenches  towards the pillboxes and artillery emplacements.  By early evening, the battle is over, and the Koceljevo-Provo line has been fatally breached.  Thirty-three thousand Ottomans are dead, dying, wounded, or captured, along with forty-two thousand Hapsburgers.

12 July 1912:  Sava Valley, Ottoman/Hapsburger Frontier

The Hapsburger offensive grinds to a stop.  This is partially intentional - allowing the artillery, ammunition, food and supplies to be moved forward - and partially unintentional - pathways need to be pushed through the minefields, twenty-one thousand bodies need to be buried, and fifty-four thousand casualties and prisoners need to be attended to.  Many of the physically healthy Hapsburger troops are, despite their training, too tired and shaken by the previous day's carnage to advance far anyway.

For surviving elements of the Seventh Janissary Division, this is a blessing that allows them to fall back towards the Kolubara River, where the remainder of 3 Janissary Corps is frantically digging in expectation of a pending Hapsburger push towards the Morava Valley or a sweeping envelopment of Belgrade. 

Ottoman garrison troops between Provo and Belgrade begin withdrawing towards Belgrade, taking their lighter artillery and destroying the heavier fixed guns.  The garrison in and around Koceljevo continues to harass the Hapsburgers with long-range artillery fire.

13 July 1912:  Piri (OTL Diego Garcia), Indian Ocean

Three Hapsburger and one Iberian protected cruiser are on station at Piri when a column of smoke becomes visible on the western horizon.  Investigating, SMS Bohmen finds the smoke to be from a small convoy of Zionite ships:  two small merchants, accompanied by an armed trawler and the elderly armored cruiser Negev.

Bohmen sends multiple interrogations by wireless; these are not answered.  The Hapsburgers then resort to blinker lights, asking the Zionites their destination.

Negev replies by blinker that the convoy is coming to take possession of Piri, sold by the Ottomans at the beginning of the month; the cruiser adds that its wireless is down.

After a couple of minutes, Bohmen advises that Piri is subject to a maritime exclusion zone and that the New Zion government has agreed to respect it for the duration of hostilities.

Negev questions the likelihood of this.

Bohmen indicates that the New Zionite military has been trying to advise Negev of this for days.

Negev ponders this, then replies that the Zionites will anchor off Piri, but not land its troops until further confirmation is received from New Zion.  Soon afterward, the Zionite trawler turns about and begins steaming west.

Bohmen signals for further instruction from the Iberian station commander, who advises that the Negev and company should stop at six nautical miles offshore. The Iberian then starts sending out wireless calls to 2nd Cruiser Squadron, whose two armored cruisers are undertaking a sweep of the western Indian Ocean.

Negev and the two Zionite merchants come to a stop about six nautical miles off the western coast of Piri.

15 July 1912:  Western Indian Ocean

Steaming east towards Piri at twelve knots, the Iberian armored cruisers Henrique o Navegador and Cristobol Colon exchange greetings with the Brandenburger armored cruiser Freya.

A ringing endorsement.  Here's the rest of the month.  I can resolve a second small Ionian landing at the end of the month if you want to bite off more than Kefalonia.

18 July 1912:  Kolubara River, Northern Serbia

The Hapsburgers attack the thin, improvised Ottoman defences along the Kolubara River.  The attackers' overwhelming numerical and qualitative superiority is partially offset by the river, the Janissaries' coherancy, and the fact that the six Hapburger corps answer to three different army headquarters to their rear.

Nonetheless, the Hapsburgers prevail, inflicting approximately seven thousand casualties and suffering three thousand of their own before the battered Janissaries withdraw, in good order, under cover of darkness.  It will be several days before the Hapsburgers can locate enough intact bridges, and can repair or erect others, to allow a continuation of the advance east.

19 July 1912:  Manila

The cruiser Lobo and six requisitioned merchant ships arrive in Manila from Piri.  Approximately three thousand four hundred Ottoman civilians are marched off the ships and loaded on to trains bound for central Luzon.

22 July 1912:  Manila

SS Andalucia (3,250 GRT), bound from Iberia to the Philippines via the Suez Canal, is declared five days overdue.

24 July 1912:  Off Western Greece

Iberian cruisers of the First and Sixth Squadrons, with escorting patrol boats, sweep south along the Ionian islands.  Three Ottoman fishing boats are sunk; a fourth boat, loaded with Greek refugees, is stopped and transfers its passengers to a torpedo-boat.  The refugees are from Corfu, and report heavy fighting on the island between the rebels and the Ottomans.

Trailing the Iberian scouting force is a convoy of requisitioned merchant ships accompanied by a Hapsburger task force centred on the grizzled predreadnought Frankreich.  These ships steer for the island of Kefalonia, and anchor off the town of Argostoli, on the west side of the island.  A half-brigade of the Auslaender Freiwilliger Legion lands, and is met by a small crowd of elated Greeks, who tell the Hapsburgers that there are no Ottoman military forces on the island - just a few hundred civilians to be shot or deported.

The portion of the force subsequently proceeds on to Zakynthos and lands a battalion there on the 25th, then two battalions on Lefkada on the 26th.  No opposition is encountered on Zakynthos, but approximately a company of Ottoman troops are on Lefkada and withdraw into the interior of the island as the scale of the landing becomes evident.

The Scouting Force returns to Malta on 31 July, having detected no Ottoman warships.

26 July 1912:  Off Singapore

Two Iberian protected cruisers, along with six torpedo-boats, are steaming towards the Malacca Strait from the direction of the Philippines.  The Dutch sloop Brunei picks up the Iberians east of Singapore, and follows them, broadcasting their location by wireless in the clear.  South of Singapore, the Iberians turn around and head northeast.  The two groups lose contact during the night.

26 -28 July 1912:  South of Belgrade, Northern Serbia

Hapsburger forces have resumed their advance, driving east towards the Morava Valley.  The primary obstacle in their path is a north-south line of low mountains and hills that include the mountain of Kosmaj.  The Hapsburgers are not surprised to find the Ottomans preparing for a stand here.

The much-battered 3 Janissary has established a position across the narrow valley south of Kosmaj; 2 Janissary is well-established along Kosmaj itself; and 4 Janissary occupies both the hills south of the pass and a second defensive line (a division) east of 2 Janissary's position.

Opposing this, the Hapsburger 2nd Army is tasking the Svent Istvan (Reichswehr), Grenzers (Landwehr) and IV and VII Corps (Heimwehr) with taking Kosmaj.  The Hapsburger centre will see 3rd Army send the Janos Hunyadi (RW), Gaidamak (LW), and VI and XI Corps at the valley.  The Hapsburger right is under the command of 1 Army, and assigns the Hoch und Deutschmeiester (RW), Domobrani (LW), III and XIII Corps to push the Ottomans out of the hills south of Kosmaj and the valley.  This pits approximately five hundred fifty-five Hapsburgers to one hundred twenty-five thousand Ottomans - albeit Ottomans in good defensive terrain.

To the north, 2nd Army succeeds in pushing 2 Janissary Corps off western Kosmaj, but the Ottomans continue to demonstrate strong unit coherancy and withdraw in good order to the eastern flank of the mountain, between the towns of Umcari and Selevac.  Approximately four thousand Ottoman and six thousand Hapsburger casualties are sustained here.

To the south, 4 Janissary slowly gives way under the Hapsburger advance, falling back towards the town of Arandelovac with five thousand casualties.  Hapsburger losses are similar.

In the centre, the determined Hapsburger attack finally breaks 3 Janissary, inflicting approximately sixteen thousand casualties for eight thousand in return.  The follow-up into 2 Janissary's 5th Division drives them out of their trenches at a cost of four thousand casualties, the Janissaries losing around five thousand. 

29 July 1912:  Mindanao, Philippines

Reports reach Manila that local fishermen have seen unfamiliar warships cruising off south Mindinao.

JULY SUMMARY:

Known Allied Losses:

-1 minesweeper
-68,000 troops killed or wounded

Known Ottoman Losses:

-70,000 troops killed, wounded, or captured

[Borys]

Map shows (roughly):
- Vlach-Habsburg border (blue);
- Ali Baba Line (red from sea to Vlach border on Danube);
- Habsburg breakthrough in Sava Valley (black);
- border between Vlach-Bulgaria  and the Ottomans (pinkish);
- landing on Kefalonia, folowed by Zakynthos and Leukadas (yellow) ;