Ukrainian-Bavarian War

[Kaiser Kirk]

Warsaw, Primate's Palace.  Jan 19

The Oberfeldwebel paced in the small antechamber.  The chamber was ornate, with marble paneling inlaid with gold, heavy ornate and uncomfortable furniture and decorative arms & armor from Yore..or yonder, he always got those two mixed up.  From time to time he would stop and stare at himself in the mirror, the man that stared back was no longer one he knew well. For much of the past ..had it been nearly three years... he had lived in the woods and villages of central Poland, helping organize and train insurgents. He had not been home to the Böhmerwald in ages.  Always a big muscular chap, he had also  had grown lean, and even in midwinter, he had not quite lost his tan. Living in the field, he had adapted peasant garb, and had let his thick black hair had grow long, indeed Oberluetenant von Berlichingen had ordered him to have it cut before coming here, and it had been hacked shorter with a knife, but the resultant black bangs proved a contrast to his blue eyes, and in the back it still came nearly to his shoulders. Still, he missed the beard, it had been warmer in the winter.

Still, he hardly blamed the Archbishop for not rushing to see him, despite the letter of introduction from Prince Czartoryski. Still, he had not expected to first been left waiting in the audience chamber and then hurriedly escorted through a hidden panel to this room, the situation was one which left his mind to speculate madly.

The hidden panel was hardly soundproof, he could hear the muted sounds of conversation in the audience chamber, but did not attempt to make out the words. As such, he was shocked as the vicar general ushered in a new priest in ornate garb, apologizing as he did so 'I am so regretful for this your holiness, but the Secret Police are demanding to speak to Archbishop Kakowski".

The old man ushered in had steel in his frame, and was very well dressed, obviously an important personage who was severely dubious about being shuffled off into this antechamber with this odd looking fellow. While unknown to the Oberfeldwebel, the man was in fact Bishop Nowowiejski of Plonk, an influential and respected man of the cloth.

The Bishop viewed his fellow inmate in this hidden antechamber with some disdain. A rough cut fellow of impressive size and scruffy demeanor. However, he supposed it would be uncalled for to comment on the Archbishops choice to interact directly with the masses.

The pair in the hidden antechamber could hear murmurs of voices from the other room. The a man voice shouting, enraged. Pressing his ear to the door helped the Oberfeldwebel enough, shouts of "You will tell me all old Man ! followed by indistinct words in a lower voice.  A cry of pain and an outraged shout of "No ! You can't" spurred the Oberfeldwebel to step back in alarm, to search for some sort of weapon- having given his up- and seizing an antique broadsword from the wall- much to the alarm of the old man.

Pressing his ear to the hidden door once again, angry voices could be heard, then a pair of shots and the exclamation "Confess and tell us or you too will be shot while escaping !!". 

Tripping the catch, the Oberfeldwebel sprung through the door, scanning the room. A man in a Ukrainian uniform stood over the Archbishop's throne, fist upraised over the old man. Another stood nearby, a Nagant revolver limp at his side while the vicar general gasped out his life in a pool of blood. Silently he charged, the man spun to the sound oat the last minute, swinging his pistol up. The sword lashed out, connecting with the forearm and bloodily snapping the bones there. The man cried out and stepped back in shock.  A swift recovery and the second swing smashed into the mans temple, turning his face into bloody ruin.  The man fell in a heap as his compatriot turned and fumbled for his pistol. 

The Oberfeldwebel ran forward, dashing behind a pillar as a shot rang out, chipping the brickwork. Springing forward in a dive roll learned long ago in school, he found it was different holding a sword, slicing his left forearm, but evading the next round. A roll and he was on his feet, a shot rang out tearing at his jacket, springing forward he brought his blade up from below, slicing the knee of his assailant. The man cried out in pain and fell to his knee, trying to bring the revolver up again. A savage downstroke met the back of his neck, nearly severing his head and he collapsed in a gurgling heap.

The Oberfeldwebel scanned the room and stepped up the Archbishop, with the gore streaked blade in his right hand, he offered his left hand to help him rise.  The Archbishop looked up at the large sinewy man, with his blunt cut black hair and his icy blue eyes, and asked "Who are you?"

The Oberfeldwebel replied "Konan, Konan the Bavarian, Oberfeldwebel in 1st Kommando Brigade. I don't think it's safe here anymore your holiness. If you wish, I can see you to my people, and they can pass you to Sonja's group, you know her as Bloody Sonya, they can see you to safety.

The news of the attack on the Archbishop, in conjunction with the arrests of not only legitmate revolutionaries, but Priests, Nuns and Rabbis, was impossible to keep secret. Over the next several days, the news spread like wildfire, and in days, on on the 24th Poland the spark that was light became a bonfire as rose in General Revolt. Urbanite or peasent, Poles rose and joined the thousands of  revolutionaries already fighting.

[ctwaterman]

Events Described Below Occur January 25th 1920

The man formerly known as Ignatius Curitius sat in his austere office reading correspondence from the crisis in the Ukraine.  The news was severely disturbing and his hands trembled perhaps with age but more likely with a combination of outrage and anger.
 
How dare that trumped up manipulative madman order the arrest, torture, and execution of men and women serving the Church?   How dare the Orthodox Bishop of Kiev order the closing of churches and even further arrests of those serving the Church?  Did they not remember the years or bloody wars, the innocent lives lost to such sectarian squabbles in the past?

His first thoughts were those of a man reared in the nineteenth century and reared on the history of the Church.  Anger filled him as he contemplated what others in his office had done calling forth the armies of man to fight for the salvation of Christ and His Church.   But now was not the thirteenth or even the fifteenth century and such times he hopped were forever in the past.

He looked down still outraged at the actions of this Hetman and Bishop in Kiev and the ring the ring of the fisherman glittered on his finger bringing his thought clarity, serenity, and filled him with purpose.  He was not that young man entering the Seminary in Rome, or Even the former Bishop of Rome.  No Pope Gregory XVII thought I must act but not in anger, he called for his secretary and began dictating the outline of a Papal Bull, latter he would discuss it with a few of the Cardinals before finalizing the draft.

[TexanCowboy]

*ominous hum*

[Kaiser Kirk]

Adriatic :  

On the night of Jan 17, the Bavarians made their first effort at a night attack. The "Nachtjagers" had long trained for this, and so as dark fell Baden-baden led the 8 torpedo boat destroyers of the TB-11 class into the night.  Trailing behind were the seven MGBs.  The new moon was only five days away, but the night was cloudless, and the Luftschiffes had little trouble following the coal-fired ships of the Ukrainian fleet, the occasional red glow supplementing the plumes of smoke.   Baden-Baden and her squadron of TB-1 class TBDs and the MTBs were to take take up station in the narrows between Grado and the Hapsburg's Istria peninsula, only 10nm wide.

The plan was fairly simple, the Ukrainians stood nearly 30nm south of Grado, and 13nm west of the Istria shore, SSW of Umag, East of Porec and NW of Rovinj.  

The Nachtjagers would make a long loop through the night, working their way down the western shore of the Adriatic, then crossing to shadow the Hapsburg coastline.  This would hopefully avoid any Ukrainian pickets.  With the Luftschiffe broadcasting occasional updates, their target location would be known. The formation would dress ranks and check schedule off Rovinj, pause to clean the clinker from the boilers and eat, then proceed North of Rovinj, where they would take a heading for the Ukrainian fleet, coming at them from the southeast.  The journey was 130nm, and would take 12 hours, making the attack at 6:15am when the profiles and smoke of the squadron would still be  lost in the predawn blackness of the Iristrian shore.  The squadron would make the attack at 24 knots, then break for the North, leading any pursuit towards Baden-Baden and her compatriots, 25nm north, just in time for the 7:36am sunrise to silhouette any pursuit.  

The Seaplanes at Grado would also make an effort to launch at dawn strike, this time loaded with twin 100kg bombs and committed to a new doctrine of  3-abreast bow-on attacks at 1000 feet to try to increase hit rates and effects.  The hanger in Udine would also work through the night, as Luftschiffes from elsewhere in Bavaria had been brought in and needed arming.

Admiral  Ostrogradskiy was not unaware of the potential for a Bavarian night attack. Each night he withdrew his forces several hours south to a somewhat new location and took up a race track pattern. To stay would invite attack, while withdrawing further would rob his fleet of time on the next day.

The Fleet sailed in five discrete groups.  The core, on the inner track, was the two battleships and the 10 troop transports. While only carrying a brigade, the hope was to commence shore raids once the minefields were sufficiently clear.  Parallel, on the outer track were 9 cargo vessels of the fleet train, two having been dispatched to Greek ports for provisions. Beyond those vessels were the 11 armed minelayers and minesweepers. Leading these three columns was the Vanguard  - a  flock of 9 T1917 DDs and their leader, a CL1914 forming DIV 1-3.  Stationed off the rear quarter was DIV4,  4 Type 4 DDs and their leader, also a CL1914. (1).  The formation was designed to keep the fleet train screened, and the battleships shielded from any approaching vessels, which are presumed to come from the exterior of the formation.



On a clear blue day, the coal-burning Bavarian ships would have been spotted long before their arrival. But on a dark, partly cloudy night, backdropped against the Iristian coastline, this was not the case.  

On a clear blue day, the lookout 100 feet up in the spotting top of the CL1914 could have started seeing the superstructure of the  Baden-Baden about 14miles out, and her waterline at 11 miles, but on a dark night this is not the case (2). The 1917 Destroyers, with their spotting tops only 60 feet off the water, had less ability.

The Luftschiffe though, flying at 6500 feet, and resorting to a skycar when clouds moved in, viewers there could see nearly 95 miles before the horizon interrupted. Despite the dark, the advantage of knowing where to look was an assistance, and the occasional embers from the coals, and the contrast of the wakes served to aid.  Noting the Nachtjagers were approaching, a "routine" message was sent to Udine, mostly garbage, but including reference to return to base at  a future time – 1020 hours , and a joking "remember to put out dinner for 10, heck, double it, we're hungry."  The message gave the Nachtjagers a bearing and distance, correcting, they headed for the Ukrainian fleet.

The Luftschiffe took to slowly rising and shifting to directly over the Ukrainians. The previous days aerial efforts had established that their guns did not seem to engage at much over 5000 feet, or directly above. The Ukrainians had taken the Infantry's MGs and fabricated mountings to give some close in fire, but had grown used to the idea they could do little about their aerial spy.



As the Nachtjagers passed abreast of the forward destroyer squadron, lookouts on the CL1914 failed to notice (3) the ships on their SE horizon until they were nearly past. Frantically beating general quarters,  the Officer of the Deck ordered his captain awakened, and brought the squadron in a hard turn towards the shadowed vessels several miles away. With Iristria as a backdrop and fearing a Hapsburg squadron, the Officer of the Deck ordered his searchlights trained on the nearest vessel while his crews rushed to general quarters and the wireless shack alerted the fleet.



At  6:35AM, slightly later than planned,  the Bavarians found themselves ahead of the Ukrainian main body, passing abreast of the Vanguard. The Plan had called for a more perpendicular approach, to avoid being engaged by the vanguard at all, and it had been hoped that the opposing force would be sighted further out, but Squadron commander Hipper was simply pleased to have located the Ukrainian fleet. Having days of unopposed aerial reconnaissance data, the Admiralty knew that the Ukrainians had brought a large fleet train. The primary targets were to put torpedoes in the battleships, but it was felt that if sufficient damage could be dealt to the easier targets fleet train, the Ukrainians would find themselves 1,000 miles from a friendly port and without a means of sustaining their presence.

Disclaimer :I have not run a Seekrieg 4 battle in around 20 years..or more. It took a great deal of time to prep for and to figure out how to do it. At one point I missed a range modifier, but it wouldn't have mattered (a hit or two) much.  Overall, things I remember being dissatisfied with from way back when came back.  Light Weapons hitting non-critical areas do to many DP- there needs to be a Floatation DP/ Unprotected DP, Critical damage occurs at far to high a %, and some non-penetrating CDs can be quite devastating. Basically the system rewards putting a lot of light shells on target, regardless of if they can hit anything vital and doesn't adjust the actual CD charts for ship/shell size or penetration. Unless I misunderstood something, it's quite possible for a non-penetrating belt hit by a 3" shell to detonate a battleship's magazines. Some judgement calls were needed. .   Overall the battle worked out great for torpedo tracks- but I needed a calculator to figure out the formula once I got to that point. Even so, I reduced the # of hits because, well the result felt wrong.  

6:35am
Lookouts on the Kiev 1917 Class Destroyer #4, leading the port vanguard, call out a possible contact- the glow of embers from stacks, and the white bow waves of vessels is made out,  and the vanguard commander, on CL1914 is alerted. Some hesitation occurs, as the vessel or vessels  are coming from Iristria, and could be a Hapsburg Squadron.

Lookouts on the Baden-Baden peered ahead, looking for the Ukrainians, binoculars trained on the bearing. Slowly the pillars of coal-fired smoke became visible, and then the hulls. The Nachtjagers were ahead and ESE of the column, shuttered lanterns blinked out codes and speeds came up from 20 knots to 24 knots. On the  Baden-Baden fantail were blinkered lanterns- mounted in widely spaced pairs to allow a distance determination, they allowed the TB-11 boat behind to keep in line and distance.

6:37am
Lookouts on the Kiev 1917 Class Destroyer #4, leading the port vanguard, sonfirm the contact as multiple vessels. Determining the approaching ships are moving at high speed (24kts) directly for the fleet, firing is commenced by the Ukrainians and quickly returned.  General Quarters are called as the radioman alerts the fleet. CL1914 puts searchlights on a ship in the column, illuminating the black superstructure and dark blue hull of a Bavarian Nachtjager torpedo boat (4).  

With the nearly new moon shedding little light on the battlefield, and having little time to aquire targets, both sides miss despite the range closing to only about 4,500 yards.

The i]Baden-Baden/i] , in the lead of the Nachtjagers, can make out the bulk of the Ukrainian fleet, and signals the column to adjust heading

With guns firing below, the crew of the Luftschiffe commence loading and firing the minemwerfers on the lower deck, scattering starshells over the formation below.   Here and there, panicked Ukrainian gunners realize the luftschiffe has now come directly overhead and start firing their MG's upwards into the night sky beyond the starshells. The bullets lack an incendiary component, and so the few that whiz through the luftschiffe's envelope would do no damage, even if they had hit one of the 18 gas cells.

6:39am
The Executive Officer, serving as Night Watch Commander of CL1914 orders the vanguard (1x CL1914 & 9 x DD1917) to 18kts and to turn 45 degrees to port.  On other vessels, the sleepy night watch cursed the news, desperately hoping for a false alarm as they scrambled to guns and hurried to stoke the boilers to bring steam up.

As the vanguard turns, the three destroyers of  port Division, DIV2, mask the rear vessels of the Center DIV1 and much of DIV3.  The vessels of the vanguard, picking out targets at a range dropping to 2,700 yards, engage Baden-Baden with DIV2 and the spotlighted unlucky TB-13 with DIV1. The lead Battleship, BB1912-A, now able to pick out some of the Bavarian vessels, and seeing Baden-Badens spotlight beams, commence firing at Baden-Baden.   The Bavarians concentrate fire on CL1914 and the lead DD1917 of DIV2.
The forest of shell splashes around Baden-Baden manages to confuse the multiple vessels aiming at her and she escapes with 100mm HE hit to her boat deck, but TB-13 takes a 100mm HE round just above waterline, destroying a handling room for the 37mm ammunition and blowing a hole in the sideplating, and limiting her top speed to 24 knots (5).

Baden-Baden and TB-12 manage to hammer CL1914, striking with 105mm shells 5 times, but one is a dud. The Bavarians are using SAP rounds, but a hit on the belt fails to penetrate. A hit on the forward 100mm mount bursts through the 1.5" armor and detonates, the mount is destroyed. Two other rounds strike in the superstructure, one detonating on the signal bridge, eliminating the ability of the ship to communicate temporarily, and the other wipes out the port searchlight.

6:41am
With CL1914 temporarily unable to communicate, the vanguard continues on the same bearing and speed, while the Bavarians continue on the opposite heading and commence a turn to the north for their torpedo run.  The changing orientations lead to DIV2 now screening CL1914 from the Bavarians, and each side is forced to choose new targets. BB1912-A places searchlights on Baden-Baden and BB1912-B puts lights on TB11.

In the rear of the Ukrainian fleet, DIV4 brings speed up to 18 knots and turns to port, to pass behind their fleet and once clear, sail to the sound of the guns. The

Between the identified vessels, and the starshells illuminating the formation, Rear Admiral Wilhelm Souchon can now freely converse with the Luftschiffe, confirm the Ukrainian formation, and decide his attack order. The one he chooses is for TB15-18 to torpedo the battleships, while the other vessels would send 2 torpedoes into each of the merchant vessels following them.

In the even, BB1912-B will land two 120mm HE rounds in TB-11, wrecking her upperworks and fire control, and  penetrating her waist, she rapidly falls out of line, and her captain orders her torpedoes fired at BB1912-A.

BB1912-A shells Baden-Baden and succeeds in scoring 3 hits with 120mm fire. Afterwards a cook would swear he watched a 305mm shell fly in though the open port galley door and out through the open starboard door (6). Two of the hits are on the Baden-Badens belt, but the Ukrainians have loaded HE for anti-DD work, and they fail to penetrate the belt armor even at 2,000 yards.

Six of the Destroyers in DIV1 and DIV2 shell the rear of the Bavarian squadron, to no effect.

The Bavarians split their fire, with the lead vessels engaging BB1912-B, the middle BB1912-A, and the rear the lead DD of DIV2.   The DD is hit twice by SAP 105mm shells, one passing harmlessly through the superstructure, the other burying itself in the hull before exploding.

BB1912-A is struck repeatedly, with 6 SAP 105mm shells striking the main and upper belt 4 times and doing no harm while two duds accomplish nothing.

BB1912-B is Baden-Badens target, along with the lead torpedo boats, and is hit 21 times with SAP 105mm rounds. Two are duds, 5 rounds detonate in the superstructure, destroying the radio room, the fire control director, and a searchlight. A hit on the upperbelt flashes through a casement, igniting the powder bags for the 1905 vintage 120mm guns(7), a blaze which damage control crews quickly quench with firehoses and blankets. A further round impacts the door to the conning tower, jamming it.

6:43am
with the Ukrainians heading south at 10knots, and the Bavarians north at 25knts, ships slide past each other in the night rapidly.  As Bavarian vessels race ahead, they count down the line of Ukrainian ships, picking out their pre-ordained targets.  The Ukrainian battleships main batteries find their efforts to track the rapidly moving vessels in the gloom limited.  Smaller guns hammer at each other as the ships slid past each other. Bavarian torpedo control directors order the "fish" set to max, and they shoot over the side to race at 35kts towards a foe only 2,000 yards away.   As lookouts cry out torpedo launches, the Ukrainians turn to comb the wakes.

BB1912-A continues to lavish attention on Baden-Baden, but only manages a pair of 120mm hits,  one of which detonates outside the conning tower, the other is a dud.

BB1912-B engages the plucky TB-13, which emerges from the forest of splashes unharmed.

Baden-Baden continues to return fire on BB1912-B, joined by TB-15 and TB-16. 105mm SAP shells fall like rain.  Three duds do little damage, as do the three superstructure hits, but three rounds hit command and control features. strike the auxiliary Bridge and strike the mainmast, destroying communications to the spotting top.  The shell that bursts harmlessly on the face of the aft 12" turret manages to impress no one.

TB-17 & TB-18 engage BB1912-A, striking only 7 times, hitting the belt twice. However, a shell that ricochets off the forward turret arms in time to detonate on the bridge. While destroying the walkways beloved of commanders, it does nothing to the armored control tower. A hit eierally similar to the one of BB1912-B strikes the auxiliary bridge, and the one shell takes out the main fire control top.

The ships following the battleships are not the hoped-for fleet train, but transports. Most of the fire directed at them misses, but TT6 has it's steering gear carried away and suffers a boiler explosion, while TT2 is struck four times in the vitals and left a flaming wreck with her engines wrecked.

The torpedoes aimed at the Ukrainians begin arriving, Of the 19 aimed at transports, 8 prove to be duds. All but one of the transports is hit by at least one sound torpedo, two are struck twice and commence sinking.  Of the 20 aimed at battleships, (8) the Ukrainian's action of combing the wakes proves successful, with the early arrival of TB-11's torpedoes striking BB1912-A twice amidships in the TDS, and a later hit in the bow, while BB1912B is also struck twice, both in the TDS.  Both battleships are hit bow-on by duds. The TDS system is a simple triple hull extended to the armor deck, with a twin void compartment and a 50mm holding bulkhead.  Due to the coal bunkers, it is not deep, but the 100kg warheads of the torpedoes are within the design parameters.  The vessels lurch sideways and take on a list as holes in their sides allow water to pour in.

6:45am

As DIV4 clears the rear of the Transports, it's commander realizes he is about to lead his 5 ships into the middle of the 8 Bavarian, and orders a hard turn to the right. This both places DIV4 between the vulnerable transports and the Bavarians, and results in his masking the battleships.

The Bavarians turn their guns on the new DIV 4 as they trim speed to 23knots , leaving the sinking TB-11 behind but allowing TB-13 to keep pace.

This is to be for naught, as TB-13 attracts the Ukrainians attention and is hit at the base of the superstructure, carrying away control cables  leaving the ship out of control. The additional splinters prove lethal to those near by and riddle the nearby section of hull. The ship heads out of column while taking on a port list.

Baden-Baden, as the lead vessel attracts the most attention, but it is ineffectual, with a single round striking her belt armor.

The vessels of DIV4 are hit repeatedly (9) with the lead destroyer hit 3 times, with 1 pass through, but another which penetrates the deck into the forward magazine. The resulting fire does not detonate the magazine, but it does ensure everyone on board is very very awake. The second Destroyer is hit by a dud, two round penetrate the deck, with one exploding and the other passing through the far deck and out the hull damaging nothing, while another waterline hit takes out the forward handling room.  The CL1914 and the 4th Destroyer are untouched, but Destroyer 3 is hit 3 times, all duds.

6:47
At this point the Vanguard is back in control and at speed, but have been out of visual range for some time.  The Main body has been thrown out of formation frantically evading torpedoes, and DIV4 finds itself heading south at 27knots while the Bavarians vanish into the night heading north at 23 knots. Desultory firing continues as long as visibility remains, but with no results. (10)

When the destroyers rally to give chase and head north, Admiral Ostrogradskiy countermands that. They are to form a screen around the fleet while survivors are picked up and ships are saved.

TB-11 and 13 will not make it home, and several Bavarian vessels are also damaged, Baden-Baden chief among them.  The Admiral does not expect their immediate return, but  two of the transports are sinking. The remainder of the transports are severely damaged, the battleships are damaged, and the other warships have sustained a variety of damage. The Naval Attache in Vienna would have to be told of this disaster (11)


(1)The position of the Ukrainian fleet on the racetrack was determined by 30-sided die roll. While the Luftschiffe provides a general location, the general position (ahead, to port) of Bavarian squadron to Ukrainian at time of  sighting was determined by rolls as well.

(2)While LOS to the horizon from the spotting top is simple, figuring out the effects of night proved more difficult. At Savo Island DD Blue was not detected until 5miles out, and despite range dropping to 1 mile, missed the IJN ships entirely. DD Patterson, alerted, made contact at 5km. While other ships were seen back lit at longer distances, I'll go with a 6nm here.

(3)Here I rolled an old D&D staple- surprise dice. I got a 1 on a D6, or surprise. So the advancing Bavarians are picked up at 6nm , heading for the middle of the formation, rather than ahead of the vanguard. Luck of the draw.

(4)The 750-ton TB-13, of the Eight-strong TB-11 Class

(5)The hit did substantial damage points, reducing her top speed from over 30kts to ~24, which is what she was doing.

(6)A 12" hit would be a "01-10" result, I rolled 11 twice.

(7)Just looking at the British 4.7 BL Mk1, which was bag, which "explains" the "Critical Damage" of a magazine fire from a non-penetrating belt hit of a 105mm round on a battleship. QE had something similar happen, so that's the model, though I've ignored the fire result.

(8)With the short range and the full side shot, the actual results were 20 hits, with  6 duds. That left 8 hits on "A" and 6 hits on "B", which while glorious had somebody been moderating this result, just seemed excessively lopsided in my favor. Using SeeKrieg "E' category vs. 12" belt, this might be livable, but hard to explain.

(9)Luck of the dice- they missed, I hit.

(10)Translation : This took to long, and I wasn't willing for a round 7.

(11)While a result I hoped for, I didn't actually expect it. I somewhat feared I'd just get my ships cut up for no result...which is perhaps how it should have been. The sliver of a moon became a HUGE deal, as that had a  16% modifier (18 but there is a sliver), which when stacked on the -14% for new target was -30% and that dropped more for the speed and size of the Bavarians. Meanwhile the Luftschiffe's starshells were a boon in many ways.

[Kaiser Kirk]

General Volodymyr Sinclair looked at the map in despair.  None of the war plans had envisioned a situation like this.  The Russians had been assiduously courted, and technical assistance had flowed in. The Ukrainian army had demobilized  400,000 men and surrendered their equipment  in exchange for  which Russian Corps had taken the burden of occupying, erm, policing the less politically stable areas of the Ukraine.  Their locations ensured that should the Ukraine be invaded by the ESC, Bavaria, or, most likely the Hapsburgs, the Russians would almost certainly come under attack, prompting a Russian intervention on the Ukraines behalf.  General Hrekov had for some reason referred to this notion as "Task Force Schmidt".  

Three months ago, the Russians were so trusted this was the case. Two month ago the Hetman threw the Russians out, throwing all the plans into Chaos. A little under a month ago the Hetman launched the Ukraine on this Bavarian adventure which would be going so much better had those 8 Corps still been present.  Now, now the ESC had mobilized, the Hapsburgs had mobilized, the Bavarians had crossed the borders, destroying on Corps and trapping two more,  Poland was in full revolt, angered Russians held part of Poland and Belarus, and Russia had declared war.

This war was likely unwinnable. The Ukraine simply lacked the troops. The only saving Grace was that Russia was involved in China, and her troops would not be quite so many.

What to do?

The Hetman and his Priest, and the rumors about them, had to go. Their leadership and that of the ludicrous Queen had infected the country with cronyism and corruption, abandoned all pretense of governing for the people, and led to military disaster and revolt.  General Sinclair had sworn to serve his country, like his friend General Hrekov, whom the Hetman ordered murdered.

Simple capitulation was an option, it may rid his homeland of the Hetman, but with the borders still intact, he doubted his fellow officers would acquiesce. Besides, he would prefer his homeland remain as independent as possible.

A coup d'etat was possible with preparation, but he doubted many of his fellow officers yet understood the peril the nation was in.  The Hetman's secret police, the Thugs undoubtedly responsible for angering the Russian troops, they could sniff such plans out.  It was imperative he continued acting as a loyal acolyte of the Hetman until he could put some plans in place.  

Musing he considered the map. Stripping troops from the Hapsburg border to toss in the path of the Russian Juggernaut would slow the Russians down.  Further, the promise of reinforcements would keep the border troops fighting.  Under the guise of managing the war, he could travel freely, make personal contact and make arrangements. A coup d'etat which placed him in charge would allow the best terms from the Russians and Bavarians. Even if the result was a return to Mother Russia, he could hope to shield his countrymen and retain some autonomy.

The Russians would have to be fought, failure to do so would be his head, so they would have to be held off  to buy him the time to achieve his plan.


General Sinclair looked at the current deployments of the Army of the Ukraine.

Army of Lithuania
1D, 3rd Rifle Corps - Riga
2D, 3rd Rifle Corps – Memel.
1D, 6th Rifle Corps – Zarasai, North Russian border
2D, 6th Rifle Corps – North Prussian border
3rd Cavalry Corps – Eastern Prussian border.
Guard Cavalry – Vilnus region
1 x 152mm Armored trains.
4 x 122mm Armored trains
4x 152mm Railway guns

Army of Poland - Piotrkow
8th Rifle Corps
13th Rifle Corps
4th Cavalry Corps
4th Rifle Corps – Lodz
2nd Polish Lancers Corps – Lodz
2 x 75mm Armored train
1x 203mm railway gun

Army of Galicia - Sosnowiec (Sieged)
9th Rifle Corps
11th Rifle Corps
Grenadier Guards (2 Brigades)
1 x 75mm Armored Train
1 x 152mm Armored Train
2x 152mm Railway gun

Warsaw Command
12th Rifle Corps
Opolchenie Corps
3x 152mm Armored Train
2x 203mm Railway gun

Hapsburg Border
2nd Rifle Corps – Kielce – Sosnowiec to Lutsk
15th Rifle Corps - Vinnytsia– Lutsk to Bieltsy

Kiev Command
7th Rifle Corps
Opolchenie Corps
1st Rifle Corps  in Dnepropetrovsk (3rd largest city, on the Dnieper SE of Kiev)
5th Rifle Corps- Kharkov ( Eastern Ukrainian border)
10th Rifle Corps – Crimea
14th Rifle Corps- Odessa (resp. Romanian Border, Bieltsy to Black Sea)
4x 152mm Railway guns

The Army of Lithuania needed to to contain the Russians. The 3rd Cavalry Corps needed to detach troops to harry any advance near Bialystok. The Guard Cavalry would have to hold Russian advances from the north, perhaps borrowing a page from those cursed Bavarian Dragoons, and press the Russian 1st Russo-Poland army in the south, but the rail hub at Vilnus must be held.  The railroad assets could be deployed in support. They could be promised the help of the 7th and 12th Rifle corps, but they would not come.  

The Army of Galicia in Sosnowiec must be told to hold at all costs, help in the form of the 12th and 7th Rifle Corps was on the way. The lie would keep them fighting.  As long as they held they would occupy the Bavarians, and block the heavy raillines at the Bavarian-Hapsburg-Ukrainian border, this would help deny the Bavarians the supplies to take Lodz and block any push towards Kielce.

Warsaw HQ had ordered a stand at Piotrkow. That would have to be rescinded. The troops shall be pulled back to Lodz, where they could link up with the 4th Rifles and 2nd Polish Lancers. With the dual rails both restored to functionality by the railroad brigades, they could muster a formidable defensive position there, and would have a supply advantage. They would be ordered to send the 12th Rifle Corps to Minsk, that was too large a city to sacrifice undefended.   With the addition of the Gendarme brigades the Opolchenie Corps should be able to hold Warsaw from the rebels.

The Hapsburg border was currently held by two Corps, each with one division on the border and one in reserve. There was no time to replace the division on the border, and to do so would invite immediate invasion, the reserve divisions must be stripped and sent to reinforce efforts to contain the Russians near Bialystok and to hold Brest-Litovisk.  The 14th Corps in Odessa along the Romanian border would be treated the same, with a division sent to Gomel, if it didn't fall first.

The 5th Rifle corps would be told the 7th was coming in assistance. In actuality, the 7th, 1st and 10th would join the Opolchenie Corps to form a defensive line along the Dnepr Gomel to Kiev to Dnepropetrovsk to the Crimea and  Kerch and Sevastopol.

General Sinclair scowled.  He did not like countenancing this course of action, of violating his oaths, or surrendering his country. The Hetman would never allow terms, he would lead the nation to bloody ruin, and the Russian boot would grind heavily on the neck of a conquered territory. A new leader, a new leader could negotiate some autonomy, appeal to friends made among the Russian high command, invite a Romanov to rule again, and gain the sweetest end for his countrymen. Was that not the true meaning of his Oaths? To serve his country to his best, this was the course of action necessary.



Kiev

The Hetman stalked the halls of the Cathedral, black cloak swirling like death, clergy and his secret police fluttering in his wake, as if a storm passed through the hallowed halls.

Prelate of All the Ukraine Khrapovitsky looked up from his throne as the baleful image approached.
Waving his acolytes away, he waited their departure before addressing the Hetman.
"Yes my child, how may I be of service to you?"

Hetman Skorapadskyi was red faced and sputtering, screaming !
"You said if I promised myself to him, I could have it all !  And now look ! LOOK! Disaster in the West ! The Russians have declared war, and I just KNOW the Hapsburgs and Confederates will soon!  RUINS !  You have delivered me Ruins ! What good are those !  I wanted an Empire on this earth, men to bow to my will, to break my enemies before me, and now what?  

Prelate of All the Ukraine Khrapovitsky looked at the irate Hetman
"Calm, calm.  All is not lost yet.  I have said repeatedly that mere words do not a promise make. That the true lord requires sacrifices.

The Hetman interjected  "But I have given that ! Have I not arrested Bishops and torn down Nunneries?  How many Rabbi does he want?"

Khrapovitsky "Those are actions that remove sedition from your realm, ultimately, they will serve you well, but they are not sacrifices of something you value, nor have you pledged yourself to the True Path irrevocably with blood. "

The Hetman stood, breathing hard and thinking then asked "What must I do to keep my realm?"

Khrapovitsky "The life and death of an Empire? Surely that requires sacrifice of something important, symbolic even. Perhaps a symbol of the realm, say... the Queen?"

Hetman Skorapadskyi "No ! No, she has no power, she is mine, but not really linked to the realm, I am the realm."

Khrapovitsky "If you are the realm, perhaps you are willing to part with something, you won't even know its gone..."

Hetman Skorapadskyi  "No, I won't do that. Not yet.  Can we not sacrifice his enemies? Would that not please him?

Khrapovitsky "While it is not a sacrifice of something important to you, yes that would please him. What do you have in mind ? <withdrawing a large boxy-bodied knife, he flips one blade up, disclosing several other blades tucked in the body>

Hetman Skorapadskyi "What is that?"

Khrapovitsky "An army knife, see, this symbol is that of the New Swiss Army, now, what did you have in mind?"

Hetman Skorapadskyi "There is an Abbey north of town, perhaps some Brides of Christ?"...

Khrapovitsky "The Eye would look kindly on such an offering"

[Kaiser Kirk]

January 22-26

The placeholder 2 posts above has been filled

Sosnowiec
The morning of January 22 did not bring hope for the beleaguered defenders of the town of Sosnowiec. The Bavarians continued to pour artillery fire in on the defenders. With four Corps in line, and two double tracked raillines, as well as some spur routes, supply was simply not a problem. The railroad guns presence only added to the defenders woes with their capacity to flatten any hardened structure.

The Ukrainians on the other hand, found themselves in a pickle.  The Guards brigade guarding Sosnowiec proper was well dug in, but the ground was only now thawing enough to allow entrenchment. Without cover, the defending riflemen were suffering terribly from the Bavarian Fusillade.

Further, while they had armored trains and railroad guns of their own, the overall supply situation was dire.  During the preceding weeks, the limited line capacity from Kielce had been used to rush troops to the front. Supplies had only intermittently reached the area from Warsaw, and most had been immediately rushed towards the then-front as it approached Oppeln.  Worse, the depot was mostly stocked with ammunition suited to the Grenadier Guards.  While the Grenadier Guards guns were the newest model and could fire both new and old shells, to fire the new shells in the older guns of the Rifle Corps risked damage or rupture of the breeches due to the larger charge and improved powder.

To the Guards, General Hrekov had kept them together, kept them fighting and led them to safety. The story of the retreat was well know to the other troops.  As a result, news of General Hrekov's execution had devastated the morale of the troops, a matter not helped when the rail line to Kielce fell to the Bavarian ski troops. Efforts to reopen it with an armored train had come to naught when the 10.5cm Gebirgskanone M16 battery came into play. Symbolically, that was the last escape route- excepting the Hapsburg border.

General Mykola Yunakiv had spread the news that the 12th and 7th Rifle corps would arrive in a week, and the news had lifted the spirits of the men, help was coming, there would be salvation. They tried to dig in and hug the ground as the guns thudded incessantly.

That hope faded in the coming days.  New troops were evident on the front- new flags, new insignia. By evening on the 24th the Bavarians had delivered nearly 100,000 more men to the battlefield, two whole corps- the VII Infantry from Munich, and more Alpine troops- the XVI from Balzano.  


Sosnowiec from a "wargame" perspective
Ukraine : 2 x 5/3 Inf, not dug in (hard frozen), 1x 0.6/.4 E (x1.2) inf, not dug in, 1x 0.6/.4 E (x1.2) inf dug in (2x). 2 armored trains (1/0),  2 RR guns (0/.5)  Multipliers effect infantry strength, not artillery.
Combat factor : 14.2/7.8,

Bavaria : 1 x 6/4 E inf, 2x 5/3 G (x0.8)inf, 2x 6/2 Mtn, 1x 6/2 G (x0.8) Mtn,  1x E Hvy Arm 2/0, 2x 6/3 Lt Inf , 2 RR guns (0/1)
Combat factor : 35.2 / 16.2

The assault came on the 25th, after days of bombardment. The Sturmpanzers plodded through the thawing snow, following a curtain of fire. Behind, the Elite Garde troops, long acquainted with the planned use, followed. Elsewhere, the pressure built slowly at select points.  The Bavarian troops pushed forward in the south, In the East, the Gebirgsjäger squeezed harder working ever closer.   At first, the Ukrainians held, but cracks started to show under the pressure of three times their number. The Bavarian attack became general and all six Corps of the Army of Saxony advanced. Outmanned, outgunned, cut off and isolated, the Ukrainians fell back grimly. Then a man fled, followed by another, an entire squad in another spot, and the line was collapsing. As units watched their comrades flee and leave their flank exposed, it became necessary to leave themselves. General Yunakiv desperately tried to rally the troops, and brought up the reserves to form a defense line. There the Ukrainians were able to stop the Bavarian advance, at least for the night. The time would give the Bavarians a chance to resight the guns on the new lines.

Desperate men holding a shrunken perimeter around Sosnowiec, there were many hearts that leapt when riders holding white parlay flags appeared.

Piortrkow

The Orders from Kiev had been clear, the Ukrainian force was to withdraw towards Lodz, the 4th Cavalry was to stay behind and screen the Bavarians to keep them from discovering this.

The frontline units at Radomsko would retreat to the Army of Poland's HQ in Piotrkow, which would displace to Lodz. The final Line would rest along the stream from  Tomaszow to Bedkow to Tuszyn and then to Lodz.

The Ukrainian withdrawal caught the Bavarians by surprise.  The Ukrainian Aerial squadrons, reinforced from units to the east, denied the Bavarians the air.  Only large surges of aircraft, with expected losses could get them a peek at the rear.  New planes were headed north from Italy, but had not yet arrived in Breslau, much less been uncrated and mastered.   Instead, they were left to the old ways, with Cavalry.  The Dragoons and Uhlans found themselves overmatched by the Ukrainian 4th Cavalry, which screened the now abandoned Ukrainian positions.

It was deserters from the 2nd Polish Lancers which tipped them off, but only when what was to be an attack towards the Ukrainian eastern flank "hit air" was the situation confirmed.  Even then, fear of ambush kept the rate of advance slow.  As the VI Corp started arriving from Stuttgart, it's brigades were arranged in Fortified outposts along the railline, guarding interim depots to secure the line of communications behind the advancing army.

For four days the Army of Silesia slowly advanced, (1) seizing Piotrkow without opposition, where it held up while the Cavalry tried to push past the 4th Ukrainian Cavalry.  Further deserters from the 2nd Polish Lancers claimed the Army of Poland was just behind the screen.  Knowing the X, V and XXI Corps were just a week from arriving, Generaloberst Max von Hausen proceeded carefully, and took a defensive stance while supplies were brought up, an airstrip prepared, and Piotrkow turned into an acceptable base of operations.

(1) At this juncture I noted that I had mixed up Radomsko and Piotrkow, accidentally moving the front ~25 miles further into the Ukraine. Not wanting to rewrite a bunch, I just modified the description to clarify the HQ was in Piotrkow, and the Front 25 miles away....

Vilnus
As the Guard Cavalry moves out, divisions sweeping North and South to find and fix the Russian armies, the city is restless. The majority of the population is Polish, and with the majority of the Cavalry departed, they see an opportunity to liberate their city.

Igoumenitsa ,Greece

His coal tender docked, the Ukrainian Captain had set about getting supplies for the fleet. There, he ran into...difficulties.

The Ukrainian Captain stared at the Greek Harbor Master in disbelief.
"What do you mean you have no coal for sale, no stores, and no potable water??"

"I am so sorry, but that is what is."

<Pointing at a ship coaling across the harbor >
"That is coal, there is a large pile of it next to the dock, it is for sale, I have gold, I want to buy. Do you understand?"

"Oh, I understand. Your paperwork is insufficient."

"Insufficient? How, show me where there is some space to put another stamp. ALL my papers are in order. What more do I need ?!?"

"Need? You need to try elsewhere. I am reliably told that your papers are insufficient, I am sorry but I do not know why. "

"A Pox on your house. I will sail to Argostoli and recoal there, I bet they will not turn up their nose at a profit."

"You may sail to any port in Greece, I am reliably informed that there will be problems with your papers at every port."

The Ukrainian Captain stood stunned...the Admiral would not like hearing this.

Straits of Otranto

Dawn, Jan 19
The Kerch sprinted her way across the waves, her ancient boilers coaxed into giving their all by that mad wizard of a Cossack who served as Chief Engineer, but even when new that was barely over  25 knots. The new East Sea Confederation cruisers were faster, some of their Battleships were faster. Which wouldn't be a problem for the Kerch except the identification charts were insisting the vessels following it belonged to the ESC.

The strait was only 40nm wide, and the Kerch had been patrolling the middle 20 miles. The ESC ships had become apparent when she was 17nm off the Italian Coast. To slow to run, to weak to fight, she fled westward, pushing her pressure gauges into the red, seeking safety in the Italian port of Otranto. The possibility of internment loomed, but destruction awaited her at sea. In her radio shack, the operator tried to raise the warning. Atmospherics did not play their rare trick, and he could not warn Admiral Ostrogradskiy, the only hope was if they reached the shore, word might be sent to the Naval Attache in Vienna, to warn  Admiral Ostrogradskiy,of the grim battlefleet sweeping into the Adriatic.

Adriatic

Jan 22
Admiral Ostrogradskiy, his fleet crippled in the battle off Iristia (see 2 posts up) nursed his ships south. Fearing the myriad islands of the Hapsburg coast, he had braved taking the crippled transports across the Adriatic, to shadow the Italian coast. Several of the transports threatened to sink as it was, but at least in the shallow waters off Italia, some could run for shore, even if to ground, and save the men on them.

The fleet had stood by for damage control on the morning of the 18th, and as many troops as could be taken off the transports were. The extra men of the infantry, even if untrained, proved a blessing as strong arms helped brace shoring timbers to keep bulkheads from collapsing under the onrush of the flooding waters.  The passage across the Adriatic to off the Po delta  had been undertaken at a painful 6 knots. A flight of Bavarian seaplane bombers had raided the fleet, starting a fire on a collier, which was quickly suppressed with seawater from firehoses.

Now, the fleet steamed, still at a painful 6 knots, south past Ravenna.  A Minesweeper had been dispatched to that port to relay the news. The torpedo damage to the battleships was painful enough, but manageable, and the ships were in no danger. However, Admiral Ostrogradskiy facing the possibility that some, or all, of the torpedoed transports would never be safe in a seaway without putting into a port. Certainly the jury rigged repairs could not be counted on to last the 600nm to the nearest Greek Port, where he might seek repairs. Even now his Chief engineers were personally inspecting the transports, evaluating if some might have to be docked in Italia's ports, even if they might never leave.

Aegean

Evening, Jan 23
The Griemyiashchiy was 10 years old and had made 27knots on trials. Now her stokers worked steadily as her captain tried to gain on the Bavarian.  At 5,400 tons, with a broadside of 6 x 6" guns, she chased one of  the Breslau class. The Griemyiashchiy 's sister, Gordiy struggled to keep pace.  The data in Jane's listed the Breslau class as 6,000tons and 27knots, with 8x6" broadsides and the youngest ship only three years old. All the Captain of the Griemyiashchiy knew was that either his ship was slower than expected, or the Bavarian faster, regardless, the fact was that after weeks of searching he had caught one of the Bavarian Cruisers, and now that it was worked up to speed it was slowly leaving his ships behind.

[Kaiser Kirk]

Ukrainian Flag :


Hetman's personal flag :


High Kingdom of Bavaria's flag :


First flag flown alongside the Bavarian, also in use by the rebel Rifle Squads :
"For our Freedom and Yours"


Second flag introduced to fly alongside the Bavarian :

[Kaiser Kirk]

Forward :
The following News articles and Map were PM'd to Ledeper, Blooded, Ctwaterman and Guinness for comment on April 5th.  I have only heard back from Ctwaterman, but I have worked with Ledeper on his mobilization schedule and plans.

There are some obvious timeline alignment issues with Blooded's most recent post. Namely that the 200,000 troops of the ESC's I Army are only opposed by the 2/6 Division and 2/3 Division – mainly by the latter. Presuming some opposition limits the 4:1 advance to 6 miles/day, it will be 23 days to Riga, arriving on February 13th.   So the battles described in late February will be difficult to have.

Meanwhile the 3rd Cavalry which from the map I provided and the previous writings I've made is clearly Not along the northern side of the front– now dividing its attention between the Russian Army near Bialystock and the East Prussian Frontier- will  (not covered in the post below) face the IV Army starting about January 25th, and should be destroyed within a Month. .

In short, by time February 20th rolls round, Lithuania/Courland/Latvia will have been conquered for a week and the Ukrainian forces destroyed.

Since I already *tried* to coordinate, and now I'm a bit peeved,  I'll be leaving the discrepancies  to the Mods to resolve.  Oh I suppose I will point out that the OTL 1918 "Council of Lithuania"  wound up asking a fellow by the name of Prince Wilhelm of Urach to be King Mindaugaus II. A nomination which would make sense under current events. 



Adriatic

Jan 2
Admiral Ostrogradskiy, his fleet crippled in the battle off Iristia (see 2 posts up) nursed his ships south. Fearing the myriad islands of the Hapsburg coast, he had braved taking the crippled transports across the Adriatic, to shadow the Italian coast. Several of the transports threatened to sink as it was, but at least in the shallow waters off Italia, some could run for shore, even if to ground, and save the men on them.

The fleet had stood by for damage control on the morning of the 18th, and as many troops as could be taken off the transports were. The extra men of the infantry, even if untrained, proved a blessing as strong arms helped brace shoring timbers to keep bulkheads from collapsing under the onrush of the flooding waters.  The passage across the Adriatic to off the Po delta  had been undertaken at a painful 6 knots. A flight of Bavarian seaplane bombers had raided the fleet, starting a fire on a collier, which was quickly suppressed with seawater from firehoses.

Now, the fleet steamed, still at a painful 6 knots, south past Ravenna.  The torpedo damage to the battleships was painful enough, but manageable, and the ships were in no danger. However, Admiral Ostrogradskiy facing the possibility that some, or all, of the torpedoed transports would never be safe in a seaway without putting into a port. Certainly the jury rigged repairs could not be counted on to last the 600nm to the nearest Greek Port, where he might seek repairs. Even now his Chief engineers were personally inspecting the transports, evaluating if some might have to be docked in Italia's ports, even if they might never leave.

Aegean

Evening, Jan 20
The Griemyiashchiy was 10 years old and had made 27knots on trials. Now her stokers worked steadily as her captain tried to gain on the Bavarian.  At 5,400 tons, with a broadside of 6 x 6" guns, she chased one of  the Breslau class. The Griemyiashchiy 's sister, Gordiy struggled to keep pace.  The data in Jane's listed the Breslau class as 6,000tons and 27knots, with 8x6" broadsides and the youngest ship only three years old. All the Captain of the Griemyiashchiy knew was that either his ship was slower than expected, or the Bavarian faster, regardless, the fact was that after weeks of searching he had caught one of the Bavarian Cruisers, and now that it was worked up to speed it was slowly leaving his ships behind.

Jan 22
Admiral Ostrogradskiy was reviewing the damage reports. The fleet had finally withdrawn far enough down the Adriatic as to be out of the range of those pesky seaplanes, and the repairs on the stricken vessels were proceeding. From the Engineers reports, three would never be seaworthy, and the other five would need time in a dock.  The Battleships had pumped water into their torpedo blisters on the far side of the damage, listing the ships and allowing damage control crews access to the damaged hull sections, but the transports were not capable of such things.

The fleet was, overall, fairly operational. The Bavarian successes had been notable, but not critical. The offensive could be pushed further.  However, the Hetman's orders (See Blooded's posts) were clear.
The return of the collier from Greece reporting the refusal to sell was the final straw. Without a neutral port to resupply, even if he wished to raid the Bavarian seacoast, the ability to maintain a presence was lost.

The Admiral was engaged in planning the abandonment of the transports when a launch approached from the Italian shore.  On it was an urgent message from the Naval Attache.  The Kerch had interned herself at Otranto that morning, and was reporting 3 ESC Battleships, at least 3 cruisers, and a destroyer squadron had sailed into the straits this morning.

The Admiral blanched. 1,000 miles from home, in hostile waters, with no support, the ESC fleet was the cork in the bottle of the Adriatic. His fleet, two battleships, 2 cruisers, and 13 destroyers...was no match fresh, much less damaged as they were.

Try to sneak past?  Not viable, the Adriatic was too narrow, a destroyer screen to hard to sneak past, and at his speed, he'd be caught before making the Bosporus.

Fight?  Suicide. Which three ESC battleships was irrelevant. Presumably Preussen or later, but even the old Ultors would be a problem.. but there were only two Ultors, so the third had to be something bigger. . No, fighting would not lead to glory or honor, not in ships limited in speed by damage, and with partially repaired firecontrol.

Flee? Where, the ESC blocked the Adriatic.  To reach Greece was no longer possible. The Hapsburgs? They would sieze the ships and never return them.  To surrender to the ESC or Bavarians.. the fireing squad when he returned home.  Italia?  They also may not return the ships, but the best odds were there. To preserve his fleet, save his men... he had to make this step. 

Jan 25
Kiev

General Sinclair looked at the maps, despairing. The Russian Declaration of war a week ago had yet to be as catastrophic, he presumed the Russians hadn't foreseen relations falling apart so fast either. The rapid commitment of forces to hem in the Russians in Belarus had worked reasonably.  Unfortunately they drew on other border commitments.

The ESC actions however, obviously they had been laying plans since they mobilized, and with their declaration coming just days after troops had been committed towards the Russians, there were no reserves. 

The ESC attack had burst across the border from Posen.  Kutno had reportedly been siezed by their Cavalry, and they looked to be headed towards Lodz. The concentration of the Army of Poland's 5 Corps  near Lodz looked to be a wise decision. Reports were the ESC's V Army had burst over the border and was now flowing towards Lodz.  With the damnable Bavarians "Army of Silesia" advancing it looked like the Army of Poland would shortly be outnumbered.

Of course that was before one considered the loss of Sosnoweic. He was already getting reports of probes along the railline to Kielce, but at last report the Bavarians had 4 Corps at Sosnowiec, and now he didn't have a clue where they were aimed at.   

Scowling, he realized that the five Corps of the Army of Poland, which just days ago could boast of Superior numbers along a defensive line, may soon be outnumbered Two, or perhaps Three to One.

The situation along the Northern ESC border was, if anything worse. A thrust at Warsaw had been feared, but with the Citadel there and the Opolchene Corps present, it was felt defensible.  But with the Army of Lithuania having turned parts of its attentions to limiting the Russians in Belarus, it appeared the ESC's I Army had pushed north from East Prussia. That portion of the border was weakly held. The 2Div of the 3 Rifles held from the Coast north of Memel (Klaipeda), and East of that was 2D of the 6 Rifles. Worse, there were mixed reports that the ESC had landed at Liepaja, but no confirmation either way yet.

3 Cavalry was holding from the Nemunas River south past Grodno- and had to man the Russian front near Bialystok. While this was the closest force, there was sufficient evidence that the ESC IV Army and II Armys were also active even if they had not yet been reported on the field.

The 12 Rifles had successfully made Minsk and now could defend the core of Belarus, but Polish rebels had seized much of  Vilnus once the Guard Cavalry moved out. The Polish revolt had seen wide swaths of countryside where conditions were not suitable for secure supply lines.  There were also reports that the Lithuanians were also restless.   

The general revolt in Poland, the one stirring in Lithuania had repercussions on the Army.  The situation was becoming dire. Those two provinces supplied a quarter of the manpower in the Military. While standard practice ensured brigades were not stationed at home, the exception was the 2 Polish Lancers, where the desertion rate was alarming.  The policy also meant that large numbers of Poles and Lithuanians served along the Black Sea, and in the fleet, while Riga and the Lithuanian coast were manned by Ukrainians.   The Commander of the 14th Corp had written that he feared mutiny in over half his brigades, the 1, 5 and 10 Rifles were reporting sedition, and the Black Sea fleet was having troubles manning the remaining ships after mass arrests.

General Sinclair muttered to himself, wondering how far he could push his time tables.

[Kaiser Kirk]

Sorry for the pause, we were trying to ensure folks could have input in the storyline, which we now resume in a scattered format..

Czestochowa
January 26
The citizenry of Czestochowa gathered grimly at the town square.  Three men had been publicly tried in the town hall. They had been found to have acted not on a battlefront, but in a secured town, friendly soil. They had been found guilty of conduct unbecoming a Bavarian soldier.  They had been found to have been on leave and guilty of drunkly beating to death a father who had tried to defend his daughters honor, ravishing her and then staggering off. Witnesses had spoken, the jury had delivered a unanimous verdict that this was a simple civil case of cold blooded murder and the Heer ordered to pay damages.  The townsfolk watched in stunned disbelief as the men were executed, Soldiers of the Ukraine would never have found guilty, much less punished such.

Odessa
January 26
The arrival of the Papal representatives is expected, and they are greeted with an Honor Guard formed from the men of the Headquarters Regiment, 14th Corp. The leader of the delegation was Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Iosif Romanovich. General Romanovich had been born one Józef Dowbor-Mu?nicki in Batorowo , but his Ukrainian superiors found the Ruthenized name more comfortable.

General Romanovich and his honor guard stood to attention at the base of the gang plank as the papal delegation disembarked.  The General introduced himself to his honored guests and his men fell in. The city itself was perched on the steppe, and the Odessa harbor district was dominated by the Giant Staircase which linked the two. Crafted from greenish grey sandstone quarried in far away Trieste,  the stairs spanned  12.5 meters wide and 142 meters in length, and optical illusion made it look further, clever design angled it such that the view from the bottom was all stairs, but the view from the top was all landings.  As it would be unseemly to ask the two aged prelates to climb such a distance, the party split into groups to avail itself of the funicular.  A squad ascended first, followed by the Generals party and the delegation.

Arriving at the top of the grand staircase, a sweeping view of the harbor was visible, as were men from Ministery of Internal Affairs, a squad of the Hetman's secret police.

The General stiffened as he recognized the leader of the Hetman's goons, the man waving a sheet of "orders" for which there would never be copies or accountability, the man explaining in ever so reasonable tones how the Secret Police would take care of escorting the Priests to Kiev, given that the army was so ridden with insurrectionists as to be unreliable.  Like a snake charming a rodent the man oily explained the orders and how the General had no choice but to obey, after all the Secret Police were charged with keeping the people of the Kingdom safe and could be trusted.  A concept none would dare disagree with, for to do otherwise was to brand oneself a traitor.  So, reluctantly, the Papal delegation was entrusted to the Hetman's henchmen.

As the Hetman's men escorted the Papists away, one was heard to say "I expect you will be quite happy with your suite in the Katenka Hotel, it's the finest in Kiev".

The General was preoccupied, and the phrase did not register on the at first but a lieutenant stiffened on hearing this and blurted out "Sir ! There is no Katenka Hotel".  General Romanovich's head snapped up, "What did you say Lieutenant?"  "Sir, he said they were taking the priests to the Katenka Hotel in Kiev, there is no such hotel".   Fury lit the General's eyes, for he had been played for a fool. He had been raised Catholic, and had heard the rumors of the High Prelate's pogroms.... "No, Lieutenant, the Katenka is a wing of Lukyanivska prison, for life internment.", striding after the Secret Police the General unsnapped the holster and withdrew his Nagant revolver, shouting for them to halt.
Behind him, his lieutenant motioned the men to place safeties off and stand at the ready.

The shots that were fired in the minutes to come were to redefine Odessa's history.   Lieutenant General Iosif Romanovich became a traitor in the Hetman's eyes, but General Józef Dowbor-Mu?nicki was born a hero in the eyes of his men, many of who were also Catholics and viewed the Secret Police's designs for the Papal delegation with deep suspicion.

The Ukraine chose to post troops away from their homelands so they would not feel one with the locals, so 14th Corp, far from Lithuania and Poland, drew a disproportionate number of  it's recruits from those regions. The skirmish at the top of the stairs became a mutiny throughout the troops in the city, and when news spread, throughout the Corps.  The City of Odessa became a battlefield. 

But Odessa had not always been a Ukrainian City.  Before General-Admiral Osip Mikhailovich Deribas  had decided to build a harbor here, a colony of laborers had built the fortress of Khadjibey and founded the town of Moldavanka. Their numbers had swelled, and while first the Russians had taken the area, and ruined the fortress,  and then people of many nations came to the polyglot town of Odessa, and lastly the Ukrainians claimed ownership. The only people that had been there all along, providing the workers that made the city run, were the descendents of Moldavanka. Not quite in the majority, they outnumbered any other fraction.  Spurned and oppressed by the Ukrainians, they now flocked to the banners of  General Józef Dowbor-Mu?nicki's mutinous troops.

Desperate pleas for help, from both sides, went out.  Along the Romanian border, mutiny swept the ranks, and whole brigades quite the front.  One, at the Romanian-Habsburg Junction, simply marched north, to Poland and home. Another brigade, in Bendery, imprisoned its Ukrainians and marched to the relief of Odessa.  Still others fractured along regimental lines and waged pitched war on each other.

These events did not go unnoticed in Bucharest....


January  26-31

The Baltic Coast

The 1st Frontier Guard Corps of the Russian Army probes the defenses of Riga.  Finding the well-entrenched  the 1st Division of the 3rd Rifle Corps. On the south side of the river mouth, the old fortress of Daugavgri still commands the entrance, unreconstructed and vulnerable to modern artillery, the fortress still serves as a strategic point with commanding views.

The 1st Division has a strong position- a short stretch guarding the mouth of the River Daugada from the beach to Lake Kisezers, then around the northern edge of the city before crossing to the Southern bank. With few bridges across the Daugada, and backed by the guns of the navy's monitors, forcing the 1st Division out of position would be a struggle requiring more than just the Frontier Guards.

Dusultory fighting commences, but the Frontier Guards efforts to find a path further east is halted by flank attacks by Ukrainian Cavalry.  The Russians settle in to wait for further reinforcements.

South, near the Ukrainian Fleet base at Leipaja the approach of the ESC troops throws the Naval ministry in a panic.  The ESC I Army,  with four modern corps (24/16), was opposed by only the recently arrived  2nd Divisions of the 3rd & 6th Rifle Corps (strength 5/2) which shattered under the weight of the first days battle. Shell shocked troops try to pick stands as regimental commanders try to rally their troops, but they only succeed- in combination with the snow-  in slowing the advance to 10 miles a day.  Two Brigades of the 3rd Rifles make it to the city, where a Gendarme brigade is keeping order.  The hard charging ESC troops arrive on the 27th, and invest the city, sealing it off with a Corp.  With the ESC squadron penning the Ukrainian fleet in Leipaja, there is no escape.

Elsewhere, the ESC advance is hindered by the remnants of the 2nd Division of the 6th Rifle Corps, and by the sheer size of the area they are liberating, for that is how the native resistance leaders greet them. By months end, the ESC advance covers an area from Leipaja to Siauliai and south to Kaunas.


Belarus

The 6 corps of the Russian Army of Poland had been entrained for home when the war broke out. Difficulties with Ukrainians had led to the war, and the Commander had ordered his men to take defensive alignments across a large swath of Belarus from Bialystock in the west to near Minsk in the east.   Unfortunately, the trains had not been loaded for an expeditionary force, but for transit, and men and gear were widely separated, food and ammunition stocks low. So, when General Sinclair ordered the 3rd Cavalry to detach from the ESC border and retake Bialystock and  push the Army of Poland away from Grodno, and reopen the railroad line from Poland to Lithuania, this was a task well within reason. With the tasking of other Corps to bring pressure on the Army of Poland, it was ensured that reinforcements could not flow to the west, and Bialystock would be retaken on the 24th.

The advent on the 23rd of  Feltmarshall Heinric Hertzog zum Mecklenburg's IV Army pushing East from the ESC was an event the 3rd Cavalry no longer had the resources to meet. Falling back in good order, relying on their mobility to harry the ESC advance, the Ukrainian Cavalrymen were able to give a good account of themselves, but only slow the ESC advance.  Caught between the IV Army and the Russian Army of Poland, the 3rd Cavalry flees to the north and south. By Month's end, the ESC troops have wrested Bialystock from the 3rd Cavalry, control Grodno and hold the Nieman river line. Contact is made with the Army of Poland and supply arrangements made for the Russians.

[Kaiser Kirk]

Lodz
The Army of Poland was well entrenched outside Lodz.  The decision by High Command in Warsaw to retreat towards the city had bought time and allowed the forces to pick good defensive terrain. The peacetime defensive bastions of the 4th Corp had been turned into a horseshoe of works built over the past month.  With the retreat of forces from Czestochowa to Piotrkow it had become imperative to extend these works eastward to protect the railroad line to Warsaw and the switching yards in Piotrkow.  Fortunately for the Ukrainian commander, a stream made a nice line on the map to anchor his forces behind.  This left only the hinge where the stream turned North prior to meeting the horseshoe.

This defensive line was manned by the 4th, 8th and 13th Rifle Corps, with the 4th Cavalry providing flank security and the 2nd Polish Lancers in reserve.  The 2nd Polish had proven to have a rather distressing rate of desertion when on patrol, as many troopers chose to join the revolt. By placing it in reserve, the political commissars could be placed with the Corp and try to cut out the rotten apples.

Arrayed in opposition was the Army of Silesia, with the Army of Saxony arriving by the day.
Even with two Mountain Corps moving towards Kielce, and the XVI Corps assigned rear area security, the Bavarian force was already five Corps strong, with the Dragoon division and two Independent brigade were attached and three more Corps arriving at the front.

An early assault by General  Max von Hausen, seeking to break the Ukrainians before the Army of Saxony arrived from Sosnowiec to claim the glory, had failed miserably.  The en echelon attack against Piotrkow had attempted to fix the front with the attack by the recently mobilized infantry, while the Garde advanced on an oblique toward the flank and the Dragoons tried to ward off the 4th Cavalry.

The elite Dragoons and Garde faired reasonably well. However, the carpenters, butchers, accountants and other civilians who had half a month earlier been recalled to service found themselves charging across a field, blanketed in snow towards a low rise. Corps artillery pummeled the opposing ground, sending plumes of dark soil mixed with snow soaring skyward. However these were not great masses of guns, but mere regiments, and could not force the Ukrainians to cover.

The opposing Ukrainians, peering over the rims of their gun pits and trenches, could see the clear lines of advancing infantry. Not as lavishly equipped as the opposing Bavarians, they were not without supporting arms. Having a week to sight in, they were able to accurately call their own artillery fires, while their Machine gun companies had a field day on the snowy plain.

In less than a half hour, the recent civilians came stumbling back, leaving nearly 6,000 of their fellows strewn across the bloody snow. The repulse there meant that the attempts of the Garde and Dragoons were for naught, and they worked their way back to the original positions.

So the Armies glared at each other, and reinforced.  The Bavarians felt that once they had eight Corps in line, they could outflank the Ukrainian position to the east, particularly if fresh snow allowed the XXI Corps to utilize it's skis.  The Ukrainians, well they had little choice in the matter. Then the reports began to come clear.  II Army under Col. General Kodos was coming from the North, and V Army from the West. While distant, the 10 ESC Corps would be quite overwhelming. The simple arrival of ESC aircraft, wresting control of the air, was distressing enough.  The Commander of the Army of Poland began to frantically request High Command in Warsaw to either send reinforcements, or allow  him to retreat. Rumors began to drag on the morale of the troops.

It wasn't the news from Kiev that precipitated the crisis, rather events just behind the front. On the 28th, after Kiev, the citizens of Lodz rioted, seizing control of the City Hall, Jail and Courthouse. The Gendarme brigade was overwhelmed, and the Commander of the Army of Poland was forced to divert troops. Not trusting the 4th Corps, as it's men had lived here for some time, troops from the reserves of the 8th and 13th Corp were thrown in. The mass of Poles in town square refused to disperse, instead advancing on the troops.

The Poles freely admit that members of the Polish Rifle Squads were shooting at the Ukrainian troops, and that cobbles pried from the streets had been thrown, but the volleys fired into the crowds were shocking. Men, women and children were gunned down in the square. Chaos reigned.  At the edge of town, the news of the massacre quickly spread, and this was the spark that pushed the men of the 2nd Polish Lancers into mutiny.  Commissars and military police were seized and beaten, armories broken into and tens of thousands of Polish soldiers hurried to the aid of the Polish civilians.

It was this disaster that caused the Army of Poland to strip its reserves, to fling into the charnel house that Lodz was becoming. Flames licking skyward and word of the struggle caused Generalfeldmarschall Prince Leopold of Bavaria to advance his schedule and implement a contingency by ordering an attack on the hinge between the horseshoe and stream. There was no time for preparatory fires. This time the armored leviathans rumbled forward in conjunction with the armored cars, all three brigades in the field.  Combined Corps artillery blanketed the areas around the objective, while field guns were hurriedly brought forward to take the objective under direct fire. The recently arrived 1/XXI  (2/XXI was still detraining) was tasked to lead the attack, as the mountaineer's baggage train included snowshoes as well. Told to use the armored vehicles as shields, and to get away from them if they stalled, they were able to keep pace with the vehicles through the snow.  The men of the Garde Corps were tasked with the second wave, while pressure was brought to bear elsewhere.

Unlike the horseshoe, the hinge had not been developed over a month, and unlike the line east, it had no stream.  Normally, the central position meant reserves could easily be sent in.  However, Caught by surprise, with overwhelming forces coming, flames in their rear, and with their reserves stripped, the men of the 8th Rifle Corp did not respond well. They routed. The center of the Ukrainian line collapsed and the 1/XXI, I, and III Corps poured through.

The Battle for Lodz, or the Liberation of Lodz, would take several more days, but it was lost on that day.

[Kaiser Kirk]

As Navalism 3 seems to have stalled and died with the talks regarding Navalism 4,
finishing this tale has fallen off my priority list.

However, not wishing to leave it completely unfinished, here's an outline.


January 27th,  Kiev
The day of the historic Kiev Armory revolt.  Here, the rebellion is the beginnings of a Civil War, pitting General Sinclair against the Hetman.  General Sinclair, leading some nobles, declares the Government of the Hetman a sham, and declares it overthrown.  The soldiers of the 12th Corp, opposed by the Oppolchine corps- the HQ Corps for the Secret Police, don't quit manage to capture the Hetman. The Two Corps battle is out in Kiev.  General Sinclair's new Government officially petitions the Russians for recognition, peace, and invites them to send a Romanov to take the crown.

January 28th, Sevastopol.
When preparing for the Adriatic Sojurn, the fleet had removed potential troublemakers from the departing ships. The result is that these individuals are more numerous among the vessels that are left.  With officers disputing if they should follow the Hetman or General Sinclair, and the Admiral rumored to be planning a surprise attack on the Russian Fleet, these troublemakers revolt. Seizing first an armory, and then a battleship, they cast off and sail for Odessa, to join their countrymen in revolt there.

This was to get Romania a free battleship of the Vlodymr class.

January 29th Bucharest
Having the news from Kiev, and the news from Odessa, the Romanians decide to attempt to seize what they can.  Declaring that their countrymen are suffering the depredations of the "Green Army" of bandits, or at the hands of the Ukrainians- the story will vary- the Romanians cross the border.  With the 14th Corp having primarily abandoned its post, the crossing is virtually unopposed. Marching swiftly, the Romanians seize Moldavia and continue towards Odessa, eventually establishing a salient extending north of the river around the city.

This was to expand Romania, add a major port, and make it more viable/fun as a player nation.

Prologue


After some time, Sinclair would capture the Hetman, probably in the midst of a desperate sacrifice, probably of the Queen. The Hetman and Prelate's association with the Eye would be laid bare.

The Russians would agree to Sinclair's proposal, and cease their advance in the Ukraine.
ESC forces would halt in what is now Lithuania, while the Bavarian advance guard would be arriving at the Gates of Warsaw.
In Latvia, the forces would continue to be loyal to the Hetman, and the Russian campaign would occur as Blooded outlined.

A peace conference, perhaps in Vienna, perhaps in Brest-Litovisk, would establish the post-war order.

Romania would get to keep it's winnings- most of the folks in those regions are Romanian anyhow.

A new Kingdom of Poland and a new Grand Duchy of Lithuania would arise. The Polish borders would be akin to "Congress Poland".  A Grand Sejm would be held in each, and there would be a vote of the members in Poland to keep the Wettins as Kings, and join the High Kingdom of Bavaria (which is structured much like a Monarchy-based confederation) as the minimal infringements on sovereignty are balanced by the economic and military backing allowing continuation of those liberties- plus they just watched Russia go from the Ukraine's trusted friend to war in a month, and they border the Hapsburgs.  

The Grand Duchy of Lithuania would probably choose Prince Urach as the new Grand Duke over the Wettin, and also join the High Kingdom of Bavaria, unless the ESC wanted it. There had been some talk of a Baltic state, but somebody decided to write a different tale.

Russia, before Blooded left, was to get everything else- Ukraine, Latvia, Belarus, the Fleet, etc. Now, Ukraine would probably stay semi-independent, as it's large "enough" for a player. Queen Margita, if alive, would be exiled, probably to the Hapsburgs.  The Russians would get Latvia + Baltic Fleet, Belarus, and the Kerch peninsula. At one point Russia was to get the Black Sea fleet as well, but that probably would not occur.  I am not sure who would get the interned ships in Italia- probably repatriated to the Ukraine.

[ctwaterman]

You Did excellent work here both in story form and in describing the fighting.   I wish we could have seen it through to completion.

Charles

[Sachmle]

You Did excellent work here both in story form and in describing the fighting.   I wish we could have seen it through to completion.

Charles

Agreed. Nicely done Kirk.

[Kaiser Kirk]

Thank you.

[TexanCowboy]

One nitpick; the Romanian queen is being exiled?