Crisis in the Balkans 1940

The Crisis of 1940-41 appears to have triggered a major arms race in the Balkans. Both the Greeks and the Yugoslavs have been trying to repair their positions and improve their armies for the next Balkan war. Bulgaria now knows that its army is incapablie of winning the next war because it lacks modern tanks and artillery as well as modern fighter planes.

Italy has just about completed its modernization program leaving it with a modern army. The Italian verision of the PZkpf IV has been arriving but Marshal Balbo is not sure if it should be massively produced as he feels that it is not quite as good ad the copies of the PZ IV that Italy is already making. Croatia had received older Italian made and designed tanks, which are inferior to what is coming out now.

Austria is about to receive the new Czech made T-26 Medium tanks. The Austrians intend to order 240 of the tanks. The Czech have also been modifying the LT-38 tank bodies and will produce a SP AT gun (Hertzer) and An APC based on the body.

Romania and Hungary are both seeling more powerful tanks.
 
Istanbul, Turkey A Turkish naval officer knocked on the door of the head of Naval Intelligence. "Admiral a message from our old Friend Admiral Canarais."

"well what does he want" I haven't seen hom in I can't remember when" " Well let me see the Message>" The Admiral immediately reads it and the expression on his face turns to great concern.
Get me the head of Army Intelligence on the Phone. Theaide places the phone call but the General is not available. The admiral grabs the phone and shouts into it telling the person at the other end who he is and how important it is that they talk. The aide replies that the General is out of the office. With that the Admiral says well you better try to get him or you might be cleaning the stables>"
 
Armenia : Russian officers now presented the Armenian Army with the first group of Russian made tanks. These tanks were late model T-26 and BT-7 perhaps the last group of tanks produced.
 
Russian equipment began to arrive viva railroad service. The Russians moved a Brigade of Mountain troops to bses near the border with Turkey. The Armenians put two of the rearmed Infantry Brigades under Russian command to defend Armenia's border.

Turkish agents had however snuck across the border and were stunned by the bold Russian move. Turkey was threaten.
 
The arrival of the first Russian Freighter in Yugoslavia was greeted with massive security by the Yugoslavian Military. The Port was sealed off and Yugoslavian Fighter patrolled the sky while several Yugoslav warships guarded the port entrance. Still Germany managed to get some high altitude photos of the port using a photo recon aircraft operating from Albania.
The Germans had to get lower for a better look.

Photos confirmed what Admiral Canarais feared the Russians were providing the Yugoslav with tanks. Identified were T-26, BT-7 and some T-34. Also off loaded were AA guns.

What Germany had feared was about to take place- A major arms race that stood a good chance of triggering another war.
 
Unfortunately no the Russians moved like a steam roller to re occupy Azerbaijan while the western europeans attention was on the Crisis in the Balkans. The British had removed their forces from that country and had moved forces out of Armenia into Georgia when the Russian acted.

The Russian force that occupied Azerbaijan included 4 Mountain divisions, 4 infantry divisions, 1 Cossack Cavalry Division, 3 tank Brigades and 4 "Security " Infantry Brigades.

Still the Turks were able to use their contacts in that region to give them a better idea of what was going on. It would seem that the Russians ae busy carrying out their own intelligence and counter-intelligence ops and that soon the Turks contacts will be no more.

Turkey has purchased a large number of American Made Lee tanks that are now being replaced by the newer Sherman tank. The tanks are being shipped to Turkey from the US.
 
Late Spring 1942-Early Summer 1942 Armenia had put some restrictions on the movement of British Diplomats in Armenia. This had caused a strain in relations between the two countries. The German Embassy was never opened and the same case was said for the French and Italians. The US however did open a consulate ..

Georgia was appealing to the British and Germans for aidteract the strong Russian Military presence in the Caucasus Region.

Germany's Foreign Minister paid a visit to Warsaw after word of the possible Franco-Russian Alliance was known. He was also scheduled to visit Prague and Bucharest .The German Chancellor and the Austrian Chancellor were to hold talks in Switzerland.
 
Marshal Balbo flew to Vienna to confer with the Austrian Government and then on to Berlin to meet with the German Chancellor and Field Marshal Beck
A formal Dinner was held for the Italian Leader. It appeared that the Italian Leader was seeking German aid and assurance of support if it was attacked by France.

The Turkish head of Military Intelligence was also paying a visit to Berlin as part of a delegation seeking German assistance .

The Young Czar made his first comments regarding the alliance with France. He thought that it was a good move for Russia BUT he urged his Prime Minister and Foreign Minister to assure the leaders of Germany, Poland and Great Britain that it was not aimed at starting a war with any of them.
Indeed the Treaty also had a clause regarding the Far East aimed at Japan.
 
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The arrival of Russian tanks and artillery now altered the balance of power in the Balkans. Yugoslavia was now far stroner than Croatia and might even be willing to risk a war with Italy.

Croatia turned to Italy and Germany for help. Germany was still hoping to defuse the situtation as it was rapidly heading in the Direction of Wold War I.
 
Tensions were rising in the Balkans as the various countries in the reion began to fall into alliances. Greece and Yugoslavia were allied and it appeared that France and Russia were supporting them. On the other side there was Croatia and Italy was moving to support them. It appeared that Austria was remaining neutral but Hungary was moving toward supporting the Italians due to the Russian involvement.
Poland and Italy now had a "Treaty of Friendship and Alliance" and it appeared that the Turkish government was also considering some sort of alliance with the Italians in view of the increasin Russian threat and the fact that it now considered itself facing several hostile nations: Russia, Greece and perhaps France.
 
Croatia now began to search for allies. Austria was friendly but did not want to be dragged into another war or anger its Czech ally. Hungary agree to a defensive allince. Italy became the first official ally of the Croatian state. Bulgaria had been a Croatian ally during the war for independence but the bloody nose that it had received had caused it to hesitate now.

Romania had been friendly with Yugoslavia but had resented that nations neutrlity in the last was. Still the Czarist Russian state had been trying to repair damage caused by the Soviets in their relationship.

Turjey had remain aloft but the recent Russian move into Armenia and the alliance with the French caused this nation to seriously consider an alliance with Italy.
 
Russian and Yugoslavian freighters had been coming and going between Russian ports in the Black Sea and St. Peterdburg to the Yugoslavian Port. German intelligence had come up with the conclusion that a massive arms build up was going on. German intelligence head Admiral Canarais was contacting the British to see what they thought was going on.
 
Yugoslavian forces now began to take up positions facing Croatia ( main body of the Royal Yugoslavian Army) , Hungary ( Tank Brigade and 2 Infantry divisions, Bulgaria(2 Tank Brigades,2 Infantry Divisions) and Albania ( 1 Mountain Brigade, 1 tank Brigade[T-26]and 1 1/12 infantry divisions.

Greece had 4Infantry/Mountain divisions facing Albania with a battalion of French tanks and another 4 Infantry divisions and 2 French equipped tank battaions facing Bulgaria.

The Croatians had built up a force of 4 Infantry dicisions supported by 4 battalions equipped with the old Italian medium tanks armed with a 47mm gun and 2 companies equipped with the latest Italian medium tank armed with the 75mm gun.

Comments?
 

yourworstnightmare

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Sure Italo- Croatian relations still would be good. The Italian government might have to press some irrenditist claims on Fiume, otherwise it would probably be overthrown and Italy becoming a democracy.
 
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