Sorry guys, was planning to get the new chapter up today, but work caught up with me. I think it'll be up on Sunday.
The Great Silent One - Moltke the Austrian TL
- Thread starter Ultima Ratio
- Start date
My sincerest apologies, things didn't quite work out over the weekend as I intended. Good thing is that I'll be off work tomorrow to take care of some official business, so I'll have time for the update.
Chapter XIII - The Cretan Crossroad
Chapter XIII - The Cretan Crossroad
(1913-1914)
Ottoman troops during the military occupation of Crete
(1913-1914)
Ottoman troops during the military occupation of Crete
The second half of 1913 saw Europe slowly drifting towards a new crisis as trouble was brewing in Crete. Since the war the island has been under Ottoman administration, with considerable autonomy... at least on paper. The Ottomans not respecting the autonomy has lead to numerous uprisings before, the last one being in 1897, after which Ottoman administration became more lax on British urging. There simply was too much risk in igniting a new war in the Balkans over such an issue, as Greece supported the rebels each time. Now however, the Young Turks were in charge and the reconstruction and rearmament of the Ottoman army was finished, and the new government was eager to reassert Ottoman power on rebellious provinces. The renewed harsh treatment on the island lead to a slowly escalating unrest that occasionally broke into open fighting starting the summer of 1913. Greece in particular was supporting the rebels both politically and covertly with weapons, something that drew the ire of the Young Turks and lead to increased nationalist agitation all around the Ottoman Empire. Anatolian Greeks were often attacked and harassed.
Since the war with Russia, the Ottoman Empire has modernized considerably with British help, the army was well-trained, well-armed with British weapons and the infrastructure was improved to match it. Fortresses were built from Albania to Constantinople and new railroads helped the transportation of troops across Anatolia. British officers were mostly satisfied with Ottoman progress, which in 1913 made London think. It was getting clear that there will have to be a confrontation with Russia, the question was sooner or later. After the 1905 reforms, the Russian Empire was modernizing very fast. Railroads, domestic industry, and army reorganization caused much concern. Russian military presence was increased across Eurasia, the Great Game has never been more tense. Troop numbers were increased across Central Asia and in the East, particularly in Vladivostok, which became a fortress of the mightiest proportions. Heavy naval guns of German make defended the fortified harbor and concrete forts were built inland to allow defense in depth. The Russians learned their lesson and were not going to let the Ruler of the East to fall into enemy hands. The city became the symbol of the military reforms, as the fires of the ancient Russian fears of being surrounded were kindled by propaganda. Russian historian Dimitri Obolensky would later call this the "Vladivostok Syndrome". The finishing of the Transsiberian Railway in January 1914 caused great alarm in Britain, as Russia could now supply Vladivostok with ease.
London was worried that with the current pace of Russian reforms there will be no war: they will simply swallow up everything from Constantinople to Manchuria. On the other hand, many others saw Russia as a giant on clay feet after the Russo-Japanese War. Both these factions oriented Britain to be more pro-war, especially as the frantic Russophobe press agitated the masses daily with sightings of Cossacks on the Indus or Russian ships near the Dardanelles. Still there was one thing to worry about: the Continental Congress. France, Germany and Russia had amiable relations and there were fears of Germany joining them if it came to war. There was less sch concern for France, for two reasons: first of all, France has never been comfortable with the idea of Russia gaining any sort of presence in the Levant. Second of all, it was argued that France would likely not go to war on the Russian side unless Germany was on the same side. There was still considerable skepticism regarding Germany in French military circles and a Russian-allied France would be much isolated from her ally, and outgunned at sea, having to mostly fight the war across the immense continent of Africa.
These concerns were however put to rest in February 1914 when an Italian Communist assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Venice on February 14. The even known as the Venetian Valentine sparked a new wave of unrest in Italy and an such an uproar in the rest of Germany that was never seen before. The Evidenzüro, the German secret service was first to take the blame for not knowing about the assassination attempt. The bureau would be reorganized shortly after the incident, while the Kaiser signed the order for the Italian provinces to come under military administration. Early March, the Reichsarmee occupied key government buildings, railway hubs, roads and bridges all across Veneto and Lombardy. Under newly appointed Reichskomissar Archduke Friedrich, the Evidenzbüro were given a free hand, arresting real and suspected revolutionaries, both Communist and Nationalist. The occupation polarized the Italian movements greatly, as nationalists and communists distrusted each other greatly. No one was safe, agents were everywhere and any armed resistance was crushed with extreme force by the army.
The German occupation and subsequent French crackdown on their own domestic Communist movements proved to be great breathing room for the Ottomans, who ordered the military occupation of Crete in April. After this, events started to spiral out of control. The appearance of the Ottoman army sparked outright rebellion, and Greece demanded that the Ottomans abide by the Treaty of Hannover, recalling troops. The Ottoman government responded by moving more troops to Europe and appealed to Britain saying that they are only restoring order to a rebellious province. Britain stood by her ally, and told Greece to stand down and cease the support for the rebels. For Russia, the crisis came at a bad time and immeadiately started to disperse troops along the immense length of the Eurasian borders with Britain and her allies, while sending a diplomatic note saying that they will not tolerate any breach of the treaty. In response, a British expeditionary force was sent to Anatolia, in order to dissuade any Russian action against the Ottomans. However, as fresh Ottoman troops arrived in Thrace, Greece ordered partial mobilization of her forces, which was soon answered by an Ottoman mobilization. Russia sent an ultimatum for the Porte to stand down, which was promptly ignored. Russia thus declared war on the Ottomans on the 10th of July, 1914. Britain soon followed suit, as did the Greeks. Serbia and Bulgaria followed on the 15th and Romania on the 17th. Japan delared support for Britain and declared war on the Russian Empire on the 20th of July, and Persia on the 28th.
The stage was set for the Eurasian War.
Chapter XIV - The Eurasian War
Chapter XIV - The Eurasian War
(1914)
Bulgarian counterattack at Burgas
At the beginning of the war, Britain had a clear and simple plan: pushing forward on all fronts across the length of Eurasia. Russia generally being thought to be a giant on clay feet, the general staff believed that they will break before they bend, and a general offensive along such a massive front will quickly push them over the edge, logistics-wise. Only the Balkans were a critical are where Russia could concentrate enough force to be a serious threat. Thus, the bulk of the British expeditionary force was deployed into Thrace to support a quick Ottoman advance against the Balkan nations. The plan called for a three-pronged offensive against Bulgaria and Greece. One long the coast to Varna, one along the Maritsa river to Plovdiv and Sofia, and one against Greece towards Salonika. Were these three objectives reached, it was believed that Bulgaria would be out of the war and Greece forced on the defensive. The success of this also depended on the effectiveness of the extensive British-built fortifications in Albania and Vardar Macedonia. If Bulgaria could be knocked out before Serbia takes Albania and links up with Greece, the Balkans can be braced for a Russian counterattack... provided Russia doesn't crumble under the strain in Asia. (1914)
Bulgarian counterattack at Burgas
In Asia, three main theaters were designated. One in the Caucasus, which would be defended by British and Ottoman troops, one in Central Asia, where Britain would attack through Afghanistan and Persia with the aim of taking Russian Central Asia and cut their railroad links to the Far East. The last theater would see a Japanese advance on Vladivostok from Korea along with a secondary attack through Manchuria on the Amur river to cut the Transsiberian Railroad to the city.
Thus, at the outbreak of the war, the Ottomans, already mobilized in Europe, wasted no time to attack. The Ottoman First and Second Armies under Esat Pasha crossed the Bulgarian border on the 25th of July and scored a series of crushing defeats against the Bulgarians, taking Burgas by the end of August, advancing further on Varna, as Bulgarian troops were reeling to consolidate their lines. However, the secondary Ottoman attack along the Maritsa, supported by the BEF under John French has taken Plovdiv and now had its eyes on Sofia. Thus, the Bulgarian army, which has lost most of its best forces and equipment around Burgas, was now forced on the defensive, sending frantic appeals for her allies for help, and Romanian troops soon started arriving to Varna to prepare for the defense of the city.
Greece fared little better, as they were facing the bulk of the BEF Second Army and the Ottoman Third Army. Although unlike the Bulgarians, the Hellenic Army managed to retreat from the initial advance more or less intact as a fighting force, eventually stopping at Salonika, where their numbers were shored up with reservists. Although the Greek force was smaller compared to the Bulgarian, they were defending a narrower front. Yet, they still faced the possibility of a British naval invasion, thus had to leave significant forces to defend the Peloponnese.
The Serbian (and Montenegrin) army in the meantime attempted to advance into Albania and the Vardar valley, cutting the Ottoman European territories in half. However, the offensive ended in nothing short of a disaster, as the Serbian forces, ill equipped in modern artillery were met with stiff resistance in Albania and Macedonia. Prepared lines of forts and trenches in difficult mountainous terrain stopped the offensive in its tracks, to which the Serbian general staff answered with throwing more men against them, leading to staggering losses. Serbia was soon asking for Greek assistance from the south, but in the face of the British-Ottoman attack on Salonika, Greece could spare little more than troops for border raids, and remained on the defensive in the West.
In Asia, British troops entered Afghanistan in an attempt to mount an offensive from there to Russia, while Persian troops crossed the border in Central Asia. The Caucasian front was in the meantime fortified with British colonial forces from India and Africa in preparation for a Russian attack. Subterfuge played a great role on this theatre, as both Russian and British agents crossed the border in an attempt to stir up unrest among the locals. Most famous of these was probably Colonel T. E. Lawrence, commonly known as Lawrence of Transoxiana.
The war seemingly progressed well in Europe and Central Asia, due to the slow reaction from Russia. Although British agents reported that the Russian mobilization and troop deployment was faster than expected, they had to contend with such a wide front, that there was no meaningful presence of Russian troops in Europe or the Caucasus until well into Autumn 1914. The Russians also made the mistake of believing that their Balkan allies would be able to take on the Turks in Europe, taking everything West of Thrace by the end of the year at best, or holding their prewar borders until the winter at worst, while Russia can deploy troops along Eurasia. This proved to be an almost fatal mistake, as by the end of September Bulgaria was only barely holding on, Greece buckling and Serbia failing to achieve any objectives. Romania was of little help as well, as their troops were mostly used up for the defense of Bulgaria, while many were kept in reserve in case Bulgaria falls and Bucharest has to be defended.
The first main setback however came from East Asia. The Japanese took some time to ship forces to Korea, and only launched their offensive towards Vladivostok by the end of August, which ended in an unprecedented failure. Vladivostok was a fortress unmatched anywhere in Asia and possibly the world, defended by concrete forts, modern artillery, machine guns, trenches and prepared razor wire. Hundreds of thousand of Japanese troops would die in the offensive in the first major Allied defeat of the war. Along with the bloody frontal offensive, the Japanese army attempted to swing around the city through Manchuria and cross the Amur, cutting the railway lifeline to the city in half. The vast distances in Manchuria however proved to be a challenging obstacle as Japanese cavalry met Russian Cossacks in the field. Expecting swift success, the Japanese were instead forced to an orderly retreat by the superior Russian cavalry and the extensive use of armored trains, which proved to be extremely useful or the Russian war effort.
The Battle of Vladivostok
Cossacks proved their worth not only in the Far East, but in Central Asia as well, as the theater soon devolved into extensive maneuvering across the wide plains with Allied forces failing to achieve any meaningful success. "Transoxiana swallows up divisions by the dozen, and the only gain is grass and wind." - Lord Kitchener would write in one of his letters.
By October, the first large Russian formation finally arrived in the field, and reinforced the Bulgarian and Romanian troops, stopping the Ottoman offensive at the Battle of Varna. The battle was pivotal for the whole Balkan front, as this was the first major Ottoman defeat, and securing a stable line at Varna allowed for more Russian forces to be distributed in the field. Their arrival was welcome, as Serbia faced a large-scale uprising in Bosnia at the start of November, and Russian forces were plugging the gap in their lines in preparation for a push into Macedonia. The front also soon devolved into trench warfare around Sofia, as Russian artillery arrived. This meant a that the Ottoman army and the BEF failed to achieve two of three operational objectives, although the fall of Salonika and the retreat of the Greek army in October to the Voras mountains was at least a little consolidation.
The BEF at Sofia
The British General Staff was in panic, as now Russia could move as many troops to the Balkans as they wished. Sir Charles Douglas reported to the Prime Minister that unless a major offensive is mounted to take Varna and cut the Russians from the Balkans, the whole front was in danger. The Parliament quickly voted for more troops to be deployed in the Balkans and also authorized Sir Winston Churchill to go forward with his plan of an amphibious landing in Greece. Japan also planned for a renewed offensive through Manchuria to finally surround Vladivostok, moving troops and supplies to the region, despite official protests from China, which nominally still owned the region.
So I get the plan in the Balkans and around Vladivostok, it is dumb but just the kind of thing they thought would work in 1914.
But the Central Asian Front is batshit insane. Even the Trans-Caspian railway line is 500 km from the Persian border, the Trans-Siberian is around 1800 km. Assuming they are attempting to advance what today is Turkmenistan and avoiding the Hindu Kush to the east. Their plan was to march through Persia and Afghanistan both which barely have any roads and certainly no railroads to support the campaign. Meaning that at the starting point of your campaign you are already well over 150 km from the nearest railhead or port.
Then 1800 km across terrain that is the home of the Cossack cavalry. Cavalry that is famous for being the best in the world at attacking supply routes. Any infantry stepping foot on that steppe would be committing suicide. So as the British Army isn't exactly bursting to the seams with Cavalry divisions, the attack would in the main part be carried by the 'loyal' Afghan tribes and the Persians. Cossacks would eat them alive.
Any General proposing such a plan would be kicked out of Horse Guards.
No instead they would advance from Western Perzia towards Baku, Eastern Azerbaijan looks flat on a global map. Though in reality this is only true for the first 80 kilometres or so. Now remember that Baku is already the main Russian Oil field which is generating lots of income, though not yet all that important strategically.
So it looks like a nice juice important target that makes for great headlines, though the capture will mean diddly squat to the war making capacity of the Russians. This is one of those campaigns that will look really good to 1914 Generals and Politicians, British-Persians will take Baku and the Turks will take Batum. Everybody is home before Christmas.
I was actually just looking at the maps and Baku seems like the right way to go on paper. So far the British haven't moved significant forces to Persia, but that will change shortly. The Central Asian campaign was indeed carried out by allied Persian and Afghan cavalry, supported by British Indians. Most of the infantry is in Afghanistan, securing supplies, etc.So I get the plan in the Balkans and around Vladivostok, it is dumb but just the kind of thing they thought would work in 1914.
But the Central Asian Front is batshit insane. Even the Trans-Caspian railway line is 500 km from the Persian border, the Trans-Siberian is around 1800 km. Assuming they are attempting to advance what today is Turkmenistan and avoiding the Hindu Kush to the east. Their plan was to march through Persia and Afghanistan both which barely have any roads and certainly no railroads to support the campaign. Meaning that at the starting point of your campaign you are already well over 150 km from the nearest railhead or port.
Then 1800 km across terrain that is the home of the Cossack cavalry. Cavalry that is famous for being the best in the world at attacking supply routes. Any infantry stepping foot on that steppe would be committing suicide. So as the British Army isn't exactly bursting to the seams with Cavalry divisions, the attack would in the main part be carried by the 'loyal' Afghan tribes and the Persians. Cossacks would eat them alive.
Any General proposing such a plan would be kicked out of Horse Guards.
No instead they would advance from Western Perzia towards Baku, Eastern Azerbaijan looks flat on a global map. Though in reality this is only true for the first 80 kilometres or so. Now remember that Baku is already the main Russian Oil field which is generating lots of income, though not yet all that important strategically.
So it looks like a nice juice important target that makes for great headlines, though the capture will mean diddly squat to the war making capacity of the Russians. This is one of those campaigns that will look really good to 1914 Generals and Politicians, British-Persians will take Baku and the Turks will take Batum. Everybody is home before Christmas.
Makes sense, regarding the probable plans of the British I have some ideas;
- Bring along the Royal Navy to contend for the Caspian Sea and its many small harbours that could aid them in supplying their troops. Currently it is a Russian lake.
- https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipe...d_Efron_Encyclopedic_Dictionary_b54_360-1.jpg Please note that overland supply to Batum goes along the cross Caspian railroad. So taking the cities of Shirvan or Yevlax will seriously hamper any defence south of the Greater Caspian mountains.
- The campaign should consist of four prongs.
- Along the coast. Connecting the front with the second prong as they cross the Kür and continuing north.
- Through the city of Bilesuvar North-East towards the river Kür. Then heading upstream towards Shirvan from the south. If the first prong has cleared the mouth of the Kür then supplies can be shipped up the river.
- Along both banks of the Aras this would be the main push. Towards Shirvan approaching from the West. Supplies can be shipped down the river Aras.
- North keeping the Karbach mountain to their left. As a spoiling attack that should keep the right flank of the main push clear. Though in the dream plans of the British there will be a scenario that this prong will get to the Kür and head upstream towards Tiflis. To meat the valiant Turks coming in from the Black Sea coast to cut off all of Armenia.
- The British will attempt a landing somewhere north of Baku to cut the railroad towards the rest of Russia, the second they gain naval parity on the Caspian Sea.
Thanks for the ideas. The only thing I'm not seeing is the RN on the Caspian Sea. As far as I know they had no presence there OTL and not sure how they will ITTL.
I may be mistaken, but I believe he was referring to the RN building some disassembled river boats, small destroyers, and submarines, transporting the pieces by rail, and assembling them in some port city on the caspian. I’m pretty sure the Germans did this with a few of their submarines they shipped south and assembled in Austrian ports in OTL WW1.
Of course not, but they can assemble some gunships in Persian ports. Won't be easy to get the parts there or to assemble before the Russian Caspian Fleet shows up to destroy the half built ships. Think the Great Lakes campaign or the German Fleet in the Flemish ports.
yep
The British also moved some riverine craft to Lake Tanganyika via tractor durring WWI.
So looks like the OTL Russian flotilla in the Caspian only had a few ships, but the Soviets moved vessels there from the Baltic and formed the Astrakhan-Caspian Military Flotilla in 1918, bringing the number up to around 50 ships and even some hydroplanes.
Now, with a hostile Persia and Ottoman empire ITTL, I assume the Russians keep more ships there from the start (they had no reason to OTL). I don't think the British can do much if there are 50+ Russian ships there. But taking Baku would be even more important as it was the base of the flotilla.