~July to September 1942 (European War): A job well done
July 1942: Kemal's OTO begins an assault on Smyra. The three Russian divisions defending the Greek enclave are no match for the overwhelming Turkish force and begin to fall back. The advancing Turks begin murdering many Greek civilians.
July 1942: With the Russian forces facing Breast now having been seriously weakened to provide reinforcements for other fronts the Warsaw Pact begins planning a limited offensive to drive the Russians away from the city. The Italian First Army Group under Giuseppe Tellera is withdrawn from the Balkans, to assault the weakened Russian positions with the Polish Vistula Army Group under Juliusz Rómmel.
July 1942: The Russians introduce a new tank to replace their BT series. The T34 combines the mobility of the BT series with improved armour and an L/30.5 76.2mm. The new tank, while not fully a match for the Warsaw Pact's Panzer IVs, is a marked improvement on earlier Entente tanks.
July 1942: Čihák's Constantinople Army Group seizes Zonguldak, cutting the Russians in Turkey off from the Sea.
July 1942: The first Luftwaffe Lancaster and Sydney bombers launch a raid against Paris. Escorted by Mustang fighters, the raid proves a huge success, hitting the French capital for the first time. The Luftwaffe immediately order another 1,000 heavy bombers from the CW to continue the campaign.
July 1942: With the fall of Symra inevitable, the Russian Mediterranean Fleet begins an evacuation to the Crete. Fearful of the advancing Turks, many Greek citizens attempt to flee in panic to the island.
July 1942: Messe's advancing North African Army outflanks the Mareth Line to take Gabès, securing both the port and railhead. Leaving a force to hold the city and prevent any French move from Gafsa, Messe continues his offensive along the coast.
August 1942: Symra falls to the Turks. The conquest of Symra is accompanied by the mass murder and persecution of the local Greek population.
August 1942: The trapped Russian forces in Turkey under General Mikhail Diterikhs launch a desperate attack in a bid to retake Zonguldak.
August 1942: The Spanish Republicans, supported by partisans harassing the Nationalists rear, launch a limited attack on a weak point of the Nationalists positions at Cordoba. The defenders, composed of second line newly raised conscripts, buckle and rout. The disaster at Cordoba forces General Emilio Mola to divert troops from the recently retaken Grenada in an effort to halt the collapse.
August 1942: The Italian Nimbo Airborne and La Spezia Airlanding Divisions launch an airborne assault of Crete. The dispirited Greek defenders are no match for the Italians and the island quickly falls. The assault is seen as a vindication of the airlanding concept and most nations will soon begin to form their own airlanding units.
August 1942: With it clear Crete will fall and with no means of escape, Admiral Vladimir Alafuzov sails the Russian Mediterranean Fleet to Alexandria to be interned. The removal of the Russian fleet allows the Italians to concentrate their forces against the French in the western Mediterranean.
August 1942: The Turks begin a landing on Rhodes. The obsolete Greek battlecruisers Salamis and Konstantinos attempt to stop the landing but come under heavy Turkish air attack. The Konstantinos is forced to beach to avoid sinking, while the crippled Salami retreats to Rhodes to use its guns in support the Greek garrison.
September 1942: The Italians take Mahrès in Tunisia. Messe pauses his advance to allow for resupply.
September 1942: The French begin producing the Russian T34 tank as the Char R27T.
September 1942: With the success of the airborne assault of Crete, the Italians begin forming a third airborne and second airlanding division. The Folgore Airborne Division is also dispatched to Tunisia to reinforce the North African Army.
September 1942: Despite fierce Greek resistance the Rhodes garrison is overwhelmed by Turkish forces.
September 1942: The Italians and Poles begin their offensive at Breast. Mikhail Tukhachevsky's depleted Belarusian Army Group, unable to face the weight of the assault, begins to give ground
September 1942: The Turks occupy Lesbos and the other remaining Greek offshore islands.
September 1942: With the Nationalist forces facing them at Grenada now seriously reduced to face the crisis at Cordoba, the Republicans launch a counter offensive to retake the city. The depleted nationalist forces are unable to hold the attack and Grenada falls within a week.
September 1942: With their supplies exhausted and unable to breakthrough the Warsaw Pact lines to reach Zonguldak, the remnants of Diterikhs army group surrender, ending Entente resistance in Eastern Mediterranean. The reduction of Turkey allows further Pact troops to be released for the Baltic, German and Polish fronts.
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