WesWorld

Quoted

Originally posted by thesmilingassassin
If your talking pre 1914 yes you are correct with both Ottoman and Greek war cry's but from what I can tell Hurrah and its variants were also used.

Ah, okay.

Quoted

Originally posted by Vukovlad
From what I understand French was the preferred foreign language in the Balkans although German and Hungarian was widely understood by the peoples of the former A-H.

In OTL Sweden of the time (pre-1945) German and French were the preferred or as an older gentlemen told me "Franska för diplomater, tyska för militärer or engelska för krämare" (French for diplomats, German for officers and English for hawkers)

Well the Atlanteans probably have French or Russian skills (SA?) and the Belgians have French, my impression of the Dutch is French/English/German is not rare, so there might be allot of French-French and German-German, and a few German-French-Slavic conversations.

Quoted

Originally posted by Kaiser Kirk
So, um how many different languages are in play on this campaign?

Lithuanian, Polish, Russian, Atlantean (?), Nordmark, German, Dutch, Belgian/Walloon, Bulgarian, ...did I miss any?

Austria-Hungary and Germany had extensive trade in eastern europe, contact with the Ottomans, links to Dutch and Norse.
German is probably the language of choice, at least for senior commanders, but still leaves the Slavic speakers out. I know the Dutch made an effort to round up Lithuanian translators, I don't know about the others. Then there are the Atlanteans

You forgot Turkish! Atlantis being a close ally of Russia would round up as many slavic translators as they could in addition to German translators too.

All said though quite a mess of translation for the LON forces, its no wonder they are in the predicament they are in. I would think English would be another common language that might be used.

Quoted

Originally posted by thesmilingassassin

You forgot Turkish! Atlantis being a close ally of Russia would round up as many slavic translators as they could in addition to German translators too.

All said though quite a mess of translation for the LON forces, its no wonder they are in the predicament they are in. I would think English would be another common language that might be used.

I did not !
I figured that with the pre-great war German influence the senior Turks would have some German.

English is possible, but in that era was it as prevalent? French might be more common as the language of the educated man.

[B]October 23rd, 1935: - Part A

General de Brigade Yvanne Louis Gerard, bent on entering Vaskes before Brigade-Generaal Snellensoon, had arrayed his three motorized formations in line abreast: the Mobile Brigade's left flank was the 4th German Reconnaissance Battalion, under Lt.Colonel. Fritz Luck, while the center was formed by the 1st Atlantean Reconnaissance Battalion, under Lt.Colonel Tauren Thule. The brigade right flank was composed of the 5th German Reconnaissance Battalion, under Lt.Colonel Anton Krebs. Following immediately behind these units to act as the brigade reserve, as and when required, was the 2/1st Belgian Lancers Regiment, under Major Jean Piron. The 2nd Jagers te Paard Regiment, under the temporary command of Lt. Colonel Piet De Vries formed the brigade rear-guard.

The Mobile Brigade had made a reasonablely fast passage to Vaskes from Ladyga, and Wilno resistance to it's advance had been negligent. Gerard was confident that any Wilno National Self-Defense Battalion troops he encountered would be easily swept aside. Despite recommendations by both his staff and subordinate commanders, that some caution was advisable, Gerard ordered his troops to procceed with all dispatch to Vaskes, troops were to keep together as much as possible, and scouting which would waste time was to be dispensed with - Gerard, remarked when one of his staff questioned this somewhat reckless advance "You worry too much, the troops of the Wilno NSD Battalion are a ragged, underarmed, and poorly lead rabble, we'll beat them in a quarter of an hour.". Gerard had not however counted on Lieutenant-General Bartold Jasunski and the Wilno Army of the Northeast, that lay entrenched before him - four Wilno Republican Army battalions of infantry (6,000 men), the WNSD Battalion Cavalry Reserve (800 cavalrymen) and nearly 61 pieces of supporting field artillery (1st Artillery Reserve Battalion and the WNSD Battalion Artillery Reserve). The first warning, that Gerard had that something was awry is when his lead elements encountered a series of well constructed roadblocks as the Moblile Brigade approached the outskirts of Vaskes from the west. Each road block was covered by gun pits housing machineguns and flanked by supporting slit trenches filled with riflemen.

The men of the 5th German Reconnaissance Battalion where the first LoN troops to engage Jasunski's defensive perimeter seriously. Lt.Colonel Anton Krebs, intially tried to use his armoured cars and bull his way through the first roadblock that was encountered. The German armoured cars were met with a virtual hail of fire from, the Wilno entrenchments. Bullets rang off their steel plated hides, while grenades and firebombs were hurled from cover at their flanks as the German vehicles sped forward. With their own weapons spitting fire left and right, the German reconnaissance machines veered away from the roadblock. Krebs, immediatedly realized that he and his troops were in for a real fight and ordered up his heavy support units and his fusiliers. Within minutes, the 5th German Recon Battalion and elements of the the Wilno 4th Army Field Battalion, were hotly engaging each other.

General de Brigade Gerard was surprised when Krebs made his initial report. Moments later, word came into Gerard's HQ, that the 1st Atlantean Recon Battalion had also gone into action, and although they had made some headway against the roadblock they had encountered, they had discovered that they had pushed into a well prepared and well laid defensive line. The Atlantean advance was being fiercely contested by the entrenched Wilno Army 3rd Field Battalion, into who's defensive postions, the Atlanteans had attacked. On the far left, the 4th German Reconnaissance Battalion, forwarned by the sounds of battle to its immediate right and far right, had advanced more cautiously down its own assigned road.

Lt.Colonel Fritz Luck, was thus not particularly surprised when he encountered the first roadlack held elements by the 1st Wilno Army Field Battalion that lay in his path of advance. Lt.Colonel Luck hit the roadblock and its supporting positions with his entire battalion in a combined arms assault. The Wilno troops reeled back under the blistering fire, Luck laid down into their entrenchments, his fusiliers stormed forward under the cover of their armoured cars and heavy weapons teams. The German fusiliers grenaded their way through the gun pits and slit trenches with grim professionalism. The shaken Wilno troops fell back reluctently, fighting with stubborn courage. Luck reported his success and then ordered his men to press forward as quickly as possible to prevent the Wilno troops from rallying.

The commander of the Wilno 1st Field Battalion, Maj.General Witold Haller, however had other ideas, and hurled several rifle platoons forward in a vicious counter-attack against Lt.Colonel Luck's advance. A bitter struggle soon raged amidst farm house and barn, patches of forests, walled orchards and autumn fields. Both German and Wilno troops grabbed cover wherever they could find it as they blazed away at each other. Bullets cracked everywhere, pockmarking the hard ground, trees, fence rails and wooden buildings. The weight of Wilno numbers began to tell, and slowly Luck was forced to order his men to give ground in order to avoid being enveloped.

Heh, that Fusilier company is, in these circumstances, worth it's weight in gold: an armored car company isn't very good at digging hostile troops out of entrenchments, while a motorcycle infantry company, IF it dismounts out of range/sight of the enemy, can do about everything a regular infantry company can.

The other thing this is going to encourage is the development of the "assault gun armored cars", the German armored cars fitted with the 75mm howitzer in the vehicle superstructure. Such things would be just the ticket here to crack open pillboxes and bunkers.

Sweep aside the Wilno troops in your path!!, or Lt.Colonel Tauren Thule will have your sorry hides!!

Woohoo! More Wilno Saga! *Devours in one bite and looks for more*

October 23rd, 1935 - Part B

It dawned on General de Brigade Gerard, that things were not going according to plan. Gerard order Lt. Colonel Thule to press forward as best he could along his line of advance to relieve pressure on Luck's increasingly awkward position. Krebs was also ordered to continue his attack, to which Lt.Colonel Krebs agreed to try, but point-blank asked for reinforcements. Gerard surveying the battle field, found much of it was heavily forested, or covered in dense clusters of farms and orchards with dirt roads, trails and not a few streams criss-crossing it. Thus Gerard could not get a complete picture of the battle, he requested for air reconnaissance as soon as possible, and some minutes later put in a request for tactical air support.

In the meantime, Lt.Colonel Thule, known to the his men as "Thunderbolt" Thule, for his fierce temper, flaming red hair and alarming talent for sulfourous language, prowled his battalion's front line, urging his men forward through the slit trenches they were encountering. Thule, a distant relation of the Imperial Family of Atlantis was anxious that his troops - whom he considered to be the elite of the Atlantean Army - handled themselves in an accomplished and gallant manner that would reflect credit on Atlantis's involvement in the Wilno Crisis.

Maj.General Peter Radowski, commander of the Wilno Army 3rd Field Battalion, was forced to report some thirty minutes into the ongoing engagement, to Lt.General Jasunski that the Atlanteans were gaining a strong foot hold in his battalion's defensive line. Repeated counter-attacks by infantry were only holding the Atlanteans in place. Jasunski ordered Lt.Colonel Rufin Gradawksi to do something about this awkward lodgement. The twenty-four artillery pieces of Gradawski's 1st Army Reserve Artillery Battalion were quickly aligned upon, Thule's men. Well hidden Wilno artillery obersvers quickly gave precise firing instructions to their respective guns, each dug in behind earth and timber redoubts, gunners worked the gun mechanisms to lay the gun on target, slaming home rounds of high explosvie and awaited the order to fire.

Lt. Colonel Gradawski did not wait long in giving the order. First one gun fired, then a second, then a third, then all twenty-four guns were flaming death at the Atlantean reconnaissance troops. The first shells screamed into the Atlanteans, and blew ragged gaps in their advancing battle lines. Here and there a armoured car exploded as it recieved a direct hit. One armoured car, bracketed by two shells to either side was picked up by the double blast and came back down again on its side. Dispite the savage and unexpected shelling, the Atlanteans of the 1st Recon Battalion, tenaciously continued to try and creep forward through the woods, which at least offered some cover from the fire being hurled into them.

Thule, himself nearly killed when a shell demolished his command car, although bloodied by wounds and begrimed by cordite, somehow keeps his men in good order, he quickly realizes he can not go forward, and he is not about to order a retreat. The Atlanteans instead scrape hurried rifle pits or heap together shattered timber and stones to create defensive sangers. Thule spots, Wilno infantry massing amidst the woods ahead and on his left and right flanks. Thule, curses loudly and profanely at the stupidity of General Gerard in leaving the newly organized field artillery behind when it was offered. Lazy arcs of machinegun fire begin to lash his men, tracer rounds crackle and sizzle amidst the trees, as men throw aside entrenching spades and hurriedly hug the earth. Atlantean rifles and unit machine guns crack to life, their muzzles twinkling with bright lights.

General de Brigade Gerard realizes he is rapidly losing control of the battle. He orders elements of the 2nd Jagers te Paard Regiment forward form the rear-guard to support both the 1st Atlantean Recon Battalion, and the 5th German Recon Battalion. Gerard uncharacteristically hesitates to commit the whole of the 2nd Jagers to action at this point. Krebs in the meantime is having his own problems in his battle with the Wilno Army 4th Field Battalion. Maj.General Sidor Malecka's battalion is the joint between the Army of the Northeast and the 9th and 10th NSD Wings, further east of the Wilno Army position. Malecka has not intention of being shoveled out of his position by a pack of jack-booted German invaders. Nor does he intent to allow the Atlanteans on his right to have a free hand of it either.

Maj.General Malecka, blocks Lt. Colonel Krebs stalled advance by reinforcing his front line, with several platoons, a galling fire from a half-dozen of Lt.Colonel Pozarnsky's NSD Artillery Reserve guns makes a German advance even more difficult. Anton Krebs however is a determined and courageous officer, he stubbornly keeps his men at the task, and slowly despite mounting casualties they begin to push slowly forward, if only a yard at a time. Malecka further marshalls several platoons of his battalion reserve against the right flank of the saliant created in Jasunski's first defensive line by the impetuous advance of the Atlanteans. Once the artillery has softed them up, Malecka and Radowski, who has marshalled many of his own reserves against the saliant's center and left flank intend to crush the position with an all out attack. Jasunski lends the two field battalion commanders several of the few Wilno armoured vehicles that he has been hordeing, for just such an occassion.

For Lt. General Bartold Jasunski, the developing battle has gone - so far - rather well all things considered. Jasunski, a hardened veteran, doesn't for a moment expect this state of affairs to last much longer. Although the weather is increasingly cloudly, with a more the definite possiblility of rain, it is still distressingly clear enough for flying. Jasunksi and his staff expect their troop and artillery positions to be bombed and strafed at any minute.

Jasunski decides to take the initative while he has it. Believing that Maj.Generals Radowski and Malecka have matters in hand against the Atlanteans and the Germans, Jasunski considers whether an attack on the German Battalion holding the Mobile Brigade's left flank is worth considering. Maj.General Haller and his men had successfully halted and begun rolling back this particularly advance. Haller's reports had indicated that this LoN battalion's advance was more isolated then the others, several miles separated it from any nearby help, at least as far as Haller's scouts had been able to discover.

Lt.General Jasunski decided abruptly after a survey of some local maps, and tactical dispositions of his troops, that the game was indeed well worth the candle. Jasunski felt, and his staff concurred, that he had an excellent oppertunity to defeat an entire LoN battalion in detail, possibly even annihilate it. Jasunski quickly summoned Maj.General Jarowslaw Laskowska, commander of the Wilno Army 2nd Field Battalion and Lt.Colonel Patryk von Kloskowska, commander of the Wilno NSD Battalion Cavalry Reserve, as well as Lt.Colonels Rufin Gradawski and Aleksandr Pozarnsky of the Army and WNSD Artillery Reserves respectively to his field headquarters. They had to plan quickly and act with all dispatch if they were to take advantage of the chance that they had been offered.

And people grumbled when I suggested that the Hs-123s and the Bulgarians might well be best used to support the Mobile Brigade.

Wow all hell has broken loose around Thules Men!

I assume sangers are shell scrapes?

about that, a sanger is a curved wall or hurriedly built parapet made from earth, rock or stones or whatever is handy - looks rather like a horse-shoe. Often used when digging into the ground isnt fast enough or practical.

So kinda like a cross between a shell scrape and a berm, a hastily prepared defensive possition.

Quoted

Originally posted by Hrolf Hakonson
And people grumbled when I suggested that the Hs-123s and the Bulgarians might well be best used to support the Mobile Brigade.

We did? I don't recall that... The Bulgarians wouldn't really complain; after all, the Bulgarian doctrine views ground-attack aircraft as, well, highly-mobile and long-ranged artillery.

In the Bulgarian Army's after-action report, General Gerard will receive some scathing comments, even if his force is victorious. Leaving behind the artillery is one of the Seven Deadly Sins the Bulgarians list in their tactical manuals...

October 23rd, 1935: Part C

Lt.Colonel Fritz Luck, was considered by his superiors and peers in the German Army to be a man combining in equal measure bravery, profound good sense, a well developed sense of military and personal enterprise and an intuitive feel for a developing tactical situation bordering on the uncanny. Thus his battalion staff, company and platoon commanders were not surprised when he suddenly announced that they were in serious trouble.

Lt.Colonel Luck had realized that there was a definite direction to the pressure that Maj.General Witold Haller`s 1st Field Battalion had been applying to his halted advance, both from his unit commanders reports and his own observations. The 4th German Reconnaissance Battalion was slowly but surely being pushed away from the rest of the LoN Mobile Brigade. Maj. General Haller was shoving more and more of his troops into the gap that was the 4th Recon Battalion`s right flank, then the center or left flank. The fierceness of the Wilno Army assaults on both the German center and left flank had however covered what was happening, until it was too late for the German troops to do anything about it.

Lt.Colonel Luck suspected that this was in fact a prelude to a large attack ment to isolate and destroy his battalion. The critical question, to Luck, was how large an attack, and with what units, the Wilno Army would make such an assault. Luck quickly warned his unit commanders that things were likely to get desperate, he explained his suspicions to them quicky, and a flexiable defense plan was quickly worked out to make maximum use of the battalions armoured cars, scout cars and motor fusilier companies. If Fritz Luck had known that the better part of an artillery battalion, and three infantry/cavalry battalions were about to attack him and his men, he could reasonablely be forgiven for panicking.

Luitenant-General Jurian Klaas Marius van Loon racing from Ladyga, with LoN field batteries "Eisler", "Bolkart" and "Leucht" in tow, hears the firing going on some distance ahead of him. Stopping in a small village, he climbs a church tower to get a view of the surrounding area. Van Loon makes out repeated artillery gun flashes on the horizon, he knows that Gerard has no artillery capably of producing the volume and violence of the fire he his seeing, and realizes a quite significant engagement is in progress.

Van Loon curses Gerard's impatiance, and quickly hurries towards the sounds of increasingly heavy fighting. He pauses only briefly to order the following gunners to press on as quickly as they can, they are making slow progress as they toil along the roads, many of their artillery pieces and ammunition limbers pulled by commendered farm horses. Luitenant-General Van Loon also quickly drafts a report for the LoN Field Headquarters at Ladyga, requests that the preparations of the II Field Corps advance be sped up. Van Loon also sends off messangers to locate the whereabouts of the 1st LoN Field Column and the Legion Oranje. From both units last reports and the plans of the LoN Field Headquarters, Van Loon expects both units to be where they are supposed to be, in point of fact neither are.

The Legion Oranje due to a map error is now almost twenty-five miles from where it's supposed to be and the gap is widening with every minute. Brigade-Generaal Jacob Snellensoon is fact completely unaware of what is happening on his left flank, for that matter no one amougst General de Brigade Yvanne Louis Gerard's staff has even thought to call for help, much less inform General Snellensoon of the situation in which the Mobile Brigade finds itself.

Further north, the 1st LoN Field Column had resumed its own temporarily halted advance, under the enterprising Colonel Zhechev. Due to a staff error, the order placing Colonel Rafail Zhechev under Van Loon's command had been written in French - a language not everyone on Zhechev's staff could speak, much less read. The majority of the men in the 1st LoN Field Column spoke Turkish, German, Dutch, Polish or Lithuanian! Only two offers spoke and read french sufficiently to be considered fluent - Colonel Rafail Knev Zhechev, and Leutnant Hans Geering. When it was delivered after some delay in transit, Zhechev's chief signals officer, a dutchman, Luitenant Willen Vanheijen who's french was perfectly indifferent and who failed to interpret the dispatch's contents properly. The crucial dispatch was absently stuffed in a pocket, with the intention of delivering it to Leutnant Hans Geering, who acted as Colonel Zhechev's chief-of-staff, who had a excellent command of several languages.

Thus, due to a combination of circumstaces, two of Van Loon's three tactical unit commanders where completely unaware of what was happening to the third commander, and each going on with their own preconcieved plans in ignorance of any change in the overall tactical or strategic situation. For that matter one unit commander - Zhechev - was completely unaware that he was even supposed to be taking orders from Van Loon! The situation of the I LoN Field Corps was ripe for potential disaster or at least a serious tactical error in judgemet.

Quoted

Originally posted by Brockpaine

Quoted

Originally posted by Hrolf Hakonson
And people grumbled when I suggested that the Hs-123s and the Bulgarians might well be best used to support the Mobile Brigade.

We did? I don't recall that... The Bulgarians wouldn't really complain; after all, the Bulgarian doctrine views ground-attack aircraft as, well, highly-mobile and long-ranged artillery.

Yep, see your and KK's comments from 3/3.....

Hmmmm. In Luck's position, the choice is either laager up, taking advantage of the fact that the armored cars are not overly vulnerable to rifle fire and moving artillery into position to take them under direct fire exposes that artillery to 20mm fire in return (most of the time, anyway), or look REAL hard at pulling back. The Recon battalions in the Heer are not designed or intended to be used in defense of fixed positions, at most they're intended to provide a screen or a mobile defence. If Luck can disengage the majority of his troops and displace them further to the right, leaving behind a screen that can pull back very rapidly when the actual attack is launched, he'll then be in position to take the enemy under fire or even counter-attack when they're milling around looking for the Germans that aren't where they were supposed to be. (Standard historical German defensive doctrine stuff, when fighting a mobile defence.)

If such a manuever can be pulled off correctly and the Mobile Brigade reserve were in place to launch a counterattack that's coordinated with Luck's troops but from the LoN rear, rather than the right, it could work out perfectly (well, if something distracted the guns, anyway). After all, cavalry in the open doesn't deal well with automatic cannon.....

October 23rd, 1935: Part D

General de Brigade Yvanne Louis Gerard, was quickly appraised of Luck's potentially precarious situation on the Mobile Brigade's left flank. Gerard however chose to ignore it for the time begin, dismissing the suggestion that a serious attack by Wilno forces was possible on that sector of the battle front. Gerard had his attention firmly fixed on his center and right flank, there he saw the battle being won or lost. Gerard felt that Lt.Colonel Luck was being needlessly alarmist in his interpretation of events.

Lt. Colonel Luck, was disatisfied with this state of affairs but quickly moved to put his battalion in readiness for what promised to him, to be a bloody defense. Pulling back his heavy armoured cars as a mobile reserve, Luck carefully dug in half of his fusilier company around a tiny, three building hamlet that marked a nearby cross roads, the farms stood on elevated ground, and with a liberal amount of cover offered by stone or timber walls, farm and out buildings as well as dense clusters of trees, lent itself to a determined defense. Lt.Colonel Luck set up his headquarters in one of the farm houses. Promptly occupying a corner of the roof so as to have a good view of his surroundings. The other half of the fusilier company was held behind the hamlet, in dead ground, mounted up and ready for rapid deployment with the armoured cars. Arrayed at some distance from the hamlet, to its front and flanks, were Luck's two companies of scout cars, acting as a line of mobile outposts. Luck gave his scout car commanders strict orders to observe the advance of any enemy but to fall back promptly if pressed - they were not to court action unless forced to.

Gerard, had after some delay, finally decided to order the 2nd Jagers te Paard Regiment to counter-attack. Gerard felt it necessary to shore up the positions of the advancing - if glacially - 1st Atlantean and 5th German Reconnaissance Battalions. However Gerard lessened the effectiveness of the 2nd Jagers's attack by deploying the regiment between two points, rather then against a single objective. While both Thule and Krebs were relieved to hear that they would be reinforced both were becoming increasingly pessimistic about their changes of pushing forward. The Wilno Army units in front of them were fighting with considerable spirit and skill, and showed no willingness to retreat - in fact they seemed determined to make the LoN troops pay for every foot of ground gained.

Lt.Colonel Thule's Atlanteans had been stopped dead in the debris filled hollow of, a dry river bed or long abandoned sunken road. While they clung stubbornly to this position, the Wilno Army 3rd and 4th Field Battalions poured a deadly fire into their ranks from three sides. An increasingly punishing Wilno artillery fire, threatened to literally blow the Thule and his men out of their dearly bought and held position. However, men of the 2nd Jagers began to filter in slowly, a few platoons at a time, allowing Thule to redeploy his troops and consolitate his lines.

Krebs, similarly found troops of the 2nd Jagers, working their way into his lines, allowing him to start pushing harder on the 4th Field Battalion's lines ahead of him. Lt.Colonel Krebs was able to report some progress after some minutes, Maj.General Malecka was forced to divert more of his reserves to holding up, the LoN troops thrust and cosider briefly calling off his part of the planned counter-attack upon Thule's Battalion. Major Julian Bernacka, commander of the 9th NSD Wing, flanking Malecka's battalion however came to the rescue by deploying a company of his Self-Defense men against the Germans, far right flank, having filtered through the forests and farms and opening up a enfilading fire against them. Lt.Colonel Krebs was forced to pull back his troops and some of the assisting 2nd Jagers to met this new threat.

General de Brigade Gerard, cursed this unexpected upset when it was reported to him. Still there was time to win the battle yet, word had reached him from the Fliegerfuehrer Lituanen in Vilnius, air support and reconnaissance was enroute.

October 23rd, 1935: Part E

While Jasunski and Gerard continued their life and death struggle before Vaskes, other elements of the LoN and Wilno forces fought their own battles. Colonel Stefan Froehlich having ordered his flight commanders and staff to make ready for supporting sorties alongside the LoN Mobile Brigade, was confronted with a rather unpleasant discovery.

A combination of increasingly cold and wet Lithuanian near-winter weather, deliberate under reporting of damage sustained to combat aircraft by their flight crews in recent tactical support and bombing missions - who being young and keen, understandable if unwisely - wished to avoid having their planes grounded, varying degrees of sustained combat damage and an accelated ware and tear on aircraft systems that had never been exposed to combat stresses before. Along with this an increasing number of landing accidents caused by pilot fatigue, aircraft malfunction or air strip conditions had seriously reduced the serviceablity levels of his assembled fighter, dive-bomber and heavy fighter squadrons.

The Fliegerfuehrer Lituanen Headquarters had to report this development to the LoN Field Headquaters in Ladyga. Colonel Froehlich discovered that the increasinly serious differences - both personal and professional - between his Chief-of-Staff, Major Ewald Danneberg, and his Operations Officer, Captain Werner Gladisch, had lead to a large extent to this administrative foul-up. Froehlich now had to deal with an increased committment to air operations with at least 20 - 30% of his aircraft grounded for badly needed maintance or repairs! Losses occassioned by the previous air attacks had yet to be made good, although a steady flow of replacement parts, and aircraft service personel from Koenigsberg was helping to moderate the servicablity issues.

Colonel Stefan Froehlich fuming at the errors and omissions of his subordinates turned his attention to the necessary needs of the LoN Mobile Brigade, locked in fighting with units of the Wilno Republican Army and the Wilno National Self Defense Battalion, just west of Vaskes. Froehlich ordered the Hs-123 squadron to deploy its ten aircraft immediated to General de Brigade Gerard's assistance, with the twenty odd Bulgarian Fw-44 spotter planes to mark important targets such as defensive bunkers and artillery positions with coloured smoke. The Bulgarian flight commanders immediately volunteered to carry additional anti-personel or high explosive bombs and grenades to assist the Luftwaffe pilots in their tactical support duties. Froehlich quickly accepted the generous offer, and worked the assistance of several flights the improvised Bulgarian light "harrassement" bombers into his staff's operational plans. Orders where also given to the pilots of the Luftwaffe Bf-109 fighter planes, which would follow the Hs-123 aircraft in a series of subsequent waves, acting as fighter-bombers. Froehlich decided however to hold his available Fw-187s in reserve to await developments.

Both Lithuanian and Luftwaffe weather reporting services warned, Froehlich, that the weather was turning increasingly bad, heavy rain, even snow could be soon expected both for the 23rd, in the next few day. Periods of good flying weather would thus be sporadic and increasingly difficult to predict. Froehlich authorized his planes and crews to commence support operations while the weather still allowed it.
Froehlich, further ordered his staff to plan and execute an air resupply mission to Vaskes, using all available Junker Ju-52 aircraft to para drop supply cannisters filled with ammo, food and medical supplies to the trapped LoN garrison. This at least came off relatively smoothly, as matters had been taken in hand to get the project ready some days earlier. Colonel Stefan Froehlich repeatedly stressed to his harried and harassed staff, the need to have all the Bulgarian KB309 bombers, and equally all available Ju-87 and Bf-110 aircraft to suppress, Festung Kessel. Flak fire from the Wilno held fortification was expected to play havoc with Luftwaffe flights as they made their runs. Three of the assembled Junker Ju-52 pilots, to the surprise of Froehlich and his staff, volunteered to form a special flight which would attempt to land on the Vaskes airfield directly, carrying vitally needed medical supplies and a team of equally badly needed medics and surgeons. Froehlich, with some reservations authorized the attempt although the risks were considerable, but it was felt that the results justified the effort being made. The air drop was scheduled to occur on the 24th of October, frantic efforts were made LoN troops and Lithuanian authorities to assemble the logistical supplies, hurriedly manufacture the specialized containers to parachute them to the ground safely, crate their contents, and then load them aboard the waiting Ju-52s.

Lt.General Raoul Daufresne de le Chevallerie at the LoN Field Headquarters in Ladyga was sufficiently alarmed by the reports coming from both the field - particularly those from the Mobile Brigade - and the Fliegerfuehrer Lituanen Headquarters to accelerate the planned deployment of the II LoN Field Corps to Vaskes. De le Chevallerie, ordered Lt.Colonel Wilhelm Berlin and his 2nd LoN Field Column to accelerate their advance as soon as possible and try and break into Vaskes from the South or Southeast to assist, the LoN Vaskes East pocket. The 1st LoN Field Column was expected and assumed to be conforming to the orders issued to it by Luitenant-General Van Loon, which in point of fact it wasn't. De le Chevallerie thus believed that Colonel Zhechev would be making an attack slightly to the north of the Mobile Brigade's current position, and thus be able to turn the stubbornly defending Wilno Army's left flank. Zhechev was however still moving on a pre-planned course that would allow his command to attack, Vaskes, from the north however which would allow him to threaten both the Wilno Republican Governmental area and make an effort to help relieve the LoN Field Hospital.

Intensive radio discussions, between General Daufresne de le Chevallerie and General Orbay, warned the LoN garrison to expect relief soon both from the air and the ground. Orbay and his staff, decided it was essential that however that Festung Kessel be fully suppressed or captured before the air drop arrived. Leutnant Hans Oehler was ordered flatly to have every gun available to him ready to bombard Festung Kessel. Oehler warned that his artillery battery was critically short of shells, but would comply with the order, however the effort would almost certainly use up the remaining stock of artillery ammunition, leaving his guns useless. General Kazim Orbay, considered this risk acceptable, in light of the circumstances. Generalmajor Erik Hansen and Lt.Colonel Halik Gurdal were ordered to prepare selected troops, who would be given a priority on being re-equiped with salvaged Wilno armaments and munitions to attack, Festung Kessel.

Both Hansen and Gurdal pointed out to their superior that resistance from the Wilno Self-Defense troops in the Festung Kessel fortifications was likely to be fercious and bitter. General Orbay commented that he expected no less, but Festung Kessel had either to be distracted or taken as soon as possible. After some discussion, the attack was set for the 24th, nothing could be attempted earlier then that date, due to the exhaustion of LoN troops, and the need to reorganize and re-equipe the necessary units. Lt.Colonel Gurdal, decided to commit both the Combined Staff Battalion and the 4th Turkish Armoured Car Company to the attack, Hansen was left with some harder choices due to the state of his command. Hansen after some reflect and not a few arguments amoungst his staff to finally commit, the Dutch Air Support Company "Verstappen" and practically the entire 18th Royal Bulgarian Supply Battalion. The men of the I Battalion/8th Turkish Infantry Regiment, and the III Battalion/39th German Infantry Regiment were judged to be too exhausted and fought out to be used in yet another assault. Furious and indignent protests were voiced by the officers and men of the Turkish and German units, to General Hansen, when they discovered they were to be excluded from this critical operation.

Hansen pointed out to his somewhat disgruntled subordinates, that the two other units were still relatively fresh, while the Turkish and German troops of Vaskes West had been heavily engaged and completely exhausted by the last few days, they were not fit for another bout of what promised to an intensive round of combat. Further Hansen remarked, with the redeployment of the Dutch and Bulgarian troops for the attack, the Turkish and German troops would have to take up the defense of the whole Vaskes West perimeter. Admittedly, Hansen commented, this would stretch these troops thin, but it was a mission well within their capacity.

Marshal Letowska, despite being admament about launching counter-attacks against LoN positions in Vaskes, was quickly disabused of the idea once he had taken a quick tour of the Wilno NSD Battalions front lines and had a chance to talk and interact with the fleeing men and officers. Letowska was to witness first hand the impossiblility of his orders being obeyed - the soldiers of the Konarski Grand Wing were in complete disarray, incapable of mounting an attack, much less recieving one. Diaster loomed alarmingly for the Wilno Republic, if the LoN Mobile Brigade managed to break through the units of the Wilno Army. Letowska once he'd swallowed his pride, quickly set to work to inspire morale, stimulate fighting spirit and fashion a creditable defense. Marshal Letowska hurriedly consulted with the commanders of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th NSD Wings, and agreed to a sharp withdrawl of the demoralized and ill-equiped troops (many of them had tossed aside their field equipment and weapons in their flight) to the Wilno Republican Governmental Area in northern Vaskes. These troops joined the 4th NSD Wing under Major Ujejski, already entrenched in the Governmental Area. Majors Bazala, Bryzska, Syborski and Kosowski made it clear that any offensive operation was out of the question, a defense might be managed with what remained of the wings, but only after they had had time to rest and refit, two things that might be in very short supply.

Bedraggled elements of the four NSD Wings had taken refuge in Festung Kessel, along side the orginal garrison assigned to it, although no one was incrediblely - in the confused press of events - designated commander of the vital fortification. The previous acting commandant, a NSD company commander, had been killed during the Dutch assault party's failed attempt to take the work. Major-General Konarski, however calmly and resolutely without orders from Marshal Letowska walked into the lines of the Festung and took command upon himself, much to the surprise and relief of the anxious fortress garrison. Konarski worked immediately to shore up and ready the ruined defenses with what time, manpower and materials allowed, Konarski made it repeatedly clear to the Wilno Self-Defense men in Festung Kessel that they were the bastion of the Wilno Republic - under no circumstances could the fortification fall back into LoN hands, while they were able to offer resistance.

While Marshal Letowska worked tirelessly to cobble together the defenses northern Vaskes, Lt.Colonel Koberba, worked with the 6th and 8th Wings to salvage something of the situation in Central Vaskes. Neither Majors Liszcz or Michalak were at all hopeful of their troops being able to hold out against a serious, especially sustained LoN attack in their area. Major Goclawski reported to Koberba, whom he was nominally subordinated to, although in effect distance and the terrain between and from the other wings practically made him an independent operating body, that he could remain on the defensive in eastern Vaskes for the time being.

Koberba, decided to abandon his previous gains against the central Vaskes pocket, and consolitate his troops, closer to Major Goclawski's isolated command. This would pull him slightly to the east of the Wilno Governmental Area, potentially uncovering its western and southern approaches but Koberba regarded it as an acceptable risk, he would not risk being defeated in detail in the positions he currently occupied - besides, Goclawski possessed the only available field artillery, which would be the rock of any defense he attempted to offer to a LoN attack. Goclawski was further instructed to withdraw from his positions within the LoN Field Hospital, he could leave a screening group if he desired, to keep the LoN troops attention, and mask his withdraw, but he was not to be drawn into further fighting to take the Field Hospital.

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