October 24th, 1935:
While Luitenant-Generaal Jurian van Loon spent the night of the 23rd/24th marshalling his troops towards their rendevouz point to the northwest of Vaskes, for another attack upon the Wilno defenders. Van Loon was determined to strike a critical blow against either the Wilno Army now dug in less then three miles to the west of Vaskes, or against the equally dug in 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th NSD Wings, holding out in the northern Vaskes. Van Loon, decided after considerable and heated argument from Lt.Colonel Tauren Thule, that the badly mauled 1st Atlantean Reconnaissance Battalion would be left behind at the rendevouz point to act as a reserve unit and guard for the I LoN Field Corps supply trains.
Lieutenant-General Raoul Daufresne de le Chevalerie was directing his own troops to slowly contact and then surround the Wilno Army of the Northeast. The 5th Bulgarian Infantry Division was the first to make contact with the Wilno Army defensive position, as it's own reconnaissance unit and forward infantry pickets took over from several Belgian Lancer scouting detachments that Major Jean Piron had left behind to guide the advancing II LoN Field Corps to it's target, and maintain observation of the then retiring Wilno Army. Major-General Theodosi Petrov Daskalov, a clean-shaven, dark haired, solemn faced regular soldier moved up on foot just before dawn to personally recon the situation confronting his division.
What Daskalov saw, he didn't like. The industrious Wilno soldiers had built up a creditable defensive line, which while lacking in depth, or heavy fortifications, made up for it in desperate improvision. Wilno troops, had hacked down trees, tore up farm fences and even farm houses and out building, literally anything they could lay their hands on build up their field works. Hastily dug earth and timber-clad bunkers or gun pits now housed the Wilno Army's remaining artillery pieces, trenches and rifle pits concealed and protected the Wilno infantry battalions and their remaining support weapons. Crudely constructed and sand-bagged, earth and stone redoubts anchored the Wilno defensive position's corners, each strongly posted with men and machine-guns as could be spared. Troops could be seen to be working feverishly, putting on finishing touches to these defenses, and even to be a second "inner" defensive line to compliment the "outer" one.
Major-General Daskalov noted that the Wilno artillery had been sited with great care, to give each of the guns the widest arc of fire possible, and so placed as to be sufficiently far apart from one another as not to be endangered by massed counter-battery fire on a single position. Major-General Daskalov also noted and reports from both his own men and the Belgian Lancers confirmed it, that the Wilno field works while surprisingly extensive, where in point of fact, very thinly manned. Lt.General Jasunski and his field battalion commanders had obviously felt forced to spread their troops out to cover as wide a front as possible - not being sure in which direction the next LoN attack would come - and being forced to cover as much of the western approaches to Vaskes, which created a perilously thin battle line, with few if any tactical reserves immediately behind it.
Lieutenant-General Bartold Jasunski had in fact placed the 1st Field Battalion on the western side of his defensive box, with the 2nd Field Battalion forming the northern side, while the 3rd Field Battalion formed the southern side. The combined 9th/10th NSD Wing, held the eastern side of the defensive box, placing it the furthest away at least in theory from any League of Nations attack. The 4th Field Battalion however was stationed within the rough center of the defensive position, to act as a tactical reserve, and further guard Jasunski's headquarters and the remaining store of munitions, food, water and medicinal supplies possessed by the Army of the Northeast.
Major-General Daskalov was soon joined an hour after dawn by Lt. General Daufresne de la Chevalerie, after a short conference, they decided that the Bulgarians would make a perlimenary assault the western side of the Wilno Army's position, while the 3rd Dutch Marine Brigade and 1st Atlantean Expeditionary Division worked their way around the northern and southern sides. Daufresne de la Chevalerie was particularly anxious to pin the Wilno Army in place, and prevent it's retreating into Vaskes, or escaping into the countryside to continue the fight if the first option wasn't in the Wilno Army's immediate planning.
Both Luitenant-Generaal Henrius Fabius and Major-General Arikus Patreaus immediately objected to this plan when it was presented to them. The three LoN divisions of the II LoN Field Corps were not yet concentrated for effective action, many of their units were still struggling up along congested, waterlogged and mud clogged roads. The storms of unexpected snow and sleet during the night hadn't helped either. The LoN troops and their equipment were frozen, wet, covered in mud and ice, and while general morale and fighting spirit was excellent, many of the men were tired and worn by their hard marching. Many units were badly strung out from straggling, or had much of their supporting vehicles or artillery caught axel deep in mud.
Only a third of the 5th Bulgarian Infantry Division was at present actually in position to launch an attack, while the lead elements of the 1st Atlantean Expeditionary Division would not be in a position to do so, for several hours, Major-General Patreus's staff estimated, they would not be in an viable attack position until at least late afternoon. The 3rd Dutch Marine Brigade was in somewhat better position, in that at least one of it's regiments - the 31st Marine - and some of it's supporting artillery elements had gained a position to the northwest of the Wilno Army sufficient to launch at least a limited auxiliary attack, but the main body of the marine brigade was still at least two to three hours behind.
In light of this, Daufresne de le Chevalerie was forced to seriously consider calling off any attack, at least at ground level, for the day. The weather while still atrocious, seemed to be lifting, and offered the possibility of assistance from the air, via the Fliegerfuehrer Lituanen. Colonel Stefan Froehlich however advised de le Chevalerie that both tactical and heavier air support would be available to the II LoN Field Corps throughout the day, as weather permitted. Froehlich and his staff had worked through the night to put the finishing touchs on their planned supply lift into the LoN Vaskes Garrision's defensive perimeter. All transport, fighter and bomber aircraft had been checked, readied and armed or loaded, and stood awaiting finally instructions on the Vilnius air field's various runways.
With these considerations in mind, Lt.General Daufresne de le Chevalerie decided to proceed with a probing attack by the available elements of the 5th Bulgarian Infantry Division, regardless of the II LoN Field Corps's current logistical and tactical circumstances.
Major-General Daskalov and his divisonal staff were not particularly surprised, and had already worked out a limited attack plan, based around what units were immediatedly to hand, against a salient position that projected somewhat from the Wilno Army's main defensive line. Dubbed, incidently by both sides, the "Crooked J" redoubt, because of it's odd shape. The defensive work, constructed of earthen parapets, rough timber and ramparts generously reinforced with sand-bags, was manned by several platoons of riflemen, three heavy machine guns and a single 76.2-mm artillery piece. The redoubt was partially but effectively isolated from the Wilno line, by several knots of trees and thick undergrowth, and a generous scattering of rocky, broken ground on it's flanks and rear.
Major-General Daskalov, decided to mass the bulk of his divisional artillery, the 20th Bulgarian Field Artillery regiment against the Wilno defensive work, both to pound it heavily before he sent in his infantry to try and take the position, and isolate it with massed fire from any possible relief attempts from it's flanking positions or the Wilno Army's interior lines. The cold and wet but determined artillerymen of the 20th Field Artillery Regiment had managed to drag up and position three batteries of 105-mm howitzers, three batteries of 76.2-mm field guns, and three batteries of 76.2-mm mountain howitzers, placing some thirty-six guns at Daskalov's immediate disposal. Sufficient he judged for his purposes. The 1st Bulgarian Artillery Regiment with its mass of 105-mm and 149-mm weapons was still ponderously moving up into battery, and would not be immediately available for the attack.
The infantry component of the attack would be consist of the I, II, and III Battalions of the 13th Bulgarian Grenadier Regiment, along with their regimental support company of six light field guns and nine light mortars. The I Battalion/14th Bulgarian Infantry Regiment was near at hand and would presently be available to serve as a reserve, should it become necessary.
Lt.General Daufresne de le Chevalerie, briefly reviewed, Daskalov's plan, and without comment ok'd them. The 5th Bulgarian Division was to commence it's attack as soon as the artillery and infantry were ready. At 10 am, sweating Bulgarian gunners, aligned and calibrated their artillery pieces, teams of loaders readied a mix of smoke and high explosive shells, everyone awaited the order to fire.
The men of the 13th Bulgarian Grenadier Regiment in their mud and water stained, tabacco-brown uniforms, waited tensely, silently, their rifles shouldered, with bayonets fixed, with selected men carrying satchels of grenades slung over their shoulders. Men' breath fogged copiously in the cold morning air, frost and fog hung still over everything and everyone. Officers, clasped whistles in their gloved fists to signal the attack, while,their non-commissioned subordinates, dressed the ranks, making sure everything was in order.
Major-General Theodosi Petrov Daskalov, lifted his field glasses, and aligned them on the Wilno redoubt. He could make out the little in the creeping icy fog that blanketted the area as the sun struggled upwards in the dawn sky. The fog mixed with a light drizzle of rain, and the occassional snow flurries. He could make out a few blurry shapes, manning sections of the entrenchments, Wilno sentries keeping a watch for the LoN troops they knew to be approaching them, although neither they or their commander Lt.General Bartold Jasunski had any idea just what was about to hit them. A Bulgarian aide-de-camp, beside Daskalov briefly consulted a watch. It was 10:15 am. Major-General Daskalov, nodded once, the aide-de-camp turned and signalled to a field telephone operator a few paces away, a single sharp order was barked into the mouth piece.
It was 10:17 am, the thirty-six guns of 20th Bulgarian Field Artillery Regiment, fired in anger for the first time.
What Lt.General Raoul Daufresne de le Chevalerie had intended as merely a limited feint or pinning attack against a portion of the Wilno Army was unexpectedly about to enter history not as a skirmish or even an action but as the Battle of the Crooked J Redoubt.
This post has been edited 7 times, last edit by "Agent148" (Jan 28th 2010, 6:24am)