WesWorld

Persian Navy HQ Bandar Abbas, 09:47hrs, February 18th 1940

Admiral Farook, Commander in Chief of the Persian Navy, hang up the phone but his aide noted he was fuming.

"Something wrong, Sir?" asked the young man.

"Yes. The damn Bharatis are telling me we will start the construction of a light carrier very soon and to budget for that eventuality. Bastards! They know our budget is limited due to the purchase of the heavy cruiser. I tried to explain our issues but they pretty much told me it was my problem and to find a way to make it so. That means the needed new destroyers will be canceled." lamented Farook.

"But what can we do, Sir? inquired the aide

"What else? To play with the budget so we can pay for the cruiser and built the damn carrier the Bharatis want in our fleet." was the resigned response of Farook.

An interesting development. No doubt the Bharatis will furnish the design, oversee construction, and second a crew to man her when finished. The fate of a marionette.

One day they might revolt against their imperial masters...

Still it's keeping Persia's already badly mauled fleet in poor shape. One day that might prove a liability if Persia finds itself on the frontline and if the Bharati government needs to look for reinforcements only to find the cupboard is bare.

Turkey would like to feel sorry for Persia, but it really doesn't. Relations with both Persia and India are not the greatest but with India shifting Persia's focus towards their own needs that means Persia can't go off being expantionist in the west.

April 3rd 1940 In a short note to the press the Naval Ministry announced that they have purchased from the United States the fomer cruiser Pensacola. It was stated the name will carry the name Kaveh in Persian service but delivery will wait until the ship receives a life extension refit in the United States.

In an unrelated sidebar the Ministry also announced they will fund the construction of a new light carrier to be built in India later on the year. The projected name of the ship will be the Oqab.

Quoted

Originally posted by perdedor99


In an unrelated sidebar the Ministry also announced they will fund the construction of a new light carrier to be built in India later on the year. The projected name of the ship will be the Oqab.

Siphoning off those funds will undoubtedly make the average Persian citizen very happy.

Quoted

Originally posted by BruceDuncan
Siphoning off those funds will undoubtedly make the average Persian citizen very happy.

Somehow I think the average Persian citizen's opinion is probably

"This sucks, but if I say this sucks they'll kill me. Therefore, I'll say this rocks."

Quoted

Originally posted by Sachmle

Quoted

Originally posted by BruceDuncan
Siphoning off those funds will undoubtedly make the average Persian citizen very happy.

Somehow I think the average Persian citizen's opinion is probably

"This sucks, but if I say this sucks they'll kill me. Therefore, I'll say this rocks."

So very Eastern Europish....

...on the Caspian the next few years.

That is a Good Thing.

Quoted

Originally posted by AdmKuznetsov
...on the Caspian the next few years.

That is a Good Thing.

We have the agreement with Azerbaijan and Russia to keep the numbers the same in the Caspian Sea IIRC. The agreement runs until the end of 1942 IIRC. So there is no new construction there for at least a while.

Correct.

Hall of Majlis, Tehran, 12:33hrs, August 21st 1940

The Speaker of the Majlis Mohammad Ali Foroughi Zoka-ol-Molk stared at the two officers in front him and knew the day was already turning into a very bad one. The economy was still on shambles even a year after the end of the War; the majority of the petrol revenues were being expended in reconstruction but it was not enough. Even worse, the partisan activity near the Afghanistan border made impossible for his government to demobilize troops to the workforce. Privately the most he hated of all this was the importance the females have acquired in the workforce, with many of them holding well paying jobs while their husbands are away fighting partisans. The Bharatis are forcing his Government to spend valuable resources in acquiring ships that serve no purpose to the needs of the Persian fleet, the carrier being built in India the biggest example of this. And now his Commander in Chief of the Army and the Commander of the Pushtigabans are sitting on his office, probably to ask for more money.

"So what you gentlemen need?" asked Ali.

General Ahmad Amir-Ahmadi was the first to speak. “The ongoing operation by the League seems to be working at least on our advantage. Partisan activity since the beginning of the month has being almost nil. I think is time to announce a General Amnesty. That will weaken even further the forces of Parwiz in my opinion. Something to think about for the traitor’s forces while facing the League’s soldiers. If everything goes well we could be able to demobilize at least two infantry divisions next year.”

"I will run the idea of an amnesty through the Majlis but you know that it will be probably be approved. Anything else Ahmad?" asked Ali.

Ahmad responded, "We need to upgrade our armored and support elements in our divisions."

"Remember the Pushtigabans have priority over any other units." interrupted Major General Sadi, Commander of the Pushtigabans.

Great! They will be asking for money. Was Ali’s thought before responding, “So what are your needs, Sadi?”

“We need to replace the 25mm AT guns with 50mm Bharati guns. The War showed us the 25mm are about useless against modern vehicles. Also the need to replace the Bille light tanks is paramount.” Said Sadi.

“And what you recommend, General?” asked Ali.

“To buy more Skoda-Davao Lt-33P (1) and to replace the Bille’s in my division’s order of battle. Also the Legionares need to be replaced. I recommend buying Bharati Argun C tanks.” Was the response of Sadi.

“So you want to purchase over 150 tanks, not including spares for the vehicles on your unit? The shock in Ali’s voice was slightly hidden but not enough. “And what about the Billes and Legionares in your unit?

“They could be used to create independent support battalions for our units near the Western borders.” Responded Sadi without hesitation.

Ahmad coughed knowing perfectly well manning those tanks will eliminate the benefits of his proposal to demobilize two divisions but kept quiet in that regard, instead he presented his sale pitch.

“We have responses in the positive from Denmark. They are willing to sell more of their tandem AT motorcycles and their excellent Sandspringer AT vehicles. Enough to replace losses from the War and create two additional battalions of Sandspringers for the Intervention Divisions.”

“Are they are willing to actually do that?’ asked Ali.

Ahmad responded, “They don't seem to care about the political implications of selling to us. And that is a good thing. This purchase would help to improve the AT capabilities of our elite units but I have another concern.”

“And?” said Ali

“The British are amicable to continue to sell machinegun carriers to us but the need to replace the older light tanks they provided to us during the War exists. We inquired with them if it was possible to acquire some of their newer light tanks; this was rejected. Pretty much we have over 100 worn out ex-British tanks in need of replacement. The donations by Bharat of even more worn out Kachhuaa tankettes only compounds the problem. That is why I think the way to go is to order 150 Lt-33P tanks to Skoda-Davao to replace the ex-British and ex-Bharati light tanks laying around.”

Ali rubbed his eyes and sighted. “Gentlemen, get some estimates of the cost involved and I will try to make the Majlis accept the release of the funds as you requested.” He sighted again, his thoughts being of a victory by the League in Afghanistan will goes a long way in helping reduce the size of the Army and the costs involved.

(1) A Lt-33 designed in Skoda-Davao but with a 50mm Bharati made gun.

Quoted

Originally posted by perdedor99
Ahmad responded, “Is not like they had a lot of sales of late so they were able to give us a nice price for them.

"Not a lot of sales"? Bulgaria ordered 325 assault guns from the Danes back in late 1939, plus a similar order for halftracks...

Quoted

Originally posted by Brockpaine

Quoted

Originally posted by perdedor99
Ahmad responded, “Is not like they had a lot of sales of late so they were able to give us a nice price for them.

"Not a lot of sales"? Bulgaria ordered 325 assault guns from the Danes back in late 1939, plus a similar order for halftracks...

Will adjust. That happens when you fail to do proper research.

Well, looking back, I think we both forgot to announce it. I had to find the quantities in my PMs...

Persian Navy HQ Bandar Abbas, 13:21hrs, September 7th 1940

"Yes, the Bharati are syphoning a sizable part of our budget," Admiral Farook spoke into his phone,"that is one of the reasons we are thinking about selling the Vendidad and the Azerbaijan. However, even without building the light carrier we would have been hard press to refit both those ships and her sister ship. Mind as well is better to sell them now while they were still valuable and get funds to refit the remaining Isfahan into a needed anti air cruiser next year than waiting until their value goes down. Another reason is the need to free crewmen for the coming ships like the Kaveh and the Oqab."

The Commander of the Persian Navy listened to the phone before responding to the inquiry on the other side of the line. "Yes Mr. Speaker, the Bharatis have promised to sell us seven destroyers at cost. We will have to pay for the refit but at the most we will give them only a life extension refit. Also by the middle of next year the payments for the Kaveh will be completed and needed ships are being budgeted for next year building plan as we speak."

Farook stopped talking and listened to the voice on the other side before responding, nodding to himself. "Plans for a reform of the aviation branch are already in progress." He listened again to the Speaker in Tehran for at least a minute before ending the call with a short "Thank you, Mr. Speaker."

Farook put the handset back in the cradle, smiled and shook his head. "So the new Bharati Prime Minister promised the Speaker that after the light carrier is completed for our fleet they will not ask for anything else in future plans? Let's see how long that last." was his thought while thinking about how to fit the Oqab in the Persian Squadron ibased in Mumbai.

Bharat's Prime Minister Office, Hyderabad, 09:18hrs, September 23rd 1940

The Speaker of the Majlis Mohammad Ali Foroughi Zoka-ol-Molk sat down facing the new Bharati Prime Minister and noticed he still was wearing his uniform. So the Bharatis’ serving soldiers are now taking over the civilian positions? Interesting. His train of thought was interrupted by his host’s voice.

“Mr. Speaker, thank you for coming to Hyderabad in such short notice but I wanted to see you face to face instead of the impersonal letters or telephone. Our nations are joined now thanks to your efforts and I thought it was convenient for us together to plan for the future.”

Mohammad was surprised that actually the Bharati wanted to hear his opinion. I guess time will tell if they will hear my opinions or just dictated terms . He thought before responding. “I thank you for the courtesy but let me be frank. Your nation has dictated terms so far to our Navy, I’m seeing the BRA increasing in size instead of the other way around and more Bharati laborers are moving into Persia every day to built the Abadan-Karachi Railroad Line. These examples seem hardly the work of equals.”

Paswan nodded. “I understand your concerns but you have to see our points. Your nation’s economy is still recovering from the Civil War, partisan activity abounds in your border with Afghanistan and the plans of my predecessor hurt even further the standing of your nation in the region. For that last thing I apologize.” Paswan stopped for a second to sip from his tea cup. “Your nation needs peace to recover. I hope we both agree in this point. However, the need to defend yourself from your neighbors still exists and we consider that a joint effort in regard to defensive dispositions will work better for both our nations. That is the reason Admiral Farook has being sitting in our meetings. The reason the BRA has increased in size and the reason of the Abadan-Karachi line.”

Mohammad wasn’t too convinced by the response of Paswan but he considered it was not the time to discuss the other man point of view. Instead he nodded to his aide, who pass to Paswan’s aide a lot of documentation. “As you requested here is an examination of our political system. My question is why you requested this?

“Because my dear Mr. Speaker,” responded Paswan, “this time your nation is forcing change in Bharat.”

So that is the case? Thought Mohammad. I really hope for the best.

Persian Army GHQ, 09;24hrs, September 23rd 1940

General Ahmad Amir-Ahmadi read the names on the list and nodded in approval. Very good candidates , was his thought while he continued to scan the list. He knew these men will be the cadre that will train the expected new units. He knew the Bharati consider these kind of units as a waste of resources but he believed they were wrong. As such he signed the approval to sent the men on the list for training in Japan.