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Return of the Ottomans
I'm testing the scenario packages "Return of the Ottomans" regarding a hypothetical Turkish invasion of Bulgaria. Here is an AAR regarding the first 3 scenarios (more will follow). The first scenario is a Bulgarian delay (actually an ambush) while the other two are Turkish assaults.
Mission 1: Ambush at Route 7. The Bulgarian covering battalion managed to ambush a large part of the advancing 55th Mechanized brigade. The Turks came under a torrent of small arms fire and RPGs, suffering heavy casualties. They did show considerable bravery in regrouping and firing back at their attackers, causing significant casualties of their own. Eventually, the Bulgarians were forced to retreat under heavy artillery fire. In addition to that, the Turks tried to advance towards the left highway, but received ATGM fire, losing 5 APCs and one tank. They managed to eliminate the threat under combination of artillery fire and infantry attacks. In the end, the Bulgarians managed to delay the Turkish brigade, causing significant casualties to it as well (246 men+13 tanks). It was a crucial first victory for the Bulgarian army. https://imgur.com/vtVqLj9 Mission 2: assault on Balko Tarnovo This time I command the forward elements of the Turkish 65th Mechanized Brigade making a secondary attack towards the forested mountainous terrain of Balko Tarnovo. There is only a single narrow road, which makes maneuvering impossible. The limited time (20 turns) as well as the fact that the objective is worth 0 points, makes me adopt a slow, methodical attack, with lots of artillery shelling and slow advances. In general the Bulgarian resistance is minimal, with isolated platoons in the forrest ambushing my troops and occasional mortar shelling. I lose one APC to an RPG and one jeep with an FO from a mortar, as well as a handful of dismounted infantry, but I slowly press on, eliminating any squad that reveals itself. Bulgarian RPGs must be really old, for they fail to fuse at least 3 times. That saves my APCs on these occasions. The end result is a draw as can be seen from the screen. https://imgur.com/Ovg4M8u I’ve managed to keep my casualties to a minimum, but I’ve only made it halfway to the end objective. More battles have to be done by the 65th in order to break through. Seeing the dispositions in the end, verifies my suspicions. The town itself has the majority of the defending battalion, thus I had no chance of capturing it in the time frame available. Mission 4: Assault on Elhovo 55th Mechanized continues its advance after the disastrous ambush along route 7. The Bulgarians have managed to mobilize their 2nd Mechanized Brigade and have taken defensive positions. The Recon battalion of the brigade managed to find a gap into the Bulgarian defense centered around the town of Elhovo. A mechanized infantry battlegroup is formed to assault and seize Elhovo. In addition to this, the armored elements of the brigade are tasked with a diversionary attack to the south of the town to draw attention from the battlegroup’s advance. The plan goes smoothly in the first 10 turns. Straight out of Turkish army handbook, the town is brutally shelled, while dismounted elements supported by armor advance inside the urban area slowly but surely. The town is eerily quiet though. No signs of any resistance are visible, which worries me. In the south, two M60A3 tank platoons are the first armored elements advancing. The tanks spot some BTRs and fire at them, while also calling for artillery strikes with DPICM munitions. Soon, 7 BTRs are up in flames. The Turkish attack causes the Bulgarians to react, and the latter shell the tanks with mortar fire. In addition to that, Su-25 appear in the sky. Turkish air defenses shoot down 2 of them and damage one more, but the Su-25s manage to destroy 2 Turkish tanks in their attack run. While elements of the northern battlegroup move into the town, more Su-25s appear in the sky (it feels as if the whole Bulgarian air force is moving against the 55th. Despite the formidable SAM umbrella, some aircraft go through and they manage to knock out 8 M109 SP howitzers and 1 Rapier SAM. 2 more Rapier SAMs are destroyed by 122mm artillery, which also starts to fall down on the Turkish equivalent. The Turks use their own arty to fire CM on the revealed Bulgarian artillery, destroying 5 artillery pieces in the end. Thanks to tank support, slow and careful movement and lots and lots of artillery, the Turks are able to capture the important town despite fierce close quarters fighting. Casualties are acceptable, while the Bulgarian brigade suffers much more serious casualties. The Turkish advance can resume now. Result: MV. Turks lost 4 tanks in total, 5 SPGs and 3 SAMs. https://imgur.com/9V72CjB |
Re: Return of the Ottomans
As usual, I cannot edit my post. I'll try to post the final screens of all 3 missions again.
https://i.imgur.com/vtVqLj9.png https://i.imgur.com/Ovg4M8u.png https://i.imgur.com/9V72CjB.png In case they do not show again, the results are: Mission 1: Bulgarian DV Bulgaria Turkey Men 98 246 Artillery 0 0 Soft Skins 2 0 APCs 0 20 AFVs 0 15 Helos 0 0 Aircraft 0 0 Mission 2: Turkey Bulgaria Men 42 110 Artillery 0 0 Soft Skins 0 0 APCs 2 0 AFVs 0 0 Helos 0 0 Aircraft 0 0 Mission 3: Turkey Bulgaria Men 75 323 Artillery 0 2 Soft Skins 2 5 APCs 0 39 AFVs 12 11 Helos 0 0 Aircraft 0 9 |
Re: Return of the Ottomans
Mission 5: The battle of Plovdiv.
Turks advance deep into Bulgaria. Their main strategic objective is the capital of Bulgaria, Sofia. Their route passes near another very important city, Plovdiv. Plovdiv has to be captured, or its garrison fixed in placed and bypassed if the Turkish drive towards Sofia is to succeed. In this battle I take the scenario designer’s advice and pick Bulgaria, even though it is not player #1. A quick survey of the battlefield shows that there are two main sets of objective: the villages north of Plovdiv (that are in the way of the main line of communication) and Plovdiv itself. Like I mentioned before, the Turks can just capture the first set to bypass the defenders, so if they manage that, I will counterattack the Turkish force (this would be the most probable response anyway). As usual, most of Bulgaria’s army is infantry. In addition to that, some 82mm mortars and a 152mm battery is at my disposal, plus two T-72M2 tank companies. This force has little mobility, the T72s at least have thermals so they are worth something, but the Turks have also attack helicopters, so I need to cause lots of casualties in dogged defense and hope for the best. In the first turns I see the first elements of my opponent. A mechanized force, with several M60A3 tanks and for the first time, attack helos as well. The latter are always a problem, thus I need to minimize their impact on the battle. Some T72 from inside Plovdiv shoot at the attackers’ left flank and the result is one M60A3 damaged and one Cobra armored car destroyed. The Cobras (the attack helos) are fired by MANPADs and reply with rocket and 20mm fire. I plot artillery strikes on the road that the Turkish armored columns take, hoping to disrupt the attackers. Turkish artillery fire first, causing some disruption to my ranks. In addition to that, a HUGE enemy air formation, of about 20 F4s and 20 F16s (!!!) engage my forces. I lose several BMPs, 4 tanks and some trucks and MANPADs to this menacing force. My tanks manage to destroy 3 Turkish tanks, but suffer 3 more casualties from enemy helos. My artillery causes some superficial damage to the Turkish force, but one howitzer is attacked inside Plovdiv from scouts that managed to sneak inside the city. Turks approach the first crossroad (from now on nicknamed Derventski crossroads from the captain responsible for its defense). Despite heavy artillery fire, Turkish infantry disembark from their APCs and engage the Bulgarians in fierce close combat. At turn 11, they finally capture the crossroads, but casualties are mounting at the attacker side. Bulgarian tank fire knock out several Turkish APCs and M60A3 tanks as well (tank casualties are 8 Bulgarian tanks to 10 Turkish so far). My tank effectiveness increases when I realize how stupid I was the previous 10 turns. How so? By not realizing that the Turkish attack helicopters have a vision of 30, thus not being able to fire through smoke. Since my tanks have thermals, I can just pop smoke and either pick up Turkish APCs, or duel with tanks (and my tanks have the advantage there, thanks to the better frontal armor of the T72M2). And to think that 6 of the 8 tanks I’ve lost were knocked out by attack helos launching TOWs… Turks advance towards the northwestern suburb, in order to at least secure the highway north of Plovdiv. Bulgarian tankers cause significant casualties to Turkish tanks and APCs, but also suffer casualties on their own. In the suburb, close combat infantry fighting erupts and the Turkish advance is stalled. The advance on the NW suburb is slow and bloody. Bulgarian infantry make any dismounted advance costly and the T72s make any tank advance just as costly. In the end the Turks cannot secure the highway north of Plovdiv and were nowhere near assaulting the city, let alone capture it. Final result is as follows: https://i.imgur.com/5yTAGzQ.png Turks lost 29 M60A3s (plus 7 more immobilized) and a Cobra attack helicopter. Bulgarians lost 17 T72M2s (only remain). In total the Turkish force was composed of 56 tanks, 14 Cobras, 20 F4 2000s and 20 F16s (yes, I’ve actually counted them all), making it officially the most aviation heavy scenario I have ever played. Despite this, the air force was only marginally effective, Turkish artillery was ineffective and only the Cobras were the stars of the Turkish side, since they claimed 12 of the 17 tanks lost from me (another one from a M60A3 and the other 4 from the fixed wing aircraft). End result? Bulgarian minor victory. The Turkish offensive has to stop its advance, losing valuable time and enabling the Bulgarians to continue their resistance. Invasion was not a walk in the park as the Turks had hoped… |
Re: Return of the Ottomans
Scenario 6: assault at Ruse
In this scenario, the Romanians enter the war. Their first action was to “secure” the Bulgarian border city of Ruse, which is directly to the east of the Danube bank. A single bridge separates the two countries. The official reasoning for this was the protection of ethnic Romanians in the region, but Turkish high command believes that Romanians want to secure Ruse and use it as a staging ground for their counteroffensive against Turkish forces. Therefore, one reserve Turkish mechanized brigade is ordered to assault Ruse and throw the Romanians back to the western side of the Danube. The Turkish brigade that has the mission of assaulting Ruse has obsolete equipment. The brigade’s tank battalion is equipped with aging M48A5 tanks, and the infantry rides M113A2 APCs. Fire support is minimal; only the infantry battalions’ mortars and a M109 platoon will be used. Air support will also be used in the form of 8 F16s. The brigade will attack Ruse from 2 separate axes. One column will attack from the northeast, one from the southeast. The two columns are almost identical in strength, with one mechanized infantry battalion, one tank company and one anti-tank company in each. I will organize every column into battlegroups, each having a tank platoon of 5 M48s, one mechanized company, 2 M901 tank destroyers and a couple of mortar carriers. The battle will be given in night, with visibility being a paltry 3. That means that infantry will hardly be able to spot anything and I will have to rely on vehicles, artillery spotters and ATGMs. Situation is further complicated by the fact that we are forbidden from firing towards Romanian soil (the west bank of the river), except for self defense. That means that I cannot conduct counter-battery or counter AA fire missions, or use my aircraft to eliminate these. With these things in mind I begin my attack (in this scenario I play as the Turks). A map of the whole area, showing the main maneuvers (in red), the area of Ruse proper (in blue) and the final frontline (in yellow) is given below: https://i.imgur.com/NPdBxmI.png Here’s the report of the battle: My northern wing advanced to about 1.5 kms from Ruse, where it was subjected to intense artillery fire, both from conventional and ICM. Casualties were serious, even in tanks since M48s are essentially tin cans in 2016. Nevertheless, my forces reached Ruse proper, where intense infantry firefights erupted. The advance has bogged down at around turn 6. My southern wing advanced up until the lead elements came under fire from dug in Romanian tanks. I do spot them , but my tanks are unable to penetrate the front armor of their opponents. The Romanians us the TR-85M Bizonul, an improved variant of the T55. Its frontal turret armor is 58, which make them practically immune to any munition the M48 carries. After the brief tank duel that made me lose two tanks, I withdraw out of range. For dealing with Romanian tanks, my solution will have Desert Fox flair. Just as Rommel dealt with the heavily armored British Matildas by luring them into 88mm gun range, I intended to use my tanks to make TR-85s to reveal their position and then whack them with TOW missiles from my M901s, or Milan 3s from dismounts. My air force will also help with knocking out some tanks and other high value targets. In addition to that, the southern wing had split as shown in the map, with about half of its force going next to the crop fields, using them as concealment, since some units that I sent them in this direction to scout, have encountered no enemy units. The above tactics have helped my forces to enter Ruse from the south as well, at which point resistance became fierce. In addition to small arms fire and the occasional SPG-9 fire, dug in tanks are also encounter inside the streets of the city itself. The above tactic cannot help me in this regard, so I make a slight variation. I use my infantry to make Romanian tankers to focus on them, while I use my tanks to hit them from the flanks of rear. This tactic is successful, but costly, as my tanks also suffer serious casualties. In the end, I manage to capture around 55% of the city (also visible to the map). Final results are here: https://i.imgur.com/3SGVWkh.png The end result is a draw, although I consider it a pyrrhic Turkish victory. I did manage to capture the bridge connecting Ruse with the Romanian side (IRL the Romanian city of Giurgiu, with the bridge ironically known as the Ruse-Giurgiu friendship bridge), therefore cutting the remaining Romanian forces off from reinforcements and supply. The fight isn’t over, with even fiercer close combat fighting expected in the coming days. Both sides had serious casualties which will affect their combat performance. Tank losses: 20 M48A5 for Turkey, 25 TR-85 for Romania. I also lost one of the precious M901s as well. Most of my tanks were destroyed by Romanian tanks, with several also knocked down by ICM launched by artillery and one also destroyed by an SPG-9. The latter show how horribly obsolete my tanks were. Most of Romanian armor was knocked down by ATGMs in the open, and flanking shots from Turkish tanks inside the city. Next scenario that I will play will be the Romanian Block. |
Re: Return of the Ottomans
Apparently, I missed adding these to the last patch... I thought I had gathered everything but I guess not
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Re: Return of the Ottomans
Please be aware that due to changes in the V12 Turkish OOB's there are problems reported with Sofia 1 and Sofia 3.( units will be missing....)
These "Ottoman" scenario did not make it to the last patch and were therefore not corrected for OOB changes made |
Re: Return of the Ottomans
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Re: Return of the Ottomans
I renumbered and saved before I looked at them because I didn't want to overwrite existing scenarios in my working game......do some of the originals have excess map area ??? the Malko Tarnovo one I have is half empty and that Ruse scenario you just tested is missing all of the Turkish Tanks if run in V12
http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/attac...1&d=1523551928 I am working on correcting the entire series to work with V12 now....... |
Re: Return of the Ottomans
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If you manage to upgrade them that will be great news. |
Re: Return of the Ottomans
I have the changes made including trimming the Malko Tarnovo to the full playing area without excess....some of the other do show blank areas but that one, in particular, needed to be trimmed as the excess serves no purpose at all. I will run some more checks then post them all on the scenarios subforum ( then you can patch your game )
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Re: Return of the Ottomans
Scenario 7: Romanian Block
In this scenario, I have an understrength Turkish mechanized infantry battalion trying to open the mountain passes in the Bulgarian-Turkish border that have being blocked by Romanian mountain troops airlifted to the area. As always, I have to be methodical about this, since not taking casualties is very important. The map of the battlefield is the following: https://i.imgur.com/Xe1enwi.png The report of the battle is: The first Turkish unit that appeared on the map was a single mechanized platoon, shown at position (1). This unit advanced to secure the crossroads at (2). There it was engaged by a Romanian mountain infantry platoon. After heavy fighting, in which a pair of SU-25s appeared to support the Romanian platoon, both opponents had their respective units mutually eliminated. At around turn 4, the rest of the battalion started to appear north of location (3). Turkish units advanced up to the beginning of the woods at (4), where the lead elements came under intense rifle, MG and recoilless rifle fire from Romanian units, arranged in an L shaped ambush formation as shown in a blue line. 3 APCs were destroyed, and 2 rifle squads became combat ineffective. Eventually, thanks to skillful use of smoke, APC fire and close assault by the infantry, Turks managed to clear the northern edge of the wood at (5). Mortar fire, dismounts drawing enemy fire and intense APC fire helped suppress the Romanians at the southern edge of the L. The SU-25s continue to interdict my units up until turn 15, destroying 4 APCs in total. Turks managed to break through at (5), as well as through the road at (6). Mutual support between dismounted infantry and APCs helped keep casualties to a minimum, but still I lose one APC and several infantrymen. Fighting happens at 200 meters at most and this is inevitable. Eventually, I manage to neutralize the resistance around the road and several APCs dash forward to secure the road at (7). At (8) is the maximum extent of my advance when the time ends. Result is: https://i.imgur.com/1XhtWeg.png Turks managed to clear most of the road, but with heavy casualties for both sides. End result is a draw. |
Re: Return of the Ottomans
The renumbered and corrected set for V12 is HERE
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Re: Return of the Ottomans
Because the ERA M60's that were used in ( as I recall...) two of the Sofia scenarios did not actually exist I had to choose between making the replacements either more or less capable and because there were only a few of them in each I went with more capable so in the revised version they have the M60T with the 120mm guns ( and reactive armour )..so they will be a bit more capable than those M48's
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Re: Return of the Ottomans
Advance on Sofia part 1
The Turkish advance to Sofia has begun. The first objective is the control of a pass that is defended by Bulgarian units. The Turkish 1st Armored Brigade spearheads the advance, but the advancing elements are short on infantry. Instead, an airmobile battalion will support by an air assault. In the beginning of the battle, I have the airmobile battalion and a cavalry platoon (or troop depending on the army). My tank support, a tank battalion equipped with M60Ts) will arrive starting from turn 6. My plan is as follows: the airmobile battalion (-3 platoons) will use the woods to the south for masking and will land directly behind the objective line, the road between the wooded area. From there it will try to secure the objective flags that are to the rear, dig in and wait to be relieved. The 3 platoons that remain will be used to support the Turkish armor that arrives. The Cobra helicopters that I have (4 in total) will support the air assault operation when it begins. The map of the battle is the following: https://i.imgur.com/YfR2a18.png The battle report follows. My helicopters come under intense MANPADs fire from the positions (1), (2) and (3). One Puma transport and one Cobra attack helo are shot down (and I also lose one Milan team). Nevertheless, my remaining Cobras and heavy MG fire eliminate the thread very soon. Small arms fire hits every helicopter that reveals itself from the same positions. In addition to that, I receive ATGM fire from position (4) that force 2 helicopters to withdraw, and also knock down one of my 2 M60A3s that belong to the Cavalry troop. The Cobras and mortar fire eliminate that threat as well. After I deal with the initial fire, I begin my air assault, shown with the tilted red arrow passing through the woods to the south. I do receive some small arms fire from scout at (5), but nevertheless, I manage to infiltrate. I land my troops at position (6), airmobile infantry, 120mm mortars; 81mm mortars a 105mm howitzer and heavy MGs. This force moves northeast and encounters light resistance. I find 2 82mm mortars at (7) that were firing at my position and take care of them. Alas, a M-2001 tank company shown at (8) shows up. Serbs volunteers fighting for Bulgarians? Who knows? Anyway, they fire at my helicopters, destroying 3 of them and forcing the others to withdraw. I do manage to knock down 2 tanks with a Cobra and a Milan, but the tanks are successful in shooting down my attack helo. The tanks force my airmobile force to take a defensive posture, making only small probes to the south. Soon however, my tank force shows up (Turn 6 to 10). The tanks, supported by the 3 airmobile platoons that stayed back, advance forward like a steamroller, finding and clearing resistance from the blue positions (9), (10), (11) and (12). Thanks to the combined arms force of M60Ts, airmobile infantry and indirect fire support, I capture all objectives. I decided to attack the tank force to (8). The result is not in my favor, since I lose 5 M60Ts to 2 M-2001s (I damage one more). The game ends and the final results are: https://i.imgur.com/7aiMLSD.png The game is a draw. The Turks secure the forest road, but the unexpected arrival of Serbian tank reinforcements halt their advance. To be frank, the last battle is what has cost me the marginal victory I believe (each M60T is worth 505 points, so I lost 2525 points in the final turn). But the tank battle between the two forces was totally worth it so it does not matter.:D Anyway, this is my last battle with the last patch. The final two missions will be played with the V12 missions. |
Re: Return of the Ottomans
Advance to Sofia part 2: they shall not pass!
The Turkish 1st Armored Brigade has managed to clear the first pass towards Sofia. Unfortunately for them, the resistance of the M-2001 tank company seen in the previous scenario gave time to a Serbian mechanized brigade to come to the aid of Bulgarians. The brigade has dug in around the small town to the northwest of the pass previously seen in the last scenario and will conduct an area defense to delay the Turks from their advance northwest. A battalion of M-2001 tanks will support the infantrymen, and SPG battery and MRL Plamen battery will conduct fire support. There are 4 L-39 Bulgarian military trainer aircraft that will attempt to perform CAS. In addition to that, if the Turks strike the artillery park of the Serbs, allied Polish and Czech aircraft are free to strike at the Turks, as this will violate a no-fly zone above the aforementioned area. The map of the battlefield is the following one: https://i.imgur.com/AS3aZ7l.png Battle report: The 1st Armored advanced outside the woods to engage the Serbian forces around. Serbs are dug in an L shaped formation (1) to the south, to the north at position (2), inside the town at (3). There is a second line of defense composed mostly of AA at (4), while at (5) and (6) are the SPGs and MRLs respectively. The Turkish advance at (7) is met by direct and indirect fire from Serbian M-80 IFVs, MG positions, mortars and other artillery, while the MRLs interdict the Turkish advance, causing casualties. The Turks break up their force and advance at 3 different axes. The one at (8) was engaged by Serbian tanks and IFV and could not advance. The Turks tried to counter with Cobra attack helos and F-16s, but the Serbian AA (Tunguskas and Sa-10 Gopher SAMs) made them pay dearly for that. After around turn 8, 4 Cobra helicopters and 7 F-16s are shot out of the sky, with the rest of the aviation retreating from the battlefield. The Turkish air strikes knock out 3 M-2001s while some Milan ATGMs manage to destroy 2 more by the end of the game. At (9), Turkish mechanized infantry and around 25 tanks assaulted the Serbian positions at (1). Serbian tank fire knock out the majority of Turkish armor, while the latter manage to knock out 1 M-2001. 5 more are eliminated by Milan ATGMs and heavy artillery fire. In the end, only some dismounts manage to reach the forward Serbian positions, and fail to proceed any further. The Turks also advance at (10) after they eliminate the Serbian infantry platoon forward of them and reach the town, with some vehicles entering it. One M60A3 inside the town is knocked out by a M-80 firing its 30mm cannon at the tanks rear at close range. The other vehicles, APCs, are knocked out by IFVs and man portable AT weapons. Turkish infantry is unable to support. Serbian reinforcements arrive. One tank company and a helicopter flight. The latter maneuver around the woods at (11) and strike the Turkish artillery park. 9 artillery pieces are knocked out by the end of the game. In addition to that, my MRLs conduct counterbattery fire, destroying 2 T-122 Sakarya MRLs. Finally, my own air strikes of L-39 were also totally ineffective, aided by my own negligence (I didn’t change the air strike path and my planes flew over the Turkish forces. While their AA are mediocre, the volume of fire was enough to shoot down all of my planes, aided by the fact the L-39 is not the fastest, not the sturdiest plane out there). In conclusion, Turks cannot advance past around 1 km beyond the woods. The total losses are: https://i.imgur.com/CfutOIz.png Serbs lost 9 M-2001 tanks, 2 Tunguskas, 1 Sa-10 SAM, 1 MRL and 4 L-39 aircraft. Turks lost 34 M-60A3 tanks, 5 Firtina SPGs, 2 M-110s SPGs, 2 T-122 MRLs, 4 Cobra attack helicopters and 7 F-16 aircraft. The end result is a Serbian minor victory, which gives them the opportunity to withdraw in good order (they have to withdraw because of ammo shortages and the numerical superiority of the Turks). The final line of defense will just outside of Sofia itself. Unfortunately, since the Turkish air force did not strike my forces at (6), I could not unleash the allied air force on them. But, judging from the final score, that may be redundant. |
Re: Return of the Ottomans
Advance to Sofia part 3: Sofia through binoculars
The final battle of the series is the Turkish advance towards the Bulgarian capital. The outskirts of the city are visible on the western side of the map. The defenders are mostly the Serbian forces, composed of a tank company, an artillery battery, a MRL battery, a helicopter flight and a paratrooper battalion hidden in the woods. Serbs will get the rest of the mechanized brigade (two tank companies and a mechanized rifle battalion) as reinforcements later. The Turkish forces that will be used to attack the defenders of Sofia will be the 1st Armored Brigade again, augmented with elements of the 23rd motorized division, since the former suffered significant losses in the previous battle. The map of the battlefield is the following: https://i.imgur.com/EDfBIm6.png Battle report: The Turkish forces advance towards Sofia. Their movement look more like a probe, than a full scale assault. When they are in position (1) they get engaged by my helicopters and also bombarded by artillery. As a result the force is seriously disrupted. My paratrooper battalion at (3) moves forward. Its mission is to scout the enemy dispositions and make small ambushes when necessary. In general, it is successful in its mission, but the paras suffer serious losses from the Turkish artillery. The Turkish forward element advance to their maximum extent at (2). At that point, I receive my reinforcements. The tank company (4) and mechanized company (5) will form one combat team, company (6) will join the tank company already deployed at (9) and (7) and (8) will be the final combat team. My plan changes from defense to counterattack, as I estimate I have the superiority in armor to do so. Due to that, the rest of the battle resembles more of a meeting engagement than a set piece assault. Initially, my tanks wipe out the forward Turkish elements. Every combat team moves forward as shown by the blue arrows. Turkish artillery manages to cause some casualties on my APCs, but my movement is not slowed down in general. When the southern combat team reached position (2), they come under fire from Turkish tanks deployed in (10). A fierce tank battle develops, where the Turks lose more than 10 tanks for no losses on my own. Hidden ZTA TOW tank destroyers manage to damage to of my tanks. Aided by artillery support (which can come very accurately thanks to the Paras) I suppress the tank destroyers and finally knock them out by accurate tank fire. Probably the most dangerous Turkish weapon for my tanks is out of action. Brilliant! The center wing also moves forward. More tank fire manages to damage two of my tanks and knock out one. The retribution is swift, and disproportionally more effective. The combat team deploys at village (11), where it overwatches the movement of the northern combat team. The northern combat team moves forward, engaging the Turkish infantry that appears in front of it a position (12). After fierce close combat fighting, the infantry is annihilated and both central and northern combat teams can move forward. The southern also follows soon. The Turks have two more tank positions at (13) and (14). Since they are comprised of M60A3s, they cannot do anything but die valiantly. In a frontal engagement, the M-2001 is definitely superior to the M-60A3 in every aspect. My forces move forward, all combat teams now combined, and they receive more tank fire from positions (15) and (16). This time, the more capable M-60Ts are my opponents. They manage to knock out 5 of my M-2001s, but thanks to superiority in numbers and aided by artillery strikes, I manage to destroy all M-60Ts (well, there were only 4 of them). My forces come out of the woods, where an impressive spectacle awaits them: around 100 BTR-80s, as well as the artillery park of the enemy awaits them in the circle at (17). The outcome cannot really be described as a battle, but rather as a turkey shoot (pun intended). My tanks and artillery have a field day, destroying around 60 vehicles by the end of the scenario. It is a disaster for the Turks. Nevertheless, one final attack is being made by the Turkish forces. An M60A3 tank company, makes a maneuver at (18). They come out of the woods and find my own artillery park at (19). I lose 4 Plamen MRLs to tank fire and I’m forced to relocate my artillery. The battle ends soon, and the Serbs have pulled off an amazing victory! Total losses are: https://i.imgur.com/k28D8L5.png Serbs lose 6 M-2001 MBTs and 5 MRLs. Turkish losses are much more severe. They lose 42 M60A3 tanks, 4 M60T tanks, 2 ZTA tank destroyers, 2 Firtina SPGs, 4 M-110 SPGs, 15 T-122 Sakarya MRLs. The 1st Armored is practically destroyed and the 23rd motorized infantry division has taken severe losses and is combat ineffective. The Turkish offensive is stopped dead in its tracks. The Turkish newspaper Hurriyet, publishes an article in which it claims that the Bulgarians were saved by a huge European coalition aimed at denying Turkey the right to protect its minority in Bulgaria. It also remarks that 620 Turkish soldiers have martyred with many more wounded and missing, but their opponents have approximately 10000 casualties in total. The chief of general staff of Turkey announces that the goal of the offensive is achieved, and the Turkish army will switch to defensive posture to protect its gains. The Serbian commander, Major Obranovic, received a hero’s welcome in Serbia, while his conduct of the defense of Sofia was covered by every military form of media in the Balkans. So this concludes the Return of the Ottomans scenario package. Total losses of all factions are given below: Turkey 3876 men 333 APC 151 tanks 3 tank destroyers 13 SPGs 17 MRLs 10 AA vehicles 7 attack helicopters 4 transport helicopters 7 aircraft Bulgaria 1248 men 17 APC 17 tanks 13 aircraft Romania 650 men 31 APC 25 tanks Serbia 499 men 37 APCs 19 tanks 3 AA vehicles 6 MRLs |
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