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.
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.
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.
Return of the Ottomans
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