Chapter 53. The Great Distraction
- Location
- Romania
Chapter 53. The Great Distraction
Before the start of Operation Barbarossa, the Empire had several problems which asked for a solution:
Therefore, during the months prior to the invasion of the Soviet Union, the Imperial military commanders concocted a devious plan, meant to alleviate the issues stated above and to attain several important objectives:
When, on the 20th of May, Hitler informed Anne of the date of the invasion (the 1st of June), the Imperial war plans in the Levant were put in motion with great haste, not with the expected invasion of Kurdistan but with a rather unlikely target: the British Crown Colony of Cyprus.
22-29 May 1941, Cyprus
Because the Romanians had a very weak navy and because they had never shown any interest in Cyprus, not even bothering to bomb it, the British were pretty confident that the island was safe from attack and, due to other constraints elsewhere, maintained a rather weak garrison in Cyprus. The sudden and massive Imperial invasion of Cyprus and, above all, the airborne deployment of troops, came as a great shock for the British.
During the early hours of the 22nd of May, hundreds of Imperial bombers pounded the British defences, followed by other hundreds of transport planes spitting not bombs but more than ten thousand paratroopers which managed to take military important positions on the northern shore of the island as well as parts of Nicosia, including the airport. Later that day, with Imperial aerial dominance over the northern part of Cyprus firmly established, further transport planes began to land in Nicosia, unloading more and more soldiers and military equipment.
Early next morning, the civilian population of Nicosia and much of northern Cyprus woke up to an announcement proclaiming the end of the British colonial rule and the annexation of the majority Greek island to Greece. Obviously, most Turkish inhabitants were not thrilled but, just like the Greeks, those who did not actively resist the invasion (that is, almost all of them) became loyal Imperial subjects on the spot.
After a couple of battles in the interior of Cyprus during the 24th and the 25th, the British defenders began their retreat towards the Royal Navy bases of Akrotiri and Dhekelia in the south of the island. The reality was, that, despite their best efforts, the British control of Cyprus was doomed. Romania had deployed more than fifty thousand troops in the island, with ten thousand more being added each day. The British simply had no way to maintain parity, especially when their soldiers were badly needed in Syria and Iraq and the British metropole was one hundred times further away than the nearby Imperial shores of southern Anatolia.
On the 26, the British decided to evacuate Cyprus and, between the 27th and the 29th, the Royal Navy successfully evacuated the majority of their remaining forces and blew up the military and naval installations before departing for Lebanon.
23 May 1941
Anne: "But, Comrade..."
Stalin: "Chairman Stalin would be better, your Majesty. I am only the comrade of the workers and peasants, of my fellow Communists."
Anne: "Oh, that's so sad... But you know, I'm a Communist as well. Let's see... Communal working in agriculture, check. Free education, check. Free healthcare, check. Paid holidays for workers, check. Increased social equality, as the rich are donating part of their wealth to the common cause, check. See, I'm a Communist, not a Marxist though, but a Communist nonetheless."
Stalin: "Firstly, it doesn't work that way and, secondly, that is completely irrelevant. I will not allow you to occupy Kurdistan, whose purpose as a buffer is important to us."
Anne: "But... Oh... You are really afraid that you will be next, don't you? Do you really think that, while we are fighting the British in the south, we still have the means to attack you as well?"
Stalin: "What I believe does not matter. I do not want Kurdistan turned into a Romanian province. And that is my last word on that matter."
Anne: "Will you start a war with us? Over Kurdistan?"
Stalin: "I would not like that but my words must be backed up military might, if necessary. It is really up to you."
Anne: "I see. I bet that Herr Hitler would be very pleased to see the Red Army deployed in Turkey against us, instead of guarding the very heart of your country."
Stalin: "Are you really threatening me with a German invasion? Don't you think that our men would have noticed some signs if such an endeavour were under preparation? Or just even under consideration for that matter? I'm really sorry, but I have to call your bluff."
Anne: "Well, you can't say I didn't try. Good bye, Comrade Stalin. And good luck."
23-28 May 1941, Kurdistan
With forward units of the Imperial Army already massed on the border between Cilicia and Kurdistan, the Imperial Government asked the Kurdish authorities to allow them free access to the entire Kurdish territory, in order to start military operations against the British occupied Syria and Iraq. Two hours later, the Kurds accepted the ultimatum and the Imperial troops began to pour into Kurdistan, taking control of the country.
The Soviets protested vehemently but stopped short of an actual declaration of war. Nonetheless, the Red Army started to take positions close to the Imperial and Kurdish borders in Anatolia, more Soviet reinforcements were called to be deployed in Turkey and the Soviet Generals began to plan a pre-emptive attack against the Empire. As we already know though, there was no time for that, as Barbarossa was to start in less than one week.
The British forces in the Levant, however, were long prepared for that eventuality and, less than 48 hours after the Romanians entered Kurdistan, they mounted a concerted attack in Syrian and Iraqi Kurdistan, aiming for Kirkuk and Erbil but failing to take either of them before the arrival of the Romanian reinforcements.
On the 28th, Kurdistan was admitted to the Empire as its tenth Federal State.
With increasingly bitter fighting between the Romanians and the British in Kurdistan and the Levant, the Soviets became convinced that fighting the British had indeed been the real purpose of the Romanian takeover of Kurdistan. The ruse had worked. The Empire continued to send important military effectives into Kurdistan, from which a small part was diverted towards the southern frontlines while the larger part was massed in the proximity of the border with Soviet Turkey. While most countries went to great lengths to avoid a two-front war, the Empire entered into one on purpose.
27-31 May 1941, the Levant
The British defenders would have stood a better chance of keeping the front stable if not for the sudden and widespread Arab armed insurrection in both northern Syria and northern Iraq. Squeezed between the powerful Imperial Army and the fanatical insurgents, the British quickly began to fall back. In a matter of days, the British had vacated their gains in Kurdistan and the Romanians crossed the borders of both Iraq and Syria, reaching the outskirts of Aleppo, Raqqa and Mosul which were already in full revolt by then. Only the start of Barbarossa, one day later, stopped the British from evacuating the three cities and made them decide for a desperate last stand instead.
29-31 May 1941, Constantinople, International Zone of the Straits
Two days before the start of Barbarossa and on the symbolic day marking the anniversary of the Fall of Constantinople, Anne announced the unilateral termination of the International Administration in the Straits Zone and its official annexation to the Empire.
"After 488 years of foreign domination, the Holy Capital and the very heart of our Empire is finally reunited with the motherland for all eternity."
According to the secret treaties between them, both Italy and Germany recognized the Romanian annexation of the Straits. Obviously, the Soviets did not, threatened with war and issued a 48 hours ultimatum to the Empire to rescind the annexation.
On the 30th, the Romanian soldiers already deployed in the Straits Zone began to be supplemented by a constant stream of fresh troops from across the borders with Thrace and Ionia.
The following day at noon, the Soviet Union declared war to the Empire. All along the very long Anatolian border, clashes between the Soviet and the Imperial Army marked the beginning of the War in the East, almost fourteen hours before the start of Barbarossa. Anne's timing had been perfect. The Empire had not joined the German invasion of the Soviet Union because they were already at war.
Before the start of Operation Barbarossa, the Empire had several problems which asked for a solution:
- It had a very large army but not enough space to deploy it. The Dniester border with Soviet Ukraine was rather short and the German Reich did not allow the deployment of any Romanian forces further north, in the German Protectorate of Poland. The borders with Soviet Turkey were very long and convoluted but the depth of the Romanian territory in Anatolia was limited and the movement of troops was hampered by the difficult terrain and limited infrastructure, especially in the south.
- A massive deployment of the Imperial military in Anatolia could have attracted attention, resulting in increased Soviet awareness of the impeding attack.
- A large number of loyal subjects lived under British occupation in easternmost Cilicia, the Hatay, northern Syria and northern Iraq. The British and the Commonwealth armies in the Levant were pitifully small compared to the enormous Imperial military but the frontline was so short that the deployment of significant Imperial forces was all but impossible. In fact, the very difficult logistical situation had been the main cause for the loss of the Levant, a humiliation which the Empire was keen to avenge.
- The large Kurdish buffer state blocked many major routes of attack against both the Soviets in the north and the British in the south, greatly hampering the Imperial logistics in the whole area.
Therefore, during the months prior to the invasion of the Soviet Union, the Imperial military commanders concocted a devious plan, meant to alleviate the issues stated above and to attain several important objectives:
- To distract the Soviet leadership with a renewed Imperial offensive against the British in the Levant.
- To conquer neutral Kurdistan, while providing a reasonable motive, i.e. the need to move large amounts of troops against the British positions in Syria and Iraq.
- To achieve a possible Soviet declaration of war, thus avoiding the stain of an unprovoked invasion of Soviet territory.
- To significantly lengthen the frontlines with Soviet Turkey, at the same time obtaining more strategic depth in the area, a larger territory in which to deploy forces and more manpower for the Empire.
When, on the 20th of May, Hitler informed Anne of the date of the invasion (the 1st of June), the Imperial war plans in the Levant were put in motion with great haste, not with the expected invasion of Kurdistan but with a rather unlikely target: the British Crown Colony of Cyprus.
22-29 May 1941, Cyprus
Because the Romanians had a very weak navy and because they had never shown any interest in Cyprus, not even bothering to bomb it, the British were pretty confident that the island was safe from attack and, due to other constraints elsewhere, maintained a rather weak garrison in Cyprus. The sudden and massive Imperial invasion of Cyprus and, above all, the airborne deployment of troops, came as a great shock for the British.
During the early hours of the 22nd of May, hundreds of Imperial bombers pounded the British defences, followed by other hundreds of transport planes spitting not bombs but more than ten thousand paratroopers which managed to take military important positions on the northern shore of the island as well as parts of Nicosia, including the airport. Later that day, with Imperial aerial dominance over the northern part of Cyprus firmly established, further transport planes began to land in Nicosia, unloading more and more soldiers and military equipment.
Early next morning, the civilian population of Nicosia and much of northern Cyprus woke up to an announcement proclaiming the end of the British colonial rule and the annexation of the majority Greek island to Greece. Obviously, most Turkish inhabitants were not thrilled but, just like the Greeks, those who did not actively resist the invasion (that is, almost all of them) became loyal Imperial subjects on the spot.
After a couple of battles in the interior of Cyprus during the 24th and the 25th, the British defenders began their retreat towards the Royal Navy bases of Akrotiri and Dhekelia in the south of the island. The reality was, that, despite their best efforts, the British control of Cyprus was doomed. Romania had deployed more than fifty thousand troops in the island, with ten thousand more being added each day. The British simply had no way to maintain parity, especially when their soldiers were badly needed in Syria and Iraq and the British metropole was one hundred times further away than the nearby Imperial shores of southern Anatolia.
On the 26, the British decided to evacuate Cyprus and, between the 27th and the 29th, the Royal Navy successfully evacuated the majority of their remaining forces and blew up the military and naval installations before departing for Lebanon.
23 May 1941
Anne: "But, Comrade..."
Stalin: "Chairman Stalin would be better, your Majesty. I am only the comrade of the workers and peasants, of my fellow Communists."
Anne: "Oh, that's so sad... But you know, I'm a Communist as well. Let's see... Communal working in agriculture, check. Free education, check. Free healthcare, check. Paid holidays for workers, check. Increased social equality, as the rich are donating part of their wealth to the common cause, check. See, I'm a Communist, not a Marxist though, but a Communist nonetheless."
Stalin: "Firstly, it doesn't work that way and, secondly, that is completely irrelevant. I will not allow you to occupy Kurdistan, whose purpose as a buffer is important to us."
Anne: "But... Oh... You are really afraid that you will be next, don't you? Do you really think that, while we are fighting the British in the south, we still have the means to attack you as well?"
Stalin: "What I believe does not matter. I do not want Kurdistan turned into a Romanian province. And that is my last word on that matter."
Anne: "Will you start a war with us? Over Kurdistan?"
Stalin: "I would not like that but my words must be backed up military might, if necessary. It is really up to you."
Anne: "I see. I bet that Herr Hitler would be very pleased to see the Red Army deployed in Turkey against us, instead of guarding the very heart of your country."
Stalin: "Are you really threatening me with a German invasion? Don't you think that our men would have noticed some signs if such an endeavour were under preparation? Or just even under consideration for that matter? I'm really sorry, but I have to call your bluff."
Anne: "Well, you can't say I didn't try. Good bye, Comrade Stalin. And good luck."
23-28 May 1941, Kurdistan
With forward units of the Imperial Army already massed on the border between Cilicia and Kurdistan, the Imperial Government asked the Kurdish authorities to allow them free access to the entire Kurdish territory, in order to start military operations against the British occupied Syria and Iraq. Two hours later, the Kurds accepted the ultimatum and the Imperial troops began to pour into Kurdistan, taking control of the country.
The Soviets protested vehemently but stopped short of an actual declaration of war. Nonetheless, the Red Army started to take positions close to the Imperial and Kurdish borders in Anatolia, more Soviet reinforcements were called to be deployed in Turkey and the Soviet Generals began to plan a pre-emptive attack against the Empire. As we already know though, there was no time for that, as Barbarossa was to start in less than one week.
The British forces in the Levant, however, were long prepared for that eventuality and, less than 48 hours after the Romanians entered Kurdistan, they mounted a concerted attack in Syrian and Iraqi Kurdistan, aiming for Kirkuk and Erbil but failing to take either of them before the arrival of the Romanian reinforcements.
On the 28th, Kurdistan was admitted to the Empire as its tenth Federal State.
With increasingly bitter fighting between the Romanians and the British in Kurdistan and the Levant, the Soviets became convinced that fighting the British had indeed been the real purpose of the Romanian takeover of Kurdistan. The ruse had worked. The Empire continued to send important military effectives into Kurdistan, from which a small part was diverted towards the southern frontlines while the larger part was massed in the proximity of the border with Soviet Turkey. While most countries went to great lengths to avoid a two-front war, the Empire entered into one on purpose.
27-31 May 1941, the Levant
The British defenders would have stood a better chance of keeping the front stable if not for the sudden and widespread Arab armed insurrection in both northern Syria and northern Iraq. Squeezed between the powerful Imperial Army and the fanatical insurgents, the British quickly began to fall back. In a matter of days, the British had vacated their gains in Kurdistan and the Romanians crossed the borders of both Iraq and Syria, reaching the outskirts of Aleppo, Raqqa and Mosul which were already in full revolt by then. Only the start of Barbarossa, one day later, stopped the British from evacuating the three cities and made them decide for a desperate last stand instead.
29-31 May 1941, Constantinople, International Zone of the Straits
Two days before the start of Barbarossa and on the symbolic day marking the anniversary of the Fall of Constantinople, Anne announced the unilateral termination of the International Administration in the Straits Zone and its official annexation to the Empire.
"After 488 years of foreign domination, the Holy Capital and the very heart of our Empire is finally reunited with the motherland for all eternity."
According to the secret treaties between them, both Italy and Germany recognized the Romanian annexation of the Straits. Obviously, the Soviets did not, threatened with war and issued a 48 hours ultimatum to the Empire to rescind the annexation.
On the 30th, the Romanian soldiers already deployed in the Straits Zone began to be supplemented by a constant stream of fresh troops from across the borders with Thrace and Ionia.
The following day at noon, the Soviet Union declared war to the Empire. All along the very long Anatolian border, clashes between the Soviet and the Imperial Army marked the beginning of the War in the East, almost fourteen hours before the start of Barbarossa. Anne's timing had been perfect. The Empire had not joined the German invasion of the Soviet Union because they were already at war.
