The Three Kings; a Serbian Kaiserreich AAR Part 2
Published: 2017-06-18, edited: 2017-06-19
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"Austrian forces only managed to occupy Serbia itself in late 1915 and only then because of the entrance of Bulgaria in the war. After the war, Serbia’s southern territories were handed over to Bulgaria whilst the remainder was kept under Austrian occupation until 1926 when the Austrians were forced to withdraw their troops due to ethnic tensions elsewhere in the Empire - but only after setting up a new government formed from ex-collaborators. Since then Serbia has struggled to survive keeping a low profile in light of the knowledge that she could not stand up to any sort of military attack. Over time however the government has become increasingly anti-Austrian and jingoistic and knowing that they could not hope to defeat Austria they have instead turned their attentions southwards towards the lands occupied by Bulgaria. Several diplomatic talks have already been conducted with the Romanian and Greek governments (who also lost territory to Bulgaria) with a view to undermining Bulgarian hegemony in the region and some say talk of a formal alliance is not far off. Can Serbia successfully steer a course to triumph in the ‘Bulgarian Matter’? And if so can she finally defeat the old enemy Austria and realise her dream of a pan-Slavic Union?" - Taken directly from Kaiserreich
"Austrian forces only managed to occupy Serbia itself in late 1915 and only then because of the entrance of Bulgaria in the war. After the war, Serbia’s southern territories were handed over to Bulgaria whilst the remainder was kept under Austrian occupation until 1926 when the Austrians were forced to withdraw their troops due to ethnic tensions elsewhere in the Empire - but only after setting up a new government formed from ex-collaborators. Since then Serbia has struggled to survive keeping a low profile in light of the knowledge that she could not stand up to any sort of military attack. Over time however the government has become increasingly anti-Austrian and jingoistic and knowing that they could not hope to defeat Austria they have instead turned their attentions southwards towards the lands occupied by Bulgaria. Several diplomatic talks have already been conducted with the Romanian and Greek governments (who also lost territory to Bulgaria) with a view to undermining Bulgarian hegemony in the region and some say talk of a formal alliance is not far off. Can Serbia successfully steer a course to triumph in the ‘Bulgarian Matter’? And if so can she finally defeat the old enemy Austria and realise her dream of a pan-Slavic Union?" - Taken directly from Kaiserreich
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The Three Kings; a Serbian Kaiserreich AAR
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In which we aid the Monarchists in liberating Romania from Totalitarianism.
In mid-October the Bucharest circle began its uprising to overthrow the Iron Guard Legion and restore Carol II to his rightful throne. We have decided to aid the Monarchists to put them in our debt and also rid Europe of the Romanian tyrants.Now we march our small army across the Danube to attack the Iron Guard from the rear.
Once allied with the Monarchists we conduct a technology exchange where we mutually benefit from the other's research. Romania grants us documents regarding production, blood transfusions and anti-air weapons while we grant them our research on agriculture and modern military infantry equipment.
Our official Declaration of War was made in our new Parliament building that had just been opened. Through prestigious projects like this we are slowly restoring hope to the Serbian people.
Our army arrives in Turnu Severin unopposed and we begin attacking Craiova to the East. The Iron Guard army protecting the province is both smaller and somehow even more technologically backwards than our own.
Our artillery smashes the enemy lines. This grants us an easy victory and our army moves ever closer to Bucharest.
We pursue the enemy further East as they rout towards Bucharest. By this point it seems as though the enemy are withdrawing to protect just Ploiești and Bucharest.
Ploiești is the site of Romania's largest oil reserves so we make it a priority to capture the city. Ironically if the Iron Guard continued to send oil to Germany they possibly could have used it as a bargaining chip for German intervention.
Our army expels the Iron Guard from Ploiești. While the enemies army is much larger than our own, it cannot win a two front war.
The Socialists in Ukraine lead a coup against the legitimate king Vyshyvanyi and establish a republic. This is a worrying development as not only does Ukraine border our new ally Romania but they have already made it clear that they wish to ally with the French which will draw German attention to our region...
Realising all is lost many Iron Guard soldiers surrender to our army as they fear being executed by the Monarchists post war. In Ploiești 17,000 men fleeing from Braila were taken prisoner.
By the end of November our forces converge on Bucharest. The defenders are made up of a mixture of emergency conscripts and the Iron Guard's elite infantry formations.
After a few days of fighting we make decent progress into the city while the Monarchists keep up pressure from the East. Casualties are mounting for both sides however the Iron Guard are sustaining the most damage.
The Battle of Bucharest ends with the Romanians losing twice as many men as our own. While many civilians have been displaced by the combat this battle was relatively short lasting just 8 days. Due to this expect many civilians to be able to return to their homes without issue.
Bucharest falls fully under our control leaving just one single pocket left of Legion resistance. With the Iron Guard having to choose between surrendering to either us or the Monarchists they allowed themselves to be taken as our prisoners. Codreanu shall rot in a Serbian jail until we can decide what to do with him and his cronies.
Remaining Legion forces surrender and we transfer control of our occupied territories to the Monarchists.
Romania has been freed from Legion oppression and a new light has dawned on Romania's future. Naturally the nations of the world do not delay in recognising the new government.
Carol II has been restored as Romania's King and he extends his personal thanks to Serbia for our aid. This military endeavour has improved our prestige and helped to restore our great country's honour.
After thanking us the new Romanian government demanded that we transfer all Iron Guard prisoners to them for treason charges. Not wanting to unnecessarily anger our new ally we agree.
After the transfer all of the Iron Guard leadership are executed as well as many of the rank and file men that we captured. This was not particularly the outcome we wanted for the conscripts but not much can be done now...
The Romanian government reestablishes itself in Bucharest. Aside from this we have received disturbing reports of a military buildup on the Ukrainian border. In response to this we will temporarily station some of our men there.
Our agriculture continues to modernise as we move on to adopting fertilisers for our farms. The Austrian embargo has left us with a food shortage so improvements in this area are very important.
We suffered 13,000 losses in the war with the Legion which is a substantial amount considering our small size. These men shall be regarded as heroes by future generations.
Our men report increased Ukrainian activity on the border with many weapons being smuggled in to God-knows-where. Murmurs of a Socialist revolution are heard in in the countryside across Romania after weeks of this activity...
On the 25th of December several major Syndicalist revolts break out across Romania with there even being an assault on Parliament itself in Bucharest. Thankfully the Romanian army contained these revolutionary uprisings however just barely after Romania began to restore order Ukraine declares war on our new ally, dragging us into yet another war.
The Ukrainians claim that they are fighting a revolutionary war to free the Romanian people from Capitalism and further the World Revolution. More likely they are doing this to impress the leadership in Paris and annex the Romanian region of Bessarabia. We stand with our Orthodox brothers against the Godless Syndicalists!
Having stationed our army on the Ukrainian border we launch a preemptive strike into Transnistria. The Ukrainian army is much larger than ours and Romania's combined so our only hope is a series of decisive victories that will force the Ukrainians to accept a White Peace.
The largest Ukrainian formations are found in Odessa where our forces struggle to make much of an advance.
However upstream we mark the start of 1937 by managing to cross into Tiraspol.
Subsequently we begin to attack Odessa from another angle while another army marches into Balta. Unlike the Romanian Civil War Serbs and Romanians are fighting side by side which is having a positive impact on morale.
Exploiting Romania's weakness the German Empire demands that Romania continues its previously agreed oil shipments free of charge. Not wanting to anger the Germans, our ally agrees much to the disgust of the broader population.
As our armies move further into Ukraine additional enemy divisions arrive with 8 being detected near Odessa and 10 near Vinnitsa. The Ukrainian army is equipped with German weaponry that had been granted to the previous government so enemy divisions are much better equipped than our own. More Ukrainian divisions are certainly on the way so we have only a small window to achieve a decisive victory.
The so-called "Pearl of the Black Sea" becomes our primary target as the capture of Ukraine's third largest city and the defeat of 7 enemy divisions should be enough to force a white peace.Odessa is well defended however with the river Dniester providing a natural barrier. On top of this the small Ukrainian navy is also in position to provide fire support.
We begin training two more divisions for our state army. They will finish some time later this year so we doubt that they will see combat against Ukraine.
The battle of Odessa rages on as both sides suffer 20,000 casualties each. We do believe that the battle is going in our favour however.
In spite of the Civil War, botched Syndicalist Revolution and ongoing war with Ukraine our Romanian allies decide to allow Parliamentary elections to go ahead.
We achieve our great victory in Odessa as Ukrainian forces retreat from the city. With this we send our Socialist enemies an offer for peace.
Ukraine agrees to a white peace and as an added humiliation Transnistria is demilitarised to ensure that Ukraine will pose no further threat to the Balkans. A great victory for Serbia alongside Romania in our fight against Syndicalism.
For the first time in many months our army returns to Serbian soil to recover from months of war. Many medals have been given out to celebrate the heroes of Serbia.
It has been one month since the Berlin crash and the world economy in still in a slump. We remain isolated from the turmoil...
The Austrian 1937 Ausgliech is set to begin in just over a week so this provides us with an opportunity to exploit Austria's weakness and make the final break from the Habsburg sphere of influence. Marshal Bojovic has ruled over Serbia for many years but now it is time for Serbia to become truly independent. After considering our options, we decide on inviting the legitimate Serbian King to retake the throne.
Aleksandar agrees to take charge of Serbia once again and returns from his exile in Greece. Following the Romanian example, Aleksandar decides on reforming the Serbian government into a Constitutional Monarchy. This will bind our nation closer to Romania and also bring Serbia into the 20th century. This sets our country in opposition both to the absolutist Habsburgs and the Godless Syndicalists.
Following a week of campaigning the Liberal Democratic party comes out of the election with a majority. The Liberals prioritise expanding constitutional freedoms and also modernising the economy which makes them a fine fit for our backwards nation.
Ljubomir Davidović takes charge of our young Democracy. He is hard working and pragmatic which will allow us to take advantage of opportunities as they come.
After settling mundane matters relating to agriculture, the economy and education we decide on following an ambitious foreign policy for liberating the Balkans from foreign occupation. While many of our citizens would prefer a policy of simply expanding just into Serbian areas, Ljubomir has declared that all South Slavic peoples deserve to be free and the only way this can be achieved is by bringing them into a South Slavic Federation; Yugoslavia.
Our claimed territories span from Skopje in the south to Trieste in the north west. This will bring us into conflict with many of our neighbours however we cannot allow our brother peoples to suffer under foreign occupation any longer!
The 1937 Ausgliech quickly spirals out of control as Austria attempts to force its empire to centralise into a single state. Negotiations quickly shift from centralising the empire to granting Hungary independence which is rejected by the Habsburg Government. As Austria begins to move troops to restore control in Hungary, civil war breaks out across the Empire.
Our old enemy begins to collapse as the constituent nations of the empire begin to take sides in the brewing Civil War and Germany refuses to intervene. This Civil-War will provide us with a golden opportunity to exploit the Austrian's weakness and liberate the parts of Yugoslavia under Habsburg domination. It will be a dangerous road to take especially if we make a mistake along the way but with God on our side, we will undoubtedly succeed. Onwards, for Serbia!
