Baptism of Fire

I do like an obscure conflict, and they don't come more obscure than this border scrap between Slovakia and Hungary over Sub-Carpathia in 1939. Casaba B Stenge has written a history of the modest-sized air war for Helion Books. This was a birthday present from my daughter, following a not-too-subtle hint, and much rolling of the eyes!

Both Hungary and Slovakia had very inexperienced and newly formed air forces. Slovakia was a new puppet state created by Hitler out of the former Czechoslovakia, and Hungary was much depleted after World War I. Hungarian pilots were a bit more experienced, although the Slovak Air Force had inherited some better Czech aircraft.

The author has combed the archives for an impressive amount of detail on the handful of air actions fought during the conflict. A few air combat actions and ground-attack sorties had a limited impact on the ground war. The biggest action was the Hungarian air raid on the Slovak airfield at Spisska Nova Ves. As you would expect in this series, it is profusely illustrated and has lovely colour plates of the main aircraft types. The Hungarians used the Fiat CR. 32s as their main fighter, and the Junkers Ju 86 for bombing operations. Heinkel He 70 and He 46s for reconnaissance. The Slovaks had the Avia B-534 fighter and Letov S-328 reconnaissance aircraft.

The Slovaks did not inherit a fair share of the Czechoslovak Air Force, as Hitler stole over 1,000 combat aircraft. They had only 82 combat-ready aircraft in 1939. They had even fewer pilots as the Czechoslovak Air Force had a disproportionately small number of ethic Slovaks. They had virtually no leaders. They managed a few ground-attack successes, but hadn't much of a clue when it came to dog-fighting. As a consequence, they suffered heavy casualties.

The Hungarians had developed a secret air force before they broke away from the post-WW1 constraints. Their reconnaissance units performed well, and the bombers carried out the war's only successful operation. Despite the CR. 32 being inferior to the Avia, they more than held their own, due to superior flying skills.

The conflict was short-lived and ultimately pointless. It did provide a vital Polish-Hungarian border, through which some 60,000 Polish soldiers escaped to the West in 1939. The Hungarian Air Force paid a price for this in the form of limited deliveries of German aircraft. Hitler was not happy. The Soviet Union took a slice of the contested region at the end of WW2. The Hungarian aggression poisoned relations between what would become allies on the Eastern Front. There is even a suggestion that a Slovak pilot might have deliberately shot at a Hungarian aeroplane in Ukraine during 1941.

The air action was very limited, and it takes a lot of detail to make a book out of this. However, it includes some interesting early war aircraft types, which is always a plus for me.

Napoleonic Open Day

My wargame club, GDWS, runs an annual Napoleonic Open Day, funded by a bequest from a former club member who was a serious fan of the Napoleonic period. We mostly run Napoleonic games, invite other clubs, and make it open to the public to encourage interest in the hobby. It is an opportunity to play longer games as the hall is open all day.

I ran the big 28mm game on a 12 x 6 table based on the interesting French 1814 campaign. A surprise to many in the club, as it wasn't in the Balkans! However, there was a link, as the French commander was Marmont, the Balkan Marshal, and the Austrians had several regiments of Grenzers. The Austrians, with a Russian division, were defending a river line, and Marmont's job was to destroy them. Part of Napoleon's interior lines strategy in this campaign. He didn't quite destroy them, but did manage to roll up the Austrian right flank. The rules were Black Powder.

Then we had Eylau in 1807, fought in the snow. The Scottish weather was unseasonably (well, maybe not😏) wet, but not quite that bad. Nevertheless, the guys put on a good version of the battle using Blucher rules.

Next up was Sagunto 1811 using the Empire Bataille rules. Suchet's French army against the Spanish commanded by Blake during the Peninsular War. Nice to see a Spanish army on the tabletop.

Then the Soldiers of Napoleon rules using the 18mm WoFun miniatures, which look pretty good in this scale. 

Finally, Black Seas, which, as ever, had a happy band of participants. They make what used to be a complicated period to game very simple. 

Hopefully, there was something for everyone, and I was particularly pleased about the range of different rules played.

Most of us will be meeting up again next Saturday at the Carronade show in Falkirk. We will be putting on a participation game based on the Battle of Banja Luka in 1737, using Lust for Glory rules. Back to the actual Balkans!

The Highest Throne

 This is a new supplement for Warlord Games' Pike and Shotte rules for the 16th and 17th centuries. I don't play with these rules much, but a supplement on the Ottomans is a no-brainer purchase at £25. It is down as a pre-order on the website, but I picked up a copy at Partizan, with a nice model of Kara Mustafa. Written by Luke Alvin, this is clearly a labour of love, and he has done a good job.

The core of the book includes an introduction to the Ottomans and their adversaries during the Renaissance period. I'm more of an old-school George Gush fan, so I prefer to refer to this period as the Renaissance rather than 'early modern.' The book covers all the significant opponents, including the Poles, Habsburgs, Spain, Venice, the Hospitallers, and Hungary, as well as the less obvious inclusion of the Portuguese. Each chapter provides a historical overview and highlights some of the key figures from that era, as well as crucial army lists. While I might have some minor disagreements about certain details, this isn't meant to be a competition set of rules, so you can easily tweak them to fit your own preferences. The Ottomans are notoriously difficult to integrate into any set of rules due to their wide variety of troop types. I particularly appreciate the 'Why Collect' section, which aims to inspire gamers to build their collections.

The book includes 12 scenarios, five of which focus on the siege of Malta. There are rules for siege warfare, which can be tricky to simulate on the tabletop but were an essential aspect of Renaissance warfare. Additionally, there are some beautifully illustrated colour flags.

Feeling inspired, we decided to use these rules for a midweek game featuring the Ottomans against the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, utilising 15mm figures. Since the rules are not drastically different from Black Powder, we were able to pick them up quickly and with little trouble.

The Ottoman left wing smashed the Polish right, while the action on the left was more balanced. The infantry centres ground towards each other. However, by the time they reached firing range, the Ottoman cavalry was turning into the Polish flank, and from there it was game over. Short and sharp, but worked well. I might be a bit biased, commanding the Ottomans!

Northern Serbia

I left Valjevo to spend the last couple of days in northern Serbia. Before leaving, I spent the morning at the National Museum Valjevo, which, unsurprisingly, focuses on WW1, given that the city played a central role in the early Austrian offensives.

This is General Živojin Mišić's office, and there is a fine modern statue of him in the city centre. He commanded the First Serbian army in the Battle of Kolubara, an astonishing Serbian victory when they were on the last-ditch defensive line. 

The museum also remembers the Scottish Women's Hospital, based in the town. 

I drove around the Kolubara battlefield on my way north. Not a lot to see unless you count the bridge over the river that was used in the film Kelly's Heroes. You would not drive a tank over it today!

Next was Petrovaradin, the largest Vauban-style fortress in the Balkans and the site of Prince Eugene's victory over the Ottomans in 1716. We did this as a display game at Claymore in 2006, and still have both armies. There have been some improvements since my last visit, particularly at the museum, but there must be many tunnels below to explore.

I spent today in Belgrade. I have been several times, but will never tire of the Kalemegdan fortress and the military museum.

The museum itself is excellent, covering all of Serbia's military history.  It is supplemented by an astonishing collection of tanks and artillery outside. The pre-war Yugoslav army had some obscure weaponry, to which you can add all the types the Axis brought to the Balkans. 

Not many Polish tankettes around

There must be around 100 pieces of artillery from early bombards to the modern period. I'll put more on the website, but the collection is outstanding.

105mm Horska Houfnice

75/27 Deport

Breda 20mm

After browsing the bookshops, I went to the National Museum, which was under refurbishment on my last visit.

A very useful section on the early Serbian states for a current project, and some useful historical paintings.

This is either poorly proportioned, or this is a fat Hussar on a horse too small for him!

My only disappointment was not visiting the CWGC cemetery, which closes at 4pm. They don't usually close, but I suspect they are worried about graffiti and the like.

PS.

I did get into the cemetery the following morning on my way to the airport. There is a code for the padlock on the GWGC website. The cemetery is immaculate, as they usually are. 481 soldiers, sailors and aircrew are buried here. 355 from the UK, but others from the Commonwealth and other allies, including Poland. Most are aircrew shot down over Yugoslavia, but they include 77 soldiers and 56 sailors killed in raiding operations on the Dalmatian coast.

Polish aircrew

My local regiment, the Highland Light Infantry, was the defence battalion on Vis.

Užice

 After an overnight stay in Valjavo in Western Serbia, I drove south through the mountains to Užice, a city about 90km away. This is terrain hard-fought over in both World Wars and tough going for an attacker. The mountains are not particularly high, similar to the west coast of Scotland, but with very few level routes - zig zags much of the way.

The city is famous as Tito's first partisan base. In 1941, after Nazi occupation, Užice was liberated by the Yugoslav Partisans, who chose it as the capital of the Republic of Užice. It didn't last long after facing a multi-pronged Axis attack. The partisans delayed the attack for long enough for the main force to escape to Bosnia.

The National Museum in the city has a wide range of exhibits covering this period, and they have opened some of the caves used to manufacture arms and ammunition, including 2.7 million rifle bullets. There is also a rare statue of Tito.

A French Hotchkiss tank was captured from the Germans, who used a lot of them in the Balkans.

The city was part of an early Serbian state after the Slavs infiltrated the Balkans in the 6th century. Nikola Altomanović built the stone tower, while the rest of the fortified complex was most likely made of wood. The fortress remained Serbian until 1459, when it was conquered by the Ottomans, who developed it; the crenellations in the reconstructed upper town date to that period. The Austrians gained the fortress in the early 18th century, but lost it to the Ottomans in 1738.

The best view is from the river below. However, you can drive up and visit the castle, just don't expect Mrs Google to get the route correct. She took me all around the narrow residential streets. A very knowledgeable guide greeted the weary travellers. They have done an excellent job with the reconstruction and hope to do more with the lower town.

This is the view from the river, and it's stunning.

And this is from a viewing position at the base of the upper town.

The main tower

After that, I decided to go back to Valjavo on a different route, which took me past the partisan memorial at Kadinjača. On 29 November 1941, the Battle of Kadinjača was fought here. A workers' battalion fought and died against the German assault on the Republic of Užice. The memorial is huge with great views, but sadly, the museum was closed. If I understood the notice, it was due to a contaminated water supply.

The route back runs along the Bosnian border, where the main Austrian attack came from in 1914. I'll leave you with a photo near the border that gives a good impression of the terrain. Over those distant mountains lies Srebrenica, a reminder of a more recent conflict in these hills.