Shattered World - A
Worse World War: Part 23
Persia torn asunder
It was a hot, dry, afternoon on the nineteenth of May, nineteen hundred
and forty three. Flying Officer George Wiles Patterson guided his Hawker
Hurricane a few hundred feet above the desolate desert below. His fellow
squadron members were arrayed around him in staggered order, with Squadron
Leader Mitchell leading the way up front.
They were on orders to scout for fascist Persian troops that were reportedly
beginning to probe southward in this sector in an effort to infiltrate into
the Shah's south. They were getting low on fuel when the Squadron Leader's
voice came through over the radio.
"The right bastards are dead ahead boys, lets show them some British hospitality
shall we?". He didn't need to say anything more.
George through his plane into a sharp curving descent to come in at the
Persians at tree-top height. They'd caught the enemy by surprise and George
made a clean pass, his 40mm cannons hammering into the column of troops.
He was low enough to see flesh exploding from the impact of high calibre
rounds.
As he cleared the column and began to gain altitude something thudded into
his left wing. A lucky shot from one of the men below, firing defiantly with
rifles that could have seen action in the Great War. The Hurricane he was
flying was tough and seemed to by flying ok. He and his squadron mates made
three passes in all, sending death into the stubborn troops below. None of
the planes took any significant hits from ground fire.
As he landed back at the airfield that had become his squadron's home it
occurred to him that they had just initiated the first hostilities between
British and Persian forces since the Great War. That it might lead to a new
Great War was foremost in his mind. Flying against the blooded and veteran
Luftwaffe with its deadly aircraft sent a shudder down his spine, this in
spite of the sweltering heat.
May 19th 1943 to August 16th 1943
May 19th 1943
British aircraft begin attacks against forces from nothern Persia which
have begun to probe south towards the Shah's remaining power base.
May 21st 1943
France commits to sending aircraft, weapons, and supplies into southern
Persia to assist their British allies in backing the Shah. In addition, France
will send elements of the French Foreign Legion.
May 24th 1943
Significant fighting erupts between the Shah's loyalist forces and forces
of the Persian fascist military regime. British air forces are supporting
the loyalists with direct air support and some bombing of northern supply
routes.
June 1st 1943
Fascist forces, with superior numbers and morale, crack through loyalist
lines in central Persia in spite of British domination of the skies and begin
pushing south towards the Persian Gulf coast.
June 3rd 1943
British troops begin engaging fascist Persian forces on the ground.
June 5th 1943
The fascist Persian offensive is losing steam as their supply lines are
being stretched by sheer distance and British air attacks. Persia has a critical
shortage of motorized transport that is crippling their supply efforts.
June 13th 1943
Large numbers of British troops have begun to come ashore at several south
Persian ports. Equipped with plenty of trucks these reinforcements are being
rapidly sent to the front where loyalist and British forces are already gearing
up for a counter offensive. Small numbers of British tanks are beginning to
arrive at the front, as well as more aircraft.
June 15th 1943
In the first ever attack by a ballistic missile, a German-built A-2 slams
into a residential district of the city of Shiraz damaging several buildings
but causing no deaths.
June 16th 1943
The Alliance for Democracy accuses the Axis Powers of outright provacation
and demands an end to German involvement in the Persian civil war. Germany
counters by slamming Britain for its own direct involvement and denies responsibility
for the A-2 attack, claiming that it has no control over what the Persian
government does with weapons it legitimately buys.
June 17th 1943
British bombers begin striking targets in northern Persia and begin hitting
supply routes right up to the borders with Iraq and Turkey. Several more A-2
mimssiles fall on southern Persian cities causing little real damage but
frightening the civilian population none-the-less.
June 23rd 1943
Persian fascist forces crush the last remnants of the communist uprising
in the extreme north of the country. Several dozen A-2 missile attacks have
now been launched against southern Persia. Most caused no damage but several
landed in residential areas cuasing dozens of deaths and major property damage.
One lucky attack slammed into a British army encampment killing a dozen soldiers.
June 26th 1943
The newly formed British 9th Army, under the command of Britain's Commander-in-Chief
of the middle east, Archibald Wavell,launches a fierce offensive into fascist
Persian lines. Spearheaded by a British armored and mechanized infantry column,
and supported by 40,000 loyalist troops, the well coordinated attack rips
a gaping whole in the unprepared fascist lines.
June 28th 1943
In Tehran a new government, the Muslim-nationalist-fascist Republic of Iran,
is declared. The Axis Powers deny the new government immediate entry but agree
to continue supporting it with arms and supplies.
July 2nd 1943
The British offensive in Persia has become a route with Iranian forces withdrawing
northward in utter chaos. Wavell's 9th army is only being slowed by its need
to keep in supply.
July 3rd 1943
The new Iranian government begins widespread conscription in an effort to
form a large army to stem the British tide.
July 4th 1943
The last of 6 planned Essex class aircraft carriers are completed, amid
much fireworks and fanfare, by the U.S. The U.S. Navy is now largely recognized
as the largest and best equipped in the world, with the British a close second.
The Japanese, with their growing fleet in the Pacific, might disagree with
this assessment.
July 18th 1943
A flight of British aircraft encounter German fighters with Iranian markings
over northern Iran. In the ensuing dogfight several British aircraft are downed.
Germany responds to outraged protests from the Alliance for Democracy by
claiming that the planes were piloted by Iranian pilots. In reality the pilots
were German and Britain knows this, but can't prove it.
This happened in OTL in the Korean war when Soviet pilots in Soviet aircraft
were engaging U.S. aircraft, the Soviets claimed the pilots were Koreans and
the planes had Korean markings. The U.S. knew the pilots were Soviets but
couldn't prove it.
July 21st 1943
Germany begins construction of a new class of warship, a Missile Cruiser
to be armed with TV guided missiles, the latest in radar equipment, and new
communication equipment. The new class of warship generates little interest
in Britain or the U.S., who scoff at the concept.
July 26th 1943
The long British offensive has been halted by Iranian forces after the British
9th army is forced to stop with overextended supply lines. The Iranians -
now equipped with German panzers, trucks, mechanized vehicles, small arms,
and aircraft - have been able to establish strong defensive lines south and
east of Tehran.
July 27th 1943
In the largest single A-2 attack to date, over 100 of the missiles rain
down on several cities in southern Iran in a single day. The attack succeeds
in causing chaos in several of the cities and slows down the flow of men,
weapons, and supplies flowing north. Rumours that the Iranians might arm
the missiles with chemical warheads, in order to turn the tide of war back
in their favor, begin to cause panic. The Alliance promises swift and sure
retaliation if this should occur. In reality Iran has no stockpiles of chemical
weapons and the Axis won't risk supplying them with any.
July 28th 1943
With British and French forces in Persia now numbering close to 100,000
the U.S. begins pressuring both sides to accept a cease fire in order for
a diplomatic solution to be found. Both sides are receptive to the idea and
negotiations are set to begin in Washington D.C. on August 1st.
August 1st 1943
Germany begins production of the A-2b missile. It is nearly identical to
the A-2 but has an improved guidance system with 50% better accuracy.
August 2nd 1943
With the situation on the ground in Persia locked in stalemate and the danger
of escalation ever present, ceasfire talks in Washington D.C. break down amid
accusations and demands by both sides.
August 5th 1943
British Lancaster bombers strike Tehran causing heavy damage to government
buildings and supply depots.
August 8th 1943
Saudi Arabia, already closely aligned with Britain, is granted membership
in the Alliance for Democracy. The Saudi leadership agrees to politcal and
economic reforms to secure this membership. Saudi Arabia joins the Alliance
out of fear that the Axis will move on them to secure its massive new-found
oil reserves. With the Alliance the Saudi leadership feels it can get a much
better deal and maintain control over there own oil resources.
Exploitation of Saudi and Kuwati oilfields has begun earlier in this
timeline due to Iraq being an Axis member and Persia backing away from Britain
before the Persian civil war. Britain has been bankrolling major oil exploration
and exploitation efforts in these areas and the major Al-Ghawar oil field
has already been discovered,more than five years earlier than in OTL. Kuwait
is a protectorate of Britain, as in OTL
August 9th 1943
An internal meeting in Britain concludes that the Royal Air Force is in
desperate need of modernization. In encounters with German aircraft the Germans
have maintained over a 2 to 1 kill ratio against British aircraft. And the
Germans don't have their best aircraft in the theatre. More Spitfire fighters
are needed and the jet aircraft research project needs to be accelerated.
August 12th 1943
The U.S. successfully tests a ballistic missile capable of traveling just
over 100km with a 1000 pound warhead. The project is the brainchild of the
aging Robert Goddard. Britain is developing a missile with similiar capabilities
but both nations are far behind the Germans.
August 14th 1943
Japanese forces capture Chinese communist leader Mao Tse-tung and deport
him to Japan. This is a major blow to the communist movement in China.
August 15th 1943
Italy begins construction of two new aircraft carriers, they are to be based
on British and German designs and will be equipped with Italy's latest naval
aviation aircraft.
{ * note * The Italians produced some excellent aircraft in OTL in spite
of their overall poor performance in WW2. In the Shattered World timeline
Italy is still reguarded as a major power }
August 16th 1943
In an escalation of French involvement in Persia, a French armored force
begins to come ashore in southern Persia. More French aircraft, with French
pilots, are also entering the theatre.
Iraq, Turkey, and Chechnya announce the formation of new 'volunteer' units
to 'aid their Muslim brothers in Iran agaist British and French Imperialism'.
Germany is behind this development and German 'technical advisors' will accompany
these 'volunteer' Axis units.
In Berlin, Paris, and London a deadly game of cat and mouse is being played
over the fate of Persia. The civil war in Persia is escalating, involvement
by Axis and Alliance forces is escalating as well. British and French aircraft
are battling German aircraft over Persia.
As Britain and France continue to mass men, equipment and supplies for a
fall offensive towards Tehran, newly fascist Iran continues to draft
soldiers, import weapons from the Axis, and fortify their defensive lines.
Iraqi,Turkish and Chechen forces, with German advisors, are about to join
the fray as well.
Will the Persian civil war lead to a new world war between the Alliance
for Democracy and the Axis Powers? Time and blood will tell.
To Be Continued...
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