Shattered World - A
Worse World War: Part 24
Tehran under Siege
Mohammed stood on a low hill overlooking Tehran and saw the city spread out
before him. Closer, thousands of his comrades waived weapons in the air,
some fired towards the skies. Shouts of "God is Great" filled the air. They
were of many nationalities - Iraqis, Chechens, Turks, even Palestinians
and Egyptians from the British territories, but mostly they were Persians.
No, he reminded himself, Iranians! Mohammed shouted along with the
rest and fired his father's old rifle into the air. The old man had fought
the British in the Great War with the rifle and now he would fight them in
this new war, a holy war against the mighty imperialist powers of the west.
In that moment Mohammed felt himself filled with pride, he was ready to martyr
himself for the sake of his new country, for the sake of his brother
Arabs, for the sake of God!
August 21st 1943 to November 15th 1943
August 21st 1943
Germany completes its 'Northern Shield', a web of radar instalations stretching
from the French border to Reich-held southern Sweden, designed to protect
the Reich's heartland from strategic bombardment by Britain and France. A
similiar network is near completion in the east to ward off any surprise
Soviet attacks. Britain and France already have radar networks of their own
stretching from the Maginot line, through the low countries, and to the east
coast of Scotland.
August 27th 1943
The Chinese Nationalist government launches an aggressive campaign to stamp
out the remnants of the communist movement in China, this in spite of heavy
pressure from the Japanese.
August 28th 1943
Britain and France unleash a new offensive directly towards Tehran. British
and French armored columns, followed by mechanized infantry, strike deep
into the western and eastern flanks of the Iranian defenses around Tehran,
while Persian loyalist troops advance against the center of the Iranian lines.
British and French aircraft pound targets in and around Tehran, seeking to
isolate the city from outside reinforcements.
September 4th 1943
British and French armored and mechanized forces have battered their way
to the north of Tehran, successfully putting the Iranian capital under siege.
Persian forces have made little progress in the center, where Iranian resistance
has been stiffest. German aircraft have prevented the Alliance air forces
from doing all they intended and are beginning to attack Alliance ground
forces, though on a limited basis. A-2b missiles are beginning to arrive
in Iran and their improved guidance is proving to be a nuisance to British
forward airfields, supply depots, and encampments.
September 10th 1943
Arab nationalists detonate a bomb at the British military headquarters in
Palestine, killing 312 British civilians and military personnel. The attack
is the latest in a wave of growing anti-British sentiment among the Arab
population in British Palestine. In the wake of the bombing Britain initiates
a crackdown throughout Palestine, adding fuel to the fire of Arab nationalism
in the region.
September 12th 1943
Alliance and Persian forces have pressed Iranian troops into the center of
Tehran where the Iranians and their Axis supporters (Iraqis, Chechens, and
Turks) are waging a stubborn urban defense, killing thousands of British
and Frenchs soldiers in the process. Calling themselves 'Arab Freedom fighters'
the troops remaining in central Tehran are fundamentalist fanatics bent of
making Tehran an example to all outsiders.
September 20th 1943
Combined British and French losses since the start of the Persian civil war
have surpassed 20,000 and parts of Tehran still remain in Iranian hands.
Morale in the Alliance and Persian forces is becoming very low as losses
mount.
September 23rd 1943
French and British bombers level the parts of Tehran still under Iranian
control. The rubble resulting from the heavy carpet bombing makes good defensive
works and the holdouts continue to fight.
September 27th 1943
Iranian forces, which had been massing to the northwest of Tehran, unleash
a fierce counterattack into the western
flank of Alliance forces around Tehran. The attack involves over 70,000 Iranian
troops, 200 tanks, and several hundred heavy artillery pieces.
October 3rd 1943
In a week of heavy and sustained fighting the British and French have utterly
smashed the Iranian offensive, but losses were relatively heavy and the organized
Iranian attack demonstrates their will to fight in the face of two great
western powers. The politicians in Britain and France are begining to look
for a way out of the 'Persian Affair'. British and French losses have passed
30,000 dead and 75,000 wounded or MIA. An estimated 500,000 Persians and
Iranians have been killed or wounded.
What is happening in Persia is similiar to what happened after Tet in
the Vietnam war. It was a total U.S. victory but it turned the tide of the
war against the U.S. for political reasons.
October 20th 1943
Tehran is, after weeks of urban guerilla warfare, securely in Alliance hands.
The Shah returns to rule from Tehran, which has been devastated by the urban
warfare and heavy bombing.
October 21st 1943
Iran declares Zanjan, northwest of Tehran, to be its new capital. Iranian
forces have formed organized lines of defense north and west of Tehran.
October 25th 1943
France and Britain announce a unilateral ceasefire to the frustration of
the Shah, who had wanted to regain all of Persia. Negotations to end the
conflict begin in neutral Portugal.
October 28th 1943
Germany completes an early prototype of the A-3, a ballistic missile with
a range of up to 600km and a warhead of up to 2000 pounds. It has not yet
been test-launched. It is essentially an enlarged version of the A-2b. Germany
is also working on the A-4, a two stage ballistic missile that may travel
as far as 900km with a large warhead capacity. Beyond that, Von Braun is
dreaming of placing an 'artificial moon' and even a man into orbit with a
hypothetical two or three stage rocket using liquid hydrogen. However, this
is still years away at best.
November 1st 1943
Germany secretly completes the last of nearly one hundred fortified ballistic
missile launch facilities close to the borders of France, Belgium, and the
Soviet Union. In addition, Germany has constructed hundreds of mobile launchers
including the same kinds of truck-based launchers as those operating in Iran,
as well as railroad-mobile launchers.
November 9th 1943
Treaty of Lisbon ends the Persian Civil War. The new fascist state of Iran
is recognized and controls what was formerly northwest Persia. Persia survives
under the Shah with its capital in Tehran.
November 10th 1943
Iran is granted membership in the Axis Powers, and Persia formally joins
the Alliance for Democracy on the same day. Britain and France begin to pull
out most of their forces from Persia but will leave behind small expeditionary
forces to bolster the Persian government.
November 13th 1943
Britain begins testing a radar-guided anti-aircraft cannon and has been developing
an airborne radar system mounted in a modified Lancaster Bomber.
November 15th 1943
With the aid of electronic computer technology the British manage to break
the latest German encryption scheme and thus maintain a crucial advantage
over Germany.
From western Europe to the middle-east and the Pacific, two great powers
face each other across multiple fronts. Their cultures and governments diametricaly
opposed, their people fearing and despising each other, the Alliance for
Democracy and the Axis Powers seems destined to war with each other. Hitler
knows what he wants: Western Europe. Mussolini knows what he wants: North
Africa and the Mediteranean. Japan knows what it wants: The vast resources
of southeast Asia and the Pacific. Those who stand in the way of the dictators
know what they want: To survive.
To Be Continued...
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