Soviet Invasion of Transcaucasia (Democritus only)

[Orostan]

The Red Army Enters Transcaucasia - 1/2/1920

Following an artillery bombardment, Soviet forces on the western edge of Georgia would begin to move forward. The hills created difficult terrain even near the coasts where most Soviet infantry was concentrated, but tanks could help a great deal in crossing enemy defenses there. A reserve force of a thousand infantry would protect the Soviet side and prevent the enemy from easily attacking from the hills. The main objective of the Red Army attack in this area was the town of Sokhumi, which if captured would disconnect any remaining Transcaucasian forces in the area from easy resupply and also represent a gateway to easier terrain where the Red Army's numbers could provide a better advantage.

The other major Soviet force was on the other side of the Caucasus Mountains and was focused on taking Baku as well as entering Georgia from other directions. There cavalry could much more easily maneuver and would lead an attack aimed at securing Makhachkala with 5,000 Infantry and attached artillery supporting it. If the cavalry was able to break through it would provide an opening that infantry could pour into. The ten thousand Soviet infantry backed up by artillery and tanks in the middle of this front aimed to secure the Khunzakh area together with another two forces of 5,000 infantry and support artillery backing them up to their west that would attempt to break though the enemy's side and either force a retreat or surround them near Khasavyurt. Five thousand infantry and supporting artillery were held in reserve to help contain enemy counter-attacks if any would occur or to assist the other Soviet troops making their way through Darial Gorge and Mamison pass if needed.

Behind enemy lines pro-Bolshevik rebels supported the Red Army by attempting to sabotage enemy infrastructure and disrupting enemy logistics. Limited support from Red Army aircraft would assist them in this but the majority of Soviet aircraft in the region were focused on supporting the Red Army itself and providing important information on enemy positions and numbers.

[Georgian Kingdom]

Abkhazia front

As the main attacking force was moving south towards Sukhumi, the Georgian Hillmen Troops situationed themselves on high hills of the Bzyb and Gagra Ranges. From the hills, they would attack the enemy from above while the main assault forces were defending Gagra and the cities in the region. To counter the tank attacks, the Caucasus Army is making heavy use of bottles with burning tar against the tanks. Further south, the Caucasus artillery is regularly attacking the enemy from behind the lines. Heavy fighting is concentrated in Gagra.

To prevent the Soviet reserve force from attacking the commando troops on the hills, the experienced Caucasian military experts are setting up different booby traps while others disguise themselves in the mountainous forest areas waiting to attack. The Caucasian army knew the area very, well thanks to the local volunteers, so hiding and attacking using spiderholes were one of the most effective attack tactics for the brave Caucasian warriors in the hilly areas.

Thanks to the expertise of the locals, the Hillmen are cutting trees to create an obstacle and confuse the enemy and creating foxholes to attack the disoriented soviets. Using the soil, wood, and stones, the Caucasian commandos are creating mini fortified positions along the route of the Soviets to stall them as much as possible from advancing firther north towards Gadauta and Sukhumi

Dagestan Front

On the eastern front, the situation was a bit different. The Caucasus army could not take advatage of tall hills like in Georgia. In the Khunzakh area, the objective of the Army was not to prevent the Soviets from taking it, but to inflict as much damage as possible on the Red Army. Therefore, besides shooting back and using hand-made grenades and burning tar bottles/buckets, the resistance forces were also throwing canisters with chemical gas and other damaging substances at the incoming soviet troops as well as leaving booby traps around the area to make it hard for the enemy forces to get close to the Khunzakh area.

There were even instances where special units of soldiers would pretend to surrender and as the Soviet soldiers would get closer, they would find the Caucasus soldiers wearing "suicide" vests, who in return would throw as many granades as possible at the Soviets nearby... even if it meant getting shot at by the rest of the surrounding Red Army soldiers. However the main force was concentrated in Khasavyurt, Derbent, and Makhachkala. As some of the units were retreating from the front lines towards the three cities, they would leave mines and booby traps on the way as part of a good Caucasian hospitality for the Reds. The Army has already started digging trenches and setting up barricades around those strategic cities.

2,000 Caucasus cavalry men were dispatched to defend the Makhachkala area and another 3,000 of monted infantry were sent to Derbent. In order to defend the city against the Soviet cavalry, the Caucasus troops dug trenches and set up many frames of cheval de frise around the city to prevent the horses from penetrating the lines. Anything, even regular spiked wooden logs, was used to prevent the Soviets from entering the city. Whenever the defenders would see the Red Army troops in range, some of them even utilized bows and arrows to shower the shieldless enemy forces with arrows dipped in poison beforehand.

The Military Council of Nations also used aircrat, particularly Ansaldo types, to gather intel and information on enemy positions and locations.

Behind the Front lines
As more rebel groups are increasing their disruptive operations, the Military Council approved the creation of civilian "Druzhina" militia groups tasked with countering the rebels. The militias were given light weaponry and policing powers to either arrest or kill any rebels. Some would openly patrol the countryside and areas or strategic importance, while others would operate in secret seeking out the rebels. Many hardened criminals were temporary drafted into the militia groups to fight the rebels after being promised money, fame, and freedom.

[Orostan]

The Red Army Continues its Invasion - 1/6/1920

The Red Army's offensive in Dagestan passed by the Transcaucasian position in Khasavyurt and left behind a force to keep the town under siege and artillery bombardment. With no new food or supplies the enemy would be starved out or have to mount a breakout attempt against soviet machine gun positions. The town was relatively small, and the packed in enemy could only do so much to fight back against the artillery and siege. Farther south the Red Army continued it's advance and swept into the Khunzakh area. The enemy's use of small chemical weapons had been effective at first, but Red Army troops quickly adapted. The enemy could not saturate large areas with chemical weapons and relied on unreliable methods of dispersion that frequently deployed the gas close to the ground and not in large enough quantities to cause serious casualties to advancing soldiers. Though a fair few Red Army soldiers died or were incapacitated the first time the weapons were deployed, soldiers quickly wrapped urine soaked rags to defend against mustard gas and the winter weather meant that chlorine gas could find little exposed skin. The weapons were good at slowing down the invasion, but not at stopping it. The roadside bombs and other traps left to disrupt Soviet forces were more effective and stopped advancing groups of Soviet troops at several points, but more often than not they failed to inflict significant losses and only surprised Soviet forces. Some of the larger traps involving logs or pit falls could be detected by careful scouts and avoided most of the time.

In Abkhazia the Red Army made gains but did not reach it's goal of Sokhumi. instead becoming delayed at Gagra. To force a quicker end to the fighting there Soviet forces went to take the hills around the city and either surround it or force the defenders to retreat. Soviet reserves and rear guard units did not attack the Transcaucasians in the hills directly, but instead used aircraft to help them find enemy artillery to destroy with counter-artillery on those hills or strafe them to kill the crews. While that was happening other artillery would keep the enemy in Gagra down and bombard the enemy artillery in or behind the city with information provided by Soviet aircraft. Those aircraft are also disrupting the enemy's ability to use their own planes and are most likely better armed and able to fight than the enemy's Ansaldo SVAs which were not suitable for heavy fighting.

In Dagestan the Soviets made their best progress, and also encountered their worst opposition. A quick advance had cut off Khasavyurt and would cut off the enemy stronghold of Makhachkala if the war kept going this way. Artillery bombardment at Makhachkala would do its best to blow apart flimsy enemy defenses and keep the enemy down while infantry advanced. Cavalry would not be used for this advance and instead the fast and mobile force would move to cut off communication and supply lines for Makhachkala near Karabudakhkent. The larger parts of the Soviet infantry force went for the mountains that separated Dagestan, Azerbaijan, and Georgia to take the important positions while keeping the enemy ahead of them running in the other direction. With a quick advance the slow tanks could not keep up and were instead transported to Red Army positions in the north of Makhachkala to help lead the attack on the city. False surrenders, suicide attacks, and traps all contributed to delays in the Soviet advance. The false surrenders were much more effective than anything however, as Red Army units would have to stop to receive the surrendering enemy only to find the enemy using suicide vests as soon as they got close. After the first few times this resulted in Soviet commanders being given permission to shoot surrendering enemies at their own discretion. Sometimes they shot men who were legitimately surrendering, other times they shot at men wearing suicide vests and hiding grenades in their coats. Regardless quite a bit of blood was spilled on the snowy hills as a result, and quite a bit of propaganda use came of it too. The troops were encouraged to fight in the hard terrain and weather by the knowledge that their enemy had resorted to the most barbaric tactic, especially when they lost friends in those attacks. The archery of the enemy had a strong first showing too, but was not fatal and at the ranges it could practically be used usually only wounded men through their thick winter coats. The poison caused more problems after the initial impact though it could usually be treated at a medical tent. A lucky shot to the head would do a good more than just wound, however. The archers would more often than not be targets for Red marksman despite that - it took less time to pull a trigger back than it did to pull a bowstring back. The marksman could have a good laugh about the absurdity of the situation, however.

The army crossed through Darial Gorge and Mamison Pass with less resistance than expected and a group of a thousand infantry was ordered to secure the area and eliminate hill fighters as the cavalry moved in with a larger infantry group behind it south towards the village of Ananuri. Ahead of that village lay Tiflis and the capitol of the enemy. Despite the urge to quickly capture the city Soviet forces advanced carefully checking for traps and ambushes on the way assisted by rebels in the area. The irregular "Druzhina" militias were not well well equipped enough or well trained enough to offer significant resistance to the Reds. After a few fights in the hills and a few captured prisoners it also soon became apparent the enemy was recruiting criminals directly from jails. A few of them claimed to be some of Stalin's old accomplices even. The news of enemy recruitment of criminals was another propaganda weapon against Transcaucasia and spread quickly among the Red Army ranks and in Bolshevik press. Another thing to condemn the imperialists for supporting.

[Old Metropolitan France]

Poti - January 6, 1920

Even as Soviet officials attempted to negotiate with France for diplomatic recognition through secret channels, French personnel at the garrisons of Zonguldak and Karadeniz Ereğli on the Anatolian Black Sea coast had been preparing a range of armaments confiscated from the Ottoman Army in addition to disposable Allied weapons. The operation was not a secret, however it was unannounced and not given great priority - following news of Entente tanks, which had been lost during the Northern Russia Intervention during 1919, appearing on the Red frontline there was little appetite for further loss of valuable equipment to the Bolshevik regime.

The ships which arrived in Poti, mostly confiscated or repurposed civilian craft with a nominal escort of two destroyers and six torpedo boats, would carry much-needed supplies for the Transcaucasians. 14,000 rifles, 400 machine guns, 2 field guns, and stockpiles of ammunition, explosives and barbed wire were accompanied by basic medical provisions. France had little intention of staying to help the Transcaucasian forces in combat, preoccupied with the Franco-Turkish War across Anatolia. Following the delivery of the arms shipments, they would depart to continue the war against Kemal's nationalist insurgents. Civilians and the seriously wounded would be provided the opportunity to evacuate from the besieged state, with vessels taking on such passengers announcing their status as medical craft by radio/signaling while under a white flag for the return journey. Although the long-term prospects of the fledging Transcaucasian Republic remained grim, the arms shipments would potentially offer temporary relief and give them some breathing space.

[Nowa Polonie]

The 'Legion of Saint George' Departs for Transcaucasia



Command Section of Vasily Company, 2nd. Regiment of the 1st. Brigade.

The Polish government and military have long kept in their pocket dozens of exiled military groups within their borders, centered around Warsaw. Ex-Tsarist Officers, remnants of the Czechoslovak Legion in the West - every anti-Bolshevik group that fought in the Russia during the Great War, and the proceeding Civil War has its chapter in the coffee houses of Warsaw. Given prompting, funds and equipment by the Polish Government in response to the offensive on Transcaucasia, many of these relics of the past came together on the 11th of January to declare the formation of the 'Legion of Saint George' - roughly 2,800 volunteers, organized into two regiments, and supported by a free company of volunteer aviators flying roughly two dozen old French and Russian designs. The men of the Legion are all ex-something, outcasts from the old world which expelled them, or from which they fled. Chasing military adventure in Transcaucasia - Tsarist Officers from Russia, students from Poland, mercenaries from practically every country around Poland. Some believe they are fighting a last-ditch war to defend Orthodoxy, some are fighting against Communism - some are known as 'Les Terreurs', those men who just love war. All men sign the forms with the black humour of men who have faced war for half a decade, and who now sign the transit forms to do more; Destination: Hell. Reason for Visit: Personal business.

Departing from Warsaw on the 15th. and being reinforced throughout its transit through Poland, and to the Black Sea ports of Romania to depart for Poti, the Polish Government has at expense made arrangements with the Romanian Government to transport monthly shipments of old Russian rifles, artillery pieces, shells and ammunition - with a first shipment of 8,000 rifles, 180 machineguns and 200,000 rounds arriving alongside the Legion, and roughly half this to be sent for every subsequent month the conflict continues, or for as long as it can be sustained. In communiques to the Transcaucasian Government, the Polish have made attempts to establish a Polish military attache to the Transcaucasian Government itself, and to help maintain cohesion between local Transcaucasian units and the Legion itself.



With a degree of pomp, the Legion departed Warsaw to minor jubilation, and many eagerly wait to lap up tales of military adventure in Transcaucasia, and some Polish sociologists have identified an emerging 'Cult of the Volunteer' in the public consciousness - the ideal of the ideological soldier, fighting for a cause far from home.

[Orostan]

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Ivan and Segei are taking turns shooting out of cover on a ridge. Ivan is more accurate and tends to take less time to aim. The enemies they are shooting at are hardly more than a hundred meters away on another ridge. In between switching positions, Sergei leans over to Ivan.

"Ivan? Are these guys yelling in Russian?"

Ivan fires off a few shots before turning to Sergei.

"I think they are yelling in a few languages, Sergei."

Sergei peeks out of cover to fire a few shots as Ivan reloads.

"Yes, but is that Russian I hear?"

Ivan shoved the bolt on his rifle back into place.

"Caucasians speak Russian too."

Ivan fired a few shots off. Someone over on the enemy ridge cried out.

"Yes, but they don't speak Russian with that accent do they?"

Sergei stayed behind cover with Ivan as an enemy machine gun peppered their area of the ridge.

"I don't know, have you heard of this Georgian guy named Stalin?" responded Ivan.

A bullet clipped a shrub above them, sending a few leaves down onto Sergei's hat and shoulders.

"You know what I mean."

He brushed the leaves off and Ivan spoke back while sorting through his pockets for extra ammunition.

"What difference does it make if they're Russian Tsarist bastards or Caucasian Menshevik bastards? They could be poles for all we know. Just keep shooting and we will keep winning."

Ivan jumped up and shot over the ridge a few more times. A few more yells came from the enemy positions.

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[Fregantes Empire]

10/01/1920
Eastern Front of the Turkish War of Independence

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At the orders of the Committee of Representation, the XV. Army Corps under the command of the Lieutenant General Kazım Karabekir Pasha has crossed the border into Transcaucasia. Tasked with the liberation of Turkish provinces of Kars, Ardahan and Batumi as indicated in the National Oath, Karabekir Pasha is already familiar with the region, as he has commanded the 2nd Army Corps during the Great War against the Russians. The troops under his command,men of the notorious XV. Army Corps, are an interesting bunch. The army corps had served with distinction in the Great War, having kept the Russians at bay for an entire year with negliable losses, and having been commended by German commanders for its services in the Middle East, and most importantly, Galicia. It has refused the order to disband, and instead followed the orders of their commander, Kazım Karabekir Pasha, and protected the Erzurum and Sivas Congresses. The combination of an experienced army corps and a commander familiar with the territory would surely prove to be fearsome.

The total number of soldiers woudl be around 60'000, a number rivaling that of the Soviets, divided into five infantry divisions in equal numbers (no artillery or machine guns). Each division is tasked with its own path, but overall the plan is simple: The V. Infantry Division will advance along the Black Sea Coast and secure the port-city of Batumi, while the remaining four divisions will carry out a lightning strike, psuhing for Sarikamish, Kars and Artvin.

As of 10th of January 1920, all divisions have crossed the border. They reported minor skirmishes with the irregular forces, but they would prevail against them, as the forces left by Transcaucasia are not elemets of the main regular army, but light militia forces, no mach for the battle-hardened regular troops of the XV. Army Corps. As such, while minor resistance would be present, and the Turkish forces would recieve some loses, their momentum would not be slowed. The moving Turkish army would be strictly ordered not to attack nor pillage any civilian settlements, including non-Turkish ones.

The IV. Infantry Division would set out from the town of Doğubeyazıt, and is marching north, passing by the western side of Mount. Ararat. Since the path is a valley between the tallest mountain in the region and a hill, the division would be marching with caution against an ambush, and two regiments would be sent to secure the hill to the west for reconnaissance. If the present level of light resistance does not increase, then the division would arrive and occupy the city of Iğdır without any hardship by January 12th, and threaten the core Armenian lands, or push towards north.

The I. Infantry Division would set out from Ağrı, an important town still under Turkish control. Moving towards the Northeast, they too would have to navigate the mountainous terrain. Thanks to the lack of settlements in the vicinity except for a few villages of a dozen of houses, they would be subject to fewer raids, and move faster. Arguibly, they would be the only division to complete their January 12th objectives with no delays.

The II. Infantry Division would have the most important task: Capturing Sarikamish, a scene of extreme humilition and suffering. Sarikamish was where more than 90'000 Turkish soldiers died freezing in the Great War, without firing a single shot, because of Enver Pasha's incompetence. It's capture would be a significant boost in morale, but also in strategic terms. After Sarikamish, the terrain flattens and reveals the city of Kars, the prize of the Turkish campaign. As such, the capture of Sarikamish would render Kars undefendable, and any Caucasian attemps at forming a solid defensive line would be in vain. Consequentially, Sarikamish is the prime target within the January 12th objectives. The II. Infantry Division would not encounter much resistance in the beginning, but Sarikamish might prove tricky if the Transcaucasians try to mount a meaningful defence.

Setting off from Erzurum, the HQ of Kazım Karabekir Pasha, the III. Infantry Division would have a dounting task: Artvin. Reaching Artvin in just two days is a crucial objective, and an essential of the lightning war concept. As such, the division is comprised of soldiers who are the most familiar with the region, and ones that can withstand fast marches across the mountains. The division would occupy the village of Uzundere, and would continue its forced march, surprising ambushers with their speed, and relentless momentum. Reaching Artvin would prove to be challenging for sure, but not impossbile.

Lastly, the independent V. Infantry division would be moving along the coastline, with a regiment shadowing the move in close proximity to the South, on the coastal mountains of the Eastern Black Sea Region in order to search for irregular forces. The division would be aided by the local Turkish fishing vessels, operating from ports outside of Transcaucasia but close to the conflict such as Rize, for reconnaissance and sometimes supplies. It's objective within the next two days would be reaching Hopa, a settlement just 33 kilometers away from Batumi. The secondary objective of the division would be liberating Turkish villages along its path, and while all divisions would be ordered not to harm non-Turkish locals, the V. Division would be allowed to defend Turkish settlements and neutralize threats against them if any party attacks the said villages. Already, after crossing the border, it would reach the town of Ardeşen in a couple of hours and move on.

With all the liberated Turkish settlements rejoicing, Kazım Karabekir Pasha is confident in the eventual success of the campaign.

[Georgian Kingdom]

Western Georgian coast

The Caucasus Military Council welcomed the shipments from the French as well as the Polish volunteers. The Minister of Supplies Avetik Saakiyan even gave a small speech in front of the local crowds and the arrived guests on the importance of partnership and danger of socialism. The Polish volunteers were sent to Sukhumi in order to defend the city from the iminent attack. Right now, the majority of the Georgian front forces were concentrated particularly in that city. Half of the French armanent shipments were sent to the Sukhumi defenders. And the other half was sent to Tiflis.

Some units of soldiers in Gagra are putting up a white flag and capitulating. The Brigadier of the Gagra defence forces, Daler Hanzade, realized that being surrounded by the enemy meant an end to the city. That is why the Brigadier ordered the remaining forces to charge forth and try to inflict as much damage as possible to the Red Army invaders ... even if one had to pluck the enemy's eyes or use his teeth. The city is nearly lost and the most the remaining Caucasus units could do is to charge forth.

The Caucasus forces are digging up trenches and setting up various defenses in the Gadauta region, which is another major settlement. The Gadauta defenders are planning to use everything which is available: bows and arrows, catapults, burning tar, digging trenches around the city, setting up machine gun stations in disguise, and spiked frames to slow the Soviets down.

Northern Georgia

As the Soviet soldiers entered the Gerogian territory, the commando units stationed in the Darial Gorge and Mamison Pass have started counter-offensive. The soldiers would shoot from the trees, from under the cover of the spider holes, heavy use of booby traps - similar tactics which were used against the Soviets in Abkhazia. Sometimes the troops would start fires in a certain place in order to re-route the enemy into a different direction more favorable for the defenders.

Dagestan

With the Kunzakh region fallen, the Caucasus infantry and cavalry are concentrated in Derbent, Makhachkala, and Izerbash. The use of recon planes allowed the artillery to make more precise shots agaisnt the enemy. The army told the city dwellers to be ready with stones, flammable tars, kitchen knives and other tools to defend the city in case the enemy enters the city.

Surrounded and outnumbered, the defenders of Khasavyurt were given clear orders to fight to the last. Surrender was discussed but tough Caucasus spirit did not let the commanders give up. General Shamil Mamadov told the soldiers to "continue hurting the enemy until you become martyrs." A decision was made to stop any fighting on the outskirts of the city and lure the enemy inside the city where the defenders were going to show the Soviets the real Caucasian hospitality. Even the civilians took up arms. Whether it was sticks, stones, kitchen tools, or farming tools. Many started heating water to pour the boiling water on the incoming Soviet troops from the roofs and higher floors.

Southern Front

With the Caucasus forces being stretched thin, Tiflis could not put out the same resistance as they are putting against the Soviets. Thus, the main forces are retreating from many positions. However, the government did send Armenian Dashnaktsutyun fighters as well as local militia tot he front lines which are not expected to make a big difference. However, the main forces are retreating towards Sarikamish, Igdir, Batumi, Ardahan, and Kars. 20,000 soldiers of the main force came from Armenia while 30,000 troops came from the Georgian reserve forces. While the main forces are concentrating in the five cities, the irregular militia and Armenian Daşnaksütün are on the front lines to weaken the invading Turkish force.

[Orostan]

Soviet Troops Close in on Baku and Tiflis - 1/10/1920

In Abkhazia Soviet troops ran up against Gagra’s defenses and in time those defenses broke. The withdrawing Transcaucasians would be forced to leave behind their excess supplies and equipment as they retreated to their secondary defensive line. Artillery also continued to bombard them as they evacuated their defenses and the Red Army began entering Gagra. Surprised and delayed by a sudden and suicidal Transcaucasian delaying attack into superior Soviet forces, a good number of the city’s supplies and useful facilities that would normally have been left behind had time to be destroyed by the retreating enemy. After securing the area and the nearby hills the Soviets would move on to encounter the enemy at Gudauta. Their defenses would be formidable, but the Soviets would have an easier time going around these defenses on the easier terrain to attempt to surround the city and cut it off from supplies and communication. Moving over flat land to the north of the city, Soviet forces would force the enemy to either dig in for a siege or defend themselves in terrain they did not have as many defenses in. The Caucasian men in the hills and occasional artillery fire from the area was becoming an annoyance too, and the decision was made to begin the early stages of clearing out the hills. Red Army units would advance in large numbers up the hills carefully. Concealed machine gun positions and ambushes would be there, but they’d be difficult to use effectively when no Red Army unit was too far from any other and where the Bolsheviks would have numerical superiority as well as artillery support. The operations would take a long time and be difficult, but they would clear out sections of the hills gradually and exhaust the supplies of the enemy there while preventing them from backing up their comrades at Gudauta.

On the Dagestan front the fighting would move into eastern Georgia and nearly into northern Azerbaijan. Enemy strongholds at Makhachkala and Izberbash would be surrounded and Soviet forces would nearly surround Derbent, only leaving a very narrow path for the Transcaucasians to evacuate if they chose to. The destruction of the Khasavyurt holdout in the north would free up more soviet troops to move over the hills to assist their friends that had passed through the mountains into central Georgia. The battle over Khasavyurt though short because of the Bolshevik artillery and small size of the city would be incredibly brutal. The Transcaucasian drafting of civilians would create a situation where artillery was used more than men were and large portions of the city were leveled by shells or burned to the ground before Soviet soldiers ever entered. Surrendering troops however would be dealt with specialized and disciplined GPU detachments who were significantly less likely to massacre them for killing their friends than the normal soldiers were. These surrendered soldiers would be treated well, for the russian civil war, and feature in propaganda messages via radio and leaflet behind enemy lines urging Caucasian troops to surrender. If they surrendered honestly and clearly they would be spared and be allowed to continue their lives with no punishment - even be elected to soviets, it was said. If they continued to aid the criminal Transcaucasian government instead though they’d be investigated for war crimes and sent to a prison camp rather than being released almost at once when the war ended.

In Central Georgia the Bolsheviks would make the least progress and take more casualties than in other areas. The effectiveness of ambushes and traps could be negated somewhat by careful scouting and powerful vanguards for advancing troops, but it could not be completely. Soviet troops had to spend a great deal of time securing the hills, but once they were connected with their comrades in Dagestan they were able to more easily be reinforced and secure the approaches to Tiflis better.

Behind enemy lines Bolshevik party groups would spread propaganda and organize among the rear guard units, who were probably mostly irregulars. In areas where Transcaucasians had become surrounded and the battle seemed hopeless for them, mutinies would be organized against commanders who wanted to fight to the last man rather than surrender.

[Arela]

Voyage to Tartus

The situation in Transcaucasia is seeming increasingly dire, to the point where the AFN nearly called off its planned intervention. However, Pacifican insistence led to the creation of the Andean-Pacifican Expeditionary Force, known internally as the APEF. However, two main problems remain. It's unclear if the APEF would even arrive before Transcaucasia collapsed, and maintaining forces in Transcaucasia would be rather taxing on the AFN's logistic network.

To solve the latter problem, a deal was reached with Syria-Palestine to construct a naval base in Tartus. Like the existence of the APEF, the Tartus Naval Base would go unannounced for the time being. But precautions to ensure the secrecy of both the APEF or Tartus Base were negligible and not thought out in advance. In Tartus, Syrian-Palestinian workers would labor to set up some basic facilities for the base. By the time the APEF got there, the base would be capable of performing replenishment missions, in addition to acting as a dock where excess supplies could be stored. However, ideally, the capability for the base to perform some repairs would be established long afterward. Nevertheless, the Tartus Base would be where APEF forces would first arrive, before heading for Transcaucasia.

The departure of the APEF began on January 12th. Four regiments, consisting of 24,000 troops, in addition to 18 aircraft, would be escorted by fifteen destroyers, six light cruisers, and eight coastal motorboats. Additionally, other accompanying vessels would include five minesweepers, two minelayers, a hospital ship, two repair ships, a destroyer tender, and various other auxiliary ships. Being carried along would also include some 14,000 riffles, 400 machine guns, 80 artillery pieces, along with stockpiles of ammunition. Provisions would also be made to transport 50 metric tons of Andean rice, to help relieve food supplies in Transcaucasia.

The APEF didn't expect to transport all of these supplies into Transcaucasia in one go. The initial break-in attempt into Transcaucasia would be conducted with only one regiment and a fifth of the available supplies. The rest would be left to be guarded in Tartus port. The APEF would also get further naval reinforcements, from Wrangel's Fleet, which would link up with the APEF in Tartus after being recalled from its mission to Siberia. In exchange, the AFN pledged to grant financial and technical support for Wrangel's Fleet, which less than a year ago lost access to its home base in the Crimea. The AFN also pledged to guarantee each of the sailors of Wrangel's Fleet a new home after the war ended, as it was looking increasingly unlikely that the Russian people could be liberated from the oppressive Bolshevik invaders.

The APEF is expected to arrive in Tartus on February 10th. That said, there is the possibility that there may be delays in transporting all of the supplies. Perhaps the entire expedition was pointless, but it had to be done. The AFN encouraged the Transcaucasian forces to stay strong and suggested that they should mobilize additional troops. If Transcaucasia could survive until AFN forces arrived, perhaps the situation could still be salvaged. Or maybe not.

[Fregantes Empire]

The Eastern Front: The First Encounter

January 12th, 1920.

The Transcaucasians finally understood the consequence of ignorinng their border with Turkey, but perhaps too late. While they have sent Armenian Daşnaksütün and Georgian forces, 20,000 and 30,000 respectively, it couldn't be possible for the Georgians to arrive to the designated positions in just two days, considering the overall infrasturcture being damaged becuase of the Great War. The Armenian Daşnaksütün however, most possibly reached Iğdır and Kars on time. The news of the main Transcaucasian forces retreating would be welcomed by the HQ in Erzurum with delight, as it would accelerate the collapse of the Northern Front.

The indepedent V. Division would experience no resistence whatsoever in reaching Hopa, as the Transcaucasians were only retreating towards Batumi in the immediate vicinity. The Division would crush the local forces with area denial and mountain warfare tactics, both of which the entire XV. Army Crops has grown accustomed to in the Caucasus and Galicia. After reaching Hopa, it would continue the march towards Sarpi and eventually Batumi, trying to reach the city before the main enemy forces can arrive.

The II. Division would reach Sarikamish, and would engage the local city militia and the Armenian irregulars. While the Armenians would put up a valiant defence, the experienced Turkish soldiers would outmatch their militia counterparts both in skill, equipment and numbers. One can say that the strategic city would be destined to fall, and the 90,000 martyrs from the Great War would be avenged. When the inevitable would happen, the II. Division would continue to move and threaten Kars alongside the I. Division.

The I. Division, encountering no resistence thanks to a lack of settlements on its path, would have reached its first goal (Dibekkaya) as planned, and would be now marching towards Kars without losing speed. It would meet up with the II. Division to capture the city, the prize of the campaing, and for once and for all the humilition inflicted by the Russians would be over.

The III. Division would reach Artvin with relative ease, being the division that advanced the farthest in the army corps and the corner stone of the lightning war strategy. Kazım Karabekir Pasha would be pleased, and the HQ in Erzurum would order the Division to stop advancing for a day to weigh the options. Being in Artvin, the III. Division would be in a prime position to perform a flanking manoeuvre to encirle Batumi from the Northeast. Other commanders argue that the division can also move to Ardahan and Ölçek to threaten Alexandropol and the entire Province of Kars to force the Armenian forces to retreat beyond the Aras River, lest they be encircled. The division would stay put in Artvin until the 14th however, to prevent similar flanking attempts from the Transcaucasians.

Last but not least, the IV. Division would emerge from the valley overlooked by Mount. Ararat, and would immdiately move to capture Iğdır. Capturing Iğdır would be tricky though, as the city is close to Armenia proper, and would be reinforced by the Armenian Daşnaksütün. On the other hand, the Armenians would have no time to set up defensive works nor to dig in, making the battle not a siege, but a close quarters all-out fighting in the city, where the numbers, the experience and the equipment of the division would surely prevail, not to mention that the city lies in the flat basin of the Aras River, reducing the effectiveness of the militias and irregulars considerably. Karabekir Pasha wouldn't expect a different outcome in Iğdır from that of Sarıkamış.

Overall, it can be said that the XV. Army Corps would have reached its 12th of January goals, time will tell if they will be able to perform in a similar manner to reach their 18th of January goals. With the Red Army controlling the quasi-totality of Dagestan, and closing on Tiflis, it is safe to assume that the days of the Transcaucasian Federative Republic are numbered.

[Georgian Kingdom]

Dagestan Front

As 10,000 more troops were sent to break the Soviet siege of Derbent. The Makhachkala and Izerbash brigades, along with the cavalry, continue building up their defenses with the Makhachkala cavalry divison having been given an order to dismount.

Some people who were showing symptoms of the Spanish flu, were deliberately sent to the Soviet armies as "prisoners." But their true mission was to infect as many soldiers as possible using various means. Having large chunks of the Soviet forces outside of the cities, the deployed "prisoners" from Caucasus had an easier time to blend in and come in contact with more Soviet soldiers. Because of the severity of the Spanish flu and lack of sufficient appropriate medication, a potential virus outbreak is expected to not only cause the physical damage to the Soviet troops but also to their morale.

Also, 2 ships armed with 100-120mm cannons and a few auxilary vessels are heading towards the Dagestani coast to help the defenders. Upon reaching the destination, the ships will attack the Soviet infantry once they are in range. A dedicated transport ship and armed steamship from Baku were also sent to Dagestan to transport more supplies.

As the Soviets are moving south, more troops are sent to Quba and Kachmaz.

North Georgia Front

More troops from Armenia and Gerogia are reaching the city of Kars and are preparing various defenses.
As the Soviet troops are advancing towards the capital of Tiflis, the government of the United Caucasus State (Transcaucasia) is being evacuated to Yerevan further away from the northern front. In order to counter the Soviet propaganda efforts, the Tiflis government has launched its own propaganda campaigns. The Caucasus troops would be sent to various cities across the country parading with the bodies of dead Soviet soldiers or prisoners of war thus, encouraging more people to join the ranks and creating an illusion of victory. Other pamphlets with anti-bolshevik messages would be sent out to various settlements as well.

The Military Council underestimated the strength of the Soviet forces in the north. They thought that the mountains will be enough of an obstacles for the advancing Soviet army. However, they came to a sad realization that Hillmen commandos are not enough to stop the Soviets. That is why the Military Council sent 16,390 troops to Ananuri, Chinti, and South Ossetia to aid the Hillmen. Additional defense measures were also taken around the city of Poti where the Caucasus forces were waiting for the AFN aid.

Abkhazian Front

As Gagra and the surrounding areas are falling to the Soviets, the remaining Hillmen are gradually retreating towards Gadauata, where the soldiers are fortifying their positions and concentrating their forces there to meet the Soviets. Due to the poor quality of the planes, the Caucasus infantry would try to hide from the pilots' sight while some infantry would keep their weapons pointed at the aircraft in case they are detected by the Soviet pilots - rifle fire is better than no fire. Machine guns with a standard tripod are proving to be a crude yet effective short-range anti-air weapon

Southern Front


Due to the close proximity of Igdir, the Caucasus troops had easier time to arrive to the Igdir's defense. Even despite the lack of time, the Military Council could send regular troops from Yerevan and the surrounding Armenian cities to repel the Turkish attack.

The Kars defenders are preparing for an imminent attack.

5,000 thousand troops were dispatched to the surrounding areas of Eskikale to get situated in the mountains and prepare the defenses in case the Turks decided to use the route to attack Ardahan. The Caucasus southern command hoped for the Caucasus troops to have a geographical advatage against the advancing Turks and thus buy more time for more troops to arrive to Ardahan if the Turks decided to attack the city.

The soldiers in Batumi are continuing digging trenches, setting up barricades, and strategically position their cannons. Despite the strategic importance of the Poti port, more men are arriving from Poti for the defence of Batumi.

[Grandes Terres]

Virginian support for the APEF

With the APEF en-route to Tartus in an effort to aid in the defence of Georgia against imperialist aggression, the decision has been made by President Robert W. Spencer to support the AFN's efforts in securing the freedom of Georgia. Whilst Virginian society is currently in a period of pacifism and anti-war sentiment is strong, the government understands its responsibility as a member of the AFN to stand up for independent, democratic nations that are under threat.

Taking public opinion into account, President Spencer has announced that Virginia will be supporting the APEF logistically, and will not be committing boots on the ground in Georgia. A logistics and supply line is to be set up between Naval Station Norfolk on the east coast of Virginia and the currently under-construction naval base in the city of Tartus in Syria-Palestine where the APEF expects to land on the 10th February. Cargo and other auxiliary ships from the Virginian navy as well as federally-owned vessels from the Virginian Merchant Marine will assist in the operation, which will be monitored by the Atlantic Fleet as well as additional defensive ships that will escort ships in groups across the Atlantic and Mediterranean.

The logistics convoys will support the APEF with a variety of goods such as medical supplies, food and tools alongside fuel, oil, transport equipment including liberty trucks, and M1908 Howitzers to help ensure the APEF is sufficiently supplied. As well as this the hospital ship VNS Relief will be dispatched to Tartus to assist the hospital ship dispatched by the APEF and provide additional capacity should it be required.

[Orostan]

Red Army Accelerates Offensive - 1/17/1920

The news of the massive AFN intervention in Georgia had profoundly changed Soviet strategy. Immediately upon news of it reaching Moscow orders were given out to double the number of Soviet forces invading Transcaucasia and to accelerate Soviet attacks. The minimum damage Soviet strategy was not working and the prospect of good quality AFN troops entering the fighting was unacceptable.

The first Soviet forces to enter the country would help clear out the Makhachkala and Izberbash hold outs with a large artillery bombardment which, unlike the more carefully targeted ones taking place before, aimed at leveling anything that could aid in the enemy's defense. Civilian causalities would be large, but with the fanaticism displayed by people throughout Transcaucasia in defense of their Menshevik government more civilian causalities would probably just mean less people the Red Army would have to fight later. After the bombardment Soviet forces would rush into the city from all directions and clear them out. The fighting would be brutal and deadly, but there were a lot of Soviets and not as many starving Transcaucasian defenders. The Soviet losses would be replenished with reinforcements from the north anyways. The Soviet reinforcements would ride on hastily patched up railways south until they reached the outskirts of Derbent where the would relieve Soviet troops surrounding the city with their much larger and better armed force. Artillery guns would begin bombardment the moment they were set up. The main force would continue moving south and focus on fighting the enemy at Khachmaz and Quba. A portion of the infantry would make their way through the hills in an attempt to go around the enemy defenses, while the rest concentrated on breaking through the enemy's positions at weak points after an artillery barrage.

At sea the Trasncaucasian navy would be attacked by the Soviet Caspian Flotilla out of Astrakhan. Torpedo boats and small craft would attack under the cover of destroyer's guns and a few cruisers that the Soviets had put together. The battle was expected to be short but devastating, especially with the support of several hydroplanes the Soviets had.

On the hills to the west Soviet forces would cross through with less resistance than expected and threaten western Azerbaijan. They would also push towards Tiflis more to the northwest and prepare to enter the city within the coming week. Surrendering diseased enemy prisoners would be first noticed on this front and it was there that commanders would begin making their own interpretations of orders sent from Caucasus front command. Orders to watch for false surrenders and for unhealthy prisoners were 'interpreted' as orders to shoot all surrendering enemies on sight and to burn the bodies at once to prevent disease. Orders to secure hillsides and prevent villages from aiding hill fighters were interpreted as orders to exterminate the anti-communist population of villages whenever it was suspected they were providing aid to the enemy. Land and other possessions of enemy civilians would be redistributed to those who supported the Bolsheviks. As the underhanded and criminal tactics of the Transcaucasian government became known to more and more commanders at the front's headquarters tolerance for these actions would increase. Only the most barbaric people would authorize and even encourage such things - and they were worthy of only the most barbaric treatment.

In Abkhazia Red Army reinforcements would aid troops already there in clearing the hills and mountains. The bulk of Soviet forces would advance through the valleys in large groups to discourage enemy attack and clean out the hills gradually. The reinforcements helped an enormous amount and ensured the Reds would outnumber their enemies whenever they chose to attack or were forced to defend. Hill fighters would most likely be forced to retreat from the area or make their last stands with whatever small defenses and supplies they could bring together. From there the Soviets in the north of Abkhazia would continue advancing through the hills, slowly at first, but moving towards Sokhumi around Gudauta at a good pace and in overwhelming numbers. Nearer to the coast Soviet troops would push through the smaller hills to the north of Gudauta in the hope that they would be able to surround the defenders in the town and clear the easy way along the coast to Sokhumi and then Poti.

The north of Georgia would be where the enemy defense was most effective. Defenders in the valleys had forced the Reds to attack through several important choke points that could not be easily maneuvered out of. These attacks were costly, but Soviet reinforcements that had just passed through the mountain passes on the way to Georgia would make those attacks easier if not less costly with their extra artillery guns and numbers. Enemy reinforcements to the area would be strafed and generally delayed by aircraft that enjoyed air superiority overhead. The aircraft wouldn't be in good numbers to do any real work, but they could delay certain columns of enemy infantry and force them to slow down everyone else behind them. However near Telavi there was no concentrated defense by the Transcaucasians and Soviet infantry was able to break through. This group was the most important part of the Soviet plan to take Tiflis. Soviet forces were also able to clear out the hills to the west of Tiflis and move into Kutaisi where they could nearly cut off all easy enemy access to Abkhazia and probably sever most if not all important rail lines to the area coming in from the east. No part of the Red Army could do much to stop the enemy government's evacuation from Georgia however aircraft and spies could make the Reds aware of the movement of the Transcaucasian government as soon as it began to happen, which the Turks were informed of quickly. They were close to Yerevan and with some good luck could capture the enemy government to extract a surrender.

[Nowa Polonie]

Legion of St. George begins organizing evacuation of Transcaucasia



If the Legionarries of St. George were under any illusions that the red tide could be stemmed in Transcaucasia, they have had to face the bare reality of what appears to be the imminent collapse of organized Transcaucasian resistance. Some still hold out hope in a protracted guerilla war, but with reports from the front describing horrific scenes of massacres perpetrated by the Red Army, many have begun to flock to the coastline in the hope of escape - aristocrats, intelligentsia, the bourgeois, all sections of society have sought to escape. Thus, with orders from the Polish Government, the Legion has begun to fortify around the port city of Poti, in the hope that for as long as humanly possible, an avenue of escape will exist for elements of the Transcaucasian Government, military and civilian populace.

Brigadier-General Alexander Kutepov, acting commander of the Legion, and former officer in the Russian Tsarist Army, has established a commission alongside city and port officials in order to coordinate evacuation efforts, while communicating to the Polish Government the necessity of establishing greater efforts to ship civilians across the Black Sea. To this end, in communique with the Romanian Government, the Polish Government has requested the use of additional convoys from the Romanian Navy, and has asked that Franco-British naval presence in the Black Sea be used to ensure the security of these convoys in the face of Soviet naval harassment.



Outnumbered, out-gunned, but well-equipped, the Legion has begun to turn Poti into a fortress, employing the use of trench networks, machine-gun nests, and improvised pillboxes to ensure that when the Red Army arrives, it will have to bleed to take the city.

Over the skies of Poti, and in the nearby waters, the Free Aviation Squadron attached to the Legion has stepped up its own efforts to provide cover for refugee columns travelling over land in the face of ongoing harassment by elements of Soviet aviation, while hoping to slow the advance of the Red Army towards the port city. With only two dozen aircraft however, some of which have been grounded due to damage, this is a losing battle. Morale is low, but in the wake of tales brought along by refugees of the inhumane treatment of both civilians and prisoners by the Red Army, the Legion is resolute in its intention to hold the city for as long as humanly possible, and to allow as many people as possible to escape the Soviet monster.



As these reports have begun to filter to Warsaw, the response among the Polish Government has been one of outrage, and President Pilsudski and Prime Minister Dmowski have issued a joint statement of condemnation for what they have described as the 'Unholy Soviet criminal government', to this end it has appealed to the international community to stand resolute in joining this condemnation. The attitude among all sections of Polish politics has been one of disgust and revulsion towards the Moscow Government, and even among the Moscow-friendly 'Bolshevik' factions of the Polish Socialist Party, there are no apologists - only mute silence, and quiet acknowledgement that regardless of ideology, the travesties perpetuated in Transcaucasia are an affront to morality. Rosa Luksemburg, the standing chairwoman of the PSP has gone as far to say that the Bolshevik government has 'betrayed' Socialism, and can no longer consider itself a government of working peoples, labelling the leading figures of the Russian government ''A gang of butchers''.

As the first steamers leave Poti, and the Polish Government begins to make preparations to add to its collection of White Russian refugees, the question of the lips of every Pole is; ''Are we next?''.

[Georgian Kingdom]

Anti Air Tactics and other internal affairs
As rthe Soviets are using their air force more and more, the Caucasus soldiers are implementing the tactic of rifles and machine guns to shoot at the Soviet aircraft in all areas where the fighting is ongoing. Due to the poorer quality of the planes at the time and the fact that the Soviet aircraft are strafing the Caucasus soldiers, it means that the aircraft is very close to the ground which would result in ideal conditions for machine guns and an effective range for the rifles. Because of those factors, the Caucasus infantry is more likely to either shoot some of the Soviet planes down or seriously damage them.

The government stepped up the propaganda efforts. More stories of Soviet atrocities are being spread around the country, and even countryside, to mobilize the population and encourage military recruitment. The Military Council also organizez multiple smaller bands to conduct hit-and-run raids on Soviet supply lines. Initially these raids are meant to be small-scale and symbolic. However, over time, the government hopes to grow these bands into a more effective guerilla warfare groups.

Dagestan Lost

As the Makhachkala and Izerbash units are routing, the remaining Caucasus warriors in Derbent have started burning down buildings and other facilities in the city which may be of any use to the Soviets. The city was encircled and the Derbent command had to accept the fact that the city was practically lost. All the soldiers were ordered to leave their positions on the city front lines and enter the city to await for the foe to enter the city where the Caucasus defenders were going to have their final fight. The people prapared burning tar,, which they were going to pour on the Reds from the windows and rooftops, stones, kitchen knives, sticks, and everything on hand for the final fight.

Azerbaijani Front

At this point, more troops have arrived to Northern Azerbaijan to prevent the Red Army from advancing south towards Baku. Due to flat surface of the area, the Azeri artillery would be strategically positioned to try to break the Soviet formations. As the Soviets were moving south, the Azeri Cavalry Regiment tried to attack the Soviet Infantry III's flank from the east and try to destroy their artillery while the main Azeri force was attacking the Soviets from the south. Having fast horses and guns, the Azeri cavalry managed to attack the cannoneers while the Azeri artillery was bombarding the Soviets from the south. The mission of the infantry unit was to conduct a major counteroffensive against the invaders.
More troops are moving from the Caucasus-Iran borders and Baku towards the north to fight the Soviets. The mobilization is going quicker than usual due to the dire situation and readiness of the country.

At sea, the situation ws ugly. The Azeri navy was moving away from the area heading south trying to escape the Soviets. The Navy was going to employ cat-and-mouse tactic trying to escape the Reds while arming the sailors with rifles to add to the anti-air capability.

Abkhazia Front

The infantry units stationed in Gadauta were ordered to withdraw from Gadauata area to avoid being encircled. Since the Red Army is traveling off road and further away, the Caucasus forces are retreating to Sokhumi. Upon the infantry's arrival to Sokhumi, a big portion of them was dispatched to cover the hills next to Sokhumi, so they can prevent the Soviets from flanking the main Sukhumi force. However, as the soldiers were retreating, they tried to destroy and burn everything on their way, including the buildings, crops, trees of Gadauta and Likhni and other areas on the way. If they could not have it, the Soviets could not have it either. Thus, they tried to take as much as possible and destroy what they could not bring as much as possible.
With the help of the Polish volunteers, the Caucasus army is fortifying Sukhumi and Poti to maintain access to the rest of Europe

Various government memebers, including the Head of State Avtandil Jemalishvili are being evacuated to Poland. Marshal Shota Grigadze was appointed as an acting General Secretary of the State while the capital was temporary moved from Tiflis to Yerevan.

North Georgia Front

The Georgian government and the army tried to organize the defense of Kutaisi, but the unexpected advance of the Red Army from the North Caucasus, through the Mamisoni Pass, which was considered impossible to pass through, did not give them such opportunity. The Reds entered the abandoned Kutaisi, however before that, the Georgian forces destoryed all the food and contaminated water supplies as well as destoryed some important facilities. Part of the Georgian forces went into the mountains and continued to fight, but the main units of the army and the National Guard retreated to the important Black Sea port of Batumi.

Some of the forces sent to Ananuri and South Ossetia were called back to fortify and prepare Tiflis, but some were left in the mountains of South Ossetia and Ananuri region. Because they knew the locality and it was a mountaneous area, the remaining Caucasus force was expected to cause a considerable damage to thE Advancing Red Army, even if they were gonna lose.
The soldiers are setting up various barricades, cannons, and traps around Tiflis preparing for the Soviet attack. With the capital having been relocated to Yerevan, the rsidents of Tiflis were waiting to face the soviets.

[Orostan]

Red Army Enters Tiflis - 1/21/1920

In Georgia the Red Army advanced towards Tiflis as the Transcaucasians retreated. The enemy fortifications and defenses would be bombarded by artillery as the city was surrounded and entered on three sides. As part of a plan to end the war quickly, there were propaganda leaflets dropped from aircraft demanding the surrender of the city and promising good treatment for those who surrendered honestly. The execution of a few lower level Soviet commanders who had overstepped their bounds in dealing with Transcaucasian resistance fighters and possible false enemy surrenders was also publicized to add some backing to this promise.

To the west of Tiflis Soviet cavalry entered Gori and began moving towards Borjomi to protect the side of the Soviet advance while Infantry left Kutaisi and traveled towards Zugdidi in order to cut off the parts of Abkhazia in enemy hands from supplies and reinforcements. That infantry had made much less progress then they'd hoped to due to destruction in Kutaisi caused by the retreating enemy.

Further delays in the Red Army's advance were encountered in Abkhazia and Azerbaijan by the enemy destruction of infrastructure in Gudauta and Derbent. Soviet reinforcements were able to clear out the city by either convincing the surrounded and probably demoralized Transcaucasians to surrender or by shooting at them until they did. Because of the destruction of the city's rail infrastructure the Red Army was unable to advance much farther and settled in at their positions in front of Quba and Kachmaz. In response to the Transcaucasian cavalry offensive in the east, which could not be very effective in the area close to the coast where maneuvering was difficult, and the enemy artillery a minor attack would be launched near Quba. The intent was not to advance significantly, but only to break a hole in the enemy defenses and force them to retreat from them or risk being surrounded and destroyed. Red Army aircraft would continue their harassment of enemy reinforcements and supply lines but with the increased enemy use of machine guns that could reach them they would be forced to be more cautious. The rifles didn't really matter as much, but a well aimed shot when a plane was coming straight at the shooter or going straight away could tear into a wing and make a pilot keep farther away from the enemy below him. The Soviet navy meanwhile pursued the Azeris down the coast until they reached Baku, which the Soviet ships would not approach for fear of shore guns.

Enemy raids on supply lines would be mostly ineffective at actually destroying supplies due to the small number of enemies participating in groups attacking Red Army supply trains or horse drawn supply carts. They would be much more effective at delaying supply deliveries and sabotaging infrastructure behind the Red Army further slowing down the advance. In response to this the Soviet's GPU would begin to create special detachments of local Bolsheviks to assist in protecting infrastructure and police duties. Local Bolsheviks would also be elevated into administrative positions as the Transcaucasian SFSR's government was put into power and Dagestan was declared to be an Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic within the Russian SFSR. After the war was over Soviet elections and limited amnesty for popular former Menshevik officials was promised as long as they understood the legitimacy of the Soviet system in the region.

[Fregantes Empire]

Eastern Front: Escalation

18/01/1920

As the XV. Army Corps fulfilled its 12th of January objectives and secured key position in the mountains, it would be the time to descend onto flatter land and threaten the Transcaucasian usurpers in the major cities.

As this phase of the campaign would involve more complex maneuvers with differing objectives over a longer duration of time, the HQ in Erzurum decided to split the army into three sections: Western, Central and Eastern. It was reported that the III. Division in Artvin was split in two, into the subdivisions III.-I. (8,000 infantry) and III.-II. (4,000 infantry).

Western Section

The Western Section was comprised of the V. Division and III.-II. Subdivision.

After the successful liberation of Hopa on the 12th, the V. Division would march towards Batumi. In the process, it would liberate Sarpi, Kvariati and Gonio. The HQ in Erzurum being aware of troop deployments and defensive works in the city, ordered the V. Division not to engage, and instead remain on the mountainous terrain, negating the effect of enemy shelling. The division would arrive near the surroundings of Batumi on the 16th, and would assume a defensive position on the mountainous high ground.

On the 17th, the III.-II. Subdivision would arrive on the scene, coming from the South, through Erge. As per orders, they too would not engage the illegal occupiers of Batumi, but instead would assume a defensive position on the surrounding mountains like the V. Division, near Ortabatumi (OOC: this settlement is literally named as “Middle Batumi”. Funny).

On the 18th, elements of the V. Division would block passes through Gonio and the River Çoruh, while elements of the subdivision would occupy Makhinjauri. Batumi would be cut-off from all overland supply lines, and the Siege of Batumi would begin, pinning down a considerable number of Caucasian soldiers, and denying them supplies, as the rest of the country collapsing around them, they would most likely not get supplies from Poti or anywhere else. 16,000 Turkish soldiers will maintain the siege/encirclement.

In one account, it was said that a Turkish soldier fluent in Georgian shouted: “Don’t even dream of supplies from Poti! The Polish have eaten and drunk everything and asking for more!”. The commander of the V. Division would send an offer of peaceful surrender to Batumi. If they were to do so, no one, civilian and soldier alike, would be harmed. This phrase would be added at the end of the letter: “We are not the Soviets, and we certainly don’t need to be”.

Central Section

Similar tactics would be used for Kars as well.

The Central Section was made up of the II. Division and the III.-I. Subdivision.

After crushing the Armenian irregulars in Sarikamish, the II. Division would capture the city, finally avenging the catastrophe in the Great War. The Liberation of Sarikamish would trigger a wave of pride, courage and a rise in overall morale. The liberation of the motherland from the foreign occupiers would be achieved, step by step.

After taking Sarikamish, the division would move North and reach Kars. Aware of the presence of Armenian regular forces, the II. Division would mirror the tactics employed in Batumi, and simply wait in a defensive position outside of artillery range (since Kars is on flat ground without any high ground) until the arrival of the III.-I. Subdivision.

The story of the Subdivision would be a bit different though. Made aware of Caucasians wisely blocking the pass in Eskikale to buy time for Ardahan, the HQ would order the Subdivision to find another way. Luckily, the commander of the Subdivision was a local of the region, and would suggest marching along Ardanuç and Rabat, then following the Alabalık Stream and then the Kura River and thus reaching Ardahan without delay and before the Caucasian reinforcements, while having circumnavigated Eskikale and negating the Caucasian advantage of mountain-pass defense.

Not only Ardahan would fall swiftly, but the Caucasians in Eskikale would be severly exposed to flanking and encircling. III.-I. Subdivision would complete this maneuver on the 16th, and would be waiting until the 18th to march towards Kars to aid the II. Division in completely cutting-off Kars as well. Just like in Batumi, the commander of the II. Division would send an offer of surrender to the defenders in Kars.

Eastern Section

The Eastern Section would be comprised of the IV. and the I. Divisions. It would be the section whose plans were completely altered. Before, The divisions of this section would capture Iğdır and help liberate Kars, but in the light of the Soviets informing the HQ that the Transcaucasian government fled to Poland and the remaining high-ranking officials relocated to Yerevan, Kazım Karabekir Pasha would see his chance to finally end this conflict once and for all, and to prevent unnecessary bloodshed.

The Battle of Iğdır, having started on the 12th, would be bloody, with Armenian regulars, Daşnaksütün and militias defending the city. While inferior to the heroes of Galicia in numbers, equipment and experience, their valiant defense of the city would cost the lives of many Turkish soldiers, but the city would fall, nevertheless. Still, in order to show respect to valour of their enemies, the IV. Division would bury the commander of the Armenian defenders with full military honours.

On the 15th, the division would be on the move again, crossing the Aras River and occupying Margara. It would remain there until the 18th.

The I. Division would completely diverge in its plans. Fresh and not having fought any enemy forces, the division would be a prime opponent to any retreating and exhausted Caucasian forces that might have suffered casualties. While its original orders were to aid the II. Division in liberating Kars, the HQ would send new orders: March on Alexandropol/Gümrü.

Alexandropol was a major Armenian city to north of Yerevan, but probably thanks to the high Soviet pressure, scarce resources, stretched-thin forces and the belief that the Turks would most certainly obsess over Kars; the Caucasians have neglected to fortify, let alone garrison the city. On the 12th, the division would march without rest towards the north, keeping a healthy distance between itself, the Akhurian River and especially Kars to maintain secrecy and the element of surprise. After marching for 5 days, it would cross the Apa Stream near Kalkankale and Akyaka into Armenia proper, and occupy Alexandropol, which is in close proximity.

The strategic advantage in question would be significant: An important Armenian city would be acquired, and this would result in threatening Yerevan from the North, and with the IV. Division already threatening the city from the South, Yerevan would be in a precarious and critical position. In addition, the city being considerably close to the Soviet forces, if the Red Army were to capture Tiflis/Tbilisi fast enough and rush towards the south, Georgia would be effectively split from Armenia and Azerbaijan, and the supply and communication lines would be severed.
----------------------------------------------------------
Well aware of the threat to the integrity of Transcaucasia as a whole, Erzurum relayed an ultimatum to the Transcaucasian government in Yerevan: Unconditional surrender of the Caucasian forces to the Turkish and Soviet forces in order to prevent further bloodshed. The ultimatum expires on the 22nd.

Overall, the Turkish Army, with the exception of Iğdır, has refrained from engaging the enemy in hot contact, and instead strategically maneuvered to advantageous positions, thus pinning, encircling and possibly flanking the enemy forces.


Time will tell whether Batumi and Kars will surrender or not, or whether Yerevan will surrender or send more of its people to the depths of hell in vain.

[Georgian Kingdom]

Azerbaijani Front - Massive retreat

The Military council has given the order to all the units in northern Azerbaijan to retreat towards Baku and start fortifying the city. However, 5 thousand of irregular militia would be left as an insurgency, supply disruption, and etc. While 15,000 Azeri troops, including reservists, would be dispatched to defend Baku. Caucasus soldiers employed the stactic as they were withdrawing: burning and destroying everything on their way. As they were burning houses in Kachmaz and Quba, the Caucasus defenders would leave some houses in immaculate condition. Those chosen houses would look very maintained, like house of a wealthy family and very attractive. However, inside those houses would be a real house of horror for the Soviets. There would be booby traps, traps with harmful chemicals, and even water used by a person, who was suspected to have Spanish flu symptoms, which would get poured down on a soviet soldier as he would enter one of the rooms in order to spread disease among the Reds. The residents of Baku started preparing wooden catapults and various flammable chemicals.

The Azerbaijani Calvary and the Derbent Relief Force would retreat to Siyazan, destroying the railways as they retreated. The Northern Command, or the units of the former Northern Front, would also pull off the same maneuver, except that they would retreat head to Poti.

Armenian Southern Front

Upon hearing the news of the Turkish advance, the provisional government of the Caucasus Republic are relocating from Yerevan to Stepanakert in Karabakh. The location was used due to its mountainous region which was going to make it harder for the Turks or the Soviets to advance. Few high-ranking officers stayed in Yerevan to oversee the battle preparations as well as manage the city.
The Turkish conquest of Gyumri has really affected the morale of the Caucasus defenders. The units on the southern front, including Igdir, Ardahan, Kars, Eskikakle are retreating en masse towards Yerevan or Poti, while others are capitulating. Because most of the propaganda by the Caucasus government was focusing on the Soviets and their atorcities, the Transcaucasians did not harbor a strong hate towards the Turks in general. There were also many Muslims in the Caucasus army who sympathized with the Turkish muslims. The mission was to dispatch the remaining troops to Yerevan and Poti.

In Batumi, the Turks had cut off the city's lines of communications. With the situation looking grim, the Batumi Garrison responded to the Turkish offer of surrender. They'd accept given that the Turks hold up their end of the bargain. Elsewhere on the Southern Front, brigade commanders informed the Turks that their forces were on the verge of mutiny and that they would be willing to disband and go home should the Turks let them do so in peace. After checking if the Turks would attack them while they retreated, they would then begin dispersing and splitting into smaller groups as they scattered throughout the countryside.

Abkhazia Front - Massive retreat

The Military council decided to employ scorched earth tactic destroying everything they could on its way as they were retreating from Sukhumi to defend the caluable port town of Poti. The focus on the Georgian front was about the defense of the final holdouts. However, the forces adjacent in the hills were left on their positions for insurgency purposes to slow down the Soviet advance while the other forces retreated. The Caucaus army was going to use the Polish and French supplies, volunteers for the defense of the city. As the Caucasus infantry was retreating from Sukhumi, they would burn as many buildings and crops as possible while also employing the same trap tactics used in Quba and Kachmaz including booby-trapped houses, contaminated water supply.

In Poti, the Poles had already been helping fortify the city for a while. To help, the citizens of Poti have been ordered to construct three additional trench lines. One line would be east of the Rioni River, while two would be west of the river, in addition to numerous communication trenches. The tactics of Tbilisi would also be utilized by the Poti defenders. Even before the Soviets arriving, the city would begin training recruits. The city would also begin boarding doors and ground floor windows and would prepare booby traps and improvised landmines for later use. Poti would also gather supplies for the impending siege, and would elect a provisional government.

Meanwhile, the Caucasian forces in Sokhumi began a march towards Poti. However, the hill troops adjacent to Sokhumi were ordered to hold their positions, to give the others time to escape. It was inevitable that they would get pushed back by the Soviets. Ideally, once the Sokhumi forces were safe, the hill troops would be able to escape into the mountains. However, isolated and so close to massed Soviet forces, there was little they could do but hide.

Siege of Tiflis

Battle of Tbilisi

As Soviet forces crossed the Mtkvarii River, the bridges would be detonated with explosives, a move intended to throw the Soviets into disarray. Otherwise, the Soviets would meet little resistance as they crossed the outer part of the city. However, Tbilisi would be a tougher nut to crack than Dagestan. Rather than fighting the Soviets head-on, the Tbilisi Garrison had withdrawn east of the Mtkvari River and south of Naxalovka Beach, to take advance of the city's natural defenses.

Meanwhile, many of Tbilisi's inhabitants were encouraged to leave. Most did so on their own volition, having heard the stories of Soviet atrocities. However, a few needed some extra encouragement. The fewer hungry the mouths the better, and the city would largely be depopulated of its elderly, sick, disabled, and pre-adolescents and their mothers. They, along with many others who fled without authorization, would flee southwards in a massive refugee caravan. It was hoped that the Soviets wouldn't interdict their passage. However, if they did, Transcaucasian journalist crews would document this, to show the world just how barbaric the Soviets are.

Tbilisi had received half of the French supplies sent to Transcaucasia. As such, the city was fairly well stocked with armaments and supplies. These would go to waste once the city fell, so the Tbilisi Garrison began a rushed conscription drive to bolster its numbers, with the minimum service age lowered to fifteen. These recruits would be placed in "safe" positions and be assigned to units led by regulars. However, they would still have to be baptized by fire. To better improve its chances, the Tbilisi Garrison centered their defenses in the inner city, where the streets were narrower and the Soviets would find it harder to take advantage of their numbers. Many streets had been laced with barbed wire, and the remaining civilians were tasked with boarding up ground floor windows and doors and carrying supplies. Sometimes boarded up doors would be rigged with explosives, which would detonate should they be opened. These explosives would also be laid throughout the streets, acting as improvised landmines.

On the upper floors and roofs of buildings, snipers and machine gunners would be emplaced. The snipers would focus on targeting Soviet officers and other key personnel, while the machine gunners would ambush Soviet forces and provide fire support to Maneuver Units. The Maneuver Units are small groups, consisting of up to 15 soldiers who would launch hit-and-run raids on the Soviets at close quarters. Afterward, they would be able to retreat into the maze of streets and buildings which the inner city had. Additionally, the Soviet artillery barrage had left many ruins and rubble. These ruins would be utilized by Caucasian snipers, giving new vantage points not possible beforehand.

[Orostan]

Victory Declared in Transcaucasia, Soviet government established in Tiflis - 1/25/1920

A newspaper clipping from Virginia announcing the Soviet victory.

The Transcaucasian withdrawal from Abkhazia and north Azerbaijan had been attacked by Soviet cavalry and airplanes as they left their defensive positions. Due to the destruction of infrastructure Soviet infantry could not risk pursuit and was forced to make a slow advance repairing infrastructure on the way. The destruction of railroads and the destruction left behind by the retreating enemy made finding the right way through the rough terrain all the harder. In order to keep the region fed the Central Executive Committee authorized the distribution of food aid to the region and the Transcaucasian SFSR's government has begun to oversee civilian infrastructure and city repair efforts from temporary facilities in Derbent.

The fighting over Tiflis was particularly brutal. The burning of rubber and many buildings in the city by the enemy blanketed the city in smoke and made fighting difficult and costly. It also made targeting artillery and using it effectively nearly impossible. Rather than entering the city with infantry and allowing the enemy to take advantage of their defenses, the Red Army would prepare for a creeping barrage that would send shells falling into likely positions of the defenders just ahead of the Soviet advance. Aircraft that could not provide effective support through the thick smoke over the city and would drop leaflets promising assistance and good treatment if the city surrendered. Eventually however entering the interior of the city would become a necessity, and Red Army soldiers would enter the city center on the third day of the siege with the support of armored cars shipped in from the north. Ten former Entente tanks would be deployed to clear out barbed wire and break through barricades on the streets, well supported by infantry and whatever air support was available. When tanks weren't there mountain guns and machine guns would be used to defend Red Army soldiers cutting apart the wire. The fighting would be made more difficult by the enemy setting rubber on fire ahead of the Red Army and making it impossible to see or properly fight in many cases. This would stop the advances in some places, but only for a time. The enemy only had so much rubber, and far more than just tires was burning behind them in the city. Only the areas controlled by the Soviets would have easy access to water for fire extinguishing. The smoke also made it just as hard for them as it did for the Soviets. Their maneuvering units and snipers would be effective to a certain degree, but in the rubble and urban environment there was plenty of cover for both sides and the Soviets almost always outnumbered the defenders. Their positions on top of buildings could also sometimes be spotted by aircraft, inviting strafing attacks when the sky wasn't full of smoke. To deal with the enemy hiding in buildings the Red Army could use machine gun fire from armored cars mountain guns that could be transported into the city and were able to be taken over rubble to blow apart enemy fortifications or machine gun nests.

Civilians leaving the city would be received by special GPU units or regular Red Army troops overseen by the GPU. After the city was surrounded anyone trying to leave would have to pass through them. With increased oversight from Moscow, robbery and other crimes against civilians were not tolerated. The Transcaucasian journalists weren't tolerated much either. Their cameras were taken and they were sent with the rest of the civilians out of the city towards Soviet held territory to refugee shelter points at various towns and cities in Soviet Transcaucasia that had been organized by the civilian government.

In Azerbaijan the enemy had abandoned their prepared defenses and ran towards Baku. The Red Army, able to be supplied thanks to repairs to the railway system of Soviet Azerbaijan and Dagestan launched attacks to take advantage of this. The enemy stronghold at Siyazan would be difficult to attack without repairing the railways for more supplies so instead the Red army went through the hills right after the retreating enemy, and by the 25th was in a position to potentially surround Siyazan. In preparation for the attack on Baku that was being planned two armored trains had been moved into Dagestan, and once infrastructure repairs were complete in the coming days would be moved down the rail line to aid in the Red Army's attack on Baku with their heavy artillery.

The port city of Poti would be surrounded by Red Army troops, however it was not attacked due to the difficult supply situation of Red Army troops in the area. Instead the city's port facilities and warehouses were shelled as the Soviets cleared out the hills to the north of it or repaired infrastructure that would allow an attack on the city to be well supplied and take the minimum amount of casualties. There was little Soviet movement south of Poti as the Red Army focused on securing its gains while infrastructure that would allow them to continue the campaign was repaired.

[Nowa Polonie]

The Battle of Poti Begins



''And there went out another horse that was red: and to him that sat thereon, it was given that he should take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another, and a great sword was given to him...

..And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God...''

As a ship docks in Poti harbour, and the crew let down the gang-plank, the sounds of the crowd are deafening - some from the crowd lift children above their heads, trying desperately as they might to secure for their children a place on the ships taking refugees from Poti. Women offer fistfuls of jewelry to secure for themselves a place on the ship ahead of the others. As this scene carries itself out, a shell lands nearby, and the crowd is rocked by screaming. The crew of the ship shout, and the captain orders them to continue despite the shelling, and despite the swell of the crowd.

Such are the scenes of the Siege of Poti, where the Legion of St. George has decided it will make its final stand in Transcaucasia. In the hills to the North, the Soviet Red Army has established forward positions in preparations for its final assault. Poti remains one of the last points of escape in Transcaucasia - this the Legion knows, this the Soviets know, and the fighting for the city will be bloody. The Legion are not the Transcaucasian Army; they are not underequipped, they do not launch attacks in desperation - they stand, and they fight. Officered and composed of veterans of the Great War, and resolute in resistance, as the Soviet shells begin to land on the city, they respond in kind.



Batteries around the city have been emplaced and concealed - their standing orders are to suppress and silence all Soviet artillery possible through the use of counter-battery fire. Assisted by the planes remaining to the aviation company attached to the Legion, they have carried out this task with due diligence and efficiency, though they fight a losing battle to keep the pressure off of the city and the refugees inside.

[Orostan]

Somewhere Over Poti...

The faint sound of artillery far below was drowned out by the whine of propeller engines. The leader of a group of three Red fighter aircraft could spot the explosions of artillery shells down below as the Soviets and Polish shelled each other. Streaks of dark smoke rose from the city and land below, looking more like smudges of ink than clouds sometimes. White columns of smoke came off of steamships trying to leave the harbor, the Black Sea under them

The lead pilot gestured with an arm in one direction out of the open cockpit of his plane and then turned. His friends followed suit after him. Below their group a few light colored shapes were moving rapidly above the forest, their shadows following close behind them on the ground. The pilot lead his group into a dive and they began to close on the other aircraft. The wind sped up as the aircraft accelerated. Just as they got close enough to clearly make out that checkerboard pattern the Poles used as an insignia the enemy broke formation. They had probably seen the red stars on the Bolshevik wings.

Each man went after his own target, and the lead Bolshevik went after the lead Pole. The Polish pilot swerved his plane around wildly to dodge the first volley out of the Red's machine guns. To gain enough speed to keep maneuvering the Pole brought his plane down into a dive. The Red followed. Another burst of machine gun fire left the barrels of his guns. They were so close now it felt like he could reach out and touch the Polish plane over his propeller if his bullets weren't doing that for him. A few good hits tore some holes in the side of the Polish plane right before the Pole began to turn around and pull up slightly. The Red made a wider turn to conserve his energy and as a consequence lost the Pole for a moment. The Polish pilot meanwhile had spotted one of his comrades in trouble with one of the other Bolsheviks and was aiming to rescue him. To get ahead of the Russian behind him he had traded as much altitude for energy as possible and was barely above tree level. The Bolshevik behind him fired off his machine gun without much luck. It didn't look like he'd scored any serious hits too. Maybe he'd passed a few shots through the canvas wings of the Pole at best.

The Polish machine gun barrage was much more accurate and a moment after the clatter of the guns stopped the Bolshevik plane that had been after his friend began smoking and twirling towards the ground. The other relieved Polish pilot that had been saved had his feelings cut short by gunfire from the enemy pursing his friend. It was not long after that his plane followed the other one into the ground.

With the score one to one, the Polish pilot drew his machine in a wide turn around to try and fight his enemy head on. As the Red followed his turn over an artillery position hidden among the trees that seemed to flash by the Pole realized he had made a mistake and aborted his turn. The Bolshevik didn't react quickly enough though and flew by his target. The two were now in much the same situation they had started in. Neither was willing to climb and lose energy, and neither was willing to take a risk like the Pole had again. The Red put a few more bullets out to see if he could score a lucky hit. No luck. A moment later as he considered looking around for his other comrade in the sky a machine gun cut through his left wing. It was only a few holes in the canvas, but shocking nonetheless. He didn't even have time to see his attacker before the checkerboards on his wings flew over him followed closely by the other Red pilot. A burst from the Red's machine guns produced a burst of fire from the engine of the Pole that he was after, and the Pole quickly began to drift and struggle in the air as fire overtook his craft. The other Red didn't have time to celebrate though, as the last Pole had pulled up and around with all of the strength he had to get a good angle on him. After a burst of machine gun fire the Red began to fly off, preparing to make a wide turn back and get rid of the now even slower Pole. Just as he tried to do that the damage to his aircraft made itself known and one of his lower wings snapped off. The last Red couldn't tell which one it was, it happened so fast. Before the last two pilots knew it they were alone in the air. The Red had the advantage though and the last Pole was right in front of his guns! Because of that turn, his wider side was exposed. A few bullets flew out of the Red's guns as he held down the trigger. But then -click- -click-, and nothing came out. Out of ammunition. As the pilot reached for his pistol the Pole that had just managed to control his aircraft got the idea and swiftly pulled up. The Red couldn't follow, and before he knew it the Pole was behind him. The Pole shot off a few rounds, but again they weren't effective. A few had landed dangerously close behind him and passed through the body of the white airplane though. The Red, never one to just give up, shot off a few rounds from his pistol. A spurt of black smoke from the pole followed right after - finally, some luck!

But it wasn't so easy. The planes were over the sea now, and as the Red enjoyed his temporary victory and tried to climb and turn towards friendly territory the Pole suddenly dived so he could get right under the Red, and with the last power his failing engine could provide he drove the plane up again and into his enemy's tail. The impact reverberated through the body of his plane, but neither plane fell apart quite yet. The Pole's wing had been speared by the rear landing skid of the Red's plane and now was locked together with one of the spars of the wing. Both men began frantically firing at each other with their pistols while the mess of aircraft went over a steamship and back towards the beach. The Red felt a jolt in the shoulder and began to bleed as one of the Pole's shots finally landed. The Pole cried out as the Red hit back through what remained of the thin fuselage his plane and into his leg. Dropping his pistol into the sea below as he did so, the Pole began to push on his controls to drive both aircraft closer to the ground than they already were. The Red fired off the last of what was in his pistol in a panic and right as the Polish aircraft struck beach sand and the Red's own vehicle began to follow the Red thought he had shot the Pole in the head - right between the eyes. The last thing the Red saw before being made unconscious or worse by the impact was the remnants of a satisfied expression on the Pole's face.

[Georgian Kingdom]

Battle of Tiflis

Tiflis, January 1920

The three-day bombardment of Tiflis would have a monumental effect on the city, with thousands left dead or wounded and the streets littered with rubble. The bombardment intended to destroy the defender's covers, but suffered from poor intelligence: no Soviet troops had gone inside the city, and the Soviets found it difficult to find targets amidst the smoke the Georgians had created. That said, the bombardment didn't help alleviate the city's smoke situation.

Wounded civilians would be sent southwards to escape from the fighting, something that would become a repeating trend. If possible, wounded soldiers would also tag along in these refugee convoys, trying to pass as wounded civilians. However, inside the city, the civilians were still hard at work under military supervision. The three-day delay before the Soviet offensive had allowed for the previous defensive preparations to be further completed. The bombardment also allowed for the digging of trenches and anti-tank ditches in the city. The trenches would be used to hide from artillery bombardment, and to allow safe passage from one place to another. And as time went on, these trenches would be continuously improved and concealed.

Furthermore, the Tiflis defenders began to retrofit liquor bottles with kerosene-dosed cloth wicks. These "kerosene bombs," would be lit and then thrown at Soviet vehicles, ideally via a slingshot. The idea is that the kerosene bomb would decommission the Soviet vehicle, or at least force the crew to exit due to heat exhaustion. This would be compounded by the unreliability of armored vehicles at the time, which were prone to mechanical breakdowns or overheating.

As the Soviets entered Tiflis, they would realize the majority of buildings are adjacent to each other. This wouldn't be so unfamiliar to a Muscovite per se, but what would catch them off-guard was how narrow and cramped the streets are. This incommodious layout, combined with the adjacent buildings would make it rather difficult for the Soviets to quickly withdraw from a street when under fire. This would too confine the Georgian forces. However, with them having a better knowledge of the terrain of their city and buildings, they would be able to make use of the roof or any crevice available. It would be a challenging scenario nonetheless, and it'd likely take actual "experience" for the Georgians to improve their escape tactics.

To take better advantage of the city's layout, the Maneuver Units would be split into multiple fireteams. One of the main roles for fire teams would be to guard the entrance of buildings. They would be helped by interlocking fire from both sides of the streets: from other fire teams, and machine gunners and snipers on the upper floors. If there was a lack of machine gunners in a specific sector, then soldiers armed with semi-automatic firearms would be used.

The goal would be to catch the Soviets forces in enfilade. The Georgians were already planning to do something along these lines, but the three-day delay had allowed the Georgians to revise their measures. As opposed to the Maneuver Units meeting the Soviets directly in the streets, they would hide in the buildings. When the Soviet forces crossed sufficiently far enough for the range of Georgian interlocking fire, they would be fired from multiple directions and floor levels.

Additionally, some fire teams would be dedicated for reconnaissance purposes, aided by civilian spies. Intelligence would be key to help Georgian snipers target Soviet officers and their reconnaissance teams. For firefighting efforts, water could be gotten from the Tiflis Reservoir if needed. As for Soviet armored cars, the Georgians would deploy their machine guns against them, attempting to exploit their thinner armor. The Soviet tanks, while threatening, were few in numbers.

One tactic of the Soviets would be to use their aircraft to strafe the upper floors of buildings, to get rid of Georgian forces. However, these upper floors often had machine gunners. As current aircraft are vulnerable to machine guns, this was a questionable decision on the Soviet part. Additionally, the fact that the Soviets were strafing meant that they were also in the range of rifle fire. While rifles aren't as much of a threat as machine guns, a successful shot could still knock out the plane.

Elsewhere

While the Soviets are bombarding the city, the residents and defenders are bringing the city's essentials, food, water, and arms underground. Some women and children are leaving the city, but the city as a whole is continuing its fortifications. Work has begun on repairing damage caused by Soviet bombardment. The Poti defenders were also reinforced by the retreating forces from Sokhumi. Being closer to Poti and traveling on the shortest road, they arrived before the Soviets completed their encirclement of the city. Additionally, the Northern Command was continuing to make its way toward Poti. Previously, it hoped it could arrive there before the Soviets did. However, following the quickest path towards the now besieged Poti would put the Northern Front in a collision course with Soviets troops.

Azerbaijani Front


In Azerbaijan, the Azeri troops mobilized from the Iranian border were on their way to reinforce Baku. However, their orders were suddenly canceled. Instead, they were told to convert themselves into a guerilla army. For the time being, they would focus on finding base areas from which they could stage future operations. The army would separate itself into a multitude of small units. Thenceforth, local commanders would act on their digression regarding the best way to continue the guerilla war. Further contact with the government was considered to be unlikely. Meanwhile, the forces in Baku set up their defenses on the mountain ranges outside the city.

Armenian Front

In the Southern Front, there was no response to the Turkish ultimatum. In truth, it didn't matter much. The Southern Front's chain of command had collapsed. The forces in the west responded to Poti, while the forces in Azerbaijan acquiesced to Baku. The forces trapped in Tiflis responded to Tiflis itself. In short, the unified Transcaucasian government no longer existed, although Steponakert held the best symbolic claim towards it.

With Gyumri gone, the remaining 7,000 of Dashnak-tsyutun fighters were dispatched in Yerevan for the final fight

[Orostan]

Red Army Shells Baku, Attacks Poti - 1/28/1920

Following repairs to the most vital infrastructure in the Red Army's rear the supply situation had improved enough to begin applying more pressure on Poti. Large numbers of Soviet troops were moved in after operations to clear out the hills of enemy partisans and secure the Soviet supply lines that would make attacking Poti possible. The attack would begin with a movement of about two thirds of the Soviet aircraft in Transcaucasia to the area, which would be used to deny the enemy easy information on the positions of friendly artillery while gathering information on the position of the enemy's own artillery to allow for accurate counter-artillery fire. After a barrage of the port facilities, defenses, and airfield the attack would begin. Soviet troops would be covered by an artillery barrage and aided by five Mark-V tanks. Rushing in from all sides in large numbers and with heavy artillery support the more experienced and better equipped polish defenders would be difficult to deal with, but with sixteen thousand Red Army soldiers assisting in the attack the enemy even with the Transcaucasian help was heavily outnumbered and outgunned. Their port facilities would also be damaged after days of artillery bombardment at this point, limiting their ability to receive new supplies or even leave the city by sea.

The Transcaucasian force heading to Poti would find themselves without resupply and being strafed by opportunistic Red aircraft as they marched towards the city. Without a large amount of troops that could be drawn off of Poti, the ground combat against them would consist mostly of ambushes and hit and run attacks aimed at demoralizing the enemy and exhausting them rather than destroying them outright. The hills the enemy would have to pass through to reach Poti made excellent ground for that type of tactics.

In Tiflis the outer areas of the city were easier to clear than the more crowded center. The new anti-vehicle weapons of the Transcaucasians required that the Red Army increasingly rely on mountain guns and other support tools to clear the way in front of them. Tanks and armored cars could shoot farther than a man could throw a fire bomb however, and the tanks especially found their place in blowing apart sections of buildings that the enemy was hiding in and providing support to infantry that was clearing out the buildings ahead. Aircraft had been mostly moved away from the city to Poti or Baku and were now only providing occasional support and information to the Red Army because of the stronger than expected enemy AA positions. Still, the fighting kept its brutal character as the Red Army went deeper into the city. But whenever the Transcaucasians mounted a significant defense that was hard to break though they would find themselves soon under attack by an overwhelming number of Soviets and probably an artillery bombardment if they were particularly dug in. As the days wore on the smoke over the city would become thinner as the fires ran out of material to burn or were extinguished behind Soviet lines. The city would become less physically difficult to fight in and the Red Army would increasingly be able to leverage its mountain guns and superior numbers against enemies it could actually see.

In Armenia and Azerbaijan the disorganization and disintegration of remaining Transcaucasian units into partisan forces would make the Soviet siege of Baku slightly easier. Rather than requiring large forces to remove the Transcaucasians could be dealt with using rear line troops more accustomed to anti-partisan activities. Soviet cavalry meanwhile could go ahead of them, securing the countryside and fighting small battles with the enemy when they could. The attack on Baku, which was now cut off from any resupply, would begin with the arrival of two armored trains on the 26th. Their heavy artillery guns would help the Soviets bombard the defenders positions for a day and weaken them before the 28 thousand men surrounding the city could begin their attack into the hills the defenders were on. A creeping bombardment advancing ahead of the troops would keep the enemy down until the Soviets were close, and the assistance of ten Mark V tanks coming through the flatter areas along the coast in the north would help break through the enemy's defenses on the way to Baku. Repeated demands for surrender were made with pamphlets dropped by aircraft, and when those aircraft weren't dropping propaganda they were providing information on the enemy's positions in the city to Soviet artillery. The heavy naval guns mounted on the armored trains would be particularly effective at shattering enemy bunkers and other fortifications.

[Fregantes Empire]

Eastern Front: Victory Declared!

28/01/1920

Despite the lack of response from the remains of the Transcaucasian government, the overall surrender, capitulation and the retreat of the enemy forces were enough for the HQ in Erzurum to declare a "virtual victory" in the Eastern Front. The Turkish forces would honour the terms of the local surrenders, letting the troops disperse in safety. One question remained: With the collapse of the chain of command, and the effective loss of control of the federal government over Baku, Poti and Tiflis, with which party the peace would be signed? The question would loom over the Turkish commanders, who nevertheless would have ordered the XV. Army Corps to march to the proclaimed border.

Western Section

The V. Division and the III.-II. Subdivision would take over Batumi from the defenders after letting them disperse. The Caucasian commander would be invited to the tent of the commander of the V. Division, Galip Murat Pasha, and would be congratulated and awarded for his bravery and dedication. With the liberation of Batumi achieved, the elements of the Western Section would move to the northern border posts of Adjara. As they would move, small gendarme forces would be dispatched to bring law and order to the are now known as the Province of Batumi. The III.-II. Subdivision would move to the Kvistakhti Pass, while the V. Division would be positioned in Kobuleti.

Central Section

The Caucasian forces would be either surrendering or retreating in the Central Section as well, allowing the II. Division to liberate Kars nearly unopposed. With Kars, the central objective of the entire Eastern Front, now back in Turkish hands once more, the HQ in Erzurum would hold a little celebration, with a bottle of champagne being opened, despite the fact that champagne would be near impossible to find or acquire. Ecstatic with the success, the soldiers of the II. Division would demand a parade in the city, which would be rejected by their commander, with the words "The war is not over yet". The Division would then march out to the settlement of Arpaçay.

Mirroring the II. Division, and with the Caucasians withdrawing from Eskikale, the III.-I. Subdivision would move to Çıldır, near Lake Çıldır, to secure the lake and the surrounding borderlands. Any Caucasian forces that were sighted were permitted to retreat and disperse in peace across the border.

With the liberation of Kars and Batumi, the Turkish army would reach its overall objectives. Kazım Karabekir Pasha would be telling the news reporters: "The end of the Eastern Front is nigh. I hope we will have the success we have achieved here in liberating the other occupied provinces of our Motherland".

Western Section

Already ahead of the overall objective of the main campaign in their locality, the IV. and the I. Divisions would simply stay put and maintain their positions. Alexandropol/Gyumri being a city of high importance, the I. Division would occupy the surrounding villages to establish a parameter, whereas the IV. would not advance a milimeter and stay in Margara.

Alexandropol and Margara being Armenian cities, the HQ would proclaim: "Our occaption of Alexandropol and Margara across the Aras River is only temporary. Our forces are there to protect our territories and to convince the federal government and the local forces to surrender and end this bloodshed. The Turkish forces will not march on Yerevan or any other non-Turkish city. We have liberated our core territories belonging to our Motherland, and we shall not pursue any objective above that, for such an action would be imperialistic in nature. We guarantee that Alexandropol and Margara will be returned to the legitimate post-war government representing the Armenian populace. In the meantime, the citizens of Margara and Alexandropol will not be subjected any injustice or violation of their rights or property."

Reintegration

With the provinces of Kars, Ardahan and Batumi would be re-united with the Motherland, the Committee of Representation in Ankara would send orders to set up civilian administrations in the said provinces. Governors would be sent from Ankara, while the populace would be encouraged to participate in the soon-to-be established local municipalities. With the conflict over for the Turks in the East, the peacetime rebuilding would start in earnest. The governors sent from Ankara were tasked with simple objectives: Establishing order and law, preventing violance, carrying out a census, start reconstruction and most importantly, determine the number of people eligible to fight. Like in Batumi, gendarme forces would be created to function as police forces until the end of the Independence War.

In accordance with the policy of tolerance adopted by the Ankara Government, the minorities within the newly liberated provinces would be given Turkish citizenship, and their rights as citizens would be fully respected. All locals, regardless of background, would be considered as citizens, but those who wished to leave were given the freedom to do so. As a gesture of respect and admiration for the valiant Caucasian defence, any Caucasian soldier that have faced the Turkish army would be given the right to apply for Turkish citizenship, and this right would be extended to any soldier in the Caucasian army that was a local of the area.

The Turkish army, and the Turkish nation as a whole would rejoice, and pray that the success of the Eastern Front would repeat itself in other fronts. Meanwhile, the HQ would follow the further developments of the Transcaucasian War closely. After all, with whom the HQ will sign a peace deal?