Political map of Iran and surrounding territories, in August 1939. Showing pre-invasion Soviet armies.
Disclaimer
This page is a part of a science fiction war-game and the following account is a fictional time line of a conflict that never happened. Any one stumbling across this page should not read this as anything other than personal entertainment. Note, in this story, Stalin is an alien 'plant person', and the wars started by the 'plant people' are part of a global take over with the end goal of usurping Earth for the resources needed to build a 'world ship'. For mor einformation, see The Children of Ag-Lata.
Chronology of events
1st May 1939
Chairman Stalin convenes a top level meeting of his subordinates and orders the head of the NKVD; Nikolai Ivanovich Yezhov to initiate a Communist uprising in Iran with the purpose of justifying a Soviet invasion. He orders Marshal Kliment Voroshilov to make preperatios for war and Voroshilov passes the order to the head of the General Staff; Marshal of the Soviet Union Boris Shaposhnikov. Shaposhnikov immediately establishes a planning committee which Voroshilov approves.
2nd May 1939
Yezhov sends multiple agents to activate the many student and workers organisations that have been formented in Iran. At the same time, several terrorist sleeper cells are also ordered to begin attacking state institutions such as local government officials, police leaders and religious authorities. Within days, student and socialist workers groups begin street protests against the government. These are met with predictable police aggression. Two students are killed in Tehran.
3rd May 1939
As planning commences in Moscow, Marshal Shaposhnikov orders General Nicolai Galinski commander of the 6th Army to begin to move his forces to Baku and to establish a regional headquarters.
11th May 1939
A Soviet Mongolian cavalry unit crosses the disputed Manchurian border in search of grazing for their horses. Japanese Manchukuoan cavalry attack the Mongolians and drive them back across the border. This incident triggers hightened tensions between the Soviet Union and the Empire of Japan, eventually leading to the Battles of Khalkhin Gol.
12th May 1939
Members of a terrorist commando called the Red Hand detonate a bomb in a police station in Tabriz. Nine police officers and four members of the public are killed whilst scores of others are injured.
14th May 1939
The first staff units of the 6th Army arrive in Baku and establish a site for a headquarters base. Local engineers are ordered to build an airfield with a runway large enough to accomidate heavy transport aircraft and long range bombers.
16th May 1939
NKVD officers arrive in Baku and establish a new, and larger headquarters.
During a socialist workers strike in Tabas, a cleric is struck down and killed whilst appealling for calm. Local civilians come out in counter protests and a riot ensues. Police and local militia authorities intervene and half a dozen people are seriously injured.
17th May 1939
Marshal Shaposhnikov orders General Leonid Chesnokov to reactivate the 11th Army. Chesnokov requests a strong armoured contingent, arguing that Iran will have backing from Great Britain. Shaposhnikov turns down the request, but is later countermanded by Stalin.
18th May 1939
Marshal Shaposhnikov orders General Pavel Panova commander of the 7th Army to begin moving his forces to Turkmenistan. Panova is told not to ask for armoured units given the logistical difficulties in moving armoured vehicles to such a remote location.
20th May 1939
Police raid a Socialist Workers Union office in Tabas and arrest nineteen people. Five of these people go missing on their way to the police station, including the local Socialist leader Mamoud Ali Achmadi. Over the next few weeks, the news of this 'disapearance' is used to justify multiple protests and demonstrations.
25th May 1939
Soviet news reels report wide spread unrest and social upheaval in Iran. The Iranian government, and specifically Reza Shah are held accountable for carrying out a 'purge' against Iranian socialists.
28th May 1939
Soviet and Imperial Japanese forces clash in the disputed Mongolian/Manchukuo border. Both sides increase their forces in the area.
2nd June 1939
Stalin replaces Marshal Shaposhnikov with Marshal Motenko. Motenko immediately orders the 112th armoured brigade to join the 7th Army. The 112th is equipped with BA-10 armoured cars.
3rd June 1939
In Tehran, a high standing cleric is shot dead in the street. No one claims responsibility. The government blames the communists, and the various socialist organisations blame the government. A clear divide begins to manifest in the countries newspapers.
7th June 1939
Police and government authorities crack down on several left leaning newspapers. Offices are raided, printing presses are destroyed and half a dozen high profile journalists are arrested on charges of sedition.
12th June 1939
The first front line infantry units of the 6th Army arrive at Baku. Within two weeks, the Baku base houses three divisions.
Various dignitories, party members and local political officers are arrested in Baku and deported by the NKVD. Local police and milicia forces are coopted to root out opponents to Chairman Stalin.
13th June 1939
Reconnaisance aircraft begin to operate out of Baku. Flying over the Iranian border, they take detailed photographs of the terrain. Iranian civilians observe these unusual flights and inform the local authorities but the local commandant dismisses the reports as unimportant, no further action is taken and Tehran is not notified.
14th June 1939
Socialist underground printing presses begin to distribute agitprop. Several people are arrested over the course of the next few days for handing out leaflets which call for a socialist government.
16th June 1939
A young socialist revolutiony named Reza Sanjari assassinates a senior government official on the steps of the Tehran City Court. As he is arrested by the police he is heard shouting for justice for Mamoud Ali Achmadi. News of this incident is quickly spread by the clandestine socialist printing presses and distributed to the general public by activists.
21st June 1939
The first elements of the 7th Army arrive in Turkmenistan. Accompanying them is a company of NKVD officers. Within a week, several local dignitories have been arrested on charges of counter revolutionary activities and executed.
27th June 1939
The Japanese Army Air Force's 2nd Air Brigade attacks and devastates the Soviet air base at Tamsak-Bulak in Mongolia. Throughout June Soviet and Mongolian forces range back and forth across the border region leading to numerous skirmishes.
2nd July 1939
Commander of the 23rd Japanese Infantry Division Lt. Gen. Komatsubara of the Imperial Japanese Army, launches a major assault against Soviet positions in the disputed Manchurian border region. The battle rages hard for two weeks but eventually the Japanese are forced to retreat in the face of superior Soviet armour. The 45mm high velocity guns of the Soviet armoured vehicles are especially lethal for the Japanese tanks. Marshal Voroshilov sends Corps Commander Georgy Zhukov to deal with the situation.
16th August 1939
General Galinski informs Marshal Motenko that the 6th Army is ready to cross the Iranian border in strength, and the 11th Army will be ready within the next fourteen days. Motenko passes the word to Chairman Stalin.
19th August 1939
British agents in Northern Iran, become aware that the Soviet Union has massed troops in Azerbaijan SSR. Word is sent to London where the information is received with the utmost concern. The government schedules a cabinet meeting to discuss the matter, but events on the ground take the British by surprise and no coherent plan of reaction is formulated in time.
20th August 1939
Stalin orders the invasion of Iran to commence. Within an hour, the first armoured units of the 6th Army have crossed the border, supported by two hundred and twelve aircraft, and have engaged local forces. Iranian artillery batteries respond but these are quickly destroyed by the Soviet air force. The entire border defence collapses within three hours.
News of the invasion reaches London within ten hours.
Coinciding with the Soviet attack against Iran, Corps Commander Georgy Zhukov launches a Soviet counter attack against the Imperial Japanese at Khalkhin Gol. Heavy artillery and five hundred and fifty seven aircraft attack Japanese positions whilst three infantry divisions and a tank brigade cross the border.
21st August 1939
British embassadorial officials are ordered by London to evacuate the city and withdraw to India. Panic spreads in Tehran as the royal family and government authorities are seen fleeing the city. The local garrison commander orders his men to take up defensive positions but evacuates his command units to Isfahan leaving the city with no coherent leadership.
The 7th Army occupies Mashad with almost no resistance.
News of the Soviet invasion spreads across the globe, leading to consternation amongst western governments and jubilation in socialist organisations.
Reza Sanjari is executed.
23rd August 1939
After a few brief skirmishes, the local Iranian forces surrender to the Soviets and General Galinski enters Tehran at the head of an armoured column. Local communists take to the streets in jubilation and scenes of Soviet forces being welcomed as liberators are filmed by international journalists.
A campaign of mass persecution in the newly acquired areas begins immediately. All Iranian citizens who fall under the military occupation are made into new Soviet subjects following show elections conducted by the NKVD in an atmosphere of terror. Former political and religious leaders are arrested in their hundreds, with many disapearing, never to be heard of again.
German Foreign Minister Konstantin von Neurath returns from a meeting with the Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the Soviet Union, Vyacheslav Molotov. Both sides agree in principle to refrain from attacking the other and to not attack Poland, but no treaty is signed and negotiations stall there after. Von Neurath tells Kansler Hess and his Ministers that a deal with Stalin seems pointless. He describes the mood in Moscow as extremely belligerent with regards to Western Europe. The German government decides that Poland must be held as a buffer against a possible Soviet invasion and the German Army is ordered to quietly take up defensive positions on the German Polish border.
24th August 1939
Reza Shah appoints General Mehrad as commander of the Iranian army. On the same day, he dispatches a senior diplomat named Mohammad Ali Farang to negotiate with General Galinski.
25th August 1939
Soviet air forces launch a bombing campaign against Isfahan. The city has no defences or shelters and several hundred civilians are killed in the first attack.
General Galinski meets with Mohammad Ali Farang and tells him that the Soviet Union, acting in retaliation for the suppression of socialists in Iran is annexing the entire country with the intention of incorporating it into the union as a member state. He promises to suspend the bombing campaign for forty eight hours, to give the Shah the opportunity to publically abdicate and spare his people. Ali Farang returns to Isfahan on the same day but Reza Shah refuses to abdicate. He orders Isfahan to be evacuated of all civilians.
In Venezuela, communist forces sink the American carrier USS Hunter.
26th August 1939
In Manchukuo, the Japanese are defeated when a counter attack sent to reinforce the crumbling positions in Khalkhin Gol is defeated. The remaining Japanese forces are hunted down and destroyed over the course of the next week. In the face of a possible Soviet attack into Manchukuo, the Japanese concede the lost territory and sue for peace.
28th August 1939
The bombing of Isfahan continues. Two Iranian fighters are scrambled to defend the city, but both are shot down by the Soviets.
Iranian reserve forces begin to muster at Shiraz as General Mehrad begins to organise a counter offensive.
Two RAF squardons of the new Hurricane fighters are deloyed to southern Iraq by the British government.
1st September 1939
British diplomats meet with the newly elected Turkish President İsmet İnönü and discuss the Soviet invasion of Iran. İnönü states his concerns regarding both Soviet expansion and Italian aggression in the Mediterranean Sea and North Africa. He proposes an alliance with Britain and France, with the possible inclusion of Germany. The British, sharing İnönü's concerns agree to hold a meeting with senior French statesmen but insist that diplomatic representatives from Germany be excluded, at least until the French and the British have found a common stance towards the Soviet Union.
2nd September 1939
The remaining Iranian Army under General Mehrad falls back to Shiraz. Royal Navy ships arrive at Banda Abbas to evacuate British diplomats, oil company executives and civilians loyal to the Empire. HMS Hermes arrives later in the day to provide air cover. Over the next two weeks, the Royal Navy evacuates over ten thousand people.
RAF patrols along the Iraq Iran border begin to encounter Soviet patrols.
3rd September 1939
British diplomats arrive in Washington to discuss the problems being caused by the Soviet Union in Venezuela and Iran. They find the Americans to be stubborn and reluctant to get involved in Iran.
4th September 1939
Having been contacted by the Ordenstaat, the German government refuses to send military forces to fight in Venezuela but agrees to sell the Neo Prussians more and better aircraft and agrees to allow Germany military volunteers to go and fight under the autonomy of the Ordenstaat.
6th September 1939
Reza Shah asks the British government for military assistance but is refused. The British are opposed to the Soviet invasion but have no desire to enter into a direct conflict with the Soviet Union on the Shah's behalf. In London however, the mood is entirely belligerent. The Cabinet meets and debates the issue, and when faced with the implications of a Soviet stranglehold on Iranian and Venezuelan oil supplies, it is decided that an armed confrontation is inevitable.
12th September 1939
General Arthur Mellington-Browne moves the 2nd Lancers regiment, newly eqipped with Lanchester and Rolls-Royce armoured cars to Turbat. In the next few days, he establishes General Headquarters - British Indian Army Expeditionary Force (BIAEF). Over the course of the next week, the 1st Punjab Regiment, the 4th Bombay Grenadiers and the 1st King George V's Own Bengal Sappers and Miners all arrive at Turbat and commence to build a large military base and operational staging area.
19th September 1939
Senior British and French diplomats hold talks in Paris. The French, well briefed on the long term implications of Stalin's interventions in Venezuela and Iran offer to join a tri-part alliance with Britian and Turkey, but hesitate at the idea of German participation. After a mammoth two day meeting however, they eventually agree to allow diplomatic overtures be made towards Berlin. In the meantime, both Britain and France agree to begin moving arms and supplies to Turkey and Iraq.
20th September 1939
Senior Japanese diplomats sign a peace deal in Moscow.
21st September 1939
Reza Shah meets with mercenary commander Colonel Edvard Six. Six's force has its own light tanks, porteés and anti aircraft defences and is stationed in Southern Iraq to defend the assets of western oil companies against the increasingly organised bandit militias of the border region. Given the green light by his corporate masters, several of whom have now fled Persia, Six tells Reza Shah that he can have a sizable force in Isfahan in less than a week.
General Mehrad assembles his remaining tank forces into a single battalion. This unit consists mostly of Škoda-CKDs, Vickers 6 ton light tanks, out dated Renault FT-17's and half a dozen armoured cars. Supporting the armour, Mehrad appoints Colonel Rostami of the Imperial Artillery who is there upon ordered to hold the town of Gorgab as a defence of Isfahan.
26th September 1939
Colonel Rostami occupies and fortifes Gorgab. General Mehrad sends a company of tanks to assist him.
30th September 1939
Soviet armoured elements of the 6th Army arrive at Gorgab.
Game 5: The Battle of Isfahan Part One: Assault on Gorgab.
Jan Vs Magne. 15 April. 2019.
The Soviets deployed an advanced force consisting of a company of T-26 light tanks, with infantry support. Facing these, the Iranians had two platoons of FT-17's and a platoon of Vickers 6 ton light tanks. All the Iranian tanks were armed with low velocity 37mm guns, whilst the Soviets had 45mm high velocity guns. To assist their tanks, the Iranians also deployed a battery of 75mm field guns in fortified positions.
The Soviets used a single block of armour to approach the town, using a small wood as cover and concentrated their fire power on the field guns. When the Iranians engaged the Soviet tanks, they found their 37mm guns were largely ineffective, causing only superficial damage, whilst the Soviet guns were more than capable of destroying the Iranians, even despite the Iranians defensive advantages. Both sides fought well, but the Iranians suffered heavy losses and were obliged to withdraw from the town.
.
Part Two: The Iranian counter attack.
After having taken Gorgab, the Soviets brought up reinforcements to hold the town. These included mobile artillery units, anti tank rifle teams and two long barrelled ZiS-30 tank destroyers. The Soviets also managed to salvage three of the Iranian 75mm field guns which they dug into new positions.
The next day, the Iranians launched a counter attack. With them, they had Colonel Six's mercenary force consisting of a platoon of AMR-35 ZT2 tank destroyers, 60mm porteé guns and 25mm SA-L mle 1935 anti tank guns.
Unlike the first part of the game where both sides seemed evenly matched, now the Iranians were heavily out gunned and had no terrain features to provide cover for their advance. Their tanks were all destroyed by the Soviet artillery as they approached the town and their infantry were pinned down in the long grass, crawling slowly forwards whilst Six's mercenaries tried in vain to silence the captured field guns. After a short and bloody conflict which saw appalling Iranian losses for no gains, Colonel Rostami ordered a full retreat.
1st October 1939
Reza Shah orders his forces to hold Isfahan, then relocates to Banda Abbas.
4th October 1939
Soviet propaganda film footage of the battle of Isfahan reaches western Europe and the USA. In one infamous clip, laughing Iranian communists sitting atop a destroyed enemy tank hold up a burning American flag. A Soviet title card reads, "Free Venezuela! Death to all imperialists!"
6th October 1939
Representatives of the British, French and Turkish governments meet in London to finalize a tri-part alliance with the long term goal of liberating Iran. No representatives from Reza Shah are present and only after an agreement is reached between the three nations are diplomatic overtures made to the Germans and the Americans.
10th October 1939
Germany holds its first general election since the death of Adolf Hitler. The result is ambiguous with no clear winner between the nationalists and the social democrats. The Communist Party sees a poor result, which is largely regarded as a consequence of Stalin's recent aggressive actions leading to fuel shortages in Germany. The Social Democrats refuse to form a government with the NSDAP and negotiations begin to find a possible solution.
12th October 1939
Having lost power, Rudolph Hess resigns as leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party. Herman Göring eagerly steps in as his replacement. Negotiations continue, but Göring finds no support and is equally incapable of persuading the Social Democrats to form a coalition government with the NSDAP.
Kurt Schuschnigg declares Austria to be an independent state. In Germany, struggling to establish his own government, Herman Göring accepts the Austrian Chancellor's decleration and relinquishes Adolf Hitler's previous policy as untenable.
German diplomats turn down any notion of joining France and Britain's alliance with Turkey, pointing out the impossibility of German military participation whilst Germany itself is practically leaderless.
14th October 1939
American President Garner fails to convince Congress of the need for the USA to join what his opponents quickly dub 'Britain's imperial war in Iran'. America is focused on its own conflict in Venezuela and Garner is forced to decline the offer of an open alliance.
In London it is noted that President Garner's arguments for joining the Tri-part Alliance did not seem very enthusiastic.
15th October 1939
Turkish President İsmet İnönü appoints General İlhan Balci as the head of a new army, and the Turks begin to assemble a large field army base at Van. France agrees to equip the Turks with light tanks and modern aircraft and within days the first shipments of AMR 35 ZT tanks and tank hunters are sent from Marseille. An order is placed for four hundred more AMR 35 tanks.
19th October 1939
Belgium and Australia officially join the alliance with Britain, France and Turkey. Now known as the Allied Nations, the participating nations agree to establish their headquarters in Ankara. France begins to mobilize an expeditionary force to travel to Turkey.
20th October 1939
An patrol of six RAF Hawker Hurricane fighters encounters a flight of four Soviet Polikarpov fighters over southern Iraq. Whether by accident or design, the Soviets have strayed across the border and they attack the British. A dogfight ensues and two of the Soviets are shot down.
28th November 1939
The 1st Foreign Regiment of the French Army arrives at Van where they join the Turkish 1st Army which has a some thirty thousand troops already in training to cross the border. With them, the Legionnaries bring towed anti-tank guns for the Turks, including the 47mm APX.
Belligerents; Units and Commanders
Imperial Iranian Armed Services
The Persian Cossack brigade (7000 troops)
The gendarmerie (12,000 troops)
Former Qajar-era brigades in Tehran (1800 troops)
Units beholden to the former (Qajar) ministry of war (2000 troops)
References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_regiments_of_the_Indian_Army_(1922)
http://ww2today.com/17th-may-1941-low-level-air-attack-in-iraq
http://www.tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/france/Renault_AMR-35.php
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battles_of_Khalkhin_Gol
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_invasion_of_Poland
http://kavehfarrokh.com/armored-vehicles-of-the-iranian-army-1921-1941/
http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/gendarmerie
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