TERUEL AAR (Piteas vs Btd64) Republican side

[Piteas]

The Battle of Teruel ended up being a momentous event that, paradoxically, had initially been planned as a preemptive operation by the Republic to counter a possible rebel attack on the Spanish capital. No one expected that two months later, two massive armies would be bled dry after fighting head-on with the sole objective of destroying the enemy, all under an extreme climate, almost unique in Europe, which caused temperatures to plummet and claimed the lives of countless soldiers from both sides who were far from prepared to face the cold of this singular province of Spain. The spanish Stalingrad.

[Piteas]

Teruel is a place with history. The Celtiberians called it Turboleta, the Arabs Tirwal, and finally, after the Reconquista, it received the name Teruel. The city occupies the depression formed by the Alfambra and Guadalaviar rivers, which join near the city to form the Turia River. Surrounding this depression rise some of the mountain ranges belonging to the Iberian System. It is a place that is cold in winter and warm in summer, and rises to 915 m above sea level.



The streets of its old town are narrow, lined with stone buildings and on an upward slope. It is a natural and urban fortress… And it is the city controling the strategic road between Zaragoza and Valencia.

[Piteas]

Now the Republicans have a regular army, "The People's Army". The Republican forces assigned to the offensive belonged to the Army of the Levant, commanded by Hernández Saravia, which numbered approximately 100,000 men organized into three main army corps:

The XVIII Army Corps, composed of the 34th and 64th Divisions, and commanded by Colonel Fernández-Heredia. It was known as the "Southern Column."

The XX Army Corps, composed of the 40th and 68th Divisions, and under the command of Colonel Menéndez López. This group was known as the "Central Column."

The XXII Army Corps, composed of the 11th (Lister) and 25th Divisions, and led by Colonel Juan Ibarrola. It was known as the "Northern Column."

The 35th (International), 39th, 47th and 70th divisions were held as a strategic reserve. In addition to these forces, the Republicans deployed a large number of artillery batteries (400 pieces) and a hundred tanks (T-26 and BT-5).

The Republican Air Force also fielded a respectable number of forces: around 120 aircraft (fighters, bombers and others) had concentrated at the airfields of Levant to support the offensive.

[Piteas]

The plan:



Simple and effective.

-Surround and crush the defenders of the city.
- Stop the forces coming to their aid.
- Open the way to Zaragoza from south.
- Carry out diversionary attacks in other parts of the Aragon front

[Piteas]

The republic is confident that the offensive will be a triumph. The fascists will bite the dust!

The militias have merged into a single army. We are now the People's Army!




Teruel will be ours!

[Rysyonok]

What a striking difference compared to mid-1936.

[Q-Ball]

Subscribed!

The first couple posts were more of a tourist post than AAR.....never been to Teruel, looks nice!

[Piteas]

Two days of steady advance. The XX Army Corps is advancing north of Teruel and is cutting off the city's access routes.
The XVIII Army Corps, to the south, is already in the city's outskirts. Only a stubborn nationalist bridgehead remains to the west of the city.
It's cold, foggy and snowing. Aircraft can't fly in the Teruel area; it's like an old war, advancing on foot in large columns to the sound of cannons.





The republicans begin to realize that the nationalist resistance is fiercer than they thought and the supplies are difficult to move in terrain without roads and under intense cold. Soon supplies are going to be a problem...But not today.
We keep moving forward!


Attack, soldiers of the Republic!

[Piteas]

Fourth day of combat and advance. The fascist forces are retreating under the snow, and the fighting in Teruel is street by street. We are likely to take the city soon.

We launched a secondary attack towards Molina in the northwest. We want to cut off the road that passes through the town.




The snow and the cold are another enemy. Most of the soldiers, from the Mediterranean area, are not used to these temperatures, but they must advance across snowy hills, battered by the wind. The only consolation is that enemy aircraft cannot attack them.



Cases of freezing are starting to increase...


All the photos in this ARR are from the Battle of Teruel.

[Piteas]

Republican uniform and weapons at the Battle of Teruel (With english subtitles)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X20fejrfgDs

[Piteas]

Teruel is ours!


After five days of offensive, the city has been taken by the XVIII corps. The main objective of the campaign has been achieved.



We must eliminate the troops surrounded to the west of the city and advance as far north as possible.

Franco must be very angry.


Our troops in the city center:

[jwilkerson]

Great pics ! But not enough rubble (yet) to compare to Stalingrad.

[Piteas]

Finally, our glorious forces have broken through the pocket of resistance west of Teruel. We have advanced our lines north of the city and established a front. We expect to continue our advance after a rest.

This is what the map looks like after 9 days of intense combat.




Taking Teruel would give us a vital communications hub for our army. However, the issue isn't the supply line itself, but rather that our supplies are limited. Some units are already in serious need of repair.

A tough, attrition struggle is coming, and we are likely to lose... or not.

The city is a bit broken


But our troops are in high spirit

[Piteas]

After the capture of Teruel, we conclude this AAR.
This has been a brief presentation of this scenario in the game.

I hope to start an AAR of the Ebro Scenario soon.

See you later, soldiers of the Republic.