The title of this entry summarizes its content but is not enough to show how lucky we are to have AlexTheDacian with us. Alex, welcome to the ČSLA team and thanks for your hard and outstanding work. This is just the beginning, but it looks promising and, more importantly, it sets ČSLA 3.0 closer to being released.
There will be much more to come. I hope 😀
What follows was originally posted at
Blitz Srbija by Alex himself.
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Good morning ladies and gents! My name is Alex and today I'll be your host in presenting one of the new additions to the future CSLA 3.0.
First of all, what you're about to see it's not finished, I can't stress this enough. It's still a work-in-progress. It's also a collaboration with Kevin, feldgrau, Joseph_Porta and gagarin.
Let's begin!
THE STRUGGLE
As the flames of the 3rd World War were drawing near all across Europe, the Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu, announced that the Socialist Republic of Romania would not join it's brethren in the struggle against NATO.
During the early summoned XIV Congress of the year 1987, Ceaușescu declared that the Romanian People's Army would be on high alert and quell the increasing dissent around the country.
With the Timișoara protests of '87 ending in a massacre, and with Ceaușescu condemning the 'uprising', citizens started to rally in the cities around Romania and to take over official buildings in an act of revolt. The majority of the soldiers form the army that were sent to arrest the so called 'fascists', joined the rebellion, with a small part still loyal to Ceaușescu, trying in vain to recapture and arrest the dissenting elements of the population.
As of December 24th, the country was in a state of civil war. The
dreaded 'Securitate' officers, in an effort to contain this uprising,
started executing people on the streets and in houses.
This
brought the anger of the newly reformed Romanian Armed Forces. Elements
of the 1st Mechanized Division opened fire on the 'Securitate' officers,
and all the hell broke loose.
Die-hard members of the Communist Party of Romania along with the loyalists tried in vain to resist this new development. The executions brought every single man and woman on the streets demanding the resignation of Ceaușescu, and the organization of fair and democratic elections.
Every civilian that could've helped, joined the soldiers in the fight for the capital. From the young to the elders, from the unskilled to the skilled, from the unworthy to the worthy.
Overnight, the whole population of Bucharest rose.
Loyalist elements tried to form blockades and to deny access to the Central Committee of PCR [Romanian Communist Party], where most of the die-hard party members were holed, only to be surprised by the arrival of armored units in front of the headquarters.
The tanks of the 57th Tank Division started rolling down the boulevards of Bucharest en-masse, routing the Loyalists crushing any hope of resistance against the revolution.
As the capital of Romania was secured, and with the loyalists on the run, a new situation was developing 79 km away from Bucharest, that will change the course of this country.
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THE FINAL COUNTDOWN
On the morning of December 30th, Ceaușescu and his wife Elena, were arrested in Târgoviște, while trying to escape the city with an helicopter.
This drastic event, was possible due to the mutiny of the loyalist 2nd Mechanized Division after they learnt of their families demise at the hands of the 'Securitate' officers. In a desperate attempt to avenge their deaths, one company rammed the gates of the 01417 military installation with the MLI-84 IFVs, killed almost all the 'Securitate' officers, and by pure luck, missed the departure of the couple by minutes.
After arriving at the Dâmbovița Court, and climbing in the
awaiting Dauphin SA-365, Ceaușescu was one step from escaping the wrath
of the mutineer. But fate decided otherwise. An SPAA unit part the 2nd
Mechanized Division, received orders to shoot down the helicopter if it
tried to leave the city. The pilot, fearing for his life and ignoring
Ceaușescu's cries, complied to the request of the commander of the SPAA
unit and landed. The couple was quickly arrested and sent to Bucharest
in the late hours of that day.
During the early hours of the
next day, December 31st, the New Year's Eve, the couple was brought to
the Palace of Justice in Bucharest to receive their sentence. In an only
60 minute trial, they were condemned to be executed for their crimes
against the people of Romania.
The whole country would see this execution on live TV.
Before he was shot, uttered these final words:
"Trăiască Republica Socialistă România Liberă și Independentă! Moarte trădătorilor! Istoria mă va răzbuna!"
in English, the translation being the following:
"Long Live the Free and Independent Socialist Republic of Romania! Death to the Traitors! History will avenge me!"
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THE LAST DAYS
The Soviet High Command saw the Romanian Revolution as an imminent danger to their rear supply areas. With the new government in power, and with a strong anti-communist sentiment, the Politburo demanded that the former Pact member to be included in the targeted countries in case of a nuclear war.
NATO, after a brief moment of confusion, quickly established a new communication line to this anti-communist government, and removed it from the targeted countries.
Before the ill-fated days of mid-1988, the forces of NATO manged to secure a deal with Romania, and sent two batteries of MIM-104 Patriot.
One was deployed in the area of Northern Moldova, near Roman. The 2nd battery was deployed between Moldova and Dobrogea near the city of Braila.
Mid-1988, the nuclear rain would destroy 8 major cities : Iasi, Constanta, Craiova, Brasov, Sibiu, Campulung, Oradea, Timisoara and the capital, Bucharest. Small cruise missiles were to destroy most of the military installations along the Prut river and some of the airbases all across the country.
In the wake of the nuclear exchange, surviving forces of the Soviet Union crossed the Prut river into the devastated lands of Romania and managed to get up to the Siret River before getting bogged down by the desperate counter-attacks of the Romanian Army.
With almost 60%~70% of the forces destroyed, it's a miracle that the Romanians even managed to bring enough troops together to halt the invasion of their ancestral lands.
The story of the outnumbered and outgunned remnants of the Romanian Armed Forces starts here.
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THE RESISTANCE
With most of their forces wiped out and with no leadership, the remnants of the Romanian Armed Forces started an uphill struggle against the battered but still not broken Soviet juggernaut.
Civilians joined the fight as part of the Patriotic Guards and together with the soldiers started defending their homeland against the invaders. Mobile Taskforces were formed to coordinate in the defence of the Moldavian province.
At first it seemed impossible, but as each day passed, the Soviet forces were slowed more and more until they were completely halted at the Siret River by countless desperate counter-attacks.
With the forces of the Soviet Union bogged down in Moldavia, the surviving civilian population around the country started to mobilize and to arrive en-masse to the Siret frontline.
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This is where the story stops for now, you'll need to pick up the torch and help the Romanians in their journey to defend their ancestral lands and reclaim their long-lost territories.
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First of all, I need to remind you, that this is a work-in-progress, stuff are changing every now and then. Textures, models, you name it. Without any further interruptions here you go, enjoy the sightseeing:
ARO M461
This light vehicle is used by the command units and by the scouts of the Romanian Armed Forces. It's off-road capabilities are good enough for the terrain of Moldavia. It comes in two variants: Open-topped and Covered.
TATRA 813
This Czechoslovakian truck is used by the combat groups of the former Romanian Motorized Divisions. It's also used for resupplying forces in dire need of ammo. It comes in two variants: Open-topped and Covered.
BTR-152 SERIES
This old Soviet Armored Personnel Carrier from the 60s is still being in use today. As the lack of motorized vehicles is being felt, the High Command decided that they should bring back from the stockpile the BTR-152 APCs. Capable of respectable speed while off-road and moderate protection against bullets, they are used by the Patriotic Guard in the defence of the ancestral lands. It comes in three variants: the 'B1' Open-topped, the 'K' Enclosed and 'K' Medical.
BRDM-1
This old Soviet Armored Reconnaissance vehicle from the 60s is used by the Recon units of the Combat Groups. Capable of respectable speed while off-road and with moderate protection against bullets, they are used to scout the enemy positions, helping in coordinating the Combat Groups, or relaying coordinates for the Artillery units.
BRDM-2 - 9P148 KONKURS
This old Soviet Armored Reconnaissance vehicle from the 60s is used by the ATGM units of the Combat Groups. It's armed with a wire-guided 9M113 "Konkurs" system, capable of firing five powerful AT guided missiles at enemy armored units. They are very lightly armored, so they'll need to be set-up behind vegetation or low-height debris in order to conceal the vehicle.
APR-40
This MLRS is actually a BM-21 'Grad' in service of the Romanian Armed Forces. They are quite scarce and valuable, result of the destruction of most of the equipment during the '88 nuclear exchange. Now, whatever pieces remain, are kept near the Command Groups, behind fortified emplacements.
TAB SERIES
TAB is the Romanian military designation of Armoured Personnel Carriers. The TAB APCs were based on the Russian BTR series until the early 1990s, before the nuclear rain, with several improvements, including better diesel engines. They come in three variants:
TAB-71 is the produced variant of BTR-60PB fitted with two more powerful SR-225 gasoline engines, equipped with additional periscopes, a protected sight on the left side of the turret and a front-mounted winch with a capacity of 5.5 tonnes. It was produced in large numbers.
TAB-77 is the domestic improved version of the BTR-70 with the original gasoline engines being replaced with Saviem 797-05M1 132 hp diesel engines for a better performance during both combat and non-combat situations. It was produced in moderate numbers.
TAB Zimbru (B33) is the modified version of the BTR-80 with Model 1240 V8-DTS engine of 268 hp (197 kW), R-1231B radio set and 500 additional rounds of 7.62 mm. It was produced in limited numbers.
CA-95
The CA-95 is a highly mobile, short range, Romanian SPAA System. Initially built on the chassis of the BRDM-2, the SPAA System was then adapted to fit the native-made [CLASSIFIED] vehicle.
MLI-84 IFV
The MLI-84 is a tracked Infantry Fighting Vehicle derived from the chassis of the Soviet BMP-1 but possessing a lengthened hull and a 12.7×108mm DShK 1938/46 heavy machine gun mounted on the roof of the troop compartment. The most important improvement in the MLI-84 was the replacement of the Soviet UTD-20 with the 8V-1240-DT-S 4-stroke liquid-cooled diesel V8 engine developed in Romania. The new engine is more powerful as it develops 355 hp (265 kW) but it is heavier and bigger and because of that the engine compartment had to be rebuilt in order to fit the new engine.
Because of the mentioned modifications and additions, the weight of the vehicle increased to 16.6 tonnes and although the vehicle can still travel across water with little preparation, the amphibious ability was weakened.
T-55AM2
The T-55 is one of the older series of main battle tanks made by the Soviet Union starting as early as the late 1950s, and still used by almost all the Warsaw Pact members. It's outclassed by almost everything in the Soviet forces, but while it can't survive a direct hit from ATGMs to T-72s/T-80s, it's still a respectable tank in the right hands.
It can be used in ambushes and spearheading assaults into relatively moderate fortifications.
MIG-21MF
The MiG-21MF, while an outdated fighter, it's still very useful in the defence of Romania, being capable to support ground units and to interdict enemy bombers into the airspace.
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BATTLE OF BARLAD (work-in-progress)
This is all for now folks! Expect a new update soon.
Also, before I forget, a more compact and more appealing to the eye version of what's above is available here:
[CLASSIFIED]
Quick note on Biz.nf, the webpage may be a little buggy, it may arrange some of the images or text sections in a wrong order. Will fix it as soon as I finish getting some sleep.
Cheers!
