Advance to Sofia part 2: they shall not pass!
The Turkish 1st Armored Brigade has managed to clear the first pass towards Sofia. Unfortunately for them, the resistance of the M-2001 tank company seen in the previous scenario gave time to a Serbian mechanized brigade to come to the aid of Bulgarians. The brigade has dug in around the small town to the northwest of the pass previously seen in the last scenario and will conduct an area defense to delay the Turks from their advance northwest. A battalion of M-2001 tanks will support the infantrymen, and SPG battery and MRL Plamen battery will conduct fire support. There are 4 L-39 Bulgarian military trainer aircraft that will attempt to perform CAS. In addition to that, if the Turks strike the artillery park of the Serbs, allied Polish and Czech aircraft are free to strike at the Turks, as this will violate a no-fly zone above the aforementioned area. The map of the battlefield is the following one:
Battle report:
The 1st Armored advanced outside the woods to engage the Serbian forces around. Serbs are dug in an L shaped formation (1) to the south, to the north at position (2), inside the town at (3). There is a second line of defense composed mostly of AA at (4), while at (5) and (6) are the SPGs and MRLs respectively.
The Turkish advance at (7) is met by direct and indirect fire from Serbian M-80 IFVs, MG positions, mortars and other artillery, while the MRLs interdict the Turkish advance, causing casualties. The Turks break up their force and advance at 3 different axes. The one at (8) was engaged by Serbian tanks and IFV and could not advance. The Turks tried to counter with Cobra attack helos and F-16s, but the Serbian AA (Tunguskas and Sa-10 Gopher SAMs) made them pay dearly for that. After around turn 8, 4 Cobra helicopters and 7 F-16s are shot out of the sky, with the rest of the aviation retreating from the battlefield. The Turkish air strikes knock out 3 M-2001s while some Milan ATGMs manage to destroy 2 more by the end of the game.
At (9), Turkish mechanized infantry and around 25 tanks assaulted the Serbian positions at (1). Serbian tank fire knock out the majority of Turkish armor, while the latter manage to knock out 1 M-2001. 5 more are eliminated by Milan ATGMs and heavy artillery fire. In the end, only some dismounts manage to reach the forward Serbian positions, and fail to proceed any further.
The Turks also advance at (10) after they eliminate the Serbian infantry platoon forward of them and reach the town, with some vehicles entering it. One M60A3 inside the town is knocked out by a M-80 firing its 30mm cannon at the tanks rear at close range. The other vehicles, APCs, are knocked out by IFVs and man portable AT weapons. Turkish infantry is unable to support.
Serbian reinforcements arrive. One tank company and a helicopter flight. The latter maneuver around the woods at (11) and strike the Turkish artillery park. 9 artillery pieces are knocked out by the end of the game. In addition to that, my MRLs conduct counterbattery fire, destroying 2 T-122 Sakarya MRLs. Finally, my own air strikes of L-39 were also totally ineffective, aided by my own negligence (I didn’t change the air strike path and my planes flew over the Turkish forces. While their AA are mediocre, the volume of fire was enough to shoot down all of my planes, aided by the fact the L-39 is not the fastest, not the sturdiest plane out there).
In conclusion, Turks cannot advance past around 1 km beyond the woods. The total losses are:
Serbs lost 9 M-2001 tanks, 2 Tunguskas, 1 Sa-10 SAM, 1 MRL and 4 L-39 aircraft. Turks lost 34 M-60A3 tanks, 5 Firtina SPGs, 2 M-110s SPGs, 2 T-122 MRLs, 4 Cobra attack helicopters and 7 F-16 aircraft.
The end result is a Serbian minor victory, which gives them the opportunity to withdraw in good order (they have to withdraw because of ammo shortages and the numerical superiority of the Turks). The final line of defense will just outside of Sofia itself. Unfortunately, since the Turkish air force did not strike my forces at (6), I could not unleash the allied air force on them. But, judging from the final score, that may be redundant.