This scenario generator was developed by Christophe Massuyeau. All I have done was to clean up the translation If you like this, please e-mail Christophe (aka Prof. Erata) and tell him.. - Uncle Ted

Messerschmitts Against Messerschmitts: 6-Apr-41

by Prof. Errata

Background: On April 6, 1941, Yugoslavia was invaded by the forces of the Axis. Although equipped with a relatively modern hardware for its principal first line units, (Do 17K, S.79, Blenheim Mk.I, Hurricane Mk.I, Me 109E-3 and promising domestic fighter the IK-3), the Yugoslav Royal Air Force (JKRV) despite everything was quickly swept aside during this Balkan edition of Blitzkrieg in spite of the courage of its aviators.

Before the war, Yugoslavia had acquired 38 Hurricane Mk.Is as well as 73 Messerschmitt Bf 109E-3s (redesignated Me 109E) [actually bought in 1940 to arise cash for Germany - Uncle Ted]. These were deployed mainly for the defense of the area of Belgrade within the 2° and 6° Puk (Regiments), based respectively in Belgrade-Zemun and Prnjavor (to 85 km in the west of Belgrade).

On the first day of the hostilities, the capital was going to be the principal objective of Luftwaffe. The first raid of the morning, composed of almost 350 aircraft flying from Austria, Romania and Hungary, did not take by surprise the 6° Puk, which made take off at times the 51 Grupa (Group) with five IK-3 and 10 Me 109E, then the 32 Grupa with 19 Me 109E. Keen aerial combats took place, which were balanced for the Yugoslavians by fourteen claimed victories for five downed fighters and ten damaged.

A second raid took place towards 10h00: 57 Ju 87B and 30 Bf109E-7 coming mainly from Romania were "accomodated" by fifteen fighters of the 6° Puk; three German aircraft went to the carpet for one Yugoslav Me 109E shot down and three others damaged.

A third as well as a fourth raid took place in the afternoon. Only the first was intercepted by 18 Yugoslav hunters, who shot down four German aircraft against three Yugoslav Me 109Es. In all, the 6°Puk had downed about a dozen German aircraft over the course of the day, but it dearly paid them by the loss of many pilots and fighters. The 2° Puk, when to him, did not manage to carry out any true interception, for lack of effective transmissions... Here too, courage hardly compensated for lack of combat experience (as well as flight in formation...) in the Yugoslav fighter pilots, who could not prevent the invasion of their country and the terrible outcome...

This mission generator will enable you to reconstitute the raids which took place on Belgrade the first day of the hostilities, with the interceptions of a formation of Me 109E of one or more of the three Eskadrilas (Escadrilles) of the 32 Grupa of the 6° Puk of the JKRV based with Prnjavor.

Mission Orders for Luftflotten IV:

Fly towards Belgrade and bombard the city, as well as destroying local air manpower. Roll a die to determine the altitude of the formations:

• 10 000+1D2x1 000 feet for the average bombers and Bf 110C.
• 7 500+1D5x500 feet for Ju 87B.
• 15 000 feet for Bf 109E.

OMT Set Up:

Special Rules:

1. The borders are located between boxes 1 and 2 (Austro-Yugoslav), 9 and 8 (Rumanian/Hungarian-Yugoslav). There is no light flak attack when Luftwaffe formations cross the enemy border.
2. The weather is cloudy (Scattered Cloud Cover) in the circle of the OMT and in the weather zones1 and 2.
3. Do17s and Ju88s take off at the time of their respective raids form the circle of the OMT. Their bases are prepared. Bf 109, Bf 110 and Ju 87 take off starting from their grounds located into 9, 9 and 10 eight to ten turns after the medium bombers.
4. All the bombers take off Loaded.
5. Luftwaffe Bf 109E-7s take off all charged with a 66-gal drop tank.
6. The German fighters cannot be supplied and be rearmed during the mission.
7. To pass to the top boxes in enemy territory obligatorily does not mean to fly over the objective(s) which are placed (to be specified with the Yugoslav player before an unspecified displacement).
8. Each bomber which succeeds in bombing Belgrade successfully earns the German player the following points:
   • Ju 88=5
   • Do17 or Ju 87=3.

   Bombing in Overcast Skies or below the Bombardment Altitude reduces those point values by 2.

9. Strafing Objectives: the German fighters can attack and strafe the base of Prnjavor (or that of Belgrade-Zemun into 7) by spending an operational movement phase in the square with the base at hedgehopping altitude (ASP! p.42). The attackers are prone to AAA attack per the rules, with the additional modifier of +2. The strafing is carried out during the Interception and Combat Phase on this formation's turn to act and counts as a deliberate encounter. Each aircraft spends half a die of ammunition and can attack an enemy aircraft on its base at a distance of 2 hexes using the usual rules of combat. The deflection modifier for an aircraft on the ground is x1. Several aircraft can attack the same target, or separate ones as desired.
10. Yugoslav Me 109E (Bf 109E-3) have Cockpit +0 and Ammo W1/w2=4. They have a radio only on 3- on 1D10. Use the counters of Bf 109F/G or Bf109E counters from Clash of Arms SUPERMARINA to distinguish Yugoslave Bf109E-3s from Luftwaffe Bf109E-7.
11. The Yugoslavs can use flexible formation of the beginning of the war (cf ASP! p.51).
12. The Yugoslavs cannot fly over the friendly border into enemy territory (Boxes 1 or 9) .
13. Yugoslav bases are protected by a light unit of Flak, which will attack any formation above them; they will also attack anyone if Flak is obtained on the Table of the Events. It was difficult in the action to distinguish Bf109 friendly and enemy Bf109s.
14. Yugoslav aircraft can supply and rearm once during the mission.
15. Historical Notes: There were four raids which were launched that day on Belgrade:
    • 7h00: 74 Ju 87B of StG 77 and 100 Bf 109E of the JG 77 and 54 arrived from Romania, as well as an escort of Bf 110C of the I./ZG 26 of Hungary, followed a little afterwards by 160 bombers of the II./KG 4 and KG 2 and 3 from Austria (to take all the formations, except that of Ju 88). They were "accomodated" by 15 fighters of the 51 Grupa then by 19 of the 32 Grupa. The Yugoslavians claimed 14 victories, but two had killed, five wounded, five damaged or destroyed grounded fighters and ten. Three Hurricanes of the 2° Puk asserted a probable Ju 87B on its return.
    • 10h00: 57 Ju 87B and 30 Messerschmitts which were with go (to take this time only formations taking off of boxes 9 and 10). 15 Yugoslav fighters intercepted them.Two Ju 87B and Bf 109E went to the carpet, at the cost of four lost Me109E and two killed pilots. Two Me 109E of the 2° Puk could descend two other Ju 87, but they with their tower were cut down by the escort.
    • 14h00: appeared with the top of Belgrade 94 Ju88A of KG 51 escorted by 60 fighters (to take only the formations of Ju 88, Bf 109 and Bf 110). 18 fighters of the 51° and 32° Grupas intercepted them and claimed four victories at the costs of three downed Me 109Es.
    • 16h00: This raid, composed of 90 Ju 87B and 60 fighters, was not intercepted by the Yugoslavs.

    In all and for all, the raids of April 6 had cost the 6° Puk five killed, seven wounded, with eight destroyed aircraft and fifteen others damaged; 22 enemy aircraft were claimed, in actuality only one dozen aircraft were lost in all by Luftwaffe. The 2° Puk, equipped with 19 Me 109E and 15 Hurricanes Mk.I, did not have the occasion to take part truly in the combat, fault of radios and ineffective communications, except the three Hurricanes and both Me 109E which left to the combat their own initiative; an Hs 126B recon aircraft nevertheless was downed by Me 109E from the 31 Grupa.

    The following day, Luftwaffe changed tactics, carrying out small raids of three or four aircraft regaining cover in the clouds after having released their bombs, only irritating only Yugoslav defenses. Nevertheless, a massive raid took place towards 16h00: 24 Ju 88A and Do 17Z with 26 Ju 87B, escorted by some 45 Messerschmitts were intercepted mainly by nine Me 109E of the 32 Grupa (to take all the formations). Three Ju 88As (claimed as Ju 87B!) were shot down, but the losses were heavy, with five pilots killed and eight Yugoslav Me109 destroyed or damaged. On the following day, 8-Apr-41, all the remaining fighters of the 6° Puk left Prnjavor for the base at Veliki Radinci, to some 45 km to the northeast, from where they did not fight any more because of awful weather. On 12-Apr-41, all the unusable remaining aircraft - eight Me 109E, three IK-2 and three Hurricanes - were burnt... The end was in sight. Yugoslavia was going to capitulate on April 17.

Additional Rules:

1. National levels of Training:
   

   JKRV	Average No aces.
   Luftwaffe	Good Treat a result of 1 (Recruit) as Green.

   [My own research shows that the JKRV had been rapidly expanding during 1940; I rate them as Limited. - Uncle Ted]

2. The JKRV Bf109E-3 has Cockpit +0 and W1/W2 ammo=4.

Encounter Tables for the Invasion of Yugoslavia

In addition to the Me 109E, the Yugoslavians used a few of their domestic Rogozarski IK-3 [ADC available from Uncle Ted]. You can add it on this table if you wish. It can only be encountered in Boxes 6,7, or 8.

If a bomber formation is met, they are loaded with bombs on a die roll £ 4.

• If it is the 1st raid of the day, one cannot meet of Ju 88A.
• If it is the 2nd raid only Ju 87B can be encountered.
• If it is the 3° raid, only Ju 88A can be encountered.
• You cannot encounter of Ju 87B in box 6 or less, and medium bombers beyond box 8 (9 or 10). If such a roll occurs, ignore the result.

Sources

• Grand Atlas Larousse-Hammond - Éd. Larousse.
• Mach1 T.4 - Éd. Atlas.
• History of the Luftwaffe, B. Gunston et T. Wood - Éd. Elsevier.
• Air war for Yugoslavia, Greece and Crete, by C. Shores, B. Cull et N. Malizia - Grub Street Publications.

CONCEPTION: Christophe MASSUYEAU
Bar-le-Duc, FRANCE 1995-1997