[Alt-WWII] 22-23 July 1940- 1st Bomber Group’s Baptism by Fire

After withdrawing from Bessarabia, VII Corps was responsible for holding a 150 km stretch of the Prut River that ran between Lunca Banului and Galați. However, with the 14th Division still besieged at Cetatea Albă, the VII Corps was especially weak, and, when the 26th Army crossed the Prut near Murgeni, containing them seemed to be an impossible task. After they communicated their situation to 3rd Army’s headquarters at the end of the first day of battle, the Royal War Council urged that this now vital sector needed to be reinforced. However, with no more ground forces in reserve, it was decided that this sector would be supported by the 1st Bomber Group.

 

The 1st Bomber Group consisted of four, 12-plane squadrons, flying IAR 82 "Şoim" medium bombers. At the time, it was the largest active bomber formation, with half of the 2nd Bomber Group’s men still being trained and a 3rd Bomber Group still being organized. As such, the Royal War Council was hesitant to field the bombers during the Battle of Bessarabia, but decided to now that the war was coming further into Romania.

 

On the 22nd, the men of the 1st Bomber Group took off from the airfield at Braşov and headed for the Soviet bridgehead. Despite their inexperience and the Şoim’s crude bombsights, the bombers successfully destroyed the two pontoon bridges that had been built, along with other high priority targets like the 173rd Rifle Division’s headquarters and an oil depot, all without losing a single plane. The Soviet response was that of pure shock. Up until that point, they were under the impression that Romania had no dedicated bombers, only fighter-bombers.

 

The squadrons of the 1st Bomber Group would fly a total of 17 sorties over the next two days, eventually leading to the destruction of a third pontoon bridge, 27 tanks and 39 trucks in exchange for 3 bombers downed and 7 heavily damaged. This continued bombing, combined with artillery from VII Corps, inflicted heavy casualties against the 8th Rifle Corps, as well as destroying most of the equipment of the 17th Pontoon Bridge Regiment. By the time the Red Army Air Force allocated fighter cover to the bridgehead on the 23rd, the 26th Army’s hopes of getting their heavy equipment across the Prut in time to encircle the Romanian 3rd Army had effectively gone up in smoke. As the 8th Rifle Corps stayed in their bridgehead, the rest of the 26th Army was withdrawn and forced to consider an alternative solution for crossing the Prut.

 

-Side Note-

I wrote this back in August, but was so daunted by how to arrange the scene that I just... didn't make it. Hopefully, there won't be any more delays with the alt history timeline.

Done