Operation Astrakhan, March 1941 thru May 1942
The story of the Drive on Baku will be told from the vantage of one protagonist of every rank, who will be the one representative protagonist of every one of the seven units. The side-arms of each unit are their traditional personal weapons. The small arms and crew served weapons are all provided by Army Group South, as insufficient ammunition and no heavy weapons could be transported on the 14-U-Boat convoy. Overall casualties from June 41 through November 42 have been roughly 40% with few replacements trickling in. Current unit strength is listed.
Task Force Baku, CSA Expeditionary Force
417 officers and men
Commander: Major General George S. Patton, Virginia Military Institute, Overall Commander of the CSA Expeditionary Force
Escort Company
85 officers and men
General Patton’s personal bodyguard consists of 42 white Russian Cossacks on horseback. His HQ consists of three Puma armored cars with 75mm cannon, 7 motorcyclists, with side cars and MG-34 machine guns, one for each unit under his command, manned by two men from each unit. His personal command consists of three VMI cadets, armed with Kongsberg Colts, manning each armored car, with a squad of 10 Serbian anti-communists armed with MP40s and Pistole 640, with 2 80-mm mortars to a squad, driving and riding on the three supply trucks.
…
Second in Command: Brigadier General Nathan Bedford Forrest, Commander of the Fort Knox Tank Troop
63 officers and men
The Fort Knox Tank Troop consists of 15 three-man crews of Panzer IIIs, supported by 3 halftracks crewed by 6-9 Serbian riflemen.
Each tanker is armed with a Kongsberg Colt hand gun, with each commander armed with an MPC96.
Sidearm: CSA Iron mace for throwing and bludgeoning.
…
Colonel: Jim Thorpe, Commander of the Stand Watie Indian Nation Warband
38 warriors and chiefs, remain in the warband, with two horses each.
Small arms: Rifle, K98, potato masher grenades
Sidearm: tomahawk
…
54 officers and men
Texas Rangers
Major: “Dad” Joiner of the Texas Rangers Expeditionary Troop, Kill a Commie for Christ
Small arms: Rifle, K98, potato masher grenades,
Sidearm: Atlanta Arms Industries .50 Caliber revolver, with 50 rounds each, bowie knife
Major Dad had a yacht transport enough Yankee jeeps mounted with .50.caliber machine guns, directly from Manhattan to Dieppe. The command currently consists of 6 4-man jeeps armed with twin .50-cals, supported by 4 3-man jeeps mounting panzer shreks, supported by 9 two-man supply jeeps towing two-wheeled ordinance wagons. . Since the Soviets us Yankee,.50 Caliber machine guns, there is plenty of ammo to be captured to augment the yacht-load the rangers started with in 1941.
…
24 men of 96 NBA volunteers
Captain and HNC: Jesse Owens, Five-Time Negro League Allstar Centerfielder, Commander of the NBA Antitank Impi
MPC96, 3 panzerfausts on a back harness or a satchel charge, transported and supplied by 3 halftracks
Sidearm: CSA asagi [Zulu stabbing spear] with stars and bars cavalry banner
…
54 officers and men
Lieutenant: Young Stribling, Armed Forces Boxing Champion, Commander of the CSA Navy Heavy Weapons Section
Small arms: MPC96
Officers armed with MP40s and pistole 640
Sidearm: Alabama truncheon
Four halftracks mounted with MG15s, towing .88 flak guns tasked with tank killing, anti-aircraft cover and fortification reduction, supplied by 4 trucks
…
Tennessee Militia Sniper Section
23 men, no officers, down from 38 officers and men
Sergeant: Brandon “Brand” Stoker of the Tennessee Militia Sniper Section
[Grandfather of the supporting character Hurt Stoker, for which the novel set in the 2013 Confederacy was named.]
Scoped Rifle, K98, bolt action, 7.92-57 Mauser cartridge
…
76 officer and men [reduced from 240] and self-designated as the funeral detail
Currently commanded by Sergeant Jesse “Crock” Gables
Private: Clyde Chestnut Barrow, CSA Marines Disciplinary Company, Boarder #1, Squad Texas
Small Arms: Each 10-man squad has 1 MG34 crewed by 2, 5 riflemen with K98s and 3 boarders armed with MP40s
Sidearm: cutlass Browning hi-power, 9X19mm Parabellum, Pistole 640
Small Arms
Pistols:
Kongsberg Colt, 11.43 ACP, “Pistole 657”
Browning hi-power, 9X19mm Parabellum, Pistole 640
Machine pistols:
Mauser C96, 7.63-25mm Mauser cartridge
MP40, 9X19mm Parabellum
Rifle, K98, bolt action, 7.92-57 Mauser cartridge
Machine guns:
MG15, 7.92-57 Mauser cartridge
MG34, 7.92-57 Mauser cartridge
Panzerfaust, 100mm recoilless disposable antitank
Model 24 Stielhandgranate, stick-handle grenade
Sturmpistole grenade launcher modified from flare gun
