The Hattingen Incident (Austro-Bavaria vs Burgundy, 1936)

An Austro-Bavarian force was moving south-west into Baden on the south bank of the Danube to cut off Burgundian communations to the Untersee area, but met a Burgundian force moving north-east along the same south bank. They met near Hattingen, and the first shots were fired in what is now known as the ABB War (by the Austro Bavarian artillery, as it happened).  

 

 Austro Bavarian artillery preparing to fire on Burgundian units advancing towards Hattingen (top of the picture)

 

How did it come to this, I hear you ask. Why are Austro-Bavaria and Burgundy at War on the Danube? 

Well, after WW1, as you may recall, the Allies wanted to make sure the empires of Germany, Austria-Hungary and the Ottomans could never again threaten their hegemoney. So these were all broken up, but some of these changes had unforeseen coonsequences.

Firstly, when Bavaria was broken off from Germany, no one predicted it would unite with the other major Catholic German state, Austria, who had been split from its Hungarian and Italian posessions. Using a structure remarkable similar to the Austro-Hungarian one, Austro-Bavaria has become a major MittelEuropa state.

Also, if you recall, the Allies desire to build a buffer state between Germany and France had led to the formation of a new Lotharingia - parts of North France and Southern Gemany were put together as a "buffer" state between the two (with some objection by the France and Germany and the delight of the newly formed country's folk, given the US had promised a lot of recosntruction money). 

What no one anticipated is that some parts of France, fed up with the Paris-central government after WW1, united with this new state to form a New Burgundy.

And of course no sooner was this done than these two new states grabbed another German split-off state, Baden-Wurttemburg, between them. Burgundy took Baden (and Pfalz to boot), Austro-Bavaria took Wurttemburg.

But the bit of Baden that projected far east to the Bodensee was, in Austria-Hungary's opinion, too stratgically sensitive to allow Burgundy to own. Similarly, Burgundy consided the piece of Wurrtemburg that pushed down into "Baden lands" was not acceptable. Both launched surprise attacks at the same time.......

Anyway, we are where we are, and the Burgundians have just had an unpleasant surprise as artillery came thumping down on their advanced positions. Both sides rapidly advanced towards Hattingen.

  

Burgundians advance from the south - west, occupying the high ground by the the Beau Gaste Inn while their armour (bottom) moves right. 

A Bavarian unit moved rapidly to occupy the Inn, while anorther Bavarian unit moved to occupy Hattingen itself. The Inn, built in North African style was a famous landmark in the area at the time, built by an Austrian who had served in the Foreign Legion. It was heavily damaged in this battle.

Bavarian Infantry supported by Ford Tankettes advances  towards Hattingen iteslf  .   

The Bavarians were now in Hattingen and occupying the Inn, but the Bugundians mounted a major attack on the Inn from the high ground and surrounding buildings and subjected it to artillery and fire from tankettes. The Bavarian and Burgundians tankettes also started shooting at each other

In the meanwhile, the Austro-Bavarians had launched an Austrian cavalry and armoured car pincer attack on their right flank... 

Austrian armoured cars, cavalry and horse artillery advance to their right (west) to make a pincer move around Hattingen

 ..but this was stopped by Burgundian tanks rushing to block them, and later followed up by Burgundian infantry. The Austrians cavalry dismounted and called down artillery on the tanks but it had turned into a stalemate

 

Burgundian multi-turreted British supplied medium tanks stopped the Austrian cavalry, but came under heavy shell fire themselves.  

Both sides' flank attacks were neutralized and it became a battle of attrition. The Burgundians eventually forced the Austrian out of the Inn and could start to push again on their right. This overwhelmed the Austro-Bavarians and they were forced to withdraw. (We used O Group rules, roughly level pegging until last turn when Burgundy inflicted 2 FUBARS, winning 4-2)

Both armies follow the Imagi-Nations code of "Invent your counry, design your flag, paint your army - and in the Interwar era , choose the 1920's/30's armour you love - and assert your right to rule!.

Also, each time a new Imagi-Nation is invented, we have to bend the Versailles Treaty ever further. Thank heavens the next two entrants are a British  privateering Foreign Legion and the US Marines, neither of whom need Treaty-bending. 

PS - re the Beau Gaste Inn -  we had that model of a North African building complex, on it went, and to justify it being in Germany the name and alt-history backstory followed. (In Alt-operetta-plot, Leopold does join the Foreign Legion, and all else follows from that.)