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Red Star - A WitE PBEM AAR
Now that I've slightly belatedly wrapped up the previous AAR, a new one can be started at once. In this exciting issue of yet-another-AAR-I'll-never-finish-and-nobody-will-ever-read, Marshal Raptov shall return to the Eastern Front to face his nemesis (or at least one of them), German General Crécy. We're playing the Grand Campaign of Gary Grigsby's absurdly complex War in the East, covering the entire Eastern Front of World War II from Opeartion Barbarossa to the end of the war, and hopefully we'll actually manage to get through the game this time.
In an effort to keep this from bogging down an already highly complicated game, and to keep the whole thing generally readable, I'll forego my usual rambling and just lay out the situation of each turn in a relatively brief manner. Any thoughts and suggestions on the current situation would be appreciated. As always, saboteurs and counter-revolutionaries will be shot. I don't believe Crécy is making an AAR from his side, unfortunately, and I also haven't seen him around here for a while, but if anyone catches him snooping around in this thread please turn him over to SMERSH at once. And with that out of the way, I declare that the war is now officially on. EDIT: Oh, I forgot this: Scale is 10 miles per hex and every turn one week in this game (except the first turn, which is 4 days), and units range on the scale from regiment to corps and marked according to the usual NATO symbology. Colours are pretty standard: Brown and red counters are Soviet and Soviet Guards units, grey and black are German Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS units, dark blue is Finnish, light green is Hungarian and light blue is Romanian. There are a few others but they're minor. |
Krasnaya Zvezda June 25th, 1941 Fascist hordes invade the motherland. Glorious army of the people of the Soviet Union is fighting valiantly to expel the perfidious Germans. --- Stavka Field Report June 22nd - June 25th, 1941 Logistics Report Code:
ISOLATED UNITSNorthern Front: All quiet. Northwestern Front: Our lines were broken at two points, Kretinga, near the Baltic coastline, and the southern bank of the Neman river. This allowed the enemy to exploit its mechanized units northwards and trap most of the Northwestern Front's fighting strength. Kaunas is held by the 84th Motorized Division. but elsewhere our forces are in complete disarray. A new line is being cobbled together at the Daugava river from retreating units and the few reserves available, but it's thin at the moment. http://i.imgur.com/HiVBBFs.jpg Thoughts: Most of the 8th Army is surrounded and it's not likely contact can be re-established. The new line looks unlikely to hold against even a mild assault and we'll most probably have to relocate to a new one soon. Western Front: The Germans smashed through our line at Brest-Litovsk and west of Vilnius. Panzer Groups used these to exploit and successfully close up a double envelopment just west of Minsk, trapping most of the 3rd, 4th and 10th Armies around Bialystok. A token defense has been left in Minsk while everyone else we have left has been sent to form a new line along the Berezina river, west of Mogilev. http://i.imgur.com/MMCNFEW.jpg Thoughts: No way to save the Bialystok pocket. The new line isn't particularly impressive but the German units at the front are overextended, which might work to our favour. Southwestern Front: The enemy launched an assault near Ivanichi and advanced 140 miles south, taking Tarnopol and advancing to the banks of the Seret. Unfortunately for them, an incomplete encirclement has allowed us to evacuate many of our cut off units from the vicinity of Lvov. In total, an estimated 12 out of 21 divisions made it out of the pocket alongside numerous NKVD border regiments and support units. The vast majority of our command structure and surviving aircraft also made it out intact. http://i.imgur.com/5W9YryC.jpg Thoughts: The reserve line west of Rovno and Pruskorov should hold for now and reinforcements are already underway. This front was by far the best to hold the initial assault; Colonel General Mikhail Kirponos is recommended for more medals. Southern Front: All quiet. Losses: Serious. http://i.imgur.com/c1H59hI.jpg http://i.imgur.com/BrnupAT.jpg |
Krasnaya Zvezda June 25th, 1941 The Germans find their advance completely halted by the Red Army. Their units have been expertly outmaneuvered and encircled by troops of the victorious Northwestern and Southwestern Fronts. The end of the Fascist army is surely near. Stavka Field Report June 26th - July 2nd, 1941 Logistics Report Code:
ISOLATED UNITSNorthern Front: All quiet. Northwestern Front: The Baltic pocket has been all but eliminated. The Germans push ahead, surrounding Kaunas and punching a predictable hole through our Daugava line at Livani and Kraslava before advancing most of the way to Pskov. The 5th Airborne Corps is enveloped in the process but contact is soon re-established with friendly infantry. Meanwhile, reinforcements have allowed us to put some pressure on the increasingly overextended German advance. A hasty counterattack led by the 1st and 21st Mechanized Corps manages to isolate the lead elements of the German advance, including the 8th Panzer Division and elements of the 6th Panzer Division. This isn't likely to hold for long but might delay their advance for a while. http://i.imgur.com/1E9vz5n.jpg Western Front: The Bialystok pocket is getting progressively smaller but hopefully the troops trapped in it can provide the Germans some distraction for the next few weeks. Some of the cut-off units bypassed by the German advance elsewhere are attempting to make a breakout, while scattered survivors of destroyed units have banded together behind German lines into the first partisan battalions. The Germans, in the meantime, have pushed forward towards our new line with their lead units, investing Minsk in the process, but made no serious attempt to breach it yet. New units have also been sent to form a defense along the Pripyat Marshes in order to thwart any attempt by the Germans to exploit south and outflank the Southwestern Front's position; the rough terrain should be helpful in delaying any attack in this region. http://i.imgur.com/Ot7y3pT.jpg Southwestern Front: With help from the Romanians, the German army completes the encirclement of the Lvov pocket and launches another attack from the north of Tarnopol, advancing and capturing Rovno, but a very bloody counterattack against the base of the salient allows us to cut off several of their units, including the 11th, 13th and 16th Panzer Divisions, the 16th Motorized Division and the Wiking SS Motorized Division. Partial contact has also been re-established with the 15th Mechanized Corps inside the Lvov pocket through gaps in the German line. http://i.imgur.com/GzJzIjp.jpg Thoughts: This encirclement isn't likely to hold either but the Germans must be getting off track in this sector and this can't help their situation. Southern Front: The Romanians invade! Axis units have advanced some 30 miles to the outskirts of Kishinev. Not much else to report. http://i.imgur.com/Ln1D048.jpg Losses: Very high, but most of these are surrendering units in the Baltic and Bialystok pockets, so it's not as bad as the previous week. Somewhat surprisingly, it appears that both the VVS and the Luftwaffe have been out to lunch this week. http://i.imgur.com/BhCAliQ.jpg http://i.imgur.com/cUdS0K2.jpg |
Kick gum and chew bubblebutt! :rock:
Wait... :hmmm: |
Krasnaya Zvezda July 9th, 1941 The former commander of the VVS on the Northwestern Front, Major-General of Aviation Aleksei Ionov, has been executed for treason against the state. Meanwhile, Red Army forces continue the offensive against the Germans. Major-General Konstantin Golubev of the 10th Army has been killed leading the charge against the fascist armies near Brest-Litovsk. His sacrifice to the people of the Soviet Union shall not be forgotten. Stavka Field Report July 3rd - July 9th, 1941 Logistics Report Code:
ISOLATED UNITSMajor-General Aleksei Ionov of the Northwestern Air Command has been put to the firing squad due to the less than stellar performance of the VVS and replaced by the more competent Timofei Khryukin. Konstantin Golubev, commander of the 10th Army, was killed in the Pripyat Marshes under unknown circumstances; it is likely he died in the crossfire when his staff car was caught by the German 293rd Infantry Division. Heavy industry and armaments production factories have been evacuated from Mogilev and Gomel to the Urals because of the proximity of German forces. Northern Front: All quiet. Northwestern Front: The Germans attacked and opened a line of communication back to their leading Panzer units, but our units rallied and cut them off in short order. The German 58th Infantry and Totenkopf SS Motorized Divisions attempted three assaults against Riga but were repulsed by the 22nd NKVD Rifle Division. The enemy made no other advances in this sector but we've had to pull back some 20 miles from the Daugava, so it's not likely our position will hold for long. http://i.imgur.com/ccBwsZB.jpg Western Front: The Bialystok pocket has evaporated, so we'll likely see an influx of German infantry move up to the front in this area soon. Minsk also fell after two attacks by the German 31st and 34th Infantry Divisions. Units of XXXIX and LVII Panzer Corps attacked our line just north of the Drut and drove to the banks of the Dnieper, but no other dramatic advances have been made. Meanwhile, not to be outdone by neighbouring commands, Western Front HQ has launched Operation Bezumiye, a daring plan to isolate the German Panzer Groups west of Mogilev. The 7th Mechanized Corps, with some 900 armoured vehicles, has been sent south from the Dvina river through holes in the German lines while the 47th Rifle Corps begun marching northwards from the Pripyat Marshes. Unfortunately, we haven't been able to close the gap as of yet, but any distraction gives us more time to shore up defences around the Dnieper. http://i.imgur.com/cqxxKOL.jpg Southwestern Front: The Germans attempted to open the supply route to the Rovno encirclement but with the help of more reinforcements, including the fresh 19th Army, we managed to promptly close it again. Currently, we have the Germans completely encircled in three locations: The main pocket around Rovno appears to have the majority of Panzer Group 1's fighting strength, including the Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler and Wiking SS Motorized Divisions, the 16th Panzer Division and elements of the 13th Panzer Division. A smaller pocket to the southwest has three German infantry divisions in addition to the 9th Panzer Division. The Romanian 1st Armoured Division and a regiment of the 14th Panzer Division have been caught and isolated south of Tarnopol during our attempts to recover the 15th Mechanized Corps from the Lvov pocket. As with the Northwestern Front, the enemy's predicament appears to have stalled their advance for now. http://i.imgur.com/RL3fE8Y.jpg Southern Front: Kishinev has been overrun by German infantry. Our troops to the south have pulled back to the Kogilnik river. http://i.imgur.com/IG2yRap.jpg Losses: Still heavy. http://i.imgur.com/0XxjBgH.jpg http://i.imgur.com/aMPGAzk.jpg |
There seems to be something wonky with the losses screens not showing the correct numbers for each turn, but comparison of the total losses should be fine. I've also attached the logistics log for each turn because the game conveniently exports it to a text file.
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Krasnaya Zvezda July 16th, 1941 With the help of the brave people of the motherland, the Red Army has been able to raise many reinforcements for its struggle against the fascist invaders. Stavka Field Report July 10th - July 16th, 1941 Logistics Report Code:
ISOLATED UNITSA whole batch of new divisions have been raised all over the country. Most of these are now at half-strength and lacking proper organization. They've been sent to cities close to the front to be thrown into the meat grinder when necessary. As a result of the reinforcements and various shifts in forces, our army's command structure is now so convoluted that my head hurts just thinking about it. More factories have been evacuated from Odessa and Nikolaev and sent east by railroad. Northern Front: Finland invades! Not much in the way of an advance for now, but our units retreated about 10 miles on large sections of the front. We've dropped some bombs on Helsinki as revenge. http://i.imgur.com/DxkwKg9.jpg Northwestern Front: The Germans threw back our encirclement again. This time our units weren't in position to directly threaten the gaps in their position so we've had to pull back to a defensive stance. The 22nd NKVD Rifle Division in Riga withstood no less than four assaults by various German units. Unfortunately, our reinforcements have not yet arrived in position to reinforce it. http://i.imgur.com/dBvX9Tj.jpg Western Front: The Germans attempted another assault on our line. XXXXVI Panzer Corps broke through the Drut just west of Mogilev but it wasn't able to exploit its success. Elsewhere our line held against multiple assaults, and the Germans have even withdrawn from the foothold they've gotten on the Dnieper the previous week. Unfortunately, thanks to the influx of German units coming from the west, Operation Bezumiye had to be called off. The 7th Mechanized Corps has been diverted, however, and has successfully managed to cut off most of Panzer Group 3. http://i.imgur.com/QGgUfZ5.jpg Southwestern Front: Lvov fell and we don't have much more than a few stragglers left in the pocket. German infantry counterattacked our encircling units and strengthened their hold on the base of the Rovno salient, so the supply lines to most of their units are now open again, but we're still keeping the pressure up on several of their leading units. The enemy has also attempted to resume their advance south of Tarnopol, but they haven't gotten very far. http://i.imgur.com/knM6tDs.jpg Thoughts: With Rovno salient now pretty well established, most of our units still holding the western border will probably have be evacuated before German units break through the Pripyat Marshes. Southern Front: The Axis are keeping up the advance on a wide front. Most of our units have been pulled behind the Dniester. http://i.imgur.com/TA0AX2P.jpg Thoughts: If we keep getting humiliated by the Romanian army I'm going to have to issue orders that anyone who retreats is to be shot. Losses: Getting a bit less severe. http://i.imgur.com/lpR3LgQ.jpg http://i.imgur.com/ewmXMGW.jpg |
One of my favourite games :) Keep it coming
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Krasnaya Zvezda July 23rd, 1941 Posts have been made available at Stavka. The Red Army's High Command is now looking for competent staff officers. Stavka Field Report July 17th - July 23rd, 1941 Logistics Report Code:
ISOLATED UNITSNorthern Front: This front has not yet been reorganized. Formations facing the Finnish front are made up of two commands:
http://i.imgur.com/vc9n16N.jpg Northwestern Front: The new order of battle for this front is as follows:
http://i.imgur.com/Jqmayz4.jpg Western Front: The new order of battle for this front is as follows:
The enemy has made another push at Mogilev but they've yet to make another penetration exceeding 10 miles beyond the Drut river. In a notable engagement, the 18th and 229th Rifle Divisions have managed to destroy 41 German tanks in battle with the 7th and 20th Panzer Divisions. Some of the 31st Army's units are in a perilous position, having just been at the rear of the enemy lines, but they're being pulled back to defensive positions. http://i.imgur.com/qJ8HKEF.jpg Southwestern Front: The new order of battle for this front is as follows:
http://i.imgur.com/V33EiWp.jpg Southern Front: The new order of battle for this front is as follows:
Minor clashes along the line. The Axis made two attempts to breach the Dniester but they were repulsed both times. http://i.imgur.com/pVqXErt.jpg Losses: http://i.imgur.com/e0Oj1o4.jpg http://i.imgur.com/LArfN4F.jpg |
Krasnaya Zvezda July 30th, 1941 Rumours that the Germans have resumed their advance into the motherland are utterly overrated. Stavka Field Report July 24th - July 30th, 1941 Logistics Report Code:
ISOLATED UNITSNorthern Front: The 7th Independent Army to the north of Lake Ladoga held against the Finnish assaults perfectly. The 23rd Army to the south was assaulted in two places and was forced to retreat. Not much else happened. http://i.imgur.com/qtYukZv.jpg Northwestern Front: The Germans renewed their offensive in a manner that has become typical of their operations this week. A thin holding force has been left across the majority of the front, trusting our units' incompetence to allow them to hold against superior numbers, while the Panzer Group on this sector has been massed in a short-ranged assault aimed at cutting off our units at Pskov. They haven't quite succeeded, but our position has become awfully precarious as a result. The 32nd Army has been hastily redeployed into position east of Pskov in an effort to contain the Germans. We'll have to see how they hold out. http://i.imgur.com/ERLhTsr.jpg Western Front: While the German disposition in this area hasn't changed by a great deal, they launched a wide offensive against our front west of Mogilev. There are no breaches in our line thanks to this, but the Germans have inflicted serious casualties on our units and advanced some 10 miles across nearly the entire front. We've thrown the 4th Army into combat positions behind the Dnieper while the 34th Army has been raised to take its place as a reserve around Smolensk. http://i.imgur.com/dzJ6Y4b.jpg Southwestern Front: In keeping with their new operational strategy, the Germans massed Panzer Group 1's combat strength, backed up by a load of infantry divisions, and broke through the lines of the 19th Army in a deliberate attack. Their exploitation is shallow but they've compromised our line again and it can only stretch so far before we'll have to abandon it. We counterattacked their leading units but, despite very nearly breaking the 14th Panzer Division and encircling the 13th, we've failed at making sufficient headway. Further to the south, the 6th and 26th Armies attempted to threaten the flank of the German advance by launching an offensive against the thin enemy lines north of Tarnopol, by far the largest one we've mounted since the beginning of the war. This attack found more success, dislodging German units at multiple points, but these victories proved far too costly (in one instance entailing the loss of no less than 146 AFVs) for the meager amount of headway they managed to achieve. I've ordered an absurd amount of reserves to be deployed to this front to stop any of this tomfoolery from getting out of hand. Nine fresh divisions in the form of the newly established 38th Army have been deployed to back up the 19th Army, as was the 3rd Army (still technically attached to the Western Front), which was also reinforced with more units, particularly cavalry divisions that have not yet been committed to combat. In the Pripyat Marshes, the Germans have not yet closed up the pocket around our units completely, but it'll be difficult to dislodge the enemy sufficiently to rescue the majority of them. http://i.imgur.com/INzrHRN.jpg Southern Front: A couple of indecisive Romanian attacks pushed us back by a bit, while a similar German attack was repulsed with heavy casualties. Judging the Romanian lines to be in the form of swiss cheese, the 9th Army has launched its cavalry divisions in an encirclement around the largest concentration of Axis units west of Odessa; we're still not sure what the objective of this is. The 29th Army has taken over the center of the front, but thanks to the incompetence of our staff reorganization has not yet been fully completed. http://i.imgur.com/CBJSBfx.jpg Overall Situation: The new shift in German strategy has not gained them much ground but it has hastened our slowly deteriorating strategic situation. Our units are continually losing combat ability thanks to casualties and fatigue, but any reserves we have are mostly in the form of hastily-raised divisions and aren't in much better shape for front line combat. So far we've managed to hold the Germans by giving no ground, but we'll likely have to withdraw to better positions soon if this continues. http://i.imgur.com/8rS4r1s.jpg http://i.imgur.com/EJzPCnO.jpg |
Krasnaya Zvezda August 6th, 1941 The fascists have no reserves left to face the counterattack of the brave soldiers of the motherland! Stavka Field Report July 31st - August 6th, 1941 Logistics Report Code:
ISOLATED UNITSNorthern Front: Business as usual. Not much to report. http://i.imgur.com/sapR9MM.jpg Northwestern Front: Pskov fell after a massed assault by LVI Panzer Corps and German units advanced against the 32nd Army before running out of steam 20 miles to the north of the city. The 11th and 27th Army also fell under attack but with the majority of the German Panzer Divisions concentrated around Pskov their lines have not been breached. Meanwhile, thanks to aerial reconnaissance we spotted a wide gap in the German lines between Pskov and Gulbene. The 8th Army, led by the 163rd Mechanized Division, was ordered to march into the gap to cut off the flow of supplies to the German Panzer Group. After advancing some 40 miles into German-controlled territory, we managed to close up the encirclement around all of the German forces in Pskov, routing several of their air and HQ units and capturing a few supply depots in the process. There don't appear to be reserve units available to the Germans and their lines are spread very thin, so they'll likely have to abandon their advance to dislodge us, leaving us enough time to bring up more reinforcements. In the worst case scenario the 8th Army will be destroyed, but those are acceptable casualties. http://i.imgur.com/1hGeiPz.jpg Western Front: The German offensive continues as both the German Panzer Groups struck to the north and south of Mogilev. The first attack, apparently aimed at Smolensk, achieved breakthrough and advanced some 30 miles to the west along the bank of the Dnieper. The other attack came in the woods between Mogilev and Gomel in an area weakly held by the 4th Airborne Corps; it dislodged our defences and established a bridgehead across the Dnieper. Mogilev itself came under three assaults by German units but the three infantry divisions defending it managed to hold the city. In retaliation to the German advance on the northern flank, the 24th Army mounted a counterattack against the base of the German breakthrough, held by the German 18th Motorized Division, and successfully dislodged the enemy. This has left the three leading German divisions, the 14th and 20th Motorized Divisions and the 20th Panzer Division, encircled between the 24th and 34th Armies. Further to the south, the 10th Army has been reformed from reinforcing units to contain the Germans. http://i.imgur.com/92Oy2jt.jpg By attacking around the flanks of our line on the Dnieper, it seems that the enemy is planning to pocket the Western Front around Mogilev and destroy it, but I'm not going to abandon our position so easily. Southwestern Front: The pocket in the Pripyat Marshes, all of the forces in which have now been reorganized as the 5th Army, is still holding onto its line of retreat, but just barely. The German Panzer Group continued its attack east of Rovno but, though it has gained some ground, failed to achieve a breakthrough. Further to the south, some back-and-forth battles have been fought around Tarnopol as the Germans tried to advance and we threw them back. Most notably, we encircled a number of German units (the German 262nd Infantry Division along with the Hungarian 2nd Motorized and Slovakian Mobile Brigades) in a small pocket southeast of the city. http://i.imgur.com/Ui3qRVp.jpg Southern Front: A weak Axis response to our counterattack has prompted the 9th Army to shift into full-blown counteroffensive mode. The pocket has been closed up around five Romanian divisions and two brigades west of Odessa. Kishinev has been briefly reoccupied by the 43rd Cavalry Division, but it retreated to avoid being surrounded. http://i.imgur.com/jFPK7Yw.jpg Overall Situation: I know I said we'll probably have to withdraw soon but for now I've opted to exploit every vulnerability in the Axis line, if only to delay them slightly and cause them to adopt an over-cautious approach. http://i.imgur.com/IhHYjjj.jpg http://i.imgur.com/dAcNQiD.jpg |
Krasnaya Zvezda August 13th, 1941 Officials within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union have denied rumours that the war has been called off. In other news, a major shipment of vehicles and supplies has been delivered to the Soviet Union by the British and Americans. Though the help of these decadent capitalist nations is unnecessary, their assistance to the brave Red Army's glorious struggle to destroy fascism is appreciated. Stavka Field Report Logistics ReportAugust 7th - August 13th, 1941 Code:
ISOLATED UNITShttp://i.imgur.com/RpaSFVa.jpg Northwestern Front: The situation has turned out quite differently than I thought. While the Germans do indeed appear to have outstretched their lines far too much for a proper defence with no reserves in place, they have decided not to abandon their assault to consolidate their position. XXXXI Panzer Corps continued its offensive northwards, advancing twenty miles before being stopped in its tracks by the 21st Tank Division. With no other forces to attack with, the Germans have left the 8th Army largely alone, allowing it to deploy in depth along their lines of communication. To help with any offensive or defensive operation, the 48th Army has been formed east of Pskov and reinforced with several divisions. http://i.imgur.com/BbBI7OG.jpg It is possible that the enemy is trying to reach the coast of the Gulf of Finland as quickly as possible in an attempt to trap our armies west of Lake Peipus. If so, they have a long way to go and (probably) little fuel to make it with. Regardless, it is hard to predict how the situation will develop on this front for now. Western Front: The enemy called off the offensive on the northern pincer to rescue its cut off units, which it unfortunately succeeded in doing. We mounted an assault against the base of the salient again but made no progress this time. In the south, the German Panzer Group attempted to continue its advance but ran straight into our reinforcing formations. The 10th Army launched a series of counterattacks which forced the Germans back to their positions along the eastern bank of the Dnieper. The 18th Panzer Division has been mauled in the fighting and sent reeling out of the battle line. http://i.imgur.com/qONma31.jpg Southwestern Front: Panzer Group 1 has somehow broken through the strongest part of our front and arrived at the rear of the 6th and 26th Armies west of Proskurov. The enemy's position is looking about as solid as swiss cheese, though, so I decided to deploy both of these armies in depth to try to retain our old position while also leaving open the possibility of withdrawal if things become too bad. The 37th Army has also been thrown into the line east of the exploiting German Panzer Divisions. As the situation stands, it's not immensely clear who is encircled by who. Further north, the 3rd Army and 38th Armies have successfully launched a limited counterattack against German positions near Shepetovka. The 5th Army is still struggling to return to friendly lines while the Germans are still trying to cut it off. http://i.imgur.com/1Hevz8J.jpg Southern Front: The Axis have proven to be largely unprepared for our counteroffensive. Cut off and surrounded, the Romanian Frontier Infantry Division surrendered to the 9th Army with nearly the entirety of its 15,000 men; it is the first Axis unit to do so. The 2nd Fortress Infantry Brigade of some 9,000 men has been routed in disarray after a series of engagements with Soviet cavalry, suffering more than a third of its strength in casualties. Seven Romanian divisions remain encircled by the 9th Army; how many of these can be destroyed before the Axis mount a serious counterattack remains to be seen. http://i.imgur.com/VmeIxXt.jpg Overall Situation: It does not seem obvious which side has the upper hand at the moment. http://i.imgur.com/tBPeJk2.jpg http://i.imgur.com/84JqfNM.jpg |
Mark my words comrade, things will change, it will be their land, their people, their blood....
http://cdn.meme.am/instances/55058991.jpg |
Krasnaya Zvezda August 20th, 1941 German forces along the Dnieper river have been dealt a crushing defeat. After withstanding a short offensive aimed at breaking the two month-long stalemate of the battle for Mogilev, Soviet forces led by Major-General Ivan Bagramyan's 33rd Army launched a counterattack and threw the German Panzer formations back with heavy casualties. Further offensive successes have been achieved by the Red Army in the vicinity of Pskov and near the Black Sea, where nearly 30,000 Romanian prisoners have been paraded through the streets of Odessa. Stavka Field Report Logistics ReportAugust 14th - August 20th, 1941 Code:
ISOLATED UNITSLarge amounts of sapper regiments, independent tank battalions and railroad construction units have been raised and attached to armies across the front. Hopefully, this should give our units greater operational flexibility. Northern Front: The Finns will soon be near Leningrad. Fortifications are being prepared for this seeming inevitability. http://i.imgur.com/1eFSTOC.jpg Northwestern Front: The 6th Panzer and Totenkopf SS Motorized Division made their way south from Pskov to re-open the German supply lines. The 8th Army counterattacked and managed to close them again, but the encirclement is thin. Elsewhere, attacks against German units continued, with the 132nd Infantry Division routed near Deriglazovo and the 123rd driven to the outskirts of Pskov by the 48th Army. http://i.imgur.com/tJ2XyCA.jpg Western Front: German offensive actions continued with Panzer Group 2 attempting to flank Mogilev and Panzer Group 3 heading towards Smolensk. In one of our greatest successes yet, the 4th, 10th, 13th and the newly established 33rd Army launched a counterattack against Panzer Group 2's salient and defeated two German Panzer corps in the field. The attack culminated in an assault which smashed the 3rd Panzer and 10th Motorized Division on the banks of the Pronya river, just south of Chausy. Both formations have been routed off the field in disarray and are considered to be combat-ineffective for the time being. The situation on the northern flank is uncertain. The Germans are now only 30 miles from Smolensk and our lines are stretched very thin, but we managed to launch a successful attack against the position held by the 14th Motorized Division and cut off supply to their easternmost units for the time being. Our attack also caught and scattered the HQs of both XXXIX and LVII Panzer Corps, which should impair German operations on this front for a while. To fill the gap in the lines, the Moscow People's Militia has been deployed north of Smolensk under the command of the Reserve Front's 49th Army. http://i.imgur.com/2P1bOtZ.jpg Southwestern Front: The Axis attempted to strengthen their encirclement by cutting open a path to their leading Panzer units, but did not manage to advance much elsewhere. The 12th, 26th and 36th Armies launched a counterattack on the southern flank that proved highly successful. The 9th Panzer Division and the Hungarian 2nd Motorized Brigade suffered more than a third of their combined AFV strength, while the 16th Panzer Division has been mauled on the outskirts of Proskurov. Both the 16th Panzer and the Wiking SS Motorized Division are currently caught in an encirclement northwest of the city. Operations on the northern flank have not gone quite as well. While the 13th Panzer Division has been defeated at the head of the German advance, our attempts to cut off the salient south of Shepetovka have narrowly failed. http://i.imgur.com/cfnmiKX.jpg Southern Front: As expected, the German 72nd Infantry Division attacked the 9th Army's lines and reestablished contact with 5 trapped Romanian infantry divisions. It was too far to help the Romanian Army's 9th and 10th Infantry Divisions, however, which surrendered to Red Army units for a combined total of some 28,000 prisoners. Our cavalry units are taking advantage of the breach in the enemy lines to exploit westwards in the hope of precipitating a complete collapse of the Axis position. http://i.imgur.com/8IcTQx5.jpg To help reduce command difficulties resulting from over-extension, the 40th Army has taken over approximately half of the 9th Army's frontage. Overall Situation: Only a few more weeks until General Mud arrives. Also, it seems that many of the German Panzer formations are operating greatly under-strength. Hopefully that should start having a serious impact on their fighting capacity, since our counteroffensives are starting to inflict more damage. http://i.imgur.com/h4KA1SR.jpg http://i.imgur.com/DtWqysg.jpg |
After four weeks of fighting, cavalry units of the 9th Army have crossed the pre-war border into fascist Romania as part of the Red Army's Bessarabian Strategic Offensive Operation. The Southwestern Front has claimed 30,000 German prisoners, in addition to hundreds of captured field guns and armoured fighting vehicles, from surrendering German mechanized formations near Proskurov. Further reports confirm that heavy mud has ground the German offensive to a halt across the front. Stavka Field Report Logistics ReportAugust 21st - August 27th, 1941 Code:
ISOLATED UNITSNo sooner do I mention General Mud than the entire theater turns into a quagmire. Heavy rains in the Central Soviet weather zone have destroyed mobility across the vast majority of the front lines. In particular, German tank and motorized units appear to be nearly completely incapable of operating effectively in this sort of terrain. Northern Front: The 23rd Army has retreated to final defensive positions north of Leningrad. http://i.imgur.com/DoR4wro.jpg Northwestern Front: Little has changed on this front. The mobility-deprived Germans made some moves to once more reopen their supply corridor but the 8th Army is still holding the line. We tried continuing the attack east of Pskov but bad coordination has prevented us from making any headway. The encircled German 12th Infantry Division unfortunately managed to hold off multiple assaults, narrowly avoiding destruction. German formations including the Polizei SS Infantry Division have managed a minor breakthrough along the coast. Forces have been deployed in an attempt to contain the enemy. http://i.imgur.com/7WtJsM3.jpg Western Front: Thanks to the muddy conditions, there was nearly no movement on the part of the Germans on this front. I took the opportunity to rearrange our defensive line, which has become disorganized during the previous week's counteroffensive. Minor attacks have been successfully launched against the 17th and 20th Panzer Divisions, both of which have been displaced with heavy casualties, while another battle with the 18th Panzer and 29th Motorized Division stalled in a bloody stalemate. http://i.imgur.com/xLqfdg3.jpg Southwestern Front: The Germans attempted to break through to their units encircled northwest of Proskurov. The 11th Panzer Division's attack in the northeast bogged down in the mud and failed to make any headway, while the attack in the southwest, led by the Slovakian Mobile Brigade, advanced 10 miles before running out of steam as well. Attempts by the enemy to break out from within the pocket have similarly failed. With the German offensive stalled short of its objective, Soviet units assaulted the pocket and destroyed both divisions trapped inside. http://i.imgur.com/qDrI3Jb.jpg While both formations were under-strength, the surrender of the 16th Panzer and the Wiking Division account for approximately 25,000 prisoners in addition to the capture of nearly all of their remaining AFV and artillery strength. Needless to say, the loss of an elite motorized division and a Panzer division should be a massive setback for the Germans. With the pocket destroyed, the 26th Army turned on the Slovakian Mobile Brigade and drove it from the field. Having accomplished that and with little apparent prospects of successfully turning the northern flank, I've decided to declare victory and withdraw from the salient. http://i.imgur.com/kkXPPr2.jpg Unfortunately, the 5th Army in the Pripyat Marshes has finally run out of time and most of its units surrendered to the Germans. One infantry and two tank divisions have managed to link up with friendly forces and might be saved. Southern Front: 9th Army cavalry units have turned the right flank of the Axis line with nearly no opposition. Kishinev has been recaptured again, cutting off many German and Romanian divisions, while advance units crossed the Romanian border and advanced as far as Barlad in Moldavia. The Axis attempted limited counterattacks to consolidate their position, but these seem to have failed for the most part. http://i.imgur.com/mF2cDB8.jpg Overall Situation: The early arrival of the mud season was fortunate. It remains to be seen how much longer it will continue and how much we can use it to our advantage. http://i.imgur.com/QancGhY.jpg |
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