Götterdämmerung - A PzC AAR

[Raptor1]

Well, I planned on doing this one when I finished the BftB AAR last year, but due to general laziness I did not get around to doing it. Now that everyone seems to be making AARs, though, I might as well start this one.

This time I shall be playing the Axis in HPS' Panzer Campaigns: Budapest '45 grand campaign, representing the entire Siege of Budapest from the start of Operation Konrad, one of the final German offensives of the war. This campaign is rather long, but at least it has a manageable unit count unlike the utter insanity of, say, the Minsk '44 campaign. The map scale is 1km/hex, and units are generally either at either company or battalion level. Each day turn represents 2 hours, while night turns are 4 hours.

Background and foreground colours on the unit counters represent force/nationality and division respectively, the former is fairly standard, but I'll list it regardless:

Axis:
Wehrmacht - Gray
Waffen-SS - Black
Luftwaffe - Blue
Hungary - Green

Allied:
Red Army (Regular) - Light Brown
Red Army (Guards) - Red
Romanian - Dark Brown

Division colours should be easy to figure out, but I'll list the important ones if anyone wants me to.

Just a note, the game only directly keeps track of fighting infantry, combat vehicles, guns, bombers and reconnaissance aircraft. So unit strength and casualty counts will never include, for example, non-combatant, vehicle and gun crews, trucks, fighters and the like. The only exception to this rule is HQ units, which have a strength in men, but I'm not sure if that's designed to represent the HQ's staff or defense personnel (Or both).

Right, then, let us begin...

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In the final days of 1944, a massive offensive by the Red Army's 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian Front resulted in the encirclement of of Budapest, trapping tens of thousands of German and Hungarian troops as well as nearly a million civilians in the Hungarian capital. Like Warsaw and Berslau before, Adolf Hitler declared Budapest a Fortress City, whose capture must be resisted at all costs. On December 24th, two days before the final envelopment of the city, IV SS Panzer Corps was hastily sent from its positions in Poland in order to help Army Group South execute an immediate counteroffensive aimed at relieving Budapest.

Day 0 - December 31st, 1944
2200 hours

Staff Report
Current Weather: Snow
Visibility: 1km

Order of Battle in Area of Operations

Army Group South

• Sixth Army
  • LVII Panzer Corps
    • 3rd Panzer Division
    • 8th Panzer Division
    • 20th Panzer Division
    • 211th Volksgrenadier Division
    • 357th Volksgrenadier Division
    • Szent László Infantry Division (Hungarian)
    • Reichsgrenadier Division Hoch und Deutschmeister
  • IV SS Panzer Corps
    • 3rd SS Panzer Division Totenkopf
    • 5th SS Panzer Division Wiking
    • 6th Panzer Division
    • 96th Infantry Division
    • 711st Volksgrenadier Division
  • III Panzer Corps
    • Division Group Pape
    • Division Group Bieber
  • I Cavalry Corps
    • 1st Panzer Division
    • 23rd Panzer Division
    • 3rd Cavalry Brigade
    • 4th Cavalry Brigade
• Third Army (Hungarian)
  • VIII Corps
    • 1st Hussar Division
    • 2nd Armoured Division
    • 23rd Infantry Division
  • II Corps
    • 25th Infantry Division

Total Strength Outside Pocket: 39,675 Infantry, 1,174 Guns, 1,272 Vehicles

• IX SS Mountain Corps
  • 8th SS Cavalry Division Florian Geyer
  • 22nd SS Cavalry Division Maria Teresia
  • Feldherrnhalle Panzer Division
  • 13th Panzer Division
• I Corps (Hungarian)
  • 10th Infantry Division
  • 12th Infantry Division
  • 1st Armoured Division

Total Strength In Pocket: 34,661 Infantry, 371 Guns, 253 Vehicles
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The order of battle laid out before Generalfeldmarschall Ersatz was impressive, certainly impressive enough to convince the Führer this was going to be a great victory, but the numbers told otherwise. The divisions placed under him were all understrength, with all units seemingly either terribly lacking in numbers, quality and often both. To further compound his problems, the more sensible Paula plan has been rejected in favour of Operation Konrad, which called for an immediate offensive, even though large parts of IV SS Panzer Corps were still on trains bound from Poland.



Operation Konrad called for an offensive by IV SS Panzer Corps, aimed directly at Budapest from positions along the Danube river. The main push will be executed by the 3rd and 5th SS Panzer Divisions, thrusting across the Gerecse Hills, and will be directly supported by the 6th Panzer Division. The 96th Infantry Division and the Hungarian Szent László Infantry Division will join the main push by assaulting the far side of the Danube by boat. The initial objective of the operation would be to break through the Soviet 46th Army's lines and establish a salient from which to strike at the encircling forces.

With the start of the new year, the German offensive to relieve Budapest has begun...