For The Motherland! - TOAW PBEM AAR: Raptor1 vs. Crécy

[Krauter]

Hmm...

Looks like if you cut a wedge from Oblivskaya to Krasnoyarsky you could put a squeeze on their headquarters battalions.

[Raptor1]

Originally Posted by Krauter

Hmm...

Looks like if you cut a wedge from Oblivskaya to Krasnoyarsky you could put a squeeze on their headquarters battalions.

That will be one of the main objectives when I launch Operation Saturn, and is the reason I'm keeping the 2nd Guards Army in reserve there. The problem is that I really have no idea how many troops there are in the salient...

[Krauter]

If anything it will relieve pressure on the troops encircling Stalingrad

[Raptor1]

Day 3 - December 14th, 1942

51st Army Sector

Either due to the last day's successes or because of the disorganization of German forces, the offensive has noticeably slowed down today. While German units continue to move forward to the Aksay river, pushing aside the stranded remains of the 4th Cavalry Corps' position south of the river, they make only one concentrated attempt to breach the new line northwest of Shestakov, with the 6th Panzer Division establishing a bridgehead across the river. However, with the Soviet position now reorganized and reinforced, the 51st Army and 4th Tank Corps is able to mount a rapid counterattack, smashing the 114th Panzergrenadier Regiment and pushing the Germans back to the southern bank of the river.

Elsewhere, units on the Aksay river line continue to entrench into the new prepared positions, and local reserves are established to reinforce any position facing a German attack. A German recon battalion is mauled south of Shestakov, finally allowing the 245th Tank Regiment to get back to the Soviet lines. The 27th Reconnaissance Battalion is attacked again, forcing it back south but failing to destroy it. Meanwhile, utilizing the recently captured bridge, the 15th Guards Rifle Division and 36th Mechanized Brigade cross the Don, assaulting and capturing Nitzsky Chirskaya.



Operation Saturn: D-1

With the German attack seemingly contained, STAVKA orders final operations for Operation Saturn to commence. Across the Chir and northern Don river line, Soviet units shuffle positions and move to contact with the enemy. Preliminary attacks on the Italian II Corps and Alpine Corps are attempted by the Soviet 6th and 1st Guards Armies, but they do not manage to break through the heavily fortified lines yet.

[Raptor1]

Oh, right. This thing...

Day 4 - December 15th, 1942

Operation Saturn opens with a massive attack across the entire front north of the Chir salient. In the north, the 6th and 1st Guards Armies launch a concentrated attack on the line held by the Italian 8th Army across the Don. The Axis troops show unexpected resistance and hold for several waves, but after several hours their fortifications are finally rendered untenable by artillery and assault and they break. Soviet troops move up to 10 kilometers into Axis lines, but further advances are stalled by the time wasted on the first attacks. On the right, attempts by the 1st Rifle Division and its supporting Tank Regiments to advance into Boguchan run into the heavily dug in German 525th Infantry Regiment and utterly stall in bloody urban combat.



To the south, three Soviet Armies assault the German positions along the Chir salient on a broad front. The 3rd Guards Army assaults Axis forces apparently consisting of the Romanian II Corps supported by troops from the German XVII Corps and 22nd Panzer Division. After a long bloody battle, the Soviet troops manage to dislodge the defenders from most of their forward positions along the main axis of advance to the south, but fail to advance any more than 5 kilometers.

The 5th Tank Army and 2nd Guards Armies fares better. Faced by little more than the thin line of security troops of Kampfgruppe Spang, Soviet units advances 5 to 10 kilometers along the entire front, inflicting heavy casualties on the Axis troops and capturing their entire defensive line. A large portion of Kampfgruppe Stumpfeld is encircled over the course of the fighting.



No offensive operations are attempted by the Germans, but there are still signs that they are bringing in reinforcements to the southern front, so a recommencement of the offensive in following days is still a possibility. Overall, the first day of Operation Saturn is a mixed success. Heavy casualties are incurred by both sides, and no breakthrough is achieved anywhere yet, but most of the fortified Axis positions have been taken or nullified, so greater advances in following days are likely.