Return to Glory: A Germania AAR

[Hardraade]

Hello all. This will be my first AAR attempt and though I doubt the wisdom of making my first AAR such a large undertaking I hope that all will be well. I also hope that people are still interested in AARs about Germany as there seem to be quite a few. Going back to this being a first attempt, I was wondering if some more experienced AAR writers could help me out. I took several screenshots in hopes of posting them, but they seem to have disappeared into the netheregions of my computer so if anyone could tell me where screenshots get stored it would be much appreciated.

[Hardraade]

Berlin, Germany
Jan. 1, 1936

Bootheels clicking on the floor of the Reichschancellory, Adolf Hitler approached the meeting room he had summoned all of his top ministers to. As he reached the doors they swung open and black-clad guards snapped to attention and extended their arms in salute. Inside all rose to great the Fuhrer and salute as well. Reaching the head of the table he bade them to sit.

"Gentlemen, I trust that none of you are too spent from the nights festivities to deliver the reports I have asked for", he said. His voice hinting at the disdain he felt for alchohol and its imbibers.

Upon recieving a chorus of negatives he continued, "As you can see there are some new faces in the room today. For the good of the Riech I have seen fit to change the makeup of this body by replacing the ministers of Security, Armaments, and Intelligence. The new ministers will be Ministers Gurtner, Schwerin von Krosigk, and Hindenburg respectively. In addition, General Beck has been replaced as Chief of Staff by General Bayerlein."

He paused now to watch the other ministers squirm in their seats wondering why the others had been let go and what thier fates may have been. Indeed, they wondered also what their fates would be. Once they had settled, the Fuhrer took his seat and nodded to his new Armaments Minister to begin his report.

Johann Schwerin von Krosigk rose and addressed his audience, "My ministry has been charged with providing Germany with the ability to switch to a full wartime economy should the need arise. To that end, I can report that a massive industrial expansion project is coming along very well in the areas surrounding Berlin and in the Rhur Valley. In addition I.G. Farben has been contracted to improve the quality of techniques employed by all of our indusrial assets. I am also happy to report that we suffer no shortages of any kind in raw materials."

As he took his seat Hitler nodded in approval and said, "Thank you minister, I see that my faith in you was well placed. I'm sure that with you at the helm Germany's industrial might will be the envy of the world."

While the minister preened at the compliment Hitler thought " And if you're not up to the challenge you'll go the way of the other fools and traitors I removed from office."
Hitler now turned to the heads of the Reich's armed services and bade them deliver their reports......



Sorry for the short first post, but I'm doing it at work and duty is calling me away. I hope to post the rest today so stay tuned for the state of the armed forces report.

[Lordling]

Screenshots - it depends. If you're using Print Screen, you'll need to paste them into a seperate picture file.

If you're using F11 to get your screenshots, they should appear in your DD directory - that is, whever you installed DD to, no subdirectories - just the main one.

Oh, and people are still interested in Germany AARs - most of the Germany AARs these days seem to be '44 ones, it's time for something a tad different, I personally feel.

[rcduggan]

good luck!

[Hardraade]

Chief of Staff Bayerlein rose and gestured to the three men seated to his left.
"If it please you sir, I have had each of the armed service heads draft a general report."

Chief of the Army General Werner von Fritsch rose from his seat and addressed the conference, "Currently the army consists of various garrisons along the French, Polish, and Czech borders totaling thirty-six infantry divisions and three panzer divisions. We can report that morale is high and our equipment is completely up to date." Taking a seat he gestured to the man on his left that the floor was all his.

Carefully easing his bulk out of his chair, Air Marshall Hermann Goring arranged his papers and began, "Currently the Luftwaffe consists of eight squadrons of Junkers Ju-52 tactical bombers divided into two command groups- Luftflottes I and II. In addition Fliegerkorps I consists of three squadrons of Heinkel H-51 Interceptors. Junkers and Messerschmitt are currently under contract to design updated aircraft. Junkers is designing a new close support bomber that they are calling the "Stuka", though the official designation is Ju-87B. Messerschmitt is designing a new interceptor to replace the H-51s, the BF-109E. This is of course an upgrade to their previous model the BF-109D."

Finished, the Air Marshall sat down and was already dreaming of beer gardens and hunting trips by the time Admiral Raeder had risen to deliver his report on the Kreigsmarine.

"Following your orders to scrap any and all Great War era ships, the Kreigsmarine is at a severally reduced strength", he began. Wincing inside at the sweeping loss of so many beautiful ships he continued, "What remains is divided into two fleets. The Baltische Flotte consists of the the K class light cruisers Leipzig, Konigsberg, Karlsruhe, and Koln and the Emden class light cruiser Emden. The Nordsee Flotte currently consists of the Hipper class heavy cruisers Deutschland and Admiral Scheer and the Nurnberg class light cruiser KMS Nurnberg. New ship designs are being researched to replace our G7 class destroyers with a new design the Z19 and to produce our first air carrier design. These are being researched by the Kreigsmarinewerft and Blohn & Voss companies respectively."

Before he could sit a voice came from the head of the table, "Admiral, do you disagree with my order to scrap our obsolete vessels?"

Knowing that he was walking a fine line Admiral Raeder composed his reply carefully, "No sir, I just disagree with the timing. I understand that our navy in its current state could not compete with a modern force such as the British Navy. Sending our boys out to battle the English in those outdated ships would be tantamount to murder. However, at least those ships were something. We should have waited until after we had produced new ships to mothball them. We are now dangerously incapable of defending our shores."

The silence in the room was heavy as all waited for the explosion from the head of the table. What they got instead was a quiet, calm voice that respnded, "Admiral, the British have no stomach for a fight with Germany. If and when they ever do, our navy will have surpassed theirs in quality and strength. Indeed I intend to see to it that all of our armed services are far superior to any they might encounter in any theater."

"Rest assured gentlemen that what I desire most is peace. However, Germany will not be burdened and shamed by the criminal treaty of 1918 any longer. Even as we speak our final renunciation of that treaty is under way as I have ordered troops into the Rhineland."

Raising a hand to silence the startled gasps that rose from those not privy to this information before hand the leader of the German Reich continued, "I say again that my desire is peace, but the German people will assert their rights and take their rightful place on the world stage. If any try to deny us our rights we will respond. We will strike down our enemies with a force and a fury that will shake the world."

He walked out then leaving them in stunned silence...

[Hardraade]

Sept. 10, 1936

Otto Wolf leaned against the doorframe and watched his wife bustle about the kitchen. She was busy whipping up his favorite foods for his birthday and he paused to wonder what he had done to be so lucky to land this woman. His mind was just starting to wander to days past when he was jerked back to the here and now by a loud knock on the front door. Opening it, he was confronted by the sight of a man in an SS uniform on his front step.

Sizing up his guest for a moment he said,"Go away. I'm busy and I'll not have your kind in my house."

The SS man cocked his head to the side and replied, "Not even if I come armed with a fine bottle of wine for my favorite brother?"

Laughing, Otto clapped his younger brother on the back and bade him enter shouting inside, "Elsa, Helmut has finally deigned to grace our home with his presence, please set out another plate."

At this the smile slipped from Helmut's face and he whispered, "Actually, I've not come strictly socially. I wanted to deliver some news to you in person...and in private."

Once on the veranda with cigarettes lit and glasses of wine in hand he continued, "What do you know of the war in Spain?"

Otto thought for a moment and replied "Well, last I heard the Nationalists were being pushed into the northeast and by all accounts they are pretty much finished."

Helmut nodded, "You are well informed. The Nationalists will be driven from the mainland within weeks. Their defeat is but a matter of time. I tell you true brother, this has the stink of the Russians all over it. They flooded Spain with men and material, and while we did the same it was not enough."

Otto shrugged, "Well, that's that then. None of our concern really."

His younger brother fixed him with a stare and replied, "That's where you are wrong Otto. With a Nationalist defeat, the Bolsheviks will be in a position to squeeze Europe from east and west. The Fuhrer will not let that come to pass. I happen to know that he will declare war on Spain in a speech to the Reichstag tomorrow. Troop ships will sail only days later."

"Good God!", exclaimed Otto, "We can't invade Spain, the allies will not sit for it."

"Nonesense, the allies fear war with Germany as well thay should. They certainly will not go to war on the behalf of a bunch of filthy reds. We will sweep down upon Spain and smash them to pieces. They cannot stand against the will and might of Germany."

Otto sighed, "Do not be so enthusiastic Helmut, do you not remember papa's stories of the last war? War is never easy, and a good many will fall before it is over even without allied intervention. It will surely be a nasty affair, fighting so far from the Fatherland. Logistics will be a nightmare."

Helmut laughed and said, "You worry too much brother, we will crush them you'll see. Lis-"

He was cut off by the sound of Elsa calling them to dinner. Taking his brother by the shoulders he continued, "That's my cue to go Otto, for I have much to do. I came to tell you this because your unit will be shipping out in the first week and I wanted you to be prepared and to see you before you go. I will be praying for you brother. Oh, and Happy Birthday."

After seeing his brother off Otto walked to the table and his smiling wife. He ate his dinner silently... it tasted like ashes.

[slokiller]

Excellent writing style, it sucked me right in.

Can't wait to read future installments.

[Screaming-Eagle]

Agreed!

[Hardraade]

Before the next post I'd like to thank everyone who has stopped by.

Lordling: Thanks for the help!

rcduggan: Thank you sir.

slokiller & Screaming-Eagle: Thank you for the kind words, I hope not to
disappoint in the future.

[stnylan]

A family disagreement seems to be brewing.

[Hardraade]

Sept. 24, 1936
2000 hours
Gijon, Spain

Undercover of darkness the fleet bearing the 20,000 men of the German II. Armeekorps under Lt. General Wilhelm List approached the port of Gijon in the Spanish province of Oviedo. They would be the spearhead of the German intervention into Spain.

The plan was straightforward. The 2nd division was to land directly in front of the port city and fight inland, securing the port facilities in the process. Meanwhile, the 12th division would land farther west. Once ashore, their task would be to move toward Gijon and strike the flank of the Spanish defenses. If all went as planned, Gijon would fall quickly and the German army would have a sizeable port facility for unloading supplies and reinforcements for the coming campaign.

At General List's order, his men began climbing down into the waiting landing craft and set off for the beach. When the first wave was about one hundred yards from the beach the night sky blossomed with flares fired by the Spanish defenders and the sea came alive with artillery and mortar rounds.

As the terrified soldiers huddled in their boats, the pilots frantically sought to navigate through the rain of steel the Spanish were delivering. Neither the German army or navy had any experience with this sort of warfare and the result was chaos. Landing craft crashed together and foundered as panicked pilots swerved from their course, pitching their heavily laden human cargo into an unforgiving sea to spend their last moments struggling to reach the surface. Some pilots refused to go any closer and stopped their boats while they requested permission to retreat. Their only accomplishment was to provide stationary targets for the Russian-trained Spanish gunners who plied their trade with brutal efficiency. Those pilots who did go forward often mistakenly gave the order to unload too soon and the troops aboard them found themselves leaping into chest-deep water that was being raked by machine gun and small arms fire. The sea was filled with sinking boats, struggling men, and those who would struggle no more. It was once the German troops reached the beach, however, that the true nightmare began.

General Menant, commander of Republican forces in Gijon, was waiting for the Germans to reach solid ground to deliver the most crushing blow of all. He knew that once their troops had arrived at the beach the naval bombardment would end to prevent friendly fire casualties. This would, of course, also make the beaches safe for his own men. As the first exhausted groups of landsers struggled onto the beach, the Spanish were upon and among them. They fired into the close packed Germans and then it was the work of knife and bayonet.
With the surf literally washing about their feet thousands of men fought and died. It was dirty, brutal, and face-to-face. The flares fired by both sides lent an eerie glow to the writhing mass. For one night, a beautiful beach in northern Spain was hell.

Finally, just before midnight, General List lowered his field glass and ordered the retreat signal given. He would send no more of his boys onto that beach this night. Those who could evacuate from the beach did, but hundreds of soldiers were tragically stranded there and left to either die fighting or surrender. The German army's first foray into battle with a foreign enemy in eighteen years had ended in a complete disaster.

[stnylan]

Sounds like a costly failure. Not the start Germany wanted - or needed.

[Hardraade]

Sounds like a costly failure. Not the start Germany wanted - or needed.

The result was indeed other than I expected, and put a crimp in my plan to save Nationalist Spain before it is defeated. As for the brothers, they are both dedicated to their country but Otto is certainly more of a realist and not prone to get swept away with propaganda.

[slokiller]

Never fun to watch a beach landing fall apart.

Looking forward to seeing if Things begin to look up for Germany.

[Commander-DK]

Tried landing armour in snowy, mountainous Oviedo a few times myself before I figured out that there are ways NOT to do an amphib landing

A good read so far. Looking forward to illustrations.

:-) Jesper

[Hardraade]

Oct. 24, 1936
Oviedo, Spain

Lt. Otto Wolf walked out of battalion headquarters feeling troubled. He and the rest of the I. Panzerarmee had only arrived yesterday and already they were to go on the offensive. He smiled remembering his brothers comment that he would be shipping out almost immediately. Perhaps that had been the intention, but Germany simply did not have the transport capacity to move so many men so quickly. Instead,German troops had arrived in Spain in something more akin to a trickle. Perhaps that was why the campaign was in the sorry state that it was in.

After the "Disaster at Gijon" as the men were calling it, Gen. List had made a second landing a week later. He and his men were stunned to meet only token resistance and quickly secured the port of Gijon and the whole Oviedo province. As it turned out, the lack of resistance was due to the Republican offensive that was taking place in La Coruna at that time. Over the next few days, Republican forces had launched minor attacks that ,while repulsed, succeeded in keeping Gen. List from moving out of Oviedo while the Nationalists were defeated in La Coruna.

It was not until Oct 16th that Gen. List stirred from his positions and backed by the newly arrived XIII Armeekorps launched an assault in the La Coruna province. The attack was repulsed and the German forces slipped back into their positions in Oviedo to await the arrival of I. Panzerarmee.
Arriving with the two divisions of panzers (the third was on the way, Germany still did not have the ability to transport the whole army) was perhaps the most important addition to the German effort- Lt. General Ewald von Kleist. Gen. von Kleist had been ordered by Berlin to take charge of the flagging campaign and lead German and Nationalist forces to victory. He had also been warned that the Fuhrer was not pleased with the lack of progress by Gen. List and that he was expected to achieve immediate results.

Otto shook his head, knowing the reason why they were moving so quickly did not make one feel better about attacking an entrenched foe across terrain that you knew only through questionable maps that you really didn't have enough time to study anyway. A group of officers passed him by laughing and joking about how easily they would put the Spanish to flight.

"Fools, you act as though they will run as soon as they spy a tank and a German uniform. They are defending their home and are made of much sterner stuff than you imagine. The crosses on the beach at Gijon should have taught you that.", he thought.

He was shaken from his musings by the sound of men shouting at one another up by where his tank crew and others were resting. He saw a long line of panzers along both sides of the road and in between were marching the men of the II. Armeekorps who would be joining them on the second offensive into La Coruna. Wondering what the fuss was he moved closer and realized that the tankers were having a little fun with the landsers as they passed by.

"That's right boys, you have nothing to worry about now that we tankers are here. We'll take care of the Spanish for you."

"We heard that some militia were too much for you and came as soon as we could."

"Yeah, high command heard that the Spanish were stockpiling rocks and pitchforks and feared that you'd be pushed into the sea without backup."

"Hey, landser, how are your feet holding up? Sure must be rough to have to walk everywhere. Tell you what, I'll sell you my spare boots."

Otto frowned, while a little inter-service rivalry was one thing, these brave men didn't need to be ridiculed while they marched to battle. He was about to speak up when he noticed a large sergeant break ranks from the marching column that had thus far endured the tankers mockery in silence.

"Why don't you fellas stuff it.", he barked.

The nearest tankers laughingly replied, "Aw come on sarge, we're just having a little fun with your boys. No harm."

The sergeant looked the tankers up and down and said, "Fun, huh? You know what else is fun?" When the tankers grinned and shook their heads he continued, "Keeping enemy infantry off your tanks without infantry support."

Without waiting for a reply he turned and rejoined his column but not before being rewarded by the sight of the smiles slipping from the faces of the tank crews.

When Otto and the other officers ordered the advance to continue the panzers rumbled back onto the road and continued on towards La Coruna, but not before the tank crews offered some very grateful infantrymen a lift.

[Draco Rexus]

I've been hooked and reeled in, my friend.

Sucks to read of the Disaster at Gijon, but at least the follow-up landing was more successful. Hopefully this next encounter with the Spaniards will prove to be worse for the Spaniards than for the Germans.

And while Otto is in Iberia fighting for the Nationalists, what's Helmut up to?

[stnylan]

Cocky tankers indeed - need to be taught a lesson or two!

[Hardraade]

Lt. General Ewald von Kleist

La Coruna, Spain
Oct. 25 1936 0800 hrs

Gen.Ewald von Kleist glanced down at the note his aide had given him. Looking up at the officers gathered around the planning table he spoke, "Gentlemen, I have received word that our Spanish friends have begun attacking Republican positions in the south of this province. It is time for us to do our part. Return to your units, the attack commences in one hour."

The plan was to smash into the Republican flank and rear while they were preoccupied with the Nationalist assault on their front lines. With the II. Armeekorps in support, his panzers would roll up the Republican lines and push them toward the Nationalist assault. Or as he put it just moments ago to his command staff, "They will be smashed between their anvil and our hammer." With luck, the entire Republican army would be destroyed. Most important of all, seizing La Coruna would supply the Luftwaffe with airfields from which to support his men throughout the campaign.
As the officers under his command prepared to lead their men into battle, von Kleist silently prayed to God for victory and that he would not lose too many of his precious troops in the attack.

At 0900 hrs on Oct 26, 1936 I. Panzerarmee under command of General Guderian struck the Spanish lines outside the city of Ferrol. The result was an immediate rout as the panzers sliced through the Spanish lines and reached the city with little resistance. Deploying elements of the II. Panzerdivision and of the II. Armeekorps to secure the city, Guderian pushed his forces onward towards the city of La Coruna itself - reaching it at 1100 hrs.


German troops mopping up resistance in Ferrol.



After brief but spirited resistance, the city fell and Battle Group Guderian swung south to hammer the now surrounded Republican army against the anvil of the advancing Nationalist forces. Upon seeing German tanks and infantry bearing down on their rear, Republican morale collapsed. Terrified Republican troops fled for their lives or threw down their weapons and surrendered.

Only twenty-four hours into his first offensive since taking command, General von Kleist found himself accepting the surrender of an entire Republican army and perhaps turning around the war in Spain.

[Hardraade]

Sorry for the brevity of the last post. I wanted to give a quick update on the situation in Spain and the fact that I'm technically supposed to be working right now forced me to keep it very brief. I'll try to post something more substantial later, when I don't have a boss expecting me to do something "productive".