Permanently Operating Factors - A Soviet LAN AAR

[Discomb]

Well if you would look closer you would notice that Germans are attacking from one direction and without HQ, so they can command only 12 effectively, happens with me too very frequently

These is an HQ at Warsaw iirc.

[Myth]

BritishImperial: With luck

Edzako: That too

BritishImperial: Who said anything about holding them back?

trekaddict: Yeah, the whole Ukraine is good tank country. Well, except Kiev and Kharkov

Discomb: So in other words, not doing any good

I'll try to have an update for tomorrow! But whenever it comes, the next update will be POF's 100th!

[Discomb]

Huh? I thought HQs affected adjacent provinces as well... Or does it not matter if the fight is going on in Byalstok, despite my tanks being in, whatever it's called?

[Myth]

Discomb: The provinces immediately adjacent, yes, which helps neither Tarnopol (which we were talking about and which is definitely far too far away ) nor will it help your massive stack once is marches out of Lomza.

POF's 100th update is coming up!

[Myth]

3 kilometers south of Roslavl
May 6, 1942

Vasilevskij began pacing as his aide prepared the typewriter for the next section of the report, stretched his tortured legs and massaged his aching fingers. He looked down at the passing armored column, always awed by its sheer length. He turned figures over in his mind; a division of four thousand vehicles at the requisite spacing to make safe from great damage from air attack stretched forty miles along a single road. Vasilevskij wondered how many dozens, scores or even hundreds, of vehicles had already passed by and how many more were still on the northern side of the Dnepr River. Shaking his head to rid him of such musings, he turned back to the task at hand to see Pyotr standing and watching him expectantly. Vasilevskij raised an eyebrow at him.

“Are you ready, Pyotr?”

He grunted in reply. “As ready as I’ll ever be, sir. The sooner we start, the sooner we’ll finish.”

Vasilevskij gave a slight chuckle at that. “All right then, we shall begin now. This section of the report deals with the events of the 4th of May. In the dark early hours of the morning Chibisov, commander of the 13th Corps of the 2nd Ukrainian Front, took overall command of a general attack against Ulex’s flank at Mogilevi Podolski. He commanded a total of twenty-seven divisions, though his headquarters staff could only really adequately control nine of them. The purpose of his mission was to draw off some of the pressure that Koniev was facing and in this he succeeded. The German drive on Vinnitsa halted the next day, but Chibisov’s spoiling attack toward Mogilevi Podolski turned into a real offensive as that happened and he continued pushing forward with success. End. Do you have all that?”


The action around Mogilevi Podolski, a spoiling attack that became a reasonably effective offensive in its own right.

“Now I do sir, and I’m ready to continue.”

“Excellent. At dawn the Germans attacked Slonim in some force. Under the command of Field Marshal Hausser three armored corps of the standard German order of battle, though also reinforced by pioneer brigades, they proceeded to tear apart the two Mechanized Reserve Corps of the 2nd Ukrainian Front. These were the 3rd, commanded by Katukov, and the 14th, by Kravchenko, who also assumed overall command of the battle. These two corps had been passing through Slonim on the way to take up their station behind the retreating 2nd Belarussian Front at Pinsk. The Germans, however, felt the relative vacuum in front of them and pounced. They broke the defenders after a short but intense battle and sent them retreating toward Baranowicze. Apparently belatedly seeing their opportunity, the Germans seem eager to grasp it. End.”


The shattered defense of Slonim.

“All right sir, I’ve typed that up. We can continue whenever you’re ready.”

Vasilevskij coughed. “Very good. There was, however, some good news from the north. In Scandinavia, Gorodovikov’s Murmansk Front has largely torn through the British defenses. Their corps in Finland is in retreat, their corps in Norway is under attack and their corps in Sweden is in full route. We are advancing on every axis in this region. Of course, as a secondary theater of operations, this success will not translate into great opportunities but it is at least gratifying and one less item of business to worry about. End.”


Operations in Scandinavia going quite well.

“Ready for the next part, sir.”

“Splendid. At Suwalki, the battle continued into the 4th as the Germans continued to hold and then launch a counterattack that initial battlefield reports indicate was quite ferocious and has literally decimated some, albeit isolated, units. Manpower-wise they are still in a greatly disadvantaged position but they are holding up much better to the stress of constant battle than those of our corps. I expect that their greater battlefield experience plays a large role in this, as well as their vastly greater preponderance of armored vehicles. End.”


The German counter-attack at Suwalki.

“I don’t have much more to report on this day. Thus, I have enclosed a map of the entire front from the Baltic Sea to the Black which shows our intelligence concerning enemy units as well as our own movements and redeployments. Several things may be noticed. Firstly, Konigsberg is close to capture. Secondly, our central Belarussian area is in the process of being dismembered by the heavy German push. Thirdly, the Germans have captured Tarnopol and are continuing northward, thus confirming my estimation of their intentions concerning encircling as many of the central Fronts as they possibly can. In danger of encirclement are the northern half of the 1st Ukrainian Front and the 3rd Belarussian Front, as well as potentially the 2nd Belarussian which is withdrawing toward Pinsk. Only the regions of Rowne and Pinsk stand between the two German centers of gravity, and neither is defended. However, the relevant parts of the 1st Ukrainian are withdrawing toward Rowne and the 3rd Belarussian toward Pinsk. It has become a race now.”


The front.

“In my estimation, due to the circumstance of our own offensive strategy, the decisive battle will be fought in Belarus. If we win it, the German attack will be broken beyond redemption. If we lose it, the highway to Moscow will be devoid of defenders.”

[Delex]

Hm seems the Germans go for an encirclement in the Lvov-Kowel area. I bet after they will accomplish it they will try to stage another from the Belorussian area and then go to Moscow.

[BritishImperial]

the front's been fairly static for a while now - compared to a single player game anyway. looks like something will have to give, and soon.

[Discomb]

Oh man I remember this moment was so charged. I was ready to just scream at my tanks to make them go faster! If I'd have thought of it, I would have been blowing at the screen to give them a little push as well.

[Myth]

Delex: Possibly. I always assumed that Discomb's ultimate goal was Moscow too. You can see the Reserve Front I've arrayed around the city

BritishImperial: Maybe...

Discomb: Haha. Of course, our entire war was charged from start to finish

I have no idea when the next update might be as I'll largely be disappearing until the 26th at the very earliest.

[Myth]

POF will finally be coming back tomorrow morning GMT! Hopefully this time, the course will be stayed to the end.

[BritishImperial]

bloody brilliant, i hadnt realised it had been that long

[Deus Eversor]

hmh your reserve forces are to far to affect situation and till the germans do go for moscow i think they might then won't do much to change it
be cause if germans now accomplish this then till moscow only ukrainian theatre might be salvegable

i think that if you do not use or not succed the konigsberg situation and/or send more forces to secure this potential threat the only option will be to withdraw from baltics and belarus to a more suitable line

[Myth]

BritishImperial: Yeah, it's been a while. Now we should be on the home stretch, though

Deus Eversor: The situation certainly is fraught with danger, depending on how it gets handled. We'll just have to see how it plays out

POF's 101st (Airborne) update coming up!

[Myth]

3 kilometers south of Roslavl
May 6, 1942

Vasilevskij turned to look westward, toward the setting sun. The muted red-orange light covered the land like a soft, but bloody, blanket. Even at that very moment, men were locked in combat all along the frontline. Scores, if not hundreds, of lives were being extinguished simply as he stood and contemplated their loss. They meant nothing to him. They were pawns, and there were many more still to reinforce or replace them. They were meant to die, as many more would before the war ended. They had to die so that others would not. They were the chosen, those whose lives would buy freedom for the Soviet Union to enslave the world. Vasilevskij smiled. There were many things men would kill or die for, such as money, friends or family. Of them all, however, dreams were the most potent. They were the headiest drug of all, and of all the dreams Communism was the most glorious, the most alluring. Vasilevskij scoffed to himself before turning back to Pyotr.

“How are you doing, Pyotr? Do you need a replacement or will you be able to finish this entire dictation yourself?”

Pyotr grimaced and rubbed his legs, which were no doubt aching badly. However, he visibly steeled himself and replied. “I will be able to do it all myself, sir. I am ready for your dictation.”

Vasilevskij nodded, expecting nothing but such commitment from the man. He then sighed. “We will begin with Suwalki. It is an unpleasant topic, and chronologically first anyway. Begin now. The battle at Suwalki went into its third day on the morning of the 5th as Soviet soldiers staged a concentrated assault to crack through the German defenses. By this time, however, the two Mechanized Rifle Corps were in bad shape. They had very little organization left, nor any energy. Losses had been heavy as well, though the Germans had been routinely suffering more dead than ourselves. Their four panzer divisions have been estimated as being at only eighty percent strength on average and their two motorized infantry divisions have been reduced to fifty percent strength or less. Nevertheless, the Germans have held. Our bid to retake Suwalki failed. Nonetheless, the valiant action of our soldiers closed the gap in our frontline and permitted the safe withdrawal of their mother front. They have accomplished much. End.”


The final, and failed, Soviet assault on Suwalki.

Vasilevskij waited only for Pyotr’s fingers to finish scurrying across the typewriter before resuming. “At the very beginning of the 6th the Germans assaulted our units in Konigsberg. They outnumbered us twenty-one divisions to fifteen. Admittedly however, their divisions have been just as battered and were just as tired as ours. Nevertheless, the 3rd Baltic Front had been forced into retreat. In accordance with their ‘revolving door’ strategy, however, the 2nd Baltic Front has begun marching toward the city to take over the defense if they arrive there quickly enough, or to attack if the Germans reach it first. Additionally, by this time Bialystok and Slonim have fallen to German spearheads. There is no frontline at Baranowice or Pinsk, the way is open if the Germans but take to the road. The 3rd Belorussian Front has begin withdrawing toward Pinsk from Brest-Litovsk and the 2nd Belorussian Front is still in the process of retreating from Bielsk to Brest-Litovsk. End.”


The battle for Konigsberg as well as the general situation in the north.

“Well Pyotr, I think that’s all for now. You’re legs will certainly be glad.”

“Yes sir, they certainly are.”

Before either man could say anything more, a radio operator ran up to Vasilevskij with a message. “Sir! We have reports from Lieutenant General Bagramyan, as well as Field Marshal Zhukov!”

Vasilevskij snapped at the man. “Give them to me, quickly!”

The radio operator shoved two sheets of paper into Vasilevskij’s imperially outstretched hand and saluted before running off. Vasilevskij made no notice, his eyes were already studying the reports. He frowned. The Germans were indeed taking the road to Pinsk, trying to isolate the two Belorussian Fronts in southern Belorussia. Fortunately, Bagramyan’s corps had from Bielsk withdrawn toward Pinsk and reached that place before the German armor. He had immediately set up a defense, though he was unsure how long he would be able to hold it as the Germans were attacking with a force three times greater than his own. His only consolations were the swamp and the fact that the German corps staff was apparently overworked with the work of three corps.


The Germans trying to close the pocket in southern Belorussia.

Further south, Zhukov had commenced an attack with twenty-seven divisions toward Stanislawow against twenty-two predominantly British divisions. The British divisions were tired, about as much as the Soviets themselves were, but the one German corps in the area was completely fresh. Nevertheless, he was already confident about the outcome and was requesting permission to develop the attack further toward Lvov so that the large—it was not massive any more, comparatively—German armor concentration at Tarnopol could be cut off and then destroyed. Vasilevskij frowned before shrugging resignedly. Allowing him to plan ahead could not hurt, of course. He would personally go to the radio to inform Zhukov.


Zhukov attacking Stanislawow in an attempt to undermine the German advance in the Ukraine.

Vasilevskij was torn about whether to dictate these new developments to Pyotr or not. The poor man was looking fairly concerned about this as well. Biting his lip, Vasilevskij hesitated, albeit only momentarily, before nodding to Pyotr. “We’ll just add in these new developments and then the dictation will be finished.”

Pyotr grimaced and made himself ready for one final bout of typing. “Yes, sir.”

[BritishImperial]

does pyotr represent you who is getting tired of the aar? not that the quality has suffered. things are still looking rather stalemated - i had expected the soviets to have broken through by now.

[trekaddict]

I for my part expected the Germans to break through, either in the south or in Scandinava, as it seems there are only few Red Army troops there.

[VILenin]

Glad you're back Myth. A lot's happened since I last checked. This eastern front reminds me somewhat of the respective war plans of France and Germany prior to WWI, the two sweeping doors sweeping right past each other. Here it seems that whoever cracks first will get swept away, though the danger seems worse for the Soviets as there are fewer natural defenses and a larger front to cover if you get pushed back.

[Myth]

BritishImperial: Interesting take on Pyotr there, but no. He just signifies that my attempt to keep the anonymous orderlies from having names and whatnot finally got too awkward to be plausible. Plus, how would the Soviets have broken through? I had prepared for a defensive war--my army arrayed in three echelons from the border to Moscow, each Front's mobile corps behind the Front to act as a reserve, etc. Plus, there are a lot of Germans out there

trekaddict: A bit pessimistic, hmm? In Scandinavia, I'm faced only by British troops, who are of poor quality. I'm in no danger whatsoever there. In the south, the Germans seem intent on pushing northward, so unless they do a drastic turn to the east they're pretty much committed to their path

VILenin: It's good to be back, this AAR needs an ending. And yeah, we saw the WW1 comparison right from the beginning too. A longer front may work in my favor though as then he would have to (1) rely on the British more, which is a bad thing for him and (2) he'd have to disperse his armor to hold the line, thus reducing his massive concentrations. On the other hand, I'd also be dispersing, despite the second and third echelons of forces behind the rivers.

Next update will probably be Monday or Tuesday! Just because I've started AARing again doesn't mean I'm not quite busy too, for I am

[Myth]

Sorry for the late update folks, but I've got it written now (finally, I just finished it) and I'll be posting it tomorrow!

[Edzako]

Sorry for the late update folks, but I've got it written now (finally, I just finished it) and I'll be posting it tomorrow!

Take your time, after going trough all this learning lately you most probably aren't that keen to sit down and write AAR, or are you ?