"Das war ein Befehl!" A German Götterdammerung '44 AAR

[Afrofunk]

3) What nation will be the next nation to be annexed by Germany?.

Iraq

4) When will Tokyo be freed? Specify Day, Month and Year.

February 14, 1948 (Just in time for Valentine's Day)

[trekaddict]

3) Persia

4) December 7th, 1948 ( that should properly hummiliate the Americans )

[ColossusCrusher]

1) Zero Wing, Page 23, "Somebody set up us the bomb"

2) Already Answered

3) Persia

4) June 22, 1948

[Connavar]

3) Turkey
4) December 30th 1948

[DvD-IT]

trekaddict, Enewald - Indeed Adolf is not dead, he's merely... a guinea pig for studies on psychology. Blitzkrieg is fun once you have an enemy weak enough to do it. No valkyries for my casualties, but cold numbers. And of course, Dönitz will have plenty of submarines to play with. We'll try to starve the United Kingdom with these new toys! It's an unprecedented idea!

darthkommandant - Your answer is correct, and so you get to choose a name and a ship class.

ColossusCrusher - Exactly, it is that infamous Japanese game. That's another ship for you.

All who are voting - Thank you, I will keep track of all your guesses. From now on I will periodically make contests with one or more questions regarding some hidden bits of this AAR, and one or more question regarding future events, so to give a fair chance to everyone. I realize that questions 1 and 2 were a bit too simple. I will try to be less specific next time

Update.

[DvD-IT]

Die rote Götterdämmerung

1000 July 18th 1946
Lvov, Soviet Union

The time was ripe to test the defenses of a largely untouched theater: southern Poland. After the crushing victory at the expense of one hundred Soviet defenses in September 1944, the borders had stabilized for two years. Now, with the collapse of the Soviet northern lines, the Wehrmacht had fulfilled its 1946 objectives in great advance: it was time to set a new target: Kiev.

Forty-six divisions were finally brought into action again after two years of rest. The Soviets in Lvov, outnumbered 2:1, held firmly; it was clear that, even if weakened, a frontal assault was unfeasible against the remnants of the Red Army, whose bulk was defending the southern part of Poland. Therefore, Kowel, Lvov, Stanislawow, Brest-Litovsk, all of these would need another kind of approach: Heeresgruppe Nord would sneak up from behind.

This is why Heeresgruppe Nord, after the conquest of Moscow, prepared a long march southwards. Hausser attacked the feeble defenses of Rogachev and would not stop there.

The opportunity of another salient arose as Soviet forces in Zhlobin preferred to enjoy their stay. Therefore, von Rundstedt joined the fun and attacked Vyshgorod, with the intention of isolating the southern flank of the soon-to-be salient. This time, the battle would not end in a very short time: despite facing 5:1 odds, the Soviets were too well entrenched to be expelled in a matter of hours, and so a vicious battle ensued, in which Luftwaffe support was, once again, fundamental.

On the other hand, Soviet forces had a much harder time defending the impossible. After two days of combat, seven Soviet divisions, one of which nearing total destruction, retreated.

In the meanwhile, a few divisions outside Moscow raced eastwards, as there was virtually no formal opposition from the Red Army. It could only defend one region well, and that region was Poland and little beyond that.

The Soviet government, scared for a few Wehrmacht divisions enjoying a ride in the vastness of the Soviet Union, decided to move all its supplies and capital to Naberezhnye Chelny. European Russia was no longer represented under the Soviet banner.

1300 July 26th 1946
Vyshgorod, Soviet Union

Even the toughest defenses would crack when facing 4:1 odds and a daily ration of air-delivered bombs. Eight Soviet divisions, entrenched to the teeth, could not stand against this kind of adversity.

Von Rundstedt would still need some days before the Soviets would concede victory; not that there was another option for them, for they could only delay the inevitable.

On July 29th, the United Kingdom went crazy and decided to invade, of all places of the world, Archangelsk. There really had to be some bitter rivalry between the Soviet Union and the Allies, even well before World War II began, for this kind of self-harm to take place between the Allies and the Soviets.

Kiev, the new main target of 1946's late Summer, was completely empty. The Red Army could only defend well against Heeresgruppe Mitte. It would most probably be unable to split its forces to face Heeresgruppe North... and survive.

But while Heeresgruppe Nord was still far away from the bulk of the Red Army, Heeresgruppe Mitte launched a great offensive aimed at the destabilization of Soviet defenses in the German-Soviet border in Poland. At first, the attack on Kowel seemed successful, even if the Soviets were well entrenched. Only the first days of August would tell if this would be sufficient to break the last big reserves of the Red Army, or if an intervention from Heeresgruppe Nord would be needed.

[darthkommandant]

I would like a battlecruiser named after myself

[ColossusCrusher]

So, let's see.
We have the Battleship KMS ColossusCrusher...
I would like to have another Battleship...
Let's call it KMS Koloss-Zerkleinerungsmaschine.

[Enewald]

I say that it is silly to attack the soviet positions across a river!
Waste of men!

Go, drive along Dnepr, and then backstab those reds.

Nice britons!

[mk11]

3) Tannu Tuva

4) January 1st, 1949 (I just figure you'll have better things to do in the interim (Africa, Spain, India) than go all the way across asia and liberate Japan)

FYI: very interesting way of going about crushing the Russkies (killing their airforce in Finland before beating their army - is this due to the dynamics of the WiF mod?), congrats on progress so far.

[Zvetiki]

4) When will Tokyo be freed?

April 13th, 1949.

Curious to see what the English will make from Archangelsk...

[Kurt_Steiner]

I would like a battlecruiser named after myself

The KMS After Myself?

It sounds so un-German....

[hgt]

He means KMS Darthkommandant

[DvD-IT]

darthkommandant, Kurt_Steiner - Careful what you wish for

ColossusCrusher - Right away.

Enewald - That is true, although the attack will be ended quite soon. And of course, Heeresgruppe Nord will make a surprise appearance right behind the Soviet divisions

mk11 - I think it's both intentional and part of the WiF mechanics. I mean, you don't get long air battles like those on the land, so while land progress is much slower, you have already decided the outcome or air warfare usually.

Zvetiki - I don't know either, but if the Soviets don't repel them - and I don't think they can - they'll see a lot of snow and blood.

hgt - Who knows?

Cabinet update.

[DvD-IT]

Cabinet Meeting August 1946

0000 August 1st 1946
Reichstag, Berlin

"Welcome back gentlemen. Last month we enjoyed Moscow's vodka supplies; now, let's get back to serious business. Ernst, I'm tired of you always being first: Albert, please begin with your Industry briefing."

"With pleasure. Our Industrial Capacity has set a new high, with a base number of factory complexes amounting to 347, mainly due to our conquests in the Soviet Union."

"We can almost answer to every need of our Armed Forces now: upgrades and reinforcements run at a decent speed without leaving the other sectors affected; stockpiles are as usual good with the chronic exception of Oil. Our Transport Capacity is also starting to be a bit overstretched, as we are going over the same troubles we 've experienced until four years ago, when we reached our maximum frontline lenght.

Following our very approximate calculations on the comparison of current manpower pool and last month's, this month we've suffered around 40-50,000 casualties, which is a very low number compared to the staggering losses inflicted to the Soviet Union, both by encirclements and vicious battles."

"Excellent overview that is. Heinz, I want to see one of those excellent maps just to see how grey the Soviet Union is becoming."

"A lot, Martin."

"For the last years Until mid-July, the bulk of the Wehrmacht was concentrated in the North, focusing on Finland first, then Leningrad, then the Baltic States, then Moscow. Then, immediately after the Soviet débacle in Moscow and surroundings, the weight of our forces has shifted to the South. In fact, there are very few divisions defending Moscow and further north, as there is very little opposition. The bulk of our enemy - what is left of it - is concentrated in the Ukraine; beyond the Dnepr, nothing. We think so at least, but counting on our Intelligence estimates, what they possess in the Ukraine corresponds to more than two-thirds of the Red Army.

As things stand of now, with White Russia, Poland and Romania under our possession, Ukraine is by itself a giant bulge, which we are going to close soon. All our Heeresgruppen will be involved in this operation; Mitte and Süd will press the frontline from the southern part of Ukraine, even if it means facing them against a river; Heeresgruppe Nord will backstab them by progressively closing the bulge. Nothing new, afterall."

"As you can see, we possess minimal forces beyond Moscow, and the resistance offered by the Soviets is token resistance. We are currently halting our advance here in Kostroma, and we won't progress until the Ukraine is under our complete occupation."

"In the center, the Soviets still have a sort of frontline, but it is laughable compared to the giant numbers they possessed until two years ago."

"Finally the Ukraine in detail. Attacks are currently in progress and we're already trying to isolate the Zhlobin salient. I fear that von Rundstedt's divisions will be rather tired after two month of travelling and fighting though, so he might take a bit more time to penetrate into the heart of Ukraine. We have a month to do this though, so there's plenty of time. It's not like we want to reach Stalingrad this year."

"Ernst, it's your turn. Is it true that the Soviets have almost their entire Army in the Ukraine?"

"Not really almost, but surely a hefty quantity. Perhaps half of their Army yes."

"Last month we've inflicted a great deal of damage to the Soviet Armed Forces. In a climatic crescendo, June had already been murderous for the Red Army, this month has been even more destructive, and August has the potential to deal the final blow to the Reds. Talking about July, Soviet losses are enormous. 166 infantry divisions compared to 223, 31 armored divisions instead of 37. And I think these numbers are pretty accurate too. Their industry has fallen under the three-hundred complexes barrier, with a loss of 17 industrial complexes over the last month.

They have completed some new projects about Self-Propelled Artillery and Anti-Tank Artillery, but I don't know what good can be to them at this point."

"At this point, their only hope is that an asteroid crashes on the Reichstag."

"Unlikely. I'd prefer it on the US, though. Last figures tell about a further expansion of their base industry."

"Everything else seems largely unaffected though; they have just completed a new Tank Destroyer and a new Submarine model."

"Talking about the UK, they seem to be fine with not having any direct clash with us at the moment, just like the US. However, they have completed several Naval and Aerial doctrines, and they are developing many projects for their Airforce. I don't know what they are up for."

"Not a problem for us: if we decide to invade the UK, it won't be done via a thousand planes and a few canoe."

"Ah! Right about that, Karl, have you got any plans for our Kriegsmarine?"

"Err, actually not. We'd like to catch up in ship designs first. I think we'll be able to begin construction of our new Navy by mid-1947. We have a few very interesting names, though!

"Something like KMS Total Annihilation? I always wanted a ship with that name!" Heinz Guderian asked. Strangely enough, Guderian had a keen interest in ships.

"Um, no, but rather something on the lines of KMS Koloss-Zerkleinerungsmachine."

"Wow, a very spartan name."

"Oh, but also KMS ColossusCrusher, so that the British can tremble in fear at the sound of that name. And, also, KMS After Myself."

"Uh...?"

"Ach, sorry, wrong paper. I mean, KMS Darthkommandant."

"Ah! Yes yes yes, nice names and all. Please Joachim, could you tell something useful to us?"

"Perhaps. Last month the Soviets held a firm grip in Persia. Now, the British have been pushing them back and beyond, and even captured Baku."

"That hurts. For the Soviets, I mean."

"Well Martin, if that is the situation, I think we're dealing with a corpse here."

"That's what we all wanted since '41, isn't it? Come on gentlemen, let August mark the end of the Red Army."

[Enewald]

The end?
The was in 1941!
Baku hurts you also.

Odd ship names. Raeder must be drunk.

[joespaniel]

I am enjoying this AAR very much. Curious to see if the bitter peace event takes place before you meet Japanese or English armies in Russia.

The brigade icons are much better than the standard ones. Does anyone know where I can download them?

[DvD-IT]

Enewald - It seemed so, but then the Soviets reversed the tide. So no, the end is when the SU ceases to exist. Baku makes little difference if it's in Soviet or British hands, so long as my forces can reach it in given time. Also, Dönitz is chief of Navy.

joespaniel - Thanks and welcome. Actually, the Japanese have been defeated long ago, I think you mean the Americans. About the brigades, I don't know, but I know Fernando Torres' Counters in Flame mini-mod. Don't know if it helps.

August update. Oh, and there's a contest taking place too!

[DvD-IT]

Die rote Götterdämmerung

1000 August 4th 1946
Korosten, Soviet Union

Although the Ukraine was fairly well defended by the remnants of the Soviet Army, several units failed to catch up with the Soviet retreat in the Ukraine and fell into several pockets very quickly. The Zhlobin pocket was one of these.

The pocket was not immediately taken care of, however; instead, orders were given to continue to advance towards the northern border of the Ukraine; Korosten, holding eight Soviet divisions, had been chosen as the new target for forty-four German divisions; however, the troops' weariness after weeks of constant fighting and movement, the Dnepr and the marsh terrain, turned this battle into a standoff: this wasn't the breakthrough point the Germans were looking for, and so the attack was abandoned; Soviet defenses were to be pinpointed and attacked elsewhere.

The Soviets had made the same mistake, however, as they thought that their eight divisions could beat forty-four of the Wehrmacht, even if tired. The attack was easily repulsed, and the troops were finally put at rest.

1000 August 5th 1946
Zhlobin, Soviet Union

German divisions in the rear took care of the Zhlobin pocket and, after two days of fighting, led nine Soviet divisions to extinction.

Timoshenko led the trapped forces, but he was not found once the divisions surrendered.

Further north, at the outskirts of Smolensk, an entire Soviet corps fell behind the fast advance of the Wehrmacht; nineteen divisions led by Hausser were eager to score yet another victory and the few and scattered Soviet forces were easy prey for the maneuverable divisions of the Wehrmacht.

The battle was over fairly quickly: after an eleven-hours long debate, the Soviets realized they'd better give in to Hausser's friendly requests of surrender.

0000 August 10th 1946
Intelligence Dept., Berlin, Germany

The Kriegsmarine had never been Germany's vaunt, and even in its months of glory it never placed a severe risk to the Royal Navy; only the Bismarck aroused fear among the British sailors, and with the Bismarck serving as a giant aquarium, only the U-boote were a menace to Allied shipment.

Once the German scientists started researching Light Carriers, however, one could easily grasp what direction the Kriegsmarine was taking: an impressive surface fleet.

0000 August 12th 1946
Korosten, Soviet Union

A week after the failed attempt at breaching the Soviet lines, another attack was ordered across the Dnepr, this time with Luftwaffe support.

Soviet resistance crumbled quickly, even if both sides were battle-weary. Casualties rised quickly among the Soviet forces, however, even with the Dnepr offering more than a headache to the German advance.

The British kindly made the Germans a favor, as three Soviet divisions were trapped by the fast advance of British troops in Soviet soil. German divisions quickly closed the pocket and approached the outskirts of Archangelsk; the British were becoming too much big of a presence to be tolerated.

0000 August 16th 1946
XXVII. Korps, Priluki, Soviet Union

By mid-August, virtually no progress had been achieved to breach the Soviet defenses, although several Soviet divisions were either destroyed by encirclements, or thoroughly pounded by the Luftwaffe and the constant attacks.

Busse reached the outskirts of Kiev, but he could do little with the current Soviet defenses in the city, which prevented any frontal assault.

Too little pressure was being applied on the Soviets. Therefore, the involvement of von Kluge was ordered; on August 17th, his attack on the Soviet westernmost defenses, on Pinsk, virtually rendered four Soviet divisions useless. Soviet reinforcements, however, would slow down von Kluge's advance as the days passed.

In the meanwhile, von Rundstedt finally crossed the Dnepr as he took Korosten; his troops, while extremely tired, were ordered not to stop there and attack Zhitomir: the Soviets were not to be given a single minute of respite.

Even if tired, twenty-nine divisions easily crushed the four-divisions strong defense of Zhitomir, now that the Dnepr was no longer able to defend them. The opposite, however, was true also; even if this battle cost the Soviets yet another division, von Rundstedt's forces were now too disorganized to continue the advance at this pace.

1400 August 23rd 1946
19. Armee, Kaluga, Soviet Union

Another pocket in the North was taken care of by General Fromm.

They had some kind of attachment to Smolensk, if they preferred advancing on that direction rather than seeking a way out of that encirclement.

0600 August 24th 1946
18. Armee, Zhitomir, Soviet Union

Von Rundstedt finally reached the outskirts of Kiev, but in awful conditions. While his divisions took very few casualties, they had not taken a single day of rest for weeks.

There were too many Soviet divisions around him to hope that he could hold his position for long. Encircling the whole of the Ukraine by taking Vinnitsa and Stanislawow was a remote possibility.

The Soviets did not take von Rundstedt's intrusion lightly and the following day seventeen Soviet divisions made von Rundstedt run back to his tail.

Not happy with that, the Soviets pursued the retreating German forces up to Korosten: von Rundstedt was once again on the other side of the Dnepr and achieved nothing but a waste of time, and some Soviet divisions destroyed. In the end, however, this would prove fatal to the Soviet lines.

0500 August 26th 1946
Pinsk, Soviet Union

Even if the Soviet lines held strong, there were not enough divisions to replenish every hole: it was only because of von Rundstedt troops' weariness that the Soviets could push them back, and even then they shouldn't have allowed such a major breach of their defense line. With von Kluge applying an ever increasing amount of pressure in their western flank, furthermore, they could not hope to hold forever.

Four more Soviet divisions made little to halt von Kluge's advance, and so did whichever force the Soviets threw in at him.

Just to prove the point, three more Soviet divisions were thrown into the fray two days after. The more divisions they wasted this way, the weaker their lines were growing.

0900 August 29th 1946
Heeresgruppe Nord, Soviet Union

German forces in the North isolated the Vyazma and the Klintsy pockets, totalling six divisions.

The two battles would be over quickly, and so would be six Soviet divisions.

Perhaps the last attempt at stopping von Kluge's attack was made with five more Soviet divisions on August 29th. Needless to say, von Kluge's thirteen divisions were not in the same shape of von Rundstedt's, and could withstand many days of prolonged warfare, unlike his Soviet counterparts, battered in casualties and organization.

Finally, the time was deemed right to begin a full-scale attack on the Soviet lines: von Kluge was pressing on Pinsk, drawing Soviet divisions away from the Dnepr, and von Rundstedt had rested for one week. At 0400 on August 30th, two attacks were ordered, invonving 67 German divisions, all along the Dnepr, in Rowne and Zhitomir, against eight Soviet divisions in total, aiming to destroy the now feeble Soviet opposition, whose strenght had been drained in favor of the defense of Pinsk. While the Soviets were favoured by the marsh terrain and the river, this time the well-rested troops under von Rundstedt's command would stop at nothing.

[Enewald]

Lines?
The soviets don't have lines.

3, Turkey
4, Tokyo shall be freed in early 48.