The AI seems to be doing quite well. A bit slow, but the Red Army evidently is already partly overwhelmed.
The Italian advance is good news, they'll be able to threaten the Soviets from the south at this rate. Of course, even Italians would have trouble to explain away their failure to advance when there is no more opposition left.
Rank and File
A Clerk’s War
Thursday 1st to Monday 5th May 1941
General Rommel tried the ploy of calling off an attack only to resume it straight afterwards, but it may have backfired. When von Sponeck re-engaged Bakunin at Brzesc Litweski he found that the Russian had taken advantage of the break to bring up the revitalised 91 Strelkovaya. Rommel also called back General Gallenkamp’s 87.Infanterie, but that was no stratagem: Novyi Rozdil was becoming an impossible battle for us to win as the Red Army poured in fresh troops.
2nd Battle of Brzesc Litewski
The rest of the day’s events were mainly bombing and aerial reconnaissance reports. Udet informed von Kluge that two cavalry brigades had withdrawn from Chisinau, but Hoffman von Waldau advised that the defenders in Ratno had been reinforced. A new general, Mostovenko, now has 19 units: 2 armour, 2 light armour, 4 motorised, 2 infantry and 3 garrison brigades, with 3 tank destroyer, 2 anti-air and an artillery regiment. General Hansen was not concerned.
At 4PM General Felber made his move into Kobryn. 60. and 62.Infanterie were not too hard pressed: the battle was over by 11PM. 159 Strelkovaya, had taken the brunt of von Sponeck’s attacks in Brezesc Litewski and was in no condition to withstand two infantry divisions at full strength.
Battle of Kobryn
The day ended on a good note: Bolekhiv was ours. General Lvov and his two divisions could not hold off Harpe’s light tanks backed by tens of thousands of Hungarian infantry. I had feared another scan of casualty reports looking for my brother’s name, but all the losses were Hungarian.
Friday there was more information brought back by our aircraft after missions over battlefields. Dörstling obtained photographic evidence that Orhei had received additional troops. Our analysts estimated that the defenders have increased from 32,000 to 36,000, despite two days’ of heavy fighting. At least 6th Kampffliegerkorps reduced that number considerably. Grauert had worse news from Stryj. There is no doubt that the size of Filatov’s force has been boosted by at least 16,000, to 38,000 men. He now has 8 infantry, 3 mountain and 2 motorised brigades with 2 engineer, 2 tank destroyer and an anti-air regiment
Thousands of Russian infantry are marching into Orhei
In the south of Russia, heavy rain again affected our bombers, but it did not slow General Bieß and 10.Infanterie (mot) “Bitburg”. The soldiers manhandled their trucks and equipment along roads that had been turned to mud, while fighting their way north in to Zhmerynka. 42 Kavaleriyskaya could not resist the impetus of the famous Bitburg division and Bieß expects a short and successful battle.
Battle of Zhmerynka
The Luftwaffe had mixed fortunes during the day. At noon Schwartzkopff and 2nd Kampffliegerkorps were ambushed over Dunayivitsi and several dozen of our aircraft were destroyed by Kutakhov and his three fighter brigades. Schwartzkopff not only completed his mission (although its impact was sharply reduced), he returned later in the day. Kutakhov was waiting, but this time Schwartzkopff was not alone. As well as his own fighter escort “Sturm” had nine other Jagdgeschwader to help protect our bombers, and despite the difficulty in controlling such a huge force, the VVS had no affect on the mission.
Air Battle of Dunayivitsi: 5PM 2nd May
Again the day ended well, with victory in Illichivs’k. Friedrich-Willich is now moving into the province, adjacent to Odessa.
Our heavy bomber pilots, resting and recuperating after a bruising initial mission that saw many aircraft shot down, are to be retrained. New techniques have been developed that should improve our performance. The researchers have already begun to examine our strategic bombing tactics, which it is universally agreed, are years behind the rest of the world.
Overnight there was another uprising in Spain, once again involving the Catalan independence fighters. It will be some time before we can get enough troops into the mountains to settle things down.
Loss of La Pobla de Lillet
The first news from the Front on Saturday was shocking, and must have been quite depressing for General Buhle. Unfortunately it was confirmed: more troops had arrived in Stryj and Filatov now had more than 53,000 men. Another 5 infantry brigades, 3 more engineer regiments and another anti-air regiment are available. To make matters worse, Sperrle had been escorted by 800 Hungarian fighters. The resultant chaos over the battlefield meant that 1st Kampffliegerkorps did not inflict a single casualty on its first mission over Stryj. The next mission over Stryj was escorted only by JG 12 “Donner” and results were much better.
A few of the hundreds of Hungarian “Falcos” that are being committed to the air over the Front
While the presence of so many Hungarian fighters badly affected our bombing mission, they were very welcome when Zhavoronkov (with nearly 600 fighters) attempted to hit Sperrle’s bombers. Although the Hungarian Cr.42 “Falcos” did not harm the Russians much, they did prevent them from doing much damage. In the afternoon Sperrle handled things better: his bombers carried out their mission alone, but the Hungarians were close by and ready to intercede when the VVS attacked. Even with the protection of the Hungarian aircraft, we still did lose another ten Focke-wulfs, a s JG 12 threw itself into the battle.
Air Battle of Stryj: 5PM 3rd May
With losses mounting, we placed pressure on our Bulgarian allies. Not surprisingly Prime Minister Bogdan Filov agreed (von Ribbentrop’s “invitation” made the alternatives clear), and already some units of the Bulgarian Army have started to move north. We have requested that they concentrate on the Odessa area.
Our commanders were showing an admirable restraint in predicting the outcome of their battles, as they wait until the day is nearly ended before being confident enough to claim victory. General Bieß was correct: Zhmerynka was both short and successful. The news that brought a few cheers to the normally sedate OKW Aussenstelle Wilhelmstraße was the capture of Brzesc Litewski, albeit at a second attempt. The capture is a credit to General von Sponeck and his men and showed that Rommel’s gamble paid off. Sponeck’s troops suffered dreadful casualties in the first assault, but recovered more quickly than their opponents and were able to seize the fortifications relatively easily.
Finally captured: the remains of the Tiraspol Gate, part of the fortifications of Brzesc Litewski
It what was becoming an unpleasant start for the day, on Sunday morning our bomber pilots came back with more news of overnight troop movements. At least this time not all the news was bad. At Chisinau Iakolev has been relieved and has taken his division out of the province. At Orhei, however, Osyka has welcomed the night’s new arrivals, who have swelled his command to 43,500 men, including no less than 12 infantry brigades.
Bad weather was the story of the day along the front. The morning bombing missions were delayed until 11AM and even then few bomber units were able to fly. Ground movements were also affected, though General Müller started to move into Kamien Koszynski. It is a tribute to the effect our troops have had so far that General Pushkin, leading a tank and an infantry division, immediately started a tactical withdrawal. This was in spite of the fact that neither of his units has been affected by the fighting until now and Müller has just his own 10.Infanterie.
Battle of Kamien Koszynski
Even with the storms and rain along the Front, the day ended brightly. Although the Red Army had made a huge commitment to retaining Stryj, flinging division after division in to the battle, Buhle and his panzers have won a decisive battle, losing less than a thousand men.
Monday the office was in some turmoil, as there were major administrative changes. Late last night, 1st schwere Panzerkorps reached Danzig and was immediately loaded onto transports. At dawn they were on their way to Riga. As our forces in the Riga area were now getting quite impressive, OKH has decided that a new army was needed: 1st Baltic Army. General Kesselring (a relative of the Luftwaffe Generalleutnant of the same name) has taken command of the army. General Student is to lead the newly created 1st Baltic Korps (24th and 31st Infanterie), while our two Fallschimjäger divisions are to be formed into 1st Fallschirmjägerkorps under General Straube. All four korps are attached to 1st Baltic Army, which has been ordered to both secure and hold the city of Riga and start to push south to Kaunas, where it hoped it will meet von Manstein’s Polen Army Nord. If all goes to plan, we should trap more than a dozen Red Army divisions in Lithuania, where they can be crushed.
Parachutists on guard at Riga harbour: now part of 1st Baltic Army
The appalling weather continued, with air missions grounded over most of the Front. One of the few areas of clear sky was over Dunayivtsi, where unfortunately it could not help General Phleps and his exhausted 98.Infantierie. Aerial reconnaissance indicated that the enemy was starting to crumble, with at least one division pulling back, but it was too little, too late. Our motorised division had given its best, but with nearly a quarter of his men dead or missing and his food and ammunition gone, Phleps had no alternative but to retreat. His division has started to move to the rear areas to replenish its ranks.
Not that Poplavski had any respite. The ambitious von Förster volunteered his 25.Infanterie and th second Battle of Dunayivtsi started immediately.
Second Battle of Dunayivtsi
The other battle of Monday was in Zydaczów, where Harpe had taken 3rd leichte Panzer. I had hoped my brother would be given a break from combat, but it seems every unit is being flung back into battle as soon as it has caught its breath. OKH is insistent: the Red Army must not be given a chance to recover, and it must be bled of supply. So my brother’s Pzkpfw 48(t)G was somewhere in the woods south east of Lwów. At least it didn’t appear too dangerous as the Russians, though present in large numbers, are reported to be of poor quality after recent fighting. 101 Strelkovaya, a crack mountain division, was still gauged to be of no combat value as it had not recovered from the border battle for Drohobysc.
Battle of Zydaczów
The VVS tried to prevent our Hungarian allies from helping in Zydaczów, but Waber was ready to block any access to the lumbering Caproni Ca 135 bombers. Zhavoronkov was forced to head home, allowing the Hungarians an uninterrupted mission. Unfortunately our allies do not provide us with details of casualties inflicted.
During the afternoon Guderian was forced to send General Weise to assist our other allies, the Italians. One of their Generals, Ricci, a man with literally no experience of combat, had attacked the Russians in Stanislawow. His division, 2a Divisione Eritrea, a militia unit, had no chance of succeeding against Barinov who had two fresh regular infantry divisions. With the arrival of 345.Infanterie (mot) from Buczacz, Barinov has found it much harder to hold off the attacks.
Battle of Stanislawow
From Spain we heard that Port de Suert had joined the uprising, but nobody cared about rebels in the mountains of Catalonia. Von Rabenau could sort that out. We were more interested in word from General Ruoff to say that Blagodatov’s tnaks have withdrawn: we had won the Second Battle of Horodok. Our infantry had turned back an armoured division, though admittedly we suffered more casualties than the Russians. But “Vorwärts” stood its ground, and Ruoff received a congratulatory message from the Führer himself.
Loss of Pont de Suert
Horodok: not all the vehicles of 12 Tankovaya were able to retreat. This T-26 was forced to surrender to Ruoff’s men.
The weather has not helped our advance in the past few days. The forecast is that clear skies will return allowing our bombers to resume their onslaught. For the sake of the ground troops I hope the forecaster are right.
1st Baltic Army
General Kesselring is securing his bridgehead before pushing south
Polen Army Nord
Memel: No change (99% complete)
2nd Marijampole: No change other than Pfeffer shocking the defenders with the intensity of his attacks and reducing their ability to resist his troops (61%)
2nd Alytus: Only General Povetkin and his crippled 162 Strelkovaya garrison troops are left to hold off our panzers, which have launched a massive assault. (96% complete)
Taurage: Still the massive battle rages, but now the Russians are showing signs that they have had enough. General Ogurtsov has pulled out, taking half his force with him. General Bagramian (actually a better leader than Ogurtsov) has 6 Tankovaya, 133 Strelkovaya and 14 Kavaleriyskaya with which to hold off von Both’s five divisions. (63% complete)
Polen Army Sud
Ratno: The Russian General Larichev has taken over the defence and has launched a counter-attack with his only combat capable unit, 3 Tankovaya. 57 Motorizovayanna, 64 Strelkovaya and the two garrison divisions, 151 and 165 Strelkovaya, have all pulled back and are trying to escape the battle. General Hansen now has 3 motorised divisions (3,16,105) as well as 4th Panzer, with 23.Infanterie moving up from Shats’k. (93%)
Zydacsów: Harpe is facing no resistance at all as Filatov’s 86 Strelkovaya is the only unit left in the province. Every other Russian has fled: it seems lack of supplies has slowed Filatov and his men. (99% complete)
Kamien Koszyrski: Pushkin’s careful tactical withdrawal has been disrupted by Müller hitting him with a sudden shock attack. (47% complete)
Balkans Army
2nd Dunayivtsi: Poplavski has seen 12 Tankovaya and 169 Strelkovaya leave making von Förster’s task much easier. (82% complete)
Soroca: Shurov is still holding on with 109 Motorizovayanna and 109 and 134 Strelkovaya, but his days appear numbered. Köstring has encircled some of his forward troops and has 111.Infanterie moving up from Botosani. (81% complete)
2nd Trembowla: Things have improved for General Crüwell as Dietrich has attacked from Buczacz with 2nd Panzer Division. Only 305 Strelkovaya remains from the original defenders. Liudnikov has been replaced by General Ivanov, and 5 Tankovaya and 163 and 202 Motorizovannaya are still fighting but are showing signs that they are reaching the end of their tether. (86% complete)
Stanislawow: No change (48% complete)
Österreich Army
2nd Orhei: Gorodnianskij still has just two divisions in the front line, 11 and 308 Strelkovaya, and still has three divisions in reserve (127 and 300 Strelkovaya and 24 Krasnoznamaya). General Eppich, on the other hand, now has two divisions in combat (5th and 6th Gebirgsjäger) and another in reserve (6th Gebrigsjäger). (88% complete)
Finalised Battle Casualties
Brzesc Litewski: 1,872/29,981: 2,068/26,985
Novyi Rozdil: 171/9,199: 215/60,501
Kobryn: 23/19,987: 63/8,306
Bolekhiv: 183/26,739: 299/14,986
Illichivs’k: 259/19,989: 584/16,478
Zhmerynka: 71/9991: 387/21,812
2nd Brzesc Litewski: 320/28,107: 633/25,533
Stryj: 887/52,131: 1,736/64,364
Dunayivtsi: 2,357/10,000: 1,682/55,806
Horodok: 811/9463: 699/10,867
Total Battle Casualties for Thursday 1st to Monday 5th May
German: 6,954
Russian: 8,366
Prior Battle Casualties
German: 23,732
Russian: 34,184
Total Battle Casualties to date
German: 6,954 + 23,732 = 30,686
Russian: 8,366 + 34,184 = 42,550
Bombing Summary
Chisinau: Udet with 3rd Schlachtfliegerkorps: 162, 247, 55, 216 (680)
Chisinau: Muller-Michels with 4th Kampffliegerkorps: 228, 114 (342)
Dunayivtsi: Müller-Michels with 5th Kampffliegerkorps: 213, 387, 76, 156, 191, 207, 83 (1,313)
Dunayivtsi: Schwartzkopff with 2nd Kampffliegerkorps: 78, 216 (294)
Stryj: Sperrle with 1st Kampffliegerkorps: 319, 332, 273, 360 (1,284)
Stryj: Grauert with 4th Kampffliegerkorps: 106, 363, 304 (773)
Stryj: Sperrle with 1st Kampfliegerkorps + 8 Hungarian fighters: Nil
Bolekhiv: Grauert with 4th Kampffliegerkorps: 315 (315)
Trembowla: Schwartzkopff with 2nd Kampffliegerkorps: 345 (345)
Ratno: Hoffmann von Waldau with 5th Schlachtfliegerkorps: 171, 89 (260)
Orhei: Dörstling with 6th Kampffliegerkorps: 287, 362, 190 (839)
Orhei: Udet with 3rd Schlchtfliegerkorps: 178, 155 (333)
Memel: Kitzinger with 3rd Kampffliegerkorps: 263, 238 (501)
Total Bombing Casualties for Thursday 1st to Monday 5th May
German: Nil
Russian: 7,279
Prior Bombing Casualties
German: 620
Russian: 31,070
Total Bombing Casualties to date
German: Nil + 620 = 620
Russian: 7,279 + 31,070 = 38,349
Total East Front Casualties for Thursday 1st to Monday 5th May 1941
German: 6,954 + Nil = 6,954
Russian: 8,366 + 7,279 = 15,645
Prior East Front Casualties
German: 24,352
Russian: 65,254
Total East Front Casualties to date
German: 6,954 + 24,352 = 31,306
Russian: 15,645 + 65,254 = 80,899
If you like reading, try my HOI3 AAR
"Rank and File: A clerk's war Germany 1936 (now updated to Semper Fi!)"
If that's not enough, try my latest effort
"Doppelgänger-the-Untold-Story-of-the-Third-Reich (TFH)"
Originally Posted by thebigj_a
Sorry to hear you are having problems: I really worry that one day I'll hit a bug I can't get around and have to stop. Still, you ahve plenty to read!
It will get bigger, as the actress said to the bishop.Riga is a pocket, no more just a beachhead.(Sorry for the English humour for all non-English speakers)
The British seem to have dissolved from lack of supplies. So the Iraqi may be OK at home. I don't seem to be hitting quite as many convoys, so maybe they are running short. The Italalians are sending a lot of troops to Russia though, which may slow progress elsewhere. (I didn't aske them - they just turned up ininvited)
As long as the air supply does it job I'm not worried about Riga. I have 208.41 Supply and 71.87 Fuel, with 30.04 and 14.75 delivered today (5th May). The combination of the port and the airbase gives me enough capacity to supply a large army, unless I get beaten somewhere and have to resupply an entire divsion.
That is what is killing the Russians at the moment: huge numbers of divisions requiring comlete resupply is draining production and the poor infra means it is not getting to the front.
I didn't miss it as such - I just don't watch a lot of TV and I think it wasn't a high priority. I watched it a few times but it was a little predictable.Well Uriah, if you missed Allo Allo, then here is a nice mix of that British comedy show
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hfHyDSTX50
I'm glad someone thinks things are going OK - losses a bit too high for my liking and I'm having real difficulty getting the advance to go where I want. Or, I suppose, the Russian AI is working out which provinces to reinforce and which it can afford to let go. The direct routes seem very tough.The AI seems to be doing quite well. A bit slow, but the Red Army evidently is already partly overwhelmed.
The Italian advance is good news, they'll be able to threaten the Soviets from the south at this rate. Of course, even Italians would have trouble to explain away their failure to advance when there is no more opposition left.
If you like reading, try my HOI3 AAR
"Rank and File: A clerk's war Germany 1936 (now updated to Semper Fi!)"
If that's not enough, try my latest effort
"Doppelgänger-the-Untold-Story-of-the-Third-Reich (TFH)"
Are you letting the AI handle the Baltic army? And which units are exactly associated with this army? Seems to me like it got 4 corps, 1 corps with 2 heavy tank divisions, 1 corps with 2 para divisions, 1 corps with 3 marine divisions and 1 corps with 3 infantry divisions.
Finally the Bulgarians are joining in.
Take Odessa fast so there will be no need for ODESSA.
Wait, you don't have this? I mean, it wouldn't really affect a game that's this far in I suppose. Are you running vanilla 2.04 (aside from the map mod)? If so, were you to start a new game, say as Italy, does it not let you send alliance offers right away, with Albania being "very likely"? Because from what I've read I thought it was ubiquitous to at least 2.04c and 2.04d. And then I just read (don't know if it's true) that there won't be any more patches for SF. Meaning I'll have to buy For the Motherland whenever it comes out before I can play.
Anyway, I just read through the Channel Dash into the Bay of Biscay, and the naval battle before it. Probably my favorite post so far. Excellent writing.
Progress seems linear now along he front. It looks like the southern sector is getting more easy to handle. LEts see you winning a couple of meat grinders in the north and you're probably going to roll all the way to Minsk and Kiev.
On a historical side note:
There is only one Luftwaffe Generalfeldmarschall Albert Kesselring.
I will list his commands:
Luftflotte 1
Luftflotte 2
Army Group C
OB South
OB West
He effectively commanded all german troops in Italy from OPeration Torch to surrender of 1945 AND he commanded a Luftflotte.
But he's the same guy ^^
I'm more or less at the same point as you are in my Barbarossa. except I'm not letting the AI handle it . So I pocketed the Baltic countries on a line from Riga to Marijampole and in the South along the east side of the Dniester. Now both fronts are thrusting for Mogilev/Kiev and possibly I will pocket myself the whole Pripiets basin. Makes it too easy tho.
Last edited by NERFGEN; 02-03-2011 at 10:20.
Rank and File: An Astrologer’s Report to Herr Hitler
So I was called to give a reading to our beloved Herr Hitler on his newest expedition into the Soviet Union. Unlike his other astrologers my reports were extremely accurate in the past and did not mince words. Of course I had predicted the eventual success in the Austrian, Czechoslovakian, Polish, French and Spanish affairs so it was little wonder that he once again asked me to read the stars for his latest adventure.
As I consulted the charts, looked at the positions of the sun and planets, things became clearer to me. Our Fuhrer required me to give my reading shortly after the 2nd week of the invasion so I was pressed to do my work as quickly as possible. Here is my report.
The moon is leaving the first house of Libra as we enter the second week of May. This clearly points to the war being on the balance and it can tilt in any number of ways. The landing at Riga provide both a blessing and a curse. While they are drawing some support away from the front lines the curse is that behind the scenes the vast armies bordering Finland are most likely on the march south right now. Not having Finland in the fight and tying down these divisions will cause issues and problems as the German forces push northwards toward Pskov and even Leningrad.
Wilno and Minsk are ruled by the planet Saturn and it is in the sign of Cancer. This clearly means that the fight to reach these cities will be very bloody and slow. After a period of maybe one more week the front lines will open up around here. However, the terrain will not allow fast movement to constantly engage the red army and this will allow them to resupply and continue fighting. They will not evaporate. I do not see any major encirclements in the northern sections of the front. While there aren’t many more troops available to the red army in this section I don’t see a fast or rapid advancement.
In the area near Kiev the battle is ruled by the 7th house of Gemini. Mars and Venus are both aligned and this clearly means both sides don’t know what they are doing. The marshes may allow the trapping of soviet units but may also greatly slow down any advances in this sector. I do see Kiev falling but only after long protracted fights.
In the far south along the Romanian border Aries rules and the German forces are acting like a real ram. Progress will be made and on a fast pace. However a warning sign exists for the Dnieper river bend as Pisces is rising there. Will the troops be distracted by Sevastopol or continue on to Rostov?
These are the signs given to me by the planets for the near future. In looking at the major cities in Russia and how they are ruled I note some cause of concern for the German troops. Leningrad, Moscow and Stalingrad are all covered by the sign of the Lion. Leo is very strong here with just Leningrad showing a weakness as its 9th house is leaving Leo. I do not see any of these cities captured by the German forces and only Leningrad will even be threatened.
My Fuhrer the moon is causing you problems as it will stay in the sign of Taurus the bull. This means the fights will be bloody with high causalities on both sides. Sometime around September will see the high water mark for the current advance. Your troops will be close to Leningrad and have reached Smolensk. Progress in the south will be much better as I see Kursk and Rostov taken. However, by this time additional forces from the far east will show up to stem the advances. This along with the Hungarians eating up much of your supply will result in troops not being able to advance. A big bulge will be formed with Smolensk the key point.
I do not see the Japanese entering the war and if that changes this will have an impact. And no one can ever predict what the Italians will do as the signs refuse to offer clues about them. Maybe they will attack Persia and the Caucus region form the south, or maybe they will try to fight Turkey.
As for 1942 we are entering the age of the Bear. Yes the little known thirteenth sign that is seldom used. With the coming of this new age things will greatly change in the East and troubles will arise. Smolensk will be a vital juncture. Ultimately it will fall back to the red army and the forces to the south and east of this city will be in danger. I see the culmination of the age of the Bear around late 1943 and Berlin will be in the house of the Bear by then.
I know these words are not what you wanted to hear or see. I can only report what the planets and sun give to me.
Further notes:
After giving my report to the Fuhrer I was escorted out of his office and told to hand over my report to a file clerk. I shook his hand and a vision entered my mind. He was a pleasant fellow but I saw great danger in his future. Burning buildings and files where he refused to leave them. His last words were to the effect that he must preserve the files at all costs. I feel sad for this man and his girlfriend. But I did see a Soviet General in her future so it might not be too bad.
After handing over the file and saying my goodbyes I was instructed to report to Herr Himmler. And you don’t need to be an astrologer to know what that means.
Last edited by jju_57; 02-03-2011 at 17:38.
Rank and File
A Clerk’s War
Tuesday 6th to Thursday 8th May 1941
The Kriegsmarine officers were excited on Tuesday morning: there had been a night battle off the coast of Finaland. Admiral Kuznetzov had brought out his two turn of the century battleships to take on our two veterans of the last war, “Schlesien” and “Schleswig Holstein”. Neither side was very keen to get close, as both lacked escorts, so the battle (if it can be called that) was a series of long-range bombardments in the dark. As might be xpected, in the absence of a lucky hit, there was no victor, though Boehm claimed he had won as the Soviets withdrew at 7AM.
Battle of the Finnish Coast
The weather has cleared a little, allowing our bombers to get an early start. Hoffman von Waldau had his Henschels out hunting tanks in Ratno. 3 Tankovaya is hanging on but it cannot be long before its men join the retreat. Von Waldau reported that tens of thousands of Russians were fleeing northwest along the Pripyats River into the forests of Drohiczyn Poleski.
A T-26 destroyed in Ratno
For reasons that are not clear at OKH, von Kluge has not begun an immediate attack on Odessa. Instead General Brand is moving into Troyit’ke, held by General Goluborskij and 2 Belorusskaya.This won’t slow down 3rd Gebrigsjäger much, but does von Kluge feel that he needs to hit Odessa from the north as well as the south? The information we have here is that the city is held by a single second line division, which could not withstand a serious assault for long. Maybe Österreich Army HQ believe that Brand, who has a reputation as being an expert in “Fortress Busting” would be best to handle such an assault. This must be annoying to Friedrich-Willich. 2nd Gebirgsjäger is sitting just outside the city, ready to go. It is supplied and at full strength: the only thing lacking is the order from above.
Battle of Troyit’ke
A possible explanation for von Kluge’s reluctance to simply order a frontal assault on Odessa could be the results of the Battle for Chisinau. Although the city (or what is left of it – all of its factories and much of its road/rail network must be repaired) is ours, we lost 4,800 men in the 17 days that the battle lasted. It may take the general a while to absorb the impact of such a death toll.
The VVS tried again to bomb our advancing troops, this time in Liepaja, but were again unsuccessful. Somehow they did not realise that List had evacuated Liepaja and his men were safely back in Memel. From there they could see the Russian aircraft dropping their bombs onto the dense forests of Liepaja, which caused some amusement. Admittedly there was some confusion around the Memel area: the battle that was ongoing at dusk last night seems to have petered out. There were no casualties reported, but List’s records show few men missing. The Russians seem to have just pulled out, allowing List to retake the town.
A VVS TB-3 similar to those that wasted their bombs on the trees of Liepaja
Christiansen and 4th Jagdfliegerkorps are flying incredible hours, and it is a tribute to the ground crews back in Suwalki that the Messerschmitts have maintained such a gruelling schedule. Early this morning the interceptors took on twice their number over Riga and doing so with ease. There is concern, however, that the continuous loss of aircraft will affect the unit soon.
Air Battle of Riga: 2AM 6th May
There were other air battles overnight, but these were over the Reich itself, at Borken. Bogatsch and 5th Jagdfleigerkorps have responsibility for air protection of our towns and cities, and his aircraft were able to intercept Newall’s bombers. Despite their best efforts Newall did reach Leipzig, his target,but damage was minimal. This was probably due to Bogatsch pursuing the British the whole way, destroying and harassing the heavy laden bombers. The RAF is believed to have lost more than 50 aircraft.
Air Battle of Leipzig: 8AM 6th May
My day was made a bit easier by an early morning update: the Battle for Zydasczów is over. Only 22 of our men were lost: none from my brother’s regiment. I hope they are given a week or so to recover, but I doubt that General Guderian (or the divisional commander, General Harpe for that matter) will allow a Panzer division that much time away from the Front.
The Baltic Army started its first major operation just before dawn. General von Brauchitsch, the most experienced officer available, has taken his own 24.Infanterie with 1st Sturm-Marine Division and 1st schwere Panzer Division into Jelgava. General Rokossovsky had reorganised 212 Motorizavannaya and also had 70 Strelkovaya under his command. While the forest of northern Lithuania would be heavy going, von Brauchsitsch insisted he would be able to defeat the Russians with the forces he had available (though he did suggest some bombers would be appreciated).
Battle of Jelgava
Geyr von Schweppenburg was given his first command of Unternehmen Barabarossa, with orders to capture Rezina. He would probably have preferred something a little easier, but he is one of most experienced Panzer division leader and must expect to get tough assignments. 7th Gebirgsjäger is still to recover completely from its exertions in defeating the defenders of Chisinau, but 2nd leichte Panzer is, according to von Schweppenburg, 100% ready. He faces a full tank and a motorised division and must also ford the Siret, so a lot will depend on the ability of his pioniere regiment to get a pontoon across the river quickly.
At least General Wünnenberg has shown that panzers can win cross river assaults. His victory at the second battle for Alytus was still costly, and 9th Panzer Division will not be ready for any further assignments for some time. The loss of 2,000 men in the two battles was bad enough, but stocks of food, fuel and ammunition are nearly exhausted, and it will take some time to re-establish command structures.
The Baltic Army is to become more powerful. Early on Tuesday morning soldiers of 4th and 13th Infanterie stated loading onto troopships in Danzig. Though the destination is, of course, still secret, one doesn’t need to be an astrologer to predict they will soon land at the port of Riga. Speaking of astrologers, the Führer’s favourite adviser has not been seen for some days and there are rumours swirling around Berlin that he had predicted Unternehmen Barbarossa would end in disaster. Minister Goebbels would never tolerate anything to lower national unity, but I have not heard anything about an arrest. I think the oracle may have decided that discretion is the better part of valour and will lay low until the dust settles.
Soldiers watch an Opel Blitz loaded onto a ship at Danzig: as neither of the divisions are motorised, this would be for the use of the HQ section.
As the day progressed there was some bad news from Riga: 73 and 75 BAD somehow evaded our interceptors and inflicted 86 casualties on our defenders. It was, thankfully, the only raid of the day, but came as a shock. This was the first successful VVS bombing raid since Day 1 of the invasion. Smuschkevich tried to repeat his success later in the morning but had the misfortune to time his attack just as our transport aircraft, escorted by 4th Jagdfliegerkorps, were approaching the city airfields. Needless to say, Christiansen and his pilots were keen to wipe of the disgrace of allowing the VVS near our ground troops, and many of the Arkangelski Ar-2 dive bombers were shot down. The mission was of course aborted: the dive-bombers had no chance of getting past our Messerschmitts.
Any lowering of morale at OKW caused by the bombing losses at Riga was offset by von Kluge’s report that 3rd Gebirgsjäger have secured Troyit’ke at minimal cost.
The really alarming news came from General Wünnenberg. As his weary panzertruppen crossed the Memel and moved into Alytus, hoping for sleep and an opportunity to replenish their stocks of fuel and other necessities, they came under attack from more than 25,000 Russians. General Oborin has mounted a twin-pronged assault, with 45 Volynskaya and 196 Dnepropetrovskaya attacking from Daugai and 213 Motorizovannaya attacking from Ziezmariai. Already one could detect from Wünnenberg’s plea to Polen Army Nord for support that the situation was critical.
3rd Battle of Alytus
It would seem unlikely that General von Manstein has any reserves to send to Alytus, as General Kleinheisterkamp had crossed the Memel from Laukuva into Plunge. 5th Panzer also faced an uphill battle, as Sofronov had 25,000 men in the province. Both his divisions, however, were still affected by the fighting in Laukuva, and Kleinheisterkamp is confident he will be across the river soon.
Battle of Plunge
The Luftwaffe attempted to assist Wünnenberg’s men, sending Keller and 7th Kampffleigerkorps to bomb Red Army assembly areas in Ziezmairiai. Initial reports of damage were promising, but the VVS has recovered from the shock of the first week of combat and Falaleev was able to find 600 fighters to attack our planes. Keller lost a sizeable number of aircraft. Although Christiansen did catch Falaleev’s aircraft over Kaunas as they returned from their mission, the damage had been done. There were no more attacks on Oborin’s men as they started to squeeze the beleaguered 5th Panzer.
Air Battle of Ziezmariai
After several depressing incidents during the day, it was a relief that the late afternoon contained only reports of success. In less than a day, Brauchitsch and his Baltic Army divisions pushed Rokossovsky from Jurmala. (On the subject of the Baltic Army, It has been officially confirmed that 4th and 13th Infanterie have been attached to 1st Baltic Korps.) Hansen has won the more hard fought battle of Ratno, incurring moderate losses overall. And finally, Stanislow is ours. Total Axis losses were 361, but only 14 of these were from 345.Infanterie. The ill-equipped Italian militiamen bore the brunt of the casualties, but still accredited themselves well.
To celebrate their first battle in Russia, Italian troops take part in a victory parade in Stanislwow
At midnight the irrepressible General Buhle was in action again. With 3rd Panzer at his side, he led 102.Infanterie (mot) across the Siret into Novyi Rozdil. Against him are ranged 6 infantry divisions, led by General Bondarev. Although Rommel called off the earlier attack (by Gallenkamp’s 87.Infanterie) because the opposition was too numerous, he believed that while Bondarev had a nearly three to one superiority in numbers, that the Russians were ready to crack if we could exert enough pressure. None of the Russian units were fresh: 25 Chapaevskaya and 115 Strelkovaya were in the best shape and they had just marched from Lwów. 69 Motorizavannaya had been retreating since Gródek Jagiellonski and the other three divisions are survivors of the battle for Drohobycz.
2nd Battle of Novyi Rozdil
On the face of it, Eicke’s attack on Holoby was more even, as both he and his opponent had a tank and an infantry division. In reality, however, Eicke had a strong advantage in that he struck from both Kowel and Iwanicze, and 7th Panzer is more than a match for 13 Tankovaya.
Battle of Holoby
In the air, the Luftwaffe sent Grauert to Novyi Rozdil where even at night he reported seeing long columns of retreating troops. The defenders have been reduced to just 13 infantry brigades and 4 engineer regiments. 3 anti-air regiments gave his pilots some problems, but overall his mission was successful. In the north, however, the VVS broke through again, killing 66 of Wünnenberg’s men in Alytus. Christiansen’s pilots reacted as quickly as they could, but they are obviously not able to be everywhere at once. In any case, 4th Jagdfliegerkorps had lost 66 interceptors in the past week or so, more than 20% of its normal complement, and was simply being driven to exhaustion.
Air Battle of Alytus: 3AM 7th April
OKL recognised that action needed to be taken at once, and 1st Jagdfliegerkorps was transferred to 1st Baltic Army. It left immediately for its new airbases around Riga. Minister Bayerlein also acted quickly, assigning work gangs and allocating funds and materials for an expansion of the Riga air facilities. Despite the speed of the response, it could not prevent Agricola’s troops in Laukuva being bombed by Golovanov and 30 and 33 BAD.
Meantime our heavy bombers were back at work. They first struck at Slonim, destroying 1,100 tonnes of supplies and 1,100 tonnes of fuel. Within hours they were over Luck, where they hit another 20,000 tonnes of supplies and the same amount of fuel. In both provinces roads and rail links were also badly damaged. On their third mission of the day, however, they were again met by Falaleev and his 600 rear defence fighters and were forced to withdraw.
Air Battle of Slonim: 3PM 7th May
Not all of our strategic bombers made it home safely: a He 177 damaged over Slonim crashes while attempting to land at Brzesc Litewski airfield.
Klepke allowed his pilots time to land their aircraft and refuel, but then they were back in the air. Golovanov’s bombers were unable to carry out another raid and were badly mauled. At least 30 bombers were shot down as they fled in panic, obviously not expecting to find the Luftwaffe over Laukuva. As if that were not enough, 1st Jagdfliegerkorps met Vershinin later that day over Riga and gave his fighters a lesson: 24 IAD alone lost 35 aircraft.
Air Battle of Riga: 5PM 7th May
Late in the day, 9th Panzer could take no more. With only 75% of his unit remaining and no help on the way, General Wünnenberg had no option but to order his tanks and accompanying infantry to abandon Alytus. After fighting so hard and long to capture the province, it must have been heart-breaking for the men of 9th Panzer to pull back, leaving so many of their comrades behind in their shattered vehicles.
Coincidentally, as Wunnenberg’s men were starting to cross back into Virbalis, General von Pannwitz was sending 75.Infanterie the other way, from Marijampole into Kaunas. Although the Russian defenders were not too impressive, this was still going to be a very difficult task for a single division. The Russians were well entrenched in the city, and had the River Memel in front of them. Unfortunately von Pannwitz neglected to forward a map to Army Polen Nord HQ.
To make it harder for 75.Infanterie to enter Kaunas, bridges to the city centre have been destroyed by the retreating Russians.
Thursday started badly. Although General Ruoff had held off attacks on Horodok, the effort had depleted his supplies to such an extent that he had been forced to move his division south. Balkans Army HQ was unable to replace “Vorwärts” in time to prevent a Russian cavalry division re-occupying the province.
The rest of the day saw a procession of bombing raids on Kaunas, Trembowla and Dunayivtisi. The VVS tried to disrupt our activities, but the Luftwaffe was ready and caught a large group of enemy
fighters over Brzesc Litewski. Klepke had a tow to one advantage and overwhelmed the Russians who fled in disorder.
Air Battle of Brzesc Litewski: 3AM 8th May
An attempt to bomb our troops in Krasni Okny was even more harshly treated, as Felmy’s Messerschmitts drove off BAD 84 before a single bomb could be dropped.
Air Battle of Krasni Okny: 5AM 8th May
The other air battle of Thursday was unusual, and sent our OKL adjutants scurrying for maps. Felmy and 2nd Jagdfliegerkorps were engaged over the Bulgarian city of Varna, driving off a group of naval bombers which had been preparing to launch attacks on Bulgarian ships in the port. No ships were damaged and the Russians soon abandoned their plans.
Air Battle of Varna: Noon 8th May
A Soviet MBR-2 flying boat over Bulgaria
Encouraged by his part in the successful capture of Stanislwow, General Meise took 345.Infanterie north from Buczazc into Podhajce. It would be hard to dislodge 35,000 Russians in prepared positions, but he started well, encircling some of Ryzhov’s men and causing some disruption to the defence.
Battle of Podhajce
At 10PM General Leeb notified Baltic Army HQ that he believed he saw an opportunity to cross the Dauguva into Sigulda. Before General Kesselring could countermand the order to attack, 3 divisions, including 2nd schwere, were committed to the assault. This is another instance of a general disregarding a clear instruction from an army commander. Baltic Army has two simple objectives: protect Riga and drive south to Kaunas. Leeb claims that by establishing a bridgehead across the Dauguva he will be able to ensure Riga is more secure, but this is nonsense. He is wasting scarce resources on a costly and unnecessary adventure, and the worry at OKW is that these displays of individuality by our generals may be costing us time and men, both of which are in short supply.
Battle of Sigulda
Baltic Army
Sigulda: No change (55% complete)
Polen Army Nord
Plunge: List and 18.Infanterie have been ordered to support 5th PzD but are under strict orders not to leave Memel unguarded. (55% complete)
Taurage: 14 Kavaleriyaskaya has left Bagramian and his remaining two divisions to their fate. Von Both’s five divisions scent victory, though it will be at a high price. (81% complete)
Kaunas: Although 125 Strelkovaya has withdrawn, leaving just the second line 160 Strelkovaya, von Pannwitz is in trouble. (20% complete)
Polen Army Sud
Kamien Koszyrski: Although 105.Infanterie has moved into position in Ratno, it has not yet reached the front lines. Müller has lost ground. (44% complete)
2nd Novyi Rozdil: 1st leichte Panzer is now in the battle and two of Bondarev’s divisions have moved to the rear leaving him just two infantry divisions to hold off Buhle. (74% complete)
Balkans Army
Rezina: All is going well for Geyr von Scheppenburg. 1st Gebrigsjäger has joined his attack (he now has two divisions on loan from Osterreich Army) and 69.Infanterie is nearly ready to attack from Balti. (53% complete)
2nd Trembowla: The battle is all but over. There has been a third change in the enemy leadership with Aseichev now in command of the sole remaining Red Army unit, 5 Tankovaya. General Crüwell still has his two panzer divisions and 4th leichte Panzer is on its way from Kolomyja. As if that were not enough, he has also launched a mass assault. (99% complete)
Podhajce: 13 Dagestanskaya has retreated, but 124 Strelkovaya, which is in good condition, is moving into the rear areas. Meise is still alone, and is struggling. (42% complete)
Österreich Army
2nd Orhei: 6th SS Freiwilligen Gebirgsjäger has attacked from Krasni Okny. General Gorodnianskij has brought 300 Strelkovaya into battle, and has added 24 Krasnozamskaya to his reserve. While he has increased his number of soldiers, in fact, however, he is much weaker. (93% complete)
Finalised Battle Casualties
Zydaczów: 22/9,451: 80/38,640
2nd Alytus: 1,172/20,816: 1,499/43,661
Chisinau: 4,802/39,980: 4,047/82,832
Troyit’ke: 51/19,983: 82/8,996
Jelgava: 174/31,966: 234/17,996
Ratno: 1,462/48,071: 2,668/84,644
Stanislwow: 14/27,964: 295/15,993 (347 Italian casualties)
Holoby: 122/21,980: 182/18,992
3rd Alytus: 365/8,051: 427/35,982
Total Battle Casualties for Tuesday 6th to Thursday 8th May 1941
German: 8,184
Russian: 9,514
Prior Battle Casualties
German: 30,686
Russian: 42,550
Total Battle Casualties to date
German: 8,184 + 30,686 = 38,870
Russian: 9,514 + 42,550 = 52,064
Bombing Summary
Luftwaffe
Ratno: Hoffman von Waldau with 4th Schlachtfleigerkorps: 146, 235, 100 (481)
Dunayivtsi: Müller-Michels with 5th Kampffliegerkorps: 216, 238, 213, 242, 104, 182, 218 (1,413)
Marijampole: Löhr with 2nd Schlachtfliegerkorps: 228, 226 (454)
Marijampole: Weise with 5th Schlachtfliegerkorps: 166, 178 (344)
Ziezmariai: Keller with 7th Kampffliegerkorps: 186 (186)
Novi Rodzil: Grauert with 4th Kampffliegerkorps: 231, 339, 271 (841)
Kaunas: Kitzinger with 3rd Kampffliegrkorps: 166, 371, 304, 163 (1,004)
Trembowla: Kesselring with 1st Schlachtfleigerkorps: 172, 187, 71 (430)
VVS
Riga: Smuschkevich with 77 and 25 ShAD: 86 (86)
Laukava: Golovanov with 30 and 33 BAD: 166 (166)
Total Bombing Casualties for Tuesday 6th to Thursday 8th May 1941
German: 254
Russian: 5,153
Prior Bombing Casualties
German: 620
Russian: 38,349
Total Bombing Casualties to date
German: 254 + 620 = 874
Russian: 5,153 + 38,349 = 43,502
Total East Front Casualties for Tuesday 6th to Thursday 8th May 1941
German: 8,184 + 254 = 8,438
Russian: 9,514 + 5,153 = 14,667
Prior East Front Casualties
German: 31,306
Russian: 80,899
Total East Front Casualties to date
German: 8,438 + 31,306 = 39,744
Russian: 14,667 + 80,899 = 95,566
Last edited by Uriah; 05-03-2011 at 00:25.
If you like reading, try my HOI3 AAR
"Rank and File: A clerk's war Germany 1936 (now updated to Semper Fi!)"
If that's not enough, try my latest effort
"Doppelgänger-the-Untold-Story-of-the-Third-Reich (TFH)"
Yes, once I formed the Baltic Army I gave it to the AI: no cheating here! Unfortunately it immediately started heading northeast instead of south, but that was what I accepted when I decdied to do this AAR with AI control. Stupid damn generals!
And the firgures are about right, but now 1st Baltic Koprs has 5 divs, and there is a Jagdkorps
I had to waitrnunitl I had 10 diplomatic points to invite them
I wnat to but the AI seems reluctant. It is the only objective for OSterreich Army but it is messing about.Take Odessa fast so there will be no need for ODESSA.
I haven't noticed it, but then I rarely look at the diplo much. I haven't started a new2 game in vanilla for ages: no time now.
And thanks for the compliment: that seems so long ago!
I know that there was only one Kesselring: but as there will be two in my AAR (unless I sacked one - and they are both good leaders) I had to explain the similarity.
I will get some Russians in Lithuania, but not as many as I would have liked. I hope to trap more inthe Pripet area, but it will be pretty hard.
As you said - easy on manual, a lot harder on Army AI.
Gott in Himmel!!! The very stars are against us!
We will just push on to Gotterdammerung.
You will note that the clerk thinks you are still alive, but in hiding somewhere.
Seriously, you may be right. My lossess are mounting and MP is becoming an issue - it is dropping every day. The Russians keep finding just enough supplied units to slow me down and force pitched battles.
I'll make my prediction sometime in June though. I still hope to start overrunning them, and Iwill cut off at least some. As they slowly weaken my tech advantage will get more evident.
If you like reading, try my HOI3 AAR
"Rank and File: A clerk's war Germany 1936 (now updated to Semper Fi!)"
If that's not enough, try my latest effort
"Doppelgänger-the-Untold-Story-of-the-Third-Reich (TFH)"
Unfortunately, the German AI does not seem to realize it could establish a pocket while the Russian AI is already moving units out of the threatened perimeter. Do you plan to send more units up to Rigar to beef up Baltic army?
Other than that, the losses are mounting in some places, but once such battles are over, the retreating Russian formations are push overs as can be seen in the battles in the southern part of the front.
The air battles are still largely in you favor, I am however concerned about the lengthening of the frontline as a longer front will require more fighters to cover it. Speaking of air cover, the attack on Leipzig was probably just a sign from the Brits that they're still there and feel neglected
Great updates! You must have the patience of a mountain to collect and coalate all this info (esp the overall causualty rpts...thank god for the Luftwaffe) and put up with the blockheaded Generals of the AI. Tanks into cities, attacking when they should defend, unsupported assaults, waiting for Ivan to catch his breath...all these are maddening for we the readers, i can imagine your frustration. In consolation however, the suspense over battles and ulimate victory or defeat, waiting and hoping the AI will see a way to win is a lot of fun.
You have said that MP is an issue, what builds are already started and can help soon? something mobile in the Osterreich Armee, driving N,NE might scare the Russian AI into further retreat
The Hungarians will only get one province for their labours in Russia.
Stop using the AI and save the front!
There are plenty of AARs without AI command. I have no doubt that Uriah could do better with direct command but he has committed to following the hard road.Stop using the AI and save the front!
Direct human control is almost cheating. Depending on the game speed, orders are issued directly from the top to every division, constantly changing their priorities and adjusting the plan. Real military operations are not like that. The plan is set and then starts to come apart, as some commanders see and act on opportunity (such as Rommel in France in 1940) and others fail to act on opportunity or do stupid things.
In general, using the AI is more realistic but sometimes it does really crazy things. There are times, due to AI insanity, where you need to step in and sort things out. In my games I try to limit this to using strategic forces (limited marines and paratroopers) which I keep under direct command. I also do not leave my defensive theatres under AI command, as it seems to consistently do an unreasonably bad job. I salute Uriah for his persistence in this!
On a final note, in my last game as Germany I tried using a combat theatre, where I kept the theatre boundary a few provinces behand the front line. I was hoping this would make the AI keep its units in the combat theatre. It seemed to have no effect. HQs and combat divisions were left behind (outside the theatre), even though I was very active in placing security divisions to make sure the rear areas were well policed and secure from uprisings.
Hey, with a little luck, in the post-war world, assuming the Axis triumphs, they'd probably got control over a swath of the balkans and western Ukraine. No reason not to reward loyal allies when the immediate threat has passed...if a rational leadership were in charge, rather than the NSDAP.
Rank and File
A Clerk’s War
Friday 9th to Sunday 11th May 1941
There was some surprise in administrative circles in Berlin when the latest military purchase was announced. Rather than a new panzer division Cabinet has authorised the acquisition of another 100 He 177 “Greif” heavy bombers. While effective, they have been shown to be vulnerable to counter-attack. Apparently Minister Göring explained that upgrades will soon be available and argued that the bombing of strategic reserves not only impacts the ability of the Red Army to fight, but also forces the VVS to keep fighters in reserve, protecting our bombers. I am not prepared to comment on the wisdom of the expenditure, but as the aircraft will not be ready for 261 days, one thing we can be sure of: it seems that the Cabinet accepts the war is not likely to be over this year.
General Cochenhausen started the day’s activities but his part was over by lunchtime. 161.Infanterie met little opposition from Romanov’s 17 Gorno-Kavaleriyskaya and Tul’chyn was abandoned. For once the casualty ratio was well in our favour: 26 to 106.
Battle of Tul’chyn
With the weather again overcast, bombing missions were carried out as possible. Löhr did manage several raids over Taurage, and reported after the second that Bagramian was now alone: his single tank division was all that was left to hold the province. After 20 days, can the slaughter nearly be over?
Crüwell’s men at least could rest. Aseichev could take no more and the Second Battle of Trembowla was over. As dawn rose over the Front, the battlefield was ours. Strewn with burnt out tanks, gutted trucks and the occasional crashed aircraft, the plains were also covered with thousands of corpses. A few more victories like this and we would be in hard pressed to replace our losses.
To the victors: our soldiers inspect an abandoned BT-5 tank on the flat plains of Trembowla
The Luftwaffe could be relied upon to do its best. Although a couple of raids got past our interceptors in the past few days, on Friday Khudyakov was met by Generalleutnant Waber. Unlike Christiansen’s weakened 4th Jagdfliegerkorps, Waber’s six geschwader were all at full strength and keen to show their skill. 12 and 13 BAD were soon fast disappearing east, their bombs harmlessly jettisoned to speed their escape.
Air Battle of Ratno: 8AM 9th May
With daylight, the Baltic Army began to stretch its muscles. Böttcher and 1st Sturm-Marine Division moved south from Jelgava into the forests of Saiuliai. Simultaneously, 31.Infanterie pushed south-west from Bauska. General Leselidze had three divisions but two are in a very bad condition. The unfortunate 132 Strelkovaya had retreated from Memel in order to recover, only to become involved in more heavy fighting. 36 Kavaleriyskaya was even unluckier: it had fled the fighting at Taurage only to run into the Sturm-Marines!
Battle of Saiuliai
Von Brauchitsch and 24.Infanterie were also moving out of Jelgava, but they were heading northwest into Tukums. Again they were marching into deep forest, and again their opponent had three divisions, but that is where the similarity to Saiuliai ended. Lebedenko’s units were fresh and in prepared positions. They had dug trenches and set up road blocks along the forest paths: let us hope that von Brausitsch intends to pin them in place rather than drive them out.
Battle of Tukums
A similar situation existed in Dobele. Brandenburger’s 1st schwere Panzer had one advantage: unless Kantov has some dedicated anti-tank gun or tank destroyer regiments his men will be dependent on their PTRD-41 anti tank rifles. Although support vehicles could be at risk, even the 60mm side armour of our VK 3601(H) heavy tanks should be enough to protect the crew from harm. However Kamkov has a motorised division so the panzers should be on the look-out for tank destroyers.
Battle for Dobele
Nearly buried in his concealed position, a Russian soldier armed with a PTRD waits for a good shot at our advancing vehicles.
The VVS was busy again, though it was the fighters who were active. Zhavaronkov hit 1st Schlachtfliegerkorps over Podhajce early in the morning, and his fighters were in a skirmish with Fisser’s Messerschmitts neat Berehomet late in the day. Not much damage was suffered in either clash.
Air Battle of Berehomet: 8PM 9th May
The dying moments of the 9th May saw the end of the bloodiest battle of the entire war. Nearly 12,000 men died in the twenty days of the Battle of Taurage. At its peak, we had 50,000 men involved, while the Red Army committed 67,000 troops to the defence of the province. While we have won, with the Russians pulling back, it is a Pyrrhic victory. More than 6,500 men from our five divisions were lost. Some of the units such as Kreß von Kressenstein’s 30.Infanterie and von Both’s own 86.Infanterie will require more than a week to recover from their efforts.
The weather did clear on the 10th, but many of our bomber units were busy repairing damage and were not able to take advantage of the clear skies. Where they did manage to make sorties they were successful and the one attempt by the VVA to interrupt was decisively thwarted by Waber with 900 aircraft. A recent promotion ensured that Waber was able to control the huge number of planes quite effectively, though it will of course make it harder for him to gain experience.
Air Battle of Botosani: 10th May 1941
Agricola’s 72.Infanterie was the first to enter Taurage, hot on the heels of the fleeing Russians. He chased 306 Strelkovaya into Raseiniai where Beloberodov tried to rally his men and form a defensive line. It was an impossible dream and after just 8 hours his men were again heading east as fast as they could, all thought of resistance gone.
Battle of Raseiniai
4th Panzer, fully recovered from the drawn out battle for Brzesc Litewski, was also moving in chase of fleeing Russians. Unfortunately von Sponeck’s information was faulty and when he entered Wolkowysk he found two fresh divisions lead by General Dalamatov. Instead of a quick clash followed by an unimpeded advance, it looks like another struggle in the forests for our panzertruppen.
Battle of Wolkowysk
Von Sponeck, I am sure, would have preferred the situation that faced General Altrichter. On the brad flat plains of Lopatyn, 107 and 108.Infanterie (mot) are rolling forward, looking to drive out 9 Tankovaya and 87 Strelkovaya. Numbers are about equal, but some of Glazonov’s men are from the 37th Corps HQ who will not be of much use against our infantry. The Russian tanks may cause some problems, but Völcker’s 108.Infanterie does have a Marder IIIM regiment. Its 7.5cm Pak 40/3 gun can destroy any Russian tank we have met so far.
Battle of Lopatyn
Having seen off Beloberodov at 5PM, at 11PM Agricola was surprised to have his forward units report coming under fire from Russian troops. It took only minutes of interrogation to identify the enemy as another division: 140 Strelkovaya, commanded by General Smirnov. This division was last heard of in the battle for Marijampole to the south. It must have fled across Jurbakus, desperate to avoid the fighting around Kaunas, only to be hit on its flank as it tried to head north. Not surprisingly, Agricola did not request assistance.
Second Battle of Raseiniai
The Red Army is not retreating everywhere. In Horodenka, General Warlimont was attacked just before midnight on the Saturday. He informed General Guderian that the enemy formation was believed to be 9 Krymska Kaveleriyskaya, the same unit that had stolen Horodok from General Ruoff. The Russians will find that Horodenka is a much tougher proposition. Ruoff’s men were exhausted and had been fighting continuoiusly for weeks. 45.Infanterie is keen to get into action and Kiselev’s cavalry could learn a lesson in the next day or so.
Battle of Horodenka
Last news of the day was from Spain. The Catalon revolt is spreading throughout the hills and mountains of north-east Spain. Now Boltaña has risen to join the rebels. Some of our units are moving in response, but it will be some time before they reach the area.
Lose Botaña
The next day it was apparent that General Kiselev is a quick learner. After losing 17 men he ordered his cavalry to retreat from Horodenka. It did not take a military genius to realise that his 7,000 lightly armed cavalry and armoured cars had no chance of defeating Warlimont’s 9,000 regular infantry backed by a full artillery regiment. If he had any doubts about the wisdom of deciding to pull back, they were dispelled Warlimont’s actions. Not satisfied with Kiselev breaking off his attack, Warlimont ordered 45.Infanterie to start an attack of its own, to retake Horodok. Kiselev had another division close by to support him, but that did not slow Warlimont and his men. They were helped enormously by Schwartzkopff’s bombers, who flew 4 missions during the day, killing nearly 1,000 men.
Second Battle of Horodok
To the southeast there was another example of Russian cavalry attempting to fight regular infantry. Again it did not look promising for the Red Army. Herzog’s division was nowhere near full strength, with at least 1,000 men missing. But the combination of heavily armed motorised infantry backed by a regiment of Sturmpanzers would be far too strong for Baranov’s 6,000 cavalry.
Battle of Bershad’
General Agricola was probably overjoyed to report his second victory in 24 hours, as the remnants of 140 Strelkovaya scrambled to get out of Raseiniai. His elation was short-lived, as soon after midday he again found his way forward blocked by armed Russian troops. Tis time they were from Chibisov’s 37 Strelkovaya, another division that survived Marijampole only to wander into more danger. The constant fighting is taking its toll on 72.Infanterie, even though the opposition is not impressive. The Battle of Taurage took a lot out of the unit, and the lack of rest and reinforcements is starting to impact its performance.
Third Battle of Raseiniai
At 10AM another of the massive set piece battles was concluded, as Gorodnianskij accepted defeat in Orhei. Losses were high, but nowhere near the level of Taurage. Obviously our panzers saved many lives. Geyr von Schweppenburg also claimed victory in Rezina, but his casualties were surprisingly high considering there were just 18,000 defenders. Perhaps the Russian tanks with motorised infantry support were tougher than we expected. It definitely seems to have caught 2nd leichte as their tank regiments lost 500 men between them. There is a push to do away with our leichte divisions and convert them to medium tanks. Until now it has been thought the light tanks are sufficient, but perhaps this will need to be reconsidered.
Brand new Kpfw 38(t)G light tanks await transfer to the east as replacements for losses incurred by our leichte panzer regiments. Should we consider converting these units to standard medium tanks?
General Brennecke is one of the few of our generals to have had the luxury of numerical superiority. He had a total of 30,000 men as he swept into Skidel, while his opponent General Pukhov has just two divisions totalling 14,000. Pushing directly east towards the important airbase of Lida (and the even more important regional capital of Minsk) from Grodno and Mosty, Brennecke’s three divisions should quickly overcome the defenders.
Battle of Skidel
General der Chevallerie certainly had no superiority: 95.Infanterie faced four times their number in Drohiczyn Poleski. Luckily for them Kamkov had just one battle-ready division: the rest of his men were a rabble fleeing from defeat 64 Strelkovaya from Kowel, 91 Strelkovaya from Brzesc Litewski, 53 Ural’skaya from Stas’k and 159 Strelkovaya from Kobryn.
Battle of Drohiczyn Poleski
Guderian is relentlessly pushing his generals to keep advancing. Von Förster was ordered to take Khme’nyts’kyy, and immediately took 25.Infanterie from Dunayivtsi north. Bieß joined the attack with 10.Infanterie (mot) “Bitburg” from Zhmnerynka. General Budyho was in a similar position to so many other Red Army officers: he had one good division (75 Strelkovaya) and two that in better circumstances would be given extended rest. 12 Tankovaya survived the Battle of Dunayivtsi in fairly good condition, but 21 Gorno-Kavaleriyskaya escaped with just it s men and its horses: all supplies and ammunition (and much of its morale) left behind, along with hundreds of its horsemen.
Battle of Khmer’nyts’kyy
Artamenko is another general with many troops but only one effective division. He is perhaps a bit luckier in that his good unit is a motorised division, 7 Motorizavannaya. His one tank division, 3 Tankovaya is useless, having given its all in the pointless counter-attacks in Ratno, where 237 Strelkovaya also suffered greatly. This was Bergmann’s first battle in the east, and everyone expects him to show the form that enhanced the reputation of 14.Infanterie (mot) in Poland and Frankreich.
Battle of Iwacewicze
Gerneral Rommel was reportedly incensed when he heard that Russian cavalry have occupied Holoby without firing a shot. Somehow the province was loft without a garrison and two cavalry brigades under General Kachanov just rode in. While we did not suffer huge losses to capture the ground, it was still a hundred lives that now appear to have been thrown away. At least he can see from General Herzog’s win in Bershad’ that Russian cavalry cannot hold territory: 40 Kavaleriy fled after losing 100 men.
Loss of Holoby
Although the Soviet cavalry charged into Holoby, there was no need. Somehow we had left the province undefended
Von Manstein has accepted that the defenders of Kaunas are too well protected for a frontal assault. He has told von Pannwitz to recall his division: there is no point in sending more brave young men to their deaths. The defenders hurled taunts across the shattered bridges and corpse-filled Memel, but they should look to their defences. This is unlikely to be the last Battle of Kaunas.
The battle for Kodyma may be one of the most lopsided contests of the war so far. On the one side is General Engelbrecht with the 9,600 men of 4th Gebrigsjäger Division. On the other is General Savkin with the 42,000 men of 117,129, 134 and 144 Strelkovaya, 109 Motorizovaya and 34 Corps, 11ya Armiya and 49ya Armiya HQ. But the lopsidedness is in Engelbrecht’s favour. Savkin has not one division capable of defending itself, let alone the province.
Battle of Kodyma
Still smarting from the humiliation of being ordered to withdraw in defeat from Novyi Rozfil, General Gallenkamp has been given a chance to gain some glory. Aided by the armour of 1 Táboni Páncélosh, he has been told to clear Kamionka Stramilowa. There are only 13,000 Russians in the province and the open terrain should not present too many challenges.
Battle of Kamionka Stramilowa
The final battle of the day saw another of our leichte panzer divisions up against a Red Army tank unit, 5 Tankovaya. Of course the Russians had 3 infantry divisions in support, with a further division in reserve, while Höpner had just his own 4th leichte. To make it worse, our tanks must cross the Siret in order to get to grips with the enemy in Skalat. This looks as if it could turn into a debacle unless Höpner is very lucky or receives considerable assistance. Things must be already in chaos - no battle map made it to Rommel's HQ.
Baltic Army
Saiuliai: Leselidze would not be pleased with the assistance he is getting: 132 Strelkovaya snd 36 Kavaleriyskaya have both left his 123 Strelkovaya to fend for itself. Now 78 Strelkovaya has arrived, still not recovered from forced marching all the way from Memel. To make matters worse, Böttcher has achieved a breakthrough at the front. (79%)
Sigulda: The heavy tanks of 2nd schwere have been placed in reserve, but otherwise no change. (64% complete)
Tukums: With 3 Marine-Sturm Division now attacking from Jurmala, von Brauchitsch has started an assault. (64% complete)
Dobele: Rokossovsky has taken charge, and has gratefully welcomed 70 Strelkovaya. (59% complete)
Polen Army Nord
3rd Raseiniai: No change (97% complete)
Skidel: General Brennecke is grateful that Rommel has allowed 104.Infanterie (mot) to join the Polen Army Nord battle, as it has allowed him to shock the enemy with the intensity of his attack. (83% complete)
Plunge: Only 215 Motorizovannaya remains, 146 Strelkovaya having fled. Kleinheisterkamp has encircled some of the defenders and the end is close for the others. (95% complete)
Drohiczyn Poleski: General Batiuk now commands the defence, reduced to just 3 divisions. 317 Strelkovaya is the only useful unit he has, thoug 64 Strelkovaya remains in the front line. 159 Strelkovaya is in reserve but will be of no assistance: having been bled dry at Brzesc Litewski and then chased out of Kobryn it is totally disorganised. (54% complete)
Polen Army Sud
Kamien Koszyrski: Pushkin is holding firm, but Müller now has 105.Infanterie at the front and 106.Infanteries moving up from Kowel. (70% complete)
Kamionka Strumilowa: No change, other than the sight of the Hungarian armour has shocked the enemy. (73% complete)
Iwacewicze: Other than 3 Tankovaya pulling out of the province, no change. (68% complete)
Wolkowysk: No change (61% complete)
2nd Novyi Rozdil: Bondarev has just 35 Chapaevskaya left fighting, and that is close to collapse. Of his original force, he still has 41 and 612 Strelkovaya in reserve, but these are also of little use. 80 Strelkovaya has arrived from Zydaczów: although it lost some men in that battle it is not in too bad condition. It is doubtful, however, that Buhle will allow it enough time to reach the front: he has launched an assault to crush the few terrified defenders. The only downside is that he has been forced to place 1st leichte in reserve. (75% complete)
Lopatyn: No change (67% complete)
Balkans Army
Podhacje: Meise now has 3rd leichte Panzer with him, and 2nd Panzer moving up. Ryzhow has started a tactical withdrawal: he has received no further reinforcements and 124 Strelkovaya is still in the rear areas. (87% complete)
Khmel’nyts’kyy: von Förster has begun to assault the defenders (64% complete)
Skalat: 5 Tankovaya has pulled out of the province, but Höpner and 4th leichte Panzer are still in trouble. (16% complete)
Horodok: No change (73% complete)
Österreich Army
Kodyma: Savkin has added 8 Tankovaya and 131 Motorizavannaya to his reserves (both having made their way from defeat in Rezina), and the HQ units have managed to withdraw. It matters little: Engelbrecht’s Gebirgsjägers are forcing their way forward. (79% complete)
Finalised Battle Casualties Friday 9th to Sunday 11th May
Tulchyn: 26/9,991: 106/5998
Trembowla: 3,211/39,355: 3,249/65,560
Taurage: 6,542/49,649: 5,202/66,961
1st Raseiniai: 44/9,165: 80/9,588
Horodenko: 5/9,991: 17/6,994
2nd Raseiniai: 26/9,121: 66/7,864
Orhei: 2,680/39,670: 3,516: 88,747
Rezina: 1,483/35,758: 1,109/17,992
Bershad’: 21/8,999: 102/6,000
Kaunas: 422/17,348: 133/28,151
Total Battle Casualties for Friday 9th to Sunday 11th May
German: 14,460
Russian: 13,514
Prior Battle Casualties
German: 38,870
Russian: 52,064
Total Battle Casualties to date
German: 14,460 + 38,870 = 53,330
Russian: 13,514 + 52,064 = 65,578
Bombing Summary
Kaunas: Weise with 5th Schlachtfliegerkorps: 146,136, 155, 135, 170, 151, 101, 128, 153, 185 (1,460)
Plunge: Kitzinger with 3rd Kampffliegerkorps: 187, 229, 239, 177, 189, 247, 122, 230, 309 (1,929)
Taurage: Löhr with 2nd Schlachtfliegerkorps: 175, 166, 175 (516)
Trembowla: Müller-Michels with 5th Kampffliegerkorps: 148 (148)
Podhacje: Kesselring with 1st Schlachtfliegerkorps: 189, 208, 367, 161 (925)
Kamien Koszyrski: Grauert with 4th Kampffliegerkorps: 155, 197, 247 (599)
Horodok: Schwartzkopff with 2nd Kampffliegerkorps: 267, 311, 285, 129 (992)
Total Bombing Casualties for Friday 9th to Sunday 11th May
German: Nil
Russian: 6,569
Prior Bombing Casualties:
German: 874
Russian: 43,502
Total Bombing Casualties to date
German: Nil + 874 = 874
Russian: 6,569 + 43,502 = 50,071
Total East Front Casualties for Friday 9th to Sunday 11th May
German: 14,460 + Nil = 14,460
Russian: 13,514 + 6,569 = 20,083
Prior East Front Casualties
German: 39,744
Russian: 95,566
Total East Front Casualties to date
German: 14,460 + 39,744 = 54,204
Russian: 20,083 + 95,566 = 115,649
While I was shocked to see the casualty figures, others at OKH were more sanguine. They argued that 10,000 of the dead resulted from just two battles, Taurage and Trembowla. Both these dated from the first days of the war. With many units of the Red Army now either routed or near exhaustion, such pitched battles should occur rarely and with decreasing frequency. I really hope they are correct.
Last edited by Uriah; 08-03-2011 at 23:46.
If you like reading, try my HOI3 AAR
"Rank and File: A clerk's war Germany 1936 (now updated to Semper Fi!)"
If that's not enough, try my latest effort
"Doppelgänger-the-Untold-Story-of-the-Third-Reich (TFH)"
I think I landed another two divs after you wrote this. But no more: they have enough to get to Kaunas - I need to beef up Polen Nord which has had heavy losses and has a lot of divs moving to the rear to recover.Unfortunately, the German AI does not seem to realize it could establish a pocket while the Russian AI is already moving units out of the threatened perimeter. Do you plan to send more units up to Rigar to beef up Baltic army?
Other than that, the losses are mounting in some places, but once such battles are over, the retreating Russian formations are push overs as can be seen in the battles in the southern part of the front.
The air battles are still largely in you favor, I am however concerned about the lengthening of the frontline as a longer front will require more fighters to cover it. Speaking of air cover, the attack on Leipzig was probably just a sign from the Brits that they're still there and feel neglected
I have another two Jagdgeschwader due in a few weeks ( I have one in reserve at the moment so that will give me another 3 geschwader wing))
Its not patience: it is quite relaxing to watch what actually happens. And by now I have a system of sorts so my notes are a lot more useful. What takes time is working out what must have occurred: putting together the battel progress reports.
There are two things that are annoying: battles that end without a report and the game's habitof ending battes every time you reload a game. The first happens when a battle is at 99% at the end of a day: it just assigns a win and doesn't notify you. The second is when you save and then reload: there are always random battles the AI just concedes. I could understand if they were all battles where losses are high or odds are bad, but sometimes they are battles I am about to win. As you probably appreciate, I can only play about 3-4 days at a session, so this happens all the time. (Youmay have noticed a few surrenders at the start of updates).
In May I expect to recieve 2 TAC units
In June I expect to recieve 2 MOT, 1 ARM, 2 INT, 2 INF, 2 CAV
I find it more enjoyable to issue my orders and see what happens, although it is frustrating at times. It does make it good when it actually works. In the next update you will seee what happens when a HQ unit decides the front line is a good idea.
They are lucky to get that: I held off invinting them to make sure they got no MP or resource provinces.
Have faith: things start to get better (well, I have played to 15/5 and they don't get much worseStop using the AI and save the front!)
While your faith is heartening, I wouldn't be so sure that I could do better. The first game I ever played as Germany I replayed the invasion of Poland using the AI and it beat me by 2 weeks!
But I enjoy using Army AI and I said I would play this AI that way, whatever the result. At the very least, everyone will see how it goes.
I tried one game using Theatre AI and found it too stressful: units were continously being left parked doing nothing in areas where there was no action, even if I was being invaded somewhere else in the same Theatre. May be I was doing it wrongly: I decided Army AI was for me.
Who knows what von Ribbentrop has promised? Of course, he has no authority to do so
If you like reading, try my HOI3 AAR
"Rank and File: A clerk's war Germany 1936 (now updated to Semper Fi!)"
If that's not enough, try my latest effort
"Doppelgänger-the-Untold-Story-of-the-Third-Reich (TFH)"
If you upgrade your light tanks to medium tanks, their regiments will dissapear for the duration of the refit. Frankly speaking, you can't afford to pull these units out of the frontline.
Göring is probably right to petition the Führer for more strategic bombers. First of all, it'd add considerable punch to the existing wing, secondly these bombers can reach any place in Great Britain and thirdly, they actually DO force any enemy to leave a sqd of fighters behind, whether or not the OKW really uses them or not. One day, they'll be upgraded and good enough to actually fight their way both ways without the danger of being ripped apart.
Additionally, you are about 3 to 4 weeks into the campaign, losses are bound to mount in this initial stage. Things will get better in the following weeks and monts. You already repeatedly saw depleted Soviet formations being dragged into more battles, sometimes willingly sometimes less so. The Estonian part is certainly about to crack and I suspect that you'll be able to shift all non-special-service formations to Polen Armee Nord while embarking with the other formations on another daring landing. The center does not yet move too much, but in my experience the Soviet AI uses more units here plus the infrastructure is not really that good. The forces in the south will hopefully pull the fingers out of their collective behinds rather soon...
Last edited by Baltasar; 07-03-2011 at 11:36.
And another great update. I wonder what the casualties figures will be like at the end. I'm sure you will win. The front will become mobile, the russians will not have prepared positions behind rivers anymore and even the meat grinders will become less of a manpower problem. You say that 6000 men in one battle are a lot but how many red army units will be unable to fight for a month? That's well worth it IMO.
About upgrading tanks. I would build new ones while the fighting is tough. Upgrading is for lulls.
Thanks for making my monday morning at work more bearable
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