-
We have updated our Community Code of Conduct. Please read through the new rules for the forum that are an integral part of Paradox Interactive’s User Agreement.
Not too long to wait ... but I do need to resolve the situation in Hungary and the Balkans first ... then its straight to the lair of the beast
Aye, all that activity in that region was a real annoyance at the time but even if they had broken clean through then its hard to see where it would have led to. As I've said a few times the AI did well to stop me at Krakow by its defense in Moldavia but at this stage it would have been better to give up the outer areas and fall back. By the time it does so under pressure its in constant danger of a major encirclement and even the units that get out are really low on org due to constant combat.
As to the T-34s, I was wondering where that particular combination of hatches came from ... its great to have such a knowledgeable readership
No, not even the SF end of war system was that wierd. What it does mean is I have to intervene before either the Japanese or the Allies get the upper hand (I don't care about a stalemate), so all of a sudden building up in the Far East and the timing of any attack is a bit out of my hands.
There will be pockets galore, including one where I lose a division before the end of this, and plenty of naval action too.
wee bit later than a year but that is in part by choice as I hold the Western axis relatively on the defense for a while until I've finished in the Balkans. From bitter experience I've found the Soviet logistical system will collapse once you are over the Soviet border if you try to attack everywhere at once. So I prioritise the Balkans first and then Berlin. But it does indeed fall in 1944 - I guess this was inevitable as I was already on the Dniepr when I really turned the tide of the war in my favour, so far less to reconquer before entering Germany.
"A Menace at the Sky": The Balkan Campaign December 1943 - February 1944
With the end of the axis offensive in November 1943 the Balkan Front stabilised to a series of brutally fought battles around a few key towns. In effect for three months both sides traded blows with no real shift of the front line.
December had seen a major German attack regain Valenii de Munte from 7 to 19 December but they had been unable to exploit this victory due to heavy defeats at Bucherest (12 December) and at Ploesti from 30 December to 11 January.
(ISU-122s in action near Ploesii)
The latter was particularly demoralising for the Axis forces as they lost almost 7,000 when their attacks foundered on a well structuring Soviet defensive network.
In Bulgaria, December had seen them trying to eliminate the last Soviet positions at Varna and Vulcidol but both were beaten off again with heavy losses.
The same pattern of a small number of hard fought localised battles carried on into early 1944. A quick Soviet counterattack after the Ploesti victory had regained Valenii de Munte only for this, again, to be the focus of a massive Axis offensive.
(Soviet artillery emplaced near Valennii)
As at Ploesti, the Balkan Front's new defensive tactics paid off in anoither series of hard fought defensive actions.
Emboldened by this victory, 2 and 4 Armies went over to the offensive at Onesti and Iasi and 9 Army attacked at Targoviste.
(Soviet Marines attached to 2 Army in action near Onesti)
2 Army broke the axis lines in southern Moldavia by early February.
However, any optimism that this heralded the collapse of the axis positions were dashed when Onesti was lost by 15 February in yet another Axis counterattack.
In the meantime the attempt to push westwards along the Danube valley was thrawted with the defeat at Targoviste.
With this Stavka suspended any further offensive operations in Rumania and Bulgaria. Instead of trying to breach the Axis defense lines, plans were laid for a daring shift of focus. Along with the planned commitment of 2 Tank Army towards Budapest, March was to see the war spread across the Balkans on land, sea and in the air. The Marine formations were stripped from 2 Army and moved to Constanta where they were joined by the Paratroop divisions relased from Stavka reserve and several rifle diviisions from 9 Army. The next step in the Balkan Campaign would pit the Black Sea Fleet against the might of the Regia Marina.
With the end of the axis offensive in November 1943 the Balkan Front stabilised to a series of brutally fought battles around a few key towns. In effect for three months both sides traded blows with no real shift of the front line.
December had seen a major German attack regain Valenii de Munte from 7 to 19 December but they had been unable to exploit this victory due to heavy defeats at Bucherest (12 December) and at Ploesti from 30 December to 11 January.
(ISU-122s in action near Ploesii)
The latter was particularly demoralising for the Axis forces as they lost almost 7,000 when their attacks foundered on a well structuring Soviet defensive network.
In Bulgaria, December had seen them trying to eliminate the last Soviet positions at Varna and Vulcidol but both were beaten off again with heavy losses.
The same pattern of a small number of hard fought localised battles carried on into early 1944. A quick Soviet counterattack after the Ploesti victory had regained Valenii de Munte only for this, again, to be the focus of a massive Axis offensive.
(Soviet artillery emplaced near Valennii)
As at Ploesti, the Balkan Front's new defensive tactics paid off in anoither series of hard fought defensive actions.
Emboldened by this victory, 2 and 4 Armies went over to the offensive at Onesti and Iasi and 9 Army attacked at Targoviste.
(Soviet Marines attached to 2 Army in action near Onesti)
2 Army broke the axis lines in southern Moldavia by early February.
However, any optimism that this heralded the collapse of the axis positions were dashed when Onesti was lost by 15 February in yet another Axis counterattack.
In the meantime the attempt to push westwards along the Danube valley was thrawted with the defeat at Targoviste.
With this Stavka suspended any further offensive operations in Rumania and Bulgaria. Instead of trying to breach the Axis defense lines, plans were laid for a daring shift of focus. Along with the planned commitment of 2 Tank Army towards Budapest, March was to see the war spread across the Balkans on land, sea and in the air. The Marine formations were stripped from 2 Army and moved to Constanta where they were joined by the Paratroop divisions relased from Stavka reserve and several rifle diviisions from 9 Army. The next step in the Balkan Campaign would pit the Black Sea Fleet against the might of the Regia Marina.
Last edited:
The Autumn-Winter 1943-44: A quick review
Summary
Overall the battles of late autumn and the winter of 1943-4 had delivered the goals set out by Stavka. In keeping with its usual practice during the Great Patriotic War only one sector was prioritised with the other expected to make minor gains were the opportunity presented. The strength of the German resistance in the Riga-Wilno sector had delayed the main offensive, but this, combined with the drive northwards from the Ukraine, had led to a series of major encirclement battles. By the end of February 1944, Soviet forces had all but reached Danzig, and had advanced towards the upper Oder river near Krakow.
The consequence of this focus had been a relative stalemate in the Ukraine/Balkan sector. With the exception of the December offensive in northern Hungary there had been no sustained offensive action since the siezure of Krakow in early October. The result had been a series of localised battles with intermittent German offensives. These had mostly been held, costing the Germans hard to replace trained formations.
From this perspective, it was clear to both sides that the Soviets would be most likely to seek to resolve the situation in the Balkans before moving on Berlin. Stavka had finally decided to unleash 2 Tank Army into Hungary (a decision made easier by the arrival of 8 Army in the Krakow sector) and to gamble on a direct attack on Greece in the hope of disrupting the axis defense lines in Bulgaria and Rumania.
Despite overall Soviet optimism that the war was now being fought on their terms and at a tempo of their choosing, the NKVD's network in Germany had sounded two notes of extreme caution.
First, the Germans had already called up the 1945 recruitment classes. Related to this, they intended to then strip their training cadres to a bare minimum. Their armies could expect one last influx of recruits, in this case some of their most skilled and competent soldiers. The scope for one last major German offensive had to be factored into Stavka's plans [1].
Second, at Breslau, a new secret industrial facility had been completed. With the ongoing German atomic weapons programme it was clear that not all the talk of 'wonder weapons', that would change the course of the war, was completely false [2]. In effect, the Balkan offensive had to be complete by mid-May at the latest so as to allow the final assault on the Reich to take place in June 1944.
[1] - ie I gave them another 500MP that kicks in just in time for the Battle for Berlin - you wouldn't have wanted that to be anticlimax?
[2] - this image is from mid-April when I had gained a bit more around Krakow
Even worse on checking in the save game file later on they were about 6 months of research short of the tech that would have given them a nuclear weapon. From MajorMayhem's AAR its clear the AI does research and use nukes in SF. I also found another reactor deeper into Germany.
My guess is the German AI built the things as it had IC to burn and no manpower since Summer 1943.
Summary
Overall the battles of late autumn and the winter of 1943-4 had delivered the goals set out by Stavka. In keeping with its usual practice during the Great Patriotic War only one sector was prioritised with the other expected to make minor gains were the opportunity presented. The strength of the German resistance in the Riga-Wilno sector had delayed the main offensive, but this, combined with the drive northwards from the Ukraine, had led to a series of major encirclement battles. By the end of February 1944, Soviet forces had all but reached Danzig, and had advanced towards the upper Oder river near Krakow.
The consequence of this focus had been a relative stalemate in the Ukraine/Balkan sector. With the exception of the December offensive in northern Hungary there had been no sustained offensive action since the siezure of Krakow in early October. The result had been a series of localised battles with intermittent German offensives. These had mostly been held, costing the Germans hard to replace trained formations.
From this perspective, it was clear to both sides that the Soviets would be most likely to seek to resolve the situation in the Balkans before moving on Berlin. Stavka had finally decided to unleash 2 Tank Army into Hungary (a decision made easier by the arrival of 8 Army in the Krakow sector) and to gamble on a direct attack on Greece in the hope of disrupting the axis defense lines in Bulgaria and Rumania.
Despite overall Soviet optimism that the war was now being fought on their terms and at a tempo of their choosing, the NKVD's network in Germany had sounded two notes of extreme caution.
First, the Germans had already called up the 1945 recruitment classes. Related to this, they intended to then strip their training cadres to a bare minimum. Their armies could expect one last influx of recruits, in this case some of their most skilled and competent soldiers. The scope for one last major German offensive had to be factored into Stavka's plans [1].
Second, at Breslau, a new secret industrial facility had been completed. With the ongoing German atomic weapons programme it was clear that not all the talk of 'wonder weapons', that would change the course of the war, was completely false [2]. In effect, the Balkan offensive had to be complete by mid-May at the latest so as to allow the final assault on the Reich to take place in June 1944.
[1] - ie I gave them another 500MP that kicks in just in time for the Battle for Berlin - you wouldn't have wanted that to be anticlimax?
[2] - this image is from mid-April when I had gained a bit more around Krakow
Even worse on checking in the save game file later on they were about 6 months of research short of the tech that would have given them a nuclear weapon. From MajorMayhem's AAR its clear the AI does research and use nukes in SF. I also found another reactor deeper into Germany.
My guess is the German AI built the things as it had IC to burn and no manpower since Summer 1943.
Nuclear reactor? That would have been an interesting alternative history.
It sounds like you will do an amphibious landing behind enemy lines in Greece. 1944 will be an interesting year.
It sounds like you will do an amphibious landing behind enemy lines in Greece. 1944 will be an interesting year.
Yikes! Looks like Heisenberg got off his arse in this TL. Or else they snagged all our atomic scientists when they took Britain.
How much MP have you given the Germans in total?
How much MP have you given the Germans in total?
Germans with nukes?SH-T!
Well,if you take these provinces will the Nuclear facilities be captured intact?
Well,if you take these provinces will the Nuclear facilities be captured intact?
thats even better! nuclear reactors for free! Germans with all the evil i nthem, might have the first a-bomb, but it will be USSR to be first to wield this power for peace (powerplants, etc)
with all that backward usa can screw itself
with all that backward usa can screw itself
Hmmhh... Will they be fast enough to research that devilious weapon and use it against you...
Didn't expect the AI to be smart enough to plan sufficiently far ahead to develop nuclear weapons (this kind of research takes 5 or more years after all, and the AI could have used the IC and leadership for more pressing short-term projects).
Hope you'll be able to capture these facilities in time, and of course it would be great if these could bolster your own secret weapons program! Have The Bomb could give you a decisive edge on the allies, or at least even the odds.
Hope you'll be able to capture these facilities in time, and of course it would be great if these could bolster your own secret weapons program! Have The Bomb could give you a decisive edge on the allies, or at least even the odds.
That picture from the battle of Onesti shows how gutted some of your formations have become. The marines in particular have suffered heavy losses.I hope that their role in the coming offensive will be one of landing and seizing positions, rather than holding them in the face of the inevitable German counterattack.
Looking forward to the last spasms of the Reich, as those 500 manpower enter the fray.
Looking forward to the last spasms of the Reich, as those 500 manpower enter the fray.
it becomes very nautical actually, my small but increasingly well trained (I'm putting more effort into the operational rather than structural naval techs) is going to be very busy by the end of the year
1100 directly (600 in late Nov 43 and 500 in April 44), plus a load of supplies in May 42 to sort out its production AI (which meant it then spent its manpower on curing its backlog of combat losses). I fear that the production routine (& of course the end of war sequence) were the real weaknesses embedded in SF despite all the work that went into them. I took the view that nothing I did was out of the bounds of reason and it was in the interest of a more challenging game etc ...
Yes, I take the reactors but gain no practical etc so the only gain is not having to build my own - but then given how important the practical is to a nuclear programme there is no gain there. In effect, I'm not doing anything nuclear (not enough research capacity) but I most definitely do not to be dealing with a nuclear armed Germany.
thats even better! nuclear reactors for free! Germans with all the evil i nthem, might have the first a-bomb, but it will be USSR to be first to wield this power for peace (powerplants, etc)
with all that backward usa can screw itself
Hmmhh... Will they be fast enough to research that devilious weapon and use it against you...
I must admit when I first saw that one (& the other at Halle) I panicked. I sort of knew they were doing nuclear research (it was inevitable as they have so much leadership from holding Western Europe), but it was scary to realise just how far ahead they were. I vaguely recall it takes about 8-9 months to build one, so they must have had that tech back in summer 43, they were very close to getting a bomb. They have a rocket site too. But I don't know if the AI builds rockets and I've never seen any German 4 engine bombers (the only axis ones I encountered were Yugoslav), so wasn't sure if they could deliver it even if they built it. But I did overflights over most German airfields checking for any strat bombers.
I don't build any nukes myself. I've not touched the techs so its at the 1936 basic level ... at this stage of the war it'll be 48 before I get anywhere so no particular need (except if I get into a war with the US).
The Balkans has been my neglected theatre, so almost no reinforcements at all (except for the Mech Inf divs that are anchoring my defenses), so there are a lot of formations with big holes in them down there, but as ever (channelling one of my cats) -- you should see the other guy!
"And visited the sea": The Greek campaign, March 1944
With the relative failure of the February offensive in southern Moldavia, it became clear that any solution to the stalemate in the southern balkans was not going to be found by simply renewing direct attacks on the axis forces surrounding the Soviet enclave in Rumania and Bulgaria.
The option of a direct attack on Greece was raised. Not only would knocking Greece out of the war weaken the overall axis war effort but it would generate an immediate threat to Sofiya and southern Bulgraria, Yugoslavia and Albania.
So far the Soviet Navy had been used to interdict axis shipping as in the recent Baltic battles or support small scale landings within the Black Sea. What was now envisaged was a combined arms operation with the Fleet at the centre of planning. The main risk to any incursion into the Aegean was the large Italian Fleet and Airforce located on Rhodes. Stavka devised a solution that would at least allow the landings to go ahead.
(Black Sea Fleet OOB, with the latest Soviet Battleship, on its first operation)
First the submarines were withdrawn from the Central Mediterranean and concentrated on Italian shipping lanes around southern Greece. Over a four week period supply and fuel deliveries were strangled but there was no way of knowing what stocks were held on the island.
Secondly, several squadrons of the new Yak-9s (with the new fuel drop tanks) were assigned air interdiction both over Rhodes and over the northern aegean. Any attempt by the Italian naval bombers to interfere would be challenged and hopefully driven off.
Finally it was decided to committ Rall's fleet to a blocking position just north of Rhodes so as to prevent interference with the transports.
The actual invasion had to be with minimal force as there was only capacity to deliver the 3 divisions at a time.
(Soviet naval taskforce leaving Constanta)
The intial wave consisted of the improvised 6 Cavalry Corps (2 cavalry and a rifle division) put ashore at Volos on 5 March
and on 6 March, 2 divisions of paratroopers landed in the Peleponese to link up with the KKE/ELAS resistance groups, before attacking Athens from the south.
(Soviet paratroopers just before the main operation)
In the event, the campaign was over almost before it began. The Greek division at Salonika surrendered when the first Soviet marines moved ashore
and a tentative counterattack was quickly defeated. At Athens, the Greeks moved north to try and hold the pass at Amfissa but crumbled after a few hours fighting.
At the same time on the 8th, 1 Marine Division was landed at Salonika
(Soviet marines attacking Salonika)
despite interference by Yugoslav Torpedo Boats that had managed to slip past the main Soviet fleet.
The paratroops in the Peleponese had an almost unhindered entry into Athens and the Metaxos regime fled on the 13th. Quickly Soviet troops and ELAS partisans seized the country and the lightly equipped Paratroopers just managed to occupy the fortresses on the Yugoslav border before the German counterattack began.
At the same time, 18 Army went over to the offensive in Bulgaria to take advantage of the confusion. Pleven was taken on 26 March, Silven on 11 March
but an attempt by 2 Cavalry Corps to take Sofiya was broken off on 28 March due to strengthening German resistance. At the same time, German forces pushed the 76th Airborne Division from Giannitsa.
If the sudden gains in the southern balkans were to be retained and expanded it was critical that the axis pressure on the lightly armed paratroop, marine and cavalry divisions was relieved.
(Soviet marines in action in Northern Greece)
Equally, and combined with 2 Tank Army's Budapest offensive, all of a sudden the German position in the Balkans looked increasingly threatened.
Even as the Soviet fleet dispersed back to its starting positions, the extent of the gamble was made plain. Submarine squadrons moving back to positions off Sicily ran into the main Italian battle fleet as that, belatedly, moved to intervene in the Soviet operations in the Aegean. By the time the subs had broken off, some 50% of the most modern submarines in the Soviet arsenal had been sunk.
(The Sth-421 at Sevastopol, it was to be sunk on its first combat patrol)
With the relative failure of the February offensive in southern Moldavia, it became clear that any solution to the stalemate in the southern balkans was not going to be found by simply renewing direct attacks on the axis forces surrounding the Soviet enclave in Rumania and Bulgaria.
The option of a direct attack on Greece was raised. Not only would knocking Greece out of the war weaken the overall axis war effort but it would generate an immediate threat to Sofiya and southern Bulgraria, Yugoslavia and Albania.
So far the Soviet Navy had been used to interdict axis shipping as in the recent Baltic battles or support small scale landings within the Black Sea. What was now envisaged was a combined arms operation with the Fleet at the centre of planning. The main risk to any incursion into the Aegean was the large Italian Fleet and Airforce located on Rhodes. Stavka devised a solution that would at least allow the landings to go ahead.
(Black Sea Fleet OOB, with the latest Soviet Battleship, on its first operation)
First the submarines were withdrawn from the Central Mediterranean and concentrated on Italian shipping lanes around southern Greece. Over a four week period supply and fuel deliveries were strangled but there was no way of knowing what stocks were held on the island.
Secondly, several squadrons of the new Yak-9s (with the new fuel drop tanks) were assigned air interdiction both over Rhodes and over the northern aegean. Any attempt by the Italian naval bombers to interfere would be challenged and hopefully driven off.
Finally it was decided to committ Rall's fleet to a blocking position just north of Rhodes so as to prevent interference with the transports.
The actual invasion had to be with minimal force as there was only capacity to deliver the 3 divisions at a time.
(Soviet naval taskforce leaving Constanta)
The intial wave consisted of the improvised 6 Cavalry Corps (2 cavalry and a rifle division) put ashore at Volos on 5 March
and on 6 March, 2 divisions of paratroopers landed in the Peleponese to link up with the KKE/ELAS resistance groups, before attacking Athens from the south.
(Soviet paratroopers just before the main operation)
In the event, the campaign was over almost before it began. The Greek division at Salonika surrendered when the first Soviet marines moved ashore
and a tentative counterattack was quickly defeated. At Athens, the Greeks moved north to try and hold the pass at Amfissa but crumbled after a few hours fighting.
At the same time on the 8th, 1 Marine Division was landed at Salonika
(Soviet marines attacking Salonika)
despite interference by Yugoslav Torpedo Boats that had managed to slip past the main Soviet fleet.
The paratroops in the Peleponese had an almost unhindered entry into Athens and the Metaxos regime fled on the 13th. Quickly Soviet troops and ELAS partisans seized the country and the lightly equipped Paratroopers just managed to occupy the fortresses on the Yugoslav border before the German counterattack began.
At the same time, 18 Army went over to the offensive in Bulgaria to take advantage of the confusion. Pleven was taken on 26 March, Silven on 11 March
but an attempt by 2 Cavalry Corps to take Sofiya was broken off on 28 March due to strengthening German resistance. At the same time, German forces pushed the 76th Airborne Division from Giannitsa.
If the sudden gains in the southern balkans were to be retained and expanded it was critical that the axis pressure on the lightly armed paratroop, marine and cavalry divisions was relieved.
(Soviet marines in action in Northern Greece)
Equally, and combined with 2 Tank Army's Budapest offensive, all of a sudden the German position in the Balkans looked increasingly threatened.
Even as the Soviet fleet dispersed back to its starting positions, the extent of the gamble was made plain. Submarine squadrons moving back to positions off Sicily ran into the main Italian battle fleet as that, belatedly, moved to intervene in the Soviet operations in the Aegean. By the time the subs had broken off, some 50% of the most modern submarines in the Soviet arsenal had been sunk.
(The Sth-421 at Sevastopol, it was to be sunk on its first combat patrol)
I'm always finding it incredible how much a small force can hit a large enemy once he is off guard...
Impressive work in Greece!
Sounds like your Balkan campaign has gotten quite some momentum now that you're threatening to throw Bulgaria and Hungary out of the war...
Impressive work in Greece!
Sounds like your Balkan campaign has gotten quite some momentum now that you're threatening to throw Bulgaria and Hungary out of the war...
A quick and decisive campaign. Too bad the terrain is hilly or mountainous in the region, though.
In this case, the terrain should benefit loki, those forces in Greece are going to fight a delaying action until relieved. I am worried about that empty province NW of Salonika, it looks like a Yugoslavian unit is already heading into the breech.
I noticed a lot of your divisions are not at full strength. Do you intentionally not reinforce them?
Do you build any more units?
Do you build any more units?
If you make it too the channel coast and the Uk hasn't begun its reconquest, what are you considering?
Well done. Myth would've been proud of your littoral strategy. I hope you can hold your positions, or at least hold them long enough to crack the German lines in Hungary. I imagine that if you can deliver a sharp blow to the north, it might throw the Germans enough off balance that you'll be able to save your light divisions in Greece.
I hope you can hold your positions, or at least hold them long enough to crack the German lines in Hungary. I imagine that if you can deliver a sharp blow to the north, it might throw the Germans enough off balance that you'll be able to save your light divisions in Greece.