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Sudden Carnage

Chapter XXXV – Operation Barbarossa Part IV









Countries played by humans: UK, Soviet Unionx2, Germany, Italy, Japan.
For a while ahead, former French player are playing the Soviet Far East while Daphne can focus on the Bear's western front (or so do I believe they shared the job).







Recap: Last month was a dark one for the Allies and Commitern. The Red Army lost several terrible battles and lost a huge amount of troops in deadly pockets. Japan rushed forwards and took half of India and in the Far East, Russian forces was caught in a pocket north of Sinkiang. With those troops as well, only the land will between the Japs and the Soviet troops retreating from Wehrmacht. With US not very close in joining the war, there seem to be nothing that can stop the tide of fascism.Or…?











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December 1st, 1940

The last Soviet stronghold on the Crimea peninsula, the city of Sevastopol, had become an Italian affaire. The Red Army was undermanned. On the other hand, they were well dug in behind powerful fortifications. It would not be an easy task, but for that reason, the Italians were supported by Luftwaffe.











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December 4th, 1940

It only took 4 days. The Red Army could not last very long against the Italian horde. Crimea was now part of Germany. As seen here, also the Soviets managed to flee to awaiting transports. Except a lone Italian submarine (locked in here since UK joined the war due to the Suez bug) the Axis had no fleet to challenge the Red Navy.

Later, United Kingdom made some small cunning amphibious attacks, trying blocking supply-routes to Crimea and probably wishing to make way for a Russian counter attack. With some German back up, the Italians managed to thwart these wasp-stings and the Brits were pushed back into the sea a couple of times.











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December 5th, 1940

German panzer were blitzing through open landscapes. To ensure that the from the defensive viewpoint important city of Kalinin was not fortified by the Red Army, Luftwaffe activated the famous 2nd Paratrooper Division. Kalinin was taken without fuss and reports from the paratroopers made clear for Wehrmacht that no Soviet troops were even close to the city.

The capital of Soviet Union, Moscow, was not far away now. Maybe the road to the mighty important city might even be open. With Kalinin taken, Steiner would be able to quickly lead his division through the city and continue towards Moscow.

::2nd Paratroop Division was now a hardened lot of experienced troopers. They had been through some many jumps in all the arenas where the Wehrmacht had taken part. Lastly, they had been active by the borders of the Black Sea where they had cooperating with ground troops to seal of sacks to pockets and thus capturing enemy divisions. Now, Lucas Bauer and his mates landed deep into enemy lands – in the city of Kalinin. The main objective was just capturing the city before any Soviets managed to reinforce it. Kalinin itself would be the staging post for further offensives towards the Moscow-area.::

::It was freezing cold. They had all gotten better winter equipment but it did not matter much when they fell through the crystal clear day. They landed soft in the deep snow and swiftly headed off for their objectives. It was all routine by now. Just as they had experienced in Caen, the citizens of Kalinin still thought the enemy were far away and became mighty confused. Sometimes they needed a show of violence to get in line, but the hardened soldier used the necessary force with little remorse. Soon, the city was in German hands. No enemy troops were even close by which was a relieve. Lucas and his friends could dig in and use houses for cover, OPs and sleeping quarters. Vetereans as they were, they have little eagerness for combat and just wanted to make their mission as efficient and comfortable as possible. A panzer division was inbound within a couple of days and they just needed to hold the city until then.::

::They found plenty of booze and a selection of odd Russian products. They saved it all for calmer days coming up ahead and planned for a big party. As Lucas sat on observation duty, wrapped in a thick blanket, high up in a church-tower, he chewed away on dried meat that tasted strange but still good. He did not know from what animal, but he knew how to value a full stomach. The onlything moving once in a while was a few civilians rushing hunched between houses. If the number grew, soldiers on the ground shot a few bullets in the air. That made them think twice before moving about. They did not really pose a threat but until reinforcements had arrived it was better the civilians kept to their own living quarters.::











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December 7th, 1940

After securing the route to the city of Kalinin, Wehrmacht had created a mighty spearhead into a seemingly undefended Soviet Union. The problem was, however, that they had too few units in the north to really exploit the opening. Moscow did not seem to be far away at all. Still, the Red Army was strong in the center and could not be overwhelmed. It was obvious that they tried to retreat in an orderly fashion, delaying the Germans as best possible. The German leadership had a slim hope that Moscow could be taken by surprise.











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December 9th, 1940

One week into the attack on Ceylon and the Japs were making progress, albeit slow. The terrain was defendable and the Brits made the enemies bleed for it. It was all in vain, though. The Imperial Japanese Navy had a strong presence around the island and the Brits had no way out. It would take some time for the invaders to win here, but little could change the final outcome.











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Soviet Union thwarted Japan in the Far East. Due to a diplomatic offensive against Sinkiang they got transit rights through their country. With that, they got the possibility to evacuate the huge pocket that the Japanese troops cunningly had created.











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December 20th, 1940

Wehrmacht did not really get the opportunity to blitz all the way to Moscow. A Russian Light Armor Division had gotten in the way and though not very dangerous in itself, the decision was made to wait for reinforcements and to consolidate. Now, the German beast could attack with force.











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December 24th, 1940

Merry Christmas! Wehrmacht is giving the Red Army a lot of bullets and shells as a gift – and the Red Army is generously giving back. The freezing day was celebrated with a multitude of battles. Germany desperately tried to stall the Russian retreat, hoping to cut them off from Moscow. Moscow! The mighty city was in sight of the German soldiers in a motorized division. The gravity of the moment was intoxicating for the soldiers. They all dreamed of being part of the first attack on the almost mythical city. That would make them all immortal.











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January 1st, 1941

It seems like the German plan to deny the bulk of the Red Army to retreat to Moscow will succeed, although it is a little too early to bring the champagne.

But it is a new year. 1941. It is a year which starts with Germany knocking on the gates to the Soviet capital. What will not this new year bring to the German Reich. It’s gotto be a grand victory… no?

Zid: Happy New Year!
Maxyboy: New Year, anyway…




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Wow, Russia really does look doomed. Inadequate number of troops to even man the full front, the area around Moscow looks to be easily cut off eventually, and the troops Russia does have are of poorer quality...The only thing I can think of is an extremely large strategic reserve of about 20 divisions or so to strike from the northern side of your spearhead, but I don't see many Russians near enough, and such a risky strategy to put Moscow at severe risk would be unlikely. Still following with great interest though, lets hope Britain can make things interesting soon or the bear makes some sort of strong resistance :)
 
Moscow! Is this the high tide? i suspect not!
 
I fear it's safe to say that the Soviet player has lost control and is now going to lose his capital as well as a big chunk of his army.

Look at that German spearhead northwest of Moscow... so many tank divisions! And the infantry right behind, securing the shoulders of the salient. No way the Soviet player can stop this, unless CptEasy goes AFK during the next session.
 
DrakenPL - I happy for any additional smiles this macabre story can seed ;)

Cybe - They sure seem to have problems. Aye, but you need a little luck to succeed in war...

ADEE - Mmm... In my nightmares I see such a Soviet reserves. Right now there's so much land to cover. If he has any such reserves, I will be in problem. Concerning Britain - I expect them to come up with new surprices as soon as he have recovered from the debacle in southern Italy. With Africa secured he will have quite a number of divisions to toss in.

Leviathan07 1st - Its more than a garrison but its not really visible on the last picture (check the one above the last). Its more like two garrisons and something else that I don't remember right now (don't have those screenies here right now). Still, it is not a very powerful defens.

Von Uber - High tide? More a German Tsunami sweeping down ;)

Leviathan07 2nd - Heh heh. That wont happen. I can't remeber even going to the toilet during a HoI MP session. My body just switches of those kind of low priority signals. It's a war got damn it ;)
 
So, what progress did Great Britain make to get the USA into the boat?
Without them, they seem to be doomed. :eek:

also, Japan needs to try to secure all the major ports in the pacific before eventually the Americans join in.
Australia and New Zealand would be great assets, right next to India of course. :D
 
Sudden Carnage

Chapter XXXVI – D-Day









Countries played by humans: UK, Soviet Unionx2, Germany, Italy, Japan.
For a while, former French player are playing the Soviet Far East while Daphne can focus on the Bear's western front (or so do I believe they shared the job).








Recap: Last months has been dark for the Allies and Commitern. The Red Army lost several terrible battles and lost a huge amount of troops in deadly pockets. Now, Wehrmacht I standing by the walls of Moscow itself. United Kingdom have preserved strength… waiting for something. But it seems they have grown tired of waiting…












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January 1st, 1941

During the autumn offensives in Soviet, Wehrmacht have reached far. In the north, the thin spearhead have been consolidated and borders to Moscow in several provinces. In the face of terrible losses, the Red Army still managed to cover the entire defensive line. It is obvious, however, that they can’t resist a well planned German push and they have no ability what so ever to push back. It does not seem possible that they will resist by themselves. Can UK really aid them? Do they have the ability to threat Germany on the mainland? The German leadership don’t see them as a real threat.











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January 1st, 1941

While Italy have difficulties to keep the sub warfare going on, the German effort has increased as new top-of-the-line u-boats have entered service. United Kingdom lacks the strength and technique to repel them. It is quite obvious that the Brits have lowered the amount of convoys (or become more efficient?). One reason, of course, could be that they have lost a majority of Asian holdings.











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January 1st, 1941

Japan continues their raging conquest. In the north, the Rus is slowly being pushed back and the important industry cities of Omsk and Novosibirsk are soon within the Japanese grasp.

In the south, United Kingdom is giving much less resistance. They have only left token defenses in a few locations. It is only a matter of time to India, like Ceylon, belong to Japan.

So what is UK waiting for? They obviously conserve strength and wait for something…











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January 1st, 1941

Are UK waiting for the United States for America? The Americans don’t seem very interested in the war. Do UK wait for another mighty ally? Canada has already joined. Australia lingers outside the war, due to lack of interest (neutrality) and so does South Africa (too far away on the chart). No powerful savior is visible there. Axis have Bulgaria as a potential ally but has not invited them yet as they would be an easy prey for the United Kingdom.

All in all, little will change anytime soon.
……….
Authers note: A few more months of Axis victories. Soviet is getting unforgiving punishment and their toll of lost divisions is up to at least 40. Allies (UK) is not doing much but they don’t give up and they stopped the session just as 1941 started – which is the date when they are allowed by the House Rules to put a player on USA.

It is obvious that Allies is not about to give up. UKs careful play is a clear sign of this. He is not, as I previously suggested, going for a wild low odds final “chance attack”. No… he is preserving strength. And now they are going to put a player on the US.

I honestly don’t think they have a chance but I am of course not sure. None of us really know how strong USA can become and it’s only 1941 and Soviet is still in the game – though losing quickly. It is interesting to say the least.

It also means Axis will have to start thinking long term…




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Allies have put a player on USA as it is 1941 (thus only one player - Daphne - on Soviet). This is likely to affect their neutrality quite soon...

A new year. 1941. And the war continues. Soviet Union has already suffered hard from the fascist crusade and they are standing more or less alone. United Kingdom’s attention has mostly been on the Med and Italy which have decreased Italy’s possibility to commit to the war on Communism. On the other hand, UK have done little, maybe due to lack of force, to disrupt Germany and Japan who both have been able to bare down on Soviet without much interruption.








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January 1st, 1941

Japanese troops had ventured far into the vast Russian plains. They had already survived one winter with temperatures down to -30 degrees Celsius. Now it was winter again and they were far away from the ports and supply ships from their own island – and island they had not seen in several years. These were hardened troops. They defeated a Soviet army after surrounding it most cunningly. Unfortunately, Sinkiang treasonously gave the fleeing Red Army transit right. Fortunately, they would not be as generous with supply and when the Red Army had wounded their way through the nearly roadless land of Sinkiang – they would be exhausted and weak.











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January 5th, 1941

Germany would try to trick their enemy again. Leningrad was somewhat in reach, and so was Moscow, but Stalingrad was still far away. Just taking Moscow would not end the war. The Red Army would still be there and Wehrmacht would have to fight with painfully stretched supply lines. Still, Moscow appeared to be a tasty price. The Soviet leadership would think this was the target.If that was the case – they would be surprised if the blow would fall somewhere else. Basic deception. So the German leadership draw a new plan, leaving Moscow for later. Operation “Kirov”.

Authors note: Needless to say – in “reality” you would not name your operation after the actual target, but I just happened to call it that when I wrote down the plan.

With the Big Bear hopefully keeping an extra eye on the movements around Moscow, Wehrmacht would try to make a huge encirclement – and thus break yet another leg of the beast. If a major encirclement could be done, the Stalingrad would not be too hard to reach. The name “Kirov” was chosen at this would be the center of the encirclement. Wehrmacht attacked fiercely, against bad odds at several locations, with the spear-head troops tried to create a huge pocket.











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January 9th, 1941

The motorized units in the eastern sack-opening got stuck a couple of days, bogged down due to a weak attack from the airfields in the north. As the airfield was attacked by a panzer division (Hoepner) the motorized division could push further south west – narrowing the sack opening.

As troops in the western sack opening won a victory in Djat, the German leadership saw a possibility for a drastic airborne mission. The heroes of the 2nd paratrooper were once again called upon. With Djat soon in German hand, only one province remained to close the sack – and it seemed undefended. The retreating Red Army had yet not reached it.

::The summer drops in France was still fresh in memory, and then a couple of easy drops around the Black Sea. Now, when Lucas Bauer slowly sank towards the ground under his chute, his teeth rattled in his mouth. It was just like that winter-jump in the Netherlands, early in "Operation Sickle" a year ago.:




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::Well – this was not the Netherlands. This was the Soviet Union. When they landed they immediately came under attack from numerous Soviet forces moving into the province. They had armor too and Lucas and his friends had to fight harder than ever before. The whole situation quickly became like his worst nightmare. It was freezing cold, the enemy was everywhere and they were desperate. The light paratroopers had only little AT to resist the enemy tanks and they had little cover in the open ground. They took losses in a frightening pace.::











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January 11th, 1941

The 2nd Paratroppers were ruthlessly crushed by a superior enemy. Still, they served their purpose well. The province were taken and the Red Army was beaten or under attack in all (but one) neighboring provinces. Thus, they could not retreat into the now undefended province. They were stuck in the “Kirov Pocket”.

South of the province the paras had taken, in Dudor-something, there was one Soviet infantry division. The Germans could not reach it and lock it in battle, and thus feared it would turn north to open up the pocket.











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January 16th, 1941

The Soviet division actually did turn north but German forces managed to intercept it and lock it in battle. Wehrmacht also managed to get a new division into Sukhinichi (in the center of the “pocked-lid”). They, just like the paras before them, ended up under a powerful Soviet attack. The Red Army was, however, attacked from all sides, and suffered badly as a result. It was still a sensitive situation. The Red Army was numerous (about 20 divisions including a few HQs in the pocket) and the pocket-lid was weak. If it could hold shut, Operation Kirov would be a stunning victory.

Symbolically, a huge battle took place in the province of Kirov.

Authors note: Honestly, I named the operation “Kirov” before it started. This just came as a dramaturgic surprice.











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January 19th, 1941

This is the larger picture of the northern East front. Moscow still unchallenged and the far north is quite empty of both Soviet and German forces. In the south of Moscow a battle has just started. The Battle of Kirov-Pocket continues and is still very much uncertain.











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January 20th, 1941

A nasty shock! It took long time for the news to reach the Fuhrer who was busy focus on the east. The Brits are attacking France!

Authors note: Maxyboy made another clever move. Realizing I had all my focus in the east he landed in France without attacking my units there. I had so many pop-ups about won or lost provinces in the east that it took until he actually attacked a unit before I realized I was under attack. A really nasty shock. There were hardly any troops between the British force and Paris (red circle). I was just dealing with an encircling move on Moscow, fighting in the Kirov-pocket and maneuvers in the southern east-front. Even though I realized this was dangerous, I was so close of dealing Soviet a terrible blow. I still had to finish a few moves there before I could turn my focus on France. UK would have to be given a few victories…


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A clever move made by the UK player. Creating another frontline is the only chance the Allies have. Also, the UK player managed to get around the coastal forts by attacking your units from land instead of the sea.

However, the Soviets are extremely weak. The SOV player probably has no reserves and I have no doubt that you will manage to destroy the Kirov pocket sooner or later. The situation would become really interesting if the USA joined the war, though...
 
A clever move made by the UK player. Creating another frontline is the only chance the Allies have.

But not quite sufficient to distract the German player from Russia, I expect that we will see several more landings in France/Netherlands. 2-3 distinct landing areas along the Atlantic coast and 1-2 in the Med would force serious action and coordination from Berlin/Rome, taking measurable pressure off Moscow. With Britain having withheld troops from India I expect this to be a real landing in force. How big are the Axis home theatres?
 
It's about as good as the UK player can do I suppose, here's about as late as a D-Day can be left. As FrozenWall says, there probably will be more landings along the coast, or certainly a much larger force landed in the consolidated ground at a later stage.

However, I really can't help the feeling of it being a case of too little-too late; the Red Army has been mauled so much and land lost in such large quantities, that a slight easing of the pressure may not be enough to save the Russian front. Amount of German divisions just seem far too plentiful really now.

On the up side for the allies, my guess is Britain should be able to defend the home isles for some time yet, perhaps giving enough time for a US entry into the war. With that neutrality so high though, it could take too long...
 
On the up side for the allies, my guess is Britain should be able to defend the home isles for some time yet, perhaps giving enough time for a US entry into the war. With that neutrality so high though, it could take too long...
So what? After the SU is done, Germany will be able to bring so many troops to the West that no Overlord will be possible.
 
Maxboy doesn't have that many more units and if you look closely, he commited most of his mobile infantry forces there. If he can dig out more units, he'll either have had to produce quite a lot of them or cut forces from the home defense. Seeing that the Axis is busy trashing Russia, he certainly can do it right now.
 
Maxboy doesn't have that many more units and if you look closely, he commited most of his mobile infantry forces there. If he can dig out more units, he'll either have had to produce quite a lot of them or cut forces from the home defense. Seeing that the Axis is busy trashing Russia, he certainly can do it right now.
I seriously doubt that CptEasy will try to attack the UK right now. His navy is practically non-existent and such an invasion would require good timing and proper reinforcements for the forces used in the initial landings - sth which is simply not feasible to do.

The UK is safe, but besides that there is little hope for the Allies.
 
So what? After the SU is done, Germany will be able to bring so many troops to the West that no Overlord will be possible.

Indeed, I was trying to point out anything which may not be seen as pessimistic ;D

Point is though, with US in the war, Britain is safe. I'm guessing VPs would be on the Axis side, but we'll see. I suppose indirectly the war against Japan conducted by US forces may swing the VP situation in allied favour though...Again all hypothetical, as it seems their entry is a long way off.
 
Well UK put up a good fight the year before with offensives...

June 1940 - Last Italian forces kicked out of Africa
July 1940 - Attack on Greece
Aug-sep 1940 - Attack on Sicily

Perhaps the landing in France could have come earlier but my guess and hope is that UK waited for something, that may bring a nasty surprise for Cpt Easy.. nothing personal I assure you, I'd just love to do some more nail biting before the game ends :)

Besides, if the game seems lost from UKs point of view why not just empty the isles and pour troops over France in reversed William-style and hope the Germans are to seasick to row over the channel themselves.
 
my guess and hope is that UK waited for something

Good point there, if I remember correctly didn't the UK research mech quite early on in the game...? As of yet we've not seen any in action, so maybe (and hopefully in terms of keeping the AAR a good read!) the UK has a fair few divisions of those to throw into France, and has waited for another batch to finish production.