Now all you need to do is beat the hundred or so Chinese divisions coming across the Trans-Siberian Railway.
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1941-08-31
Just as I expected the armies of Yugoslavia and Romania laid down their weapons today and surrendered. But the expeditionary forces from the Soviet Union and Bulgaria, that were fighting on their territory, are continuing to fight. We are getting reports that the Soviets are secretly shipping troops and supplies through Turkey despite the fact that the Turks have declared their neutrality. If this turns out to be true, we should be prepared to occupy the European part of Turkey and advance all the way to the Bosporus, as soon as we are done with Bulgaria. The Turks might be working with the Soviets in secret now, but if this changes the enemy would have a foothold on the Balkans again.
Less pleasant news reached me from Sicily today: The British have captured the important port of Palermo and the last remaining Italian division on the island is expected to surrender and day now.
The Yugoslavian High Command surrendered in Belgrade.
1941-09-01
After some heavy fighting we've captured the vital aluminum mines near the Finish town of Kemi today. With their supply lines cut, the Soviets are retreating on the entire front. If we can use this momentum of the attack, we might be able to capture the entire north of the peninsula before the polar winter starts. Our aircraft manufacturers are also very pleased that they don't have to cut corners any more to build high quality aircrafts.
Our bridgehead at Oulu is now linked with our main force.
1941-09-02
Even though our main force has halted the advance on the eastern front to prepare for our next attack, a small task forces has been advancing over the Crimean plains towards the heavily fortified port of Sevastopol. Today I was pleasantly surprised by the news that General Lindig's 167th Infantry Division has captured the city without firing a single shot and all its fortifications still intact. The black sea fleet however was already gone when we arrived.
The Soviet defenders arrived a little too late.
1941-09-03
After a short summer the first snow fell in northern Finland today. Luckily our troops have been stationed near the polar circle for almost a year now and are used to deal with the harsh conditions. I just hope we get another month or two of good weather further south to complete our second operation before the Russian winter starts. There are also rumors that massive amounts of Chinese troops have crossed the Himalayan mountains and are now on route through the Mongolian steppe towards the front lines.
The reorganization or our troops on the eastern front is complete. Since we reached our goals from Operation Barbarossa my general staff has been working on plans for the next big operation. There were a lot of possibilities: We could exploit the Soviet weakness in the south, capture the vast grain fields of the Ukraine and advance all the way to the Caucasus. Or we could push towards Leningrad in the north and in an enormous pincer movement trap the Soviet troops in Finland.
But I've decided that we should strike at the head of the beast first and capture Moscow in an operation codenamed "Taifun", which is about to begin in the early morning of September the 5th.
A last meeting with the general staff before operation Taifun.
Just as I expected the armies of Yugoslavia and Romania laid down their weapons today and surrendered. But the expeditionary forces from the Soviet Union and Bulgaria, that were fighting on their territory, are continuing to fight. We are getting reports that the Soviets are secretly shipping troops and supplies through Turkey despite the fact that the Turks have declared their neutrality. If this turns out to be true, we should be prepared to occupy the European part of Turkey and advance all the way to the Bosporus, as soon as we are done with Bulgaria. The Turks might be working with the Soviets in secret now, but if this changes the enemy would have a foothold on the Balkans again.
Less pleasant news reached me from Sicily today: The British have captured the important port of Palermo and the last remaining Italian division on the island is expected to surrender and day now.
The Yugoslavian High Command surrendered in Belgrade.
1941-09-01
After some heavy fighting we've captured the vital aluminum mines near the Finish town of Kemi today. With their supply lines cut, the Soviets are retreating on the entire front. If we can use this momentum of the attack, we might be able to capture the entire north of the peninsula before the polar winter starts. Our aircraft manufacturers are also very pleased that they don't have to cut corners any more to build high quality aircrafts.
Our bridgehead at Oulu is now linked with our main force.
1941-09-02
Even though our main force has halted the advance on the eastern front to prepare for our next attack, a small task forces has been advancing over the Crimean plains towards the heavily fortified port of Sevastopol. Today I was pleasantly surprised by the news that General Lindig's 167th Infantry Division has captured the city without firing a single shot and all its fortifications still intact. The black sea fleet however was already gone when we arrived.
The Soviet defenders arrived a little too late.
1941-09-03
After a short summer the first snow fell in northern Finland today. Luckily our troops have been stationed near the polar circle for almost a year now and are used to deal with the harsh conditions. I just hope we get another month or two of good weather further south to complete our second operation before the Russian winter starts. There are also rumors that massive amounts of Chinese troops have crossed the Himalayan mountains and are now on route through the Mongolian steppe towards the front lines.
The reorganization or our troops on the eastern front is complete. Since we reached our goals from Operation Barbarossa my general staff has been working on plans for the next big operation. There were a lot of possibilities: We could exploit the Soviet weakness in the south, capture the vast grain fields of the Ukraine and advance all the way to the Caucasus. Or we could push towards Leningrad in the north and in an enormous pincer movement trap the Soviet troops in Finland.
But I've decided that we should strike at the head of the beast first and capture Moscow in an operation codenamed "Taifun", which is about to begin in the early morning of September the 5th.
A last meeting with the general staff before operation Taifun.
excellent aar! I thought you had made several mistakes by allowing everyone to go ComIntern. but that hasn't stopped you! Take Madrid and all of Spain, help out the Italians then to MOSCOW!
Unternehmen Taifun
("Operation Typhoon" or "the Battle of Moscow")
("Operation Typhoon" or "the Battle of Moscow")
1941-09-04
Operation Barbarossa has had a complete success. We are now in control of almost the entire Balkans and have advanced deep into the Soviet's territory. Our recent "Operation Northern Lights" is also going very well and we have broken the stalemate in Finland, forcing the Soviets to retreat. Tomorrow will start our next big operation on the eastern front: Unternehmen Taifun.
The main goal of the operation is to capture the Soviet capital before the mud and snow of the Russian winter can stop our advance. We had enough time to reorganize our troops into two separate army groups: Army Group South and Army Group Center. The latter has been reinforced with tanks from the south and the majority of our available bombers from the Luftwaffe. The Soviets also had time to consolidate their front line and can, at least on paper, field an estimated 90 divisions, which also includes the front in Finland and their reserves in the Urals. Many of these units however are either ill equipped, disorganized or scattered in the hinterland as their reorganization of the massive front is still incomplete. We expect that the real fighting strength of the Red Army is significantly lower and their tank formations suffered great losses in the previous operation, giving us for the first time the numerical superiority in number of tank divisions.
The main thrust of the upcoming operation will come from the 3rd and 6th army, supported by the 5th army. General Paulus will break through the Soviet lines east of Minsk and advance towards Smolensk. General von Reichenau starts north east of Kiev and will push towards Bryansk. Their northern Flank is secured by General Jodel. These three armies will combine their spearheads before encircling and finally sacking Moscow. The two armies of Army Group South will cover the southern flank of the thrust towards Moscow, shortening the front line and allowing the advancing forces to concentrate on their push eastwards. General Pfeifer's 8th army will push towards Kursk and Orel while the 9th army will capture the vast grain fields south of Kharkov. They will establish temporary defensive positions on the Oka river in the north and the Donets in the south until we have captured Moscow some time in mid October.
After the loss of their capital we don't expect that the Soviet Union will collapse but the combat effectiveness of such a centralized country should drop significantly, allowing us to push back the enemy even further. Army Group South will halt on the river Don by mid November and elements of Army Group North will swing north towards Leningrad, fortifying their positions on the Volkhov river. The push towards Leningrad will be supported by an amphibious landing in Estonia from our capable marine infantry divisions which by that time should have returned from their fighting in Finland. Once these goals are reached by mid November, we will entrench our front line units and hope for a quiet winter to replenish our losses.
All units are standing by for Unternehmen Taifun.
1941-09-05
In the early morning our troops started to engage the enemy at the designated points where we have concentrated most of our troops. The resistance we've encountered is stiffer than expected and we were unable to achieve a breakthrough on the first day, but once we do I'm certain that our armored spearhead tactics will prevail again.
An interesting side note of little consequence to us at the moment: Afghanistan joined the Comintern today.
Despite unexpected heavy resistance, General Hoth's 4th Panzer Division is on the verge of breaking through the enemy lines.
1941-09-11
It's almost been a week since we started Operation Typhoon and so far our progress is minimal. We've managed to break tough the lines in some areas but we had to pay quite a heavy toll to do it. I hope that once we have soften up the enemy front line the advance will go quicker and we can keep our ambitious timetable.
The campaign on the Balkans on the other hand is nearing it's end. We've captured the Bulgarian capital Sofia, have engaged the first British expedition troops in Greece and are standing on the border of Turkey. Interestingly enough we have observed Bulgarian troops retreating onto Turkish soil. I've given the order to invade Turkey and advance towards the Bosporus and Istanbul, much to the protest of the Turks and some members of my general staff who were quick to remind me that the Ottomans had been our allies in the last great war.
General Rommel discussing the advance into Bulgaria with the staff of his 1st Panzer Corps.
1941-09-13
Good news from the Balkans today: After short, weak resistance the Bulgarians have capitulated and the only remaining antagonist (besides the Turks) on this front are the Greeks. Due to the geography of the country the front line is ever shortening, freeing up more and more divisions. These units are earmarked to be transferred to Croatia and northern Italy as soon as the front against Greece is under control. The situation in Italy on the other hand is worsening. The British have established a sizable foothold in southern Italy and are about to capture the most important Mediterranean naval base of the Italians in Taranto. I was unable to get a status update from Mussolini but today I received a communique in which he explained that he finally got all his troops on the southern front line and will hopefully be able to push the British back or at least hold the line.
1941-09-16
After heavy fighting our attack on the eastern front is finally gaining momentum and our Panzer formations are pushing aside the retreating Red Army units. Today we've reached the first important stepping stone on the road towards Moscow: Smolensk.
The enemy has finally been overwhelmed by our concentrated firepower.
Just don't get too engrossed in your victories you forget to stop the advance come winter.
1941-09-24
Our advance on the eastern front is continuing. Today the 9th army has reached Kharkov and the Donets river. We are now in full control of the Soviet's "bread basket" in the Ukraine, which should cause some trouble for them in the next harvest season. Further north our troops are already half way to Moscow.
Despite these recent successes there is reason to worry: Albert Speer came to me this afternoon with the newest conscription numbers and apparently we are running out of conscripts. We have already drafted almost every single male between the ages of 18 and 45 who don't have "war critical" jobs. The recent unexpected heavy losses at the start of operation typhoon took a huge bite out of our available reserves. It might be time that we opened the ranks of our auxiliary units to female volunteers.
We have established defensive positions on the Donets river, for now.
1941-09-27
Today general Förtsch's 218th infantry division has managed to cross over the straight of Kerch from the Crimean peninsula to the other side of the mainland, despite the presence of the Soviet's Black Sea Fleet in this sector.
1941-09-28
Apparently my suspicions about the Turks had not been ill founded: Today we reached the Bosporus only to find Soviet troops on the other side of the strait. We will halt our advance into Turkey at these positions and dig in. Not only because a crossing of the Bosporus might be difficult and costly, but also because we lack the troops required to conquer Turkey, at the moment.
Next stop: Istanbul!
1941-09-29
General Gräser's 16th Panzer Division, the spearhead of the 3rd army, is now standing within striking distance of Moscow. Once the rest of the army has caught up we can begin with the encirclement of the city. The Soviet defenders that held one of the last defensive perimeters before the capital at Kaluga are now retreating into the city where we can expect quite heavy resistance. To shorten the siege that will most likely ensue, I've ordered one of our two heavy railway artilleries, the "Schwerer Gustav", to be moved into firing position once we reach the outskirts.
So far the weather is playing along. It's chilly 3°C but until now we had no rain, mud or snow. I hope this keeps up a few more weeks.
Only another 100km to go.
Our advance on the eastern front is continuing. Today the 9th army has reached Kharkov and the Donets river. We are now in full control of the Soviet's "bread basket" in the Ukraine, which should cause some trouble for them in the next harvest season. Further north our troops are already half way to Moscow.
Despite these recent successes there is reason to worry: Albert Speer came to me this afternoon with the newest conscription numbers and apparently we are running out of conscripts. We have already drafted almost every single male between the ages of 18 and 45 who don't have "war critical" jobs. The recent unexpected heavy losses at the start of operation typhoon took a huge bite out of our available reserves. It might be time that we opened the ranks of our auxiliary units to female volunteers.
We have established defensive positions on the Donets river, for now.
1941-09-27
Today general Förtsch's 218th infantry division has managed to cross over the straight of Kerch from the Crimean peninsula to the other side of the mainland, despite the presence of the Soviet's Black Sea Fleet in this sector.
1941-09-28
Apparently my suspicions about the Turks had not been ill founded: Today we reached the Bosporus only to find Soviet troops on the other side of the strait. We will halt our advance into Turkey at these positions and dig in. Not only because a crossing of the Bosporus might be difficult and costly, but also because we lack the troops required to conquer Turkey, at the moment.
Next stop: Istanbul!
1941-09-29
General Gräser's 16th Panzer Division, the spearhead of the 3rd army, is now standing within striking distance of Moscow. Once the rest of the army has caught up we can begin with the encirclement of the city. The Soviet defenders that held one of the last defensive perimeters before the capital at Kaluga are now retreating into the city where we can expect quite heavy resistance. To shorten the siege that will most likely ensue, I've ordered one of our two heavy railway artilleries, the "Schwerer Gustav", to be moved into firing position once we reach the outskirts.
So far the weather is playing along. It's chilly 3°C but until now we had no rain, mud or snow. I hope this keeps up a few more weeks.
Only another 100km to go.
good update! I hope General Winter and the Chinese army don't stop you.
Crush the Bolsheviks
Crush the Bolsheviks
1941-10-02
After the fall of Bulgaria we have now concentrated all of our remaining forces from the Balkans Campaign on the Greek border. Today the attack started on the length of the entire front.
Our troops are moving into Greece, pushing back the British and their allies once more.
1941-10-05
Just as Speer had predicted a few days ago, we have run out of recruits for the Wehrmacht. Our massive buildup before Operation Barbarossa and the losses during our last campaigns have drained our manpower pool. Allowing women to serve in some branches of the military and accepting 17 year old volunteers will only be a drop in the empty bucket. I hope that once we complete Operation Typhoon we get a few winter months of relative calm to replenish our reserves.
The first female volunteers have begun their training in non combat roles.
1941-10-06
The spearheads of the 3rd and 6th army have reached the gates of Moscow today. Our fast tank formations will encircle the city and once the infantry has caught up we will begin with the attack on the capital. Rumors are that Stalin is preparing to leave the city.
The Kremlin is now within firing distance of our artillery.
1941-10-07
The situation in Italy is not getting better. I had a telephone conversation with Mussolini today who has now officially asked us for our help to push the British army back in southern Italy. Il Duce is concerned about growing civil unrest and defeatism in his own countrymen. He said that if the enemy would capture Naples and march on Rome he was unsure if he could remain in control of his army and therefore his country. I've ordered general Rommel's 1st Panzer Corps to be transferred from the Balkans to Italy. With the mountainous terrain in Greece they would be more of a hindrance than an asset in the Greek campaign anyway. In addition to this we will transfer two infantry corps from Army Group South form the eastern front to Italy. The Soviets are chronically weak in the south, so we can afford to stretch our troops a little bit thinner there.
The campaign in Spain is also nearing it's end. We expect to have the entire peninsula under our control by the end of the year, which would allow us to redeploy even more troops to Italy. Once we have captured Gibraltar the British will also have some serious trouble with supplying their troops in the Mediterranean, stretching their supply lines all the way around Africa. I just hope it won't already be too late for our Italian allies by then.
But it's not all bad: Operation Northern Lights has almost reached it's objectives and we can begin with the transfer of our marine infantry divisions back to the Baltic states soon.
The situation on 4 of our 5 fronts in October 1941.
After the fall of Bulgaria we have now concentrated all of our remaining forces from the Balkans Campaign on the Greek border. Today the attack started on the length of the entire front.
Our troops are moving into Greece, pushing back the British and their allies once more.
1941-10-05
Just as Speer had predicted a few days ago, we have run out of recruits for the Wehrmacht. Our massive buildup before Operation Barbarossa and the losses during our last campaigns have drained our manpower pool. Allowing women to serve in some branches of the military and accepting 17 year old volunteers will only be a drop in the empty bucket. I hope that once we complete Operation Typhoon we get a few winter months of relative calm to replenish our reserves.
The first female volunteers have begun their training in non combat roles.
1941-10-06
The spearheads of the 3rd and 6th army have reached the gates of Moscow today. Our fast tank formations will encircle the city and once the infantry has caught up we will begin with the attack on the capital. Rumors are that Stalin is preparing to leave the city.
The Kremlin is now within firing distance of our artillery.
1941-10-07
The situation in Italy is not getting better. I had a telephone conversation with Mussolini today who has now officially asked us for our help to push the British army back in southern Italy. Il Duce is concerned about growing civil unrest and defeatism in his own countrymen. He said that if the enemy would capture Naples and march on Rome he was unsure if he could remain in control of his army and therefore his country. I've ordered general Rommel's 1st Panzer Corps to be transferred from the Balkans to Italy. With the mountainous terrain in Greece they would be more of a hindrance than an asset in the Greek campaign anyway. In addition to this we will transfer two infantry corps from Army Group South form the eastern front to Italy. The Soviets are chronically weak in the south, so we can afford to stretch our troops a little bit thinner there.
The campaign in Spain is also nearing it's end. We expect to have the entire peninsula under our control by the end of the year, which would allow us to redeploy even more troops to Italy. Once we have captured Gibraltar the British will also have some serious trouble with supplying their troops in the Mediterranean, stretching their supply lines all the way around Africa. I just hope it won't already be too late for our Italian allies by then.
But it's not all bad: Operation Northern Lights has almost reached it's objectives and we can begin with the transfer of our marine infantry divisions back to the Baltic states soon.
The situation on 4 of our 5 fronts in October 1941.
1941-10-10
The fast moving tank divisions of von Manstein's 2nd Panzer Corps have successfully encircled Moscow today. We've already begun to prepare our heavy railway artillery "Gustav" for the siege and as soon as enough infantry divisions are in position we will begin with the assault.
The desperate Soviets are trying to escape the encirclement.
1941-10-14
Today began the attack in Moscow. The defenders are severely weakened by futile attempts to break out of the encirclement and at the end of the day we had already control over the outer districts of the city.
Supported by heavy artillery fire the attack on the capital has begun.
1941-10-16
The battle for Moscow lasted only two days. At around noon general Feige's 58th Infantry Division, supported by general Harpe's 12th Panzer Division, reached the deserted Kremlin and the last defenders of the city capitulated. Stalin and the Politburo had already left the city for Leningrad. What a coincidence that they choose our next target as their intermediate capital.
We also had successes on other parts of our front lines: After little resistance we were able to occupy Istanbul today and in Spain general Kirchner's 3rd light Panzer Division has reached the rock of Gibraltar. Once our mountaineers have encircled that strip of land we will attack.
The 7th assault gun brigade on the Red Square as part of our victory procession.
1941-10-23
Our troops in Finland have captured Murmansk today and further south we have reached the Murmansk railway, cutting off all remaining Soviet troops on the Kola Peninsula.
Shortly after our pioneers arrived, the first trains were able to tun again.
1941-10-27
The second objective of Unternehmen Taifun is to capture Leningrad and the remaining Baltic States. Shortly after the fall of Moscow our advance to the north began and today we landed parts of the 1st Marine Infantry Division on the shores of Estonia, capturing their former capital Tallinn without resistance.
Our troops were very friendly received by the Estonian population.
1941-10-31
The fighting in Spain and Greece is almost over. Today we started our attack on Lisbon, Athens and Gibraltar. The Spanish have already evacuated their government to one of their many colonial possessions and there are no signs that they will crack, even if we capture the entire Iberian Peninsula. The Greek on the other hand are most likely to capitulate once we enter Athens. I've given explicit orders to limit the use of heavy weapons, hoping to spare the many magnificent ruins of that ancient city.
Our battle hardened Gebirgsjäger are leading the charge in the mountainous terrain against Gibraltar and Athens.
The fast moving tank divisions of von Manstein's 2nd Panzer Corps have successfully encircled Moscow today. We've already begun to prepare our heavy railway artillery "Gustav" for the siege and as soon as enough infantry divisions are in position we will begin with the assault.
The desperate Soviets are trying to escape the encirclement.
1941-10-14
Today began the attack in Moscow. The defenders are severely weakened by futile attempts to break out of the encirclement and at the end of the day we had already control over the outer districts of the city.
Supported by heavy artillery fire the attack on the capital has begun.
1941-10-16
The battle for Moscow lasted only two days. At around noon general Feige's 58th Infantry Division, supported by general Harpe's 12th Panzer Division, reached the deserted Kremlin and the last defenders of the city capitulated. Stalin and the Politburo had already left the city for Leningrad. What a coincidence that they choose our next target as their intermediate capital.
We also had successes on other parts of our front lines: After little resistance we were able to occupy Istanbul today and in Spain general Kirchner's 3rd light Panzer Division has reached the rock of Gibraltar. Once our mountaineers have encircled that strip of land we will attack.
The 7th assault gun brigade on the Red Square as part of our victory procession.
1941-10-23
Our troops in Finland have captured Murmansk today and further south we have reached the Murmansk railway, cutting off all remaining Soviet troops on the Kola Peninsula.
Shortly after our pioneers arrived, the first trains were able to tun again.
1941-10-27
The second objective of Unternehmen Taifun is to capture Leningrad and the remaining Baltic States. Shortly after the fall of Moscow our advance to the north began and today we landed parts of the 1st Marine Infantry Division on the shores of Estonia, capturing their former capital Tallinn without resistance.
Our troops were very friendly received by the Estonian population.
1941-10-31
The fighting in Spain and Greece is almost over. Today we started our attack on Lisbon, Athens and Gibraltar. The Spanish have already evacuated their government to one of their many colonial possessions and there are no signs that they will crack, even if we capture the entire Iberian Peninsula. The Greek on the other hand are most likely to capitulate once we enter Athens. I've given explicit orders to limit the use of heavy weapons, hoping to spare the many magnificent ruins of that ancient city.
Our battle hardened Gebirgsjäger are leading the charge in the mountainous terrain against Gibraltar and Athens.
Great job taking Moscow. Now just move straight into Siberia and maybe in 3 years you can take Vladivostok
Yep. To be honest, I was a little bit surprised by it myself. But because I had to build a lot of infantry divisions from mid 1940 to mid 1941 to cover all the fronts, I was already kinda low on manpower.
Sounds like a realistic estimate, but let's get to Stalingrad first...Great job taking Moscow. Now just move straight into Siberia and maybe in 3 years you can take Vladivostok
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