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22nd June 1941 - September 1941: The commencing of Operation Barbarossa

With over 130 divisions in total, including Hungarian, Romanian and Finnish troops the Axis invade the USSR on 22nd June 1941.

Germany aims to encircle major Soviet forces in the Pripet Marshes and then adapt to the tactical situation as it progresses. At first it hoped to defeat the USSR by the end of 1941.

This is met with initial success, with victories in Alytus and Lvov on the first day.

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The battle for Grodno is won as is the second battle for Lvov two days later.

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The losses on both sides after just over a week of fighting are extensive.

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The offensive progresses well both in the north and south, with the battle of Orsha being won on 2nd July.

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The Heer decides to try and encircle Red Army units in Lithuania, with great success.

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Germany is also reminded it is fighting in other theatres, with success in the Mediterranean helping fill the leaders with overconfidence in Germany's abilities.

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The campaign becomes ever more costly, with Germany taking heavy losses but are pleased to see the Soviets are taking far heavier casualties.

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Another encirclement of the remaining Baltic states succeeds, but at heavy costs in holding Kingisepp. Germany is also surprised to see updated Soviet infantry for the first time, suggesting Germany is in it for the long haul against a well prepared foe.

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Axis victories continue in the Mediterranean not only on sea but on land as well as Italian forces appear cautious in their offensive, with the UK's amphibious invasion of Italian Libya completely failing as they cannot supply their forces in the region but Italian forces still to scared to attack to the annoyance of the German High Command.

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With the encirclement of the Pripet Marshes complete, Germany starts to close the pocket.

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Germany also aims to encircle Soviet units in the south, hoping to reach Melitopol and trap the Red Army behind the Dnieper.

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A combination of German, Hungarian and Romanian forces achieve a victory at Mogilev Podoloski while a Romanian attack on Balta has to be called off.

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Meanwhile the Heer in central Russia appears to have reached its limit, having to retreat from Bryansk.

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After successfully encircling Red Army divisions behind the Dnieper, serious difficulties are encountered when trying to close the pocket as major Red Army forces fight furiously and with overwhelming numbers.

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After repeated failings in closing the pocket, the Red Army goes on the offensive with German forces being stretched to the limit trying to maintain the encirclement.

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Closing the Dnieper pocket appears to be impossible for the Heer and its allies.

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As the war wears on it is clear to both sides that this will be a protracted war, all hopes of a quick and successful campaign have disappeared as the reality of attrition makes itself shown. German intelligence also suggests the Red Army is all but increasing in size regardless of what the Heer does.

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Barbarossa has all but failed in achieving the sweeping victory so desired by the German leadership. With the winter on the way, the Wehrmacht hopes it has made adequate preparations and is under constant pressure in trying to maintain the Dnieper encirclement, pouring in more units to make sure it holds but some are already doubting the feasibility of maintaing the pocket as Soviet forces really start to put the pressure on the Heer and its allies.
 
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Thanks, yeah it really is a challenge as Germany, there are things I'd liked to have done a lot different pre-Barbarossa but that's only with hindsight and I certainly don't intend to reload!

I don't know much about naval combat but submarines do seem to be way overpowered, but I don't mind that :cool: Plus there's still the colossal US navy I'll have to face in a few months time, hopefully that'll be more of a challenge. I tried to find the Soviet navy in the Baltic but its, smartly, staying in port in Leningrad or somehow evading me.
 
Oh, is the sub problem on vanilla AoD too?
 
Oh, is the sub problem on vanilla AoD too?
It's been a while since I played Vanilla, so I cannot say it with 100% certainty, but IIRC subs are either overpowered or underpowered in either HOI2 (and all its variants) or HOI3. The biggest problem is that if you make individual sub units strong, then big sub stacks become overpowered and if you make individual sub units weak, then there is little point in building subs at all. AOD also has some problems with convoy raiding, because the new formula takes detection into account and this causes balance problems. Personally, I think that as long as submarines are treated in the same way as surface vessels, they will never be properly balanced.
 
Fair enough, so I'm guessing there's no solution to submarine balance with the HoI2/AoD combat system?
 
Personally I prefer sticking to the historical too, I just found it more practical to invade France and then Yugoslavia much earlier. But if I do make another AAR with this mod, I'll stick to the historical dates.
Well, TBH something I found particularly "strange" was attacking Hun, Rom and Bul, but again that's just my opinion... so no problem :)

When the RN was a threat I used stacks of 6 with all the stacks staying close together so if one if under attack, the others can defend them. One problem I had was that typically when attacked by capital ships, the submarines instinctively retreat and are thus completely vulnerable to attack, when I told them to force engagement they normally won their battles. I've used upto 24 submarines in one battle before in order to achieve victory. I also used heavy cruisers and battlecruisers that have been particularly effective against Britain's escorts.
That explains a lot. I never use them this way (only in stacks of 3, and every one of them rather distant from the other). It seems not to be a good idea to do so, though, since they get sunk fairly often :huh:

Great! Stay tuned as Barbarossa is coming up
Yeah, I'm very curious to see how will you fare!

Ah, besides: check your third screenshot in post #20, there's something you might want to edit in the top-left corner. A question on screenshots while I'm at it: I guess Imageshack is resizing them automatically - do you know how to post them in their original resolution (provided you want to)?

Edit:

Could you please use counters for your screenshots? They make it easier to grasp the situation when looking at the map, IMHO.
 
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You've done pretty well in the first few months, a lot better than me. Took the Baltics pretty easily. I think you might be pushing a bit too far out from Kiev with depleted forces but you still have at least one full month to be on the offensive.
 
My bet would be on a submarine-specific stacking penalty, but that would be a new feature.
So one that is harsher when compared to surface ships?

Well, TBH something I found particularly "strange" was attacking Hun, Rom and Bul, but again that's just my opinion... so no problem :)
Oh, I was kinda forced to, I couldn't let them fight each other (Hungary and Bulgaria vs Romania) due to Romania refusing to hand over Constanta. I need Romania's oil so I couldn't let it be annexed by the other too and also I don't know how the Soviet AI would've responded. It was was of those unfortunate moments where the 3% chance in the event is selected, which I have now removed!

That explains a lot. I never use them this way (only in stacks of 3, and every one of them rather distant from the other). It seems not to be a good idea to do so, though, since they get sunk fairly often :huh:
I reduced my stacks of 6 to 4, but that was only after I had destroyed and weakened a significant part of the RN. A key thing I found out (maybe wrongly) is too not pursue a defeated naval force with submarines as you just can't find it and it distracts them from the convoy raiding.

Yeah, I'm very curious to see how will you fare!
I had some initial gains but quickly suffered some heavy losses, check post #21.

Ah, besides: check your third screenshot in post #20, there's something you might want to edit in the top-left corner.
Oh yeah, thanks.

A question on screenshots while I'm at it: I guess Imageshack is resizing them automatically - do you know how to post them in their original resolution (provided you want to)?
Oh, would you prefer a bigger resolution? I think it's because I'm using a small laptop it looks alright to me, but I can change it to whatever resolution is better for everyone.

Could you please use counters for your screenshots? They make it easier to grasp the situation when looking at the map, IMHO.
Yeah sure, I reverted to sprites as I couldn't be bothered to edit all the um... are we even allowed to say what they are? Well the 'official' German flag at the time. But now I've managed to replace all the 'official' German flags with the ones vanilla AoD uses, so sure I can do that. :)

You've done pretty well in the first few months, a lot better than me. Took the Baltics pretty easily. I think you might be pushing a bit too far out from Kiev with depleted forces but you still have at least one full month to be on the offensive.
Thanks, I probably was too hopeful in thinking I could achieve victory in 1941 with the Bring Em' On option selected, but it's probably possible somehow! I'll post an update later on, I'm into November 1941 at the moment so I want to play a month or two more before I post an update.
 
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Yeah, that would be simple to understand and would make sub doomstacks less powerful.
Fair enough, sounds like a good idea to me.
 
Oh, I was kinda forced to, I couldn't let them fight each other (Hungary and Bulgaria vs Romania) due to Romania refusing to hand over Constanta. I need Romania's oil so I couldn't let it be annexed by the other too and also I don't know how the Soviet AI would've responded. It was was of those unfortunate moments where the 3% chance in the event is selected, which I have now removed!
Ah, then it's rather a mod's fault - I guess that event chance should be removed, just like you did afterwards.

Oh, would you prefer a bigger resolution? I think it's because I'm using a small laptop it looks alright to me, but I can change it to whatever resolution is better for everyone.
Resolution is fine - the problem is that the screenshots in this thread are surely not even 1024x768, they're way smaller. If it would be possible to post them in a bigger resolution, this would be great! (pun intended ;) )

Yeah sure, I reverted to sprites as I couldn't be bothered to edit all the um... are we even allowed to say what they are? Well the 'official' German flag at the time. But now I've managed to replace all the 'official' German flags with the ones vanilla AoD uses, so sure I can do that.
Thanks! Yes, simply replacing TRM's counter with AoD's one does the trick.

I probably was too hopeful in thinking I could achieve victory in 1941 with the Bring Em' On option selected, but it's probably possible somehow! I'll post an update later on, I'm into November 1941 at the moment so I want to play a month or two more before I post an update.
Wait - so you've chosen "Bring 'em on"...? I must have overlooked it :blink:
 
October 1941 - November 1941: the onset of winter and Soviet counter-attacks

It became evident that the Dnieper encirclement could not hold, all attempts to hold Zaporozhye came at unacceptable losses that the Heer could not afford to sustain. After all the possible reserves had been used to defend the territory retreated, a successful counter-attack ensured the units in Melitopol could retreat to avoid destruction.



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Elsewhere the Soviets were also on the offensive, with Kaluga having to be abandoned by German forces. By this time the High Command decided to stay predominantly on the defensive until the spring of 1942 due to effects winter was having on Germany's offensive capabilities, with the hope of stabilising the front as it stood in the north and centre.



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In the south however, the High Command decided to advance upto the Dnieper then hold position there. This was achieved with relative success with the help of Hungarian and Romanian troops.

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In the north the only offensives taken were modest ones aiming only to inflict more casualties on the enemy, with this failing due to the severity of the winter.

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Internationally, it was becoming clear Britain could not trade at all with it experiencing a serious decline in its resources on a daily basis.

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Once again the UK managed to launch an amphibious invasion of Italian Libya due to there being not Italian forces in the region with two German divisions already in the area being sent to repulse the British army. There have been calls within the German leadership to take complete control of the Italian army due its incompetent leadership but these are currently being ignored due to German focus being on the USSR and the several fronts Italy has would require a lot of work to readjust and manage.

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Germany looks at the losses it has inflicted on its enemies with pride, as well as consternation over the losses Germany itself has suffered.

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Meanwhile in the west the RAF continues its hopeless strategic bombing campaign against Germany.

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In the Mediterranean, the combined German and Italian effort in sinking British convoys enabled Italian forces to capture Malta unopposed.

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Due the relentless bombing of Axis forces by the Red Air Foirce, the Luftwaffe decided to send some if its interceptor force to repel these attacks.

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Once the all the territory behind the Dnieper was taken, Germany was surprised to see the Red Army in the south voluntarily abandon the region, enabling the Heer to advance towards Sevastopol with ease, aided by the absence of winter in the area.

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In central Russia, a fierce attack by the Red Army was repulsed.

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An amphibious assault by the UK on Tel Aviv is repulsed due to Syrian forces on land and German U-boats attacking the invasion fleet, with the Syrian garrison unit there suffering heavily, leaving the battle with just 1% of its originial strength.

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After the capture of Novorossisk, Soviet forces raised an army in Rostov that amounted large scale counter-attacks, suffering repeated defeats as German forces held strong.

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Meanwhile a large Soviet attack on Klintsy forced Rommel and his army into an embarrassing retreat. Red Army attacks in Finland have also caused worry within the German High Command as to whether Finland can hold the Soviets.

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With the winter of 1941 settling in, Germany prepares itself for the long haul with the USSR. The German leadership is worried about Finland's resolve as well as the clear and undeniable tensions in the Far East between Japan and the USA caused by the US oil embargo and it's reaction to Japan's war with China. War between the two looks likely to break out any time soon with the Kreigsmarine concerned a war with America would outstretch its forces as well being fearful of the strength of the US navy. The Luftwaffe shares those concerns with its preoccupation with Britain's RAF and the Soviet airforce already stretching its units to the limit.
 
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Things are starting to get tough, it seems...

Two questions: could you please post a screen of the current composition of your forces? Just to see how many divisions and aircraft you have.

2nd: could you please use the political map mode more often? It makes it easier to see the actual front. Thanks!
 
Things are starting to get tough, it seems...
Indeed, I'm still trying to figure out a way to defeat the Soviets in 1942 if I can achieve such a thing.

Two questions: could you please post a screen of the current composition of your forces? Just to see how many divisions and aircraft you have.
Here's my army as of 10th November 1941, I'm currently at January 1942 so I'll post my air force and army composition for that time soon.

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2nd: could you please use the political map mode more often? It makes it easier to see the actual front. Thanks!
Yeah of course, any advice and comments are always welcome. :)
 
Thanks! 97 Mot, wow... :eek: Don't they drain a whole oil field a day...?!?

I've still not understood, also, if you've selected the "Bring 'em on!" option or not.

Looking forward for the next update(s)!
 
Thanks! 97 Mot, wow... :eek: Don't they drain a whole oil field a day...?!?
Yeah, his oil stockpile seems extremely high, given the size of his motorised forces. However, he only has 11 armoured divs and 9 of them are LARMs.
Haha, I've been trading heavily with Romania at the moment and did a lot of pre-war trading internationally as well. I've also been researching and building synthetic oil and rare material plants and will use them if things get really bad. Thinking about it, I could focus my attacks in 1942 on capturing Baku but then again my main aim should be encircling/destroying as many Soviet forces as possible.

I've still not understood, also, if you've selected the "Bring 'em on!" option or not.
Oh, sorry, yes I picked the 'Bring 'em on' option as well as the total occupation policy.

Looking forward for the next update(s)!
Thanks, it definitely will be updates, I do intend to fight until the defeat of the USSR and UK or until my own demise. :)