"Last Ride of the Valkyries" A German '44 Gotterdammerung Revised AAR

@Sandertje They will have to to recoup their losses, but my understanding is that they will only do so much in this scenario, so they can be worn down in time.

@MagooNZ You are correct. I have left them alone as even if I defeat them they will only withdraw to another island and then another. I don't want to spare the time and effort to completely clear them out at this time. If I reach a time when the Reich is expanding again I will seek to surround them and eliminate them, but for now I'm going to let that dog lie.

October 30, 1944

Field Marshal von Rundstedt grumbles to his aides that the snow is falling on the wrong side of the Ostfront, as yet another Soviet attack begins in Stryj. Along with the rest of the High Command, he frets about the severe manpower shortage plaguing the Reich.







*******************************************
Chancellor Speer begins the monthly cabinet meeting with a sneeze. The stress seems to be wearing him down on this raw winter day. He waves at the Foreign Minister to begin.

Von Ribbentrop unveils a map. “Our ally in the Far East has recovered some of her balance from the drubbing that she took at sea in the opening days of the war. I fear this is only a temporary reprieve as the Allies will in time make good their losses and return to strike again. I must state again that our research could be more focused on areas where the Japanese engineers hold several levels of blueprints, an opportunity that may slip from our grasp in time.”







Hans Oster rises next. “I will dispense with the estimates of our enemies for some time, as the lack of operatives makes the intelligence estimates little more than a string of wild guesses.

Instead we have compiled casualty figures for the period beginning last June when the Fuehrer was incapacitated. Though we have suffered an enormous loss of life, we are inflicting much greater woe on the Allies and the Soviets. At some point they must feel the pinch from the loss of so many trained men.”




General Jodl steps forward. “Though we are hard pressed, we have cleared our Western and Southern Fronts. My staff is reviewing options with regard to the Northern Front, along the Finnish borders. Though it is full winter in that area, it is one place where we can, if successful, cut off and eliminate several Red Army formations. It would also reduce the length of our borders with the Soviet Union, and it would restore our ally, who is still providing troops, aircraft and raw materials for our use.

For now, we are resting and positioning troops for this potential operation. These include all our Mountain troops, FM Rommel’s corps, and perhaps a dozen infantry divisions, all ably transported by the Kriegsmarine. The Luftwaffe will attempt to contribute a bombing campaign in Finland, but without escorts they may be denied the ability to make a real difference to the engagements.”

“Very well, gentlemen, short and sweet this month,” says Speer. On the production side we have indeed canceled even the “standby” U-boat lines. The Berlin infrastructure upgrade is ongoing and will help the way effort. The interceptor upgrades are the top priority now and will be until they are all modernized as the relentless carpet bombing is driving us to ruin.

We have survived another month, and we are looking to square off with the Red Army once again. Congratulations to you all, and do not let up for a moment.”

@ Sandetje The Soviets keep pressing and that drains Germany of manpower and supplies, but the Russians are taking much worse losses so it is a trade I am willing to make.

The real issue is the erosion of the Reich by the massed bombers of the Allies. If the Luftwaffe cannot defend the core of the Reich, it seems that an economic defeat could be possible.

November 3, 1944

Research completed today on a version of Turbojet Interceptor, which Air Marshal Milch greeted with great appreciation. He immediately consulted with Chancellor Speer on how best to work in the upgrade schedule with so many other pressing issues.

The Soviets remained restive on the Eastern Front, continuing a series of hard probes of the Heer’s defenses. Thankfully the snows and frozen conditions were settling in along the front, making things more difficult for the Red Army.




With only a third of his divisions at full strength, FM Model nonetheless continued to foil Russian assaults with his innumerable bag of tricks and techniques.







At last STAVKA called off the assault on Iasi, having lost men at a 5 to 1 exchange. Their focus shifted to Lublin, where the autumn weather was still in effect. OKW rushed mobile reserves to the area.




Siam is overrun and surrenders separately to the Allies, leaving the Axis short of a valuable partner in the wider war. Chancellor Speer moves all available production to hasten reinforcements to the front after a series of large scale battles.




The Luftwaffe makes a timely interception of a strategic bomber wing. These wings have inflicted damage beyond measure to the Reich and shooting them down is the only priority for the German air forces.

STAVKA sends fresh waves into Stryj, where the snow is already laced with crimson traces.




The Finnish Air Force continues to thwart allied naval bombers targeting the Baltic Sea. In Konigsberg the last of the troops from Italy arrive, resting briefly while awaiting new orders.





FM von Manstein holds in Stryj, inflicting casualties at a 3 to 1 rate even with the open terrain. Although he hates to give up the dug-in positions, he is forced to shift some Corps into and out of Stryj to keep them fresh.

The Luftwaffe takes delivery of its most modern aircraft yet. Although still a generation behind the turbojets just researched, it is a formidable foe.




Head of Intelligence Hans Oster is disgusted by the latest report. The sparse counterintelligence staff finally uncovered and eliminated an enemy spy, from Japan of all places!

In more welcome news a full wing of Natter interceptors was nearly complete and was readying for deployment to Kessel. Hopefully they could begin to stem the tide of bombers flowing over the Reich. On the ground, Model was called into action yet again in Iasi.







More of the American strategic bombers were leveling the facilities in Hannover until German fighters battered them from the skies.




FM von Kleist is called upon once again in Lublin, as a pair of Yugoslav provinces erupt in violence again. Even with national dissent dropping daily, this area is rife with unrest. Security troops swiftly close in on the uprisings.




As November wanes, the High Command meets and decides to continue with the gambit in Lapland. The first to arrive with be the mountain troops, bolstering the lines as they move into their jump-off positions.

The Red Army seemed to be evacuating the area over time. Field Marshal von Bock wonders how they will react to the reinforcements beginning to arrive.




The partisans are put down with authority in the Balkans. Meanwhile the Luftwaffe takes another step in modernization.




FM von Kleist punishes his tormenters, inflicting four times the butcher’s bill on the Red Army opposite his lines.




Unseen in this report, the four Natter squadrons are ambushed over Stuttgart and savaged, losing one full squadron in the melee. It is the first squadron lost by the Luftwaffe and it is a bitter pill to Milch to see his most potent weapon defanged.

The cabinet meeting is subdued. All participants are weary of the unrelenting struggle. Herr Oster presents his reports with little fanfare.

“Here is a recap of our forces. As noted, we have lost one squadron of interceptors. In time we can make this up by levying our allies’ air formations, but Chancellor Speer tells me that we are not able to make this step at present.

The Heer continues to contract, on paper. The policy of disbanding divisions to swell the ranks of other formations continues, which is a small force multiplier on the battlefield.”




“Siam is no longer listed on these reports with her capitulation to the Allies. Japan is holding their territory in general, but we know that their navy is a shell of its one time glory.”







“The Wehrmacht continues to perform efficiently, even with our supply and other constraints. Our enemies are bleeding men when we come to grips with them.”




General Jodl continues: “When our forces are ready in December, we will launch Operation Lapland to clear the Scandinavian Peninsula of Soviet forces. All of the Wehrmacht will participate. At this moment the Kriegsmarine is transporting eight mountain divisions, eight infantry divisions, and eight mobile divisions into Finland under Heersgruppe Skandinavien. A wing of tactical bombers and a wing of CAS will deploy there as well, though they remain unescorted and vulnerable.

Our desire is to cut off Red Army forces as far south as possible, in order to eliminate as many as possible, but the snows and the rivers will prevent this action, at least initially. We hope that the Russians will move north to defend Murmansk, but this is not certain. Thus initially we will be moving up the west coast of Finland. We will exploit to the east when this is possible and attempt to make our Kessel in the far north. We do not believe that the Russian Navy has the ability to transport any trapped forces to safety, so this is a chance for us to make a real impact against the Red menace.”

Chancellor Speer concludes the meeting. “Our hopes go with FM von Bock in the north and we will give him all the support possible. Good hunting!”

@ MagooNZ Yes, the IC situation is very precarious. I made some early mistakes and now I do not have enough resources to really accomplish what needs to be done. I find myself winning battle after battle but feel like the war is being lost.

The Luftwaffe needs to be upgraded and reinforced. It is happening but too slowly. Meanwhile the Allied bombers flatten anything in reach. I can barely defend the very heart of the Reich, and even that would be impossible if the Red Army air force had not somewhat "gone to sleep"

If I allocate 35 IC to repairs with just the heartland being prioritized, I recover about 1 IC every day or two. But then I have nothing to upgrade with. It is a real conundrum. I suppose that overall, the war effort will depend on finding a way to make sufficient progress in the air war slash economic front.

I cannot build anything at all at the moment and maintain what I have, so more planes will have to wait.

I do continue to disband infantry and HQ divisions semi-regularly when I need the manpower or they are too shattered or out of place to do much good. I am retaining the submarines 100% in port as my only means of disrupting invasions. If I ever can properly garrison the beaches or have some air cover, I will likely disband them for exactly the reasons you gave.

Operation: Lapland

December 6, 1944

The first troops transported north begin to arrive in Finland, coming under Field Marshal von Bock’s Heersgruppe Skandinavien. They spend a day acclimating then move inland to their assembly areas.

In the Baltic Sea, the Kriegsmarine is started to encounter a Brazilian fleet, including two battleships. The Tirpitz Group is dispatched immediately and it chases the intruder off, inflicting a couple of Brazilian casualties on them.




Field Marshal Zhukov makes an appearance, seeking a breakthrough in
Stryj, but the Heer stops the attack in its tracks.




Operation Lapland kicks off with a two-pronged assault on Vaasa, supported by naval gunfire. The Soviet defenses crumble quickly.







The Red Army reacts by staging attacks all along the front.




Vaasa itself comes under siege but the frozen ground favors the Heer’s defense.




Rommel and Guderian both take ship to Finland with their Corps, ready to take the fight to the Russians in this new theater.




Outnumbered and outgunned nearly 3 to 1 in Suwalki, Field Marshal Kesselring shows his flair in a daring counterattack, driving off his outsized opponent.




FM Model is now scoring inflicting damage to his attackers at a rate of nearly five Russian casualties per Axis loss.




Von Bocks forces capture Oulu and drive on Kuopio, beginning to look for a way to cut off the soviets in the far north.




German researchers complete their work on Advanced Encryption Devices and begin on Improved Electronic computers, as the battle rages on in Kuopio.










Kuopio falls and the Heer moves directly against Kajaani, with Rommel leading the way. About this time the German TAC wing is savaged by Russian fighters and is withdrawn to Germany.




The meatgrinder in Iasi continues to chew up men and machines. In the north, General Guderian learns new techniques that he can apply in many areas of the Ostfront.




More partisans are rounded up in the Balkans, though the supply of these insurrectionists seems limitless.




The Finns are regaining their homeland bit by bit.

FM von Rundstedt cannot quite comprehend the unending assaults on Iasi, Stryj and Suwalki. STAVKA seems intent on breaking through in one of these zones at any cost. Though it is certainly wearing out the attackers, the Wehrmacht is feeling the strain in the cost of the supplies, oil and manpower needed to sustain the defenses.




Von Ribbentrop reports Japan’s loss of Okinawa to the Americans in the pacific. There is no word of Kamikaze inflicted losses at this time, though the Imperial Japanese Navy has scored some kills in the month of December.







Hans Oster presents some figures compiled by the Abwehr. The Soviet Union is approaching the one million casualty mark. They still show an incredible number of divisions deployed, almost all along the East Front.

@ Sandertje The Russians are stopped in the East but they never stop attacking, wearing away at the Heer night and day. Operation Lapland is going fairly well though, and that wil help to shorten the lines a bit.

@ Mr_BOnarpte Germany will surely attack in the Summer, though the scope of the attack will be limited initially. There are a LOT of Red army forces moving around out there and they will have all their air support as well.

@ DvD-IT Yes, I am enjoying your mod very much. It has punished me for my mistakes in every case and the air war is really squeezing the Reich. The future is really uncertain.

The Continuation War: Operation Lapland

January 3, 1945

The battles in the far north continue, with the Red Army now on the run. The Luftwaffe gets a boon to its fortunes as another Fighter squadron upgrades to peak performance.




The Red Army never takes a break, somehow keeping the pressure on every day and night on the Ostfront.




Field Marshal von Bock finally has position to begin cutting the Russians in the north off from their supply lines and begins driving on Joensuu.




The Bulgarians contrive to harass some Allied bombers still operating in the Balkans, as Chancellor Speer continues to support the upgrades to the Luftwaffe.




On the 7th, several Allied divisions start coming ashore in Florence. The Heer dispatches relief forces as the Kriegsmarine sends their only assets in the Med to interfere if possible. The first of two U-boat squadrons arrives and slowly begins to damage the shipping off the coast.







STAVKA is advised of the Allied landing and they redouble their efforts to break the front in the East. In Florence, the defenders are giving way under the pressure.




Air Marshal Milch is amazed as the Russian air force demonstrates their extreme range fighters, which sortie into the Kattegat area.




Florence is reinforced but the assault continues. Meanwhile the Allies land unopposed in Rimini, threatening to cut off Wehrmacht forces in the boot of Italy. The response to the invasion is gathering though, ready to eject the Allies if possible. FM von Bock continues to drive at the Soviets in Lapland.










FM Rommel attempts to cut off retreating Soviet forces by taking Petrozavodsk, but it is slow going in the snow, even with the sparse defense.




Four divisions are driven out of Murmansk while eight are surrounded in Tornio. Von Bock moves quickly to eliminate the forces when possible.








January 15th is a good day. Eight Soviet divisions are smashed and Florence holds, with one Allied division going down with their transport fleet in the Ligurian Sea. Unfortunately, a US Navy Carrier Fleet finally arrives and engages the fleeing submarines.




The assault goes in against the British force occupying Rimini, and the defenders quickly crumble. Offshore several U-boats are hunted down and sunk, while in the far north, Hammerfest is liberated from the Soviet after months of subjugation.




Rimini is retaken as the British are taken into captivity. The High Command shares a sober pause as the Air Defense officer shares a radar montage he has prepared, showing 50 Allied bomber wings taking flight on an average morning run.




The Luftwaffe has not admitted defeat, however, and continues to contest the skies when it has the ability.




The advance continues in the north.
In the south, Iasi and Stryj have long surpassed the bloodshed seen in the trench warfare of World War 1. The frozen dead are creating their own macabre landscape.










FM Rommel crosses the river into Volkhov, testing the Russian defenses in the north as the High Command contemplates a swift drive on Moscow.

@ Sandertje Thank you. The West, South and North are "secured" for the moment. It comes down to the East once more.

January 26, 1945

The offensive in Lapland has been difficult for the Heer, operating without air cover, fighting in the frost and snow and maintaining long and tenuous supply lines. Some victories have been narrow ones in terms of casualties.

This is not the case along the rest of the East Front, where STAVKA continues to hurl masses of Soviet troops of every type against the German entrenchments. Red Army losses are appalling, always several times what they inflict on the undermanned German formations. Surely the Russians must themselves be hard-pressed to maintain this fanatical pace?




The Free French Army makes a sudden strike at Dax, where one understrength Hungarian division begins to crack almost immediately. Both wolfpacks sheltering in Cholet put to see to interdict the landing force.




Rommel rides into Volkhov, where his Corps is immediately counterattacked. The High Command meets to discuss again the option of driving on Moscow.




The Hungarians break in Dax and retreat, just as the Kriegsmarine joins in combat with the French fleet.




The assault goes in against 14 Soviet divisions trapped in Vardo along the Arctic Circle. Off the coast of France, the Kriegsmarine have a rare success, damaging the French heavily and driving them off. The U-boats quickly return to port before the inevitable response by the Royal Navy.




The Red Army loses 14 more divisions in Vardo, and another dozen or so are overrun on the way to Murmansk. These will be taken into captivity the moment they arrive.





FM von Kleist is giving the Red Army fits in Lublin, where a massive Soviet buildup can make no headway across the frozen river.




Minister Hans Oster presents the latest estimates on casualties. The Soviet Union is losing men at a rapid pace, though the losses to the Wehrmacht are certainly no joke.






“Japan continues to hold most of their gains, though Okinawa has fallen to the Americans.”




Chancellor Speer addresses the cabinet: “Field Marshal von Bock is winding up operations in the north, I understand. Lapland will be entirely in Axis hands in a few days. General Jodl, what is next?”

Jodl: “The correlation of forces in the north makes a quick thrust on Moscow too much of a risk, at least in the winter, when even our erstwhile Rommel is moving sluggishly through the deep snows.

The Wehrmacht will seek to isolate and besiege Leningrad, retaining it as a strongpoint in the north, and perhaps a foothold towards Moscow when the time is ripe. Leningrad is the goal in the north.”

February 3, 1945

FM von Bock orders an amphibious assault on Kingisepp to put a noose around the neck of Leningrad, while Rommel begins to drive on Luga.







At last another technological breakthrough is completed, which will help with the appalling manpower shortage in some small way.





Kingisepp is captured and comes under assault, as the Heer wins numerous battles in the East. Some Soviet attacks suffer casualties at almost a 10:1 ratio.







Four more Red Army divisions lay down their arms in Kola. Operation Lapland has eliminated at least 36 Soviet infantry divisions. Finnish divisions are moving to their defense positions as German forces begin to shift back south to Konigsberg.





FM Rommel gains expertise in the woodlands fighting so common in the north.




The modernizing Luftwaffe makes a tremendous impression on the Allied strategic bomber force when they face off equally. The Reich needs to control its air space to survive.




By the time Leningrad is surrounded and assailed, STAVKA has evacuated the city, so formidably defended in Operation Barbarossa. Von Bock’s forces quickly advance into the suburbs and move on the city center.










When Leningrad is taken, it is in shambles. The good news is that the Soviet war effort lost 24 factories in the process, and the Wehrmacht has taken one solid step towards the possible defeat of the Soviet Union.




The Kriegsmarine lay in wait off the coast of Leningrad and the soviet Baltic Squadron was forced into their arms. The Red Fleet fought briefly then sailed at flank speed into harbor in Tallinn.







Field Marshal von Manteuffel continues to hold fast in Stryj, while Model in Iasi has gutted many of the divisions opposing him there.




After the humiliating loss of Murmansk and Leningrad, Stalin must be whipping his generals forward. There is no respite from war anywhere on the Russian Front.




The next-to-last infrastructure is completed in Berlin, which helps in many ways. The admirals on the High Command cajole von Bock into making a swift stroke at Tallinn, in hopes of flushing the Red Fleet out again.




The attempt to overrun Soviet divisions retreating into Segezha is a tactical success, as a single division is destroyed there. The fast but weak cavalry divisions are swiftly pulled back out of the marshlands.




The assault on Tallinn is a success, but before the troops can get ashore, two more Soviet divisions arrive and the attack is called off for now.
Rommel’s corps arrives in Stettin for refitting before another deployment to the Ostfront.




Another very welcome air war result for the Luftwaffe.




The cabinet meets at the end of the month, and Hans Oster displays the latest casualty figures. “The Abwehr estimates that the Soviet Union lost 400,000 men in this month alone, against a loss of 60,000 from our ranks. Even the Russians cannot replace men so quickly. The time is coming when the Bear will have to nurse its wounds.”




Our ally Japan reports some small success on the high seas. What is more telling is the constant decrease in our ability to send trade goods to them. Clearly they are losing the war at sea. They have also lost Taipei to the United Kingdom.”







Chancellor Speer and air Marshal Milch jointly announce that production in March will be allocated to upgrading the Luftwaffe at all costs.

General Jodl announces the withdrawal of forces in Luga, Kingisepp and Volkhov. "Leningrad will be our strongpoint for now."

@ Sandertje Thank you. The North seems to be holding for now. The Wehrmacht is holding on for a while but hoping for a Spring Offensive of some type.

The Skies over Central Germany

March 1, 1945

As Chancellor Speer had promised, all possible production effort was directed to upgrading interceptors in the month of March. The Heer and the Kriegsmarine were on their own for this period, taking losses without succor.

It was completely clear that the upgraded interceptors had a big effect when they were deployed.




Norway and Finland are fully secured with defenses manned. In Iasi, the Red Army suffers a defeat with casualties inflicted at a 19 to 1 ratio.




A bit more success in the air over Kassel…




Even with the air was successes, production has now slipped to 256 and there is a lot of March left to go. On the ground, the Heer continues to ravage Russian attackers.







The spring thaw is taking place in the West. The Heer is unlucky as their front lines in the East are warming first, allowing the Soviet attackers less of a disadvantage.




Volkhov is evacuated and retaken by Soviet forces. They immediately launch a series of hard pushes on Petrozavodsk, where a mix of German and Finnish divisions are dug in.







Stryj and Iasi are still frozen, but STAVKA does not hesitate to order the Red Army forward time and again.







FM von Kleist performs some brilliant moves in defense of Lublin.




The Reich’s scientists confirm another breakthrough, this time in Advanced Decryption Devices. A new team is immediately set to work on Advanced Logistic Organization.




March begins to come to a close. The production has dropped another couple of ticks, but most of the Luftwaffe has been upgraded to second generation rocket interceptors. That is still one short of the most modern researched version, but additional upgrades will have to wait a bit.




At the end of the month, the cabinet reviews casualty figures amassed by the Abwehr, showing the Soviet losses at almost two million men since just last June.

In addition, von Ribbentrop reports an unusual exchange with Romania. “In addition to our usual trades with our ally, we have also exchanged some equipment this month. At the request of the Chiefs of Staff, we have dismantled key components of two transport flotillas and entrained them to Romania, where they can be reassembled in time. IN exchange, we have acquired an obsolete interceptor squadron from the Romanian Air Corps, which we will refit at length for service, hopefully in June.

I was forced to trade supplies to Croatia, as previously reported, to prevent more starvation of their troops. The same may be needed for Bulgaria, who has an effective production (IC) of two. This is insufficient to supply their forces, or really to accomplish anything at all. Hopefully with our support of supplies they can rebuild their bombed out facilities in time.”




“Japan continues to lose ground in the Pacific. At least their Home Islands seem to be well defended at present.”







Chancellor Speer notes the Luftwaffe upgrades are almost complete, requiring only another few days. “At that point, April will be devoted to rebuilding some of our shattered industry, while reinforcing some small portion of our losses. We must rebuild some industry to keep the Reich alive.

However, May is another story. General Jodl, we shall meet in April to discuss our actions in May and June of this year. Meeting adjourned.”