Rank and File: A clerk's war Germany 1936 (Semper Fi)

Wednesday 11th to Sunday 15th July 1940

Wednesday started badly, with the loss of A Guardiña in the north-west of Spain. That would be bad enough by itself, but the Spanish have now cut off 5th Gebirgsjäger and 7.Infanterie Divisions from the rest of the country. There was an immediate response: General Eppich flung his Gebirgers at the still leaderless 1 Brigada Blindada. There seems to have been some confusion, however, as only an hour or so later Eppich suddenly called off the attack and swung his men to the northwest, into Villafranca del Bierzo.


Perhaps the confusion arose from a breakdown in communication between Eppich and General Haase, commander of 7.Infanterie. Or perhaps priorities changed when word was received that Spanish forces taken Villalba, southeast of La Coruña. Whatever the cause, the situation was soon sorted out, with the Gebirgers moving to get back into contact with Sud-Frankreich Army and Haase handling the Spanish armour in A Guardiña. The Luftwaffe was quickly in action, the importance of regaining a link with the main force being clear to anyone.


Elsewhere in Spain, Rommel’s concentration on his objectives was paying dividends. The unfortunate cavalry of 10 Regimento could not evade Heinemann’s 50.Infanterie in the mountains of Sotillo de la Adrada and lost another 50 men before they fled south. We have now met several Spanish units who are attempting to fight without a commander, and without exception they break and run at the first opportunity. Heinemann’s win cost him 4 of his soldiers.


It was therefore no surprise when General Keitel won an almost immediate victory in Escalona. The militia of the Guardias Coloniales were already in a bad way after the fighting in Madrid, and with no leader to steady them they simply dissolved in the face of fire from 22.Infanterie. Even with the River Tagus as a first line of defence they could not withstand the steady advance of our veterans. Not one of our soldiers was even wounded. The militia lost some troops but were so disorganised we not able to quantify their losses.


The last battle of the day saw the 3,000 men of 2nd Corps HQ trapped with their backs to the Guadiana River. In front of them advanced General Nehring and the 10,000 men of 71.Infanterie. Sud-Frankreich Army HQ expects another rapid win.


The “situation” in Spain is still a focus of OKH. An examination of von Kayser’s initial plans has revealed he has completely misunderstood the position. Instead of a direct push to the Mittelmeer, he has elected to loop around the captured provinces to southern Spain, where he would prepare to assault the coastal cities of Barcelona and Tarragona. He has obviously thought his mission was to capture the two cities with the least possible number of casualties. OKH has now ordered that he must also relieve the besieged city of Zaragosta and that his line of advance must be through that city.


Thursday saw two battles start and three end. 20.Infanterie Division, northwest of Madrid, had a fairly easy task, with the bulk of the opposition already on the brink of collapse. General Alegría’s only fresh men were the headquarters contingent of 1a División de Cabelleros. He could expect little help from 3a División de Infanterie, and 1st Indian Division was already moving south. General Curtze should soon be able to move his headquarters into Candelada.


The skilled and experienced General Batov is being harried by Rommel’s generals. It looks as though Rommel has ordered that the Russian is not to be given enough time to properly organise his troops. His temporary resting place in Santiago Pontones came under attack by von Amann’s 17.Infanterie. Batov’s 6/3a División Orgánica had only 5,800 men left and his officers seem to have suffered inordinate losses. After just 61 dead, Batov lead his men south to Beas de Segura, leaving the province to our jubilant troops who had taken only 19 casualties.


While the tempo builds up in the south, there has been good news from the northwest. Under massive air attack and with Haase spurring his men on, 1 Brigada Blindada could take no more. Once again they used the speed of their vehicles to leave our infantry behind, heading north to Villafranca Del Bierzo. 7.Infanterie is continuing south to Alcanices, past the smouldering wrecks of the Spanish armour. The Spanish lost 125 men to our 11, but the narrow escape of the two divisions has led Sud-Frankreich Army to order both commanders to take their units south, leaving General von Boehm-Bezing and 3.Infanterie to hold La Coruña unaided. Already a supply dump has been set up in the port and coastal steamers are snaking their way along the coast from Lorient.


Daimiel showed once again that giving a headquarters clerk a rifle and expecting him to hold off a trained and experienced infantryman is tantamount to sentencing him to death. 125 of the 3,000 men of 2nd Corps were killed before they made their way across the Guadiana to safety, while their return fire was completely ineffective. Nehring lost not a single man.

The fighter groups of the FARE and much of the RAF must be repairing aircraft and resting pilots, because as our bombers stepped up their number of bombing missions, only one group intervened, but that was enough for the Luftwaffe. Sholto-Douglas and No.211 RAF Fighter Group waged a solitary campaign against Hoffmann von Waldau’s 4th Schlachtfliegerkorps over Daimiel. Our fighters were conspicuous by their absence, and the Stukas had to endure a day of attacks. The Stukas began their bombing just after midnight and the Spitfires and Hurricanes of No.211 Group were on the scene at 2AM. There were four raids during the day, and the Stukas made good targets for the fast and manoeuvrable British aircraft. To their credit, the Stukas did shoot down 6 of their persecutors, but as the bombers completed their last mission (at 8PM) the cost became clear: “Pfeil” had lost 17 aircraft while “Beil” had lost 16. There is a vast difference between being attacked by the antique Russian fighters of the FARE and the modern, state-of-the-art aircraft of the Royal Air Force.


The day ended with some depressing news: the Spanish armour racing north is ignoring the presence of the Iberian Army to its rear and is still driving forward, capturing Briviesca.

For the first time in days it was not the “Spanish situation” that dominated discussion in Berlin the next morning. In his role as Minister of the Interior, Minister Fricke has announced that a large section of Wolfgast near the old Polish border has been declared a prohibited zone, and will be handed over to a special research unit funded directly by OKH. It is extremely unusual for the three branches of the Wehrmacht to cooperate so closely, so this must be a potentially significant research project. Little has been publicly announced (other than a “shoot on sight” policy for trespassers) but the whisper is that an enormous rocket testing site has been established near the village of Peenemünde, on the island of Usedom just off the coast.


There has been an enormous expenditure on this development, as was revealed by Minister Schacht when he delivered an update of our manufacturing allocations. The factories now able to take new contracts have accepted orders for equipment for a three brigade infantry division with an attached anti-aircraft regiment (a testimony to our recent experience against the FARE and the RAF) and a garrison division of two brigades with a military police detachment. As if that were not enough, an order for a geschwader of the new Messerschmitt Bf 109F interceptors has also been placed. The garrison unit will be ready in just two months, the infantry division sometime in October and the interceptors will be in the air in just 4 months.

But of course the “Spanish Situation” was not to be forgotten for long, and it was revealed that overnight Villadiego had been the most recent province to revert to the Republicans. The lead units of the Spanish armour are now within 100 kilometres or so of the Bay of Biscay. When they reach the sea, the whole of the Sud-Frankreich Army will be isolated from France.


General Kreß von Kressenstein is maintaining his blemish-free return to active service. His attack on Caravaca was virtually a textbook example of how to maximise one’s advantages. Burillo Sthole was trying to mask the retreat of 1 Brigada Montaña with a few thousand men from 6th Army HQ, hoping that he could buy a little time. Kreß von Kressenstein hurled every possible man from 30.Infanterie Division at the enemy, gambling on an immediate full-scale assault. His tactics paid off, as for the loss of one soldier he killed 96 Spanish and prompted a rout of the HQ troops that saw the entire province swept free of enemy forces.


The 13th also saw a revival of the tussle for control of the Channel, but it was just another day of interminable dogfights as the pilots of the RAF and the Luftwaffe engaged in a mutual battle of attrition. Our losses have now been brought down to manageable levels, and with more and improved aircraft on the way, the Luftwaffe is getting more confident it will win in the long run. The only incident out of the ordinary was a night attack by Portal’s No.222, 10 and 207 Fighter Groups on Lille, the location of the air base for my brother Ernst’s unit, 2nd Jagdfliegerkorps.


Speaking of new aircraft and of 2nd Jagdfliegerkorps, a short postcard arrived from Ernst. He is back with his unit in Lille but will not be on active service for a while. He is undergoing advanced training with the new Bf 109F and will not be returned to duty until “Schlageter” is fully requipped with the new planes. He could barely contain his excitement when he wrote of his new aircraft. The new Daimler-Benz engine was good, but his main enthusiasm was for the new armament design. The wing cannon have been abandoned and the “Friedrich”” has all weaponry on the main fuselage: twin machine guns on top of and a 15cm cannon mounted behind the engine. (According to Ernst the cannon fires between the cylinder banks and through the propellers. I hope the aim and timing are set carefully). From what I know of the refit schedules, Ernst will be in combat within weeks, as the Bf 109Fs are rolling off the production lines in increasing numbers.


While I may have said combat losses over the Channel were “manageable”, this doesn’t mean I wasn’t concerned about Ernst returning to combat duty. Jagdflieger losses are still between 2 % and 5% per mission, far too high for comfort when one of the pilots is a loved one. My concern for Ernst had to wait, however, as Heinz was once more in harm’s way. Von Manstein has ordered his panzertruppen to take El Molinello, south of Madrid. The province is held by the Polish renegade Karol Swierczewski, masquerading under the pseudonym of “General Walter”. With the infantry of 4/2a División Orgánica and the armoured vehicles of the Autoametrolladoras, he has nearly 12,000 men and has had time to dig in and prepare a defensive line. I hope the Spanish armour retire as quickly as they do normally: Ernst has yet to receive a new tank and is still sitting behind 15mm of armour in his Pzkpfw IID: not enough to stop a shell from a Russian built T-26.


Although the first information I heard on Thursday was disheartening (Herrera de Pisuerga captured by the Spanish) it was more than offset by my relief that 3rd leichte had quickly overpowered General Walter’s men in El Molinello, losing just 4 infantry. (Again nobody from Panzer-Regiment 5 “Wunsdorf”). Information is patchy, but von Manstein indicates that the Spanish armour again broke early, leaving the infantry to be outflanked. Understandably shaken, 4/2a Division started to pull back, and this rapidly became a full-scale retreat. With a bit of luck, Ernst will now get a few day’s break. (And let my nerves recover. It is horrible sitting back here knowing there is nothing I can do. Far preferable to be in the front line myself, but those days are long gone).


Then, however, there was news of another lost province: Navia. 3.Infanterie is now definitely isolated in La Coruña, and the Spanish are believed to be heading east at speed, putting any breakout beyond reach. Things are starting to look as though they are spiralling out of control, but still OKH issues calm and measured memos to the Führer and Cabinet, assuring everyone that the problems are being addressed.


Ignoring events far to the north, General Hell has ordered his Gebirgers into the mountains of Talavera de la Reina. 6th Gebrigsjäger Division may have been relieved to get back into more accustomed terrain, but they have to cross the Tagus and defeat an enemy that outnumbers them nearly three to one. General Mije has his own infantry and an Indian division, plus the Comandancia Baleares. The assault weapons of 4th Pioniere Brigade swung the day, however, allowing the Gebirgers to cross the river quickly. Once ashore, the skill and experience of our troops soon had the Allied force on the run. Relative casualties were fairly high on our side (57 men out of 10,000, compared to 12 men from 27,000), but as General Hell explained, any battle involving an opposed river crossing followed by close quarter fighting can never be expected to be won cheaply.


Unopposed advances, however, can be achieved cheaply, as was the case in Reinosa. Spanish forward scouts are now only one province from the Bay of Biscay, and 2 Brigada Blindada has been sighted moving towards the coastal province of Llanes. Should it take that area, a line of Republican held provinces will stretch across Spain. Disturbing reports of celebrations in villages and towns as the Spanish tanks roll through are matched by more worrying stories of groups of peasants arming themselves with rifles kept since the Civil War and taking to the woods and mountains to harry our supply convoys. It is essential that order be restored. What is von Kayser doing?


As the day ended 1st Kampffliegerkorps filed its “Aircraft Status” list after the end of the day’s operations. Distracted by all the ground action I had not really noticed that it had been viciously attacked twice while carrying out bombing missions. (It had even been forced to abort a mission, an event rare for Luftwaffe bombers pilots). At one point it had been attacked by nearly 400 RAF and FARE aircraft. The escort fighters of “Donner” gesachwader had done their best, but the final results showed we had lost 7 Messerschmitts and 15 Junkers 88s: a heavy loss for one Luftkorps.

General Nehring successfully carried out a pre-dawn attack on the 15th July, but in reality it was not a fair test of his skill and planning or the ability of 1st Panzer. Simultaneous with a flank attack by 14.Infanterie (mot) from Tobarra, ay 1AM the armour division moved from its bases in Munera into Elche de la Sierra. One could have expected 1 Brigada Montaña to have had an advantage in the mountains but it was not the unit it had been at the beginning of hostilities. Weakened by constant movement and the steady loss of its best officers and men, it is a shadow of the élite division of just a few months ago. 1/1a División de Cabelleros provided more rifles and little else, and General Martinez was powerless to stop his force dissolving after the first shots were fired. We counted just 10 bodies after the first skirmishes ended the battle, and Nehring admitted to losing only three men himself.


As I was finalising this description of the events of the last few days for my journal, one final piece of information came in: we have lost contact with the administrative centre of the province of Lugo, southwest of La Coruña. The forces the Rommel swept past on his way to Madrid are showing that they cannot be ignored, that they can pose a real threat to Sud-Frankreich Army.


Bombing Summary

Luftwaffe
Hellín: Hoffmann von Waldau with 4th Schlachtfliegerkorps (2 x Ju 87B): 83, 160, 134
A Guardiña: Kesselring with 1st Schlachtfliegerkorps: (2 x Ju 87B): 71, 64, 106, 158
Daimiel: Hoffmann von Waldau with 4th Schlachtfliegerkorps (2 x Ju 87B): 67, 128, 116
Escalona: Sperrle with 1st Kampffliegerkorps (1 x Bf 109E, 2 x Ju 88): 146, 272
Candelada: Sperrle with 1st Kampffliegerkorps (1 x Bf 109E, 2 x Ju 88): 155, 246, 233
Talavera de la Reina: Sperrle with 1st Kampffliegerkorps (1 x Bf 109E, 2 x Ju 88): 57
Elche de la Sierra: Kesselring with 1st Schlachtfliegerkorps: (2 x Ju 87B): 60

RAF/RN Fleet Air Arm

Vérin: Collishaw with 12th CAG: 7
Tomelloso: Barrett with 14th and 15th CAG: 24, 2
Guijuelo: Collishaw with 12th CAG: 14
Vérin: Bowhill with 9th CAG: 23
Vérin: Bowhill with 14th, 15th, 9th and 8th CAG: 75
Guijuelo: Bowhill with 8th and 9th CAG: 22
Guijuelo: Barrett with 14th and 15th CAG: 13
Guijuelo: Dowding with No.5 and 1 RAF Tactical Groups: 216, 160
Tembleque: Dowding with No.5 and 1 RAF Tactical Groups: 105, 105, 94
Piedrahita: Collishaw with 12th CAG: 25
Munera: Dowding with No.5 and 1 RAF Tactical Groups: 81, 142, 116


Unterseebootsflotte Activity Report

Gibraltar Approaches: 1 transport (UK): Dover – Ed: Wolf with 4th U-flotte
Gibraltar Approaches: 1 transport (Spanish): Cádiz – Laâyoune: Wolf with 4th U-flotte
Setubal Bay: 1 transport (UK): Dover – Kuching: Aßmann with 1st U-flotte
Western Biscay Plain: 1 transport (UK): Plymouth – Bermuda: Fricke with 3rd U-flotte
Western English Channel: 1 transport (UK): Dover – Trincomalee: von Nordeck with II U-flotte
Gibraltar Approaches: 1 transport (Greek): Athina – San José: Wolf with 4th U-flotte
Gibraltar Approaches: 1 transport and 1 escort (UK): Dover – Port Sudan: Wolf with 4th U-flotte
Setubal Bay: 1 transport (UK): Dover – Colombo: Aßmann with 1st U-flotte
Agadir Canyon: 1 transport: (Greek): Athina – Tegucigalpa: Wolf with 4th U-flotte
Western Charcot Seamount: 1 transport (UK): Plymouth Ascension Island: Fricke with 3rd U-flotte
South Eastern Azores: 1 transport (Canadian): Halifax – Cádiz: Wolf with 4th U-flotte
Eastern Charcot Seamount: 1 transport (UK): Plymouth – Georgetown: Fricke with 3rd U-flotte

NERFGEN said:

Nice picture of the donkey HE is looking at the camera (now don't tell me that donkeys are dumb )
I have a feeling that when Rommel takes Gibraltar all his past "mistakes" will be forgotten. HE will be needed for Barbarossa so the brass will happily overlook this ... blunder... in his back
Incredible achievement by the technically inferior spanish army. They have nearly cut off an entire army group from its supply line. Though without a coherent front the supplies will still get through.
Is it possible that the Spanish Fox is planning to finish off the south before the forces in his back link up?

6 million is a rough figure i found on the net. I suppose it is an estimate of the official numbers of beasts of burden that were supposed to be present in a division multiplied by the number of divisions.
I'm quite sure there were more. But then again 6 million is not a small number.

End off topic here

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I think Rommel's position is secure, his stats are just too good. (And he has taken Madrid). He is just leaving a mess for others to clean up.

Karaiskandar said:

I only have one thing to say: Fire Rommel ASAP.
I don't want to know what consequences his incompetence could have against the Soviets...

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Herr Rommel will be given specific instructions in Russia. And I will have "clean up" units ready to mop up units behind the main front.

Konnigratz said:

Been following this for almost a year all lurker-like, but I've just got to say that this is easily my favourite HoI3 AAR. The attention to detail in the updates is staggering!
Now, let's hope Spain falls soon, before the AI manages to lose the entire Spanish force.

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Thanks for the kind words Konnigratz. Don't forget that not only has every division30 days supply, but also that there is an awful lot of unallocated supply floating around the south.

BoemsiBoemsie said:

That Spain situation is getting quite tense. It seems as if you/AI have reacted too late to the threat of them Spanish cutting of your supply lines. Let it be a lesson for Russia, to always have some rearguards to take out forces that were left behind. But I am confident that these matters will be resolved in the end.

All the best!

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Your advice is, like my wife's, always correct and will be followed (see above). Spain is a good learning campaign for an attack on a broad front with not enough troops - there will always be areas where counter-attacks can be anticiapted.

shepherd352 said:

I have done Barbarossa with AI control (at Army level) and with direct control. Direct control resulted in penetration, manoeuvre and the surrounding and destruction of pockets. AI control can create pockets but tends to be more of an avalanche. The strange thing is that the ultimate result has been similar. The destruction of pockets takes time, while the AI achieves greater over-runs of retreating enemy. Either way destroys enemy units and gets to Moscow in similar time. One big difference is that the AI loses more men. It is essential to have significant manpower reserves when letting the AI attack.

When using the AI to achieve a breakthrough, I sometimes need to turn the AI off, move the HQ and some units and turn the AI back on. This is necessary as you can not order the AI to adopt a sweeping turn. The axis of advance has to be straight and it starts from the HQ location. To achieve a breakthrough and sweep, you need to set up the intitial battle and, at the right time set the conditions for the second phase (by moving the HQ and setting a new axis of advance).

Uriah is doing a great job using the AI. It is good to continue this but accept its limitations. I think it is remaining in the spirit of his intention, to conduct multi phase AI attacks.

As for the situation in Spain, Uriah acknowledges that he allowed a situation to develop, where he had three fronts but only one AI HQ. Had he detached two corps, activated their AI and given appropriate objectives, this situation would never have occurred. The AI has plenty of faults but many of those faults can be countered by good objectives and a good axis of advance. Initially, his army was significantly mobile and used a high level of supply. In hindsight, an infantry/mountaineer based army would have been better for the initial attack, with mobile forces added to the attack force after the initial breakthrough. In addition, a reserve should be retained, to deal with unexpected circumstances. In this case, the reserve would have been sent to remove the Eastern pocket. When a reserve is committed, it must be replaced. There are some good lessons to apply before Barbarossa.

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Thanks shepherd352. As you point out, with the benefit of hindsight I would have done things differently, possibly with one infantry/Gebirger army being reinforced with another more mobile one. As you will see in a few days, I have anticipated history by introducing a "Kampfgruppe" in 1940. I'll see how that works. Barbarossa may involve 6-8 armies with 3 Kampfgruppen for exploitation and/or rescue.

OKH said:

Looks like there is a new threat developing in NW Spain. The ai didn't allocate enough units to seal the pocket. At the moment, nothing to panic about, however, coupled with the threat to the south.....

I will look forward to the ai army objective Barbarossa, it should be quite a challenge. Thx for the update.

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Thanks OKH - you are correct: the NW becomes quite a problem, which is why I have had to amend my original intention to use the AI at Army level at all times, and have created "Kampfgruppe Galicia".

Surt said:

The problem should not be great, once you have more units than the AI in NE Spain they should reestablish supply.

For Russia:
Collaborate Gov+Early start = Win
Total exploit+ historical start = oops, interesting.

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NE Spain is under control, the NW is currently a worry. I am hoping that by hitting Russia in early 1941 I can avoid the enromous numbers it will have in 1942. At the moment I hav eCollaboration Govs everywhere except Poland. (And that is becuae I have so many troops that revolt is out of the question - and I need some extra IC unitl my new factories come on stream.)

Surt said:

But Rommel is the Führers favorite, like Von Paulus, how could you fire such men?

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As mentioned above, Erwin is too good to be demoted. I will just make sure he has someone to mop up after him.

Karaiskandar said:

It's indeed a problem.
Giving him a nice promotion and a job away from the action, would be a good idea though.

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That is a thought - he could have an Army Group for Barbarossa.

Checking to see why I can't reply on this thread

Surt said:

The new forum has some problems, in 1 of 4 postings attempts i get something like "you have logged in after loading the previous page" and I think "So what???" following the instructions doesn't seem to work either.

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I kept getting a message something like: "You are not allowed to post consectutive messages on this forum in less than 30 seconds: 16 seconds to go". Strange thisng was, it was always 16 seconds I had to wait. So I tried several times and gave up. Came back after several hours and the same message was up 4 times.

Seems OK now: will put it down to teething problems.

Monday 16th to Friday 20th July 1940

The start of a new week, but the topic on everyone’s lips was still the same: the astounding drive to the sea of 2 Brigada Blindada. General von Kayser has now had enough time to acclimatise to the situation: what will he do to not only destroy the Spanish regular forces, but also to crush the incipient rebellions in the areas traversed by our vital supply lines?

It did not take us long to find out: at some time during early hours the Spanish reached the Bay of Biscay, seizing the province of Llanos. The Army of Sud-Frankreich is now officially cut off from the Reich. All communications are now by radio, as the Spanish control all the telephone exchanges through which calls must be routed. I heard there was some excitement in the Kanzler’s office, with high ranking Heer officers being instructed in very simple terms that the situation is to be rectified within hours, not days. Von Kayser is on borrowed time.


It seems that the commander of the Iberian Army is well aware of Berlin’s expectations. At 10AM von Kayser informed OKH (and the Führer – he has “requested” that he be kept informed) that General Böttcher has pinned down Guarner Vivancos and 8a División de Infanterie in Tafalla. He stated that it his intention is to wipe out every Spanish soldier between Bayonne and the Mittelmeer. If that is the case he will have to keep his men moving, as it was not long before he was reporting that after losing 14 of his 9,000 men, General Vivancos has pulled back in good order, into Tudela.


The crisis in the north has not distracted General Rommel from what he considers his primary mission: the destruction of the main Spanish Army. General Blaskowitz has trapped two headquarters units guarded by a single regiment of cavalry and has co-ordinated an attack by two divisions to maximise the casualties and disruption. 24.Infanterie Division (General Keitel) is advancing in conjunction with Blaskowitz’s own 29.Infanterie (mot) , a combined force of 18,500 men. To hold Belvís de la Jara Aranguren Roldán has just 9,000 men of dubious quality.


Having taken the port of Cartagena, General Petersen is moving west as fast as his trucks (and dirt roads) will allow him. The speed of 22.Infanterie (mot) has allowed him to catch the retreating Burillo Sthole, but he could only catch 11 soldiers of the 6th Army HQ before they had escaped from Lorca into Macael.


An unidentified infantry unit has nearly linked the two northern Spanish enclaves by moving along eastthe coast of the Bay of Biscay into Piedras Blancas. While there is no overt panic, my sources tell me there is furious behind the scenes activity at OKH. Rommel refuses to relinquish any troops, maintaining that he needs every tank and rifle if he is to take Gibraltar before autumn. Von Kayser is also intransigent, insisting that his Iberian Army has clear objectives and to suddenly ask him to turn some units 180 degrees and send them west would jeopardize his mission to restore and protect supply to the Sud-Frankreich Army. In the meantime General Boehm-Bezing and 3.Infanterie are trapped in La Coruña. (Though commendably he is taking advantage of local weaknesses to expand his pocket by occupying Melide). Something must be done, and quickly. But what?

Late Monday we had another indication of Rommel’s intention to annihilate any opposition to prevent it reaching the mountains of the south. General Ott has attacked Giffard’s 18th Infantry Mountain Division with both his own and 3.infanterie (mot) (from Béjar) and Curtze’s 20.Infanterie (mot) from Candelada. Ott’s instructions are to ensure that as few of the British 1st line infantry make it back to Gibraltar as possible. It will be easier to defeat them on the plains of Jaraicejo than in the mountain fortress that protects the British harbour.


As we get closer to Gibraltar, RAF fighter patrols are getting more frequent. Air Commodore Sholto-Douglas intercepted Sperrle’s 1st Kampffliegerkorps twice during the day, once over Talavera de la Reina (at 7AM) and once over our recently acquired airbase at Madrid (at 11PM). Our escorts acquitted themselves well, destroying 4 enemy fighters, but we lost two of our won fighters and a Junkers 88 bomber. The sooner we can get Focke-Wulf 190 fighters to our escort geschwader the better, but at the moment priority has been given to producing Messerschmitt Bf 109F interceptors.


As it was, the next day saw the delivery of the last escort geschwader to be equipped with the hard-working but now out-dated Messerschmitt Bf 109E. JG 30 “Gehörn” has been sent to Nantes to join KG 25 “Werner Voss” in Keller’s 7th Kampffliegerkorps. Another kampfgeschwader of Ju 88 bombers is nearing completion, at which time the unit will probably be deployed to Spain to obtain some combat experience before the real test next year. General von Blomberg has snapped up the industrial capacity to arm another “anti-aircraft” division: the Heer is getting quite concened about the possibility of thousands of Russian bombers devastating our divisions as they march to the front.

Nobody is sure why, but the Spanish have thrown a cavalry division (two regiments anyway) in front of Petersen’s motorised infantry in Lorca. While the mountains have slowed the advance of 22.Infanterie (mot), it is unlikely that that lightly armed cavalry will do much to Petersen’s plans. First reports tell of the Cabelleros recoiling with the shock of meeting our infantry head-on, and our casualties are much lighter than usual as a result.


Sholto-Douglas must take his responsibilities seriously as despite his lack of success against Sperrle yesterday, he attacked Dörstling’s 6th Kampffliegerkorps over Belvís de la Jara no less than four times today. 6th Kampffliegerkorps completed its mission every time, but bombing reports show a gradual decline in efficiency. This is also reflected in the “Active aircraft” roster: by the end of the day JG 20 “Blitz” was down to 74 fighters, KG 27 “Storch” had 93 bombers remaining and KG 27 “Reiher” had 92 aircraft left. The Luftwaffe claimed to have destroyed 8 British interceptors, a figure supported by our military intelligence.


Then the news we had dreaded. 2 Brigada Blindada was driving through Oviedo to the cheers and adulation of the crowds. General Boehm-Bezing was now really isolated, and the fate of his 10,000 men was in the balance.


The shock of the situation made the news that Spanish infantry had reached Verin on the Portuguese border almost anticlimactic. What did it matter if a vacant province was conceded to the Spanish when there was a possibility that a whole division could be lost? No-one seems to consider how many of our men died taking that province in the first place, only to see it surrendered without a fight.


Clashes between Christinasen’s 4th Jagdfliegerkorps and Ludlow-Hewitt’s 4th and 7th Carrier Air Groups went almost unnoticed, except by a few combat analysts in the Luftfahrtsministerium. They issued a short note pointing out that for once our interceptors have shot down aircraft from a carrier air group. Only two, but proof that our pilots are achieving the skill necessary to start to reduce the British command of the skies over the ocean.


As I have mentioned several times, we have experienced heavy losses crossing rivers, mainly because we cannot take advantage of our better equipment. Scientists and engineers have been working on solutions for months, and have now succeeded in developing new bridging apparatus that should speed up the process, even under fire.


With technical matters addressed, the Heer has removed resources from the WaffenAmt and engages some of our finest minds in universities and military colleges to work on more theoretical (but even more critical) issues. First priority will be given to advanced studies in “Blitzkrieg” theory. The aim is to increase the organisation in our armour units.

New Brückengerät and breakthrough theories are all well and good, but our immediate problem is in Galicia. A makeshift solution has been found, ore so it is hoped. Two of the new “coastal” divisions have just been commissioned, and they have been sent to Bilbao, under the command of General Hansen. To be known as Kampfgruppe Galicia, it will be outside the normal chain of command, directly attached to OKH. Its sole purpose is to relieve the besieged Boehm-Bezing and his men in La Coruña. Unfortunately it will take some time before the two divisions can move out: Generals von Kortzfleisch (83.Infanterie Division) and Buffa (86.Infanterie Division) both point out their units are totally disorganised and without supply. To attempt a combat mission now would be suicide. Still, within days we should see some action. This will be the first time a coastal defence unit with its two infantry brigades, an anti-aircraft regiment and one of the new rocket regiments has faced the ememy and many of our experts will be watching closely. None so closely, I suspect, as the men of 3.Infanterie, waiting to be reunited with the rest of the army.

With his Cabinet colleagues absorbed in the developments in Spain, General von Blomberg quietly obtained approval for another motorised division (three infantry brigades and an armoured car regiment), even though the demand for equipment upgrades is now quite staggering.

Rommel’s orders that the British are to be attacked before they can make it back to Gibraltar appear sound. Even on the open plains of Jaraicejo and under attack from two sides, 18th Infantry Mountain Division put up a good fight, killing 77 of Ott’s men, while losing 149 of their own. This does not alter the fact, though, that they were defeated and are now being harried as they retreat further south.

There were some air battles on Wednesday, but they must have been of minimal interest, as I have no recollection of them. The only other thing I remember was being told by a long faced adjutant that we had lost Cistierna: General Hansen’s task is already getting harder.


The citizens of Dortmund should be happy (or perhaps relieved would be a better word) as their new Flakturm is now operational. The city now has three fixed installations with which to repel the British bombers. The civil authorities say life is returning to normal, but Schacht’s office reports that 40% of industry in the city is still under repair.


The completion of the Flakturm, while certainly of importance to the good burghers of Dortmund, was not as important as the commissioning of a new Panzer Division: 6th PzD. It has been attached to 3rd Panzerkorps, giving von Kayser even less excuse to not remove the threat from Catalonia. As everyone expected, orders have been issued for another panzer division to be formed, this one to be equipped with the new Pz IIJ medium tank. With two Panzer IIJ regiments, a motorised infantry brigade and a regiment of Sturmpanzer 38(t) self propelled artillery, these divisions will have enormous firepower and adaptability.


General Blaskowitz had been ordered to ensure that the administrative staff of 2nd Army and 2a División Orgánica headquarters did not escape in any condition to command or direct troops. Although the cavalry of 10 Regimento did their best to protect their charges, it was close to a massacre. For just 35 men, Blaskowitz killed or captured 971 of the enemy, out of a total of 8,960. For once the word “decimated” could have been used accurately.

All the generals of Sud-Frankreich must have received the same order about not defeating but absolutely crushing the enemy. Against the relatively pitiful 6,000 disorganised men of Walter’s Divisíon Orgánica, Keppler deployed his own leichte Panzer division from El Molinello, as well as 71.Infanterie from Daimiel. With nearly four to one odds, armour and a well-trained and disciplined force, he should be able to ensure that Walter’s unit will be effectively out of the war for weeks.


Province after province has thrown out our officials and collaborators at the first sight of Republican vehicles or troops. The most recent is Monforte, causing Rommel to recall the two divisions that are able to move south. 3.Infanterie is heading back to La Coruña via Villalba.


Some diplomatic activity started Friday, but it was not a success for Minister von Ribbentrop. We were reliably informed that Bulgaria was open to joining the Axis, and an official invitation was conveyed to Sofia. To our amazement, the offer was refused! There is much speculation here as to the reason: von Ribbentrop insists his information that the governments wishes to join us is correct. Perhaps Tsar Boris III, even though he is married to the daughter of King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy, is behind this reluctance. Though a staunch ally and courageous officer in the last war, he is reputed to have grave concerns about involving his country in another conflict. Bulgaria suffered greatly in the aftermath of our defeat in 1918, and no doubt this has affected his decision. We have decided to watch developments in the country, and perhaps contact them in a few weeks to see if the response differs.


General von Kayser has decided that the way to keep his position is to notify Berlin of every positive event. (Which is not a bad idea, and one that General Rommel could bear in mind). His “urgent” news this morning was that Böttcher has caught up with Vivancos in Tudela. By itself it was not really earth-shattering news, as after losing another 20 men 8a División de Infanterie was able to flee further south to Cariñena. The really important news is that with the Spanish leaving the province we can reappoint suitable local officials to ensure our supply columns can again head south without problems.


There was a similar battle in Beas de Segura, where von Amann forced 6/3a División Orgánica to halt and fight, albeit briefly. It wasn’t long before Batov extricated his demoralised men (less 13 who would remain behind) and led them northeast to Moral de Calatrava, where he presumably expects to be able to re-instill enough discipline to again take to the field.


6th Army HQ may have thought they had escaped 22.Infanterie (mot) by moving into the mountains of Macael, but they obviously did not know the determination of General Petersen. He has taken his men up the mountain roads, despite appalling weather conditions. General Jover is trying to hold off our men, but he is on the back foot, as his 4,500 men are scattered and he has no real command structure. Petersen promises an early win and predicts heavy losses for the enemy.


I have arranged to have tomorrow off (as well as Sunday), and I hope that when I return to the Kanzlei on Monday that the “situation” in Spain has resolved for the better. Von Kayser and Hansen are not fools: they know that more than their careers are at stake.

Bombing Summary

Atrocious weather over most of Spain during 16th and 17th July caused a marked reduction in all air operations.

RAF/RN Fleet Air Arm

Piedrahita: Dowding with No.5 and 1 RAF Tactical Group: 225, 274
Escalona: Ludlow-Hewitt with 4th CAG and Middle East Air Group: 104
Candelada: Baldwin with Middle East Group: 59Escalona: Ludlow-Hewitt with 4th CAG: 28
Béjar: Dowding with No.5 and 1 RAF Tactical Group: 101
Candelada: Cunningham with 6th CAG and MEG: 98, 53
Escalona: Ludlow-Hewitt with 4th and 7th CAG: 40, 27, 36, 7, 39
Béjar: Dowding with No.5 and 1 RAF Tactical Group, 5th CAG: 160
Candelada: Dowding with No.5 and 1 RAF Tactical Group, 14th and 15th CAG: 139, 219, 132
Béjar: Baldwin with MEG: 72, 101
Escalona: Dowding with No.5 and 1 RAF Tactical and Middle East Group: 205, 375, 235
El Molinillo: Ludlow-Hewitt with 4th CAG: 37
El Molinillo: Collishaw with 12th CAG: 4, 25, 6
Daimiel: Dowding with No.5 and 1 RAF Tactical Group: 193
Daimiel: Dowding with No.5 and 1 RAF Tactical and Middle East Group: 290, 226


Luftwaffe

Belvis de la Jara: Dörstling with 6th Kampffliegerkorps (1 x BF 109E, 2 x Ju 88): 97, 107, 60, 59, 88, 170


Unterseebootsflotte Activity Report

South East Azores: 1 transport (UK): Dover – The Maldives: Wolf with 4th U-flotte
South East Porcupine Plain: 1 transport (UK): Plymouth – Barbados: Fricke with 3rd U-flotte
Horseshoe Seamount: 2 transports (UK): Portsmouth – Mombasa: Wolf with 4th U-flotte
East Charcot Seamount: 1 transport (UK): Plymouth – Belmopan: Fricke with 3rd U-flotte
Western Biscay Plain: 1 transport (UK): Plymouth – Fongafele: Fricke with 3rd U-flotte
Coast of Cádiz: 2 transports (Greek): Athina – Halifax: Wolf with 4th U-flotte
Cape Oregal: 1 transport (UK): Plymouth – Trinidad: Fricke with 3rd U-flotte
Coast of Cádiz: 1 transport (Canadian): Halifax – Cádiz: Wolf with 4th U-flotte
Western Biscay Plain: 1 tranport (UK): Plymouth - Bermuda: Fricke with 3rd U-flotte
Gibraltar Approaches: 2 transports and 1 escort (UK): Dover – Aden: Wolf with 4th U-flotte
Setubal Bay: 1 transport (UK): Portsmouth – Benghazi: Aßmann with 1st U-flotte
Coast of Porto: 1 transport (UK): Dover – Ed: Aßmann with 1st U-flotte

loki100 said:

which is why Dutch fans still delight in accusing German football supporters of 'waar is de fietsen van mijn maar'? - hadn't realised the Wehrmacht's taste for bicycle theiving had spread so widely

as ever great stuff ... wish the Germans in my game current game would leave such large inviting holes behind their front though

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I am disappointed in the Dutch - surely they could come up with something more biting than that? Or is there some linguistic subtlety that I am missing? In Australia, for expample, no young lady would like to be known as the "town bike". (Because everyone's had a ride).

As for the great stuff - Iwould like to take credit but it is a case of the AI playing itself. Maybe it favours the Spanish?

Karaiskandar said:

Yes it could be a good solution. An Army Group devoted to deep penetrations while the other ones would secure the flanks and his rear.

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I really meant promote him upstairs. Leave decision making to the Army commanders but use his stats at Army Group level. My tentative plan is to use Armies to penetrate.

loki100 said:

rather disturbingly I've been thinking about this whilst off for a run ... I too tend to use the AI at army level - it seems just the right degree of detail and control. In the main its fine/great when things are fairly linear but if the front gets complex then even with axis of advance it can go very wrong. At the core how the army AI 'sees' a position is a long way from how you do - esp if its also not sure it has enough force to do what you want. It may be an idea till you have the Spanish back under the thumb to go over to the theatre AI (just create one purely for Spain). Usually this can be frustrating as the Theatre AI brings all sorts of baggage with it, but it maybe that a bit of disorganisation to your drive south and some radical redeployments is what you need. Of course it could make a difficult situation even worse (as it did to me in my latest game briefly) but it might mean proper attention being paid to your line of communications?

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I too thought about the situation. Only by a drastic alteration in objectives could I see Sud-Frankreich Army sort things out. The creation of a new Iberian Army should solve Catalonia, but when Galicia went sour I came up with the idea of a Kampfgruppe. Seems historical enough (though a bit early) and doesn't hurt my conscience too much (re my promise not to interfere with the AI unless really necessary).

BoemsiBoemsie said:

The incompetence of the Italians in Africa is only rivalled by the well lead AI of the Spanish. My God, how did it get so out of hand there? You are lucky that the Spanish are so outclassed in quality or else you might have suffered a painful and shameful defeat. Well better to learn these lessons in Spain than in Russia I guess.

Oh and so nice to hear that I am always right, just like your wife. I must tell my own girlfriend that so that perhaps she will listen to me for a change, haha.

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I really don't know what they are doing, unless the Army of Egypt is made up of supermen. I've been tempted to look at the British but have resisted. Spain is really a problem because of supply - number and type of troops and airpower. My biggest concern about loss of supply was not the army (they had a lot) but my forward aircraft: there are quite a few at Madrid now and they will not fly without supply.

BTW: best to keep the fact that you are always right a little secret from your girlfriend, unless she has a good sense of humour.

OKH said:

Your units have 30 days supply on hand, perhaps you can beat them to the last, in country, VP province and tip them into surrender. What is the Spanish surrender progress %?

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Not just the 30 days, there is also lots of supply washing around the provinces. As I said above, though, it is the aircraft that worry me. Operating with no bombers is no fun: they really crack the stubborn defences.

I will edit the surrender %age: can't load HOI3 at the moment.

EDIT: Surrender %age is 65.5. Spanish National Unity is 96.4 and I have 63.2 of their cities.

Surt said:

After the defeat of the encircled units at the Portugese boarder Rommel is not outnumbering the defenders and the freed divisions will make the end come faster, maybe even outflanking the defenders.

ps. I hate

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Rommel is extending his line by looping to the SW: probably a good idea as the Spanish are weaker there but he is actually moving divisions from the Portuguese border to the Med.

NERFGEN said:

I really don't see how the invasion should fail. Even if the Spanish manage to close te gap the Iberian army i snow in place and one province away from reopening it. What concerns me more is the Coruña situation. It looks like there the balance of forces is against you. I hope your generals figure out a plan soon , if only to retreat into La Coruña proper and wait until some more troops are freed form the south. Would it be possible to allocate more bombers to this front? Some tactical bombers maybe to reduce infrastructure in the likely axis of advance of the Spanish in the north?

Love that plane picture. I already printed it and I'm goingthrough the markings with a magnifying glass. Maybe I'll figure out which unit it's from.

Also I noticed Neuling became Nehring

And I second the message that asks you to show us the surrender progress

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La Coruña becomes a problem: and stays one for a while (I am up to July 30).

I know the unit of the aircraft but am relectant to spoil your fun: let me know if you want me to reveal it.

And you are right: typing too much. I have left the error as a testimonial to your eye for detail.

Spanish surrender % in an hour or so (I am running an anti-virus program that is hogging memory).

EDIT: Surrender %age is 65.5. Spanish National Unity is 96.4 and I have 63.2 of their cities.

OKH said:

Right now, it is hard to fathom who is doing the encircling.

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I knew I should have killed those fast armour units.

loki100 said:

aye ... maybe we need a map of Spain with overlapping Venn diagrams?

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My graphics skills are nowhere near that level : haven't you noticed?

Enewald said:

Brilliant.
Fucking brilliant.

For the first time, I see that the enemy AI has nearly managed to trap your army into Spain.

A huge German thrust towards Madrid, in the normal Blitzkrieg-fashion that should end the war, is threatened from the flanks; guerilla like units striking from Galicia and Catalonia are threatening to cut off the entire army!
AI is better than AI!
Or the AI is more stupid than the AI!

Click to expand...

I should sort this out soon, but it does show the AI is capable of creating problems. And I am thinking a lot about how this will affect my plans for Russia. I don't want to surround a huge pocket and find it suddenly deciding to expand and cut me off!

OKH said:

I really have trouble, thinking of this as a blitzkrieg type operation. The ai has been pushing and shoving the Spanish accross their country in a manner that would make the Kaiser proud.

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I have deliberately not set the Sud-Frankreich Army to Blitzkrieg stance as it did not have enough units for the width of the front. I think you can see on some screenshots that it is on "Advance" (or whatever the stance below Blitzkrieg is). EDIT: "Attacking"