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I have not forgot about this, nor have I abandoned it. I am slowly but surely working through my campaign and collecting my notes to write some updates. So, in time, I will eventually finish this!
The Battle of Normandy continues (7 November – 27 December)
Following our previous attacks the Allies started withdrawing to Cherbourg, and by the 12th reports suggested that Allied troops were being ferried to the Channel Islands: an evacuation of the continent, the defeat of Operation Overlord and ultimately victory over the British? It was not to be, six days later Canadian troops stormed ashore at Dieppe and Gamaches. Due to the previous amphibious attacks, infantry divisions had been redeployed along the coast. As luck would have it, the 19th, 34th, and 35th Infantry divisions were sitting astride the Canadian landing area. The order to conduct an immediate attack was given. Four days of heavy fighting commenced around these two French towns. The Canadian divisions, it quickly became apparent, contained more infantry battalions than our own and were backed by extensive heavy armored support. Due to these factors, our infantry made little progress and the counterattack was called off on the 22nd and described as "a dismal failure" by the officers involved. The 25th and 41st Canadian Infantry divisions had been engaged during the battle, leading the intelligence community to estimate the Canadian Army to be in the region of 400-500,000 men strong – prior to the launch of Operation Overlord.
Situation map describing the Canadian landings, and a captured photograph showing
Canadian follow-up troops coming ashore.
On the 26th, the Canadians launched an attack towards Abbeville to expand their bridgehead. At the same time, several of our own divisions had launched an attack towards Gramaches. What resulted was a massed confused mobile battle, as both sides met outside of prepared positions in what was essentially no-man’s land. As both sides pushed forward, the frontline was in a constant state of flux as Canadian troops made headway against ours in one sector and our infantry made progress against theirs in another. For three days, both sides pushed forward and moved to parry opposing thrusts all to gain control of the region between the lines and push the other back. Finally, the Canadian infantry broke unable to keep up their momentum or halt ours. Rather than attempting to retreat towards their main force at Dieppe, the assaulting Canadians simply surrendered.
On the Cotentin Peninsula, our troops had been locked in combat with British forces for 20 days of heavy fighting for Granville. The battle had failed to achieve anything. Routed British formations were pulled from the battle and sent north, only to be replaced by fresh troops. While the British were able to rotate troops in and out of battle, the Eleventh Army was unable to do likewise. Exhausted, the army called an end to the battle and requested that the overstretched panzer and panzergrenadier divisions take over and conduct their own effort to take the town.
Granville. The town, devastated by German and Allied bombardment.
While tanks and halftracks moved into position to assault Granville, the British conducted yet another landing. On 3 December, British troops conducted an unopposed landing in Lannion, Brittany. OBWest ordered the redeployment mobile troops to halt their preparations and instead race to cut off this new British beachhead. Somewhat more alarming was the reports of transport ships being sighted flying the flag of the Republic of China. While the Chinese, from international reports, appear to be bogged down fighting the Japanese, the prospect that the Allies could call upon a near unlimited source of new manpower (after all, the Chinese population stands around half a billion strong) for the Western Front was disturbing. Additional worrisome news arrived the following day. Massive British troop movements had been detected across England as well as a buildup of British naval traffic in the Channel. This all pointed to yet another landing. As a precaution, OB West flashed all units to be prepared for a landing rooting numerous formations in the Pas de Calais and Germany. On a positive note, despite the increasing bad weather slowing our troop movements down, skirmishes with British forces in Brittany suggested that these new arrivals were mainly second class troops from static divisions due to lack of motor transport sighted and the abundant heavy weapons that were arrayed against our reconnaissance troops. The officers of OB West, after receiving this information, raised the positive suggestion that the offensive power of the British Army may have been broken during the previous months of unsuccessful landings and the fighting in Normandy.
The frontline in early December, following the British landing in Brittany.
Around Dieppe, Canadian infantry and tankies exerted themselves in futile offensive actions and defensive fighting to retain their perimeter. The wore out Canadians were then easy pickings for two fresh panzergrenadier divisions, under half the strength of the entire Canadian force, who had just arrived in the area and were pushed into launching an unprepared rapid attack. On 13 December, the Canadian beachhead surrendered. Over the rest of the month, heavy snowfall further restricted movement across northern France thus OB West called off all offensive actions and ordered the troops to dig in. The British seized upon this lull. Southern Command – the British armored division mauled in earlier battles – reentered the fray, spearheading the latest British offensive south. On the 20th, British troops landed around the town of Ouistreham – around 15 kilometers north of Caen. After clearly the small port town, the British rapidly pushed south into the city engaging one of the poorly equipped Luftwaffe field divisions. While the airmen put up a spirited defense, they were no match for trained troops and the city was quickly lost. The British then launched an attack to capture Le Havre, further stretching our forces and ability to react. While Caen was being captured and Le Havre assaulted, at the other end of Normandy the British finally retook Carentan on the 26th and launched further attacks south. By the 27th, British forces – having secured their beachhead – were expanding throughout Brittany resulting in OB West ordering Brest to be abandoned before the city was cut off. Over the following days, 8,000 soldiers – the city garrison – withdrew east while over six-hundred aircraft were flown to new bases across France and the Reich along with the ground support staff. Mostly importantly, the A-10 ballistic missiles located in the city were loaded up and rushed back to Germany to ensure the British did not capture these vital pieces of technology.
Following our previous attacks the Allies started withdrawing to Cherbourg, and by the 12th reports suggested that Allied troops were being ferried to the Channel Islands: an evacuation of the continent, the defeat of Operation Overlord and ultimately victory over the British? It was not to be, six days later Canadian troops stormed ashore at Dieppe and Gamaches. Due to the previous amphibious attacks, infantry divisions had been redeployed along the coast. As luck would have it, the 19th, 34th, and 35th Infantry divisions were sitting astride the Canadian landing area. The order to conduct an immediate attack was given. Four days of heavy fighting commenced around these two French towns. The Canadian divisions, it quickly became apparent, contained more infantry battalions than our own and were backed by extensive heavy armored support. Due to these factors, our infantry made little progress and the counterattack was called off on the 22nd and described as "a dismal failure" by the officers involved. The 25th and 41st Canadian Infantry divisions had been engaged during the battle, leading the intelligence community to estimate the Canadian Army to be in the region of 400-500,000 men strong – prior to the launch of Operation Overlord.
Situation map describing the Canadian landings, and a captured photograph showing
Canadian follow-up troops coming ashore.
On the 26th, the Canadians launched an attack towards Abbeville to expand their bridgehead. At the same time, several of our own divisions had launched an attack towards Gramaches. What resulted was a massed confused mobile battle, as both sides met outside of prepared positions in what was essentially no-man’s land. As both sides pushed forward, the frontline was in a constant state of flux as Canadian troops made headway against ours in one sector and our infantry made progress against theirs in another. For three days, both sides pushed forward and moved to parry opposing thrusts all to gain control of the region between the lines and push the other back. Finally, the Canadian infantry broke unable to keep up their momentum or halt ours. Rather than attempting to retreat towards their main force at Dieppe, the assaulting Canadians simply surrendered.
On the Cotentin Peninsula, our troops had been locked in combat with British forces for 20 days of heavy fighting for Granville. The battle had failed to achieve anything. Routed British formations were pulled from the battle and sent north, only to be replaced by fresh troops. While the British were able to rotate troops in and out of battle, the Eleventh Army was unable to do likewise. Exhausted, the army called an end to the battle and requested that the overstretched panzer and panzergrenadier divisions take over and conduct their own effort to take the town.
Granville. The town, devastated by German and Allied bombardment.
While tanks and halftracks moved into position to assault Granville, the British conducted yet another landing. On 3 December, British troops conducted an unopposed landing in Lannion, Brittany. OBWest ordered the redeployment mobile troops to halt their preparations and instead race to cut off this new British beachhead. Somewhat more alarming was the reports of transport ships being sighted flying the flag of the Republic of China. While the Chinese, from international reports, appear to be bogged down fighting the Japanese, the prospect that the Allies could call upon a near unlimited source of new manpower (after all, the Chinese population stands around half a billion strong) for the Western Front was disturbing. Additional worrisome news arrived the following day. Massive British troop movements had been detected across England as well as a buildup of British naval traffic in the Channel. This all pointed to yet another landing. As a precaution, OB West flashed all units to be prepared for a landing rooting numerous formations in the Pas de Calais and Germany. On a positive note, despite the increasing bad weather slowing our troop movements down, skirmishes with British forces in Brittany suggested that these new arrivals were mainly second class troops from static divisions due to lack of motor transport sighted and the abundant heavy weapons that were arrayed against our reconnaissance troops. The officers of OB West, after receiving this information, raised the positive suggestion that the offensive power of the British Army may have been broken during the previous months of unsuccessful landings and the fighting in Normandy.
The frontline in early December, following the British landing in Brittany.
Around Dieppe, Canadian infantry and tankies exerted themselves in futile offensive actions and defensive fighting to retain their perimeter. The wore out Canadians were then easy pickings for two fresh panzergrenadier divisions, under half the strength of the entire Canadian force, who had just arrived in the area and were pushed into launching an unprepared rapid attack. On 13 December, the Canadian beachhead surrendered. Over the rest of the month, heavy snowfall further restricted movement across northern France thus OB West called off all offensive actions and ordered the troops to dig in. The British seized upon this lull. Southern Command – the British armored division mauled in earlier battles – reentered the fray, spearheading the latest British offensive south. On the 20th, British troops landed around the town of Ouistreham – around 15 kilometers north of Caen. After clearly the small port town, the British rapidly pushed south into the city engaging one of the poorly equipped Luftwaffe field divisions. While the airmen put up a spirited defense, they were no match for trained troops and the city was quickly lost. The British then launched an attack to capture Le Havre, further stretching our forces and ability to react. While Caen was being captured and Le Havre assaulted, at the other end of Normandy the British finally retook Carentan on the 26th and launched further attacks south. By the 27th, British forces – having secured their beachhead – were expanding throughout Brittany resulting in OB West ordering Brest to be abandoned before the city was cut off. Over the following days, 8,000 soldiers – the city garrison – withdrew east while over six-hundred aircraft were flown to new bases across France and the Reich along with the ground support staff. Mostly importantly, the A-10 ballistic missiles located in the city were loaded up and rushed back to Germany to ensure the British did not capture these vital pieces of technology.
if you achive victory, the spine of the British and Canadian armies will be broken for the rest of the war... Vorwärts!
Very nice AAR
I can't for the life of me figure out how you got your tank divisions to be able to break through the Soviet lines so cleanly. Mine always seem to get bogged down for one reason or another. xP
I can't for the life of me figure out how you got your tank divisions to be able to break through the Soviet lines so cleanly. Mine always seem to get bogged down for one reason or another. xP
Thanks everyone for the comments.
In regards to the breakthroughs: It might be down to be control all my forces, I prefer to move my divisions around myself than let the computer do it (which when I reloaded to see if the AI could have done better than me, resulted in the 1942 campaign being a massive disaster!). In addition, I always lead with infantry. I breech and then my tanks flow. Finally, in the final stages of the war the Soviet AI had practically no supplies left so in one province they would put up one hell of a fight but in another I could cut through them like a hot knife through butter.
In regards to the breakthroughs: It might be down to be control all my forces, I prefer to move my divisions around myself than let the computer do it (which when I reloaded to see if the AI could have done better than me, resulted in the 1942 campaign being a massive disaster!). In addition, I always lead with infantry. I breech and then my tanks flow. Finally, in the final stages of the war the Soviet AI had practically no supplies left so in one province they would put up one hell of a fight but in another I could cut through them like a hot knife through butter.
Huzzah for the continuation of this great AAR! I hope the next pause won't be as long as the last one. 
That is probably it. In those types of offensives I would usually use the tanks to break through and then they'd be too tired to keep going.
Winter: 1947 arrives
Over the course of December, intercepted Allied communications revealed how the fractured Chinese nation was slowly coming together. The various warlords, controlling large swathes of territory outside of the control of the central government, swore allegiance to the Kuomintang and concluded military and transit agreements. On 18 December, the Chinese government announced the formation of the "Unified Front" to combat the Japanese. Following the initial Japanese victories, the Allies had driven the Japanese out of their imperial territory and pinned them down in southern China. The Chinese, with Allied support, had not been able to either defeat this Japanese bastion or, by themselves, the Japanese based in the north. This new development among the fractured Chinese presented a new source of manpower and the ability to turn the tide against Japan. While the latter were no longer allies of the Reich, following their assault on Dutch colonies, Japan presented a force able to pin down Chinese manpower and stop it being deployed to Europe. Thus, developments in Asia were carefully monitored.
The next day, the Soviet Union reemerged on the international stage. Via radio broadcasts the Soviets announced to the world their declaration of war on the Empire of Japan. Soviet rhetoric called for the liberation of Vladivostok, which the Japanese had seized – without bloodshed – during the German-Soviet war. Adding to their casus belli, the Soviets declared the need to rid their eastern border of a fascist power that posed an ideological and military threat to their nation. Further radio broadcasts and intercepted Japanese communications revealed tens of thousands of Soviet troops, supported by tanks (banned under the terms of the peace treaty between the Reich and the US), crossing into Manchukuo. While the Soviet declaration of war was not aimed at, or involved, Germany, it did force OKH to instruct all forces on the Eastern Front to increase their state of alert and prepare for possible Soviet offensive actions. The 6th SS Panzer Army was ordered to deploy east of Moscow and the 4th Panzer Army to deploy near Rostov, both areas contain bulges in the frontline and particular large concentrations of Soviet forces.
In France, numerous redeployments were underway as OB West attempted to counter the strategic situation it found itself in. Fifteenth Army was ordered to deploy across the coast from Le Havre (to prevent the British expanding their beachhead from Caen) to the Belgium border, to deter further British landings. The Eleventh Army was ordered to seal off Brittany to prevent the British force there from pushing further into France or linking up with the Normandy beachhead and to free up the mobile forces. In the center, between these two armies, the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Panzer Armies were ordered to hold the line and destroy the British landing. This proved to be a difficult task, as these three armies lacked the manpower to drive back the British and the latter had been attacking without respite since the previous order had been given for all German forces to go onto the defensive.
During the final days of December and throughout January, the battered town of Granville became the focal point of fighting. Following the British capture of the town, only a token force was moved into the area to guard it while the main British force attacked elsewhere. As the opportunity had presented itself, German troops moved forward into it snow filled demolished houses of the town and rapidly retook it. This focused the British attention, they launched their main force upon the town and a long drawn out and bloody battle took place. The British military was a shadow of its former self. Its best, well trained and professional, men had been lost during the Battle of France and squandered around the world combating our allies, it was now largely made up of conscripted men lacking quality leadership and lacking knowledge of the various developments of modern warfare that had taken place between the fall of France and present. As a result, one of the most one-sided battles the Reich had fought during the war took place. Ill-prepared assaults were launched upon our positions, attacks were made lacking the required support, infantry moved without any tactical formation or without utilizing the terrain available, and finally the battle took place during dreadful weather and with our troops in rapidly assembled prepared positions. Thousands of British soldiers were killed before they were able to force back our brave men, and once again retake Granville. Despite the appalling losses, the British continued to push forward. By the end of January, the British had managed to recapture most of the territory they had lost in the previous months to our attacks and were close to linking up their two beachheads.
The Battle of Granville, December 1946 - January 1947
Over the course of December, intercepted Allied communications revealed how the fractured Chinese nation was slowly coming together. The various warlords, controlling large swathes of territory outside of the control of the central government, swore allegiance to the Kuomintang and concluded military and transit agreements. On 18 December, the Chinese government announced the formation of the "Unified Front" to combat the Japanese. Following the initial Japanese victories, the Allies had driven the Japanese out of their imperial territory and pinned them down in southern China. The Chinese, with Allied support, had not been able to either defeat this Japanese bastion or, by themselves, the Japanese based in the north. This new development among the fractured Chinese presented a new source of manpower and the ability to turn the tide against Japan. While the latter were no longer allies of the Reich, following their assault on Dutch colonies, Japan presented a force able to pin down Chinese manpower and stop it being deployed to Europe. Thus, developments in Asia were carefully monitored.
The next day, the Soviet Union reemerged on the international stage. Via radio broadcasts the Soviets announced to the world their declaration of war on the Empire of Japan. Soviet rhetoric called for the liberation of Vladivostok, which the Japanese had seized – without bloodshed – during the German-Soviet war. Adding to their casus belli, the Soviets declared the need to rid their eastern border of a fascist power that posed an ideological and military threat to their nation. Further radio broadcasts and intercepted Japanese communications revealed tens of thousands of Soviet troops, supported by tanks (banned under the terms of the peace treaty between the Reich and the US), crossing into Manchukuo. While the Soviet declaration of war was not aimed at, or involved, Germany, it did force OKH to instruct all forces on the Eastern Front to increase their state of alert and prepare for possible Soviet offensive actions. The 6th SS Panzer Army was ordered to deploy east of Moscow and the 4th Panzer Army to deploy near Rostov, both areas contain bulges in the frontline and particular large concentrations of Soviet forces.
In France, numerous redeployments were underway as OB West attempted to counter the strategic situation it found itself in. Fifteenth Army was ordered to deploy across the coast from Le Havre (to prevent the British expanding their beachhead from Caen) to the Belgium border, to deter further British landings. The Eleventh Army was ordered to seal off Brittany to prevent the British force there from pushing further into France or linking up with the Normandy beachhead and to free up the mobile forces. In the center, between these two armies, the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Panzer Armies were ordered to hold the line and destroy the British landing. This proved to be a difficult task, as these three armies lacked the manpower to drive back the British and the latter had been attacking without respite since the previous order had been given for all German forces to go onto the defensive.
During the final days of December and throughout January, the battered town of Granville became the focal point of fighting. Following the British capture of the town, only a token force was moved into the area to guard it while the main British force attacked elsewhere. As the opportunity had presented itself, German troops moved forward into it snow filled demolished houses of the town and rapidly retook it. This focused the British attention, they launched their main force upon the town and a long drawn out and bloody battle took place. The British military was a shadow of its former self. Its best, well trained and professional, men had been lost during the Battle of France and squandered around the world combating our allies, it was now largely made up of conscripted men lacking quality leadership and lacking knowledge of the various developments of modern warfare that had taken place between the fall of France and present. As a result, one of the most one-sided battles the Reich had fought during the war took place. Ill-prepared assaults were launched upon our positions, attacks were made lacking the required support, infantry moved without any tactical formation or without utilizing the terrain available, and finally the battle took place during dreadful weather and with our troops in rapidly assembled prepared positions. Thousands of British soldiers were killed before they were able to force back our brave men, and once again retake Granville. Despite the appalling losses, the British continued to push forward. By the end of January, the British had managed to recapture most of the territory they had lost in the previous months to our attacks and were close to linking up their two beachheads.
The Battle of Granville, December 1946 - January 1947
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I guess we could start calling them Georgian victories, after the King, or Churchill or Brookies ...
Meanwhile ancient Qin would laugh at such low numbers.
Hmm, sounds like something I will need to Google.
At least they get the Indian manpower
Well quite a few of the divisions in the British OOB are "Indian", although they are British divisions. The actual Indian Army seems to the backbone of the Allied effort in Asia ... thankfully not yet deployed onto my front!
A million men in one battle...
I guess that's why the AI's losses were equally horrific.
I have seen a few like this on the Eastern Front, and a few more as the Western Front has kicked back to life. But, I don't recall seeing battles of this size in vanilla HOI.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Changping
The Romans might have fielded few legions at the same time. Meanwhile in China, it was total war.
Also largest naval battle in the history of mankind: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Lake_Poyang
The Romans might have fielded few legions at the same time. Meanwhile in China, it was total war.
Also largest naval battle in the history of mankind: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Lake_Poyang
Just had around 200K dead in a battle of 800K somewhere in Belgium not mostly my though, also seen a battle with 1.5M at Nairobi Africa, mostly Italians versus all commonwealth (guess they all participated more than once).
Now what is a battle, the worlds most deadly battle is reported by some to be 1.9M dead (http://www.military-history.org/articles/5-bloodiest-battles-in-history.htm)
But all these numbers needs to be taken with a bit a doubt, often ancient writers reported an excessive amount of participants and casualties.
not mostly my though, also seen a battle with 1.5M at Nairobi Africa, mostly Italians versus all commonwealth (guess they all participated more than once).Now what is a battle, the worlds most deadly battle is reported by some to be 1.9M dead (http://www.military-history.org/articles/5-bloodiest-battles-in-history.htm)
But all these numbers needs to be taken with a bit a doubt, often ancient writers reported an excessive amount of participants and casualties.
Yikes! Those are some seriously bloody battles, both the real and imaginary.
I have to totally agree with the comment about having to take ancient figures with a grain of salt. I seem to recall a documentary talking about the Persian invasion of Greece (300 and all that), and they basically stated the ancient authors were downright liars since the various ships and what not could not support the force that was suggested to have been there. Hey, its been a while since I watched it so cut me some slack for that vague description! I was surprised, when studying various parts of the ancient world at uni, just how long after the events took place that our best sources come from.
I have to totally agree with the comment about having to take ancient figures with a grain of salt. I seem to recall a documentary talking about the Persian invasion of Greece (300 and all that), and they basically stated the ancient authors were downright liars since the various ships and what not could not support the force that was suggested to have been there. Hey, its been a while since I watched it so cut me some slack for that vague description!
I was surprised, when studying various parts of the ancient world at uni, just how long after the events took place that our best sources come from.
Old writers talked about the Persian Army being of over a million soldiers... a little too much... but in other example, the cassualties of the battle of Cannae seem to be fairly correct, and we are talking about 65000 Romans dead