The German Reich and the Second World War

Thanks for the comments

Yep, my losses have been pretty terrible and only get worse. Due to my commute and work, I haven't had much free time lately. But, I plan on finishing this ... slowly but surely.

I also corrected a bunch of typos, as pointed out on the previous page ... some someprogress was made!

Interlude: Notice

Hi all,

Over the past few weeks, having started a new job with a heck of a commute, I had considered wrapping this AAR up since - due to my play style - it takes too long to make any decent progress in game. However, wanting to complete this game that I have invested quite some time in, I have launched several game sessions. All have ended the same way: after several in-game days, the game crashes. So while I have thought about quitting, the game has taken the decision for me. It is game over.

With that said though, I will conclude this AAR over the coming days. The next update will be 99 per cent in game AAR, with the ending modified (as in, the final verdict did not actually take place by the time the game stopped letting me progress but was pretty much going to happen). The updates that will follow are based off how things seemed to progressing in game and - for example, what will take place in the Soviet Union - be based off my in game plans that would have been seen in an AAR updates when they would have eventually happened.

It has been quite a game and I am a little miffed I will not be able to complete it, but I was able to get hours of fun out of it. Furthermore, the commentary from you guys has made writing up the AAR an enjoyable experience and has provided some great advise that was implemented into the game. So thanks for all the comments, and I hope the final few updates will provide a suitable conclusion.

Operation Eagle (16 July - 1 August)

On a high from the rapid defeat of Italy, a rift opened among the General Staff. A minority argued that the troops from the Italian Front be sent to reinforce the ongoing efforts in France. However, most heavily urged for the Western Front not to be reinforced and instead troops committed to an invasion of southern England. Their argument being that the war-weary population of England (who had also just been on the receiving end of an atomic strike on London) would force the politicians to the peace table if a sizeable German force was landed and occupied some key areas in the south-east of the country, namely the remains of the capital. Thus in a single stroke, using only minimal force, a third of the UN forces would be nullified on the Western Front through a British surrender.

Operation Sealion II had been a carefully laid out plan based off in-depth intelligence gathering and the planned utilization of all resources to secure a beachhead in the English Midlands, which could be used as a springboard for the final defeat of Great Britain. However, the urged for invasion would be a rapidly assembled plan lacking bomber support or the previously assembled army group of around 700,000 men. In the space of only a few days, staff officers within the Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, and army scrapped together an invasion plan.

The three Fallschirmjäger divisions were pulled off the frontline and moved to The Netherlands, where their transport planes had arrived to meet them. The Twelfth Army, recently victorious in Italy, was ordered to northern Germany to board the assembled invasion fleet. As the troops assembled, reconnaissance flights scoured the southern and east coasts of England attempting to identify British troop concentrations, while the intelligence service worked to intercept radio chatter. By the time the troops had assembled, Abwehr believed they had assembled a decent picture of the British situation. Despite the massive damage to London, the outskirts of the city were heavily guarded. A coup de main airborne operation would not seize the city. Most ports in the region were also well guarded, meaning that an airborne assault would more than likely fail. However, Dover was identified as undefended and the perfect objective for the airborne assault. The quickly developed plan called for the Fallschirmjäger to land near Dover. Once on the ground the men would secure the port facilities and the high ground north of the city, paving the way for Twelfth Army at the docks and then strike towards London. The assumption was made that a single wave of invasion ships, couple with the surprise and audacity of the strike, would not be intercepted by the Royal Navy who – it was believed – were concentrated in the Atlantic (hunting down U-Boats) or still deployed in the east (having not yet redeployed following the defeat of Japan).


On the day Versailles fell, the order was given for Operation Eagle to be launched. Following nightfall, six-hundred Ar-232 transport planes took off from across the Netherlands and started to form up before crossing the English Channel towards Dover. At 0200, the first of thirty thousand paratroopers jumped into the night. They were met by a storm of anti-aircraft fire as British guns opened fire. Several hundred men failed to make it to the ground. Those who did were rapidly engaged by a large British force. The intelligence service had failed; Dover – it transpired – was heavily defended. Rather than signal the successful capture of the city, the paratroopers radioed the invasion fleet not to attempt a landing at Dover, per the plan.


Late on the 17th, utilizing surprise and daring, Twelfth Army stormed ashore the eastern coast of England landing across a wide area from Maidstone to Southend. With their primary mission being to secure Dover and the supply route, the vast majority of the army attacked south to help the beleaguered paratroopers while a small force attempted to push into the eastern suburbs of London. Off the coast, American destroyers intercepted the invasion fleet on its return voyage to safe harbor. In a decisive naval battle, most of the invasion fleet was destroyed or damaged. The ships that were able to evade the American destroyers, were intercepted the following day by the Royal Navy. With the fleet gone, no reinforcement or evacuation would be possible. Had some ships escaped the slaughter, a massive Anglo-American carrier force loitered in the area to ensure no follow-up waves would arrive.


By 19 July, the attack towards London had been repelled as had the attack towards Dover. Leaving close to 3,000 dead behind, the paratroopers managed to fight their way through to German lines. Over the following ten days, the British launched numerous attacks forcing the Twelfth Army and paratroopers into a small perimeter around Southend. The British were out for revenge and our force were cut off, surrounded, and besieged with no hope of victory. Reports indicated that British troops were being ferried back to England to destroy the Twelfth Army, and troops from Canada and New Zealand had also joined the fight with a substantial force of Americans moving in to reinforce the effort. The British military, in the British Isles, had been severely underestimated.

Digging deep trenches and rapidly constructing bunkers and fortifying any reinforced position, our troops conserved as much ammunition as possible as supplies started to dwindle. Luftwaffe cargo planes dropped supplies, but it was not enough to supply the entire army. Over the final week of July, UN attacks mounted as fresh American and British troops arrived. Lacking the ammunition or heavy equipment to repel such an assault, the perimeter rapidly collapsed. On 1 August, General von Both surrendered Twelfth Army and his attached paratroopers. The invasion had been a complete disaster. In just two weeks, the only real reserve left to the Reich had been destroyed along with the only chance of winning the war. Casualty reports had been radioed back to Germany on a daily basis building a detailed picture on the ground, our losses had amounted to 13,645 men by the final transmission inferring the capture of 149,355 men. Post-war British documents revealed 17,000 British, Canadian, and New Zealand losses and a further 563 Americans.

Hey guys, thanks for the comments. As I stated in my notice, the above is 99 per cent what happened in game. By the time my game refused to advance any further, my troops were bottled up, under constant attack and I had no way of evacuating, reinforcing, or renewing the attack. The surrender is all that did not happen, and that is because they were still holding on, although rapidly losing the battle. The above conclusion, with slightly more casualties, would have taken place had the game ran - say - another week or so.

The next update will be more along the lines of 50-50, the first half is game AAR and the second half being what was likely to end up happening. I just need to finish writing it up, so will probably be able to get uploaded tomorrow after work.

I was two minds about it myself. Quite a few here were rather for it (the general staff comment ). I also figured it was the best chance at actually winning on the Western Front. As will be seen in the next update, knocking the British out would have given me close to equality on the Western Front (discounting the French who my troops could - mostly - easily deal with). So it was a chance worth taking, especially when I thought Dover was unoccupied (an honest mistake that actually took place)!

:rofl:

Thanks for the comments guys. As for heads rolling, the man responsible is stashed away in a comfy British country manor ...

Baltasar said:

The German Abwehr really was that bad historically ;-)

Click to expand...

So now my game is slightly realistic!

Ok, the next update:

The Collapse of the Western Front (1 August – 31 December)

In an effort to place the UN forces on the back foot, draw away allied forces from the battles to the north, and get Case Derfflinger moving again, a general offensive was launched across the center of the front. Eleventh and Fifteenth armies attacked across their entire section with the objective of advancing further into the Loire Valley. As these two armies pushed forward, the Sixteenth Army (on their southern flank) joined the attack aiming to capture Vichy. It was hoped that this would relieve the pressure on the remnants of the Fifth and Sixth armies (supported by the First and Second Panzer armies) who were embroiled in a series of battles with Anglo-American troops attempting to throw our northern wing back across the Seine.


By the end of July, casualties (excluding those suffered in England) had reached 160,000 men. Within days of the general offensive, casualties had increased by a further 40,000. Eleventh and Fifteenth armies overran several Anglo-French divisions and made an impressive start making gains across their entire front. The northern wing of Sixteenth Army also saw success. However, while initial gains were impressive – considering the length of time it had taken to punch other sectors of the front – they had little strategic impact. The attacks soon stalled due to casualties and the lack of fresh troops to take advantage of the situation. In the south, the French reacted with increased ferocity to the attempt to take Vichy. Not only was the Sixteenth Army halted, it was thrown back opening a gap between it and Fifteenth Army to its north. French troops poured through supported by a handful of British motorized and armoured divisions. This poised a serious situation and resulted in the First Panzer Army (already badly mauled from the fighting around Versailles) to be withdrawn south to stop a complete rout from taking place. Eleventh and Fifteenth armies withdrew to their start line while in the north, strong Anglo-American attacks had worn out our infantry reducing the Fifth and Sixth armies to mere shells of what they had been several months before. The Second Panzer Army, the last remaining mobile unit west of Paris, was unable to penetrate the Allied lines and began the process of covering the withdrawal of the Fifth and Sixth armies back across the Seine.

Since the beginning of July, the Fourth and Sixth SS Panzer armies along with the Seventeenth Army had been launching assault after assault into the “Island”, after it was discovered UN forces were withdrawing from the position. As the battle for Versailles was making no progress it was believed that this weak spot could be exploited to collapse the northern UN flank. The initial attacks went well with Amiens, Abbeville, and Beauvais falling. At one point, it had seemed this attack would succeed in crushing the northern flank of the UN forces. The UN troops (American, British, and Canadians) rallied. One by one, they retook the towns that had been lost and then pushed further taking Arras, in the process destroying the ability of the two panzer armies to fight. The UN rapidly reinforced this position producing a major threat on our northern front. The Third Panzer Army, having just cleared the west bank of the Seine and winning the battle of Versailles, was recalled and ordered to seal off the “Island” along with every fresh German division available (thus depriving the above mentioned offensives of fresh troops). Several bloody battles were fought to retake Arras, and prevent the UN from further taking advantage of the situation, but all failed. The attacks only withered the remaining strength of the Third Panzer Army making it (and the already depleted Fourth Panzer, Sixth SS Panzer, and Seventeenth armies) from being able to withstand the next phase of the UN attack.


Under heavy artillery fire and supported by the extensive use of tanks (Canadian divisions having an infantry tank brigade as an integrated part of their order of battle), the Canadian Sixth Army launched a concentrated offensive. The Canadians quickly broke through the defenses facing Arras and advanced across the Pas de Calais. Lille and Cambrai quickly fell. The Canadian Tenth Army moved in to reinforce the corridor opened up to Belgium, while American troops were hot on the heels of the Canadians. The attack started what became known as the “Second Hundred Days”. With UN troops on the border of Belgium, the Belgian military launched a coup. Fighting broke out in Brussels between the loyalist troops of Leon Degrelle (the head of the puppet Belgian Government) and those who had been binding their time since 1940. By mid-September, UN-friendly Belgian forces had liberated their country and welcomed back the Royal family and Government-in-exile. With the Western Front on the verge of collapse, the Soviet Union chose this time to launch a massive offensive on the Eastern Front.

The battered elements of the Fourth Panzer, Sixth SS Panzer, and Seventeenth armies (along with a rag tag collection of units from other formations) found cut off in the Pas de Calais region, north of the Canadian lines. Taking advantage of the confusion in Belgium, the SS led the charge through the country towards the safety of the West Wall. While the Belgians were largely distracted in ridding the country of the fascist loyalists, they were still able to establish roadblocks and attempt to slow down the escape of our forces. While the Fourth Panzer Army fought rearguard actions against British troops, the Waffen-SS clashed with Belgian troops equipment with the latest German weaponry. Numerous tough skirmishes were fought, but the road to the Reich was kept open to allow the entire force to escape.

To the south, American mobile troops were pouring through the gap opened by the Canadians and were fanning out south. Their objective was very clear, they sought to trap eight of our armies before they could reach Germany and thus score a decisive victory. The Third Panzer Army had withdrew south in face of the Canadian penetration and well placed to engage the advancing Americans, while helping the Second Panzer Army cover the retreat of the infantry. Swirling tank battles were fought across the Champagne region of France as our panzers fought a desperate battle against overwhelming American numbers. By the end of September, the American effort had been blunted albeit with heavy casualties. While the panzers were able to stop a complete rout and ensure the withdrawal of the infantry, several divisions were isolated and captured. Further south, the First Panzer Army was able to extradite the Sixteenth Army and slow down the Anglo-French advance – and attempt to link up with the Americans – but again with heavy losses in men and material and the loss of several divisions.

By Mid-October, the vast majority of forces assigned to OB West had reached and manned the West Wall. The battered remnants of the Panzer armies were ordered east to help repel the Soviet attacks. During the final stages of the retreat, around 60,000 men were killed and over 40,000 were missing presumed captured. Thousands of tanks, halftracks, trucks, and guns had been destroyed leaving eastern France a vast scrap yard. The battlefields around the “Island”, Paris, and the Seine had given France a new “zone rouge”: a mass area of destroyed countryside littered with deep trenches and pockmarked by shellfire. Paris had fallen without a fight, and the Vichy Government moved to retake the former seat of power. The supreme Allied headquarters followed suit.


The remnants of Fifth, Sixth, Eleventh, Sixteenth, and Seventeenth armies were reinforced by the troops from the former Italian Front, various static and garrison divisions, Luftwaffe and Volksgrenadier divisions bringing the total force to around 800,000 men. The West Wall had, over the preceding months, been fortified further than it had been. Millions of tons of concrete had been poured for new pillboxes and artillery bunkers, new minefields sowed, and thousands of miles of barbed wire lain. The West Wall stretched from Switzerland to the North Sea, largely based behind the Rhine (having abandoned the Netherlands) with advance positions in Alsace-Lorraine to ensure the French would pay a high price if they wanted to re-annex our territory.

Throughout October, the UN forces moved slowly up to our positions along a broad front. In total, the Allies had assembled thirty armies: Eighth American, two Belgian, four British, two Canadian, one Dutch, and eleven French. A force that close to four million strong: 1.7 million French, 1.6 million British and other imperial forces, 1.5 million American, and several hundred thousand Belgians and Dutch. With such an on overwhelming numerical advantage, it would only be a matter of time before the West Wall would be breached, but it would be a bloody battle to do so. During November and December, the Allies made numerous attempts to breach the Wall and end the war. Our troops fought hard and threw back any penetrations leaving the line intact. On 11 November, revenge was struck upon the backstabbing French. From deep inside Germany, a rocket was launched towards Paris. Timed to perfection, the warhead impacted the center of Paris at 11 am obliterating the center of the city along with the treacherous Vichy officials in a blinding light. Elements of the Supreme Allied Headquarters were caught in the attack, but such a loss was not going to disrupt the UN forces. The attack only incensed the Allied troops further, but despite their best efforts they halted their attacks in mid-December having not broken through anywhere and the weather now impeding further progress.

By the end of July, prior to the breakthrough at Arras, the Allied losses had reached 250,000. As our attacks slackened, the Allied losses dramatically decreased as they threw us on the defense and chased our men back to the West Wall. The fighting to breach the wall resulted in a further quarter of a million men, with the Americans taking the brunt of the losses. Our own had reached 400,000 in total with a further 100,000 missing. The Luftwaffe, while losing close to one thousand jet fighters during the cause of the year, had shot down over 8,000 Allied planes and achieved a 4:1 ratio in dogfighting. The bomber wing on the other hand had lost over 2,000 machines in an attempt to provide much needed ground support. The U-Boat fleet had been the last offensive element of our military. However, by the end of July and the Allied fleets having redeployed from the Pacific, their attacks on Allied convoys ceased. The few remaining boats were sunk, damaged, or chased back to port never to sortie again against such naval superiority with advanced detection methods making further attacks impossible.

Up until the end of July, the above is accurate (casualties, the general state of things). The UN breakthrough in the north was mostly contained, but continued AI pressure there as well as around Versailles and the inability of my general offensive to break through along with heavy casualties makes me think that some sort of withdrawal would have had to have taken place at some point. My losses were unsustainable and most of my troops org was rapidly disappearing. As for Belgium, my long term plan had been - once the AI reached their border - to switch sides for them.

So on the whole, id say about 50-50 for the above post.