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

Friday 27th to Monday 30th April 1940

In our universities and research laboratories, as well as our military colleges and study centres, thousands of our brightest minds are working to help our soldiers, sailors and airmen. On Friday two projects were successfully completed. The first was the development of tactics to allow the Luftwaffe to deliver our Fallschirmjägers more accurately to their drop-zones. This sounds terrific, but buried in the footnotes I saw it mentioned that the VVS had been using similar tactics for at least 20 years! So much for leading the world. The other project was more cutting-edge: a machining process to allow the use of 50mm thick plating as armour for our leichte panzers.

Our inadequacy in airborne assault tactics has at least been recognised, and the research team has been told to proceed with its work, which from the drafts I saw will require small groups of men to simulate parachute attacks over and over again while other groups of men stand with stop watches timing how long it took them to leap from their aircraft, travel to the earth, gather their weapon capsules and assemble into a formation capable of combat. The main expense is keeping several staffeln of transports operating for a period of months. The army lost its research team, but that was to be expected. We are losing far too many pilots (and aircraft) and something must be done. The best pilots in the Luftwaffe, together with engineers and tactical thinkers are gathered with one goal: to improve our interceptor tactics and give our Jagdfliegerkorps the edge in aerial combat.


It will be months before the new tactics were refined enough to be demonstrated to the front-line units, and in the meantime our pilots have to respond to our enemies. Dörstling was officer in charge of a combined 1st and 6th Kampffliegerkorps bombing mission over Almazan, his objective to suppress all opposition on the south side of the Duero. Early on Friday he was attacked by the 270 fighters of the combined 1er, 2o and 3er Grupo de Caza, but his Messerschmitt escorts held off the Spanish fighters long enough for the Ju 88s to complete their task. When Dörstling returned, he was accompanied by not only his two geschwader of escort Messerschmitts, but also the BF 109s of “Richthofen” and “Schalgeter”. Perhaps wisely, Hidalgo de Cisneros elected to not interfere: his I-15s and I-16s would not perform so well without a numerical advantage.


The FARE gave our fighters a wide berth until the next day, when a single group (Casteneau’s 1er Grupo Caza FARE) suddenly appeared over Tudela before dawn, attacking Sperrle’s 1st Kampffliegerkorps. It was a short but bloody episode, the sunlight high above the ground allowing both sides a clear view even though the ground troops were still in darkness. The pilots of JG 12 “Donner” showed immense skill to continually place themselves between the attacking Spanish and the bombers, to the effect that only seven bombers were lost. But holding off 100 fighters came at a cost: “Donner” lost 9 of its own aircraft. Unconfirmed reports put the Spanish losses at 14 planes.


Along the coast of the Bay of Biscay, General Model saw an opportunity to crush the Spanish 2a División. General Cordón Garcia had taken his badly beaten men to Guardo to give them rest and allow him to re-install his command structures. He did not anticipate that Model would turn his Panzer Division south, and 5th PzD tore into the disorganised and demoralised Spanish infantry. This should not really be classed as a battle, as most of the defenders fled before our tanks got anywhere near them. Nevertheless Model has claimed battle honours, and points to his 15 casualties as evidence of the fighting. Garcia lost 109 men and is once again looking for a secure spot where he can regain control of his unit.


The never-ending struggle for control of the air over the English Channel was resumed on Friday. Fisser should have had an easy time, his two geschwader of Bf 109Es facing only Bowhill’s 9th CAG. For some reason, though, the Fulmars performed better than our Messerschmitts, and “Ruoff” lost 3 aircraft, while the British were untouched. The only positive note was that Bowhill was chased from the Eastern English Channel to the Mouth of the Thames


More fighting has erupted in Spain, where General Jodl is moving to capture Ayerbe, the province to the north-west of the regional centre of Zarogoza. Little excitement is expected, as the well equipped men of 14.Infanterie (mot) should make short work of Serrador Santés’ 14/7a Divisíon Organica. Jodl has nearly two to one superiority, and is a far more experienced commander than his opponent.


In Amazan, General von Manstein has reported that the Spanish have been able to withdraw 3/1a Divisíon Organica from Almazan and replace it with Bastov’s 6/3a Divisíon. He is full of praise for the skill with which this has been achieved, and attributes it to the veteran Batov. General Pozas Perea has pulled his whole unit back to Siguenza, forcing 3rd leichte Panzer to fight another division for the same territory. In other circumstances this could have been disastrous, but von Manstein is not concerned. Batov’s men are hardly fresh, and Nehring’s 1st Panzer Division is moving to assist from Soria. It will not be long before we have another foothold across the Duero.


The 29th saw a small ceremony in Berlin to celebrate the formation of an SS cavalry unit: 8th SS Kavellerie Division “Florian Geyer”. (We don’t have many parades any more (there’s a war on!) but maybe they made an exception because it was a Sunday). Personally I find it a bit much to refer to 6,000 cavalrymen as a division, but I am an old footslogger so maybe I am biased. To me the oddest thing is the name: doesn’t anyone in the Party know that Florian Geyer was one of the leaders of a peasant revolt? And that he was hailed by Engels as a revolutionary hero? Perhaps they just like singing “Wir sind des Geyers schwarzer Haufen”. I will never understand these Nazis. General Bithou and his cavalrymen won’t have long to strut around Berlin in their long black boots, as I have already seen their transport documents. They are off to join the Frankreich Army in Paris, keeping an eye on any unruly Frenchmen. The factories that produced the equipment for the new division have been ordered to direct their efforts to upgrading existing units.


The Carrier Air Groups operating from the Bay of Biscay are proving just as tough as their counterparts in the Channel. Commander Tedder’s 8th CAG had been bombing 3rd leichte Panzer in Anguino with impunity for some time, until Felmy’s 2nd Jagdfliegerkorps arrived. In two air battles Felmy’s men destroyed just six enemy aircraft, losing 3 of their own.


With barely time to return to base, 2nd Jagdfliegerkorps flew north to the Mouth of the Loire, where they met Gore-Sutherland-Mitchell leading 16th and 17th CAG into occupied France. Another skirmish took place, and “Schlageter” lost another 4 fighters. The mission was a success, however, and the British turned back, ditching their bombs in the sea.


General Geib, leader of 1st Küste and Grenze Army, has suddenly realised that St Nazaire, on the Bay of Biscay, is completely undefended. Von Chappuis has 9.Infanterie Division at Lorient, just to the north, but Geib is concerned that the British may see a vacant port as too tempting to resist. On Monday morning there was a brief memo advising that he has added it to his list of key defensive positions: I suppose he doesn’t want to draw attention to the fact that the port and its facilities could have been captured or badly damaged by a Royal Marine raid.


I also found that early on Sunday morning de Angelis committed 20.Infanterie (mot) to a potentially disastrous attack. His 10,000 men are to cross into Aranda de Duero, across the river of the same name. General Lacaci has nearly 20,000 men on the other side of the river, and they have plenty of time to prepare their positions. To make things worse, the defenders include an elite mountain unit (the other divisions are at full strength). This could be a very bloody affair. It wasn’t long before the difficulty of the task became clear: British aircraft appeared while de Angelis was still in the process of marshalling his men. Luckily the ubiquitous Felmy was nearby and soon drove off Ludlow-Hewitt and his planes (4th CAG has suffered greatly during the past weeks and its pilots did not linger when it was clear their mission was not unopposed).


Bombing Report

Luftwaffe

Abejar: Kesselring with 1st Schlachtfliegerkorps (2 x Ju 87B): 70, 143, 130, 38
Almazan: Dörstling with 1st and 6th Kampffliegerkorps (2 x Bf 109E, 4 x Ju 88): 141
Almazan: Dörstling with 1st and 6th Kampffliegerkorps, 2nd Jagdfliegerkorps (4 x Bf 109E, 4 x Ju 88): 148
Almazan: Sperrle with 1st Kampffliegerkorps (1 x Bf 109E, 2 x Ju 88): 224
Almazan: Kesselring with 1st Schlachtfliegerkorps (2 x Ju 87B): 77, 124
Tudela: Sperrle with 1st Kampffliegerkorps (1 x Bf 109E, 2 x Ju 88):107, 284
Tudela: Sperrle with 1st Kampffliegerkorps , 2nd Jagdfliegerkorps (3 x Bf 109E, 2 x Ju 88): 219
Ayerbe: Sperrle with 1st Kampffliegerkorps (1 x Bf 109E, 2 x Ju 88): 155, 269, 164
Aranda de Duero: Sperrle with 1st Kampffliegerkorps (1 x Bf 109E, 2 x Ju 88): 150, 264, 195

RAF (RN Air Arm)

Anguino: Tedder with 8th CAG: 4, 62, 60


Unterseebootsflotte Activity Report


Madeira: 1 transport (UK): Plymouth – South Georgia: Wolf with 4th U-flotte
Western English Channel: 1 transport (UK): Singapore – Dover: von Nordeck with II U-flotte
Coast of Porto: 1 transport (UK): Portsmouth – Mauritius: Aßmann with 1st U-flotte
Western Biscay Plain: 1 transport (UK): Plymouth - Tarawa: Fricke with 3rd U-flotte
Madeira: 1 transport (Spanish): Cádiz – Maracaibo: Wold with 4th U-flotte
Western Charcot Seamount: 1 transport (UK): Dover – Kuala Belait: Fricke with 3rd U-flotte
Coast of Cádiz: 1 transport (Spanish): Cádiz – Laayoune: Wolf with 4th U-flotte
Setubal Bay: 1 transport (UK): Dover – Kuala Belait: Aßman with 1st U-flotte

Karaiskandar said:

Are the Italians trying to leave North-Africa ?
I'm a bit puzzled by what they're doing...

Click to expand...

Quick again!

Not as puzzled as me: I thought it might be supply problems but they have plenty at Behghazi (well, more than anywhere else in North Africa).

I have given them El Iskandariya as an objective but they seem determined to not head that way.

I can only surmise they are possessed by demons or are in the pay of the British.

A brief word before the update. Skip it if you want, it is just (as company prospectuses say) in the interests of full disclosure. I said at the beginning of this AAR that I wouldn’t alter anything unless I had to, so here it is.

You will notice a few of the screenshots look different (I think better, but I accept this is subjective). By the time I get to 10th May 1940, all screenshots will look like this. I have loaded the “Retextured Map” mod by Modestus, as I liked the look of the map etc. (I hope he doesn’t mind me doing so). Although this changes the map, message boxes, some counters and presentation, it has no effect on game play.

This was important for me, because I wanted to have an AAR that anyone could read and understand what was going on. (Or maybe throw up their hands and say “What one earth is he doing!”). I love mods, and generally play them – I am playing several now, both HOI3 and AOD – but I accept that many people could be turned off by an AAR that requires knowledge of the mod. So this just affects appearance.

What will affect game play is a few changes I made to the save game file.

First, I have made a few comments about Japanese supply problems in China and my attempts to solve them. I didn’t get all that far (though I see Surt has made a suggestion) so I have moved a lot of supply from Korea to Dagu (port in China). It was driving me mad that Japan was producing mountains of supply (to the detriment of its production of equipment) just to store it in Hamhung. I see this as a temporary fix until I can sort out the mainland stockpile problem. This isn’t really a change – this is what the AI should do. Japan is getting no benefit other than getting its supply in the place it should go. Note: I am not giving Japan all the troops it should have if it had not kept making supplies when it had plenty – it is still at a severe disadvantage.

Second, I have been having some concerns about the effectiveness of submarine warfare. In one of the patches submarines became super convoy-killers. I think this has now been toned down, but I played some time with this patch and it has had a deleterious effect on game play. I finally worked out why Italy is retreating in North Africa when it vastly outnumbers the British. Despite the Regia Marina dominating the Med, the British have sunk every Italian convoy. There is about 20 supply and 100 fuel in the whole of Libya. Italy is about to lose 50-60 regiments. I don’t see this as very realistic if I look at the Italian and British strength in the Med.

I have looked through a lot of my savegames and decided that an intervention is justified. After playing around with several options, I have given Italy 100 convoys and 20 escorts, as well as a small supply dump at Tarabulus. (Strictly speaking not a stockpile – after Benghazi fell the Italians have not replaced the stockpile port in Libia – ports size? lack of IC?).

In the interests of balance and fairness, I decided that I could not favour only the Axis: Britain also suffered because of the unreal efficiency of the undersea war. So I have given them 250 convoys and 50 escorts to compensate.

I hope people understand that I didn’t make these changes to make life easier or distort the outcome. I did them because I like an enjoyable game and I think that a few things threatened to throw it off balance. I believe the last time I intervened was when the Hungarian army decided to march en masse to Vladivostok.

Thank you for bearing with my long-winded explanation, but I do like people to know that I am not “fixing” the results of this AAR. I don’t replay if I don’t like the results, and as many can see (but are too polite to point out) I make many fundamental mistakes. Stopping interceptor production in 1939 springs to mind. In my defence, in real life Germany did sharply reduce aircraft production in 1939-40, only ramping it up again as Barbarossa approached and the realisation dawned that the losses in the Battle of Britain had to be replaced.













Tuesday 1st May to Thursday 3rd May 1940


The start of a new month brought with it bundles of information for the Cabinet Ministers. The regular monthly Cabinet meetings have been quietly shelved now that everyone is so busy. But that doesn’t stop the need for the Ministers to be informed of events outside their portfolios, particularly what the Americans refer to as the “big picture”. It is only too easy for anyone to get focussed in their immediate responsibility to the exclusion of all else. (I am in no danger – my filing and other administrative responsibilities take up less and less of my time!).

One that I found interesting was a slim folder of strategic maps that covered every area of conflict (present or potential). I dipped into it during the day, as every map contained a lot of information. The first series I looked at concerned the situation of our Japanese allies. It looks as though the Soviet Union is either concerned about or looking longingly at the vast territory of the Japanese puppet, Manchukuo. A minimum of 30 Russian divisions form a huge semi-circle around Manchuria, while far fewer units of the IJA and MIA cluster on the inner border. Obviously the deployment of so many Russians in the Far East is a benefit for us (or will be!) but one does have to wonder how those Japanese infantry would have impacted the struggle in China.


The situation in China is looking slightly better than a month ago. Most of the Japanese line has stabilised and there are signs that a drive along the coast is now being to take shape. It is essential that more ports are occupied to allow the delivery of supply closer to the front: there are huge problems associated with drawing the bulk of military goods and fuel from Korea.


Indochina, however, is a disaster. The Siamese army has been virtually destroyed, and the handful of Japanese remaining is unable to stem the tide of triumphant Guangxi divisions. It seems as the marines sent to the front have been eliminated, and only a few garrison divisions remain. Unless some way of drawing off the Chinese is found, only massive reinforcements can stave off the loss of the entire country, as well as Siam.


Of course, all that is a long way from home. So is Spain, but the news from Salas de los Infantes was of “Schlageter”, my brother’s unit, and so it was easily able to tear my attention from the information folder to the present. The British have resumed bombing our troops and Felmy has led his fighters to once again demonstrate we dominate the Spanish skies. At least that is the idea: in two engagements 2nd Jagdfliegerkorps only destroyed four enemy aircraft for the loss of two Messerschmitts, and both times the Albacores successfully dropped their bombs.


Even with the success of our U-boats, the British economy is still producing the weapons its armed forces require. The Royal Navy has no shortage of carriers, and the RAF has no shortage of fighters. While Felmy battled carrier air groups in Spain, Waber was facing swarms of aircraft over the Channel. “Udet” and “Pik As” were outnumbered all day as they attempted to monitor a carrier fleet (2 escort carriers, 3 heavy cruisers, 3 light cruisers, 4 destroyer squadrons) as it moved from the Western English Channel to the Channel Approach. Desperate to keep the search aircraft away from our U-boats, 6th Jagdfliegerkorps was up against four carrier air groups and four RAF Fighter Groups. The Luftwaffe lost a further 9 planes. British losses are not known, but at least five Spitfires of 211 RAF Fighter Group were claimed by our pilots.

As the day drew to an end I examined the situation in the Mediterranean. Il Duce’s dream of an Italian Empire surrounding the Mittelmeer is still that – a dream. Although the Esercito Regio is slowly pushing back the Greeks, in North Africa the Italians are in full flight, pursued by a couple of British armoured divisions supported by Iraqi infantry. Our logistical experts believe that the huge Italian Army of Libia was unable to be supplied: that the Royal Navy has obliterated the Italian supply convoys crossing the Mediterranean. Something may have to be done to stave off disaster.


Wednesday brought more grief for the Luftwaffe as the Rennes Luftgau reported Armstrong Whitworth Whitleys in Spanish colours over the city. They have been identified as aircraft of 1er and 2o Grupo Estratégico, commanded by Díaz Sandino. The Luftwaffe was quick off the mark, Fisser flinging in “Benelux” and “Ruoff”. Eight enemy bombers were shot down, but the city took heavy damage. That wasn’t the end of the fighting for Fisser’s men, as later that day 7th Jagdfliegerkorps was also called upon to clear the Eastern English Channel of Sholto-Douglas’s 211 RAF Fighter Group, which they reduced to just sixty operational aircraft. This came at a cost: “Benelux” is down to 74 fighters, though “Ruoff” is better off with 87 fighters. And another RN task force was sighted: a fleet carrier, battleship, two heavy cruisers and four destroyer squadrons.


Back to my “big picture” file, and the state of the Reich and the Occupied Territories. A long thin line of divisions stretches from Memel down to Przemysl, but there are many gaps. A scattering of garrison and cavalry units hold Poland, and the Hungarians seem to have a decent border guard. Yugoslavia is in much better shape, with the Balkans Army on the frontier, and 2nd Panzerkorps now entering the country from Austria. We are ignoring the Swiss, who are defiantly neutral. Denmark is held by only a few divisions, as the preparations for Unternehmen Nordlicht wind down. Every port along the Nordsee coast is secure, and a couple of units are sufficient to hold Holland and Belgium. The French Interior is under the control of the Frankreich Army, with the coast and border with Vichy the responsibility of the Küste and Grenze Army.


Luckily I had finished with the map folder and had replaced it in its bundle of documents, because a very brusque security officer marched into my office (without knocking!) and demanded that all Cabinet papers be handed back to him immediately. I was going to ask for his papers but as he had about 6 men with him, all armed, and was displaying a distinct lack of any sense of humour, I simply indicated the box containing all the files. (As always, I had taken the precaution of resealing the box). With a click of his heels he was gone, as was the box. I was not sure what had prompted this display of sensitivity regarding military secrets, but I suspect it was a kneejerk reaction to the trade news from Moscow: all fuel supplies have been halted. I heard that many in the upper echelons saw this as a preliminary to the Soviet Union breaking the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, and we could soon be at war in the east. Luckily calmer heads prevailed, and it was realised that this was a diplomatic sign that Stalin was not happy with our decision to cancel all military supply contracts. Still, it was a close call for me, and a reminder that my curiosity sometimes puts me at risk.

The next day all was back to normal and hundreds of military secrets again passed through my office (well, copies of them). The first was that a newly formed anti-aircraft regiment had been attached to Oberbefehlshaber Ost. The activity of the FARE has got many high ranking officers worried that the VVs may decide to bomb our rear headquarters and I expect that many other vulnerable command units will be clamouring for protection. They will have to wait: there was no authority to raise another Flak regiment. All production is needed for upgrades and reinforcements.


I normally don’t get much information about our spy services, for reasons which I suppose are obvious. So I was surprised to see a document ordering our agents in Republican Spain (we have 5 cells still operating, remnants of General Franco’s Intelligence network) to start direct action. Up until these spies have been “sleepers”, providing some information but nothing that would risk detection. They have now been told to spread negative rumours and stories to denigrate the Spanish leaders: generally anything to lower national unity. As this will no doubt result in most of our spies facing a firing squad within weeks, Goebbels and Frick must have information that the Spanish civilians are more resolute than we would like.

They need to be resolute, because militarily the Spanish are in trouble. It took General Ott only hours to destroy Ascaso Abadía’s forces in Villada. With the assistance of 5th Panzer Division (from Saldana), he attacked with 3.Infanterie (mot) from Guardo. 15/8a División Organica and 1/1a Cavalry had no chance, caught on the open plains by a pincer attack by far more mobile and heavily armed troops. Model’s Panzer IIIFs had a field day, running amok among the defenceless infantry and cavalry, who had no option but to run. Only 20 of our men were lost, compared to 273 Spanish.


The British tried to assist by bombing Ott’s trucks as they advanced through Guardo. Barrett attacked with 14th and 15th Carrier Air Groups, and was followed by Gore-Sutherland-Mitchell with 16th and 17th CAGs. Both were met by Felmy and 2nd Jagdfliegerkorps and Barrett was driven off before he could hit the columns of trucks heading south. “Schlageter” lost five more pilots, and 2nd Jagdfliegerkorps was not available when Collishaw returned later that day to hit 3.Infanterie (mot) again. Bowhill also took advantage of the absence of fighters to bomb 16.Infanterie (mot) in Salas de los Infantes.


It was with a bit of relief that I saw von Manstein finally declared combat was over in Almazan. It was a harder fight than he had expected, and casualties were just under 100. General Batov lost nearly 10% of his men, 482 out of his original 5859. I fear we will run into him again: he has shown several times that he can extract fierce loyalty from his men and they fight well under him, even in dire circumstances.

Late on the 3rd another tank assault began, General Nehring believing that there was no point in waiting until dawn before moving into Calatayud. Deserters have told us that the defence of the province has been left to a headquarters unit of less than 3,000 men. No doubt thinking of General Rommel’s continuous exhortations to his Panzer leaders to keep moving, Nehring has decided that in the circumstances a night attack, although normally to be avoided by armour, can be risked. (He has the advantage of commanding regiments of medium tanks: even if the Spanish surprise his lead panzers there is little they can do given their lack of anti-tank weaponry).


Bombing Summary

Luftwaffe

Aranda de Duero: Sperrle with 1st Kampffliegerkorps (1 x Bf 109E, 2 x Ju 88): 147, 257, 200, 133, 281, 227, 146, 214, 200

RAF (RN Air Arm)

Salas de los Infantes: Barrett with 14th and 15th Carrier Air Groups: 22, 18
Salas de los Infantes: Harris with 11th and 13th Carrier Air Groups: 44
Guardo: Barrett with 14th and 15th Carrier Air Groups: NIL
Guardo: Gore-Sutherland-Mitchell with 16th and 17th Carrier Air Groups: 17, NIL
Salas de los Infantes: Bowhill with 9th Carrier Air Group: 34
Guardo: Collishaw with 12th, 16th and 17th Carrier Air Groups: 17


Unterseebootsflotte Activity Report


Eastern Charcot Seamount: 1 transport (UK): Dover – Colombo: Fricke with 3rd U-flotte
Coast of Porto: 1 transport (UK): Portsmouth – Malta: Aßman with 1st U-flotte
Western Charcot Seamount: 1 transport (UK): Dover – Singapore: Fricke with 3rd U-flotte
South Azores Biscay Rise: 1 transport (UK): Plymouth – Ascension Island: Aßmann with 1st U-flotte
Mouth of the Loire: 1 transport (UK): Portsmouth – Malta: Dönitz with 2nd U-flotte
Cape St Vincent: 1 transport (Spanish): Cádiz – Boston: Wolf with 4th U-flotte
South-East Porcupine Plain: 1 transport (UK): Plymouth – Gibraltar: Fricke with 3rd U-flotte

Karaiskandar said:

Pure coincidence, I swear !




Well it's maybe because of the offensive in Greece. Doesn't sound really logical I know...but it's the IA.

Click to expand...

See my note before the update: complete lack of supply in North Africa will do it.

Enewald said:

Florian Geyer was also a bit of local folk hero, after all he fought against the kings and churches, burning monasteries for the good cause.
Like the current regime, destroying thither and hither for a greater cause.

Click to expand...

I understand his popularity: it was his attitude to the authorities that made me wonder why the SS would name a division after him.

BoemsiBoemsie said:

The Luftwaffe definately needs some serious expansion before Barbarossa fires and the USA joins the Allies. They seem overwhelmed already by a bunch of outdated Spanish biplanes and the British RAF. This spells disaster once the American heavy bombers come knocking on the door.

And are you working on heavy tank designs yet?

Click to expand...

I realise that I was fooled by the ease with which I crushed the Polish Air Force and the Armee de l'Air (and the 1939 RAF). Nothing to it but a crash building program. I should get a new model interceptor in a month or so, and my other interceptor doctrine techs are pretty good. I have to ramp up fixed AA too - my tentative conclusion is that they do work now, but you need a lot to avoid having them wiped out in the first bombing raid.

Heavy tank is still at 1939 level: I will start to buidl two "schwere" divs soon, but they may have to wait a while before I get advanced designs.

Surt said:

If you want to change the supply source for Japan you need to change the harbour size, increase the one you want to size 10 and decrease the others to 5, at least this was true in 1.4.

Click to expand...

Thanks for that Surt - I'll give it a try. All I want is to stop Japan having 100k+ supply either in Hamhung or in the mountains between the port and the battlefields of China. When I looked at Japan, it had 60+ IC producing supplies, although it had 57K in Tokyo and 81K in Hamhung. No infantry being produced at all (though in queue). And half the units in China on low supply, despite having a bloody great port two to six provinces away.

EDIT: Surt: doesn't it also have to be a core province and have an IC?

[/B]

Friday 4th May to Monday 7th May 1940

I had hoped when I arrived at the Kanzlei this morning to hear of something other than the travails of the Luftwaffe, but it was not to be. During the night Newall’s RAF Strategic Groups had attacked Dortmund, and as I was sitting down at my desk I could hear shouts from the corridor that the British were back over that city to add to the damage. The only good news was that the anti-air defences of the city shot down a couple of aircraft before the recently repaired Flak towers were again badly damaged. This made the job of Bogatsch’s 5th Jagdfliegerkorps slightly easier. They flew from Amsterdam to intercept Newall over Dortmund. At least 14 heavy bombers were destroyed in this action, though “Ost 1” and “Ost 2” are now down to 75% of book strength.


The overnight news from Spain was much more cheerful. Nehring’s bloodless win in Calatayud was no surprise. (Well, bloodless from our point of view: Sarabia lost 26 men from his headquarters). Ayerbe was also not unexpected. General Jodl had never doubted his ability to seize the province from the weakened 14/7a División, though perhaps he did not anticipate losing 168 men in the process. Serrador Santés lost 777 of his 6,000 men: nearly 15%. The best news, however, came last: de Angelis and 16.Infanterie (mot), completely alone (apart from Sperrle’s Ju 88s flying around the clock missions), have crossed the Duero in the face of more than 30,000 Spanish defenders, opening the road to Madrid. Aranda de Duero is ours, and although it took nearly five days, de Angelis lost only 173 men, while inflicting 425. This does not count the thousands of casualties inflicted on the Spanish by 1st Kampffliegerkorps, but nor does it include the hundreds of men of 16.Infanterie (mot) killed by enemy bombing raids. Sud-Frankreich Army headquarters admits that, without the effort and sacrifices of the pilots of “Donner”, “Kraich” and “Adler”, victory would have been far more costly, if it had been achieved at all. It is good to hear a positive story about the Luftwaffe.


Not all was well with the Luftwaffe in Spain, however. By noon Felmy and 2nd Jagdfliegerkorps had taken part in two battles, against 12th, 16th and 17th Carrier Air Groups over Guardo and against Bowhill’s 9th CAG over Salmas de los Infantes. By this time “Schlageter” was down to just 50 aircraft. Finally Oberkommando der Luftwaffe has relented and sent a replacement unit to Bayonne. 4th Jagdfliegerkorps, which has been recuperating in Berlin, is to renew active duty. Christiansen and his aircraft are heading south-west, 197 Messerschmitts in top condition. “Schlageter” and “Richthofen” just have to hang on for a few hours to protect the air base, then they can rebase to Berlin for a well-earned rest.


Fisser and 7th Jagdfliegerkorps are not so lucky. They must continue to dispute control of the Channel with the RAF and the Royal Navy, and spent the morning over the East English Channel in an inconclusive battle with two carrier air groups and three fighter groups, led by Air Marshal Steele.


With Aranta de Duero held by de Angelis, General Keppler has ordered 1st leichte Panzer to also cross the Duero. His men will move from Burgos into Lerma, a province held by a mountain and a cavalry unit. It looks a tough proposition, but he can expect support from de Angelis in the south (as soon as 16.Infanterie (mot) has recovered from its exertions. The enemy commander is the man known as “El Campesino” – the peasant. He is really Valentin González González, a veteran of the Civil War, in which he achieved fame as a military leader. Although only 35 years old, he has fought in this area many times and is a foe to be reckoned with.


As 2nd Jagdfliegerkorps was preparing to leave for Berlin, Felmy saw Christiansen’s pilots racing to their aircraft. Word had come in that Royal Navy bombers were attacking Salmas de los Infantes. Although officially relieved, Felmy could not abandon the men of the Sud-Frankreich Army, for whom so many of his pilots had died. For once the Luftwaffe totally dominated the air, as four geschwader, totalling more than 350 fighters, dived at Bowhill’s 9th Carrier Air Group. Needless to say, the British abandoned all hope of completing their mission, ditching their bombloads in a desperate attempt to get back out to sea. With a dip of his wings as a final salute, Felmy then led his men north.

From Calatayud came disturbing news: as his men advanced, General Nehring reported a fresh division had appeared. It was not just the fact that the enemy had reoccupied a province that we had successfully cleared: it was that these troops were Belgian! An Aufklärung detachment obtained proof that the unit was 26ème Infanterie, commanded by General Hubert, whom our men fought several times during Unternehmen Gummiknüppel. How did the Belgians get here? This was not a small group that had made its way through Vichy France to the border – this was nearly 8,000 men, fully equipped and able to fight. Nobody knows, but the most likely, according to the Abwehr, is that the Belgians are troops evacuated from France to Britain after the Armistice. They must have been landed either at La Coruna or Seville, or perhaps at Gibraltar. We did have reports of the Royal Navy escorting troopships in the Bay of Biscay a few days ago – maybe they were returning from a transport mission.


For once our Stukas were able to reach a battle, and Kesselring took no time to have 1st Schachtfliegerkorps over Calatayud. It seems the FARE intelligence is operating well: the vulnerable Ju 87Bs were immediately attacked by Hidalgo de Cisneros and his “Chatos” and “Moscas”. (This is what the Spanish call the I-15 and the I-16: the “Snubnose” and the “Fly”. I hear the rebels referred to the I-16 as the “Rata” – the rat.) Whether it was luck or a partisan with a radio that led the FARE to our bombers, the end result was that we lost many aircraft, though the mission was at least partially successful.


The loss of dozens of bombers was not enough to deter Kesselring, who organised an escort and immediately headed back to Calatayud. Presumably he thought that “Westwall” 1 and 2 would deter the Spanish, but the four Grupo de Caza were waiting. Although outnumbered, our Messerschmitts tore into the clouds of Russian-built fighters, but they could not protect the Stukas. De Cisneros must have given his pilots orders to concentrate on the bombers, as we lost a further 10 planes. This time Kesselring had no option but to withdraw, “Immelman” having down to 67 aircraft and “Zeppelin” able to muster only 68.


The last news for the 4th came from northern Frankreich, this time from Waber, whose Paris-based 6th Jagdfliegerkorps relieved Fisser over the English Channel. Steele had not been relieved, he had been reinforced. No less than six fighter groups were providing air cover to a fleet in the Western Channel, and Waber was hard pressed. By the time they landed, “Udet” and “Pik As” had only 157 planesbetween them. But the4 battle was not one-sided – No.11 RAF Fighter Group is now at only 39 functioning aircraft.


Saturday was a very busy day for me for some reason, and I did not have time to follow every item of news as it came in. I recall reading that our metallurgists had managed to implement a process to produce 50mm armour for our medium tanks. I can’t remember why, but apparently this was not easy to do. Surprisingly, Minister Raeder obtained the funding for his light cruiser project, to work on armour for his new ships. His argument was that this was the last technical hurdle to overcome, and then he would be satisfied. Being old and cynical, I suspect he will be back with a wish list when the next research funding allocation is being made.

There were two new battles in Spain. General Jodl is in action, leading 14.Infanterie (mot) against a leaderless rabble of cavalry in the hills of Huesca. It hardly seems a fair fight, but Jodl says the hills give the cavalry good protection and their mobility is causing him problems.


The other battle was more routine. 20.Infanterie, adjacent to 14.infanterie (mot), is marching up into the Pyrenees, intent on driving General Guarner Vivancos, who is posing a threat to our flank, from the province of Rodellar. General Müller is not confident, as the Spanish have had time to recover from their earlier defeat, and he has just 10,000 men with which to evict 9,000 soldiers from their mountain redoubts.


All day we had reports of air battles over Burgos, but, as I mentioned, I did not have time to follow all the clashes. As far as I remember, it began very early, with two Spanish bomber groups attacking Keppler’s 1st leichte Panzer as it prepared to start its crossing of the Duero. Christiansen and 4th Jagdfliegerkorps responded, then we heard that more bombers (from a British carrier air group) had arrived over the area. Fighting continued all day, as more enemy aircraft arrived from the Bay of Biscay, until our two fighter geshwader were engaged in a chaotic dogfight with hundreds Spanish SB-2s and British Albacores and Fulmars. The last I heard was that nightfall had put an end to the bombing and our fighters had withdrawn, having flown at least five missions during the day. From 197 aircraft when his unit arrived that morning, Christiansen was down to 182 planes. One might thingk Christiansen would be downhearted at this baptism of fire, but his combat report was quite cheerful. The reason was apparent when one reached the debriefing section. He believes that 1er Grupo Táctico was reduced from 100 to 79 aircraft and 2o Grupo from 85 to 55. 51 bombers destroyed!!! On top of this, he believes that 4th, 5th and 6th Carrier Air Groups can collectively count 123 aircraft as ready for combat.


While Christiansen was punishing the Spanish (and to some extent the British), Newall was punishing us. His strategic bombers were back, but this time over Köln, a city we had thought safe from enemy bombers. In fact, we were so confident that the local Luftgaukommando had not even allocated any anti-aircraft guns to the city. The three bomber groups could carry out their mission at their leisure, knowing that all Jagdfliegerkorps were otherwise occupied.

Despite my wishing he could keep out of harm’s way, Heinz and his fellow panzertruppen were on the move before the end of Saturday. Sud-Frankreich Army reported that General von Manstein had been ordered to take Siguenza, moving closer and closer to Madrid. When I first saw the report I was quite concerned: the enemy was led by the respected General Batov and he had been reinforced with an armour brigade. And it has been confirmed that the Republican forces have a few Russian 45mm anti-tank guns. The detail, however, took away a lot of the worry: Batov’s main force, 6/3a División Orgánica has been shattered by recent fighting and is regarded as incapable of lasting more than few hours in combat. The armour cannot withstand a whole division and will also withdraw. As long as a lucky shot from a Spanish T-26 or a 45mm AT gun doesn’t head Heinz’ way.


I really needed a rest on Sunday: I had been putting in long hours all week and I think the continuous bad news about our fighter units is beginning to affect me. Of course I know my brother Ernst is safe, sitting with his leg up eyeing nurses, but he will soon be ready to fly again, and I have seen the casualty lists from his unit JG 26 “Schlageter”. I estimate that less than half the young men present when he hurt his leg are still alive: the total strength of the unit is still only 51 aircraft. So Sunday was a few necessary jobs around the apartment during the morning, and an afternoon of drinking with a few old friends. I did think of going out with Gisela, but in my mood I needed beer and singing to drive out the depressing thoughts of page after page of names of young men, each of whom had died alone in his fighter.

On Monday I felt surprisingly well considering the amount I had consumed. It had, of course, been good beer, and I suppose I did get home at about 6 o’clock and immediately pass out on my couch. Twelve hours sleep and a cup of coffee was obviously all I needed. When I got to work Gisela did make some remark about breweries and acting my age, but women don’t understand these things. I thought of explaining the therapeutic and cathartic properties of moderate social drinking, but decided against it.

To maintain my good mood, I delegated most of my morning’s duties and put my feet up to skim through Sunday’s document deliveries. Newall had been active again, but for some reason he did not revisit the defenceless city of Köln, but instead took his bombers to Metz. His first trip went unopposed (apart from our flak which three of his aircraft), but he was attacked by 5th Jagdfliegerkorps as he flew home and when he returned later that day. By now he had lost a further 16 bombers and that was it: he headed home without reaching his target. Bogatsch lost just two aircraft. But the Luftwaffe had not finished with Newall yet: Bogatsch followed the bombers to Dover and attacked as they landed: another 17 aircraft destroyed at no additional cost.


Burgos was the scene for most of the air action on Sunday, as the combined Spanish/British force struggled to get within bombing range of 1st leichte Panzer. At least 5 raids were attempted, but Keppler reported only light casualties. A tremendous performance by our fighters, though at a tremendous cost. 25 Messerschmitts lost on that one day, over one battlefield. Christiansen’s daily report was nowhere near as jubilant as on Saturday, as Allied losses were quite light, perhaps only 11 aircraft.

I was starting to lose my good spirits, but the next sheet of paper took a load of my mind. Von Manstein’s combat report from Siguenza: the battle was over. Only eight men lost (all infantry I noted) and Batov on the run, having lost 85 of his soldiers. Heinz has got through another fight. It can’t be long before they give him a decent tank and I can relax a little.

And that was Sunday’s news. By coincidence it was lunchtime, and I decided to forgive Gisela her cruel and uncalled for remarks and take her to lunch. Monday was not going to be one of my most productive days.

Back in my office, I saw that the never-ending Burgos air battle has finally come to a close: the Spanish and British had had enough. After one more attempt very early this morning, when both sides lost three aircraft, Ludlow-Hewitt called off the mission and the bombers did not return all day. Christiansen and his pilots could finally rest: those that were still alive. Two days after leaving Berlin at nearly full strength, Westwall 1 has 88 aircraft while Westwall 2 has only 66. 43 aircraft and pilots lost fighting over Burgos. We cannot keep up this level of attrition.


With the attention of the Spanish firmly focussed on Keppler’s attempts to cross the Duero into Lerma, several other commanders took the opportunity to launch attacks on their opponents, confident that no enemy bombers would disrupt their preparations.

General Curtze has attacked Miaja Menant in Berlanga, a task that he himself admitted he would not have attempted had he not known that El Campesino had called in every aircraft possible to prevent the attack on Lerma. Menant has 18,000 men ensconced in a series of hills and woods. He has had time to set up a network of trenches and clear arcs of fire: normally Curtze would not try to dislodge him with his solitary motorised division. It is early days, but Curtze says he is happy with progress so far.


Model in Sahagún had no such qualms: he was after a quick and overwhelming victory and that is what he achieved. On paper Ascaso Abadia had more than 15,000 men, but only one of his two divisions was combat capable – the other was so disorganised after forced marches and so demoralised after taking heavy casualties that it could be disregarded. 5th Panzer was flung against the Spanish with all the force Model could muster, and the battle was over in hours. 188 Spaniards were dead or prisoners and Sahagún was ours for the loss of twenty men.


The third battle of Monday was Palencia. General Blaskowitz and 29.Infanterie (mot) have been uncharacteristically quiet, but it was the calm before the storm. He has been resting hismen in Tardajos, and now he unleashed them on the unfortunate Circunspición infantry, led by Castro Delgado. His attack completely shocked the Spanish, robbing them of a lot of the benefit they would normally receive from their defensive positions.


The final news for the day was from Rodellar, where General Müller found his task much easier than he had expected. He did lose 187 men, but General Rommel had thought he would lose more than 500 and take perhaps a week to clear the mountain peaks. Instead, the men of 20.Infanterie climbed and fought their way up and down the heights, during the Spanish out in just two days. Müller’s factual report does not give much away, but his description of the snow covered rocks and the determination of his men as they climbed over the bodies of their comrades to get at the enemy trenches are indication enough of the ferocity of this kind of fighting. I know the way the cold can sap the will to live from a soldier, and how hard it is to keep going when all you want is to rest and get warm. I would never tell my brothers this, but you can keep your tanks and aircraft: a real soldier keeps both feet on the ground.

Just one last thing before I go: something that intrigued me. As I was preparing to leave the Reichskanzlei I noticed a large number of high ranking Luftwaffe officers arriving and heading for the main conference room. Virtually the entire OKL seemed present. This would have been unusual enough, but then several senior members of the Heers arrived, followed by Minister Blomberg. And then the big surprise: Großadmiral Raeder and Rear Admiral Marschall and a cloud of Kriegsmarine officials. The huge increase insecurity indicated the Führer was present, so this was obviously a very important meeting. My subtle inquiries were not very successful: the agenda of the meeting was classified “Restricted” and all I could find out was that the topic was “Interim Assistance to the Luftwaffe”. Still, the presence of the commanders of the Nordseeflotte and 1st Schlachtflotte give a good idea of the state of thinking. Our fighter losses have three causes: fighting for control of the Channel, fighting the FARE, and fighting the carrier air groups entering Spain from the Bay of Biscay. I cannot imagine how the Kriegsmarine can impact either of the first two, which leads to the obvious deduction that it is time for the Kriegsmarine to question the Royal Navy’s right to use the Bay of Biscay as a secure airbase. But that is only a guess: like everyone I’ll have to wait and see, as it will take some time to prepare a fleet for such an operation.

Bombing Summary

RAF (RN Air Arm) + FARE

Salas de los Infantes: Bowhill with 9th CAG: 14, NIL
Burgos: Comache Benitez with 1er and 2o Grupo Táctico (2 x TAC): 61
Burgos: Ludlow-Hewitt with 4th CAG, 1er and 20 Grupo Táctico (1 x CAG, 2 x TAC): NIL
Burgos: Maltby: 4th and 5th CAG, 1er and 20 Grupo Táctico (2 x CAG, 2 x TAC): 28
Burgos: Maltby: 4th, 5th and 6th CAG, 1er and 20 Grupo Táctico (3 x CAG, 2 x TAC): 4, 12, 21, 25, 12


Luftwaffe

Aranda de Duero: Sperrle with 1st Kampffliegerkorps (1 x Bf 109E, 2 x Ju 88): 192, 303
Calatayud: Kesselring with 1st Schlachtfliegerkorps (2 x Ju 87B): 127
Lerma: Sperrle with 1st Kampffliegerkorps (1 x Bf 109E, 2 x Ju 88): 139, 275, 194, 183, 268, 177, 146



Unterseebootsflotte Activity Report

East Azores Fracture Zone: 1 transport (UK): Dover – Kuching: Aßmann with 1st U-flotte
Horseshoe Seamount: 1 transport (UK): Portsmouth – Mautitius: Wolf with 4th U-flotte
Eastern Charcot Seamount: 1 transport (UK): Plymouth – St John’s: Fricke with 3rd U-flotte
Channel Approach: 1 transport (UK): Portsmouth – Malta: von Nordeck with II U-flotte
Gibraltar Approaches: 1 transport (UK): Dover – Nicobar Islands: Wolf with 4th U-flotte
Western Biscay Plain: 1 transport (UK): Plymouth – Georgetown: Fricke with 3rd U-flotte
South East Azores Fracture Zone: 1 transport (Spanish): Cádiz – Halifax: Wolf with 4th U-flotte
Coast of Porto: 1 transport (UK): Plymouth – Freetown: Aßmann with 1st U-flotte

Karaiskandar said:

I think that your various fixes are absolutely justified and necessary.
This map mod looks great btw !

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Thanks Karaiskandar: I hate visions of most of my readers pulling out in disgust because I had ruined their game.

And I am glad that you like the maps: just to make it quite clear:

The mod is called "Retextured Map" and it is by Modestus: it can be found inthe Mods forums under "other mods".

Sarayakat said:

Is there a way to switch to arcade mode mid game?

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Don't get me wrong - I love the supply system. I cannot imagine ever playing in arcade mode. But it has to be admitted that some things are still a bit warped, and the inability of the AI to choose an optimum site for a stockpile is one of them. I am quite aware of the "travelling salesman" problem, but I still think that something could be done to avoid such PITA as Hamhung. Why would the Japanese make their only base on the mainland somewhere with no roads or railways to where the supplies would be needed?

Enewald said:

Can the Iberians form a new line, and for how long?

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As can be seen from the update: they have a few friends. But I am only a few provinces from Madrid, and I can't see my lead troops being stopped before they reach the city.

Forster said:

New map actually looks really good. Maybe Paradox will adopt this in the future. Another good update Uriah.

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Thanks Forster (for the comment about the update - all praise for the "new" maps must go to Modestus: see above).

kigrwik said:

The game has issues and the AI has quite its share of bugs, we all know it. So I don't think anyone will blame you for counterbalancing the bugs. We want a good story !!

How are you set up in manpower ? In my current game, I ran out of troops during Barbarossa and was only saved by a quick airborne attack on Moscow. I couldn't have kept on fighting for a month (which was probably what the siege would have lasted).

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Thanks kigrwik, see my comments to karaiskandar re needing reassurance! I think Italy would be crippled and Japan stunted without a fix-up.

I have just under 1100 manpower at the moment, but this will be run down over the next year. I hope it is enough: if things look grim I will change occupation policies to cut IC and increase MP/leadership.

Surt said:

If that was true how would the port on the peninsula ever get to be the supply source, I had to divide it in 2x5 to avoid it in 1.4. - Set Dagu to size 10 take the port size from the Korean ports (try setting them to size 1 to test that it works at all)

The Japanese got a second problem unless they fixed it in SF, when the supplies are over a certain amount 10K-15K supplies no convoy is active to that supply area. - move 40K supplies to Japan, and the rest to Taiwan, leaving 5K.

And a 3rd problem, the infra in north China limits them.

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I think you will find that Hamhung (in fact all of Korea) is a core province for Japan, and it definitely has a factory. In a trial, when I deleted the factory the AI shifted the stockpile to Pusan. Pusan (Korea, therefore a core as well) had several factories and a level 10 port. Unfortunately it is an even worse base for the mainland. Further from both Manchukuo and China. (It is important to ensure that a replacement base can also keep supply to the Manchukuo borser garrisons, but they don't use much).

I think that problem was fixed, but as I have never had it impact on me (that I have noticed). But thanks for reminding me - I had better keep an eye on it. If I can work out how to make Dagu the mainland stockpile it should be easy to monitor. If I can get 40k supply in Dagu, though, all my problems should be solved. (As an aside, there is some sort of limit because I remember in vanilla HOI3 ver 1.1 places like Truk and other island bases accumulated piles of supplies - this has been fixed and the island territories now only stockpile a limitred amount, that seems linked to consumption rate.).

The infra in N. China I accept as a logical (and integral) part of the game. The roads were crap, the rail virtually non-existent. Logisitical issues did limit Japanese penetration into the interior of China. If my invasion founders due to supply problems at the front, I can live with it. What concerns me is irrational AI decisions like bypassing useful ports, and producing ever increasing supplies when there are enough available to last for several years, just in the wrong place.

Thank you for the comment about port size: I will tinker with those to see if I can get the stockpile out of Korea. I can easily make Dagu a core province by altering the savegame file, if that is too distorting then Darien is already a core: I may be able to use that instead (it would cut the distance in half).

Karaiskandar said:

The Road to Madrid is open !
Now I wonder what the Kriegsmarine will be able to do to help the exhausted German fighter arm.

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Baltasar said:

I believe the downed Stuka up there is of machine 'K' of 3rd group, but I couldn't figure out which squadron...

The British and the FARE do not seem to inflict large casulties on your troops, I wonder if it is because of their tech level, since they managed to attack the ground forces undisturbed several times.

How's the status of the wolf packs? I'd imagine that they'd need to return in between their runs for repairs?

If you plan to let the KM run into the North Sea or even the Atlantic, pay attention to the fleet sizes. Since SF, it's ridiculously unhealthy to have too many big ships in one fleet.

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Two quick responses!

I am already convinced that Karaiskandar never sleeps, but Baltasar too!

Don't forget that some ago (not long after converting to Semper Fi) I split my main fleet into two equal portions. What I have in mind is running 1st Schlachtflotte down the Channel at night and into a port on the coast of the Bay of Biscay. I will also move my 4 naval bomber squadrons there. Note that the flagship "Bismark" won't be going: I don't know how this will work out and I don't wnat to risk losing her. I am only a few days ahead, so it will probably be in about two updates.

PS Baltasar: sorry can't help more about the Stuka except that it was not, of course, downed in Spain: the photograph is from N Africa.

And I think you must be right about the tech level affecting the Allied bombing. Though I have noticed that org level is very important in bombing casualties, both the bomber and the "bombee". Tired bombers don't inflict many casualties, and the number of kills skyrockets when a unit breaks and runs. I have never read anything to confirm this, but it definitely seems to work that way.