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Bobb4

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Untersturmführer Hienz Klien and Brigadeführer, Sigfried Von Stazi observe a Finnish Army training exercise...


A 1936 gameplay/story AAR using patch 1.2
Historical where possible.
The two protraganists will be attached to Waffen SS units throughout the war. While this is a gameplay/story AAR, the story element will concentrate on the roles of these to officers, their highs and lows.
Stazi and Klien do Poland better know as...
There and back again, a Waffen SS General’s tale
Extracts from an upcoming AAR

Brigadeführer, Sigfried Von Stazi hurriedly walked down the hall in the Prinzalbrechtstrasse building (SS headquarters, Berlin). When he reached his office he gave a silent nod to Untersturmführer Klein.
Untersturmführer Hienz Klien smiled knowingly but knew that for at the least the next ten minutes the Brigadeführer would not want to be disturbed.
Stazi sat down at his desk and smiled. A battlefield commission was now his. He had convinced Reichsführer SS Himmler that he could better serve the SS and in so doing greater Germany if he was assigned to one of the new Waffen SS units being formed in secret. He had frankly blindsided the Reichsführer SS with his blunt request. Hitler himself had smiled knowing the young officer had got the better of his chief of the State Security.
Brigadeführer Von Stazi had been tired of being nothing but a glorified bean counter. Of sitting on the sidelines and watching as Hitler’s war machine slowly began to roar into life. Ever since 36 he had realized that you could only go so far as a glory boy bound only to ceremonial duties and guarding the Fuehrer.
The heady days at the Fuehrer’s monthly planning sessions were gone for good, no longer would he listen to Donitz and Raeder spar with each other over command of the fleet.
Or to hear Herr Goering, the buffoon, espouse the virtues of the Luftwaffe...
To be continued...
 
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This promises to be interesting! I'm looking forward to it.:)

Just one slight correction: Himmler wasn't actually a "Reichsmarschall", an essentially meaningless title which only Göring was awarded, the old vainglorious bastard. ;) Himmler's official title was "Reichsführer SS".

~Lord Valentine~
 
This promises to be interesting! I'm looking forward to it.:)

Just one slight correction: Himmler wasn't actually a "Reichsmarschall", an essentially meaningless title which only Göring was awarded, the old vainglorious bastard. ;) Himmler's official title was "Reichsführer SS".

~Lord Valentine~
Thanks I have updated...
I battled to find his exact rank at the time and was originally toying with the idea of making both Luftwaffe officers. But the Luftwaffe divisions were formed mid war and so I decided to stick with the SS.
 
War they want? War they shall get!

Guarding the Führer? That would make von Stazi a member of the Leibstandarte?

"Despite the idea of Hitler's bodyguards being drawn from the SS, a small detachment was drawn from the Wach Regiment to become Hitler's private bodyguard. This unit was called the Führer Begleit (or Führer Escort), and was to eventually be expanded to divisional size" Not my own research, just a little google.
Von Stazi and Klien will serve in most Waffen SS units during the duration except the SD-Aussenkommando Tunis, The only SS unit to serve in Africa as far as is known.
However if all goes well in Africa I will throw the Leibstandaete which was historically refitting in Metz - August 1940 to March 1941 apparently for that purpose - before their transfer to the Balkan for Unternehmen Merita (April 1941).
 
Stazi and Klien game-play report

HoI3_MAP_GER_1939104.jpg

The plan is simple; a simultaneous invasion of Poland, Denmark and the Netherlands while a holding force keeps the large French army tied to the Siegfried line. I intend to ignore Norway until after the fall of France. My game-play concerns are based purely on the irritating strategic bomber force of the UK and how to deal with them. At the start of 1939 my order of battle is as follows:
Army
By the time war is declared the infantry and armoured component will have been increased. This will include several divisions of heavy tanks and mountain infantry. Only three SS units will exist to propel the story forward, SS Division Das Reich, the SS Division Totenkopf and the 6th SS Gebirgs Division Nord.
HoI3_10copy.jpg

Airforce
The Luftwaffe is a heavy investment with an expect 16-20 tactical bomber units by the end of 1939. 14 Interceptor and 4 naval bombers make up the home defense force.
HoI3_12copy.jpg

Navy
While a large number of U-boats are under construction no plans have been made to build a surface navy to challenge the UK.
HoI3_11copy.jpg
 
Pretty ambitious plans, though the AI probably isn't competent enough to stop you! :p
 
Pretty ambitious plans, though the AI probably isn't competent enough to stop you! :p
Gameplay note
In a test game I found that when I had given Army Theater Bitburg HQ a defensive stance along the entire Western border. The army just slowly rolled forward in Netherlands and Belgium without any direction on my part. While I watched Poland, Bitburg HQ ripped apart the Netherlands. I as an aside realised I had some free units that I was deploying to the West as Poland was going down faster than expected.
I let the dogs of war slip and took Denmark with these units.
I feel I can emulate this again.
 
Stazi and Klein
Brigadeführer, Sigfried Von Stazi was not a happy man; neither was his adjutant Untersturmführer, Hienz Klein. The dusty road they had been travelling along had abruptly ended at a farmhouse somewhere in God forsaken Poland.
Von Stazi barked an order and the Untersturmführer began scrambling to open his map, case. Von Stazi’s mood was not helped by the sound of chuckling coming from a supply truck filled with Waffen SS troops from the soon to be infamous Das Reich that had been following them.
As Stein unfolded the map, the Brigadeführer stared back at the troops as they uncoiled themselves from the truck.
His gaze, was one of steel that would have frozen the Devil himself, but for the troopers, he was just another pompous army officer.
It was only as their Oberscharführer (Senior Squad Leader) approached that he could make out the SS Collar Insignia that was blazoned onto Von Stazi’s tunic.
Almost as if a magic wand had been waved, the slouching troopers began straightening up expecting an explosion of disciplinary wrath to pour forth from the SS General.
But before he could utter a word, the youngish and in his own words rakishly handsome Brigadeführer got his first taste of war.

stazi1.jpg

Von Stazi in action
A hidden Polish army platoon deployed in and near the farmhouse suddenly opened fire. A crew manning a Browning wz.1928 machine gun raking the exposed German position with burst after burst of deadly fire.
Stein lunged over the hood of the Kubelwagen.
Von Stazi earned his first Iron Cross that day, to be precise at almost the very moment Stein was diving for cover Stazi earned the medal. He did this by doing the only thing he could. He drew his service pistol and fired at the farmhouse.

stazi2.jpg

Das Reich trooper hug the dirt
The stunned Das Reich troopers who had dived for cover now sprung into action, an oiled machine that began almost immediately laying down suppression fire for the daring, dashing officer. The Oberscharführer realised he and his men would surely die if they were forced to leave their cover to save the damn fool of a general.
As luck would have it, the screaming howl of an approaching Stuka dive bomber caused the Polish troops to scatter as fast as they appeared.
The Stuka planted a bomb smack onto the farmhouse.

stazi5.jpg

The Stuka hits it's target
As the smoke cleared, all was again quiet except for the odd crack of Mauser fire as elements of the Das Reich cleared the survivors from the rubble…
For Untersturmführer Stein his first seconds of action had left a decidedly wet patch on the front of his trousers, his skin had turned ashen white, it was then that he had looked up to see Von Stazi in full glory.
Snapping back he had lifted his pistol and joined in firing blindly at the farm buildings. He too would earn his first Iron Cross that day. But unlike Von Stazi he never felt he earned it.

Stazi3.jpg

Soldier take a rest after the action

Photo's sourced from a german Re-inactment site.
 
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Now that Brigardeführer Stein is one though son of a bitch!:eek:
But he'd better discipline those Waffen SS troopers. Their supposed to show suicidal bravery after all god damn it!:D

Just one a sidenote (and sorry to bicker once more) the name of the Division should be "Das Reich".:)

~Lord Valentine~
 
Gameplay review so far.

HoI3_13copy.jpg


The Polish campaign starts slow...


HoI3_20copy.jpg


But soon reaches a crescendo as my forces rip-through Poland. An unfortunate advance by an AI controlled HQ unit leaves it exposed to the only spirited defense put up by the Poles. Four squadrons of Stukas are sent in to place pressure on the encircled attackers.
An infantry division nearby reinforces the hapless HQ.

HoI3_15copy.jpg


And on the Netherlands border the SS-Panzer-Division "Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler" and SS-Panzer-Division "Wiking" see action.
 
The war seems to be going well, despite that near accident with the HQ!
 
GameplaySo what does everyone think so far? Considering this is my first major AAR.
Am I doing anything wrong. Are there things you want to know either story wise or in the gameplay?
Battle plan
What I intended to do is complete the invasion of Poland which is basically over.
All forces will then be strategically re-deployed to Bitburg HQ for the invasion of France.
SS Division Das Reich and the SS Division Totenkopf will be detached from the Polish offensive and the 6th SS Gebirgs Division Nord. From the Netherlands offensive re-deploy for a quick invasion of Denmark followed closely by Norway.
I hope to have paratroopers available by the invasion of Norway. It was an oversight on my part not to research the necessary technology fast enough and even a delay of a month in starting the war did not allow me to catch-up.
Combat guide
My fighting style is as follows, while I allow the ai to run offensives I detach units to make breakthroughs and grab points of interest. I also use these units to encircle enemy units.
The airforce is completely detached except for CAS units, which I attach to select armoured units at corps level.
I also have detached all surface naval units from the ai. In an earlier game the German fleet took on the Royal Navy in the channel and I lost most of my capital ships. Now the navy is mine!
The ai seems to handle the submarine side much better and I leave all U-boats under Bitburg HQ.
What next?
Once Norway is done I think I should do Yugoslavia as Italy has moronically declared war on Greece. It has been a month and they have not moved a single unit into Greece?
I worry however as Republican Spain won the SCW and pose a threat. But do I want to waste the time needed to take them out.
Also I have no guarantee how long the red bear will remain silent?
In Africa the British have made a minor advance into Italian held Africa.
Italy’s sojourn into France at the start of the war has been held pretty well in check by the French.
Any ideas?
 
Norway or bust
Untersturmführer, Heinz Klein was laughing, the kind of laughter only freedom of fear could bring. Two days in Denmark and the horrors of Poland were forgotten. Brigadeführer, Sigfried Von Stazi on the other hand missed his time with Das Reich, but the move at Reichsführer-SS, Himmler’s request to the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (LSSAH) was indeed signs that things were looking up.
Rolling into Denmark with the cream of the SS had been an experience. For unlike the Das Reich, the Leibstandarte acted like they were the best of the best.
This suited Von Stazi. As a senior officer he had managed to avoid most combat. A point his adjutant took great pleasure in.
Now racing ahead of the frontline elements of the Leibstandarte who had turned towards Copenhagen while the Brigadeführer and his personal bodyguard rushed towards the city of Aalborg.
It was in the northern part of Denmark and right outside of it was a large airfield. This airfield was crucial since it was the only place the Luftwaffe could operate from when they invaded Norway.
There Von Stazi hoped to meet lead elements of the Luftwaffe's Fallschirmjäger units who had made the first airborne assault in history.
In the early morning hours of Operation Weserübung, they attacked and took control of Aalborg Air Base which it is hoped would play a key role acting as a refuel station for the Luftwaffe in the planned invasion of Norway.
Von Stazi had been told that in the same assault the bridges around Aalborg were also taken. Obviously Himmler wanted a full report on how effective the airborne units were.
“Does the SS need to recruit Fallschirmjäger units,” the Reichsführer-SS had asked him.
And this was the reason he was speeding towards Aalborg and a date with Norway.
To find out if they did.
And that would require joining them in dropping into Norway from the sky.
A thought that would surely have unsettled Klein if he knew.

paratroopers.jpg

Paratroopers at Aalborg Airfield
 
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