"Last Ride of the Valkyries" A German '44 Gotterdammerung Revised AAR

[LimaTango]

Berlin, Germany

Chancellery, June 20, 1944

Martin Bormann paces at the head of the table as the leaders of the foundering Reich file in and take their seats. “Gentlemen, thank you for coming on short notice. It will not be a waste of your time today, as so many gatherings here have been in the recent past.

I tell you that the Fuehrer is incapacitated. Some of you may not be fully aware that the he has been alleviating the strain of guiding the Fatherland with increasing amounts of stimulants and painkillers and last night he lapsed into a coma from which he was barely awakened. I have drawn a medical team of professors from the university and placed him under their care. Their job is to wean him off the medications and attempt to restore him to health enough to serve as a figurehead, at least as far as radio addresses to the folk. Hitler’s days of effective leadership and vision, however, are clearly at an end, and proud Germany lies on the brink of utter ruin.

I freely admit that am unequal to the task of managing the challenges besetting us at this point. My purview is making others plans come to fruition. I know that our military leaders can do wonders, but there is so much to manage and all situations are critical. I can think of only one man who has demonstrated the ability to juggle a thousand details and has thrived under the most intense pressures that one could imagine. I have spoken to him at length and he is ready to serve if we will have him. I hereby nominate Albert Speer as Chancellor of the Reich, with that title held in confidence until we deem it ripe for announcement.”

The assembled ministers and chiefs of staff are momentarily nonplussed, then cries of “second” and “let us vote” ring out as individuals find their voice again. The motion carries quickly, with dissenting votes from Goring and Himmler, as may be expected. A stir of excitement passes through the group.

Herr Speer rises and takes a small bow, then moves to the head of the table, uncovering some charts and maps as he passes the easels they stand on. He begins: “I thank you for your faith in my abilities, but I am no miracle worker. Every citizen must join together and you men must do all the real work if we are to salvage our future. I am prepared to be merciless in this endeavor. Our allies we will hold dear, but the rest of the world has chosen sides against us, and it is my hope that they will rue their decisions.

Forgive me the reference to our Eastern foes, but the Fatherland and the Wehrmacht are like wounded bears at the moment. We are off balance and surrounded by foes, but still dangerous to any we catch in our grip. Now we must focus our resources and drive at one opponent after another. Only in this way do I see a way that we may succeed.

To begin with, some changes will be made, effective immediately. Air Marshal Goring! Thank you for your service. You are relieved of your command duties effective immediately. Please gather your materials and retire to your country home. Your insights on aircraft design and bombing strategy may lead us to call upon you in future for consultations. Martin, please bring in Air Marshal Milch and direct him to his seat. We need this man to lead the defense of our air space.

General Guderian. Your service cannot be more exemplary, and we desperately need the recruits you draw to our cause. Yet we must at this moment focus on winning the battles immediately before us. Please take the seat held for you there, with the chiefs of staff. General Jodl will assume the mantle of Chief of Staff, in order that our forces can recover their strength and outpace our opponents in the weeks ahead.

General Hoepner, you will assume the duties of the Chief of the Army, effective immediately. Your armored spearheads are Germany’s last bid for victory. Use them wisely.

General Himmler, at my direction all internal police forces will report to the Chief of the Army from this moment. I understand that he is in need of trained men at the front lines. You will remain here under house arrest until your replacement can be installed. Herr Goebbels must wait a bit until the some of these first three cabinet changes have been accepted by the populace, but you are on notice at this point.

Now, the situation, so that all leaders old and new can be fully aware of the scope of the threats to greater Germany. Here are our forces as of last night. The Wehrmacht seems a mighty instrument when seen on such a display. Well, it is not. There may be a half dozen divisions at full strength in the entire Heer, but the average is half to three quarter of their Table of Organization strength, and every force on land, air and sea is demoralized and drained by overuse.

Our enemies will not allow us a breather. The only breaks that we get will have to be earned in blood. Even if we had all the time in the world, five years of constant warfare have left us with manpower reserves fit to replenish about 25% of our needs today. And there will be fresh battles on the morrow.

As of midnight tonight, numerous ships, U-boats, infantry divisions and headquarters formations will be disbanded, with their veteran troops spread to the remaining forces to make them more combat effective. The new force structure as of sunrise tomorrow is shown here.

Next topic is production. We need everything, but we cannot have it, so priority is the watchword. With the regime change, the production plan is 100% reworked. I am saving the Allies some trouble by pre-sinking our aircraft carrier hull as well as those of the U-boats that are not of the highest model type. We will halt production on the remaining six lines and I will have further consultations with Admiral Donitz regarding those commitments. In addition all rocket production is completely abandoned. Even with rockets launching by the day the Reich is being overrun, so they are clearly not the weapon of our salvation.

We immediately begin with two production lines of self-propelled artillery, two lines of our feared 88 anti-tank brigades and two lines of escort fighters. We will not be able to trade lives with our foes, so our forces must be honed to a fine edge and armed with the best equipment possible. The only other project underway at this point is increasing the infrastructure of our capital, Berlin, to increase the support for all our troops, wherever they are deployed. We are devoting some production to repairs, some to supplies and some to gathering money for the materials that are in shortage. The greatest portion of our capacity will be allotted to training replacements for the tens of thousands who have fallen in battle to this point. In that regard I have today directed all training facilities to take the extra time and effort needed to make the replacements skilled soldiers and not mere draftees.

As far as research, we cannot afford research, but again, it is vital to our chances to win the technology race. I am placing nine teams on projects that have immediate impacts for the Reich. I hope it is the right decision.

I will now yield the floor to the Foreign Minister.”

“Thank you, Albert,” begins von Ribbentrop, “and congratulations on your advancement. No one is more suited to this formidable task.

Gentlemen, the situation should be clear to all. Our allies are with us and the rest of the world is against us. Not to say that we do not have friends in Afghanistan, Bolivia and other places, but most of these friends are out of our reach and are only too content to stand on the sidelines of this war. I do not expect a single nation to join our cause now, and a few more defeats will motivate our current allies to slip away when they can. We need a victory or a series of them to restore faith in greater Germany.

I have ambassadors from every ally and some neutrals waiting in my offices at this moment. When I return there after this meeting I will ask that the armed forces of Finland, Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary be formally placed under the Wehrmacht chain of command, to ensure continuity of effort. I will make a quick trade with Japan for some rare materials and at the same time I will inform them that we wish no expeditionary forces from them or their satellites in the Far East.

I envision little activity in the diplomacy theater, aside from making the most advantageous trades possible for the needs of the Reich’s industrial base. With Herr Himmler being muzzled I have discussed with Albert the potential of changing the economy to more of a war footing but the disruption to society cannot yet be tolerated it seems. That is all, from my perspective.”

The Chancellor speaks, “I know that our force commandeers have longed to act without the heavy oversight forced on them. Now the opportunity is here, and they must rise to the challenge. Gentlemen, we will recess for two hours and then the chiefs of staff will discuss their overall plans and intentions.”

 

[Sandertje]

Yihea, i love götterdamerung scenarios.

 

[LimaTango]

The Chancellor waits while all take their seats again. “Very well. We are all returned and Herr Himmler has been brought up from the basement, so we may resume. With all options open to them at last, what actions does the High Command embrace? Shall we begin with the Kriegsmarine, our most neglected branch of service? Karl?

Admiral Doenitz stands beside his chair. “As all know, our surface fleet can really be labeled, ‘Baltic Sea Defense Force’. We can likely deny the Western Allies from entering those waters, and we can keep the venerable Russian Baltic squadron bottled up in port as we shell their coastline. Those are the limits of our offensive surface craft ability, though we shall also sweep the Baltic for enemy submarines and provide some defense to Denmark and southern Norway.

We do retain some capability with our U-boat fleet, but even this has been severely degraded by the sheer mass of allied warships joining the war week by week. Our Underseeboats will be utilized mainly to protect our coastlines from amphibious landings. This may change when more naval doctrines and advanced models are researched.

The largest contribution the Kriegsmarine can make is in mobility. We have six transports at present and will soon begin construction of others. We can move two corps of troops quickly along the Baltic coast, Norwegian coast and with grave risk along the French coast. This is a powerful force multiplier and we will use it whenever it is to our advantage.

Lastly, our convoy fleet is small and the waters are teeming with opposing fleets and detachments. We cannot support a single overseas trade route, so do not even consider it. Now to you, Erhard.” He takes his seat as Air Marshal Milch rises.

“It will take my staff a few weeks to be fully effective, as there is so much to un-do,” says Milch. “The Luftwaffe is now a dull blade from overuse, such that leaders like Ernst Udet could not take the pressure of the multiple sorties each day, stretching to the horizon. Basically, the Luftwaffe is abandoning the Eastern Front for some time, to ensure that our industrial heartland is protected, and to support operations against the Allied landings in Normandy. As the next weeks unfold the wings will be shuffled for more effectiveness and coordination. I cannot say whether this will be enough to turn the tide in the air war, but it is what we have, and we will fight to the last breath.

Albert, I beg that you consider the next research project to make any improvements possible to our anti air network, in support of my pilots and aircrews. We desperately need more aircraft, and those we have desperately need to be upgraded. That is all.”

Speer nods to General Jodl. “We see only one real option, Albert, and it makes one weep to say it after all the struggles that we have been through in the past few years, fighting hard in many theaters. Basically, we are going to relinquish all Soviet territory, in the hope of retaining the forces needed to reclaim them in coming years.

Chancellor, we have unmistakable intelligence reports of massive Red Army buildups all along our frontage, in preparation for their Summer Offensive, which they are terming ‘Operation Bagration’. It seems impossible to believe but we fear force ratios of as much as 4:1 against us in some areas. The Heer that drove into Russia could and did stave off attacks of that nature, but this is not possible for our forces as they stand. For now, we must fall back and hope against hope that our corps and divisions make it back to the rally points with enough combat power to hold the line. This is the line that we hope to hold through the winter of 1944. The yellow will be our first effort, and the red our fallback position.

I see the dismay in the room and I feel the same way. Giving up these lands voluntarily or at gunpoint is a bitter blow, but if we move now, we may conserve our forces for a new offensive.

For this front, I have appointed the following commanders.

Heersgruppe Ostfront Nord- Field Marshal von Rundstedt
Heersgruppe Ostfront Mitte- Field Marshal von Manstein
Heersgruppe Ostfront Sud- Field Marshal Guderian

We have two other theaters where the news is better, though not ever good. We have Italy, where the Allies push against us daily. This is a small front and we have a fair troop density and good defensive terrain. Our only objective in Italy is to hold fast to what we have and wait for the situation to change. Nearby forces are being rushed to the lines in Italy and in return, some mechanized divisions are being freed up for other service. For Italy and our Mediterranean coast I have appointed Field Marshal von Kluge as commander Heersgruppe Mittelmeer. That is all regarding Italy.

Before tackling the Western Front, I should mention that we are withdrawing all German troops from Mediterranean coast-watcher and anti-partisan duties. These soldiers are moving by forced march and by rail to the three main fronts. Our Bulgarian and Croatian allies will man the defenses in these locales. We are still honoring the Bulgarian stance against placing them in action against Soviets, but it is increasingly hard, especially when I see the ravaged formations of our other allies as they continue to serve on the front lines.

In the North, we will spread out the divisions in Norway, and bring perhaps three divisions back to Germany. When possible we will get the Romanian mountain troops in there to relieve some of our forces for other duties. In Finland we do not have forces to do more than a fighting withdrawal to the southwest. We will attempt to hold there and await a change in the situation. I have appointed Field Marshal von Bock to command of Heersgruppe Skandinavien.

And so we come to the West, where about fifty well equipped and full strength U.S. and U.K. divisions are massed for a breakout, opposed only by Heer divisions that are battered to the breaking point, outnumbered and poorly positioned. As in the East, we must trade space for time. Time for our forces to recover. Time for the Luftwaffe to make an impact. Time for reinforcements to arrive. Balanced against the time that we need is the huge mobility of the Allied forces, who will be driving circles around us the moment they break out of the beaches and bocage. I imagine that we will lose most or all of the southern French coast, possibly Paris and possibly as far north as Belgium.”

Speer interrupts, “General Jodl, is there any point to resistance then? Are we seeking only to inflict casualties in hopes of better terms for a capitulation?”

“It may come to that, Chancellor, but we do have a chance if we work hard for it. Field Marshal Rommel leads Heersgruppe West and if anyone can orchestrate such a reversal, he is that man.

If our reinforcements can stem and then reverse the Allied tide in the West, we may be able to parley that victory into others. Failure in the West will mean, in certain terms, total failure. Our hope is that the American, Patton, and the Englishman, Montgomery, will engage in a race to capture as much land as possible as they did in Sicily. If they run wild as we hope, we will hit them with everything we can muster in July, and see if they can weather such a blow.

Speer rises again. “Gentlemen, we will meet again at the end of June. I expect the news to be horrid, as it all has been of late. Hopefully there will be some gleam of hope in that time. Best of luck to all of you.”

In the distance, an air raid siren begins to howl, joined by others closer to the heart of the city. The ground trembles every few seconds and smoke begins to rise from the south.
*********************************************


This AAR will be a chronicle of an attempt as Germany in 1944, with a more realistic force structure for the major participants devised by DvD-IT. The specifics are loaded, in order:

1. AoD 1.08
2. Tripartite Pack
3. DvD-IT’s Germany 1944 scenario with revised starting forces and resources, set to Hard/Normal http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/showthread.php?474587-1944-G%F6tterd%E4mmerung-Revised
4. GFX file from Gringoesteban’s exceptional Third Reich Mod (I have played only his mod in the last two years and I am accustomed to the unit depictions and found that I could not live without them.)

Ground rules: Very few, as Germany is desperate at this point. Germany will MC all European allies but no Asian ones. Germany may build ships in the Genoa and Venice shipyards (if they ever build ships again). Germany may trade for aircraft from their allies and may attack any nation. The goal will be to force peace on the Soviet Union and hold the Allies off the European continent. I have played this scenario once several years ago but have little recollection of events, except that I will edit out the Hitler assassination event if necessary.

 

[LimaTango]

The American, British and Soviet forces immediately launch their attacks. Operation Overlord and Operation Bagration are like hammer and anvil against the Reich.

While in the East there is room to retreat, the defenders of Cherbourg are trapped and annihilated in place.

The lines hold in Italy, though one US Army corps apparently read the wrong orders and initiated an all out assault on German lines.

The High Command is disheartened by the litany of defeats. Although fighting withdrawal is the only option to maintain the Heer as a fighting force, nothing about the situation feels good.

The one bright spot in the entire dark cloud is a victory over the suicidal Americans in Rimini. Amazingly, they reform and make another assault!

The series of beatings and retreats takes it’s toll on morale, as the hard won territory is lost to the Red Army.

Uncounted enemy warplanes bomb and strafe the Wehrmacht on all fronts as the Luftwaffe re-bases deep in Germany and works to regain some strength. In the Baltic, the transport fleet moves to Narwa to begin a seaborne evacuation of forces there.

In Rimini, Field Marshal von Kluge cannot believe his eyes as the Americans rally and attack again. Their fanaticism is unequalled even in the Waffen SS.

Axis forces in Chisinev and Ismail desperately push west as bombs and shells rain down on them. The Red Army in Beltsy seems bent on cutting them off from retreat.

Not content with the lightning speed of Patton’s advances, Field Marshal Montgomery lands unopposed in Brest, vowing to “race Patton to Berlin”.

Allied bombers range unopposed over the Balkans, targeting installations and infrastructure. German troops reassigned to Heersgruppe Sud grimly make their way to the fighting front.

Field Marshal Model escapes from Chisinev and is immediately re-engaged from Beltsy. This seems the longest week of his life thus far.

The British pull level with Patton, taking Rennes unopposed again. Admiral Doenitz gambles and sends his remaining U-boats from southern France to sea, hoping to block or intercept any fresh attempts at landings in this area.

As Field Marshal Rommel awaits his flight back to Paris, he cannot sit idly any longer as FM Model faces his tormentors. He launches a spoiling attack on Beltsy with his depleted forces, and General Guderian joins in from Iasi.

Deprived of it’s garrison, the hotbed of Begrade revolts, and the partisan leader moves to spread the revolution.

In Ismail, FM Model pulls off an unlikely counterattack, catching the Red Army unawares.

General Jodl chuckles to his aides as they post the latest troops movements. General Patton is indeed “attacking in all directions” and while he has yet to encircle any German forces he quite neatly heads Montgomery off at the pass.

In the Channel, Admiral Doenitz personally leads a wolfpack seeking transports as they encounter a Royal Navy ASW force. The RN forces are heavily damaged in the encounter, which also sends the wolfpack limping back to Amsterdam.

 

[Sandertje]

I wish you good luck against the Soviet horde! The western and southern front seems to be fine.

 

[clist123abc]

Great to see you tackle this scenario. Will you try to go on the offensive in the East after you stabilize the front or keep holding and attacking in the West?

 

[LimaTango]

@Sandertje I love reading the '44 ones, but it is daunting to play one! Thank you for the luck, I will need it.

@clist123abc Thank you. I am waiting until the replaced ministers go into effect on July 20 before making any big moves. The focus will be on clearing the Allies out of the West. Hopefully this will not only be possible, but with enough speed to reinforce the East afterwards. This Mod gives all parties more realistic units, deployments and troop strengths and it seems quite a challenge. The Luftwaffe is nearly useless at present.

 

[LimaTango]

The Red Army continues “Bagration” with an all out assault on Kowel. HG Mitte is dug in and has reorganized quite a bit and is ordered to hold for some time before withdrawing to Zamosc.

General Hoepner continues to shuffle his battered forces in order to shift combat power to the point of main effort.

FM Rommel continues the spoiling attack on Beltsy, encircling some hapless Soviet troops.

A resurgent French fleet appears near Denmark and wolfpacks and the Tirpitz group scramble to intercept them before they break into the Baltic waters.

FM Rommel pulls another out of his bag of tricks, orchestrating an assault on the Beltsy defense.

Just before the July Cabinet meeting convenes, some small successes are received over the Heer’s transmission lines, relieving the near-constant grim reports.

*************************************
Chancellery

July 1, 1944

Chancellor Albert Speer greets Germany’s new cabinet warmly, though his movements are swift and purposeful, as always. “So here we are at the end of June. I know it is not much time since Hitler’s collapse, but I would like to share a quick update from each of us to see how things are progressing. For the record, the Fuehrer is stabilizing physically but the abrupt change in medication regimen will apparently be long and difficult. At any rate he remains incapacitated and we must proceed with the Reich’s business at hand.

From our industrial base we are maintaining the small projects that we set out a few days ago. It will take some time for them to bear fruit. In the meantime we are making progress in replacing combat losses on the Western front, plus providing some reinforcements to our mobile units on the Eastern Front. Ten days is not enough for dramatic change but there are visible improvements already.

Let us start with the Heer this time. General Hoepner?”

“Good morning , Albert. As you have stated, the replacements are completing training and deployment with remarkable speed, though still not fast as we would like. We could do a little more there but I understand your goal of increasing unit combat power with the additional brigades in production.

We are working on bringing our armored spearheads to the West as fast as they can be shipped and driven there. The Allies have over fifty divisions and they are all well fed and equipped. It appears that we have them contained for the moment but we will have to seize the initiative in July or lose it forever.

In Italy as on all fronts our units are reorganizing as fast as possible. General Jodl’s techniques will be paying off here quite soon and we will match if not exceed our enemies at recovering combat power quickly. Otherwise Italy has received a few additional units and is receiving some small flow of the reinforcement stream.

In the East we continue our rapid withdrawal to shorten our lines and allow our units to regain their footing. So far the repositioning has gone well, with few casualties and no divisions cut off. We are fighting some delaying actions and overall I believe this operation is on track. We barely got our forces out of eastern Romania but in the end they did escape and were part of a counterattack on Beltsy that was moderately successful. July in the East will see a continued movement westward and our first attempt to set up a viable defensive belt.

Norway is lightly held, and that is the best we can do. We are transporting three understrength Romanian mountain divisions to Oslo soon, to reinforce the troops in Narvik.

While we are withdrawing both mountain divisions from Finland for use in Italy, we are transporting the divisions from Narva to Finland to recuperate and then aid in the defenses there. In addition we have made one other initiative, regarding the brigades that we do have with our ground forces. We stripped a great many of them and have re-allocated them to our mobile forces where possible, and other front line forces when not. Due to the restrictions on distance this effort was not universally successful, but it has achieved much. We will continue re-allocating brigades as opportunities arise.” He takes his seat and inclines his head to Admiral Doenitz.

“Gentlemen, the Kriegsmarine is extremely limited. Our vessels have spent the past few days reorganizing and that is helpful. In fact we already sortied most of the U-boat fleets, with mixed results. I think it is important to continue to probe what we can at sea and hit the Allied navies any chance we have, simply to make them respect our operational areas.

One success has been the evacuation of Estonia with some divisions now moving quickly toward the Allied salient. As noted, the other troops made it to Finland, where they may be pivotal. We are also transporting mountain troops and our lone Norwegian-based Panzer division back to Germany for more effective employment. That’s all for the navy at present.” He looks at Air Marshal Milch.

“The Luftwaffe is completely outmatched at present. Our best wings are flying air superiority missions over their own airfields, working to ensure their very survival. The amount of Allied and Russian aircraft is staggering. The skies darken with them when the weather is clear. We are getting some reinforcements now for the fighter and interceptor wings only, and they are getting some reorganization each day in their new locales. However, each day the Allies pound our facilities and factories. The investment to clear the damage done now is incredible and soaring daily. This does not take into account the lands actually lost to our enemies, which hopefully they will rebuild for us to retake one day.

The Luftwaffe needs to be upgraded immediately and augmented as soon as possible. Frankly, I am unsure if we can turn around the air war at this point, but there is no alternative except to carry on.”

Speer chimes in at this point: “Edward, we all know your efforts. Believe me, if and when the Allies are on the run, we will divert some of our production facilities to upgrading your aircraft. Until then you will have to work some magic in the skies.”

In the uncomfortable silence, von Ribbentrop clears his throat. “I have initiated a long term trade agreement with Romania for a portion of their oil stocks. We are still using more than we are receiving but the rate will be slowed now. Another worrisome note is that our convoys to Norway are being savaged from the air. This will eventually deplete the small convoy pool that we have remaining.”

Milch interjects: “I will order the Finnish air force, now based in Rostock, to patrol that area and drive off the attackers.”

“Very well, then I have little else to report so soon.”

At a nod from Speer, Head of Intelligence Ernst Kaltenbrunner begins: “The Abwehr is currently crippled by the lack of funding. I understand the rationale and we are doing what we can, but the reports I am now presenting may be wildly inaccurate. In addition, the Reich itself is rife with spies and it is likely that our enemies have a great deal of information about our research and force structure. We need funding, Chancellor, as soon as it may be budgeted.”

The Empire of Japan fights on, with hope they will resist for a long time.

The Soviet Union fields an enormous land army, and it is all directed at us. These numbers may be inaccurate but they paint the general picture. We must pull some claws from the bear, and soon.

The United Kingdom and United States do not have the ground forces that the Red Army enjoys, putting more capital into their naval and air forces. We see the effect every day in our skies and along our coastlines.

Here is a look at the Eastern Front. The Soviets attempted to make an encirclement in Mozyr, but were a little slow to complete it.

At a nod from Speer, Martin Bormann rises and continues the dialogue. “The populace is restive with the publicized changes to the Cabinet here, though the increase in consumer economics such as food, clothing and gadgetry is soothing this over time. As we have more changes planned, this investment in our populace must continue. Recruitment is down now, with General Guderian forced to spend his efforts on the battlefield for a time. Sometime in July Herr Himmler’s replacement will be able to take office and that will help, particularly if we recover some portions of France or Italy.”

Speer concludes. “July begins. We must sweep the Allies from France and we must regain some control of our air space. Let’s get back to work.”
*****************************************

 

[LimaTango]

July 1, 1944

A mixed force of Bulgarian and Hungarian reserves completed their approach marches and assailed the rebels in Belgrade. Although the rebels seemed quite disorganized, their leader somehow inspired them to fight to the last man.

Off the Lorient coast, the wolfpack detailed to guard against amphibious invasions is unmasked by the USS Saratoga group and is driven forcibly into port in Cholet.

Chancellor Speer, dual hatted as the Armaments Minister, reviews the current production allocations, musing over the escalating damage to the provinces. If the Luftwaffe cannot stop the bombing soon, there will be no Reich to save!

General Jodl and the rest of the High Command watch as more of their hard won gains in the East fall to advancing Russian formations.

A United Kingdom fleet arrives off the coast of Bordeaux and lands three divisions who engage the paltry garrison entrenched there. Although ill-suited to this type of warfare, the strength of the landing force wore the garrison to nothing in a few hours of intense fighting.

FM Rommel shifted several mobile forces in the area to greet the Allies warmly when they arrived on shore.

The Kriegsmarine continues to shuffle forces in the Baltic on orders of FM von Bock, who is being sporadically engaged in Finland. So far the Red Army seems to be regarding Finland as a sideshow, to his relief.

The Finnish Air Force is very much in the war, sweeping the Kattegat of the naval bombers plaguing the convoys.

The divisions from Norway arrive in Konigsberg and continue to gain strength there. In HG Nord, FM von Rundstedt makes the decision to withdraw from Riga to Jelgava to shorten his lines and gain the river as an obstacle.

The Luftwaffe makes a rare interception over Vienna, inflicting substantial damage on an R.A.F. wing. The next day a series of airbase strikes drove the Luftwaffe out of Munich.

After a slow slog up the beaches, the UK landing force seized Bordeaux, and were in turn immediately assaulted by FM von Brauchitsch from all sides.

He quickly pulled off an encirclement and their defense began to waver. There was a fleet sheltering in the harbor there. Will the Royal Navy evacuate them or leave them to fight on the beaches?

It remains unknown whether the Brits escaped or were captured in this case, but Bordeaux will be back in German hands in a day or so. In Rostock, the depleted Romanian mountaineers await transport to Oslo. Their ride is delayed by an errant Soviet submarine, which is eventually driven off without losses on either side.

Heersgruppe Sud is heavily engaged in Iasi. The Red Army forces are fighting over a river, but as they tire fresh forces keep arriving. The Wehrmacht troops also begin a troop rotation, as FM von Manstein does not wish to lose this crucial province.

Martin Bormann allows a quick glance at the appalling manpower situation. These numbers are calculated with zero reinforcements for the myriad infantry divisions on the Eastern Front, who are forced to fight on with skeleton regiments.

On July 13, Chancellor Speer performs another needed Cabinet shakeup, reliving Himmler of his remaining duties (and freedom) and installing Gertrud Scholtz-Klink to the post, with the honorary rank of Colonel. This increased the foment in German society, but the benefits to manpower forced Speer’s hand.

(Author’s note, I would normally choose Goebbels, but the ability to actually install someone named “Colonel Klink" is too rich for me to pass up!)

On the 25th, three different Commonwealth divisions storm the shores of Leewarden. This force also overwhelms the skimpy defenses and threatens much of northwest Germany when they get established on shore.

General Bayer grips the bunker walls as another round of Soviet artillery shakes the ground. His forces are still holding, and have delayed the attackers still further, but he needs fresh forces, and there are few to be found.

Realizing the gravity of the situation, Admiral Doenitz leads his battle-worthy U-boats against the invasion fleet. In a few hours of fighting he sinks all three transport flotillas, with the landing forces still embarked. He is greeted with a hero’s welcome when he sails back into Wilhelmshafen.

FM Rommel immediately sends the remaining paratroops north to bolster this area in case of a recurrence of the invasion.

In the East, the battle in Iasi rages on. The High Command is only hopeful that this effort will draw sufficient reinforcements from HG Mitte’s zone of operations that those troops can dig in deeper against the marauding warplanes and Red Army hordes opposing their lines.

 

[Sandertje]

You're manpower situation is about to get critical. Let's hope that we get an early winter.

 

[clist123abc]

You're still holding on quite well. What did you do with the "paper panzer divisions" in Essen i think? I saw you used mot to counter at Bordeaux. Do you have a plan for the panzer, mech, mot you have? Do you use them as mobile reserves or just rebase most of them in Berlin to save oil? Do you purposefully use Trickster FM's?

 

[LimaTango]

@sandertje That is for sure. I have already disbanded at least a dozen divisions and there will be many more going that route. Come on winter!

@clist123abc. This mod corrects the paper panzers. I believe one is disbanded and the other two historically placed and strengthened.

I have prioritized replacements for all mobile forces (and interceptors) as I use them for most attacks. They will always be near the front lines unless upgrading in Berlin.

I appoint all Trickster generals to HQ divisions. My understanding is that they are harder to target and that they generate more beneficial combat events (like Ambush, Encirclement, etc.).

 

[Sandertje]

How do you use the Luftwaffe? Are they grounded or.. ?

 

[LimaTango]

@sandertje. I have read some fine '44 AARs by Remble and DvD-IT where they immediately started bombing the Allies and gaining air superiority. It didn't work like that for me. My dog fighters are in Berlin, Kessel, Frankfort and Breslau (plus the Finns in Rostock). It is all they can do to defend the very heart of Germany and their own airfields. The TAC and CAS are not even reinforced yet as they are dead meat if they fly into the Allied swarms without escorts. So yes, the Luftwaffe is extremely limited and you can see the immense repairs needed after one month of the campaign.

 

[LimaTango]

The Red Army continues to pound away at Iasi, with the attacking divisions now totaling those of several entire Fronts. FM Model continues to rotate his weary formations into the battle zone to stave off the Soviets.

***************************************************
Chancellery

July 22, 1944

Albert Speer greets each arrival warmly and circulates among them until it is time for the meeting to begin.

“Although I have in mind to meet regularly at the beginning of each month, General Jodl informs me that this one is necessary, as the time for our counter offensive in the west draws nigh. With this in mind I turn the floor to him.”

General Jodl approaches the mapboards and begins. “There are some better tidings at this point, though the situation remains on the knife’s edge of disaster. First, we have reinforced Heersgruppe West, by stripping almost every mobile division from the entire Heer to move to this theater. We have likewise moved many brigades and several infantry divisions westward. In addition we have poured out nearly all our husbanded manpower resources to bring most of these divisions to full strength. The impact of this diversion is terribly evident on the Eastern Front, but we are forced to gamble to this extent.

In a month, the impact of installing General Hoepner and Air Marshal Milch to their respective ministries will take full effect, which we have been counting on. However, the chiefs of staff agree that we must strike now, before our opponents can grow even stronger.

We do have two important victories in the West. Three British divisions were eliminated in Bordeaux. We cannot confirm whether they were destroyed or merely evacuated, but it was a victory for us either way. We did lose the small garrison of that area in the actual invasion. In similar fashion, three other British divisions destroyed the garrison of Leewarden, but in that case Admiral Doenitz led a wolfpack against the Royal Navy and sank all three transports, with all their troops still aboard. That was a conclusive victory. These two successes have served to keep the Allies pinned in Brittany so we can maintain focus there.

I will now turn the floor to the chiefs of staff for their updates, beginning with the Kriegsmarine. Admiral Doenitz?”

“I will be brief. We did have one victory and it was a great thrill watching those laden transports explode and sink. Aside from moving divisions around the Baltic, all our focus is on reorganization and repair. We are staging as far forward as possible to strike when we can, or when we are forced to do so. That’s all from me. Erhard?”

“The Luftwaffe is in better shape than one month ago, but is still mostly defending itself and the very core of the Fatherland. All fighting wings are now at nominal strength, but all need more time to be fully organized. We have had a handful of small victories over some deep penetration bomber wings but airbase strikes are driving us ever inward towards Berlin. My understanding is that we will get funding for some upgrades beginning by the end of July and that will increase our effectiveness rapidly, I believe.” He turns to General Hoepner. “Ernst, I regret that the Luftwaffe cannot really assist in the operations in Normandy. Any of our forces that managed to get that far south would be massacred and we have no ability to replace them at this point. I am sorry that we have come to this.”

General Hoepner stands and begins. “We have all come to this point together, no need to look backwards, only forward.

To recap, clockwise from the North Atlantic. We hold in Denmark and Norway. Von Bock has transferred one armored and two infantry divisions from Norway to Konigsberg for refitting and is moving three under-strength Romanian mountain divisions to Narvik in return. We have reinforced Finland with the infantry from Narwa and established a defensive line there. It should hold against the number of Red Army divisions that we believe are in the area. If they reinforce heavily we will be in trouble there.

The Eastern Front is shaky. Our forces have maneuvered into what we have termed the Godan line, taking advantage of rivers and forested terrain. The question there is how long they can hold. As we are seeing in Iasi, the Red Army can force an engagement of any duration they choose. Both sides are feeding fresh troops into Iasi as needed, but they have nearly limitless troops to do this with. The mobile divisions remaining in the East are recovering their strength and they will be used to bolster weak spots at a pinch.

Along the Mediterranean coast our allies are moving into position to block or slow any invasion attempts. We crushed the partisans in Belgrade but they will return somewhere soon. Italy is quiet except for the lone American corps which continues to batter at our defenses in Rimini. This general has forgotten the lessons of the last Great War, or perhaps this is a punishment formation paying for some grave crime?

In the West Leewarden and Bordeaux were victories for us, though it cost us the troops of two coastal defense forces, which we can ill afford.

We come now to Operation Luttich, our effort to clear the American and Commonwealth forces from France. The situation is shown here, with about sixty known divisions entrenched along this border. They are supported by a massive air armada and will likely enjoy a great deal of shore bombardment when we operate along any coastlines. The Abwehr reports 60 Allied divisions along the border with our troops, with an unknown quantity backing them up in France and across the Channel in England.

We are committing about 89 divisions to this operation, with our reconstituted mobile forces doing the bulk of the fighting. The plan is for them to penetrate here at Nantes, where the line is weakest. We will simultaneously attack Orleans from three sides. We hope that Generals Patton and Montgomery will be unable to stand by and see our columns retaking these lands. If they leave their entrenchments and engage us we will launch infantry assaults from Paris and Le Havre. If they hunker down we will sweep through Brittany and then assault Argentan from five directions. If the Allies do mass in any one point we will seek to surround them before making a final assault.

Our remaining U-boats are staged nearby. They will sortie when ordered in order to prevent reinforcement or evacuation efforts by the Allies. It is also possible that the Luftwaffe could make some night strikes if the attack bogs down. In general, the Heer must make do alone on this one. Nothing further, Chancellor.”

Speer looks around at the solemn faces at the table. “Very well. This is our last cast of the dice. May fortune mount our panzers this day.”
************************************************************

 

[Barvinok]

Curious to see how does the assault pan out.

 

[LimaTango]

Operation Luttich

July 22, 1944

Nantes, Frankreich

Shortly before dawn, the massed vehicles of Field Marshal von Brauchitsch’s invading army roared to life and made a rapid approach march to the border of the Cholet province that they had been defending. They did not stop there, but accelerated over the hasty pontoon bridges erected, slamming into the thin alloed defenses in the region. Almost immediately the lead elements encircled a portion of the startled defense.

The armored spearhead rolls through Nantes and spreads out to take in the Brittany coastal areas. To the East, some divisions from Norway arrive to buttress the thin lines.

Over Pomeranian Bay, the stalwart Finns engage more R.A.F. bombers, taking an entire squadron down this time.

American forces from surrounding areas attempt to dislodge the Heer in Nantes to no avail. ON July 24, Field Marshal Rommel begins his deceptive assault on Orleans, where General Hodges is quickly outmatched.

With his flank secure once more, FM von Brauchitsch resumes his wide ranging attack into Lorient.

As the initial defense begins to erode, Field Marshal Eisenhower arrives from his headquarters and takes personal charge of the situation. Rommel is initially pleased to have taken him away from his efficient planning staff, but his legendary leadership skills begin to cause problems.

The Luftwaffe is challenged again near Stuttgart and even with 2:1 odds suffers a lot of damage to its aging interceptor force.

FM Eisenhower executes a tactical withdrawal, buying some time as he maneuvers more forces forward.

=FLASH= traffic alerts STAVKA of the German Blitzkrieg unfolding in France and the Red Army is directed to capitalize on the over-stressed German command and logistics networks. Iasi is attacked even as the United Kingdom’s defense wilts in Lorient.

FM von Manstein exudes confidence in Iasi, even with his depleted formations.

As soon as Lorient is occupied a counterattack is mounted from Brest and Angers. Wehrmacht corps from Cholet and Nantes strike hard into the flank of the attackers in Angers.

As more and more Allied troops flow into Orleans, FM Rommel decides he must stop up this pipeline and orders several of his uncommitted divisions to assault Argentan.

The spoiling attack on Angers works, sending the Americans reeling westward in defeat.

In Orleans, Rommel clamps down on Eisenhower’s patchwork army, now grown to 18 divisions.
Panzers advance crushing defenders in Brest and entering Rennes before racing back to aid their brethren against a reinforcing army in Angers.

FM von Manstein counterattacks to maintain the upper hand in Iasi. The Red Army forces are beginning to tire noticeably from incessantly paddling their small boats across a river to attack.

General Patton finally arrives from a Christmas in July party in England and takes the reins in Angers, though his outlook there is bleak. He slaps a combat fatigued soldier but his troops fail to rally at the demonstration.

Patton is routed, but the defense in Argentan continues to defy Heersgruppe West.

Allied resistance crumbles in Le Mans and Orleans. In Brest, a fresh American division arrives, defending a longed-for U.K. supply depot.

On the last day of July the Allied effort to hold Argentan seems to be slipping from their grasp, as Wehrmacht corps assault from five sides.

The defense is breached in Avranches, simultaneously with the partisans being routed far to the east.

 

[Barvinok]

The Wehrmacht has swatted the Allies away like a swarm of annoying flies. I expect rich rewards for beating the landing(supply depot)?

 

[LimaTango]

Chancellor Speer cancels the planned end of month cabinet meeting, as all eyes are firmly fixed on the life or death struggle in the West. All of Germany holds its collective breath.

A disgusted Ernst Kaltenbrunner disseminates the Abwehr’s monthly Intelligence Estimates which are roundly ignored for the moment.

FM Rommel is momentarily stymied in Argentan but soon resumes degrading the Allied strength there.

Even as von Brauchitsch ambushes battered United States forces in Avranches no less than three German territories are lost. Americans land in Nantes, Free France troops take Perpignan and partisans take Maribor.

Thwarted in Wilno, the Red Army launches an overwhelming attack on Wilno. The few combat ready divisions in the area are ordered to support the defense by FM von Rundstedt.

FM Rommel produces a breakthrough that appears liable to break the back of the last defenders in Argentan.

After a bitter week long battle, Rommel’s Panzerarmee rolls into Argentan. Fresh American troops in Caen immediately seek to dislodge him. Avranches falls to the Heer as well.

Rommel holds hard while reinforcements come up.

The US Army in Caen is flanked from La Havre and begins to melt away.

The victors of Operation Overlord are now on the run in all regions. The landing force in Nantes is pushed back into the sea.

When Nantes is retaken the U.S. Navy fleet sheltered there is forced to sea where the remaining wolfpacks from southern France lie in wait. The torpedoes hit with regularity but the sheer number of transports (19) give them some measure of survivability.

The noose draws tight around the Allies in Cherbourg. The latest probes in Rimini and Iasi are beaten back, but the battle in Wilno continues to rage.

The destroyer escort joins one transport on the bottom in the North Bay of Biscay. Individual Allied divisions retreating to Cherbourg are mopped up one after another.

Rommel arrives in Cherbourg, overrunning some troops and capturing a good-sized supply depot from the American rear echelon troops.

The remaining Atlantic Coast wolfpacks under Admiral Doenitz converge on the Eastern English Channel, racing to engage the transports engaged in Dunkirk II. Twenty nine transport flotillas and four escorts shoot it out in the narrow Channel.

At the same time, a French fleet jumps belatedly into the fray in North Bay of Biscay. They would drive off the U-boats and sink one of them at the cost of the battleship Paris and a light cruiser.

In the Channel, the US Navy destroyers do their job well. They lose three DD’s but only six transports. Doenitz cannot tell if the transports were loaded or not.

With the evacuation of Cherbourg complete, Operation Luttich concludes. The High Command is elated and relieved, but they immediately redouble their efforts to address the other critical threats to the Reich.

 

[LimaTango]

Chancellery

August 12, 1944

Martin Bormann waves the assemblage to their seats. “Good afternoon gentlemen, and to you, Colonel Klink. Albert is unable to attend today as he is attending to production matters. I would like to have a brief recap of Operation Luttich. General Jodl, will you please recount the campaign for those gathered, and give some idea of the coming events?”

“Of course, Martin. As you all are aware, yesterday the last of the Allied troops were driven from the shores of occupied France by Heersgruppe West, under Field Marshal Rommel, who’s personal Panzerarmee fought for literally every moment of the campaign. General Patton was defeated time and again, as was the extremely capable Field Marshal Eisenhower. The schwerpunkt in Nantes worked, allowing southwest France to be rolled up quickly and the supporting assault on Orleans worked as well, drawing the bulk of the Allied forces forward in their attempt to hold that ground. As we surmised, the bloodthirsty Americans could not stand patiently in their revetments.

We pressed several divisions into the sea in Lorient and in Calais, and in both cases our resurgent U-boat wolfpacks savaged the transport fleets waiting to extract the beaten Allied formations. We cannot know whether any or all of those divisions escaped destruction, but we can know that the Heer and perhaps the Kriegsmarine inflicted the equivalent of 38 American and 11 British divisions’ worth of casualties on them. Ernst, please show the Losses reports before and after Operation Luttwich.

This one is as of July 19.

And this one as of August 11.

This is very satisfactory, though I may wish that all the invaders were confirmed dead. At any rate, we have secured our Western flank for the time being.

We are proceeding to man every beach in case the Allies attempt a quick insertion of evacuated divisions or ones fresh from England. In addition we are maintaining two corps as quick reaction forces. One is three motorized divisions in Lorient and the other is two motorized and one Mk-lll division in Paris.

All other Wehrmacht ground forces are being reassigned to other theaters. The majority of infantry will be entrained for Konigsberg and Lublin. Four small armored corps will drive to north of the Gustav line in Italy. Two armored corps, including Rommel’s, will ship East via sea through the Baltic, as will a half dozen infantry divisions. Their destinations may vary by necessity.

The Red Army continues to be restive, pressing attacks along our frontage with overwhelming numbers. We are using only static defense here, and taking the casualties to show for it. With the arrival of the troops from France we may be able to perform some spoiling attacks in the Heersgruppe Mitte area. These will arrive from September 7th through the 22nd.

We are in the planning stages for Operation Stiefelschlacht, the campaign in Italy. The start date is uncertain as our transportation network absolutely cannot support such activities for some time.

All we can do for the moment is replace our losses and hope that the Luftwaffe can make some headway against the incessant bombing.”

Bormann replies: “Air Marshal Milch is working hard on this, even leading missions himself on occasion. Some upgrades have been made but there is quite some way to go. That’s all for now. We will go into more depth at the end of this month.”