Rank and File
A Clerk’s War
A Clerk’s War
Tuesday 20th to Friday 23rd May 1941 (Part 1)
Another section of the schwere panzer research project has been completed, and our engineers are now able to provide much thicker and stronger armour. Minister Göring has exercised his authority by ordering the research team to turn to the problem of ground crew training for our heavy bombers. Perhaps better preparation will allow the aircraft to operate more than at present.
General Petersen was in charge of the first battle of the 20th, giving the signal to start just after midnight. 22 and 107.Infanterie (mot) are to take on General Strumilov in Brody. Petersen’s enthusiasm to get into battle led him to forget to file his battle map, but we know that he was opposed by 4 divisions: 9 Tankovaya, 11 Motorizovannaya, 101 Strelkovaya and 37 Kavaleriyskaya. It was probably not too important – Shumilov conceded defeat the following day.
A BT-5 moves forward in an early phase of the battle of Brody. If it was lucky it would have retreated the following day
Böhme has also started a night attack, but he at least was able to meet the administrative requirements. His Fallschirmjägers are to exert pressure on the trapped Russians, but the defenders of Panevezys are still capable of spirited resistance.
Battle of Panevezys
Böttcher had a brief alarm when he was attacked in Siauliai. With only 8,750 men left, he was warned that three full divisions were moving towards him. Any concern was soon removed as the attack was called off: Böhm’s drive into Panevezys had caught the Russians on the flank and General Sadalov had no option but to concentrate his troops in that direction. The casualties give an indication of the danger that Böhm was in: we lost 49 men to the Russian 17 dead.
Battle of Siauliai
Further south, at Vinnytsya, General Bieß and his “Bitburg” motorised division are up against two Russian divisions. Even though the terrain is open with no impediments to our advance, the Russians are reportedly well prepared and unlikely to fold.
Battle of Vinnytsya
General Engelbrecht won the battle of Pervomays’k, driving off 2 Belorusskaya and 195 Strelkovaya. As 3rd and 4th Gebirgsjäger divisions marched into the province, however, their leads units clashed with elements of 8 Minskaya. It would not take long: the Minskaya division, still showing the effects of its defeat in Tiraspol three weeks ago, was fleeing before noon the next day.
2nd Battle of Pervomays’k
Once again our generals have co-operated well: Engelbrecht’s advance into Pervomays’k has completely shattered General Iakolev’s plan to assault Behlendorff in Zhovten. With two divisions threatening him from Troyit’ke he had little choice but to abandon his attack which had barely started.
2nd Battle of Zhovten
Closely controlling the battle, these Gebirgsjäger officers are about to hear of Engelbrecht’s double victory.
With so much going well, it was a surprise to hear that we had suffered a significant defeat. 1st schwere Panzer division has suffered heavy casualties in Dobele, losing several thousand men. Many of our heavy tanks were destroyed, making it imperative that our upgrades are given priority. More concerning is the total exhaustion of the division: it will be some time before it can contribute to Unternehmen Barbarossa. Only an hour later similar bad news arrived from Aizkraukle: we have given up the attempt to recapture the province. Casualties were far less and the two divisions involved are nowhere near as tired, but it shows that the Red Army can still put considerable forces into battle.
Depressing news from the north was soon forgotten when von Bock reported from Uman that he has won a resounding victory. For once we overwhelmed the defenders, with nearly 130,000 men engaged against 33,000 Russians. As Goebbel’s propaganda broadcasts were played and replayed, recruitment centres reported a surge of much-needed volunteers. (There was a half-hearted attempt to retake Uman on Wednesday but it could hardly be called a battle: it was over in an hour with the Russians losing 10 more men).
Victory at Uman
Wednesday the Luftwaffe took delivery of two hundred brand new Junkers 88 medium bombers. KG 25 “Kran” and KG 28 “Rabe” have flown to Danzig to join JG 8 “Beschützer”. The new 8th Kampffliegerkorps will be led by Generalleutnant Wever. It will remain in Danzig for a week or so to fill its supply depots and to allow an organisational structure to be put in place. Then it will be assigned to one of the East Front armies to play its part in Barbarossa.
Our bombers are badly affecting the Russians, and they are using every tactic possible to deter our aircraft. Some are more successful than others.
The factories involved have modified their equipment to allow production to commence on two more mechanised divisions. Depite the huge cost, Minister Bayerlein was still able to grab some capacity to improve infrastructure in Kobryn, Wolkowysk, Kam’yanets’-Podil’s’kyi, Ratno, Zhmerynka, Kostopol and Brzesc Litewski.
While 6th SS Friewilligen Gebirgsjäger Division “Nord” escaped an attack yesterday (thanks to the intervention of 3rd and 4th Gebrigsjäger divisions), it was not so lucky today. General Popov has organised two powerful divisions to move on the mountain troops, and General Behlendorff will no doubt already be on the radio calling for bombers to smash the columns of tanks and armoured vehicles headed his way. This will test the fortitude of his men: facing tanks and motorised infantry on featureless grain fields.
3rd Battle of Zhovten
General Bergmann’s persistence finally paid off. He has at last driven the Russians from Iwacewicze, and his casualties were fairly low considering the odds he faced. This is probably a good thing, as Polen Army Nord needs every division it has. The many failed attempts to cross the Memel have left several units unfit for combat.
That does not seem to be a concern for General Guderian. The divisions of the Balkans Army are continuously fighting, always driving north and east. Haysyn is next on Guderian’s target list, and he has given Haase two divisions and orders to capture it. Slightly outnumbered, Haase has stormed in, sending Cochenhausen’s motorised infantry deep into the wide flat centre of the province. Guderian’s confidence was well warranted, as the Russian General Cheremsov ordered a full retreat before dusk.
Battle of Haysyn
It is still to be seen if his decision to send von Bock’s 111.Infanterie (mot) into Halvoron was as justified. Uborevich has four divisions to protect his three HQ detachments, but Guderian is gambling that their recent activities have left them too weak to resist a strong push. (11 Strelkovaya was severely mauled at Orhei and the other three divisions only escaped Ul’yanovska and the pursuing von Roques by abandoning everything bar their personal weapons.)
Battle of Halvoron
Perhaps it is in Illintsi that Guderian is pushing the limits of the possible. Phleps is an experienced commander, with a gift for offensive action, but 98.Infanterie has been on the move for days and to ask them to attack two full strength infantry divisions who have been allowed to dig in is asking a lot. With numerous storm clouds in the area indicating air support cannot be relied upon, this could be one battle too many for the Baltic Army.
Battle of Illintsi
Obviously General Guderian is not concerned about air cover, as he ordered a fourth attack on Wednesday. General Dippold is already entering Krasyliv and fighting has started between his 386.Infanterie and General Alexandrov’s infantry, motorised and cavalry divisions. Admittedly 9 Krymskaya and 18 Strelkovaya are still useless after General Warlimont thrashed them in Horodok, but 163 Mororizovannaya could still be a basis on which to build a defence.
Battle of Krasyliv
Not everyone has been surprised at the resistance shown by the Red Army and the amount of effort our soldiers must expend to drive them east. Theorists at OKH have been studying ways to increase the morale of our mobile units and have designed a new Tactical Command Structure to boost moral by an estimated 20%. This should allow our units to outlast all but the most determined defenders. Next problem to be solved: more advanced Blitzkrieg techniques. The theorists warn this will be a much larger task.
The next day Guderian showed he was not yet finished: General Ruoff headed straight north from Khmel’nyts’kyy, into no less than seven enemy combat units and two HQ detachments. It was not as bad as it sounds as many units had taken heavy losses (there were only 52,200 men left) and were also on the brink of administrative collapse after weeks of fighting and retreating. If “Vorwärts” motorised division can pull this off, the Balkans Army will have outflanked the fortress city of Vinnitsa.
Battle of Starokostyantyniv
General Guderian does not sit far to the rear: his Sdkfz 251/6 command half-track allows him to be continuously on the move.
During the morning there was a break from the apparently never-ending battles of the Balkans Army. Admiral Boehm reported that enemy bombers had tried to attack the Nordseeflotte but von Greim’s 1st and 2nd Trägergruppe had deterred them. He did mention he was anxious about the condition of his carrier aircraft – they have been at sea for some time and are showing signs of needing maintenance and repair.
Air Battle of Finnish Coast
Although General Behlendorff called for bombers (and tanks and artillery and more men etc) he received nothing. As a result he has had to pull back 6th SS Freiwilligen Gebirgsjäger “Nord”, though casualties were low. While the loss of one province is not too alarming, the presence of large fresh formations and the willingness of the Red Army to counter-attack are a warning that we must not over-extend ourselves. (I wonder if General Guderian has taken note).
There was no risk of becoming over-extended in Saldus. Kleinheisterkamp sent 5th Panzer Division into the woods of Saldus at full speed and his gamble paid off. In an hour 25 Strelkovaya was on the run, despite it being at near full strength and in prepared positions. It shows what a bit od dash can do, though I suppose it could have gone horribly wrong.
Battle of Saldus
During the afternoon, there was an urgent message from General Ruoff to Balkans HQ, or more correctly, to the Luftwaffe liaison officer attached to the HQ. He reported several hundred Russian dive bombers overhead and politely enquired about the lack of fighter cover. Within minutes calls were made to airbases around Berehomet and Fisser had the pilots of 7th Jagdfliegerkorps racing to their aircraft. “”Bach”, “Beethoven” and “Bruch” were in the air when Fisser heard that Österreich Army had volunteered Felmy’s interceptors. The 600 Messerschmitts soon chased off Thor’s bombers, but not before dozens of our men had been killed.
Air Battle of Kmel’nyts’kyy
There were two short battles that afternoon, neither really of importance, except that Brand’s 3rd Gebrigsjägers not only beat off a Soviet attack in Pervomays’k (at a cost of 6 men), but it then took Vil’shanka for just four dead. Levkin’s 16,000 men obviously we so taken aback at the speed of Brand’s retaliatory move that they simply turned and ran. Another cheap victory for the Balkans Army.
Battle of Vil’shanka
The last battle of the day could take an equally short time. General Kalmukoff and 88.Infanterie have been sent to evict Alekseenko’s two infantry divisions from Dobele. The Russians have been fighting for some time (146 Strelkovaya has fought in the battles of Laukuva and Plunge, while 70 Strelkovaya fought at Jelgava) and cannot replenish their depleted stocks of food and ammunition, so this should be a swift victory.
2nd Battle of Dobele
End of Part 1
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