12th of July 1942, Vologda, 8,3°C, 6pm Moscow Time
Report on the Great Patriotic War between 6pm on the 2nd and 6pm on the 12th of July 1942.
Before we get to the overview, first a series of letters from 'Odinatsat':
The 2nd of July, Lwow, 5,6°C, 9pm Moscow Time
I stayed in the St. Elizabeth Church for most of the past 10 days.
After the morning attack on the 2nd of July, and his breakfast, Lt. General Popov came down to the St. Elizabeth Church to convene with Lt. Colonel Molchalin and his staff. A short discussion I wasn't privy to took place around the altar / map table, while I ate my breakfast rations outside with several officers of the Guards riflemen, guarding the church's perimeter. It seems news of my stern rebuttal of Sergeant Orlov's romantic advances spread quite rapidly, and no one else tried his luck. Something had changed, the servicemen in and around the church seemed to have a newfound respect for me. As I finished my breakfast, sergeant Orlov ran out of the church, stood at attention next to the officer's table and:
"Senior Lieutenant Goloniewskij, mam, Lt. Colonel Molchalin needs you in the tower, mam."
Quickly chugging my cup of coffee, I stood up, grabbed my Mosin-Nagant, and followed the sergeant to the top of the tower. As I got there, only sergeant Orlov was there. I positioned myself by the window, wondering whether Orlov had made up that order so that I would be near him. I soon decided he doesn't have the guts to make up an order from a Lt. Colonel. After about 10 slightly awkward seconds I decided to ask Orlov what I was doing there and why I couldn't just finish my breakfast first, but before I could do so, it all became self-evident. Major Panov entered the room, followed by Major Balabanov (a member of Popov's Staff), and then Lt. General Popov himself, followed by our Lt. Colonel, and various other members of their staffs. Myself and the sergeant snapped to attention to salute our new guests, Major Balabanov immediately ordered us to keep a lookout, and to make sure no one could threaten the safety of any of the officers in the room. I thus found myself looking out of over the city, with the Lt. General looking out of another window, discussing the morning's battle with Lt. Colonel Molchalin. I couldn't hear everything they were saying. From what I gathered, the Lt. General was rather pleased with the way the battle had been handled. That said, he ordered a rethink of the position of each and every one of the heavy weapons and machine-guns.
Pretty much ignoring my presence, the Lt. General and the Lt. Colonel, with their entourages, spent most of the morning up in the tower, overlooking the North-Western part of the city, sending out Sergeant Orlov time and again, to get them drinks, or to relay orders when there was no timely radio response. By lunchtime, they were done, not a single IS-2 tank, artillery piece, machine-gun, or mortar was in the same place it had been before the attack. Everything had been moved piecemeal, and as quietly as possible, not to arouse suspicion of potential German observers. Satisfied of the new unit dispositions, Lt. General Popov invited Lt. Colonel Molchalin to lunch in one of the city's better restaurants. As they left the room, I heard the Lt. General ask the Lt. Colonel what he thought of his new marksman. I couldn't quite make out his reply.
After lunch, I shared the tower with sergeant Orlov and the radio operator, Starshina Golubev. I had a good nap to recover some of the sleep I'd missed the previous night. Major Panov and Lt. Colonel Molchalin made a few short appearances, but they rarely stayed much longer than ten minutes, and they didn't catch me napping.
In the evening, Germans from the very same Division that had hit us at dawn, made a second attempt on the city, now they charged in greater numbers. Their tactics were similar to this morning, except that they were clearly circumventing the areas that had been in the line of fire of our heavier guns during the previous attempt. This, of course placed them right in the line of fire of the very guns they were trying to avoid. It took over half an hour for the Germans to catch on to the fact that their intelligence, gathered that very morning, was worthless. By the time they left the city once more, with their tails between their legs, it was a slaughter, over 130 German soldiers laid dead in the streets, 3 Armoured cars had been reduced to smouldering shells, and I had personally shot a German Obergefreiter (Lance Corporal) clean through the head when he took too much of an interest in the churh's main tower. Only three Guards Riflemen lost their lives during the short skirmish.
Again I kept myself under control and only fired when absolutely necessary. With the battlefield far below me and well under control, I'm managing to keep my demons at bay. I've found that watching German blood being spilled by my comrades in arms a good substitute for spilling it myself, it satiates that part of my brain that needs me to kill, to avenge. Enough to keep me focused and in the mission at least.
The 6th of July, Lwow, 7,5°C, 5am Moscow Time
In the two days since the two first battles of Lwow, tensions were rising. There was the news that Hungary had declared war on the Soviet Union on the 3rd of July, and on the 4th, 49 SD and 75 SD retreated into the city, battered and disorganised, leaving Zolkiew and Jaworow in German hands. We suddenly had three potential axis of attack to deal with, and the retreating troops gave us a direct insight into the horrors of the tough fights to come. The question wasn't if the Germans would make another move, but when, and how serious it would be. There was plenty of activity around the city, as preparations were made for potential attacks from the West (Jaworow) an the North-Northwest (Zokiew).
Finally, in the middle of the night, at 1 am on the 5th of July, to be precise, another German attack started. This time a Panzer-Division was was brought to bear, it all started with a line of panzers, moving up Horodotska street, shooting their guns left and right, backed up by FlaK-88s, and accompanied by massed German Infantry, Armoured Cars, and combat engineers. While it looked mighty impressive, it proved to be a non-starter. As soon as they started moving along the main road, a couple of concealed 100mm Anti-Tank guns opened fire on the Panzer V's, blowing up the first panther in line and scattering the Infantry, some of which was promptly hit by Soviet machine-guns and mortar. The German tanks turned tail, and the Infantry jumped on top of the retreating tanks and armoured cars. I guess the Germans in charge must have realised the idiocy of venturing into a fortified city in the middle of the night, as soon as those first shells hit. Lorry-mounted FlaK-88's covered the retreating Panzers, and one of our 100mm Guns was blown up, along with 5 of the men around it. Then, a mere 15 minutes after my sleep had been interrupted, the guns fell quiet again. The Germans had lost a single tank, and about 20 men. No one had gotten close to the church, or the tower, and the Lt. Colonel had only just made it to the top. After the Lt. Colonel grumbled something about the Germans waking him up just to spite him, he went back down to sleep. I did the same, both hoping for, and fearing, a more serious German attack.
I got my wish when I was awakened by sergeant Orlov at 1am the next night. A German Infantry squad had been spotted some 2,5 km from our location. Was this just a scouting operation of a large scale attack? This time there were no rumbling engines and vehicle headlights, there were no flares, no tanks, no mobile FlaK-88s. Only a sliver of the moon was visible, many of the street lights weren't working. From the top of the tower, all I could do was stare into the dark city unable to see more than a vague outline of the buildings. Suddenly, there was a bang, followed by a short exchange of gunfire, accompanied by muzzle flashes about 1,5km away to the North-West of the church, followed by a couple of frantic radio messages back and forth, and then the silence returned.
German Infantry, using the cover of darkness, advanced into the city, until their way was impeded or they were spotted, at which point they started lobbing grenades and shooting, taking advantage of the confusion to do some damage. Once local reinforcements started to arrive, they retreated into the darkness of the night, before heavy machine-guns or mortars could be brought to bear against them. Shortly after the first Soviet Casualties were reported, as soon as he heard the radio description of the second small-scale German shock attack, Lt. Colonel Molchalin recognised the German tactics. He mumbled something about Finns doing something similar, but on skis, and worse. Lt. General Popov had clearly gotten the same impression, and instead of letting the German squads choose where to engage, he gave orders for Guards riflemen to go out into the streets in force to counter-attack the German Infantry and attempt to beat them at their own game. The searchlights of the recently-built fortifications were also brought to bear. At first, all this did was to push the German squads, some of which had ventured over a km into the city, into hiding. The game of cat and mouse continued for several hours, until first light, when we could we start to see silhouettes moving below.
The riflemen on the ground also had an expanded visual range, and the more they saw, the worse for the Germans. Outnumbered and having mostly lost the cover of darkness, the Germans had to run for their lives, being chased through the streets by large numbers of guards-riflemen. Taking full advantage of their knowledge of the city, our soldiers managed to avoid getting pinned down by German Light machine-guns. Luring the German's attention and gunfire one way, with a squad going round and chucking grenades at them from behind, was a particularly favoured tactic. Many of the most ambitious German squads didn't make it out of the city, and by 4:15am, 90 Germans had been killed or taken prisoner. In the end, only 14 Guards Riflemen had died, and the assault turned out to have been the work of a single Infanterie-Division. In the night, the numbers had been muddled, and what had seemed like an invasion by stealth was really a company-sized attack, ultimately of little consequence.
As much as I was frustrated that I didn't get a single shot in, that I had been powerless in the darkness, unable to help the riflemen on the ground, I was glad that casualties were light, and that our lines remained strong and ready to fight another day. The German tactics, may not have given them a military victory, but they surely left many servicemen in Lwow second-guessing shadows, and some with nightmares of Teutonic hordes coming to kill them in their sleep.
The 7th of July, Lwow, 6,4°C, 9am Moscow Time
I finally got something close to a good night's sleep, as the Wehrmacht did decide not to attack on the night of the 6th-7th of July. The 1am battle on the 8th of July started just like the battle before last, with then the appearance of Panzer V tanks starting down Horodotska street. This time, the first tanks didn't mess around, they rolled into the city at full speed. The first 4 tanks were closely followed by a pair of lorry-mounted FlaK-88s with the rest of the column about 20m behind the first group. As soon as they started to come under fire, the tanks started covering each-other and the 88s, by moving 2 at a time and using suppressing fire from the two stationary tanks to cover the advancing ones. This leapfrogging tactic allowed them to mostly bypass our most forward Anti-tank emplacements. It seems this was a serious effort, and not some halfhearted probe. Our searchlights tracked the vehicles in their advance.
In response, an order came down from Lt. General Popov's office. The IS-2 tanks and SU-100 tank-Destroyers that had been bypassed by the rapidly advancing German armour were to rush towards the South-East and prepare favourable firing positions, taking into account the direction of travel and speed of the Panzers. The flexible movement of our own anti-tank equipment allowed our forces to envelop the advancing panzers, containing them to the Horodotska street, and outflanking them in the process. This was all coordinated by Lt. Colonel Molchalin, and our vantage point allowed us to have an overview our enemy did not have, even at night. Once the first group of vehicles arrived about 100m from the first line of fortifications, they halted, requiring additional support from infantry and combat engineers to blow their way through the concrete and steel tank-traps, and to fill in the massive ditches, or so it seemed. The Panther tanks, were firing their machine guns to make sure our riflemen kept their head down. As the Panzers trained their guns, ostensibly to blow up a small bunker, I noticed a tank commander inspecting the church towers with his binoculars, and, of course, just as he looked almost straight at me, I sent a bullet through his head. A few seconds later, the church's main tower was bathing in the light of a massive German searchlight. Luckily the Panzer V's 75mm guns didn't have the elevation to hit the tower, and their were many buildings between them and the base of the church. However, the 88mm FlaK's, designed to shoot down aeroplanes, could. All this was going through my head in a matter of seconds, and almost simultaneously, I noticed the two crews readying their AA-guns and turning their barrels towards me, confirming my assessment. The threat was imminent, Infantry-men were taking pot-shots at me, but I ignored them. Instead I started picking off the FlaK-88 crews. First the loaders, then the commanders. After a few seconds of me seemingly fighting much of the German spearhead on my own, our units on the ground were in position, and guided by Lt. Colonel Molchanlin and his staff, they unleashed hell.
The now relocated SU-100s, as well as entrenched 100mm and 57mm anti-tank guns, opened fire on the tanks at the front of the column. After the first salvo of Armour-piercing shells, IS-2's, and SU-100s, backed by platoons of Guards RIflemen (who could easily keep up with the IS-2's on foot), moved slowly towards the flanks of the German column of Tanks, Armoured Cars, Lorries, and other vehicles. Other snipers now joined in the fun, picking off anyone who got near the FlaK-88s, which were as much of a danger to our IS-2's as they were to the tower I was in. As soon as it was clear the 88s were covered by other snipers, I shot the searchlight that was aimed at the tower, and watched from the relative safety of darkness, as the rest of the battle unfolded.
Now with Soviet armour closing in from all sides, outnumbered, and with little room to manoeuvre, there was only one way out for the Germans, back to where they came from. Under the intense light of soviet searchlights, the entire column started reversing on itself, leaving behind 5 destroyed Panther tanks, 6 lorries littered with bullet-holes, 2 smouldering armoured car wrecks, 2 FlaK-88s aimed straight at me, and over 80 dead German soldiers.
A destroyed Benz-21 Armoured Lorry in the streets of Lwow. This vehicle is part of a German programme to produce armoured vehicles based on existing lorry designs, on the same production lines. The vehicles this programme brought forth were collectively designated as Sd.Kfz.3. Many of these were also fitted with half-tracks, but not this one.
This battle had taken barely an hour, and once again the Germans had proven unable to make any amount of headway. There were many questions after the events of that night. The obvious one was whether the Germans planned the attack specifically to blow up one of the Churches' towers. Did they know we were there, or did the officers of the Tank Division realise that it was the ideal vantage point, and guess we would be taking full advantage of that fact. From the way the attack was executed it did seem likely that the Germans were going for the towers. A quick dash, almost straight towards the church, with lorry-mounted AA-guns, capable of blowing the towers to smithereens from rather far away, in tow? Halting far enough from the first continuous line of trenches they encountered, so that they could protect the 88's from grenades and enterprising Guards riflemen. (at least those coming from the trench-line) It all seems about right, but, according to our own intelligence, the lorry-mounted 88's were the fastest moving high velocity guns the German 11. Panzer-Division has in it's inventory, and thus an attempt at a rapid breakthrough would logically be spearheaded by tanks accompanied by these 88's to provide direct fire support.
Either way, the Germans clearly know that there is someone at the top of the St-Elizabeth Church's central tower. I had failed in my mission, yes the command staff was still alive, but despite my best efforts, the tower had become a prime target. The command post has to be moved before the next German attack, there is no point in risking the loss of this vital command post, least of all in the middle of a battle. The move took priority over everything else, and debriefing will have to wait until morning. With no immediate orders, I decided to sleep downstairs, just in case the Germans tried something.
In the morning, the church was quiet, the same guards riflemen were guarding the base, but inside, and at the top, there was no one left. When I say no-one, I mean no-one except for Sergeant Orlov, who continued to be inexorably bound to me by both his orders and his own choice. I ate my breakfast outside, with the Guards Rifle Company's command staff. I was only halfway through when a ZiS-101 staff car pulled up. Major Balabanov jumped out and walked straight to our table. He had an even sterner demeanour than usual:
"Senior Lieutenant Goloniewskij, you are to come with me."
"Major sir, am I allowed to finish my breakfast first sir?"
"You will follow me right now senior Lieutenant. That is a direct order from Lt. General Popov. Eating inside the Lt. General's staff car is strictly prohibited."µ
The Lt. General's driver, a Starshina, opened the rear door. Major Balabanov indicated for me to enter, and went around to the other side, operating his own door. This was a bit unusual, as protocol dictates that the door should be held open for the person with the highest rank. In this case military protocol directly contradicted gallantry, and the Major went with the latter. I'm not sure what to think of that. The trip to city hall was short and quick, we passed two checkpoints, both of them waved us through. As we arrived, at city hall, the driver got out and opened my door, while a Junior Lieutenant opened the Major's door. We quickly made our way upstairs, bypassing the office of Major Balabanov, and heading straight for the large office Lt. General Popov had made his own. We stopped in front of the massive oak door, and Major Balabanov knocked. The Lt. General said:
"Come in"
The office was even larger than I expected, as it was composed of two spaces. The first room had a small desk for a secretary to the side, and a massive wooden table with 12 chairs around it, I guess they used to hold cabinet meetings in there once upon a time. Large open double doors gave a good view of the second, slightly smaller, room, which is the office itself, dominated by a large mahogany desk. The walls of both rooms are covered in book cases and fine oak panelling. Lt. General Popov was sitting at the head of the table, he was flanked by a full Colonel to his right, and Lt. Colonel Molchalin to his left. The table was set for four, but the three officers had clearly already finished their breakfast. The Lt. General's personal secretary, a Lieutenant, was still eating at the small desk near the door, and there was still plenty of food on the table.
"Senior Lieutenant Goloniewskij. You will join myself and Lt. Colonel Molchalin for breakfast. Dismissed Major."
Understanding that he was about to become the fourth wheel in a tricycle, the Colonel sitting to the right of Popov got up and excused himself. The private who's main function seemed to be to open the door, rushed in to take away the departing Colonel's dirty dishes and replace them with clean ones as Lt. General Popov motioned at the now vacant chair to his right. Again, without a word, the Private left the room and closed the door behind him. I was beginning to be rather impressed at how all these people where seemingly doing exactly what the Lt. General wanted them to do without him having to say a single word. As I grabbed some pastries and started eating, the Lt. General started talking:
"I'm quite pleased with your work Molchalin, you've implemented my orders to perfection, maintaining an exemplary level of coordination between the various units protecting the North-Western part of the city. I put my faith in you to protect that sector, and you have exceeded my expectation Lt. Colonel."
"To be fair, the Germans didn't really put in much effort." (The Lt. Colonel interceded)
"That may be so, but it doesn't take away that 5 attacks on your sector were shrug off with minimal losses. You used the tools at your disposal to great effect, destroying tanks, and killing enemy personnel. The smouldering shells of what used to be the spearhead of a German armoured column on Horodotska street speak for themselves. That said, it seems to me that none of this would have been possible without the efforts of Senior Lieutenant Goleniewskij."
Turning to me. "You used your skills sparingly and effectively, delaying the inevitable discovery of Molchalin's vantage point by German HQ. Once your position was clearly discovered, you did not run for cover. At your own peril, you fired at enemy gun-crews, allowing the Lt. Colonel's staff to leave the tower. You did this so well, that the tower is still standing and the gun crews lie dead in the street. The first responsibility you had was to keep the Lt. Colonel and his staff alive, and you succeeded. Congratulations Captain Goleniewskij, I'm sure Colonel Molchalin is glad to be alive."
"Thank you Lt. General, and Captain, I didn't get the chance to thank you for saving my life."
"Your promotions will be formalised as soon as possible. In the meantime, I've personally revised your orders. Colonel, starting next week, at the latest, you will relocate to the Military Invalids building, from where you will coordinate the defence of the North-Northwestern sector, together with the staff of both Lt. Colonel Rozhdestvensky of 76 GvsD and Lt. Colonel Ibragimov of 72 GvSD. They've done good work, but I think your recent first-hand experience should allow you to further refine their defensive plans and coordinate their forces. Your role there is that of a supervisor, you'll be my representative in the sector, and I expect you to act accordingly, as you have up to now. You have until then to make sure Major Panov is able to take over your duties in the North-Western sector, temporarily, until he proves himself. Captain Goleniewsky will not be joining you, as both Lt. Colonels already have enough personal protection. Dismissed Colonel."
"Yes sir. Thank you sir. I'll get started right away. Captain, it was an honour to work with you, I wish you the very best in your next assignment."
Molchalin stood up and started moving to the door. I reacted quickly, stood at attention, saluted, and replied:
"The pleasure was all mine, sir."
He saluted and left the room. Now, it was just me, the Lt. General, and his secretary in the corner. I waited for Popov to start talking, but noting the hungry way I looked at it, he gestured for me to take some food. I ate in silence for about fifteen minutes, while Popov was reading a file, occasionally looking up at me, as if to make sure I was still there. Compared to the rations of the previous days, the food was great, and I didn't hesitate to get my fill of pastries, eggs, strawberries and tea. As I started to slow down, Lt. General Popov put down his file, and looked me over. He said:
"Captain Goleniewskij. I'll speak frankly. This rather thin volume here is your official file. What is most remarkable about it, is what's not in it. A lot of it is redacted, and, as far as my secretary Lt. Drozdov could find out, there is no record of you taking part any kind of military training. Except for your recent role as an instructor in the Central Women's Sniper Training School, that is.
Now, I certainly don't wish to embarras you with that statement. You clearly have the support of the 5th directorate, and you have most likely worked for them, if you're not still doing so. From your demeanour, and especially the way you handle yourself under pressure, it seems a foregone conclusion that you've served the People of the Soviet Union in ways most of those people will never know. I will probably never know either why you ended up in the regular army, but I've got the distinct feeling that you've suffered for your motherland, more than most. Something must have happened that changed you, made you get out, or made them kick you out. You're good at hiding your pain, and it doesn't seem to have affected your performance, not yet anyway. You must have been one hell of an operative. I suspect that Lt. Colonel Molchalin has been rather distant towards you because you remind him of comrades of his who were forever scarred by the Winter War. A close friend of him ended up taking his own life to escape his demons.
I tend to be rather upbeat and positive in front of my colleagues, but what I'm about to ask of you warrants a more serious tone. As you already know, the Wehrmacht now believes that we have something quite important in the main tower of the St. Elizabeth Church. And we did, until this morning, when we moved out all of the staff and equipment. The question is what will happen when the Germans attack the same sector again, and what I want to happen when they do so. I expect they will go for the church again, and as the critical staff and equipment has been moved, I want to encourage them to focus on the church as much as possible. Any German who's shooting at the church, or even looking at it, isn't focusing on the movements on the ground, nor on finding other vital staff emplacements. I want the Germans to think that, instead of moving out, we've strengthened the Church's defences. This is where you come in, captain, if you agree to take on this hazardous mission.
You will remain in the main tower of the church, despite the obvious risks to your own well-being. I'll give you 10 trained snipers, and a regular guards rifle squad, and full operational freedom within the confines of the church. Your job is to pull German attention to the church, and especially it's main tower. Make them think everything I want them to think, and shoot as many krauts as you need to. This will leave you exposed and it will likely be your demise, but it will almost definitely be of great benefit to the defence of the city, and reduce casualties on the ground. Considering your background in, no-doubt hairy, secret operations, and your exceptional marksmanship, I believe you are the only person under my command who could pull this off successfully. You have seemingly no history, no family, and you clearly want to kill out there, so I'm asking you, will you risk everything for your motherland?"
I was at a loss for words, on the one hand, the Lt. General managed to read me quite well, and he had been understanding, and kind. At the same time, I was really wondering whether all that wasn't just to butter me up so I would go and run this near-suicidal mission. Despite the risks, or maybe because of them, I was tempted to say yes. It would give me a great opportunity to kill a lot of German soldiers, and no more holding back. But, I wasn't just going to say yes immediately. I thus stayed silent, pensive, until the Lt. General decided, all on his own, to sweeten the deal:
"I can make this easier for you. What do you want? Better food? done. A radio operator and a direct line to my HQ? done. Do you want a staff car? done. If you do this successfully, and come out alive. I will personally back you in your military career, wherever you want to go, whatever you want to do, I'll pull strings for you."
"And if I refuse."
"I won't court martial you, but I will transfer you to another Guards Rifle unit with a glowing letter of recommendation, and that will be that where you're concerned. I'm sure you could always use your connections to get some other kind of assignment."
At this point, I had decided I would do it. The chance to kill so many, and the fact that no one would be looking over my shoulder. It was worth it. But, I did want something else:
"All right. I'll do it, I'll be your hun-bait, but I need you to pull some strings. I don't have many true friends in this world - occupational hazard - but my best friend is on duty in Kyiv, repairing aeroplanes. If I'm going to die in that church, I want to spend more time with senior sergeant Sergei Kharkov, Yak-7 aeroplane mechanic. Do what you have to make it so he's reassigned to Lwow Air Base, and that he can come visit me at the church whenever he's not working."
Lt. General Popov simply looked at Lt. Drozdov, who was thumbing through a file with a VVS stamp on it, he was quick to reply:
"Sir. One phone-call and senior sergeant Kharkov will be on the next plane to Lwow. Sir. You might have to call in a favour to get it done sir."
"Thank you Lieutenant, make the call. Captain, you heard the Lieutenant, it's all sorted. You may go to Lwow Air Base to welcome him. Be at St. Elizabeth church at 1500 hours, your team will be there. You'll need to rush your preparations, I don't know how long the Germans will wait before they attack that sector again. In case this is the last time I see you, thank you for your service. Dismissed captain"
I don't plan on dying in that church, but it remains a real possibility, and due to the nature of my assignment I haven't been able to spend any time with Sergei. Now that I'm writing this, thinking of Sergei, I have to survive the coming onslaught, for his sake and for mine. I'm off to the Air Base to welcome him to Lwow. I'll write to you again when I feel like it. Battle or no battle, I'll be quite busy the coming days, so don't worry if you don't get daily updates.
All the best,
'Odinatsat'
Arctic Front (XXXIV GSK / 1st AG / Leningrad HQ):
Progress continues to be slow in the Arctic. The only enemy in sight is the occasional snowstorm and the terrible infrastructure.
:
The 1936C class of Destroyers, a brand new evolution of the 1936 design, has a standard displacement of 2.411 tonnes, and a maximum displacement of over 3.400 tonnes. The main difference with previous classes is the use of multi-purpose main guns.The 1936C sports a main armament of 6, 12,8 cm FlaK 40's in three twin turrets. As the name of the gun suggests, this main armament could be effectively used against aeroplanes, a significant improvement over the 1936A and 1936B classes. Those previous sub-classes sported a pair of 15cm Naval guns in a twin turret in the front, and three single 12,7mm naval guns in individual turrets in the rear. 6 water tube boilers and 2 gear turbines provide 70.000 hp, propelling the ships to a top speed of 38,5 knots. (much faster than what they can do in game). The armament is completed by 4 3,7cm FlaK guns, 4 2,0cm FlaK guns, and 8 torpedo tubes. The ships also have the capacity to lay mines.
(OTL none of these saw action, but TTL they've already been sent to the bottom of the ocean)
A pair of German Destroyers was first spotted by one of our submarines. The RBBF, having just delivered a Rifle Division to
Bornholm, went out to attempt to intercept the Kriegsmarine units before they could do damage to our submarines. The Zerstörergeschwäder, clearly unaware that they had been spotted, and possibly concentrating on tracking our submarines, was caught by surprise by the RBBF, just as the submarines in question had left the area.
The resulting battle of the
Southern Baltic was short and very one-sided. Vice Admiral
Kuznetsov, expertly positioning his ships, brought all of his fleet's firepower to bear against the 4 modern German Destroyers. All of the RBBF's big guns were firing at the German ships, while Carrier-based Il-10VM torpedo-bombers, and our own Destroyers, dropped torpedo after torpedo. All the while, La-7VMs strafed the German decks. The Destroyers dodged and weaved to try and avoid all of it, taking a few potshots at our Heavy Cruiser
Krasnyi Kavkaz, one of which actually hit. They attempted to run and take advantage of their superior top speed, but to no avail. Despite the mediocre accuracy of Soviet Naval Gunnery, the sheer volume of shells and torpedo's headed for
Wolf's flotilla was overwhelming, and before it even got close to getting out of range, the last Z-46 Destroyer was sent to the bottom by a volley of 12 inch shells from the Pride of the Red Navy, Battleship
Oktyabrskaya Revoluciya.
The VDV lands in Slagelse, en masse, not an enemy aeroplane in sight, thought a German Infanterie-Division is present on the ground.
Now they have to secure the area, easier said than done.
After all of XXXIII SK was transferred to
Bornholm, things had to move quickly. Supplies on
Bornholm were slowly decreasing, as more supplies were being consumed than could be brought in through the island's port. The clock was ticking, and thus, operation Aegir was given the go-ahead. Three Divisions of Paratroopers were temporarily relocated to
Bornholm and as they started preparing for the planned landing, 24 hours later, the Red Banner Baltic Fleet sailed to the
Pommeranian Coast. As the RBBF reached the Pommeranian coast, they were greeted once more by the Seeaufklärungsgruppe. The CAGs were ready, and dispatched the Ju-290s, ssome still damaged from their last air battle, with relative ease. Once again, the element of surprise was essential for the success of the operation. With the target province so close to the German heartland, it was expected that large numbers of Luftwaffe fighters may be brought to bear against the Air Transport wing.
In an attempt to avoid a worse rerun of the Air Battle over
Bornholm, which could see our transport aeroplanes shot out of the sky, this time with the paratroopers still on board, a diversion was planned. Knowing full well that no VVS support would be forthcoming, the La-7VM's of 2 KPA and 7 KPA took off from their respective Moskva-class carriers less than 2 hours before the Airborne assault was due to start. They were essentially Luftwaffe-bait, ostensibly trying to assert air superiority over the
Öresund. This worked even better than expected, with close to 1.000 Bf-109s intercepting our Carrier-based fighters. A desperate battle started, though in the end casualties would be remarkably light on our side, as the German fighters kept getting in each-other's way, with many friendly fire incidents on the German side.
The heroic efforts of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet's CAGs made sure the skies over
Slagelse (1) were clear when 27.000 Soviet Paratroopers were dropped on the province. A single German Infantry Division was present in the province, which had been expected to be empty. There was no way back, the VDV has to deal with the German Infantry before it will be able to turn it's attention to
Copenhagen, despite the VDV's three to one numerical superiority, it promises to be a very tough fight. In case the battle of
Slagelse turns awry, a naval contingency plan was put into action, and the RBBF sailed back to
Bornholm to pick up a Rifle Division. The Division in question will be landed into
Guldborgsund, to the South of
Copenhagen, then another trip will be made, before a combined attack on
Copenhagen will start, one Division attacking from
Guldborgsund, and another performing an amphibious assault from the
Pommeranian Coast. This entire operation turned out to be even riskier than anticipated. It is definitely a high risk high reward sort of thing. This is the first real test of the VDV. Will they be able to prevail in the adverse conditions for which they've been trained?
A lot of action in the Baltic. Paratroopers fighting in Slagelse, a Naval Battle in the Southern Baltic, and several aerial battles.
1.
Southern Baltic (Naval Battle - Victory)
02 Jul 42 22:00 - 03 Jul 42 01:00
VMF: Red Banner Baltic Fleet - 2 BB, 2 CVL, CA, CL, 6 DD - 10.528 sailors - Leningrad - V.Adm. Kuznetsov L4, ST
7 KPA - CAG - 31 La-7VM, 31 Il-10VM - 93 airmen - Moskva (Southern Baltic) - Air Capt 1C Kapitochin, L2
2 KPA - CAG - 30 La-7VM, 30 Il-10VM - 90 airmen - Leningrad (Southern Baltic) - Air Capt 1C Falaleev, L4
12 naval units / 36 ships / 10.528 sailors / 5 Flotiliya Esmintsev (CVL) -4% / 28 sailors KIA
1 Mission / 121 planes / 183 airmen / 3 downed / 5 KIA
Kriegsmarine: 7. ZG - DD - 4 x Z-46-Class (1936C) - 1.280 sailors - ? - Kommodore Wolf, L2-3, SW
1 naval unit / 4 ships / 1.280 sailors / 7. Zerstörergeschwader (DD)
sunk by Oktyabrskaya Revoluciya (BB) / 4 ships / 1.280 sailors KIA
Convoy raiding in the Baltic (last 10 days): 35 convoys & 0 escorts sunk
:
A Panzer III ausf. L of 1. PzD, on it's way to Brzesc Litewski. These tanks were part of the 5th battle for the city, the one that broke the Red Army's Defence.
The evening of the 2nd of July was quite action-packed. A n 8pm German probe into
Brzesc-Litewski (1) was quickly turned back. At 9pm, both the battles of
Vainode (2),
Siauliai (3) came to an end, as the Soviet Rifle Divisions involved could simply take no more, they all retreated to the East, hoping to trade land for time, time to reinforce and recuperate. Casualties were even and relatively light.
A 1am German attack into
Hajnowka (5) is rather worrying, with the defenders already mostly spent from previous combat. At 2am, on the 3rd of July, after 16 hours of fighting VIII SK HQ retreated from the battle of
Raseinai (4), the disparity in casualty numbers indicated the battle was turning sour for
Kashuba's HQ. A serious attack on
Brzesc Litewski (10) started at 10am. The Soviet superiority in numbers was worthless as 2 out of the 5 units present were too exhausted to fight. That said, the Germans were attacking across the river, our fortifications remained in good shape, and brand new KV-122s were contributing to the defence. At 4pm,
Hajnowka (5) was lost to the Panther tanks of 9 PzD. The noose around
Brzesc Litewski is closing.
The 4th of July started off, at 4am with a German attack on
Dobele (6), which was held by a still somewhat fresh Rifle Division. To cut losses and maintain some semblance of organisation,
Potapov called the retreat in
Dobele (6) at 3pm.
A pair of attacks on
Narew (9) and
Wolkowysk (7) started at 1am the following day. After daybreak, 5 hours into the battle, the exhausted defenders of
Wolkowysk (7) broke and retreated. The 5th of July also brought the end of the battle of
Ariogala (8), as
Katkov's HQ Division broke after 3 days of fighting, casualties were close to 1k, more than two times Wehrmacht losses. As opposed to the battle of
Wolkowysk (7), 40km to the North-East, the Battle of
Narew (9) ended in a decisive victory at 6pm, converting a 4 to 1 advantage in numbers into a 6 to1 advantage in casualties. The day ended with a German attack on
Panevezys (11), just north of
Kaunas. it is held by a single exhausted Division, and needs to remain in Soviet hands until 2 retreating Divisions get there, lest they be overrun.
At midnight, the German offensive into
Brzesc Litewski (10) was finally halted. The Germans suffered dearly with over 1.600 casualties, for less than 500 dead Soviets. The next battle to be started was another German Division-size attack on
Narew (13) at 11am on the 6th of July, the province was still just as strongly held as before. After nearly a day of fighting, the defenders of
Panevezys (11) retreated at 5pm, even more exhausted than when the battle started. The big blow came at 7pm, when the battle of
Jurbarkas (12) ended in defeat, after nearly 4 days of fighting. Casualties were heavy on both sides, with over 3.600 Soviet casualties, and over 2.600 German ones. 9 pm saw the start of a German offensive on
Mariampolé (14).
The night was quiet in the north, and it wasn't until 11am on the 7th of July, that there was some news.
Narew (13) was held successfully, and the Wehrmacht halted it's advance into the province, casualties were substantial, but only for the enemy, with a ratio of over 5-1 in our favour. Another two-Division attempt was made on
Narew (15), starting at noon, STAVKA was hopeful, but the units in place were getting awfully disorganised. It was the same story one hour later, when the Heer launched a three-pronged attack into
Brzesc Litewski (21).
On the 8th of July, at noon, a German attack on
Swislocz (19) started, while the odds weren't too bad, but the province was the last Soviet-held corridor to
Brzesc Litewski.
4am the next day (9th of July), a Division-size German attack was launched on
Saldus (25), the odds were slightly in our favour. 3 hours later, the same happened in
Tukums (20), but there defenders were significantly less well organised, and also not dug in. Then, at 10am, after 2 days and 3 nights, the battle of
Mariampolé (14) ended, in a devastating defeat, the battle, having started small, had grown desperate as German reinforcements were funnelled. The final toll was close to 2.500 riflemen, and about half as many Germans dead. The battle of
Narew (15) was lost at 2pm, casualties were slightly over 1.000 on both sides, slightly in our favour. A 10pm German probe into
Kaunas was easily repulsed by the Rifle Corps entrenched in the city and it's fortifications. There was some terrible news as it became clear that both VIII SK HQ, and 3 SD have been overrun by the German advance, after their heroic stands in
Raseinai (2) and
Siauliai (3), they didn't manage to retreat fast enough to stay ahead of the German Infantry. Both units were fleeing towards
Panevezys, but before they could get there, a fresh German Infantry Division took control of the province, taking prisoner the exhausted Soviet servicemen, with no place to go. By sheer luck, and thanks to Lt. General
Kashuba's GAZ-61 all-wheel- staff car, himself and Maj. General
Bakunin managed to evade capture. The other ca. 17.690 personnel were taken prisoner by Maj. General
von Kempski's 36 Infanterie-Division. A new VIII HQ has been set up, with Lt General
Kashuba at it's head, and 218 SD was attached to V SK, to take the place of 3 SD in the hierarchy. This is the toughest blow yet. 3 SD wasn't a particularly veteran division, having taken part in only 2 battles, but it did include a regiment of Su-100 Tank-Destroyers.
Things really kicked off at 4am on the 10th of July.
Horujenko charged from
Kaunas into
Panevezys (17), possibly to enact revenge on the captors of his comrades, and at the same time, another attack on
Kaunas (16) started. The latter probably won't get very far, but it could impede
Horujenko's chances of success. As had been feared, the attack on
Panevezys (17) had to be called off by 6am. The Germans were repulsed from
Kaunas (16) by 9am, with 7-1 casualties in our favour. The battle of
Swislocz (19) was lost with casualties significantly in our favour, but everyone at STAVKA was holding their breath as many units were retreating into the province, both from
Brzesc Litewski (21), and from
Narew (15). Before German troops could occupy the province, a battered retreating Rifle Division arrived, and tried to hold off the inevitable in a second battle of
Swislocz. (22) In other news, the battle of
Tukums (20) ended in a loss, with casualty numbers in our favour.
A 1am German attack on
Alytus (28) isn't too worrying, for now. The Red Army has the upper hand in numbers, but the organisation of Soviet forces is low. The meat-grinder of
Brzesc Litweski (21) finally came to an end with the retreat of the last Soviet Division from the city at 4am on the 11th of July. The Germans have paid dearly for the city, with nearly 2.300 casualties in this last battle alone, for 1.100 of our own. The second battle for
Swislocz (22) ended at 6am, with light casualties. The race is on again, for more Divisions to make it to relative safety before the Germans take the province. Another probe into
Panevezys (23) at 5am was just as unsuccessful as the first, and the next one (24) didn't last much longer.
Another German attack on
Kaunas (26) started at 4am on the 12th of July. Later on, retreating Soviet Divisions beat the Germans to
Swislocz (27) at 10am. This time, the tired defenders managed to counter the German tactics, buying more time for their colleagues to retreat. At noon, the close-fought battle of
Saldus (25) ended in a victory, after more than 3 days of fighting. German losses were slightly higher than ours, and the territory was held.
Grodno (29) was attacked at 2pm, a one on one battle with the Germans crossing a river into a marsh. The battle of
Kaunas (26) ended at 3pm with another victory, and casualties 7-1 in our favour. The Germans abandoned their attack on
Swislocz (27) at 6pm, casualties were in our favour, and this brief reprieve is great news as it will allow most, hopefully all, of our retreating units to make it out of
Brzesc Litewski and
Narew.
Map of
Moskva HQ's front line (pink). The previous report's front line is indicated in Yellow. The smaller circles indicate small scale battles (in number of Red Army troops involved).
The Northern part of the front is in some trouble, but help is on it's way. Both 2ya Tankovaya Armiya and 11ya Motorizovannaya Armiya have been given their orders. 2ya TA is to break through and rush towards
Marienwerder, 77km to the South-East of
Gdansk. 11ya Mot Arm has received similar orders, except that it is tasked with securing the flanks of 2ya TA, and possibly widening the salient it creates. It is hoped that this operation will cut off all the German troops to the north of the initial breakthrough, giving some respite to the thinly spread troops in the area, and potentially allowing the capture of many Axis units.
1.
Brzesc Liteweski 3 (Defence - Urban - Fort Level 3 - Victory)
02 Jul 42 20:00
SU: 31 SD (Art, TD - Parkhomenko, L2), 85 SD (Art, AT), 173 SD (Art, AT), 41 SD (Art, AT), 14 TTGvD (H Arm, Gdsx2, Art, Eng)
49.391 men / 2 KIA
Ger (Biala Podalska - River Crossing): 34 ID (Infx3 - ?)
8.997 men / 108 KIA
2.
Vainode (Defence - Forest - Defeat)
02 Jul 42 05:00 - 21:00
SU: 37 SD (Art, TD - Kachalov, L2, DD), 52 SD (Art, AT), 16 SD (Art, AT)
31.439 men / 340 KIA
Ger (Palanga): 60 ID(m) (Motx2, TD, Eng - von Salmuth, L6, FB, BM)
7.656 men / 315 KIA
3.
Siauliai (Defence - Forest - Defeat)
02 Jul 42 07:00 - 21:00
SU: 3 SD (Art, TD - Kariofilli, L2, FB)
10.069 men / 154 KIA / 9.914 POW
Ger (Taurage): 36 ID (Infx3 - von Kempski, L4)
8.983 men / 156 KIA
4.
Raseinai (Defence - Plains - Defeat)
02 Jul 42 10:00 - 03 Jul 42 02:00
SU: VIII SK (HQ, Infx2, AT - Kashuba, L2, LW, WS)
7.997 men / 216 KIA / 7.775 POW
Ger (Taurage - River Crossing): 35 ID (Infx3 - Ruoff, L3, OD)
8.970 men / 84 KIA
5.
Hajnowka (Defence - Plains - Defeat)
03 Jul 42 01:00 - 16:00
SU: 50 SD (Art, TD - Bochenkov, L2, DD)
10.172 men / 227 KIA
Ger (Lapy): 9 PzD (Arm, Mot, TD, AC - Schaal, L3, BM)
7.996 men / 131 KIA
6.
Dobele (Defence - Forest - Defeat)
04 Jul 42 04:00 - 15:00
SU: 52 SD (Art, AT - Potapov, L2)
10.686 men / 95 KIA
Ger (Plunge): 4 ID (Infx3 - Haase C., L3, FB)
8.993 men / 139 KIA
7.
Wolkowysk (Defence - Forest - Defeat)
05 Jul 42 01:00 - 06:00
SU: 52 SD (Art, AT - Hadeev, L2, FB)
9.774 men / 25 KIA
Ger (Bialystok): 2 ID (Infx3 - Heissmeyer, L4)
8.996 men / 28 KIA
8.
Ariogala (Defence - Plains - Defeat)
02 Jul 42 05:00 - 05 Jul 42 09:00
SU: VIII SK (HQ, Infx2, AT - Katkov, L2-3, LW, BM)
7.998 men / 919 KIA
Ger (Taurage - River Crossing): 58 ID (Infx2, AC, AT - Steiner, L4, BM)
7.951 men / 418 KIA
9.
Narew (Defence - Forest - Victory)
05 Jul 42 01:00 - 18:00
SU: 34 SD (Art, AT - Vasilev, L3, BM), 4 SD (Art, AT), 89 SD (Art, AT)
31.552 men / 124 KIA
Ger (Bialystok): 15 ID (Infx3 - Barckhausen, L3, FB)
8.997 men / 723 KIA
10.
Brzesc Liteweski 4 (Defence - Urban - Fort Level 3 - Victory)
03 Jul 42 10:00 - 06 Jul 42 00:00
SU: 85 SD (Art, AT - Pokrovski, L3), 31 SD (Art, TD), 173 SD (Art, AT), 41 SD (Art, AT), 14 TTGvD (H Arm, Gdsx2, Art, Eng)
50.049 men / 433 KIA
Ger (Biala Podalska - River Crossing): 13 PzD (Arm, Mot, ?? - Gräser F.H., L2), 225 ID (Infx2, AT, AA)
Ger (Siedlce - River Crossing): 15 ID (Infx3)
Ger (Maloryta): 231 ID (Infx2, AT, Eng)
40.630 men / 1.628 KIA
11.
Panevezys (Defence - Forest - Defeat)
05 Jul 42 22:00 - 06 Jul 42 17:00
SU: 53 SD (Art, AT - Kariofilli, L3, FB)
9.946 men / 188 KIA
Ger (Siauliai): 36 ID (Infx3 - von Kempski, L4)
8.948 men / 218 KIA
12.
Jurbarkas 4 (Defence - Plains - Defeat)
02 Jul 42 01:00 - 06 Jul 42 13:00
SU: 17 SD (Art, AT - Zaev, L2, BM), 118 SD (Art, AT - Kuznec, L2, LW), 235 SD (Art, AT)
43.838 men / 3.622 KIA
Ger (Tilsit - River Crossing): 10 ID (Infx3 - von Schobert, L4-5), 7 PzD (Arm, Mot, TD, Mot-AA)
Ger (Kybartai): 5 PzD (Arm, Mot, SP-Art, TD)
Ger (Taurage): 1 ID (Infx3),79 ID (Infx2, AC, TD)
8.960 men / 2.617 KIA
13.
Narew 2 (Defence - Forest - Victory)
06 Jul 42 12:00 - 13:00
SU: 34 SD (Art, AT - Vasilev, L3, BM), 4 SD (Art, AT), 89 SD (Art, AT), 217 SD (Art, AT)
41.895 men / 155 KIA
Ger (Bialystok): 12 ID (Infx3 - Böhme, L3, Cdo)
17.800 men / 877 KIA
14.
Mariampolé (Defence - Plains - Defeat)
06 Jul 42 21:00 - 09 Jul 42 10:00
SU: 120 SD (Art, AT - Dratvin, L2, Trk), 38 SD (Art, AT)
21.997 men / 2.466 KIA
Ger (Jurbarkas - River Crossing): 1 ID (Infx3 - Höpner, L4, BM), 7 PzD (Arm, Mot, TD, Mot-AA)
Ger (Kalvarija): 197 ID (Infx2, AT, AA), 170 ID (Infx2, AT, Art)
Ger (Kybartai): 4 PzD (Arm, Mot, AC, Eng)
39.754 men / 1.139 KIA
15.
Narew 3 (Defence - Forest - Defeat)
07 Jul 42 12:00 - 09 Jul 42 1:00
SU: 34 SD (Art, AT - Vasilev, L3, BM), 4 SD (Art, AT), 89 SD (Art, AT), 217 SD (Art, AT)
52.318 men / 1.176 KIA
Ger (Lapy): 143 ID (Infx2, AC, AT - von Schröder, L3), 73 ID (Infx2, AT, AA), 28 ID (Infx3)
34.969 men / 1.226 KIA
16.
Kaunas (Defence - Urban - Fort Level 2 - Victory)
09 Jul 42 22:00
SU: III SK (HQ, Infx2, AT - Gastilovich, L3, WS), 191 SD (Art, AT), 8 SD (Art, TD), 142 SD (Art, AT), 43 SD (Art, AT),
78 SD (Art, AT), 118 SD (Art, AT), 61 SD (Art, TD), 17 SD (Art, AT)
93.742 men / 5 KIA
Ger (Ariogala): 58 ID (Infx2, AC, AT - Steiner, L4, BM)
Ger (Jurbarkas): 35 ID (Infx2, AC, AT)
16.617 men / 39 KIA
17.
Panevezys 2 (Attack - Forest - Defeat)
10 Jul 42 01:00 - 06:00
SU (Kaunas): 61 SD (Art, TD - Horujenko, L2, OD)
10.997 men / 12 KIA
Ger: 36 ID (Infx3 - von Kempski, L4)
8.990 men / 14 KIA
18.
Kaunas 2 (Defence - Urban - Fort Level 2 - Victory)
10 Jul 42 04:00 - 09:00
SU: VIII SK (HQ - Kashuba, L2, LW, WS), 8 SD (Art, TD), 142 SD (Art, AT), 191 SD (Art, AT), 78 SD (Art, AT),
43 SD (Art, AT), 61 SD (Art, TD), 17 SD (Art, AT), 118 SD (Art, AT), III SK (HQ)
94.178 men / 61 KIA
Ger (Ariogala): 58 ID (Infx2, AC, AT - Steiner, L4, BM)
Ger (Jurbarkas): 35 ID (Infx2, AC, AT)
16.699 men / 442 KIA
19.
Swislocz (Defence - Forest - Defeat)
09 Jul 42 12:00 - 10 Jul 42 17:00
SU: I SK (HQ, Infx2, AT - Vlassov, L4, WS), 71 SD (Art, TD)
28.193 men / 358 KIA
Ger (Kobryn): SSD(m) 'Reich' (WSSx2, TD, Eng - von Randow, L3, LW, BM)
7.993 men / 637 KIA
20.
Tukums (Defence - Forest - Defeat)
09 Jul 42 07:00 - 10 Jul 42 17:00
SU: 53 SD (Art, TD - Potapov, L2, WS)
10.995 men / 301 KIA
Ger (Vainode): 4 ID (Infx3 - Haase C., L3, FB)
8.998 men / 363 KIA
21.
Brzesc Liteweski 5 (Defence - Urban - Fort Level 3 - Defeat)
07 Jul 42 16:00 - 10 Jul 42 04:00
SU: 85 SD (Art, AT - Pokrovski, L3), 31 SD (Art, TD), 41 SD (Art, AT), 14 TTGvD (H Arm, Gdsx2, Art, Eng)
41.065 men / 1.138 KIA
Ger (Siedlce - River Crossing): 9 ID (Infx3 - von dem Bach-Zelewski, L3, LW, OD)
Ger (Biala Podalska - River Crossing): 3 ID (Infx3), 206 ID (Infx2, AC, AT)
Ger (Maloryta): 1 PzD (L Armx2, Mot, ?)
43.963 men / 2.278 KIA
22.
Swislocz 2 (Defence - Forest - Defeat)
10 Jul 42 19:00 - 11 Jul 42 06:00
SU: 85 SD (Art, AT - Pokrovski, L3)
10.206 men / 85 KIA
Ger (Kobryn): 87 ID (Infx2, AT, Art - Harpe, L4, BM)
7.998 men / 95 KIA
23.
Panevezys 3 (Attack - Forest - Defeat)
11 Jul 42 05:00 - 06:00
SU (Kaunas): 6 SD (Art, AT - Tamruchi, L2, OD)
10.998 men / 30 KIA
Ger: 36 ID (Infx3 - von Kempski, L4)
8.996 men / 13 KIA
24.
Panevezys 4 (Attack - Forest - Defeat)
11 Jul 42 22:00 - 23:00
SU (Kaunas): 61 SD (Art, AT - Horujenko, L2, OD)
11.000 men / 14 KIA
Ger: 36 ID (Infx3 - von Kempski, L4)
8.982 men / 12 KIA
25.
Saldus (Defence - Forest - Defeat)
09 Jul 42 19:00 - 12 Jul 42 12:00
SU: 37 SD (Art, TD - Kachalov, L2, DD)
10.999 men / 731 KIA
Ger (Vainode): 60 ID(m) (Motx2, AC, AT - von Salmuth, L6, FB, BM)
7.949 men / 801 KIA
26.
Kaunas 3 (Defence - Urban - Fort Level 2 - Victory)
12 Jul 42 04:00 - 15:00
SU: V SK (HQ, Infx2, AT - Katkov, L3, LW, BM), 8 SD (Art, TD), 142 SD (Art, AT), 191 SD (Art, AT), 78 SD (Art, AT),
43 SD (Art, AT), 61 SD (Art, TD), 17 SD (Art, AT), 6 SD (Art, AT), III SK (HQ)
102.686 men / 161 KIA
Ger (Ariogala): 58 ID (Infx2, AC, AT - Steiner, L4, BM)
Ger (Jurbarkas): 35 ID (Infx2, AC, AT)
25.672 men / 1.173 KIA
27.
Swislocz 3 (Defence - Forest - Victory)
12 Jul 42 10:00 - 18:00
SU: 34 SD (Art, AT - Vasilev, L3, BM), 4 SD (Art, AT)
19.793 men / 77 KIA
Ger (Hajnowka): 9 PzD (Arm, Mot, TD, AC - Schaal, L4, BM)
7.703 men / 193 KIA
Army Group 2 totals:
SU: 825.903 / 12.196 KIA / 17.689 POW
Ger: 424.221 / 15.449 KIA
Southern German Front (3 AG / Brjansk HQ):
Having lost over 1.000 men with nothing to show for it, the German Mountaineers of 5. Gebirgsjäger Division retreat from Switaz, for the second time. They don't look pleased with the fact that they're having to fight in open plains, using their mules to transport their equipment. This isn't what they trained for, nor what their equipment was designed for.
Another probe into
Lwow (1) started at 8pm on the 2nd of July. It was thrown back half an hour later. 2nd of July was quite action-packed. At 9pm, a single German Division attacked
Luboml, the third attack on the province. The defenders are becoming ever more exhausted and disorganised. The 7th Army took some initiative at 10pm, launching a two-sided attack on a single WSS Division who had only just occupied
Jaworow (2). During the course of the night, more German units would move into
Jaworow (2) and shore up the defence. Simultaneously, a three-sided German Attack on
Sanok (3) was aimed at distracting 2/3 of the force attacking
Jaworow (2), The Red Army held strong, but the odds in
Sanok (3) were worsening by the hour.
Both battles were short-lived. Both
Jaworow (2) and
Sanok (3) were now too well defended for either side to make any headway. The status quo returned at 2am on the 3rd of July. At 8pm, the third battle of
Luboml (4) was lost. 5 SD, a fresh Rifle Division is moving into the province, hopefully before the Germans do.
The 4th of July started with a 1am attack on
Wlodimierz Wolynski (5). The province was strongly held, and by 4am the Germans halted their offensive.
Another spike in military activity took place at 1am on the 5th of July. Two short-lived Axis probes were easily pushed back. A joint German-Hungarian probe into
Turka (6) and a German probe into
Lwow (7).
Krasne (9) was also attacked at the same time. At 9 am, after more than 4 days of fighting, the Germans finally abandoned their third offensive into
Switaz (8). Casualties were heavy, over 1,5k dead Soviets, and close to 3k German casualties. A concerted German offensive into
Sanok (11) started at 10am, from four different directions, including from the recently lost province of
Jaworow. At 11am, 5 SD arrived in
Luboml (13) before any German units could occupy the province, spurring the 4th battle over
Luboml. To try and take advantage of the
Sanok (11)-shaped distraction of German units in the area, the Red Army orchestrated a two-Division spoiling attack on
Jaworow (12), starting at 7pm.
Krasne (9) was easily held, thanks to the presence of Fortifications, IS-2 Heavy Tanks, and Guards Riflemen, the enemy paid dearly before retreating at 9pm, having suffered over 4 times Soviet casualties.
The 6th of July, brought another 1am German Division-size attack on
Lwow (10), and., and the former at 4am. The battle of
Sanok (11) ended at the same time, in a clear Soviet victory. Soviet casualties were below 500, German ones substantially higher. Following that victory, the spoiling attack on
Jaworow (12) was halted at 6am.
While it had looked like a close-run affair to start with, additional German reinforcements turned the fourth battle of
Luboml (13) into a desperate defence against the odds, with 5 times Soviet numbers attacking from three sides across the river. The battle ended in defeat at 6 am on the 7th. Soviet casualties were over 1.100, German ones under 300.
1am probes are back in fashion on the 8th of July, with new German offensives on
Lwow (14) and
Switaz (15), both were repelled after an hour.
On the 9th of July, the Wehrmacht followed up on it's capture of
Luboml, with an attack on
Poryck (17), the province was held by a single Division that wasn't dug in, so the odds weren't looking good.
A destroyed Tiger II tank remains in the woods of Sambor, after the German 5th Heavy Tank Division was forced to retreat by a concerted Soviet counter-offensive.
The 10th was once again marked by two 1am German attacks, on
Sanok (8), and on
Turka (16). The latter ended 1 hour in, the Teutonic advance being halted at once. The battle of
Poryck (17) sadly ended in a loss, but casualties were low, and in our favour.
Sanok (18) was won by 1pm. After all the Germans pulled out, only a single Hungarian Division remained in the fight, the casualty ratio was over 17-1 in our favour. Equally good news was the 1pm Soviet push into
Sambor (19), which was instantly rewarded with retreating King Tiger tanks, and the return of a little piece of our territory. A third battle of
Turka (20) started at 7pm.
Switaz was, once more, the target of German aggression, starting at 1am on the 11th. At 7am another Wehrmacht attack into
Kowel started.A daring Soviet massed attack on
Jaworow (21) started at 2pm, and it was the added pressure from this flanking attack that pushed the Germans to abandon their push into
Turka (20) an hour later. Then, at 4pm, the attack on
Jaworow (21) was called off after a mere 2 hours, with light casualties.
The 12th of July started off well, with two victories at 3am, both in
Kowel (22) and
Sanok (23) the German and German-Hungarian attacks were successfully repulsed, with many times more Axis casualties than losses of our own.
Map of
Brjansk HQ's front line (blue). The previous report's front line is indicated in Yellow. The smaller circles indicate small scale battles (in number of Red Army troops involved).
The Southern part of the front has held a lot better, this is thanks to a slightly higher concentration of units, and the fact that most of this part of the front is behind the river, but some cracks are showing.
1.
Lwow 2 (Defence - Urban - Fort Level 3 - Victory)
02 Jul 42 20:00
SU: XXIX GvSK (HQ, Gdsx2, AT - Popov M.M., L4, DD), 72 GvSD (TD, Eng), 10 TTGvD (H Arm, Gdsx2, Art, Eng), 76 GvSD (AT, Eng),
77 GvSD (AT, Eng)
62.806 men / 3 KIA
Ger (Zolkiew): 95 ID (Infx2, AC, AT - Böttcher F., L3, BM)
7.837 men / 134 KIA
2.
Jaworow 5 (Attack - Plains - Defeat)
02 Jul 42 22:00 - 03 Jul 42 02:00
SU (Sanok): 62 SD (Art, AT - Rogachev, L2, Trk), 139 SD (Art, AT), 2 SD (Art, AT), 159 SD (Art, AT)
SU (Turka): 48 SD (Art, AT), 10 SD (Art, AT)
65.767 men / 43 KIA
Ger: SSD(m) 'Wiking' (WSSx2, AC, Mot-AA, Eng - von Manteuffel, L4, DD, BM), SS-Verfügungstruppe (WSS)
17.951 men / 179 KIA
3.
Sanok 2 (Defence - Forest - Victory)
02 Jul 42 22:00 - 03 Jul 42 02:00
SU (Multiple Combat Penalty): 62 SD (Art, AT - Rogachev, L2, Trk), 139 SD (Art, AT), 2 SD (Art, AT), 159 SD (Art, AT), 189 SD (Art, AT)
54.558 men / 24 KIA
Ger(Jaroslaw - River Crossing): 93 ID (Infx2, AT, Art - von Bismarck, L2, BM)
Ger(Gorlice - River Crossing): 6 ID (Infx3)
Ger(Debica - River Crossing): 33 ID (Infx3)
25.878 men / 91 KIA
4.
Luboml 3 (Defence - Plains - Defeat)
02 Jul 42 22:00 - 03 Jul 42 02:00
SU: 13 SD (Art, AT - Odintsov, L3, FB)
10.008 men / 125 KIA
Ger(Zamosc - River Crossing): 45 ID (Infx2, AC, AT - Felber, L3, OD), 5 sPzD (H Arm, Mot, TD, Mot-AA), 62 ID (Infx2, TD, Eng)
23.252 men / 243 KIA
5.
Wlodzimierz Wolynski (Defence - Forest - Victory)
04 Jul 42 01:00 - 04:00
SU: 122 SD (Art, AT - Nikishin, L3), 67 SD (Art, TD)
21.687 men / 8 KIA
Ger(Zolkiew - River Crossing): 95 ID (Infx2, AC, AT - Böttcher F., L3, BM)
7.700 men / 47 KIA
6.
Turka (Defence - Forest - Victory)
05 Jul 42 01:00
SU: 10 SD (Art, TD - Shtevnev, L2, BM), 48 SD (Art, AT), 56 SD (Art, AT), 180 SD (Art, AT), 181 SD (Art, AT)
54.186 men / 2 KIA
Ger(Gorlice - River Crossing): 216 ID (Infx2, AC, AT - ?)
7.979 men / 23 KIA
Hun(Uzhorod): 25 Gly (Infx2, AC, AT - ?)
7.980 men / 23 KIA
7.
Lwow 3 (Defence - Urban - Fort Level 3 - Victory)
05 Jul 42 01:00
SU: XXIX GvSK (HQ, Gdsx2, AT - Popov M.M., L4, DD), 72 GvSD (TD, Eng), 10 TTGvD (H Arm, Gdsx2, Art, Eng), 76 GvSD (AT, Eng),
77 GvSD (AT, Eng), 49 SD (Art, AT), 75 SD (Art, TD), XI SK (HQ, Infx2, AT), XII SK (HQ, Infx2, AT), 7ya Armiya (HQ)
90.336 men / 5 KIA
Ger (Przemysl): 11 PzD (Arm, Mot, Mot-AA, Eng - Heinrici, L5), 8 ID (Infx2, AC, AT)
15.863 men / 22 KIA
8.
Switaz 3 (Defence - Plains - Victory)
01 Jul 42 22:00 - 05 Jul 42 09:00
SU: 54 SD (Art, AT - Chernyak, L2-3), 104 SD (Art, AT), 23 SD (Art, AT)
32.227 men / 1.531 KIA
Ger (Maloryta): 10 ID(m) (Motx2, TD, Eng - Müller An., L3, OD)
Ger (Kowel): 5 GbjD (Mtnx3)
17.992 men / 2.862 KIA
9.
Krasne (Defence - Plains - Fort Level 2 - Victory)
05 Jul 42 01:00
SU: 10 TTGvD (Vatutin, L4), 42 SD (Art, AT)
21.927 men / 184 KIA
Ger (Zolkiew): 10 ID(m) (Motx2, TD, Eng - Müller An., L3, OD)
7.653 men / 759 KIA
10.
Lwow 4 (Defence - Urban - Fort Level 3 - Victory)
06 Jul 42 01:00 - 04:00
SU: XXIX GvSK (HQ, Gdsx2, AT - Popov M.M., L4, DD), 72 GvSD (TD, Eng), 10 TTGvD, 76 GvSD (AT, Eng), 77 GvSD (AT, Eng),
49 SD (Art, AT), 75 SD (Art, TD), XI SK (HQ, Infx2, AT), XII SK (HQ, Infx2, AT)
89.361 men / 14 KIA
Ger (Przemysl): 8 ID (Infx2, AC, AT - von Sponeck, L2, OD, BM)
7.953 men / 90 KIA
11.
Sanok 3 (Defence - Forest - Victory)
05 Jul 42 10:00 - 06 Jul 42 04:00
SU: 62 SD (Art, AT - Rogachev, L2, Trk), 139 SD (Art, AT), 2 SD (Art, AT), 159 SD (Art, AT), 189 SD (Art, AT)
54.661 men / 452 KIA
Ger(Jaworow): 2 sPzD (H Arm, Mot, AC, Mot-AA - Jodl A., L4, OD)
Ger(Jaroslaw - River Crossing): 211 ID (Infx2, ??)
Ger(Gorlice - River Crossing): 6 ID (Infx3)
Ger(Debica - River Crossing): 33 ID (Infx3), 75 ID (Infx2, AC, AT)
49.688 men / 737 KIA
12.
Jaworow 6 (Attack - Plains - Defeat)
05 Jul 42 19:00 - 06 Jul 42 04:00
SU (Turka): 56 SD (Art, AT - Novikov V. V., L2, BM), 180 SD (Art, AT)
21.536 men / 324 KIA
Ger (Multiple Combat Penalty): 2 sPzD (H Arm, Mot, AC, Mot-AA - Jodl A., L4, OD), 10 PzD (Arm, Mot, TD, AC),
SSD(m) 'Wiking' (WSSx2, AC, Mot-AA, Eng), SS-Verfügungstruppe (WSS)
26.509 men / 159 KIA
13.
Luboml 4 (Defence - Plains - Defeat)
05 Jul 42 11:00 - 07 Jul 42 06:00
SU: 5 SD (Art, AT - Zhmachenko, L3)
10.998 men / 1.150 KIA
Ger(Zamosc - River Crossing): 5 sPzD (H Arm, Mot, TD, Mot-AA - Phleps, L3, OD), 62 ID (Infx2, TD, Eng), 45 ID (Infx2, AC, AT)
Ger(Zolkiew - River Crossing): 223 ID (Infx2, AC, AT)
Ger(Chelm - River Crossing): 4 LeichteD (Motx2, AC), 3 PzD (Arm, Mot, TD, AC)
47.867 men / 299 KIA
14.
Lwow 5 (Defence - Urban - Fort Level 3 - Victory)
08 Jul 42 01:00 - 02:00
SU: XXIX GvSK (HQ, Gdsx2, AT - Popov M.M., L4, DD), 72 GvSD (TD, Eng), 10 TTGvD, 76 GvSD (AT, Eng), 77 GvSD (AT, Eng),
49 SD (Art, AT), XII SK (HQ, Infx2, AT)
70.857 men / 12 KIA
Ger (Przemysl): 1 PzD (Arm, Mot, Mot-AA, Eng - Heinrici, L5, BM), 8 ID (Infx2, AC, AT)
15.858 men / 84 KIA
15.
Switaz 4 (Defence - Plains - Victory)
08 Jul 42 01:00 - 02:00
SU: 54 SD (Art, AT - Chernyak, L2-3), 104 SD (Art, AT), 23 SD (Art, AT)
31.722 men / 19 KIA
Ger (Chelm - River Crossing): 16 ID(m) (Motx2, TD, Mot-AA - von Massow, L2, OD), 46 ID (Infx2, AT, Eng), Kav-Kdo (Cavx2)
21.994 men / 46 KIA
16.
Turka 2 (Defence - Forest - Victory)
10 Jul 42 01:00
SU: 10 SD (Art, TD - Shtevnev, L2, BM), 48 SD (Art, AT), 56 SD (Art, AT), 180 SD (Art, AT), 181 SD (Art, AT)
54.376 men / 18 KIA
Ger(Gorlice - River Crossing): 228 ID (Infx2, AC, AT - von Beyer, L4, BM)
7.979 men / 36 KIA
Hun(Gorlice - River Crossing): 2 Gly (Infx2 - Veress, L3)
Hun(Uzhorod): 16 Gly (Infx2, AC, AT)
13.995 men / 63 KIA
17.
Poryck (Defence - Plains - Defeat)
09 Jul 42 17:00 - 10 Jul 42 06:00
SU: 11 SD (Art, AT - Leselidze, L2, FB)
10.895 men / 100 KIA
Ger(Luboml): 4 LeichteD (Motx2, AC - Geib, L4, DD)
6.998 men / 120 KIA
18.
Sanok 4 (Defence - Forest - Victory)
10 Jul 42 01:00 - 07:00
SU: 62 SD (Art, AT - Rogachev, L2, Trk), 139 SD (Art, AT), 2 SD (Art, AT), 159 SD (Art, AT), 189 SD (Art, AT)
54.760 men / 43 KIA
Ger(Jaroslaw - River Crossing): 93 ID (Infx2, AT, Art - von Bismarck, L2, BM), 211 ID (Infx2, ??)
Ger(Debica - River Crossing): 196 ID (Infx2, AT, AA)
Ger(Jaworow): 10 PzD (Arm, Mot, TD, AC)
Ger(Gorlice - River Crossing): 216 ID (Infx2, AC, AT)
39.922 men / 332 KIA
Hun(Gorlice - River Crossing): 7 Gly (Infx2 - Ruszkiczay-Rüdiger, L2)
5.998 men / 431 KIA
19.
Sambor (Attack - Plains - Victory)
10 Jul 42 13:00
SU (Drohobycz): 183 SD (Art, AT - Purkaev S. F., L2, WS), 27 SD (Art, AT)
21.529 men / 10 KIA
Ger: 5 sPzD (H Arm, Mot, TD, Mot-AA - Phleps, L3, OD)
25.497 men / 11 KIA
20.
Turka 3 (Defence - Forest - Victory)
10 Jul 42 19:00 - 11 Jul 42 15:00
SU: 10 SD (Art, TD - Shtevnev, L2, BM), 48 SD (Art, AT), 56 SD (Art, AT), 180 SD (Art, AT), 181 SD (Art, AT)
54.357 men / 345 KIA
Ger(Jaworow): 10 PzD (Arm, Mot, TD, AC - Model, L6, DD, BM), 2 sPzD (H Arm, Mot, AC, Mot-AA)
Ger(Gorlice - River Crossing): 228 ID (Infx2, AC, AT - von Beyer, L4, BM)
23.915 men / 914 KIA
21.
Jaworow 7 (Attack - Plains - Defeat)
11 Jul 42 14:00 16:00
SU (Sanok): 62 SD (Art, AT - Rogachev, L2, Trk), 139 SD (Art, AT), 2 SD (Art, AT), 159 SD (Art, AT), 189 SD (Art, AT)
54.765 men / 105 KIA
Ger (Multiple Combat Penalty): 10 PzD (Arm, Mot, TD, AC - Model, L6, DD, BM), 2 sPzD (H Arm, Mot, AC, Mot-AA), SS-Verf. (WSS)
18.454 men / 102 KIA
22.
Kowel (Defence - Forest - Victory)
11 Jul 42 07:00 - 12 Jul 42 03:00
SU: 33 SD (Art, AT - Kholostyakov, L2, Cdo), 179 SD (Art, AT)
21.988 men / 144 KIA
Ger(Maloryta): 34 ID (Infx3 - Volkmann, L3, OD)
8.997 men / 476 KIA
23.
Sanok 5 (Defence - Forest - Victory)
11 Jul 42 16:00 - 12 Jul 42 03:00
SU: 62 SD (Art, AT - Rogachev, L2, Trk), 139 SD (Art, AT), 2 SD (Art, AT), 159 SD (Art, AT), 189 SD (Art, AT)
54.659 men / 27 KIA
Ger(Debica - River Crossing): 15 PzD (Arm, Mot, SP-Art, TD - Kirchner, L4, BM), 8 PzD (Arm, Mot, AC, Mot-AA),
SSD(m) 'Wiking' (WSSx2, AC, Mot-AA, Eng)
24.712 men / 281 KIA
Hun(Gorlice - River Crossing): 2 Gly (Infx2 - Veress, L3)
5.931 men / 357 KIA
SU: 940.578 / 4.684 KIA
Ger: 458.446 / 8.047 KIA
:
Hungarian forces of 5. TP on the move towards Stanislawow. After several days of fighting, the outnumbered Soviet defenders are retreating. The first offensive victory of the war for the Hungarians. The question remains whether they'll be able to occupy the province before Col. General Volskiy manages to move a fresh Rifle Division into their path. They are equipped with great war era Mannlicher M1895 bolt-action rifles, and their uniforms are a mix of Wehrmacht surplus and Great War era stuff. Both in equipment and training, they seem to be significantly behind the curve.
Hostilities on the Hungarian border started with
Shtevnev probing the Hungarian defences in the Hills of
Uzhorod (1) at 4pm on the 4th of July, the battle lasted only two hours as the entrenched Hungarian defenders outnumbered their attackers four to one.
A Hungarian probe into
Drohobycz (2) at 1am the next day was shrugged off in minutes.
A brave Soviet Attack on
Volove (3), was initiated at 1am on the 6th of July with twice as many Hungarian defenders in the mountains, as there were attackers, it was abandoned at 3am. At 5am, a Hungarian attack into
Stanislawow (8) started, numbers are 2-1 in Hungary's favour, it might end badly.
At 1am on the 8th, another Hungarian probe into
Drohobycz (4) started, it was repelled in an hour.
Only on the 10th was there more action. A Soviet 2-division attack on
Volove (5) was started to relieve some of the pressure on
Stanislawow (8). A simultaneous Hungarian attack on
Dolina (), from where the attack on
Volove (5) was launched, cut short this experiment, as
Larichev wisely decided to concentrate on holding his position. This did mean that the defenders of
Dolina (6) weren't entrenched in the face of the oncoming attack.
Dolina (6) was held, and that battle was over by 6am, as well as the third Hungarian probe into
Drohobycz (7). The battle of
Stanisalwow (8) was lost at 9am. After more than 4 days of fighting, the outnumbered Soviet riflemen could take no more, casualties are slightly in favour of Hungary, with 1.200 Soviet KIA's, for just short of 1.000 Hungarians.
Another battle for
Drohovycz (10) started at 4am on the 11th of July. As night fell, at 10pm, two Soviet attacks started, one into
Volove (11), and one into
Svalava (). In both cases, the riflemen were outnumbered. But there were some favourable factors. In
Volove (), the defenders had been softened up by bombing runs and previous fighting, and in
Svalava (12), some of the dfenders were distracted by their own offensive into
Drohovycz (10).
By midnight, the Hungarians halted their attack on
Drohowycz (10), and 4ya Armiya halted it's attack on
Volove (11). The attack on
Svalava (12) ended in failure at 9am on the 12th, with twice as many Soviet losses as Hungarian ones.
Map of 4ya Armiya's front line (teal). The smaller circles indicate small scale battles (in number of Red Army troops involved).
With the addition of a corps from the Romanian border, the Hungarian Border can probably be held. Worryingly, Bulgarian troops are making their way to the front, though it isn't clear whether they will reinforce the German southern front, or the Hungarian border.
1.
Uzhorod (Attack - Hills - Defeat)
04 Jul 42 16:00 - 18:00
SU (Turka): 10 SD (Art, TD - Shtevnev, L2, BM)
11.000 men / 105 KIA
Hun: 25 Gly (Infx2, AC, AT - Kiss L., L2, LW), 16 Gly (Infx2, AC, AT), 3 TP (Infx2, AT, AA), 20 Gly (Infx2, AC, AT), 29 TP (Infx2, AT, AA),
7 Gly (Infx2), 9 Gly (Infx2)
51.972 men / 22 KIA
2.
Drohobycz (Defence - Forest - Victory)
05 Jul 42 01:00
SU: 27 SD (Art, AT - Vinogradov, L2), 183 SD (Art, AT)
19.994 men / 17 KIA
Hun(Uzhorod): 16 Gly (Infx2, AC, AT - ?)
Hun(Svalava): 32 TP (Infx2, AT, Art), 27 Gly (Infx2, AC, AT), 30 Gly (Infx2, AT, Art)
31.970 men / 5 KIA
3.
Volove (Attack - Hills - Defeat)
06 Jul 42 01:00 - 03:00
SU (Dolina): 121 SD (Art, TD - Larichev, L2, DD), 55 SD (Art, AT)
21.994 men / 70 KIA
Hun: 5 TP (Infx2, AT, AA - Malor J., L2, BM), 31 TP (Infx2, AT, AA), , 8 TP (Infx2, AT, Art), 6 TP (Infx2, AT, Art),
'Szent Laszlo' Hly (Infx2, AT, AA)
39.981 men / 17 KIA
4.
Drohobycz 2 (Defence - Forest - Victory)
08 Jul 42 01:00 - 02:00
SU: 27 SD (AT - Vinogradov, L2), 183 SD (AT)
20.724 men / 25 KIA
Hun(Svalava): 25 Gly (Infx2, AT, AA - Kiss L., L2, LW), 27 Gly (Infx2, AC, AT)
Hun(Uzhorod): 16 Gly (Infx2, AC, AT), 3 TP (Infx2, AT, AA)
31.994 men / 34 KIA
5.
Volove 2 (Attack - Hills - Defeat)
10 Jul 42 01:00 - 02:00
SU (Dolina): 121 SD (Art, TD - Larichev, L2, DD), 55 SD (Art, AT)
21.998 men / 31 KIA
Hun: 5 TP (Infx2, AT, AA - Major J., L2, BM), 31 TP (Infx2, AT, AA), , 8 TP (Infx2, AT, Art), 6 TP (Infx2, AT, Art),
'Szent Laszlo' Hly (Infx2, AT, AA)
38.289 men / 8 KIA
6.
Dolina (Defence - Forest - Victory)
10 Jul 42 01:00 - 06:00
SU (Multiple Combat Penalty): 121 SD (Art, TD - Larichev, L2, DD), 55 SD (Art, AT)
20.724 men / 25 KIA
Hun(Volove): 31 TP (Infx2, AT, AA - Decleva, L2, LW), 'Szent Laszlo' Hly (Infx2, AT, AA)
15.919 men / 51 KIA
7.
Drohobycz 3 (Defence - Forest - Victory)
10 Jul 42 04:00 - 06:00
SU: 27 SD (Art, AT - Vinogradov, L2), 183 SD (Art, AT), 176 SD (AT)
31.529 men / 1 KIA
Hun(Uzhorod): 25 Gly (Infx2, AT, AA - Kiss L., L2, LW)
Hun(Svalava): 27 Gly (Infx2, AC, AT)
15.992 men / 63 KIA
8.
Stanislawow (Defence - Forest - Defeat)
05 Jul 42 05:00 - 10 Jul 42 09:00
SU: 184 SD (Art, AT - Erastov, L2, OD)
10.780 men / 1.200 KIA
Hun(Volove): 5 TP (Infx2, AT, AA - Major J., L2, BM), 6 TP (Infx2, AT, Art),
Hun(Rachov): 13 Gly (Infx2)
21.982 men / 926 KIA
9.
Drohobycz 4 (Defence - Forest - Victory)
10 Jul 42 14:00 - 16:00
SU: 27 SD (Art, AT - Vinogradov, L2), 183 SD (Art, AT), 176 SD (AT)
31.518 men / 36 KIA
Hun(Svalava): 32 TP (Infx2, AT, Art - Brunswik, L1, OD), 4 TP (Infx2, AT, Art)
Hun(Uzhorod): 20 Gly (Infx2, AC, AT)
23.995 men / 83 KIA
10.
Drohobycz 5 (Defence - Forest - Victory)
10 Jul 42 14:00 - 16:00
SU: 27 SD (Art, AT - Vinogradov, L2), 183 SD (Art, AT), 176 SD (AT)
31.480 men / 232 KIA
Hun(Svalava): 24 Gly (Infx2, AT, AA - Stomm, L3, BM), 30 Gly (Infx2, AT, Art)
15.997 men / 312 KIA
11.
Volove 3 (Attack - Hills - Defeat)
11 Jul 42 22:00 - 00:00
SU (Dolina): 121 SD (Art, TD - Larichev, L2, DD), 55 SD (Art, AT)
22.000 men / 53 KIA
Hun: 5 TP (Infx2, AT, AA - Major J., L2, BM), 31 TP (Infx2, AT, AA), , 8 TP (Infx2, AT, Art), 6 TP (Infx2, AT, Art),
'Szent Laszlo' Hly (Infx2, AT, AA)
37.809 men / 9 KIA
12.
Svalava (Attack - Hills - Defeat)
11 Jul 42 22:00 - 12 Jul 42 09:00
SU (Skole): 182 SD (Art, TD - Ermakov, L2, OD), 143 SD (Art, AT)
21.752 men / 313 KIA
Hun: 32 TP (Infx2, AT, Art - Brunswik, L1, OD), 4 TP (Infx2, AT, Art), 27 Gly (Infx2, AC, AT), 24 Gly (Infx2, AT, AA), 30 Gly (Infx2, AT, Art)
39.620 men / 145 KIA
SU: 346.177 / 2.144 KIA
Hun: 399.414 / 2.549 KIA
:
7 Bomber and Assault Aviation Divisions were deployed and have been flying Ground Attack missions in support of ground troops. Nearly all of the raids were flown during daytime to allow the units some time to repair and recuperate, as dedicated German AAA regiments are quite prevalent amongst German Divisions. IV IAK-PVO also took part in a bombing raid of it's own initiative, thought the Yak-7s are utterly unsuited for attacking targets on the ground, and the resulting German casualties were insignificant.
- Province (Number of Missions, Aircraft lost, Bombing casualties)
II ShAK
- Ftr, CASx2 - 124 La-7, 248 Il-10 - 620 airmen - Nowogrodek - Marshall Av.
Novikov, L3, TB
- Suwalki (3 / 22 / 283)
- Kybartai (9 / 19 / 1.307)
- Lapy (9 / 14 / 1.055)
- Hajnowka (4 / 1 / 574)
IV IAK-PVO
- Intx4 - 496 Yak-7 - 496 airmen - Kaunas - Lt. Gen. Av.
Rychagov, L2, SAT
- Suwalki (1 / 0 / 9)
I ShAK
- Ftr, CASx2 - 124 La-7, 248 Il-10 - 620 airmen - Lwow - Lt. Gen. Av.
Zhigarev, L3, TB
- Jaroslaw (3 / 18 / 475)
- Volove (6 / 19 / 713)
- Svalava (1 / 0 / 98)
IV ShAK
- Ftr, CASx2 - 124 La-7, 248 Il-10 - 620 airmen - Lwow - Lt. Gen. Av.
Rudenko, L2, TB
- Zolkiew (10 / 21 / 1.108)
- Uzhorod (1 / 21 / 83)
- Zamosc (1 / 4 / 195)
- Kobryn (2 / 0 / 241)
- Luboml (1 / 2 / 125)
- Maloryta (1 / 1 / 181)
V ShAK
- Ftr, CASx2 - 124 La-7, 248 Il-10 - 620 airmen - Kaunas - Lt. Gen. Av.
Goryunov, L2
- Kalvarija (4 / 15 / 347)
- Plunge (2 / 1 / 116)
- Siauliai (3 / 1 / 293)
- Jurbarkas (8 / 23 / 860)
- Raseinai (1 / 1 / 75)
- Vainode (5 / 2 / 410)
II BAK -
Ftr, Tacx2 - 124 La-7, 200 Yak-4 - 524 airmen - Vinnytsya - Lt. Gen. Av.
Yakovlev, L3, TB
- Zamosc (4 / 11 / 584)
- Jaworow (1 / 5 / 117)
- Debica (1 / 4 / 162)
- Volove (7 / 27 / 1.389)
I BAK -
Ftr, Tacx2 - 124 La-7, 200 Yak-4 - 524 airmen - Minsk - Lt. Gen. Av.
Golovanov, L3-4, CB
- Lapy (2 / 1 / 247)
- Bialystok (14 / 12 / 1.965)
III ShAK
- Ftr, CASx2 - 124 La-7, 248 Il-10 - 620 airmen - Kaunas - Lt. Gen. Av.
Kutakhov, L3, TB
- Taurage (12 / 12 / 1.429)
- Kalvarija (7 / 16 / 858)
- Dobele (2 / 1 / 266)
- Merech (3 / 7 / 429)
Logistical Strikes, there still only one Heavy Bombardment Division active, as 2. DBAD is still getting organised. After infrastructure in
Maloryta had been reduced to pre-historic levels, and the fall of
Brzesc Litewski. Logistical Strikes on
Luboml started, in an attempt to avoid a breakthrough across the Bug river :
-
Province (Number of Missions, Aircraft lost, Heavy AAA guns destroyed (10 AA guns / Level), Infra damage, Supplies destroyed (Tonnes), Fuel destroyed (cubic metres))
I DBAK
- Str - 81 TB-3 - 648 airmen - Homel - Maj. Gen. Av.
Kalinin, L2
-
Maloryta (10 /
0 / 2 / 2,24 / 82,3 / 62,8)
-
Luboml (7 /
1 / 0 / 3,29 / 63,1 / 42,8)
Hungarian Ju-86K-2's also attempted to bomb our troops, but as opposed to some of the German Ju-88s, they never even got close to Soviet lines before they were intercepted.
Three Axis bombing missions managed to kill Soviet Servicemen on the ground, right before being intercepted by the VVS, the others were intercepted before they could do any damage.
-
Province (Number of Missions, Aircraft lost, Bombing casualties)
Luftflotte 'Mahnke' -
Ftr, Tacx2 - 112 FW-190D, 186 Ju-88A-4 - 856 airmen - Genlt. Mahnke, L5, TB, CB
- Narew (1 / 54 / 261)
Luftflotte 'Sperrle' -
Ftr, Tacx2 - 112 FW-190D, 161 Ju-88A-4 - 756 airmen - Genlt. Sperrle, L5, TB, CB
- Saldus (1 / 146 / 147)
Luftflotte 'Dörstling' -
Ftr, Tacx2 - 89 FW-190D, 185 Ju-88A-4 - 829 airmen - Genlt. Dörstling, L3, TB
- Saldus (1 / 55 / 206)
Bombing Totals (last 10 days):
VVS bomber losses: 130 Missions / 405 planes (30 Yak-4's, 171 Il-10s, 203 La-7's, 1 TB-3) / 613 KIA
Luftwaffe bomber losses: 3 Missions / 255 planes (177 Ju-88A-4, 127 FW-190D) / 835 KIA
RHAF bomber losses: 173 planes (94 Ju-86K-2, 79 Ju-87) / 346 KIA
Axis Bombing losses: 15.941 KIA / 2 AAA guns / 5,5 Infra / 145,4 Supplies / 105,6 Fuel
Soviet Bombing losses: 408 KIA
Bombing Totals (GPW - 20 days):
VVS bomber losses: 251 Missions / 759 planes (177 Yak-4's, 300 Il-10s, 281 La-7's, 1 TB-3) / 1.243 KIA
Luftwaffe bomber losses: 3 Missions / 605 planes (286 Ju-88A-4, 319 FW-190D) / 1.463 KIA
RHAF bomber losses: 173 planes (94 Ju-86K-2, 79 Ju-87) / 346 KIA
Axis Bombing losses: 32.874 KIA / 7 AAA guns / 8,9 Infra / 269,4 Supplies / 612,1 Fuel
Soviet Bombing losses: 408 KIA
Map of Bombings and Air Battles over the main front. Each bomb stands for one day of bombing missions, with the size of the bombs indicating the size of the Aeroplanes dropping them. 50 kg for CAS, 100 kg for Tac, and 500 kg for Str. (the latter is not to scale). The counters indicate where various wings are based, and the Yak-7 silhouettes with numbers on the wings indicate the Aerial Battles. German efforts that were successful in killing Soviet servicemen on the ground are indicated with grey German-designed bombs. (all 100kg for Tac)
Map of Bombings and Air Battles over the main front. Each bomb stands for one day of bombing missions, with the size of the bombs indicating the size of the Aeroplanes dropping them. 50 kg for CAS, 100 kg for Tac, and 500 kg for Str. (the latter is not to scale). The counters indicate where various wings are based, and the Yak-7 silhouettes with numbers on the wings indicate the Aerial Battles. German efforts that were successful in killing Soviet servicemen on the ground are indicated with grey German-designed bombs. (all 100kg for Tac)
:
The air war continued, with clear Soviet superiority over the main front line. 6 more German attempts at bombing our troops were intercepted, with our Yak-7s inflicting a heavy toll on German bomber wings and their escorting fighters. Some bombers did manage to drop there bombs on our troops before being intercepted, but all told the losses are minor, with more than 80 times as many losses having been inflicted on the Axis by our bombers since the start of the war. A halfhearted attempt by the Luftwaffe to try and stop our bombers over
Suwalki ended when the only German Interceptor wing near the front was further reduced to less than 25% of it's original number of aeroplanes.
With the Hungarian entry into the war, the Royal Hungarian Air Force (RHAF) came out in force. First, they attempted to disrupt a VVS ground attack mission over
Uzhorod, with Italian-built CR.32 biplanes. Then they threw there slightly less obsolete German surplus bombers at our own lines, three times. Every time, VVS fighters managed to fly rings around the Hungarian planes, with very minimal losses to the VVS, the RHAF was banished from the skies again and again, having lost a third of it's bomber force, and a tenth of it's CR.32 fighter force. (and that's only because the Il-10s were often in the way of the Yak-7's line of fire, with the CR.32s purposefully using the slow Assault bombers, who were occupied bombing Hungarians on the ground, to shield themselves from death by four 12,7mm Berezin UB machine-guns.
The air over the Western Baltic Sea and the Öresund was something else entirely. The Navy Air Fleet faced close to 1.000 Me-109s, and only through a cunning distraction could paratroopers be landed in
Slagelse without being shot to pieces before they even left their aeroplanes. If operation Aegir goes well, the Air Base in
Copenhagen should provide the VVS with the infrastructure to contest air superiority over the Western Baltic and Zealand.
1.
Switaz (German Ground Attack attempt / Soviet Intercept - Victory)
03 Jul 42 05:00 - 08:00
VVS: VII IAK - Intx4 - 496 Yak-7 - 496 airmen - Brzesc Litweski - Lt. Gen. Av. Eremin, L3
496 planes / 496 airmen / 10 downed / 10 KIA
Luftwaffe: JG 106, KG 54, KG 55 - Ftr, Tacx2 - 112 FW-190D, 186 Ju-88A-4 - 856 airmen - ? - Genlt. Keller, L3, SAT, TB
298 planes / 856 airmen / 54 downed / 63 KIA
2.
Suwalki (Soviet Ground Attack / German & Soviet Intercept - Victory)
03 Jul 42 14:00 - 18:00
VVS: II ShAK - Ftr, CASx2 - 121 La-7, 247 Il-10 - 615 airmen - Nowogrodek - Marshall Av. Novikov, L3, TB
IV IAK-PVO - Intx4 - 496 Yak-7 - 496 airmen - Kaunas - Lt. Gen. Av. Rychagov, L2, SAT
864 planes / 1.111 airmen / 23 downed / 42 KIA
Luftwaffe: JG 4 - Intx3 - 73 Me-109G - 73 airmen - ? - Genmaj. Fisser, L1, SAT
73 planes / 73 airmen / 49 downed / 49 KIA
3.
Uzhorod (Soviet Ground Attack / Hungarian & Soviet Intercept - Victory)
04 Jul 42 18:00 - 21:00
VVS: IV ShAK - Ftr, CASx2 - 120 La-7, 232 Il-10 - 584 airmen - Lwow - Lt. Gen. Av. Rudenko, L2, TB
I IAK - Intx4 - 496 Yak-7 - 496 airmen - Lwow - Lt. Gen. Av. Rog, L3
848 planes / 1.080 airmen / 21 downed / 40 KIA
RHAF: I Vly, I Ely, II Ely - Intx3 - 369 CR.32 - 369 airmen - ? - Vezds. (Lt. Gen. Av.) Rakösi, L1, SAT
369 planes / 369 airmen / 34 downed / 34 KIA
4.
Mariampolé (German Ground Attack attempt / Soviet Intercept - Victory)
08 Jul 42 08:00 - 11:00
VVS: IV IAK-PVO - Intx4 - 496 Yak-7 - 496 airmen - Kaunas - Lt. Gen. Av. Rychagov, L2, SAT
496 planes / 496 airmen / 10 downed / 10 KIA
Luftwaffe: KG 28, KG 51 - Tacx2 - 186 Ju-88A-4 - 744 airmen - ? - Genlt. Göring, L3, CB
186 planes / 744 airmen / 50 downed / 200 KIA
5.
Narew (German Ground Attack attempt / Soviet Intercept - Victory)
08 Jul 42 11:00 - 14:00
VVS: VII IAK - Intx4 - 496 Yak-7 - 496 airmen - Brzesc Litweski - Lt. Gen. Av. Eremin, L3
496 planes / 496 airmen / 25 downed / 25 KIA
Luftwaffe: JG 54, KG 26, KG 27 - Ftr, Tacx2 - 112 FW-190D, 186 Ju-88A-4 - 856 airmen - ? - Genlt. Mahnke, L3, SAT
298 planes / 856 airmen / 54 downed / 189 KIA
6.
Saldus (German Ground Attack attempt / Soviet Intercept - Victory)
11 Jul 42 05:00 - 08:00
VVS: IV IAK-PVO - Intx4 - 496 Yak-7 - 496 airmen - Kaunas - Lt. Gen. Av. Rychagov, L2, SAT
496 planes / 496 airmen / 27 downed / 27 KIA
Luftwaffe: JG 104, KG 25, KG 30 - Ftr, Tacx2 - 112 FW-190D, 161 Ju-88A-4 - 756 airmen - ? - Genlt. Sperrle, L5, TB, CB
273 planes / 756 airmen / 121 downed / 283 KIA
7.
Pommeranian Coast (Soviet Intercept - Weather -14,5% (fog) - Victory)
11 Jul 42 12:00 - 15:00
VMF: 2 KPA - CAG - 32 La-7VM, 32 Il-10VM - 96 airmen - Leningrad (Southern Baltic) - Air Capt 1C Falaleev, L4
7 KPA - CAG - 32 La-7VM, 32 Il-10VM - 96 airmen - Moskva (Southern Baltic) - Air Capt 1C Kapitochin, L2
128 planes / 192 airmen / 1 downed / 2 KIA
Luftwaffe: Seeaufklärungsgruppe - Nav - 33 Ju-290A-5 - 297 airmen - ? - Oberst Ritter, L3, FD
33 planes / 297 airmen / 9 downed / 81 KIA
8.
Turka (Hungarian Ground Attack attempt / Soviet Intercept - Victory)
11 Jul 42 12:00 - 15:00
VVS: VI IAK - Intx4 - 496 Yak-7 - 496 airmen - Lwow - Lt. Gen. Av. Rog, L3
496 planes / 496 airmen / 1 downed / 1 KIA
RHAF: I VazOs - Tac - 93 Ju-86K-2 - 186 airmen - ? - Altbgy. (Maj. Gen. Av.) Hellebronth, L0, SAT
93 planes / 186 airmen / 34 downed / 68 KIA
9.
Drohobycz (Hungarian Ground Attack attempt / Soviet Intercept - Victory)
11 Jul 42 14:00 - 17:00
VVS: II IAK - Intx4 - 496 Yak-7 - 496 airmen - Lwow - Lt. Gen. Av. Astakhov, L4, NF
496 planes / 496 airmen / 1 downed / 1 KIA
RHAF: I Bdly, II Bdly - Tacx2 - 186 Ju-86K-2 - 372 airmen - ? - Vezds. (Lt. Gen. Av.) Rapaich, L1, TB
186 planes / 372 airmen / 60 downed / 120 KIA
10.
Öresund (Soviet Air Superiority / German Intercept - Weather -2,5% (fog) - Defeat)
11 Jul 42 23:00 - 12 Jul 42 03:00
VMF: 7 KPA - CAG - 32 La-7VM, 32 Il-10VM - 96 airmen - Moskva (Southern Baltic) - Air Capt 1C Kapitochin, L2
2 KPA - CAG - 32 La-7VM, 32 Il-10VM - 96 airmen - Leningrad (Southern Baltic) - Air Capt 1C Falaleev, L4
128 planes / 192 airmen / 9 downed / 14 KIA
Luftwaffe: JG 27, JG 138, JG 433, JG 203, JG zbV, JG 301, JG 2, JG 26, JG 109 -
Intx9 - 968 Me-109G - 968 airmen - ? - Genlt. Lörzer, L3, SAT
112 downed / 112 KIA
11.
Skole (Hungarian Ground Attack attempt / Soviet Intercept - Victory)
12 Jul 42 06:00 - 09:00
VVS: VI IAK - Intx4 - 496 Yak-7 - 496 airmen - Lwow - Lt. Gen. Av. Rog, L3
496 planes / 496 airmen / 1 downed / 1 KIA
RHAF: I ZbO - CAS - 123 Ju-87 - 246 airmen - ? - Altbgy. (Maj. Gen. Av.) Orosz, L0, TB
123 planes / 246 airmen / 79 downed / 158 KIA
12.
Saldus (German Ground Attack attempt / Soviet Intercept - Victory)
11 Jul 42 05:00 - 08:00
VVS: V IAK-PVO - Intx4 - 496 Yak-7 - 496 airmen - Rezneke - Lt. Gen. Av. Skripko, L4
496 planes / 496 airmen / 25 downed / 25 KIA
Luftwaffe: JG 50, KG 50, KG 76 - Ftr, Tacx2 - 89 FW-190D, 185 Ju-88A-4 - 829 airmen - ? - Genlt. Dörstling, L3, TB
274 planes / 829 airmen / 55 downed / 148 KIA
13.
Pommeranian Coast (Soviet CAG Duty / German Intercept - Defeat)
12 Jul 42 05:00 - 08:00
VMF: 7 KPA - CAG - 28 La-7VM, 29 Il-10VM - 86 airmen - Moskva (Southern Baltic) - Air Capt 1C Kapitochin, L2
2 KPA - CAG - 29 La-7VM, 29 Il-10VM - 87 airmen - Leningrad (Southern Baltic) - Air Capt 1C Falaleev, L4
115 planes / 173 airmen / 20 downed / 30 KIA
Luftwaffe: JG 27, JG 138, JG 433, JG 203, JG zbV, JG 301 - Intx6 - 528 Me-109G - 528 airmen - ? - Genlt. Lörzer, L3, SAT
528 planes / 528 airmen / 101 downed / 101 KIA
Air Totals (last 10 days):
VVS: 10 battles / 120 Ground Attack / 10 Log. Bomb. / 480 (30 Yak-4, 171 Il-10, 203 La-7, 75 Yak-7, 1 TB-3) / 688 KIA
VMF (Air Fleet): 3 battles / 1 Naval Strike / 33 (16 La-7VM, 17 Il-10VM) / 50 KIA
Total SU: 13 battles / 120 Ground Attack / 10 Log. Bomb. / 1 Naval Strike / 513 / 738 KIA
Luftwaffe: 9 battles / 3 Ground Attack / 501 (
213 Me-109G, 127 FW-190D, 152 Ju-88A-4, 9 Ju-290A) / 1.029 KIA
RHAF: 4 Battles / 207 (158 Ju-87, 188 Ju-86K-2, 34 CR.32) / 380 KIA
Axis: 13 Battles / 3 Ground Attacks / 708 / 1.409 KIA
Hungarian Fiat CR.32, Italian-built, interwar biplanes, manned and maintained by Hungarians, what could possibly go wrong. Jokes aside, the Hungarian fighter units were surprisingly resilient for their age, with Hungarian pilots taking full advantage of our Il-10s, which were active in the area. Our Yak-7s had to be careful not to hit VVS assault bombers, allowing the Hungarians to come out very disorganised, but largely unscathed. (when compared to the bloodbath that could have been). Now that they know they're hopelessly outmatched, the Hungarian Air Force might keep it's aeroplanes grounded. That said, if they try again, our pilots will surely enjoy the target practice.
:
I. Avianosets Flote has made it to
Mythiléné, where it has been joined by the brand new 9. Flotiliya Esmintsev. After a sufficient quantity of fuel and supplies has been stocked, the crews have gotten some rest, and a new rear admiral makes his way over, our Carrier Fleet will be ready to sail again. There is still some disagreement on what our Carriers should do first:
- Find and eliminate the Bulgarian Navy, probably in it's home port, using the superior air power the fleet can bring to bear.
- Go out further into the Mediterranean, and look for the Italian fleet.
- Simply patrol the Eastern Mediterranean, sinking supply ships, and waiting for any enemy reaction.
- Stay in port to save supplies and possibly relocate some of the CAGs to the Baltic to replace the losses suffered in operation Aegir.
:
Baltic Sea: 35 Axis convoys sunk
Total numbers (GPW):
Total Ground losses:
SU: 3.057.847 (+ 2.112.658) / 53.651 KIA (+20.109) (53.243 (+18.988 / ground), 408 (+408 / air)) / 17.689 POW (+17.689)
Ger: 1.881.699 (+882.687) / 49.407 (+23.496 / ground)
Hun: 399.414 / 2.549 (ground)
Axis: 2.281.113 (+1.282.101) / 84.830 KIA (51.956 (+26.045 / ground), 32.874 (+15.941 / air))
Total Navy losses:
VMF (Surface Fleet): 1 Naval Battle / CVL -3% (air) / CA -4% (surface) / CL -10% (air) / 106 KIA
Kriegsmarine: 1 Naval Battle / 1 DD / 37 (+35) convoys lost / 1.280 KIA
Total Air Losses (GPW):
VVS: 17 battles / 251 Grd. Attacks / 16 Log. Bomb. / 915 (75 Yak-4, 300 Il-10, 317 La-7, 195 Yak-7, 27 Li-2, 1 TB-3) / 1.519 KIA
VMF (Air Fleet): 6 battles / 1 Naval Strike / 48 (24 La-7VM, 24 Il-10VM) / 72 KIA
Total SU: 23 battles / 268 bombing missions / 963 / 1.519 KIA
Luftwaffe: 19 battles / 3 Ground Attack / 1 Naval Strike / 870 (273 Me-109G, 319 FW-190D, 261 Ju-88A-4, 17 Ju-290A) / 1.789 KIA
RHAF: 4 Battles / 207 (158 Ju-87, 188 Ju-86K-2, 34 CR.32) / 380 KIA
Axis: 23 Battles / 4 bombing missions / 1.077 / 2.169 KIA
Total Losses (GPW):
72.965 (+37.947 (SU)) / 88.279 (+44.683) (Axis)
These 10 days saw some worrying developments in the North, and the start of operation Aegir. The Armoured AG is still on it's way, but it can be seen closing in with some units less than 100km from the front. A big armoured offensive, with the possible encirclement of tens of German Divisions should stabilise the line in the North. If all goes well, it should also draw German troops from the Southern front, allowing that to stabilise in turn. I'm a bit afraid for 'Odinatsat' and her dangerous mission, but I'm glad she's gained the favour of the brass, to an extent, and that she's been reunited with Sergei. Let's hope we all come out of this war alive. As always, your input is valued,
Greetings,
'Odin'
