31st of August 1942, Vologda, 2,6°C, 6pm Moscow Time
'Shest's reports on 'Odinatsat's whereabouts continue to give us an idea of what 'Odinatsat' is up to. Here are the parts that fell outside of the expected day-to-day routine of a teacher and instructor at the Naval Academy.
22nd of August
Major Goleniewsky went out to have lunch with a few colleagues and ended up ignoring them to speak with a certain Senior Lieutenant Viktor Leonov of the 181st Special Reconnaissance Detachment. It's not clear who of the two initiated the conversation, and my agents couldn't get close enough to hear what they were talking about. They clearly got along well.
23rd of August
Major Goleniewsky usually takes the tramway to and from work, but today, Sergei came to pick her up in her own GAZ M1 after work. He then drove the three of them to an abandoned part of the Admiralty Shipyards, where they halted at one of the smaller buildings, some kind of workshop for small boats. They were met by Lieutenant Sedov and Starshina 1st Class (Sr. Sergeant) Kasharin of the Red Navy.
After a few minutes, the large doors of the workshop were opened and Sergei parked the car inside. Then, they all exited the building, locked the doors, and walked off towards the nearby dock. This was the moment one of 'Odinatsat's non-Soviet tails decided to go beyond tracking and observation. As soon as the five were out of earshot, the man walked, quickly but quietly, towards the workshop. He picked the lock on a small side door and made his way inside, after which he stayed there for a few minutes, making no noise, before coming back out and moving away from the area. The suspected American spy managed to lose operative A in a bar in central Leningrad, about one hour later.
Meanwhile, operative B, continued to follow Major Goleniewsky from afar. Amongst a bunch of rotting wooden hulls of questionable seaworthiness laid a modern wooden D3-class motor torpedo boat, TK-37 to be precise. Outside of some relatively minor battle damage, the boat was in good shape. For the better part of an hour, Sergei, and the boat's Engineer, Starshina 1st Class Kasharin, poured over the three GAM-34 engines at the rear of the boat. 'Odinatsat' tried to help, but with her broken leg still in a cast, she was relegated to handing tools to the others and occasionally commenting, this seemed to frustrate her somewhat. Junior Lieutenant Sedov, the boat's CO, kept at more of a distance, checking on them every five minutes or so, doing paperwork, checking the condition of the weaponry, asking if Major Goleniewsky didn't need a drink or something, etc. Suddenly, at around 9pm, the engines roared to life, and TK-37 sped off. The agent on the ground had no way to follow the fast MPB. There was nothing about this meeting or the short trip that followed in Lieutenant Sedov's reports.
Luckily, operative A, who had just lost the trail of the foreign agent, spotted TK-37, slipping into the fishing harbour later that evening, to drop off Maj. Goleniewsky and Sergei, after which the couple took a taxi home.
Given the fact that the GAM-34 engine is based on the Mikulin AM-34 Aeroplane engine, the current hypothesis is that Sergei is going to be doing some work on the engines of TK-37. Considering what he did with the engine in 'Odinatsat's GAZ, I'd bet he's likely going to be improving their performance in some way that may well fall outside of Red Navy regulations, maybe by borrowing some components from the VVS to do so. NKVD assets in the navy have also long known about the torpedo boats and their crew's penchant for modifying their craft. In exchange for services rendered, I guess they get access to a workshop in a discreet location, which should allow them to continue their work on the GAZ-M1.
29th of August
Over the following days, Sergei and 'Odinatsat' returned to the workshop and the nearby torpedo boat every day, splitting their evenings between working on the car and helping Starshina 1st Class Kasharin work on the engines. Occasionally, they took the GAZ out on a drive around the abandoned part of the shipyard. Foreign spies also kept showing up, but none of them was spotted searching the workshop, or any of Major Goleniewsky's belongings. Maybe my operative A spooked them last time.
30th of August 1942,
Five cadets of Maj. Goleniewsky's class have gone missing (they weren't being watched). TK-37 also left this morning, with orders to rejoin it's squadron which will soon be relocating to Copenhagen for the coming operations off the Norwegian coast. 'Odinatsat' was at the Naval Academy all day, she taught in the morning, and did some gunnery practice in the afternoon, nothing out of the ordinary. She went back to the shipyard with Sergei, where they spent a few hours in the workshop.
31st of August 1942,
The cadets still haven't returned. What's particularly suspicious about their disappearance is that they aren't slackers in any way, they're all close to the top of their class.Maj. Goleniewsky, who's teaching them again today, is also acting as if nothing is amiss. Maybe I'm just paranoid, but I can't help but feel something is up. I'm sure she knows she's being watched, but I don't know what her lack of action means, if she's really not worried about the disappeared cadets, she either knows where they are, trusts that they will return soon, or she simply doesn't care, or doesn't want to be seen to care, whether by the Americans or the NKVD. It could all be unrelated, or she could be planning to disappear on us too and the cadets are somehow involved in this. Of course, she will remain under close watch, while a small navy task force, assisted by some NKVD personnel, searches for the missing naval infantry cadets. You know, she was unpredictable back in Paris, and now she's playing with my nerves again. I don't like it.
As there have been no clear signs of her actually betraying the Soviet Union, let alone the Committee, I'm willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. 'Shest's nerves will just have to take the strain for now.
Let's now go to the War Reporting for the last 10 days:
Arctic Front (NOR): XXXIV GSK / 1st AG / Leningrad HQ:
Nothing new to report.
Finland (Finnish SSR): NKGBF / Leningrad HQ:
The 3-Brigade, 2-pronged, rebel attack on Kuusjärvi (1), having started at 9am on the 21st, was still ongoing when Sr.Maj.GB Galanin T.I.'s Mounted Brigade hit 1st and 4th Finnish Partisans in their North-Western flank (2) at 10pm the same day. The stubborn insugrents continued to press home the attack, and it was only 2 hours after Sr.Maj.GB Belous's 2 NKGBKB attacked the third Partisan Brigade in Ohtari (3) at 4am on the 23rd, that they halted their advance. Joenssu was eventually cleared of rebels at midnight 2 days later. With no-where to run two the trapped partisans in Ohtari fought on until 8am on the 26th before surrendering. About 2.800 insurgents were taken into captivity, and close to 500 killed, for fewer than 100 dead state security personnel. The NKGBF is now repositioning to strike the final blow to the insurgency.
| Forces engaged in battle: | Forces killed in action | Prisoners (of War) |
Finnish Insurgents | 19.081 | 485 | 2.799 |
Soviet Union | 18.000 | 99 | 0 |
Norwegian Front (Norway): XXIII SK / Leningrad HQ:
An unopposed Airborne Assault by 2 VDD secured Bergen shortly before reinforcements arrived by ship to be disembarked on the 28th. See 'Tundra Wolf & Sea Eagle'.
Danish Front (DANF): XXXIII SK / Leningrad HQ:
2 Italian Divisions lead by GenDiv (MajGen) Calcagno attacked across the Great Belt Strait towards Slagelse at 7pm on the 21st. A mere 2 hours in, half the little boats, containing Calcagno's own 32a DivFan turned around, leaving GenDiv Caracciolo di Feroleto's elite 2a DivAlp to fend for itself. All night the famed Alpini attempted again and again to form a beachead in the face of 4 dug-in Rifle Divisions, by 9am the beach was littered with Italian corpses, and the Alpini had withdrawn.
On the 28th, the Bulgarian army decided to emulate the Italians with a 3am attack. An Infantry Division, and a Cavalry Division tried to make their way across under heavy fire, but by noon, they too retreated back to the relative safety of the German-Held side of the Great Belt. Over 900 Italian, over 800 Bulgarian, and fewer than 30 Soviet casualties were counted.
| Forces engaged in battle: | Forces killed in action: | Prisoners (of war): |
Italy | 11.972 | 914 | 0 |
Bulgaria | 13.544 | 828 | 0 |
AXIS | 25.516 | 1.742 | 0 |
Soviet Union | 87.969 | 26 | 0 |
Baltic Fleet & Northern Fleet: (Baltic Sea, North Sea & Norwegian Coast) RBBF & NF / Leningrad HQ:
The convoy war rages on in the same places it did 10 days ago. Oslo & Kristiansand are the German preferred ports for the transport of supplies and fuel to their troops in Norway. Many German Merchant ships get caught by our submarines and surface vessels. German convoys to the Baltic Fronts also keep getting sunk in the Eastern Baltic.
The Black Sea Fleet (BSF) is ferrying the second wave of troops towards Norway for a landing in Kristiansand. (unless the facts on the ground change before the fleet gets there)
| Air to ground / Air to sea damage | KIA air crew | Fighters deployed | Fighters lost | Bombers deployed | Bombers lost |
Germany | 3.121 Naval Base Infrastructure
6 Heavy AA guns
14. TTF (CL) & 15. TTF (LC)
1.319 KM personnel KIA
2,478 Infrastructure
80.337 t of Supplies
7.167 m^3 of Fuel | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
AXIS | 1.319 KIA | | | | | |
Soviet Union | 0 | 12 | 63 x La-7VM (CAG) | 4 x La-7VM (CAG) | 70 x TB-3 (Str)
63 x Il-10 (CAG) | 0 x TB-3 (Str)
4 x Il-10 (CAG) |
The Logistical Bombing of Mo i Rana is going well (big vertical bomb), and soon all the Panzers to it's north (aka all the German Panzers in Norway) will be cut off from their lifeline to Oslo. Narvik remains heavily damaged thanks to our own bombing missions (indicated by the torpedoes aimed at Narvik). For good measure, V SK is positioned off shore to catch any enemy merchant vessel that may try to relieve the enemy force there.
Main Front Overview:
The arrows indicate changes in the front over the last 10 days.
The vignettes: bottom right: a Pzkpfw. IV F2 moving towards the front / top left: A pair of T-34/76's on the offensive.
1st Baltic Front (1st BALT F. / Latvian SSR): 2 AG & Arm AG / Moskva HQ:
"Those GAZ half-tracks are rubbish! Sure, they're fast, but they can't even stand up to a couple of German At-Guns without bursting into flames. Maybe I should have gone into the Infantry after all, at least there you can jump into a ditch when the enemy starts shooting."
- A rather angry and grief-stricken Armoured Cavalry Sergeant with burns all over his body. He was the only survivor of his squad after their half-track was caught in a trap between two Pak-88's during the 5th battle of Jelgava (3). Overheard in a Bauska Field Hospital.
A 7-Division, three-pronged, attack into Riga (1) started at 7pm it was called off at 9pm.
At the same time, genlt. von Bismarck launched a 4-Division all-Infantry pincer attack (2) on Jelgava. Gerasimov's two Rifle Divisions, though individually more numerous than their German counterparts, didn't really have an answer to the enemy's superior numbers. With reinforcements unavailable as the troops in Bauska were still reorganising from the aborted push into Riga, Jelgava fell at midnight on the 23rd. Over 1.000 oviet riflemen were lost for close to 700 of the enemy.
There were two further attempts to retake Jelgava (3), both were rather shortlived. First, on the 25th, there was a 2-Division which encountered a single enemy formation, only to halt the offensive due to exhaustion. MajGen Rodin A.G.'s 29 KavD arrived in Bauska the next morning, and by 10 am the Armoured Cavalry charged into Jelgava (3). They found it defended by all of Genlt. von Bismarck's 4 Infantry Divisions, though they were now commanded by Harpe. Nevertheless, they pressed on, in anticipation of coming reinforcements. It was only 34 hours later that 235 SD managed to reinforce the push, by which time the Cavalry had lost quite a few T-70's and many men. By the 28th, the Cavalrymen were starting to falter, and at 8pm, they had to retreat. In a last-ditch attempt to save the offensive, MajGen. Kononov rushed in his T-34's to plug the gap, but it was too little too late, and at midnight, as the riflemen of 235 SD started to break ranks, he called it quits. Over 1.800 of our servicemen lost their lives in the action, for a mere 550 of the enemy. There are some fights even the elite Armoured Cavalry can't handle.
A push by 203 MSD into Dobele from the South (4) wasn't much more successful. Facing 31 ID and a Bulgarian Cavalry Unit, they were at a slight disadvantage which showed more and more as the battle wore on. The operation was halted at 2am on the 28th, after 26 hours of fighting.
| Forces engaged in battle: | Forces killed in action: | Prisoners (of war): |
Bulgaria | 6.000 | 73 | 0 |
Germany | 89.838 | 1.605 | 0 |
AXIS | 95.838 | 1.678 | 0 |
Soviet Union | 163.150 | 3.146 | 0 |
| Air to ground damage | KIA air crew | Fighters deployed | Fighters lost | Bombers deployed | Bombers lost |
Germany | | 64 | 94 x FW-190 (Ftr) | 12 x FW-190 (Ftr) | 167 x Ju-88 (Tac) | 13 x Ju-88 (Tac) |
AXIS | 1.067 KIA | 64 | | | | |
Soviet Union | 0 KIA | 57 | 372 x Yak-7 (Int)
248 x La-7 (Ftr) | 29 x Yak-7 (Int)
6 x La-7 (Ftr) | 402 x Yak-4 (Tac) | 11 x Yak-4 (Tac) |
LtGenAv. Golovanov's Yak-4's flew 2 missions over Dobele on the 22nd in support of the battle of Jelgava (2).
On the 27th II BAK took it's turn, as LtGenAv. Yakovlev's unit flew 2 missions over Dobele, and 2 more the next day over Jelgava, now in enemy hands.
Genlt. Sperrle's Ju-88's made an attempt to bomb our troops in Bauska on the 28th, but they were intercepted by LtGenAv. Vorozheikin's 372 Yak-7's, before they could drop any bombs on target. The three hour aerial battle resulted in 25 downed enemy aircraft, for 29 of our own.
2nd Baltic Front (2nd BALT F. / Lithuanian SSR North of the Memel): 2 AG & Arm AG / Moskva HQ:
"Thank Comrade Stalin for the Armoured Cavalry! Those bastards in their tin cans saved our hides when even the Guards Riflemen left us to die."
A Lieutenant of 90 SD after the very hard-fought victory in the 2nd battle of Taurage (10).
12 TD and 7 KavD, lead by MajGen Berzarin, charged into Sauliai (2) at 1pm on the 21st. Initialy the T-34's and Armoured Cavalry were sweeping aside genlt. von Kempski's German and Hungarian Infantry units, but at 7pm, our base in Panevezys was hit (3) by genlt. Röttiger's 16 PzGrd. Unphased by the pressure, Berzarin pressed home his attack, even with some of his units diverted to hold his base, along with reinforcements from 17 SD & 105 SD. von Kempski's forces broke by 10pm on the 23rd, but Berzarin's forces were pinned down by Röttigers, and unable to take control of the province.
What was a problem for our forces in Panevezys, was an opportunity for MajGen. Reiter's corps-sized armoured force in Pasvalis. At 1am on the 23rd, 3 Tank Divisions and 29 KavD charged into the flanks of Röttiger's 16 PzGrD in Joniskis (5), the presence of 1 Pesi Divize in the province proved only a minor inconvenienced to our tankers. Two hours later, the Panzergrenadiers halted their offensive into Panevezys (3) to concentrate on defending their positions from Reiter's T-34's. It was too little too late as 1 Pesi Divize retreated by noon, followed almost immediately by the exhausted 16 PzGrD. The forces in Panevezys suffered over 700 casualties for almost 1400 enemies.
Meanwhile, 1-va Kd, (Bulgarian Cavalry) got into Siauliai before it could be occupied by three Soviet Divisions, they were routed before they could even get off their horses. (2 & 4)
Less than a day later, at 9am on the 24th, ltgen. Höpner's 1 ID attacked our forces in Siauliai (7). Only 203 MSD had made it there. MajGen. Kreizer's unit had barely started to dig in, and his efforts to Delay the enemy faltered in the face of the enemy's agressive Shock tactics. In the end, the arrival of the Armoured Cavalry saved the day. 7 KavD reinforced the defending riflemen at 6am on the 26th, and by 9pm the Germans attacks halted. Casualties were over 400 riflemen for close to 700 enemy Infantry.
Buoyed by victory, MajGen Levandovski had 7 KavD probe enemy defenses in Plunge (8) at 1am on the 27th, and again 24 hours later. The area was held by 4 Axis Divisions lead by the rather skilled Bulgarian General Ivan Valkov (SK3, DD, OG) of 1-va Armiya. Valkov is a veteran of the great war who was Minister of War, then Bulgarian Ambassador to Italy until 1934. He was called back out of retirement to fight in the war. (This interesting figure is represented in the game as General 'Vulkov', though the picture is clearly Ivan Valkov.)
After securing Raseinai, MajGen. Petrushevskij launched a follow-up attack on Taurage (10) at 4pm on the 23rd, using his own 90 SD and 76 GvSD. This was rather courageous, as genlt. von Pfeffer-Wildenbruch had 4 German Infantry Divisions at his disposal to fend it off. Despite steadily mounting losses, and viscious enemy counter-attacks that disrupted their assaults, our riflemen held their own. Only on the 26th did units start to fall out of line, first to break were 76 GvSD and 143 ID, both withdrawing on the 26th. With both sides of the ongoing battle disorganised and exhausted, the arrival of a fresh 16 KavD on the 28th decided the outcome of the battle. At 4pm, the province was ours, for the low price of close to 2.700 servicemen for over 2.100 of the enemy.
A Heavy German attack (from Jurbarkas) on Kaunas was called off after 2 hours on the evening of the 21st.
The ongoing attack on Ariogala (6), by MajGen. Hadeev's 19 SD continued unabated, facing off against genlt. Fischer W's 196 ID, and the Comando Superiore Forze Armata Africa Settentrionale, which found it self slightly further north than it's name might suggest. Despite enemy numerical superiority, Hadeev's men managed to keep up the pressure until 53 SD reinforced them at noon on the 22nd. Victory was achieved at 9pm on the 24th, it had been costly, with over 1.300 soviet, 700 German, and over 1.000 Italian killed in action.
A single-Division assault into Jurbarkas (9) was less successful. Starting at 4pm on the 26th, and ending in a Soviet withdrawal 12 hours later, this drawn-out probe cost us close to 700 men for fewer than 130 kills.
As soon as 82 MSD arrived in Ariogala, at 10am on the 27th, they came under attack from Jurbarkas (11). 7 PzD and 168 ID, under the command of genlt. Wünnenberg. The riflemen did what they could, with MajGen Antonov A.I. ordering Elastic Defense tactics to slow down the enemy's Blitz attacks. However, reinforcements were slow to advance, and by 9am the next day, they had to call it quits, having suffered over 1.200 for fewer than 500 of the enemy.
2pm on the 29th, saw another short battle for Ariogala (6). A spent 7 PzD was quickly chased away. This was followed by another attack on Jurbarkas at 7am on the 31st (12). Facing three Infantry Divisions executing frequent counter-attacks, the offensive was halted at 6pm.
| Forces engaged in battle: | Forces killed in action | Prisoners of War |
Bulgaria | 6.000 | 155 | 0 |
Slovakia | 8.907 | 120 | 0 |
Italy | 8.989 | 1.049 | 0 |
Hungary | 17.244 | 147 | 0 |
Germany | 204.668 | 5.764 | 0 |
AXIS | 245.808 | 7235 | 0 |
Soviet Union | 319.792 | 7.506 | 0 |
| Air to ground damage | KIA air crew | Fighters deployed | Fighters lost | Bombers deployed | Bombers lost |
Germany | | 43+84+39+46x4 | 242 x Me-109 (Int)
176 x FW-190 (Ftr) | 43 x Me-109 (Int)
84 x FW-190 (Ftr) | 216 x Hs-129 (CAS)
349 x Ju-88 (Tac) | 39 x Hs-129 (CAS)
46 x Ju-88 (Tac) |
AXIS | 3.416 KIA | | | | | |
Soviet Union | 130 KIA | 93+12+60+6 | 742 x Yak-7 (Int)
372 x La-7 (Ftr) | 93 x Yak-7 (Int)
12 x La-7 (Ftr) | 495 x Il-10 (CAS)
201 x Yak-4 (Tac) | 30 x Il-10 (CAS)
3 x Yak-4 (Tac) |
With most of the fighting on the ground concentrated in this area, both Air Forces put in that little bit of extra effort to support their troops.
LtGenAv. Rudenko's Il-10's flew a total of 15 missions resulting in over 2.000 enemy casualties: 3 over Siauliai on the 22nd, 2 over Ariogala on the 23rd, 8 over Taurage from the 24th to the 27th, and 2 over Jurbarkas on the 28th.
V ShAK, LtGenAv. Goryunov's unit also chipped in, flying 3 missions over Joniskis during the crucial early stages of the breakthrough (22nd-23rd), and a further 4 over Pogegen on the 30th and 31st.
The Yak-4's of LtGenAv. Yakovlev's II BAK flew a further 4 missions over Plunge on the 25th and 26th.
Both Genlt. Mähnke's FK II (Ju-88) and Genlt. Kitzinger's 3 FD (3. flieger-division / Hs-129) were intercepted before they could reach their targets: The former, on the 23rd, by LtGenAv. Astakhov's Yak-7's over Panevezys (1), and the latter, on the 24th, by LtGenAv. Eremin's II IAK over Siauliai (3).
Klepke's JK I (Me-109) was intercepted on the 23rd over Pogegen (2) by Astakhov's 360 Yak-7's. The afternoon battle resulted in 43 downed Messerchmitts (out of 242), and 48 lost Yak-7's.
FK VI (Ju-88), Genlt. Dörstling's unit, did manage to drop it's bombs on our forces in Siauliai (4), before being intercepted by Eremin's fighters.
3rd Baltic Front (3rd BALT F. / Lithuanian SSR South of the Memel): 2 AG & Arm AG / Moskva HQ:
| Air to ground damage | KIA air crew | Fighters deployed | Fighters lost | Bombers deployed | Bombers lost |
Germany | 9,248 Infrastructure
220.049 t of Supplies
23.732 m^3 of Fuel | 16 | 258 x Me-109 (Int) | 16 x Me-109 (Int) | 0 | 0 |
AXIS | 0 | 16 | | | | |
Soviet Union | 0 | 168 | 0 | 0 | 162 x TB-3 (Str) | 21 x TB-3 (Str) |
Only Kalinin's TB-3's were active in this area, destroying infrastructure and stockpiles on the Southern bank of the Memel:
The 21st saw 2 missions over Kybartai.
Over Labiau on the 23rd, things didn't go entirely to plan as I DBAK was intercepted shortly after dropping it's first bombs, at 9am, by Klepke's Me-109's, over 250 of them. The Fighter Aviation Corps in the area were all otherwise occupied, so the lumbering Tupolevs had to try to evade the onslaught on their own. 19 Heavy bombers were lost for 16 Me-109s shot down, before they could break away and return to base. 2 DBAD had taken the lion's share of the losses, and was quite disorganised. They were pulled back to Moscow, and would be sent out to Norway the next day, where they would be safe from enemy fighters.
1 DBAD did go back into the fray, flying a further 8 missions over Labiau (24th to 27th), and 4 missions over Cranz (28th to 31st), with no further incidents.
1st Byelorussian Front (1st Byel. F. / Byelorussian SSR Nyoman/Memel bend): 2 AG & Arm AG / Moskva HQ:
After a week of calm, there was a short flurry of activity on the 28th. A single-Division Bulgarian attack on Mosty (1) starting at 3am was easily repulsed MajGen Zakharov M.V.'s 3 Motorised Rifle Divisions, ending by 1pm, with over 600 Bulgarians dead for 24 Soviets. This was followed by two single-Division Red Army probes into Sokolka (2), the first at 2pm, and the second at 7pm. Both lasted little more than an hour, and both revealed that one Division would not be enough to oust the near 30.000 strong Axis force from the area.
| Forces engaged in battle: | Forces killed in action: | Prisoners (of war): |
Bulgaria | 6.000 | 17 | 0 |
Germany | 53.898 | 605 | 0 |
AXIS | 59.898 | 622 | 0 |
Soviet Union | 53.954 | 208 | 0 |
| Air to ground damage | KIA air crew | Fighters deployed | Fighters lost | Bombers deployed | Bombers lost |
AXIS | 230 KIA | | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Soviet Union | 0 KIA | 2 | 124 x La-7 (Ftr) | 0 x La-7 (Ftr) | 201 x Yak-4 (Tac) | 1 x Yak-4 (Tac) |
LtGenAv. Yakovlev's II BAK flew a single ground attack mission over Sokolka on the 31st.
2nd Byelorussian Front (2nd Byel. F. / Byelorussian SSR between the Nyoman & Prypyat): 2 AG & Arm AG / Moskva HQ:
A Bulgarian Infantry Attack on Zelva (1) started at 7pm on the 21st, and was easily shrugged off by 16 MSD, and the T-34's of 1 GvTD. After 24 hours, close to 700 Bulgarians laid dead in the forest, for 30 of our own. In response, MajGen. Kirponos launched a 3-pronged, 3-Division offensive to take Wolkowysk at 7am on the 27th. Numerical, and fire, superiority over the Hungaro-Bulgarian Infantry force facing them lead to an easy victory with minimal losses by 6pm, a good day's work.
Two Armoured Cavalry Divisions struck Swislocz (2) at 2pm on the 22nd. Attacking from two direction, they swept aside a near 25.000 strong German-Hungarian Infantry force under Bulgarian Command, in 25 hours and with minor casualties. MajGen. Kurochkin P.A.'s Cavalrymen didn't get a chance to celebrate their victory as they came under attack from a pair of fresh German Infantry Divisions under Genlt. Köstring as soon as they arrived in Swislocz (3). 3 KavD was engaged at 4am on the 24th, with 6 KavD reinforcing the next day at 1pm. Despite numerical superiority, and the one-sided use of Armoured vehicles, our exhausted forces withdrew at 1pm on the 27th. The enemy paid dearly for his victory with over 900 German KIA's, for fewer than 600 Soviet ones.
At 1pm on the 29th, and with the combined power of 2 Motorised Rifle Division and 1 Armoured Cavalry Division, 5 PzD was put under serious pressure to vacate Bereza (5). By midnight the battle was won, with minimal casualties suffered.
| Forces engaged in battle: | Forces killed in action | Prisoners of War |
Hungary | 11.988 | 146 | 0 |
Bulgaria | 17.994 | 884 | 0 |
Germany | 42.094 | 1.496 | 0 |
AXIS | 72.076 | 2.526 | 0 |
Soviet Union | 125.907 | 893 | 0 |
| Air to ground damage | KIA air crew | Fighters deployed | Fighters lost | Bombers deployed | Bombers lost |
AXIS | 310 KIA | | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Soviet Union | 0 KIA | 2 | 124 x La-7 (Ftr) | 0 x La-7 (Ftr) | 248 x Il-10 (CAS) | 1 x Il-10 (CAS) |
III ShAK's Il-10's flew two missions over Hajnowka on the 27th in support of the battle of Swislocz.
1st Ukrainian Front (1st Ukr. F. / Ukrainian SSR between the Prypyat & Western Bug): 3 AG & Arm AG / Brjansk HQ:
"They may have sent in an elite Division named after their beloved Führer, but we are Guards Riflemen supported by the mightiest tanks the Motherland has to offer. We are the best the Red Army has to offer. We will send them right back across the Bug and we will give Hitler's bodyguard a bloody nose. It will be a personal message to the Führer." - MajGen. Vatutin of 3 TTGvD before the 7th battle of Luboml. (5)
Kowel (1) was hit at 7pm on the 21st, by 228 ID and 9a DivAlp., under the command of Genlt. von Beyer. MajGen. Kozlov's single rifle Division, though outnumbered and outmatched, was dug in in the forest, allowing it to hold it's own. On the 23rd, things got worse as, with no Soviet reinforcements forthcoming, 30 ID joined in on the Axis side at 2pm. Nevertheless, 179 SD fought on, making the enemy pay for every metre of ground, until 5pm on the 24th, when the exhausted riflemen were given the order to withdraw. They left close to 1.100 of their comrades behind, having killed close to 800 enemy soldiers.
40km to the South, MajGen Chernyak sought to exploit a weak point of the Axis line in Switaz (2). 54 SD attacked at 7pm on the 21st, facing off against Genlt. von Mackensen's 46 ID. After a good first day of fighting, Chernyak ordered a full-on Assault at 7pm, but von Mackensen had the better of him, blunting the forward elements of our forces with relentless Counter-Attacks. After that disappointing day, the attack was slowly turned back as our troops found the enemy still better organised than themselves. The operation was finally called off at 3am on the 25th, with over 900 losses on both sides.
Having occupied Kowel, 9a Div.Alp. and 30 ID, lead by the Italian GenDiv. Fautili, proceded to hit Rozyszcze (4) at 7pm on the 28th. MajGen. Chernyak, with three Rifle Divisions at his disposal to defend the forested area, enjoyed numerical superiority, but his troops were weary and tired. Barely 2 hours into the battle, his own 54 SD broke ranks, and he was forced to hand off the battle to MajGen. Dement'ev. The latter's command also came to an abrupt end as 23 SD withdrew a mere 24 hours later. MajGen. Kozlov's heroic, but equally exhausted, 179 SD held on until morning, finally breaking at 9am on the 30th. German forces have yet to occupy the area. The enemy paid for his victory, with over 300 German, and close to 400 Italian casualties, for fewer than 260 of our own.
With little regard for casualties, Genlt. Gudowius ('Odinatsat's captor) ordered his own SSD 'LSSAH', 45 ID, and 2 ID (mot), to cross the river Bug to attack Luboml (3) at 7pm on the 21st. MajGen. Ptuhin's 2 Rifle Divisions, including a regiment of SU-100's, were dug in on the Eastern bank of the Bug, determined to turn the water red with teutonic blood. The riflemen gave their all, holding off the Germans for 3 whole days, but they kept coming, no matter how many of their corpses floated down the river. Once Gudowius' forces obtained a solid bridgehead, they exacted their revenge, killing close to 1.200 defenders before Ptuhin called the retreat. Close to 1.900 Germans were killed in this latest crossing of the Bug.
SSD 'LSSAH', the first enemy unit to arrive in Luboml, was met with a nasty surprise when it got there, at 8am on the 26th. MajGen. Vatutin's 3 TTGvD was advancing on their position (5), IS-2's and all. Luckily for genlt. Gudowius, 2 ID(mot) managed to reinforce his tenuous positions by 4pm. A rare miscalculation by Vatutin bought the Germans even more time as a daring Blitz Attack by his IS-2's was neutralised through German Elastic Defence tactics on the 27th. 113 SD joined in the fight at 4am on the 28th, reinvigorating the Soviet attack, just in time to counter the near simultaneous arrival of 45 ID in Luboml. Gudowius' own SSD 'LSSAH' was the first to break at 6pm the same day, pushing the odds in our favour. Genlt. Förster took over the faltering defensive action, until his 2 ID (mot) broke in turn at 8pm the next day. In a mirrored repeat of the previous battle, Genlt. Felbers found itself defending Luboml on it's own, holding off the Red Army's Heavy tanks and Guards Riflemen for a further 22 hours, before withdrawing back to where it came from, handing Vatutin a hard-fought victory. With close to 1.700 Soviet and 2.200 German losses, it was yet another bloodbath. The fact that the larger share of the blood that covered the plains of Luboml was Germanic was scant comfort for the families of our dead.
In an attempt to roll up the German line on the Bug's Western bank from the South, MajGen. Tiulenev launched a two-Division attack on Zamosc (6) at 3am on the 28th. With no geographical obstacles in the way, his troops being better rested, and slightly more numerous than Genlt. Krüger W's two Division's worth of Infantry, Tiulenev had good reason to be optimistic about his chances. 11 SD and 104 SD were making good progress when they came under heavy attack on their Eastern flank at 7pm on the 30th. (battle still ongoing) The offensive was cut short at 9pm as the now weary riflemen scrambled to defend themselves from this new threat. Over 1.400 Soviets and close to 1.750 Germans laid dead in Zamosc.
| Forces engaged in battle: | Forces killed in action | Prisoners of War |
Italy | 17.987 | 740 | 0 |
Germany | 81.700 | 7.367 | 0 |
AXIS | 99.687 | 8.107 | 0 |
Soviet Union | 108.620 | 6.775 | 0 |
| Air to ground damage | KIA air crew | Fighters deployed | Fighters lost | Bombers deployed | Bombers lost |
Slovakia | | 99 | 0 | 0 | 107 x A.304 | 33 x A.304 |
Germany | | 27 | 57 x Me-109 (Int) | 27 x Me-109 (Int) | 0 | 0 |
AXIS | 5.691 KIA | 126 | | | | |
Soviet Union | 0 KIA | 101 | 496 x Yak-7 (Int)
491 x La-7 (Ftr) | 10 x Yak-7 (Int)
11 x La-7 (Ftr) | 492 x Il-10 (CAS)
402 x Yak-4 (Tac) | 35 x Il-10 (CAS)
10 x Yak-4 (Tac) |
LtGenAv. Zhigarev's I ShAK flew 6 ground attack missions over Chelm (22nd-24th / Battle of Luboml), causing over 1.000 enemy casualties. It was intercepted at 9am by Genmaj. Fisser's JG 4 on the 24th. The Jagdgeschwader was barely over half strength, boasting a measly 53 Me-109s. Nevertheless, with no Yak-7's inbound, and some help from AA-Artillery they managed to shoot down 26 Il-10s, losing 23 fighters to the escorting La-7's in the process. Needless to say, the now 30-strong Geschwader wasn't seen again, but I ShAK still flew it's evening mission before rotating to the rear for rest, repairs, and reinforcements.
Also on the 24th, 107 Slovakian A-304 Assault Bombers of 1 BombPluk appeared in the skies over Kowel. They were intercepted at 5am, before they could drop any bombs on target. It had all the makings of a turkeyshoot, but at 6am, JG 4, Genmaj. Fisser's half-strength geschwäder of Me-109's showed up to defend the Slovak bombers. LtGenAv. Rog's 496 Yak-7's made short work of the lubering Slovakian planes, shooting down 33 enemy bombers before they fled the area. Mostly due to Fisser's Me-109's, 10 Yak-7's were lost in the fighting, though they did take a further 4 Me-109's with them.
The Il-10's of II ShAK flew 8 missions over Luboml (27th-30th), killing over 1.200 enemy combattants.
LtGenAv. Yakovlev's Yak-4's flew 6 missions over Maloryta (22nd-24th / Battle of Kowel), and 3 over Kowel (28th & 30th / Battle of Rozyszcze).
I BAK's Yak-4's were even more active, flying 4 missions over Switaz (23rd-24th), 1 mission over Chelm (25th / Battle of Luboml), and 5 missions over Zamosc (28th-30th / Battle of Zolkiew).
2nd Ukrainian Front (2nd Ukr. F. / Ukrainian SSR between the Western Bug & Dniestr): 3 AG / Brjansk HQ:
"Look at that. We seem to have struck a nerve. Half of Army Group South is bearing down on us. We must be doing something right! Now, let's try to stop them."
- MajGen Badanov of 77 GvSD after his division came under fire from close to 50.000 Axis troops during the 2nd Battle of Rawa Ruska. Casualties were atrocious, but the Guards managed to hang on, for 12 hours, to some Western Polish real estate. Plenty of medals will surely be awarded for their bravery.
77 GvSD's advance into Rawa Ruska (1) was delayed by the arrival of a battered 6 ID in the area at 4pm on the 23rd, by 3 hours. Fresher, but less numerous Hungarian Infantry proved more of a roadblock upon their arrival at 7am the next day. MajGen. Badanov's Guards Riflemen needing 26 hours to deal with 6 Gly, before finally occupying Rawa Ruska (1).
Faced with the presence of 77 GvSD in an area on their side of the Litvinov-von Neurath line, the OKH pulled out all the stops to throw them out of Rawa Ruska (4). Genlt. von Cochenhausen took the lead of a massive force of 5 German Infantry Divisions (2 of them Motorised), 1 Bulgarian Infantry Division, and 6 sPzD. They attacked MajGen. Badanov Guards Riflemen from 4 sides at noon on the 26th. Faced with more than six times their number, under fire from all sides, they held on for 10 hours before breaking ranks. Close to 1.300 of their number had been killed, more than 100 every hour, for barely more than 70 enemies.
MajGen. Odintsov's 13 SD in Jaworow (2), having come under heavy attack at 4pm on the 20th, continued to hold the Eastern bank of the river San against Genlt. von Cochenhausen's 4 sPzD. The battle started to turn in the enemy's favour when 60 ID reinforced the attack at 7pm on the 24th. The Infantry wasn't bogged down by lorries and King tigers, making a river-crossing significantly less hazardous. Our forces were already weary from the constant game of cat and mouse they had been playing with the enemy's heavy panzers across the river, and during the night the enemy broke through the line to establish a beachhead. Once it became clear what had happened, Odinstov quickly realised his troops didn't stand much of a chance against fresher enemy soldiers backed up by King Tigers on their side on the river. 13 SD was withdrawn at 10am on the 25th, leaving behind 1.000 dead riflemen, and having killed close to 900 enemies.
Arriving too late to reinforce the routed 13 SD, at 1pm, 74 SD attempted to push the Germans back into the San (3). Making little headway, they called it quits 5 hours later.
| Forces engaged in battle: | Forces killed in action | Prisoners of War |
Hungary | 5.999 | 273 | 0 |
Bulgaria | 8.909 | 15 | 0 |
Germany | 71.568 | 964 | 0 |
AXIS | 86.476 | 1.252 | 0 |
Soviet Union | 53.998 | 2.574 | 0 |
| Air to ground damage | KIA air crew | Fighters deployed | Fighters lost | Bombers deployed | Bombers lost |
AXIS | 1.841 KIA | | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Soviet Union | 0 KIA | 26 | 124 x La-7 (Ftr) | 4 x La-7 (Ftr) | 248 x Il-10 (CAS) | 11 x Il-10 (CAS) |
Marshall Av. Novikov's own II ShAK flew 7 missions over Jaroslaw (22nd-25th / Battle of Jaworow), eliminating over 1.300 targets. This was followed by a single attack on Jaworow on the 25th. After some missions to the North, the Il-10's returned to fly 2 missions over Przemysl today (31st / Battle of Zolkiew)
3rd Ukrainian Front (3rd UF. / Hungarian Border West of Skole) 3 AG & 4 AG / Odessa HQ:
"And there goes another one, up in flames. Hey Fritz! Just keep sending in those Panzer's. We've just gotten a new batch of AP rounds, they're just waiting for you to be fired."
An Artillery Sergeant lightening the mood of his crew manning a well-positioned 100mm BS-3 Anti-Tank Gun in the Hills of Drohobycz (2). Even after 4 days of shooting enemy vehicles, 8 PzD keeps sending in tanks, and they keep getting destroyed. As it stands the battle ended the next morning.
At 7pm on the 21st, MajGen. Lvov launched an ambitious 2-Division offensive to take the hills at Svalava (1), held by 5 Hungarian Units. Despite routing one of the enemy Divisions, it proved unsuccessful, and with more than 600 dead riflemen for fewer than 300 of the enemy, the operation was halted at 3pm the next day.
Another attempt was made on the 24th as MajGen. Vinogradov's 27 SD charged into Svalava (1) at 1am, only to withdraw at noon in the face of stiff resistance, having 4 men for every enemy killed.
Meanwhile, Genlt. Kirchner's attack on Drohobycz, started at 1pm on the 19th, continued in full force with 8 PzD and a Hungarian Infantry Division charging down MajGen Ermakov's dug-in 143 SD, and the recently arrived 56 SD, in the dense forest. On the 23rd, a series of sudden enemy breakthroughs caught Ermakov's men unawares while they were still setting up their ambushes. This lead to the rout of his Division, with the last elements withdrawing at 6pm. MajGen. Novikov V.V.'s 56 SD continued the fight on it's own, and it soon became clear that executing those breakthroughs had sapped the last of the enemy's energy and organisation. Kirchner's exhausted forces were forced to withdraw at 7am on the 24th, leaving behind over 1.700 dead bodies. 1.200 casualties were counted on our side.
A probe into Uzhorod (3) a few hours later showed, at a cost of over 350 men, that Kirchner's two retreating Divisions were shielded by 2 fresh Hungarian units.
Hungarian forces probed our defences in Drohobycz (4) from Svalava that afternoon, sustaining fewer than 100 casualties.
56 SD went on another probing short mission at 10am on the 26th, this time in Svalava (5), revealing the province to be defended by 5 units, including 4 PzD at the cost of close to 200 casualties.
In spite of that last probe, or maybe because of it, MajGen. Lvov ordered a full-out 2-pronged, 2-Division attack on Svalava (1 & 5) at 9pm on the 26th. The result was predictable and regrettable. As both 182 SD, and 176 SD withdrew, at noon the next day, after 17 hours of fighting in the Hungarian hills, outnumbered 2 to 1, over 650 Soviet and fewer than 250 enemy casualties were counted.
| Forces engaged in battle: | Forces killed in action | Prisoners of War |
Germany | 29.606 | 1.683 | 0 |
Hungary | 173.114 | 811 | 0 |
AXIS | 202.720 | 2.494 | 0 |
Soviet Union | 109.633 | 3.406 | 0 |
| Air to ground damage | KIA air crew | Fighters deployed | Fighters lost | Bombers deployed | Bombers lost |
Hungary | | 126 | 363 x CR.42 (Int) | 34 x CR.42 (Int) | 99 x Ju-87 (CAS) | 46 x Ju-87 (CAS) |
AXIS | 1.265 KIA | 126 | | | | |
Soviet Union | 0 KIA | 63 | 372 x Yak-7 (Int)
248 x La-7 (Ftr) | 0 x Yak-7 (Int)
17 x La-7 (Ftr) | 495 x Il-10 (CAS)
201 x Yak-4 (Tac) | 14 x Il-10 (CAS)
9 x Yak-4 (Tac) |
V ShAK flew 2 missions over Svalava on the 24th. When LtGenAv. Goryunov's Il-10s started bombing Uzhorod (battle of Drohobycz) at 9am on the 25th, they were intercepted by over 360 Hungarian CR.42 biplanes. Genlt. Rakosi's fighters were back in action, but so were LtGenAv. Rychagov's 372 Yak-7's less than an hour later. The final tally after three hours of dogfighting was of 34 biplanes, 12 Il-10's, 12 La-7's, and no Yak-7's shot down.
At 2pm that same day, Genmaj. Orosz's 99 Ju-87's (out of 124) were intercepted over Sambor, before they even got to their destination, by IV IAK. Rychagov's fighters had a field day, shooting down 46 enemy dive-bombers in a little under 3 hours, forcing their remaining planes to return to base. No Yak-7's were shot down in the encounter.
The Il-10's under direct command of MarshallAv. Novikov flew 2 missions over Svalava on the 27th.
LtGenAv. Golovanov's I BAK supported first the battle of Drohobycz, then the ongoing battle of Uzhorod, by bombing Uzhorod 5 times (26th-27th & 31st)
4th Ukrainian Front (4th Ukr. F. / Hungarian Border East of Dolina) 3 AG & 4 AG / Odessa HQ:
"I had them right where I wanted them! What a shame. But we'll have them in the end, as soon as we deal with this annoying flank attack, we'll go right back in."
A frustrated MajGen Erastov after he has to call off his offensive into Rachov (2 & 3) that was all but won because the Hungarians are attacking his flank.
The defensive battle in the Mountains of Jablonow (1), having started on the 18th, turned resolutely in our favour on the 21st, as 141 SD reinforced MajGen Makeev's 25 SD. As Genlt. Balck's 5 PzD soon found out, they had brought a Regiment of SU-100's into the fight, a great tool to ambush Panzer IV's on narrow Mountain roads. efusing to withdraw, the German Unit was decimated over the following two days, withdrawing at 6pm on the 22nd, after they were attacked on their Northern flank. They left behind close to 1.300 bodies, many of them still trapped in the smouldering wrecks of tanks and lorries on narrow mountain roads. Our own forces lost fewer than 400 of their number, most of them in the early fazes of the battle.
184 SD's 4am attack on Rachov (2) had been meant to force 5 PzD to pull out of Jablonow, but that wasn't enough for MajGen. Erastov. As the battered 5 PzD withdrew from Rachov shortly after 6pm, he ordered the Assault to continue despite heavy Counter-Attacks by Hungarian Infantry. This decision started to look a lot better as 141 SD moved to even the odds by attacking the enemy flank (3) at midnight. The Hungarians were starting to buckle under the pressure when 13 Gly arrived in the evening of the 24th to reinforce the defence. Even that proved too little too late, and what had started out as a spoiling attack against the odds turned into an offensive victory, albeit a costly one. Over 1.400 Soviet riflemen lost their life, for 550 of the enemy.
Before the province could be occupied, however, another Hungarian Division snuck in to stop the Red Army's liberation of Rachov (2 & 3). Immediately, a new offensive was launched, headed up by the fresh 51 SD, but after 6 hours of mostly favourable nightly skirmishes, our forces had to withdraw to face a new enemy attack on Stanislawow (4). Genmaj. Ternegg's 3am attack was 4 Divisions strong, but MajGen. Larichev's three defending Divisions counted more men and many more Artillery pieces. A dangerous flanking attack by 55 SD into Volove (5) made matters even worse for the Hungarians, and at 6am they withdrew, followed 3 hours later by 55 SD. Both sides suffered minimal casualties in these skirmishes as most units involved were exhausted and/or distracted.
| Forces engaged in battle: | Forces killed in action | Prisoners of War |
Germany | 8.741 | 1.299 | 0 |
Hungary | 126.021 | 673 | 0 |
AXIS | 134.762 | 1.972 | 0 |
Soviet Union | 109.190 | 1.923 | 0 |
| Air to ground damage | KIA air crew | Fighters deployed | Fighters lost | Bombers deployed | Bombers lost |
AXIS | 781 KIA | | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Soviet Union | 0 KIA | 17 | 124 x La-7 (Ftr) | 5 x La-7 (Ftr) | 248 x Il-10 (CAS) | 6 x Il-10 (CAS) |
LtGenAv. Kutakhov made the Hungarian's lives even more miserable in Rachov, his III ShAK flying 8 missions over the provice. (28th-31st).
Black Sea Fleet (Black Sea, Aegean Sea & Mediterranean Sea) BSF / Odessa HQ:
"What do you mean 'they lost their bow but they're okay'?" ... "So now I've got half a Destroyer floating around out there. Well get it back to base, and arrange a fighter escort. We must save that ship, and if we can't, we must not loose that crew."
- RADM Golovko when a member of his staff attempts to explain what happened to that one Destroyer that ate a 450mm torpedo and lost it's bow.
While the main Black Sea Fleet has been deputised to the Baltic Fleet, RADM Golovko's I. Avianosets Flote patrols the Aegean Sea, while RADM Eliseev's IV FP continues it's convoy-hunting efforts in the Central Mediterranean, just to the East of the Straits of Messina & Malta. The Aegean patrol serves the clear purpose of securing the approaches to our Mediterranean base in Mythinléné and withholding supplies from Italian bases in the Area.
The second mission has proved a bit more controversial amongst those in the know, at least in private. Several people have expressed doubts about the usefulness of the submarines' mission to our own war aims. By disrupting trade to Libya, we are, in effect, helping the United Kingdom to take it. As opposed to the USA, they have offered no help to the Soviet Union's war effort, they haven't even allowed us to purchase production licenses while the Soviet Union is fighting their enemies. There is an option on the table for IV FP to change it's area of operations to the Adriatic Sea.
| Air to ground damage | KIA air crew | Fighters deployed | Fighters lost | Bombers deployed | Bombers lost |
Italy | 0 | 318 | 0 | 0 | 224 x SM.79 | 53 x SM.79 |
AXIS | 0 KIA | | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Soviet Union | 10,3% of 2 FE (0.5 ships)
136 Sailors KIA | 17 | 128 x La-7VM (CAS) | 1 x La-7VM (CAS) | 248 x Il-10 (CAS) | 6 x Il-10 (CAS) |
While on patrol in the Western Aegean Sea, I Avianosets Flote was surprised by a large formation of low-flying Italian Naval Bombers. The Combat Air Patrol, consisting of 8 La-7VM's, immediately engaged the threat and on board both Kyiv-Class Carriers, La-7VM fighters were sent up as quickly as humanly possible to engage the 224 SM.79 torpedo bombers of SA I (Squadra Aerea) under Gen.S.A. (LtGenAv.) di Ferro. Luckily, the good weather of the Mediterranean allows for the deck parking of 16 fighters (2 squadrons) on each Carrier, and thus an additional 32 fighters were quickly dispatched in the direction of the approaching threat. Significantly, the construction and mechanism of the 2 aft elevators was inspired by British CVL elevator designs, and not by Béarn's elevators. This means that they take less than a minute to cycle, as opposed to 3, and 5 minutes on Béarn. It still took a further 15 minutes to get the remaining 56 fighters in the air. Il-10VM's were launched afterwards to add to the confusion, and 50 minutes in the number of Red Navy aeroplanes was doubled as reserves arrived from Mythiléné.
This slight delay and the sheer number of enemy planes was enough for the first squadron of SM.79's to drop their torpedo's without distraction, aiming squarely at the Destroyers of 2. Flotiliya Esmintsev. The lead ship, a Sevastopol-Class Destroyer, was hit by two 450mm (17,7") torpedoes. The one that hit the stern was a dud, but the other, which hit the bow didn't. The entire bow of the vessel was severed and quickly sank, while a positively heroic effort by the remaining crew members kept the rest just barely afloat. This was the only recorded hit. Meanwhile, the dogfight was won decisively under the leadership of RADMAv. Vershinin, who's own squadron chased the Italian bombers all the way to the Ionian sea before returning to the Fleet.
Totals losses:
Last 10 days | Engaged in Battle | Killed in battle | Killed by bombs | Air Crew KIA | KIA at sea | Total KIA | Prisoners of War |
Slovakia | 8.907 | 120 | / | 99 | 0 | 219 | 0 |
Bulgaria | 58.447 | 2.560 | / | 0 | 0 | 2.560 | 0 |
Hungary | 334.366 | 2.050 | / | 126 | 0 | 2.176 | 0 |
Italy | 38.948 | 2.703 | / | 318 | 0 | 3.021 | 0 |
Germany | 582.113 | 20.195 | / | 457 | 1.319 | 21.971 | 0 |
AXIS | 1.022.781 | 27.628 | 14.601 | 1.000 | 1.319 | 44.548 | 0 |
Soviet Union | 1.132.213 | 26.547 | 132 | 327 | 136 | 27.142 | 0 |
GPW (70 days) | Engaged in Battle | Killed in battle | Killed by bombs | Air Crew KIA | KIA at sea | Total KIA | Prisoners of War |
Slovakia | 43.839 | 2.912 | / | 209 | 0 | 3.121 | 0 |
Bulgaria | 127.979 | 5.941 | / | 33 | 310 | 6.284 | 0 |
Hungary | 1.573.452 | 18.399 | / | 886 | 0 | 19.285 | 0 |
Italy | 72.680 | 3.345 | / | 573 | 1.003 | 4.921 | 0 |
Germany | 4.596.499 | 151.401 | / | 5.082 | 6.435 | 162.918 | 18.294 |
AXIS | 6.414.449 | 181.998 | 97.275 | 6.781 | 7.748 | 293.802 | 18.294 |
Soviet Union | 8.470.753 | 155.586 | 1.904 | 4.764 | 1.267 | 163.521 | 57.778 |
Aeroplane losses:
GPW (70 days) | Fighters | Small Bombers | Medium Bombers | Large Bombers | Transports |
Slovakia | / | 69 x A.304 | / | / | / |
Bulgaria | 33 x He-51B | / | / | / | / |
Hungary | 194 x CR.32/CR.42 | 249 x Ju-87B-2 | 270 x Ju-86K-2 | / | / |
Italy | / | / | 53 x SM.79-III
41 x CZ.1007bis | / | 11 x SM.75bis |
Germany | 788 x FW-190A-3
555 x Me-109G-5 | 81 x Hs-129B-2 | 983 x Ju-88A-4 | 45 x Ju-290 | 8 x Me-232D-1 |
AXIS | 782 x Int, 788 x Ftr | 399 x CAS | 1.294 x Tac, 53 x Nav | 45 x Nav | 19 x Tra |
Soviet Union | 756 x Yak-7
847 x La-7
238 x La-7VM |
828 x Il-10
238 x Il-10VM | 408 x Yak-4 | 47 x TB-3 | 47 x Li-2 |
The past ten days, there have been two major offensives with rather different results:
The 2nd Baltic Front, reinforced with large parts of 2ya Tankovaya Armiya, saw a massive armoured thrust towards Memel and the Baltic Sea, all under the leadership of ColGen. Zhukov of 2ya Tankovaya Armiya. ColGen Bagramian of 6ya Armiya following up with the foot soldiers to strengthen the newly liberated positions. The army is hopeful that the current momentum can be maintained all the way to the Baltic coast, resulting in the formation of a pocket that would contain an estimated 10-15 Divisions, amongst which the elite 16 PzGrD, 1 sPzD, and a Fallschirmjäger Division. It goes without saying that removing such a number of enemy fighting units from the equation at this point would be a great boost to Morale, and to our capacity to take the initiative.
Along the 1st Ukrainian Front, the beginnings of a Major German offensive have been contained by ColGen Vassilevskij's 7ya Armiya. Once the enemy spearheads were pinned down, the stubborn Germans turned it into a big meat-grinder. As a result, many units in the area are in a state of partial or full disorganised chaos. If the casualty numbers are any indication, Axis forces have suffered just as much on the ground, in addition to the relentless pounding they took from the VVS. STAVKA expects this to be reflected in a similarly bad, or even worse, level of organisation amongst the enemy units facing the 1st UF. The only caveat to that assertion is that the Axis seems to have more units in the area, so the 1st Ukrainian Front could be in for another series of nasty meat-grinder next week.
Along the Hungarian border, fighting was fierce as ever, but no headway was made by either side. Tough battles are ongoing, and there is a real possibility that 4ya Armiya will be able to slowly roll up the Hungarian Lines from the East, shortening the 4th Ukrainian Front in the process. Of course, the difficulties of the 3rd & 4th Ukrainian Fronts are due, to a large extent, to the mountainous terrain on the border. Once they get past the mountains, the going could suddenly become a whole lot easier.
As mentioned above, Operation Tundra Wolf is still going as planned, fingers crossed that we can take Kristiansand relatively quickly.
The prickly question of where to hunt for subs in the Med remains just as prickly as RADM Eliseev, who still hasn't fully accepted his transfer from the main Soviet Carrier Fleet to a small Flotilla of obsolescent submarines.
As always, your input is valued,
Greetings,
'Odin'
OOC: I've given all the sectors OTL Front names, and for those where there was no Front OTL, I've followed the same nomenclature. (Danish Front & Norwegian Front). As the Axis hasn't managed to break through into Russia proper, fronts named after Russian cities remain off the table. Once we push into Axis territory, I will be renaming the fronts, and merging/splitting them as I go. I won't follow the historical example of having so-called 'Ukrainian' Fronts fighting in Austria, and having 2 Byelorussian fronts and a Ukrainian front fighting in the Berlin area...
Coming up: Some bonus artwork to accompany this GPW report.