Doppelgänger: the Untold Story of the Third Reich
Sometime during the night of Saturday 12th October, the Soviet armour quietly pulled out of
Rahachow. Von Kleist had demonstrated that infantry, with some panzer support, could defeat massed enemy tanks. Let us see if Kreysing’s infantry, lacking any support, can do the same in
Romanesti, where before dawn on Sunday 56,000 mountain, regular and SS troops attacked 10th Tankovaya Diviziya.
Once again a week started well, with the Luftwaffe getting seven formations flying (It ended the day with 17 missions and about 2,600 enemy killed). Kuntzen took
Krassny after heavy fighting, but and von Bock was disappointed to see the Soviet infantry pull back from
Niezwiez. Three consecutive wins for General Hoth’s panzerarmee. To the north, Paulus may have been disappointed with the result from
Demjasnk, but what else could he expect? Recapturing the city, lost through criminal negligence, will take more than one attacking infantry division. In the far south, the NKVD broke and ran from Melitopol before serious damage could be done to them.
Another fairly hopeless attack was mounted on
Smolensk, but Weiss insists this is a serious attempt to take the city. To me it appears far more like a reconnaissance in force, designed to identify enemy strongpoints and tire the defenders. If Weiss persists and pushes deep into the suburbs, it could get nasty. In the meantime, it was General von Manstein’s turn to celebrate, as von Speck showed he could both defend his own base and keep up pressure on
Nardoychi. The last of the Russian attackers staggered out of
Malyn, leaving more than 25% of their comrades behind in the mud. A probe into the marshes of
Baranowicze was just as costly, but still the Red Army persisted, sending 65th “Tyumen” Rifle Division to again take on von Bock in Nieswiez.
A constant danger in city fighting: counter-attacks by Soviet assault teams
At 4PM General von Speck was able to report his second victory for the day:
Narodychi was a close run thing but a victory nonetheless. Not only a tremendous effort to run a defensive and attacking battle simultaneously, but a great step in shutting off the Pripyat. Forcing the Soviets to use supply lines thought the swamps will be of great assistance, so every clear ground province is priceless.
Von Falkenhorst, short of not only panzers but also regular infantry, has been forced to use his marines, gebirgsjägers and Italian Alpini against another Soviet tank division, this time to retake
Ovidiopol. Schlemmer has a four to one advantage, so he could pull it off, but the record of light infantry against armour is not good. As an example, in
Hlusk 2.PzD cut the mass of Soviet irregulars to pieces while losing less than 500 men.
To the north of
Leningrad, in
Sestroresk, the last of 26.ID “Dom” had landed. General Vlasov, after ensuring that General Student was confident that 7th Flieger could hold off any Soviet attack from the north, took his men south to join the siege of
Leningrad which is looking very promising. The troopships that delivered his men returned at full speed to Tallinn where 22nd Luftlande was loaded.
The day ended in the same spot as it had begun:
Rahachow. General Faklenklo is using two armour divisions to try to drive out von Kleist, who has only his own infantry available. It will interesting to see if von Kleist can show the same ability to handle enemy armour in defence as he did in attack.
An impressive start (8,000 to 22,000 casualties), but after last week I place little reliance on a day’s performance.
Road and rail construction and repair were completed in
Tuchyn,
Gaivoron and
Uman, but no funds were available for more infrastructure work, at least not at the moment. Demands for replacement equipment, as well as upgrades, are just too high. Not to mention the need for additional support brigades for existing units that are suffering badly against enemy tanks.
Weiss did order his men out of
Smolensk some time after midnight, but I would argue he left it too long. Nearly 3,000 men did not make it out, and enemy losses were tiny. Let the Luftwaffe hit the city while we surround it: that is the way to save lives. The only other major event during the night was Bohnstedt’s attack on
Akciabrski. He has prepared well, the Tigers of 1st schwere Panzer division plus the medium tanks of 2.PzD to stiffen 20.ID (mot). Vinogradov’s three armour divisions, already showing signs of wear and tear, have little or no chance. Their best option is to flee now.
A Tiger is unusual enough to attract attention from the troops who will fight alongside it: unfortunately they will remain rare.
We managed three victories in Russia on Monday, but two of them were not the sort we would like to see repeated. Veiel’s staunch defence of
Nelidovo was an example to others of the courage needed to defeat the Red Army, but 7,500 of our soldiers perished. At least the Russians suffered more. In
Vesele, where Tittel triumphed over the Soviet armour, despite everyone’s concern’s at the ability of his men to defeat tanks, our losses were comparable, but the Russians were barely hurt. Only
Romanesti was a reasonable success, and that was partly due to the Romanians shouldering half the casualties.
For once the poor result in Russia was matched by our losses in a defeat in France. The doomed yet still determined Vichy garrison of
Toulouse fought like demons against a combined German-Italian assault on the city, and the Axis force was driven back in a humiliating manner. Taking this critical province must wait for another day.
The end of those battles gave both sides something to consider and only
Hlobyne saw fresh combat, with Wetzel clashing with Kurasov. Both forces are made up of armour and infantry, and both are roughly 40,000 strong. Our commanders often boast that man for man and vehicle for vehicle we are more than a match for the Red Army: this is a chance to prove it.
Hlobyne: an equal contest for once, and one we will win
Infrastructure in
Wlodzimierz Wolynski was upgraded, and the factories that have been busy producing road and rail construction equipment and materials have been given new orders. These are for artillery, flak and anti-tank equipment, enough to furnish twelve regiments. It will be some months before these are ready, but when they arrive an infantry brigade will be withdrawn from each of our fortress divisions. This will allow the formation of four new combat divisions at a low cost in manpower.
There had been no battles ended overnight, but the Red Army used the time to launch two powerful attacks, both of which were successfully completed by noon. Our only attack was defeated at about the same time. While characterised as “probes”, we lost two provinces (
Ochakiv and
Peno) and 3,500 men in these small actions. Only one battle that began before daylight was large enough to continue: Lüter’s drive on
Kresttsy, a province in which we have previously lost a large number of men.
The day was not quiet, but neither was there frantic action. Four battles ended, four began. Luftwaffe activity dropped sharply, and we did suffer a major defeat in
Mitino, but I was not too unhappy. Other than the disastrous result General Karl’s attack on
Korovin, results were good, with a close win in
Boryspil and clear victories in
Nieswiez and
Hlobyne. (The latter a demonstration that the general opinion is correct: we are more than a match for the Soviets when we clash on equal terms). The Soviet attacks in
Borodjanka and
Romanesti are small and hold little threat of success, while the larger force attacking
Nelidovo is up against 1.PzD and 76.ID. I am not too happy at our incursion into
Lelchysty, but Knittel has taken three regular divisions into the swamps and hopes weight of numbers will be enough.
Stavka must have been impressed with the success of its tactics the previous night: attacks by overwhelming forces in the dark. The same method was used before dawn on Tuesday, with mixed results. Student easily held
Sestroresk, but von Senger und Etterlin’s 36.ID was badly beaten in
Melitopol, retreating in panic.
Another attack in Sestroresk beaten off, men of 7th Flieger can relax
Luftwaffe missions dropped to just five for the whole day, but luckily the Heer stepped up its performance, not in quantity of attacks but in efficiency of its ongoing battles. Vinogradov elected to stand and fight Bohnstedt’s well-balanced force, and it cost him dearly as he lost 3,500 men and his province of
Akciabrski. And von Kleist showed again that his infantry could defeat Feklenko’s tanks, destroying 20% of the attacking force.
Toulouse was again the target in France. Feurstein has put together an impressive assault group: five Italian divisions plus 46.ID. There is also a Yugoslav division that appears to be under Italian control. Obviously our allies are getting on better than we knew. The
Toulouse garrison, led by General de Boisseau de Ligne, comprises 18 combat divisions and 19 headquarters, but only totals 65,859 men. It is clear that the defenders have suffered dreadfully in the weeks and months of fighting that has seen them retreat across most of France, but nobody thinks they will surrender easily.
Vichy fires pins down our soldiers: Toulouse will be difficult to capture
Also likely to be hard and costly are the three battles begun in Russia. Why von Hubicki wants to attack six divisions, three of them armoured, in
Kozelshchyna is beyond me. Von Schobert’s assault on
Demjansk is easier to understand, but I would have preferred him to use more than just 50.ID. The final attack of the day was a Soviet attempt to retake
Hlobyne. Wetzel has only been able to get his own 12.ID into place and Petrovskiy has three formations, one armoured, engaged, so this is a battle we will need to watch.
A promising sign towards the end of the day was a probe into
Karma. This province is just north of
Homel, the key to the Pripyat bulge. Although the men were called back at the first indication of resistance, hopefully it means that Hoth has plans for a full scale attack.
More road works were completed on Thursday but all industrial capacity was transferred to weapon production: our losses have created a huge backlog for replacements. We must keep every unit in peak condition as we cannot afford the luxury of having dozens of divisions in the rear waiting their turn for equipment and men. As it is, we have been forced to send Streccius’ XI Armeekorps to
Suwalki to protect against a breakout from the Pripyat. It sounds impressive, but XI Armeekorps is in fact just Kempf’s 19.ID. Dollman will get better use from the newly attached VI Armeekorps (Wodrig) with its three infantry divisions, though they lack support units.
Paulus now has revised objectives for his Armee. He is now authorised to begin the assault of Leningrad, but has been instructed to ensure that Sestroresk is supported. It should not be long before a major attack is launched on the city.
Leningrad: soon our aircraft and soldiers will focus attention on the city
After all, it was not long for List to seek revenge for the humiliation of
Mitino. Early on 17th Weisenburger was on the move, reaching the province just after the arrival of 43rd and 90th Rifle Divisions. On the face of it a tough fight, but 6.ID is fresher than its opponents and we may be able to win the battle before Korovin can call for help.
Smolensk is again under attack, this time by 44th Reichsgrenadier Division. The defences are as strong as before, but the defenders themselves are weakening. Our other early attack is less exciting, as Nähring risks the bogs of
Dobryn against huge odds. His opponents are not weaker, but may in fact be stronger, now nearly 60,000 men.
The Red Army, showing persistence if not wisdom, mounted a third attack in von Kleist in
Rahachow. They would get a surprise, as 14.PzD had joined him. General Zhukov will find his armour/cavalry assault lacks the punch it needs to win this battle.
As the day progressed, the Luftwaffe slowly increased the number of aircraft it could deploy, reaching a total of 9 luftkorps by nightfall. Only about 15 missions were flown though, so plenty of room for improvement. On the ground we were far more active. Von Pfeffer-Wildenbruch, having rallied his Slovakian SS, was back fighting for
Ochakiv, while
Peno was once more the site of a significant battle as Fischer used IRGD, the Finnish 3rd Divisioona and the recently reinforced Panzerabteilung (zbV) 40 to dispute ownership with Filatov’s two mechanised brigades and Guards motorised division. Further north the Finn’s were also in action, Wilkama commanding the attack on
Nova Ladoga. (We don’t have much hope of victory, but it ties up troops who could be more dangerous elsewhere.) To top it off, Keppler began the siege of Leningrad in earnest. 90,000 men have been committed, and it looks very promising so far.
Signs have gone up in Leningrad, warning of our attack: “Danger citizens, this side of the street is especially dangerous during bombing”
Unfortunately the promises of success did not carry over onto the battles that were being finalised.
Kresttsy, despite the Luftwaffe’s assistance, was another severe defeat, Lüters unable to make a dent in the defence.
Hlobyne was a smaller defeat, but just as depressing in the loss ratio and the fact that Wetzel was not able to hold onto his recently acquired territory.
Voznesenske was a win for de Angelis, but the Dniepr cost him a lot of men.
Berezan was a victory in that we captured the province, but in every other aspect it was a disaster. Von Obstfelder may take pride in his achievement, but another win like that will see him posted to guard duty in
Kirkenes. It was left to Lucht in France to deliver a win in which we lost fewer men than the enemy.
Two battles to end the day, both Soviet instigated. The Hungarian General Bargha commands the German/Italian/Hungarian garrison of
Tighina, and he has indicated he sees no way of resisting Belous’ 90,000 attackers. Many of our men are dead on their feet and ammunition is low. Defeat is certain, it is just the magnitude which is in question. In
Dukovshchina, however, General Leeb is just as sure that 10.ID (mot) can hold off the Soviet armour and mechanised troops.
Late news from
Tokyo: another huge loss in Mae Hong Son. What is going on in the east? Why are the Japanese not using their own army to support the fragile and apparently weak units of the China-Nanjing government?
Friday 18th September – during the night General von Kleist won
Rahachow for the third time in less than a week. Surely the Russians will give up now? Luftwaffe operations appear back to normal – about 16 missions involving six units. Could the Heer atone for the more than 20,000 men lost in Thursday?
If staying in place and defending territory was atonement then that may be way the Heer sees to rehabilitate its reputation. Not one battle was started by German troops. Perhaps the Red Army was also finding itself overstretched, as its only attack was in
Krasnyy, and that was hardly a threat to Weiss’ control of the province. As it began at 2AM, it may have begun before an order to reduce the level of combat was issued.
With no new battles, the three battles decided did slow the tempo significantly. The results of these battles were confusing: our one defeat was, in terms of casualties suffered and inflicted, the best for the Heer.
Romanesti, defended by a hodge-podge of Germans and Italians, was held, but at a price, as was
Borodjanka. It was only in
Chornobai, which Auer finally abandoned, that the Red Army paid heavily.
Otherwise, the only news was from the Department of Foreign Affairs. Romania granted us transit rights, not that we needed them. (And if we needed them, we would have taken them). More significant and bewildering, our embassy in Tokyo reported a huge victory parade. What confused most of us in Berlin, is that we are unaware of any conflict involving large numbers of Japanese troops. We assume the victory was against the British, but where?
Was the Japanese victory on the border with Malaya?
Nobody worried too much about events on the far side of the world, as an evaluation of the last six days in Russia revealed a turn-around. The Heer had sharply reduced its losses while lifting those it inflicted to near parity. When taken in conjunction with the Luftwaffe’s efforts, for the first time in weeks we have lost fewer men than the Red Army. Nothing to get too excited about, but something to spark hope of a reversal of our fortunes.
Finalised Battles for Barbarossa Days 440 – 445 (Sep 13-18 1942)
Location (Armee)
| Result
| German casualties (engaged)
| Soviet casualties (engaged)
|
| | | |
1st Rahachow (PAH)
| Victory
| 509 (67,500)
| 1,820 (70,746)
|
1st Nieswiez (PAH)
| Victory
| 446 (17,727)
| 6,532 (27,475)
|
Krasnyy (PAH)
| Victory
| 2,346 (54,584)
| 4,163 (44,634)
|
Melitopol (RA)
| Victory
| 28 (21,896)
| 283 (2,554)
|
Demjansk (LA)
| Defeat
| 2,922 (22,751)
| 522 (89,473)
|
Malyn (PAvM)
| Victory
| 115 (72,612)
| 2,674 (9,596)
|
Narodychi (PAvM)
| Victory
| 2,031 (58,652)
| 1,917 (56,287)
|
Hlusk (PAH)
| Victory
| 445 (32,692)
| 3,581 (28,133)
|
Smolensk (MA)
| Defeat
| 2,867 (44,082)
| 125 (34,910)
|
1st Romanesti (AotC)
| Victory
| 1,541 (112,507) [767]
| 1,423 (10,223)
|
Nelidovo (PAH)
| Victory
| 7,554 (64,164)
| 11,249 (122,009)
|
Vesele (RA)
| Victory
| 7,181 (32,429)
| 407 (52,881)
|
2nd Nieswiez (PAH)
| Victory
| 41 (17,167)
| 1,488 (16,487)
|
Boryspil (PAvM)
| Victory
| 2,543 (19,824)
| 3,976 (33,142)
|
Mitino (MA)
| Major Defeat
| 8,031 (771)
| 771 (53,515)
|
1st Hlobyne (RA)
| Victory
| 82 (41,458)
| 2,710 (40,156)
|
Akciabrski (PAH)
| Victory
| 1,096 (51,391)
| 3,548 (45,667)
|
2nd Rahachow (PAH)
| Victory
| 1,805 (46,100)
| 3,984 (22,222)
|
Kresttsy (MA)
| Defeat
| 4,053 (22,991)
| 628 (54,511)
|
2nd Hlobyne (RA)
| Defeat
| 1,318 (21,983)
| 90 (66,219)
|
Voznesenske (RA)
| Victory
| 7,533 (86,942)
| 5,827 (46,432)
|
Berezan (RA)
| Victory
| 14,426 (77,757)
| 2,944 (36,224)
|
3rd Rahachow (PAH)
| Victory
| 232 (44,271)
| 1,353 (19,128)
|
2nd Romanesti (AotC)
| Victory
| 4,574 (88,009)
| 1,930 (53,253)
|
Chornobai (PAvM)
| Defeat
| 1,715 (16,768)
| 5,152 (64,628)
|
Borodjanka (AotP)
| Victory
| 1,231 (85,838)
| 2,741 (15,480)
|
| | | |
| 20/6
| 75,891
| 71,838
|
Probe
Location (Armee)
| Attacker
| Result
| German losses
| Soviet lossses
|
| | | | |
Sestroresk x 3 (LA)
| Soviet
| Defeat
| Nil, 6, 1 (7)
| 53, 127, 14 (194)
|
Lelchytsy (PAvM)
| German
| Defeat
| 13
| 7
|
Kyiv x 3 (AotP)
| German
| Defeat
| 70, 93, 55 (218)
| Nil, 2, 6 (8)
|
Parfino x 4 (LA)
| Soviet
| Defeat
| 4, 2, 6, 4 (16)
| 17, 81, 76, 38 (212)
|
Proletariy x 3 (MA)
| Soviet
| Defeat
| 13, 7, 3 (23)
| 53, 54, 41 (148)
|
Dukovshchina (PAvM)
| Soviet
| Defeat
| Nil
| 71
|
Deniskowicze (PAH)
| German
| Defeat
| 90
| Nil
|
Baranwicze (MA)
| Soviet
| Defeat
| 30
| 342
|
Dobryn (PAvM)
| German
| Defeat
| 172
| 7
|
Rahachow (PAH)
| Soviet
| Defeat
| Nil
| 22
|
Borodjanka (AotP)
| Soviet
| Defeat
| 9
| 277
|
Narodychi (PAvM)
| Soviet
| Defeat
| Nil
| 54
|
Ochakiv (AotC)
| Soviet
| Victory
| 987
| 147
|
Peno (MA)
| Soviet
| Victory
| 2,065
| 373
|
Dobryn (PAvM)
| German
| Defeat
| 671
| 140
|
Melitopol (RA)
| Soviet
| Victory
| 3,094
| 116
|
Luga Batetskaya (LA)
| Soviet
| Defeat
| 8
| 142
|
Mala Vishera (MA)
| German
| Defeat
| 229
| 2
|
Karma (PAH)
| German
| Defeat
| 13
| 7
|
| | | | |
Total
| | | 7,645
| 2,269
|
Bombing Summary for Barbarossa Days 440 – 445 (Sep 13-18 1942)
Luftwaffe
Location (Armee)
| Air commander
| Air unit
| Casualties
|
| | | |
Brovary (AotP)
| Korten
| VII Kfk
| 74, 220, 235, 179, 182, 192, 48 (1,130)
|
Moshki (MA)
| Fröhlich
| III Kfk
| 80, 175, 171 (426)
|
| Udet
| IV Skfk
| 123, 54 (177)
|
Demjansk (MA)
| Lörzer
| III Skfk
| 87, 175, 226, 45, 185, 175 (893)
|
| Schweikhardt
| VI Kfk
| 120, 187, 64 (371)
|
Berezan (PAvM)
| Keller
| VIII Kfk
| 148, 200, 138, 172, 208, 53 (919)
|
Berezan (MA)
| Grauert
| IX Kfk
| 182, 258 (440)
|
Mitino (MA)
| Udet
| IV Skfk
| 155, 212 (367)
|
| Lörzer + Udet
| III + IV Skfk
| 95, 214, 305, 66, 58 (738)
|
Vesele (RA)
| Bülowius
| Skfk II
| 195, 163, 54, 81, 183, 197 (873)
|
Melitopol (RA)
| Grauert
| IX Kfk
| 76
|
Przhevalskoye (MA)
| Schweickhardt + Fröhlich
| VI + III Kfk
| 94, 175, 170 (439)
|
Voznesenske (RA)
| Grauert + Sperrle
| IX + I Kfk
| 80, 317, 113 (510)
|
| Von Richthofen + Sperrle
| V + I Kfk
| 322, 371 (693)
|
Olenino (MA)
| Fröhlich
| III Kfk
| 213, 232, 120 (565)
|
Mitino (MA)
| Kühl
| C.S.I.R.
| 51
|
Hlobyne (RA)
| Sperrle
| I Kfk
| 129, 224, 17 (370)
|
Chachersk (MA)
| Pflugbeil
| Escuadrilla Azul
| 42
|
Kresttsy (MA)
| Kühl
| C.S.I.R.
| 54, 97 (151)
|
| Lörzer
| III Skfk
| 220
|
| Fröhlich
| III Kfk
| 168, 225 (393)
|
Kozelshchyna (RA)
| Kesselring
| I Skfk
| 134
|
| Von Richthofen
| V kfk
| 100, 222, 66 (388)
|
Khorol (RA)
| Bülowius
| Skfk II
| 194, 214 (408)
|
| Sperrle + Dessloch
| I + IV Kfk
| 154, 332, 188, 54 (728)
|
Pyriatin (RA)
| Von Richthofen
| V Kfk
| 232
|
| Grauert
| IX Kfk
| 167, 278, 99 (544)
|
Peno (MA)
| Schweickhardt
| VI kfk
| 118, 183, 62 (363)
|
Kyiv (RA)
| Bülowius
| Skfk II
| 190
|
| | | |
Total
| | | 12,831
|
VVS
Location
| Commander
| Air units
| Casualties/result (Interceptor)
|
| | | |
Shklou
| Miranov
| 128, 137 ShAD (2 x CAS)
| Abort (Klepke)
|
Nelidovo
| Zhavarankov
| 212, 213 ShAD (2 x CAS)
| 19
|
Marevo
| Godkov
| 8th Ftr, 9th, 11th TAC (MRF, 2 x TAC)
| 47 (Kitzinger)
|
| | | |
Total
| | | 66
|
Unternehmen Barbarossa Days 440 – 445 (Sep 13-18 1942)
Nationality
| Ground Losses
| Bombing Losses
| Total
|
| | | |
German
| 75,981 + 7,645 = 83,626
| 66
| 83,692
|
Soviet
| 71,838 + 2,269 = 74,007
| 12,831
| 86,838
|
Unternehmen Gegenreaktion
Toulouse
| Defeat
| 6,532 (82,135) [3,420]
| 517 (34,229)
|
Orthez
| Victory
| 2,568 (52,767) [973)
| 3,870 (19,075)
|
| | | |
Total
| | 4,393
| 4,387
|
Ongoing battle
Toulouse (Urban): 12.8 degrees
Kempf (Shock): 46.ID
De Boisseau de Ligne (Delay) (nullified):1ère Division de Cuirrassée, 1re, 7ème, 12ème Division d’Infanterie RES: 32 x miscellaneous units
Vicious fighting in the suburbs, but Kempf is doing better than his predecessor. But why are the Italians just watching? We have asked them to assist.
Unternehmen Gegenreaktion: Ongoing Casualties
| Current
| Prior
| Total
|
| | | |
German Ground Losses
| 4,393
| 68,695
| 73,088
|
German Bombing Losses
| Nil
| 227
| 227
|
German Total Losses
| 4,393
| 68,922
| 73,315
|
| | | |
French Ground Losses
| 4,387
| 200,070
| 204,457
|
French Bombing Losses
| Nil
| 19,963
| 19,963
|
French Total Losses
| 4,387
| 220,033
| 224,420
|
Anti-partisan operations
Probe
Sorfjord
| Norway
| German
| Victory
| 93
| 38
|
Ongoing battles
Saltdal (Hills): -1.0 degrees
Brenner (Shock): SS Totenkopf detachments
Eriksen (Elastic defence): 1st Infanteridivisjon
Against regular Norwegian troops, the SS irregulars are making slow progress (31/8)
Slow progress continues (6/9)
Brenner insists he is winning, he just cannot convince the enemy of this (12/9)
Still the fighting continues and though it is low intensity, I worry that casualties are building up.
Barbarossa at midnight 18th September 1942: ongoing battles
Leningrad Armee (Paulus)
Objectives: Petrodvorets, Tosno, Schisselburg, Osinovets, Leningrad, Sestroresk
Victories: Nil
Defeats
emjansk
Mitino (Plains): 4.2 degrees
Roettig (Assault): 75.ID
Korovin (Defend): 43rd, 90th Rifle Division, 22nd Tankovaya Diviziya
Although the two rifle divisions are at the point of collapse, the armour unit is likely to thwart Roettig’s ambitions.
Leningrad (Urban): 4.2 degrees
Keppler (Shock): 5th Jäger Division, 5, 26, 73.ID, SS PzGrenadier Division, Panzer Brigade 100/II
Khrulev (Defend): 14th, 19th Rifle Division, Red Army remnants
It has begun, and all is going according to plan. The city is surrounded and the port blockaded. It may take some time as food and ammunition stocks are high, but the city will be ours.
Novaya Ladoga (Forest): 1.7 degrees
Wilkama (Assault): 28th Jäger Division, 169.ID, 2nd schwere Panzer Division, 6th Divisioona
Korzun (Defend): Proletarian Division, 66th Tankovaya Diviziya, NKVD detachment
The swamps are once again our main enemy. Even this mass of men will not be enough.
Peno (Hills): 0.2 degrees
Fischer (Assault): Panzer Abteilung (zbV) 40, Infanterie Regiment Großdeutschland, 3rd Divisioona
Filatov (Delay): 9th, 14th Mechanised, 15th NKVD Division
Fischer’s men are slowly clearing the hillsides, but they need to speed up before Stavka orders reinforcements
Osinovets (Forest): 4.1 degrees
Gorodnianskiy (Reckless Assault): 42nd Tankovaya Diviziya
Raus (Backhand Blow): Panzer Brigade “Estland”
Our panzertruppen can take no more and must soon retreat.
Moskva Armee (List)
Objectives: Demjansk, Peno, Valdaj, Pstashkov, Krasnomayskiy
Victories: Nil
Defeats: Smolensk, Mitino, Kresttsy
Demjansk (Forest): 4.2 degrees
Von Schobert (Assault): 50.ID
Hadeev (Defend): Proletarian Division
70% of the city is in our hands, and we hope soon to conclude operations.
Krasnyy (Plains): 4.0 degrees
Rodin (Attack): III Cuerpo International, 80th “Donbass” Rifle Division
Weiss (Defend): 11.ID, 25.ID (mot)
The Russians hope to outlast us, and they may succeed in doing so.
Nelidovo (Forest): 4.2 degrees
Zakharov (Breakthrough): 13th Guards Poltava, 90th Tankovaya Diviziya
Hansen (Defend): 1st PzD, 76.ID
Hansen is secure
Panzerarmee Hoth (Hoth)
Objectives: Smolensk, Krasnyy, Golynski, Minsk, Salihorsk, Hlusk
Victories: 1st, 2nd and 3rd Rahachow, 1st and 2nd Nieswiez, Krasnyy, Hlusk, Nelidovo, Akciabrski
Defeats:
Chavusy (Plains): 4.0 degrees
Von Arnim (Attack): 16.ID (mot) “Horki”
Zubarev (Defend): 9th “Crimean” Cavalry Division
Still some work to do, but Jodl should win this battle (12/9)
The Soviet cavalry will soon have to mount up and head east, our tanks in hot pursuit – Jold has been forced to leave but he did what was needed.
Malkowicze (Marsh): 4.1 degrees
Schulz (Blitz): 13, 22, 386.ID (mot)
Murayev (Defend): Opolcheniye, 7th “Armenian” Gorno-Cavalry Diviziya
Relieving the trapped 22.ID (mot) is a demanding job, but the motorised infantry are not flinching as they slowly creep forward. The only encouragement is that there are signs that the enemy is not receiving sufficient supply. (6/9)
Schulz is keeping his men in good order and has penetrated quite deeply into the swamp. There is now some hope that the trapped division can be rescued. (12/9)
The Proletarian Division has had enough: now to deal with the other recalcitrant Soviet units.
Dukovshchina (Forest): 4.2 degrees
Galkin (Shock): 38th Tankovaya, 16th Mechanised Diviziya, 9th Poineer Brigade
Leeb (Defend): 10.ID (mot)
The forests are giving Leeb plenty of cover and he is using it well.
Armee of the Pripyat (Dollman)
Objectives: Borodjanka, Malyn, Korosten, Zhytomyr, Volodarsk Volynski
Victories: Borodjanka
Defeat:Nil
Lelchysty (Marsh): 4.3 degrees
Strecker (Assault): 24, 207.ID
Martiroysan (Defend): 77th “Azerbaijan” Diviziya, 7th Brigada Morskoi
Who authorises these insane ventures?
Rostov Armee (Henrici)
Objectives: Defensive line along the Dniepr
Victories: Melitopol, Vesele, 1st Hlobyne, Voznesenske, Berezan
Defeat: 2nd Hlobyne
It is the turn of Rostov Armee to rest and recuperate
Panzerarmee von Manstein (von Manstein)
Objective: Boryspil, Berezan, Pryluky, Pyriatin, Brovary, Borodjanlka
Victories: Malyn, Narodychi, Boryspil
Defeats: Chornobai
Kozelshchyna (Plains): 4.2 degrees
Von Hubicki (Assault): 9.PzD
Fogel (Defend): 21st, 5th, 42nd Tankovaya, 18th Guards, 95th “Moldavian”, 1st Infantry (semi-motorised) Division
Amazingly, 9.PzD is doing well against this mass of enemy soldiers. Not well enough, sadly, to triumph against the odds.
Dobryn (Marsh): 4.2 degrees
Von Speck (Shock): 13.ID (mot)
Pavlov (Counter-attack): 4th, 99th Tankovaya, 2nd NKVD Rifle Diviziya, Red Army remnants
Another swamp battle that achieves little except to exhaust everyone involved.
Army of the Crimea (von Falkenhorst)
Objectives: Telenesti, Rezina, Balta, Lyubashevka
Victories: 1st and 2nd Romanesti
Defeats: Nil
Ovidiopol (Plains): 4.1 degrees
Von Stockhausen (Shock): 1st Marine Division, KG Kempf, Alpini Corps Legion
Bagramian (Counter-attack): 12th, 38th, 40th, 10th Tankovaya Diviziya
Losses are heavy against the enemy armour, but victory is close.
Tighina (Plains): 4.1 degrees
Belous (Attack): Opolcheniye, 30th “Kirovgrad”, 19th “Voronezh”, 30th “Irkutsk” Rifle Diviziya
Ricagno (Elastic Defence): RES: 3rd Alpini Division “Julia”, Monte Cervino Alpine Ski Battalion
With first access to what supplies can get landed at Odessa, Belous has terrorised the Italians who are already fleeing.
Ochakiv (Plains): 4.1 degrees
Von Pfeffer-Wildenbruch (Attack): SS Slovakian Infantry Division
Kurdyumov (Defend): 6th Guards Rovno Division, 9th, 14th Border Guard Brigade, 2nd Coastal Fortification Brigade
An even tussle, despite the Soviet numbers
Unternehmen Barbarossa: Ongoing Casualties
| Current
| Prior
| Total
|
| | | |
German Ground Losses
| 83,626
| 3,818,232
| 3,901,858
|
German Bombing Losses
| 66
| 6,403
| 6,469
|
German Total Losses
| 83,692
| 3,824,635
| 3,908,327
|
| | | |
Soviet Ground Losses
| 74,007
| 3,923,637
| 3,997,644
|
Soviet Bombing Losses
| 12,831
| 543,884
| 556,715
|
Soviet Total Losses
| 86,838
| 4,467,521
| 4,554,359
|
War at Sea
| | Current
| Prior
| Total
|
| | | | |
U-boat losses
| | Nil
| 12
| 12
|
| | | | |
Convoys
| German
| Nil
| 29
| 29
|
| | | | |
| British
| 2
| 381
| 383
|
| French
| Nil
| 25
| 25
|
| Canadian
| Nil
| 35
| 35
|
| South African
| Nil
| 7
| 7
|
| New Zealand
| Nil
| 60
| 60
|
| Australian
| Nil
| 32
| 32
|
| Belgian
| Nil
| 5
| 5
|
| Norwegian
| Nil
| 37
| 37
|
| Greek
| Nil
| 17
| 17
|
| Soviet
| Nil
| 10
| 10
|
| | | | |
Total
| Allied Convoy Losses
| 2
| 609
| 611
|
Escorts
| German
| Nil
| 11
| 11
|
| | | | |
| British
| 2
| 298
| 300
|
| Canadian
| Nil
| 32
| 32
|
| French
| Nil
| 12
| 12
|
| New Zealand
| Nil
| 20
| 20
|
| Australian
| Nil
| 44
| 44
|
| Belgian
| Nil
| 9
| 9
|
| Norwegian
| Nil
| 9
| 9
|
| South African
| Nil
| 22
| 22
|
| Greek
| Nil
| 6
| 6
|
| Soviet
| Nil
| 7
| 7
|
| | | | |
Total
| Allied Escort Losses
| 2
| 458
| 460
|
Destroyers
| German
| Nil
| 1
| 1
|
| Norwegian
| Nil
| 2
| 2
|
| Soviet
| Nil
| 18
| 18
|
|
|
|
|
|
Torpedo Boats
| German
| Nil
| 2
| 2
|
| Norwegian
| Nil
| 2
| 2
|
| Russian
| Nil
| 1
| 1
|
|
|
|
|
|
Coastal BB
| Norwegian
| Nil
| 2
| 2
|
|
|
|
|
|
Aux Vessels
| German
| Nil
| 2
| 2
|
| Soviet
| Nil
| 4
| 4
|
|
|
|
|
|
Subs
| Norwegian
| Nil
| 1
| 1
|
| Russian
| Nil
| 4
| 4
|
